Gabriel (2 page)

Chapter One

One
Month Later, Michigan

Gabriel’s body was slammed
against the brick wall in the alley over and over. Blood dripped from his nose,
ears, and lips. His hair, once dark brown, now was a deep shade of crimson. One
of the Kematians reached his blood-slick hand into his tattered jacket and
pulled out a green sword. Gabriel’s eyes were nearly swollen shut, but he saw
the glint of metal. The sword slammed into his chest. Unable to move, all he
could do was stay there and die.

“
To hell with you, filthy angel,” the Kematian said.

They let go of Gabriel, and
he fell to the ground, wings retracting.

“
I’m sorry I failed you, brothers. Forgive me, Father.” The
darkness wrapped him in its arms, and the pain was gone.

The Kematian sent the
telepathic message. “My Lord, Gabriel is dead.”

“
Are you certain?” Baal asked.

“
Yes, his light has been extinguished.”

“
You shall be greatly rewarded. Leave him to the rodents.”

“
As you wish, my Lord.”

****

Calla trudged out of Saginaw General Hospital
emergency room, covered with splotches of dark red, blue, and the occasional
dried green. She shook her head as she remembered.

“
Damn it. Shit.”

Eric, a paramedic and friend,
came over to her, “Calla, is everything all right?”

“
Just fucking perfect.” Tears fell down her pale skin. “I’m sorry.
I wasn’t trying to be rude. Let’s just say it was a bad shift.”

“
That bad, eh? Come on, let’s talk.”

They ambled toward the side
of the hospital where all the smokers congregated. At this time of the night,
the place was empty except for the two of them. Sitting down at a wooden picnic
table covered with graffiti and carvings, he looked at her expectantly.

“
Two more kids came in with their throats nearly ripped out. We
stabilized them. Then they were gone,” Calla said.

“
I remember the one. I picked him up. I’m surprised he still had a
pulse when we got here, to be honest.” Eric reached across the picnic table and
held Calla’s hand. “They were dead on arrival, Calla. There wasn’t anything you
could do.”

If
I had better control of my powers I might have been able to save them.
The
expression on the young woman haunted her, as though she had stared fear in the
face while dying. Calla glanced at Eric and shook her head.

“
They were so young, barely in their twenties. That makes it even
harder. You’d think, being a nurse for over ten years I would be used to death
by now.” Calla was silent a moment then said, “I need to get home. I’m on again
tomorrow.”

“
Let me walk you to your car.”

“
I walked. I only live a few blocks away.”

“
Are you kidding me? You weigh maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet.
What do you think you’re doing walking alone at night?” She noticed Eric
looking down at all five feet three inches of her, scowling. “Let me give you a
ride home.”

Eric’s radio went off. “Shit.
I have to go, Calla, another attack. Call a cab, please.”

“
Yeah, sure.”

He hurried away. Calla walked
in the opposite direction, towards her house. She took this path three to four
days a week on her way home from work. There wasn’t any way she was going to
call a cab.

She heard footsteps closing
in behind her. Alarmed, she wrapped her hand around the can of mace in her
pocket and picked up her pace.

The footsteps were gone. Had
she imagined them? Calla turned her head to look but she was alone. “Get it
together, chicken. You’re scaring yourself now.”

She rounded the corner
nearing an alley. A trickle of red blood flowed from it, creeping onto the
sidewalk. Calla stopped in front of a pathway as uneasiness washed over her.
Fear and ethics battled within her. Ethics won, but her legs felt like lead,
and they weren’t moving. She forced herself to take a few steps and spotted a
mound lying next to the wall.

After several tense seconds,
she tightened her grip on the can of mace and slowly made her way towards the
heap on the ground.

This
is exactly how all the stupid girls are killed in the movies. They go walking
right into danger, and boom, they’re dead.

Approaching the mound, she
trembled. As she moved closer she saw a tanned foot sticking out from the
trench coat. Calla bent down, her chest heaving, hands shaking as she reached
the foot and gave it a quick shake, but nothing happened.
Relax, before you hyperventilate and end up on the ground, too.
Breathe, Calla, breathe.

She stood, crept forward, and
reached for what she hoped was the head. She knelt down and pulled back the
thick trench coat. His head turned to the side, face badly beaten, eyes cracked
to reveal a glimmer of the brightest green she had ever seen.

“
Holy shit!” She jumped back, startled.

The man didn’t move. She bent
down again this time reaching for his neck. The pulse was weak. She had already
used her gifts twice this evening, and her body still ached from the two
previous failures. “Focus. You can do this.” She struggled to turn the man onto
his back. When she finally rolled him over there was a knife, with a green hue
as if the metal was oxidized, protruding out of his chest.

“
Of course there’s a knife,” Calla murmured to herself.

“
I’m going to try to help you,” she whispered in his ear. She knew
she might not be able to save him, but she had to try. If she could pull the
knife out in a quick motion she could heal him. She placed her hands around the
hilt of the knife and pulled. Nothing happened. “Maybe if I get some leverage.”

Calla straddled the man,
planting one tennis shoe on each side of his limp body. She bent down and
wrapped both hands around the hilt and pulled with everything she had. The
knife began to move—barely—but it was moving. It felt like pulling a rubber
boot stuck in thick mud. After a few more attempts the suction released, and
the knife was freed.

