by Tamsin Baker
Fallen Angel
By Tamsin Baker
Book 1 in the ‘Gabriel and Kadie’ series.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
FALLEN ANGEL
First edition. March 17, 2020.
Copyright © 2020 Tamsin Baker.
Written by Tamsin Baker.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 1.
“Eternity is a long time to spend alone, without others of your kind.” – Cassandra Clare.
The city lay a hundred and fifty floors below, and yet I witnessed every flicker of movement as though it were mere inches in front of my face. The power of extraordinary sight. One of my many gifts from the Gods.
New York City. The city they say never slept.
And from the noise going on below, it seemed a slogan they lived by. Every other city had a moment before sunrise when everything fell quiet. The hubbub switched off, and even the humans who partied through the darkness, finally dragged themselves home to their beds. A serenity not everyone was familiar with. But it was something I could appreciate, now that I got to see it for myself.
Not New York. The police sirens still warbled their chase of drama and evil every few minutes. People tumbled in and out of diners that seemed to be perpetually open twenty-four hours. Fights broke out in street corners and women walked home at all hours in the same outfits from their evening before, makeup running down their faces, satisfied smirks touching their lips. It never stopped. If LA could have the gall to spin the lie and call themselves the “city of Angels,” maybe New York should grab the title “city of Demons” and be more upfront about it. Although I sometimes wondered if LA called themselves that ironically, as though they knew it was a farce.
Three hundred and fifty years I’d watched over the humans below and the city had changed drastically in that time. But the wager going on between Heaven and Hell...that hasn’t changed at all. For as long as people have existed on this planet, an Almighty being has watched over them. More than one, to be precise.
And a long time ago there was a wager made, for all the souls on Earth.
The terms and conditions had evolved over the years as Heaven began to move further ahead in score, but essentially all remained the same as it always had. The good went above, the bad went below.
And those lost souls who could be pulled either way, well...that’s where I came in.
I watched as a homeless person stretched his weary legs by extending them out. He grimaced as he moved, as though the tension coiled in his body wasn’t used to do such a thing. He nearly tripped a sleek man in a suit. For a moment, I thought the man was going to tell him off – as arrogant assholes did to people they saw as irrelevant – or ignore him – which everyone tended to do when it came to people they didn’t want to see at all. Instead, the man stopped, handed him a five dollar bill and his coffee, and went on his way.
I frowned. The thing about New York City was that it never ceased to surprise me.
As a Fallen Angel, I fight as a soldier, for the good souls on Earth. I protect those that should be heading to Heaven when they die but are manipulated into Hell by beings who aren’t meant to be here. Those fiery, evil Demons who liked to cheat the rules and control the choices made by those too weak to fight, or so important that Hell targeted them for acquisition.
Not that I’d known all of this when I’d first fallen.
I’d thought my life was over when my wings began to burn. I flinched just thinking about it, my back pinching in the memory. When it had begun, I’d believed my punishment would be absolute. I’d closed my eyes against the flickering flames and expected to never again see the light of day.
But instead, my battle had only just begun.
I wasn’t sure what I preferred – a painful death or a painful life.
Tabitha had been there when I’d landed in a pile of smoke and flames. My Angel Agent, or so she called herself.
I’d always wondered if Tabitha had been an Angel herself. Once upon a time... perhaps? No one really knew what sort of being she was classified as, and no one had ever asked. What we did know, though, was that she was as immortal as I but possessed more attitude in her pinky finger than I had throughout my body.
Tabitha had found me naked, broken-hearted, and black winged over five hundred years ago. She’d taken me into her home and tended my wounds. Her house at that time had been in a parallel dimension.
When I’d recovered enough from the shock of my expulsion from Heaven, she’d explained that the only way to win myself a place back in was to fight for those souls aiming for the pearly gates. To be their champion.
Tabitha said that she’d guided many other Fallen Angels back into Heaven once they’d earned their reward. The rules, according to Tabitha, were that I had to save enough people, fulfill enough good deeds, and I would be allowed back in.
Seemed easy. Until I realized that the enough, though, was subjective. I’d never been given an actual number.
Well, I’d followed her guidance to the best of my abilities and three hundred and fifty years later, I remained in the land of this living limbo, having saved too many souls to count. I would like to call it unjust, but my reason for being thrust out of Heaven had been worse than most...or so they all said.
Maybe I needed to save more people than everyone else? Serve more years than the standard? I didn’t know. But I had nothing else to cling to, other than the hope that one day I would finally be allowed to return home. It was the only thought that kept me sane through the unending hours, days, and decades of my Earthly service.
I had but one goal. And that kept me alive—if that’s what I was.
