Bedeviled

by J. Ashburn

  Bedeviled

  The Warring Hearts Trilogy

  Book 1

  J. Ashburn

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2016 by J. Ashburn Fiction

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Art Copyright © 2016 by Clarissa Yeo

  All characters, events and descriptions in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons living or dead are the product of the author’s imagination and are purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any mean, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from J. Ashburn.

  Table of Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  Also by J. Ashburn

  Connect with J. Ashburn

  1

  Their love may tear both Heaven and Hell asunder.

  It had been a mistake. It had all been a mistake. Caleb, the fallen angel, sat upon a hill of bleached bones, pondering. He no longer wanted to torment the damned, tear the flesh from their bones with spindly fingers and razor nails. The flames of Hell no longer held their sway over him, no delight, no sallow joy, no glorious triumph over the sins of the righteous.

  The creeping dark offered no comfort. The screams and shrieks were no longer musical notes that brought rapture to his ears. Sulfur was not the scent of choice. It reeked and stank, an offense to his senses. His brethren were deformed and ugly, outcasts, awful creatures to be shunned and feared.

  Caleb was filled with regret. He was sorry, so sorry for what he’d done. He wept for those poor souls he helped damn to Hell. His heart broke for those he tricked into committing sin and then tormented forever more. The poor men and women of Earth—they didn’t deserve the evil he and his brethren spread among them. He wished he’d never supported the war on Heaven with Lucifer. This was not what he was promised. Living in Hell was not what it was cracked up to be. It lacked what Heaven always had…the splendor, the unity, the…love. Why had he ever done it? The promises Lucifer made withered into ash blowing on blistering winds. Nothing he said had come to pass and millennium after millennium Lucifer told lie after monstrous lie.

  He wanted out, he wanted to go back. He wanted to be in Heaven again, wrapped in its warmth and loving light. But how…how would he gain its favor again? He wanted his Father’s forgiveness. He needed that forgiveness to return.

  All he wanted in all of eternity was redemption. But how could a fallen angel ever catch his Father’s eye again? How could one that had done such evil, such unspeakable things to God’s most beloved children be welcomed back to paradise?

  For many more years Caleb sat and thought, trying to find a way to be forgiven. And one day the answer came. He knew exactly what to do. He would go to Earth and do good, help mankind, make up for the crimes he committed against them. It was the only way. He could barely face them now, all he wanted to do was weep for them, but that was not enough. No. He would go above and make up all the wrongs against them. He would show them he was wrong and that they deserved his Father’s love, just as he did. If they could forgive him perhaps Father would too.

  The denizens of Hell weren’t just supposed to come and go as they pleased. If you weren’t possessing the goodly, tempting the innocent or haunting locations of grave crimes and unspeakable misery, then you could be summoned by a follower of Lucifer or one of his servants that practiced the dark arts. Other than that, you were to remain here to suffer along with the rest of the lost souls. Except Caleb knew of Lucifer’s personal chink in Hell’s armor. He’d seen the Dark Lord come and go at will. It was purely accidental of course. He and the succubus Angelique stumbled upon it while searching for a soul that had gone AWOL. Little did they know Lucifer had taken the soul out of Hell with him, for what end they did not know. Caleb memorized the location of this escape hatch.

  Caleb slinked through the bowels of Hell, passing through personal purgatories and hiding in the shadows as his fellow fallen ones did their worst to many lost souls. When it seemed there were no spies aware of his presence and that Lucifer was busy on more pressing matters, he made his way through layer after layer of darkness and sadness, cold and heat, spirit and body until he reached a desolate membrane between the worlds.

  He pressed a scaly, clawed hand against it and it rippled like pond water. In his racing mind he pictured the physical world of mankind, the lush green trees, the amazing blue skies and the golden bright sun pouring its radiance down on the world and stepped through. He had to walk the Earth in a physical form and needed to appear in some way that wouldn’t terrify anyone he tried to help. Black wings, scaly flesh and sunken eyes were not a pleasing form.

  Caleb focused all of his energy and shifted his metaphysical form to a man, one with dark hair that matched that of his wings, a clean-shaven, kind face with shimmering eyes, smooth skin and toned muscles. He hoped he would pass in the human world and do the good he set out to do. He climbed through one spiritual wall after another, one plane after another, like slipping through a whirlpool that wound into a vortex, until he reached the physical world that they called Earth.

  He stumbled out into a dirt road, flanked by trees on both side. His knees buckled, his eyes burned then adjusted to real light and finally, he fell. Looking up, he expected to see beautiful blue skies and a glowing yellow sun but he did not. Instead, the sky was gray, gloomy, and full of clouds. It was raining.

  “Figures,” he murmured to himself. “First time back on Earth in almost four hundred years and it’s raining.”

  He pulled himself up, looked down at his attire… a black t-shirt and jeans, hoping it was appropriate for the time and started down the muddy road.

  2

  Micah’s alarm clock startled him and for a second he thought about hurling it across the room. Last night’s visit to the D-bar and all those drinks was probably not the best idea on work night but there it was. His head felt like it was in a vice. Why oh why did he listen to Nicki? For a few moments he listened to the rain patter against his apartment window.

