“I’m just along for the ride.” He glanced at the teacher with a sense of yearning that Alice couldn’t ignore. Alice cleaned up her stuff quickly and brushed away James’ inquiries on how she was.
“We’ll talk later. Today I just needed it to be calm and less dramatic, is all.”
“I’m here when you need me, Alice,” James offered.
“Thank you.”
PS, Nice rock! He thought to her. She smiled in response. She had almost forgotten, again. She wasn’t letting James off the hook that easy, but something told her to stay cautious around him, as this may only be the beginning of his lies. She shushed her brain about the subject and walked toward Briathos. She watched Theresa and Briathos steal another glance from each other before they headed out the door.
“Your teacher is, human?”
“Yeah, I believe so. Looks to me like she fancies you.”
“What does that mean?”
“Didn’t you watch or learn anything about us? She likes you; I’ve never seen her look at anyone like that before. Better be careful or you two are going to fall madly in love,” Alice bumped his shoulder. “Relax, it doesn’t happen overnight.”
Briathos’ face grew sad, “I do not wish to damn her as I have damned myself.”
“Relax, man, you wouldn’t be the first and she, of all humans, knows what she’d be getting into. Plus, you should go on a date well before you damn her soul. Slow down, man.” She joked, but she knew the severity of the situation. She was glad to see him beginning to experience human life. She knew how important love was since she may not have survived all she had gone through without love in her life.
KOKABIEL
KOKABIEL GLANCED AROUND HIS APARTMENT before heading out the door to meet Alice and Cole for the “big news.” He wasn’t sure he was ready for any more news after the last few months. Alice had said there were two things she wanted to share, one of which was to be with him, alone. Nerves, what a silly human emotion that I apparently seem to be enduring. He had a knack for making light of situations, but he knew Alice had gone to speak with his Elizabeth. Kokabiel crawled into the car along with Jake, Sariel and Penemue. It made him chuckle, a car full of Fallen angels using such means to travel.
When they approached the driveway, Alice opened the door with a beaming smile before retreating back into the house. Briathos stood in the doorway waiting for his fellow Fallen, seeming a little less on edge than he had been.
“Briathos,” Kokabiel said.
“Kokabiel,” Briathos said.
“Dad,” Cole said.
“Son,” Kokabiel responded. “So what are we all here for?”
“Smells good,” Jake said, pushing past his Fallen brothers.
“Cole’s been cooking all day. It’s more of a Thanksgiving meal but we’re celebrating so we thought, what the hell, why not?” Alice said, grinning. She pulled out a few beers and passed them along, after pouring a shot for her grandfather.
“Alcohol. Alright, what’s going on?” Paul asked nervously.
Briathos laughed loudly at the sudden change in his mood. As Alice handed Jake his beer, he saw the ring. “Holy shit! Right on, Cole. Nice!” he said before pounding knuckles with Cole.
“What is it?” Paul insisted shamelessly.
“Relax, Dad, this is a good day. Cole…”
“I asked her to marry me,” Cole interrupted.
“And I said yes!” Alice beamed with a lightness about her that cooled all tempers and comforted all worries with a simple smile as she tilted her head to the side while showing off her new ring.
“Well done, Son.” Kokabiel said, feeling some relief wash over him.
“Thank you, Dad.” Cole was dancing on air; they all needed something to celebrate after all they had been through and all they were still going to go through.
“Dad?” Alice asked softly.
“Yes. I am very happy for you both. I’m not sure how you two manage to be so positive through all of this, but God himself should be impressed,” Paul said.
They all laughed at that thought, but Kokabiel saw that Alice took it to heart. She wondered what if I could change His views? She glanced around at her family as they each gave their blessing, needed or not. She loved them all; he felt that and he knew that she planned on speaking to him before dinner began. He saw her nod, signaling to him to step outside, and so he did.
“So daughter-in-law, you wish to speak with me?” His calm demeanor was compromised and he knew she felt that.
“Sit down with me for a moment,” she said, patting the porch steps. “I went to see Elizabeth and she showed me something that I think you need to see. I’m still not quite sure how this works so look into my eyes and focus in on her and I believe the memory will come to you if you let it.”
“Alright, seems easy enough.” Kokabiel stared deeply into her eyes for a few moments as his warm light welcomed hers. He saw a version of himself comforting the love of his life as they peered at his newborn son. He relived the moment when he left with his son, leaving her alone to be murdered. As she stepped to the window to shut it, she whispered her love to him and he knew that in that moment, she was at peace. She wasn’t terrified and clueless; she was knowing and determined and she forgave him, for, having that one moment, was everything to her. As her voice echoed in their minds, “I forgive you, my love,” Kokabiel’s eyes began to rain tears, betraying his calm and cool demeanor. His love was incredibly brave in her final hours and completely trusting in him to fulfill his promise. Over the last year he had been sharing everything he could with Cole, and soon enough he would share this, too.
When Alice closed her eyes, severing the connection, she felt a calmness resonating from Kokabiel. He looked into her eyes, tearful and thankful. “She was always such a brave woman.”
