The Falling (Book I)

Gift

Just as Zane predicted, I was back on my feet two days later. Thanks to Lucifer, my wounds healed with the exception of my frostbitten fingers, and I found myself in my family's library, curled up in my favorite armchair.

I saw Father once since I had been home, his golden eyes regarding me with palpable disdain. I was an even bigger disappointment to him than I had been before. Losing to not one, but two angels? His oldest daughter having to be rescued by her siblings; the travesty of it all! Mikayla liked to remind me he was still bellyaching about it any chance she got. It certainly gave him sympathy points with the noble demonesses, if the steady stream of them gave any indication of that. He entertained them but they never lingered.

I stood before the portal. The yearning to return to the Human World burned in me tenfold. I gripped the book in my hand tighter as I thought back to my last time there. My fingers still ached and were noticeably discolored from Death's scythe. My heart thumped faster as I recalled the Archangels' immense power.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the portal and entered the Human World. The second I was able to breathe that fresh, delicious air, I stiffened in fear. I thought I caught the smell of the Angel of Life. Not daring to venture further until I was certain, my ears swiveled back and forth to catch all the sounds of the forest.

The forest was alive with sound and smells. The musky scent of deer fur and dying leaves. The honking of geese and ducks as they left for warmer environments. No flapping of thirty feet long wings or the smell of firewood and soot from an unnatural source.

[Safe,] Rayi affirmed.

I nodded and left The Devil's Pocket to make for my favorite oak tree. Like a flighty rabbit, I would pause every few feet to listen and smell. There was no danger to be sensed, as far as I could tell. My muscles were still tense, though, and I was ready to flee at the slightest change of sound.

When I got to my tree, I stopped and stared at the ground. A basket of rolls sat at the base of the oak tree's trunk. I frowned. It could not have been a picnic; there were only rolls and no blanket was spread. Besides, this tree was too close to the portal and no sane human would dare linger near it. Perhaps my last Summoner left them?

Just as sudden as the thought came, I shook my head. The human had no way of knowing this was my preferred spot nor would he have any more dealings with me after William intimidated him. Ah. William.

[This is a poorly thought out trap,] Rayi chortled.

This was the location he and I first met. Unless he told Death, he was the only person who knew I liked rolls and this particular tree. His scent was not within my vicinity, but he may have been downwind, and yet the rolls were untouched by animals and insects alike. I did not dare get closer yet, my eyes scrutinizing the basket. I saw no wires or traps. Just an innocuous basket. The intention was clear, however.

I know you will return and I know where you like to be.

I circled the tree and saw a large footprint behind the basket. It was fresh and too big to have been made by a human. I went back to the basket and weighed my options. I could just leave the basket and go to the nearby meadow and watch the deer graze while I read. I could bring the basket with me there, or I could bring it with me and go back to Hell. Either way, something would happen. He had to be near with no snare to trap me, but I did not know how he was concealing himself.

[You need to decide quickly. I sense eyes on us.]

I did, too. Steeling myself, I snatched the basket and fled. I heard him then, but this time I was too quick. I disappeared through the portal. When I looked at the rolls my scowl deepened. I had forgotten nothing survived traveling through the portal aside from a demon. The rolls had molded and the basket crumbled into dust in my hand.

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William

I could not get the she-demon out of my head. Of all the fights I had been in with demons, she was the only one who survived. It angered Luke, but he did not obsess. He did not think of ways to trap her for he did not know she was a regular visitor of the Human World. She had to be doing something insidious to always be there. I made the mistake of allowing her to leave the first time because she appealed to my better nature. She saw through my dislike of killing innocents and manipulated me. When I saw she had killed humans for a contract, I seethed at the realization she had fooled me. She was not different, if anything she was more cunning than the creatures I killed in the past.

All the more reason she needed to die.

I figured she would lick her wounds for a few days before returning. In the meantime, I planned how I could get to her. It took a few hours to think of what she liked: human food. The boy who summoned her was going to give her rolls as payment.

The humans gaped at me when I entered their village. While I did not have my wings unfurled, it was obvious I was not one of them. Most of them barely cleared my chest and none had hair or eyes like mine. Nor did they dress as fine as me, with their threadbare tunics and patchy trousers.

The baker was a godly man and saw me as one of Heaven's warriors. He prayed and bowed his head. I said, "I have no money but I will give you a feather from my wing in exchange for a basket of rolls."

He did not ask why I wanted them but he eagerly agreed. I pulled the feather from my pocket and handed it to him. He kissed it and gave me what I asked. Though I did not have the true power to, I blessed him and went on my way.

I followed the stink of sulfur to the portal and found the tree the she-demon had perched in days prior. I placed the basket at the base and thought about my next step. A snare or any other trap would be too obvious. My only other choice was to directly catch her myself. I gritted my teeth in annoyance. Loathe as I was to admit it, she was quicker than me. My scent would be another problem: her senses were superior to that of an angel's. For the time being, I could only hope I was downwind.

I flew into a nearby tree and hid amongst the few leaves left. I should have been high enough she would not think to look up; she had a tendency to look down or around at things eye-level for her. While I waited, I wrote more names in my Book. Impatience made my muscles twitch and shortened my temper, but still, I wrote. When I heard no more names, I played with a flame no larger than a firefly, bouncing it from fingertip to fingertip. Fire could not bite me and I felt only its gentle warmth.

Finally, my patience paid off. I heard the unnatural sucking sound of the portal and craned my neck. The she-demon had arrived.

She was hesitant, her hair tucked behind her elfish ears. I saw them swivel to catch every sound and watched her nostrils flare as she scented around her. After a moment, she nodded and wandered closer. Carefully, I adjusted myself as she neared the tree. I readied myself, thinking she would grab the rolls and settle to eat.

She stopped when she saw the basket and tilted her head, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. A small smile then crossed her features as she shook her head.

"A poor trap, indeed," she murmured and went around the tree.

Irritation pricked my pride and I almost revealed myself then and there. Not yet, I told myself. The she-demon looked toward the tree I hid in and I feared she saw me. But she did not. Returning to the basket, she stood there and thought. I realized I miscalculated when she did not just grab the basket.

Weak she may have been, but that only made her cautious, smarter. She snatched the rolls and sprinted to the portal.

"Damn!" I pursued her, but I was too slow.

She disappeared and I took my fury out on a dead tree, burning the wood until smoke filled the air.