have been able to recognize me from that distance, but they did notice Izak, and were moving towards us before we could take a dozen steps.
“Just let me handle this,” I said to Izak. He held his left hand out and waved me forward in reply, and then stopped walking alongside me.
The angels were still out of view when I got my first smell of them. I knew one of them, and I knew he was no threat. Thomas. I stopped walking and motioned Izak to join me to wait for their approach.
The other angel was unfamiliar, a younger female with short spiked golden hair and a seraph runed ring through her nose. They both looked like they were better equipped for a stage show at Lollapalooza than an airport. When Thomas’ companion saw Izak she reached back under her long leather coat to grab her sword. Thomas placed his hand gently on her forearm to stop her, and then looked at me and smiled.
“Greetings, fellow,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder as soon as he was close enough to reach me.
“Careful, Thomas,” I said. “The balance is even. You can get in a lot of trouble for fraternizing.”
He laughed. “I’ve been in plenty of trouble since I met you,” he replied. “Although the powers that be have been pleased with the results of our arrangement. You kept your word to restore the balance, and now we can at least breathe a little easier while we figure out how to get you out of the picture.”
I appreciated the young angel’s candidness. I had no doubt that Heaven was working non-stop to figure out how to get me someplace where they could put me out of commission. The problem for the good guys was that they had to do it within their moral code. When you couldn’t resort to trickery and lies, it made for a tough assignment.
“Leave me to the demons,” I said. “That’s your best chance.”
He sighed. “Except if we focus too much on good works and killing demons, you come around and set us back again.”
“You heard about Silas?” I asked.
He nodded. “I’ve prayed to stay above getting angry for the things you do. Sometimes you don’t make it easy.”
I wasn’t going to apologize. I had my reasons. I glanced over at the other angel. She was deferential to her elder, but it was clear she didn’t approve of the conversation.
“Who’s your new partner?” I asked.
“Initiate Melody. We thought airport duty would help her break in slowly. I didn’t imagine we’d be running into you, although it was your companion who piqued my interest.” Thomas looked over at Izak now, trying to gauge the demon’s importance.
“Trust me when I tell you that you’ll need a lot more backup to handle this one,” I said. “In any case, he’s helping me out with a complication that I need to clear up.”
“Does the fiend speak for himself?” Melody asked, opening her mouth at last. Her name befitted her voice, a sweet tone with proper British inflection.
“Melody,” Thomas said. “Mind yourself.”
Her nostrils flared, her face reddening. “We have explicit orders not to let any demons out of the airport. Nobody said ‘except if they’re accompanied by the bleedin’ diuscrucis’.”
“Melody,” Thomas said softly. “Our orders did not need to specify what we should do if Landon came through. If you want to survive, you will mind yourself.”
I don’t know if it was youthful exuberance, loyal zealotry, or plain stupidity that led Melody to pull her sword and try to stab Izak with it. The whole motion happened in the smallest fraction of a second, an impressive move for such a green seraph.
She needn’t have bothered. The tip of the blade had only begun to emerge from the front of her coat when Izak stepped nonchalantly to the side, reaching down and putting his hand on the seraph’s arm as the sword whistled through the unoccupied space. Her hand spasmed open at the touch and the blade clattered to the ground. Melody shifted her eyes and looked at Izak in fear, the rest of her
“Just let me handle this,” I said to Izak. He held his left hand out and waved me forward in reply, and then stopped walking alongside me.
The angels were still out of view when I got my first smell of them. I knew one of them, and I knew he was no threat. Thomas. I stopped walking and motioned Izak to join me to wait for their approach.
The other angel was unfamiliar, a younger female with short spiked golden hair and a seraph runed ring through her nose. They both looked like they were better equipped for a stage show at Lollapalooza than an airport. When Thomas’ companion saw Izak she reached back under her long leather coat to grab her sword. Thomas placed his hand gently on her forearm to stop her, and then looked at me and smiled.
“Greetings, fellow,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder as soon as he was close enough to reach me.
“Careful, Thomas,” I said. “The balance is even. You can get in a lot of trouble for fraternizing.”
He laughed. “I’ve been in plenty of trouble since I met you,” he replied. “Although the powers that be have been pleased with the results of our arrangement. You kept your word to restore the balance, and now we can at least breathe a little easier while we figure out how to get you out of the picture.”
I appreciated the young angel’s candidness. I had no doubt that Heaven was working non-stop to figure out how to get me someplace where they could put me out of commission. The problem for the good guys was that they had to do it within their moral code. When you couldn’t resort to trickery and lies, it made for a tough assignment.
“Leave me to the demons,” I said. “That’s your best chance.”
He sighed. “Except if we focus too much on good works and killing demons, you come around and set us back again.”
“You heard about Silas?” I asked.
He nodded. “I’ve prayed to stay above getting angry for the things you do. Sometimes you don’t make it easy.”
I wasn’t going to apologize. I had my reasons. I glanced over at the other angel. She was deferential to her elder, but it was clear she didn’t approve of the conversation.
“Who’s your new partner?” I asked.
“Initiate Melody. We thought airport duty would help her break in slowly. I didn’t imagine we’d be running into you, although it was your companion who piqued my interest.” Thomas looked over at Izak now, trying to gauge the demon’s importance.
“Trust me when I tell you that you’ll need a lot more backup to handle this one,” I said. “In any case, he’s helping me out with a complication that I need to clear up.”
“Does the fiend speak for himself?” Melody asked, opening her mouth at last. Her name befitted her voice, a sweet tone with proper British inflection.
“Melody,” Thomas said. “Mind yourself.”
Her nostrils flared, her face reddening. “We have explicit orders not to let any demons out of the airport. Nobody said ‘except if they’re accompanied by the bleedin’ diuscrucis’.”
“Melody,” Thomas said softly. “Our orders did not need to specify what we should do if Landon came through. If you want to survive, you will mind yourself.”
I don’t know if it was youthful exuberance, loyal zealotry, or plain stupidity that led Melody to pull her sword and try to stab Izak with it. The whole motion happened in the smallest fraction of a second, an impressive move for such a green seraph.
She needn’t have bothered. The tip of the blade had only begun to emerge from the front of her coat when Izak stepped nonchalantly to the side, reaching down and putting his hand on the seraph’s arm as the sword whistled through the unoccupied space. Her hand spasmed open at the touch and the blade clattered to the ground. Melody shifted her eyes and looked at Izak in fear, the rest of her
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