Heavenly Hell (Heavenly Hell Book 1)

by Aria Williams

  I followed him from his home to the office. He was polite to everyone he encountered on the way. It was surprising how people went out of their way to approach him. He must have something that allured people to him. Some of these people were going out of their way to touch him. I wasn't an expert on mental health, but they didn't seem depressed afterward. Maybe this guy picks and chooses and gets a kick out of targeting the already vulnerable, leaving them much worse.

  I sat on the park bench across the road from the counselor’s. The windows were very large and I had a wonderful view of all the people entering and what was going on inside. The wind had picked up outside, and I was expecting a storm at any moment. I was hoping it held off. Max was sitting at his desk dressed in some seriously nice business attire for a receptionist. He added his personal flair to the outfit. The grey pinstriped slacks and purple shirt with a lilac tie was far too much in my eyes, but he pulled it off. The shoes he wore looked extremely uncomfortable. I didn’t know how he could wear pointed shoes, but I supposed for a professional, he looked the part.

  I observed hour after hour. No one entered happy, and they certainly didn’t leave any better. The first drops of rain fell against my cheek, then a light spray of tiny particles followed. If the rain got any worse I was going to leave and resume tomorrow.

  I was getting a little bored. The counselor was getting ready to leave and go to lunch. She flipped over the closed sign and shut the door behind her, leaving her receptionist alone at his desk. He stood up and walked over to the door and flipped the sign back around, then went over to his desk, pulled out a jacket, and put it on. A girl with long brown hair that hung over her face walked inside the front door, and both went into the office and closed the door.

  Something was going to happen now, and I could not allow this girl to walk out any worse. It would not be good for her. I sprinted across the road inside the door alarming the bells that signaled someone had walked in. I threw the door open and stopped, frozen on the spot. This guy had a sweet, spicy aroma and it got more pleasant as he touched the girl’s hands, talking to her in a soothing tone. This was no demon at all. He was a pure fallen in all of his wholesome glory. He was not taking happy emotions, but helping the grieving and unhappy patients heal. I excused myself and waited outside for him to finish. It didn’t take long, and the girl looked better as she left.

  He wasn’t coming out—he must think I was here to kill him.

  “I won’t hurt you, I promise!” I yelled out.

  “You have been killing angels! Get out. I have a gun. I will use it!” Max yelled.

  “I have not killed an angel. I didn’t kill Indy. When I found out what she was, I backed off. I swear!” I yelled again.

  There was silence. Max was either thinking about coming out of the office to talk to me or jumping out the window. I edged toward the door and stood in the doorway. I held up my hands.

  “I won’t kill you, I promise,” I said.

  He believed me and put the gun away in his pocket with the safety clip on.

  “So you were sent to kill Indy?” The tone he projected was accusing and concerned.

  “Yes, but I didn’t. When I found out she was an angel, I left. I don’t kill angels—only demons.” I went on to explain my story to him. There were lots of gasps and head shaking, and he paced the room at one point.

  “You had better sit down, kid, and brace yourself.”

  I did as he said; this sounded very serious. I was starting to get scared for the first time in a long time.

  “Nate, you have killed three angels, and I’m not lying,” said Max.

  “No, I have not. My boss would not make that mistake. Ever,” I protested. I didn’t believe my own words.

  A lump had formed in my throat, and it was spreading to my mouth. My teeth started to chatter loudly, and horror flashed through my mind. Images of being chained in a cell in a red hot, fiery hell engulfed me. The chains burned my wrist every time I moved as a whip of fire lashed me. I felt that I was going insane, worse than any of these patients; a cold hand pushed away the images and calmed my brain. I steadied my breathing to an average rate. I was nearly back to my normal self. What would happen once his hand was removed from my own? Was this a new trick?

  I needed to leave—go home and gather my thoughts. Getting away from Max might change how I feel about his accusations. By touching my hand, he had removed all of my overwhelming emotions about killing these angels, but they would return once his hand was gone. I doubted this theory, though. I stood up and gathered myself.

  “I need to go and think about all of this. It is just too much.”

  “I will be here tomorrow or the next day. I will not run. I have my own mission, just like you and all of the others.”

  I hardly heard what he had said. I was already opening the door and stepping outside. I wandered home slowly trying to remember my previous cases. All of the notes would have been on my laptop in my email folder. I was putting everything on hold ‘til I reviewed all of the information. My pants had started to become heavy and were dragging on the ground. I was so preoccupied with what I had just heard that I had not realized the rain had become heavier. I opened the front door of the house I was renting and threw off my pants. I grabbed the nearest sweats and tossed them on.

  I clicked on the email folder and opened all of the threads to the cases. Even if it took all night, I was going to review every single file and come up with my own conclusions.

