World Without Angels

by Campbell, Jamie

  A faint light came into the distance, growing brighter as he flew along. He could have cried with the relief. He wasn’t heading for a dead end, he was heading for freedom. The heat and humidity of the forest was now welcome, like an oasis from his terror.

  He didn’t slow down when he reached the entrance to the cave. Remembering there were some serious nettle bushes just waiting for him, he held the sword high and flung it back and forth, hoping it would be enough. A few scratches would be better than a drowning, he couldn’t stop for anything.

  The nettles pulled at his feathers, his wings taking most of the damage. Still, his skin and that of his passenger didn’t go unblemished. Jerome kept flying until he was so far away from the entrance to the cave that he couldn’t even see it anymore. He didn’t want to risk anything, not when he had spent everything he had in getting out of there safely.

  He slowed down and came to a stop, taking one last look behind him. There was nothing but the quiet forest, no signs of the water that had taunted and threatened him. He had done it, he had escaped. He released his grip on Leila, but still held his arm around her waist – just in case he had to take off again quickly.

  His heart was pounding so hard it was making his head giddy. It was that or just the adrenalin as it shot around his body. The whole escape had taken only minutes but it felt like days had passed and he had lived every second of it.

  “Are you okay?” Leila asked, not even trying to move from him. Instead, she just turned around to face him, placing her hand on his jaw line to get his attention. “Jerome? Are you okay?”

  He looked down at her, coming back to his body instead of spinning around. “That was close.”

  “Very. You saved my life.”

  “Barely.” He took several deep breaths, gasping for air. “But we found the sword. We found it!”

  He started laughing, now giddy with the rush of it all. Not only had they escaped death, but they found their buried treasure too. It was the win they had craved for so long.

  Before he could think, Jerome bent down and pressed his lips against Leila’s. She kissed him back, feeling her lips tingle with the angel’s touch. It was magnificent, they locked together and removed all thoughts from their minds. Jerome’s lips were so tender, so sweet, it was like kissing a marshmallow. Neither wanted it to end.

  He kissed her cheek, her neck, and her nose before finding his way back to her lips. Their bodies pressed against one another, neither willing to move apart. They moved together, a deep passion driving them into a whirlwind of kissing.

  Finally, Jerome pulled away, looking deep into Leila’s eyes. His surprise at the kiss was reflected in her face. They acted so impulsively, so caught up in the joy of finding the sword that they completely disregarded any of their rules. The kiss was something forbidden, something they had only dreamed about before.

  “I’m sorry,” Jerome said, tearing himself away from her. He longed to stay close, feel her body beside his again. But he couldn’t, he had already crossed an imaginary line and he felt ashamed. He was an angel, he wasn’t supposed to kiss a human. Even if that human made his heart do back flips. He had given into his passion and it was wrong.

  Leila shook her head, trying to process what was going on. “You don’t need to apologize.”

  “Yes, I do. I should have… I mean, we can’t… that shouldn’t have happened.”

  He turned to face the forest, not even being able to look at her anymore. He had let her down, he was supposed to be protecting her, not giving in to temptation. He had broken his rule, the vow he made to himself to ignore all his feelings towards her. It was wrong, so very wrong.

  Leila, on the other hand, couldn’t help but think how right it was. When he kissed her, she felt nothing but happiness as her heart swelled. It was something she had wanted for so long, hoped for but didn’t dare believe would actually happen. But now, to have him so upset by the simple act of a kiss, devastated her. They had gone from such a high to now such a low. And to make it all worse, she could still feel the tingling on her skin where his lips had been.

  She couldn’t accept it, she did not want him to suffer from the kiss. She took a step to stand next to him, staring up at his face until he would look at her.

  “Jerome, we kissed, we didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I am an angel, I exist to protect humans. I shouldn’t be feeling this way,” he answered, his face grim. “I’ve let you down and I will be forever sorry for that.”

  Leila took his hand in hers, holding it tight so he couldn’t take it away. “You could never let me down. I’m happy it happened. I don’t care what you say, but I liked it. And I won’t be sorry for that.”

  “It can’t happen again.”

  “It might,” she grinned cheekily, trying to at least lighten the mood. They were supposed to be celebrating. “But I will try and restrain myself. We found the sword, remember?”

  Jerome managed a lopsided smile. “How could I forget?” The sword was heavy in his hand as he got his first real look at it. Leila let go of his other hand, he wrapped it around the hilt for a steadier grip. It was made out of iron, beaten and sharpened to a deadly point. On one side was carved the now familiar symbols of Ananke.

  What was extraordinary about the sword was the amount of wear evident in the iron. Nicks were dotted along the blade and the hilt was rounded and ground to a smooth edge. Someone had used the sword for a long time in numerous battles. It hadn’t spent all of its time underground for the past three thousand years.

  Leila watched from the side, she hadn’t seen many swords in her life and she didn’t really care to. They were supposed to be a decoration or something found in a museum, they weren’t meant to be used in war these days. Even the thought of hurting someone with the blade made her skin crawl.

