Fallen: Celeste
Page 10
“That is a good answer. Come.” Mika’il gestured to the window at his right. “Look out and tell me what you see.”
Adam didn’t argue. He looked out the window onto a gorgeous English garden with roses and flowers blooming. There was a fountain in the middle of it. He heard a bird singing. Laughter flowed on the gentle breeze. He watched with hungry eyes as Celeste came into view, holding a bouquet of daisies in her hands. He saw the life and vitality shining in her eyes. She sat on a bench, holding out one of her hands for a blue and yellow butterfly to sit on.
“Where is she?” He placed his hand on the windowpane.
“In her own view of Heaven, I suppose.”
Adam watched with Mika’il as Celeste leaned her head back and basked in the sunlight.
“Where would she go if she went to Hell?” He asked.
Mika’il frowned. “That is not something you will ever find out. There can be no other choice. She has given up her place in Heaven. It is either hell or going back to earth.”
Adam remembered the pain and fear welling in Celeste’s eyes as he held her while she bled. He could hear her voice telling him how painful living on earth was for her. “I’ll let her have my place.”
Mika’il laughed. “Your place? And how do you know there is a place in Heaven for you? You are an unrepentant sinner and have never asked the Father for anything.”
“There is always a place in Heaven for those who believe. I have always believed in God. I just didn’t think He wanted anything to do with me. I’m asking Him for something now. I’m asking Him to allow Celeste to take my place in Heaven. Let her go there now. She’ll never have to endure hell or earth again.”
“You will never hold her in your arms again. You will never feel her lips on yours or her body surrounding you.” He gestured to the second window. “Look out and tell me what you see.”
Adam looked out the second window and saw his father. His father was standing there, yelling and hitting just like the night he killed Adam’s mother. His father’s eyes were wild with anger and hate. Adam couldn’t look away. “What is this?”
“This is what you will condemn yourself to if you give up your soul to allow Celeste into Heaven. You will see your father every second of every day for eternity. There will be no turning away. You can’t close your eyes. You will watch your father kill your mother over and over. You will watch your mother betray you with her love for your father.” The archangel’s eyes held a certain amount of sympathy. “Are you sure your love is strong enough to be willing to face that? It is your own private hell.”
Adam shrugged. “I live with it every day. What makes it any different from my life on earth?” He turned to Mika’il. “I’m willing to do it.”
He nodded. “Can you change your life to be a living testament to what Celeste believes in?”
Adam thought about giving up all his power. He would have to leave the Demons. He imagined Celeste standing next to him, a smile on her face. He knew his wealth and prestige meant nothing if she wasn’t happy. He nodded. “Yes, I can.”
Mika’il nodded. “So it shall be. It is not my place to deny a prayer or a gift given with love.” He reached out to touch Adam’s forehead.
“Wait. Who are you?” Adam needed to know.
Mika’il’s eyes were flooded with all the knowledge of the world. His face hardened until it looked like granite. A grim smile etched itself on his lips. “I am Mika’il. I am the one who branded her.”
Adam’s world faded to black.
* * * *
“Celeste, come with me.” Mika’il stood before her in the garden.
Celeste followed him as he went to the fountain. “What is wrong, sir?”
“You know you cannot stay here. The time has come for you to choose.” Mika’il studied her with his ancient eyes.
“There is only pain there, sir. I don’t know how much more I can take. I don’t want William to have to hunt me down.” Celeste felt tears well in her eyes.
“Only pain, Celeste? Look into the water and tell me what you see.” Mika’il gestured to the water in the fountain.
Celeste looked and saw Adam. He was laughing with his head thrown back and his green eyes dancing. She saw herself holding his hand as they walked along the street. She remembered that day at the zoo. She had never felt so alive. They had gone back to her apartment and made love like they were on fire for each other. She remembered other moments with him. Other moments where they were laughing, loving or even arguing, but there had always been a feeling of love and trust between them. Trust she knew Adam hadn’t ever given to anyone.
