Angel of Distrust

by Tabitha Barret

  He smiled when he remembered how angry she had been when he failed to connect to his power and tempt Viktor. She had been right about his inability to tempt a mortal since he had given up the practice, but he was surprised that she had criticized his methods. He was happy to know that his master hadn’t given up on him.

  Pushing himself to his feet, he looked down to see that his wound was almost healed. He had no idea how she was releasing her power, but he was grateful for it. He stepped forward and closed his eyes as he absorbed as much of her power as he could until it seeped down into his soul and completed him.

  He opened his eyes to search for the source of this life-changing gift, but it was gone as quickly as it had started. He immediately felt the loss of it, but refused to allow his power to overtake him again. He felt stronger than he had since leaving Heaven. Having finally felt freedom, he wouldn’t allow the shackles of doubt and distrust to imprison him again.

  He ran toward the mountain in the distance, believing it to be Anjali’s location. He rolled his neck and back to stretch his muscles so that he could release his wings until he heard the thunder in the distance. Knowing that his wings would be useless in a storm, he resigned himself to running on foot. He had to find her. He had to beg for her forgiveness and pledge himself to her at the first possible second. Regardless of everything that had happened between them, he knew in his heart that he was ready to join with her and be her Predznak.

  Chapter 13

  Viktor heard the soft breathing of the woman he loved and knew she was finally asleep. She had been restless at first, but she had finally settled into a deep sleep. He needed some fresh air and to get some perspective. He brushed her soft cheek with the back of his hand and left her to dream. Seeing that the storm was easing up, he carefully climbed down the slick rocks and slid down the embankment into the jungle. The storm had lasted most of the night, which made him intolerably impatient.

  He had told her that he was a fool to resist her and he had been right, but he was still a fool for loving her. With his plan of calling for the demon to take his memories no longer an option, he wasn’t sure if he was angry or relieved. As much as he didn’t want to part with his love, he was still filled with the painful knowledge of what was to come. How was his situation even worse than before? He couldn’t deny his love for her any longer, but he still feared losing her, except now he would be the one who would leave her and this world. He should have known better than to trust a monster who could find him in the middle of nowhere, but he felt slightly better knowing that he had been tricked by the devil instead of submitting to the deal willingly. He believed that Anjali was strong enough to fight Lucifer, but at what cost? Even if she managed to break the deal, he would still have to live without her. I live in Hell. Her words burned a hole in his chest. He had trouble accepting the concept since he had never been in Hell. To his understanding, he would have to die and be sent to Hell to suffer, which in reality was the same thing that would happen if he stayed here and lost her, though the death would be metaphorical. He was doomed either way as fate once again mocked him.

  He hated hearing the guilt in her voice when she said that she needed to live in Hell because it helped her to control her power. He could tell that she didn’t want to admit that she liked punishing the wicked for fear that he would judge her. After seeing her power with his own eyes, he would never judge her for doing whatever it took to contain it. It was true that punishing souls seemed like a terrible thing, but he agreed that she should try to control her power by any means necessary.

  How could this happen? He was just about to forget about handing her over to the demon when he learned the truth about Lucifer. He truly was cursed. If only there was a way to force Lucifer to break their deal. He had to think of a way out of this. He paused when he thought about his options. He could die by Lucifer’s hands and be free forever, or break the deal and not get the girl in any life going forward. Neither were palatable options.

  He threw himself down against a palm tree and stared up at the morning light through the clouds. Everything looked so peaceful, yet nothing could ease his tumultuous mind. He allowed himself to think about her, as painful as it was. If this were to be his final day with her, he wanted to remember all of it, the good, and the bad.

  Every one of her deaths had been a unique punishment. Aliana had been captured during the fall of the Akkadian providence after he had been called to battle. It had been difficult to leave her, but she had been left in the protection of his friend Mica. When Acadia fell, the soldiers left their posts to run home to protect their loved ones. He had rushed home as quickly as he could, but traveling through the providence had been difficult due to the skirmishes throughout the land. There were pockets of resistance in an effort to push back the hordes of men who wished to claim the riches and the women of the fallen cities. By the time he reached home, he found that Mica had been killed and Aliana was gone. He searched and searched for her until he found her in the hut of a group of despicable soldiers. She had been strung up and horribly abused. He killed every single man without remorse and held Aliana in his arms. He barely recognized her bruised face and her hoarse voice. He wanted to murder the men again and again for what they had done to her. He arrived in time to hear her final cries of how much she still loved him. The guilt of leaving her to suffer like this tore through his soul. Though he had tried to protect her by fighting the masses, in his heart he knew he should have stayed by her side to protect her with his last breath. Instead, he had to watch her take her final agony-filled breath as her love of him shone in her glassy eyes.

  He yelled into the empty jungle and closed his eyes to feel the cool mist of the waterfall attempt to wash away his guilt for leaving Aliana. He pledged time and again to protect his love, but somehow he was always too late. Something kept them apart long enough to allow her to suffer and force him to arrive when there was no way to save her.

