Lost Soul (13 page)

The angel who was guarding the girl noticed Michael at the doorway and looked at him with hackles raised.
 
He knew Michael was a guardian, but it made no sense for him to be here.
 
“Who are you and what do you want?” he demanded, struggling to divide his gaze between the girl and the invader.

Michael held out his hands to indicate his innocent intentions.
 
“I was looking for the girl who used to live here
 
— Jessica.
 
Do you know her?
 
Do you know where she went?”

The angel shook his head in denial.
 
“We never met the previous owners; they moved out before they put the house up for sale.
 
What do you want with her?” he questioned, confused by Michael’s strange behavior.
 
Guardians were never seen alone, they were always with their charges.

“You have no idea where they went?” Michael asked, ignoring the angel’s question.
 
“Please, you have to tell me if you know something.”

“I don’t know anything about them,” the other angel insisted.
 
“You need to get out of here, go back where you belong.
 
Who’s watching your charge while you’re here?
 
The Master will not be happy with your negligence.
 
Go before something bad happens to the human you’re supposed to be with.”

“Too late for that,” Michael mumbled as he backed out of the room where he had spent all the best moments of his existence.
 
His eyes took in one last glance of the four simple walls that once contained his most precious possession.
 
Their structure was the same, but without Jessica’s presence they had lost their ability to bring him any comfort.
 
Michael dropped his head as he passed through the rest of the house, too distressed to witness the changes.

He sat on the porch and tried to think.
 
How could he find out where she had gone?
 
He jumped up and headed back into the house, making a beeline for the kitchen.
 
Beneath the phone hanging on the wall was a cabinet where Jessica’s family had kept their phone book.
 
With any luck the new owners would do the same.
 
He quickly found what he was looking for and flipped erratically though the pages, searching for the name Reynolds.
 
His fingers shook as he scanned the list, searching for his family’s name, but his heart dropped as soon as he found it because the address listed was for the house in which he now stood.
 
There had to be a newer phone book, he thought as he frantically searched the remaining drawers, but his hands came up empty.

His eyes caught sight of the phone on the wall and another idea popped into his head.
 
With barely a thought to his surroundings, he snatched the phone off the wall and quickly dialed the number for information.
 
A few moments later he slammed down the phone in frustration.
 
There was no listing for Jessica’s family in their hometown or any of the surrounding counties and Michael had to face the fact that Jessica’s family could be absolutely anywhere and he had no idea how to find her.
 
His head pounded and his fingers dug into his scalp is he tried to think what to do next.
 
He trudged slowly back out to the porch and sat with his head in his hands, contemplating.

He thought for hours, trying to come up with a plan to locate his beloved Jessica, but nothing came to him.
 
Eventually he tried to convince himself that he could live without her, he could find someone else who would bring him as much joy as she had and help him fulfill his dreams of living as a human, but the fantasy crumbled around him when he realized he had no desire to be a human if he couldn’t be with her.

He had only been human for one day and already he knew he could never endure, let alone enjoy, a life spent on his own indulgence.
 
He was created to guard humans, not emulate them, and he knew he would never be satisfied unless he was fulfilling that duty, despite how inept he seemed to be.
 
With a heart burdened by a thousand crushed dreams, Michael finally accepted what he had to do next.
 
It was time to return to heaven and face the Father, to stand before His perfection with all his faults and failures shining like the neon lights on the Las Vegas strip.
 
He had no idea what the Father would do or say to him, but he knew it was time to give up his own ways and trust that God had a better plan.

He took one last look at the house he had once called home.
 
Without his family it no longer held any appeal, and he quickly turned his back and steeled his mind for the judgement he was about to face.

chapter twelve

Michael wasn’t sure if it was more a blessing or a curse that traveling between heaven and earth only took an instant.
 
On one hand, at least he didn’t have a long journey to suffer through, with nothing to do but agonize over the coming confrontation, but he also didn’t get any time to change his mind and turn back or think through his defending arguments either.
 
The moment he decided to return to heaven he was already there.
 
His subconscious must have know he would need a little push to get him to face the Father, because without thinking about exactly where he wanted to arrive, he ended up smack dab in the middle of the throne room.
 
His knees knocked as he realized he was standing face to face with the Almighty.

He immediately dropped to the ground in reverence, surrounded by echoes of the cherubim choir.
 
Michael’s eyes welled up with tears as he recognized his own impurity in the presence of the Lord, but the Father’s presence radiated only love.

“Father, I’m so sorry…,” Michael started, but with one glance at the Almighty’s face all his excuses disintegrated and he bowed his head again in shame.

The Father’s voice was a dichotomy of power and compassion.
 
“I know your heart, Michael, and you are forgiven.
 
I’ve seen your devotion, your commitment, your integrity.
 
Tell me, Michael, do you wish to be assigned another charge and return to Earth, or would you prefer an assignment here in heaven?”

Michael couldn’t believe his ears.
 
Not only was the Father not reprimanding him for his insubordination, he was actually offering Michael a choice for his assignment!
 
Michael was so overwhelmed he didn’t have a clue how to answer the question.
 
“Whatever you think is best,” he stammered, daring to raise his head.

The Father’s answering smile was so brilliant it seared Michael’s eyes and he once again dropped his head in reverence.

“Thank you, Father.
 
I’ll do my best to make you proud,” he whispered, and suddenly Dominion Emit was at his side, leading him out of the chamber.

