From Heaven To Earth (The Faith of the Fallen) by Sherrod Wall Page B

one of his skia
threatened me a few nights ago.”
    She looked at the table to see if it was clean enough to sit on. The
remains of Shrazz’s meal dissuaded her.
    “Really. His skia?” Shrazz said.
    “Apparently he has formed his own coalition.”
    “Interesting." He chuckled. “Should we be worried?”
    “I’m not sure yet. But if he knows about the angel others may as well.”
    “I’ll go ahead and contact the Galactic Headquarters for reinforcements.
We may need them.”
       “You know damn well I
can take care of this myself,” Riell snapped.
       “I merely wanted you
to do reconnaissance. You do not need to engage him alone.”
    “Already done. Now that I have assessed him, I will engage him.”
    “And what have you assessed?”
    “He is immune to enchantment, and earthly weapons. But I remain
confident.”
    “I’ll leave it to you then,” Shrazz agreed. “Bring him to me alive.”
       “The Duo wants it
alive? This is the first bounty job I have taken in years,” she said. “And you
want me to bring him back alive?”
       “Alive.” Shrazz
restated the orders. “Riell, that shouldn’t be an issue regardless of the
handicap. Maybe you should have kept up with your conditioning and taken a few
smaller jobs instead of going off to, well wherever you go.”
       “I took a trip
overseas to visit some old friends,” she said. “But that is none of your
business.”
    “Friends? You have no friends. Some old flame maybe? I know you can’t
stay single long.”
       She ignored Shrazz’s
jealously and tried to imagine England’s coast and ocean on her toes but could
only see the endless sea of filth on Shrazz’s floor.
       “You didn’t go back to
London did you? I thought England was too traumatic for you.”
    Shrazz leaned back into his chair. He heard the leather in Riell’s
gauntlets stretch as she tightened and un-tightened her fist.
    “London? No, I was actually closer to Cardiff.” She tried to remain
nonchalant, but Shrazz could see her right fist was still clenched.
    “You still haven’t visited the city since that fire?” Shrazz asked.
“That’s a bit juvenile I think; to have an irrational fear like that. I ignited
that dump centuries ago. Should have gotten a medal for starting ‘The Great
Fire.’” He laughed. “It was great indeed.”
    She could see the top of his round, bald head in the light and the scars
that covered it. Riell wanted to remind him of how he had earned them when they
were adolescents, just learning how to channel Inner: the creative energy
inherent in all living beings and highly concentrated in celestials, demons and
half-breeds. He had channeled more than he could handle and had set his
unkempt, shoulder length black hair ablaze. She thought of how he screamed, ran
around the training room and pulled his hair from his head. Instead of
laughing, she found herself surrounded by the towering flames that claimed her
first home and almost her as well.
    “So should I find someone else who can follow orders?” Shrazz asked after
she did not respond. “Is that what you’re telling me?”
    She tried to keep her vivid imagination in check but could not. Her
breathing quickened, and her body shuddered.
    “Maybe you should,” Riell said. “It was a pleasure, Exous Elite.” Riell
turned from the table to leave.
    “Hold on, Riell,” Shrazz said. “This angel could disrupt the whole of
existence.”
    Riell paused.
    “I apologize for the harsh words, but we need to follow our orders to the
letter. It is our world that is in jeopardy, Riell. Human lives are at stake as
well. We must consider that in every decision we make. The Duo have charged us
with bringing him in. Only they have the ability to contain him before he
causes an irrevocable catastrophe.”
    His apology made her smile. Her paranoia subsided but her anger remained.
She opened her mouth to bludgeon him with her words, to tell him that his title
did not compare to her combat