Gabriel’s eyes narrowed on him, for once betraying the slightest of a reaction. He had not been expecting such a defiant response.
Alex quietly dug into his pocket, removing the journal. He held it up for Gabriel to see. “Even if you had this, the knowledge it contains won’t be able to help you bring her back.”
John eyed him curiously. “Bring who back?” he asked, never picking the right time to ask questions.
Alex was not going to bother answering, but to his surprise Hayley did. “Louise.” She said bluntly.
The name alone was enough to make Gabriel’s eyes widen.
“I know all about her.” Hayley said, meeting his cold, unforgiving gaze with her own. “He doesn’t want the journal to try and destroy the world John he just wants to use it to bring back the girl he failed to protect years ago.”
Gabriel bristled at her words. “She died because of him, not because of me!” He jabbed an accusing finger at Alex. “It is that traitor’s fault that she perished during the war!”
“No.” Alex said quietly, shaking his head. Gabriel’s gaze burned into him with renewed hatred but he continued, unfazed. “You were meant to be looking after Louise while we were in the air raid shelter. But after a few hours you grew bored and restless and slipped off without a word, leaving her on her own.” Alex straightened himself. “I sensed the break in the connection between you two and grew worried. Naturally I went looking for you, thinking something had happened old friend...” he hung on the last words mournfully.
“Then what happened?” prompted John, oblivious to the intensifying atmosphere about him.
Alex looked at him, the same stern expression on his face he wore the day they first met those few months before. “She went looking for him too...”
For once, John did not have to enquire about what happened next, he already knew.
Alex turned his attention back to Gabriel. “And guess where he was the whole time...” he let the words linger in the air for a few moments, allowing his former ally’s anger to ferment a little longer. “With his whore.” And with that he had hammered the last nail into Gabriel’s coffin.
“Ugh...” John muttered at the grotesque thought. He was about to make a quip about inter species breeding and imply that such a thing should be punishable by death, but before he could he was distracted by Gabriel charging headlong toward him – sword drawn.
Fortunately for John though, Alex jumped in and locked swords with the fallen angel. The blades made a terrible sound, like distant thunder as they met one another. Such was the vibration caused by the connection that John felt the ground tremble slightly beneath his feet. The two angels parted as quickly as they had met, gaining some distance.
John staggered back several paces as the two swung and struck at one another. Both of them moved at lightning speed, so fast in fact that they seemed to move from one side of the unmarked arena to another in the blink of an eye.
Gabriel blocked another of Alex’s strikes, deflecting the blade with an upward thrust of his own. Blocked, Alex stepped back to allow himself more room to swing again – bending out of the way just in time as Gabriel took a desperate one-eighty degree swing for his waist. The tip of the blade sliced through the air, missing only by a few centimetres.
With Gabriel’s blade now to his left, Alex waited before he struck again. If he swung at the opening now, he would leave himself exposed from attack from that side should his blow miss its target. Gabriel may be a fallen angel but he knew all too well that he still had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. And he was right. In a lack on honour, Gabriel’s sword disappeared from his right hand and reappeared in his left – which he jabbed at Alex in an attempt to take him by surprise. Having anticipated such an underhanded trick however, Alex managed to knock the blade away once more with a heavy whack with the length of his own.
Pulling his gaze away from the melee of metal, John ran to Hayley. “Shouldn’t we help him?” he asked his sickly-stricken face awash with panic. Surprisingly, Hayley did not seem to share his concern. She glanced at him for a moment and then looked on.
The two angels knocked each other about with tremendous force, each parrying any blow delivered by their opponent with perfect defence and accurate recoil.
However, after several minutes of intense swords play, Alex seemed to be slowly. He only narrowly avoided losing his right thumb as the tip of Gabriel’s blade came down near the pommel. Deflecting his blade again, Alex took a sluggish step back and Gabriel bought his sword down. Alex’s blade vibrated in his loosening grip as he fended off yet another blow.
Gabriel struck again, this time from the right, again only to have his strike narrowly averted. Then, spying Alex’s exposed side delivered an unsporting kick to his ribs. The kick winded him, sending Alex to his knees.
Gabriel closed on him, kicking the blade from the guardian’s loosened grip. Now on his knees and without a weapon, Alex found the point of Gabriel’s sword pressed against his throat. “You did this, all of it. Now you will learn what it is like to lose the one you care about most.”
“Gabriel...” he gasped heavily, his nemesis hesitating at the sound of his name. He wanted to hear him plead for his pathetic life. “I forgive you brother...”
Gabriel sneered with contempt as he drew the blade back for the final blow...then his eyes glazed. He hung motionlessly over his younger brother like a statue, his expression frozen.
Seeing the tip of the sword protruding from Gabriel’s chest, his heart blood pouring angrily from the wound, Alex shut his eyes. He could not bear to see the sight.
Hayley wrenched the blade free from behind him. The slick wet noise of metal sliding through bone and organ made her wince. With nothing to support him, Gabriel keeled over, his blood pooling into the brown grass all about him.
Hayley turned to see Alex approach her, her eyes filling with tears, her hands shaking.