  “It looks sharp,” she commented. “We’re going to have to be careful getting it home.”

  “Do you want a closer look?” He held the sword out for her carefully.

  “No thanks, you can keep it. I don’t want anything to do with it, I’ll probably cut my arm off or something.”

  “I’ll keep it away from you then,” Jerome tried to joke but he still couldn’t shake off his bad mood. He didn’t know how we was going to get over his shame. And to make it worse, he couldn’t tell whether his shame was for kissing her or for liking it. Perhaps it was both.

  They used the rest of the day to find a place to spend the night before it started to cool down. They decided the best course of action was to return to Aron at sunrise. They no longer needed to be in Hallows Gallows and didn’t want to remain there for a second longer than they needed to. They were both looking forward to getting back to civilization, having enough of the natural landscape.

  Jerome didn’t sleep well, he was paranoid the sword would disappear in the middle of the night. After what he went through in the cavern to get it, the last thing he wanted was for it to vanish into thin air when he wasn’t looking. As a consequence, when the sun started to rise over the forest, he wasn’t well rested. But nothing was going to stop him from leaving.

  He waited until Leila woke up and had her breakfast before gathering their things together. He placed the sword in her backpack, it only fit up until the hilt but it would have to do. His hands would be busy holding on to Leila, he didn’t have a third one to grip the sword with.

  They took off from a small clearing without fuss, it was difficult not having a running start, but Jerome managed it. Within minutes they were ascending up to the clouds and leaving the old trees behind them. Instantly, the air felt cooler and the ability to breathe was easier despite the altitude.

  He watched the trees run by underneath him, if he extended his arm he could have just reached the tops with his fingertips. Leila was secured against his chest, holding her eyes closed for the duration of the flight. He knew she wouldn’t move until they were standing on their street and he assured her they had landed safely.

  They passed over a
clearing in the trees, one Jerome recognized from their search. A camp was set up there, tarpaulins stretched between trees. It was where they had come across the eight people living in the forest and had avoided at all costs. Jerome looked intently as he passed, curious to see what they were up to. What he saw was enough to wish he didn’t.

  On the ground there wasn’t eight people left anymore. Four were lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from wounds to their bodies. Another three were engaged in battle, fighting each other with any weapon that was handy. One held a metal kettle, another a dagger, and the third a shovel. They were attacking each other with such viciousness that there could be no confusion about their intention. They were ready to kill for their own survival. It was sickening.

  There was no sign of the eighth person, Jerome hoped he had gotten away to safety. He couldn’t understand what would have changed in the two days since they had seen them. The group had appeared to be getting along so well, helping each other to live in the makeshift camp. Yet now, they were ready to commit murder until only one remained standing.

  Jerome could only think of one reason for the absurd violence, the demons were severely tipping the balance of good and evil in the world. The angels were about to lose the fight.

  The thought spurred him along faster, they were running out of time. If he didn’t make it back to the angel village with the sword and the mortal in the prophecy soon, his window of opportunity would be gone. The war will have been won and it wouldn’t be the angels that were triumphant. The demons would be dancing on all their graves, their howling and twisted faces happy in their victory. There would be no point in returning, he would just be the last angel they had to kill.

  Despite the desolate feeling, he tried to remain positive, he couldn’t give up yet. While his heart still beat and his lungs still drew breath, he still had hope. All he needed was a few angels to survive, they could bounce back and rebuild. They could do it if he wasn’t too late. He had to find the mortal.

  CHAPTER 14

  Unlike their last homecoming, this one was without drama. The house where Leila and Jerome lived temporarily was still standing and their few worldly possessions were right where they left them.

  Leila was cooking dinner, some sweet potato Jerome had thoughtfully stopped to pick up on the way home. She didn’t appreciate the additional take off on their journey, but she was grateful for the food now. It seemed like forever since she had eaten the orange vegetable, her mouth practically drooled with the anticipation.

  Jerome was examining every inch of the sword, he had been for the last twenty minutes. He was searching for another clue, something that would tell them who the mortal was that would wield the sword and save the remaining angels. But there was nothing there. The symbols were just a reflection of those on the Temple of Ananke, they were nothing new. He was about to throw it against the wall in frustration but that wouldn’t do any good, he had to keep his head.

  He took out the prophecy, hastily written down on a scrap piece of paper. He read through every line again. Leila had told him they needed to find the sword and they did. Now, the only thing remaining was to find the mortal who could choose to go into battle. However, their list of potential people was still into the thousands. Unless that person found them, they were on a massive manhunt.

  Leila bought her cooked sweet potatoes over to sit next to him on the bed. Neither of them had mentioned the kiss again but there was now a slight awkwardness when they were close. They were both trying desperately to ignore it. However it was definitely the white elephant in the room.

  “See anything new?” Leila asked, indicating to the prophecy.

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  “What line haven’t we tried to work out yet?”

  Jerome skimmed through each one. “How about: After the miracle they shall see. What do you think that means?”

  “So the mortal will have witnessed a miracle,” Leila mulled it over. “A miracle could be like a statue crying blood or something?”

  “That happens here?”

