The Gathering

XIV: Liars by Omission

"So, son, where do you plan on sleeping tonight?" the man behind the cash register asked Jonah. While he was in the washroom, Jonah had experienced another new – earthly – sensation. A sharp pain in his stomach accompanied by a loud gurgling sound. He was hungry. Jonah browsed the aisle full of snack foods, looking for his first meal.

"Oh..." Jonah hadn't thought about sleep... but he sure was tired, and he could tell by the tone of the question that the man didn't want Jonah sleeping here. "I'm not sure, I guess outside somewhere. I just have to be here at the ninth hour."

"You mean nine in the morning?" questioned Margaret, who was almost certainly contemplating a phone call to the police. Jonah selected a bag of potato chips, they seemed as good as anything else. As he ripped the bag open, the smell of greasy fry oil released into his nostrils.

Jonah had never understood the concept or the appeal of eating before, then again, Jonah had never been hungry before. He devoured the potato chips like a barely restrained wild animal. He understood the appeal the second the cheap, oily chip hit his taste buds.

"You're going to have to pay for that." The man said, growing frustrated with Jonah. "Three ninety-nine plus tax!" he announced. Jonah paused. 'Money...' he realized his mistake. The concept of money was not alien to him, as angels tended to barter amongst themselves for non-essential goods. But as for earth currency... Jonah had none.

"I am so sorry." Jonah said, fiddling with the empty bag, "I... don't have any money." The man looked irate, but Margaret leaned to him.

"Calm down, Marion, I'll pay for 'em. Little bastard's my problem." His name was Marion – namesake of the store. Jonah took note. "Listen, kid. I'll buy you some food, but I'm gonna need answers. Because you clearly need some help and it wouldn't be very Christian of me to let you freeze your ass off." Jonah was grateful for Margaret's kindness, he really was... he just wasn't sure what kind of answers would satisfy her justifiable curiosity.

"Why do you think I need help?"

Margaret scoffed, "Honey, when I see a scrawny-lookin' kid covered in dirt and dried blood, dressed as some kinda goddamn gladiator, about to die of hypothermia, I know he needs help." She had him there...

...

As tried to move his hands in vain, the bronze restraint bar between them forbade much movement. He was being paraded through the streets by Raphael and two other archangels he didn't recognize. He was sure everyone was looking at him, wondering what he did to deserve this treatment... he was wondering the same thing. He had told Gabriel the truth, his memory of the day's events was foggy at best. The shock combined with the obstructed vision of Sera and Jonah's fight made his recollection almost useless. They went out from the Military District into the Central District, over to a medium-sized ovular sandstone building with a large, stained-glass dome on its roof. The Observatory...

He was marched through the gates and into the main hall where Raphael greeted a woman in a white cloak. "Hahasiah." He nodded to her, "Interrogation, Gabriel's orders." The woman, apparently Hahasiah, slowly nodded. Her face was completely obscured by the white hood with golden trimmings. "The last week, anything notable or deceptive." Another silent nod. As had never seen this woman before... which is almost impossible in Beulah, there were only so many angels.

As was led deeper into the observatories gilded interior, dark cherry wood panels adorned every wall. The hallways and corridors were deserted, save for the occasional empath, clad in her usual blood-red cloak. "In here." Gabriel pushed As through a set of double doors, into a circular room. A single wooden chair in the center. As looked up, the most incredible feat of glasswork he had ever seen sprawled above him. The stained-glass dome was breathtaking. Every color of the visible spectrum was well represented. The scene it displayed was the night sky itself, stylized. The moon, the sun, every planet in the solar system, every constellation, and every comet was displayed with striking beauty. Any ray of light that shone through the glass was prismed into a million speckles of rainbow that illuminated the room below.