THIRTY

Judas Iscariot strolled along the hillside.

He’d considered making his entrance on a pale horse, but that seemed too pretentious, even for him. Simply appearing here tempted fate in a way that wasn’t entirely comfortable with. Time and experience had made him circumspect.

But in the end he’d donned a general’s uniform, strapped on a cutlass and strode out from the copse of live oak along the battlefield’s southernmost perimeter to watch the action unfold from above. Not because he intended to alter the flow of events—such things were better left to others—but simply to observe the endlessly amusing spectacle of human suffering.

Like crucifixions and pornography, it never got old.

He’d arrived before dawn, already hearing the sound of cannons and the cries of demonic jubilation down below. It didn’t do much to lighten his mood. News of what had happened to his Collector in the basement of the Pentecostal Church had, of course, already reached him and left him feeling sour, plunging him into the restlessness and depression that had plagued him on and off for the last two thousand years.

He’d always been the moodiest of the Twelve, and becoming a demon hadn’t changed that.

And then there was the loss of a noose.

There were other nooses, of course, a half-dozen of them, scattered throughout the world from Bangkok to Burbank, most in the hands of private collectors or occultists with no real sense of what they had. And there would be more, as humanity in its endless resourcefulness decoded the secret of the seventh knot and wove their fates like the obedient little sheep they were.

But now there was one less.

And losing a noose and a Collector in one night—to a minor demon like McClane—was an aggravation to Iscariot. At least the battle that the idiot had unleashed here would—

“Judas?”

He stopped, brought up short by the unexpected sound of his name spoken aloud. He turned to look at the man standing a few yards away, wearing a rumpled suit and trench coat, looking as if he too had been up half the night. Recognizing him at last, Judas smiled.

“Castiel,” he said, with genuine pleasure. “How are you, my friend?”

Castiel stared at him.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Judas turned his attention again to the battle below.

“Always a treat to watch the ants swarm the anthill, isn’t it?” When Castiel didn’t respond, Judas turned and scowled a little. “Surely you don’t hold me accountable for this.”

“It was your noose.”

“Stolen from me!” Judas protested, more petulant than angry. “McClane and his minions ambushed one of my Collectors and took it from him. Worse, he had your friends do it for him.”

“Yet it was your noose, so it becomes your responsibility.”

Judas shook his head, holding up both hands.

“I didn’t survive as long as I have by getting involved in every petty skirmish that comes along.”

“This isn’t just another petty skirmish,” Castiel said. “With everything that’s been happening, you must know what’s at stake.”

“Again, it’s not my problem.”

“You’re not worried?”

Judas frowned at him.

“Of course I am. You know me. I always worry.” He paused to watch a squadron of demons on horseback set fire to a tent. Several human re-enactors came scurrying out and the demons shot them in the back with muskets. He could hear their laughter, brittle and barbed. “But honestly, when you look at the grand tapestry, what’s to be done?” Then he turned again.

“Why are you here?” Realization, of a sort, began to sink into Judas’s face. “What is it you want from me, Castiel?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Don’t try to be tactful. It was never your gift.”

Castiel sighed.

“I’m looking for Him.”

“Still?”

“Still.”

“I don’t see why—” Judas broke off. “Wait. You don’t think... that I...?” He gaped at Castiel, eyes agog, mouth slightly open. The sense of incredulity swelled into full-blown disbelief, straining all color from his cheeks. For a moment he felt as if he was going to explode with anger.

Instead he burst out laughing.

“Oh. Oh my.” The laughter doubled him over, and he held his stomach, roaring until tears sparkled in his eyes. “Oh, my dear Castiel, I’m sorry, I... I saw you here and I just assumed that you were... but you... Oh my—”

And he was off again on a flight of giggles.

“You should see the look on your face. Priceless.” When he finally caught his breath, he clapped Castiel on the shoulder. “Thank you,” wiping his eyes, sniffling, “I needed that. I honestly did.”

Castiel stood stiffly, unmoved.

“Did you not break bread with His son?”

“Oh, yes,” Judas said, gazing skyward, apparently lost in reverie. “Yes indeed. We broke bread and I knelt at his feet. And we talked of many things.” His head snapped around, voice sharp, eyes hard and black. There wasn’t a trace of laughter remaining in his face. “But I serve a different master now.”

Castiel took a step back, cringing away.

“Sorry. Painful memory.” Judas stepped forward and reached out to brush an imaginary bit of lint from Castiel’s shoulder. “Go. Go down. Be among your people.”

Your people.

Castiel turned to look reluctantly back down the hill at the ruined battlefield, thick with smoke. What he saw there was Hieronymus Bosch by way of Ken Burns. Demons on horseback and on foot had surrounded the last of the re-enactors’ tents and were spreading across the parking lot. They had fallen on the police cars and were smashing their windows, rocking the vehicles back and forth, setting fire to them.

A dozen additional state police cruisers arrived, and troopers began firing back at the attackers from behind their vehicles. One of the demons jumped his horse over a police car, swinging his saber down in a wild Pete Townshend-style swoop to lop the arm off the trooper below him. The horse’s hooves smashed the cruiser’s roof-lights, throwing showers of sparks across the pavement. Below him, the maimed trooper stood gaping at the jetting stump where his arm had once been.

“I came to speak to you,” Castiel said.

Judas affected a tone of sympathy.

“Then I’m sorry for your wasted trip.”

“It’s not wasted if I can help,” Castiel said, “and I will. But first I have to know if you’ve told me everything you can. You must tell me what you know.”

“I know this is difficult to hear,” Judas said, “but knowing what I do know about Him, I can honestly say that you should be grateful for your ignorance. It truly is bliss.”

Castiel looked at him. It was impossible to tell whether the demon was joking or not. Whatever the case, Judas was right. And he needed to get down there, and now, while there was still something left to save.

“Castiel?” Judas called out behind him as he resumed his patrol. “It was good to catch up. Don’t be a stranger.”