Tempted (4 page)

The legend itself now stood in front of her, pushing back the face-guard of his metal helmet. Beneath a suit of black metal armor, his body matched his grotesque face; stretches of gaping, leathery skin pulling apart in places to reveal what appeared to be a flaming skeleton. Maggots and worms crawled in and out of the gaping holes. Even more of the foul creatures crawled and in and out of the empty holes where eyes should have been. Saliva rolled down one long, sharp canine as he leered at her.

“
What have we here?”

His voice was surprisingly smooth and rich. Sarah grimaced at the forked tongue moving around behind jagged, uneven teeth.

“
What could I have possibly done to deserve this? I have not feasted my eyes on something so beautiful in such a long time.”

Exasperated, Sarah allowed her body to take on its plain human form. “This is not a social visit, demon,” she said as she stepped closer to him. At her present height she was forced to look up at him, but was far from being intimidated. “Father sent me.”

Eligos laughed, and more saliva dripped from his mouth and hit the ground with a loud ‘splat’. He reached out one hand to touch her cheek; she felt the cold metal of his armor against her skin. “Must be my birthday,” he whispered.

Sarah’s eyes glowed white as she fixed her heated stare on Eligos. Within seconds his armor was glowing red and he was writhing from the pain as she seared his flesh. When he had snatched his hand away, Sarah stopped the burning and her eyes turned back to their earthly color.

Eligos clutched his throbbing hand against his chest and growled at her. “Tell me what the hell you want and leave,” he snapped. “I have important work to get back to.”

“
Not here you don’t,” she said. “This soul is now under my protection.”

A beastly snarl escaped from behind his lips as he stepped forward until his face was inches from hers. He barred his teeth at her and hissed.

“
What I wouldn’t give to wrap my hands around that pretty little neck of yours, angel.”

“
You’re welcome to try,” she said with a smirk, “but the fact remains that you no longer wield any power here...”

His laughter coiled around her, filling her stomach with churning bile.

“
This isn’t over, angel,” he said as he moved back toward his waiting creature. “Do you honestly think hell will give him over that easily? He possesses power that you could not even begin to recognize. He could do great things for our side, and Lucifer will not relinquish him without a fight.”

Sarah stood her ground, her hands balling into glowing fists at her sides. Eligos’ hand tightened on the hilt of the medieval lance at his hip in response.

“
If it’s a fight you want, you shall have one,” she said, watching as Eligos mounted his flying beast. The animal shrieked once, loudly, before flapping its bat-like wings.

“
You’ll be seeing me again,” he snarled before guiding the flying creature back out into the night. She waited until he was out of sight before she turned toward the fire escape.

Jackson Bennett was in apartment 318. He should be asleep at this hour, but Sarah was prepared to wait until morning, standing guard. If hell had sent Eligos after Jackson, then he must be more important than Sarah realized. Only those who possessed great power were targets for demons like him. Eligos commanded legions of lesser demons; Sarah had no doubt he’d return with reinforcements.

She was almost to the fire escape when she heard a noise behind her. She whipped around quickly, hoping to find whoever had spotted her. They may have heard or seen her exchange with Eligos, and if that were the case she would have to strike the meeting from the person’s memory.

“
Who’s there?” she called into the dark.

After a few seconds of silence, a man stepped into view. His face was hidden in shadow, so Sarah could not see his expression. She could, however, hear the fear and uncertainty in his voice when he finally spoke. She could feel it racing through his veins.

“
What the hell are you?”

Jackson had just managed to calm himself after the debilitating episode he’d suffered on the fire escape when he saw something very strange. He originally thought it was a shooting star streaking across the sky, glowing white in its brilliance. Jackson rose to his feet and stared at the star in wonder, having never seen such a large one moving across the sky before. Could it be a meteor or a comet? He never was much for science and didn’t know much about stars, but this one was massive, at least ten times the size of the other twinkling rocks in the sky.

After a few seconds, it became clear to Jackson that this was no star. Whatever it was, it was getting bigger by the second and, if he wasn’t mistaken, coming straight toward his building. Never one to back down once curiosity had taken hold, Jackson pulled down the fire escape ladder and started the short climb up to the roof.

The light from the approaching object was blinding as it grew near, and Jackson knew it would land only a few feet away from him. He detected a shining object at the center of the brilliant light, but before he could make out what it was, the object slowed its descent. As he ducked down behind an air-conditioning vent, he watched in shock as it slowly floated down to the roof.

It was obviously not a star, he thought as he watched the white glow subside. An alien? He knew the thought was ridiculous; he had never believed in life on other planets. But as he deciphered the form of a person amidst the white glow, he knew it was definitely a life form of some kind. Whatever it was, it was not human.

Jackson held his breath as the figure of a woman finally came into view. He felt his mouth fall open and his eyes widened as he gazed at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, human or not. She was at least ten feet tall, with skin like diamonds. Her eyes glowed white as she turned to take in her surroundings. Shining silver curls rolled down her back, and a white garment of some kind draped over her body, all the way to the ground.

Jackson could hardly believe his eyes. Is this what aliens looked like, he wondered? If so, this woman was nothing like what he had seen in the movies.

He watched from his hiding place, transfixed as she talked with the thing she had referred to as ‘demon’. The creature resembled a human, but with a few modifications that Jackson could gladly do without. Fear and disgust curled low in his belly at the sight of the thing, and the sensation of something crawling across his skin was overwhelming.

