by Skyler Andra
The traffic lights clicked and flashed, signaling Mrs. Adelson and I could cross. I slowed my pace to hers, more cars honking at us as I escorted her across the road. I slammed my fist on the hood of one car whose driver kept his fist on the horn.
“Shut the hell up, you idiot!” I yelled, blasting the jerk with grace, and he punched himself in the face a few times. At least it stopped the noise. Might teach him a bit of respect too. If everyone learned a bit of regard for each other, then the world would be a brighter place.
On the other side of the road, Mrs. Adelson stopped and glanced up at me. “Thank you, Uri.” Her wrinkled hands, bubbled with blue and purple veins, cupped my cheek. “You’re a godsend.”
If only she knew. “Anytime, Mrs. A.” I pulled her hand away, warming it between mine. “You have a good day, okay.”
She smiled and nodded, shuffling off to her destination.
As if to reinforce my beliefs, the sunshine brightened. I glanced up, noting the dark clouds roll back further, enlarging my sphere of influence over the city. A little of Uri’s kindness a day kept Luc’s darkness away. That was my motto, at least, and I was sticking to it!
Jophiel caught up to me, wearing an equally bright smile that made my heart soar. “That was wonderful what you did. Standing up for that woman.”
“Let’s keep it our little secret,” I told her. “I don’t need Mike on my case. Things like what I just did expand the sunlight across Sterling City. That’s where the general and I differ in philosophy.”
No point in dragging out all the old history between Mike, the rest of the angels, and I. What was done was done. We had to move forward from here. Otherwise we were all doomed. A fate I refused to consider since I preferred to look on the bright side.
The asshole who’d tried to run down my neighbor got out of his car and kicked the tire.
“Excuse me for one more moment,” I said to Jophiel and she nodded.
I crossed to the guy, wearing an easy smile. “If you try to run over an old lady again, you better watch out.” I kept my tone light, friendly, though my words couldn’t be mistaken for anything but a threat. “Because you’ll have more than a beat-up car to deal with. Understand?” I unleashed my staff of light, tapping it against the crumpled side door, making it dent even further.
The man retreated, holding his palms up. “I swear, mister.”
“You better.” I tucked my weapon away.
I didn’t like to use that side of me, but sometimes it was necessary.
Jophiel wandered up to me with a hand over her heart, her eyes soft with an inner glow. I’d impressed her. Maybe I didn’t need good looks to get a gorgeous woman’s attention.
“Fighting aggression with more aggression isn’t always the way,” I explained, “but sometimes you have to speak their language to get through to them.”
“Very wise of you.”
“Now, where was I?” I said, glancing down the street, catching another motorist pull over to help out the dickhead. I smiled and congratulated myself. Job well done Uri. How many people outside my side of town would do that? “That’s right. I was about to ask you how your first week has been so far.”
“It’s been interesting to say the least.” She glanced at me with wide eyes. “Not at all what I expected.”
I laughed and stuffed my hands in my jacket, leading her along the street to the corner bakery. “Understatement of the year right there. I remember what it was like when I got here. But to be fair, the world has gotten a lot worse since then. Harder for you to get used to it.”
“I’ll manage,” she said defiantly, pulling the scarf tighter around her delicate neck.
She had spirit, I’d give her that. The Most High wouldn’t have sent her here if she didn’t have the power to make a difference, which meant that all that defiance and fire within her had to be coupled with raw power. Combine that with the divine beauty that practically radiated from her and it’s no wonder she made Luc sick. Ugly fuck probably choked on her beauty.
A man barged past us on the street in a hurry to get to wherever he intended to be, bumping Jophiel into me. My body reacted with an instant heat, low and steady, but with a bit of kindling, it could turn into a wildfire.
Damn.
I hadn’t felt attraction like this in years. The sensation made me sway on my feet. Both warm and gentle, it screamed of home. God, I missed it, this energetic attraction that caused angels to come together and stay together. It was a feeling that activated our power. As I thought it, my grace rippled through me. I closed my eyes, riding the high of our connection, that divine spark.
When the first legion of angels had arrived on Earth, Luc had somehow managed to eliminate that magnetic attraction that brought us together. He numbed us, made us lose the need to fight as one being, effectively dismantling our power. In isolation we were weak, much like the humans’ helpless and lonely condition, playing on their phones for company. No one ever met up anymore…except at the local bar… They all preferred to play games, watch movies, read books without ever interacting. They lost that connection to others, to love, to strength, to unity. And so had us angels. The Most High had created both species as social and caring beings, but over time, we’d lost that precious gift.
It wasn’t that we couldn’t find each other. I knew the angels were all around me, somewhere. They had been for years. But we had forgotten the pure essence of our grace and lost our connection to love and pure joy. Lucifer had made us forget that we needed each other. God, on I went again, sounding like a fucking self-help guru. Maybe that was what the angels and humans needed. Some coaching from old Uri the wisdom guru.
Seriously though, with Jophiel, the attraction wasn’t just pure divine energy. My attraction to her had an underlying sexual tone, leaving me wanting to hold and kiss her. She stirred feelings in me that I’d buried after I’d broken up with my ex.
