The story of the FALLEN

14. Explanations

Zack is in a bad mood. And that is mildly said. He allowed Nakir to drain him of his power, but the damn leach took too much. He should have seen that coming. He knows Nakir has no breaks, he’s lucky he can still walk on his own. Sort of. He’s being supported by Nakir and Garry. If anyone sees them now, they will just think he’s drunk and his good friends are helping him get home. Two blocks, that’s all he needs to walk. It feels like an eternity, but it’s probably only fifteen minutes of painstakingly slow walking.

As they come back home, he tries to protest, but he is pushed inside the elevator before he can say anything at all. Nakir knows damn well that Zack hates the metal contraption and that he’s afraid of getting stuck in there. Even as tired and powerless as he is right now, he would much rather crawl up the stairs. Having no say in the matter is not fun at all. He gulps his fear down and silently prays for the door to open at the top. Who is he praying to? God? He is not going to help with this. He turned his back on them and couldn’t care less if Zack dies of fear.

Nakir drops him on the white sofa in their living room before he goes over to the open kitchen to get him something to eat. Hopefully it will be something he likes, but Zack would eat just about anything to get some of the energy back faster. While he waits, Zack watches Garry, the detective. The guy is taking all this very well. No screaming, no questions, no meltdown. Unless he shuts down and can’t process anything he’s seen. But the guy doesn’t look catatonic or distant, he just sits there and waits.

“You can ask questions.” Zack tells the guy. Right now, silence is oppressing, he would much rather talk.

“I think I'm in shock.” Garry says. “I don’t find any of this weird. I thought there was something off about you, but I never could imagine that you’re an angel. Even after seeing that… show in the park. I think I’m gonna need a day or two for this to sink in.”

“You don’t have a day.” Nakir smirks. He sets a full plate down for Zack and three glasses with whisky. “Sorry, Zack. We’re out of vodka.”

“At least you gave me real food.” Zack chuckles. He reaches for the richly filled sandwich: “Thought you’ll bring me a protein bar.”

“That hurts, brother.” Nakir fakes to have his feelings hurt. “I might be an ass, but I won’t let you starve.”

“Are you really brothers?” Garry inquires. Zack lifts his eyes up to see the guy clutching the glass like it’s a lifeline. Oh, yeah. He’s rattled, he just hasn’t realised it.

“Brothers in arms, but we are not related.” Nakir answers.

“Why don’t you ask what you really want to know?” Zack prompts.

“What killed the birds?” Garry whispers. “Where did they all disappear to?”

“A Manticus demon.” Nakir answers. “His stench was all over the pigeons. I think you actually did some damage when you shot it.”

“Nakir sent the birds to heaven. They will be reborn again in time.” Zack says. “I told you that in the park. I guess you were preoccupied and didn’t listen?”

“There was no blood.” Garry shakes his head. “Don’t demons bleed?”

“Not in the usual sense. The bullets did damage it, but I think most of the blood was burned away when it tried to self heal and escape. Blood magic is the easiest for demons. The birds were easy prey, but it took a lot of them to regenerate.” Nakir explains. He sips his whisky slowly before he continues. “I think the damn creature learned to fly. There was no sense of it anywhere, except on the birds.”

“Great!” Zack scoffs. “Now we have a shape shifting demon who can fly.”

“If this is the same one that killed Father Angus, we can’t let Simon drive home alone every day. He might be next.” Nakir says. “Or you for that matter, detective.”

“Can you take a few days off? You might be in danger. The demon let you go once, because you surprised it. Next time you won’t see it coming.” Zack looks at the detective. He has a bad feeling about all this.

“I can’t just take off and hide. I’m not a coward. I shot it once, I can do it again.” Garry shakes his head. “I just won’t go to the park alone.”

“Brilliant idea.” Nakir laughs. “The demons are fast. Want to try it out?”

“That’s a great idea, Niki!” Zack exclaims. He can’t believe that Nakir is willing to go to such extremes to make a point. Did he suddenly discover a fancy for the guy? “Letting him shoot you is a terrible way to make a point.”

“I’m letting him try. I have never been shot in my life, it’s not gonna happen now.” Nakir chuckles. “I’m faster than that and you know it.”

“Right. You can’t retaliate. Keep in mind that it was your idea that he shoots you.” Zack reminds Nakir. A warning is all he can do, his energy is not yet back to normal, so he can’t go playing hero and save the detective.

“Have some faith. He’s not going to shoot me.” Nakir chuckles. He tilts his head toward Garry: “Ready to try? I just have to show you how foolish it is to go out and risk your life.”

“Sure. It’s your choice, but we’re doing it in that direction, so I don’t accidentally shoot Zack.” Garry smiles. He points in the direction of the terrace and the glass wall hidden behind the curtains.

“The glass wall might not be the best choice, but I don’t want to be in the line of fire either.” Zack shakes his head. “How about you direct it towards the kitchen? I don’t mind if you shoot a cupboard.”

Nakir only laughs some more and moves to stand in the direction of the kitchen. He is so overconfident it hurts to look, but Zack doesn’t want to miss it. He might even be a bit gleeful at the prospect of Nakir getting hurt. Someone has to take him down a notch or two. Suits him right for not knowing any limits. But, as with anything else that involves Nakir, he’s not going to learn anything from this either.

