Earthbound Angels Part 1: The Heartthrob Fallen Celestial Stories Collection (2 page)

Erick sighed. He certainly could not decide that
right now. There were some questions that did not readily have an
answer.

I should know,
he thought sarcastically as he threw a
look at the skies.
That's the problem. I always know how to answer it, but
suddenly there's nothing to guide me.

The skies looked back undeterred. But he felt a
tremor, as if some powerful being were laughing at him.

Shaking his head at himself, he knew he had
already gone too far, and it was too late to think about turning
back now.

If he wanted answers, he had to see it
through.

Approximately one hour later, Erick sat in his
penthouse suite at The Moon Bay Hotel. He kept this one on retainer
in case he needed to stay in the city at a moment's notice. He
occasionally used it as a refuge on those occasions when he needed
a night or two in which to relax and clear his mind. It was rather
convenient to always have this one on hand when he needed it. Money
may be disgusting to some people, but he had always found it to be
quite helpful in most situations.

Settling back on the sofa, he picked up his cell
phone and typed in Hollianne Talbot's name. Then listened to the
ringing on the other end. "Hello," A sultry-sounding voice
answered. It was not the kind of voice he would have expected her
to have; contrary to the picture of dejection she had presented, it
held a sense of possibility held in check, of unconscious but
undeniable sensuality.

He felt his heart thumping in that strange way
again; he could not decide whether it was painful or
pleasurable.

He closed his eyes.
The better to savor the
voice
, he thought, but
opened his eyes again at the absurdity of that idea.

He was an angel, not a wolf in a stupid fairy
tale, regardless of how he was unable to quite shake off the image
of a predator stalking prey. No, he thought. I refuse to think of
myself in those terms, even if I'm being metaphorical.

"Yes, hello. May I speak with Hollianne Talbot,
please?" he said rather gruffly.

Her voice was enough to send a human male's
thoughts into completely inappropriate areas.

I'm already there,
he reminded himself, feeling utterly human
at the moment.

"You are," Hollianne replied. "How may I help
you?"

Oh, if you only knew,
Erick thought.

He held down the mute key for an instant as he
cleared his throat and prepared his professional voice. "Hello, Ms.
Talbot. My name is Erick Angell, and I've just come across your
website regarding your freelance writing. I'm actually in need of
such services. Let me ask you; have you ever done any biographical
writing?"

There was a pause, as if Ms. Talbot was
gathering herself together. His call was obviously unexpected. When
she spoke again, her voice has become professional and polite.

"Well, it sounds interesting, Mr. Angell. Would
this biography be yours or someone else's?"

"Oh, it would be mine," Erick replied with a
self-deprecating chuckle. "I fancy myself somewhat interesting and,
whether it turns out to be a best seller or not, I like the idea of
sharing my unusual life with the world."

"I see," Hollianne replied. "Well, as I said, it
definitely sounds interesting. I would love to know more."

"Excellent! Are you, perhaps, free this evening
for dinner?" he asked.

On Hollianne's end of this phone call, she
glanced inside of her dismally empty refrigerator. As she surveyed
the three unappetizing items currently taking roost there, she
didn't even have to think about it before answering in the
affirmative.

"Where shall I meet you?" she asked.

"Actually, I'm currently staying at The Moon Bay
Hotel. Do you know it?"

"Yes, I know of it."

"Would you mind meeting me there, then? They
have an excellent chef, and we could talk about business over
dinner."

"Sure, that sounds great. What time should I be
there?"

"How's seven for you?"

"That works out quite well for me," Hollianne
said as she sadly surveyed her currently blank appointment
calendar.

"Wonderful. I look forward to seeing you
then."

After disconnecting the call, Hollianne was
filled with many conflicting emotions regarding Mr. Angell and his
possible job offer. On one hand, she wasn't sure how she felt about
writing the biography of an obviously self-absorbed man. On the
other, the money that taking the job would bring couldn't come at a
better time. Maybe she could even get an advance on her pay so
she'd be able to find a place to live. At any rate, she was
definitely going to meet with this man and see what the deal was
all about.

Erick stood on the balcony of his penthouse
suite at the Moon Bay and stared down at the city, reliving the
impression that had come to him the first time he had seen that
sight, one which he had never quite overcome; a sense of
incomprehension, as though it were a model made by unknown hands
for an undisclosed purpose.

Even though it had been many centuries since he
had been cast out of Heaven and banished to Earth, he wasn't sure
that he would ever become accustomed to interacting with
humans.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm now a human
myself,
he thought as he
tried to force his gaze away from the admittedly breathtaking scene
spread out before him, almost as if it were his kingdom.

The only nice thing God had done when he cast
him out of Heaven was to set him up as a very wealthy man who'd
never want for anything. War and famine had come and gone, but he
had not perished like other humans.

He had survived, had helped humans who had
worked for his companies to survive. He was an angel. He had the
ability to save humans from themselves, to correct their weaknesses
and set them on the right path. If called to do his duty, he was
ready to perform it to the best of his ability, stronger than that
of any mere human. Like a dark knight he came, his loyalty still to
his mission, the calling he considered his redemption.

He had done so, would do so,
every
time.

As if that could protect him from the world's
woes.

His lack of empathy for these hapless creatures
here no longer seemed to be as complete as when he had first
arrived. He had met a few of them that piqued his interest, but as
history was his witness, these special humans had perished at the
hands of their ruthless, uncomprehending brethren.

