Crushed Seraphim (23 page)

Emma spoke up, angry after her tears, and ordered, “His name is Jason, and you shall address him as such.”

Jason turned to her, touched her face, and ran his hands down her wings. “I wondered what you looked like with both wings. I have to say, you’re a sight I never want to forget.”

Then Jason spoke to everyone, but he held her hands and looked into her eyes. “This seraph doesn’t deserve the punishment you deemed fit for her. You all stand here, watching with morbid fascination as she readies herself to be mutilated. And yet you are considered angels? I hope if there is a God that He sees you all for what you are right now. Of all these accused people, Emma is the one with the least guilt and the biggest heart. And yet she is given the harshest of punishments. If this is Heaven, I want no part of it.”

He paused and Everett broke in, still angered that he would not have the release of pulling Emma’s wings from her back. “Half-breed scum. You
do
know the object of your devotion was spreading her legs for that bastard over there, don’t you?”

Jason didn’t turn. He only looked at Emma. “I did hear that she fell in love. Jack has had a hold on her heart for some time now. It kills me…but I’m glad she found the joy she sought. Her human life did not include many pleasant memories.”

He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice, not talking to Everett any longer. “I wanted to be that man for you. I don’t know what’s next or how this even works, but I meant what I said before you left. I’ll wait for you — forever. I don’t know how to do it any other way.”

Emma reached up and hugged this beautiful soul. “Don’t give up on Heaven because of this. I’ve made mistakes, but this is a wonderful place. I want your soul here someday.”

“Still you try for me.” He shook his head. “Emma,
you
make me good. Only you. Not this place. Not these fake angels. Kiss me, Emma.”

Jason asked so sincerely that she couldn’t deny him. She hoped her kiss would convince him Heaven was good, that this was just a bad moment. Jack was surely growling, but as the soft kiss ended, Jason came away holding her wings.

“I did it with love, so it wouldn’t hurt.”

Her wings disintegrated in his hands — two beautiful puffs of glitter. She put one hand to her mouth and nodded. Human again, Emma knew she should thank him, but she could only pat his shoulder. It took the crowd a few seconds to realize what Jason had done. Some began crying. Others had their mouths open in shock.

Seraph Gabriel spoke again, ending the proceedings. “Satan, you may remove Emma and take her with you. Now I have to think about what to do with these men.”

Emma spoke loudly, though her voice was harsh and human now. “Just a suggestion, of course, Seraph Gabriel, but how about letting Jack remain as a human on Earth? His actions can dictate the correct place for his soul when the time comes.”

Gabriel considered Emma’s words as Claudette stepped forward.

“Seraph Gabriel, I will transport the men to the surface.” Claudette’s voice was steady, her purpose sure.

Gabriel waved his hand in her direction, and Jack was freed from his captors.

Claudette touched Jason’s arm and said, “I’ll take him first.”

Emma waved, and they were gone. No proper goodbye, but she wasn’t sure what the right words were supposed to be anyway. Claudette would carefully erase Jason’s memory. She’d pluck any stray thoughts of Emma out of his mind and leave him as he was before the Christmas Eve she’d crashed into his life.

Jack reached her and twirled her quickly. His voice had been restored by a thoughtful bystander. “This is going to work,” he said eagerly. “I’ll start killing people the minute I get to Earth, and I’ll be in Hell in no time. We’ll toss that asshole out and then we can stay or leave together. I was worried there for a minute, but you’re so smart!” He was practically dancing in anticipation, and he began kissing her and touching her arms, rubbing them to keep her warm. She hadn’t noticed she was cold.

“You’re such a romantic, Jack. Nothing like promising to be a serial killer to make a girl’s heart beat like crazy.” She was having trouble meeting his eyes.

She was such a bad liar.

“Wait. Wait. What?” He tilted her chin up so she had to look at him. Her tears gave her away. “That’s the plan, right? I go to Hell with you? I’ll go fucking nuts right now if I have to.”

He started to pull away from her, intent on his immediate evil.

“Jack. Say goodbye to me. You won’t remember it, but…” Emma paused to remember his exact words. “It will run on a loop in my head — always. It will be what I have.” She held out her hand.

Claudette had returned. She nodded subtly to Emma, confirming Jason’s mind wipe.

Jack looked from Claudette to Emma and back again. It clicked. Her plan. He’d been an angel after all; he knew all the tricks.

“That’s why you gave her access to Earth while you still had the power as a seraph. I say no to that. It’s unacceptable to forget you. Don’t make me.” Jack’s every muscle was clenched.

Everett was closing in. Emma wanted Jack gone before her existence was claimed by the Devil.

“Tell me goodbye — and make it count,” she said, trying to sound commanding. Emma’s heart was beating so fast.

Jack hugged her tightly. “But I just found you. All these years, and I found you. I won’t say goodbye. I won’t forget you. I will get you out of Hell. That’s the only promise I’ll make.”

