Send Me An Angel (6 page)

Through fogs of sleepy satiation, Ellie roused herself enough to whisper, “I believe you. We’re together, forever.” She smiled, before the clouds of sleep carried her away.

Chapter Eight

The change in Ellie permeated through her entire life. Friends saw how happy she and
Peter
were together. Everything, everyone, around her seemed to be better, happier.
Peter
got the job as counselor.

Ellie’s tight hold on life had relaxed, and nothing had come crashing down around her.

Nothing, that is, until one morning when she awoke to a crashing noise coming from her kitchen. She leapt out of bed, but
Peter
was quicker. He was already out of the door. She slammed into his back when he skidded to a halt in front of her. He reached behind with one hand to steady her. When she tried to peer around his broad back, his other hand clasped her tightly, holding her, protected, but ignorant, behind him.

She was in his shadow. A shadow created by the golden glow of light that was emanating from something that was directly in front of
Peter
.
Something that
Peter
could see.
Something that stiffened his spine, drawing him upright to his full impressive height.
Something that made him tense and alert, with every muscle rigid.

Something that spoke with sonorous clarity, “
Peter
.
Come.”

Peter
’s hands dropped lifelessly to his sides. Ellie grabbed the opportunity to step out from his protection. She swayed, and
Peter
once more reached out to hold her. This time he clasped her to his side, and Ellie could not have said it if it was for her support or his.

She couldn’t look at
Peter
to find out. Her eyes were focused on the being in front of her. Fully six and a half feet tall, with wings stretching up another foot above
that,
stood an angel in full regalia.

Ellie didn’t have to ask or think. Recognition was instantaneous. This was a warrior angel.
Prepared to fight for a cause.
She knew instinctively what that cause was. He had come for
Peter
. Come to take him away from her.

Even she could feel the compulsion in that commanding voice, the outstretched hand,
the
stern gaze.

She felt her heart crack as it waited for the annihilation to come. Beside her she felt, as much as heard
Peter
take a deep breath. She tried to steel herself to bear the pain, tried to keep breathing, willed her heart not to stop. She expected him to disappear, wondered if he would even be permitted to say goodbye.

It was a moment before the single word he uttered, penetrated her cocoon of despair. “No,” uttered firmly, unwaveringly.

The warrior angel didn’t flinch. “Do not be absurd. You are commanded. Come.”

“No,” this time the word was louder, forceful. Only someone who loved
Peter
as much as Ellie did would have detected the underlying hint of fear. It made her cling to him tighter, offering what comfort, what strength, she could. He looked down at her, and, in her heart, she felt the loving smile he was unable to force his lips to form. “I am staying here.
Where I belong.”

The being spoke again. Ellie thought she detected a hint of annoyance, “Your mother was not permitted to stay on Earth. She was brought home in disgrace. Some allowance will be made for the effects of your regrettable heritage. Your punishment may well be overlooked, if you come home now without further difficulty.”

“No. I will not return. It has nothing to do with my mother or my father or anyone else. It is between Ellie and me”

The annoyance was no longer a hint, nor did it take any particular sensitivity to observe it. The warrior angel was angry. The light emanating from him grew more intense, took on a threatening hue. “You are commanded. You cannot defy such an order. There is only one punishment for those who rebel against His word.”

Peter
swallowed and squared his shoulders. His face was ashen. “Then you will have to enforce that punishment because I will not leave voluntarily.”

The warrior angel shook his head in disbelief. “You would rather face the everlasting fires of eternal Hell than leave this woman? Where is the sense in that? You will be without her in either case, but to choose suffering instead of Heaven is unbelievable.”

“I promised her I would never leave her voluntarily. If I have to burn in hellfire to keep that promise, I will. Without her, I am damned anyway.”

As the meaning of what was being said sank in, Ellie felt the blood drain from her face. She turned frantically to
Peter
. “No. You can’t do that. Not for me. I know you don’t want to go. I know you have no choice. I love you. Please, I beg you. Go with him. Don’t suffer for my sake. Go with him, please. Go with him,” the last words were lost in her sobs.