If this thing was a demon, did that make the glowing woman an angel? She had wings, he noticed, and was very powerful judging by the injury she’d dealt the demon when he had dared to touch her. He knew he should turn away; there was nothing happening here to concern him, and he couldn’t even fathom what the consequences would be if he were found. But as the glowing angel became smaller and morphed into what appeared to be a very average-looking person, his curiosity peaked. He could not turn away now.

The two continued to talk, although Jackson could only hear about half what was being said. He remained in his hiding place until the ugly demon disappeared over the side of the roof. Within seconds the terrorizing feeling in his gut had subsided and Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. The angel/woman was still standing there, watching the demon disappear into the night.

Jackson watched in silence as she turned away from the roof’s edge and headed back toward the fire escape. He released the breath he’d been holding as he realized that she was leaving. She stopped in her tracks as if she had heard him, and turned. Jackson’s heart began to race as she took a few steps toward where she was hiding. He could not see her face from where she stood in the darkness, but he could tell that she was scanning her surroundings; she was looking for him.

Her eyes came to rest almost directly on him, and Jackson knew that he’d been found out. He didn’t know if he should be scared or curious
.
He’d seen what she did to that demon, and knew that she could probably do the same to him if she wanted to. The question was, would she want to? Jackson hadn’t paid attention as much as he should have in church as a kid, but he did know that the angels were supposed to be the good guys.

“
Who’s there?” she called into the dark as she took another slow step in his direction.

Deciding that fear wasn’t going to get his questions answered, and that he had been through worse crap than this, Jackson stepped out of his hiding place.

Chapter 6: Face of an Angel

“
What are you?” Jackson asked a second time, as silence stretched out between them. Emboldened by the fact that she hadn’t disintegrated him into ashes yet, he moved toward her. He stopped within a few feet of her and folded his arms over his chest, waiting for her to respond. “Are you an alien?” he asked when she didn’t answer right away. “I mean, I never believed in them or anything but that was some pretty freaky shit I just saw.”

“
I think you know what I am, Jackson,” she answered finally. Jackson decided that he liked her voice. It was soft and melodious, barely a whisper. He had to lean closer to hear her. “I know what you saw, what you heard.”

Jackson ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Wow,” he whispered as he eyed her from head to toe. “Then you really are….you’re really not human?”

“
No,” she answered as he circled her. He knew that he was acting like a crazy person but he could hardly help himself. As he studied the average-looking woman standing on the roof of his apartment building, he couldn’t believe she was the same magnificent being that had swooped down from the sky minutes before.

Under normal circumstances Jackson would hardly give a woman like her a second glance. Standing at average height, she possessed a head full of straight, brown hair that fell down her back like a heavy curtain. Her features were unassuming; nothing about them was striking in any way. A light dusting of freckles was sprinkled across her nose and cheekbones. Her clothing consisted of a black t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of Converse All-Star sneakers. Nothing was too tight or too loose, but Jackson could faintly make out the soft feminine curves underneath.

So this was an angel then? He knew that if she chose, she could take on the form of the jaw-dropping thing he had seen before. For the life of him, he just could not reconcile the two separate forms in his mind.

As his eyes moved up to connect with hers—she was staring back at him quite intently—he gasped. He recognized the striking eyes, mahogany brown on the outer edges before fading into flecks of amber and emerald green. He remembered those eyes.

“
You!” he stammered as he stared at her. “You’re the girl from the street, the one I bumped into the other day.”

She nodded. Obviously, angels did not talk much. “Yes, that was me,” she said.

“
So, what, angels just walk around on the streets?” he asked as he started pacing. He couldn’t seem to help himself. Just looking at her, knowing what really lay beneath the surface, he couldn’t contain his excitement. He had discovered something incredible, something life altering. “How many of you are there?” he asked, his eyes dancing as he looked her over again. “How many of you are walking around on earth looking like everyday people?”

“
Thousands,” she answered. “All with a different purpose.”

Jackson’s eyes widened. “Thousands? You mean I could have come across more of you? There are more of you out there?”

She smiled back at him, his excitement was contagious. His eyes practically danced. “Yes, Jackson.”

His smile faded and his eyebrows drew together in confusion. “You know my name?”

She nodded. “Yes. I know who you are. Jackson Bennett, age thirty-one. Born to parents James and Tracy Bennett, an only child. You grew up in Brooklyn. You joined the Army at the age of twenty and served on three tours in Iraq before an honorable discharge. You are out here because you don’t sleep, and thought to clear your head with a bottle of vodka, so you stepped out onto the balcony and discovered me here.”

“
How do you know those things about me? Do angels know everything? Are you a mind-reader or something?”

“
Perhaps it would be best if we went inside to talk,” she said, gesturing toward the fire escape. “We have much to discuss.”

Curiosity won out over uncertainty, and Jackson motioned for her to follow him. This entire situation was growing crazier by the second. Not only had he discovered an otherworldly being on the roof of his building, but she knew things about him that he would have much rather kept to himself. The way she kept looking at him with those piercing eyes of hers made him feel completely exposed. He didn’t like the feeling, but decided to endure it for the sake of appeasing his curiosity.

A massive gray dog raised its head as Sarah followed Jackson into the small apartment. After studying her for several seconds, he seemed to decide that she did not pose a threat to his master and dropped his head back down to his paws with a loud yawn.

Jackson slid the balcony door closed and turned to face her. Even in the dark of the early morning, Sarah could make out his silvery-gray eyes. She had recognized him instantly when he came toward her on the roof, remembering the unsettling emotions that he had caused in her at their first interaction. They were just as turbulent now, but Sarah was better able to contain them. They were no longer unknown to her.