Seraphim

by Leslie Swartz

  “Thank you.”

  “All right, well, I have some work to do, so if you could lock up when you leave, that’d be great.”

  “Of course,” Wyatt said, standing and making his way to the study door. “It was good seeing you, Dad. I’m glad you’re well.”

  “Bye, Wyatt,” John said, not looking up from the file he had just opened.

  Wyatt took a quick glance around the room with its many bookshelves, filing cabinets and paperweights. It all seemed smaller than it had when he first walked in. Less intimidating. He folded the file his father had given him and slid it in his jacket before pulling the door behind him.

  “Bye, Dad.”

  “So, you’re him, hmm?” Wyatt heard a voice from behind call to him as he exited the gates of his father’s building.

  “Excuse me?” he replied, turning to look at the slender Asian man addressing him. He wore a beautifully tailored suit, an oversized pair of sunglasses and freshly polished shoes.

  The man lowered his glasses to get a better look at Wyatt. “Yeah, it’s you,” he decided. “Come on.” He began to walk, expecting to be followed. Wyatt stood in defiance.

  The man turned back. “Did you not hear me?” he sassed. “Let’s go before the princess loses her damn mind and starts screaming in ours.”

  “The girl,” Wyatt said. “She sent you?”

  “You know she did,” the man told Wyatt. “For future reference, call her Gabriel. Anything else gets her panties in twist. And, no, she’s not a stalker. She told me that’s what you’re trying to tell yourself. I mean, homegirl can be overbearing as fuck, but a stalker she ain’t. You coming?”

  Wyatt followed the man across the street to the park.

  “I’m Tae,” the man offered.

  “Wyatt.”

  “Oh, that’s cute,” Tae complimented. “You’re a tall motherfucker, aren’t you? What are you, six-one?”

  “Six-two,” Wyatt corrected.

  “Well, pardon me,” Tae joked. “And those eyes. You must slay.”

  “You mind telling me where we’re going?”

  “It’s just up here a little ways,” Tae told him. “She thought you’d take the news better in a pretty environment. Before we get there, some things you should know. Bitch has a superiority complex because she knows every goddamn thing. She thinks she knows better than everybody and what’s annoying about that is that she’s right. You can’t lie to her because she knows. Everything you’ve ever seen, heard, said, thought, or felt, she knows. Baby’s telepathic, telekinetic and pyrokinetic. She can heal the sick, raise the dead and set up a duplex in you mind if she wants to. It’s obnoxious.”

  I brought a picnic! Wyatt heard the woman say in his head.

  “This bitch,” Tae said. “Always gotta be extra. A picnic. I’ma have to tell her to reign it in.”

  Wyatt was dumbfounded. “You heard that?”

  “Course I did. You’re not the only one she pesters with that shit,” Tae explained. “She’s been chirping in my ear since Britney was still with Justin.”

  As they walked, they could see Gabriel sitting on some rocks in the distance. She looked up to meet their gaze and waved wildly as a huge smile stretched across her face.

  “Now, listen,” Tae warned. “She’s about to tell you some shit you’re gonna have a hard time believing. Trust me, when I first met her, I thought she was bat shit crazy. But, as fucked up as it is, it’s all true.”

  Wyatt was more confused than ever as the two approached.

  “Hey, girl,” Tae said, taking a seat next to Gabriel and examining the contents of the picnic basket. “You really need to calm this shit.”

  “Raphael,” she acknowledged.

  “You brought a salad bowl of grapes and a jug of water,” Tae griped. “What the actual fuck?”

  Gabriel laughed and turned her attention to Wyatt. “Sit down, B,” she said cheerfully.

  “His name’s ‘Wyatt’,” Tae told her as he munched on the grapes.

  “I know,” she said.

  “You should probably call him that.”

  “Yeah, but I probably won’t,” she asserted before addressing Wyatt again. “Sorry your mom was animal crackers.”

  “Thanks,” Wyatt said irritably as he sat across from the two in bewilderment. “Who are you people?” he asked.

  “I’m Gabriel,” she started. “This is Raphael. We’re archangels, and, surprise, so are you.”

  “So you’re deranged,” Wyatt surmised.

