Gabriel (30 page)

 
The Captain
didn’t move, and neither did the any of the other Kematians. The drug had taken
effect.

Gabriel threw the Captain off
of Calla, who was on her knees in a fetal position. Gabriel straightened her
out and saw the sword sticking out of her chest. With trembling hands he laid
her on her side and knelt beside her. She smiled, as tears slid down her face
and blood spilled from her mouth. Gabriel placed his glowing hands on her
chest. “Stay with me, Calla,” Gabriel sobbed.

His hands glowed, but her
chest didn’t. The Nex Addo would have to be removed before he could heal her.
He sat on the ground and gathered her into his arms as he screamed, “Michael!”

 
“
I love you.”
She reached her hand up and stroked his cheek. Her hand collapsed to her chest
as her breathing stopped and her body went limp. Gabriel removed the knife,
throwing it to the side. Energy poured from his hands in intense washes of
gold, and the wound closed; but Calla didn’t move. In desperation, he tried
moving to what the humans called CPR and banged fervently, hands still blazing
gold.

Michael stood over the two
and knelt down. His hands were now golden, and the two began running their
hands from her head to her toes, but Calla remained lifeless. Michael shook his
head and clasped his brother’s shoulder.

“
No!” Gabriel cried, tears flowing.

Robert sat on the floor and
held Calla’s hand in his. “Please come back, Lily. Don’t just stand there! Do
something, damn it!” Robert yelled.

“
She is gone,” Michael said.

“
You can heal, so heal her. I’ll give my life for hers. Whatever it
takes. She can’t die, she can’t.” Roberts’s sobs muffled the rest of the words
he was trying to get out.

Maree knelt behind and rubbed
his shoulders.

Michael stood and watched
Devdan and Chander as they crouched around Rama’s body. Michael gave Gabriel’s
shoulder a squeeze and strode over to the men who had just lost their brother.

Ajeet and Tre stood between
the bodies. They started gathering the Kematians and placed them in a pile.

Gabriel continued to rock
back and forth holding Calla in his arms with Robert still holding her hand.

“
Please come back to me. I love you, too. Please come back.”

Maree wrapped her arms around
Robert’s shoulders. He glanced back at her tear-stained cheeks. They stood, and
he gathered her in his arms while they tried to comfort each other. Gabriel
continued to cling to Calla. His sobs were starting to lessen, but the tears
continued to fall.

“
Almighty Father, please send her back to me. My heart is
shattered, and my soul is empty. I cannot live without my other half. If she
must return home then please allow me to return, too. I beg you, Father. I am
not strong enough to go through this alone.”

After Michael checked on the
brothers he returned to Gabriel’s side. “What can I do to ease your pain?”

“
Bring her back or kill me.”

“
I can sense your pain. Open up and let me share this burden with
you.”

“
I cannot.”

“
Please, brother, let me help you.”

“
If you would like to help me, I would appreciate if you could help
with things here. Robert is not going to be in any condition to drive, and
after what Maree has been through I think she is not either.”

Michael lowered his head. “I
will help the humans.”

“
Thank you.”

Gabriel stood up with Calla
in his arms and started walking towards the door. Robert met him before he got
into the hallway.

“
Where are you taking Lily?” Robert blocked the doorway, his body
trembling as he tried to hold back the loud sobs.

“
I will bring her back to the house. Then I will return to help. I
do not want her to remain here.”

Robert placed his palm on
Gabriel’s arm. “Please try to bring her back. I will give anything to see her
smile, hear her laugh.”

“
As would I.”

Robert clasped his hand on
Gabriel’s arm and gave a gentle squeeze. He leaned down and kissed Calla’s
forehead. “If you can hear me, Lily, come back to us.”

Gabriel lowered his head and
turned to leave.

He stepped out of the
building and flew with Calla in his arms. The sky opened up as if a thousand
angels felt his pain and wept with him.

Chapter Twenty-One

Gabriel laid Calla on the bed
upstairs. He placed his hands over her as they started to glow. He moved them
up and down her body, repeating this over and over until he collapsed on top of
her. Tears blurred his vision. A heavy feeling weighed on his shoulders, and
despair filled him.

“
Please let me save her. She died trying to protect me. Take my
life instead. Almighty God, please hear me!” Gabriel shouted.

He rested his head on her
abdomen. Her shirt was wet from his tears. He lifted his eyes every so often to
see if her chest started to rise. She remained lifeless.

“
I know you can hear me. I do not understand why you do not answer.
I have been a good, faithful son. I told her we would be together, be a family,
and now I am here alone while she sits with you. Send her back to me. I will
never ask for anything again. I do not believe you allowed us to meet only to
take her away from me.”

Gabriel tried to listen for a
response, but all he heard was his heart breaking. He sat up and ran a finger
over her cold hand.

“
I cannot go on without her. I will die as a warrior in battle, but
know that I will die.”

Gabriel stood, bent down, and
placed a kiss on her forehead.

“
I will keep my word, Calla. We will be together again one way or
another. I love you.” Gabriel and left the room.

He walked on the deck and
raised his arms to the sky.

“
Destroy me now, Father.”

