Chapter 5
Gabriel
Well, then. That was… interesting.
Gabriel resisted the urge to run his hands across his suit once they were back in Levi’s home. The demon had sprawled on his couch facing the windows when they’d gotten back. He was draped over the cushions, shirt open, smiling at Gabriel.
Gabriel wasn’t used to people smiling at him. Yes, there had been shock and awe in the old days. Wonder. Amazement. There occasionally still was. There was also confusion, disbelief, and occasionally outright denial.
“Well, then,” Gabriel said, not quite sure where to go from there.
“We make a good team, Buttons. That seems all sorted. What else have you got?” Levi asked.
It was as if his words unleashed the torrent, because the windows overlooking the ocean were suddenly filled with messages, dings coming in as each appeared. Gabriel felt his shoulders fall. Of course there was more work to be done—there always was.
Levi looked aggravated. He began grumbling about the spoiled view, then he went into the other room. Was the demon done with him already? Somehow Gabriel didn’t think one message was going to be enough to satisfy the leadership team.
The demon came back with a handheld screen—a tablet, Gabriel thought. Levi did some muttering, pressed the screen against the windows, and did some more muttering. Then the messages disappeared.
Gabriel gasped, but Levi just looked over and smiled at him again.
“Don’t panic, Buttons. The damn leadership team expects you to get all modernized or what have you, meanwhile they’re still sending messages on any mirrored or clear surface. Ridiculous.” Levi actually rolled his eyes, then he handed the tablet to Gabriel.
All the messages were on there, set out in neat little entries.
The name, the message, and the angel or demon who had ordered it.
Levi leaned in next to him to look at the screen as well.
The demon was warm against his side, their bodies lightly touching, and Gabriel had to concentrate to hold still.
“Hmmm,” Levi muttered, then he reached over and tapped a few things on the screen, which Gabriel angled toward him. Their arms brushed, but Levi hardly seemed aware, focused on the screen. “That oughta do it,” he said, looking at Gabriel.
Their faces were so very close. Gabriel was almost afraid to breathe. The demon had the most beautiful eyes, but noticing that probably wasn’t appropriate, so with some effort, he tore his gaze away to look at the tablet.
“Oh,” he muttered in surprise. The messages were now organized, with little red flags and little clocks.
“I added in their deemed level of importance, and I also marked those that are time sensitive,” Levi said, leaning into him a bit more. “Half of these are… what is this?” he asked, pointing to one of the messages.
Norma Zarpak—Do not go forth unto the gathering marking the beloved’s coming, but rather stay your course in order to mark the dawning of a new beloved.
“Ah, that’s probably a guardian angel,” Gabriel answered. “You know how they are with their humans. They love to give little messages to their charges.” He didn’t see what the problem was—he got messages like that all the time.
“Are you serious?” Levi asked, pulling out a phone from… somewhere.
Gabriel stepped back. He was unsure why Levi looked aggravated. The message seemed innocuous enough, and hopefully the shining soul that it was going to would understand it.
Levi opened some social media app, typing out and searching the name.
With just a minute of scrolling, he found their person, then he looked at their information.
“Ok. Looks like she has a family birthday party out of state this weekend, and her daughter is pregnant. So, basically, she needs to stay home. You’re supposed to go give her that cryptic message and hope she gets it? ”
“Well, yes. Although sometimes the humans think they’re hallucinating. I’m surprised the leadership team didn’t complain about the number of people who got CT scans after a visit from me,” Gabriel muttered.
Yes, he was still a bit disgruntled about the whole leadership team thing, even if Levi was nice enough.
“Well, this is easily dealt with online,” Levi said, continuing to type. “Hmmm, looks like she has a close friend, Bethany Burton. Let’s just send a little message…”
Gabriel watched as Levi typed on a messaging app, where his name was now listed as Bethany.
Bethany: You know, the more I think about it, the more I think you shouldn’t leave your daughter’s side this weekend. I just have a bad feeling. I think you should stay home.
Three little dots appeared, and they both watched the screen.
Norma: Ugh. I’d rather stay home, but you know how aggravated my brother will be.
Levi started typing a response.
Bethany: Joanna is the most important thing, not a party. Tell him you have a stomach bug. No one wants to mess with that.
