There was so, so, so much commentary in this chapter! The next chapter is going to connect some things from the regular book in it, so be excited! Please review, follow, and favorite if you want to keep reading!
I ditched the motorcycle about 10 miles back from the house and ran through the woods the rest of the way. With one hand, I lifted the window and slid inside. Nora looked so peaceful when she slept. I almost didn't want to disturb her, but at the same time I couldn't stop myself from slipping in beside her. I crossed my ankles and put my hands behind my head. She stirred beside me. "Not sure why you're so emamored with this bed. It's twelve inches too short, four inches too narrow, and the purple sheets aren't doing it for me." I didn't actually have anything agaisnt purple, but she didn't need to know that. "My bed, on the other hand…" I drifted off, leaving the rest up to her imagination.
She stared back at me with one eye, squinting. "Ha. I know you don't care how comfortable my bed is. You'd be fine on a pallet of bricks." I wish I wouldn't fine on a pallet of bricks. I wanted more than anything to be able to feel Nora; to feel the way she felt when I touched her skin.
To change the subject, I leaned over and kissed her. I remembered what she said earlier tonight and asked, "What did you want to talk about?" While she was thinking I stroked her arm with my thumb and forefinger. Just having her near me made me feel better. When she struggled for words, I asked "When do I get to see these dance moves of yours?" I tried to pull on an innocent face and added, "We've ever gone dancing at the Devil's Handbag together." I leaned over to her and settled my forehead against her temple.
She frowned. "You aren't missing much, I was told tonight I'm definite fish-out-of-water material on the dance floor."
I leaned over and kissed her ear softly, whispering, "Vee needs to be nicer to you" And me, but Vee still held onto her suspisions of me from this past year. I could see why, but she didn't need to take it out on my girl. I lifted her hand out from under the covers and started a steady stream of kisses down her hand and to each finger.
"Vee doesn't get credit for that line," she quipped. "That would go to Dante Matterazzi." Another nephil, whom I had the pleasure of meeting this morning. He had a charming mug, but there were too many secrets behind it to give him the benefit of the doubt. I hated the guy.
"Dante?" A hint of ice creeping into my tone. I didn't like him hanging around Nora. He was too persistant about going into war with my kind; the fallen.
"Did I forget to mention Dante was there?" She gave a nervous laugh and waited for a response. It wasn't her fault Dante was annoying.
"What did he want?"
"Ah, now I remember what I wanted to talk to you about. Dante's trying to sell me to the Nephilim race. I'm their leader now." Every time it was brought up my heart broke. Knowing if I had been there five minutes earlier, I could have stopped the vow. I could have saved her from this. "Trouble is, they don't trust me. They don't know me. And Dante's made it his mission to change that." Ugh. Why.
"Tell me something I don't know," I said, partly annoyed.
When she paused, I looked at her eyes, but she looked down at her hands. "Dante thinks it might be a good idea for me to, ah, date him." She glanced at me before almost shouting, "Don't worry!" I'll KILL him! "It's all for show. Got to keep the Nephilim thinking their leader in invested. We're going to squash these rumors that I am dating a fallen angel. Rumors? It IS the truth, Angel. I could hardly hold back my anger. "Nothing says solidarity like hooking up with one of your own, you know? It makes for good press. They might even call us Norante. Or Danta. Do you like the sound of that?" She looked up to me in hopes of my approval.
I knew she was trying to make it better, but thinking about Nora with someone else awoke a deep menacing rage in me. "Actually, I don't like the sound of that."
"If its any consolation, I can't stand Dante" Hmm, good to know. "Don't sweat this"
"My girlfriend wants to date another guy, no sweat," I added sarcastically.
"It's for appearances. Look on the bright side…"
I laughed. Too angry to do anything else. "There's a bright side?" There's no way she could even consider this option. There must be some other way.
"It's only through Cheshvan. Hank got Nephilim everywhere all worked up over this one moment. He promised them salvation, and they still think they're going to get it." They wouldn't. There would always be more fallen angels. There would always be a Cheshvan. "When Cheshvan comes, and ends up being like any other Cheshvan on record, they'll realize it was a crapshoot, and little by little, things will go back to normal. In the meantime, while tempers are running hot and the hopes and dreams of Nephilim are ahnging on the false belief that I can free them from fallen angels, we have to keep them happy." We?
I thought about what I would say for a moment and then responded. "Has it occurred to you that the Nephilim might blame you when their salvation doesn't come? Hank made a lot of promises, and when they arent fulfilled, no one's going to point fingers at him." I paused for half a second to look at her face, which was clearly thinking hard. "You're their leader now. You're the face on this campaign, Angel." Which was, of course, to wipe out my entire race.