  I scanned through the first email and was confident he was a demon. He revolted me to touch him, and he nearly killed me. The second lady was also a demon. She was even worse than the first. She had an illusion of a beautiful, red headed lady with voluptuous breasts and a thin, petite frame. After watching her day and night, her disguise was slipping away from me, and the true demon was coming through more frequently. She was the opposite in every way to the image she was creating.

  It was hours upon hours later that I finished reviewing these two stand out cases. I grabbed a hot, strong coffee and sat down to continue.

  It was after these cases that I was growing unsure. The two previous demons had been presented to me with the black slimy signatures and smelt of rotten garbage. These later cases didn’t have that smell. My boss told me that these signatures can be tricked for small periods of time, but not indefinitely. Indy’s signature had always smelt of candy. Did the boss know if they were angels or not? What would he gain from killing the servants of the light and not pursuing the dark ones instead?

  When I reached the last two cases I was one hundred percent sure they were angels. I could recall one of them smelling like the scent of impending rain. The other I do not remember, but I had questioned this. Max was a pure angel, and wanted to help and heal the emotional scars that were too traumatic to heal by mortals. It got me thinking of the angel who saved my life and changed me into this supernatural being. Indy had said she was the best of all of the angels. Was this true? Had I been misled for years about her true nature, and was everything I was ever taught a lie? A lump in my throat formed as I grasped the true nature of this situation … I had killed these angels. I had been lied to, and the lie was getting worse. My boss had not paid me after leaving the Indy case because he felt bad, but because he wanted me to move on and forget. He thought money would be the answer and that I was young enough to fall for this trick.

  I sat in a little ball on the ground for hours, remorseful for my murderous acts. This pain had cut very deep to the core of my heart. I was no better than the demons I thought I was hunting. I didn’t know where to go from here.

  I was going back to chat with Max, but I was going to his house this morning before he started work. I wanted to chat in private with no one else around. He didn’t know that I knew where he lived. I just hoped I didn’t scare him too much.

  I hadn’t showered or even bothered to brush my hair. I drove across the town and parked in the front of his house. He was sitting on his front step with a coffee a
nd a cigarette in his hand. It was a little funny to see him smoking. I never thought an angel would.

  He moved over when I walked up the path to his house and pat the ground to indicate for me to sit.

  “I have thought about what you have said. In my defense, I didn’t know these people were not demons. I am very sorry for all of the hurt and damage I have afflicted.”

  My phone was starting to ring in my pocket. I ignored the call. This moment was important. It was impossible to apologize to those I have killed, but I may be able to make amends.

  “Nate, you want to change, right? You want to follow a godly path?” asked Max.

  “Yes, I do,” I whispered.

  I was willing to do whatever it took at this point. I felt extremely guilty for my past actions.

  “You need to do penance and ask for God’s forgiveness. None of us fallen remembered this in our time of weakness. If we had, we would still be up there,” Max pointed to the heavens.

  I nodded my head slowly. “What kind of penance?” I asked.

  Max sat next to me for a long time thinking. I didn’t think he was sure what I could do, but then a smile spread across his face.

  “I will go into hiding. Tell them that you have killed me. When you’re given your next assignment, you need to warn them. You need to warn us all!” pleaded Max.

  I thought about this plan Max proposed, but I was unsure about doing this to the man who had saved me from a horrible life of foster homes and provided me with the basics that I would have otherwise been denied. My stupid phone was ringing again. I was thinking of throwing it against the wall. My future was on the line here, and nothing could be the same again. I really had no choice and had to consider what Max had proposed.

  As soon as my phone finished ringing, it started again.

  “Answer your call, kid, I’m not going anywhere.”

  I pulled it out of my pocket and accepted the call without checking the caller ID.

  “Can you stop being a jerk, Nate? I’m sick of you following us around!” Connor was yelling at me and was clearly pissed off.

  “I’m not even in the same town as you. I left two days ago.”

  “Don’t pull that crap. You have been following us for roughly a week now, and I saw you outside my window last night!”

  “What are you …”

  Oh no, I could not believe this was happening. There was always a back up plan—the boss insisted on it. Why was it still happening? I thought the boss was happy that Indy was an angel. I checked my watch and saw the time. They would be getting ready for school now. I was starting to panic, faces and images raced through my thoughts. This was not real. I was worried for Indy, since the moment she had saved my neck—literally—I had developed something for her. Then the day I kissed her, which was a stupid thing to do, also became the smartest thing I had ever done. The reluctance I felt toward killing her was even more obvious now; I had been falling for this angel who hated my guts.

  Max placed his hand on my arm. This cleared my mind, taking away the confusion and anxiety.

  “I’m leaving here now, Connor. Stay with Indy,” I ordered.

  “What is going on Nate?” he asked, clearly panicked.

