Angelology(204)

had left.

On the ice, Gibborim held Gabriella at Grigori’s side, one gruesome creature to each of her arms.

Gibborim closed in behind Evangeline as she made her way across the skating rink, sealing her path.

She could not go back.

“Come,” Grigori said, gesturing to Evangeline with his cane. Eyeing the bronze box Alistair had

thrown her, he said, “Bring it here. Give it to me.

Evangeline walked closer until she stood before Grigori. Looking him over, she took in his

appearance, shocked at his condition. He was nothing at all as she had imagined him to be. He was

hunched, frail, and gaunt. He extended his withered hand, and Evangeline placed the bronze box from

the Prometheus statue in his palm. Grigori held it up to the light and examined it, as if unsure what

such a tiny box could contain. Smiling, he dropped it into his pocket and, with a sweep of his hand,

snatched the leather case from Evangeline.

Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink, Fifth Avenue, New York City

Verlaine knew that the creatures’ wings were tucked under their black cloaks, and he understood the

destruction they were capable of inflicting if they were to deploy them. Yet to the ordinary person the

creatures appeared to be little more than a band of oddly dressed men performing some bizarre ritual

on the ice. They followed Grigori’s orders, assembling around him at the center of the rink, creating

an impenetrable wall between Grigori and the angelologists. The orchestrations of the Gibborim

would have absorbed Verlaine’s entire attention if it were not for the fact that Evangeline stood

surrounded by this dark horde of creatures.

“Stay here,” Bruno said, gesturing for Verlaine to remain where he stood, above the Prometheus

statue. “Saitou-san, take the stairs. I’m going to go to the other side of the rink and see if I can divert

Grigori.”

“It’s impossible,” Saitou-san said. “Look at how many of them there are.”

Bruno paused, staring out over the rink. “We can’t leave them out there,” he said, his anguish

apparent. “We have to try something.”

Bruno and Saitou-san ran off, leaving Verlaine to watch helplessly from his perch. He could hardly

keep himself from jumping over the barrier onto the ice. He felt sick at the sight of Evangeline in

danger, and yet he could do nothing at all to rescue her. He had known her only one day and yet the

thought of losing whatever future awaited him with her terrified him. He called her name, and through

the chaos of creatures she looked up at him. Even as Grigori pushed her ahead, steering her and

Gabriella from the ice, she had heard Verlaine calling to her.

For a second, Verlaine felt as if he were outside himself, watching his misery from a distance. The

irony of his position wasn’t lost on him: He had become the destitute tragicomic leading man

watching the woman he loved be swept away by a dastardly villain. It was amazing how love had the

power to make him feel that he was both a Hollywood cliché and an utter original at once. He loved

Evangeline, this he knew for certain. He would do anything for her.

At the opposite end of the rink, Bruno was watching the creatures. It was plain that he would be

vastly outnumbered if he went into the mêlée of Gibborim. Even if the three of them went in at once, it

would be impossible to reach Gabriella and Evangeline. From her position at the stairs, Saitou-san

awaited a signal to go in. But Bruno, like Verlaine, could see the hopelessness of their position.

There was nothing they could do but watch.

A rumbling noise consumed the din of city sounds. At first Verlaine was unable to discern the

source of the noise—it began as a soft stirring in the distance and grew in a matter of seconds to the

distinct growl of an engine. Scanning the plaza, he saw that a black utility van, identical to the vans

he’d found parked outside of St. Rose Convent, was driving over the concourse to the skating rink,

cutting a path through the crowd.

As the van approached, Grigori waved the gun at Gabriella and Evangeline, pushing them up the

steps. Verlaine strained to see Evangeline, but Gibborim stood on each side of her, blocking his

view. As the entourage passed Saitou-san, he could detect a moment of indecision in her manner. For

an instant it appeared as if she might push past the Gibborim and tackle Grigori herself. Realizing that

she was far too weak she did nothing.

Grigori forced Evangeline and Gabriella into the van, pushing them inside with the gun and

swinging the door closed in one quick motion. As the van drove away, Verlaine called out to

Evangeline, desperately, his helplessness filling him with anger. He ran after the van, past Christmas

lights, past the herald angels with their golden trumpets raised to the black night sky, past the immense