Chapter 8 – The Past Can Be Deadly
That very next day, Gabriel moved into Kali's room with her. He could honestly say that he was the happiest he had been in a very long time. She showed him everywhere in India and taught him many things. Some evenings, he would pop off for a little while and return with fine wines and occasionally desserts from far away countries.
Even though Gabriel was happy with Kali, the anniversary of the day he left heaven still haunted him. Though she never asked what had happened to make that date so awful, Kali was always there to comfort him when it came around and with her help it became a little bit easier to bear. But he still had his relapses. On the hundredth year since that night it was particularly hard. The temptation to give up everything he had on Earth and return to heaven was so strong that he stabbed himself in the leg with his own angel blade to weaken himself and then chained his hands to the bedpost so he wouldn't give in. When Kali came in and saw him, she dropped the glasses she was holding.
"Loki! What have you done?" she cried, hurrying over to unchain him.
"No... don't... I had to keep myself from going back..." Gabriel mumbled weakly.
Kali undid the chains and helped him up onto the bed.
"Shhh, it's alright. I'm here, I'll take care of you," she whispered.
"M'leg... it hurts..." said Gabriel, his words slurred from the pain.
"I'll get some things to clean it up. Don't worry, I'll be right back," said Kali gently.
She hurried out and was back in minutes with a basin of water and some clean cloths and bandages. She then knelt on the bed next to him and began tending his leg. Gabriel knew that she had seen the light of his grace shimmering out of his wound, but she never asked him about it, for which he was grateful. When his leg was all bandaged and propped up on a pillow, Kali sat next to him and held him close. She told him stories from Hindu legends to distract him from his thoughts, stroking his hair as she spoke, and Gabriel just lay there and listened until he drifted off to sleep in her arms.
After that incident, Kali made sure she stayed with Gabriel on those days and never left his side. But the good days far outnumbered those bad ones, and the years flew by, the world changing around them as decade after decade passed. He never told her his real name or his true identity, but she never asked. She knew he had been through a lot and knew him well enough in other regards to know he wouldn't want to talk about it.
Gabriel stayed with Kali for nearly two hundred years. He would always call those the happiest two centuries he spent on Earth. But inevitably, what he had once been scared of and since forgotten to fear happened. Tricksters attract trouble like a flower attracts bees, and Gabriel had avoided trouble for far too long.
It was a warm night, and Gabriel stood outside the temple watching the stars. He did this whenever he needed to think and Kali knew to leave him alone until he came back inside. Gabriel had been out for an hour and was just turning to go back into the temple when he heard a twig snap and footsteps approaching. He turned back around. Two men were approaching... and yet at the same time, they weren't actually men.
"Demons," he whispered to himself.
He could see their true faces from beneath their human masks. He hadn't come across a demon in over two hundred years, since before he met Kali. What were they doing here? The two demons stopped in front of him.
"Hello Gabriel," the taller one said.
"How do you know who I am?" asked Gabriel.
"Our master knows you well," said the second, shorter demon.
"I'm aware of that. Though I can't say how well I know him anymore," Gabriel said coldly.
"I'm guessing you know what we are and why we have come," the tall one said.
"You're demons and, let me guess, you're here to kill me," said Gabriel.
Both demons smiled sinisterly.
"Very good," said the shorter demon. "That is in fact our purpose."
"Yeah well, good luck with that," said Gabriel.
In a split second, his angel blade was in his hand and he swung it at the demon, who dodged and pulled out a long knife of his own, parrying Gabriel's blade. They dueled for mere seconds before the taller demon grabbed Gabriel from behind, catching him in a headlock. The short demon took advantage of this and knocked the angel blade from Gabriel's hand, sending it spinning into the darkness.
"Say your prayers, angel-boy," he snarled, drawing back his arm for the fatal blow.
But Gabriel used the superior height of the demon holding him to his advantage, grabbing the demon's forearm and swinging both his feet to kick the knife from the other demon's hand. As the now even angrier demon scurried to retrieve the weapon, Gabriel struggled against the grip of his captor, whose strength was much more than he had anticipated. The short demon charged at him again and Gabriel steeled himself for his impending death. Suddenly, Kali flew out of nowhere, sending the charging demon up in flames. Gabriel used the momentary distraction and kicked the demon holding him in the groin, wriggling out of his grasp as he doubled over. He then whipped around and placed a palm on the demon's forehead, smiting him before he had a chance to recover. The empty body fell to the ground, eye sockets still smoking, and Gabriel turned to face Kali.
"Thank you," he said.
"It was nothing," Kali replied. "What did they want?"
"To kill me," said Gabriel grimly.
The truth of the whole matter was sinking in very quickly and he could feel a lump forming in his throat.
"But why? Who sent them?" Kali asked.
"Lucifer... they're demons, and he created them. They were human souls once, before he got his hands on them in hell," Gabriel explained.
"But why would Lucifer send his demons after you?"
"Because... because I'm the reason he's down there. I'm why he got sent to hell," said Gabriel.
His eyes were stinging now, but he would not, could not let himself succumb. Kali stared at him.
"Is that why you fall apart every year? Is that what happened that day all those years ago?" she asked.
"No... well... that's what started it. What started everything..." Gabriel said quietly.
His breathing was shallow now as he fought to keep his emotions in check, but he knew he couldn't fight much longer.
"Do you remember all those years ago, the night you convinced me to stay with you? What I said happens every time I care too much?" he asked suddenly.
"Yes. You said something bad always happens," said Kali.
"And then someone always leaves," Gabriel finished.
"No," Kali said abruptly.
A single tear escaped Gabriel's eye as he looked at her.
"I have to," he whispered.
"No you don't. You don't have to go anywhere," said Kali.
She wasn't crying but her hands were trembling.
"Lucifer is only going to send more demons after me, and they won't stop until I'm dead. They know where I am now. I can't put you in danger like that," Gabriel said desperately.
"You think I can't handle the demons?" Kali challenged.
"No, of course not! You just saved my life, that son of a bitch didn't stand a chance against you," said Gabriel. "But Kali, as long as I'm here, they'll be able to find me. I have to go into hiding. And I can't take you with me, because then they will always have some way of breaking me. I love you, Kali, and that's why I have to leave. That's why I've always had to leave. Because I just care too damn much."
Tears were streaming freely down his face, but Kali was still not crying. She looked instead as cold as the statue of her that stood in the temple. But Gabriel could sense the overwhelming sorrow and resignation underneath the stoniness.
"Where will you go?" she whispered.
"I don't know. Anywhere. Everywhere," said Gabriel.
"Will we ever see each other again?" Kali asked.
"We might not. But then again, you never know. Stranger things have happened," Gabriel said with a feeble attempt at a smile.
"Be careful. And don't let the darkness of your past swallow you up, even though you're running from part of it now," said Kali, taking his hands in hers.
"I'll try. For you," Gabriel replied.
He put a hand on her cheek and kissed her, passionately, hungrily, one last time. As their lips parted, Gabriel stared into her eyes, taking in as much of that gaze as he could.
"Goodbye, Kali," he whispered.
"Goodbye, Loki."
Gabriel turned and picked up his angel blade from the ground, tucking it back into his coat. Then, with a flapping of wings that Kali would not understand until many centuries later, he vanished.