  I didn’t have time to explain and delay my travelling. I turned to Max.

  “I have to go to Indy now. I want you to come … for a number of reasons. Can you?” I asked.

  Even if Max said no, I was most likely going to kidnap him. His particular gift would be great to have around. Max seemed to think very long and hard about what I had said. He didn’t know what was going on, but did understand that he was needed.

  “Yes, I haven’t seen Indy for a very long time. Come back and get me in twenty minutes.”

  I had a better idea. I didn’t want anyone knowing I had gone back ‘til I was ready.

  “Do you own a car?”

  “Hell yeah, but you can’t drive it!”

  Max walked to the garage and opened up the roller door to reveal a bright pink VW Beetle. I was not going to be seen dead in that car. I had disgust all over my face. I was a little horrified. The interior was white with pink polka dots. As if Max could read my thoughts, he offered me a solution which seemed to make total sense. But I wasn’t happy about it.

  “You want to be discreet, right? Who will expect you to be driving around in this?”

  He did have a very valid point. It would only be three to four hours of humiliation.

  “Okay, come in and make yourself comfortable. I am going to shower and then we can go,” said Max.

  I sat on the lounge for what seemed like the longest shower ever, and when Max did come out, he only wore a towel. He paraded around in front of me.

  “Let’s get one thing straight—I don’t care what your sexual preference is, but I’m in love with someone … or at least I think I am. So it’s not going to happen.”

  “Oh, I know you’re in love, I can see that. I just like to make you squirm,” said Max.

  Max walked into his bedroom, laughing. He was right, though. It did make me uncomfortable. Not his sexuality, by any means. I am just not comfortable with any man walking around in nothing but a towel. If Indy did it … now that would be a different story.

  We climbed into his car and headed to my place. I grabbed my laptop and my skateboard. Nothing else was of great importance.

  On the open road heading back to Connor and Indy, Max flew along. He was a very fast driver, and that kind of driving in this car wasn’t a good idea. Every time we reached the smallest bump, all I heard was the scraping of the tyres on the under carriage. Not to mention that these small holes felt like craters.

  I texted Connor to ask where they were, and he responded with a simple text saying:

  Class.

  I gave Connor some simple instructions and told him it was vital to follow them. He didn’t question anything I had said. When it came to Indy, we both agreed on one thing only.

  I was very nervous and kept on looking at the car’s clock. My life had taken a dramatic twist and my future would be determined by this developing feeling for this stunningly beautiful angel.

  I was about to insanely rebel against all of the beliefs I had drummed in my head since I was a kid. It was a huge leap for a love that may never be returned, but in the lives we both lived, adoring someone from afar may be the closest I ever get. Before this turn of events I didn’t feel like turning my back on my hunter’s training. Emotional turmoil would have plagued me forever. I am very sure that I would have other demons to kill in my career, but every so often, that angel would have popped up. How long would it be until my boss realized I was letting them live? The bigger question now was how long ‘til he realized I had chosen this angel over him and my duty?

  “Earth to Nate … are you here or somewhere else?” asked Max.

  He had mumbled under his breath—cussing about travelling to Blayney—It was a hole but we were here ‘til further notice now. I think he would fit in nicely here.

  We were both starving. I directed him to Indy’s house and parked down the road. I stepped out of the car to check the area. I scanned for a good twenty minutes in every direction, and then got back into the car. I told Max to drive up the street and park the car in the driveway. The front door was unlocked so we let ourselves in. Max made his way to the cupboards, found some ingredients, and started to cook up some meal.

  I turned on the TV, made myself comfortable, and waited for Connor and Indy to come home.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Indiana

  Connor was doing it again. He was keeping something from me, and I didn’t like it at all. He was up earlier than I was today, which wasn’t normal for him. When I got up, he was showered, dressed, and had cooked me breakfast.

  “What’s going on, Connor?” I asked.

  “Nothing, babes. I just couldn’t sleep and didn’t see the point in lying around in bed.”

  He was getting a lot better at lying to me. I nearly believed him.
He was actually looking me in the eye this time. Did someone give him a crash course on lying? Looking around the kitchen, then the lounge room, I noticed that it was very clean. This was not my Connor. He was not a grot, but he was a teenage boy, and this species has demonstrated that they loved to litter the ground with their clothes, and washing dishes wasn’t even in their vocabulary. I might have to ride this one out, though, and see the other diversions that Connor comes up with to distract me.

  I had hardly had breakfast when he was trying to usher me out the door. We never arrived to school this early. Most mornings I was still yelling for him to get up and had already cooked his breakfast. No one else was there when we arrived, and he wanted to sit on top of the garden bench waiting for the others. Every ten minutes he repeatedly pulled out his phone and checked the display. I was going to steal it soon. When he noticed me watching him, he stopped abruptly.