the fact that he’s probably right. The clear impossibility of us ever
winning this insane war against the angels is something my brothers and I never
discuss. It’s always with us though, sitting just below the surface, like a
pool of molten lava waiting for our resolve to crack just a little.
Gem and I spoke of this once. He
told me, “For every angel you and your brothers take down, three more rise up.”
He also warned me that there would be consequences if we ever killed one of his
Angels of Mercy. I have no doubt that my blood ties to him won’t save me or my
other brothers if that day should ever come. Which makes me wonder what will
happen if we come across one of his Angels of Mercy tonight.
Easy. If she hurt Rain, then she’s
going down. Gem can crush me like an empty beer can with his telepathy for all
I care. No one hurts my bumbling, inept, adorable, honest, handsome…boyfriend.
Chain and I make our third loop in
silence. We cross dark roads, walk through nearly empty parking lots, and stay
out of the street lights. Chain tries to hide his shivering in the cool
temperatures. I keep glancing at my phone, hoping, praying to a God who has
never listened before.
My phone lights up, and I nearly
launch the thing skyward.
“H…hello…I mean, yes?” I stammer,
bringing it to my ear without even looking at the number.
Tarren’s voice is brusque on the
other end. “I have him.”
Chapter 4
Is he… The words clatter in
my brain, but my lips are fused shut unwilling to ask the question that could
bring an answer that will shatter me. I look down and notice a fingernail, one
of those cheap plastic glue-ons, lying next to my shoe on the sidewalk.
Will this be one of those
stupid, pointless things I’ll forever associate with this moment?
Tarren must hear the unasked
question trying to tear out of me. “He has a bad fracture, left leg, and a
concussion. Looks like he fell out of a tree.”
“He’s alive?” I mean this as a
statement, but it comes out as a small, whimpering question. I just keep staring
at that blood-red nail. Chain’s aura dances next to me.
“Yes, he’s alive.” Tarren should
pause to let that sink in, to allow my heart to finally unclench, but he keeps
on speaking in his rapid mission voice. “He was barely conscious and in a lot
of pain, so I put him under with a tranquilizer.”
“Thank you.” I close my eyes and
breathe. Just breathe. Oh, thank the Lord, or stupid luck, or low tree
branches, or just Tarren who could probably pluck a soul from the gates of Hell
if he put his mind to it. Rain is alive. I let that thought run through my mind
in a loop. I let it be real. He’s alive. He’s alive. He’s alive.
Even with my eyes closed, I feel
Chain’s aura pulsing. The seams in my palms begin to tug, trying to open. Even
now, in this moment of pure relief, the hunger is here, probing for a moment of
weakness.
“He’s alive,” I tell my patrol
companion and ready myself. All Chain’s careful armor of I-don’t-care-bad-assery
melts in a moment, and blue relief washes through his aura. I watch his narrow
shoulders descend and his eyes close as he lets out the same breath I was
holding ever since I received Rain’s text.
“He fell out of a tree and broke
his leg,” I explain. This, of course, is hardly a surprise to either of us.
Considering that Rain is about as graceful as a brain dead cow on ice skates,
the shocking thing is that he hasn’t fallen off something sooner.
Tarren is saying something into my
ear. I had forgotten that I was still on the phone with him.
“…found a body nearby. Confirmed
angel. Female. Two gunshot wounds. He must have killed her before falling.”
That’s Rain’s fifth kill, I
think, and no part of me is happy by that growing stat. This particular belt
notch was clearly an Angel of Mercy. I will have to answer to Gem for her
death, and the price might be fatally high. I push those thoughts away. Gem
will have to
winning this insane war against the angels is something my brothers and I never
discuss. It’s always with us though, sitting just below the surface, like a
pool of molten lava waiting for our resolve to crack just a little.
Gem and I spoke of this once. He
told me, “For every angel you and your brothers take down, three more rise up.”
He also warned me that there would be consequences if we ever killed one of his
Angels of Mercy. I have no doubt that my blood ties to him won’t save me or my
other brothers if that day should ever come. Which makes me wonder what will
happen if we come across one of his Angels of Mercy tonight.
Easy. If she hurt Rain, then she’s
going down. Gem can crush me like an empty beer can with his telepathy for all
I care. No one hurts my bumbling, inept, adorable, honest, handsome…boyfriend.
Chain and I make our third loop in
silence. We cross dark roads, walk through nearly empty parking lots, and stay
out of the street lights. Chain tries to hide his shivering in the cool
temperatures. I keep glancing at my phone, hoping, praying to a God who has
never listened before.
My phone lights up, and I nearly
launch the thing skyward.
“H…hello…I mean, yes?” I stammer,
bringing it to my ear without even looking at the number.
Tarren’s voice is brusque on the
other end. “I have him.”
Chapter 4
Is he… The words clatter in
my brain, but my lips are fused shut unwilling to ask the question that could
bring an answer that will shatter me. I look down and notice a fingernail, one
of those cheap plastic glue-ons, lying next to my shoe on the sidewalk.
Will this be one of those
stupid, pointless things I’ll forever associate with this moment?
Tarren must hear the unasked
question trying to tear out of me. “He has a bad fracture, left leg, and a
concussion. Looks like he fell out of a tree.”
“He’s alive?” I mean this as a
statement, but it comes out as a small, whimpering question. I just keep staring
at that blood-red nail. Chain’s aura dances next to me.
“Yes, he’s alive.” Tarren should
pause to let that sink in, to allow my heart to finally unclench, but he keeps
on speaking in his rapid mission voice. “He was barely conscious and in a lot
of pain, so I put him under with a tranquilizer.”
“Thank you.” I close my eyes and
breathe. Just breathe. Oh, thank the Lord, or stupid luck, or low tree
branches, or just Tarren who could probably pluck a soul from the gates of Hell
if he put his mind to it. Rain is alive. I let that thought run through my mind
in a loop. I let it be real. He’s alive. He’s alive. He’s alive.
Even with my eyes closed, I feel
Chain’s aura pulsing. The seams in my palms begin to tug, trying to open. Even
now, in this moment of pure relief, the hunger is here, probing for a moment of
weakness.
“He’s alive,” I tell my patrol
companion and ready myself. All Chain’s careful armor of I-don’t-care-bad-assery
melts in a moment, and blue relief washes through his aura. I watch his narrow
shoulders descend and his eyes close as he lets out the same breath I was
holding ever since I received Rain’s text.
“He fell out of a tree and broke
his leg,” I explain. This, of course, is hardly a surprise to either of us.
Considering that Rain is about as graceful as a brain dead cow on ice skates,
the shocking thing is that he hasn’t fallen off something sooner.
Tarren is saying something into my
ear. I had forgotten that I was still on the phone with him.
“…found a body nearby. Confirmed
angel. Female. Two gunshot wounds. He must have killed her before falling.”
That’s Rain’s fifth kill, I
think, and no part of me is happy by that growing stat. This particular belt
notch was clearly an Angel of Mercy. I will have to answer to Gem for her
death, and the price might be fatally high. I push those thoughts away. Gem
will have to
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