From Heaven To Earth (The Faith of the Fallen) (16 page)

Gerald explored the skies and forgot about his duties. He did not even
consider why God had given him his divinity back. Wind in his wings made him
the undisputed ruler of the sky. What did any of it matter to him now?

Gerald stared at the moon. Her soft light glistened off the lustrous
feathers of his wings.

I thought I had found a real life by living inside those humans. Now
that I’ve obtained my true self again, I know it was all hollow. I don’t know
how I ever lived without my divinity. If I had to make the choice to possess
that human when I fell a second time... I think I would rather be erased from
this existence than be anyone else. This is who I am. I’m free.

Gerald knew freedom was only as good as where it took him. He had
squandered it before. He wouldn’t again.

He needed to see Eliza.

He had to tell her to stay safe while he was gone, and ask her if she
would wait for him. She had believed in him for some reason, cared about him
and made him believe in love. He had to try to make amends for how insensitive
he had acted the evening Drean had arrived. Maybe she wouldn’t forgive him, but
he would always regret it if he didn’t try.

He dove, dipped his hands into the clouds and left abrasions in them as
he passed over.

He reached out with his mind to try to find Eliza, banked in that
direction and remembered he was naked.

“As much as she would enjoy that, I had better get some clothes.”

Gerald slowed his flight considerably and spotted a shopping mall. Gerald
camouflaged himself and descended.

Eliza checked herself in the mirror one last time. She wore a black and
red crimson lacy top with a V-neck that dipped into her cleavage slightly and a
short red skirt. She wasn’t used to so much skin being out in the open. She
kept her hair up so it would not distract from her outfit.

She looked at the time. He would be there any second. She ran to her
bathroom, grabbed her black satin robe, donned it and waited.

There was a knock from her balcony.

She walked to the door, opened it and stuck her head out.

“Hey, Gerald. Guess you didn’t mean what you said that night, huh?”

He laughed.

“You knew it was me?”

She laughed and Gerald smiled. He never thought he would hear that
delightful sound again.

“Yes, I knew you were coming.”

“Did you know I was coming to apologize too?”

She shook her head.

“There’s no need for that.”

“How did you know I was coming? In fact, how do you even recognize me
right now?”

“I’ll show you in a second. First,” she stepped outside, “I want to see
your wings. Is that ok? I’ve painted them so much.”

“Painted them?”

“Like I said, I’ll show you in a moment. Please?”
Gerald took his new leather jacket off. His wings wavered into view like black
fog and solidified.

Eliza drew in a breath and ran her hands along his feathers like they
were made of fragile glass.

“So soft.”

“Hey. You said look not touch. Unless you’re going to finish what you’re
starting.”

She grinned at him and tried to hide her crooked teeth before Gerald
could see.

“You don’t have to hide your flaws from me, Eliza. I think you’re
beautiful.”

“I... I made dinner. Your favorite I think. Spaghetti and meatballs?”

“How did you know?”

She shook her head and smiled again.

“Come in, Gerald.”

Gerald blushed when he saw the multitude of paintings in her apartment.
Most of them were of him, shirtless. They depicted his new body.

“I know what this looks like.” Eliza laughed nervously. “It’s not that
I’m obsessed with you. I mean every time you come to watch me dance I dream of
you, and when I wake I paint what I dream. I have to. My visions cause me so
much agony. They put me in the hospital before I realized I had to paint them.”

“I might be able to find someone to stop them for you.”

She shrugged.

“It’s ok. They’re a part of me. And they brought me closer to you.”

“So you can see the future?”

“Recently I have. I see the past mostly. Your past.”

“So you... know me pretty well then,” Gerald said.

“Yes. I do. And I have to say, I have come to care about you a lot.”

“How is that possible?”

“I have some things I want to show you. Hold on.”

She went into her kitchen, plated some spaghetti and meatballs and
brought it to Gerald.

“Wow. Huge balls, just like I like them.”

“That’s what she said.”

Gerald laughed. He ran his fingers along the edge of the black plate.

