The power filled him, and it expanded. It felt like he could breathe in the light, and he was still part of it. He drew it into himself and gathered it once more into his palm, crackling along his flesh. The power was ten times what he had ever had before. He flashed it at the Grigori. Once it hit the darkness surrounding the Grigori, he smelled burning flesh. The angel before him screamed. The shadows retracted, and he saw what was left of the fallen man. Half of his pale face was scorched, and he was holding his arm to his chest. The other naked man at the throne was awakened from his trance and started screaming.
Penelope stopped moving. The Grigori slowly stood and stretched his wings. His left wing was beyond repair, but he was still alive and powerful.
“Even if you kill me, there will be others. I’m not the only one who has an inclination for certain humans. There are more of us than you know or than you think. You can’t stop all of us.”
Razziel
gathered more of that power and set his sights on the Grigori. What had once been a beautiful angel had been twisted into a creature with black skin and a mass of boils all at once. Whenever he moved, there were more masses and new nightmares to look upon. The one wing that was good was no longer covered in feathers but was now leathery, like the stretched skin of a mummy. His arms were longer than they should have been with two fingers curved into claws and one thumb. His nose was long and beaky with a few jagged teeth in his marred smile.
“I don’t care about stopping all of your kind. I just want you.” Razziel threw the ball and hit the Grigori square in the chest.
He screamed and combusted into flames until there was nothing left of him. The satisfaction he felt for ending the Grigori’s existence was so sweet he almost reveled in the power he had over the being, but he shook his head and focused back on Penelope. She was the reason he was there. Razziel could not fall for the power he currently had coursing through him. If he did, then he would become prone to being corrupted. He had to remember himself. He knelt down next to Penelope and scooped her up in his arms.
“Is he dead?” she asked.
Razziel
moved the hair from her face and held her shivering form. “He’s dead. He won’t ever hurt you again. I promise.” He was going to say something else when he noticed the other man still chained and curled up in a ball next to the throne, rocking back and forth. He could ignore him, but it was still part of him to help others. “Will you be okay for a minute?”
She nodded.
He pressed his lips to Penelope’s forehead and went over to the naked man. Razziel touched his shoulder.
“Please don’t hurt me,” he quibbled.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I can bring you back home if you want. Or I can bring you someplace where they can help you. What do you want to do…?”
“Matthew.”
“Okay, Matthew,” Razziel said calmly, “what would you like to do?”
“I don’t have a home to go to. They’re all dead. They took me when I was little and slaughtered my family. When he discovered that I could move things with my mind, he kept me for a pet.”
“Then I’ll bring you to a place where they can assist you. Do you want that?”
He nodded.
Razziel
touched the chain connected to the throne, and it dissolved in his hand. He touched Matthew’s head and willed the other man to be healed, at least in body. He did not know how to act when it came to the man’s mind. He summoned some clothes and helped him stand up and put them on. When he did, Razziel willed them away to a safe place where others like Matthew could be helped.
Chapter Seven
Penelope watched
Razziel
disappear with the other naked man and glanced around the room, half expecting the one who had kidnapped her to reappear or the creature from the shadows to try and hurt her once more. But he didn’t. A cold breeze stirred the dust, and she shivered. A shadow fell across the floor, and her fear kicked in once more. She pulled her knees up to her chest and glanced up to see her angel standing over her. Something was different about him. It was more than the new butterfly tattoo on his chest. His emotions were sharper. The colors she had seen before were more defined. It seemed he was more human. Underneath all of it was the angel she still cared about. He offered her a hand, and she slipped her fingers into it and let him pull her to him. Being against his warm body, she finally felt safe. Razziel put his arms around her and wrapped her in his wings. When he opened his wings, she found they were back in her bedroom. Petey meowed and wound between her legs, happy to see her. It was day outside, but she did not want to leave Razziel’s arms. He peered into her eyes and smiled.
“Did he hurt you?” her angel asked.
“No. I’m okay. What happened? Where did you go?”
“I was called away. I didn’t want to leave you, but I didn’t have a choice.”
Her eyes widened. Shock and fear went through her at the same time. “You weren’t punished, were you?” Razziel touched her cheek, and his soft caress made her moan. Within him, she sensed the calm serenity and also an emerging fierceness that had a sharp edge to it, like a blade that was still being tempered. She brushed the butterfly tattoo on his chest and felt a surge of energy run up her arm that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck.
“No. I wasn’t punished. I made a choice.”
“Did that decision get you thrown out of Heaven?”
“Not exactly.
It’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Then tell me what it is. I should know since I’m the one responsible. I don’t know if I can live with the idea of knowing what I made you do.”
He set his hands on her shoulders. They were warm and helped to drive the chill that had settled in her bones. If he had left Heaven for her, then surely she was damned. Not that she had ever thought about it before, but ever since the night before she did not believe in angels or daemons. Now that she understood there was such a world, she was not sure how to handle it. All she knew was to trust the emotions she felt in him, and there was so much love she wanted to bathe in it.
“You didn’t make me do anything. Some would say I was doomed the first time I saw you. Penelope, your beauty captivated me and something about you had me hooked. In Heaven, there are whispers about the
Fallen
ones, angels who were banished from paradise. It’s an angel’s worst fear to be thrown out. I thought by choosing to come to you, it would mark me for one of the Fallen. When I asked about walking my path, I was told it was my choice.”
“Does that mean you’re thrown out of Heaven?”
Razziel
pressed his lips to hers and kissed her lightly. “No. It means I’ve become something of a soldier. Being a Fallen angel does not mean that I’m damned. It means something completely different.”
She shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what he was saying. All she knew about
Fallen
angels was that they were bad. “But the devil is considered a
Fallen
angel, and he’s damned. So what makes you any different? Are you going to turn into one of those…those things that wanted to collect me?”
“No. If anything, I’m going to become a little more human.”
“Human? But how can you become human when you’re an angel? You’re giving up everything….” Tears slid down her cheeks. Penelope could not peer into his beautiful eyes knowing she had done this to him, knowing that she had damned him to the human condition. It was
true,
she had walled herself up in her house because of her ability.
“You are not damning him.” Another voice cut through her distress.
She turned and saw a tall, slender man with dozens of butterfly tattoos smattered across his chest. His hair was held back away from his face, and his head nearly brushed the top of her doorway. He wore loose pants, and his eyes were the greenest she had ever beheld. He stepped forward and wiped the tears from her cheeks. From his gentle touch, her emotional tumult stilled. He snapped his hand, and she was suddenly dressed in a long flowing indigo robe with long sleeves that reminded her of a kimono.
“Much better.
You did not need to be garbed in the attire of a slave.”
“Who are you? How can you say he isn’t damned?” She sniffled.
“I’m Joe,
Razziel’s
mentor. When a human hears
Fallen
angel they think an angel can immediately turn evil, but that’s not true. Fallen angels are angels who chose to walk a different path than just staying in Heaven. They find something within the Earthly realms that holds them to this land, weighing them down, imbuing them with a bit of humanity, a bit of a soul, if you will. But it’s up to the angel what they do with this. Razziel chose this path because he loves you. That is not a curse. That is a gift. Very few humans know the love of angels.”
Penelope glanced at
Razziel
, feeling a bit of relief course through her. “So that’s why I sense more defined emotions in you.”
“Yes. Joe told me if I chose this, the connection would change me. It’s only made me more powerful so I can protect you. No one is ever going to hurt you again.”
“Are you becoming a soldier angel now too because you’re more powerful?”
Joe chuckled. “No. Not all Fallen are warriors. Some are teachers, healers, whatever they are called to do. The same with how they were called to leave their life in Heaven and walk among humans. Some are on the front lines. Some are deeply entrenched, spies if you will, so we know what’s happening in the Lower realms. Just as there’s a variety of humans as there is
Fallen
. You two will be fine. I’ll leave you be. There are great things ahead of you, Penelope. Let go of your fear of your gift, and you will see. Take care of her, Razziel.”
Without a disturbance in the air, Joe had vanished, leaving her alone with Razziel. Knowing that he was never going to leave her only cemented her feelings for him. How could she not look at him and feel the overwhelming love that had bloomed in her soul? He had chosen her over Heaven. She might have only physically known him for a few hours, but he had been coming into her dreams for months and that only helped with trusting her feelings for him. Penelope ran her fingers over the butterfly and was amazed that when she pulled her finger away, the insect was sitting on it. It fluttered its wings and flew into the air. Petey meowed at it and jumped, trying to catch it, but the butterfly easily avoided the feline.
“What is that?” she asked.
Razziel
held out his hand, and the butterfly settled on it. He touched his chest, and it became one with him again. “It represents the piece of my soul, my connection to Heaven and to you.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful. I’ll always be there for you. I swear I won’t let anyone harm you again. You can count on that, and together we can explore our gifts. What Joe said is true; there are wondrous things ahead of you.”
Penelope snuggled against him and felt the love he had for her radiating along her soul. She was so glad she could be so open with him about her gifts. With Razziel being here, she knew that she did not have to hide in her house anymore. There might be times she would be overwhelmed, but they could each learn to utilize the new gifts they had been given. She could show him how to navigate the new waters of his own emotions. She stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. He molded his body along hers so that she could feel all the wonderful muscles of his chest and how solid he was. He kissed her lightly, but she sensed the hunger within him. Just that kiss flared the passion for him along her nerves. It also stole her breath away, and she had to break away.
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.
“No. I was just thinking of something.”
He flashed her smile, but mischief lingered in his eyes. “And what was that? Getting me back into bed?”
“Yes. God, you’re one horny angel.”
He shrugged. “I can’t help it. I love pleasuring you.”
“Does that mean we can’t go back to some of the things we did in my dreams? Now that you’re here and I can see your face and all?”
His brow furrowed. “But that was all fantasy and
dreamweaving
. It wasn’t all real. I’m not sure we can exactly do everything we did in your dreams.”
Penelope glanced around the room, and a few ideas popped into her head. “Can’t you bend reality a little bit? You are an angel, after all.”
Razziel’s
grin grew wider.
“Oh yeah.
I can bend the rules.”
She slipped the tie off her new robe and opened the front a little bit more. Penelope trailed her fingers along the neckline and saw her lover’s eyes widen. “Great, because I have a few things I want to try.”
“Well, I guess we have a lot of time.
Unless you have to get to work.
You do that, right?”
Penelope giggled and heard her cell phone ring from her office. There was no way she was going to get that. Not after everything that had happened to her. Not with the prospect of what awaited her. Petey meowed, swished his tail, and plodded out of the room as if he knew to leave them alone. The phone continued to ring, but she figured it was probably Mitch calling to ask her about some late night e-mail he had sent.
“Yup.
I work. I gotta eat, but they can wait. Right now, you are the most important person here. I love you, Razziel.” Saying it, Penelope knew it was true, and that feeling would never go away. She could feel the love he had for her reflected in his newly acquired soul, and it warmed her to the core.
“I love you too, Penelope.
For now and always.”
The End