  “Apparently. When it happens, people pray to it like it’s a message from God or something.”

  Jerome chuckled. “If God sent a message to humans, it wouldn’t be making a statue cry blood. He’s a bit more direct than that.”

  “Well, what do you consider to be a miracle then?” Leila felt a little offended on behalf of the human race. It wasn’t like they knew any better, there didn’t seem to be any other explanation for it.

  “A miracle is something extraordinary with no earthly reason for its occurrence.”

  “I remember seeing a documentary once about people being healed and the doctors had no idea how it could have been possible.”

  Jerome nodded. “That would be a miracle.”

  Leila was getting into the swing of things now. “I saw a news report once about a woman who lifted a whole car off her child who was trapped underneath it. She wouldn’t have been strong enough to do normally.”

  “I would call that a miracle.”

  “Oh, I’ve got a good one,” Leila grinned, her eyes alive. “How about the girl who saw an angel come out of nowhere and land across the street from her?”

  He laughed. “I guess that would be a miracle too.”

  “It was kind of extraordinary with no earthly explanation.”

  Jerome couldn’t disagree. Yet as much as they talked about what constituted a miracle, it didn’t help them with their search. There wasn’t exactly a database of people who witnessed miracles. “So do we line up all the people on our list and ask them if they’ve seen anything extraordinary?”

  “I wish it was that easy. Perhaps we’ll put it on the ‘must ask’ list for when we find another one?”

  “That’s all we can do for now.”

  The realization brought them back to reality. They could joke around as much as they liked, but it didn’t change the fact they were searching for a needle in a haystack.

  They sat in silence again, reading through each line of the prophecy until the words were swimming on the page. When read enough, it seemed to start losing all meaning.

  Suddenly a scream cut through the silence. Leila and Jerome exchanged a concerned look before straining to hear more. It was a woman shrieking in the distance, then there was another and another. Within seconds, the screams had turned into a din of yelling.

  Jerome moved first, his instincts to protect both Leila and any other human in distress kicking in. He laid his ear against the garage door, but he still couldn’t hear any clearer.

  “Stay here, I’ll go into the living room and see what’s going on,” Jerome whispered, holding his arm out in a stop motion. He left the garage silently, sneaking into the adjoining room and trying to blend into the darkness.

  Orange lights were dancing through the windows, something they never did before. He instantly grew concerned, there was definitely something going on outside.

  He stayed in the shadows and knelt down beside the window at the front of the house. He peeked through, hoping nobody would see him. Their home was in darkness with no signs of life, this was done on purpose for situations exactly like this.

  Outside was a terrifying sight, he gasped as soon as he realized what was going on. The streets were full of people, all angry and arguing. The lights were coming from torches, flaming sticks held by some of the people. They waved them about threateningly, a weapon just as much as a source of light.

  Children were amongst the crowds, however they weren’t cowering behind their parents. The children were throwing themselves into the violence like they were playing war. Yet the guns they carried weren’t plastic but metal and the bullets nestled inside were very real. These were no games and it was a winner takes all situation.

  Jerome saw a woman in the crowd, she could only have been twenty at the oldest. She was holding a butcher’s cleaver high, ready to bring it down on an elderly man slumped on the ground. He wasn’t even able to fight back, Jerome figured
he made the perfect victim for a coward.

  He wanted to step outside and join them, try to break up the crowd and talk some sense into them. He wanted to save those unable to defend themselves and take them to safety. For those holding weapons, he would save them from themselves by taking away their potential victims. Surely, there was something he could do.

  People from the crowd were starting to break away and head towards the houses. No longer content to fight in the streets, they wanted more. If there were no people in the houses, then they could loot them for whatever they contained. If there were people home, then they would do the same thing except get rid of the occupant first.

  They were fast approaching, already into the house next door. A young man was dragged from the door, he looked to be about fourteen years old. Two men took him into the middle of the street and proceeded to beat him. He didn’t stand a chance.

  Jerome felt every blow as if he was the one receiving them. He stood, moving away from the window. He needed to do something, he couldn’t stand by and watch the horror like it was a movie. He was built for protecting humans and letting them kill each other was not something he could do. Besides, if he didn’t go to them, then they would come to him. He only had minutes before they would be at his door, just mere feet away from where he stood.

  He remembered Leila. If he left her there to enter the malaise in the street, they could get to her. She wouldn’t stand a chance against any of those in the crowd. They could beat, torture or kill her. He couldn’t let that happen, not when he promised he would protect her at all costs.

  Jerome had to make a choice, abandon Leila and enter the street to do what he could to break up the crowd or ignore them all and protect just her. It was an impossible decision, especially when he had made a promise to Leila. Angels did not take promises lightly, they were absolutely golden and they were forbidden to be broken. It wasn’t just something they said, they meant it.

  The noises from outside grew louder as the people started to fight with more vigor and force, the violence seemingly fuelling them further. Women screamed while men yelled and children squealed. Somewhere in the distance, a gun cracked through the night. It only fuelled the crowd even more. The violence was now a full on riot, and only yards away.