  “No, but I can understand why you’d think so,” she told him. “You’re not crazy, either, B T dubs. Just a freak show like the rest of us. Your real name’s Barachiel.”

  Wyatt scoffed. “I’m an angel?”

  “Archangel,” she corrected. “Leader of four hundred and ninety-six thousand Guardians, Prince of Heaven, Angel of Blessings. You’re kind of a big deal.”

  “Okay,” he said, quickly standing up. “This is either some kind of scam, or you two are straight up bats in the belfry. Either way, I’m out.”

  Gabriel tilted her head, staring at him blankly. Without altering her gaze, she raised her hand and flicked her wrist in the direction of some bushes that inexplicably exploded in flames, forcing a jogger to jump back and fall on her backside. Wyatt’s eyes grew wide and his stomach dropped. He couldn’t believe it.

  “Come on,” Gabriel laughed. “Burning bush?! That’s hilarious.”

  “Was that necessary?” Tae snapped, grabbing the jug of water and rushing to put the fire out. “Pain in my ass.”

  Gabriel stood, giving Wyatt a knowing smile. “There’s someone else you need to meet. She’ll be able to clear things up for you a little bit.”

  Wyatt nodded, so overwhelmed by what just happened that he couldn’t speak.

  “You got this, Raph?” Gabriel called back as Tae struggled to put out the weakening flames.

  “You best get the fuck out my face!” he called back.

  She chuckled to herself as she led Wyatt out of the park. “Humorless, both of you.”

  Chapter 3

  Walking along West Seventy Second Street, Wyatt took note of a sushi restaurant he’d never seen before.

  “It wasn’t here when you left,” Gabriel told him, stopping several feet from the entrance. She smiled broadly. “There she is.”

  Next to the door was a pretty African American woman wearing jeans and a very large coat with several pockets. She looked somewhat perturbed as a man in a suit talking on a cell phone walked up, opened the door and entered the restaurant. Behind him, an old man with a cane reached for the handle just as the door closed.

  “Watch this,” Gabriel said giddily.

  The woman opened the door for the old man and followed him inside. After a few seconds, she reemerged, dragging the first man by his jacket. She snatched the phone from his hand and threw it in the street before opening the door of the restaurant once more, allowing a young couple to walk inside before letting go of the handle.

  “How hard is that?!” she shouted to the suited man, who looked stunned and more than a little pissed off. He tried to retrieve his phone from traffic to no avail as he screamed obscenities in the woman’s direction.

  Gabriel was laughing so hard, she could barely breathe. “She’s my favorite.”

  “Wyatt!” the woman exclaimed as she headed toward them. “It’s so nice to meet you. You ready?”

  “For what?” he asked.

  “You didn’t tell him?” the woman asked Gabriel. “I thought he’d be all caught up by the time you came to see me.”

  “You didn’t tell me his dad was gonna take over an hour,” Gabriel rebuffed.

  “Bitch, I told you he was ‘bout to catch him up on some family drama. That shit takes time,” the woman said, turning her attention to Wyatt. She reached out for him to shake her hand, which he did. “I’m Valerie. Long story short, I’m gonna unclutter your brain a little. Help you distinguish what’s normal and what’s supernatural. What’s a hu
man voice and what’s a ghost, stuff like that. I’m also gonna try to clean up those flashbacks you’ve been having so you can get some proper sleep.”

  “This is Uriel,” Gabriel explained. “She’s one of us. Divine visions, moral superiority, all around badass. Today, though, she’s gonna clean up what’s going on in your head.”

  “I’m gonna try to,” Valerie interjected. “But all those drugs you’re on might make it difficult.”

  “You really need to stop taking that shit,” Gabriel told him.

  “For real,” Valerie agreed. “Can we get going, ‘cause I got a date in a couple hours and I need to get home so I can get cute.”

  Gabriel chuckled as she attempted to hail a cab.

  “So many things,” Wyatt stated. “First, ghosts?!”

  “Oh, yeah,” Gabriel said. “Dead people are notoriously chatty.”

  “Yeah,” Valerie chimed in. “You just have to ignore them. If they don’t know you can hear them, they’ll usually just go away on their own.”

