Anger, exhaustion, frustration, fear, and outrage all converged inside me.
Because of David and his insane thirst for the elemental power, my mother was dead, my biological father was dead, and Chuck was dead. Stacy was in critical condition in the hospital with a gunshot wound. Chuck’s friend Eugene was most likely dead as well. Who knew how many others had been hurt, and how many more would suffer and die at his hands?
All the death and destruction he had caused were too much for me to bear. He had to be stopped, and if my soul was damned because of it, then so be it.
I reached out with the power and took the breath from David and Nick’s lungs. Both of them dropped their weapons and grabbed for their throats, as if that would get the oxygen flowing again.
They fell to their knees, mouths opening and closing like landed fish, their skin turning pale at first, then red and purple. I held my concentration. I wanted them to suffer. I wanted them to die horribly. It was payback for all the pain they had caused to the people I cared about.
Something hit me from behind, knocking me to the ground and breaking my concentration. David and Nick also fell to the ground, suddenly released from my supernatural grip. They rolled around, gasping for air.
I flipped over and was completely shocked to see Darcy dragging herself off me.
I went wild, completely out of my mind. I blasted her with a gust of wind, sending her flying back a dozen feet. She hit the ground and rolled twice. It took her a few moments to get back up.
“What the hell are you doing?” I couldn’t believe she was fighting me.
I was running on pure adrenaline. There was no logic, no thought. The animal part of me—or maybe it was the fallen angel half—had taken over. Intending to unleash my wrath on her if she stood in my way, I marched toward Darcy.
She got to her feet and made a rising motion with her hands. The long grass in front of me burst into flame. I flinched away, the heat making blisters arise from the skin on my arms.
I had saved her life, and this was how she thanked me? With a roar, I blew out the wildfire with a burst of wind.
Atop the blackened earth, I willed a small cyclone into existence and sent it her way. As it went, it chewed up the ground, spitting out clumps of dirt in every direction. Once it hit her, it would grind her up the same way.
The air in front of my shirt ignited, the fire singeing my neck and chin as I threw my head back out of the way. With a thought, I smothered the flames.
The pain, however, had the effect of bringing me back to my senses. Instead of returning the attack, I dropped my arms to my sides.
I looked up at her. “Why did you stop me?”
“You can’t kill them,” she said, shaking her head. Then she put her hands up, palms open and facing me to show me that she didn’t want to fight anymore either. Slowly, she stepped toward me. “It’s not the right thing to do.”
I still had all that rage inside me, and I couldn’t think through it. “They deserve to die,” I said.
Darcy put her hands on my arms. “Maybe they do, but that’s not for you to decide.”
“Then who,” I asked, “you? You didn’t seem to have a problem blowing up those people in Middleton.”
Her grip on my arms tightened to the point where it was hurting.
“Yes, I killed them,” she said through gritted teeth. “And that’s tearing me up from the inside. Don’t let yourself go down that road. Just because you have the power, it doesn’t give you the right to use it like that. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life. You’ll never forgive yourself.”
I was frozen with indecision. I had made many bad choices in the past; at the time I made them, I thought I had a good reason for doing so. It was only afterward that I realized how wrong I was. Was this one of those times?
Half of me didn’t care. I was hurting, and I wanted to punish someone for it. I wanted vengeance for my mother, for Chuck, and even for the father I had never had a chance to know.
But Darcy was right; it wasn’t justice at this point. We had beaten David. Everything he had thrown at us, we had overcome. I knew he had run out of tricks. I believed in my heart that as long as he was alive, he would never stop trying to come after me. If he were behind bars for life, however, he would be unable to follow through with his insane mission.
All I had to do was to turn David over to the authorities. Once they investigated, they would certainly uncover enough evidence to prosecute him.
It was at that moment I realized it was the right thing to—
The bullet grazed my cheek, and pain flared as my skin ripped open.
I screamed, clutching my face, and spun around.
Nick was aiming for a second shot. Before he could squeeze it off, I sent a wave of air at him. I put enough force behind it to send him back twenty feet into the air. Darcy would be proud; I hadn’t killed him; I had merely knocked him unconscious.
David, however, had obviously learned that a direct attack against a possessed person was futile. He dropped his rifle and ran toward the SUV.
With the intention of doing the same thing to him as I had to Nick—knocking him out—I sent another blast of wind at his retreating form.
As I planned, the force of the wind threw him into the air. To my surprise, he crashed into the gas tank beside the generator hut.
My earlier efforts to pinch the gas line must have weakened it enough that the impact of David’s body broke the line completely. Gasoline sprayed out in all directions, including all over David.
The fall hadn’t been enough to knock him out, and he leaped to his feet and stumbled toward the SUV.
The vehicle was parked close to the burning house. Too close, as it turned out. A stray spark from a falling beam flew far enough to hit David.
His entire body lit up like a firework, and he fell to the ground.