The silence ripped Gabriel’s
soul apart. He collapsed to his knees and prayed as tears ran down his face.
“Father, help me! I feel angry, sad, and empty all at the same time. How will I
ever live without her? Why would you bring her into my life only to take her
back? Have I done something to displease you? If I did, say the word and I
shall mend the situation. I love her. I don’t understand how humans exist when
they lose their soul mates. I fear I am not as strong as they are. Please help
me. Please heal my heart and soul. Please make me whole again.”

Gabriel stayed on the ground
for several minutes. He lifted his head, then stood, wiped away the tears,
kissed Calla’s cheek, and extended his wings. He would not leave his brother
and his friends to clean up the mess there alone.

His thoughts were filled with
Calla’s smile, the sparkle in her eyes, and her last words. He hadn’t been able
to say the same thing to her before she died. He hadn’t gotten the chance to
tell her he loved her before she died, to beg her to wait for him, to promise
her he would follow shortly. He screamed, and the clouds shook with his rage.
His heart began to ache all over again. Her last act was so selfless it humbled
him. She had given her life to save his.

He landed outside the
warehouse, where Robert and Maree sat in front of the door. Robert’s head lay
between his legs, and when Gabriel approached he raised it. His eyes were red
and swollen, his cheeks streaked with tears.

Gabriel sat down next to him,
and Robert looked at him.

“
Say she is alive. Say that you saved her,” Robert said.

“
I am sorry.” Gabriel clenched his fists at his sides, angry that
he was powerless. “That I cannot say either.”

Robert’s head fell into his
hands, and fresh sobs erupted. Maree squatted behind him and rubbed his
shoulders, but the crying only got louder. She placed her head on his back and
mumbled sweet reassurances.

“
I never told her! Damn it, I never told her,” Robert shouted.

“
She loved you all the same. A title didn’t matter to her. You were
her family. She loved you with all her heart,” Maree said as she lifted her
head.

“
Robert, she thought the world of you.” Fresh tears spilled down
Gabriel’s face.

“
No, that’s not true. I was her only family until she met you.
Gabriel, I never saw that girl as happy as she was when she was with you. Her
last actions and words were filled with love. Don’t you dare tarnish her memory
by doing something stupid. Do you understand me?”

Gabriel glanced to the sky.
Is this the tool you choose to use to speak
with me, Father?

Gabriel lowered his head and
saw Michael’s aura.

“
Something is happening to the Kematians. Their bodies are starting
to jerk,” Michael said. “I can take care of this if that is what you wish.”

Gabriel looked at him, then at Robert and shook
his head.

Gabriel, Robert, and Maree followed Michael down
the hallway and into the warehouse.

The Kematian Captain was
separated from the others.
 
Seven
Kematians lay side-by-side in the center of the room. The two who had been
decapitated were stacked on top of each other and to the left of the row of
Kematians. The Captain was diagonal to the row and placed to the right.

Michael pointed to the
Captain.

“
I pulled him aside for you. If you wish, I will remove the head
now.” Michael pulled his sword.

Gabriel placed a hand on
Michael’s wrist and shook his head. “We will wait to see if it is demon or
human.”

“
Does it matter? It killed your soul mate.” Michael put his sword
back, but kept his fingers close to the hilt.

“
I am aware what it has done. I would like nothing better than to
remove the head with my bare hands. That is why I cannot allow it to happen. I
am filled with hate at this moment. If I choose to follow that path then the
brother you knew will truly be lost.”

Michael nodded and left his
sword sheathed.

Some of the Kematians’ skin
started to bubble as the rest began to shake.

“
Which ones are the humans?” Tre asked.

“
I do not know. We never saw the transformation.”

Chander and Devdan stood
beside the one who killed Rama. He was the last one in the row closest to the
two who were decapitated. Gabriel glanced at them both. He strode over to where
they stood and placed a hand on each of their shoulders giving them a pat.

“
I am sorry your brother was killed. He was a great warrior.”

“
Thank you,” Chander said.

“
If this thing is not a human, I will kill it with my bare hands,”
Devdan said.

“
Yes.”

“
I am sorry about your loss as well. Calla made a great sacrifice,”
Devdan said.

“
Yes, she did. As did your brother.”

Gabriel walked back toward
Michael as they watched the transformation taking place.

Green sludge streaked the
floor. Arms and legs fell off and made a smacking sound when they rolled onto
the concrete floor.

“
That stuff is like acid. We need to pull the ones who don’t have
it away from the others,” Tre said.

Seven of the bodies bubbled
and smoked, and the other three were racked with tremors. Tre, Ajeet, and
Michael pulled the three away from the rest. Michael grabbed the Captain.

A few more minutes passed.
The Kematians’ stomachs rolled from the inside like someone was moving it back
and forth, and then began to distend. It swelled, stretching the thin skin,
before it split open, and a fountain of green acid flowed from their abdomens.

Tre, Ajeet, and Michael
pulled the three who weren’t popping farther away. Green acid moved across the
floor burning everything in its path.

Devdan stomped on the
Kematian who was imploding.

“
No! You can’t fade away. I want retribution, you bastard!” Devdan
screamed.

His pant legs smoked, and his
jeans began to disintegrate where the Kematian blood had splashed. When Chander
picked him up and dragged him away, the soles of his shoes were left smoking on
the floor. Robert pulled a white powdery substance out of the black bag and
began pouring it over his legs and feet. He then returned to the puddle of
slime that had once been demons, and sprinkled the contents from the container
onto the floor.