“Are you okay?” she asked, pulling me from my busy thoughts.
I opened my eyes, and the dirty world rushed back in. I’d absorbed as much of the divine power I felt radiating from her as I could. Now I had to crash back to the reality she belonged to someone else. Well, two others.
“Fine,” I said and grinned at her, feeling like an absolute dog for lying to her. But sometimes I had to just grin and bear it because that’s what everyone expected of me.
She smiled back at me, and I swear to God, that smile was like the sun rising after a painfully cold and lonely night to remind me that there was still hope. Her smile was so beautiful it nearly broke me in two.
“What were you saying?” I asked, inhaling the scent of tobacco from the store we passed.
Finally, she sighed and looked over at me. “Nothing is the way I thought it would be.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I thought the world would be worse. I thought the angels would be better. I thought it would all be easy.”
I nodded. “The last part I agree with. I thought the same. But the world is worse in some ways than you think.”
Jophiel hooked her hair behind her ear. “I don’t see it. Maybe life here isn’t what I thought it would be, but the humans, those that aren’t demons, don’t seem as miserable as I’d imagine they’d be living here.”
“They adapt to their pain,” I explained. “You should have seen this place ten years ago, though, when I first arrived. Unrecognizable. Bright and sunny and green, and everyone connected with each other.”
She looked up at the sky and the city around us, as if trying to imagine the scene I had described.
“There used to be hundreds of days when there were blue skies,” I added, “when everyone used to be out on the roads cycling and kids played in the park. It was a happy place.”
“That sounded nice,” Jophiel said. “Not like now. Full of cars, rubbish, grime, and people wandering aimlessly. It seems too quiet now despite the sound of traffic.”
I sighed. “Now what little sunshine I bring to this p
lace fades each day. They live in their own little worlds, tapping on their cell phones, watching TV, working all the time, unaware of each other. They stay inside, and nature is being ruined.”
“It still doesn’t seem so bad,” Jophiel admitted, to my surprise. “I thought I’d only see death and destruction from the war. I feared people would be ripping each other apart.”
I shook my head. “That would be too obvious. Luc doesn’t play like that.”
“No,” she said. “He doesn’t need earthly possessions like territory and gold. His war is for their souls.”
I frowned. “Mike mentioned you ran into him.”
She shivered and rubbed her arms. “Three times. All awful.”
I could imagine. “You’re lucky if you survived him that many times.”
She hung her head, the loss of Gabriel still troubling her. “After yesterday, I don’t think my luck will last forever.”
I tried not to dwell on the losses, preferring to think of the small wins. “At least there’s four of us together now, right?”
“That’s why I was sent here. To find the angels and bring them together. Strength in numbers.”
I nodded. “I reckon we can find them all except Raphael. He’s completely disappeared.”
“Why?” Her brows bunched together.
I shrugged. “No one knows. The rest of us blended in, but we haven’t heard from him in years.”
“We’ll have to find him,” she said with fierce determination in her voice, “so we can win this war and go back home.”
I chuckled at how clueless and innocent she really was. Although it was sweet in a way, to see her shrouded from the true extent of darkness, she had to learn what this war was about, and soon. She wasn’t going to last if she stayed this oblivious. When she discovered what this world was really about, that it was more horrible than it appeared, she’d need the rest of us to stop her from losing her purity, her innocence, and her beauty. Because if that happened, we might as well all give up.
“Mike told me last night that Luc is collecting grace from all the angels, trying to build his power,” I informed her.
Luc gathering angelic grace could only mean one thing: he wanted not just to destroy Earth, but to take on Heaven. If my hunch was correct, then he was going to let loose and pull out all the stops on the angels standing in his way.
Her fleeting gaze met mine for a second then shied away.
We approached the bakery, and I pointed a finger. “It’s just here.”
As we reached the door, I stepped in front of her and swept it open.
Her hazel eyes met mine, and I lost all thought. “Thank you.”
I stood there, like a big, dumb idiot, unable to get a word out. This angel made me gaga and I didn’t know why. Call it some angelic super attraction. I swallowed and waited for her to enter before following her inside.
The smell of crusty bread, coffee, sweetened pastries, and bacon hit me, shaking me out of my daze. God, I was so hungry I could eat a horse.
A woman behind the counter served a customer. Another three waited in line. Two were old women dressed in big coats, and one was a punk in a beanie hat, crinkled pants that hung half way down his ass, and chains all over his vest and shirt.
“Hey Uri!” Gus, the owner, shouted at me in his hybrid Italian accent.
I met him at the counter, clapping his hand, gripping it in our little shake, which involved knocking fists and wiggling my fingers. We laughed and I clapped him on the shoulder.
“Da usual?” he asked in his broken English.
“Eight please,” I said. “With extra relish, please, kind sir.”
Gus’s bushy, grey eyebrows wobbled. “Big night last night, ay?”
He knew all about my drinking stories. They often involved ordering the whole bar a round of drinks, singing karaoke, meeting new friends, betting money when playing billiards or darts. Even tales that sometimes involved tossing out dickheads who started bar fights. I didn’t include myself in the petty squabbles of humans except to end them. Life really was too short. I wanted to spread as much cheer as I could while here.
