Love Bites Then it Sucks by Julie Steimle (best self help books to read .TXT) 📕

*

“No!” Hanz let out a heart wrenching yell.

But Eve was gone. Three angels in gray had appeared out of nowhere and two of them snatched her out of there. One remained.

He was a stoic sort of angel, with wings like that of a huge dove. They did not flap to maintain him in the air, but they were spread out wide like a peacock’s tail, boldly on display. Everyone could see him. His eyes, however, did not rest on Hanz, but on Tom. “Tom Brown, the troublemaker.”

“Who-the-hell are you?” Tom shouted up, feeling targeted and defensive. He was shaking.

“My name is Asahel,” the gray angel said. “And your sight has caused enough trouble. I prophesy that you—Trouble—will lose that sight while you are still young.”

Matthew closed his eyes, cringing while Troy and Randon exchanged looks. Peter and Andy were next to Hanz, trying to calm him down as he had been that close to being back with Eve. Peter looked offended. Daniel stood back near Silvia, guarding her.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Tom replied with an up-jerk of his chin.

Asahel stared darkly at him, his gray wings fluffing in affront.

“You’ve done your deed,” Matthew joined Tom’s side protectively, peeking once to Troy and again to Hanz. “Be gone.”

“No! Wait!” Hanz called out, staring up at the gray angel hovering over them in the sky. “Where is Eve? Where have you taken Eve?”

“Forget her.” The gray angel cast him a particularly annoyed look.

Daniel and Andy stiffened, as they knew that unfortunately was what those death angels wanted. Peter looked even more miffed.

“How can I possibly?” Hanz breathed out, furious with him. “You have no idea how long I have waited for her.”

The gray angel huffed with disdain then vanished like a bolt of lightning.

“And like that, he’s gone,” Silvia muttered. She then looked to Randon who exchanged a look with Troy.

Troy whispered palely, “I think I liked Eve better. She was freaky, but he was downright scary.”

Hanz nodded. He kicked a rooftop air vent.

They all looked to him.

“That angel had wings…” Art murmured in an off-tone voice, staring up at the sky with incredibly wide eyes. “…but he wasn’t exactly using them. Were they decoration?”

Those in the Seven walked up to him with Rick, realizing they had to do some damage control. Andy whispered something in Art’s ear, and Art nodded, now looking to Hanz who was mid breakdown. Hanz had, after all, come so close to being again with the woman he loved. Going to him, Andy rested his hand on Hanz’s shoulder and said, “We won’t give up. We just have to end the vimp curse, right?”

Lifting his eyes, realizing that Andy truly meant this now, Hanz embraced him tightly in a hug. “Thank you.”

They watched as he trembled, sobbing.

It was not over.

Chapter Fourteen

“That just didn’t feel right,” Peter said finally, his annoyance almost explosive. “Those angels are bureaucratic little—”

Whipping over, Tom slapped a hand over Peter’s mouth—which was surprising for him. He hissed, “Don’t talk too much about them. It’s like an invitation. They are death.”

Peter nodded, then leaned back from Tom. “What is this about you losing your sight?”

Moaning, Tom rolled his eyes. Every New Yorker there exchanged looks, Matt and the rest standing a little sheepish as though this were a box of worms they did not want to open. Daniel peered sideways at Tom. Apparently even they kept secrets from the Seven.

“Has Rick ever told you about our friend, Carlos Mendez?” Matthew finally said.

Peter shook his head and looked to Andy who was supporting Hanz with Art. Andy also shook his head. Rick blushed, shrugging apologetically.

“Come here and let me tell you about him,” Matthew beckoned Peter near for a private chat.

Rick, with Art and Andy, helped Hanz to the stairwell door. Rick hissed low, “I’m really sorry, Hanz. What can I do to help you?”

“I don’t know…” Hanz murmured. “She did not say it in words, but it was like she was saying good-bye forever. My heart is just…” He closed his eyes.

Troy jogged up to him. “Hey. Wait. –I’m sorry.”

Hanz lifted his wet, red-ringed eyes to that guy who was apparently getting used to being undead, but whose skin was definitely burned from the sun.

“I want to help,” Troy said. He heaved a breath with an apologetic shrug. “And I need help. Your lady said you could lead me to some kind of specialist who can help me get used to be no longer human?”

Wiping his eyes, Hanz said, “Yeah. Her brother. William McAllister. He’d be the foremost medical expert on how to treat a person with vampiric conditions. He wrote a book on it.”

“He did?” Rick said, raising his eyebrows. Of course Rick knew Will. He knew the whole family.

Hanz nodded, sniffling. “It’s sold as a gag gift in stores, but it’s actually quite informative and according to Eve, spot on. She helped him write it. It was put out by an online print-on-demand publishing company. He used it to help pay for college when her father’s dental business lost customers when people found out she was a demon.” Hanz then turned toward Tom and called out, “You know where Eve hangs out, don’t you? Somewhere here in New York?”

Tom nodded, jogging from his group to Hanz. “Sure I do. We’re in the heart of her territory right now.”

“Territory?” Hanz was not sure he had heard correctly.

“Yep.” Tom grinned widely. “It’s where she reaps souls.”

Hanz’s eyes widened.

