"It is if you serve him," said Duugre apprehensively.
Lindraeus caught a glimpse of Fey's strange eyes-
Just before everything went dark again, as Fey's own light was extinguished willfully. And as darkness devoured the tavern, Duugre assumed the worst: That she was working with Mikael, and that this was it.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The shots rang out, and the flashes lit up the tavern three separate times. Lindraeus, to his horror, saw hands taking hold of the patron in front of him during the first flash. During the second, he felt like something was creeping up on him as well and instinctively ducked down. Immediately after the last flash, there was a grunt and a spark, and something warm and wet dripped onto Lindraeus' cloak.
Silence filled in the blanks for a moment, then the candles reignited themselves, just before Lindraeus could manually light one. Only three people were left now: Duugre, Fey, and himself.
"This'll have to do, I suppose," said Mikael. The Angel stepped out from around a pillar, but there was something weird about the way he looked.
"It's you. Mikael," replied Duugre, taking a step back.
Lindraeus also backed away, but further than the demon. This was bad. Very bad. He personally knew Mikael from the Province Chapter of the Will of Divinity. He tried to stay the furtherest away, keeping Duugre and Fey in front of him and thus the center of attention.
"In a way," conceded the Angel. "As the past has shown, it is necessary to take precautions during these stages. Know that this is dangerous for both you and me, so the feeling must be mutual."
Mikael flickered. This wasn't the Angel in the flesh, but rather an image of him, projected from a small device nestled against the pillar he stepped out from earlier.
He smiled when he turned his holographic gaze onto Fey. "And what luck, hmm? To find two of you in the exact same spot."
Duugre took an apprehensive look at Fey, while Lindraeus' jaw dropped; the rogue Angel was surprised he never saw it at first, but now he knew exactly what Mikael was talking about. All of a sudden, everything made sense to him.
"What are you goin' on about?" growled Duugre. Then, in a much louder voice, demanded of him, "What do you want with me??"
Mikael snickered in an amused fashion, then answered, "It's not what I want of you; it's what you've been waiting for all of your life."
"Make some sense!" Duugre insisted.
"Very eager, I see. That's a good sign of progress and potential." Mikael then looked to Fey and asked, "And you? Are you eager to know? You know what I'm talking about, but you just can't put it into words, can you?"
Duugre once again took a look at Fey, wondering how she would answer. Mikael believed them to be related in some way, and Duugre knew of the ghost question he was asked Fey, for he felt it too; that nigh-indescribable, inescapable feeling of being an incomplete puzzle.
"Don't worry," continued Mikael. "This night will change both of your lives forever. I think you are ready. But first, for my protection..." Then, the image ordered aloud, "Come in!"
The previously locked front doors opened, and in came Tangent. The Outcast's face looked torn and distraught, very likely forced against his will to do as he was bidden.
But the door was kept open, and another Outcast Angel entered the tavern. She also wore a brown overcoat, her flesh was pale and scarred, and her eyes were a bright yellow just like Tangent. However, she had four long tentacles growing out of her back and only one severely mangled, molted, and shrunken wing hanging onto her form. Her right arm was not a tentacle as Tangent's was, but ended in a mouth that was the palm of her right hand, her ends of her fingers being fangs rather than fingernails. Her left arm was normal, but the back of her hand was heavily engraved with overlapping scars. Her wild hair was a greasy black and was a long as Tangent's own, down to the shoulderblades.
Both Tangent and the female Outcast stood side-by-side, their faces graven with uneasiness. They made no movements toward any of three, but stood their ground like a living wall.