Camael heard the sound of a door opening and turned back to face the funeral home, willing himself invisible. An old man, dressed in a dark suit and tie, was standing on the top step, looking down at him. Camael was perplexed; it was as if he were able to see the angel—but of course, that was impossible.
The feelings of tranquility tripled, bombarding Camael with sensations meant to keep him complacent, but he held on to the ancient scent. No matter how hard it tried to hide beneath the oceans of serenity radiating from the town, he knew that at the core of Blithe there was chaos.
The man continued to stare at him with eyes black and deep, and Camael knew that the man in the suit could see him. “How is this possible?” Camael asked.
The old man’s head cocked to one side strangely, and he smiled. Then he blinked slowly, and Camael noticed a milky, membranous covering over his eyes. Not something that he had ever perceived on the human anatomy before. Sensing that he might be in danger, Camael was about to summon a weapon of fire when the old man leaned forward, his bones creaking painfully, and coughed. Tiny projectiles, about the size of a cherry, and barbed, were expelled from his mouth to stick in Camael’s face and neck.
The angel scowled angrily, reaching up to pluck the offensive matter from his flesh when he felt his body growing numb. “Poison,” he grumbled, tearing one of the barbed projectiles from his face and staring at it. It was brown and pulsed with an organic life of its own. It was the second time that day that some primitive form of life had attempted to vanquish him using toxins.
Camael closed his eyes and willed the poison from his body. Shockingly, it did little good, and he found that he did not have the strength to open his eyes again. The world seemed to tilt beneath his feet, and he fell to the ground.
Through the darkness behind his eyes, he heard the sound of the old man’s feet as he shuffled down the stairs toward him. Pulled deeper and deeper into the clutches of unconsciousness, Camael was consoled by the town of Blithe.
“You were meant to be here,” it said, easing the angel on his way into oblivion. “For without you, I would die.”
Aaron petted Gabriel as he watched Dr. McGovern shave away the fur on the dog’s leg, then squirt some saline solution into the wound. She dabbed at it with a cotton swab and leaned in to examine it more closely.
“Mouths are filthy, so I just assume that all bites are infected,” she said, squirting more saline into the wound. “This one is particularly nasty, though—especially for a raccoon bite.” She looked up to catch Aaron’s eye.
“I said I thought it was a raccoon,” he responded, flustered. No way was he going to explain that Gabriel had been bitten by a nasty little creature created by fallen angels. “I didn’t get that good of a look at it—I guess it could have been just about anything.”
“It was an Orisha, Aaron,” Gabriel grumbled.
“I know, I know,” Aaron said reassuringly.
“He’s pretty vocal, isn’t he?” The vet threw the soiled cotton swabs into a barrel, then rubbed Gabriel’s head affectionately.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Aaron replied with a sly smile and a chuckle. “Say, is he going to need a rabies booster?”
“A shot?” Gabriel grunted, lifting his head from the table.
“When did he get his last vaccination?” Dr. McGovern asked.
“I just got a shot,” the Lab whined.
“About six months ago,” Aaron said, ignoring his best friend.
“Yeah, why don’t we do a booster, then. Better to be safe than sorry,” she said, pulling a syringe from a drawer and getting a vial of vaccine from a tiny fridge beneath the counter.
“Better no shot than sorry,” Gabriel growled.
“He doesn’t sound too happy,” the vet said, filling the needle.
“He’s not, but he doesn’t have a choice. He has to get a shot or else he’ll get sick.” Aaron emphasized the last of the sentence specifically to the dog.
“Do you think he understands you?”
“I know he does,” Aaron answered, rubbing the thick fur around Gabriel’s neck. “This guy is pretty special.”
“Aren’t they all,” she said, and with one quick move, administered the injection with not so much as a yelp from the dog. “See,” she cooed, leaning into Gabriel’s face and rubbing his ears. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“She smells good, Aaron,” the dog woofed, his large, muscular tail thumping happily on the metal table.
Aaron laughed. “Don’t worry, Gabriel doesn’t hold many grudges. Give ‘im some affection and a cookie and he’ll forget all about the trauma.”
The doctor disposed of the syringe in a red plastic container on the counter. “All right,” she said, looking over her notes. “Let’s see, keep the wound uncovered so it can dry out and…”
“Warm compresses three times a day and two weeks of amoxicillin twice daily to kill the infection,” Aaron continued as he watched Gabriel sit up carefully on the table.
Dr. McGovern smiled, setting her pen down. “Pretty good.” She nodded. “Do we have an interest in the veterinary sciences?”
“I used to work in a vet’s office,” Aaron explained, the recollection of the life he had left behind washing over him in a wave of melancholy. He quickly turned back to Gabriel. “Do you want to get down?”
“Let me help you,” the vet said, and together they lowered Gabriel to the floor.
“You know,” she said, “I’m only here temporarily—but I could use a hand around the office. I can’t pay great money, but I could pay you something, and I could look after Gabriel’s bite—what do you say?”
It certainly was a tempting offer. There was something about this little town that had really gotten into Aaron’s system. It seemed to be saying that this was the place where he wanted to be. The fact that he could earn some money to bolster his dwindling savings account wasn’t a bad idea either. “Shouldn’t you check with Dr. Wessell first?” he asked.
Dr. McGovern nodded slowly. “I imagine so, but since my former fiancé is nowhere to be found, I’d say that gives me leeway to bend the rules a bit. You interested?”
“Let’s stay, Aaron,” Gabriel whined. “I’m tired of the car.”
“I’d have to check with my traveling companion,” Aaron said with a shrug. “But sure, if it’s okay with him, I’d love to hang around for a couple days.”
“Great,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Katie, and I know this is Gabriel, but it might be nice to know your name, too, especially if we’ll be working together.”
“Sorry.” He took her hand in his and gave it a shake. “Aaron,” he said. “Aaron Corbet.”
“Great to meet you, Aaron.” She released his hand. “Why don’t you go check with your friend and let me know what you’ll be doing.”
Aaron and Gabriel stepped from the building into the warm, spring afternoon and headed for the car. Gabriel was able to walk on his own with a minimum of discomfort, thanks to Katie’s ministrations.
“Where’s Camael?” Gabriel asked as Aaron opened the door and helped him into the backseat. He immediately lay down to check out the wound on his leg, sniffing and licking at the antiseptic goo that covered it.
“I don’t know,” Aaron answered. “And leave your leg alone,” he added, looking around for signs of the angel.
Since the battle at his home, he and the former Powers’ commander had formed a strange kind of bond. Aaron was always aware of the angel’s presence, and although he could feel something unusual about Blithe, right now he felt no sense at all of Camael. That alone was troubling. Looks like we will be staying a while, he thought.