Genesis: Falling Angel (4 page)

She frowned. “I will be at Ira. There is the matter of Wrath to be discussed there.” She blocked my path, kissing me once on the lips before she vanished.

For a moment, I caught myself wondering what the world would be like if Lilith
had never chosen immortality. What if she had never become our Mother? What if Eve hadn’t taken her place and filled her with such hatred?

In a world like that, there would be no place for me. There would be no humans tugging at my pants, begging for my attention. There would be no grand home for me, if I even existed. I would be nothing. Here, I was ruler over many. I received whatever I wanted, when I wanted. That angel was here to destroy everything Lilith created. Everything I’d created.

I opened a window as my black, leathery wings formed behind my back. I jumped, wings spread, headed straight for the region of Ira.

Chapter 4
– Gabrielle

My first breath was the most painful.

It was more of a gasp, a desperate claw at life. My eyes were wide open, my lips dry and cracked. My skin felt like it was on fire. No book, no observance of humans could have prepared me for the assault on my senses. I never realized how cold, how unfeeling I had been as an angel.

Now, my head was swimming with panicked thoughts. Was anything broken? Was I already sick? Would someone find me in such a weak condition and kill me? Should I really have taken Gabriel’s right, his place as messenger? Was God punishing me?

Where would I go now if I really was dying?

Gradually, the pain faded. My breathing became easier, and I marveled at the reflex I’d never had. A slow, rhythmic pulse came from within my chest, and my lips tried in vain to curve into a smile. I attempted to move my fingers, succeeding in making them twitch slightly.

I waited patiently for a full range of movement. All the while, I prayed that my Father would guide me, even if I had taken Gabriel’s mission. If I had succeeded, surely this was part of my Father’s plan. Surely he would guide me.

T
he new emotion of fear nagged at me. What if I was forsaken? What if this horrific pain was punishment for taking my better’s place?

I flexed my fingers, and they twitched slightly in response. I sighed, coughing slightly. Human bodies needed water. That’s right. It was a strange limitation, but it was one that I had to adhere to. Gabriel had told me of all of the horrible dangers that came with dehydration. I looked around for a source of water, anything to relieve the burning deep within my throat. I coughed, dry and harsh.

My vision, which had been blurred at first, gradually came into focus. The world seemed utterly muted. The colors were less vibrant, almost grainy. My memories of Heaven were not processed well, and I found myself struggling to recall the beautiful field that I had called home.

I pulled myself into a sitting position with the shakiness of a newborn fawn. The sun was beating down on me from above. For a moment, my eyes looked directly at it, stunned by its beauty and brightness. After only a second, I turned away, shaking my head as if to ward off the spots of color that were dancing in my vision. I crawled under the shade of a nearby tree. Once there, I felt its rough bark and gave a little laugh of delight. There were no insects on it. No signs of life.

Further away, I spotted a little yellow-spotted lizard crawling around. I stood up on my wobbly legs, taking tiny steps like a toddler. I made to reach for it, but it hissed at me and breathed a small flame. Well, certainly not an earth creature. In fact, I had no idea what it was. After brief consideration, I thought it best to leave anything alive alone. I could not tell the difference between some of Hell’s monstrosities and my Father’s handiwork. Some of the things that came out of Hell bore a false beauty.

I
found a small pool of water after a moment, and I hurried over to it, stumbling. I tripped and fell into it, and a gasp escaped me as I rose to stand in it. Apparently, I did not know how to swim as a human. I drank greedy gulps of water, cupping it and bringing it to my mouth with strange eagerness. It soothed my parched throat, and I silently thanked the Lord that he had provided me with such a gentle place to land.

There were a few flowers around, and I plucked a few with the intention of making a sort of flowery crown. My gown clung to me in a way that was by no means modest, so I figured I
would remain near the pool until it dried. I had never thought of modesty before. In Heaven, clothing was more of a habit than a necessity. As a human on earth, I found that modesty was a very important trait. Unlike in Heaven, those that gazed upon a nude form could be inspired with lust. This was mostly due to Adam and Eve, whose eyes were opened after partaking of the forbidden fruit.

My bare feet were hurting slightly after walking only a short distance. My legs were sore as well. After a short time, I found myself on my back
, staring up at the clear sky. That was strange. Not a cloud in sight. I wondered if Gabriel was watching me from Heaven. I wondered if he and Michael were speaking to God about me at this very moment. I wondered if I would be sent back before my mission even began. These thoughts all saddened me in one way or another. I let out a sigh, hand coming to rest over my heart.

The earth shook beneath me.

I was able to move fully now, but I only slightly turned my head to look around. My features formed a scowl. The creature before me was certainly not of my Father’s doing.

It stood upright, but hunched over, arms nearly touching the ground like an oversized, hairless ape. Its body was covered in gray scal
es, and its teeth were all flat and yellowed. The brown eyes in its mashed face were bloodshot. I could smell it from where I lay, and I nearly choked on the rotten stench.

