Extinction (The Divine Book 7) by M.R. Forbes

think they do. Not yet. I have a bad feeling Gervais knows what's going down, though."
    "So you need another set of eyes in the back of your head."
    "Yeah."
    "I'll do my best," he said.  
    "Thanks. I appreciate you helping me out on this one. Especially considering you aren't the biggest fan of the Divine."
    "I'm a bigger fan of the world staying in one piece. I know we've had some rough patches here and there, Landon, but I've always considered us friends. Friends just go through some shit sometimes, that's all."
    "Agreed."
    He raised his bottle to me, and then took a drink.  
    "Do you know what happened to Alfred?" I asked.
    "He was fighting for a while. He's a total badass, by the way. He teamed up with that angel that opened the Mass, and the two of them took out the fire demon. Sarah got to them, though. I saw Alfred try to save the other seraph, but she did something to him and made him disappear. Sent him back to Heaven or something."
    "His superiors told him to help me. I was hoping he could give me a lift to Heaven."
    "Maybe he'll show up again. He might be looking for you right now."
    "He won't remember me. He might come looking for you."
    "Good enough, right?"
    "I hope so."
    "So what do you want to do? Hang out and knock back a few?"
    "Don't you need to sleep?"
    "Man, I'm too wired to sleep."
    "I need to talk to an angel. I imagine Sarah's actions tonight have got them on high alert, and maybe bunkered in. Considering where we are, I know where to find them."
    "Not much deduction needed on that one, is there Sherlock?"
    "Elementary, Watson. You ready to go?"
    He took one last swig to finish the bottle and then stood up. "I am now."

Seventeen

    The Vatican. The home of the Pope. The home of St. Peter's Basilica. The home base and the largest and most powerful seraphim sanctuary in the mortal realm.  
    I needed to talk to an angel, and there was no better place to find one.
    Of course, these angels weren't friends of mine. Maybe some of them would be lukewarm, but I knew going in that most of them didn't like me, and would have preferred if Sarah's wings had found their way to my heart, or had sliced clean through my neck. Whatever. I didn't have time to worry about that now. My only other seraphim contact was back in New York, and unless Dante showed up right away to teleport me there, or unless I wound up desperate enough to time walk again, I wasn't going to reach her.  
    No, I had to walk into the lion's den and see if I could make a case. If I failed with the angels, maybe Francis would hear me out?
    We climbed the steps to St. Peter's. The square was empty. Silent. We had seen a number of heavily armed guards outside the perimeter, keeping watch for those terrorists. I was sure the angels were watching us make our approach, even if I hadn't tried to look for them. Whenever they showed up, they showed up. I didn't want to make any moves that they took as aggressive. As powerful as I was, I was on the holiest ground on the planet. They could take me if they had the numbers, which was why I had never visited before.  
    That I was here, now, would send a clear message. It was a huge white flag. An obvious cry for help. I didn't like submitting so easily, but there was nothing else to be done.  
    We reached the doors to the massive Church. I pushed one of them open with my power, and we moved inside. I was awed by the interior. The scale. The craftsmanship. The hand of God in everything that was created there.  
    "Hello?" Obi said, his voice echoing in the empty space.  
    I had expected there would be a guard at least. The place was deserted.
    "Echo," he shouted, smiling as it was repeated back to him, the acoustics bouncing his voice around the columns and arches. I looked over at him, and he shrugged. "Just trying to get some attention."
    We waited. Nobody came.  
    "I thought that would work," I said.  
    "What the heck is going on in here?" Obi replied.
    "A thousand Touched died tonight, Diuscrucis," the