“This plate is awesome. Looks like an angel feather.”

“I designed them myself.”

He put a mouthful of food in his mouth.

“Delicious.”

“Hold that thought, I need to grab some things.”

She set up an easel and set a painting on it.

“This first one; this was after the first night I met you. The dreams I
had were so horrible. I don’t even want to speak of them.”

In the painting Gerald stood naked, his scarred skin covered in blood
head to toe, to wingtip. He stood on a hill of corpses: women’s corpses.

“This is who you were. I’ll take it away now because I know you know who
you were. I wanted you to know that I knew.”

“This spaghetti doesn’t taste as good now...”

“You shouldn’t be embarrassed.”

“It’s just hard to see that stuff.”

“It’s not hard for me to. I was afraid of you once, Gerald. I knew who
you were. What you were capable of. But every night, little by little that
changed.”

She put a new painting on the easel.

“This is who you were a few days ago when you came to the club.”

He was at a bar, with a mug of beer in front of him. A young red-haired
girl with large breasts and a short skirt was at his side on a stool. One hand
gripped the bar counter, and another held the shoulder of the woman. Strain and
sweat streaked his face. A transparent naked version of himself, his winged
spirit, stretched from his ruined body: seeking to pull Gerald away from his
decadent obsessions.

“You’ve changed. You don’t want any of this anymore.”

“And all of these paintings of me around the room. Are me now?”
“Yes. Resurrected. Truthfully I preferred the way you looked before.”

Gerald laughed.

“You’re into all the scars, huh?”

“Maybe.” She giggled. “Or maybe I was just used to it. This body
represents all the healing you’ve done inside, your reward for having faith in
yourself. And that is beautiful as well.”

“Man, I’m not used to all these compliments.”

“You’re welcome. Want more food?”

“Uh yeah. If there’s some left.

“I made enough for six. I didn’t know how much angels typically eat.”

She dished out more food for him and got some for herself.

“No more paintings to show me? You’re very talented.”

“You think so? It’s partly because of you. I had been concentrating on
dancing till my dreams drove me to paint.”

“Forced is more like it. I’m sorry.”

She put a hand on his.

“Don’t be. Want to watch something while we eat?”

“I’m not really into TV.”

“Music? Do you like Sinatra?”

“Hell yeah. Lay it on me.”

She laughed, removed her iPod from her pocket and slid it into an iPod dock
inside her black, solid wood entertainment center.

“Fly me to the Moon” played. Gerald closed his eyes and sank into
Sinatra’s warm croon. It had been so long since he had been able to appreciate
music.

Pictures of Eliza and a taller woman with blond hair, tanned skin and
blue eyes stood in the two glass cabinets that flanked the main cabinet of the
entertainment center.

“Is that your mother? How old were you then?”

“Ten. Yes, she was my foster mother. She disappeared when I turned
eighteen.”

“Disappeared?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t living with her then. I had been out on my own that year,
dancing at different clubs like I do now and working. No one really knows what
happened to her.”

“That’s crazy. I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok. We can talk about that some other time. I want to talk about
you tonight. And us.”

“Us? You don’t have a napkin or something do you? I got it all over my
face.”

“Sure.”

Gerald wiped his face.

“Come sit next to me on the couch, Gerald.”

“I think I’m fine right here.”

“Why are you so nervous?”

“I don’t know.”

Eliza laughed.

“Just come sit next to me.”

Gerald sank into the black leather couch.

“Comfy.”

Eliza put her arm around him.

“Can I touch your wings again?”

“Sure.”

He made them visible, and she stroked his feathers. He shuddered in
delight.

“Feels good?”

“Yeah. Angel’s wings are extremely sensitive. They’re the source of our
power, they house our souls.”

After a few minutes Gerald let his wings fade back into their ethereal
state.

“Hey I was enjoying that. Weren’t you?”

Gerald said nothing.

“What’s wrong? I’ve never seen you so shy. You’re blushing!”

“I guess I’m not used to girls putting the moves on me.”

“Is that what I’m doing?”

