Afterlife: A Fall of Angels Novelette Read Free Page B

from behind Cole where he stood on the stone walkway.  “May I borrow a moment of your time?”
    “Of course, Richard,” Cole said as he turned toward the blue-eyed, white bearded man.  Even Cole, with all of his judgmental and pessimistic ways couldn’t find fault with Richard, the leader of the exalted.
    Richard folded his hands in front of him, his expression serious but ever kind.  “Members of the council are concerned.”
    “I know what Jeremiah has been saying,” Cole said, his voice cold as a block of ice.  “You must also remember he is a branded man.”
    “I understand,” Richard said, his blue eyes searching Cole’s face.  “That is not the cause of our concern however.  You committed a very grievous sin when you abandoned your duties.  You returned to the world of the living and failed to come back, for a very long time.  Some have been saying they believe you have been returning again.”
    Cole didn’t say anything as his eyes fell to the stones beneath his bare feet.  He couldn’t lie to such a pure man.
    “You understand that you cannot stay there, don’t you?”
    “I know that,” Cole said in a defeated, hard voice.  “The pain does not let me forget.”
    Cole hadn’t realized Richard had come closer until he felt his hand on Cole’s shoulder.  The fallen man inside of him wanted to jump away from his touch.  He felt filthy next to Richard.
    “Why do you cause yourself such torment?” Richard asked in a low voice.
    Cole didn’t answer right away.  His eyes remained glued to the ground beneath him.  “I don’t know how to stay away.”
    “You must,” Richard said, his voice kind but firm.  “You are letting yourself waste away, chasing after unobtainable fool’s gold.”
    “I know that,” Cole said, his voice barely more than a whisper.
    “Be careful, my brother,” Richard said as he let his hand drop from Cole’s shoulder.  “I cannot guarantee you will keep your position if you continue on the path you are walking.”
    “I understand,” Cole replied.
    With a sad smile, Richard coiled his wings and lifted himself toward the blue skies above.

 
     
     
    “ These have no hope of death...
    mercy and justice disdain them.
    Let us not speak of them, but do thou look and pass on.”
    - Canto III, Inferno, Dante
     
    Lying on his back, Cole stared up through the cylinder at the blue skies above.  His head hung over the edge of the stair he rested on, his shadowed brand touching the hot stones underneath him.  The air sweltered around him, rising in waves up to a place he could never go.
    The sound of ruckus laughter disturbed Cole in his woeful self-pity.  There was no peace and solitude in the land of the damned.  Cole tensed as he recognized one of the voices.
    “It won’t be much longer,” Jeremiah said to his companion.
    “It will be a relief to finally have a worthy leader again,” the other voice responded.
    Suddenly their footsteps halted as they came into view of Cole where he lay.  Cole didn’t even lift his head to stare coldly at them.  He wanted nothing more than to rip each of their un-beating hearts clean from their chests and watch the blood drip to the ground.  But he was so tired.  His entire being felt depleted.
    “How was your last trip?” Cole asked Jeremiah, not even bothering to tear his eyes from the blue above him.
    Jeremiah did not respond, Cole felt him tense, bracing himself to be attacked again.
    “You were never the smartest man in your lifetime, where you Jeremiah?” Cole said evenly.  “I would guess you had a tendency for getting yourself into trouble for making poor choices.”
    Still Jeremiah did not say anything.  Cole heard him flex his fingers, balling them into fists.
    “This is my final warning, brother,” Cole said, the ice inside of him starting to frost into his voice.  “Leave her alone.  You will regret every time you looked upon her more than you can comprehend.”
    “And what are you going