Falling (The Soul Collectors Series Book 1) (21 page)

I sat at the edge watching the waterfall. The creek was back to a slower pace than it was when Had and I were here just a few days earlier. It seemed like ages ago. I knew that the cave was behind the falls now, and I knew from what I had read in the book that caves were one of the safest places to be, but would the cave be high enough if the valley started to flood? Would the group be able to get there quick enough to save themselves? I needed to be able to get them there without having to rely on Hannah. She was brave for taking on this challenge, but if things went bad, I didn’t need her feeling guilty. Just as I was planning on heading back, I had a thought about rerouting the creek into the sinkhole. Surely it was a possibility that would keep the valley from flooding. But that would be a lot of work for only one full day. I just didn’t see how that was a viable plan. No, I needed to get back to the cottage and research the lake that formed a century ago to see if there was something there that would be of help. Answers were coming, but so were more questions.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. ~Epictetus

Back at the cottage Declan was stomping around, slamming cabinet doors and banging things on the counter as he cooked dinner. I don’t know why he stayed.
He knows Meph is still out there. He’s probably just worried about me, but I’ve told him several times that I can take care of myself.
Stupid conscience was nagging at me to remember that while what Meph had said rang true to that theory. However, Declan’s actions had never been anything but helpful. I sat at the table with my laptop stealing glances as I researched the lake and the backflow of rivers. Occasionally, I would glance up at him over the top of the screen. He was cute when he was mad. His brow furrowed and his face scowled.

“You can make your own plate this time.” He harrumphed as he sat at the far end of the table from me.

“Thank you.” It took everything I had not to laugh at him. Here was this big, evil demon that Meph was warning me about, and he was pouting.

“What are you researching?” he asked. I thought it was telling that even though he was cranky with me, he was too curious to mind his own business.

“Rivers that flow backwards.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Yes. It’s happened before not far from here.”

“What’s the reason behind this research?”

“The river here could reverse and flow into the valley. Because I know the town floods and becomes an inland sea of sorts, I assumed that it would be because of the river. If we are in the valley and it floods, we have little hope.”

“Were you at the last event?”

“I didn’t have any mission for that earthquake, so I didn’t know the effects. Usually I don’t have humans to save. I only have to collect the souls and ensure that the event happens as history has written it.”

“How does history write something that hasn’t happened yet?”

“Well, on Earth it may not have happened yet, but in Heaven time moves differently. I have only technically worked this job for four years, but thousands of years have passed.”

“What was your first mission?”

“I worked the destruction of Pompeii. I had to ensure that no one survived.”

“Wow. Did you lose friends?”

“No, I don’t usually make friends...for good reason. Well, I never made friends before this mission. Haddy changed my perspective on things. I was detached from all emotion and feelings from this job. It was the best way to keep from letting any of those feelings get in the way. I had a mission to make the event stay the course, collect the souls afterwards. Today, at the café, that’s the most that I have ever spoken to Meph in all the years of doing this job. In Heaven, my roommate is this perky Delivery Angel. I always assumed we were roomed together so that we got to see both ends of human life. She brought new life and I brought them out at the end of their life. Now, I’m starting to see they were hoping she would teach me how to connect with others. I must say I preferred the other way better. Less stress, less turmoil over whether I was doing something correctly.”

“Must have been a lonely existence.”

“I had Father Paul.” I shrugged. “I didn’t feel lonely. I was content. Now, I feel sadness because I miss Hadraniel. I feel anger because people I have learned to like will lose loved ones. I feel stress because I don’t know what is real anymore. I feel gladness because of new feelings. I feel too human.”

“I like feeling human. I loved my job before I got assigned this task. I lived here on Earth most of the time. I loved getting to travel while seeking out rogue Fallens. I got to see birth, death and everything in between. I must say, the in-between is my favorite.”

“I was able to see glimpses of the in-between, but I never focused on them. I was more focused on the death and aftermath. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my natural surroundings. I love the stars, the views of the different lands of Earth. That helps ease the hardness of dealing with death on a regular basis.”

“Is there anything in your past that can help you with whatever it is you’re fighting against with this mission? I’m on the other side, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give you a different way of seeing things maybe. When…”

“You mean if?”

“
When
I succeed, I want to win because I defeated the best Bayla possible, not because you gave up.”

“I have a perfect record. Don’t let this current moment of distress fool you. I may be having human feelings and emotions, but I refuse to let them affect my job or let me fail those I call friends.” Declan had a point though, I needed to think back to each of my missions to see if there was something in them that I could pull from along with all the new research. “Can I ask you a question? “

“You can ask, doesn’t mean I’ll answer...or that my answer will be truthful.” He held back a grin, and I knew he was no longer upset about our fight earlier in the woods.

“Have you witnessed angels or demons altering the memories of humans or overtaking someone’s body?”

“A lot of rogues change the memories of people to fit their needs. I know a few demons use this strategy too. From my experience, Angels are the ones that will overtake a human’s body for short periods of times like your Father Paul did. Why?”

“I was in the book store earlier today, and the new owner was talking about Mr. Whitstock. I’m curious as to how people could remember him if he was Father Paul.” I hadn’t learned about being able to overtake a human’s body. Only certain Angels must have the knowledge and skills. It sounded like it was with good reason too, especially if there were rogue Fallens. That was also news to me. Why were we not responsible for them?

