Satan's Vessel

*

She needed to get out. She felt sick. She was mortified. And the church was suffocating. She needed the outside. She needed real life again: cars, boys, parties, computers ... even work! Not all this ...

God stuff.

David stepped out in front of her before she could reach it. Kaitlyn tried to dodge him but he was too quick and too big, grabbing onto her arm and pulling her back. With a scream, she fought back, punching, kicking, scratching, and the whole time the tears kept pouring.

'Let me go! I ... want ... outta here!'

But he wouldn't listen, grabbing her arms and twisting her around until he had her pinned to his chest. She thrashed some more but not so violently, feeling more and more tired, feeling more and more helpless. Finally, she gave up and sagged in his arms, weeping.

Carefully, David lowered her to her knees. On all fours, Kaitlyn hung her head. It was so quiet now. It seemed to make the air heavy. It made her feel hot. It scratched at her throat and tightened her chest.

'I can't breathe. I can't breathe.' No matter how she tried to suck down the air nothing filled her lungs. There was so much pain in her chest. Shadows crept around the corners of her vision. Her arms were trembling so hard she struggled to hold herself up.

'Kaitlyn.'

She looked up. Zeke. She reached out her arms.

Dropping to his knees, he pulled her into his embrace and she clung to him, her face buried into his neck. She could breathe again. Closing her eyes, she shut out the church. She shut out the other angels. She shut out the world and her jumble of painful emotions.

She shut out Jacob as he appeared in the nave.

They held each other for long enough that Kaitlyn stopped shuddering. She clung onto Zeke more tightly. It was so quiet now that she could hear a bird chirping from outside, announcing the onset of a new day.

Gently, Zeke pulled away. He looked at her with his warm amber eyes and brushed away her damp fringe. 'Come, Kaitlyn.' Taking her hand, he helped her to her feet.

Kaitlyn kept her face lowered as she glimpsed her surroundings through her hair. Jacob was gone.

'I've-I've made him angry.'

'No. Jacob doesn't get angry and certainly not with you.'

'But ...' Those fiery green eyes. That blazing light. His wings. His towering figure. He'd certainly seemed angry.

'He was protecting you—and himself. You merely saw him in his true form.'

She recalled the dazzling figures she'd seen standing over the Fallen yesterday. So it had been them.

'Are you all like that?' she asked.

He nodded. 'It is how we appear when we are not bound to the Earth.'

'You mean when you're in heaven.'

He smiled. 'Yes. This ...' he looked down at himself '... is merely a cloak. A disguise. It is not our true selves.'

Lifting her eyes, she studied his too-bright face. 'But it's not perfect.' She allowed herself a tearful chuckle. 'Your ridiculous hoods.' Then she frowned as she pushed back another flood of tears. How she loved Jacob's stupid grey sweater. Had she just ruined everything?

'Exactly.' He tugged gently at her hand. 'Come on, let's get you back to bed.'

As usual when drama reigned, the rest of the angels had vanished. Kaitlyn bit her lip. It appeared Jacob didn't want to see her. Jacob doesn't get angry. Kaitlyn tried to hold onto that as she and Zeke exited the nave and entered the hall.