by C. L. Coffey
“Cupid is correct,” Michael agreed. “I am not sure this is the way to defeat Lucifer, but at this present time, I agree it is the only option available to us. We will help you, but you need to listen to us when we say, currently, you are not capable of,” he frowned. “What is that phrase… ‘fighting your way out of a paper bag’.”
I stared at him, arching an eyebrow at him. That sounded nothing like Michael, and once again I was reminded of the fact that this wasn’t Michael’s original vessel. The two archangels also had a point, but… “What about Joshua?” I sighed, wearily. “I can’t sense him, and I know Paddy will be trying to hunt him down.”
“You need to go rest,” Michael said, shaking his head. “With no ability to transport yourself anywhere, and no vehicle to use, searching for Joshua would not be an effective use of your time. Leave that to us.”
“And please eat some more,” Cupid added, pushing the remnants of my bagel back to me.
“Only if you promise me that if you do find Joshua, you will not do anything until we’ve at least given this a shot,” I said, though my request was directed primarily at Veronica.
She rolled her eyes but nodded. “I swear to God that I will not attack Joshua until we’ve tried this harebrained scheme of yours.”
“Try and sleep as much of the day as you can,” Michael instructed me. “We will reconvene this evening.”
I nodded, then got to my feet. With a detour to the breakfast bar to collect some more bagels, cream cheese, and fruit, along with a couple of bottles of water, I took the collection of food back to Veronica’s room.
I stood in the window, staring out at the small residential buildings the back of the synagogue overlooked. The daylight creeping through the rainclouds was beginning to brighten the sky. I was exhausted, I agreed, as I made my way through the bagels. I could also feel that little spark of hope growing brighter and stronger within me. “I’m coming, Joshua,” I muttered to the empty room.
Despite how tired I was, it was hard to fall asleep. The bed was small but comfortable, the blinds blocked out most of the light, and the room was quiet enough that the background noises were nothing more than dull muffles. But I couldn’t find myself falling asleep.
My mind was still full of thoughts trying to process everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. It was like being at a movie and re-watching it all, and then trying to write up a critical essay like I was back at college; only I was struggling with the conclusion. Given the choice, I’d have taken an essay over this any day, and I was also scolding my previous self for thinking the opposite when I was supposed to have been studying.
I yawned and stretched, then regretted it as my body protested the action. I really did need to sleep if I wanted to recover.
The problem was, whenever I had Dream Walked, I had been thinking of the person whose dreams I had joined before I fell asleep. My mind was consumed with Joshua, Zachary, and Paddy. I did not want to walk into any of their dreams!
I rolled onto my back and rested my hands on my stomach as I stared up at the ceiling. How did people clear their minds? Joshua had frequently teased me about retreating into my head and losing myself in my thoughts, and he was right. I did that all the time. Even when I was a child, I would often overthink things. How were you supposed to train your mind to not think?
I closed my eyes, reshuffled myself slightly, then decided if I couldn’t not think, I would at least try to think of unrelated things. That was just as hard. My mind had been consumed with all things angelic since dying, it was like I had forgotten anything else in the world existed. In the end, I had to resort to trying to remember the plot of Grease – Sarah’s favorite musical.
I think it took a couple of hours, but eventually, I did fall asleep.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Casualty of War
Once I started sleeping, I think my unconscious body managed to let everything go. I had hit a point where I physically couldn’t do anything, and Michael, Cupid, and Veronica were doing what they could. As such, I slept for a lot longer than Michael had suggested. I spent two days in bed, out like a light.
I didn’t realize this until I returned to the kitchen on what I thought was later the same day, to find a stranger cooking something which smelled delicious. “You must be Angel,” she greeted me warmly. “I’m Orna; one of the Rabbi’s here. Please take a seat. The cholent will be ready soon.”
I had no idea what cholent was, but the aroma filling the room was already making my mouth water. “Where are the others?” I asked, sitting down at the bench as she requested. “And what is cholent?”
“I don’t know exactly where your colleagues are,” Orna said, pulling a pot off the stove to scoop the contents into a deep bowl. “They said you would know, and when you have woken and eaten, to send a text message to Cupid.” She turned, the bowl in hand, and walked over to set it in front of me with a smile. “And cholent is a stew. A good thing to eat on a cold Sunday like today.”
“Thank you,” I said, taking the bowl from her.
“Welcome.”
She returned to the stove and I tucked into the stew. I was half-way through the bowl (it was delicious), when something she had said suddenly dawned on me. “Sunday?” I repeated. “It’s Sunday?”
Orna glanced over her shoulder at me. “Yes, sweetie. You’ve been sleeping for a few days. We were a little worried, especially as we had our services, but Michael said we shouldn’t worry, and if possible, to let you rest. We did just that. I hope you found your room comfortable.”
“Yes, thank you,” I muttered, frowning into my bowl.
“Welcome,” Orna responded as she returned to whatever she was doing.