Norma: lol. True. I think I will. It’ll make me feel better.
“Well, that’s taken care of,” Levi said, looking at Gabriel. “Do we have any more like that?”
Gabriel just stared at him. “That was so… easy.”
“Yup,” Levi responded. “I admit, no shock and awe, but the message will be followed, and isn’t that what matters? Who needs a burning bush when you have text messages?”
Well, yes, Gabriel supposed that was true. It really did seem to be effective, too.
“Why don’t we divide up the messages, and we can see who can be taken care of with social media or text messages versus a personal visit?” Levi suggested.
So they did. They sat on the couch, and Levi conjured a second tablet with all the messages, social media apps, and texting apps.
Gabriel had always been able to locate where a soul was on the earthly plane, and it seemed he could find them in the virtual world as well, because he just seemed to know which app to open and what name to search for.
They spent the day sifting through messages, and they’d taken care of the bulk of them by the time the light was beginning to fade. Levi got up and stretched, and Gabriel couldn’t help staring at the demon’s chest as his shirt opened even more.
“Break time, Buttons,” he said, smirking at Gabriel. “We’ve got all the important and time sensitive ones done, and the rest can wait until tomorrow.”
“But, there are still messages…” Gabriel started, but Levi cut him off.
“Nope. If there’s one thing I’ve learned topside, it’s that work cannot go nonstop.
Humans eat, sleep, and play, and while you’re here, you’ll do the same,” Levi insisted.
“After all, the leadership team wants you to ‘effectively communicate with mortals,’ or whatever bullshit thing they said. In order to do that, you ought to know what mortals experience.”
Gabriel couldn’t help straightening his suit a little in vague discomfort.
He knew he should continue working, but perhaps Levi was right.
He also couldn’t help wondering if the demon was going to cook more food, because that really had been lovely.
Also, what exactly constituted “play”? He was a little hesitant to ask.
“Well, I suppose this is your area of expertise,” Gabriel agreed. “And as much as I have distaste for the leadership team, perhaps the idea has some merit.”
Levi looked absolutely gleeful. “Yes! Wonderful! And I have the perfect evening of human activities in mind. We’ll get some homemade pasta from this fantastic little eatery, and then we’ll head out for a sunset cruise on the boat.”
Gabriel wasn’t sure if either of those things would help him deliver messages, but he just nodded in agreement, following Levi as he led them out the door and to a car, of all things.
This would be an experience in human ways.
Gabriel didn’t think he’d ever ridden in a car before, and he was sure the evening would be educational.
The sunset was an amalgamation of pinks, reds, blues, purples, oranges, greys, and all the shades in between. The sky was streaked with colors, their stomachs were pleasantly full, and the night was warm with a gentle breeze.
Levi was steering the sailboat, if that’s indeed what it was called when someone piloted a boat, and Gabriel was sitting in a chair on the deck.
He had to admit, he was practically lounging.
He didn’t think he’d ever had such poor posture, and he was sure it was rather unprofessional, but somehow he couldn’t summon the energy to straighten up.
The pasta from the little eatery had been…
Well, perhaps Gabriel should try eating more often.
He hadn’t been able to help the gasps and groans that had escaped him as flavor exploded on his tongue, despite the looks that Levi gave him while they ate.
He wasn’t quite sure what those looks meant, but they didn’t seem disapproving.
Levi seemed to enjoy Gabriel’s enjoyment, for some odd reason.
They’d eaten on the deck of the boat while it was still docked, and then Levi had grabbed Hachi and they’d set off. (There was a fish tank onboard, which seemed slightly odd to Gabriel, but he didn’t ask.)
Levi could turn into a sea creature, so Gabriel wasn’t really sure why he had a boat, but Levi seemed to be in his element as he steered the vessel.
His shirt blew out behind him, and his sun-kissed skin glowed in the fading light.
Gabriel could imagine a painter immortalizing the man, the ocean, and the sky, and Gabriel could think of nothing more beautiful.
And wasn’t that a fanciful thought? Quite unlike Gabriel’s usual thoughts. He couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to be alarmed about that, either. It was simply too beautiful a night.
