Even Angels Fall (Book 3)

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Alexander

I’m back at the Ruling but this time, I’m in their medical ward. They’ve stitched me up enough to keep me alive but I’m a doctor, I know Wrath’s black venom is mixing in my veins. I can feel it, like a blood infection, slowly tearing my Light. It’s painful to breathe but it’s nothing that I can’t fix. If they let me.

I need to get out. I need to get back to Kyla. I don’t know why she ran. Perhaps I scared her. Perhaps she thinks I’m an enemy. I thought when she woke, she would automatically remember all the times I held her, I talked to her, and slept beside her.

I don’t know what to make of what I saw. The power Kyla held when she grabbed Vaul by the neck and threw him into a wall. The way she spoke was frightening

Glancing down the hall, I see the nurse’s station. The woman watches TV, a Japanese soap opera with a high-pitched ring that would drive me insane. I ease my way toward the adjacent gurney, keeping my moans to myself. Every movement is like fire shooting into my heart.

I hide behind the curtain and sit on the bed. Vaul rests and doesn’t wake. Several scratches mar his skin. Red and black bruises swirl along his face and a hand print is clearly visible around his larynx. There is a small stint piercing his skin where Kyla must have broken a small bone but he’s lucky she didn’t crush his entire throat.

Reading Kanji symbols was never a strong point, but lucky for me they are also written in English. I pinch the liquid to his IV and wait a few minutes. “Vaul.”

He flinches and snaps his eyes open. Panic is immediate and he attempts to sit up but several of his ribs appear to be broken and he falls right back down, groaning.

“Quiet.” I whisper, “We are in the Ruling.”

Fear ignites in his eyes.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

He opens his mouth to speak but his hands shoot to his throat. Apparently, he’s more injured than he appears. I look for a chart but find none.

“I left you the other day and Kyla was fine.” I whisper confused. “What made her wake?”

He forms a word with his lips, barely whispering. “Witch.”

“A witch?” He nods. “The Children of God had a witch?”

My breath comes in wild panic. I can’t forget how Kyla spoke to herself. She referred to another person. ’She doesn’t trust you’, Kyla said. I can see her twisting her head and that wicked voice spewing from her lips ’They were going to hurt you.’

Vaul grabs my hand and I lean closer. He can barely whisper but I manage to read his lips, “There’s something in there. Someone.”

I unhinge his fingers, leaning back, “You have to rest.”

“No.” He struggles reaching for me but I pull away and release the tubes that are forcing him to sleep. Vaul tires and falls back against the bed. His finger points, “Phone.” His eyes drift shut, “Call Josie. Need. Out.”

I hear the TV distantly and it just went to a commercial, the high-pitched tone cutting off. I spin toward his clothes and shuffle through the bag, finding his cell phone in his pants.

The nurse’s chair squeaks.

I stuff the phone in the pocket of the arm sling and stick out my head. She stands over the foot of a patient’s medical bed, reading his chart. When she moves to look at his vitals, I dart across the hall and hustle into bed.

---

My curtain pulls back. “Alexander Stamford,” I flip my eyes up wide. The beautiful nurse Ami is currently helping me with my pants, her arms wrapped around my midsection, which pleasantly has her breasts pressed against my back.

Three Ruling members look to each other, embarrassment shining on the red of their cheeks, “Come with us.”

“Would you like me to finish dressing first?”

Begrudgingly they snap the curtain back in place. Ami begins giggling as she buttons my jeans.

Ami isn’t as terrible as I first thought. She likes a little laughter in her life and I happen to be very good at humor. She managed to find me some clothes that didn’t have blood all over them and graciously assisted me in putting them on. The button shirt helped with my arm. It drapes over it, helping to hide the phone I’ve tucked away inside my sling. I pray it doesn’t ring.

Wouldn’t that be Karma?

The Ruling members turn out not to be as friendly however. We walk in silence. I lose my level of confidence in that amount of time. It’s sad how quickly it fades. Normally my arrogance can go on for months without anyone affecting my self-worth but now, it shrinks in mere minutes.

I stand before the judge panel, like before. The pillow is there but I don’t kneel. I’m a patient, not a prisoner. The way I left a few hours ago, kneeling in front of them has changed. Kyla is awake and I’m not done protecting her. As soon as I get out of here, I’m going to her.

Osamu, with his beard and thin face, looks down at me, “Alexander Stamford. We have brought you here again for a specific reason. Do you know what that is?”

“I didn’t get you Kyla.”

