by David Estes
Gabriel raised his eyebrows; he seemed to be surprised by the ferocity of her tone. “That was me. That’s my body.”
“You expect me to believe that? Because I don’t. I think that either my first guess was close to the mark or you have some kind of crazy light source hidden in your pocket. Which is it?”
Gabriel continued to look puzzled as he asked, “What do you mean your first guess?”
“Are you a bit slow? Earlier I mentioned a radioactive meteor, remember?” She didn’t try to hide her sarcasm.
Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh now. He had never shown his full inner light to a human before, but he always expected something more like terror or amazement or even wonder, but not this. Maybe Taylor was special. He had told her that just to flatter her, but perhaps there was more truth to his words than he realized.
“Are you laughing at me?” She glared at him.
“No, no,” was all Gabriel managed to get out before he started laughing again. He realized that he had forgotten why he was even with this entertaining girl. Something about her distracted him from his mission. She continued to scowl at him. “I was just laughing because I didn’t expect your reaction. I thought you might be scared of me, but this gives me hope that you may not run away screaming when I show you my next trick.”
“Oh great, there’s more. Look, I will only watch the next one if you promise to show me how you did it.”
“Fair enough, I will show you all of my tricks afterwards,” he said.
“Okay, let’s see it then.” She stood, waiting, her hands returning to her hips.
He arched his back like he had earlier that night, but this time he didn’t extend his arms to the side. With the same sharp pop! massive wings burst from his neck and rose above his head gracefully. He allowed them to hang in the air for a moment before folding them neatly behind his back.
He waited for the fear to register in her eyes, but she surprised him again by clapping. “Now that was actually impressive, how much did you spend on those retractable wings? They look like something from a Vegas show! Can I touch them? You should really do the light-thing and the wings-thing at the same time, now that would be cool!”
Gabriel was happy that she was not afraid of him in his natural state, but knew that things might change when she realized exactly how natural it was for him. He started with, “I actually got them for free,” which was mostly the truth although technically he didn’t get them, he was born with them. Then he added, “Yes, you may touch them.”
Taylor walked over to and then behind him. He felt her hands gently stroke his fifth and sixth limbs. She exclaimed, “Ooh, they’re even softer than I expected and they are such a bright, white color. I’ve never seen anything like them.”
Then she pushed a single finger through the feathery surface and Gabriel had to pull away, laughing hard. “Stop it, that tickles!”
“Did I touch your back?” she asked.
“No, you tickled my wing.”
“Now, now, Gabe, we talked about this already. You promised to come clean with me on your little tricks.”
“I am trying to, but you are making it rather difficult. Let’s try this a different way. Feel the top part of my wings, where they protrude from my skin.”
Taylor ignored his ridiculous use of the phrases my wings and protrude from my skin, as she obeyed his request. When she felt closer to his skin, it really did feel like the wings were somehow attached to his neck. It seemed impossible, because she would have noticed them while they were walking over. Come to think of it, the wings were bulky enough on his back that it was beyond explanation as to how he had been able to hide them under his clothing until now.
“Now stand back, Taylor.” She did as she was told, continuing to puzzle over the mystery. With a soft whoop! the wings appeared to rush up and into the back of his neck. She stepped forward again to examine him, her astonishment growing.
There was a gash on his neck that looked like a scar that had been reopened. She rubbed her hands along the back of his shirt, feeling only his spine, his muscles, his skin. With a jerk, she backed away from him, her hands trembling. “What…what are you?”
Gabriel turned slowly, a beautiful smile forming on his face, the glow around him radiating light once more. His wings reopened in an impossible display of beauty and grace. “Isn’t it obvious?” he said. “I’m an angel, of course.”
Chapter Eleven
Dionysus paced across the wide room. The walls of the room seemed to be filled with light from top to bottom. The light came from within the walls, rather than from some fixture attached to them. The floors and ceilings were the same; a different material maybe, but similarly filled with a brightness that would be blinding to a human who gazed directly upon them for too long. But Dionysus wasn’t a human.
“Why hasn’t he checked in yet?” Dionysus asked.
Even in his stressed tone it was clear that he commanded authority and expected his question to be answered by any who heard it. In this case, there was only one there to listen.
“I am sure he will soon,” assured Michael, the other angel in the room.
Michael was the second most experienced member of the Archangel Council of the Twelve, of which Dionysus was the Head. Despite his age, Dionysus had the body of a thirty-year-old Italian stallion and a full head of white-blond hair. Both men were stunningly handsome and could charm just about anyone with a smile and a wink. They also happened to control the most powerful army on the planet.
“I’ll give Gabriel one more day and then I’m going out there,” Dionysus threatened.
“Give him time,” Michael said.
“Time…,” Dionysus mused. “Yes, time I can give. But he must keep us updated, even if his report is that progress is slow. He may be a rising star, but he WILL respect us!” His last statement was in the form of a roar, which caused Michael to lean back, away from his friend.
