Color of Angels' Souls

by Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian

  A short time later, both slowly regained consciousness, still in a daze.

  “Oh my God!” Allison finally said. “And to think I abstained from sex for all those years! Am I crazy or what?”

  Jeremy laughed and rolled over on his side to look at her with adoration.

  “Believe me, it’s not always that good. Wait, what am I saying? It’s never that good! Hey, you girls have all the luck. Wow! Multiple orgasms? I’m so jealous! I’m going to get a sex change!”

  Allison laughed merrily. She felt so good! It was like a miracle, and she fully intended to take advantage of it.

  Until she had to give it all up.

  Jeremy could see the sadness in Allison’s beautiful blue eyes. He leaned over and kissed her soft lips.

  “I won’t let Mephisto take you away from me, Allison. I promise you!”

  Allison sighed and decided to change the subject.

  “You didn’t want to tell him your secret. But I’m curious as well. How did you withstand that blast he hit you with tonight? When I transferred Caligula’s power to you, you became red, didn’t you—or was I dreaming?”

  “Actually, that wasn’t the first time,” Jeremy confessed as he stroked Allison’s long leg, making her tremble with desire again. “The Archangels and I had already paid a little visit to Caligula. They wanted to build up my immune system.”

  As Jeremy continued with his caresses, Allison was finding it harder and harder to catch her breath.

  “What do you mean?” she persisted.

  “I challenged Caligula to a duel.”

  Allison shot up in the bed, all thoughts of lovemaking long gone.

  “What?!”

  “And since the emperor was convinced he’d be able to eat me alive, he of course accepted on the spot. When he attacked me he said he would give you my hide as a little gift, so that you could hang it up in your living room. He obviously figured I was acting out of vengeance, that I had gone mad from the pain and jealousy. Unlike you, he didn’t spare me a bit. He hit me full on with all his power.”

  “It should have killed you! Or made you disappear, or whatever! Jeremy, that was insane! No one could have withstood that monster!”

  “Under normal circumstances, no … except that just before our duel, four blue Archangels had fed me so much power that my head nearly exploded!”

  Allison’s jaw dropped.

  “What?”

  “You know, earlier on, when you told off the Archangels, and said they should give us instructions? Told them they shouldn’t have left us to fend for ourselves? Well, I gave them a piece of my mind too. I said exactly the same thing to Michael and his friends. So to make up for how they’d bungled everything, they fed me. All four at once. It turns out that us Archangels are more sturdy then normal Angels.” He pounded his chest like Tarzan, making Allison smile. “Actually though,” he winced, “it was pretty rough. It felt like each cell in my body was being slowly roasted. And later on when Caligula blasted me, it was like getting lashed with a wet noodle compared to what I’d just been through. Sure, he was powerful, but nothing compared to the power of four Archangels.”

  Allison gazed at him with admiration.

  “You knew all about it! You had prepared everything in advance. Now I see why Caligula’s mansion was a wreck when I went back to see that ghoul! It was you! But what did you do with him? You didn’t … eat him, did you?”

  “Yuk, no way! Mephistopheles, disguised as Flint, said that Caligula the Chimera was much too strong to be imprisoned by the Angels. But it was a lie: Caligula was under his protection, that’s all. Caligula officially accepted my request for a duel in front of the Archangels, and when he had lost, and had used up all his powers attacking me, he was officially charged with eating innocent young Angels. The blue Archangels locked him up in a Mist prison, where he’ll waste away for centuries.”

  Allison shuddered.

  “Well, that’s certainly some good news! Caligula put me through hell, just because it amused him to corrupt my soul … but I still can’t believe that you were able to take in all that horrible power I gave you, and withstand that attack from Mephistopheles, and all because you prepared for it ahead of time! But why didn’t you tell me, Jeremy?”

  “I couldn’t, Allison. You were still under the influence of that sickening power, so bent on getting vengeance! And you were so red! If I had said to you: ‘Actually, Allison, I’m really an Archangel and Flint is only using you to get to me,’ what would you have done?”

  Allison thought about it for a few moments, then shook her head before answering: “Under Caligula’s influence, I would have been furious. I would only have seen your new powers as an Archangel, and wouldn’t have been touched by your compassion. Maybe. I don’t know. I probably would have tried to use you. But, you’re probably right, I don’t think I would have given you my power.”

  “I took a terrible risk, Allison,” Jeremy admitted, still troubled by the memory. “The Archangels told me that the only way I could possibly save you would be if you transferred your powers to me, of your own free will. So I was betting on the fact that Flint would eventually do something so horrible that even the red Allison would be shocked. He almost ruined my plan when he transformed himself into Mephistopheles, which I of course hadn’t foreseen. But when you saw what he was willing to do to Peter, the real Allison woke up inside you. The Allison who had been completely brainwashed with all Flint’s lies and scheming. The Allison who would never accept making a young boy suffer just to get her vengeance.”

  “You know, I didn’t see anything coming,” she sighed. “They completely fooled me, but you figured the whole thing out. I kind of feel like I’m your Dr. Watson, Sherlock!”

