Afterlife: A Fall of Angels Novelette (7 page)

Cole did feel a little satisfied snake curl up in him as things were explained to Alex, what was wanted of
him, that
he couldn’t go back.  The chaos around them attempted to pick back up and died again and Cole knew it was coming before Richard even spoke.

“Alex Wright,” he began.  “The deeds of your life have been accounted for and judgment will be passed.  Your actions must be made known.”

“No!” Cole heard the scream from the masses around him.  Prickles flashed along his skin.  He knew that voice all too well.

And then she landed on the catwalk, looking fierce and ready to fight with every living cell of her body.

“No,” Jessica breathed again, her eyes burning.  “You cannot take him.”

Cole couldn’t help the grin that spread on his face.

This was nowhere near over yet.

“
...and when he had moved on, I entered along the deep and savage road.”

-
Canto II, Inferno, Dante

Cole closed his eyes for a moment, simply breathing in and out.  He could feel her, with everything in him, he could still feel her.

Jessica.

So close yet so far away from him now.

She wouldn’t be coming back to his world for a long while now.  She’d finally escaped them, for a full human lifetime.  She’d gotten the help she needed and she’d been cured of the disease that infected her body.

He’d watched her.  A part of him needed proof that she wasn’t coming back, that she truly was gone for good.  He had to finally admit that she was when he saw that she was again aging.

There would be no more chasing Jessica, no more holding out hope that someday, maybe someday…

Cole opened his eyes when he heard the rustling of feathers.  Thousands upon thousands of beings flooded the cylinder, every pair of eyes resting upon him where he stood there on the stone walkway.

Not a word was spoken as they watched him.  Today Cole would finally learn his fate.

It was his election date.

The council drifted into their seats, some new faces, some he had served with for over a century. 

Cole couldn’t help feeling smug that Jeremiah’s face was not among them.

He turned to meet their eyes, resting on the blue-eyed leader’s face.  They stared at each other for a long moment, memories becoming a blur of time that was endless.  They’d served with each other for a long
time,
they knew each other like brother’s. 

“The fate of our brother rests in your hands,” he finally began, tearing his eyes from Cole to search the masses.  “You all know what he’s done, how he’s broken our laws.  You’ve all see how he’s lead the condemned.  You must all decide now if he is to continue his leadership.”

Cole’s eyes fell to the ground for a moment.  The last year had filled him full of so much doubt and fear and a million other things he didn’t think he was capable of feeling any longer.  Somewhere along the way he had forgotten who he was.

His eyes lifted to those along the wall, instantly meeting a familiar face.  Cambria met his eyes strong, her chin lifting just slightly.

Something stirred in Cole’s stomach.  Something felt hungry and greedy.

Cole may not have been able to pursue Jessica any longer.  But he finally realized he no longer wanted to chase after a ghost. 

Jessica was not the end of all things.

There was something sitting right in front of him that maybe Cole did want.  There was a position that proved Cole was not worthless and was not soft and weak and a sad broken being.

He stood a little straighter, his eyes focused on Cambria’s for another moment, before looking at his brethren and sisters.  They each studied him in the quiet that filled the cylinder. 

“All those in favor of Cole Emerson continuing his leadership of the condemned and the condemned council?” the re-elected, blue-eyed leader finally spoke in a voice filled with power.

There was a fraction of a moment where the afterlife’s residents hesitated, considering where they wished to pledge their allegiance.

“I,” the echoes finally boomed, loud enough to make the stones beneath his feet quake.

Cole felt his insides re-harden in a familiar way and the corner of his mouth twitched.

“All those opposed?”

Only a few scattered, weak sounding voices fell flat in the air.

Cole met Cambria’s black eyes again, his eyes smoldering as he looked up at her from under his black lashes.  A twisted smile curled on each of their faces.

“Welcome back to the council, brother,” Richard said.

This was who Cole was.  He was not a good man, never had been and never would be.  He’d changed this last year, but he would always be the selfish man who did what he wanted, who valued his non-life over everyone else’s.  Cole was the man who had fought his own branding and then branded thousands of others throughout the centuries.

Being the leader of the damned was who he was.

And it felt so satisfying to be at it again.

“It’s good to be back.”

Keary
Taylor is the independent author of BRANDED, FORSAKEN, VINDICATED, AFTERLIFE (Fall of Angels series), and EDEN.  She lives on a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two young children.  To learn more about
Keary
and her writing process please visit her at:

www.KearyTaylor.com

or

http://KearyTaylor.blogspot.com