Divinity Falling

by Nour Zikra

  Lizzy made it to the parking lot first. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to get out of there fast. She stood waiting for us.

  When we reached her, she looked between the two of us. “Now what?” She covered her neck with her hand like she was remembering the sight of the sword impaling the angel.

  I dangled the keys in front of the two of them. “Whose keys are those?”

  Addy grabbed them from me. “They’re mine.”

  “Can you drive?”

  She nodded, tears still streaming down her face. She wiped the moisture away and hurried to her car with both of us following behind.

  In the distance, I could hear the demons dashing down the stairs. A look over my shoulder showed me they were close to reaching the sidewalk.

  We jumped in the car, me in the passenger seat, and took off right as they caught up.

  H

  Addy parked the car in front of a gas station and turned off the engine. The tears had dried on her face, but her hands wouldn’t stop trembling. She crossed her arms and looked straight ahead. For a while, we were silent, except for the sound of Lizzy sniffling every few seconds.

  When Addy finally spoke, there was no emotion in her voice. “What do we do now? We’re out here, but they can still track us.”

  In a hushed tone, Lizzy said, “What’s happening? I don’t understand anything.”

  Addy ignored her friend. “We’re totally screwed.”

  “We could keep driving,” I said.

  “No, we can’t.” Addy glanced out the window, checking behind the car. “They’ll find us like they already did, and they’ll kill us like Simiael.”

  Simiael had been one of my many sisters. I felt bad about her death, but the thought of something happening to Addy made my heart pound so hard that it pulsated in my ears.

  I studied Addy’s face, the way her eyebrows furrowed and the way she bit her bottom lip and peeled a piece of skin off with her teeth without twitching from pain. I wanted to bite that bottom lip too, find out what her mouth tasted like.

  Blood rushed between my legs. I looked down at my pants, horrified.

  Don’t think about her mouth, don’t think at all. I repeated the mantra in my head.

  “We’re all dead,” Addy said.

  Her harsh words brought me back to my senses.

  “I won’t let them get to you,” I told her.

  Seeming not to hear me, she checked the rearview mirror. “Lucifer warned me. He said I had no place to hide. I didn’t listen.”

  “Hey.” I touched her arm, and she jolted from her seat. I looked her straight in the eyes, avoiding any other body part. “I won’t let him get to you.”

  “How?” Her eyes held mine, twisting and turning my soul. “Can’t you see he already got to me?” She didn’t bat an eyelid, keeping me frozen under her spell.

  “Addy . . .” I swallowed. “You’re doing it again.”

  “Doing what?”

  “You’re messing with my head. Please, stop looking at me.”

  She dropped her gaze. “Sorry.”

  In the back, Lizzy took off her seat belt and moved toward us. “Will someone please explain what is going on? They almost killed us and you guys won’t tell me why.”

  Like her friend, Addy took off her seat belt and spun around in her seat. “Really, Lizzy? We’re in danger here and need to figure out what to do, and you want to know what the fuck is going on?”

  Lizzy sniffed. “Yes.”

  “Fine.”

  Starting from the night she found me, Addy told Lizzy everything, rushing over the part about how, at this very instant, an army of humans worked for Lucifer because of what she did. At the mention of the two nights at the club when she turned several people into demons, her eyes dropped and she tapped her foot against the car floor. “I had to compel them,” she said. “I needed to save Reed.”

  After that, Lizzy slumped back in her seat and didn’t say another word.

  H

  We decided to call on Lizzy’s guardian angel for protection; it would be the easiest way to shield ourselves. Besides, with Addy’s angel gone, we had no other option.

  It was four in the morning, which I still considered night. The three of us felt drained and needed to sleep. Out loud, I asked the guardian to help us—all of us. We waited on the angel to show himself—or herself—but no one came.

  Lizzy chewed on her long fingernails, her head resting against the side of Addy’s seat. “What if I don’t have a guardian angel?”

  “You definitely do,” I said. “Every human does.”

  Addy sighed. “I don’t. Not anymore.”

  “You’ll get another. Maybe not right away, but you’ll get one.”

  “But what do we do now? We’re sitting ducks.”

  “Hey, what is this?” Lizzy pointed at something inside the car, not far from her face. “Do you see that?”

  A translucent film wrapped around the three of us, spreading in all directions, covering the car. In the dark, seeing it was difficult, but if I concentrated, I could just barely spot the sliver of a light-blue tint surrounding us.

  “The angel’s shield,” Addy said. “He’s here.”

  Lizzy smiled. “Really? My angel is here?”

  “Yup. It only took him a decade.”

  After that, the night was easier to bear. We slept in the car, Addy and I with our seats reclined all the way back and Lizzy lying in the fetal position. They weren’t the most comfortable sleeping arrangements, but we surrendered to the night quickly.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ADELAIDE

  A hand shook me from the darkness of sleep. I opened my eyes, saw a woman’s face staring at me, and recoiled.

  “Don’t be afraid,” the woman said. “It’s me.”

  I had to blink a few times to recognize her. Up close, she looked young, not so much a woman but rather a girl in her late teens. Red curls flowed down her shoulders, creating a huge contrast to her impeccable white wings. She smiled, though all I could focus on were the beautiful brown freckles on her cheeks.

