The Light of His Sword (20 page)

Gabe locked eyes with Mike, “You have no
right to lecture me on a relationship with a mortal.”

Mike held his gaze and said, “You’re right;
I’ve allowed myself to indulge in less than appropriate
relationships during my time on earth. However, I have never
allowed myself to fall in love. We both know of all the archangels;
I must distance myself from these people. I cannot dispense justice
when a soul stands before me if I am emotionally attached to
everyone. You, on the other hand, are a messenger, a communicator.
Your duty requires a close and intimate relationship with man. But,
there is a line that must be drawn. A line that should never be
crossed; no matter what the temptation. Gabe, there are some
battles that you cannot win.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed, “Are you saying I’m
weak?”

Mike flashed a wicked smile that gleamed in
the darkness, “I am cautioning you. I have always considered you an
equal. We are both to play critical roles on the last day. I may be
indulgent and reckless at times, but I would never do anything that
would force me to sacrifice that honor.”

“You don’t think your promiscuity has been
frowned on?” Gabe asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I know it has.” Mike’s grin waivered
slightly. “That is something I will have to face in the end.”

“And yet you still bed whatever mortal suits
your fancy?”

Mike’s grin vanished, “Never in the name of
love.”

Gabe sighed and glanced up as the moon
peaked out from behind a large cloud. “Have you ever considered
that I may be the key to Alyssa’s prophesy?”

“I have,” Mike answered as his wings opened
and began to beat. “But, what if you’re not?”

Mike pushed off and soared across the trees.
Gabe gazed silently after him.

********

Alyssa carried Samantha, then Cody up the
stairs and put them to bed. She sat on the end of Samantha’s bed
gazing at her. She was so beautiful, so sweet. Alyssa’s head
snapped up suddenly, and she went to Samantha’s side. Gently
searching her pockets, Alyssa slowly pulled a small compact knife
from Samantha’s front pocket. She gazed down at it in the darkness.
She pushed the little button on the side and the blade popped
out.

Frowning at the three-inch blade Alyssa
glanced over at Cody. The poor little guy. It must have hurt
something awful when Samantha stabbed his little leg. Alyssa’s
frown vanished as she turned to gaze at Samantha again. Mike had
not asked her permission to give Samantha the knife, but Rafi said
it had saved her life. How can she be angry with Mike for that? How
could such a ruffian be an archangel?

Alyssa headed downstairs and found Cora
placing a plate of sandwiches on the kitchen table. Cora glanced up
at her and said, “Rafi’s in the shower; he was beginning to smell
pretty sour. I had to insist. It’s funny how he and Gabe can both
fit in your grandpa’s old clothes, not Mike though. He’s as tall as
a barn, and his shoulders are twice as wide. He reminds me of your
uncle Patrick; he was born to play football. He would have gone
professional if he hadn’t shattered his knee in his senior year of
high school.”

Alyssa smiled and went to pull a pitcher of
lemonade from the refrigerator. Cora turned and headed to the stove
adding, “I made some vegetable soup. Do you think the boys will be
back soon?”

The front door opened in response. Alyssa
rushed into the hall to find Mike striding toward her; his wings
had vanished. She leaned to the side to glance past him, but Gabe
was not there. Mike walked past her without a glance saying, “He’ll
be here shortly.”

When he reached the kitchen, he asked
loudly, “Woman? Do I smell chicken?”

Walking boldly up behind Cora, Mike kissed
her cheek. Cora gasped and giggled like a school girl answering,
“Chicken
Vegetable
soup; it won’t kill you to eat a few
vegetables young man.”

“I would eat anything your magical hands
produced Cora.” Mike countered grabbing the pot from the stove and
holding it while she rushed to get a serving bowl.

Walking out onto the porch Alyssa glanced up
at the cloudy sky. A sudden movement on the roof of the barn
startled her. She staggered backward as Gabe stepped off the roof
and glided slowly down. Alyssa heart raced as their eyes met. Gabe
said nothing as he moved toward her. His wings vanished slowly
behind him as he walked across the gravel drive.

Gabe moved slowly up the steps; his eyes
never left Alyssa’s. He stopped before her and slipped his arms
around her waist. He pulled her close so slowly Alyssa nearly lost
control of her mounting desire. Her breath came in gasps as she
slid her hands up his arms to his shoulders. When her fingers
touched the bare skin of his neck Gabe pulled her against him and
kissed her hard. She clung to him lost in the fire of his kiss,
tears streamed down her face.

When they finally separated Alyssa whispered
through her tears, “I will never forget you. I wouldn’t have made
it home without you.”

Gabe’s eyes grew darker betraying the depth
of his emotion. He brushed a tear from her cheek and said, “You’ve
given me a great gift Alyssa. A gift I’ve never known before.” His
voice was deep and guttural, “You and Samantha mean so much more to
me than you’ll ever know. I will treasure this time. You are a
special woman, so strong and brave. Samantha is lucky to have you
in her life. I promise you; you will never be alone. I will always
be with you. If you ever need me, just call my name, and I will
come.”

He kissed her softly.

Suddenly a commotion came from inside. They
rushed into the house to find Rafi and Mike in a heated argument in
the kitchen. Rafi shoved Mike against the kitchen wall and said,
“You had no right to erase him from his parents’ lives. Cody is not
a threat!”

“We don’t know that.” Mike said softly,
“It’s best that he stay with us now.”

Gabe asked, “Us?”