  Their last life together occurred during the battle for the colonies’ independence. It was the worst experience of all. In every life, they were constantly plagued by war and drawn into battles. Life in 1751 had been no exception. He was born in England to a noble family who doted upon him. After 14 years of blissful ignorance, he inevitably felt the call of his lover when puberty hit and his previous memories were restored over the span of a few months. He was helpless to ignore the call to find his love despite all of their failed attempts to live long, happy lives together.

  As always, he knew exactly where she was, though he had never unraveled the mystery of why or how he knew. Ignoring logic, he pulled out a map and used his unique gift to find her in the colonies. By the time his memories had come to him in 1765, the colonies were feuding with England’s laws and political views. He had no way of knowing that a war would result from the tensions, but his heart told him to prepare for a battle.

  Without a second thought, he went to his father and demanded passage to Plymouth. His father believed he was mad but after some coaxing, he agreed. A few months later, he landed in Plymouth and began his expedition to find the woman with the beautiful smile who was his soul mate.

  He ran into much opposition during his travels. He and his traveling companion were not welcomed by the colonists who only saw their expensive clothing and superior attitude. He had traveled with a family friend named Bartholomew, who had business in Philadelphia.

  Bartholomew didn’t know about Viktor’s curse of remembering every lifetime and every moment in a place where time didn’t exist, so he allowed his friend to keep up the ruse. Viktor had figured out long ago that his family friend, who appeared in every life with a different name and who always looked the same, was an angel who was related to his soul mate. Based on his affection for her, Viktor always assumed he was the woman’s real father. It had taken some time to learn the truth about the Archangel Gabriel, but Viktor accepted Gabriel’s feigned ignorance of their shared history together, happy to have something constant in his life. He appreciated h
is guidance and wisdom despite the lies between them.

  Gabriel had suddenly decided to part ways with Viktor in Tarrytown, making up some excuse that he had an urgent business matter. Viktor accepted his lie, knowing that Gabriel must have had other duties to be considered an Archangel. Waving farewell, he left Gabriel and continued on. Unfortunately, Gabriel’s timing couldn’t have been worse. Viktor’s driver took the wrong road leaving Tarrytown and they were stopped by bandits along the road. They tortured and killed his driver and stole all of his possessions and clothing. He had tried to stop them, but his 15 year old strength was not enough to hold back six fully grown men. He was tossed onto the road and left to fend for himself.

  It took years for Viktor to journey to his lover as he worked small jobs and traveled during the night to reach his destination. Each time he was close to finding her, something else impeded his mission. It felt like every obstacle imaginable was keeping them apart. Floods, fires, skirmishes, criminals and local law enforcement did everything within their power to keep him from his love. When he finally found “Elizabeth,” she was in the arms of another man. It wasn’t the first time he had found her in such a predicament, but he was confident in his abilities to woo her away from her husband or suitor, but this time was different. She was in the hands of a wealthy colonist who cared nothing about love.

  When Viktor was finally able to introduce himself to the lovely Elizabeth, a sight more resplendent than any incarnation before her, her jealous husband snatched her away from their handshake. He accused her of cheating with Viktor and pulled her behind their vast estate. She tried to explain that they had just met, but Henry didn’t believe her. Viktor was furious and chased after the pair. He was well beyond his 15 year old stature and was no longer lean. He was 19 years old and stronger than her pathetic, overbearing husband.

  Catching up to them, Viktor kicked Henry’s legs out from under him and watched him tumble to the ground. “You will not treat a lady like that, sir!” Viktor yelled, unable to watch his love be harmed and frightened by the brute.

  Henry glared at his wife. “So you are sleeping with him, you whore,” he growled.

  The horrified look on Elizabeth’s face did nothing to prove her innocence or deter her maniac husband from rolling to his side and drawing a pistol on her.

  Viktor yelled, having seen the gun too late. His instincts were to protect Elizabeth so he ran toward her. It didn’t matter if the bullet took his life, he could not watch her die again, not after everything he had been through to find her this time.

  The sound of the pistol exploding across the perfectly manicured gardens sounded hollow in his ears. Viktor fell to his knees as he watched the blood ruin Elizabeth’s beautiful yellow gown. She had done nothing to deserve such a fate, yet here she was dying in front of him again.

  He crawled to her and took her into his arms. She had no recollection of him, but he didn’t care. He bent down and put his lips to hers. “I love you,” he whispered. He felt her breath cease a second later and she was gone.

  Henry laughed at them. “I know that she never loved me, but I will not stand to see her take another lover. I hope you both rot in Hell for your indiscretions,” he said coldly.

  Viktor kissed Elizabeth’s forehead and laid her down in the bright green grass. He knew his time in this life was limited due to the curse, so he spent his final hours making Henry regret killing the love of his life.

  Once Henry was dead, Viktor looked back on every moment spent with his darling. Despite his undying love for her, he refused to continue along this path of self-destruction. He finally admitted that he was doomed to never keep his precious love and would do everything within his power to stay away from her in the next life.

  He opened his eyes and looked up at the cave entrance. He shed a tear for Aliana and Elizabeth and one for himself. Anjali was fully aware of her power and capable of protecting herself. She no longer needed him to save her.

  He sat for a while and recalled every touch of Anjali’s hand and sway of her breast. Was his love for her enough to make him keep fighting for a life he could never have?

