When Angels Fall Read online

Even his voice was beautiful, but she couldn’t bring herself to care right now.

  “Look, please try to understand. I’ve buried my mom today, and been attacked twice; not to mention the weirdness of… you,” she said, waving her hand in his direction. “So forgive me if I don’t feel like having a conversation right now. I’m tired, and more than ready for this day to be over. Thanks for helping me and all, but I just want you to leave,” she said, as politely as she could manage.

  “It’s important,” he said, completely ignoring her request for him to get out.

  “Fine! You want to talk to me?” she asked, finally snapping. “Then why don’t you start by telling me why you’re fucking naked?” she yelled.

  She didn’t really expect an answer, so was stunned at the words that fell from his mouth.

  “When you fall from Heaven, you do so nude,” he said. “I’m sorry if it offends you, but I haven’t had time to find clothing yet.”

  “Did you just say you fell from Heaven?” she asked, hoping against all hope that she’d heard him wrong.

  “Yes,” he said calmly. “I am an Angel of God.”

  Well, damn. He was a lunatic…and he was in her house. Would this day never end? What had she done to deserved all this? She was regretting her decision not to call the police from the pay phone in the hotel parking lot. She threw herself from the couch and made a break for the kitchen phone.

  She didn’t make it. She’d only run a couple of feet before he grabbed her around the waist and jerked her up against him.

  “Your name is Danielle Renee Coulter; your mother’s name was Ann Marie; your grandmother’s name was Mary Mabel; and her mother’s name was Katherine Grace. You were born and raised in this town,” he said. “I am an Angel of the Lord, and I need to talk to you.”

  She didn’t know how he knew all of that about her and her family, and she didn’t really care. She just wanted him to put her down. If that meant she had to listen to what this nutcase had to say, then so be it.

  Anything to get him out of her house, and then she really was going to call the police. She didn’t know if he was dangerous, but he was definitely delusional. Someone needed to see about him and get him some help.

  “If I listen to you, will you leave?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Fine, I’ll listen to you. Now put me down, and get your di…your man parts, off of me,” she said, realizing that she could feel the heat of him through the back of her jeans.

  “Thank you,’ he said, setting her back on her feet, and turning her to face him. “Sit down.”

  She didn’t particularly care for being told to sit down in her own house, but humored him by flopping down on the couch.

  “I know what I’m about to tell you will be hard for you to believe, but you must believe me; your life, and the fate of all mankind depends on you,” he said in a monotone voice.

  The fate of all mankind depends on her? Fabulous; and he thought he was an angel, which made him a religious freak. That, in and of itself, could make him dangerous.

  She’d seen some of mother’s most devout friends get all riled up if someone didn’t agree with their religious point of view; and none of them thought they were an Angel of the Lord.

  “Wait,” she said, and stood up.

  She walked to the hall closet and pulled out an old pair of her grandfather’s jeans. Her Grandma Mabel had cleared most of her grandfather’s things out of the house after he’d died, but the clothes in the closet had stayed. When her grandmother died, Dani’s mom had considered tossing them out, but couldn’t bring herself to part with the last of her father’s things.

  Her grandfather had been a big man, and Dani thought his pants might fit the Angel of the Lord that was standing, ass out, in her living room. It was a no go on a shirt, though. Her grandfather’s shoulders hadn’t been nearly as wide as the angel’s.

  “Here,” she said, walking back into the room and tossing him the pants. “Try those on for size.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” he said in the same deadpan tone.

  “Look, I don’t know where you’re really from, but here in the South we consider it rude to wag your wang in a lady’s face. And, I’m not listening to one word you have to say until you put it away.”

  “Fine,” he said.

  He slid the pants up his legs and struggled to do up the button fly. He looked back up at her with eyes the color of blue fire once he was done. One black curl hung over his forehead making him every bit as beautiful as the angel he claimed to be. It was too bad he was crazy. He could’ve had one hell of a modeling career.

  “Are you happy?” he asked. “Can we talk now?”

  “By all means, please tell me how the fate of the world depends on me. The suspense is killing me,” she said.

  “You’re being sarcastic,” he said.

  “Very good, now get on with it,” she said.

  She glanced at the wall clock: 12:08 a.m. The day had ended, and the next day was starting to look like it wasn’t going to be any better. Hopefully, he’d be brief, but she wasn’t going to hold her breath.

  Chapter Two

  1.

  Gabriel studied the face of the woman that sat before him, trying to determine the best way to tell her that life as she knew it was over. He decided to just tell her straight out what was going on, and hope she wouldn’t be a child about it.

  “Come on, already,” Danielle said impatiently.

  Gabriel really didn’t care for this woman at all; he found her to be rude, condescending, and crude. She had deep green eyes and long dark red hair. She was beautiful from a human perspective, but he understood why she wasn’t married.

  With her attitude it would be nearly impossible to find a husband that would be willing to put up with her. But she was the last Daughter of God and Gabriel was sworn to protect her.

  “Your story starts with Mary, mother of Jesus Christ,” he started.

  “Mary Christ; gottcha’, please continue,” Dani said.

  Gabriel stared at her for several seconds before he started talking again.

