Leviathan

Aaron got up and motioned for her to take the chair. “That would be nice. I’m sure he’d like to hear from you.” He suddenly wondered if it could have been Leviathan that had kept her from leaving Blithe all these years.

“Damn thing’ll probably blow up in my face,” she said, scowling at the computer as she took a seat in front of the monitor.

“You’ll do fine,” he said. He then remembered that he hadn’t paid the woman yet for his stay, and reached into his pocket for the money there. “Oh, before I forget,” he said handing her the stack of bills. She took it from his hand and began to count it.

“Gave me too much,” she said, handing back more than half the cash.

“You said that it was—”

“Are you calling me a liar, Corbet?” she interrupted with a scowl worse than the one she had given the computer.

Aaron knew he was on the edge of real trouble here. “No, it’s just that you said—”

“Never mind what I said. This is plenty.” She held up the money she had kept, then folded it and stuck it inside the front pocket of her ancient blue jeans. “I enjoyed your company—and your dog’s, too, even though he’s a bit of a pig, if you ask me.”

Aaron laughed. “You don’t have to tell me! The boy’s been like that since he was a baby. His stomach’s a bottomless pit.”

They both laughed.

“Well, I gotta hit the road,” Aaron said. “You take care of yourself, Mrs. Provost,” he said, waving good-bye as he left the office doorway.

“Same to you, son,” she said. “You and that dog of yours stop by again sometime, and bring your handsome friend along too.”

Aaron headed for the front door, listening to the old woman’s fingers tentatively moving on the keyboard. It sounded as though she was doing just fine, but as he opened the door, he heard her curse and threaten the computer with being tossed out with the trash. Laughing softly to himself, he stepped from the house to join his friends.

Aaron was passing beneath the flowered archway to go to his car when he saw Katie McGovern. She was dressed in a baggy white T-shirt and some ru

“Hey, back,” she answered. “Was out ru

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Gabriel grumbled, looking at him guiltily, tongue lolling.

Aaron ignored the dog. “I don’t think it was as bad as it looked—and plus, he had the best vet in town looking after him. How could he do anything but miraculously heal?” he asked, chuckling. They were both patting the Labrador now, and the animal was in his glory.

“So you’re leaving, huh?” she said, eyeing his vehicle. He looked where she was staring and saw that Camael had already taken up his place in the front seat, patiently waiting.

“Yeah, got some things to take care of,” he said, stroking Gabriel’s side. “Thought I’d get an early start.”

“Is that the friend you were waiting for?” she asked, motioning with her chin to the car, and the back of Camael’s head.

“That’s him. Got back from Portland yesterday,” he lied.

“Nothing I could say to get you to stick around and help Kevin and me with the practice, is there?” she asked halfheartedly, already expecting that she knew what his answer would be.

“You and Kevin, eh?” he questioned, a sly smile creeping across his face.

“Yeah,” she said, now rubbing Gabriel’s ears. “Since he got back, we’ve been spending a lot of time with each other and have decided to give it another go.” Katie shrugged. “We’re taking it a day at a time—see what happens. So I guess your answer’s no?”

Camael turned around in his seat and gave him an intense stare. Even an angel’s patience has its limits, he thought, moving gradually toward the car. “Sorry,” he said, opening the back door of the Toyota for Gabriel. “Still got something I have to do, but thanks for offering.” He thought of his little brother still in the clutches of killer angels and he felt his pulse rate quicken. The dog jumped into the backseat, and he slammed the door closed.

“You’re good, Aaron,” she said, hands on her hips. “If you ever need a letter of recommendation for school or anything, be sure to look me up, okay?”

“Thanks,” he said, opening the driver side door. “You take care now. I hope everything works out between you and Kevin.”

Aaron sat behind the steering wheel and was just about to slam the door of the Toyota closed when Katie abruptly stopped him.

“The other night,” she said, her eyes wide. She licked her lips nervously. “You know what happened then—don’t you?” Katie nervously played with the bandage on her hand.

Aaron looked into her eyes and told her that he didn’t know what she was talking about, but he suspected that she didn’t believe him.

“There’s a little voice in the back of my head telling me that I should be thanking you for something—but for the life of me I don’t know why.”

He turned the key in the ignition and started up the car. “You don’t have to thank me,” he said, shaking his head, feeling a little sad that he was leaving. The town of Blithe had really started to grow on him. His own little voice—the selfish one again—was telling him that he should turn the car off this instant, accept Katie’s offer, and take up permanent residence in the now peaceful town—to turn his back on the prophecy.

“Never ignore the little voice in the back of your head, Aaron,” she said, leaning into the open window and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. But he knew that it wasn’t to be; that if he had listened, it would be no better than the false peace that he had known in the belly of Leviathan.

“Thank you,” she said as she withdrew herself from the car.

“You’re welcome,” he responded, and she turned from the car with a final wave and continued with her morning run.

He had responsibilities now, he thought as he watched Katie recede down Berkely Street, duties that extended far beyond his own personal satisfaction and happiness. It was a lot to cope with, but what choice did he have, really? He’d tried to deny it, to keep it locked away, but that had almost got him killed. Begrudgingly, he was begi

“I like her,” Gabriel said as Aaron put the car in drive, begi

“I like her too,” Aaron said in the midst of completing a three-point turn, his mind already elsewhere. He thought about his brother, and the dangers that were obviously to come—and he thought about his father.

He began to drive up Berkely Street, and on reflex turned on the radio. Paul McCartney and the rest of the Beatles were singing “Yesterday.” It had always been one of his favorite oldies, and listening to the words now, it had new meaning for him. He turned the volume up a bit and felt Camael’s burning gaze upon him.

“I want you to listen to this,” he said, glancing over at the scowling angel as he took a left off Berkely and headed back through the center of town. “Don’t think of it as a song—think of it as poetry.”

“I despise poetry,” the angel growled, looking away from him to gaze out the passenger window at Blithe passing by.

“Bet you thought you hated French fries too,” Aaron said, chuckling.

Would his life ever again be filled with lazy Sundays reading the newspaper, drinking milk, and eating doughnuts? Aaron had no idea what the future held, but he did know it would certainly be interesting; it was in the job description.

What else would one expect as a Messenger of God?