The Falling Star: Chapter 8, Part 2

Posted 02-07-21

Revised 02-09-21

An Angel from Hell story

By Christopher Leeson

Chapter 8, Part 2

After that, Watcher had no place to go except home. But this apartment building was no real home for her. It felt like it was just another place of exile; it was like floating into a void. From the moment she stepped inside, she had registered an emotion, and not a pleasant one. Whatever was plaguing the mortal nervous system that had enveloped her, it was not anything that an angel should be suffering from. In the In-Between Place, she hadn’t felt anything like it, so why now? She searched the back of her mind, wondering whether Jill Arendel knew what this feeling should be called. She did. Its name was loneliness.
 

Jezebel dropped what little she had been carrying onto the seat of a chair, and then the girl drifted to the window. She could see that there was only meaningless activity going on below. So many people, so many useless lives. Why did they exist at all? To eat? They reminded her of ants. Remembering that she was imprisoned in a body like theirs, experiencing feelings like theirs, made her feel unclean.

When she left the window, Jezebel preferred not to think about the world outside. It wasn’t part of who she really was, and she didn’t want it to be. She spread out at full-length on the couch, and then did nothing at all, except to stare at the ceiling. Without intending to, she dropped off to sleep. By the time the Watcher awoke, the winter’s daylight had ebbed away. Getting up to turn on the lights seemed like to much effort to do.

“I thought you could use some company,” said a woman's voice.

The Watcher's reaction was to throw herself into a roll across the carpet and come up to her knees clutching a makeshift weapon, a glass pop bottle. Then she recognized Shekinah and felt foolish.

“What are you doing here?” the blonde asked, rising gracelessly.

“My duty. And my duty, if you care to ask, is to look after you.”

The room was dark but, even so, the angel was easy to see. A light from some undefined source was falling on her. Jezebel had seen, and used, that trick a million times.

“Haven’t you anything better to do than spy on me? Why should the chief of the Seraphim be carrying on like a guardian angel? Is it a demotion? That’s something I definitely want to hear about!”

“I'm sorry to disappoint you. The Father gave me this assignment because he rates it an important one,” said Shekinah. “Isn't it logical that he would choose me to carry it out? If you recall, it's not the first time that I've sought to win forgiveness for fallen angels.”

“Did he actually say that that's was your job?”

“No. I just assume it.”

Jezebel made a sour face. “I’ve assumed a few things, too, and look how far it's gotten me. Does it ever make you angry that the Father refuses to explain things clearly?”

“No. I’ve learned humility.”

“You used to be a human. If you ask me, that gives you plenty to be humble about.”

The Watcher sidled over to into Jill Arendel’s easy chair and dropped into it. “Have you come with another mission for me? What's next? Getting a cat out of a tree? That would make as much sense as the silly trip that I've just finished.”

“Your mission wasn't pointless,” said the angel in white. “It delivered Susan Wevers out of the hands of evil, and it’s rebounded very well upon you, too. The admitted simplicity of the assignment was intended to give you sufficient leisure to take stock and get oriented.”

“Get oriented to what?” Jezebel asked.

“To having a human heart.”

She didn't like to be reminded about any of her human parts. “You bitch!” she burst out. “You let me be raped!”

“Was that my fault? Did you ever appeal to the Father or the Son for mercy?"

Jezebel glowered. “I deal with my own problems. Now why are you here, just when I don’t need you? After all, no one is trying to kill me at the moment.”

“I've been at your side continually since we last spoke. I gave you the address that let you know where you should take Miss Wevers. And I also gifted you a hundred dollars when you needed it. But this evening I've come by to commend you on an assignment well carried out.”

“A commendation? I'm sure the Father has seen all the sinning I had to do to bring it off.”

Shekinah nodded. “You certainly sinned more than necessary. Truly, if you were still an angel, you would now be in irreparable trouble. But because you're human, your sins can be forgiven. The problem is, you cannot be forgiven unless you petition your Lord for such an act of grace.”

"Whatever," she said with a toss of her hands.

“Why are you behaving this way?”

“What way?"

“After waiting five thousand years of knowing yourself doomed, shouldn't you be leaping at the chance to ask to have your sins forgiven?”

“The Father is asking me to grovel, and I resent that idea!”

“It always comes down to pride with you fallen angels,” asked Shekinah, “doesn’t it?

“Drop it! If I'd ever thought about cooperation, that thought went away when I was dumped into this contemptible life of Jill Arendel.”

