As they strolled past the Great Gates, through which the procession had entered that morning, Ramael told her more about his conversation with Lord Michael.

"He's afraid Lord Lucifer will attempt to sabotage the plan."

"All he wants is a discussion."

"And then he intends to map out a strategy of opposition. That's what he told you."

"Right. What's wrong with that?"

"Lord Michael has also noticed Lord Lucifer has been easily angered recently. He, too, fears Lord Lucifer is losing control of his emotions."

"But. . ."

"He is concerned Lord Lucifer may be allowing himself to be swayed too much by his emotions. Since he has little experience controlling them, he may start something he will not be able to control. His emotional state and his plans for a discussion remind Lord Michael of Robiel's rebellion. You recall what happened then?"

"Of course. Robiel opposed the creation of the powers. He believed we should be angels and, if not, then we should be forced to adopt their way of life, even though we are not born to it. He formed an army to support his belief."

"Exactly. Lord Michael told me it all began with an emotional appeal during a discussion at the Inst.i.tute."

"Not every academic discussion leads to an armed uprising, Ramael. Most such discussions are talk, and nothing other than talk. Really boring talk, in fact. No rebellion will be planned at the Inst.i.tute tomorrow afternoon."

"Robiel's insurrection began with boring talking, and then it escalated."

"I'm sure nothing like that will happen. Lord Lucifer is certainly arrogant, but he's mostly bl.u.s.ter. Underneath, he's a creampuff, as long as you don't interfere with his work."

She suddenly giggled. "Can you even imagine Lord Lucifer and Lord Michael meeting on a field of battle? I can picture Lord Lucifer's hand becoming entangled in his academic hood as he tries to draw his sword."

Ramael laughed as she demonstrated how it might happen.

"It does sound ridiculous," he conceded, "but Lord Michael is concerned. We'll have extra guards out tomorrow, and I want you to be careful."

"Should I skip the discussion?"

Ramael shrugged. "Go if you want. In fact, it might be a good thing. If Lord Lucifer exaggerates when he describes the plan, you might be able to pull him back on track."

They walked on in silence. As they approached their house, Adryel giggled.

"Do you think Lord Lucifer was embarra.s.sed tonight in the garden?"

"Certainly. He's an archangel."

"What would have happened if he had not coughed?"

Ramael chuckled. "It might have been interesting. Can an archangel have a heart attack?"

"You're horrible." Adryel playfully swatted his arm. "Lord Lucifer is not as bad as he appears. And, you are correct, he does have feelings."

"That's what worries Lord Michael."

They reached their house and stopped beside the door. Ramael placed his arms around her and kissed her.

"Why don't you set the guard later," she whispered.

Ramael smiled. "Don't fall asleep. I won't be long at all."

An Academic Discussion.

Adryel yawned as she closed the door and made her way to the bathroom. After heating water for her bath, she filled the tub, and sprinkled petals of lavender across the surface. Then, she slipped off her robe and stepped into the water, closing her eyes as she drew a deep breath, the calming fragrance filling her lungs. She stretched, reaching high above her head, and then bending over so that her hands sank beneath the surface, caressing her feet. Finally, she lowered herself into the tub, allowing her body to be enveloped by the warmth of the water.

Half an hour later, completely relaxed, she stepped out of the tub and toweled dry. Then she stretched out on their bed, hoping Ramael would return soon.

She smiled as she gazed absently at the shadows dancing across the ceiling. Some nights when she lay awake, she would try to identify objects in the shadows, everything from an angel dancing a jig to a candle flickering in front of a mirror. Tonight all she found were intricate patterns and abstract designs.

Her mind wandered to Lord Lucifer. He had been shocked, she supposed, not so much at finding two powers about to make love in the garden-in angels' minds that would have been typical of the powers-but at discovering that she was one of them.

At the Inst.i.tute she projected an air of total rationality. Her cla.s.ses in logic were over-subscribed. At faculty meetings, her presentations reflected una.s.sailable reasoning. She was seldom bested in a debate.

