Love Letters: Saving Gideon (The Angel Chronicles Book 4)

by Mary May

  Zareck appeared next to Gideon with a frown on his face. In the past that was his usual expression, but in the last few years he had lost the customary scowl and usually had a soft smile, but not right now.

  “What’s wrong?” Gideon immediately asked.

  His fellow warrior/guardian shook his head. “Well, I don’t know. Maybe nothing.” Then he shook his head again. “No, there is something…I think.”

  Gideon cocked his head at him. “So, you’re definitely sure that there is maybe something wrong, or there is nothing wrong?”

  Zareck chuckled at Gideon’s confused expression. “Let me start over. I could have sworn I saw a black shadow hovering around here lately. All I ever get is the faintest glimpse. It’s not making my wings bristle at all. Have you seen anything or am I crazy?”

  Charlotte had walked up on the tail end of their conversation. Gently giving her wings a few downward swoops, she lifted herself up to sit on the top rail with Gideon.

  “I only heard the last part of your question, Z, but my vote is you’re crazy.” She gave him a teasing wink and grin to let him know she was only playing.

  He returned her grin then he filled her in on what he was talking to Gideon about.

  “Dark shadows? Around here? You’re kidding!”

  “No, I’ve seen one three different times. I would bet my sword on it,” Zareck insisted.

  Gideon frowned fiercely. The idea of a shadow demon hanging around his family made him real uncomfortable. “Where did you see it? Was it in the same place all three times?”

  Zareck shook his head then he rubbed his face. Clearly he wasn’t looking forward to what he had to say next. “Gideon, every time I saw the shadow demon it was near Charlie.”

  That brought Gideon down from the fence with a thud as he landed on his feet, looking hard at Zareck.

  “Impossible! I would sense if anything demonic got close to her. You must be mistaken.”

  Again Zareck shook his head. “I promise you I’m not mistaken. I don’t know why you haven’t seen it, but it’s here. I waited until the third time just to be sure I wasn’t seeing things, and like I said earlier, it didn’t make my wings bristle at all. I only saw it; I didn’t feel it.”

  “But that doesn’t make any sense! All demons give off vibes,” Charlotte said.

  Gideon and Zareck looked at each other before Gideon replied. “Most all demons give off bad vibes but at least one doesn’t.” He looked at the other two angels gravely then said together.

  “The bitter heart demon.”

  An hour later Gideon had assembled all the angels on the roof to tell them about Zareck’s demon sighting.

  “I haven’t seen it yet; have any of you?” he questioned.

  Skye raised his hand. “I’m sorry; I should have said something days ago, but I got such a quick look that I talked myself into believing it was nothing because I didn’t feel anything.”

  “That’s the thing about this particular demon. You won’t feel anything because it’s summoned. You and Raphael didn’t come to the hospital when Nate was there. If you had been able to, you would have seen first-hand exactly what a bitter heart is capable of.”

  “But why would the demon be hanging around Charlie? She is a Christian! Her faith in God is so strong!”

  Gideon looked at Charlotte. “Because her heart is still harboring bitterness toward Nate would be my guess, and now that he is home and he and Logan seem to be on very friendly terms, it’s like rubbing salt in an open wound. I knew she was feeling angry about it. But I didn’t realize it had gotten this bad.”

  “Ok, so we know it’s here -- let’s get rid of it!” Skye said with a frown on his face.

  Zareck shook his head then held his hand up. “Hold on there, Skippy; it’s not that easy. Bitter hearts are summoned, albeit most of the time unknowingly, so they have a right to be here until the person they are drawn to is ready for them to leave. All we can do is wait. It hasn’t attached itself to her yet, so we still have hope. Charlie may fight it off on her own.”

  Over the course of the next few days Charlie’s mood grew blacker and fouler. She was snappish and irritable, finally forcing Devon to corner her in the barn to ask what was going on. Running the stiff body brush over Stormy’s coat with quick short jerks instead of her usual long sweeping strokes had the horse moving restlessly under her hands.

  “Stormy! Be still! What is wrong with you? Have you gone stupid, too?”

