Betrayed Page 11

  Chapter 11

  “Evangeline, this has to be a mistake,” Adela appealed from her place next to Liam on the couch.

  Evangeline eyed both of them, shook her head, and sighed. “I would have to agree, Adela, but it is not my place to do so. I’ve received my orders, and that is to educate you on your new assignment.”

  Liam’s gut tightened as he listened Evangeline. “This world is in dire straits,” she said quietly. “Heaven is counting on you two to help people fall in love.”

  “Apparently, neither of us know a damn thing about love, Evangeline, and that seems to be a big problem here,” Liam said.

  Evangeline nodded. “You were once in love, Liam. I studied your lives while you were alive.”

  “And look how that ended!” Liam snapped. “I’m not good at being in love, and I can sure as shit kill it!”

  There was a beat of silence, and Adela gave him a questioning glance.

  He didn’t bother to say anything else. This whole plan was a disaster waiting to happen.

  “Because you have been put into this role,” Evangeline said, “you can understand what dire straits the human race is in. The Creator has waited too long in the hopes that the humans would right their wrongs, but they haven’t. Things are getting worse daily, and now we are simply trying to avert the crisis.”

  Liam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He didn’t know destruction was so close. “How much time is there before the humans self-destruct and start tossing around nukes or some shit?”

  Evangeline shrugged. “I am not privy to that information, but as you know, the Creator is. For Him to take steps like this, it must be close.”

  Liam tilted his head and studied her pretty face. An angel, indeed. So what if the humans destroyed everything? It wouldn’t affect him—he was already dead. Right?

  “And what happens to us if the humans blow themselves up? Why should we care? We’re dead already,” Liam pointed out.

  Evangeline took a deep breath. “If we fail in this . . . if we can’t create more love than hate in this world and the humans destroy each other . . . as angels of Heaven, we will end up in Hell to burn for eternity.”

  Adela gasped. Liam sat back, his death replaying in his mind like a high definition 3-D movie. The excruciating pain, the acrid smell of his flesh burning and smoke strangling him were still fresh in his mind. He had already suffered through the fires of Hell, and he wasn’t about to go back.

  “But there must be others more qualified than us,” Adela implored.

  “We’re using everyone we can,” Evangeline said. “But on the bright side, you will be given the easiest cases.”

  “What does that mean?” Liam asked.

  “It means that the couples you are assigned to are meant to be together. They may have a history together, but large misunderstandings or issues have torn them apart. It will simply be a matter of reintroducing them to each other, to make them see the error of their ways.”

  There was silence in the room as Evangeline looked at both of them hopefully. Frankly, it didn’t sound too bad. If these couples were supposed to be together and just had issues they needed to work through, how hard could it be to get them back as one? All they would need to do was point out the stupidity of their ways and all would be right in their worlds again. There would be more love in the world, and Liam would remain an Angel of Tolerance, not burning for eternity in Hell.

  “How are two people in love going to change a blessed thing?” Adela asked.

  “The world will have two less people with poisoned souls. When people are happy, the darkness can’t worm its way into their hearts. When a person isn’t happy, it is contagious. If we have many angels acting as Angels of Affection, then there is a chance we can combat the hate.”

  “It sounds like a disease,” Liam mumbled.

  Evangeline shut her eyes briefly and shook her head. “I guess to a certain extent, yes. A person’s disposition is contagious. If you have one person who is miserable, that misery spreads like a weed, just as Michael said. However, the same is true for happiness. If there is happiness in a human’s heart, that can grow and infect others as well. So, if we have two more people with happiness in their souls instead of misery, that number can quickly multiply.”

  Made sense. And it was kind of like a disease. Sort of.

  “Is the darkness you speak of the devil?” Adela asked.

  Evangeline shook her head. “No. It is one of his instruments, but no, it’s not Satan himself.”

  Liam let out a sigh of relief, thankful he wasn’t going to be tangling with Satan. He didn’t have the tools for that. From what he understood, only very special angels took on that asshole.

  “Okay, let’s get the first assignment,” he said, ready to get started. No better time than the present.

  “There are other things that you need to be made aware of,” Evangeline explained. “First, you will live as humans. Your angel abilities will be stripped. You must use doors. You will not be able to fly. You will need to eat and sleep . . . everything that humans must do. You will be able to get physically hurt, and you will experience ailments of humans.”

  “Like this pain I have in my head?” Adela questioned, rubbing her temple.

  “Yes. The transformation is beginning.”

