Hammer of the Gods

Chapter 7

GABRIEL

Chapter 4

Son of Morning, never fell,

The stalwart one, the angels tell

A mighty general, cherubim he leads,

He fights the Devil, eternally

Loves the day, shuns the night

Through his veins, flows holy light

If the war, Heaven to win,

He must guard, his brother's kin

Through the earth, where danger lies,

Before the war, with The Lord of the Flies

After safely returning to Juliet's house in Gulf Breeze and locking the door, Angelica, Juliet and Hayes spent a couple hours reliving their unbelievable experience at Battery Langdon. Over the next few nights none of them slept very well. Angelica said her goodbyes to Hayes a few days later, and they parted with a long kiss and embrace.

"I wish you could move back to Gulf Breeze," Hayes said as he stared into Angelica's eyes.

"I know. I miss the beaches, and I miss you and Juliet. But I had to get away when Mom and Dad died, and, Uncle Brandon took me in. I'll be done with my bachelor’s soon. Maybe I'll find work here. You could always move to Atlanta, you know,” Angelica poked Hayes in his thick chest.

Hayes laughed, "Most of my college credits would not transfer to engineering. You know I'm taking oceanology classes right?”

"I know, but you could deliver pizzas there and…" Angelica trailed off. "I'll see you at Christmas, ok?"

"I'll be here White out."

"Hey! Watch it, mister!" Angelica laughed

They kissed passionately one more time, and Angelica waved goodbye as Hayes drove away in his pickup truck towards Pizza Hut.

Angelica went back inside to grab her bags.

"I guess this is goodbye, Emoji!" Angelica said smiling at Juliet.

"Yea take care of yourself White Out," Juliet replied.

They hugged each other and then Juliet walked Angelica to her car. She helped load the suitcases in the Rabbit’s hatchback. They waved goodbye to one another, as Angelica set off for Atlanta.

***

Angelica ran down the dark passageway as fast as she could, her heart racing. Perspiration streamed down her face. All was black except the pale moonlight that illuminated the bars at the end of the hallway blocking her path.

Whatever was behind her was catching up.

Angelica seemed to run in slow motion, her feet sticking to the floor. The thunderous echo of the footsteps rang in her ears. It was closing on her, only steps behind now. Any second its hairy hands would have her. The creature's putrid breath was upon her neck; she could picture its crazed eyes, with a reddish glow, like a blood moon rising. Her scream echoed around her as it reached for her…and then she wakes, sweating, her hands flailing, grasping for her sheets, but they are lying on the floor near the bed. Her heart pounded against her chest with such force that she thought it might explode.

Uncle Brandon ran into the room with a worried look on his face and called her name, trying to calm her down. "Did you have another nightmare, Angelica?"

"Yes; it was the same as last time."

"Do you need me to stay with you?"

"No, I will be all right. Thank you, Uncle Brandon. I think I will go to Buckhead tonight. I need to make some new friends here and get my mind off these nightmares I’ve been having. Don’t wait up for me but I will text you if I plan to be out past midnight ok?.”

“Your parents wouldn’t like you staying out late like that alone you know? And neither do I.”

“I know you mean well Uncle Brandon, but I’m an adult now and I still remember some of that Tae-kwon-do Dad taught us.” She said with a smile.

“Alright young lady, but if I don’t hear from you by midnight I will be driving into town to look for you and that is past my bedtime. That makes for a grumpy bear tomorrow you know?”

Angelica stood up and hugged her uncle. “Thanks so much for always being there for me, Uncle Brandon. I love you.”

“I love you too Angelica, like you were my own daughter.”

Angelica parked her car a couple of blocks from the main road. After trying a couple of clubs, she lost interest.

As she left one of the dance halls, she spotted the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. He really took her breath away. He was very tall, but broad across the chest and shoulders. He was wearing all white; his clothing was loose, but the shirt was sheer revealing his muscular arms, although he also wore a short-sleeved undershirt. He was clean-shaven and his long blond hair cascaded down to his upper back. No jewelry could be seen but Angelica thought to herself that no bejeweled baubles could accent this man’s beauty further. He had been looking down the street but turned towards her as soon as she had paused outside the club.

As their gazes met, Angelica’s heart fluttered as she lost herself in those glacial, bright blue eyes. He smiled at her with ivory white teeth which were accented by full lips and dimpled cheeks. Angelica lost all sense of time until a group of people walked in front of her. When the crowd had moved past, he was gone.