  God, I hate when it rains. They’ll be more car accidents then usual today. Fun.

  He rolled out of bed, and hopped into the shower. What luck, neither Nick nor Rick, twin brothers and his roommates, were already in there. The hot water really woke him now and he hurried through the bathroom as fast as he could.

  Dressed and dried, Micah sat down to a hot bowl of oatmeal with some sliced banana and toasted almonds, and a big glass of orange juice. He was half way done when the front door flung open. Nick and Rick sauntered in, soaking wet.

  “I was wondering where you guys were,” Micah said.

  “On a run,” replied Rick.

  “In the rain?”

  “The weather doesn’t matter when it comes to your health,” Nick said. “We’re hardcore. Any time, any place. You obviously don’t care that much about living a nice, long life.”

  Micah rolled his eyes. “Got no time, Nick. People need me.”

  “It’s Nicholas,” Nick said with a tone.

  “Dude, really? I’ve known you since college and now you want me to call you Nicholas?”

  “He’s going through a phase,” Rick said. “All gay guys do.”

  “I never did,” Micah said with a smirk.

  “Eat me,” Nick growled.

  “Oh, you’d like that.” Micah smiled again and looked over at the sopping wet brothers, their dusty blond hair matted to their heads, t-shirts and shorts clinging to their swimmer’s builds. They were both
over six feet tall and gorgeous but Micah had always thought of them as his brothers. He never even fooled around with Nick in college despite him being gay just like Micah. Rick was totally straight, or so he claimed.

  The brothers stripped their shirts off and grabbed some towels out of the linen closet in the small hallway. “I got the shower first,” Nick said.

  “C’mon, Nicholas, you always spend way more time than I do. Let me go first.”

  “No way. I called it.”

  Rick grabbed him and the two wrestled in the hallway, grunting and bouncing off the walls.

  “This would be totally hot if I was at all interested.” Micah got up from the breakfast nook and shoved his dishes into the kitchen sink.

  “You know you dream about this!” Rick called, giggled, as Nick put him in a headlock.

  “Whatever makes you feel better. I’ll let you two fight to the death, gotta go!” He grabbed his raincoat and keys and headed out the door.

  ###

  Micah drove slowly through town in his station wagon, careful not to hydroplane on the wet streets. It was a used car, not cool or luxurious, and it was all he could afford at this time in his life. It didn’t matter to him. He wasn’t really into cars or trying to look cool or gain status. He just needed something reliable to get him to work and back, he didn’t care if he looked like an eighties soccer mom.

  He crossed to the other side of Blackstone and into the Cranberry Condo complex. Micah stopped at Unit C, and pulled into the guest parking then honked the horn. The door to apartment 303 opened and Nicki came running out wearing her pink raincoat, its hood pulled over her head.

  She pulled open the door and hopped into the car. Nicki pulled the hood off of her head, revealing her mane of fiery red hair and gave Micah a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning,” she beamed.

  “Hi babe.” Micah threw the car into gear and started through the parking lot. He glanced at her and smirked.

  “What?”

  “You really love pink.”

  She looked down at her pink blouse and then at her raincoat and shook her head. “It’s my favorite color, so sue me.”

  He rolled his eyes. “The red-haired girl that wears too much pink. It doesn’t go with your complexion. You need to break up some of the red color tones and pick things that go with your hair and eyes.”

  “This isn’t stylist to the stars.”

  “You got that right.”

  Nicki smacked him across the shoulder. “You’re such a bitch.”

  Micah giggled. “Ouch. You hit harder than most guys.”

  “Keep it up. That was me holding back.”

  “I’m only trying to help.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I wear to work, we put our uniforms over everything any way.”

  “Okay, okay, whatever.”

  “You’re in a mood today. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?”

  “You made me stay out too late last night.”

  “Sure always blaming me. Tell me you didn’t have fun last night?”

  “I’m getting too old to stay out all night drinking on work nights.”

  Nicki laughed. “Too old? You’re a hot, young gay man, you should be out all night drinking and dancing. How else are you going meet a guy?”

  Micah groaned. “All the guys I meet out there are so shallow. All they want is to play around. They aren’t serious about anything.”

  “You don’t give them a chance.”

  “Not true. They’re all the same. Drugs, sex, partying. They’re too much into the scene. One guy even changed his mind going out on a date with me after he saw my car.”

  “What? He didn’t like Gertrude? Old Gertie? Now that is shallow.”

  “Right? I shit you not. He called it off in Nico’s parking lot. We never made it inside for dinner. I’m just so tired of it all. The clubs are over.”

  “Then update your profiles on…”

  “Dating apps? Even worse. They’re the new meat markets.”

  “Sounds like you’ve given up on men?”

  Micah shook is head. “I’m just burnt out. I need a break.”

  “I know, I know, I’ll take you out for some drinks!”

  “Nicki!” Micah grinned at her and she howled, obviously trying to lighten the mood. “Alcohol is not the answer to everything.”