“Blow him out!” Darcy screamed at me, but I was already gathering a vast amount of air to send at him.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that unless the wind was powerful enough, it would only fan the flames. I pushed as hard as I could, and the force of the gust hit him square, knocking him to the ground and sending him rolling.
I launched myself into the air and flew over as fast as I could.
By the time I got there, the flames were out but David’s body was completely blackened. I thought he was dead, but then I heard a mewling sound come out of him.
I leaned closer to hear what he was trying to say.
“…in … hell…”
The last of his breath hissed out of him, and he died before my eyes.
Epilogue
With her good arm, Stacy pointed the remote control at the tiny television hanging from the wall of her hospital room.
She channel-surfed until she found the evening news. Dropping the remote at her side, she gently touched the bandage wrapped around her shoulder. A tiny blossom of crimson blood had leaked through the white cloth.
On the television, a square-jawed newscaster gave the camera his best professional face and delivered his speech with a practiced clip.
“Today’s top story: The Internal Revenue Service is the latest government agency to become involved in what investigators have called a tragic inheritance scheme which resulted in the murder of Terrence Matheson, CEO of one of Washington State’s fastest growing aerospace companies. Police recovered Matheson’s body earlier today in a storage facility near Kingsway Airfield.
“The IRS has seized the assets of Worldwind Avionics pending a full investigation after tracking half a million dollars in money transfers to offshore accounts. Agents suspect the CEO discovered the embezzling attempt, and paid for it with his life.
“It is believed the mastermind behind the scheme is the victim’s son, David Matheson, whose fatally burned body was discovered at their country home late last night in a fire that burned the building to the ground. The details surrounding the fire are not known at this time. The remains of another man, s
ecurity consultant Allan Rutherford, who police suspect was one of David Matheson’s accomplices, was also recovered from the wreckage. A third man, Nick Torreski, was taken into custody, and we are told he is cooperating with the investigation.
“Testimony from Torreski has indicated links with the arson of a strip mall in Vancouver, Washington early yesterday morning, and the disappearances of Tomas Ulieke—also an employee of Worldwind Avionics—and Charles Keene, a computer programmer who police believe may have been the agent for the money transfers.
“Wanted for questioning is Richard Riley, a janitor for Worldwind Avionics. Convicted for burglary, Riley was on conditional work release. Eyewitnesses placed him at Worldwind Avionics at the time of the murder and at the Vancouver strip mall at the time of the arson. Video security footage from Tacoma General Hospital links him with a female gunshot victim, Stacy Keene—sister of Charles Keene—who is recovering in hospital and is under police protection.
“After the break, meteorologist Henry Lederman offers an explanation of the freak tornado that ripped through a quiet community in south Seattle earlier this week…”
Stacy turned off the television when her room door opened and a uniformed police offer stepped inside. He kept the door open for a short middle-aged woman in a nurse’s uniform. She held a tray in front of her: the evening meal.
“And how are we today, Ms. Keene?” she asked as she put the tray on a rolling table and brought it closer to Stacy.
Nodding, Stacy said, “All right.” She eyed the dinner and made a sour face.
“It tastes better than it looks,” the nurse said.
Stacy gave her a sour face. “I’m not sure I have much of an appetite.”
“Try your best. If you need anything, please use the call button.” With that, the nurse spun on her heel and headed back out of the room.
Stacy stared at the hospital food for a few moments before grabbing the pudding cup and a spoon. She scooped a mouthful in, and then froze, as if hearing something.
She put the pudding cup back on the dinner tray and pushed the table away from her. Carefully, she swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed and padded to the window.
Stacy was on the second floor, and she automatically looked down, but a slight movement to the side startled her. Jumping back, she let out a cry of surprise, then she quickly recovered.
* * *
I had used my power to fly up to window level and had been watching her for some time, gathering up the courage to get her attention.
“Rich,” she said when she recognized me.
“Stace, can you come out and meet me?” I asked.
She shook her head, and I felt my heart sink in my chest.
“I want to,” she said quickly, “but they’ve got cops outside my door. It’s for my protection.” She let out a short humorless laugh. “From you.”
“I love you,” I said to her, and realized that it was the first time I had ever actually said the words. They felt good to say. “I would never hurt you.”
“I know.” She gave me an adoring smile. “I love you, too.” Then she turned serious. “David…? Did you…?”
“No,” I said, then: “Yes.” I sighed. “It’s complicated.”
She reached her fingers out and placed them on the screen between us. I copied the motion, and closed my eyes at the touch.
Stacy said, “He got what he deserved for what he did to Chuck … and your … parents.”
I fought back the guilt. Darcy’s words echoed through my mind. David got what was coming to him, but it didn’t change the fact that my mother was gone forever, and I had never had the chance to reconcile with her. There was so much regret, I didn’t know if I would ever come to terms with it.