Even so, Lord Lucifer had never acknowledged her intellect. While her appointments to the faculty and as secretary to the council implied his endors.e.m.e.nt, some suspected they were hers solely because of her gender. She was one of only two female faculty members at the Inst.i.tute and the only female ever to be secretary to the council.

Adryel suspected that intellectually she was Lord Lucifer's equal and that his refusal to acknowledge her was simply a way to leave her a step beneath him. As a result, his interest in having her attend his meeting pleased her, especially his effort to find her tonight rather than mentioning it to her in pa.s.sing tomorrow morning.

She giggled as she imagined his face peeking from behind the bush. Powers and angels were certainly different. While angels and archangels had few emotions to begin with, some, like Lord Lucifer, went even further, learning techniques to quash even the weak feelings they did experience. Others, like Lord Michael, were content with the limited emotions with which they had been born. Lord Michael even smiled occasionally.

Powers, on the other hand, were born with strong emotions, and they typically made no effort to suppress them. Adryel, though, actually had considered taking the angels' advanced training. She had even consulted Lord Lucifer, searching for a tutor. It would not have made her one of them, her red hair and glowing skin would have given her away, but they would have taken her more seriously and accepted her more easily.

Then she had met Ramael. He had sat next to her in the symbolic-logic cla.s.s that was required of all second-year students at the Inst.i.tute. He was as bright as she, but not as flashy. He would help her prepare for debates, and then he would cheer and clap for her as though he'd had no role at all in her success.

Ramael had also talked with her about everyday things, not just academic questions. He took her on walks, cooked dinner for her, told jokes. He discovered she enjoyed painting, and he spent long hours sitting beside her, reading while she worked. He had teased her into smiling, and taught her it was all right to laugh, to cry, even to throw things when she felt angry.

Her face had glowed so brightly on their pairing night that she had been certain the entire neighborhood would have been able to extinguish their candles.

The memories made her happy, and when she heard Ramael enter the house her heart began to race. He would come to bed soon, and that made her happier still.

Ramael had gone when she awoke the next morning. She breakfasted, and then set out for the Inst.i.tute, humming softly as she walked through the city.

Crossing Palace Square she noticed that extra guards had indeed been posted. Four stood at each entrance to the palace, rather than two. Other guards patrolled the perimeter of the square, and, glancing up, she spied a dozen on one section of the wall where she typically saw two or three.

She shivered. If Lord Michael had instructed Ramael to post this many guards he surely must expect something really bad to happen.

As she approached the Inst.i.tute, one of Ramael's guards rushed past, almost colliding with her. She heard a commotion ahead, angry voices, shouting. Rounding a corner, she spied a mob of angels swarming around the front gate of the college. As she hurried toward the crowd, she recognized most of them as students. They were shouting and shaking their fists at two powers who stood by the gate. Their red sashes and swords identified the powers as members of the city guard.

"No guards on campus," one of the students screamed. "Go back to your pen, pigs."

Both guards appeared to be young, about the same ages as the students who surrounded them. One held his body-length shield in front of him, covering all but his head, reminding Adryel of a turtle who had hidden his entire body inside his hard, protective sh.e.l.l. The other had drawn his sword and was pointing it at a tall angel who was berating the guard loudly. The angel held a large rock in his hand and seemed to be creeping closer and closer to the guard. The guard's eyes were locked on the student, and he seemed on the verge of springing forward to strike.

Not a good situation.

Adryel pushed her way through the crowd, stepping around those who would not move aside to let her pa.s.s.

The guard turned toward her, pointing his sword in her direction. "Stop where you are."

Behind her, the students chanted, "Pigs off campus. Pigs off campus."

Adryel held up her hands to show they were empty and she meant no harm. "I won't hurt you. I'm a professor. Why are you here? Guards are never posted at the Inst.i.tute."

"We were posted here this morning. To maintain order."

"Worked really well." Adryel looked around at the throng, which continued to grow as more students arrived for cla.s.s.

"Piggy, piggy, piggy," a voice called from the crowd.

