Archangel's Resurrection (Guild Hunter #15)(47)

“So what is it that now causes you to worry so much that it’s a rain shadow hovering constantly above your head?”

“That’s the thing, Titus. I don’t know.” Alexander thrust one hand through his hair. “Osiris has turned secretive over the years. Distancing himself from his colleagues, his friends, and yes, his brother. A half-moon ago, I suddenly realized that I no longer know where he lives and works—and haven’t known for some time.”

That keeping track of his brother had slipped his mind was yet another indication that he should be Sleeping; the general he’d been would’ve never made a tactical error so significant. “I went first to the large laboratory he set up in a cold area of my lands—but it had been cleaned up and shuttered, long enough ago that cobwebs matted the doors and there was significant snow damage to the buildings.”

“You had no word of his departure from your people?”

“The location was isolated deep in the mountains—and I’d given Osiris that land. He was my brother. I never treated him as someone to be watched by my forces.”

“Yes, of course. I would be the same with my sisters.”

“The only things I found in the laboratory were a few of his meldings.” Echoes of the little game his brother had used to play for the amusement and wonder of all. “A beaker melded to a table so it looks to be on the brink of falling, a bookshelf melded to the ceiling and shaped so it seems to undulate, a book melded to a knife so that the pages flow like liquid down the metal.” That last had been astonishing, a true piece of art.

“I’ve never known any other angel who could do such a thing,” Titus said.

“Yes, it’s a unique gift. Osiris believes he gained it during a past Cascade.” Alexander had taken the book-and-knife meld to his home, lest it be damaged by the elements. “It struck me that perhaps he’d become tired of the cold after so many years and decamped to his tropical island, so I went to visit him there—only to find it empty, with no signs of recent habitation.”

The tropical vegetation had taken over the laboratory, while an entire banana palm had grown through the broken roof of what had once been Osiris’s residence. Vines hung and crept everywhere, and he’d heard the chirps of birds from inside the buildings of the compound. Huge flowers that were clearly strange and lovely hybrids had bloomed with abandon, their scent cloying.

His brother’s work, Alexander had understood, disturbed on a level he couldn’t articulate.

“You think he is doing something he doesn’t want you to see?” Titus frowned, lines furrowing his forehead. “Not just being secretive as scholars at times are with their most precious projects?”

Alexander nodded. “I know so. For while he’d cleaned up the laboratory in my lands, I saw disturbing remains in his abandoned island laboratory.” Tiny insects of revulsion crawled over him. “Large animal bones lying near chains—as if he’d confined the creatures inside his dark and windowless workspace. Other bones showed signs of malnutrition, and of burns unnatural—not akin to bones in a burn pile, but as if the animal’s limb had been amputated then cauterized.”

He’d seen other things, too. Pieces of leather that had felt disconcertingly like mortal or immortal skin, a forgotten stone tablet with the carved image of a dissected angelic body, even its wing bones exposed . . . and worst of all, a pile of bones that had looked at first glance like those of mortal children. Thankfully, they’d proved to be of small monkeys, but the sheer number of them . . .

What use did Osiris have for so many of the chattering, mischievous creatures?

“My territory has many predators,” Titus murmured, looking out over the landscape below, “but very few of those predators play with their prey. Such cruelty is a thing of angels, vampires, and mortals.” His jaw was tight. “What help do you need to find answers, my friend?”

“I can’t speak of this to others of the Cadre. I wouldn’t condemn Osiris for simply being secretive. Many with his intelligence and quirks are so. And he may have a reasonable explanation that we aren’t scholarly enough to divine.”

Titus nodded. “Less friendly archangels might also see your concern as a weakness to be exploited.”

“Yes. I need to find him before anyone else realizes that my brother has vanished—and I need to ensure that he isn’t doing anything which shouldn’t be done.”

Tension locking his shoulders, he added, “That upstart, Raphael, has been asking me about my brother, saying he’s heard troubling rumors.” Alexander had no knowledge of those rumors and hadn’t wanted to show his hand by asking Raphael for clarification. Which left only one option. “I need to find Osiris before Raphael beats me to it.”

Titus raised an eyebrow. “You don’t trust young Rafe?”

“He might be blood of Caliane and Nadiel, but he’s a pup,” Alexander muttered. “Not even a thousand years old. This is a matter of adults and of family.”

Titus said nothing on that point, both of them aware that Titus and Alexander were family of the heart. “I’ll put my ear to the ground,” Titus said instead, “and instruct my spymaster to do the same. Ozias would cut out her heart before betraying me, so your brother’s location will be kept secret by her should she discover it.”