“If there was anything I could have done to save Chuck…”
Stacy shook her head. “There wasn’t. I don’t blame anyone but David for what happened to him.” A tear streaked down her cheek. She looked into my eyes, and I could see they were full of pain. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without him. He’s been right there all my life.”
“I’m going to miss him, too,” I said.
Stacy wiped the tear away and took a deep breath.
“Rich.” She changed the subject, as if she were trying to avoid thinking about her brother. “I didn’t tell them anything about you. I told them I had no idea what was happening; David and Al just kidnapped me and kept me locked up the whole time. The police know we were seeing each other, but I said I had no idea what was going on. They probably don’t believe I’m as dumb as I acted.”
“You can be pretty convincing when you want to…”
She smiled, and then said, “But it’s not too late. If you turned yourself in, I would wait for you, no matter how long it took.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. If David was the end of it, I probably would, but there are more like Darcy and me out there. And there are more like David and Father Putnam as well. I can’t do anything about that if I’m in prison.”
The next part was the hardest for me to say: “As long as they know you and I are together, you’ll be in danger. They’ll try to use you against me.”
Stacy closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, I could see that she understood. Her chin quivered when she said, “Then you had better get to work. The sooner you figure this all out, the sooner you can come back to me. I’ll be here, waiting.”
I leaned in, and we kissed. I hoped it would not be for the last time.
As I pulled away and started to drift back down to ground level, Stacy said, “Rich.”
I looked up.
“Do you remember Eugene?”
I had almost forgotten about him: one more of David’s casualties.
“He got away from Nick,” she said, and I brightened at the news. “He stopped by earlier this afternoon. What happened to Chuck is tearing him up from the inside, and he said he’ll do anything he can to make it right.” She reached over to the end table near her bed and grabbed a slip of paper. Handing it to me, she said, “Contact him; maybe he can help you.”
There was a phone number on the piece of paper. I put it in my pocket and nodded at Stacy. “I will.”
There were tears in her eyes as I flew the rest of the way to the ground. It did not come as a surprise when my own tears spilled down my cheeks.
“Come back to me soon,” she said, and disappeared into the hospital room.
* * *
Twenty-four hours later, Darcy sat beside me in the passenger seat of a nondescript vintage coupe. I pointed the car east, careful to avoid any interstate highways.
After profusely apologizing for letting David use him, Eugene had proven more than helpful. He had supplied us with several hundred dollars in cash, two prepaid cell phones, a tablet computer, and the car, which he had found for us online. His store was destroyed, but he assured us it had been fully insured; he was more than willing to use the money to help us. It was his way of making up for the guilt he felt for Chuck’s death.
Guilt was something I was very familiar with. It seemed to keep piling on me, no matter what I did. I hadn’t had the opportunity to ask my mother for forgiveness for not being there for her. I vowed, from this point on, not to miss any more of those opportunities.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Darcy.
“For what?” she asked me, looking up from the tablet propped on her knees. Eugene had downloaded some information to the computer on angels and demons for her.
“I guess I just lost my head or something.” I couldn’t meet her eyes. “I’m sorry I fought you back there, at the farm. I could have killed you, and that’s the last thing I want. It won’t happen again.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Darcy said. “I think one of the things we all share—anyone like us—is a temper.” She laughed. “Maybe it has something to do with the wrathful blood of the angels we inherited.”
“Huh?” I asked.
“This stuff is fascinating. I spent my entire
life thinking of angels as saints, but they’re not: they’re warriors, and they can be as brutal and savage as anything you’ve ever heard about. The difference between them and demons is that they work for heaven instead of hell.”
“Yeah,” I said, “and the ones inside us are the disgruntled employees who got fired. So where does that leave us?”
“It leaves us with more questions than answers, but at least we have a clue.”
I had spoken with a male clerk at the archdiocese that morning. He told us Father Putnam had been missing for the past two days. They had filed a police report but so far, no one had any idea where he was.
I had a lead, but I wasn’t going to share it with the cops. The area code for the disconnected phone number I had found in Father Putnam’s phone—from Miles, whoever he was—was out of Chicago.
“Do you think we’ll find him there?” I asked.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Darcy said, going back to her reading. “It’s not much, but at least it’s a start.”
Here Ends The Second Book of Fallen Angels.
About The Author
Valmore Daniels has lived on the coasts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans, and dozens of points in between.
An insatiable thirst for new experiences has led him to work in several fields, including legal research, elderly care, oil & gas administration, web design, government service, human resources, and retail business management.
His enthusiasm for travel is only surpassed by his passion for telling tall tales.
Visit ValmoreDaniels.com
Also Available
The Interstellar Age
Forbidden The Stars
Music of the Spheres
Worlds Away (Coming Fall 2012)
Fallen Angels
Angel Fire
Angel’s Breath
Earth Angel (TBR)
Angel Tears (TBR)
Angel of Darkness (TBR)
Visit: ValmoreDaniels.com
Angel's Breath: The Second Book of Fallen Angels Page 19
