Mercury Rises Read Online Free PDF

thunder for weeks, and now, out of the blue..."
    "You've been trying to get it to thunder?"
    "A little side project I've been working on," Mercury admitted. "I always thought it would be neat to be able to make a grave pronouncement and have it punctuated with thunder. You know, something like, 'You shall pay dearly for eating the last chicken dumpling!'"
    Thunder rumbled obediently in the distance.
    "Oh, I do like that!" Tiamat exclaimed. "Let me try again." She cleared her throat and growled, "I shall cast you and your descendents to twelve generations to your deaths off the top of the highest ziggurat!"
    A light drizzle began to fall. Tiamat frowned.
    "I think maybe you used too many prepositional phrases," ventured Mercury. "Keep it simple, like 'Stop teasing your sister or I'll turn this oxcart around!'"
    Thunder boomed again, closer this time.
    "Forget it," grumbled Tiamat. "I don't need cheap parlor tricks to make my point."
    "Or do you?" Mercury asked, an ominous tone in his voice. There was another rumbling in the distance.
    "Stop that!" Tiamat barked.
    "Stop what?" asked Mercury spookily. "I'm not doing anything ." There was a flash of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder.
    "Damn you, I said stop it! If you persist, I shall boil you in oil until you cry to the heavens for mercy!"
    The rain intensified slightly.
    "Huh," said Mercury. "I honestly thought you nailed it with that one."
    They watched out the window as the rain continued to fall harder and harder.
    "Quarry's gonna flood again," said Mercury.
    Tiamat nodded.
    A few minutes later, he spoke again. "Probably the kilns as well."
    Tiamat nodded again. Shouts arose throughout the city as streets turned into rivers. The sound of fists banging against wood could be heard below them.
    "Did you remember to lock the palace doors?" Tiamat asked.
    "Yep."
    A moat began to form around the palace.
    "Second-floor windows?" Tiamat asked.
    "Yep."
    Mud-brick houses deteriorated in the torrent. The city's wretched denizens slogged desperately against the current to get to higher ground. As the water rose higher and higher, it became clear that only one place would be safe.
    "Look at them, scurrying up the ziggurat like ants!" Tiamat laughed. "Pathetic!"
    "Yeah, about that..." said Mercury.
    "What?"
    "If this rain keeps up, the palace will be underwater in a couple of days. We might want to look into reserving some space on the ziggurat."
    "It would take quite a flood to submerge this palace," Tiamat said. "Every living thing that moves on the Earth would perish. I doubt it will come to that."
    "And if it does, and the top of the ziggurat is full?"
    Tiamat smiled wickedly. "Why, then we'll..."
    "I know, I know," said Mercury wearily. "Throw some people off the ziggurat."

FIVE
     
    Los Angeles was a revelation to Eddie Pratt. He had been in Ireland for so long that he had begun to think of the Mundane Plane as an endless landscape of moss, cobblestones, and fog. Southern California was warm and dry, and the oppressive fog of Cork had been supplanted by a pleasant brownish haze that hung in the distance like a cozy blanket hugging the city. As an angel Eddie was immune to lung cancer, emphysema, and stray bullets, but not, it turned out, to depression and ennui. Driving down Rodeo Drive in a rented BMW convertible, he scolded himself for not daring to abandon his post earlier. No wonder they called this the City of the Angels.
    After checking into his suite at the Wilshire, Eddie had procured the BMW on his newly acquired expense account and spent the next several hours driving around the city, admiring---and, he hoped, being admired by---the beautiful people. At two p.m., he strode into the executive conference room on the fifteenth floor of the Beacon Building wearing aviator sunglasses and a forest green velour jumpsuit that he thought made him look stylish while retaining comfort. He was half right.
    Wanda Kwan introduced him as "the man behind the success of Charlie