“Yes, he trusts you, Celeste. Strange, isn’t it? A man like him trusting a woman not to betray him. Yet, here you stand, willing to destroy his trust because of the possibility of a little pain.” Mika’il’s face was twisted in contempt.
Celeste turned her gaze inward. When had she decided love wasn’t worth feeling pain for? When had she lost faith in the very things loving stood for? She was a coward to take that path.
“He prays for you, you know. Right now, beside your bed in the hospital, the man who swore never to ask for anything is asking the Father for something. He’s asking for freedom for you.”
Celeste smiled slightly at Mika’il. “I will go back. I love him and for as long as he lives, I choose to be with him. When he goes to Heaven, I will accept my hell.”
Mika’il nodded gravely. “You made a good choice, Celeste.”
Her world went dark.
EPILOGUE
“Celeste, get the hell down here or we’re going to be late.” Adam fidgeted with the cuffs on his tuxedo. He turned to see Jakar smiling. “What are you laughing at, you demon?”
Jakar shook his head. “Who would have thought a man who has faced down killers would be nervous about facing a room full of honest citizens?”
“It isn’t every day a man like me gets an award for helping the city, Jakar. What the hell were they thinking? Giving me an award like this?” Adam stared at the demon in shock.
In the year since they had gotten married, Adam had given up his leadership of the Demons. He had joined Celeste’s security agency. He also spent a lot of time donating obscene amounts of money to drug rehabilitation centers and children’s charities. He had told Celeste that since his wealth had come from drugs, it was only fitting that same wealth was used to help the very people he had hooked on them to heal.
“Shows a deplorable lack of judgment, that’s for sure.” Before Adam could comment, Jakar said, “I’ll call for the car.”
Adam paced to the bottom of the stairs. “Celeste,” he bellowed up the stairs again.
* * * *
Celeste smiled at the impatience in Adam’s voice. She took one last look at the mirror. The full-length black velvet gown clung to her body lovingly. The neck dipped deep in a vee to reveal the fullness of her breasts. It dipped to display the tattoo on her back. She studied it for a moment. It wasn’t as vivid as it had been. She thought of Mika’il.
Go back to your mortal, Celeste. Enjoy the years you have together. I’ll be here to welcome you both home when it is time.
Humming to herself, she picked up the little purse that went with her dress and headed downstairs. Adam stood in stunned silence as he watched his wife walk towards him. It had been worth giving up Heaven to have her here with him. At that moment, he was the happiest he had ever been. He swept her into his arms and kissed her ardently.
Celeste wrapped one arm around his neck, returning his kiss with enthusiasm. Her other hand slid down his chest to the prominent bulge in his pants. She cupped it and stroked gently. He moaned. Pressing his hips tighter to her, he plundered her mouth.
A cough broke the couple up. His amber eyes twinkling, Jakar stood by the door. “I’m sorry, but the car has arrived.”
“Thank you, Jakar.” Celeste grinned at him.
“Yeah, thanks.” Adam’s cheeks were flushed and his breath erratic. “We have to get going or the gues
t of honor will be late.”
“It will take about thirty minutes for us to get to the Opera House, Adam. The limo’s pretty roomy.” Celeste sauntered out of the door.
“Don’t wait up for us, Jakar.” Adam rushed out after his love.
“I won’t, Montgomery.” Jakar shut the door as the limo pulled away. It was time to go.
The End
About the Author:
Tiffany Aaron has always been writing. She still has one of the first stories she ever wrote about a time machine and talking mushrooms. While her head was in the clouds, her parents told her to prepare for the “real” world. So she got a degree and a job, but never stopped writing. Her favorite question is “What if?” and so a story is born.
She lives in Michigan with her loving husband. She has two dogs—one who believes he’s human and the other who loves to hear the sound of her own bark. When Tiffany isn’t writing, she’s reading or watching Jet Li movies.
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