Angel Board

by Rufty, Kristopher

  Her mouth slacked open. Of all the things she’d heard the last couple of days that one seemed to be the most unbelievable. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t mean to be nosy, but why?”

  “I just don’t follow the technology trends.”

  “It’s hardly a trend, Brandon, it’s become a way of life.”

  “Nope, that’s what they want you to believe. It boosts sales, but when it actually becomes a way of life, then I’ll get one. I get by just fine without them for the time being.”

  They? Who are they? she wondered. Whoever they were, he had a lot of issues with them.

  He snatched the Bible out of the top drawer of the nightstand and held it up. “Have you ever read this?”

  “Um, not really. A little bit in school, maybe.”

  “It’s partly fact, but mostly fiction. A lot was left out, and those gaps were filled with amazing storytelling.”

  “Such as?” She leaned back on the bed, propping herself up on her elbows. The hotel room was warm, so she removed her jacket. Sitting like this though, she realized how the position made her breasts stand like two mountains.

  Going scarlet, she sat up, hoping he hadn’t noticed, but he was too busy skimming through the Bible to see.

  “Well, for one, they left out all of the stuff about Jesus as a child.”

  “Yeah, everyone knows that.”

  “There are several theories as to why.”

  “Well, what’s your theory?” she asked.

  His mouth curved slightly. “My theory is because what he went through as a child was so traumatizing that it would change the way most followers look at their God.”

  She felt prickles on the back of her neck. “Why do you say that?”

  “Well, we all know how his later years went…”

  “I see what you’re saying.”

  He sat the Bible back in the nightstand. “We’re not here to discuss the rights and wrongs of the Bible. That would take weeks.”

  “Why are we here?” She finally asked what she’d been trying to figure out for the last hour. Without questioning, she had followed him back to some strange hotel and into his room, but had no clue as to what or why. For all she knew, he might be on the verge of making a pass at her.

  She seriously doubted that. Being an excellent judge of character, she sensed that Brandon was far from harmful.

  He sat on the other bed across from her. The stiff springs groaned under him. “For you to know how to fight what we’re dealing with, you must first know what it is.”

  Leaning closer, she quickly noticed her mouth was parched, her lips were dry. “Okay…”

  “Amber said in her message that her brother had been given an angel board?”

  “David. Yeah, he got one as a gift from his mother on Christmas.”

  “Was it new?”

  “I don’t think so. It was in a wooden chest or something.”

  “Hmmmm.” He looked at the ceiling while thoughts played out in his head. “It probably wasn’t new.”

  “She had said she’d used it before. And it had helped her.”

  He shook his head. “People don’t realize what they’re messing with when they try to contact the other side.”

  “That’s exactly what Amber said.”

  He smiled. “Sounds like she was a smart one.”

  “Yeah,” Sam agreed. “Sometimes, too smart for her own good.”

  “Like in this case,” he said.

  “What?”

  “She knew what she was up against. I think it got her killed.”

  “Well, tell me. Quit talking in fucking enigmas.” She winced. “Sorry.”

  “It’s fine. I understand that you’re edgy.” He took a deep breath, just as he would if he were about to take a long swim underwater. “Amber was on to something. I’m sure she told you what she was thinking, or you wouldn’t have known who I was.”

  Sam nodded. “She thought David was shacking up with an angel.” She snickered, but the serious expression on Brandon’s faced stemmed it. “Come on…”

  “This wouldn’t be the first case, but I have a feeling it might be the worst.”

  “Seriously?”

  Brandon leaned over and dragged his carry-on to him. As he unzipped it, Sam saw that inside were nothing but books and papers. Reaching into the bag, he removed a file folder filled to overflowing with papers. The spine was bent here and there, forcefully stretched to allow more room.

  “These are the cases that have been reported,” he said. “I have copies of them all.”

  He set them on her lap. They were heavy. Much heavier than she had expected. “Jeez, all of these?”

  “Yes, like I said, those are the ones that are reported.”

  “You mean there’s more?”

  “Without a doubt. Some people don’t know who to go to for help with something like this.”

  “I guess not,” she said. “I’m sure churches don’t want to hear about the erotic adventures of their cherubs.”

  “You have no idea.”

  Sitting the folder on the bed next to her, she held up a hand. “How is it possible?”

  “I’ll try to give you a shorter version, because I’m afraid we may be running out of time.”

  “Well, talk fast.”

  “The most renowned case is the Gibson file from 1931. It was one of the first, but without a doubt, the nastiest thus far. This was the only case where the angel had actually lashed out at people.”

  “Lashed out?”

  “Killed them.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “Yeah,” he sighed. “Karen Marcus, a widowed mother of two, began telling people at the church she had been contacting her guardian angel. That he was coming to visit her every night. No one truly believed her of course, but she was consistent. Then, out of nowhere, she stopped coming to church all together. Her children were neglected, nearly starved to death because all she wanted to do was be with the angel. After several weeks, the preacher finally came to her house to check up on her and found the nine-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter eating the pet dog.”