Y
et I refused to move, twitch, or give any indication that I was lying there in the grass, mere yards away. The thing easily towered over the trees, and it was most certainly dimwitted.

Never had I seen such a disgusting creature. What other monstrosities had crawled out of Hell? What vile, dumb beings now roamed my Father’s earth?

It stopped in its slow walk, sitting down to look at something it held in its massive hand.

My stomach churned at the sight of the blood slowly dripping onto the grass. The creature held what appeared to be a human child. Without giving me time to get a decent look, it tore off the body’s head.

I retched, turning fully onto my side. The strange creature glanced up from its meal. Slowly, it looked back and forth between me and the corpse in its hand. It casually tossed it aside and lumbered over to me with its oily black tongue running over its chapped lips.

Clumsily, I scrambled to my feet. I willed myself to sprea
d my wings, to fly away. The only problem was that mortals lacked wings. So instead, I succeeded in merely standing there, eyes locked on the giant monstrosity heading toward me.

I tried to find my voice to distract or confuse it. Gabriel always said that to win a fight, one must do some of the most unexpected things to distract his or her opponent. So I willed myself to scream, to cry out something that would make it pause for only a moment so I could try to get a head start in running.

Nothing came from my dry throat except a dry, husky, “Wait!” The creature didn’t pause. If I had been stronger, I would’ve fought it. Surely I could defeat such a dumb creature, despite the fact that I had no true combat training. But I could not kill it, even if it was no creature of God’s.

So instead I ran. The thing was surprisingly faster than I’d anticipated, using all four limbs to propel itself forward. When I’d learned about human anatomy, I’d marveled at the adrenaline pumped into the body at times of great fear or excitement. I could feel it now, pushing me to run faster as my heart raced with
in me. Sweat beaded on my skin, a reaction from the hot sun overhead and the strain from running on new legs.

As a mortal, there were limits. I didn’t have a chance to meet mine, for I soon realized where I was. I’d read on earth’s geography, and I groaned in defeat when I finally reached the edge of what was apparently an oasis. Sand stretched before me, as far as the eye could see.

The hideous creature made a series of grunting sounds, stopping inches away from me. I had a strange feeling it was talking to me. I made to respond, to try to communicate with it. However, the laughter that followed its words was cruel, delighted. There was no reasoning with it.

It reached out a
filthy hand to grab me, and I struggled only slightly. It brought me up to eye level. Then, it shook me. I felt the world spinning when it stopped. My neck and back ached, though the violent shaking hadn’t broken anything.

My life would end at the hands of a creature that certainly wa
sn’t a high-ranking denizen of Hell. My life, which had not even lasted a day, was going to be snuffed out. My life, with my beating heart and strange, warm flesh was coming to a close. Briefly, I felt what many humans must feel when they die cruel, violent deaths. I wondered why God was punishing me. I wondered what I had done to deserve such pain. I just wished for the violent beast to drop me, to end my suffering.

My body was fresh, but I was exhausted. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the monster’s tongue running over it
s dry lips.

Chapter 5
– Adrian

By the time I reached Ira, I was completely fed up with flying. Sure, it’s great when you don’t have the patience to walk for several days, but it’s still exhausting. Having no idea where I was going didn’t help much. In a matter of hours, I made it to the main city. Lilith had said that the angel would be just outside the walls.

I was still just a bit wary of Lilith choosing me for such an important mission. Sure, the angel would be weak in mortal form, but she would still have God to back her up in a pinch. Briefly, I wondered if maybe Gabriel had decided to grace us with his oh-so-wonderful presence. Gabriel would probably never come to earth as a female. Though if he did, I’d enjoy using my power on him even more. Making the archangel Gabriel lust after a lowly incubus would be, in a word, “thrilling.” I quickly shook my head, erasing the thought.

Out of curiosity, I took a peek at what was g
oing on in Ira. It was a mess. There was more smoke and destruction than usual. The dirt roads were dark, soaked with what I assumed was blood—demonic and mortal. Without the chilling presence of Thanatos, his subjects were running rampant. I could see hooded figures struggling with the rioting crowds, swinging scythes that gleamed red with blood. Reapers loved to maintain order.

The Reapers were stereotypical Grim Reapers. There apparently was some black magic cult that had found a god in Thanatos. They worshipped him and made large amounts of human sacrifices on his behalf. The cult was still al
ive in the modern world before Hell took over. The priests of the cult became the Reapers. Their flesh and organs melted away, leaving only the skeletons behind. They were given these magical scythes to harvest the souls of the living to give to Thanatos. Their powers were dark and great, though apparently not great enough to hold back a bunch of rioting demons.

I’d always bragged to Thanatos about my safeguard. In the event of my death, or if I am incapacitated, the citizens will make no move to riot. The pheromones are so potent, the cloud so dense, that all mortals are left in a drugged stupor. Thanatos insisted his Reapers were capable. He was always too confident. In a way, he had been my favorite so-called “sibling.” He was fairly neutral. His wrath was the kind that crept up and choked you in your sleep instead of the crazy
, berserk bloodbath kind. He was clever, impatient, and quite the handsome fellow. It almost saddened me to think of his death.