She looked up at the ceiling, searching, searching for a sign of what to do. We sat and comtemplated in silence for a couple minutes. If I could stop all of this, I would. If I could take your pain away, I wouldn't hesitate. Nora had shot Hank last night after he attempted so send me to hell. He had one of my feathers. I recalled the night that I offered my wings to him to keep Nora safe. I didn't regret my decision.
"What do we do about my oath? Dante said it went into effect when Hank died, but who determines if I keep it or not? Who determines what I can and can't do in terms of carrying out my oath? Take you, for instance. I'm confiding in you, a fallen angel and the sworn enemy of Nephilim." This was true. All she had to do was stay in power to fulfill the oath. "Won't the oath strike me dead for treason?" Thankfully not.
I took a deep breath. "The oath you swore was about as vague as you could made it. Luckilly. As long as you stay in power and lead the Nephilim, I think you're within the terms of the oath. You never promised Hank you'd go to war."
"In other words, the plan is to stay out of war and keep the archangels happy." Story of my life.
"Some things never change." I said, almost to myself.
"After Cheshvan, after the Nephilim give up on freedom, and after we've put a big, fat smile of contentment on the archangels' faces, we can put this behind us." She paused to look up and kiss me. "It'll just be you and me" As soon as all of this was over, I would take her far away. Away from harm, away from archangels, away from Cheshvan.
I groaned, exclaiming, "It can't come fast enough."
Chaning the subject, she said, "Hey, listen, I was approched by a man tonight. A man who wants a word with you."
Pepper. A nod. "Pepper Friberg". A short, stumpy archangel who would do anything to put me in hell. I vaguely remembered him from my days as an archangel. Another man I didn't want around Nora.
"Does Pepper have a face as round as a basketball?"
Nodding again, I said, "He's tailing me because he thinks I went back on an agreement we had." An agreement not worth telling Nora about. She would just ask more questions. "He doesn't want a word with me. He wants to chain me in hell and dust his hands of me.
"Is it just me, or does that sound kind of serious?" Relax Angel. I will always be two, no three, steps ahead.
"Pepper Friberg is an archangel, but he's got his hand in more than one pot. He's leading a double life, spending half his time as an archangel, and the other half moonlighting as a human. Up until now, he's been living the best of both worlds. He has the power of an archangel, which he doesn't always use for good while indulging in human vices. Somenoe has figured out his crooked game, and word has it they're blackmailing him. If Pepper doesn't pay up soon, his vacation time on Earth is going to become a lot more permanent." When she looked at me in confusion, I elaborated. "The archangels will strip him of his power and tear out his wings if they find out what he's been up to. He'll be stuck down here for good.
I could tell that the wheels in her mind were turning. Then she looked at me with a mixture of shock and understanding in her dark grey eyes. "He thinks you're blackmailing him."
I guess she should know. Another sigh escaped me. "A while back I figured out what he was up to. I agreed to keep his secret, and in return he agreed to help me get my hands on a copy of the Book of Enoch. He hasn't delivered on his promise, and it seems logical that he thinks I'm feeling hung out to dry. But I think he must have been careless and there's another fallen angel out there looking to benefit off his misdeeds."
"Did you tell Pepper that?"
I smiled at her naivety. "Working on it. He's not feeling very talkative." More like I wasn't feeling like being chained in hell, at the moment.
"He said he'll burn down all of Delphic if that's what it takes to smoke you out" He wouldn't dare get close to Delphic since that's where fallen angels all over make their home, but if he was getting that desperate, it might not be such a bad idea to think about finding a new place.
"His neck's on the line and he's getting desperate. I might have to go under."
"Go under?"
"Lie low. Keep my head down." At least until I could figure out who the real blackmailer was.
She propped herself up on one elbow and tried to read my expression. "How do I fit into this picture?" Here's where it gets tough.
"He thinks you're his one way ticket to me. He's going to be sticking to you like spandex. He's parked down the street as we speak, eyes peeled for my car." Well, motorcycle, but same concept. I touched her cheeck with my thumb, trying to confort her. "He's good, but not good enough to keep me from having time with my girl." Not Pepper, not Hank, not anyone was good enough to keep me from Nora anymore.
"Promise me you're always going to be two steps ahead," She said, but it sounded more like a question to me.
"Don't worry, Angel. I've been doing this sneaky stuff longer."