Taking a long, mournful look at his fallen brother as he walked toward her, the angel could not help let a tear roll down his cheek. He then turned to Hayley, who stood before him dithering. Her fingers grew limp and his sword fell from her hand. Taking her into his arms without saying a word, she buried her head into the nock of his arm, bursting into tears. Alex held her close, wrapping his long ivory wings around her and he gazed to the sky.
Chapter 19
Strolling through the hall, Alex could hear the TV as clear as day. He glanced through the large gapping hole in the wall – a lasting reminder of his ambush from Juliette and Gabriel’s cohorts. For a moment he lingered, eyeing the damage. John noticed his presence, despite sitting with his back to him on the couch in the living room. He glanced round to Alex.
“Morning.” He said emphatically, for once trying to make an effort to keep peace with the angel. The two had never quite ever seen eye-to-eye but given all they had just lived through, he had grown weary of bickering with the winged guardian over such trivial things that they used to argue about before. In fact, John even quietly admitted to himself that the stint away in hiding and living in fear may have forced him to grow up a little; but obviously he was still too proud to tell anyone else that, especially Alex.
A smile found its way onto the angel’s face. “Morning. Glad to be back home sleeping in your own bed again?”
John’s face sunk, returning to its familiar indifferent expression. He shrugged. “Yeah, suppose so. I kept waking up a lot last night though.”
“Yeah me too.” Alex confessed. He eyed the damaged wall again. “Once this and the rest of the damage is fixed though we’ll be able to put this behind us.”
“When are the builders arriving?”
“Thursday.”
John nodded. “Cool, cool.” With that said he shuffled back round to continue watching his programme.
Alex quietly moved on to the kitchen. There, to no surprise, Hayley was making herself a cup of tea.
A smile creased his lips. “And how are you settling back in?” he asked, clearly h
appy to see her in person, despite never truly leaving her side.
Hayley glanced over her shoulder at him, returning the smile. “I’m glad to be home.” She replied. “Do you want a cup of tea?”
“Yeah, please. I can make it if you want.” He offered.
“Nah, it’s alright.” Hayley replied, lifting the kettle.
“Alright then...” he trailed off, his mind drifting away again. For the longest time a quiet air filled the kitchen, the only sound being that of hot water pouring followed by the clatter of a teaspoon stirring. When Hayley finally turned around with the two teacups in hand, she found Alex standing in the same spot he had been in since he had entered the kitchen, hands buried in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
Alex looked at her with a start. Forcing a smile across his face, he said. “Yeah.”
But Hayley saw right through his facade. “No you’re not.” She said, coming over to him.
Quietly accepting the cup, he lowered his eyes for a moment. “No, not really.” He admitted, before meeting her gaze once again.
A lump forming in her throat, Hayley sat the cup down on the table and wiped her swelling eyes with the back of her hand. Seeing Alex down had set her off as well.
Putting his cup aside too, he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Are you alright?” he quietly asked.
“Yeah...yeah...” she sniffled, looking away.
“What you did was very difficult and it wasn’t fair for me to ask you to do such a thing.”
Hayley stared back at him with hazy eyes, fit to burst. “You said so yourself, it was the only way to make sure that we got rid of Gabriel once and for all.” She stifled a sniffle as the tears began to roll down her cheeks. “I’m sorry Alex, I’m so sorry I killed your brother.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “But if you had done it, who would of known what would have happened? You could have died trying.”
Alex looked at her regretfully. She was alright, completely and totally right. With a heavy heart he dipped into his pocket and removed a crumpled piece of paper – the piece of paper that had saved their lives. Slowly and carefully, he unfolded what was left of the former paper swan.
“I know...this is the one time we could not afford to try and cheat fate.” He sighed. “The message the guardian gave you saved our lives.”
Hayley shook her head, wiping tears away. “That doesn’t make me feel any better...”
Discarding the piece of paper on the table, he took her into his arms once more to comfort her. “I’m so sorry you had to do that, I truly am.” He apologised, his stomach knotting with a pang of guilt. Shutting his eyes, he pressed his head against hers. Burying her head into his chest, Hayley closed her eyes. “I forgive you...” he whispered, holding her close. His eyes drifted off into the distance, hazing. “He was like my brother Jacob...too far gone to be saved...” He said, desperately struggling to hold back his own tears now.
Hayley opened her eyes again. “I’m sorry about Jacob as well...” she whispered, clutching him even more tightly.
Alex had not thought about Jacob for some time. But now that he did, he felt even worse. His two brothers, his own blood...he had not wanted to have seen them go in such a tragic fashion. Neither of them had taken the opportunity to repent before they died...even that would have meant something, small as it was; but it had not happened, and they had both been hell bent in their own way until the bitter end.
Yet as much as it pained him to have to now go on without them, he knew what he did had been right. They had taken other lives unjustly and lost their way. They had fallen from grace with not even a glimmer of longing to make up for their wicked ways or return to the straight and narrow.
Alex drew a deep breath, his chest stiffening beneath Hayley’s head. “We did the right thing. They both killed people.” He shook his head. “Many innocent people over the years and they would have kept on doing it if no one had stopped them.”