“That is a singular problem, Alexander, one that will be dealt with. But no, that is not the reason. You are here for the brutal murder of Erelim Elder Dion.”

I suck in a breath. I suddenly wish I had taken the spot on the floor when my knees go weak.

Murder.

Nausea bubbles in my stomach and I feel it tickle the back of my throat. How could I have killed an Erelim? Was it really possible? Who have I become?

Ever since Tymician walked into my apartment back in Trenton, I felt like nothing has been real. The Vetalas, the Kyonshi, the death of Angels, Kyla, Dion, the Sins. None of it has been tangible. I’ve been on the outside simply watching this all happen.

I’ve been running.

That’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve never had to face the aftermath. I never had to deal with the consequences. That’s what made it so far away. It’s why I could ignore it. Because I’ve been simply running.

And now, I can’t run anymore.

“Ordinarily we would give you a fair trial, Alexander. But you would shame the Erelim name. If word got out that Erelims could be killed by misled children, our hierarchy could very well shatter. The structure of our culture would dismantle and chaos would reign. I’m sorry, but we the Ruling cannot allow this to reach the public. And so we will pass judgment on you now.”

“What? You can’t do that!”

“The death of an Erelim is incomprehensible. In cold blood, it is the worst insidious act against God. We condemn you, Alexander Stamford, to the fifth level of the Ruling’s Law Prison for seven thousand years. At which time you will be offered to the Nephilim cages where you will be drained of your Light and made a sacrifice for the glory of God. May God have mercy on your Soul.”

I go numb. When the hammer strikes the panel, I simply shut off like a switch. I cannot fight it. I cannot stop it. It’s the end of me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I feel as if all this time, this is where I was heading. I have evaded the law for hundreds of years. I’ve done many things to which I’m not proud of. When Kyla came into my life, I gained purpose but I lost my sense of humility. I unleashed the Vetelas upon the populace and though I felt guilt, it didn’t stop me from doing it, time and time again. As long as Kyla was safe, I thought it was warranted. I didn’t care for the consequences.

I hadn’t wanted to think about it.

Now I will have the rest of eternity to do exactly that.

They shove me in a singular room, not far from the court. Will anyone know where to find me? Will anyone care?

I collapse on the bed, dead weight, and stare at the stone. A single light beams down on me, casting my shadow across the length of the floor. I look estranged. I barely know who I am anymore.

--

The door opens. My body shivers from the cold. I’m stiff and sore. It’s been hours but time is irrelevant now. I adjust, and wince as my ribs stretch. My wound itches beneath the gauze.

With swollen eyes, bloodshot and empty of tears, I look toward the entrance. I’m not ready for what I see.

Isis stands there, a shadow consumes much of her but I can make out the green irises glittering in the dense light. The last time we met, a week or so ago, Desna and I set up a trick to steal one of her planes. The fall out was worse than we could have imagined. I was braver than. Now I’m completely at her mercy.

Not to mention, I’ve recently killed her Soul Mate.

I hope she kills me. I would much rather it now than in seven thousand years.

“I want to see it.” She growls in a deadly whisper.

Her footsteps fasten and suddenly her fingers clench into my jaw, forcing my gaze to meet hers. “I want to see it.” She commands. “Show me that same conviction. Show it to me!”

Tears roll down my cheeks. It’s not enough that I held the gun, but faith in my purpose had to be stronger and purer than Dion’s own will to live. That’s what she wants to see: my faith.

“You wretched, ghastly creature. How dare you. You haven’t the right to touch the ground we walk on and you dare steal such life!” Her backhand smashes into my cheek and I hit the bed hard upon my injured side. I roll over, cradling my shoulder.

A soldier enters and whispers shortly but Isis coldly replies, “I won’t kill him. Leave me.” She slams the door after that.

It’s quiet. My face swells and my wound burns. I deserve this, I deserve more than this.

Bewilderment compresses my brow when she sits on the edge, crossing her legs, serenely. She flicks her hair over her shoulder and delivers an award-winning smile. “That should do.” She snickers. “They don’t know I know. They wish to please me and sedate my thirst for vengeance by granting me you. They’d have me wallow in grief if only to leave Kio to its incompetent fool of a leader. But I don’t plan on staying long. I just came to give them a show.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh.” She pushes her lips with sympathy, “You actually think you killed Dion? You must see the plain ludicrousness of this statement. Of course you didn’t.”

Bewilderment flashes in voice and tears of sorrow transform to happiness, “Are you serious? I didn’t?”