  “God put his seed into Mary to create who everyone now knows was Jesus. There is a reason for everything God does. He impregnated Mary to protect the whole of humanity; His greatest and most loved creation. As long as the Blood of God walked the Earth, humanity’s future was secure,” he explained.

  “But that would mean that any protection that God had afforded to humans died with Jesus when he was crucified. That was over two thousand years ago. That’s a long time to leave your most beloved toy just hanging in the wind, isn’t it?” she asked. “No, wait…let me guess; Jesus really was resurrected and he still walks amongst us today, right?”

  “Wrong,” he said. “Now stop interrupting.”

  She looked at him like she wanted to say something else, but she held her tongue.

  “Jesus was sent here to die; to serve his purpose by bringing peoples faith back to God; and he did that. But, the blood Jesus carried in his veins was not the only blood of God on Earth. When God impregnated Mary, she became Holy; infused with God’s essence; his blood.

  “After giving birth to Jesus, Mary had one more offspring, a female child. That child also carried the blood of God. When that child had a daughter of her own, the bloodline passed to her.

  “This continued through the following generations; from mother to daughter. A cycle that would continue until the blood of God passed on to you; the last woman on Earth to carry the royal blood of God,” he said.

  “I see where you’re going with this,” Dani said.

  “No,” he said. “You don’t.”

  “Sure I do,” she said. “You’re going to tell me that you need to have sex with me to get me pregnant. That, if I don’t, humanity will be lost forever.”

  He just looked at her; completely stunned.

  “Mate with you; a human?” he asked, sounding utterly disgusted. “You must be joking.”

 
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she said, sounding slightly offended.

  “An angel and a human…it’s just not done. We’re not even the same species; not even from the same plain of existence. It’s unthinkable that an angel would lower himself to that level,” he said.

  Now she looked angry, but he didn’t understand why. He hadn’t said anything untrue.

  “Lower yourself?” she asked condescendingly. “So you think you’re better than me; better than humans?”

  “I am better than you. I am an Angel of the Lord, and you are merely a human. There is no comparison,” Gabriel stated.

  “If you’re so much better then me, then why are you here? Why did you help me tonight? Shouldn’t you be up in Heaven playing a harp or knitting new robes for God; or whatever it is you do when you’re not down here insulting me?”

  This was why Gabriel didn’t like coming to Earth. Humans were ungrateful by nature. Rudeness must be encoded in their DNA. He was an angel! She was supposed to fear him; to be in awe of him.

  He was here to protect her, and she was doing all she could to make him want to kill her himself! If God had wanted to punish him, then saddling him with this woman was the perfect way to go about it.

  “I’m here because I have no choice,” he said. “I’m on a mission from God to protect you, and to kill Lucifer. Since you have, so far, refused to have a child, his death is the only way to insure humanity’s continued existence on Earth.”

  “You’re here to kill Lucifer; as in Lucifer the Devil?” she asked politely.

  Finally, he was getting through that small human brain of hers.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “I see,” she said, rising from the couch, and walking to the front door. “Get out.”

  “Excuse me?” he asked.

  2.

  “Get out of my house! I’ve listened to what you had to say, and I’ve determined that you need to get some help. There is a place right down the street from here called Center Stone.

  “It’s a mental health facility that will be more that happy to treat you for free. You should give them a call; immediately. Now get out of my house,” she said, and opened the front door.

  The smell that hit her in the face when she opened the door was almost strong enough to knock her off her feet. It was the smell of decay that she’d smelled on her attacker’s breath at the cemetery, mixed with the smell of burned matches. It was strong to the point of overwhelming, and it immediately struck fear in her heart.

  She slammed the door, and turned back to the crazy man behind her. His eyes were closed, but she could see them moving behind his eyelids. She attempted to take a deep calming breath, but the stench had saturated the air inside the house. She tried to convince herself that the crazy man’s story had just freaked her out.

  She hadn’t slept in days, so it wouldn’t be too hard to mess with her mind. Dani tried to convince herself that this was the case, but she failed.

  The problem was that she knew what made matches smell that way when you struck them; it was the sulfur. Sulfur was synonymous with Hell. Any kid that ever went to Sunday school could tell you that.

  One half of her brain; the sane half, said that this was impossible. It said that there were no angels, no Devil, no God, and no Hell. The other half of her brain was telling her to run; to get as far away from here as she possibly could, because if any of this crazy man’s story was true, then she was screwed, because her angel had fallen back into the same catatonic state he’d been in when she’d left him in the hotel room.

  She wanted to give in to the urge to run, but she couldn’t get her legs to move. Her feet might as well be nailed to the floor for all the good they were doing her. And the smell was getting stronger, like it was now coming from inside the house itself. The lights started flickering in the old chandelier hanging from the 12’ living room ceiling.

  She was at the point of screaming when the angel dropped to one knee and, head down, raised his right arm above his head. Something big and shiny broke through the front window and flew into his outstretched hand. It was a sword; a huge silver sword at least 5’ long.

