Today he felt like king of the
hill. He would absolve Satan himself if he appeared.
“You must have had a good evening.” Ram chuckled behind him.
“Go to hell.”
“Aww, come on, things aren’t that bad.” Coming around the
park bench, he eased down beside Uri, and after stretching his long legs, he
laced his hands behind his head. “Sam will leave you be for a while.”
It burned his ass that Ram kept pulling his behind out of
the fire. “Thanks.”
“I’ve been where you are; I understand. But this is
different.”
He turned to look at the angel of hope. “You’re ruining my
day, man. Why is it different?” Bitterness tugged at his mouth. “Why
have you always gotten everything you wanted?”
“Take it easy, Uri, I didn’t bring this down on you.”
He remembered when archangels worked for the common goal of
salvation for all humankind. Ram and he had screwed around
together—literally—more than the others. Hope, repent. Repent, hope, they went
hand-in-hand. Those days were gone. Over the years they’d all grown in
different directions. In their earthly domains, they weren’t that different
from man anymore. There were petty jealousies, arguments and brawls. He
couldn’t remember anymore what being more manlike was supposed to
accomplish.
At times the angel next to him reminded him so much of
Michael it was uncanny. Something Uri intended to ponder later, but not today.
Ram damn near even had the general’s power now with Yael by his side.
Heaven’s fear of Uri aligning himself with Morta made sense
in a way.
Always a rebel, he had to fight tooth and nail for
everything he had. Ever since his debacle with Goliath he’d been pushed aside. Fucking
Nephilim, they were all alike .
“That was you?” Ram leaned forward to look at him. He
laughed so loud heads turned. There went their low profile. “I’ll be a son of a
bitch! All these years I wondered what happened.”
“Shut up, and stay out of my head.” Shit, he’d been
careless. “Not a word, I mean it.” He glared at the archangel beside him.
“Who else knows, well aside from Michael and the Father?”
“Luke. Bastard was there egging me on. But I don’t want to
talk about it.” He nailed Ram with a look. “How did you stand it before Yael
was truly yours?”
“I don’t know; those days are a blur.” Ram scratched his
head. “Why do I remind you of Michael?”
The man he’d been called to stirred on the bench across from
them, providing Uri with an excellent reason not to answer Ram’s question. The
guy’s wife had been involved in an accident and he’d spent the last hour
fervently praying for forgiveness. Swore he’d never sin again. Uri wanted to
rap him upside his head. Humans didn’t know how lucky they were sometimes. This
man’s wife would have died for him, almost did. A car broadsided her when she
ran a red light rushing to bail his sorry ass out of jail for the umpteenth
time. This would be the man’s last escapade involving a bar brawl and lockup.
If he took another drink, he’d puke his guts out. It would happen every time
until he stopped. Now it was up to Ram to give him hope.
“He’s getting ready to leave,” Uri said.
“I got it. Hope springs eternal as they say.”
The guy stood, a new light already shining in his eyes, and
he jauntily headed away from them. Uri wished his own life could be so easy.
“They don’t really have it that easy, you know.” Ram spoke
softly. “We’ve messed their lives up pretty bad with our bullshit.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Hey, chin up. I bought you time but work fast, man, and
figure this out.” The angel stood and turned in front of him. “I’m not your
enemy. The world needs you. I need you to keep things in proportion. The
answer lies in loving her.” Blue eyes pierced him. “Don’t fuck up.” Ram
shimmered out of sight.
Calm settled over Uri as he breathed deeply of the fresh
air. He glanced around, watching people come and
Ruby Dixon
Sierra Dean
Jonathan L. Howard
Kevin O'Brien
Pico Iyer
Catherine Coulter
Jason Wood
Randy Wayne White
Daniel Ottalini
Kerr Thomson