  “Simiael,” I said.

  “Hello, my sweet Addy.”

  Wanting to make sure she was real, I reached to touch her face and felt silky skin.

  “Are you really here?”

  She ran her fingers through my hair, something Grandma Di used to do. “It is only a dream, but I am truly with you.”

  I grabbed hold of her hand. “They killed you. I saw you die.”

  Her smile was soft, understanding. “A spirit never dies, Addy. They destroyed my body. Even so, I will be reborn into another.”

  “As an angel?”

  “Yes.”

  She looked to my right. “He has a strong soul, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”

  I had been looking at her and nothing else, afraid if I aimed my attention elsewhere, she would disappear. But her words made me curious. I looked around, finding myself in my cherished car, Lucy. Next to me, Adriel slept with his head against the door, and Lizzy rested in the back.

  Simiael had been sitting on top of the dashboard, her legs extended forward between the two front seats. Although she should have been confined in the small area, the car seemed much bigger with her in it. Even her wings had room to move.

  “This is a dream?” It looked too real to be a dream, and yet it didn’t really make sense.

  “It is an angelic dream.” She coiled a strand of my hair around her finger before letting it go and moving on to another strand. “I will have to leave soon, though.”

  “Where will you go?”

  “I will be floating around heaven until I can be reborn.”

  I squeezed her hand. “Will you be my angel again?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t control these things.”

  I wanted to tell her I was sorry for the things I’d done, for doing what Lucifer wanted despite her trying to protect me from behind the sc
enes. Though before I could say any of that, her image began to fade. It started with her wings, then her body, then her hand on my head. The last things to vanish were her smile and her gentle voice.

  “Goodbye, my Addy,” she said. With that, she was gone.

  Darkness took over my dream for a while, but I didn’t exactly feel like I was in a dream. Instead, I felt as if I were in a black room with my senses heightened. I could hear air leaving and entering people’s bodies.

  Reaching to my right, I felt around in the dark until I found Adriel’s arm. Heat emanated from his skin, too hot to touch. I let go.

  “Adriel, what’s going on?”

  Adriel didn’t answer. Though someone else did.

  “How did you get here?” an unfamiliar, hoarse voice said. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. “Are you lost?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and looked around, trying to pick up any movements.

  The voice snickered. “Can’t see, dollface? Let me help you with that.”

  Hot, wrinkled fingers clasped my wrist. I moved back in my seat, but the person or thing kept holding on.

  “Who are you? What do you want?” I said.

  Two small balls of light floated in the air no more than a foot from my face. They hung parallel to each other and flared with intense heat.

  My free hand went up to my face, shielding my eyes from the glare. “What are you?”

  The thing let go of my hand. “I was once just like you.”

  With my hand half in front of my eyes, I saw the figure more clearly. The balls of light illuminated a nose, lips, a neck, and a human shape. The thing’s lack of clothes revealed a skinless body covered in nothing but skeletal muscle tissue and veins.

  “What’s wrong, pretty one?” The disfigured thing trailed its red, veiny fingers over my arm. “Never seen something like me before?”

  Goosebumps descended my arms. I stared back at the lights, realizing they weren’t lights at all. They were eyes burning with fire.

  Pulling my hand away, I grabbed the metal part of my seat belt, ready to smash it against the demon’s face.

  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” The demon thing flashed its yellow teeth at me. “You wouldn’t know your own power if it stared you in the face.”

  I went to strike the demon with the seat belt’s end, but the monster disappeared right before the metal could hit its raw, skeletal head.

  I jumped from my seat, waking up. The sun was rising in the distance, coloring the sky a shade of yellow. Adriel had been asleep. When I started moving around, he jolted awake.

  “What happened?” he said, reaching to touch my arm. He whipped his head back, checking on Lizzy. “What’s going on?”

  Had it all been a dream? Staring at Adriel, I tried to figure out what I’d just seen. Simiael had felt real, and so did the demon. So real, in fact, that I couldn’t tell the difference between them and people in the waking world.

  Adriel leaned toward me, his eyes full of worry. He tucked one side of his hair behind his ear. “Are you all right?”

  I rested my head against the backrest and thought back to the beginning of the dream. “I saw Simiael in my sleep. I think she was real.”

  He grinned, something he hadn’t done before. His whole face brightened. “She probably was.”

  “She said she will be reborn again.”

  “Very few angels die, but those that do get reborn.”

  “I didn’t have time to ask her about that. She was gone too fast. How can she be reborn? I thought angels were already spirits, and spirits can’t die.”

  “You’re right. Simiael isn’t dead, but her body no longer works. You should think of an angel’s body as armor. It is what they use to protect the world.”

  Glancing around the car, I could still see the transparent shield. Lizzy’s guardian angel must have been working hard all night to keep us out of sight. So, how did the demon find me?

  “I also saw a demon,” I said. “In my dream, after Simiael left.”

  “What kind of demon?”

  “It looked skinless and veiny. I’m not sure what it was.”