  Devon reached over plucking the brush from her hand.

  “Charlie, stop it. He is reacting to your movements and your mood. Which is why I’m out here.” Unsnapping the lead rope from the gelding’s halter, he directed him out to the pasture, slapping his hindquarters gently to send him off in a fast trot.

  “Well…thanks a lot! Now he will just go roll in the dirt and I will have to brush him all over again!”

  Turning to stomp back into the barn her rant was cut short when Devon pulled her to a stop. Concern crinkled the corners of his eyes as he looked down at the girl that looked like the child he had raised since she was four, but certainly didn’t sound like her.

  “Charlie-girl? What has gotten into you lately? You have been as pleasant as a stepped-on rattlesnake.”

  Pulling her arm from his grasp with a hard jerk, she glared at him. “Maybe the rattler has a reason to be the way he is…ever think about that?” Picking up the various combs and brushes she threw them into a bucket, each toss getting increasingly harder. Devon watched in dismay as she tossed a bale of hay over the stalls petition instead of cutting the string as she normally would and tossing flakes. Reaching for yet another large bale, Devon stepped in and whirled her around, gripping her tightly by her shoulders.

  “Charlotte Marie…you talk to me and tell me what has you so tore up inside. Bottling it up is just going to cause it to fester.” He stared in disbelief as her beautiful blue eyes grew dark, hard and cold. His hands slowly slid down her arms as a look came across her face that he had never seen there before…a look of pure hatred.

  The next morning a thunderous bellow had all the angels racing to Charlie’s bedroom. Gideon was standing next to the young woman’s bed visibly shaking with disgust and outrage. The angels all stared in shock and horror at the small demon that was curled up like a contented kitten on Charlie’s chest.

  Zareck rushed to Gideon’s side, putting his hand over Gideon’s that was gripping the hilt of his sword so hard his knuckles were white. The black feathers of his wings were bristled and razor sharp in preparation for a fight.

  “Hold on, Gideon. You know you can’t do anything!”

  Furious green eyes clashed with Zareck’s blue ones.

  “There has to be a way! I can’t stand it touching her!” He struggled against Zareck, trying to free his sword hand. Then while grabbing for a dagger with his left hand, Raphael and Skye jumped in, grabbing his arms, pulling him back out into the hall.

  Gideon furiously fought against the three male angels holding him. His chest heaved as the veins in his neck and biceps bulged from his efforts.

  “I can’t hold him!” Raphael said in a panicked voice.

  Charlotte jumped in front of Gideon, placing her hands on each side of his face.

  “Gideon...Gideon…Gideon…” After saying his name firmly in her soft voice, the red haze of fury slowly cleared from Gideon’s eyes. Blinking rapidly, he looked into Charlotte’s that were filled with concern for him.

  “Hey…there you are,” she whispered once more. “Are you ok? Can we let you go?”

  He nodded his head. “Yes, I’m better now. I’m sorry.” Slowly and with much caution the other males let go of Gideon.

  He stared into Charlie’s room, feeling bile rise up to the back of his throat at the sickening sight that was before him. He finally understood what Shana had felt with Nate and his Berutha demon. How? How could this happen on his watch and with Charlie?

  Turning back, he winced with regret as he saw the bloody mes
s that were his fellow guardians and friends. Skye looked like he had been in a fight with a large cat. Hundreds of tiny slices covered his chest and abdomen from coming into contact with Gideon’s razor-sharp wings. Zareck’s nose was crooked and gushing blood from a vicious head butt. Raphael didn’t escape without injury. A deep gash across his forehead bisecting his right eyebrow was from losing control of Gideon’s left arm. Only Charlotte stood uninjured.

  “I’m so sorry…but you should have let me go. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

  Zareck looked at him with narrowed eyes. “We were injured trying not to injure you. Make no mistake, Gideon. We would have subdued you. We could not let you slay that demon. It would have caused an unbalance in this fight. You know I couldn’t let that happen.” He eyed his fellow warrior with meaning.