“I had visitors last night.” I tilted my head, gesturing at Jophiel.
“Oh!” Gus’s eyes bugged. “Who’s da pretty lady?”
“This is…” I started, cut off by Jophiel when she stepped forward to introduce herself.
“Jojo.” She extended her hand to shake his.
I glanced at her. Jojo. Such a cute nickname that really suited her. It helped her blend in, but while Mike and Zak called her that, I preferred Jophiel.
“Jojo.” Gus grabbed her hand and kissed it. “Could be Italian, no?”
She giggled, and he held her hand for a little too long, getting lost in his admiration of her face.
“Beautiful.” He patted her hand and let her go. “How long you be in town, Jojo? I might teach you my secret recipe.” He winked at her.
“What?” I shouted, pretending to be offended.
Gus made the best relish in town. Tomatoes, sugar, a little chili, and something else I couldn’t figure out. After three years of being a loyal customer, he still refused to tell me. Now he was willing to reveal it to a beautiful woman. Sell out!
“I told you. My secret ingredient is pinch of love!” Gus grinned at me and we laughed. We both knew he wasn’t really going to spill his secret.
He tossed some bacon on his stove behind the counter, and she eagerly studied him, probably taking mental notes on how it should be done.
“What bring you to town, Jojo?” He spread his famous relish on the crusty bread rolls. Wait until the angels tasted this. They’d never want to leave Sterling City. Ever.
“A mission to save the world,” she responded, and I nudged her, not wanting her to blow our cover. She stared at me like she didn’t understand, her forehead crinkled, eyes curious for me to explain.
God, I loved how cute and naïve she was. I wanted to teach her some things, like preparing knock your socks off meals, mad fighting skills, and supreme wit and banter.
Gus just laughed and tossed back his head. I bet he thought Jophiel was one of my crazy drinking buddies.
“Save the world with laughter,” I threw in, making the owner chuckle more.
Gus waved it off. “I throw in extra relish, ay.”
I nodded and grinned.
Laughter, the tone and vibration of it, was one of the few things that brought me joy in this world. I got sick of seeing depressed and downturned faces everywhere I went, so I loved to make people laugh and smile wherever I could. Spread the light and all. Diminish the darkness. When a human laughed, it completely changed their demeanor and outlook. They forgot what they were pissed about.
“Hurry up would you,” someone grumbled from behind. “We don’t care about your stories.”
Speaking of, it sounded like this guy could use some laughter. I turned to face the speaker, the young punk, about twenty-five, twitching like he was nervous or high on something. Discoloring beneath his eyes made him look like he’d been punched. Bones stuck out in his cheeks. Hmmm… laughter wasn’t going to cut it. This guy needed a decent feed. Maybe I should order him a bacon and egg roll too. Do my good deed for the day.
“Wait your turn.” I kept my tone light, friendly. No point in getting aggressive like him. That wasn’t my style. But if he pushed me, I’d not hesitate to use my grace on him. I’d transform that impatience into a little wisdom.
“Fuck off, man,” he snapped.
“Hey.” My voice packed more punch this time. I lifted my shoulders, doing that whole look bigger thing humans and animals did to intimidate. Not that I really needed to given the size of me. “Relax man. We’re all hungry. This one’s on me, okay. Gus, throw this guy’s order on my tab.”
“I don’t want your goddamn charity.” The punk sniffed and pulled out a gun and shoved it at me. His hands shook and he fumbled, almost dropping the weapon. Definitely high on something. Ice most likely. He had that s
weet odor surrounding him that accompanied meth addicts.
The woman behind the counter screamed, backing away and hitting the rack of bread behind her. Loaves and rolls toppled to the ground. Gus dropped his spatula and staggered backward, fumbling for the wall phone.
Tension rippled through Jophiel’s grace. She backed away behind me.
I wasn’t worried. I’d dealt with turds like this for the last ten years. Most backed off if you confronted them. I reached out my hand to grab the weapon when he flinched and fired it. Right through my damn hand. Grace and blood poured out. My sternum rocked from the thumping of my heart. I shoved my hand in my pocket to hide the red light streaming from my wound. With my free hand, I punched the punk in the face. For good measure, I added a dose of my grace to show him a little wisdom. You know, don’t go brandishing weapons at people, ever. Get your life together. Get off the drugs. Make up with your mom and that kind of shit.
Jophiel grabbed me by the arm. “Uri!” she shouted.
“I’m fine.” I kept my voice calm even though pain clawed at my wound.
“What was that coming out of his hand?” one woman said.
“Red light,” another customer whispered.
Dammit. I’d been living in Sterling City for over ten years. I’d never had my grace exposed like this. Now I wouldn’t be able to show my face around here again. Shame. Gus made the best chow in Sterling City.
Inside my pocket, I felt the blood flow cease and the skin heal over. I pulled out my hand to show them.
“No light here.” I bent down to fish through the guy’s pocket and pulled out a wad of cash…probably stolen. “Must have been a reflection from outside.”