She collapsed on his chest
and sat up, placing both palms on the bleeding wound. “Please, oh please let
this work.” Calla focused on the wound, gathering energy. Then her hands began
to glow. Sweat dripped matting blonde hair to her forehead, and her vision
began to dim. “I won’t let you die,” she promised.

Then darkness embraced her.

****

Gabriel opened his eyes. “I’m
alive?”

He remembered the Nex Addo
penetrating his flesh, his life force being sucked out of him. Agony filled
every corner of his soul, and then the smile of Death. He wanted to move, but
after the beating he had taken he wasn’t sure he could. He turned his head and
raised his arms expecting the worst. Relief washed over him—the pain was gone.
He tried to sit up, but a wisp of a woman covered him.

“
Where did you come from?” Gabriel asked.

He gave her a little nudge.
She didn’t move. He sat up and rolled the woman to his side.
 
A vacant expression painted her face. Her
skin appeared as delicate as porcelain. Her blonde hair was twisted in a bun,
resting at the nape of her neck, and her lips were full and pink. Her chest barely
moved.

“
Who are you?” he asked.

Gabriel slipped his trench
coat off. He glanced down at his golden chest and extended his long arms and
massive hands. There was not a mark on him.

“
I suppose you have something to do with my recovery,” he said. “I
can’t just up and leave you in this alley now, can I?”

Gabriel knelt beside the
woman and scooped her up. Her lips were partially open, and her lids closed as
if she was resting peacefully. She remained unconscious.

“
It’s a good thing we’re not walking. People would wonder what I
did to you.”

He wrapped the trench coat
around the woman, clutching her to his chest. The clip that fastened her hair
fell to the ground. Long curls cascaded down her back. He ran his fingers
through a few loose curls that framed her delicate face. His chest tightened
with the sensory overload: soft as silk, smelling of sunshine and joy.
 
Confused and overwhelmed, Gabriel expanded
his wings and flew.

****

“
Gabriel, where have you been?” Michael’s voice whispered through
his mind.

 
“
You have not
answered my call.”

 
“I thought I
was dead, brother.”

“
What happened?”

“
I heard screams coming from an alleyway. A group of Kematians
attacked an innocent. When I got to her it was too late. They pinned me against
the alley wall. There were four of them, and one stabbed me in the chest.”

“
You were nearly defeated by a few Kematians?” Michael laughed.

“
Laugh all you want, brother, but they are different, stronger.”
Gabriel shifted his weight as he flew above the vacant buildings.

“
The humans in this time are different, too. They can travel
quickly, stay out until all hours of the night, and they fear nothing,” Michael
said. “It’s hard to protect those who don’t know they’re in danger.”

Gabriel sighed. “Yes, the
Kematians have no shortage of food, in this time.”

Gabriel spotted his
destination a mile or so ahead. “How are the others faring?”

Michael was silent for a
moment. “I spoke to Raphael last, and that was a few days ago. It has been at
least a week since I have heard from anyone else.” Michael’s strained voice
sliced through Gabriel’s mind.

“
Have you had any contact with the Kematians?”

“
Yes. I was hoping the ones I faced were an anomaly,” Michael said.

Gabriel felt an echo of pain
from Michael.
What are you hiding,
Michael?

“
Are you injured?” Gabriel asked.

“
Nothing that won’t heal. How bad are your injuries?” Michael
asked.

 
“
I woke up
healed.”

Gabriel felt a slight mental
push that caused him to fall a few feet before regaining his composure. Michael
hadn’t tried to read his thoughts in several millennia. Times were indeed
changing.

“
If you want to know something, Michael, just ask.” Gabriel
regained elevation. Sweat dripped down his face. “There is no reason to try to
kill me.”

“
Forgive me, brother, I did not mean to hurt you.”

Gabriel told Michael about
the fight, the Kematian who had stabbed him with the Nex Addo, and then waking
up with the woman on his chest, unconscious. He didn’t tell him about all the
new sensations he had experienced. How could he when he couldn’t explain it?

“
Where is the woman now?”

“
With me.”

“
Can you read her mind?”

“
No,” Gabriel said with an edge.
I haven’t tried.

The thought of invading her
mind seemed wrong. He had done it millions of times before without thought. Why
did invading
her
thoughts bother him?
His brows creased.

“
Are you going to question her when she comes to?”

“
If she comes to, I will.”

 
“Be safe,
little brother. Call out if you need any help. I’m going to try to find the
others.”

“
Be blessed, my brother. Let me know if you need anything.”

****

Gabriel landed atop of the
apartment complex he now called home. The dilapidated building had shingles on
only half the roof. He was careful where he stepped to avoid holes and weak
spots. It could collapse at any moment. A rusted steel door gaped open. There
was a hole where the handle had been, and it hung from one hinge at the top. He
opened the door and stalked into the hallway. The building had been vacant of
humans for some time. Rodents now called this place home.

He stopped at the entrance on
the left and pushed the remnants of the door open. He walked over to the bed,
removed his trench coat from the woman, and laid her down. He sat down on a
chair in the corner of the room and watched her from a distance. What was
different about this human? He had healed humans in the past and never did he
feel so out of control?
 
The tightness in
his chest began to ease as he watched her chest rise and fall. The sound of her
breathing soothed him, although he didn’t know why.