Fallen (8 page)

“
Watch,” he said, placing the pot on the coffee table. He kneeled in front of it, and Shayla kneeled at his side, watching as he’d instructed. He closed his eyes and placed his hands on either side of the brown, wilted flower. Within seconds, a white glow appeared around Amir’s head and shoulders, growing brighter by the second in its intensity. Soon, the flower had taken on the same glow. The gnarled stems straightened and returned to their natural deep green color. The leaves perked up as the green color from the stem spread over them. One by one the mangled flowers followed suit, regaining their vibrant color and opening as if caressed by the sun.

With a small cry, Shayla stumbled away from Amir, who was opening his eyes. The familiar velvet brown was gone, and instead his eyes were as white and bright as the glow around him. Shayla pressed her hand to her mouth and stared, unable to move or speak, but unable to look away. Slowly, the glow subsided and his eyes returned to normal.

“
What are you?” she whispered when all had returned to normal. Well, as normal as they could be given what she’d just seen.

“
I’m an angel, Shayla.”

Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him, shocked. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to hear that. She glanced at the flower he had just brought back from the dead, then back at him. He was watching her silently, probably waiting for her to become hysterical.

“
An angel? Aren’t angels supposed to be in heaven?”

“
Different angels serve different purposes. We are given a choice whether we are to fulfill our purposes on earth or in heaven. Many angels choose earth, as I did.”

Shayla suddenly remembered the day she had woken up in the hospital. “You said you were in the business of healing.”

He nodded. “That’s what I do, Shayla. I heal people who need healing. I have the power to breathe life into dead things.”

“
And you chose to give life to me.”

“
No, God decides. I just do what he tells me. He chose you Shayla.”

She shot to her feet, a hand pressed to her temple. This was too much. Everything in her mind told her that this was ridiculous. She had always believed in God and angels and heaven, but to think that there was a heavenly being standing in her living room!

“
I know it’s a lot to take in, but I needed you to know why I had to leave. You have to understand that us getting so close was dangerous for me. Falling to temptation is one of the worst sins an angel can commit.”

“
So what are you saying? You being an angel means we can’t be together? Ever?”

“
Lying with a human man or woman is forbidden to angels. If I had not left that night I know I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from making love with you. I wanted it more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. If I hadn’t stopped it, I would now be one of the Fallen angels.”

“
What happens when you fall?” Amir was silent but his bleak expression said it all. Shayla gasped. “Demons?”

Amir nodded. “That is what Fallen angels become. It is a fate worse than any death or torture I could imagine.”

Shayla sank back onto the couch, her mind whirring like a carousel that was going way too fast. He sank down next to her. “You have no idea how broken my heart had been over this. Thinking of going on through life, eternity, without you…” he trailed off and shook his head.

Shayla reached up and touched his face tenderly. “I do know. I know because I’ve felt the same way.”

“
You’re not angry with me for not telling you?”

“
Now that I think about it, I knew there was something special about you all along. When I first woke up in the hospital I could have sworn you were glowing but I thought it was just the lights and the meds. But this explains everything. The doctor was so shocked over my recovery, but he didn’t know I had my very own angel.”

“
When I saw you lying in that bed, something in you called out to me,” he said, stroking her cheek tenderly. “I have always admired the human capacity for survival, but something about you was different, special. Even after my assignment was completed, I couldn’t stay away. Your soul left an imprint on mine, Shayla. I couldn’t escape it. Even after I tried to push you away, I couldn’t bear the thought of being without you. And so I’ve made a very important decision.”

Shayla frowned. “What decision?”

“
I have one assignment left to complete. Once that is done
,
I plan to give it up.”

Shayla leapt to her feet, her hands clapped over her mouth. Her heart leapt, and her stomach plummeted. “Give up being an angel? I can’t let you do that!”

Confusion flickered across his face. “I thought that you would be happy. If I give it up we can be together. If I don’t, then nothing can ever come of this. I’ll lose my mind with wanting you and knowing I can’t have you.”

“
But what you do is so important! You saved me. How many others have you saved?”

“
Hundreds,” he said. “Too many to count. But the life of an angel come to earth can be lonely, and after having a taste of what companionship and love truly feel like I don’t think I could ever find contentment with anything else.”

“
Love?” It was the one word that had never been said between them. Shayla hadn’t wanted to say it, no matter how much she had felt it in her heart.

“
Yes love,” he said, coming forward and grabbing her around the waist and pulling her close. He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “It will be a great sacrifice, but it will be worth it if I can spend the rest of my life with you. I’ve never felt this way before Shayla, and I doubt I will ever again.”

“
I don’t understand,” she argued. “You’ve been alive for how long?”

“
Five hundred years, though I’ve only been on earth for three.”

“
Only three hundred?” she snorted. “And in all of that time you’ve never felt anything for any woman? Not even lust? How is that possible?”

Amir chuckled and kissed her forehead lightly. “Let me explain. Angels are not instinctual creatures like humans. You are born with a need for love, affection, and companionship. You are already programmed with all of your emotions. Angels learn emotion based on their experiences. If an angel has never felt anger, then they never get angry. If they have never learned sadness, then they never get sad.”

“
So you’re telling me you’ve never seen another woman that made you feel like you just had to have her?”

He shrugged. “The feeling was completely foreign to me until I met you. Don’t you see, Shayla? This is why I know I’m making the right decision.”