“He does, Dionysus. He is still young and wants to impress us. He probably doesn’t want to report until he has made some real progress.” Michael paused. His face was tense, as if he expected another explosion of rage from his leader. But Dionysus was calm again, like his fit had been an anomaly, a rare subsidence of control.
His next words were spoken evenly, controlled. “One more day,” he said simply.
Chapter Twelve
Stunned, frightened, dazzled. Those were just a few of the litany of feelings that coursed through Taylor’s body as she gawked at the creature in front of her. She considered running, but was fairly certain her legs would be no match for his wings. Birds, planes, insects: anything with wings could move fast.
Gabriel looked every bit like the angel that he claimed to be, except even more beautiful than Taylor could have imagined an angel to look like in her wildest dreams. Despite the brightness of his being, she was able to look upon him; apparently he had toned it down a bit this time, likely for her benefit.
His biceps and chest seemed to have strengthened and tightened, like he had just finished a long day of hard labor. His face was majestic, almost regal, as if he was descended from a long line of kings. Her initial fear began to ebb from her, as he made no attempt to harm her or even approach her. Logical thoughts of everything she knew, or thought she knew, about angels started to enter her mind.
They were the good guys right? Her family didn’t make religion a habit, but she had been to enough sermons to know that angels helped people. The term guardian angel was a comfort in itself. Lost in her thoughts as usual, she didn’t notice that Gabriel had returned to his version of normal, showing just a subtle glow, with his massive wings tucked, almost magically, into the skin and muscle in his back.
He approached her cautiously. “Do you believe me now?” he asked.
“Yes,” she breathed.
“Do you fear me?”
“No…well, I did at first, but not now. Can I ask you some more questions?” She was whispering.
Gabriel smiled. “Of cour
se you can. But first I want to take you somewhere special to me. Would that be okay?”
Hesitating just slightly before answering, she said, “Okay.”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“Not at all,” she replied. “The taller the roller coaster the more I like it.”
His smile widened as he said, “Trust me, this will be nothing like any rollercoaster you have ever been on.”
Without another word, Gabriel’s wings flashed out and he scooped her up in his powerful arms, simultaneously leaping upwards in one swift motion. She gasped and closed her eyes, feeling the rush of air through her clothes and hair.
When she reopened her eyes, the campus lights seemed miles away, twinkling like stars. She could only see Gabriel’s hands, but not his face, as he held her from behind, his arms firmly around her torso. His muscles felt strong against her body. Despite the height, she felt safe. Safe, she thought. Like in her dream! Gabriel must have been the one who gave her the water.
She realized that they were circling the UT football stadium, losing altitude with each pass, the warm night air whooshing past her. “Hang on!” Gabriel yelled.
Her arms dangling helplessly in front of her, she didn’t have time to ponder what he meant before they suddenly dropped from the sky, falling faster than gravity would have caused. When she thought a collision with the steel stadium rafters was inevitable, she shut her eyes and prepared to die.
All was silent. No rush of wind. No pain. She was glad to have died painlessly. Or was this another dream? It had to be, she thought. She began to laugh to herself, amused that she had believed the whole experience was real. On a positive note, she thought, at least that means I’m not dead and can wake up now. You always woke up when you died in your dreams. She pinched herself hard.
“Ouch!” she yelped, her eyes fluttering open.
“What are you doing?” Gabriel asked.
“Oh my gosh…you mean…that was real?” She paused before continuing. “That was awesome! Where can I buy tickets for the next ride?”
Gabriel looked pleased with her reaction. “Well, we’re going to have to get down from here the same way we got up, so I guess it’s a package deal.”
“Can we go again now?”
“What happened to all those questions you wanted to ask me?”
“Oh yeah, I totally forgot. I guess we could talk about those first.” Her heart was still racing in excitement from the greatest thrill ride of her life.
Gabriel said, “Why don’t I just start from the beginning and tell you the whole story, and you can ask questions as we go along?”
She agreed. Before he started, she looked around, taking in her surroundings. They were situated in a wide, steel nook at the top of one of the ends of the football field. The spot was partially hidden by a series of large poles displaying the American, the College Football Association, and the UT flags.
Taylor also noticed that Gabriel’s arms were still around her, protectively. Although the warmth from them felt like heaven, she peeled his glowing arms off and slid across from him, tucking her feet underneath her butt. Satisfied, she prompted him to begin, their knees almost touching as he leaned in closer. That’s when he began telling the most remarkable tale that she had ever heard.
Chapter Thirteen
His story began a mere 150 years earlier in 1846. That’s when the first demon evolved. A young man in his mid-twenties, Clifford Dempsey, was hiking deep in the Amazon Basin of Brazil. He was hoping to identify and catalogue at least one new species of insect. As a budding insectologist this was his dream, his passion. Still today, the Amazon is a dangerous place for even the most experienced guides. Deadly snakes, spiders, and poisonous plants patrol the rainforest while lethal piranhas and crocodiles swim hidden beneath the surface of the many rivers and streams. It was Clifford’s first trip to the Amazon.