Eventually, Levi came and sat down next to him, and they gazed out over the water as the sky faded into twilight and the stars appeared overhead. There was a splash of water, and Gabriel looked over, curious.
“That’s just Hachi,” Levi commented. “We enjoy night swims.”
“Oh,” Gabriel said, suddenly feeling bad. “You should go swim. I shouldn’t keep you from that. It isn’t your fault the leadership team stuck me with you.”
Levi smiled at him. “I’m not complaining, Buttons. And I’ll go for a swim, but you have to as well.”
Levi’s eyes were practically glowing in the moonlight, and Gabriel had a feeling that he was, no pun intended, about to get himself in too deep. Nevertheless, he nodded his head. Levi got up, and Gabriel stared, speechless, as the demon started stripping.
“Oh, umm…” Gabriel began, averting his eyes.
“Surely you’ve seen naked people before?” Levi laughed.
There was a teasing note to his voice, although Gabriel didn’t get the feeling that he was being laughed at. Not really. He’d been laughed at plenty of times, and this was somehow different.
“Well, I usually wait until everyone is clothed to deliver messages,” Gabriel said stiffly, still looking away.
He heard footsteps and then a splash off the side of the boat, and only then did he get up and look into the water.
Levi’s head was bobbing above the water, and Gabriel thought that his body was no longer human underneath the surface, because he saw a dark tentacle swirl in the darkness.
The small glimpse he got was of something inky and dark yet pearlescent, and Gabriel again had the wayward thought that it was strangely beautiful.
“Let’s go, Buttons. You promised,” Levi called out, and then Hachi appeared behind him, and he turned his back on the boat.
Oh. Yes. Because Gabriel would probably need to disrobe as well. He didn’t think a white suit was appropriate swimwear. Humans did wear swimwear, though, so perhaps he should conjure up something? He wasn’t quite sure what. He stared down at himself in vague concern.
Levi must have guessed his thought process, because the demon said, “A swimsuit is on the chair behind you.”
Gabriel turned around, and there was a white scrap of cloth on the chair. He picked it up and looked at it. It reminded him of a loincloth, and he stared at it disbelievingly. “Humans wear this to swim?” he muttered to himself. Levi must have heard him, because he heard a chuckle from the water.
Well. It was all a learning experience, wasn’t it?
He may have cheated a bit, because his white suit was gone and the white bathing item was on with a blink.
It was… an interesting article of clothing.
It wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it clung to him like a second skin, but it wasn’t tight or constraining.
He felt almost as if he were naked, and without thinking too hard, he walked over and jumped into the ocean.
The water was chillier the deeper he got, so as he sank down, he regulated his temperature to match.
It was strange being totally enveloped in water.
He felt somewhat formless, like he was out among the stars.
He watched as a fish swam by, barely paying him any mind.
It was dark under the water, yet it was teeming with life at the same time.
He came to rest on the ocean floor—it seemed to only be about twenty or thirty feet deep here—and he watched as Hachi swam over to examine him.
The octopus looked at him curiously, motioning him up, and even at one point seeming to grab his wrist to try and pull him.
He didn’t understand what the creature wanted, and he sensed Levi behind him, so he turned to ask, but any thoughts left his head when he saw the demon.
Levi was extraordinary. His face and torso remained human, his hair floating around his head, but as Gabriel looked lower, his body formed into long tentacles, which were thick at the top and tapered down in size at the end.
The tentacles were practically glowing, despite their dark color, and they lazily moved about in the water.
Levi smiled at him, looking him up and down.
His eyes lingered on the swimsuit, and Gabriel hoped he’d donned it correctly.
He thought so—there were clearly leg openings and a waist opening—but Levi seemed to have to drag his eyes up to meet Gabriel’s.
Gabriel straightened up and raised an eyebrow in question, and he could see Levi laughing gently. Hachi grabbed his arm again with a tentacle, pulling insistently, and Levi motioned up. Ah, they must want him to float on the surface.
Gabriel smiled and allowed himself to float back up, feeling the water swirl as Levi propelled himself up next to him.
He marveled again at how lovely it felt to be floating in the ocean like this, and he understood why Levi spent so much time underneath the waves.
He rather hoped their swimming time wasn’t done just yet.