Angels and Magic

by E. J. Bennett

  He took the towels and massaged the water round her body. Her clothes were seeping wet, and warm. But she did not budge.

  Beside the tub, Caleb sat with his eyes closed.

  ***

  In later days, Joan would say that it was a figment of her imagination but one minute she saw a bright, white light and the next it was gone.

  In her inhibited state she heard the locks disengage again. With one final effort she tried the door and it flung open. She fell out of the car, exhausted and short of breath.

  Mustering all the strength she had, she crawled toward the garage door lock and pushed the open button.

  As the door opened up allowing fresh air rush into the room, Joan finally closed her eyes.

  ***

  With a sudden intake of breath, Caleb opened his eyes and sat upright in his chair. In the corner he saw Hezekiah attempting to resuscitate Leila.

  He got up instantly and ran towards her. Picking her up, he placed her flat on the floor and began began to administer CPR.

  He pumped her chest and breathed into her mouth alternately but still, she didn't move.

  "Wake up, please wake up" he muttered under his breath and inhaling deeply, breathed into her mouth once more.

  She woke up then, sputtering and struggling. He quickly wrapped his arm around her calming her down.

  She thrashed around for a minute before seeming to get her surroundings.

  'Did. . .did we win? Did I do it?" She asked suddenly, coughing.

  Hezekiah and Caleb erupted in nervous laughter.

  Helping her to her feet, Caleb led her to the bathroom.

  "You need to get out of those wet clothes" he said, putting his arms around her protectively.

  She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder.

  EPILOGUE

  "I can't believe it's finally over" Leila said as they watched the sun set at Lake Sudden.

  "I haven't slept so well in a long time" She added.

  Caleb laughed and kissed her.

  He was happy she was finally getting back to being her old self.

  "Good for you banshee"

  "Oh, shut up angel"

  They both laughed.

  "We should get going" Caleb said and they headed towards her car.

  Suddenly, Caleb stopped short and his face contorted in pain.

  Leila moved towards him in alarm but he raised his hand, stopping her.

  "Stay back" he said through clenched teeth.

  "Don't do this. Please, I made one mistake" he said imploringly.

  He was no longer speaking to her.

  "I fixed it. I don't know why I did it. Only that I did. And I have since made recompense. Please, I can't be one of them. I have been faithful to you. I can't become one of the fallen"

  Leila stared in horror as he cried out in agony, dropping to his knees.

  As she watched, two burn marks suddenly appeared on both sides of his back, straight down the edges.

  She stared in horror.

  Caleb slowly got up then. He kept his head bent. She couldn't tell if he was ashamed or just angry.

  When he raised his head, she was surprised to see how calm he looked. Then he spoke.

  "I will be back Leila. Don't forget me"

  With that, he vanished right before her eyes.

  Leila did not know what to make of what just happened. Had she just watched Caleb lose his wings?

  What were the implications of that?

  Her throat felt thick and swallowing had become hard. Tears stung at her eyes as she stumbled towards her car.

  His final words to her ; 'Don't forget me Leila'

  How could she? He had left such a lasting impression on her, she pitied any future guy she met.

  'I'll be back..."

  She reached her car and got in. Suddenly, the day had taken a dramatic and she now felt a strange sense of foreboding.

  She kicked the car and it sputtered to life. Then she put it back off.

  What just happened?

  No. It couldn't be.

  She'd closed the tear. It was over.

  But how?

  She waited. Sure enough, she heard it again.

  A single name, one she recognised, whispered in her ear by a voice she also now recognised.

  James Michealson.

  Simmering

  Darkness

  PROLOGUE

  The clouds had gone grey without much warning. It had begun as a whispering in the air, a subtle message of what was to come, heard by all but only understood by a select few. The day had been beautiful, bright and sunny. The sky had stretched out above them in a seemingly never ending expanse of blue swirls. The now-grey and pouring clouds had floated gaily above anchored to nothing and freely floating, basking in the light of the yellow, blazing sphere that was the sun. It had seemed like the ideal day for a stroll, or a picnic. Seemed. The instantaneously grey clouds had come as a bleak warning. A bleak, sudden warning and the formerly cocktail blue sky gad acquired that grey tinge that usually made children sigh as their playtime was about to be interrupted. Before long, the drizzle had started, gradually gathering momentum until the rain was fully established.

  The day drew along rather slowly as the rains poured down steadily. It was not an unusual occurrence, but it was one which had not exactly been foreseen. Bereft of adequate preparation, there was no way one could have anticipated the steady showers that now assailed the region. The sky grumbled like a great big tummy in the sky protesting a bad meal and lightening cracked across the sky, splitting it in two in a momentary flash of light.

  The sun, they say, enables life and the rain grants it safe passage. The robust clouds coughed up falling balloons of moisture like a weeping baby after a rare spanking, wetting the fields below. The vegetation below seemed to rejoice as the long awaited precipitation drummed against the canopy with a pitter patter that echoed all through the forest, unrelenting and steady in its rhythm. Animals below scampered for shelter from the slowly strengthening rain and others simply snoozed enjoying the cool air that accompanied the rain. The sun had been reneged to the background and struggled to shine, reflecting off the raindrops in different colors. It seemed to have happened without any warning, one minute there had been no signs of rain and the people had carried on with their lives with that notion. But then the skies had begun to cry and they'd been caught off guard.