While scouting for food one day, Clifford was bitten on the back of his hand by a long, ink-black snake. Clifford tried to rip the snake from his hand, but its jaws were locked like a vice on his skin, its fangs imbedded in a large, blue vein. Eventually he was forced to chop the serpent’s head off with a knife he carried in his belt. Black blood poured from the serpent’s writhing body as his hand was finally released.
A sudden bolt of pain surged through him, from his feet to his head. Then, abruptly, it stopped. Clifford waited a minute, and feeling like himself again, inspected the snake. He was hopeful that it was not of the poisonous variety.
He opened his snake book and scanned through the pictures of black snakes. None of them resembled what lay before him. Its body was pitch black and as smooth as silk. Not an etch or a marking marred the surface of its skin. The decapitated head looked identical to the body, except for a spot of color on either side of its nostrils—blood-red eyes stared out from the dark skin. Its mouth hung open and Clifford saw that the fangs and gums were as dark as black onyx.
He bagged both pieces of the snake and brought them back to his camp for further inspection. Upon arrival at his fire pit, he opened the bag to find that the snake had been reduced to black ash. Sifting through the ash, his fingers took on a dirty look, like he had just been reading a newspaper.
Confused and tired, Clifford drank two swallows of water and lay down to sleep.
Later, he awoke screaming as he watched fire spread up his legs to his torso. The flames licked the sides of his makeshift pup-tent, setting them ablaze as well.
He managed to roll outside of the inferno and into the dead of night where he writhed on the rainforest floor. His eyes closed and Clifford saw images of burning flesh, his burning flesh, but at the same time felt that something was missing. He lay burning for what seemed like hours, but was really only a minute, before he figured it out.
He felt no pain.
Death by burning had always been sold as an excruciatingly painful way to die, but Clifford felt nothing at all, as if he was numb with shock. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he remained engulfed in flames, which had now covered the whole of his body. But still, no pain. He waved his arm in front of his face, and through the flames he could see the pink of his arm, rather than the charred flesh he had expected.
As his breathing slowed and his heart rate returned to normal, the fire seemed to diminish until the last flame had expired. His clothes were gone, having been reduced to ash by the heat of the fire. His tent had created a small fire nearby, but its heat was waning as well. He inspected his naked body, but found no evidence of what had transpired.
He remembered the snake and wondered if the venom had entered his brain, causing hallucinations. He checked his hand, looking for the telltale holes from the bite. The skin on his hand was smooth and unmarked.
The next few months were exciting for Clifford as he quickly learned that he was not hallucinating and that he was not only not dead, not even injured, but had been improved. He gradually gained mastery of his new abilities: he could now cause his entire body to be engulfed in fire one moment and then appear to be a normal human the next. Advancing in his skills, he learned to direct the firepower away from his body, setting trees and bushes on fire.
He could also heal exceptionally fast, which he enjoyed testing by using his knife on his own body and watching his blood evaporate into thin air as the wound sealed itself. The previously crimson blood that had once pumped from his heart had been replaced with the black blood of the snake. His movements were exceptionally fast and he became a deadly predator in the forest, killing animals to survive while he trained his new body.
Gazing at his reflection in a quiet freshwater pool one day, he noticed that his appearance had changed drastically as well. The color of his hair had darkened from nearly blond to deep black. The effect was not limited to his head; the hair on his arms, chest, and even eyebrows had all adopted the dark hue. His eyes had also changed from their previous brown to an inky black.
The changes were positive. Clifford was never considered to be a good looking m
an and rarely received any interest from women, but now when he saw himself in the pool, he was in awe of his rugged handsomeness and muscular physique.
The final major change that Clifford became aware of continued to intrigue and baffle him. Even on a cloudless sunny day, a smothering darkness seemed to surround him. He wasn’t sure, but his new instincts told him that somewhere within this darkness lay an even greater power than what he had discovered so far.
Months, or maybe even years later, Clifford emerged from the Amazon, bored of the monotonous days in the forest. He was ready to repatriate into society, in spite of his changed being.
His first human contact was with a tan-skinned woman who was drawing water from a well. She didn’t hear him approach and when he spoke he startled her.
The woman jumped back, her eyes wide with terror as she gawked at the man in front of her. The darkness that surrounded him seemed to confound her vision and, while much of his face was hidden, her fear increased as she focused on the two black eyes that pierced through the shadows.
Trying to calm her, Clifford raised his arms above his head to show he meant her no harm, but she viewed it as a threat and ran towards her village. He could only make out one word that escaped her lips. “Daemon, Daemon!” she yelled.
Clifford stood shell-shocked, wondering what to do next, the word daemon ringing in his ears. From the nearby village he heard yells, and saw a group of men carrying sharp sticks and bows sprinting down the path in his direction.
Angry at their response to his presence, he considered fighting them, but knew he would easily kill them. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, so he used his newfound speed to rush back to the safety of the forest and easily outran them, their cries fading away as day turned into night.
Through the sleepless night he considered the woman’s description of him. Daemon. Maybe that’s what he was, an evil demon from the depths of Hell. Surely his condition was not natural and therefore, maybe he didn’t belong in this world. But why not? He was entitled to life just like any other creature on the planet.