  “You’re much prettier than Dr. Watson!” Jeremy protested.

  She smiled with delight, and kissed him passionately.

  “Did I ever tell you that you’re not only a super sexy Archangel, but you’re also a genius and I absolutely adore you?” she whispered, pulling slightly back from him to catch her breath.

  “No, you never told me,” he whispered huskily, covering her body with hot kisses. “But maybe you could give me a little demonstration?”

  Allison didn’t need to be asked twice.

  They spent the remainder of the night and all the next day in bed. Completely cut off from the rest of the world. The two Angels wanted to make the most of their time together. During those precious and magical hours, they discovered not only the taste of each other’s flesh, but also that of their souls. And they went so well together!

  As night again began to fall over the city and they were tasting a delicious Mist prepared by the Angels at the hotel, Jeremy gave Allison a mischievous smile.

  “Come with me,” he said, leading her into the bathroom. “I wanted to give you the surprise earlier, but you’re so irresistible that I completely lost track of time.”

  “What surprise?” frowned Allison, who had grown wary of surprises after all she’d been through.

  “This one.” Jeremy opened the door to the Mist shower installed by the Angels.

  Suddenly, a light warm rain of Mist washed over them.

  “No way!” Allison cried out in surprised delight. “But how is it possible?”

  “Do you remember the bottles of liquid Mist that Flint had? I should have realized even then that there was something wrong, because only Archangels can dilute Mist and give it the same consistency as water. Well, that’s exactly what Michael did. It was in the letter he left for us in the room.”

  Allison gazed passionately into his eyes and they took an amazing Mist shower. Where they did more than just wash themselves.

  They had just lain down in bed again, completely absorbed in their little world, when a soft rapping on the door made both of them jump. With regret, Jeremy pulled a sheet around himself and went to open the door. Allison stayed beneath the covers, still dazzled by everything they had experienced the past two days. Her face clouded over: She
didn’t want reality to come barging back into their little love nest.

  Michael entered, lowering his head and his wings to pass under the door frame.

  “I’m most sorry to disturb you,” he said with infinite courtesy. “Alas, I have some bad news for you.”

  “Give us a moment to get ready,” Jeremy sighed. “We’ll be out in a second.”

  Using the power he had received from the blue Archangels and, ironic as it may seem, from Caligula and Mephistopheles, Jeremy made them some clothes using the Mist from an armchair. He made a blue summer suit for himself and a dress for Allison. She asked him to make it the same color as his—she’d had enough of red and pink, at least for the time being.

  Then they stood before Michael, hand in hand, together, to hear the bad news.

  The news wasn’t bad after all.

  It was even worse.

  “Mephistopheles hates to lose,” Michael began, his unblemished brow wrinkled now with concern. “Especially in front of the other red Archangels. I think that we made him so angry that he gathered up a tremendous amount of power—amounts unheard of, even for an Archangel—and he has successfully completed his mission. All alone, without the help of any other Archangels, which means we won’t even be able to use our assistance as an argument in your favor. I’m terribly sorry, Allison. But he’s done it.”

  “Done what?” Jeremy asked. His mouth had gone dry.

  “He influenced the minds of two inspectors, who listened to his suggestion and arrested Ventousi at his home. Then, while Ventousi was in custody, Mephistopheles made Peter become extremely ill. Not with cancer, no; he didn’t have time, nor enough power for that. But he managed, by some incredible means, to provoke internal bleeding inside the boy. Nothing too serious, fortunately. Then Mephistopheles clouded the mind of the intern who was taking care of Peter, and he misplaced the case folders. Peter’s folder was confused with the folder of a small boy stricken with cancer. And even though he had only suffered some relatively harmless internal bleeding, he was diagnosed as having an inoperable tumor on his liver. The doctors contacted the two inspectors after Peter’s nanny told them the boy’s father had been arrested. The two inspectors told Ventousi what had happened, and when he learned that his son had a terminal case of cancer, he blew a fuse. Under the influence of Mephistopheles, whose fury and hatred only heightened his powers, he suddenly broke down and confessed everything, saying the only thing that mattered was that they give the drug to his son.”

  Jeremy and Allison looked at him dumbstruck, unable to believe what they were hearing.

  “So, what does this all mean?” Allison finally asked, breaking the heavy silence that had followed Michael’s words.

  Michael tiredly ran his large hand over his face.

  “It means that Mephistopheles has fulfilled the terms of your agreement. You have gotten your revenge, because Ventousi is now in prison. And as soon as the laboratories learn what’s happened, they’ll test Ventousi’s formula and place the drug on the market. Mephistopheles has performed a nearly impossible feat. Under normal circumstances, to influence the living to such a degree, to make them sick or cure them, would require at least three Archangels and half a dozen old Angels. I think his ignominious defeat at our hands has driven him crazy—or should I say, even more crazy than usual.”

  Jeremy and Allison could only stare at each other, shattered by his words.

  Suddenly, it was all too much for Allison. She had died, become an Angel, had been manipulated, lied to, tortured, turned red—and now, when she’d finally found complete happiness with the man she wanted to spend the rest of her days with, they tell her that it’s all going to be taken away from her?

