Raphael paused before the fifth wall which, unlike the other four, had burn marks which still bled through the paint even though it had been painted over many times. Hastily dabbed splotches of weeds and vermin marred what would have otherwise been a breathtaking room. Raphael had been through this hallway twice before, but both times he'd been so excited that he'd never noticed the fifth wall depicted a missing species.
"Who were they?" Raphael asked.
Jophiel's eyes were troubled. "Nobody knows. The Emperor refuses to talk about them."
They moved down a hallway to where two fierce Cherubim guards stood before an enormous door, their long, bladed naginata crossed to bar casual entrance. Raphael's feathers rustled in a nervous shiver. Even though he had committed no act to fear the defen