Everett began his annoying clapping. “This is so touching. But I’m on a tight schedule. She has a Hallway with her name all over it.”

Jack whirled on Everett and started punching, but the angels were too quick and held him down. Claudette rushed over, reached into the scuffle, and touched Jack’s boot. In an instant they both vanished.

Emma had no idea how much strength she’d been getting from Jack’s presence until he was gone. Embarrassingly, her knees gave out as Everett got closer.

He pulled her to her feet by her hair. The angels winced as Everett then tossed her back to the ground, in the direction from which he’d arrived on the scene. Emma’s human body betrayed her as she groaned in pain. Finally Everett bent down and scooped her up.

He slapped her ass and smiled at the audience. “Well, thanks for the present, guys. How holy do you feel now?”

His laugh lingered long after they’d disappeared.

Claudette moved so fast that Jack had a head rush when she set him down. He knew it would take Claudette just a fraction of a second to change his whole world. She’d make him just a regular Joe Blow: no Devil past, no angel past, and worst of all, no Emma past. So he staggered a bit and came up talking.

“Listen, C, I need you to let me remember Emma — unless you think you can save her by yoursel
f
?” After Jack made sure he could still picture Emma’s face, he kept talking. “Let me stay here on Earth as a human. I’ll find the half-breed, and we’ll figure it out. That Hallway? It’s my best work and she’ll die in it — even if she has to continue enduring it after that. Please tell me your conscience won’t let you condemn her to such a fate?” He had to take a breath. He begged her with his eyes, and she looked torn.

“I promised her I would wipe your memory,” Claudette said, wringing her hands. “It’s what gave her peace before her sacrifice.” With that, Claudette seemed to settle into her decision.

But Jack wasn’t finished. “She’s in Hell for us both,” he said, looking at her pointedly. “Not that I’m not grateful, but it was
you
who got Emma into all this. She’s being punished for a chain of events
you
began.”

Claudette looked stricken. Jack was relentless. “She won’t make it to the spirit realm,” he said. “He’ll shred her to bits — all the time, every minute of every day. Claudette, he’s so much worse than me.” He ran a hand through his hair.

As he looked down he noticed the ridiculous
Emma was here
tattoo still inked on his skin. In all the craziness, no one had cleaned it off. He zipped his jacket to hide the words. Maybe they could help him remember her. It strangled his heart to think of her facing the Hallway, being forced to act at Everett’s every whim.

Claudette was just opening her mouth to speak again when they were both surprised by the appearance of a second angel. When Seraph Gabriel’s face finally became clear, Jack knew something was about to happen. It probably wasn’t going to be good.

When Emma found herself standing back in the smoky room with all the bottles, she pinched her arm. She wanted it all to be a horrible nightmare.

Everett had changed into a crappy replica of Jack’s usual attire. His way-too-new-looking boots made a squeaking noise on the floor.

“Look how it all ends, you little whore. You get the men to dance around at your feet, but you always wind up back in front of me.” Everett sat on the chaise lounge she’d escaped from once before.

A lifetime ago.

Prayer had helped then, and maybe it would help now. Closing her eyes, she tried her best, but when there was nothing but silence as an answer Emma knew this was her destiny. To be at the feet of this horrible man. She then resolved to let the room’s surroundings remind her of Jack, of what she was protecting him from.

“On your knees, whore,” Everett snapped, and her knees automatically bent.

This is going to suck.

“I think this room has a little too much of the past resident in it. You will clean it while I watch.” He wrinkled his nose and her outfit changed from the simple white gown she’d been wearing to a tiny French maid’s costume.

She looked at her hand and found a small bag in it. There was no way all these bottles would fit there.

“Get started. Bend at the waist. Look over at me and bat your eyelashes every third bottle.” With that he crossed his legs and reclined in his seat.

She tried to tell herself this wasn’t that bad. It could be worse. It could be the Hallway.

When she bent and slid a bottle into the bag it promptly disappeared to make room for the next one. Everett was getting an eyeful of her ruffled panties. And every third bottle, as commanded, her head would turn and her eyelashes would flutter rapidly, despite her every effort to stop them.

He would break her, she knew. But fight rose up in her, even in this hopeless place. She held desperately to that hope as she bent for bottles under Everett’s rapt attention.

Jason walked home scared, yet he had not one clue what he was frightened about. When he opened the door and saw his siblings’ faces, still the fear did not leave him. He was missing something. Somewhere awful things were happening, but he couldn’t place it. His family was fine. Then he looked at his hands. They were covered in glitter.

Seriana watched him inspect himself. After a while, she realized he wasn’t going to say anything.

“Jason, what’s up? Where’s Emma?” She looked past him for their fourth family member.

“Who’s Emma?” Jason wondered aloud.