  They should have been expecting it anyways. It wasn't as though it wasn't due. Weren't they meant to be thankful? After all, their crops needed the precipitation, how else were they to survive? The rains poured down steadily, washing away some top soil and running off, filling the rivers and lakes. It was a wet day and the reality of that was gradually setting in.

  Already, some small children had taken to playing under the rain, laughing joyously as the sky teardrops slowly and gently pelted their prepubescent bodies as their mothers yelled for them to get inside lest they receive an already well deserved spanking. The ones whose playtime had been interrupted stared out at the rain blurred horizon, wondering when this unwanted visitor would finish its display and leave. It had overstayed its welcome as far as they were concerned.

  She looked over them, a scowl spread over her face. How dare they? After what she had done? It seemed she had underestimated humanity's penchant for ingratitude. And to think she had been worried that she had come too late. Her anger boiled through her even as her decision slowly formed in her mind. Why had they sent her here? Had it been a silly test to find out how she would react to their ingratitude? Was it even possible for them to have envisioned something so cruel?

  It wasn't exactly intentional. See it from their perspective a tiny voice whispered in her head and she hushed it harshly, floating unseen amongst the people and their various complaints. She wondered if they would have been moved to be so honest if they'd been aware of her presence. She doubted it highly and it made her even more upset. Such duplicitous attitude deserved nothing but pain and suffering. She won
dered what her mother saw in them. These vile uncouth creatures whose main motive for being created was defeated by the fact that they seemed intent on wiping out everything they came in contact with. Something in her could relate with their penchant for destruction, wars, all manners of conflict, it was almost poetic, but still, it annoyed her greatly. She turned to the sky and felt a scream of pure anger bubble up inside her, but she bit it down allowing the rain pour all over her, barely feeling the cold water as it soaked her through and through. Of course she knew what the others would say. 'That's just how she is. She just lacks control', 'Why was she sent on such a mission? Didn't her mother know better?', 'her mother ought to have known better, I can't tell how such a kind being could have spawned another so entirely different from her'. She scoffed, as if she'd asked to be one of them. Goody two shoes.

  She was used to their scathing comments when they thought she was out of earshot, but she had long given up trying to make them think otherwise. They seemed more than determined to treat her like some abomination and she was certain that with the plan she was now concocting in her mind, she would definitely fit their profile perfectly. She sighed, floating higher up as the decision took root. She'd been so happy and expectant, giving them what they wanted. What did they know about anything? She could very well have held back, disobeyed and they would have been still been the ones crying up for help. Silly beings, they surely knew how to plead when it suited them didn't they? They'd perfected it. Made it an art and now, it was basically second nature to them.

  The anger boiled deeply within her and she stared daggers at the houses in the village below. The streets were deserted now and a reasonable distance away, the dense vegetation bathed and seemed to be enjoying the bath she had provided. She smiled sourly, not quite feeling anything that even remotely resembled joy, well at least she was getting some gratitude from the trees. How hard was it to show some gratitude though? She asked herself as she waved her hand and her wand appeared glowing slightly, an outward expression of the anger that boiled within her.

  She smiled at the irony of it. The same wand she had used with the intention of bringing them joy was about to bring them the retribution they so deserved. They liked to complain right? She felt compelled to give them something to really complain about. For a brief second she wondered what her mother would say. Her opinion was the only one she really cared about now, but the moment passed quickly as memories of the perceived injustice and unwarranted ingratitude she'd just suffered came back to her. No, they definitely deserved this. If her mother decided to punish her, well, it was her decision.

  Just as this was hers.

  With that final thought, and with the cold reality of what she was about to do settling in her mind, she flew up into the scar, a divine being in search of retribution for a perceived wrong. She waved her wand and the clouds shifted slightly, gathering closer and becoming denser than they'd been mere minutes ago. She smiled, a cold, hard expression that did not quite reach her eyes. She stared down at the village once more feeling the annoying stirrings of remorse threaten to bubble to the surface once more.

  With a scream born of righteous anger, she lifted her wand once more and cast her spell.

  The cloud gathered and grew bigger, as did the rain drops. The churlish, bloated clouds spewed great blobs of rain down, smacking against the canopy and houses in great torrents. It was starting to resemble a deluge of biblical proportions and slowly she waved her hand, turning it in swift rotating motions, a wicked glint in her eye. The anger consumed her and she was held captive by its enormity. The winds followed her hand gestures, gradually gathering momentum and raging through the forest. The fields drowned beneath the onslaught of the rain and trees waved dizzily in the strengthening winds in a sideways dance that threatened to uproot them from the roots.