  A frown took over his face. “I’ve never seen a demon like that before. There are three types of demons. You’ve seen two of them so far: fallen angels and the hounds of hell. People who die and go to hell—or are turned into demons while alive, I suppose—are the third type. None of those look anything like what you just described.”

  I shrugged. “I guess it was just a dream.”

  He smiled but didn’t say anything else.

  H

  We sat in a nearby coffee shop called Mike’s Coffee Hour at a table in the corner of the room, away from the big window. The aroma of coffee and cinnamon stuffed the air. Muted news played on the TV mounted on the wall across from us. Other than the barista behind the counter, we were the only ones in the shop.

  “Where do we go after this?” Lizzy said as she finished eating an entire ham-and-cheese croissant sandwich she’d only started chomping down on less than two minutes ago. She wiped her hands clean on a napkin before sipping her warm pumpkin spice latte.

  I looked down at the table in search of my phone and remembered that I’d left it back home along with my wallet. A groan escaped my throat. “We have to go back to the apartment. We don’t have a choice.”

  “Yes, we do.” Lizzy’s eyes were wide as she shook her head back and forth. “Nothing says we have to go back there.”

  Indicating our night clothes, I reminded her that we couldn’t stay the way we were. “Besides, we don’t have our phones or money on us.”

  Lizzy’s eyebrows raised in confusion. “How did you buy us food then?”

  Adriel had been silent this whole time, nibbling on an egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich. At Lizzy’s inquiry, he glanced up, his eyes meeting mine. A silent message passed between us. Although it appeared to pain him, he put the remains of his sandwich down and wiped his hands clean. Several crumbs landed on the table. It took him a moment to stop eyeing his food.

  “Addy?” Lizzy stared at me, the cup of coffee barely touching her lips.

  Looking down at the table, I said, “I kind of had to compel the barista.”

  “What?” Lizzy pushed her cup away and eyed the barista. “Weren’t you just telling me last night about all the people you had to compel? You said marking them with the devil’s initial when they’re emotionally vulnerable automatically relinquishes their souls. Addy, this is so wrong. Did you mark this guy? Please tell me you didn’t.”

  “I know it’s wrong, and I didn’t mark him!” I sprang from the table. “Do you think I like any of this? I’m very aware of how screwed up everything is. But what choice do we have? What choice do I have?”

  Adriel bent forward and grabbed my hand. His touch felt cold, nice. The line of his jaw was tense, though. “We always have a choice.”

  “And what is that in this case?”

  “You didn’t have to get this food.”

  “Fine. You guys can starve for all I care.” I pulled my hand away and started walking out, leaving my own half-eaten cream-cheese bagel and full cup of coffee.

  As I neared the door, an image on the TV caught my attention. I stopped to check it out. Noticing my interest, the barista turned the volume up. The news showed a small church, only a few blocks from my apartment, on fire.

  “This is the third arson case targeting religious establishments in the last twenty-four hours right here in Pittsburgh,” the anchorwoman said. “The fire department was at a mosque earlier this morning putting out a fire that had spread into the acres of land behind the structure.”

  The news pulled a clip of firefighters spraying down a burning mosque with water followed by another clip of the fire occurring at the local church now. Flames exploded through the windows, and the exterior white walls of the holy institution were quickly enveloped with fire and ash.

  “It appears
that some firefighters have just entered St. Peter Catholic Church. It is unknown as of yet whether people are inside. In the mosque fire earlier today, the gardener of the establishment was on site and claims the fire was started by a white male in his early twenties. The gardener was stabbed twice outside the mosque right before the fire took place. He was taken to the hospital and, according to the doctors, will fully recover.”

  “What the hell?” I said in a hushed voice.

  My head hurt. I put my sweaty fingers on my temples and attempted to massage the ache away. I had a feeling in my gut that these crimes were related to me, to the people I’d turned into monsters.

  And what about Devin? What if he was the one behind the fires?

  I pushed through the door, eager to get away from being confronted with the reality that everything was my fault. I stood in the cold wind, my hands on my bare knees, breathing in and out. Moisture traveled down my cheeks. Beneath me, the ground shook—or maybe it didn’t, maybe I imagined it. But it felt like it shook. I would rather fall headfirst on the concrete and die from head trauma than be conscious in a world that was disintegrating because of me.

  A single bell chime rang as the coffee shop’s door opened. Footsteps sounded behind me. Before Adriel spoke, I knew it was him, because as always, he was the perfect angel, the hero of this corrupt thing called existence. I wished he would stop acting so righteous. For someone who fell from heaven, he sure as hell made me feel bad for my actions.

  “Addy.” He stood in front of me, his hands reaching for my shoulders and straightening me up. “You don’t know if any of it is because of Lucifer.”

  Biting my lower lip, I tried to keep calm. “It’s because of me.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Except I do.”

  More tears fell. I tried to push back the hatred I felt for myself, to not show him the tears, but I couldn’t control any of it.

  “I sold Devin’s soul, then I sold a bunch of other people’s souls. Based on what? My biased judgment of who they were in a single moment?” My hand went up to my hair, pulling it out of the way. I walked away from Adriel, pacing the sidewalk in front of the shop. “You can’t just say this isn’t on me, because we both know that’s a lie. I messed up big.”