  She broke down and cried. Jeremy, his eyes filled with tears, took her in his arms, whispering her name over and over, as if it were a sort of mantra that could ward off evil.

  Michael, who had seen his own share of horrible atrocities in his time, was just as shaken as the two of them. Tears began to well up in his own eyes.

  “I don’t want to lose you,” Allison moaned. “I love you so much, Jeremy! I’ll never be able to take it if he places his horrible hands on me! I’ll lose my mind!”

  “Hush now, my love, no one except me will ever touch a hair on your body. Calm down now. We’ll find a solution. You have to trust me, OK?”

  But it was too much for her. It was all so unfair, and Allison couldn’t calm down. The sobs wracked her body, breaking Jeremy’s heart. He didn’t dare tell her that, if Flint managed to take her away from him, he wouldn’t be able to stand it either.

  “How will I be able to give up our love?” she asked for the thousandth time.

  “You won’t have to give up our love, my heart, my beautiful Angel. You’re my wife, nothing can break us apart!”

  Michael looked away, visibly shaken by the scene.

  “I … I will wait for you in the hallway, OK? But then we’ll have to get going.” Jeremy glared at him. “Not right away of course; please, take your time.”

  It took Jeremy nearly an hour to calm Allison down. She was trembling so violently that she could hardly stand.

  “Oh well,” she finally said, smiling ironically. “At least we had our wedding night together. And we’ll see each other again in fifty years. That’s no so long, because then we’ll have all eternity together!”

  But Jeremy wasn’t ready to give up yet. Not after having found the love of his life. His face hardened with anger as he got to his feet, gathered up Allison in his arms, and carried her out into the hallway where Michael was waiting.

  “Is the Congress back in session already?” Jeremy asked.

  “Yes, Mephistopheles has just introduced a motion to have Allison turned over to him. He said that Flint is most impatient to see his pretty blue Angel again.”

  Allison could barely keep from retching, but hid her disgust behind a brave smile.

  “Well, let’s go then,” Jeremy said.

  He looked deep into Allison’s eyes.

  “Whatever you do, don’t say a word. Don’t get involved. If he tells you to go stand next to him, you do it. Obey his orders; don’t put up a fight. I’m going to get you out of this mess, but only on one condition: You can’t make a scene or go into any hysterics, Allison. Do you think you can do that for me?”

  Allison was frightened, but she was no wimp. Jeremy’s stern tone brought her back to her senses.

  “Me, make a scene? Hysterics? Jeremy, who do you take me for?!”

  Pleased with her response, he gave her a quick kiss.

  “For a courageous Amazon warrior. Trust me. We’ll find a way out of this.”

  Allison nodded. It was the type of thing people said when they were in a desperate situation. There was nothing Jeremy could do, and both of them knew it.

  They walked to the Capitol, which wasn’t far from the Mandarin Oriental. After a few minutes, Allison asked Jeremy to set her down, so that she could profit from her last moments of freedom. As they walked along, Allison couldn’t help but feel they were leading her to the gallows. She took the time to look at everything around her, taking in every last bit of the luminous, multicolored world superimposed over the living. She knew full well that the first thing Flint would do was pervert her, pervert her so absolutely that she would never again be able to contemplate the simple joys of life. It would all be replaced by gluttony and hatred. She held back her tears. Jeremy sensed her distress and squeezed her hand.

  When they entered the Senate chamber, the Angels quickly grew quiet. A heavy silence slowly fell over the assembly. The two young Angels were illuminated so brightly by the love that united them, that several Blues in the audience began crying. All present could sense what was about to happen. Since the previous evening, Allison and Jeremy’s tragic story had been the talk of the town. Everyone knew that Michael had married the two Angels, but that Mephistopheles was about to steal away Jeremy’s beloved. And that Jeremy could do nothing about it. It was high tragedy, as
if Shakespeare was rewriting Romeo and Juliet, except this time the drama was painfully real.

  It was Mephistopheles’s sinister laughter that broke the silence.

  “Well, it looks as if the hero of our latest episode has arrived! Come here, my little Allison. Our friend Flint is most anxious to … taste you. He made me promise not to touch you in my present incarnation.” He bent over and whispered: “I think he’s afraid to lose you, because if I did, you’d be so horrified you’d go absolutely insane!”

  Allison was about to step forward, resigned to her fate, when Jeremy made a sign to her to stop. Jeremy stood in front of Mephistopheles and raised his eyes in defiance toward the giant.

  “What do you want?”

  Mephistopheles raised a crimson eyebrow.

  “What could you possibly mean?”

  “C’mon now, enough of your games!” Jeremy snapped impatiently. “Stop taking us for fools! Enough of these melodramatics! The young lovers rent apart by cruel destiny, the girl condemned to a fate worse than death … all we need now is an orchestra of violins! My question is simple. I know you couldn’t care less about Allison. What do you want? In exchange for her.”

  The second eyebrow on the red devil’s forehead rose to join the first. All the Angels in the assembly were on the edge of their seats, fascinated by the standoff.