A Deafening Silence In Heaven - Thomas E. Sniegoski Page 0,27
the two dragged the body down the hallway, past the bathroom, and into a small guest room that Remy used for storage.
“Now what?” Mulvehill asked.
“Now you go have a drink with Squire.” Francis gently pushed Mulvehill back and started to close the door. “I’ll see to this.”
The door closed with a soft click and Mulvehill slowly turned away to see Squire standing at the end of the hallway, whiskey in hand. He raised the bottle and gave it a shake.
Why the hell not? Mulvehill thought, joining the hobgoblin.
• • •
Linda watched as Assiel laid Remy’s body down upon the bed.
Marlowe had come into the room, his gaze at what was happening to his master unwavering.
“It’s all right, boy,” Linda said to him. “Lie in your bed and you can keep an eye on us.”
The dog responded to the mention of his bed, going to a large cushioned square at the far end of the room and plopping himself down with a heavy sigh, his eyes fixed upon them as they moved around Remy.
As Assiel stepped back from where he’d laid Remy, Linda moved in, placing a pillow beneath Remy’s head and adjusting the blankets. Then she stood for a moment, staring at the pale features of the man she’d come to love—a man who wasn’t a man at all. She began to feel a weird sense of vertigo, as if the planet had started to spin faster and faster, threatening to send her flying into space. She took a deep breath and turned away, suddenly self-conscious as she saw Assiel watching her.
“I just want him to be comfortable,” she said quickly, refusing to meet his gaze.
“That’s fine,” he told her, but he continued to stare.
“I’m done,” she said, gesturing with her hands for him to step in.
“You love him,” Assiel stated flatly.
“I do,” she said, the words carrying a tremendous weight. “I love him very much.”
“And he loves you?”
She smiled and then laughed. “I think he does.” She stared back at Remy, remembering the times he’d kissed her face, and the passion they’d shared in this very bed. She flushed with a wave of heat at the memory. “Yeah, he loves me,” she said, sure of her answer.
“Interesting,” Assiel said as he approached the bed. “Being what he is and all.” He began to undress Remy, and Linda leaned in to help him.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
“You know what he is?”
“Yes.”
“He is an angel—a Seraphim to be exact,” Assiel explained anyway. “A servant of the Lord God . . . and in Remiel’s case, a great warrior.”
“Remiel?”
“That is his true name.”
“Remiel,” Linda repeated, letting the name roll off her tongue.
They removed his shirt and pants and tossed them on the floor.
“It is not common for one such as he to share such emotions with one such as . . . ,” Assiel began, then stopped.
“Go ahead,” Linda said, suddenly defensive. “You can say it. . . . Never mind, I’ll say it for you: It’s not common for somebody like Remy—Remiel—to fall in love with a lowly human. That’s it, isn’t it?”
The angel healer smiled, his teeth incredibly white in contrast with his dark skin. “I meant no offense.”
“None taken,” Linda answered. “I think Remy is pretty special across the board, angel or not. I love him and he loves me. So can we stop talking and start making him better?”
“I will certainly try,” Assiel said, retrieving his bag and setting it upon the bed.
“You’re an angel also?” Linda asked as Assiel sat beside Remy and began to examine his wounds.
“A fallen angel, yes.”
“Like Francis?”
“There are not many like Francis,” the angel said. “I’m very aware of my sins and am working toward amending them.”
“By helping other angels,” Linda added.
“By helping any in need of my talents,” Assiel corrected.
He took a cloth from his bag and dabbed at the first of the punctures.
“The wounds aren’t healing as quickly as they should be. I’m guessing there are still foreign objects inside his body.”
She was ready to ask what he was going to do, but he was already acting. He took his bag onto his lap and looked inside, removing what appeared to be a golden scalpel and handing it to her. “Hold this for me.”
Linda took the surgical tool from him, surprised by how warm and heavy it felt in her hand. She admired the knife, its thin body etched with beautiful markings that she was certain meant something.
Assiel removed a small metal sphere from his bag and