  ∞

  Anjali rolled around the uncomfortable rock floor and drifted in and out of a restless sleep. When she was finally able to relax her mind, she saw a familiar sight. It was a modest home with a peaked roof protected by clay tiles sitting behind two slanted roofs that surrounded a small courtyard. On the outside of the courtyard was a prosperous garden filled with herbs, vegetables and fruits. The sheep pen was on the opposite side, to the right of the courtyard. The sheep were standing around in a group waiting to be let out into the fields to graze. She knew that she was in the countryside outside of Laconia, Greece. Pontius would be back from his journey to trade with their neighbors. He was an excellent negotiator who would bring back a wealth of grain and other supplies in exchange for their wool and produce. He always knew what the neighbors needed and had a way of charming them into getting everything he wanted.

  She walked into the garden to admire the bean pods and cucumbers hanging on the suspended vines. She was happy to see how fast everything was growing. They would soon be ripe enough for their table. Stepping out of the garden, she ventured further into the yard to visit her pear trees. She took pride in her garden and her beautiful grove. Pontius often joked that she loved her plants and orchard more than him since she spent so much time tending to them. She knew that he was only teasing. The love she had for her husband far surpassed that of her almond trees, and even her cherished pomegranate tree.

  Anjali turned her head to look up at the bright cloudless sky and smiled. She was happy in this place. It felt like she was observing a dream, but somehow she knew that the house and gardens had once existed.

  She headed toward the courtyard to explore the interior of the home, but something stopped her. A black shadow raced along the ground and quickly disappeared. It was bigger than the largest hawk she had ever seen. Shaking her head, she dismissed her concern and headed for the house. A high-pitched squawk was her only warning before something knocked her to the ground from behind.

  She braced herself with her arms and landed hard on her elbow. Before she could stand, she found herself flying through the air and falling to the ground. The wind was knocked from her lungs from the harsh landing. Once she was able to move, she twisted around to see what was attacking her, but couldn’t find anything but clear sky.

  Quickly looking around the entire area, she saw nothing of consequence. She got to her feet and stopped short when a large feathered creature landed on the wall of the courtyard entrance. It was grotesque with a long black torso and wings, but more horrifying still was its face. It had pale features with something akin to wrinkled skin but in place of a nose was a sharp beak. The face shifted in front of her eyes until it became humanlike, but distorted. It would never be able to pass as a mortal.

  Anjali took a step back and wanted to scream, but instead she was thrown from her body. She landed a few feet behind a young woman who she understood to be Belinha, one of her former incarnations. It took a moment to reorient herself in the dream/memory to accept that this really happened to her. The Harpies had found her in Greece in 1100 B.C.E during what would be known as the Greek Dark Ages—a dark age she was about to create, though she had no idea that the Harpies were to blame for the tragedy.

  She was so startled by this new memory that she almost missed the second Harpy who descended from the sky and launched itself at Belinha. Anjali’s warning screams weren’t heard by Belinha because she was seeing a piece of history that couldn’t be altered. Anjali watched helplessly as the two Harpies toyed with Belinha and taunted her, though Belinha had no idea what was happening.

  “Our Master wishes you to die, Destroyer,” one of the Harpies squawked.

  Anjali gulped when she realized that the Harpy knew who she was. This wasn’t a random attack, which meant that Hades had sent them to kill her. Her anger rose to the surface, but she pushed it down to rema
in inside the memory. She would take the matter up with Hades once she saw his duplicitous face.

  Belinha was pleading for them to stop their taunts because she didn’t know anything about their master or his reasons for wanting her dead. Anjali remembered the feeling of fear and hopelessness that Belinha was experiencing. Belinha was so naïve and innocent. She had no way of fighting off the fearsome creatures.

  “Pontius!” Belinha screamed, hoping that her husband would come to her aid.

  Laughter filled the air as the third Harpy landed on the roof of the main house. “No one can save you, Destroyer,” she chortled.

  Staring at the three sisters, Anjali finally put names to their terrible faces. The first Harpy to attack was Celaeno, followed by Aello. Ocypete was the last one to arrive. Anjali watched Belinha try to run to the grove, but she never reached it. Aello made it to the trees first and flapped her giant wings, sending a current of air that knocked Belinha into the garden. Celaeno swooped down into the garden and hit the defenseless woman with her massive wings until Belinha cried out for mercy.

  “Let me finish her, Ocypete,” Aello said boldly as she hopped across the field toward the garden.

  “No, we must make sure that she is within an inch of death. Those were his orders,” Ocypete said taking to the air and landing next to Aello.

  “Master wants us to call for him when she is ready to die, but is that wise? He told us how dangerous she is. Why not simply kill her lest she try to harm Master when he arrives?” Aello asked, tilting her deformed head and staring at the injured woman with her cold beady eyes.

  Ocypete snapped her wing in front of Aello, who was crouching down low preparing to jump into the air. “No, Aello! Do not disobey Master again. He warned us of what will happen if we make him cross. You have already angered him by devouring that mortal. Do you not remember your punishment?” Ocypete asked in a scratchy voice that grated on Anjali’s nerves.