So how could they warrant his sympathy? He
honestly could not understand them. They were the only
self-destructive creations in the universe. They destroyed the best
of those who were spawned from their loins and left untouched the
most venal and corrupt, even rewarded, promoted and set them up as
moral examples. How could the Father look upon these creatures as
His children?

That still bothered him. It wasn't jealousy; he
simply could not understand. Erick had always been wary of
senselessness -- it opposed everything he had seen and understood
in his former state of being, where all events had meaning and
purpose. He was not someone who could tolerate phenomena that had
no meaning or importance.

He tried to find answers. In fact, he had spent
many years and travelled thousands of miles in search of a solution
to this problem of why humans, who were capable of imagining and
striving after the idea of the divine, and could even offer a
glimpse of it in their most lofty achievements; refused to follow
that vision into their conduct. Human wars and the horrifying
atrocities he had witnessed left more than a bitter taste in his
mouth. These things led him to wonder whether humans were
irredeemable, and not even worth trying to save.

So he hid. It was not that he had given up on
the human race - he had no choice about the matter. He simply
wanted to be rid of them for a while so that he could cleanse his
mind of the horror he had witnessed and regain a sense of who he
was.

Unfortunately, his many years of self-imposed
isolation where the only human contact he had were his business
associates, was wearing a little thin.

He had no friends and had never really cared to
make an effort to gain them. These women on Earth were terrible
flirts and he found it difficult to go out to nightclubs for that
very reason.

He wanted to drink alone and listen to live
music. He wondered how beings so depraved could create such
beautiful music, each example of which could evoke a whole world of
beauty and cause time to stand still. But women wearing grotesque
makeup, eye-watering designer perfumes and slutty clothes were
constantly trying to get close to him. He wanted no part of
them.

So what was it about this one woman that had him
so enthralled?

She was quite attractive in an unconventional
way; he would admit to that. She was rather short, 5'2" or 5'3",
with a small build, but not too thin. Her hair was a lovely natural
light blonde that reached the middle of her back, pulled back in a
ponytail.

That was all he could tell about her from where
he sat across the street in the coffee shop.

Yet it was enough to capture his attention.

He wondered about the reasons for his interest.
He had met women more remarkable, more conventionally beautiful
than Hollianne. He had mingled and sometimes enjoyed socializing
with what was considered the cream of the crop.

But physical beauty could only be that;
physical.

Most women attached so much importance to what
they presented to the eye, and did not think that what was inside
could be interesting too. Such women lost his interest immediately;
he could not brush them off soon enough. But there was something
else about her, something uncontrollable, uncontained; it was like
she had so much potential for rebellion bubbling up on the inside
that it could become unrestrainable once it had a chance to break
free. Her feelings and thoughts registered on her lovely face like
ripples on the surface of a calm lake; they emerged through her
actions, in the way her hands moved, even the way she walked and
carried herself. He had never seen a woman whose entire body seemed
at one with her soul.

He actually smiled when he thought of the way
she'd protested when talking with Jackson. She was someone who
would not take no for an answer, and had really been giving the
poor man hell.

It was a good thing he had sworn Jackson to
silence regarding their agreement. He really didn't want Hollianne
to direct her irritation toward him, or beg him to give in to
something she wanted to happen.

Angel or not, he knew he would have a very hard
time refusing her, even as the thought crossed his mind. For some
reason, he felt he would enjoy it, too. He remembered the look of
sadness on her face as she sat across the road from him.

She looked so alone, even when she was in the
middle of all the chaos. He knew it was so because that was what
she thought. It was what she believed.

He wanted to protest that no one was truly
alone. He was there, with her. He was there, feeling what she was
feeling even when he knew nothing about her. He felt a need, a
deep-seated need, to indulge her, to let her make demands on him,
to make him keep giving way until all his defenses were gone.

How could this human being make him feel this
way?

Suddenly, for the first time in years, he was
looking forward to having dinner with someone. Actually, not just
with
someone,
but
with this very unusual woman. Truth be told, his usual practice was
to make excuses, pretending that he had some urgent business out of
town; the idea of three hours coming up with polite banalities and
insincere flattery was a source of horror to him. This time,
however, he knew that no pretense would be necessary.

At precisely seven, Hollianne entered The Moon
Bay lobby.

She thought that she should have confirmed where
they were to meet. It had not occurred to her just how many places
to eat there might be in this hotel; so far, she had found two
dining rooms and a breakfast room, besides smaller suites on the
first and second floors for those who wished a more exclusive and
intimate setting.

Just as she was wondering what to do next, her
cell phone rang.

"Hello."

"Hello, Ms. Talbot!" Erick enthusiastically
greeted her. "I just realized that we neglected to settle on a
place to eat."

Hollianne laughed.

"Yes. I'm in the lobby now and I just realized
that same thing."

"Great minds think alike. Look, I'm staying in
the penthouse suite and I've taken the liberty of ordering room
service for us. I thought that it would be easier to talk without
lots of interruptions and distractions. Would you be comfortable
dining in my suite?"

Hollianne honestly wasn't sure she was
comfortable with that at all. She had had enough near disasters in
her life to know better than to agree to a date alone with someone.
But she really did need the job and her stomach was currently
reminding her that she hadn't eaten since last night.

Well, what if he was a pervert wanting to
draw you in?

His voice did not sound like that of a
pervert.

How do you know?

Her stomach growled.

What choice do I really have?

"Sure, Mr. Angell, that sounds fine. I'll be
right up," she said as she forced a smile on her face with an
effort that was positively painful, while at the same time she
gripped the small container inside her bag with her other hand.

Oh well, there's always Mr. Pepper.