  “Oh, no…” Sam closed her eyes tight to keep the mental images away.

  “You have to understand, they were starving, there was no food in the house.” Brandon pulled off his hat and brushed his right hand through his short hair. “Then the preacher went upstairs and found Karen in bed with a man he had never seen before.”

  “He could see the angel?”

  “Yes, the angel had crossed over into flesh. I’ll get to that in a second.” Scratching his chin, he continued. “On the floor were rotted wings. They fall off the angel upon becoming human. He was flesh and blood now. A man. Because she willed it to happen, allowed him to use her body as a doorway to our side.”

  “That’s like what Amber was saying about Ouija boards. They’re a doorway.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “Karen, much like David, spoke to this angel. Back in those days, they didn’t have angel boards, so she used a spirit board, which later became the Ouija board. It started off sweet and nice, just like any relationship would. Then, as time went on, and the angel began to attain the emotions of humans, he became extremely hostile. Many people lost their lives that day to Karen’s angel. Including Karen herself. It was a messy ordeal and isn’t spoken of much. They just can’t control themselves and in the end, a lot of people are either hurt or killed.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s sad, really. God created the angels to know nothing but devotion to him and humanity. Some of these angels, not all of them, love too much, and become obsessed with those they were meant to protect. I imagine with David, his angel has loved him for a long time, and her genuine love became lust, and now, he’s all that matters to her.”

  “This still doesn’t make any sense, Brandon.”

  “Just give me time.”

  �
��You said we don’t have time.”

  “I know, which is why you should shut up and let me talk.”

  She straightened her neck and peered at him through rounded eyes. Though he had told her to shut up, he said it very matter of factly, and without raising his voice. He was calm and cool. She did not realize until he started speaking again that it had worked.

  She had shut up just like he wanted.

  “When something has been without human emotions, and they finally achieve them, it can be anarchic. Imagine a devoted pet that’s suddenly able to feel for you on a human level, all these passions twirling around their head at once. They can’t understand them, or control them. So, with humans, most humans, jealousy is small, sometimes cute, but in angels, it’s deadly.”

  “Ah.”

  “I believe that David’s angel loves him so much, and is so frightened of losing him, that she killed Amber to prevent it from happening. She must have known Amber was planning to contact me.”

  “How?”

  “Well, she’s not completely human yet. She must absorb his life force until she is strong enough to come through. And sometimes, the human doesn’t survive that crossing. This angel doesn’t want to suckle David’s soul, she just has to.

  I don’t know when he allowed her to enter him, but while in there, she can still step out, using his body as a host, so to speak.” He looked around his room. “Or like a hotel room. I can come and go as I please. She can too, but in order for them to truly be together, she has to cross over. Which is what she wants now more than anything.”

  “So has David become the angel board?”

  “Exactly. He doesn’t even need to use the board anymore to communicate with her. She’s inside him, so he can see her, or what she allows him to see of her. A sort of fabrication to shield him from the scary truth of her world.”

  “When you say using his body as a host, do you mean—?”

  “Possession?”

  She nodded.

  “That’s exactly what I mean. You see, demons aren’t the only ones that can possess a willing subject. Angels can too. Demons in hell are like angels in heaven. They have the same sets of rules, but demons normally break them and do what they want. By that I mean they possess unwilling hosts also. But then you have instances where someone devotes their body to the dark prince, willingly allowing a demon to cross the threshold into their body.”

  “But sometimes,” she said, “angels do the same thing?”

  “That’s right. David allowed her to possess him. He might have even begged for it.”

  Her head was swimming with Brandon’s words. They whipped past her, leaving her dizzy, as if she had just stepped off a tilt-a-whirl.

  “You see, she’s doing things that David is unaware of. It’s like he’s sedated and oblivious to everything but her. She keeps him in a deep slumber and goes out to do her wicked things.”

  “Like murder Amber?”

  “Right. He doesn’t have to be asleep for her to intersect. She can just do it freely now. But only for a short period of time.”

  “And kill George.”

  “George?”

  “David’s boss.”

  “So there’s been two deaths?”

  “At least that I know of.”

  “Why would she kill this George fellow?”

  “I don’t know, but they didn’t get along very well.”

  “Oh great. Was George hateful to David at any point in time?”

  “More like every point in time.”

  “I thought so.” He stood up. “It’s the same as with all those other cases in that file. Anyone who either hurts their love, could come in between them and their love, or end their love will be eradicated. It’s an instinct they can’t control. Plus, she probably offered it as a sign to him to show her gratitude.”

  “George died the day after David got the angel board. Can it happen that fast?”

  “It was that close together?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is worse than I thought. Nothing like any of the other cases I’ve witnessed. That must mean she was having these thoughts prior to David opening himself up to her. If that’s true, then she must be going by a game plan. She’s foreseen all of this.”