  Charlotte looked at Raphael and then Skye who looked as confused as she did. Walking closer to Gideon, she took his hand, making him look down at her. “Gideon? What is Zareck talking about? I know when he said fight he wasn’t talking about this fight…was he?”

  “No…he wasn’t.” He started toward Charlie’s door when Zareck blocked his way. Gideon lifted a hand in surrender. “I’m ok…I won’t do anything…you have my vow.”

  Zareck stood there for a moment longer studying him. Finally he nodded then stepped aside. Gideon walked back into Charlie’s room. The sight of the hell slug on Charlie’s chest made his lip curl in a silent snarl that not even his vow to Zareck could prevent.

  “What did Zareck mean, G?” Skye asked. Gideon looked over at the angel that appeared so much younger than he. That wasn’t true, of course. They were all the exact same age. But carrying the burden of demonic warfare and the knowledge of how delicate the scale of righteous and evil actually was had a way of aging even the ageless.

  “Gideon, you know this isn’t his burden to carry,” Zareck cautioned.

  Nodding his head slightly in agreement, Gideon glanced at the demon then back over to Zareck. “No, but they need to understand the implications of what would be if I had succeeded.”

  Shaking his head, Zareck started to argue, but fell silent when Gideon lifted his hand. The room was quiet as Gideon explained how the war between heaven and hell really was.

  Chapter 19

  “We all know that when all is said done heaven wins this war. That has been written. Even Lucifer and his demons know this. The battle really isn’t even about winning the ultimate war, but about how many of mankind they can drag down with them. For that is truly the dagger in our Creator’s heart. But sometimes they do have the slight advantage.” Gideon raised his hand once more to silence Skye’s obvious question.

  “As with any war there are rules of engagement or codes of conduct that should be followed. Now it goes without saying that the minions of hell never follow these, hence the slight advantage. We, on the other hand, must obey these rules. If we don’t, then we are no better than the enemy we fight against. One of the rules is that we cannot slay or dispatch a demon that has a right to be somewhere. Case in point, the Berutha demon. Like I explained before, it is summoned or invited by its human host through the anger and bitterness that they refuse to let go of.”

  He sadly looked over to where Charlie was waking up, a deep frown already marring her usually smooth forehead.

  “If I had slayed the demon, it could have tipped the scales of righteousness. It has been tilted to and fro for ages and ages, but we must keep it swinging back to the right side.”

  Raphael lifted his hand. “Gideon, are you saying that if the scales were tipped that we could lose?”

  “No, I’m saying that if the scales are tipped, the war of all wars would begin before it’s time.”

  “You don’t mean…” Charlotte trailed off with a look of horror in her eyes.

  “Yes, Charlotte, that’s exactly what he means,” Zareck said.

  “Armageddon.”

  The rest of the day the angels all stayed as close to Charlie and Gideon as they could. Of course, if their human left, they had to leave as well, but for most of the day Gideon had company, for which he was profoundly grateful. Even knowing the dire consequences of hacking the thing into a million pieces, he was still tempted.

  Sabrina found Charlie slouched down in a chair in the living room. Devon had told her about Charlie’s bizarre behavior in the barn and she intended to get to the bottom of it. Sitting down on the sofa, she patted her daughter’s arm.

  “Hey, sweetie…can we talk?” Charlie didn’t even look her direction so Sabrina jumped in with both feet. “Your dad told me that you were really angry yesterday. Did something happen between you and Logan?” No response. “Are you and Lakyn fighting over something?” Silence. “Is it Nate?” When Charlie continued to stare into space in silence, Sabrina tried once more. “Are you upset with us about something?”

  That brought Charlie’s head rolling toward her, a mocking gleam in her eyes. “Angry at you, Mother? Whatever for? You’re so near perfect you should float right on up to heaven.”

  Sabrina felt her stomach churn with the insulting and hurtful words. “I’m not sure where that came from, but I’m not anywhere near perfect and I have never claimed to be,” she scolded gently.

  Charlie sighed, rubbing the area over her heart. “I’m sorry, Mama. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately. I know I have been so hateful. Please… just leave me alone.”

