I stopped and turned. “I’m not; that’s the thing. The intent of what they did is what bothered me, and still bothers me.”
“I’m sorry, Rian. I didn’t realize. Humans are so fragile when it comes to love and sex.”
“Angels as well.”
“Some of them, perhaps. Let’s go see Axle.”
How I felt at Belladonnas was nothing to be ashamed of, I knew that. Both Markus and his sister turned me on in all the best and worst ways, but it was their intent. They didn’t want pleasure. They wanted to use it as a weapon to take my power. I didn’t appreciate that. It’s too early for this shit.
Raiza held the door open for me. Axle lay on his bed wide awake with a bandage wrapped around his head. He smiled at Raiza and me, and I let out a breath of air I didn’t realize I held in.
He motioned us over. “Rian, Raiza, it’s good to see you. They’re letting me out today sometime.”
Raiza took a seat next to Axle, and I leaned against the window. “At least it’s you in here and not me for once. I hate hospitals.”
Axle shrugged. “I hear I have you to thank for saving my life.”
“Yeah, so I hear.”
“And you did it in your underwear after digging yourself out of a grave.”
Raiza leaned forward with a provocative grin, and I saw her eye me up and down. “Just your underwear, Rian? I’d love to see that.”
My face grew hot. “I was dirty, so nothing to see.”
“Dirty, indeed.” She turned to Axle. “I’m glad you’re safe. I don’t think your department can get anything done without you.”
He laughed then grabbed his head. “Yeah, that’s true, unfortunately. My head still hurts like a bitch. The doctor says it’ll go away after some rest. Time for some pain pills. What about you, Rian?”
I took a step toward the door. “A few scrapes and lots of bruises. A cracked rib, but that should heal up fast. Need me to call the nurse?”
Axle shook his head. “No, they’ll be in soon with the meds. You can’t rush anything here unless you’re dying.” His gaze bore right through me. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“What happened? How did you get out there?”
Axle leaned back, and Raiza scooted over and clutched his hand. “Well, after your call for help, I left the office and got to your apartment. Someone smashed the door open, and Jezebel was groggy. I took her to your neighbors and called my office asking them to track the GPS on your phone since it was missing. I figured the contractor came after you and took that as well.”
“Well, two people did. One was the contractor; the other was Markus.”
“From Belladonnas? I never expected to see or hear about him again. Shit, Rian, I’m sorry but when I followed the GPS, only Sean James was there, and he was finishing up covering your grave. We fought, and then I woke up here.”
“Yeah, I didn’t either, but I’ve seen him twice over the last day. Next time he’s getting a bullet in his head.”
A couple of nurses came and checked Axle’s vitals. I stepped back to stay out of the way. “I’m going to get coffee. Need anything, Raiza?”
“No, I’ll stay.”
I exited the room and hit the elevator. Pushing the button for the first floor, the light came on for the observation floor. I pushed the button again and still nothing. The elevator went up. My wrists and back burned. Fuck, what now?
I reached for a gun I didn’t have. “Fuck me.”
The doors slid open and an older middle-aged man, around fifty stood near a window smiling at me. His hair was slightly gray and combed, and he had a beard, salt and peppered like his hair. He was handsome in a way and had a strange power that scared me. His eyes drew me in. They were green like mine. So much like mine.
“Rian, it’s been a long time.”
I stepped past him and walked to another window that overlooked the city of Fort Collins.
His footsteps echoed behind me. “Is this how you treat your father?”
“I wouldn’t know. I never met him.”
He stood next to me. “You take after your mother. Stubborn.”
I turned toward him angry. “Leave her out of this. Because of you, mom's lost her damn mind.”
“She was such a fragile woman. Still beautiful as ever considering her condition.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You know, I don’t care. What do you want? Not that it matters. You know she never told me your name. Even she wanted to forget you.”
“That hurts, Rian. More than you know. I’ve come to warn you. If you must know my name; it’s Sauriel.”
I moved to a chair and sat down. “Warn me of what? You’ve been absent from my whole life, what’s changed to bring you in it now?”
Sauriel sat across from me. “The Fallen.”
Any anger I had built up melted away at the mention of the group. Markus was a part of them, and they rubbed me the wrong way. Nothing about them was clean.
I leaned back in the chair. “They invited me over yesterday morning.”
“I know. It was against my wishes. I told them you wouldn’t buy into their agenda.”
I narrowed my eyes, the anger building up again. “You knew?”
He got up and walked over to the window. “They won’t stop, Rian. Blood drips from their hands, and they’ll do what’s needed to get you to join.”
“That’ll be a cold day in hell.”
“They’ll count on your goodness. The fact you are a believer and won’t shy from doing what’s right. The Fallen will exploit that. You can’t fight them forever.”
I got up and stood in front of the elevator, hitting the button. Should’ve brought a gun, Rian. The doors swung open, and I stepped in. The family reunion was over. I turned around to see Sauriel right in front of me.
Damn, he’s quick. Of all the powers I got, it was my psychometry that had grown to a form of precognition. I couldn’t fly or have super strength. My body healed faster than others, but that’s about it. Sigils on my arms warned me of danger, and now my back burned for only God knows why.
Now I have daddy vaguely warning me of The Fallen’s intentions. There’s not enough alcohol for a day like this. Hell, not enough for the week. I pushed the button again and heard a ding.
“You’re a unique Nephilim, Rian. The only one that fights for God and has the pure heart to show for it. They’ll turn you.”
“No, you don’t know me well enough to say that. I’ll fight every last one of them if need be.”
“Would you sacrifice who you are to do it?”
“Who I am? I’m very much human. My mother was and raised me as such. Who am I supposed to be?”
“An angel like you were born to be.”
“No. You’re wrong. I may have angelic blood running through my veins, but I’m not one to follow someone blindly or through coercion. You may, but I don’t. I’m not that kind of angel.”
The doors closed. The last thing I saw on Sauriel’s face was a smile. Not an evil one, but a prideful one. Being part human gave me many advantages. One was free will, and because of that, I’d use my abilities to save those who needed it. I won’t be the guardian angel they want, but I’ll be the one they need.
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Also by Matthew Angelo
The Midnight Agency
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About the Author
Matthew Angelo is a part-time writer and full-time photographer in the Northern Colorado area. In his free time, he likes to watch episodes of Doctor Who, work out, and play with his dogs, a German Shepard named Duke. He and a Belgian Malinois named Arja. He
is also a digital artist of Spacescapes due to his love of Sci-Fi and NASA.
Read more at Matthew Angelo’s site.
Heaven's Prisoners Page 10