“Hey, where’d you go?” He waved his hands in front of me.

“Wondering why demons were the ones to have to handle the rogues, that’s all.”

“In order to be a Fallen, you have to have turned your back on Heaven and all that it means. That’s what makes you one. So once that occurs, you belong to our side, and you become ours to deal with. There are many Fallen Angels that choose to live among the humans who never do anything evil. They just no longer want to be in Heaven, for a variety of reasons. The main reason is usually because they fall in love with a human. There are some that harbor anger against someone, and that’s when the rogues are made. I have met a few that were more evil than any of the demons I know.”

“We are taught very little about Fallen Angels. Probably because they don’t want it to seem like an option, especially among our young Angels, or at least that’s what I think. Who am I to question what we are taught?”

“That is why you are a good angel. You do as you’re told, never questioning things. It makes you successful.”

“You make that sound like a bad thing.”

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Just, do you have a mind of your own?”

“Obviously. The mistakes I’ve been making should tell you that I question and think for myself. For Grace’s sakes, I told a human about my mission!” I dropped my head on the table, and he just chuckled.

“Touché. Has any of this helped you so far in changing your plans for the mission?”

“Nah. Haddy and I made very concrete plans with a lot of research. I think it’s still the best course of action. There may be some modifications needed to ensure people are safe throughout, but the trip is still on. Unless you have a reason that you think is valid enough to make me change my mind?”

“I have nothing. Especially now that Meph has been showing up, I think that continuing the trip will let things play out the way, as you say, history has written them.”

“I agree, except history has already been rewritten with the earthquake happening a week earlier than it should have.”

“Hmm. If everything is already written, then why would the timeline have changed?”

“Who knows? Father Paul wasn’t allowed to explain anymore before he left, so we might not ever know why it was changed or even how it was changed. I need to get back to my research so I think I’m going to take the laptop upstairs and leave you to whatever you do.”

“Good luck.”

In my room, I sat on my bed; files spread all around me, laptop open, and music playing. Music was beginning to be a necessity for me to focus. It helped provide me with stimuli while I was reading through what could be very mundane information at times. From my research, I had learned that the conditions here were similar to those in the eighteen hundreds that allowed the river to flow backwards. I decided that this was the least of the concerns for the moment. I needed to figure out who could possibly be a rogue Fallen that would have created Oliver. That’s the only reason I could think of that my files would have no information on him. Oliver seemed to make Gray a better person though so why would a Fallen want to help save him? Was it their way of trying to redeem themselves? What purpose could there be to help? I needed to figure out who the rogue was, and if they were still around? Could it be the Fallen that I’m after and not Declan? No, I knew I had to save Declan. Father Paul had confirmed that. I pulled up research on Fallen Angels, but the information was very limited. I couldn’t go ask Declan for any more information either, or he would start to get suspicious. I grabbed all of Had’s files again. I needed to review those closest to Gray. With all my new theories and information, maybe something would jump out at me that could help.

The first file was Hannah, and reading through everything again didn’t reveal anything new. She was kind and caring and had been a part of Gray’s life for years. Not that she couldn’t be a Fallen, but there was a lot of history in her files. In fact, everyone except for Sadie had a lot of history in their files. I had spoken to her and while she was strange, nothing was out right wrong. I looked up her dad online. If he was a seismologist, surely there would be research papers he had done, articles on his findings, something that would validate her story. I wasn’t sure of the power of a rogue, but I didn’t think that they would be able to completely fabricate a person the entire world would have known.

I was coming up with nothing. I put her name into the search bar and still no information, no social media pages, no links, nothing at all. It was as if she didn’t exist. If she was a rogue, why had she stayed around for the main event? Had she created Oliver for everyone to remember? Causing a brother to die was cruel, even if it guided things to turn out well. No longer able to keep this to myself, I went searching for Declan. He would know how to handle her, and whether or not she would be something else to watch for during the earthquake.

“Declan?” He wasn’t in Had’s room so I headed downstairs. “Declan, where are you?”

“In the living room. Sadie is here. She stopped by to see if we’ve heard anything about Hannah’s grandmother.”

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs in order compose my thoughts. I didn’t know if she was dangerous, and if so, to what extent. So I needed to not let on that I knew anything. A few more deep breaths, and I turned the corner into the living room. I chose a seat closer to Sadie than Declan. With everything else going on, I really didn’t need rumors getting back that something was going on between us.

“I haven’t heard anything since this morning. Hannah said her grandma had fallen and was in the hospital, but that’s it. Have you heard anything more?” I was silently kicking myself for using the word fallen.

She shook her head solemnly. “No, that’s all I had heard too.”

“Hey, while you’re here, has your dad found out anything else about the upcoming earthquake?”

Declan did well hiding his shock. I hadn’t told him about Sadie, my previous theory or what her dad did. “Does your dad study earthquakes?” he asked, with curiosity and interest. He was good at this.

“He does. He’s noticed some really strange readings, but he still has his predictions for a month from now. He did hear back from the council though. They asked him to do further research before they plan a mass evacuation.”

“Well, if you hear more about Hannah’s grandma or a mass evacuation let me know. I can tell my parents not to come out here if I need to, and can have our trips planned accordingly.” I replied.