“She still is. After all that has happened, she still holds nothing but love for you. She’s the only one whose forgiveness mattered to you and now you have it.” Kokabiel collapsed against Alice in defeat. Those years ago, when they had set the plan into action to create a super Nephilim to save them all, he had had no idea what the consequences were. He felt that God should be proud of how many of them had connected with his precious human creatures. He wiped the salt from his skin and stared into Alice’s warm eyes.
“Enough about me, let’s go celebrate.” His smile was warm but the guilt he was feeling stung them both.
ALICE
ALICE ENTERED THE HOUSE TO find the table set with more food than they could possibly eat. Her eyes locked onto Cole’s for a short moment causing that familiar electric surge to course through her. Jake pulled her into a hug, smiling hugely like a proud brother might do. This day they feasted, they enjoyed each other’s company and they felt the love as if they all had waited their entire lives to feel it. Even Briathos joined them as he, too, had finally felt a fraction of what feeling human was like, and, as much as he was fighting it, it felt good. Alice was proud of her family, proud to call them her own after a lifetime of yearning to be a part of something. Even with darkness lurking in the corners of their world, they had this moment to just exist as they were meant to.
ALICE LAID AWAKE THINKING ABOUT James and how he must have known who she was when he befriended her. She wanted to be angry but she had forgiven Cole for the same thing, and most of her Fallen family, as well. She also dwelled on how Briathos connected with her teacher, falling face first into human emotion as she twirled her hair coyly at him in response to nothing more than his presence. She knew he was tormenting himself over the ordeal and as much as she would have liked to comfort him, she knew that this was his path to take and that nothing she did or said would change that. Max had called to check in on her, as well, as she had requested some time off to heal. She had told him for it was for “school.” So many lives tangled together, held by invisible strings. Things were going entirely too well, and that made her extremely nervous. Cole entered the room and sat down on the bed next to her.
&nb
sp; “Everything alright?”
“Today? Yes,” she smiled, sitting up to reach his lips with her own. She had never felt so whole in her entire life and she owed much of that to Cole. She lived to touch his skin, feel his hands all around her. Love was a powerful force, a lesson that they had learned over and over again. She sighed as they laid down and she snuggled into his arms, “I love you.”
“And I love you.” He kissed the top of her head and in the comfort of his arms, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
Alice awoke in the familiar field of golden grass and eerie woods. A fog seeped from the woods crawling across the grass toward her. She backed slowly away, almost knowing that what waited for her wasn’t a good thing. You cannot save them all. You were never meant to exist. A deep soothing voice echoed with hatred.
“But I do!” Alice yelled back. She looked around to find herself sitting in her bedroom, shaking, with Cole frantically holding her.
“What happened, Alice?”
“I think…,” she shook with terror at the memory of the voice. “I think it was God. Is that even possible?”
Cole soothed her the best he could as her shivers slowly declined, but the idea that she may have spoken to God terrified him as well. She focused in on the beating of his heart against his chest as it echoed in her ear. She knew she had every right to be nervous because as it stood, if that was God, He had no intention of letting her save any of them and if He chose to speak with her, He did so in a way to get that message to her. A worse thought emerged, what if this was a manipulation at the hand of Rogziel? She looked up into Cole’s worried eyes and when he smiled at her sweetly, she knew that scare tactics weren’t going to stop her from trying. How much is one soul supposed to endure? Cole squeezed her in his arms reassuringly, soothing her worries with his numbing shield rendering her back into an unconscious state in nearly no time at all.
IT HAD BEEN WEEKS SINCE another wave of chaos came crashing down on Alice’s head. As always she overcame her challenges and her own fears. She spent a lot of time at school working on dozens of paintings. She wasn’t sure if she was there to paint or play matchmaker with Briathos and Theresa but it didn’t matter to her what her reasons were. Some of her work was a snapshot in her brain of the two of them flirting like school children. She found a lightness about her work that felt refreshing, as her initial return had presented ominous pieces, staying true to her signature work. Though those pieces lingered in her mind, warning that they too could come to pass as so many of her earlier works had, she refused to live in fear of what was to come. She had faith, in a sense, that maybe not all things, but some of those lingering would work out in the end. She just hoped it wouldn’t trigger the End of Days. She was human after all, and as cruel as some humans had been to her, she found the good in people as well, and she was incapable of damning them in their entirety based on a small few. If she had thought that way, she would never have trusted any of the Fallen after she found out who the bounty hunters were.
“Alice? I wanted to apologize for not telling you about myself sooner.” Alice looked up to find James staring down at her. The sunlight from the window bounced off of his silhouette. Alice burst into laughter, causing the entire room to jump, startled.
“I’m so sorry. I’m not laughing at what you said. You have this ridiculous glow from the sunlight, you look angelic.” She tried to stifle her laugh but to no avail. Briathos smirked under his hand showing a blip of human emotion yet again. He had grown extremely attached to Theresa, even to the point of calling the Fallen his “brothers.”
“You are something else, girl.”
“I am that, yes.”
“Coffee?”
“Lead the way my friend” she said, following him shamelessly.
