Page 5 of Fear the Fall
“You don’t believe in fate. It was a simple right place, right time scenario, Zeke.”
Completely ignoring my words, he goes on. “Once, I thought you’d share everything with me. You freaked out and I don’t understand why.”
He knows. I’ve told him several times a day. Because I want back into Heaven. God is love personified. In his presence, you don’t feel things like hate and anger. Here, you feel everything, and it can be painful. Why would anyone choose that? For something like human love? No, thank you.
“You know there are more fallen here on Earth,” I say, pumping as much exasperation as possible into my voice. “There have to be. Go find them.”
“There aren’t,” he says, sounding annoyed.
“Perhaps the other fallen are doing exactly what you suggested and enjoying all of Earth’s pleasures,” I mock, rolling my eyes as I say it.
He grins, moving forward and invading my personal space. I back up, caught off guard by his sudden movement. “There are a lot of pleasures, Tori. Let me remind you. Like old times,” he says seductively, leaning into me, inches from my mouth.
I trip backward slightly. “Knock it off, Zeke.”
He shoves his hands into his jean pockets and rocks back and forth on his feet. “Ah, come on, Tori, lighten up. It’s going to be a long life if you can’t have a little fun.”
“The only fun I need is slicing my sword into the heart of a vampire,” I growl.
I’m frustrated by how much power he has over me. I hate what he makes me want. Makes me crave. He doesn’t need to remind me of anything. I remember it all in great detail. The way his hands roamed over my body. His demanding tongue dancing with my own. The way he felt inside of me. I shiver at the thought.
Zeke’s phone rings, and he pulls it out from his back pocket. “What?” he barks. His eyes narrow. “Where?... I’ll be there,” he says, before disconnecting the call and placing his phone back into his jeans. “Vamps just outside of Jackson Square.”
They’re getting braver, coming out earlier and practically in the heart of New Orleans. Rage sweeps through me, the need to unleash the energy trapped inside coursing its way up my spine. It needs to be released.
“Are you coming?” Zeke asks, sounding far too hopeful.
I want to. I miss the days when we fought together, but falling back into our old routines is a recipe for disaster. Zeke doesn’t deserve to be my crutch. That’s what he was in the beginning, and that’s what he’d be now. There’s no sense in trying to deny it.
“No. Like I said, I don’t fight alongside humans.”
His eyes narrow. “If I ditch the humans, will you fight beside me?”
“Get rid of them first, and then we’ll talk.”
He grins, nodding in satisfaction. “I’ll be back,” he promises, before turning and jogging off to join the fight.
I have no intention of fighting with him. With or without the humans, my words still stand. I need to do this alone, and Zeke would only complicate things. Getting back to Heaven is my greatest goal, and staying the course is imperative. Angels aren’t supposed to enjoy the perks of Earth. They’re not meant to dabble in human emotions and pleasure.
Zeke surely does, and that can’t have him in God’s good graces. Battling demons or not, you don’t turn your back on God and get a pass. I’m hoping that atoning in more ways than one will convince Him to give me a second chance. The truth that nobody knows is that I fell to Earth for an angel—one who deceived me.