So strange and disappointing. There’re no open businesses on that side of the street or a vehicle or alley that he could have easily gotten to.

Following the group that had just passed, she worked her way towards her car. Pausing to look back, she hoped to see her mystery man again. The group of people she had followed now proceeded onward down the main road. Left alone, she turned down a side street towards the parking lot. The lights were fewer here and further apart. The sounds of her footsteps seemed amplified by the asphalt and brick of the narrower road and buildings. The air grew cooler, or perhaps it was merely her imagination. Shadows clung to the sides of buildings just around the corners where the light could not touch them. Her imagination began to play tricks in the half-light as she wrapped her arms around her chest.

When she was almost to her car, another man came into view. He was standing under a light at the far end of the parking lot. His head was bald. He was wearing a leather jacket, blue jeans and black shoes with a dark shirt. He wore gold jewelry on his fingers and neck. His build was stocky. A short-cropped goatee enhanced his eerie appearance.

Pausing, and thinking to herself that he looked familiar, but she could not place from where. Whatever the memory of him, he made her uneasy. He was looking down towards his feet as she approached her car. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as a nauseating wave of foreboding overwhelmed her senses, just as it had in Battery Langdon before the creature chased them out.

As she entered the light of the parking lot, he looked up, directly at her. His eyes were shadowed in the artificial light. He did not smile. She was trying to decide whether to try and turn around or to make a dash for her car which was between them. She decided to go back the way she had come and try and reach the main road again. She looked behind her a couple of times as she walked briskly. The man had not moved from beneath the light, but he was watching her. Before the main road, there was a small service street to her left that went behind the club. She could see someone taking out the trash and thought maybe she could get back in through the back door. Her other choice would be to try and circle around the buildings and see if the bald man had left. But before she could get to the back door of the club, the worker went back inside. The door was shut and locked.

There was a van parked just past the door, and as she approached, the bald man stepped out from the far side. Startled, she regretted her decision not to go back to the main street.

The man started walking towards her.

She tried banging on the back door of the club, but the music was so loud no one would hear the knocking. Her breathing picked up and her heart began to race. She desperately tried to make a hasty exit when the man called her name.

"Angelica.” It was more of a statement than a question.

"Do I know you?"

"Perhaps from your dreams?"

“Is that some kind of pickup line?” His accent is strange, I can’t quite place it.

Ignoring her question, he asked, "Why don't you let me buy you a drink?"

“I need to go home; my uncle is sick and needs me.” She began backing away from him.

Smoothly, he replied, "But you were just trying to go in the club and your car was back in the lot was it not?

“Who are you?”

"My name is Barabbas."

Wanting to get out of there she turned, but Barabbas was suddenly on the other side of her as a narrow grin spread across his blocky face. Perhaps it was her imagination, but his canine teeth seemed abnormally long. Now that he was close and illuminated by the light near the back door of the club, she could see that his eyes were as black as shiny coals filled with emptiness. She stepped back a bit panicked now.

His smile turned sinister and he spoke again. "Take me to Azazyel." His voice sounded low, dark, and menacing.

How he was able to move so quickly, she could not explain. But again, he was in front of her. She reached in her purse for the pepper spray she always carried as she stammered, "I…I don't know an Azazyel. In fact, I have never heard of that name before."

"You must know where he is!"

He reached for her, as she pulled her pepper spray out and sprayed him in the face. He laughed in response as he wiped his eyes.

His canine teeth are definitely longer than normal. Suddenly, childhood horror films flashed in her mind of…. vampires!

Barabbas began to reach for her.

Suddenly, from behind him a voice yelled, "Barabbas, stop!" It was a clear voice that sounded like running water and thunder.

Barabbas turned and to Angelica's relief there stood the tall, blonde, beautiful, man. The sinister man stiffened, his hands clenched. "Do we know each other?" Barabbas asked.

"I seek a meeting with Angelica, ye cursed child of darkness," the newcomer said.

Angelica's mind was spinning at the turn of events. Did every strange man in Buckhead magically know her by name?

Barabbas spoke again, his tone menacing, "What is your name stranger? I will give you one chance to leave, but I want your name first."

"I am Gabriel."

