Read Online Mercury Rises by Robert Kroese - Free Book Online Page A

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    "Hey, Perp," called Mercury as he spotted Perp's winged figure buzzing down the concourse of the planeport. "Still doing the baby-with-bird-wings thing, eh?"
    "Hmph," replied Perp as he changed directions to approach Mercury. "Just wait until the Renaissance. Then we'll see who's at the height of fashion."
    "The Ren-what?" Mercury asked.
    "Forget it," Perp said. "In this job, I hear stuff about Mundane history that you wouldn't believe."
    "Actually," said Mercury, "that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Have you heard about the flooding?"
    "Have I heard about the flooding!" Perp exclaimed. "It's all anybody's talking about. I must have escorted five hundred angels through here in the past two weeks, every one of them soaking wet and whining nonstop about the incessant rain on Earth. Lousy fair-weather cherubim, taking an assignment on the Mundane Plane because they thought it was going to be all puppies and rainbows. And now they all want transfers. Well you can't have a rainbow without rain!"
    "Maybe they're just in it for the puppies," suggested Mercury.
    "Hmph," replied Perp. "Herbs such as rosemary and eucalyptus can help repel fleas."
    "I guess I deserved that," said Mercury. "So have you heard anything about why it's raining so much? I just talked to Uzziel, and the Apocalypse Bureau is clueless."
    " Everybody's clueless," Perp whispered. "And you know what that means."
    Mercury didn't.
    "It means," whispered Perp, "that this cataclysm wasn't cleared through channels. The entire bureaucracy is out of the loop. In other words, it came down from on high ."
    "'On high?'" Mercury asked. "You mean the archangels?"
    "Shhh!" Perp hissed. "Higher. The order came from them ."
    There was only one them that Perp could mean: the legendary beings known as the Eternals, who were to the angels what angels were to humans. Mercury wasn't even certain they really existed, but the official story was that the Eternals provided guidance to the High Council of Seraphim, which was comprised of the archangels and a few senior members of the Seraphic Senate. Mercury had always suspected that the High Council perpetuated the belief in the Eternals to cover the fact that they were making things up as they went along.
    "Come on, Perp," Mercury said. "You don't really buy all that crap about the Eter---"
    "Shhh!" Perp hissed again. "Doubt if you like, but I know when the entire Heavenly bureaucracy is out of the loop on something. Now if you don't mind, I've got work to do. We've got a V.I.A. coming through this afternoon."
    "Ooh, who is it?" Mercury prodded. "A senator? Somebody from the Council?"
    Perp responded only with a look of disdain.
    "An archangel?" whispered Mercury. "Gabriel? Michael?"
    An expression of alarm swept across Perp's face.
    "Wow, Michael? God's own general?"
    "Quiet!" Perp hissed. "This is top-secret stuff. Only planeport security and a few key employees of Transport and Communications have been told. So keep your mouth shut!"
    "I want to meet him," said Mercury.
    "What? No! You can't meet Michael! He's passing through the planeport on official business. He doesn't have time to stop and sign autographs."
    "I don't want an autograph. I want to ask him what he knows about this rain."
    "I told you," said Perp irritably. "Nobody knows anything."
    "Then it won't hurt to ask."
    "Absolutely not," said Perp, folding his pudgy arms in front of his chest.
    "Fine," said Mercury. "Then I'm going to walk over to that information desk and ask that they page the Archangel Michael. Archangel Michael, please pick up the white courtesy phone ."
    "You can't do that!" Perp snapped. "That's a violation of security protocols."
    "How could I violate security protocols for something I have no way of knowing about? I mean, unless you told me. Wow, I bet you could get in trouble for something like that."
    "But I didn't tell you anything!" Perp protested.
    Mercury shrugged. "Well, you've got me convinced, but I'm a sympathetic audience."
    "OK,