Archangel Evolution Read Online Free PDF Page A

. He was wiser, somehow. Ready to take his
place. Ready to take action and to do whatever was asked of
him.
    “The boy is right,” Dionysus admitted.
    Johanna was in one of her moods. She said,
“Then you’re wasting our time. You need to have the prospective new
Archangel Council members in attendance so we can consider them and
vote.”
    Dionysus stroked his chin. “Actually, they are here.”
    “You can’t be serious. These are children,”
Johanna growled.
    “And yet I trust them more than our fallen
brothers and sisters.”
    “That’s blasphemy!” Johanna roared.
    Dionysus managed to remain calm, choosing his
words carefully: “Johanna, I realize that my methods will appear
somewhat…unorthodox. However, the actions that I am about to
propose must be carried out immediately if we are to ensure
success. There is simply insufficient time to select additional
Council members from the general population, train them, initiate
them, and determine their trustworthiness. We have no choice but to
go with those who have already proven themselves worthy.”
    Johanna started to respond, but then
hesitated and held her tongue. She made eye contact with Sarah, who
said, “You’ll still need the support of one existing Archangel,
otherwise you’re outnumbered.”
    “Are you saying you disagree as well?”
    “I haven’t heard a proposal yet,” Sarah
said.
    “Ahh. You are correct. Despite the urgency of
the situation, we must adhere to the formalities required by our
office. I’ll give you a proposal: I propose that effective
immediately, Lucas, Cassandra, and David be sworn in as members of
the Archangel Council.”
    Out of the corner of his eye, Dionysus
watched for reactions from his nominees. Almost identical smiles of
victory exploded onto Lucas’s and Cassandra’s faces. Only the boy
remained stone-faced, without reaction, as if he had already
anticipated Dionysus’s proposal. Interesting , Dionysus
thought.
    On the other side of the table, Johanna
rolled her eyes, while Sarah scoffed. Only Percy seemed unaffected
by Dionysus’s declaration. Because he already knew about the
proposal. Because he had already agreed to it. Because he was
Dionysus’s secret weapon against the two female members of the
Council.
    Johanna said, “Surely you’re joking. Two of
your nominees are barely old enough to drive and the third may not
even be potty-trained.”
    Sarah said, “Can we check to see if he’s
wearing a diaper?”
    “SHUT YOUR INSOLENT MOUTHS!” David roared.
Shocked, all faces in the room turned towards the boy, who was
fuming. He was on his feet, arms dangling awkwardly in front of
him, his fingers curling into fists and then uncurling rapidly,
again and again. Face beet-red, his eyes were night-black and yet
were shining with rage.
    For once, Johanna and Sarah appeared to be
speechless, their mouths hanging open, gawking at the boy.
    In a much softer but just as sharp tone,
David said, “Percy, what is your vote?”
    Not expecting the question, Percy had trouble
speaking at first—his mouth opened and moved but no words came out.
Finally, he found his voice: “Well, I…uh, I vote to approve the
proposal.”
    Dionysus wanted to smile, but he couldn’t
seem to control the muscles in his face. Hiding emotions was
usually one of his many talents, but his interest in the boy’s
outburst was written all over his expression: eyes wide, eyebrows
raised, mouth formed into an O, head cocked slightly down.
    David made eye contact with him, a direct
stare that seemed to pierce him to the heart. The boy said, “Then
it is done, my lord.”
    Still struggling to gain control of himself,
Dionysus said, “Yes, it is. Sorry, Johanna, Sarah—we have a tie and
as Head of the Council, my vote breaks the tie. David, Lucas,
Cassandra: You will now be sworn in as members of the Archangel
Council.”
    An awkward silence followed and more than a
few glances were directed at the boy. He was sitting again, his
face no