“You didn’t find it?”
Gabriel glanced at Urania. She looked worried. She had reason to be.
“No, I didn’t,” he replied.
“It’s in that park somewhere. It has to be.”
The waitress stopped at their table. “You two wanna start with something to drink?”
“Coffee, please. Regular,” Gabriel answered, glancing at her nametag. Ann.
Urania blinked, then glanced down at the menu in her hands. “I guess I’ve have some orange juice. Thanks.”
When they were alone again, Gabriel said, “If it’s there, we’ll find it.”
“Assuming they don’t get there first.” She leaned forward. “Couldn’t you feel it? Michael said you should be able to.”
“Has he said what it is?”
“Said he wasn’t sure. But he said you should feel it. You didn’t?”
Gabriel shook his head. “I felt something. The entire park felt wrong, and it wasn’t just the fact that this is Diabolus’s city.”
“Most of the city doesn’t,” she told him. “She takes care of this place. I think she really loves it.”
“Most of the time she takes care of it,” he said with a frown.
“I honestly think that was out of her hands.”
“Maybe.” He glanced down at the menu and decided he might as well get waffles.
“Tell me about her,” he said, looking back up. “Diabolus.”
“You know the story of her birth. She’s Satan’s daughter, by Sin, through that poor girl… She can be ruthless, she can be petty. She’s smart, and when she has a goal, she’s ruthless. She’s more… intimate… with their Council than any other demon.”
“You’re reciting common knowledge, Urania. You’ve been around these parts a lot. Don’t you have any insight?”
Urania shrugged, twirling a dark curl around her finger. “She’s whimsical. Unpredictable. But if she hears about this, she’ll be looking into it. And even if she has no idea what’s going on, she’ll do her best to mess it up. Finds it amusing.”
“Course she will. But what are the odds she would even survive it?”
“Can’t say for sure,” she replied. “We aren’t even sure they didn’t make it.”
“We agreed that was unlikely.” He turned, holding out his mug for Ann to fill.
It fell, shattering, as darkness ripped through his mind. He threw up shields—then realized it wasn’t even directed at him. It was a call—desperate, like a mental scream.
“You all right?” Ann asked. “I’m so sorry, I thought…”
“Fine,” Gabriel assured her, ignoring the burns that were already healing. “My fault, don’t worry about it.”
She looked relieved. “I’d better get something to clean this up with.”
Urania was clutching at the table, looking nauseous.
“Diabolus,” she whispered.
“Has to be,” he agreed. “Unless one of the Council’s come to the surface…”
“No. That was Diabolus. Does she know we’re here?”
“I doubt it,” he answered. “I don’t think she’d panic like that over the two of us.”
She shook her head. “Was that what that was?”
He hesitated, then said it. “I think we’re gonna find out if she can survive it. I think that was a call for help.”
If possible, she got paler. “You know who Diabolus would call for help? I really hope you’re wrong.”