Barabbas’s eyes grew wide as recognition dawned on him. In a fraction of a second, the vampire was at the other end of the alley, locked in battle with Gabriel. The fight seemed almost like a movie; as their movements were so fast that Angelica had trouble keeping up. Barabbas appeared to have caught Gabriel off-guard in the first assault, as the tall, blonde, was pushed into a telephone pole into the street. Sparks arced from the lines, but they somehow held the broken pole upright. Barabbas’ body suddenly impacted a dumpster nearby, crushing it with a loud screech of bending metal. To and fro, Gabriel and Barabbas fought, knocking off pieces of brick from the walls.

Angelica stood in awe as Gabriel rose off the ground, levitating perhaps twenty feet in the air. His loose-fitting white clothing rippled around his body, and it appeared as if the street light illuminated him brighter than the alleyway below. He held his arms out to the side's palms facing upward as if concentrating. He then looked heavenward. The air around him began to swirl, stirring up dust and trash from within the alley around the vampire.

Barabbas looked around him, and rather than wait for the wind to strengthen, he leaped the twenty feet with astounding ease. The two combatants collided in the air, and Gabriel struggled to push Barabbas away. The small tornado in the alley died away as the two continued their hand-to-hand combat. Barabbas grabbed Gabriel behind the head and tried to force his fangs into the man’s neck, but suddenly each was slammed into the ground before Barabbas could bite. The impact cracked the asphalt where they struck.

Barabbas pushed Gabriel back into the van, crushing in the side. He changed tactics as he lunged for Angelica. Gabriel appeared suddenly between them and knocked the assailant to the side. The villain reached into his jacket and pulled out a wicked looking short sword. It flickered as if smoke and lightning were intertwined within its blade.

Gabriel raised his left hand and clenched his fist. As he did, armor ran down his arm and covered his body. The armor glistened like diamond and pearl, and it created light in the half-lit alley. As he lowered his left arm, he held his right hand out to the side. He clenched his right hand into a fist, as a sword appeared. It was twice the length of Barabbas’s weapon. Gabriel grasped the hilt in both hands as he faced the vampire with a look of sternness and confidence on his handsome face.

"Where did you get that sword?" Gabriel asked. "It was not forged upon this earth."

"I took it from an angel 2000 years ago before I drank his blood, if blood is what you call that substance that flows through your veins. It caused me great pain as it coursed through me, but it left me stronger afterwards. But that was merely a lesser angel. You, you are an archangel! Who knows what powers I might gain from your blood?" Barabbas sneered and started to move forward.

"You shall never know, cursed child of Lamech and Cain!" Gabriel yelled as he raised his sword and took a defensive posture.

Did I walk into the twilight zone? What in the world is going on? Is this another dream? I should run, but I want to see what happens. Angelica thought to herself.

Their swords swung overhead. Sparks of lightning and fire erupted each time they met. When the fighting first started, Angelica could only catch brief glimpses as the movement was too fast.

However, as she continued to concentrate, she felt warmth in her chest. Perhaps it was her imagination, but they seemed to start moving in slow motion.

Gabriel appeared to be the more skilled fighter. He seemed the aggressor now, advancing on Barabbas. But the vampire had lived over 2000 years, and he was fearless. Armed with his ethereal blade and strengthened by angelic blood he was holding his own against Gabriel.

Barabbas spit into the archangel’s eyes. When Gabriel went to wipe it away with his left hand, the undead, blood-sucker swung his sword. Gabriel instinctively threw his left arm out to block, but the blade sliced through his armor cutting deeply into his forearm. Where the wound was inflicted, there was no blood; instead, a bright, white, light poured forth. It was so unexpected and blinding that Barabbas recoiled, shielding his eyes. This gave Gabriel the chance to thrust his long-sword into Barabbas’s abdomen.

Barabbas howled in pain as he stepped backward. Gabriel's blade slid free of the wound; as dark blood poured out, pooling upon the ground.

“Curse you and all your kind! I will have Angelica and the blood of Azazyel!

In a blur of shadow, he retreated and was gone. Only drops of dark blood across the ground and up one wall, where the vampire had made his escape remained.

Gabriel leaned against the van and stared at his wound with a look of shock on his face. He made a motion with his left hand over his sword blade and the vampiric blood burned away, leaving it clean and shining once more. He sheathed the sword on his waist in a bejeweled scabbard, and then the weapon and his armor disappeared leaving him clothed as when she first saw him, yet his wound remained.