I turned my attention back to a new scene spilling out before me. A woman walking her dog, hoodie up, dressed in baggy clothes. She walked past a construction site around even in this darkness. Her feet doubled their pace, but the workers lounging around and eating their donuts and drinking their coffee noticed and called out to her. I watched as her face pinched with embarrassment and she shook her head, muttering to herself about not walking this way again, that it would never change.
A familiar tingle coursed over my skin, rippling up my arms and down my spine like waves in a pond, starting from the center and working their way outwards.
The sun rose in the east. I could sense the warmth before it even touched my fingertips. My eyes slid shut as I turned to face the sunrise. Flashes of red, orange and yellow lit up my mind as I took a long, deep breath.
Another day, another human to save. Tabitha had already alerted me to a new female who had landed on the list.
The list was a compilation of names that held exceptional people. Humans whom Hell wanted to seduce into the fiery side. A place we did not want to lose those special people to.
And the worst part of it all was that Hell Demons did not wait for approaching death to seduce such humans. No. They weren’t that kind, nor were they willing, to risk losing a soul they wanted. Instead, the Demons would torture those special beings until suicide seemed like the best way out.
Because suicide kept them from Heaven forever.
That was “suicide” in the real meaning. The English language lumped all death when you took your own life under the one banner. But there were definitely different types.
Heaven frowned on those who gave up and left a burden to others in contrast to those wh
o sacrificed themselves for a greater good.
Because if the Demons won the battle, Earth missed out on the work of a human worthy of changing things for the better. A huge blow to our side.
The Demons had their Targets, and they were out to break the special human’s will.
Enter the Fallen Angel. It was my mission to prevent such things from happening.
I didn’t mind the job, actually. I would rather be home, but I liked any excuse to prevent the bastards from even thinking they won anything.
I stood up from my crouched position on a rooftop and tucked my wings in beside my body. Invisible to the human eye when needed, I could slip into anyone’s life at any time.
Calm descended on me like a cloud darkening the sun as that tingle changed into something else I recognized.
There she was. My Target. And their Target, too.
I could feel her energy beneath me, walking amongst the crowds on the sidewalks of New York City.
Her red hair caught my eye more than anything else. The way it billowed in the breeze, untamed and beautiful. It shimmered in the rising sun as it bounced with each step she took. Such a contrast, those flowing red curls, to the modern, straightened blonde look of today. Her locks sent me back to a time when natural beauty was more highly valued than artifice.
Although the new appearances humans adopted had their moments of shocking me speechless also.
I stepped off the ledge and let my wings spread out. The blackened feathers picked up the warm, upwards drafts of wind as I floated down the silver city skyscraper. It was another reminder of my mistake, the one that ripped me from Heaven and sent me to Tabitha. I didn’t know if I would ever have white wings again. Even if I served my penance, would they remain black as a warning to others as to what I had done?
My feet landed on the cement below with a solid thud and a part of me smiled as I reconnected with the Earth. There was something sacred about the ground beneath me. I’d never quite figured out the why, but there was a reason I’d fallen just outside New York. The city itself had called to me, even if it was filled with rotting humans and even worse Demons. There was always good here. It just took some time to find. I liked that. I liked the contradiction of the city.
The humans around me on the street couldn’t see me. I stepped out of their way and released my hold on my invisibility, a dark-haired woman gasping as her bowed head bumped into the chest logo on my hoodie.
Her heat against my body startled my senses, but in the best way. Every nerve fiber reached out to her as though they all had their own limbs.
I longed for human contact, any contact, really. Touch. Love. Sex. But there were rules against such things, and rightly so. It stopped Angels from taking advantage of humans, and successfully tormented us even further in our punishment.
It was very effective.
“Sorry. I didn’t see you there,” the woman who had run into my chest muttered, as she tilted her head back to look up at me.
Her pupils dilated as she took in my massive frame and the angelic face that we of the fallen category were still blessed with.
I grinned at her, enjoying the briefest of connections with a human who wasn’t my Target, before I turned away to walk down the street. She probably would have assumed that I was an unusually tall man. If she’d known what I really was, her long brown hair would probably turn white.
Humans didn’t handle knowing there were paranormal creatures all around them very well. They preferred to believe they were the supreme creatures on the planet, so they remained firmly planted in ignorance.
As I walked, I kept my eyes on my red-headed Target in front of me. It still wasn’t busy in the city, which was nice. I hated crowds. Too much intense energy and emotion made my head ache. Humans had become so much more stressed over the decades I’d watched them—exponentially so. Technology, changes in diet and work schedules. All of it terribly destructive to their ability to rest, heal and be happy.
I slid around the people hurrying along the street and shadowed the woman I’d been assigned to protect. My gaze moved over her tiny frame from behind, taking in her lush curves and unusual fashion sense.
Well, she probably wasn’t tiny, compared to most humans. But to me, she was diminutive. I was almost seven feet tall when in full Angel mode, and although I could adapt my size to suit my surroundings, it was uncomfortable to do so.
