Angel Evolution (14 page)

“
Something's wrong, shut the light

Heavy thoughts tonight

And they aren't of Snow White

Dreams of war, dreams of liars

Dreams of dragon's fire

And of things that will bite, yeah

Sleep with one eye open

Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light

Enter night

Take my hand

We're off to never-never land”

Metallica- “Enter Sandman”

From the album
Metallica (Black Album) (1991)

T
hey were in the pool hall, laughing at a ridiculously difficult shot that Gabriel had just sunk—he was by far the best player—when Christopher came back to the corner table they were using. Trying to get away from the noisy hall, he had gone outside to take a call on his cell phone. When he returned, Taylor knew something was wrong by the look on his face. It was a shock to see, as Christopher was one of the most care-free, easygoing people that Taylor knew—she had never seen him scared or upset—but now his face was tense, stressed.

Gabriel noticed as well. “What happened?” he hissed.

“I didn’t invite them, I swear,” was the extent of Chris’s reply.

“Invite who?” Taylor asked.

“Them,” Christopher said, motioning over his shoulder, back from where he came.

The door to the hall swung open and three dark guys entered the room, their eyes sweeping from side to side. Instantly, the already shadowy pool hall darkened even further. The demons were huge, wearing tank tops to show off their impressive biceps and chests. Taylor felt her breath catch as she thought,
this is it
. Soon sand would be down her throat and she would choke to death, her dream becoming a reality. Or perhaps they would use poisonous black snakes to do the job.

Gabriel pushed her behind him as the gargantuans sauntered over.

“Heya, Christopher,” one of the meatheads said. “Funny meeting you here.” He glared at Gabriel.

“What do you want, Jonas?” Christopher said harshly.

“Hey, no need to get snippy. We were just checking out the on-campus facilities provided by the university.”

“Now why would you want to do that? You’re not students here.”

“Au contraire, my friend, we just transferred. We heard that UT was where all the action was.” Jonas, who seemed to be the spokesman for the group, appeared pleased to be able to contradict Chris.

“Well then, I guess you have every right to be here. Why don’t I give you a tour of the campus?” Chris suggested, clearly trying to get them away from the pool hall and his friends.

“Oh no, we wouldn’t want to be an inconvenience, we’ll just stay here and shoot some pool with you,” Jonas said.

Gabriel, standing quietly until now, stepped forward within inches of Jonas’s face and said, “That wasn’t a suggestion. Chris and I
are
going to give you a tour of the campus, let’s go.” Taylor was close enough to hear Gabriel whisper, “Don’t make a scene. We’ll answer all of your questions outside.”

Jonas thought about this for a second and then nodded his head once in agreement. The four demons and Gabriel headed for the door. Gabriel yelled to Taylor that they would be back soon. Fear entered Taylor’s heart as she watched Gabriel leave, flanked by the muscly, dark figures.

When they left, Sam asked, “What was that all about?”

The other three shook their heads in bewilderment. They would have to wait for them to return to find out.

Outside, Gabriel was surrounded by demons. Three were demanding answers from him and Chris was trying to mediate. “Let me explain,” Chris said.

“This better be good,” Jonas said. “The Elders were not happy with your last report. Or the one before that either. That’s why we’re here.”

“Okay, it’s simple really. Gabriel and I have reached an agreement,” Chris explained. “He doesn’t want any harm to come to the girl and neither do I. So we are staying in close proximity to her, as well as to each other, to ensure she is safe and that neither of us tries anything sneaky.”

Jonas said, “Wow, I’m so glad that you two have become BFFs, it almost makes me want to shed a tear. But there is a major problem with your little agreement. You and your pretty little angel friend are on opposite sides of a bloody, half-century-old war, in which the girl has become a key weapon. Sooner or later someone is going to have to make a move in this little chess match and we are thinking it should be us.”

“Dammit, Jonas!” Chris spat out, blood flooding to his face. “We have sworn to protect all humans and help ensure that they are able to live normal lives. That includes Taylor. We can’t just grab her and neutralize her when there is currently no threat to her!”

Gabriel listened intently to the verbal battle, glad that Taylor was not around to hear it. She would have been extremely confused after all of the lies he had told her so far.

Jonas laughed at Chris. “You have got to be kidding me!
No
threat to her? She’s got a freaking angel for a boyfriend and not just any angel, the angel that is charged with tricking her into helping the evil angel cause.”

“Gabriel has told me that was his original mission, but he now has reservations about it given he has developed feelings for the girl,” Chris replied.

“Feelings!? And you actually believe this
pigeon
. You’ve been awfully quiet, pigeon, are you saying you are in love with the girl?” Jonas referred to Gabriel by the derogatory term that demons used to refer to angels, pigeon, considered by many to be one of the lowest forms of bird, scavenging on the ground for their sustenance.

“That’s accurate,” Gabriel admitted, ignoring the insult. “I was charged with convincing Taylor to join our cause. If she wouldn’t agree, I was given license to use requisite force to kidnap her. However, I quickly developed feelings for her—yes, I’m in love with her—and now place her safety above the requirements of my mission.