  Sabrina watched with a pain in her heart as Charlie got up and walked back upstairs. “Oh, sweet Lord, I don’t know what is going on with our child, but I know that You do. Give her strength and faith, Father, to overcome whatever it is and give us wisdom to know how to handle her in the meantime.”

  Gideon sat alone, slumped over in a pile of his own misery as he watched the bitter heart demon grow. It didn’t grow at quite the alarming speed that Nate’s did, but any growth, in his opinion, was cause for concern. For the first time since its arrival, Gideon was left alone with Charlie and the demon. He had to hand over his sword and both of his daggers before Zareck would agree to leave him unsupervised. Gideon didn’t bother to mention that handing over his weapons was rather a waste of time, for if he truly desired the evil thing gone, he could do so with his bare hands. But he had agreed without any argument, just to keep the peace. He was ready for some time alone with his own thoughts. That thought had no more crossed his mind when the air next to the door of Charlie’s room shimmered and he knew he was about to have company.

  “Well, warrior, it appears our girl has gotten herself into a fine fix.”

  Gideon looked up in surprise to see his dear friend Edgar standing by the door. “Edgar! I was expecting it to be Sherrilyn! What brings you down to this earthly plane?” He got up and gave the former butler a warm hug. It still caught Gideon by surprise to see this younger version of Edgar. In his mind he was the elderly gentleman that never cut him any slack.

  “I’m here to do my job. Which is to keep you out of trouble.”

  That had Gideon’s brows shooting into his hairline. “I guess news travels fast. But you could have saved yourself a trip; I’m not going to do anything. They didn’t need to send you down here to babysit me.”

  Edgar chuckled as he sat down next him. “Let’s just call it a visit then. I haven’t seen you in a while. I would ask how things are, but I can see that well enough with my own two eyes.”

  They both looked at the young lady that meant so much to them. She was staring out of the window with a forlorn expression. It had become her favorite past time lately.

  Gideon looked at Edgar with expectation. “Well?” he prompted.

  Edgar looked back at him. “Well what?”

  “Where are your words of wisdom? Your answer to life’s problems in a single sentence? Surely you have some deep meaningful phrase or something!”

  Edgar cocked his head to one side, his brow furrowed in deep thought for a few long seconds. Finally he shrugged and shook his head. “Nope. I got nothing.”

  Gid
eon felt his jaw unhinge at the casual comment. Never had he heard Edgar speak in any way other than formal.

  His friend smiled at his shocked expression. “Oh, come now, warrior, even I have my moments of verbal laziness.”

  Gideon shook his head. “I guess you do.” Then he sighed as he scrubbed his hands through his dark hair. “What do I do, Edgar? How do I help her with this?” he asked in a low voice.

  “You don’t… at least not yet. The time will come when you can help her. Charlie must first learn how to truly forgive.”

  “Is that what this is about? She hasn’t truly forgiven Nate?”

  Edgar shook his head. “It’s not only Nate that she harbors unforgiveness for…it’s also his parents. You see, Gideon, Charlie has always been carefully sheltered. She has a beautiful although naive heart. Not to mention, she is very young and has never really experienced a lot of life’s pitfalls. To truly understand how to forgive, one must experience forgiveness for their own transgressions. Does that make sense?” Seeing the unsure look on the angel’s face, he tried another tactic. “Sin is like dirt. Only it appears on our hearts and souls. To really understand what it is to be pure and clean, one must have experienced the burden of sin’s filth. Charlie has always had a close relationship with God. What sins she may have committed were never allowed to linger long enough to wear on her heart. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “Umm…” Gideon trailed off helplessly.

  Edgar got to his feet, pacing as he tried to find the right words.

  “Ok, let me put it this way. Charlie has never really messed up big enough to feel the burden of shame or the separation from God. Oh, she may have done typical childish things when she was younger, but nothing that carried any real weight. She can’t or won’t forgive Nate’s parents because she can’t understand where they are coming from. What they carry in their hearts is no different than what she carries in hers. Only theirs is directed toward God, whereas Charlie’s is directed toward them. To truly understand forgiveness is to have known forgiveness. Now do you understand?”