Her smile fades and she pulls back from this nice chat. “No you didn’t kill him. But your ego certainly is dreadful.”

I laugh with a wave of jubilation. “Thank God. Oh, God.” I take a few deep breaths to calm myself, “You have to tell them. The judges.”

“Weren’t you listening? They know of course.”

Confusion waves over me and my eyes dance along her, trying to figure out what I’m misunderstanding.

She rests a delicate hand on my knee, full of phony compassion. “You are a sacrificial pawn, Alexander. The Ruling has you now and you are not ever going to be free.”

“But. But. I didn’t kill anyone.”

“You silly boy, you think that matters?” She slaps me on the leg and heaves upward, walking around the bed. “A time may come Alexander when you may ask yourself, why me? And I want you to really look inside and realize;” She pauses, looking down at me, “You shouldn’t have messed with me.” She winks lovingly swinging the door open. “Enjoy your stay.”

I’m left. Enclosed in my tomb without a single friend, surrounded by only foes. They had me believe I was guilty. They would have allowed me to suffer for my sins for the rest of time, heedless to the fact that it was false. Would I have ever known the truth if she hadn’t come?

But in knowing the truth, what does that give me? My trial is over. The verdict is passed. I’m to be detained for eternity for a crime that never happened.

I had given up but Isis unwittingly, in her vengeance, kick-started my heart. I didn’t kill anyone. I’m can still prove myself a worthy man to Kyla and save her. All I need to do is get out of this prison.

I snatch the phone from it’s cozy hiding spot and flip through the numerous names. It’s humorous that a man as old as Vaul would resort to our technologies but I’m sure he was greatly relieved like the rest of us when cellphones were invented. No more writing drawn out messages and waiting days for a reply. Technology helped us all in becoming lazy and content.

When the evil beeping of ‘No Signal’ flashes on its screen, my temper flares. I run around the room, hitting send over and over attempting to get through. Climbing on my bed with my arm stretched out to its fullest extent, I hear the pleasant sound of ringing. “Yes!” I wail in exuberance.

“Vaul! What’s going on? Where are you?” I hear Josie’s voice on the other end and my smile fades.

I’ve not forgotten her betrayal but I don’t have the ability to hold a grudge, “Josie.” She screams my name in eagerness. “Listen, I don’t have much time. Vaul and I are prisoners of the Ruling. Can you find a way to get us out of here?”

“I don’t know, Alex. The Gloria Patri isn’t what Vaul said they were. They do their own thing. They really want Kyla. Do you know where she is?”

My brows knit and I sigh through my nose. I don’t know what side she’s on anymore. Why would she ask me this? “No. I wish I did.”

Why am I hopeful? She betrayed me once. She isn’t my alley. Why do I expect anything from her? I have no friends. Anyone that has helped me along the way has done so for Kyla’s sake. I mean nothing to no one. If I don’t have Kyla, I don’t have anything.

“Alex.” She murmurs. “I’m sorry about before. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll go talk to them now. Richard’s really sweet. He kind of reminds me of you.” I’m hoping he’s a leader of the Gloria Patri. I pretend to believe her, if only to sedate my conscious.

I tuck the phone back in the pocket of my arm sling, having no one else I could call. I’m not a man of many friends. If I knew how to contact Commander she would have been the first one on my list but I know she’s gone to Sheol to search for Tymician and I doubt she’d give up easily. I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again. She wouldn’t allow the Ruling to take me. A smile rises. I’m lying. Commander would do what is necessary for Kyla to remain out of the hands of evil. She had the ability to see clearly. I wish I knew who’s side everyone was on. Then I wouldn’t make mistakes like trust.

I lie down, staring at the ceiling.

My thoughts go back to Kyla.

Aside from the tears, aside from the running and the fear; Kyla was how I dreamt her to be. When her fingers graced my chin, touching my scar, I would have fallen to my knees in worship. For a moment, I swear, she comprehended my strife. Of course, it wasn’t possible, but it was if she read my mind and showed her appreciation for all that I’ve been through. I didn’t need her gratitude, that’s not what I’m saying but the fact that she expressed understanding, as if she experienced my pain with me, made all my fighting worth it. I didn’t feel alone. She had always been there.

I want to be the type of person Kyla needs. When she requires a friend, I want to be there. When she needs a doctor, I can be there. When she needs a fighter, I will be there. And if she ever requires a lover, I want to be there too.

I want to be everything for her so she needs no one else.