Her green eyes met his ocean blue, and they stared at each other.
Sinatra’s voice, the warmth of each other’s arms, and the silence between them
slowed life’s grueling pace down to their own: the rhythm of their hearts. Then
the silence spoke volumes more than anything either of them had ever heard:
louder than any melody or beat Eliza had danced to, and more compelling than
any command God could give Gerald.

They leaned in and kissed.

Eliza caressed Gerald’s neck with her lips and lifted his shirt off. She
held him down and explored his body with her fingers and mouth until she saw he
could no longer stand it. She released him from his pants and disrobed herself
for him, taking her time and watching him all the while.

She smiled at him.

“I’m yours. Take me.”

He obliged her.

Though Gerald had known the pleasure of succubae and the ecstasy of
angelic resurrection, nothing compared to being a part of Eliza.

When both of them were spent, they held each other’s sweaty bodies.
Gerald wrapped his soft black wings around her, and they let themselves slide
into slumber.

Gerald woke hours later.

He looked upon Eliza’s body, smiled and felt the urge to stay with her,
but he didn’t deserve such comfort, not yet.

Gerald spared a moment to kiss her forehead, stroke her soft lustrous
hair, and breathe in her subtle aromas: her flowery perfume mixed with the
scents of lotions and body soap and the smell of her sweat and their love
making. He closed his eyes and breathed in so he could remember what he was
fighting for.

Gerald sighed and searched for his clothes. He dressed himself
deliberately, taking his time with each button on his shirt. He slipped into
his leather jacket, zipped it and laced his docs.

“Gerald. I have something else to show you before you go.”

He fell over, startled.

Eliza had her cheek propped with one small hand and snickered at him.

“Sorry.”

He could not help but let his eyes help themselves to the sight of her
ample exposed breasts. She noticed his lustful daze and covered her nipples
with her other arm and gave him a sly smile.

He smiled back at her.

“No I am.” He sat next to her. “I’m sorry I have to leave.”

She looked down.

“It’s ok, but you know... you could stay, Gerald.”

“I can’t though. God needs me.”

“He isn’t calling you, or reprimanding you for being here with me, is
He?”

“No.”

“He is giving you a choice, Gerald.”

“Maybe He isn’t on my ass because he knows I’ll make the right choice.”

Eliza wanted to show Gerald his future. His battle with Shrazz, the black
skinned demon she had seen so frequently, but she did not want to change his
mind. She could plainly see he had to leave.

She cried.

“Gerald. Please be safe. Please come back to me.”

“I want nothing more than to come back to you. After my journey, I will.
And I will never leave your side.”

She held him and drew him in for one last kiss. They tenderly suckled
each other’s lips and let their tongues intertwine.

“Go. Go before I start stripping you down again,” she said and wiped
saliva from her mouth.

Gerald grinned. She unlocked the door to the balcony.

He looked at her while his wings solidified. He realized he could still
stay, and she realized she could still make him stay.

He blew her a kiss and jumped from the balcony. She waved and kept her
mouth closed with a smile.

She walked into her apartment and opened a black armoire. She retrieved
several canvases and took them out onto her balcony: paintings of Gerald
dueling Shrazz.

One depicted their meeting: Gerald in his leather, Shrazz in his white
Falling Curtain uniform and red cape. Shrazz looked confident, and Gerald
looked unconcerned.

In the next, Gerald’s burning wings covered the canvas. His face twisted
in agony, while green flames burned high over his head.

In the final painting, a battle weathered Shrazz held a battered Gerald
up by the neck. The angel’s smoking wings hung limp.

Eliza sighed and threw the paintings in a pile.

She had to have faith.

She went back to the armoire and found lighter fluid, doused the
paintings in it and set them aflame. They burned with a green fire. She threw
paintings of Gerald and the purple skinned demon woman on the fire for good
measure.

Riell watched Keep close The Horse. Methodically, he wiped down the hard
wood bar with sweet smelling oil soap, swept, mopped and took stock. She
wondered what it would be like to have a normal life away from The Falling
Curtain: what she would have done, where she would have gone.