Mike explained, “We’ll have to find a place
for him where he can be closely supervised. I will not be
responsible for unleashing the next serial killer on the
world.”

Rafi released him and stormed into the
living room.

“Gee Mike,” Gabe frowned at him, “I’d
suggest a solitary convent on top of a mountain somewhere, but he’s
a boy.”

“Actually there is a monastery in Northern
Utah that’s practically deserted.” Mike locked eyes with Gabe.

Gabe held his gaze and walked slowly toward
Mike as his face flushed with anger saying, “Wonderful, let’s put
the poor kid in a wilderness retreat with a bunch of old men who’ve
taken a vow of silence and expect him to grow up normal.”

Mike’s eyes flashed with warning. He
answered Gabe in a low seething tone, “Don’t let one decent victory
go to your head. I won’t hesitate to beat the superiority right out
of you.”

Gabe stepped closer undaunted by Mike’s
threat and said, “The world doesn’t work that way anymore Mike. You
can’t just toss that kid in a hole and check back in ten years to
see how he’s doing.”

Mike locked eyes from Gabe as he answered,
“If you don’t like my decision then perhaps we should go old school
and kill him.”

Rafi spun and raced toward Mike his face red
with fury. Alyssa stepped back surprised by the depth of anger on
Rafi’s face. Gabe turned and stepped in front of Rafi. He took hold
of his shoulders and forced him back. They both knew Mike did not
issue hollow threats. He was completely serious. Gabe forced Rafi
to look at him as he said softly, “Rafi, I won’t let that happen.
Let me talk to him.”

“Yeah,” Mike snapped from behind him, “Let
the archangel of communication talk to me about saving the world.
That’s the uppermost thought in his mind these days.”

Gabe turned to face him. “Don’t take your
anger out on Cody. He’s an innocent young boy. Aim it at me, where
it belongs.”

Mike stepped toward him and said, “I’m not
the one who’s confused, Gabe.
I’m
focusing on what needs to
be done.
I’m
determined to keep us all on track.”

“Cody is not altering that path.” Gabe held
his ground. “Undo what you’ve done. He’s been through enough,
taking him from his family is not what he needs right now.”

“I’ve made my decision, he’s not going
back.” Mike moved closer, his eyes burned with challenge.

“Should we take him on a long walk into the
woods then? Leave him for the wolves to raise?” Gabe growled.

Mike laughed, “Perhaps we should create a
kingdom for him. A castle made of stone with white knights and a
fairy princess to wait upon him.”

“It’s so easy for you, isn’t it Mike.” Gabe
leaned menacingly closer to Mike’s face. “You’re so good at making
a quick decision, and tossing the problem at someone else so you
can move on to greater things. No looking back, no second-guessing.
You just wave your hand and its done. Well this time it’s not going
to work, this time you’ve gone too far. Rafi made the call, he said
Cody was going to be fine. Rafi got to him as soon as he was free
of the demon, there was no time for evil to grow inside him. The
odds are the kid will grow up to be a normal, decent human
being.”

“I disagree,” Mike said softly, his eyes
flashed with warning, “I’ve seen this before. He may seem fine now,
but he’s not. He’ll turn and when he does people will die.”

Rafi stepped up beside them and said, “Then
he’s your responsibility.
You
must teach him how to control
the evil the demon left inside him; so he’s prepared when it
surfaces. You made this decision; you should accept the
responsibility for his life.”

Mike’s eyes never left Gabe’s as he said,
“Perhaps Gabe should take the boy under his wing. It seems to be
the direction he’s heading anyway. After all, coddling mortals has
been a favorite pastime of his for a very long time. At least Cody
won’t lead him toward destruction.”

Gabe’s face suddenly went blank. He stepped
back from Mike and spun to stare at Rafi. Gabe turned slowly to
face Alyssa, who stood behind him taking in the scene as his face
took on a sudden glow of realization.

“Alyssa, do you believe in fate?” He asked
reaching out to take her hands in his.

“I don’t know what I believe these days. I’m
actually pretty confused.” Alyssa admitted allowing him to pull her
near.

Gabe slid his arms around her waist and
pulled her against him. “Very few Angels have fallen since the
Great War,
none
of those were Archangels. It is believed
that earthly love will lead to an angel’s downfall faster than
anything else will. I don’t think that’s true. I believe archangels
are strong enough to overcome any temptation, no matter how great.
I believe
I
am strong enough. But, I need you to understand
there will be times when I’ll be called away. Times you won’t know
where I am or when I’ll return. If you can accept that, then I
think we have a chance.”

Alyssa melted against him, wrapping her arms
around his neck, “As long as you promise to return, I will wait for
you.”

When their lips met, the world fell
away.

Mike stepped toward Gabe, but Rafi barred
his path. He met Mike’s gaze and said, “You have no say so in this,
Mike. Gabe is free to choose his own path. He’s making an honest
choice; he’s not looking for mindless sex.”

Mike’s eyes narrowed, “I won’t condone
this.”

Gabe turned to grin at him, “Perhaps not,
but you just made it possible.”

Mike turned to look at him. “Do you honestly
think you can fool the enemy into thinking you are staying behind
only to care for the boy?”

Gabe flashed Mike a brilliant smile and
said, “I’m willing to take that chance.”

Mike grimaced, “If something goes wrong, I
won’t offer you mercy.”

“I won’t ask you to.” Gabe said softly.

The end

http://www.amazon.com/Alaina-Stanford/e/B009M6QXG8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

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