  “Bite your tongue, yes it is.” She giggled some more then rubbed his shoulder. “You’ll find someone, sweetie. He’s out there waiting for you.”

  “Sure he is.”

  Micah pulled into the parking lot of the Blackstone General Hospital and slid into the employee area. He and Nicki prepared for the rain again. She yanked slid the hood of her raincoat back over her head and he grabbed his umbrella.

  A moment later they made a run for the hospital doors, waved hello to Maggie at the admitting desk and headed straight for the locker rooms.

  ###

  Micah and Nicki sat in the rec room, texting on their phones, the TV running in the background. They’d finished checking their ambulance, its equipment and all of their supplies, helping Maggie with some paperwork, and patient transfers before deciding to wait for the next call.

  Their co-workers Peter and David had already taken one, a heart attack, in the old part of the city. Micah suspected there would be another call soon. Stormy days seemed to bring emergencies with them and the morning had just begun.

  Moments later, his prediction came to pass. The radio attached to his belt blared with the 911 dispatcher’s voice, alerting he and Nicki to a traffic accident out on one of the rural routes, Route 140.

  The two of them raced to the ambulance, started it up and blared the sirens and lights. Micah drove as Nicki got everything ready. His heart was pounding, it always did no matter how many calls they took. He loved being a paramedic but the calls never got any easier for him. He wondered what waited out there for them this time.

  3

  Caleb found his way onto a main road. He heard a strange, loud sound in the distance. Its tone sounded desperate. Somehow, he knew it meant something was wrong, it was an alert to others. He decided to respond and headed in the direction of the sound.

  The road was slick and wet, winding around treacherous corners and becoming steep in some places. He walked on, the rain soaking his clothes, t-shirt clinging to his heaving chest. The body his energy had created for his spirit was strong and durable, he wondered how his powers knew what to craft or how it would look to others, but he was enjoying it so far. It seemed to fit him, he felt like he belonged in this skin and had he been born a human on the Earth this was what he would look like. Perhaps his dark spirit had known that all along.

  He rounded another corner, getting around by mortal methods wasn’t the easiest way to travel, and saw a human vehicle turned on its side, smoke billowing out of it. There were two humans hurt within—one was half out of the vehicle, his head dripping with blood.

  Directly behind the car an emergency vehicle was parked, that was where the blaring sounds came from. Caleb watched a young man and woman work frantically.

  “Quick, grab the backboards,” the young man said to the woman. “I’ll check the airways, breathing and circulation. They’re both unconscious.”

  “Jesus, this is a bad one,” the young woman said to her comrade.

  They’re praying to Father already. They must really love the hurt humans. Caleb moved closer with caution. He didn’t want to scare them as they worked. The young man gently pulled the human that was already half out of the car, keeping the man’s head supported and laying him flat. The young woman brought over the backboard and they secured him to it.

  “Okay,” the young man said. “He’s unconscious, probably a concussion. His pulse is good. Clean up his face and I’ll get the gurney.”

  Caleb watched Micah move out into the street just as another car tore around the corner. There was a loud screech and the car swerved, heading straight toward Micah. A surge of panic washed through Caleb, unlike anyt
hing he’d ever felt before. He didn’t want to see this young savior meet his doom… he had lives to save. He knew he could not do anything with simple mortal means. He summoned his energy, glancing briefly in the puddle at his feet. His eyes flashed red and a silhouette of black, shadowy wings stretched above his shoulders.

  In the blink of an eye Caleb soared down the street, and shot to his left. He wrapped his arms around Micah and pulled him out of harm’s way. The two tumbled onto the side of the road and something else… happened.

  Warmth filled Caleb, not like what he knew from his past experiences, something loving, something comforting. For a few blissful seconds, Caleb forgot the scars of his past, the pain of damnation and the horrible deeds he’d committed. For the moment there was no pain, no evil, no judgment. He held this man in his arms and closed his eyes. He could hear and feel the man’s heartbeat. It was wonderful.

  Micah sighed and looked up… he watched the other car skid, narrowly missing him and almost side-swiping the accident. Luckily, it managed to correct itself and pulled over. A woman jumped out, her face ghost white.

  “Oh my God!” the woman cried. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so.” Micah called. He turned to the man behind him. “Thank you…I..”

  Before Micah could finish, Caleb hopped to his feet, stepped backwards and vanished into the trees behind them.

  He fluttered up one of the trees and remained out of sight. He caught his newfound breath and watched as Micah stood up, looking around, confused. “Where did he go?” He heard Micah ask.

  “Who?” Nicki asked.

  “Forget it…we gotta get them to the hospital.”

  “Can I help?” the woman who nearly hit him offered.

  “No, we got it,” Micah said. “Stand back ma’am.”

  Moments later more emergency vehicles appeared behind the ambulance—police cars and fire trucks, their lights and sirens blazing. Caleb smiled from the tops of the trees. He knew the victims of the accident weren’t going to die and would make a full recovery. He could feel their life forces and their heartbeats and they were strong and somehow, he knew the man he’d protected would make sure they were saved.