  “Uh, huh,” Wyatt said skeptically. “And my nightmares?”

  “Memories,” Valerie corrected.

  “Yeah, dude. That shit really happened,” Gabriel informed him. “And before you ask, yes, we really want you to stop taking your meds because no, they’re not helping you. They’re just fogging up your brain, making it harder for you to see what’s happening around you and making it impossible for me to find you. I’ve been looking for you since the turn of the century. Do you know how much easier things would have been if you had just answered me?”

  Just then, a cab pulled up, but Gabriel shooed the driver away.

  “No, sir, not you,” she insisted. “You are already late for Izzy’s recital and if you miss one more, Esperanza is going to stab you in your sleep. Go.”

  The cabby gasped, making the sign of the cross. “Bruja!” he shouted. “Eres del diablo!” He sped off, nearly taking out a pedestrian as he drove.

  Valerie snickered. “Devil witch.”

  “He may be freaked out, but I was serious,” Gabriel told them. “His wife will literally murder him if he misses his kid’s tap thing. That bitch is crazy.”

  “You know him?” Wyatt asked.

  “No.”

  “That’s gonna be your new nickname,” Valerie laughed. “I’m gonna call you that from now on. Hey, Devil Witch!”

  Gabriel rolled her eyes.

  “What you been up to, Devil Witch?” Valerie continued. “DW Murphy, what’s shakin’?”

  “Okay, we’re just walking,” Gabriel conceded.

  “Hey, Devil Witch, you got the time?” Valerie poked as she and Wyatt followed Gabriel.

  A few blocks later, just past Broadway, they reached Gabriel’s apartment. It was stunning. Entering through the double doors, the far wall directly in front of them was made entirely of windows. To their left was a kitchen with a large island and stools, marble counter tops, and stainless steel appliances. To their right was a hallway with several doors next to a wall that housed a television that was at least seventy-five inches. Next to the kitchen was a set of french doors leading to a balcony where a table and two chairs sat. The cabinets, sectional sofa and ottoman were all stark white which made the pink of the rosewood floors pop even more. Gabriel locked the door behind them and gestured to the couch. She got herself a bottle of water and leaned against the massive fridge.

  “Go ahead, Uri,” she commanded. “Fix him up so we can get the show on the road. We’re already running late.”

  Valerie sighed. “It takes as long as it takes,” she declared, annoyed with her sister’s impatience. She sat on the sofa, patting the seat next to her. Wyatt joined her, not knowing what to expect, but feeling like nothing these women could do to him would be any worse than what he’d been living with lately.

  “Just relax,” Valerie instructed. “I’m gonna do all the work.”

  She put her fingers gently on his temples as Wyatt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She took a few deep breaths of her own, not knowing what she’d see in there. Gabriel, as always, had been vague on the details.

  She sorted through the haze of his still medicated mind for a few minutes before finding what she was looking for. She made quick work of mending his limbic system, allowing him to distinguish between normal and metaphysical beings as well as dreams and memories. One memory, though, she could see, was giving him particularly fitful nights. She decided to show him the memory in its entirety which would give him an understanding of it so he could move on.

  Wyatt shuddered, suddenly feeling as if he’d been transported to another time and place. He was aware of everything going on in what he used to call his nightmare. Not only did he see and hear his surroundings, he could smell the air, feel the ground beneath his feet. And, he knew what was happening.

  It was Verona, the year of The Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus, and Constantine’s forces had the city surrounded. There were men fighting everywhere Wyatt looked. Three different armies were battling it out in the city and the civilian population was getting slaughtered in the crossfire. As he watched in horror, an older woman quickly approached him, begging him to help her grandson. For the first time since he’d started having this dream, he could understand what she was saying. He followed the woman to an alley that was relatively quiet and they came upon a boy of about fourteen. He was lying there on the ground, color drained from his face and bleeding heavily from the abdomen. His eyes had glossed over and were darting back and forth. He was almost gone.

  The woman begged for his help, pulling on his clothes in desperation and despair. “If you can not save him, could you at least fetch some wine to alleviate the poor child’s pain?” she pleaded.