Huffing, Matthew edged in and elbowed Tom in the side. He then gestured to Art also. “That means she helps ghosts go to the right place. But Hanz, if those angels just took her away from here—”

“Then they took her to keep her away,” Hanz said, nodding. “I know. Now that they know I’m here, I’m sure they won’t let her come back.”

“Most likely, no,” Matthew said, patting Hanz on the shoulder, glad he understood.

“So…” Daniel sighed, shook his head and glanced to Peter. “We go back to our old plan and seek out the elf to help find a solution for Eve?”

“You found our elf?” Andy asked, interested.

“Elf? What elf?” Rick perked up.

“Oh no…” Tom started to laugh, jumping over to Rick and grabbing him as if to make a headlock. “Rick, don’t even think about chasing after elves—even if you think they are cute.”

“What’s this?” Silvia asked, perking up also, her eyes flickering to Rick and back to Tom before looking to Randon for an explanation. There clearly was a story behind that one.

Matthew laughed but then looked to Hanz who was massaging his forehead. He turned to Rick. “Hey, can some people crash at you place? I think a few here are wiped out.” He jerked his head towards Hanz. “I don’t have space in my apartment and you’ve got better security.”

Rick looked, taking in Hanz, and Art for that matter, who seemed dazed and weary. “Yeah. Let’s… go down and get my car. I’ve got room.”

The descent through the hospital was, for some, like coming back to reality after playing an intense RPG video game—entering back from a fantasy realm to the real world. The hospital noise and bustle at the emergency level reminded them all that normal life and death was still happening.

“Hey! Officer Calamori!” the dark haired cop jogged up, grabbing Matthew’s attention. “He’s awake!”

Matthew snatched a quick look with Tom and they both left the group to go in toward recovery.

“They must frequent this hospital a lot,” Troy murmured.

Randon nodded, but said, “JJ didn’t even say hi.”

“JJ?” Peter looked to Andy who seemed to know, then Rick who had nodded.

“Joshua Johnson,” Rick said. “Fellow ghoulie. Sees ghosts.”

Art raised his eyebrows. “Oh.”

Hanz was too tired to care. And taking cues from his body language, Andy urged them on.

*

“You were forbidden to see him!” Asahel shrieked at me atop a roof surrounded by a flock of angels as Sariel and his partner held me between them so I could not get away. They had brought me there to undergo judgement in the case involving Gollum-wocky who had (after our battle) fled the city. I was surprised they could not track the Gollum jerk down like they had me. Then again, Gollum-wocky felt older than me and probably could easily lose those tracking him. Asahel shouted at me as if it could reach Gollum-wocky also. “And yet you find some way to break every rule in our code!”

“Every rule?” I doubted I had broken every single rule. I didn’t even know them all.   

Asahel bristled. His feathers were rustling much like a carrion bird’s, his eyes fixed on me with the desire to attack. “Silence demon!”

“Look,” I said. “Hanz came to me. And I really don’t think Tom Brown had told him where I was. Hanz must have figured it out on his own.”

“Impossible!” Asahel shouted.

I rolled my eyes.

“With God, nothing is impossible,” the bag lady angel murmured.

And then so did the crowd, hearing her.

Asahel’s eyes whipped to her. “What?!”

But that notion floated through my head like a sweet gift. What if God had led Hanz to me, if only for a final good-bye? That was nice of Him.

“We should get to final judgement,” Sariel said, returning us to topic.

I shot him a dirty look.

“Very well,” Asahel said with a degree more decorum, straightening up, including his ruffled feathers. “Eve McAllister, you have been charged with reaping outside your jurisdiction—”

“A boogieman,” I insisted indignantly.

Several of the angels exchanged incredulous glances.

“—interfering in the dealings of other reapers—”

“Who had invaded my territory AND messed with my people!” I snapped back.

“—conversing with mediums—”

“She started the conversation.” I rolled my eyes.

“—and in sparing a vampire.” He glared down especially on me for that one.

“He was a friend of a friend,” I said.

Several in the crowd raised their eyebrows.

“You took wounds when you should have been reaping,” Asahel bit out.

I closed my mouth, knowing no retort would change the past. I was only now wondering what punishment he had planned.

“And you allowed that mortal to make contact with you,” he said.

“That mortal?” I voiced out loud. “You mean my fiancée, Hanz? Are you kidding me?”

Several death angels murmured over that.

“You were forbidden,” he seethed out through his teeth. “And therefore your punishment for all this flagrant disobedience will be—”

A burst of light appeared on the roof, and in the midst of it stood a tall man with a sober expression. His eyes gazed on all of us then turned toward Asahel, Sariel, the other gray angel, and then on myself. This angel radiated light. I stared at his stunning, nearly golden eyes and felt immediately weak. Then he spoke. His voice was like the sound of water rushing down a river. “Eve Marie McAllister, you have been claimed and reassigned.”

I stared up, almost speechless. “What?”

“What? Why?” Asahel looked likely to pop a blood vessel.

“Her probationary time here is over,” the angel-with-golden-eyes said to him. Then to me, he extended his radiant hand, “Take my hand. I will take you to your new stewardship.”

I didn’t want to leave New York. Hanz was here. But to deny this angel, I believed, would bring on me way harsher punishment than anything