“I could be executed for telling you this, but it is necessary to gain your trust. The Council wanted to take the girl months ago, but I convinced them to give me until the end of the school semester to persuade her to join the angel cause of her free will. I was hoping that would give me enough time to come up with another plan. So far, I have nothing.”

Gabriel gave them enough information to give him a chance that they would believe him, but also lied about the most important part: Unbeknownst to Chris, Gabriel was still actively working to encourage her to join the angel cause. Above all, he was still an angel and focused on ending the War by any means possible. Weeks earlier, he had finally straightened out his head and realized that he needed to fulfill his mission. However, he would do everything in his power to protect Taylor at the same time. He had made it his personal mission.

“You have two weeks,” Jonas replied.

Gabriel stared at him, not sure what to make of his time-based statement. “Two weeks for what?”

“Two weeks to come up with a plan to protect the girl and keep her out of the middle of this war.”

Chris jumped in. “That’s ridiculous, we have made an agreement and we have until the end of the semester, which is two months away, to come up with a plan that works for everyone. Two weeks is impossible.”

“Nothing I can do. The deadline has been mandated by the Elders. Deal with it.”

Gabriel asked another question. “And what exactly do you think you’re going to do in two weeks if we don’t have a sufficient plan?”

“Take the girl and neutralize her,” Jonas said coldly.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Gabriel snapped back, his blood pressure rising. His body was glowing brighter now, in anticipation of a physical confrontation.

“It means whatever we want it to mean, pigeon,” Jonas sneered.

“I’ll kill you before I let you take her,” Gabriel said.

“We’ll see who dies,” Jonas replied. “And I’m dead anyway if your pigeon Council gets their hands on the girl. So I’ve got nothing to lose.”

Christopher stepped in front of Gabriel, apparently expecting him to strike at Jonas. Gabriel managed to keep his head though, realizing that even with his strength and training he was no match for three burly demons.

Instead, Gabriel just said, “You’re right, we
will
see. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going back to see my girlfriend. Don’t bother me for two weeks.” With that, he turned on his heel and went back into the pool hall.

Before the door closed, Gabriel heard Chris say to Jonas, “This was a big mistake.”

“You better figure out whose side you are on,” Jonas scoffed, before the three goons stalked off into the night.

Back inside the pool hall, Sam led the questioning. Taylor kept quiet, knowing that Gabriel wouldn’t give her the truth until they were alone. She pretended to listen interestedly while Gabriel explained how those guys were old friends of Christopher’s who had gotten into some trouble and Chris stopped hanging out with them. Now they were pissed that he had ditched their little gang.

Chris came in during the tail end of the story and reassured Sam that they wouldn’t bother them again.

The other humans soon forgot about the incident as Chris was back to his normal antics, telling a joke about a priest, an ex-convict, and a gorilla in a bar. Everyone was soon in stitches. The mini pool tournament continued, with Gabriel and Taylor holding the table most of the night. It was no thanks to Taylor as she only made two or three shots all night, but Gabriel was able to clean up the table whenever it was his turn.

Taylor wasn’t really into the game as she watched Gabriel from the corner of her eye. She could tell that something had disturbed him.

At around ten o’clock she forced herself to yawn and then let her eyes blink slowly a few times. Sam said, “Wow, Tay, you look exhausted.”

“Yeah, I am. I think I’ll head back to the dorms now, but you guys stay and have fun. Gabriel, can you walk me back?”

“Sure, let’s go. See you all tomorrow,” he said.

Taylor waited until they were a few blocks from the pool hall before asking, “What
really
happened with Chris’s so-called ex-friends?”

“It’s nothing to be worried about, Taylor. I can handle it.”

Heat rose in her head. She blurted out, “Screw you! Stop treating me like I’m some kind of a child, man! I can tell that you are worried about it so I am going to be worried about it, too.”

Gabriel seemed taken aback by the sudden outburst. “Hold on, Taylor. I’m sorry, you’re right. I need to be completely honest with you, even when I am trying to protect you. Let’s go to the Bird’s Nest and we can talk.” Taylor was momentarily pacified by the suggestion. The
Bird’s Nest
was the name she had given to the spot high above the football stadium where they had first…she smiled at the memory of that wonderful night.

“Okay,” she said, trying to breathe evenly.

They walked a block further and darted into a dark alley that was well-hidden from the street. Gabriel grabbed her as if she were a paper doll and did what Taylor liked to refer to as, “his angel thing”. Seconds later they were high in the air, speeding across campus.

Soon they were in the Bird’s Nest. She looked down at the beautiful stadium. It had been prepped for the following day when the football team had a very important game against their cross-state rivals, the Tigers. The UT Beavers were undefeated and on the verge of playing in the National Championship game. A win against LTU tomorrow would ensure their first ever appearance in the country’s most coveted college football game.

Fresh lines had been painted on the field, the white paint shining under the night security lights. There was a large banner stretched across the home entrance to the field, which the players would charge through when they stormed onto the gridiron.