  Wyatt crouched down next to the boy and put his hand, which was much smaller and darker than his current one, carefully over the boy’s wound. He looked up at the woman who stared, confused, and put his finger to his lips. She nodded and went silent, tears filling her forlorn eyes.

  All at once, his hand and the wound underneath it began to glow. The boy’s entire body began to glow, as if it had been lit from the inside.

  The woman fell to her knees in disbelief. She didn’t know if this man was a good spirit or an evil one, but if he saved her grandson, she didn’t much care.

  The wound slowly shrunk, then disappeared completely and the boy gasped, as if taking breath for the first time. He sat up, dazed, and stared up at Wyatt with stunned gratitude. Wyatt stood while the old woman hugged her grandson, kissing his cheeks repeatedly, after inspecting the spot where his wound had been and seeing it was gone. She then began kissing Wyatt’s feet and thanking him profusely. He lifted the woman to her feet and again put his finger to his lips. She understood. She would tell no one what had happened. Wyatt helped the two to safety before going back out into the war zone. There were more innocent people to be helped. Except he wasn’t Wyatt then, and he knew it. Here, he was just Barachiel.

  Wyatt’s eyes flew open and he stared wildly at Valerie who had removed her hands from his head.

  “Holy shit!” he exclaimed.

  “Pretty much,” Gabriel said.

  “How did you do that?” he said, catching his breath.

  “It’s kind of my thing,” Valerie bragged. “Now that you’ve seen it as a proper memory, it shouldn’t keep you up at night. I also cleared up the confusion between your human side and the other. Now, when you see or hear a ghost, you’ll know what it is.” She stood to leave and headed toward the door while Wyatt just sat, still reeling.

  “Shame you can’t stay for dinner. I ordered pizza,” Gabriel said, shifting her gaze to Wyatt. “You’re welcome.”

  Wyatt couldn’t help but laugh a bit. He had been dying for a slice since he got to the city and he was starving.

  “Shame nothin’,” Valerie told her. “I’ve been waiting on this man for weeks. He finally asked me out and I’m not missing this date for shit. Besides, this one’s got questions. Now he knows this
is legit and he’s all kinds of freaked out.”

  Gabriel laughed. “Remember when I first found you and you pulled a knife on me? That was hysterical.”

  “I do,” Valerie teased. “And just so you know, I still carry that knife with me, so watch yourself.”

  “You know you can’t hurt me,” Gabriel scoffed.

  “I know. But, I can sure as hell show my disapproval,” Valerie taunted as she opened the door to go. “Hey, new guy,” she said as she walked out. “Ask Big Sis about her boyfriend.”

  “That was super cunty,” Gabriel quipped.

  “See you later, ho,” Valerie joshed as the door closed behind her.

  Gabriel threw Wyatt a beer and sat next to him on the sofa, putting her feet up on the ottoman.

  “I’m gonna let you ask your questions since it’ll upset your sensibilities if I just start talking,” she said, taking a sip of water.

  “I appreciate that,” Wyatt sneered.

  “Go ahead.”

  “First,” Wyatt wondered. “Who am I?”

  “Barachiel, leader of the Guardian Angels, all of which are currently in heaven, obviously, but most of the time, you tell them where, when and how to save certain people from certain things. Can be anything from not letting an old lady slip in her tub to stopping a bomb from going off in a building. You also create and control lightning, which is why you’re here now.”

  “So, saving people is,”

  “What you were made to do,” Gabriel finished. “Your whole life makes sense now, doesn’t it?”

  He nodded and took a sip of his beer.

  “But,” Gabriel wanted to make clear. “Your existence as Wyatt is just as real and valid as it ever was. Your life has meaning and purpose aside from the bigger picture.”

  “And Valerie?”

  “Uriel, angel of hope and divine visions. Besides reorganizing your brain, she gets random visions. Some that will happen, some that have already happened. She also leads souls into Heaven, and by that I mean she tries to get people to do the right thing, hence the phone in the street.” Gabriel giggled. “Raphael’s supposed to be the funny one, but she cracks me up. Raphael is our best healer, which is why he became a doctor even though he had started a travel agency in college. He ended up selling the agency to pay for medical school. He’s also the Angel of Happy Meetings, which is why I had him meet you at your dad’s. He makes the best introductions.”