She had been silent for almost forty-five minutes, and Keep had been
content with that. He loved his bar: his life. He cared for it like the son he
had never had. It had brought him some measure of peace after years upon years
of horror.
 

“So you’re chasing that angel?” Keep asked.

Riell jumped at his deep voice.

“No. No I’m not. Wait,” Riell stared at Keep in amazement, “how did you
know he was an angel?”

“I noticed his innocence.” Keep’s baritone voice echoed throughout the
empty bar. “He felt like newborn. Devoid of evil. And I know you, Riell.” He
laughed. “You desire him, at the very least.”

“Yeah. I can admit that. He is pretty handsome. We kissed last night.”
Riell smiled, and the image of a naked Drean in front of her closet entered her
mind.

“Kissed? That’s all?”

“Yeah. He fell asleep kissing me. I would not let him touch me.”

Keep laughed.

“You have more self-respect than any woman I know. I’d like to think I
taught you that.”

She smiled.

“Or maybe he just didn’t make it through your armor?”

“Both I think. But, I didn’t want to overexcite him. He is nothing more
than a newborn right now, as you said.”

She sighed.

“Shrazz kissed me as well.”

“When did that happen?”

“Earlier. He debriefed me, and it just happened.”

“Debriefed you?”

“Laugh all you want,” Riell said.

“Sounds like you have a predicament at hand.”

“I have my heart, Keep. I have not given it to Drean or Shrazz. Something
as serious as love would drag us all down given the current situation.”

“And what is the current situation?”

Riell bit her lip.

“I found out that I’m not getting compensated for this job.”

“Well your advance was ten times what you usually get, according to
Shrazz.”

“I know that!”

Keep winced.

“Sorry. I’m a little anxious about this. You and Shrazz have talked about
this already?”

“He didn’t tell me much. Just that you two were on speaking terms again
and working a big job.”

Riell took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

Keep gestured for her to continue.

“I’m not getting anymore because there isn’t money for Shrazz to give
me.”

Keep looked puzzled.

“Shrazz paid me that advance out of his own pocket.”

“So did you decide to pull out?”

“Before I hit you with the rest of this I need a drink.”

Riell sat at the bar, and Keep flipped the counter up and walked behind
it.

“What would you like?” he asked.

“A Bacardi and Coke, double tall.”

“So it’s rum this evening is it?” Keep pulled a tall glass from
underneath the bar and put ice in it.

Where do I begin?
Riell thought.
I’ll just pitch it like Shrazz
did.

Keep filled the pint glass with ice, poured two shots over it and topped
off her cocktail with coke.

“He told me divinity is what is going to come from this job,” Riell said,
when he placed the glass in front of her.

Keep tightened his fists.

“Thanks.” She took a long gulp from her drink.

“Who’s the employer?”

Riell took another long drink.

“Who, Riell?!”

“Satan,” she said when she put her glass down.

“I should have known.” Keep paced behind the bar, his usually jolly face
unnerved at the mention of the deceiver’s name. “Why would Shrazz do such a
thing?”

“Now you see why I needed the drink.” She sighed. “After this mission is
over Shrazz will become a greater divine.”

“Half-demons are not meant to have such power. He will not be able to
control it, Riell.”

“In the next phase...”

“There’s more?!”

“Yes. Satan plans to give Shrazz access to an energy source called the
Faithstream, and after Shrazz has sopped it up they will recreate the three
realms as they see fit.”

“I would have thought the two of you... after everything we’ve been
through, after everything I’ve bloody taught you...”

“Why are you so taken aback by this? You’ve been neutral all this time.”

“You two are my friends, my family!” he bellowed, the establishment shook
from his protest, and he slammed his hands down on the bar counter. He lifted
his hands and saw he had damaged it. He shook his head in disbelief at his
reaction and the situation.

“You two are the only family I have.”

“Keep, I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know until tonight.”

Keep sat next to Riell at an adjacent bar stool and rubbed his bald
scalp. She put an arm around him.