OLD GRAY/SARIEL
OLD GRAY SIPPED ON HIS drink at the far end of the bar at Max’s. He knew something was off, something in the air told him so. The new bartender was a middle-aged man; he assumed he had better availability than his granddaughter. Of course, often her absence was due to some form of assault she endured and those seemed to grow rapidly as days went by. Closing time crept up slowly and methodically as he finished off yet another glass of whiskey. He nodded to the bartender on his exit in a silent goodbye until next time. He walked slowly as if time had been harsh to him and in a sense, he supposed it had. The air felt cold against his bare skin. He glanced around the mostly empty parking lot intensely. Something was off, someone’s eyes were on him and they burned straight through him. Someone was making a move or at least making their presence known and as small a blip as it was, it was enough for a Fallen to notice. “Come out of the shadows, you coward.”
“No need. I’m only waiting.”
“Waiting for what?” Sariel bellowed.
“For an opportunity to make a point. Your Nephilim will surrender to me or God’s wrath may strike you down.”
“I’ll take that as a threat, Rogziel. Funny you seem to be the only angel carrying out such a burdensome job.”
“The only one strong enough to do so. Scamper home, Fallen. I’ll be back soon enough.” Rogziel stood hidden against a tree in the shadows but Sariel knew where he stood, where his breath caught the tree. He turned his back toward him fearlessly as he climbed into his truck and headed home.
Almost home, he contacted Paul, Penemue, we have a problem; meet me at Kokabiel’s place and tell him and the others we are on our way. This is a Fallen only meeting.
I will be there shortly. Paul’s voice rang out, concerned, in his mind. Sariel had been considered an elder when he was still carrying out God’s orders. His silver-like hair shone in the moonlight as he barreled down the road to his home. He had hoped they would have more time before Rogziel attacked or threatened to attack again. He grew solemn while lost in his thoughts. He had at one time believed Alice could save them all, that she was some sort of salvation for his kind, but Rogziel’s relentlessness was poisonous to their hopes and faith. When he pulled up to the building, he found Jake, Kokabiel, Penemue and Briathos impatiently waiting outside. He could feel their angst closing their throats in protest of what he had to share. The panic was nearly suffocating them as they waited.
“What’s wrong, Sariel?” Penemue asked quickly, barely letting him crawl out of his truck.
“I was paid a visit from Rogziel.”
Jake growled in response, “What did he want?”
“He wants Alice. I’m pretty sure he was threatening me in order to get her. He knows that she feels for us and he plans to use that against her and against us all.”
“The last time Alice gave herself up she was almost killed,” Kokabiel added.
“I’m not suggesting we do that, or tell her for that matter. I just want everyone to be on board with our decision, whatever it may be. If he gets anyone alone or off guard, he does have the power to send us to the abyss. I don’t know if Alice would recover from losing any one of us.” Sariel knew what he was saying, but a part of him was warning, warning that it was him who was running out of time.
“Thank you for including me, brother. I will stand by your decision, though I feel we should not keep such things from her. Please let me know your decision, but I must go,” Briathos said.
“Enjoy you’re date, brother,” Kokabiel said teasingly.
“She is strong willed but her empathy is also strong. We’ll have to be much more careful to protect her and ourselves,” Penemue said. It seemed there was truth to the statement “no rest for the wicked.” For as good as they were at heart, they couldn’t change what they’d done in the past, and your past is a part of who you are whether you like it or not.
ALICE
ALICE BROUGHT HOME A CANVAS to work on in her living room while the boys were off being boys. Briathos had finally gotten the nerve to ask Theresa out. So awkward. She laughed at the memory. She turned up her IPod dock, allowing the vibration of the music to suck her in fully so she could draw in absence of herself.
What fel
t like hours later, when she felt as though she could no longer work on the piece for another moment, she turned the music off and cleaned up her supplies. When she looked back at the image, to take it all in, the charcoal in her hand fell and crashed to the floor, “Cole!”
Cole rushed into the room, sliding on his socks across the floor. “What’s wrong?” he panicked. She pointed at the drawing, speechless. It was a circle of angels, both Fallen and not, around a Fallen angel laying in the center, bleeding near his heart, wings crumbled behind him. Alice knew from experience that often her images had already happened, or worse, were about to. It was as if the image called to her, laced with emotion and a sense that it was more than just another piece of art. They could all sense that about some of her work, as if something or someone was warning her and them all.
“It’s just a drawing, Alice,” Cole reassured her while holding her shoulders. “Okay?” He sounded reassuring but it worried him too.
“But so many of them have happened. We should call the family. It could be any of us.” Cole nodded and called his father who happened to be with the others at that moment, and passed the news. “They said they’ll come to see it tomorrow. For now, let’s get something to eat and maybe rent a movie. For one night, let’s act as if we were just ordinary humans. Okay?”
She wanted to argue but he was right, if this image did come to pass, there was no stopping it and that scared her more than anything. She took his hand and left the room, feeling slightly hopeless. His smile warmed her to her core and some days that’s all she needed. “What would I do without you?”
Alice's Insurrection (Alice Clark Series) Page 6