said, ignoring the barb.
Montagin was staring intensely now.
“Are you just playing dumb, or are you really that stupid?” he finally asked.
“I just don’t see an imminent threat,” Remy told him.
“Lucifer has returned to power,” Montagin said a little slower and a little louder. “Lucifer has returned to power, and has gone back to Tartarus . . . back to Hell.”
“So he’s gone back to where the Almighty put him to begin with.”
“Is this what living here among the monkeys does to one of us?” Montagin asked with a sneer.
“What does it do, Montagin?” Remy retorted. “Does it make me ask questions, and not fly off the handle at the slightest things? If that’s the case, then yeah, I guess living here has done that to me.”
The angel’s face wore an expression of absolute disgust.
“Even after everything you saw during the war, you can still be blind to what Lucifer is capable of.”
“I know what he’s capable of, but the question is, what is he doing now?”
Montagin rose to his feet, buttoning his suit jacket as he stood.
“If you can’t see his influence in everything that has been happening here on the world of man, then I’m afraid there’s really nothing more I can say to you.”
“Are you serious?” Remy questioned. “You think that what’s been happening here is all Lucifer’s fault?”
“Whether it is or isn’t doesn’t matter to the overall picture,” Montagin said. “The fact is that Lucifer Morningstar is free, and as long as he is, he poses a danger to God and the Kingdom of Heaven.”
“And Earth?” Remy asked the million dollar question.
“Yes, to Earth as well,” Montagin said, almost begrudgingly. “To think of the Morningstar in control of this world . . . We will not stand for it.”
“So that’s why Aszrus is here,” Remy stated.
“As well as others in various aspects of reconnaissance,” Montagin said. “I just so happen to have been assigned to assist the general.” He stepped into the far aisle. “And I believe I’ve answered your pleas.”
Remy could feel his disbelief turning to anger. “After everything we’ve already been through,” he began incredulously, “after everything we lost, we’re willing to do this all again?” He stood and moved back into the center aisle. “Didn’t we learn anything?”
Montagin considered the question as brown wings reached from his back, readying to embrace his form.
“Maybe we learned that the Lord God Almighty was far too merciful to those who challenged His holy word.”
Remy couldn’t believe his ears. What had happened to these supposed divine creatures to make them so bitter?
“That if He’d tempered His mercy then, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now,” Montagin continued, as his wings folded about him.
And he was gone, as silently as he’d appeared.
• • •
Dottie and Marlowe were right where Remy had left them, only the old woman had rolled up her sleeping bag, and the two were sitting side by side, Marlowe draped partially across her lap. They were sharing a bag of Cheez-Its.
Marlowe was first to notice the angel’s return. “Hello,” he woofed, spewing orange crumbs.
Dottie turned toward him and smiled, popping a Cheez-It into her mouth. “There he is,” she said to the dog. “I told ya he wouldn’t be long.”
Marlowe’s tail wagged as she gave him another one of the treats.
“He wasn’t any trouble was he?” Remy asked.
“No trouble at all,” Dottie said, reaching out to pat Marlowe’s head. “He even watched my stuff while I ran in the store to get us something to eat.”
“A regular watchdog,” Remy said, bending over to scratch his friend’s ear.
“Watchdog!” Marlowe barked, and then began sniffing for stray Cheez-It crumbs.
“Well thank you for watching him, Dottie,” Remy said, taking the end of the leash from the woman.
“No problem at all, it was a pleasure,” she said. “So how did it
Montagin was staring intensely now.
“Are you just playing dumb, or are you really that stupid?” he finally asked.
“I just don’t see an imminent threat,” Remy told him.
“Lucifer has returned to power,” Montagin said a little slower and a little louder. “Lucifer has returned to power, and has gone back to Tartarus . . . back to Hell.”
“So he’s gone back to where the Almighty put him to begin with.”
“Is this what living here among the monkeys does to one of us?” Montagin asked with a sneer.
“What does it do, Montagin?” Remy retorted. “Does it make me ask questions, and not fly off the handle at the slightest things? If that’s the case, then yeah, I guess living here has done that to me.”
The angel’s face wore an expression of absolute disgust.
“Even after everything you saw during the war, you can still be blind to what Lucifer is capable of.”
“I know what he’s capable of, but the question is, what is he doing now?”
Montagin rose to his feet, buttoning his suit jacket as he stood.
“If you can’t see his influence in everything that has been happening here on the world of man, then I’m afraid there’s really nothing more I can say to you.”
“Are you serious?” Remy questioned. “You think that what’s been happening here is all Lucifer’s fault?”
“Whether it is or isn’t doesn’t matter to the overall picture,” Montagin said. “The fact is that Lucifer Morningstar is free, and as long as he is, he poses a danger to God and the Kingdom of Heaven.”
“And Earth?” Remy asked the million dollar question.
“Yes, to Earth as well,” Montagin said, almost begrudgingly. “To think of the Morningstar in control of this world . . . We will not stand for it.”
“So that’s why Aszrus is here,” Remy stated.
“As well as others in various aspects of reconnaissance,” Montagin said. “I just so happen to have been assigned to assist the general.” He stepped into the far aisle. “And I believe I’ve answered your pleas.”
Remy could feel his disbelief turning to anger. “After everything we’ve already been through,” he began incredulously, “after everything we lost, we’re willing to do this all again?” He stood and moved back into the center aisle. “Didn’t we learn anything?”
Montagin considered the question as brown wings reached from his back, readying to embrace his form.
“Maybe we learned that the Lord God Almighty was far too merciful to those who challenged His holy word.”
Remy couldn’t believe his ears. What had happened to these supposed divine creatures to make them so bitter?
“That if He’d tempered His mercy then, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now,” Montagin continued, as his wings folded about him.
And he was gone, as silently as he’d appeared.
• • •
Dottie and Marlowe were right where Remy had left them, only the old woman had rolled up her sleeping bag, and the two were sitting side by side, Marlowe draped partially across her lap. They were sharing a bag of Cheez-Its.
Marlowe was first to notice the angel’s return. “Hello,” he woofed, spewing orange crumbs.
Dottie turned toward him and smiled, popping a Cheez-It into her mouth. “There he is,” she said to the dog. “I told ya he wouldn’t be long.”
Marlowe’s tail wagged as she gave him another one of the treats.
“He wasn’t any trouble was he?” Remy asked.
“No trouble at all,” Dottie said, reaching out to pat Marlowe’s head. “He even watched my stuff while I ran in the store to get us something to eat.”
“A regular watchdog,” Remy said, bending over to scratch his friend’s ear.
“Watchdog!” Marlowe barked, and then began sniffing for stray Cheez-It crumbs.
“Well thank you for watching him, Dottie,” Remy said, taking the end of the leash from the woman.
“No problem at all, it was a pleasure,” she said. “So how did it
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