The woman—Kadie, Tabitha said her name was—didn’t seem to be anything special. Not compared to the last hundred or so Targets I’d protected. She was some sort of free spirit. She did not adhere to corporate clothing styles, nor fashionable denim. She wore her hair free. Her long cotton skirt billowed around her legs as she walked. Her shoulders were bare, except for a few strands of material that clung to her skin. A wrap-around grey top bound her tiny waist and made me want to circle her with my hands and bring her close.
This was no doctor or lawyer, or even an award-winning scientist. I’d protected them for decades and I knew them well.
I mentally balked at the instant attraction I had to this woman. Despite my need for physical closeness, I’d believed my sex-drive to have died a long time ago. But as I walked, my cock stirred with desire.
Kadie glanced over her shoulder and her gaze met mine with a precision I’d never experienced with a human. Humans couldn’t see me unless I wanted them to, and I’d pulled my shroud of invisibility tight around me.
But Kadie’s gaze locked onto mine and a strange familiarity passed over me. Perhaps I’d known her in a past life? Saved her when she’d been in another body?
She broke the eye contact and started running, as though she sensed the danger I could present. My heartbeat picked up instantly. The hunter in me grinned and called out with excitement. The chase was on.
I pushed some power into my legs and followed her through the gathering crowd. Then suddenly, she disappeared. Vanished into thin air.
I faltered. I looked around to see if maybe she just disappeared in the crowd.
How did she do that? Where was she?
I kept moving along the street, certain I must have only lost her for a moment. Surely, she couldn’t have evaded me. Impossible.
But then I hit a corner and the sounds of the city engulfed my mind. The loud cars zoomed past and people hustled all around me. She still wasn’t visible. She wasn’t anywhere. My gaze darted left and right, across the street, and then I whirled around to stare back the way we’d come. Where on Earth could she be?
How was that possible? I’d never lost a Target before. Ever.
I closed my eyes and projected a message to Tabitha. I’ve lost her.
A chuckle came back to me. I thought you would.
How would you know that?
Because she’s a Witch, of sorts. And she’s been followed by many Demons of late. I thought she might find a way to elude you too. After all, it’s the only reason she’s still alive.
You didn’t think to warn me?
A soft laugh from my agent this time. You? An almighty warrior of Heaven? Why would I need to warn you?
A growl rolled through my throat and dragged my hand down my face. Any suggestions for where she’d be?
Go to her house tonight. I’m sure you’ll be able to find her there.
Fine. Send me her address. The information clicked into my head like the inbox on a computer. Thanks.
Good luck, and please be more careful next time you have her. I have a strong premonition that this one could be the key for you, Gabriel.
A sigh rippled through my soul. The key for me? I wanted to scoff but she’d probably find some way to reach across the distance between us and yank my ear like I was some kind of stubborn child.
It’s been three hundred and fifty years, Tabitha. I’m starting to believe they’ll never forgive me.
But even as I thought the words, my stomach tightened with anticipation. What if Kadie were the one? The final human who could put me back home.
Don’t give up,
Gabriel. Never give up. This one is important. You can feel it, can’t you? That there is something special going on this time.
I began to ask why she was so important, when that familiar tingle up my spine made me twist around. My Target.
Red hair flew in a cloud down the street, having slipped out a side alley. I pulled invisibility around me, uncaring of who watched as I disappeared from the world.
I chased after her once again, my heart pounding in my chest. She darted to and fro like an experienced runner, around people and over the street. Just as I would reach out for her she whirled around and disappeared once again like a magician.
What the hell? What is this woman?
I stopped dead, reaching out for her with my senses and finding nothing.
Seriously. What is this? Was this disappearing stunt why the Demons were interested in her?
I turned in a full circle once more with my eyes wide open and saw no remnants of her.
I let out a heavy sigh. Being able to elude me is no simple feat.
There was only one thing to do, and that was to wait until nightfall.
Outside Kadie’s house.
Chapter 2.
Darkness had fallen over the city—the worst time of day for anywhere in the world because it was the only time the Demons came out to prey. Demons didn’t like the sun because the sun had the ability to reveal what they really were to the human eye. Not all humans would recognize them, of course. Humans loved living in their ignorance. However, there were a select few that had the ability to see Demons from what they really were. I had the feeling my Target was one of them.
In the dark, however...
I wasn’t completely sure. I know Tabitha mentioned her having the ability to see them and run from them, but I wasn’t sure if it was strictly during the day or if part of what made her so appealing was her ability to recognize them for what they were without being cloaked in darkness.
I sat on the ledge of an apartment building in a small street in the Bronx. Only two stories up this time, I wasn’t risking losing her again although there was part of me that was impressed by her tenacity. I did like the chase. It was new, something I hadn’t expected and wasn’t quite used to. Part of me wondered what other tricks she had up her sleeve.