“Ready?” Nakir smirks. The confidence of the dark angel on full display for everyone to see. “I can come at you to make it feel more real.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? Bullets hurt.” Garry inquires. He pulls his gun out of the back holster and flips off the safety. It appears that the detective has no reservations on shooting him.

“Do it.” Nakir nods. He even moves a bit closer to Garry just to goad him further.

Zack can see the darkness glistening in Nakir’s eyes as Garry pulls the trigger. The angel of death moves lightning fast and spins around theatrically, laughing as he does it. Nakir comes to a full stop just in front of Garry. Not a mark on him and the damn bullet in his hand. He was fast enough to pluck the bullet from the air and now he’s showing it to them like a prize. Zack didn’t believe he could actually do it. He is pretty sure that Garry is looking at Nakir in wonder, not believing it’s possible to catch a bullet.

“Told you.” Nakir smirks. “I’m fast enough to not get shot. Maybe that demon you encountered managed to catch one of the bullets? Maybe you hit him with both? Either way, we have known for a long time that bullets don’t kill demons. That is why we have swords.”

“Decapitation solves any problem.” Zack muses. “As we are on the topic of swords, someone needs to return the sabres back to their box.”

“Yeah. Give me yours. I think I can’t forget to take them back down if I see them.” Nakir nods. He takes both sabres and places them on the dining table.

“Why swords? Are those from a special metal or something?” Garry inquires.

“Those two? No.” Zack shakes his head. “You never run out of ammunition, it never gets hot, it’s pretty easy to hide, light as well.”

“Nothing survives being hacked to pieces. Cutting the head off will be certain death for every creature.” Nakir shrugs. “It’s basic really.”

“Can you be killed by cutting off your head?” Garry asks carefully. “Was that too intrusive? You don’t have to answer.”

“Everything dies without a head.” Zack answers. He knows it’s a bit of a touchy subject for Nakir. That’s how his brother Munkir died. Nobody wants to think about it too much. Death is not something immortal beings think about.

“Oh. I’m sorry I asked.” Garry says.

“Did I convince you it’s a bad idea to go home tonight?” Nakir changes the subject.

“Yes. Please take a few days off.” Zack adds. “Just think about it.”

“We could train you to fight demons.” Nakir muses. “What’s another human on the list? Simon is doing fine, considering his aversion to weapons.”

“Do I want to know?” Garry looks from one angel to another. “What kind of training are you offering?”

“If you stay here, you get to meet Simon.” Nakir answers. “Martial arts and sword fighting is what I’m offering you. You can’t get a better teacher than warrior angels.”

“Think about it. Stay over for the night and think about it.” Zack tells Garry. There is something about this man that is worth saving. He is tenacious, he doesn’t scare easily, he does good research, and he doesn’t talk too much. Nakir seems to like him, and that speaks volumes to Zack.

“Will I get the sofa if I stay?” Garry asks.

“You’re thinking about staying, that’s a great start.” Nakir chuckles.

“You will get your own room. We have a few guest rooms downstairs.” Zack tells him. He is glad that Garry is thinking in the right direction. Self preservation is an important part of survival. “All I ask is that you don’t leave in the middle of the night. I hate the sound of the alarm going off.”

“Not worried about me at all, just that the alarm doesn’t go off?” Garry chuckles. “That hurts my feelings a bit.”

“If we wouldn’t be worried about you, we wouldn’t ask you to stay.” Nakir scoffs. “It’s Zack’s bad mood if he doesn’t get enough sleep that you need to worry about.”

“My bad mood? Really? Don’t you mean your murderous rage if you don’t get your beauty sleep?” Zack glares at Nakir.

“Do not make fun of me. I know things about you…” Nakir says.

“Hey, guys! Do we have…” Layla strolls into the living room covered in demon blood. “...Who’s that?”

“You mean the petrified statue that once was detective Holland?” Nakir laughs. He waves his hand in front of the detective’s face with no results. The man is frozen still.

“We encountered problems in the park.” Zack adds. “Detective here saw too much and lived to tell the tale. He’s under protection until we find and kill this demon.”

“What demon? We encountered two of those winged creatures again.” Layla tells them. “What kind of demon did you see?”

“We didn’t.” Nakir shakes his head. “We saw what was left behind. The detective shot our elusive Manticus demon. He managed to confuse the creature enough to make it run away instead of killing him. The demon killed most of the pigeon population of Kensington to heal his injuries. We cleaned up the park, but the demon wasn’t there anymore.”

“This one might have learned how to fly. The sheer amount of dead birds and no tracks makes me think it flew away.” Zack tells Layla.

“Oh damn! Tammy will be pissed she missed this.” Layla cringes. “Tell her the recap again when she comes up.”

“Where is she anyway?” Zack wonders.

“She went to shower first. I need food before I’m capable of anything else.” Layla answers. “These winged demons are tiring.”

“I’ll tell her.” Nakir nods. He glances at Garry: “Garry? Do you want something to eat or just a room with a lock?”

“One more whisky, please.” Garry answers. “Then I might be drunk enough to sleep a bit. Maybe.”