“I’m glad to see you came back to your senses, Michael.
 
Earth is a lonely place for a wandering soul.”

“Emit, do you know where Jessica is?
 
Do you think I could just see her once more before I accept my new assignment, just to make sure she’s okay?” Michael begged.

Emit’s eyes held the answer Michael dreaded.
 
“I think it’s best if you don’t know where she is, Michael; wouldn’t you agree?
 
I think your devotion to your new charge would be compromised if you knew her location and had to resist the urge to visit her.
 
But I can assure you she is safe and happy and Falla is taking good care of her, Michael, so you needn’t worry.”

Michael had anticipated Emit’s reaction, so he was disappointed but not surprised.
 
He knew the moment he decided to return to heaven that his chance at seeing Jessica again was over.
 
With one last glance at the glory of heaven, Michael sucked in a big breath and faced his future head on.

“Okay, Emit, I’m ready for my new assignment,” Michael announced.

Emit nodded and grabbed Michael’s hand, transporting them to an elegant mansion.
 
“This assignment might be a little more of a challenge,” Emit hinted as he led Michael to an enormous bedroom littered with high tech electronics and dirty clothes, the walls covered with posters of half-naked women.
 
“Maxwell Covington has a tendency to live on the edge.”

“My new charge is a….teenager?” Michael questioned, noticing the adolescent lounging on his bed.
 
“What happened to his original guardian?”

“You’re not the only one who has struggled with their assignment, Michael,” was all Emit would say, and Michael’s eyes bulged at the implications.
 
Either the boy’s angel had a wandering eye or this kid was going to be trouble, Michael figured, and based on the surly look on the boy’s face, Michael assumed it was the latter.
 
Michael gulped.
 
How was he ever going to get over losing Jessica and Colby if he didn’t even like his new assignment?
 
Perhaps he should have requested to stay in heaven and guard the gates or something boring like that.
 
How was he going to learn to care for an insolent teenager?

“Every soul has value,” Emit replied as if he could read Michael’s mind.
 
“Sometimes it just has to be unearthed.”
 
He smiled as the boy stretched his legs, knocking a pile of books to the floor.

Michael resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said his goodbyes to Emit then settled in to learn what he could about his new assignment.

Maxwell was tall and gangly, with a few too many pimples, but his parents’ wealth must have opened enough doors for him to assure an overabundance of self esteem.
 
He exuded cockiness with every flick of his hair.
 
He lay on his bed, flipping through a Playboy magazine, punk rock music thumping from the headphones clamped around his ears.
 
Michael winced as he glanced at the picture that Maxwell had turned the magazine sideways to admire.
 
Framed photos of Maxwell sailing and skiing and dressed in a football uniform decorated the top of his dresser and Michael sighed.
 
He already didn’t like him, how was he ever going to manage to protect him if the boy participated in every dangerous sport imaginable?

Michael knew he didn’t deserve another opportunity to guard a human, so he ought to be grateful he was assigned one at all, but he couldn’t resist wishing he had been assigned to someone else, anyone else, other than this spoiled teenager.

When the phone rang, Maxwell picked up the handset with a smile and a few minutes later Michael groaned as he realized he would soon be attending his very first rave.

chapter thirteen

“You have 15 minutes to get your butt out the door, Maxwell.
 
You will not embarrass me by showing up late on your first day,” Alexander Covington demanded, poking his head in his son’s room.

Twenty-two year old Maxwell rolled out of bed and landed on the floor with a thump and a groan, wishing he hadn’t celebrated his college graduation quite so exuberantly.
 
He was ecstatic to finally be done with school, though.
 
School had never been his forte.
 
Well, at least not the studying/doing homework/passing tests part of it, anyway.
 
He was great at all the other stuff — impressing girls, playing sports, and partying like a rock star.
 
He really didn’t even see the point in all that schooling.
 
He had always known he would get a job in his father’s electronics company when he was old enough.
 
Daddy dearest couldn’t stand the thought of him abandoning the legacy to do anything else.
 
That was okay with Maxwell.
 
Covington Electronics
 
was a Fortune 500 company with a promising future in the world of computer technology and Maxwell knew he could never find a better deal on his own.

Maxwell jumped in the shower and washed off the smell of last night’s indiscretions then grabbed the suit he had worn to his commencement off the floor and tried to smooth out the creases.
 
He didn’t know exactly what his father would have him doing today, but he assumed he would probably have a meet and greet with all the important people in the company, a coronation of sorts, welcoming in the heir to the Covington empire.
 
He swished some mouthwash and sprayed on some Obsession cologne then styled his hair with his fingers and smiled at his reflection, grateful for his (finally!) clear skin and the straight white teeth several years of braces had given him.
 
He still wasn’t as handsome as he’d like, but the muscles he’d built over the last few years combined with a designer wardrobe and the flashy yellow Mazda RX-7 he’d received as a graduation present made him feel like he was at the top of his game.

Michael rolled his eyes at Maxwell’s preening.
 
After eight years of guarding him, Michael had grown to care deeply for Maxwell, but that didn’t change the fact that Maxwell was still an immature, self-absorbed prick sometimes.
 
His wild and reckless lifestyle kept Michael busy, though, so at least there was rarely a dull moment.
 
Of course, when there was a minute of peace, Michael’s thoughts still returned to Jessica, and occasionally Colby.