Afterlife: A Fall of Angels Novelette Read Online Free Page A

set the fire to the curtains in the ground floor living room first.  It quickly spread throughout the room, moving on into the kitchen.  From outside, he saw the glow as the fire spread to the second story.  A moment later a maddening beeping sounded.
    He pushed his hands into the pockets of his coat, hearing a woman cough.  Only a few moments later he heard a scream.
    Out here in these woods there would be no one to hear it.
    A face appeared in the window.  A woman not much older than Jessica stared directly at him with wide terrified eyes.  She called to him, slapping her hand against the window, desperately calling to him for help.
    Cole simply observed her as she lived the most terrifying time of her life.  Her features were delicate, framed with long, blond, straight locks.  She was thin but she looked fit, a woman able to handle herself.
    But not a woman able to walk through fire.
    As Cole simply stood there and watched, the woman looked back toward her only escape.  Even from his position Cole could tell the flames were too great for her to exit without causing herself mortal danger.
    That was exactly how Cole planned it.
    The woman came back to the window, pleading to him to help her.  Her cries became weaker as the smoke filling the house choked her.  One of her hands came to her throat, her eyes closing as she coughed over and over again.
    Her eyes met his one last time before she shrank out of view.
    Love and lust made Cole do terrible things.
    The little twist at the bottom of Cole’s stomach was unexpected.  Taking the old man and the drunk had been easy.  But watching this woman burn all alone out here made him think twice.
    But she was the ultimate payback.
    The woman Cole was hearing scream as the flames consumed her was Jeremiah’s own daughter.
    Jeremiah was so young.
    Her screams intensified, growing to the point of delirium.  Cole shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.  He didn’t like this feeling of internal itching, like he needed to do something.
    It wasn’t until her screams stopped that Cole realized he wasn’t as much of a monster as he thought he was.
    The front door crumbled as Cole’s foot collided with it.  The torrent of flames raged about him as Cole walked calm as night through them.  The hem of his long coat caught fire as he ascended the stairs.  Locating the room he had been watching the woman from below, he opened the door.  The skin on his hand burned away from the intense heat.  And started healing instantly as he pushed the door open and let go.
    The woman was collapsed beneath the window.  Not moving and barely breathing, Cole took his burning coat off, put the flames out, and wrapped it around her.  Lifting her body and holding it tightly against his, Cole grabbed the metal chair sitting at a desk.  Giving it a small heave, it shattered the glass and flew out into the nighttime air.
    Glancing once more down at the woman in his arms, Cole took two steps away from the window.  Sprinting full speed forward, he leapt out the window.
    His black shirt shredded as his glorious and powerful wings caught them as the sailed through the air.  With a gentle beat, he set the two of them back safely on the ground.
    The woman’s eyes fluttered open, catching Cole’s eyes.  She didn’t say anything, just stared at him.
    As Cole let his eyes slide over her body, he knew she wouldn’t make it long.  Seeing her now, he questioned his actions.  Such a beautiful woman, such a waste.
    “I truly am sorry,” he said quietly as he brushed her hair away from her burned flesh.  “It’s nothing personal.”
    She continued to stare at him, her eyes calm as they observed him.  Cole felt his skin start to tighten, felt the familiar twist in his core.
    “Are you real?” she asked in a raspy whisper.
    “Not until you pass from this world,” he said quietly.  In the reflection of her eyes, he saw the blackness start spreading around his own.
    Feeling around