Still, there was no time to mourn the loss of my brother. I perched myself on the great, stone walls of the city, gazing out over the endless desert. She surely would have died if she had landed in the middle of the desert, but since God had sent her, she
’d most likely be in an oasis. He would do anything to protect one of his own.

That’s when my eyes settled on it: a small patch of green with a dark figure in the middle. I furrowed my brow in confusion. What on earth was so far away from the city? The oases were too far for a mortal to reach before death, and only a handful of creatures could make a trip under the hot desert sun.

It took only minutes for me to be directly over the oasis, staring at what appeared to be a troll. The people of Luxuria banned trolls from the city ages ago. There’s a good reason, too. They stink. They’re ugly. They’re stupid. This one looked to be a male by the color of his flesh. Female trolls were a sickly green, not gray. He wore an oversized loincloth, which I was thankful for.

In his hand, of course, was the angel.

It was easy to tell that it was her. I could see nothing but her golden hair. It was a strange color for any mere mortal. She was obviously unconscious, slumped over in the troll’s grasp. I grimaced. No one wants to deal with a troll.

I swooped down and hovered in front of the stupid creature. “Hey!” I called.

It ignored me.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

This time, it turned its blank gaze to me. Drool was dripping from its mouth, and I pinched my nose to block the rancid odor of its breath. “That girl you’re holding,” I began, gesturing briefly to the angel, “belongs to me.”

It grunted briefly. I never learned how to speak troll. Naturally, its dumb grunts angered me. “Do you even know who I am?” I snapped.

This time, its eyes lit up with anger. It let out a loud bellow, swiping at me with a massive, dirty hand. I only flew higher. My lips curled into a snarl. A troll was no real problem. I was like a god, untouchable.

Until it managed to knock me out of the air.

I hit the ground. All the air in my lungs left with a brief
whoosh
. I coughed harshly upon sitting up, wincing at the sharp pain in my chest. Something was certainly broken, or worse. How could I have been stupid enough to not have seen that coming?

My breathing was a bit labored, and I could’ve sworn that I tasted blood. Something in my chest had most likely been greatly damaged. My best gu
ess was that my ribs, lungs, or heart had been affected. I cursed my human anatomy. Incubi were very unfortunate to have such weak bodies.

“Lucky shot,” I yelled, clutching at my chest. It would heal in due time. I was still a supernatural being capable of ignoring such trauma for a brief time. Right now, the troll had to be taken down.

It grinned at me. A guttural sound rose from its throat that I realized was laughter. I scowled a mixture of pain and fury. Nobody laughed at me without being severely punished. As it laughed, I flew up to the nearest tree and tore off a branch. If it enjoyed seeing my pain so much, perhaps no sight at all would be the best punishment. I aimed as though I had only one chance and threw it. It pierced the eye of the troll as well as any sword, and it screamed. Gore oozed from the wounded eye, and it rubbed at it with one giant fist like a human would rub at an eyelash. The angel fell from its grasp as it decided to use both hands to claw at its eye.

The angel was falling at an alarming speed, but I managed to catch her in my arms. I couldn’t deny that she was beautiful. Her skin was tanned, flawless. Her hair was like actual gold had been spun into threads. Her lips were rosy, full. There was, however, one thing that turned me off from her. Her figure was boyish, unfortunately. Not much there.

Lilith’s command remained the dominant thought in my mind. I was not to touch the angel, and I’d never been more ready to obey one of her commands. I rarely came across anyone that I wasn’t attracted to. Perhaps it was the notion that she could probably kick my ass in her true form. I’d fought Gabriel before, and I wasn’t prepared to fight another one of those sadists. I’ve only had the misfortune of meeting the archangel Gabriel once. I managed to escape with both of my wings sliced off and most of the bones in my body broken. I wouldn’t touch one of those savage creatures, even if they were in mortal form.

Flying was taking its toll on me. Even though the girl was light, I felt like I was carrying one of the stones that had made the walls of Ira. I was breathing in a strained manner. My mouth was
filled with the unsettling flavor of copper. Then the sensation of blood filling my mouth came. I spat out a mouthful, wincing slightly. I really hated the taste of blood.

I managed to take her to another oasis before I collapsed. She rolled away from me like a broken doll, pale and lifeless. My hands grasped the dry grass beneath me, and blood poured from between my lips. My breaths were ragged. I would heal, in time. For now, the injuries were too serious. Darkness was creeping along the sidelines of my vision. Anger rose above the pain. Lilith knew I wasn’t built for combat. Yet here I was, coughing up blood and feeling like death itself. My eyes locked onto the girl once more. Angels were embodiments of purity, and she would surely sense the darkness in me once she awoke. Then she would run, and I would be punished. I’
d probably be thrown back into Hell for Lucifer to deal with me himself.

One more tidal wave of pain hit me before I collapsed, fading into the blackness.