“
I don’t want you to make this decision because of me,” she protested, fighting against the familiarity of his closeness. She was seconds away from giving in, from telling him to give it all up for her. The thought made her feel like the worst sort of person. “You may come to regret it, and I’m assuming you can’t go back.”

“
If I have you, I won’t want to go back.”

She shook her head, wrestling against the guilt that tore at her insides. “I don’t know,“ she began. His lips lowering over hers effectively ended her protest. She melted against him, drunk with the intoxicating power of his kiss. It felt as if it had been forever since they’d kissed and now that she had him again she couldn’t possible dream of letting him go.

“
Shayla, do you love me?” he asked when he’d pulled away.

“
Yes,” she whispered breathlessly, still clinging to him. “Yes, I do.”

“
Then there is nothing left to talk about. I’m doing this.”

“
When?”

“
I intend to finish my last assignment tonight.”

Shayla’s eyes widened before a slow smile crept over her face. “I want to come with you.”

“
I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Most of the time I have to do my work undetected. If I have you with me, it increases my chances of being seen.”

She grasped his arm tightly, gazing up at him with pleading eyes. “Please, Amir. If you’re going to turn your back on this, I want to see what you’re giving up for me. I need to see it for myself.”

Amir didn’t want to do it, but he understood Shayla’s reasons. He could always manipulate the person’s memory if he needed to afterward. He took her hand and they walked toward the door together. “All right
,
but I must warn you, we won’t be walking.”

Chapter 13: Flight

When they had reached the roof of her building, Amir scooped Shayla up into his arms and cradled her against his chest.

“
I look different in my angelic form,” he warned her. “It can be a bit bright, so close your eyes if you need to. I hope you’re not afraid of heights.”

Excitement hummed through Shayla, and a tingling ran outward from her spine. She was going to fly, really fly. She knew this night would never be forgotten. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held on and waited.

Amir tipped his head back toward the sky, and the white glow she had witnessed in the apartment appeared around him again, his eyes flashing bright white. His skin color began to change until he was the color of polished silver. Shayla squinted against the brightness, but could not look completely away as wings the color of pearls sprouted from his back spread wide to either side of him. She realized that they were going up, yet he had not started to fly yet. Shayla gasped when she realized that it was because in his angelic form, Amir stretched up nearly ten feet tall. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen; so stunning that tears came to her eyes

“
Hold on,” his gentle voice boomed as he ran toward the edge of the building. Shayla squeezed her eyes shut as the sensation of falling stole the breath from her lungs. Time seemed to stand still, and for a moment Shayla could not breathe. The thunderous sound of Amir’s wings broke through the roaring in her ears and she forced her eyes open. New York’s lights dotted the landscape below; the full moon beamed through the clouds from above. Amir, brighter than any light or star, kept his gaze focused below them.

A smile crept over Shayla’s lips as she realized she was enjoying the flight. The rush of the cold air against her cheeks and the sight of the city speeding by below them thrilled her. All too soon, they were landing, and Amir was transforming back into his human form.

He set her on her feet with a grin. “Exhilarating
,
isn’t it?” he asked when he saw the wide grin on her face.

“
Airplane travel doesn’t even come close.”

He laughed, linking his arm through hers. “I’ve been flying for centuries, but it never gets old.”

They lapsed into silence as they moved toward the fire escape, where they began the slow descent. The assignment was a man with pancreatic cancer. Amir had explained to Shayla that pancreatic cancer was almost never caught in time and was almost always a death sentence. Shayla was relieved to hear that Amir would be ridding this man of his cancer once and for all.

“
Stay here,” he whispered when they’d reached the outside of the right apartment. Shayla could see through the window that the man they were looking for was asleep on the couch, the television blaring noisily in the background. “Watch from here.”

Without touching the window, Amir walked through it and was instantly on the other side.

“
Very cool,” she murmured as she watched him walking stealthily toward the couch where the man lay sleeping. Amir stood over the man for several seconds before he doubled over as if in pain, clutching his stomach. Shayla’s brow wrinkled with concern, but she remained silent and in her place. Whatever was happening, she was sure Amir could handle it. After a few more moments, Amir straightened with much effort. Just as he had with the flower, he held his hands over the man’s middle, his eyes closed. A white smoke-like substance came from Amir’s hands and hovered in the air over the man before disappearing into his belly. Amir stood watching a few more minutes before turning back to the window and Shayla. When he had walked back through the wall, he took Shayla’s hand.

“
What did you do?
”
s
he asked as they made their way back up the fire escape.

“
Instead of curing him instantly, I caused his body to turn on the cancer. It will be a gradual process, but soon he will be cancer free.”

“
Wait,” she said before he could pick her up and take off with her again. He let her go and stood back, waiting. “You were in pain in there. I saw you. What was that about?”

“
It is a part of my gift. I’m able to feel what people around me feel; emotions, pain, everything.”

Shayla’s eyes widened. “Then you had to have been in pain the whole time you were with me in the hospital! But you kept coming back.”

He nodded with a smile. “Of course I did. I told you, something in you imprinted itself on me. The pain was bad at first, but as you healed it began to lessen. It was worth it just to be at your side when you needed me.”

She stepped forward and placed a hand against his chest. He lifted his hand to cover hers. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. “Do you really want to give up your gift for me?”

“
Not just for you, Shayla. For me too. For us.”