Part 28 (1/2)
My head was spinning. I wanted to walk out the door, take a flight to Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., do a book signing, take Christina to dinner, and revel in my Pulitzer Prize achievement. I wanted a normal, everyday, boy-makes-good ending to the story of my life. All this was giving me a headache.
”Your father didn't tell your mother the truth until after you were born,” Abdiel said.
”And then he killed himself. Seems to be the standard reaction to the news, doesn't it?”
”Are you going to kill yourself, Grant Austin?”
”Would you miss me?”
Abdiel didn't answer.
”No wonder my mother hated me,” I mused. ”Explains why she acts like she does. And it certainly explains why my whole family is whacko.”
”The circ.u.mstances behind your family's life are only a partial explanation as to why your family is whacko,” Abdiel said.
I grabbed my head to try to stop the spinning. ”How do I know any of this is true?”
”You know. You can feel it.”
”You mean like back at the library when you threw a tantrum and disappeared. Neither the professor nor Sue Ling felt the force of your leaving. I did.”
”And you felt it with Semyaza.”
The sudden mention of that name stunned me for a moment. ”You mean Myles Shepherd.”
”His name is Semyaza.”
For a moment I was there, back in Myles Shepherd's office, reliving the experience. ”But with you in the library, it was just a ripple. It wasn't like . . .”
Abdiel stood to imposing height. A ray of light erupted from the center of his chest.
”Oh no,” I heard myself saying, ”here we go again.”
Abdiel's clothing transformed to folds of pure color that curled, then swirled around him, until he became a dazzling white hurricane of radiance.
I heard the sound of a thousand wind chimes, with harmony so clear it brought tears to my eyes. My entire body vibrated in harmony with the sound while ripples of pleasure swept through me repeatedly of such magnitude that I giggled and laughed like a fool. So overwhelmed was I by the sensation that I dropped to my knees.
”No,” Abdiel said. ”Do not bow.”
That was the difference between them. Abdiel reflected the glory. Semyaza sparked it, only to feed off it.
Abdiel returned to normal . . . or to human . . . or to . . . I don't know. I was beginning to think I didn't know anything anymore.
”Do not bow,” Abdiel said.
”Sorry to disappoint you,” I said, ”but I wasn't bowing. I thought I dropped a penny.”
Abdiel laughed. I finally got a laugh out of him.
It took me a few moments to catch my breath. Even then, when I opened my eyes a riot of color a.s.saulted me. Whenever I inhaled, I inhaled an explosion of odors. The tips of my fingers tingled with everything I touched.
”Question,” I said.
Abdiel took his seat.
”Do Semyaza and . . . well, the forces of Lucifer. Do they intend to kill the president?”
”It appears so.”
I nodded. ”All right . . . now for the million-dollar question. Will I be the one to do it?”
Abdiel studied me for a long moment. ”Only you know the answer to that question, Grant Austin.”
”What do you mean?”
”You are a creature of free will. You choose what you do.”
”Part of my human side.”
Abdiel started, surprised by the comment. He said, ”Like humans, angels have been created by the Father with free will. How else would you explain the rebellion?”
I was thinking out loud now. ”So they can't force me to kill the president.”
”But they can persuade you, or trick you. Do not underestimate their powers of deception.”
He spoke as someone who was speaking from experience.
”Can I stop them?”
”You can try. You will fail. In fact, I would estimate your chances of success as infinitesimal. After all, they have been doing this sort of thing-”
”Yeah, I know. For millennia.”
”That is correct.”
”What about you?”
”What about me?”
”You and your side. The good guys. You could stop them, couldn't you?”
”Why would we want to?”
Today had been a day of being stunned, but this comment was the capper. ”What do you mean, 'Why would we want to?' We're talking about the president of the United States!”
”A weak and feeble man who has given in to his l.u.s.ts and sold his soul to Lucifer.”