The Fallen 2 by Thomas E. Sniegoski

Author:Thomas E. Sniegoski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 2004-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

EPILOGUE

Aaron had marked his brother’s grave with a rosebush. It was taken from one of Belphegor’s many gardens scattered about the property that was Aerie, and it appeared to be doing quite well within its new patch of earth.

A warm presummer wind ruffled his hair, and he could barely smell the stink of devastation it carried. After three days the aroma of burning buildings and charred flesh had finally begun to fade. He had been surprised that no one in the outside world took notice of the destruction that plagued the abandoned neighborhood, but when dealing with angels and the magicks they wielded, nothing should have surprised him.

He knelt in the damp, freshly turned soil to inspect the red buds. An insect that he could not identify—some kind of green-shelled beetle—alighted on one of the rosebush’s leaves and looked as though it might be ready for a little snack. In the language of the beetle, he asked it to please find somewhere else to dine, and to pass the word to his fellow bugs that this particular bush was off limits. The bug obliged with an irritated buzz and a flutter of its wings.

Aaron looked up from his brother’s grave to see Lehash and Lorelei crossing the yard toward him.

“Did you check it for bugs?” Lorelei asked him, gesturing with her chin toward the rosebush.

“The bugs and I have an understanding,” he answered as he stood, leaning over to wipe the damp earth from his knees. “But I’m keeping my eyes open.”

Lehash removed his Stetson and combed his fingers through his white hair. “And speaking of keeping an eye out,” he said, placing the hat back atop his head, “we got our feelers out to see if anyone’s caught sight of our wayward Powers’ commander.”

Aaron looked back to the grave, imagining that he could see beneath the earth to his brother buried there. It turned his stomach to think that he was the one who put him there. Yet again he saw the blade of his sword slicing toward Stevie’s—Malak’s—neck, and a savage chill coursed down his spine.

“Anything?” Aaron asked.

Lehash shook his head. “Nope,” he said. “Are you sure that Verchiel wasn’t killed—that one of Lorelei’s lightning strikes didn’t turn his sorry carcass to ash?”

Gabriel’s sudden burst of barking distracted them and they looked to the far corner of the yard. Vilma was holding a tennis ball, pretending to throw it, whipping the Labrador into an excited frenzy.

“How’s she doing?” Lorelei asked.

Aaron watched as she threw the ball and Gabriel eagerly bounded across the sparse grass in pursuit.

“She’s doing all right,” he said. The dog had snatched the ball up and was returning for another round. Besides eating, there was nothing Gabriel enjoyed more than a game of fetch. “I think it’s going to take her some time to adjust, but I think she’s going to be okay.”

They were silent, watching the dog as he tirelessly chased the tennis ball and dropped the slobbered toy at Vilma’s feet. She laughed out loud at the dog’s antics and Aaron couldn’t imagine a nicer sound.

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