“He told me this will change our lives. I’m so tired of bounty hunting. I
wonder every day if that is all I’m good for. I’ll finally be able to retire.”

“I never should have retired.” He sighed heavily and shook his head.
“Riell I never wanted that life for you and Shrazz. I meant for you two to
protect, not spill blood at the whims of others.”

“This is not the time to talk about my life choices. We can only go
forward, Keep.”

“So make different decisions now,” Keep said. “Don’t go through with
this.”

“I’ve already accepted the job. The Curtain will place a bounty on me if
I abandon it.”

Keep held her hands in his.

“Do you think this is the right path, Riell?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t follow through then. You are almost four centuries old! Use your
bloody independence like you always have and tell them to shove it!”

“I’m sorry, Keep.”

“Don’t apologize anymore. In fact don’t say another bloody thing.”

Riell drank the rest of her drink and stood.

“Thanks for the drink.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Back home. Back to the solace of Drean’s arms.”

“Think of him then, Riell. You care for him. He cares for you. What will
happen when he discovers your allegiance with his sworn enemy?”

Riell lifted her green eyes to Keep’s and drew a breath to yell, but
instead a sob left her mouth.

He held her as she cried.

“I don’t know, Keep. I don’t know!”

Keep nodded.

“I’ll be there for you both as well as I can. I apologize for my
reaction.”

“You’re like our father, Keep. I know through your anger you still love
us.”

“I do. I do.”

“Can I have one more?”

“Hmm?”

“Rum and coke. Double tall.”

Keep smiled.

“And tissue,” she said.

Keep provided both and watched her dry her eyes and sip her drink until
only ice remained.

“Somehow Shrazz found out about Drean.” Riell shook the ice around in her
glass before she tipped it up and let a single cube fall into her mouth.

“What? The angel? His name is Drean?”

“Yes.” She rolled the cube around with her tongue and tasted the remnants
of the rum on it.

“Well how did he find out?”

“He had some kind of vision.” She crunched the cube with her teeth and
swallowed it.

“A vision.” Keep thought for a moment. “Did he have a skull splitting
headache?”

Riell gave a slow nod.

“Nearly pass out?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“It was divine inspiration.”

“Huh?”

“A vision from God. Why would God grant him such foresight given the
mission? This whole situation makes me want to get snockered. It’s perplexing.”

Riell chuckled.

“You? Drink?”
“I’m only human, after all.” He smiled.

The light patter of rain could be heard on the roof. Thunder boomed in
the distance.

“So this vision. What came of it?” he asked.

“Well after he snapped out of it, he questioned me about Drean and said
Drean would help us complete our mission.”

“Does he know Drean is an angel? How would he help Shrazz capture
himself?”

“No. He doesn’t.”

“Who is he after if he is not aware of Drean?”

“I gave Shrazz a description of another angel.” Riell walked back over to
her bar stool and sat down. “A fallen angel.”

“What is the angel’s name, Riell?”

“Gerald.” She smiled at her cleverness.

“Why did you do that, Riell?! He has nothing to do with this!”

Her smile vanished at the sound of Keep’s rebuke.

“I didn’t know what else to do. I had no idea you knew him.” She stared
down into her empty glass.

“He comes in here all the time, just trying to get by. I know he’s had
his moments. But, we all bloody do. I did before I became part of the order.
Gerald had just started to change for the better. I could feel it.” Keep buried
his face into his enormous hands. “I wanted to see him make it.”

“Sorry.”

Keep waved her apology away with a huge hand.

“You’re sure that Shrazz’s plan was inspired by God?” she asked.

“I’ve had many of those in my day. Gerald must have angered God to merit
such an intervention. I am assuming of course that Shrazz’s vision included
him.”

“Yes. It did.”

“God could be protecting Drean.”

“Yeah I see what you mean,” she mumbled, and swallowed the ice. “Maybe He
is trying to protect him, but wait...”

“What’s that?”

“Well, there was something that Drean said.”

