Fallen Angel - A Short Story, Page 3

  *****

  The next night, she had the dream again, and woke as she had before, unnerved, aroused, with a slight tenderness around her breasts. The room was cool and smelled of summer meadows. It was his smell, the one she remembered from the night before.

  Then she saw the balcony door was open. The night was cold and frosty, with a large moon hanging in the sky like a silver lantern. As she went to close the door, she saw him, standing on the balcony, staring out over the rooftops.

  For a moment, she could not believe he was there, yet she was not afraid. His expression was bleak and unaccountably sad, as if all the world’s troubles were on his shoulders.

  ‘Hey,’ she said softly. ‘How did you get in here?’ There was no way he could have entered the flat unless he had climbed up the outside wall, and she was three storeys up. She could not understand why she was not afraid.

  He did not answer her, but smiled gently. ‘You’re so beautiful when you’re asleep.’

  That reminded her of the night before. ‘I’m sorry I fell asleep on you yesterday.’

  ‘You didn’t,’ he said. ‘It was me.’

  She looked at him, confused. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean ... I hate having to lie to you.’

  She had heard this before. Putting a brave smile on her face, she held out her hand. ‘You don’t have to. Just come inside and talk to me.’

  He let her lead him back into the warmth of the bedroom. ‘You won’t believe it.’

  ‘Trust me, I’ve heard it all before,’ she said comfortingly. She settled herself on the bed and pulled him down to sit next to her. His white shirt gleamed in the moonlight, but his eyes were as dark as chips of jet. They seemed to change colour with his mood. She reached for the lamp but he stopped her.

  ‘Don’t. Please. I don’t want to see your face when you hear what I have to say.’

  She turned on the lamp and he shied away from the light. She ignored his discomfort.

  ‘Out with it. If it’s that bad then you deserve to see my face before I kick you out that door.’

  ‘Okay.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’ve loved you for a long time, longer than you can even imagine. And because of that, I’ve ... engineered things to a degree, in the hope that you would eventually feel the same.’

  Rachel blinked. It was not what she had been expecting at all. Not even close. She opened her mouth to speak but he stopped her.

  ‘You’ve been wondering why you’re so unlucky in love. The married man, the transsexual, the ...’ His mouth twisted in a sardonic smile. ‘Boils. The seraph’s secret weapon.’

  Rachel shut her mouth with an effort. ‘What ...?’

  ‘I went too far. The elders lost patience with me and I was kicked out. Told me if I wanted a human being that desperately then I should damned well be one. Of course, they didn’t use the word “damned.” As I was leaving, a brother gave me just enough power to help me cope on the outside. Hence I was able to survive when they threw me under your car. That was a dirty trick, but it did me a favour. Maybe someone up there is watching us.’ His eyes glowed with melancholic light. ‘I can see from your face you’re confused. Maybe you think I’m totally mad. As a new mortal, I need to be weaned onto your food. In the meantime, my only source of strength is milk from the breasts of the woman I love. And ...’

  She slapped him hard. ‘Bullshit! How stupid do you think I am? You’re saying you’re some kind of alien stalker? That’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever heard!

  ‘Rachel, it isn’t ... I’m not fully human yet. I can’t ...’

  ‘Don’t! Just don’t say another word. I was so ready to give you a chance but you’ve blown it with the biggest load of fucking cobblers I’ve ever had the misfortune to witness! Get out!’ She jumped off the bed and headed to the door. ‘Just leave! And for the record, all you need to get laid is to provide dinner and stimulating conversation. It’s not that difficult!’

  As he stood up, she was aware of how tall he was. She barely came up to his shoulder. If he wanted to overpower her, he could very easily do it. For the first time, she could not believe how stupid she had been to let him in the first place.

  ‘Shut up and sit down,’ he said tightly, pushing her back on the bed. ‘I really didn’t want to do this. Not so soon. I was hoping to get to know you better first.’ He leapt lightly up onto the bed and she shrank away from him. There was no way of knowing what he was capable of doing next. Stunned into silence, she waited as he undid his shirt and threw it across the room. His body was as pale as cream and masterfully sculpted as any Grecian statue, but he was psychotically crazy. There was no doubt about that. She could not believe she had not sensed it before.

  The room was preternaturally quiet. He held her gaze, his eyes now glowing with an inner fire. Then he crossed his hands over his chest and placed his fingers on each shoulder, and bowed his head.

  Nothing happened for a moment, and then pain ripped across his face and he gasped, his eyes closing for a second. There was a tearing sound, which gave way to what sounded like pigeons gathering on the balcony. She glanced over at it but there was nothing. When she looked back at Thedriel, she screamed softly, and clapped her hand over her mouth to stop it becoming uncontrollable. It could not be happening, what she was seeing, the shadows looming on the opposite wall, the soft silver glow of many feathers, some as long as a peacocks, full and soft and gleaming. Thedriel spread the wings fully and ruffled them, glancing back at them with obvious pride, tempered by apprehension of what he could see on her face.

  Rachel could not speak, torn between laughing with joy or crying with despair. He was beautiful in every sense of the word, bare-chested but still wearing the suit trousers, and with these enormous great things framing him, cupping him in their feathered fingers.

  ‘So,’ she said when she could trust herself to speak. ‘You’re an angel.’

  ‘I prefer seraph,’ he corrected her gently. ‘And I was. I can’t go back, so I guess that makes me ...’

  ‘A fallen angel,’ Rachel said seriously, and she laughed delightedly. She wasn’t sure why, as she could kiss goodbye to any earthly fun with him from then on. But then, fallen angels were by their very definition, half human. The possibilities were intriguing, but she could not think about that now. He was still standing on the bed. The length of his wings meant that he could not walk or stand on the ground. She stared up at him in ceaseless wonder.

  ‘Do they work?’ She said eventually, at a loss for anything else to say.

  He smiled almost shyly and held out his hand. ‘You want to find out?’