The angel looked on impassively. After a moment’s thought he spoke, “I see that the intensity of feeling is more than we had anticipated. It might be possible to compromise. If you consent to return, now, without further argument, and accept whatever punishment is deemed appropriate, we will allow the girl to enter Heaven with you. After your period of punishment is over,
Peter
, you might be permitted to converse with her, from time to time, under close supervision. In fact, that might be the best solution all around. We can hardly leave her here to tell everyone about her experiences.”

All Ellie understood was this was a chance of reprieve for
Peter
. She opened her mouth to utter a fervent, “Yes. Yes.” But before the words could escape,
Peter
clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her. Again, he uttered, “No.”

Ellie wrenched her mouth free, “But
Peter
…”

He cut her off, “You don’t understand what it is he’s saying, Ellie. I can go back to Heaven as I am, but you have to die. I cannot allow that. You will not die because I came into your life.”

“But we’d be together. You wouldn’t be in Hell.”

“We wouldn’t be together. One day, millennia from now, because I imagine that’s how long my punishment will last, I will be permitted to speak to you. But I won’t love you Ellie, you won’t love me.
Because that kind of love does not exist in Heaven.
I came to Earth to find love. And I did.
But
in doing so I have ruined your life, and I am so, so, sorry. I want you to live your life the way you were meant to, have children, grandchildren,
be
all you were meant to be.”

Her hands clutched at him imploringly. “If I can’t have all that with you, then I don’t care if I miss out on it.”

“But I do, Ellie. I can’t be responsible for taking all that away from you. When your time comes, you will go to Heaven and you’ll be ready for it, but, until then, you deserve to have the life you are entitled to.” He turned to the angel. “I said I would never leave her voluntarily, but, if that is what I must do to save Ellie, I place myself entirely in your hands. Do what you wish with me. Give me whatever punishment you see fit. I will accept it all, but do not punish Ellie. Do not take her life.”

He untangled her hands from his and stepped away from her.
Stepped towards the angel.

Ellie tried to move, tried to make her hands reach out to hold him back, but she was transfixed, the wash of light pulsating from the angel draining her of the ability to move.

The light took on another dimension. It hummed and vibrated. It washed over her in a wave that wasn’t sound, wasn’t light, wasn’t feeling, but was all of those and something far, far more.

She screamed out her loss and terror and pain, but the scream was lost in the deluge of sensation. The light expanded and expanded in her mind until she could take no more, and slumped unconscious to the floor.

When she awoke it was dark and silent. She could feel the low, distant beating of her heart. Only the knowledge that
Peter
had sacrificed himself so it would go on beating prevented her from willing it to stop. Nothing could prevent her broken sobbing.

Instantly she was wrapped in a pair of strong, loving arms.
Arms warm and vital with the pulsing heat of life.

Afraid to believe, afraid he would disappear if she didn’t, she opened her eyes… and looked straight into
Peter
’s beloved ones. “You’re here. How? Why?”

Peter
gathered her to him and rested his cheek on her hair. There was no desperation in his grasp, just the strong awareness that he was never going to let her go. Not for long enough for either of them to truly be apart again.
“The Boss.
The Supreme Being.
He intervened.
For us.
He said if there was something He understood, it was love and sacrifice.”

“You don’t have to go back?”

“Not until it’s your time, Ellie. Then we’ll both go. And even though we won’t have a physical love, we will be together.”

Relief rushed through Ellie in a surging, healing wave. “I am so glad. And I won’t mind about the physical love thing, truly I won’t.”

Peter
grinned, “Well, I think I might. The only solution I can see is to wear ourselves out before that happens. Now, if we make love three times a day for the next sixty years that will make,” his eyes rolled up as he did a quick calculation, “sixty-five thousand seven hundred times, not counting leap years. That ought to keep us going for a while. And if it doesn’t, we can always try falling again.”

He leapt onto her, all boyish enthusiasm, his eyes alight with love and mischief. “I suggest we make a start. We’ve got a long way to go to make up that number.”