  As she looked down, the villagers were starting to secure their doors and windows, sensing the incoming danger and she laughed at the futility of their efforts. Behind her the spinning winds gathered momentum, held in place by the force of her will as she gazed down at the people waiting for them to finish taking their precautions. She would show them just how puny they were, and then they would know how to be ungrateful. It was highly presumptuous of them to assume they'd be able to hide from the destruction she was about to wreak on them. The mere thought of it nearly caused her to laugh. Nearly.

  As the last window closed, finally 'secure' by their standards, she waved her hand and the herculean hurricane winds spun faster and moved through the forest and into the village. The houses shook to their foundations and the people cried out to the gods for help. She laughed. Now they needed her.

  Loud crashes came from the Forest area as trees finally gave up the struggle and crashed to the ground, smashing into other trees and destroying the underlying vegetation. A woman screamed as a tree toppled over and landed on her house, taking almost half of it in the crash. The roof of another house was torn of and the family cowered in a corner, holding on to each other as the winds picked up their house and smashed it into the neighboring house killing them instantly.

  She lifted her wand once more and the rains intensified, filling the rivers and causing them to overflow. The water rushed towards the small village, smashing against walls that sought to obstruct it and seeping through. The winds ripped through the village square, tearing down the various earthen statues they'd built and she watched with glee, directing the winds as she saw fit.

  The sky was dark and vengeful, much like the very being who now controlled it into a frenzy. Thunder boomed and lightening crackled striking down to the ground and electrocuting a few of the villagers who tried to make a run for shelter. The top soil was now buried under a torrent of flowing water and some villagers rushed towards sturdy trees in search of anything to keep them tethered to the ground. The hurricane picked up villager after villager, smashing them against each other and against the fragments of their completely torn down buildings, pushed by the being's machinations and will. Children wailed as their mothers sought for shelter for them from the falling trees and structures.

  She looked over her work, satisfied with the level of destruction she'd caused. That would teach them to be ungrateful. She smiled as she watched some people splutter in the flood and go down under, pulled away by the great currents. The forest lay in ruin as trees lay atop one another, uprooted completely or simply smashed in half by the aggressive winds. Houses lay crumbled to the ground and the flood pulled their parts apart carrying them off to parts unknown.

  With a deep calming breath, still feeling the anger steadily throbbing within her, not quite placated but willing to move aside for the time being, she raised her hands and the spinning winds dissolved slowly. As they calmed, they tossed aside the structures and humans they still carried and within them, tossing them every which way.

  The dead floated in the water, killed by a hurricane storm of undeniably divine proportions. The screams of the survivors echoed through the vast, severely damaged forest.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Ariel looked at the other gods and sighed. They all looked so happy, content with the life they had, unassuming in nature and completely given to the duty they were supposed to perform. She looked at the dress her mother asked her to wear and rolled her eyes feeling beyond silly. Of course she could choose to ignore the woman's directives and just do as she pleased, but she had already learnt from past occurrences that nothing like that ever ended up well, especially not for her. She looked to the ground as a few young gods passed by her. One of them made a small remark she couldn't quite place and they all laughed. She turned and stared at them watching to see if they would look back, daringthem to turn back. She had just gotten up from her compulsory meditation and was feeling more cranky than usual, she trusted that those boys knew better than to test her when she looked the way she did. She moved through the halls, admiring the tapestry like she had never seen them before. Each tapestry told its own story and as a child, before the anger and angst
had taken full root, she'd been very interested in the stories they told.

  Her mother had all been too happy to tell her. She'd regaled her with tales from what she called 'the silver age of the gods'. The time when the gods had just started creating the earth and its inhabitants. They still communicated physically with the humans then, appearing to them in various forms. Flaming lion, man with the head of an eagle, or simply as a barely perceptible gust of wind. Humanity had been in its infancy then and they'd needed constant guidance from their makers.

  Of course that was before they'd decided they were now grown enough to question the gods however. They started becoming more rebellious and even at times, attempted to fight back against the gods. Every child passed through the rebellious phase didn't they? The gods decided they were done babysitting and resigned to their home on the clouds. Of course they still dispatched their duties as was true to their nature. Gaia her mother was known to the humans as 'mother nature' and was responsible for almost everything, from the blue ocean to the vast forests that littered the planet, down to the resources that were still yet to be discovered. She caused the rains to fall at the appointed time and as punishment every now and then, caused a storm or two, if only to remind the humans that there was a higher power at play besides them. They tended to forget it a lot.

  She looked through the tapestry and saw the story of Gaia creating the amazon forest. That was the finer parts of their history and she couldn't help the small smile that spread over her face. It was not easy being the daughter of Gaia, Mother Nature herself. Her mother was one of the most respected gods and as a result of that, a spotlight had been cast on her early in life. She looked and caught sight of her uncle Poseidon, he and Gaia had done some work separating land and water and as she looked at both of them, she could not help but wonder what it must have been like. Like, what could have made them decide to create humans? How did someone just up and decide to create tiny, albeit powerless versions of themselves and place them on a planet of their own creation as well then teach them to take care of themselves. She was a goddess herself and she couldn't imagine herself ever being pushed towards doing such a thing. To what end? Worship? Well, she thought, that was a pretty good motivation when one actually settled down to think about it.