  “No way…”

  “Yes.” He knelt down to her, putting his hands on her knees. He stared deep into her eyes. “That means she’s using her powers while she still has them to take out everyone who could ruin what she’s wanted for so long.”

  “To be with David?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Yes, more than that. She wants him all to herself. In her eyes, everyone in David’s life is not worth being in it. She holds him on the highest of all pedestals, and she believes she is the only one who could ever truly give him what he deserves.”

  “Because she’s longed for him?”

  “She’s always longed for him. Now that she can have him…”

  “Nothing’s going to stop it,” she said.

  “Right.”

  “Amber had said something else.” She paused, choosing her words delicately. “She said she saw them having sex, David and this angel. But she said it was in his living room, but it wasn’t.”

  “It looked like a paradise?”

  “Something like that. She said it was green.”

  “That’s common. She’s pulling the wool over his eyes. She’s presenting herself to him in a way that she knows he can accept.”

  “Sexually?”

  “Yeah. Angels can’t have sex. They want to, but God took away their organs as punishment. But they can still watch. Some of them become addicted, like a porn addict. They want it, need it, but can’t have it.”

  “That doesn’t explain what Amber saw.”

  “It was a section of David’s psyche brought out into the open. A fantasy of his that she was fulfilling for him. And at the same time, it was part of her psyche as well. What she couldn’t envision for herself, she used his imagination to complete.”

  “So they weren’t really having sex at all?”

  “Yes and no. They were mentally, but not physically.”

  Sam was really confused. “But how could Amber have seen it?”

  “She has the sight. She was linked to this somehow at some stage in her life.”

  “The dreams!”

  Brandon flinched at her shout.

  “She had dreams, three people in some kind of storybook odyssey setting.”

  “The elders.” He bit at his fist and sat back on the bed. “They came to her. Jesus H. Christ, this is out of control. They’re trying to intervene. See, the elders have a hand in what’s going on in the world. They watch and study and keep account. But they can’t interact in reality, so they only come in dreams.” Brandon lowered his head. “We’ve been brought up learning that God loves us no matter what, but truthfully, he gave up on the human race long ago. He doesn’t hate us, and still wants us to succeed. But we’re like an ant farm that’s continued to reproduce and advance.” He looked back at Sam. “In this dream, were they warning her?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “There’s something going on that I’m not qualified to handle.”

  “That’s just perfect.” Sam thought of something else. “And if it’s like you said, and the angel’s foreseen all of this, then what do we do? I’m marked more than anyone. I’m the ex-girlfriend who’s trying to get back together with David.”

  “She has a plan,” he admitted. “I just don’t know what it is.”

  “How do we figure out what it is?”

  “First, we have to find out more about this angel board. His mother gave it to him?”

  “Yeah, Carol. She was at the funeral. I’m sure you saw her.”

  “Damn, if only I had gotten here sooner, or if I wouldn’t have left for that damn writer’s function.”

  “It’s all right. How could you have known?”

  He s
tood once again. “I should always know. This kind of shit happens all the time.” He grabbed his carry-on and threw it on the bed. Sam stood up, not really knowing what she should do. She tugged down at her skirt, straightening it out. Brandon reached into the suitcase. Keeping it wrapped tightly in a shirt, he removed something and tossed it in the bag.

  “What’s that?” asked Sam.

  “Something I hope we don’t need to use.”

  “A gun?”

  “A weapon, but not one that shoots bullets.”

  She wanted to keep prying, but decided it was best to just drop it. He was moving too fast, and asking questions would slow him down. Plus, he had said they were running out of time.

  “Grab your coat.”

  She seized it from the bed and put it on.

  “Were her visions recent?”

  “Yes, I think we both were having some at the same time.”

  “That’s normal in instances such as this, but I just don’t understand how this angel could have been conducting a plan such as she was without the boys upstairs figuring it out.”

  “Well, Amber said they were spelling it out for her, but she couldn’t quite remember all the details. Do you think maybe they know something’s going on, but just not what?”

  Brandon walked to the door, turned back and opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. He opened the door for her.

  Sam stepped outside, turned to Brandon, and said, “Where are we going?”

  “You have to ride with me and tell me how to get to David’s mother. We have to find out where she got the board, and I may have to call someone for help.”

  “Who?”

  “Someone who knows a lot more about this sort of thing than me.”

  “Okay.”

  “And I’m afraid we’re gonna need some heavy backup.”

  Sam smiled. “I may know where we can find some backup.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “You followed him?” asked Stiltson loudly. He wasn’t yelling, but close. There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

  Finally, Carrie admitted, “Yes.”

  “I told you to only stay by his apartment, linger around for no more than an hour.”

  “Well, I did that, but as I was about to leave, so did he. And I didn’t see any harm in tracking him down.”