Dean appeared in the doorway and looked at Seriana with questioning eyes. “Who’s Emma?” Jason repeated, annoyed at being left out of the joke. His siblings’ expressions morphed to alarm.

Dean came closer and put his arm around Jason. “Brother, Emma’s your girlfriend. You went to go find her.”

Jason slowly shook his head and shrugged. Seriana grabbed one of his glittery hands, inspected it for a moment, and took off out the door.

Dean led Jason to the couch and began to talk. Hours later, when Seriana returned, he’d told his brother everything he knew about Emma. “I couldn’t find her,” Seriana said as she trudged back through the door.

“Don’t feel bad. I can’t even remember her,” Jason said, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t recall any of the things you’ve mentioned, Dean. But I feel this hurt, this dread.” Jason put his hand on his chest.

“But I do feel bad,” Seriana said. “There’s nothing we can do for Emma unless we find out where she’s gone.”

Jack waited less-than-patiently for a man he hated to make a decision that affected the woman he loved.

“So, Claudette, you’re saying Emma asked that Jack’s memory be wiped… She did seem to know what she wanted at the end of the trial.” Gabriel reached over to place a hand on Claudette’s lower back.

The angel stepped away so she couldn’t be touched. The two held a second conversation completely in body language.

“Gabriel, you pretentious bastard, I need to get moving.” Jack began stepping backward, hoping those two had too many of their own problems to worry about him.

“Jack, you need to stay put. Maybe we should take him back up and put this to counsel. I’m very curious to see what the law says.” Gabriel stretched his huge wings and held out a hand to Claudette.

“The law? Really? That’s all that interests you?” Jack interjected. “What kind of evil are you, Gabriel? A courageous woman stood up to defend Claudette when you wouldn’t, you flying pansy, and now you’re too stupid to help her?” Jack wanted to pick his words carefully, but his temper was too hot. Every second Emma was down there, Everett was doing God knows what to her. He decided just to go for it and add more flames to the fire.

“I’ve seen a lot of nastiness in my day, as you can imagine,” Jack continued, finding his rhythm. “And what you’re doing right now? It would score some serious points in Hell. This is evil, angel. I know it better than I know my name. I hope your God is proud of the spineless wimps He has running the joint.” Jack punched his own hand. “All I’m asking is for you to give her a shot. Leave someone alive who can try to help her. Crap, throw her a rope, you bastard. You already pushed her off the ship in the middle of a hurricane.”

The trio waited in the woods — each for the other to choose a path or make a move. Then the former Devil did something he’d never imagined. He prayed.

God,

This overgrown monkey doesn’t know his ass from his wing. I know Emma’s good. She made even me have hope. She’s like a miracle-maker. Let the punishment fit the crime. Hell, let me take her place. She believes in You. She trusts You. Don’t put her through horror just because she loves me.

Jack

He opened his eyes and found that even though he’d said the words in his head, the angels looked shocked. He didn’t give a rat’s ass. He’d do anything for her.

Seraph Gabriel nodded. “Very well, former Devil. You can keep your memories of her, though I can’t imagine what good they will do you now that you’re human.”

Then he turned and gave Claudette a direct order, because she wasn’t responding to his overtures of affection. “We fly, angel.”

They were gone in a swirl of glitter, light, and brilliance.

“Fucking angels,” Jack said, looking skyward. “So pretty, but so damn useless. Tossing their best to the wolves like chumps.”

He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He lit it, thinking of her hand patting the box into existence in his pocket.

I’m coming, Emma. Hang in there.

Emma waited because she didn’t have a choice. Everett had commanded her to stand still. He was so close she could smell his musky, gluey odor. She hated him, yet she was still as a statue as he began licking her neck. She shivered with revulsion.

“Did Jack have you here too? I bet you bent over in a quick the minute when you saw his handsome face.” Everett was talking at her, to her, and into her. “I guess I’ll take you here first then. Make my mark. Whore.” Everett picked her up and tossed her roughly onto the lounge.

She couldn’t talk. He’d taken that from her. He pranced around her like a proud turkey, ridiculous in his excitement.

“Panties off.” He snapped his finger, and she closed her eyes.

I will not cry. I will not cry.

She heard it then, while she was trying to be anywhere but in her body. Overlapping prayers. She couldn’t smile, but she wanted to as she heard Jack’s horrible — yet apparently effective — prayer twirling in and out of Jason, Seriana, and Dean’s combined Our Father.

She realized that despite Everett’s commands, her ruffled panties had not budged. She opened her eyes to find him snapping and pointing and snapping. Nothing was working. She felt the thrill of victory and the tremendous relief of being clothed in front of this horrible man, even if it was just for a few more seconds.

The panties were so stubborn that even when he tried to pull them off, they stayed put, as if she was a doll with her delicates painted on. When he commanded her to take them off herself, she also had no luck.