Keep put his hand over Riell’s mouth. A shadow could be seen beyond the
stained glass window of the bar’s entrance.

“Get behind the bar!” Keep snapped.

“I can take c...”

“Do it!” Keep whispered.

Riell used her hands to vault herself over the bar. She crouched behind
it, formed the image of her longbow in her mind to summon it from her armory,
and it appeared in her hands.

She drew it back as if an arrow were notched in it. An arrow with an
emerald green shaft and a large silver arrowhead faded into view upon the
bowstring. She slunk around the corner of the bar underneath the lift-able part
of the counter so she would have a shot at the door.

“Who goes there?!” Keep bellowed.

“Uh Keep, you don’t have to yell. It’s just me,” Gerald said from behind
the door.

“Gerald?”

Gerald,
Riell thought.
It can’t be him. Who I’m sensing out
there is much too ominous.

“Yeah, it’s me. Can you let me in or somethin’?”

“Damn it, Gerald. You scared the wits out of me!” Keep said as he
unlocked the door and let Gerald in.

Riell was on the verge of panic.
What is he doing?! He knows that
Shrazz and I are going to have to kill Gerald!
She tried to compose
herself, strapped her long bow to her back and camouflaged it.

“Hey sorry about that.” Gerald stepped out of the doorway and into the
bar.

Riell caught sight of him first since Keep was still behind the front
door.

She gasped at his drastic change in appearance.

Gerald wore a black leather trench coat with black slacks and a black
sleeveless shirt. He had slim black sunglasses on.

Riell whistled at him, trying to make light of the potentially dangerous situation.

“You likin’ my outfit?” Gerald asked.

She laughed. “Yeah, you’re looking pretty suave there.”

“You know I’ve seen you before right? Shadowing Drean?” Gerald asked.

“Yeah. Who wouldn’t? He’s hot stuff. You’re smokin’ yourself nowadays.
Did you con some high class enchanter into casting some perms on you?”

His smile faded, and it frightened her.

“No. It’s me. Just me. And that is the way it will stay.”

“You still have that one on your wings though?”

“Well, an angel’s gotta protect himself.”

Gerald turned to Keep.

“Keep? What’s up, man?”

Keep had been in awe of Gerald’s transformation since he had walked past
the door.

“I’m here.” Keep let the door go and winced when it hit Gerald on the
shoulder.

“Ow! That smarts.” He rubbed his shoulder. “Thanks for hitting me with
the door.”

“...Sorry, just a little edgy,” Keep said.

“Just kidding, man!” Gerald laughed. “I didn’t feel a thing.”

 
Gerald glanced at Riell and
back at Keep, shrugged and took a seat at the bar.

“What have you guys been up to?” Gerald said.

Silence answered him.

“Just having a drinking party.” Riell offered a smile and sat back down.

Gerald looked to the single glass in front of Riell. “Drinking alone is a
sign of alcoholism. You should get some help.”

Is he being serious?

“Or you can allow me to join you!” He laughed.

Riell laughed along with him.

“Sure. Keep, get him a drink.”

“We were just discussing your angel friend, Drean.” Keep closed and
locked the bar door.

“How did you know his name?” Gerald asked.

“Riell knows him.” Keep went behind the counter and stood in front of
him. “Right, I apologize. I didn’t properly introduce you two. Gerald this is
Riell Frallt, she was one of my pupils. Riell this is Gerald.”

Gerald nodded at her and looked into Riell’s eyes. It made her
uncomfortable.

“So, how’d it turn out with you two?”

 
Keep looked to Riell and
awaited her answer.

“What do you want to drink?” Keep asked Gerald. “And do you want another
Bacardi and Coke, Riell?”

“Sure,” she said.

“I’ll have a shot of Patron. I need to get out of here soon,” Gerald said
and kept his eyes on Riell for an answer.

“Do you want it dressed?” Keep asked.

“No, just chilled,” Gerald replied.

“Oh. It went fine,” Riell said when she noticed his gaze. “I told him
off, and he went home with some other chick.”

Gerald looked like he had more questions. Riell held her breath.