Sunday. I had missed Christmas. Strangely, that was my first thought. I wasn’t bothered about presents, or anything like that, but that I hadn’t been able to give the angels the Christmas experience they’d never had. Then I realized that even if I had been awake, they still wouldn’t have had it because I had left the House and there would have been no chance Zachary would have let me back in to cook a turkey. Hopefully my aunt had been able to do that.
Then Sarah became my next concern. Once again, I had disappeared from her. I was hoping that someone other than Zachary would have told her what had happened – I was sure he would exaggerate everything and make it look like I had caused trouble and run away. I pulled out my phone to send her a text message and discovered that after a couple of day being on, at some point the battery had died. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but do you have a phone charger I could borrow?”
Orna glanced back over at the phone I was holding and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have that make.”
“Never mind,” I sighed. That also meant I couldn’t send a message to Cupid to let him know I was awake. Orna left me soon after that. I finished off the rest of the strew, and waited, watching the rain lash against the window outside.
It was another couple of hours before the three returned. “You’re awake!” Cupid exclaimed happily, pulling me into a big bear-hug. “You should have called.”
“Phone’s dead,” I said, waving the offending item at him.
“You look well,” Michael commented.
“I do feel better,” I agreed. Pain levels were back to normal, and my shoulder was fully functional again. The only things still hurting were my wrists and the cut on my arm. I had a feeling they would take a very long time to heal. “Have you found Joshua? I’m ready to get out there and look for him with you.”
“It is time for Cupid to sleep,” Michael said.
I blinked. “Okay,” I said, drawing out the word. “Are we on shifts?”
“Although you have been able to manipulate my dreams, as you said, we share a connection,” Michael explained. “It is possible that connection is making that manipulation easier than it will be with Joshua.”
“I share a connection with Joshua too,” I pointed out. “A different kind of connection.”
; Michael nodded, regret briefly flashing through his eyes. “I suspect our connection is stronger from my side, however, I was also the angel to grant you Eternal Life.”
I nodded. I’d come to that conclusion before.
“If Lucifer is possessing Joshua, he will have some power over his mind. It is my belief that whatever you have managed to manipulate in Joshua’s mind up until this point has been made easier by Joshua, whether he was aware of it or not. If Lucifer is in there, he will make things as difficult as possible,” Michael explained. “I would like to use Cupid as a testing ground. To start with, he will comply with what you try to manipulate, then, as we progress, he will start to resist you.”
“That makes sense,” I agreed.
“However hard I make this, I don’t think it will be anywhere as difficult as what you will encounter with Lucifer,” Cupid said, ruefully.
“What about Veronica?” I asked, glancing over at the cherub who was prodding a wooden spoon into Orna’s pot of cholent. “That’s delicious, by the way. Orna said to let you know you can help yourself.”
“I’m going to keep looking for Joshua.”
My mouth formed a small ‘o’ in dismay. “You still haven’t found him?”
“Nope,” Veronica replied, irritably. She busied herself with serving herself a bowl of cholent and then sat on the kitchen counter. “We’ve been all over and there’s no sign of him anywhere.”
I sighed and started drumming my fingers on the tabletop. “You can’t look for him by yourself.”
“Given that there’s no one else left to help, it’s me or no one,” she said, giving me a pointed look.
“Veronica,” Michael’s voice was low and cautionary.
I slumped my shoulders, gently shaking my head. “It’s okay,” I told him, resigned to the fact I deserved worse. I closed my eyes, sucked in a breath, and then straightened my back. “There is someone who can help,” I announced. “Leon.”
“You want to drag a human into a battle with Lucifer?” Veronica sneered. “This keeps getting better.”
“Ronnie, I thought we agreed we would dial back the animosity so we could work together on this,” Cupid emphasized.
“Yeah, whatever,” she grunted.
“Although with a tone I do not appreciate, Veronica does raise a valid point,” said Michael. “I do not believe it is a wise decision to bring a human into this battle. Joshua’s current situation is precisely the reason why we should keep Leon away from these investigations.”
“I agree, though that wasn’t my intention,” I told them. “Leon is a cop: a lieutenant. He has a police precinct as his disposal.” I held my hands up to stop the comments that were about to be made. “I am not suggesting we bring the police force into this, either. We need to keep Lucifer way from as many humans as possible. However, the police have resources we don’t. There are cameras all over New Orleans; traffic and street cameras. The French Quarter has a reputation for petty crime, and I know extra cameras were installed after Katrina because I remember reading about it in the papers. I don’t know exactly what would be acceptable for Leon to do without him abusing his power and getting in trouble, but this is precisely why we should go to him, explain the situation, and see if there’s anything he can do to help. Joshua was his partner. I know if he knew about Lucifer, he would want to do anything he could.”
Michael shared a look with Cupid before nodding. “Very well. We will go speak to him now.”
Before I could stop him – I had no idea if Leon was at home with his wife and daughter – Michael reached over and took my hand. The next thing I knew, I was in Leon’s office.
There was a loud yelp, followed by a clatter, and I looked up to witness Leon leaping off his chair in fright. I hurried over to help him up, shooting a glower at Michael on the way. “I’m sorry, Leon,” I apologized.