Another response came from students standing atop the seven meter high wall that surrounded the Inst.i.tute. "Oink, oink, oink."

"There were three of us. I sent one for reinforcements."

"Piggy, piggy, piggy."

"Oink, oink, oink."

The student who was holding the large rock had continued to advance, creeping forward while the guard and Adryel talked. As the student lifted the rock above his head, the guard sprang between him and Adryel, hacking at him with his sword, ripping his robe and slicing across his chest. The crowd roared in anger as the student dropped the rock and collapsed on the pavement.

"Kill them. Kill them all," the crowd roared.

The guard pulled Adryel behind his shield. He turned his head, scanning the area, a look of panic on his face. Then he raised his sword, pointing down the street. "The reinforcements. They're coming now."

Adryel followed his eyes and saw what she guessed were twenty-five armed guards trotting toward them.

A stone sailed through the air, shattering on the wall behind them.

Adryel ran toward the crowd, waving her arms, calling for quiet. "You know me," she shouted. "I'm Adryel, Professor of Philosophy. Some of you are my students. Your behavior is an uncalled-for disruption of the peace of the city, and of the Inst.i.tute. Disperse at once. Go to your cla.s.ses. Go to-"

"Piggy, piggy, piggy."

"No guards on campus!"

"Oink, oink, oink."

The chants drowned the sound of her voice, and she gave up.

The reinforcements arrived, pushing through the crowd, shoving students aside and knocking several to the ground. They formed a line that stretched from one side of the entrance to the other, cutting the students off from the safety of the walls.

CLANG. CLANG.

Adryel instinctively ducked as stones shattered against the guards' shields.

CLANG.

The first guard pulled Adryel back to safety behind his shield, and she huddled there, trembling.

"Sooey. Sooey," a student shouted.

"Here, piggy, piggy." The refrain swept back from the wall.

"Forward." The guard who appeared in command of the squad of reinforcements pointed, and they began to advance. Nudging the students away from Adryel and the two guards huddled at the gate, they herded them down the street, away from the Inst.i.tute.

The students dug in their heels. They pounded on the guards' shields.

"Filthy power-tripping sc.u.m!"

The guards continued to advance by half steps, pushing forward, not pausing even when one student attempted to stand his ground and was struck by one of the heavy, iron shields. The student toppled over, screaming in pain as he was trampled under the guards' thick, leather boots.

"Guards off campus. Guards off campus."

The chanting continued as another group of sentries appeared a block away, behind the mob. They, too, formed a line and began to advance. The students quickly realized they were surrounded, pinned between the two groups. Cries of distress now mingled with the shouts of anger. As Adryel peeked to see what was happening, both groups of guards halted, their lines but six meters apart.

"They're going to kill us," one student shouted, and another barrage of stones banged against the shields. One barely missed Adryel's face. The students cheered as one struck a guard on the side of his head. The student who had thrown the rock raised his arms and danced in victory before being struck with a shield and knocked to the ground. Insults rained down from the wall. Two others-Adryel didn't recognize them, but supposed them to be students-reached under their robes and withdrew knives, brandishing them in the guards' faces.

"Draw swords!"

As the sound of metal sliding across metal filled the air, the students raced, first in one direction, then the other, back and forth between the lines, screaming in terror when they found no way to escape.

"Wait," Adryel cried. She started toward them, but the guard who had protected her caught her arm.

"Forward." The commander pointed.

"Let me go." She struggled against the guard who held her.

"Please, I don't want to die," a student wailed.

"They're just school kids," Adryel screamed. "Don't hurt them."

The guards hesitated, and, as Adryel jerked away and dashed between the lines, Lord Lucifer stalked through the gate. Ignoring the guards, he stepped in front of their line and called for quiet.

"I share your outrage," he said to the students. "Lord Michael has posted soldiers at our school as if such action can control our minds and sway our hearts. We will not cower at this threat of brute force."

"No guards on campus," one of the students screamed. "Tell them, Lord Lucifer."

"These angels," he motioned at the guards, "have no quarrel with you."

"They're armed."