Fallen Angels Read online

  “At first. But it was more to stop him from doing it to anyone else,” I answered.

  Michael nodded and said, “You felt you were a protector?”

  Although I hadn’t thought about it, I guess he was right. “I felt like Pazuzu was a rabid dog that needed to be stopped. Who was I if I didn’t try to stop him?” That statement seemed to gain the approval of Rene, who nodded in agreement.

  The images started again and I watched as my arc of power fizzled off Pazuzu. During the fight, I had no idea how pathetic my attempts looked. But I watched as I gave him a good-old fashioned beating.

  Then I saw myself being thrown off of him, his power apparent in the blurred waves of air.

  “Turn up the audio here, please,” Gabriel said and Uriel raised a finger.

  “You can see how Pazuzu takes the Earth away from him, destroying the unstable source of energy and causing the massive earthquake,” Michael said.

  “I could if you’d let me,” Gabriel answered. Michael grimaced. Rene pursed his lips. It was like watching brothers, and maybe that was exactly what they were.

  “Forward please.”

  Pazuzu rose, then the visual showed waves of fire and me stepping into it. I had now idea how bad it looked, how my skin was literally being burnt off my face, my clothes scorched into ashes. My hair was gone and still I stepped into his raw power. The images were so clear; I was able to see the fear in Pazuzu’s eyes as I took each step. I watched as I grabbed him with fingers that were withered to bone and held the stump of my right fist up above him. I didn’t know I screamed. I didn’t recognize the sound, wretched and crackling, then releasing him, allowing him to crumble to the ground.

  “Stop, please. Matthew. Why did you not finish him? You could have killed him,” Gabriel said and the weight of this entire interview fell on me right then. This was the one question they needed answered. This was the response that would mean the survival of the human race. I answered in the way my father had taught me. Honestly.

  “Because it was wrong.”

  “You mean, because you couldn’t?” Abbaddon asked, his gaze sharpening.

  “No. That is not what I meant. I could have killed Pazuzu. I had the power to end him after everything he did to me, after he killed my father. But he was powerless; unable to protect himself, and killing him was not the right thing. My father taught me to do the right thing, no matter what,” I answered.

  Gabriel’s attention turned to Abbaddon.

  “I have no more questions,” Abbaddon said. But before he left, he turned back toward me. “It has been a great pleasure to meet you, Matthew Rising. Such a good name, we shall be keeping a close watch on you.” Then he disappeared through the door with Uriel.

  The blurry swirl at the foot of the bed disappeared and a huge sigh escaped Rene. Michael seemed relieved as well.

  “You and your Kind continue to amaze me, Matthew,” Michael said. “You have the potential to be so incredibly great and so incredibly wicked, all at the same time. I have never seen a race like it.”

  “And that is why we have to be so careful,” Gabriel said.

  “It looks like the war is coming, and I don’t know if it is not a good thing. The Universe needs to be shaken up every once in a while,” Michael said.

  “Even if it’s worse than the war of the Fallen?” Gabriel asked.

  “Especially so,” Michael added. “Rene, take care of this one.”

  “I will,” Rene answered as Michael and Gabriel left the room.

  Rene turned toward me. “You did good, young pup.”

  “Is what they said true? Is the war coming?”

  “The war was always going to come. It was just a matter of what position we were in when it did,” Rene answered. “The difference is that before, we were fighting this war alone. Now we have the entire Galaxy behind us.”

  “Will it be bad?”

  “Yes.

  “So everything was for nothing. My father died for nothing.”

  “Sometimes there needs to be incredible bad to get to incredible good. The old ways have got to go. Your father knew that. The Galactic Council needed to be pushed. Now they have no choice but to change. In what way they change remains to be seen. But you have forces behind you and you have something I believe will mean all the difference.”

  “What is that?”

  “You have friends,” Rene said just as he walked out the door.

  Chapter 32 – The New World

  The ocean was beautiful. I sat for a long time on the bluff overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, letting the cold wind blow over me, wallowing in the frigid temperatures. I’d been here every night for the last week since Dad’s funeral. Driving here through the City, seeing the destruction Pazuzu and I caused. They said I was not responsible, but if I hadn’t fought with Pazuzu people would still be alive.

  I shivered as I watched the fog roll in. It was a scene from another world, a world without my father.

  “Matthew,” a voice behind me whispered over the wind whistling through the trees. Aunt Emily stood behind me, her flowing blonde hair strangely still in the blustery wind. “How are you?” Her inflection carried a world’s worth of meaning.

  “Why did he have to die?” I asked.

  She remained quiet for a moment, and I didn’t disrupt her silence.