  “And where do I live if I need to do all these human things?” Liam asked, his excitement growing at the thought of being human again. He wanted to do all the basic things that most humans took for granted, like eating, drinking, and sleeping. There was nothing better than an afternoon nap after a big steak lunch.

  “Here, Liam. You will live here.”

  “And where will the witch live?” Liam asked, winking at Adela.

  “She will live here as well.”

  Liam turned to Adela, her face pale and her eyes wide. He threw his head back and laughed. The assignment had definitely taken an upward swing.

  “You can’t possibly expect me to live with him!” Adela screeched.

  “Yes, we do. All Angels of Affection must work together in pairs.”

  “We can work together, but I—“

  “I know this is difficult, Adela, but these are the arrangements that have been made. This apartment was vacant, and Michael thought it would be a perfect place for you since it is close to your target. We’ve tried to make it as comfortable as possible.”

  “Where did all this furniture come from?” Liam asked. “How did it get in here?”

  Evangeline rolled her eyes. “The powers in Heaven can create anything on Earth, Liam.”

  “So why don’t they create peace and harmony?”

  “Because if they did that, then they would be interfering with humans and their gift of free will.”

  There was a beat of silence.

  “How do we know who we’re supposed to help? And who they’re supposed to fall in love with? How close is this target?” Adela asked.

  Evangeline smiled. “They will come to you, and as you become more ingrained in their lives, you will recognize who they’re supposed to be with.”

  “And if we can’t figure it out?” Liam asked.

  “The clues will be there, Liam. Remember, Michael talked of the darkness. You won’t be able to see it with your human eyes, but you’ll recognize the symptoms.”

  “And what are those?” Adela asked.

  “People who are infected with the darkness Michael spoke of usually show signs of depression. They may also seem angry.”

  “What if we fail? What happens to us?” Adela asked.

  “I honestly don’t know, Adela. These assignments are most important, so I know the punishment will be strong. We must focus and concentrate on getting everything right so we all don’t end up in Hell. We can’t allow the humans to self-destruct.”

  Evangeline stood up and unfurled her wings. “There is one last thing,” she said. “If you’re successful in these assignments, the Creator would like you to take note of the compassion a
nd empathy that is required for a relationship to work when a couple is in love. You two have become hardened. Adela, it is my belief that you have been an Angel of Death too long, and I wonder if you should have ever been given the task with how your life ended. Liam, I’m . . . I’m simply not sure what to say to you. You are who you are, which is a hardened, obnoxious male. However, both of you are lacking in compassion and empathy as Angels of Death, and if you are to return to your stations, you must change. I wish you both luck.”

  With that, she walked through the wall and disappeared.

  Liam glanced over at Adela. “I’m an obnoxious male?”

  “She was being kind.”

  “So you think she’s right?”

  Adela didn’t answer, just stared at the dark wooden coffee table.

  They sat in silence for a moment. Liam couldn’t believe he was going to get the chance to become human again. Women, song, and wine, or whatever that saying was. Certainly those in charge of this little mission wouldn’t mind if he strayed a bit during downtime. Well, he hoped they wouldn’t mind. He’d been working his ass off for five years and felt he deserved a little time to slack off. The first thing he wanted was a beer.

  “Well, what do you say, roomie?” Liam asked.

  Adela didn’t look happy. “I feel ill.”

  Liam felt his stomach roll, but he had only been dead five years and recognized the sensation as hunger. He imagined that after three hundred years Adela might have forgotten what hunger felt like. Okay. So sate the hunger and then get the beer.

  “You need to eat,” he said.

  She slowly turned her head toward him, and the hardened witch looked like a deer in the headlights.

  “This is all so strange to me,” she murmured, her voice quivering.

  Liam nodded. “I don’t doubt it. I think you’re in for quite a ride.”

  He stood and stretched, hearing some popping in his joints and tightness in his muscles that he hadn’t felt in five years. He rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles for good measure.

  “What are those sounds coming from your body?” Adela demanded.

  “Joints, ligaments, and muscles stretching.” He had to admit, it felt good. It almost made him want to break into some yoga poses, and he supposed he would if he actually knew any.

  “It sounds like rocks knocking together,” she said.

  He smiled and turned to her. “My guess is your own stones will be knocking together when you stand up.”

  Adela stretched her legs out in front of her, and her knees gave a loud crack.

  “We need to get something to eat,” he said.

  “The refrigerator is full,” Adela said, standing, her knees popping again.

  “Well, let’s go see what we can find,” Liam said.

  “I don’t know how to work the appliances,” Adela commented.

  Liam shrugged. “I’m not an expert in the kitchen either, but we’ll get it figured out.”