  As soon as the sword touched his hand, the angel flexed his shoulders forward. Dani would never, for as long as she lived, forget what happened next. Wings; enormous golden wings tipped in white, unfurled from the angel’s back. He sprang to his feet, and turned to her.

  3.

  “Get over here,” Gabriel commanded.

  Thankfully, she didn’t hesitate; she pulled her feet from the floor, ran over and stood before him. He put his hand on the top of her head, and crushed her to the floor.

  “Stay there, and don’t move,” he ordered.

  She didn’t argue with him. She may not understand exactly what was going on, but he could see she knew something was amiss.

  Gabriel stood stock still as a foul, noxious mist started to swirl in the spot Danielle had been standing in just moments ago. He saw her watch in horror and amazement as the mist swirled, then solidified into a fully formed man.

  At first glance, he looked like a perfectly normal man; and he wasn’t naked. Danielle could at least appreciate that. The demon was wearing jeans, tennis shoes and a Kiss a Pig t-shirt with a picture of a pig’s ass on the front of it. But when you looked into his face you couldn’t miss noticing the glowing orange eyes and the thin tendrils of black smoke coming from his nostrils.

  “Well, shit,” the demon said when he looked at Gabriel.

  Black smoke curled from his mouth when he spoke.

  “Vetis,” Gabriel said. “I’d like to say it’s nice to see you again, but I think we both know that’s not the case.”

  “We didn’t think you would actually come,” Vetis said.

  “Surprise,” Gabriel said.

  “Look,” Vetis said. “I know you despise humans more than the rest of us, so why don’t you hand over the girl and let this science experiment end. What do you say?”

  “I say no,” Gabriel said. “I don’t defy the orders of God.”

  “Sure you do. Isn’t defying God’s orders what brought you here today?” Vetis asked.

  “Yes, it is,” Gabriel said. “And I intend to rectify that situation as soon as possible.”

  “You’re not strong enough to defeat Lucifer,” Vetis said, “He’ll kill you.”

  “Maybe, but you won’t be around to see it,” Gabriel said. “Good-bye, Vetis.”

  Gabriel used one golden wing to sweep Vetis to him. He raised his sword and drove the blade into Vetis’s heart. Gabriel pulled the blade from Vetis’s chest, and fire shot from the wound. The flames spread up and down his body until it completely consumed him.

  Then, in a foul cloud of smoke, Vetis was gone. The only sign that he had been there was the lingering smell of sulfur, and a scorch mark on the carpet.

  4.

  “Are you alright?” the angel asked.

  “I think so,” Dani said, as he pulled her to her feet. “Was that…that man, he was…was he a….”

  “A demon?” he asked. “Yes, he was; and there are many more where he came from. Can I assume that you’re now willing to take this seriously?”

  “Yes,” Dani said. “Absolutely. Just tell me what’s going on, and what I need to do.”

  “So now you want to hear what I have to say?” the angel asked.

  “I said yes, didn’t I? What do you want? A hand written apology? Tell me what to do!”

  “To start with, you can stop shouting at me, and show me a little respect,” the angel said. “Then you can sit back down and listen to me.”

  She glared at him, but sat back on the couch as he instructed. If she had to put up with him to get through this alive, then she would find a way to muddle through, but she really didn’t like him. She found him to be superior in his attitude, unsympathetic, and rude. She could see why he was sent to Earth; they probably couldn’t put up with him in Heaven.

  Heaven! There really was a Heaven! As much as she th
ought she would never believe in such a place, she believed it now. And she believed this angel had come from there to save her and the human race. All these things were going through her mind when another thought popped into her head. Her mom!

  “Did my mother go to Heaven?”

  “That’s not important now,” he said. “We have more pressing matters to discuss.”

  “It’s important to me,” she said. “I’d like to know that all the faith she had and all the going to church that she did wasn’t for nothing.”

  “Yes, your mother went to Heaven, just as you will after your time on Earth has ended,” the angel said.

  “Do you decide who goes to Heaven or Hell?” she asked suspiciously.

  “No, I do not. Those decisions are for God and God alone,” he said.

  “Then how can you possibly know that I’m going to Heaven? What if I murder someone? Wouldn’t that put me on the ‘no entry’ list?”

  “No, it wouldn’t,” he said. “It wouldn’t matter if you were a serial slayer of newborn children; all that carry the blood of God goes to Heaven.”

  “Well that doesn’t seem fair. I should have to be judged like anyone else,” she said.

  “Finally,” he said. “Something we agree on; now can we continue?”

  “Sorry,” Dani said, and rested her tired head on the back of the couch. “Go ahead.”

  Chapter Three

  1.

  “Please pay attention this time. What I’m telling you is vaguely important to the current situation,” he said.

  Danielle pulled her knees up to her chest, folded her hands and rested her chin on them, “I’m one big eardrum.”

  He sat down on the opposite end of the couch and pinched the bridge of his nose. Even after everything that had happened; everything she’d had seen, she still couldn’t stop being what humans referred to as a smartass.

  He closed his eyes, took another quick look around the perimeter of the house to make sure there wouldn’t be anymore surprises, and then continued his story.

  “You remember I told you that you’re the last human on Earth to carry the Blood of God?” he asked.