“What is so contemptible about the life of Jill Arendel? It gives you presentablility and a career that allows you to travel about very freely without arousing suspicion. Also, as a beautiful woman, you will be welcomed into strategic places that might otherwise have been closed to you. As I see it, the guise of Miss Arendel shall suit your work requirements very well."

“I don’t care about the work. It’s just a means to an end,” said Jezebel.

“It can be so much more.”

“Spare me. Without respect, I reject.”

“You know many things that makes you a good agent, said Shekinah. "But there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. You have considerable room for growth in the wisdom category.”

“Did Jill get so wise from living this life?” Jezebel asked.

“Tragically, no. But you’re coming into her life with new perspectives.”

“Here’s a perspective I don’t have. How am I supposed to avoid sin if I have to go around as an erotic dancer with a Jezebel spirit urging me to do stupid things?”

Shekinah's expression became more serious. “You were doing stupid things even before you had such a spirit. And why do you pretend to abhor sinning today while you are stubbornly refusing to rid yourself of the ancient sin that holds you at the edge of doom?”

The Watcher was staring down at the carpet. "I don't feel like entertaining company right now, Shekinah.”

“No? I could feel your pain from the other side of this planet, much less from across the room.”

“Just go."

“May I ask a few questions first?”

“What?!” asked Jezebel testily.

“For one thing, I’d like to ask whether you are missing the companionship of Miss Wevers.”

"Missing her? She means nothing to me. It was ridiculous being forced to be her babysitter.”

“Didn't you like her at all? Didn’t I hear you promise to kill anyone who harms her?”

Jezebel stood up, but turned her back on the angel. “I was only warning those two Bible-thumpers that they had better not be playing me for a fool. The girl herself was unimportant.”

Shekinah smiled. “I hope that's not true. She was good for you, and you were good for her.”

The Watcher turned, ready with a good rebuke, but was surprised to see that Shekinah was now wearing an entirely new garment -- a brightly-colored club dress replete with accessories.

“What do you have on?"

“My present apparel has to do with my next question,” replied Shekinah.

“What question? A request for a dance?”

She laughed. "It’s not as simple as that. I would like to invite you out for a dinner and a show.”

"That sounds like such a repulsively human things to ask."

"Well, I used to be human, and you are presently one."

Jezebel raised her chin. “Why go to dinner? You don't need to eat.”

“No, but you do.”

“Why should you care? You're not my friend.”

“I'm not your enemy either. I’m your guide. I'm your conduit to the Father. Why are you so resentful of me? I earnestly did all I could to win redemption for all of you Watchers years ago. I would still like to help you redeem yourself in the present day.”

“Why? To put another feather in your cap?”

“No, this is all about you, not me,” Shekinah said. “A few days ago, I doubted that you could be saved. I even feared that you would kill Miss Wevers yourself, in some moment of pointless pique. Instead, you were faithfully protective and, at times, almost kind. The outcome of your mission came as such a surprise that I’m now ready to believe almost anything. You may indeed be the best of a very bad lot.”

Jezebel said through a twisted grin. “Don't you mean a very, very bad lot?”

The angel laughed again. “There you see? I've already started thinking better about you Watchers. Now, about the invitation....”

“What’s the show?”

“It’s a performance of Bell, Book, and Candle,” said Shekinah, “about a witch who is redeemed by love. You will need to dress for the venue, of course. But Jill Arendel’s closet contains some very excellent items for club wear.”

“Yes, you'd know what's in her closet. You’re the one who stuffed that nasty little red number into my luggage, aren’t you?”

“Guilty. I anticipated that you might wish to recharge your sin-power at some point. Obviously, a dress of that type would be an excellent facilitator.”

"Why am I being tempted to sin?" the Watcher asked.

"You will be sinning anyway. It's your nature. But while you are doing so, you can also be advancing the will of the Father. Remember, what the enemy intends for evil, the Father will use for good."

This put Jezebel into a mood to vent, to throw her unwanted visitor out, but she held back. A seasoned warrior had to be on guard against insubordination and the penalties it could bring. There was a hierarchy in Heaven and it was only sensible to respect it. She could get nothing from Hell, but Heaven still held out some possibilities. Besides, did she really want to be left alone right now, with nothing to do, with no one for company, with nowhere to go?

“Well, I am hungry. It'll take me a little while to change,” Jezebel finally said.

Shekinah smiled again. “Yes, I expect so.”


END