Angelica paused at first not knowing what to make of Gabriel. But she finally reached towards the cut on his left arm intending to help if she could.

I don't know who he is, or how he does these miraculous things, but he saved me. Perhaps I can help him with his wound somehow?

"Touch me not!" Gabriel stated defensively. He caught himself seeing her flinch and stepped backward. He then smiled, before saying, "I am sorry; it will heal soon enough. I appreciate your empathy for my wound. There is much to discuss, take my hand, Angelica."

Should I? He did save me, so perhaps I can trust him? Besides, what if Barabbas returns? If Gabriel wanted to harm me he would have done so already. Angelica paused as she contemplated what to do.

She decided to take a chance and grasped his outstretched hand, and they disappeared into white and golden light. Suddenly, she was in the woods, standing on the ground, looking up towards the sky. There were mountains off to the east. The air was cold, and the trees were different. They were spruce, cottonwood and birch trees.

This is definitely not Atlanta, but I have been here before, this must be Anchorage. How is that possible?

Gabriel stood near a log, his head bowed with his hands clasped in front of him. His eyes were closed as if he were praying over Angelica. The wound on his arm was healed with no sign of scarring.

Did I imagine what just happened? He is so handsome. Handsome doesn't even do him justice. I have never seen such a perfect man. Angelica marveled at Gabriel for a moment longer before speaking.

“Was it all real?" She whispered.

"Yes,” he said quietly as he opened his eyes. He stared deeply into her own as if trying to read her thoughts.

Angelica blushed and looked away for a moment as her heart rate sped up beat rhythmically against her chest.

"Who or what are you?" Angelica asked looking up at Gabriel once more.

"I am Gabriel, one of the twelve archangels of creation, a Son of the Morning. When the sun and the earth were formed I was there. I fought alongside my brothers, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raziel, Jophiel, and Sandalphon against our brother Satan and his army and cast him out of Heaven into the Earth."

Angelica, stared at him uncertain if she could believe anything he had just said, but after what she had just witnessed she didn't know what to believe anymore. "I…I do not believe in angels or the Devil, I don't believe in a God."

Gabriel looked somewhat irritated and then said, "You are young, even for a daughter of clay. You must repent of your blasphemy against God regarding the death of your parents. Your every breath is a blessing from God. I am here because I have been ordered to protect you and to assist you and your brother on your quest."

"Repent? My brother? A daughter of clay? Who or what is Barabbas, and why was he after me, and who is Azazyel?" Angelica asked, looking more confused.

How dare he call me to repentance? I hate being told what to do. Where was God when my parents died?! Perhaps I am dreaming or perhaps he is just some magician, some charlatan. If so then what is his motive? How can I know if what he says is true? Still, I need answers;" Angelica's thoughts battled within her mind as she struggled with the enormous ramifications of Gabriel's words if they were found to be true.

If Gabriel is indeed an archangel as he says then that would mean…God is real!

Gabriel took a deep breath and let out a sigh, "If guard you I must then I suppose I will fill you in as we go. The sooner I can leave this fallen Earth and return to Heaven the better. God did not kill your parents Angelica..."

But before he could finish she interrupted, "But neither did he save them, if he even exists!"

"God exists, Angelica, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will find peace. The angels, like me, were made with light and fire. We were made first in the image of God. We are immortal, but we also come and take on bodies of flesh eventually. I called you a daughter of clay because you are descended from Adam the first man and his wife Eve the first woman, who were formed by God and Jehovah from the dust of the earth. The children of Adam and Eve are so easily corrupted…but, out of fairness to mortals, I must admit, that many of the angelic hosts have also become corrupted. That is why I am here."

Gabriel continued, "Barabbas is what you would call a vampire. He is old as far as most vampires go at around twenty-five hundred years, and he is one of the strongest of his race. The vampires search for you and your brother to aid them in finding the prison of my brother, Azazyel. During the flood his tomb was lost when the lands broke apart and all was changed. He is the youngest of the twelve archangels."

"But why would the vampires want Jonah and me? Why do they search for your brother? Besides, I know nothing about angels, archangels or vampires, why do they think I can help find this Azazyel?"

"It would be best to explain that with both you and your brother present. The rest of your questions will have to wait. Jonah has been injured, so I have brought you to Anchorage, just outside of the hospital."

"What? Jonah is hurt?” Not waiting for a reply, she started for the entrance.