Hayley peered up to him, her eyes swollen from the fresh flow of tears. “And they would have killed us without a second thought if either had got the chance...” he gently wiped a tear away from beneath her eye with his thumb. “You know that, as well as I do.” He quietly sighed. The resigned look on her face told him that she did.
Hayley gazed at him for a moment with nothing to say. For once, she was truly lost for words. Instead she simply let her head fall back against his chest and closed her eyes – enjoying his warm embrace.
Chapter 20
The new light of a new spring morn flushed its way through the thin green muslin curtains, casting the room and furniture in every hue of emerald. Alex stirred as the intensity began to annoy him – opening his eyes to find himself in freakish green surroundings. He did not care much for the colour and seeing his skin tanned in such a way made irritated him even more.
Sitting up on the couch, his wings stirred into life as well – bursting out from behind his back and stretching before folding back down into their restful position. His usual ivory feathers all the while donned a sickly pale green shade.
Rising to his feet, he stalked across the front room and toward the windows. Pulling the flimsy veils back the room was flooded with colour once more. With a yawn and a stretch of the arms, his wings following in a similar fashion, he decided that he needed a cup of tea to get his day off to a good start.
Merely turning round, he found himself standing in the kitchen. But unlike walking, he preferred not to use tricks when it came to making the hot beverage he loved so much. It always seemed more rewarding when he made it by hand.
As he went to retrieve the milk from the fridge he found himself joined by a dishevelled looking John. Trailing into the kitchen wearing only his boxers and a tattered shirt, the panda-eyed, scruffy haired boy slumped into a chair at the table – his head falling into his hands.
The dramatics caught the angel’s attention. “What’s the matter with you this morning?”
Lifting his lead-weight head, he peered at him through puffy, bloodshot eyes. “You kept me up most of the night.” He mumbled, almost incoherently.
Alex frowned at the accusation. “I slept like a baby. I did not get up once.”
“No.” muttered John, shaking his crow’s nest of hair. “Your fucking thoughts were stuck in my head all night long. Every time I closed my eyes, all I had was really frigging horrible dreams.” John shook his head again, his unkempt hair shaking from side to side.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise. You have my deepest apologies.” Alex said sincerely. There was little else he could do at this time but offer his words of regret.
John squinted his dreary eyes, finding it difficult to focus in his sleep deprived state. “Did you do it to Hayley as well?”
“Did you see her up during the night?”
“No.”
“Then it was only you. It only happened to you because your extra-sensory perception is much more heightened than most peoples, making you more susceptible to straying thoughts. Imagine yourself like a radio mast when everyone else is wired with only cable.” He explained with a lack of a better analogy.
“Wait...” John said, closing his eyes – his brain aching from trying to comprehend even the simplest of concepts. “If those were your thoughts that you accidently sent into my head last night, then how come you did not have the same dreams? I mean, surely you would have?”
“I merely sent you the thoughts, the dreams were a product of your own mind. It weaved them into the dreams on its own accord.”
John stared at him in a zombie-like manner.
“Still, I can’t imagine it was pleasant. I did not know that I was doing it and for that reason I am sorry once more.” He closed the fridge, milk in hand. “If it will make you feel any better, it will be the last time I will need to sleep for at least a few months.”
This news did nothing for John at this time. He merely gave an exhausted, indifferent grunt before heavin
g himself up to the cupboard.
Taking a bowl and box of cereal out, he mumbled, “That’s something I keep forgetting to ask you.”
“What?”
John looked round to him. “Sorry this is a bit random, but I’ve always wanted to know...”
Alex watched him expectantly.
“How come only a few people have guardian angels? I mean, besides Hayley the only other person I have ever heard of with one was that girl Laura. How come not everyone has one?” he asked.
“Because...” he began, suddenly hesitating. He smirked and laughed as he caught himself out. He knew John would not appreciate the long-winded answer. “Because,” he started again, “There aren’t enough to go round. I know that doesn’t sound fair but it’s just the way it is.” He shrugged his smile broadening as he grew reminiscent. “I’ve actually just remembered something my father said to me once. He said that your race were like stars, so many in number and that we were like satellites, far fewer, but always there watching over you.”
John stared at him in a trance-like fashion. “Ugh. That’s so cheesy.” He grunted before returning back to making his food.
Alex shrugged, turning his focus back to the tea. Adding the milk and giving it a stir, he lifted the cups and vanished in the blink of an eye.
John, unperturbed by his sudden disappearance crossed the kitchen to where Alex had previously stood, took the milk and poured it into his bowl of cornflakes.
Alex reappeared in Hayley’s room, cups in hand. Hayley’s eyes flitted from the TV to him, she too undisturbed by his sudden and unannounced appearance. She was still in bed and in her pyjamas. “You could have just knocked like a normal person.” she observed.
Alex gave her a smile and handed her a cup of tea. “Well being normal would just be boring.”
Hayley laughed as she took a sip of the tea and sat up. “So, how are you today?”
Alex considered the question for a moment before giving a slight nod. “A little better, yeah. What about you?”