  “So that you could live.”

  “For what? The Accords?”

  “For what he believed in. He died so you could be saved.” my aunt responded.

  “My entire life has been a lie,” I shouted through the wind-swept air. There was nothing I could believe anymore.

  “Not a lie. Your father made a promise. He promised that he would protect you, no matter the cost. Even if the cost was losing his life, your life was worth it.”

  “But why?”

  “Because he tried to cheat the Accords. Tried to cheat Heaven and Hell to keep you from them. Keep them from taking you from us. It was all we had,” she answered, her voice breaking. “He sacrificed himself so that you could live. A life for a life.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m not asking you to,” she said. “When you are ready, come home. I will be here,” she said and disappeared. I looked everywhere, but she was not there. My aunt was one of the most powerful telepaths in the world. It shouldn’t have shocked me that she was capable of putting a few images in my head.

  This was a new life for me, a life with so many strange things. I didn’t know what to believe in anymore, what to expect. I didn’t know what was what anymore, and that troubled me.

  I walked out to the cliff’s edge, the water raging a hundred feet below. I stood on the edge of the precipice as the wind whipped at me, tugging at my jacket. But before I could think about things, I heard a voice.

  “Hey,” George said. “Don’t you dare make me jump down into that water to save your nappy ass, dude,” he said. He was wearing a grey jacket, his body quivering in the cold. Kayla and Maya were beside him.

  “I won’t,” I answered, and it was true.

  “How you doing, bro?”

  “All right,” I responded, not wanting to talk about it. There was just too much going through my mind. “What are you doing here?”

  “C’mon, Matt, you didn’t think we’d let you go through this alone, did you? Besides, your aunt was getting worried.”

  “What am I?” I asked.

  “You are what you make of yourself,” George said. “You are what you do, Matty. C’mon, you know that. Besides, after everything you’ve put me through, I will personally kick your ass if you don’t, like, cure cancer or save the world or something, man.”

  I looked at the tall, wiry kid and sighed deeply, then stared out at the bridge. Finally, I realized that all of this wallowing was not going to get me anywhere.

  “Yeah? You and what army?” I asked.

  That shit-eating grin grew on his face.

  “Give me a minute,” I said, and the three of them walked back
to the parking lot. I stared out into the churning water below me. In my hands, I held the t-shirt I had been wearing when I first got into this mess. The bold lettering of the words “I’m not Normal. Why are you?” were faded and cracked. I fingered my pendant and it glowed faintly, warming my hands as if it knew I needed it to.

  My life was never going to be the same. I had these powers that I didn’t know what to do with. The Earth was filled with beings from other galaxies that either wanted to help us or destroy us. The threat of annihilation was very real, as a war was coming and the fate of the entire human race was in the balance. It was too much for a sixteen-year-old kid to handle and worse yet, I had lost my father. It wasn’t right.

  But it seems I had friends. George, Kayla, and Maya were waiting, George probably telling a joke at my expense. The girls were smiling and everything that had happened seemed a distant memory.

  I threw the t-shirt over the bluff’s edge and watched as it disappeared into the churning water below.

  “I’ll make you proud, Dad.”

  I walked up the short hill to my friends.

  “So Matty-Boy, everything okay?” George asked.

  “Yeah,”

  “Good, because I’d really hate to kick your ass,” George smirked. I shoved an elbow into his ribs and he coughed.

  “So, you finished blowing your nose and all that?” George asked after he caught his breath.

  “Just gotta wipe my hands,” I said, as I swiped my hands on the front of his jacket.

  “Jerk!”

  “Guys!” Maya said

  “So what’s the plan now, chief? We got any more worlds that need saving?”

  “Not that I know of,” I answered.

  “Well, I know of this terrific spot in the city. They have great dim sum,” Kayla said. “That is, if it’s still standing.”

  “Hey, last time you took us anywhere, we were kidnapped,” George said.

  “Aww, c’mon, we didn’t even tie you up. What’s life without a little fun?” Maya said, and they began to laugh. It was funny: after everything we had been through, we were just kids.

  I looked at George, who shrugged. Tomorrow was the next day. The Council of the Accords, the Malakhim Training, and all that would just have to wait.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said and jumped into the Range Rover and headed off into the night.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you so much for reading Fallen Angels, a re-working of my first novel, The Bardey Accords. Matthew, George, Kayla and Maya will continue their adventures in the next installment of the Judgment Accords very soon.

  I look forward to reading your feedback on Amazon for Fallen Angels. I have learned to love these characters and hope you do to.

  Best regards,

  Warren K. DeBary