Chapter Thirteen:
Angela met Deimon as she walked down the corridor to return to bed. He had just stepped out of Skinner's quarters. "How is he?" she asked her friend.
"He'll live," Deimon replied shortly. "Angela, is there or is there not a certain, shall we say, guideline that forbids Guardian Angels from saving another's Guarded?"
"Deimon, you were not doing your job properly," she said, irritated that he had recited a Guardian Law that she knew very well. "If you were, he wouldn't have fallen over the side. Listen to me, Deimon. That is inexcusable. I have to watch over my own Guarded and the League. I need you to watch over Rodney more carefully because I can't be everyone's Guardian Angel! What would you have done if I hadn't intervene?"
"I would have returned Life to him."
She sighed. "Go on." Deimon nodded to her and left. She continued towards her quarters.
"Angela, wait." She turned and saw Sawyer walking over to her. "Where did you go? What happened?"
"There was a wayward spirit who needed to be escorted to her proper place," she said. "But she wasn't dead. I had to take her to Mongolia."
"Mongolia?" he repeated. "What did she look like?"
Angela thought for a moment. "She was about as tall as I am," she said finally. "Her hair was long and light brown with a hint of red in it. I couldn't see what colour her eyes were, tear-filled as they were. She was staring at the space where Mr. Skinner was laying and was crying."
They reached Angela's quarters. "That sounds like Kate," he said thoughtfully.
"Kate?" she repeated. "Kate Bennet? Thank you for your help, Mr. Sawyer. Good night." She entered her quarters and went straight to the mirror after closing the door firmly. She gently placed her hand flat against the glass.
The mirror shimmered and Angela smiled at the sight. Before her on the other side of the glass was a small desk with a young blonde Angel sitting there, sorting through some paperwork. A little bell rang and the Angel said, "Welcome to the Desk of Inquiry. This is Desdemona. How may I help you?"
"Hello, 'Demona," Angela said pleasantly. "How are you?"
Desdemona looked up sharply. "Angela!" she said, slightly flustered. "This is entirely unexpected. Is everything all right?"
"Yes, absolutely," Angela said. "I need you to do me a quick favour. Will you please tell me where Kate Bennet is at this moment?"
The young Angel looked through her paperwork for a moment. "Actually, Angela," she said. "Kate Bennet's been dead for years. She died at age six."
"You're kidding," Angela murmured. "The League knows her as a thirty-two years old woman… Are there any Guarded in this area?" She gave Desdemona the coordinates. "Other than usual, I mean."
"No," Desdemona said. "No one other than the usual people. There's a few Unguarded. Do you want their names and photos?"
Angela nodded. "Yes, please," she said. "Wait. Where's Angelique?"
"I don't know," was the answer. "As far as I was told, she was reassigned a few years ago. I haven't seen her. Here are the photos."
Three photographs appeared on the glass. The woman Angela described to Sawyer was among them. She tapped the photo, and the others disappeared. "This is her. Agent Sawyer said she was Kate Bennet," Angela said to herself. "Thank you, 'Demona." She placed her palm flat against the mirror. The glass shimmered and Desdemona disappeared. "But if Kate Bennet died when she was a child, who is this? And how am I able to have an entire file devoted to her case?"
"Though I know you're talking to yourself, Angel, perhaps I can help you." Gabriel was behind Angela.
She turned to him and said, "Hello, Gabriel. What new information can you offer?"
He merely said, "Your sister, Angelique has been missing for nearly twenty-six years. Perhaps you have finally found her, Angel."
"I don't have time for your riddles, Gabriel," she replied, a little irked. "If you have any information that will help me help you dispose of Dracula without the others getting hurt, I would greatly appreciate it if you told me."
Gabriel crossed the room and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Angela, you must be wary of yourself in the company of Mr. Sawyer. You cannot repeat your past."
"Gabriel, the last time I fell in love, God ordered you to destroy him," she said. "I will not allow it to be carried so far. Mr. Sawyer has sworn to me that he will not force me to do what I don't wish to. So, until we have taken care of Dracula, whether or not I retain my Grace, I will obey God's Law."
"Good, Angel. That's very good," Gabriel said, preparing to leave.
"Gabriel, when He ordered you to dispose of him, was it for my benefit or for mankind's?"
Gabriel looked into her eyes. She could see pity in his. "He never made that clear to me, Angel," he whispered. "But I believe it was for your sake He ordered me. Good night."
"Good night, Gabriel." Gabriel left Angela alone as she processed what he had said to her. "God doesn't have favourites, Gabriel!" She received no reply.