Leon was about to straighten his jacket when he jumped again. At the slight breeze on the back of my neck, I knew Cupid and Veronica had joined us. “What brings you all here?” Leon asked, his eyes alert.
“We need your help,” I told him, stepping back, out of the way.
“Of course.”
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to work out the best way to break the news.
“Lucifer is possessing Joshua,” Veronica announced.
So much for breaking that gently. I shot Veronica a glare and then turned back to Leon whose alertness had been quickly been replaced with confusion. “Lucifer is dead,” Leon said, slowly. “You killed him recently in the St. Louis Cemetery incident.”
“We think he escaped,” Michael said, simply.
I nodded. “We think he left Luke Goddard’s body and entered Joshua’s.”
Leon ran a hand over his face. “Joshua didn’t turn up to work today. When I called him, he said he needed to take a few days because of what had happened. I assumed he was still recovering. He said he was going to spend Christmas with Maggie.”
Dread hit my stomach like a punch. I whipped my head around to Michael. “We need to get to Maggie, now.”
“I’m coming with you,” Leon said, instantly.
I shook my head. “You need to stay here.”
“Either you take me with you, or I’m driving over anyway,” Leon corrected me.
“Let him come,” Michael relented, walking over to us. “But you must stay outside until we have cleared the house.” Leon nodded, and then we were under the car porch, hiding behind Maggie’s Toyota. I was grateful for the cover of darkness. “Stay here,” Michael instructed, drawing his sword. Seeing how Leon was doubled over the car, I didn’t think he was going to struggle following that request. I mimicked Michael, the followed him into the house.
I could hear the television on at the far end of the house, and hurried down the hallway. “Stay there,” I mouthed at Michael. He frowned and shook his head, but I scowled at him and shook my head back at him. If Lucifer was in there, I would sure as anything be calling for the archangel, but if he wasn’t, Maggie was about to be surprised by me walking into her living room at this time of night.
I tiptoed up to the door and gently pushed it open. From first glance, there only seemed to be Maggie in the room. She was sitting with her back to me in her favorite recliner as she watched a gameshow. Gently, I pulled the door to, and returned to Michael. “She’s alone,” I whispered.
“I will check the rest of her home. Stay there in case she moves,” Michael whispered, and then disappeared.
I moved back to the door and watched Joshua’s godmother, thankful she was sleeping. My eyes scanned the room, spotting the mug beside the recliner. It was on its side and there was a small stain of tea surrounding it. I tilted my head: that didn’t seem right…
As a knot of worry started to form in my stomach, a neighbor’s burglar alarm suddenly blared into life outside. Startled, I ended up slamming my elbow into the door as I jumped.
Maggie didn’t move once.
She was old, but there was nothing wrong with her hearing. The knot in my stomach tightened. “Maggie?” I called out, gently tapping on the door. My voice had Michael back at my side in an instant, but I ignored his questioning look as I moved carefully into the room. “Maggie?” I tried again as I came around in front of her.
She was dead.
I could tell by the way her eyes had turned a horrible milky color.
I could feel the tears welling up and turned away. Michael was at my side in an instant. “You do not need to be here,” he told me.
I didn’t respond. I was too busy staring in horror at the message on the wall in front of me. Sarah’s next. “Michael,” I whispered, unable to make my voice stronger.
Michael’s eyes followed my wobbling hand, pointing at the writing which looked like it had been scrawled on Maggie’s magnolia walls with a Sharpie. “I will take Sarah to the convent. She will be safe there.”
I nodded, panicked. “Now. Do it now.” Before I could finish, Michael had gone. He was replaced seconds
later by Cupid and Veronica. “Don’t touch anything,” I ordered, leaving the living room. I was vaguely aware that there were now four angels to be accounted for at a murder scene.
A murder scene which had been created by Joshua.
No. Lucifer. Lucifer had done this. Not Joshua.
“Please,” I muttered, staring up at the ceiling. “Please don’t let Joshua have been aware of that as it was happening.” I stepped outside and found Leon waiting patiently.
He only needed to look at my face to know something was wrong. “Damnit,” he cursed. He followed me inside, back to the living room, where he quickly examined Maggie. He stood up, exhaling deeply. “I’ll need the ME to confirm, but I think I can make out finger marks. It looks like he choked her.”
Tears streamed down my face in horror. “The last thing Maggie saw was Joshua choking her?”
Leon shook his head. “Finger marks not thumb marks. I think he had her from behind. She probably had no clue who it was.” His eyes swept over Cupid, Veronica and me. “Angel, what’s going on here?” he asked. He stopped when he saw the message on the wall behind me. “Sarah?”
“My aunt,” I mumbled.
Leon closed his eyes, rubbing his hand over his face. When he opened them, he looked determined. “This was Lucifer.”
I nodded. “Yes. Absolutely. There is no way Joshua would ever do anything to hurt Maggie.”
“We need to find him.”
“We’ve been trying,” Veronica spoke up. “Angel can’t sense him, and we’ve been keeping an eye on various places like his apartment and the precinct.”
“He’s probably skipped the state by now,” Leon muttered, pulling his phone out.