L. Castillo - After the Fall

She let out a growl of frustration and jumped to her feet. Before he knew what was happening, her petite hands jerked his head down and she placed a palm on his temple.

“Hizaher,” she whispered the Hebrew command to remember in his ear.

A memory flashed through Lash’s mind. He found himself on a familiar hill next to Naomi. She turned to him, her eyes filled with tears as she reached out to cup his face. “I care not if my father has promised me in marriage to Jeremiel. My love for you will never die.”

“My sweet Naomi. Your love gives me strength.” Lash placed his hands over hers, turned his head, and kissed her palms. “I will plead with my father to allow me to have your hand in marriage. I care not what he does with me so long as I can be with you.”

“And if he says no?”

“Then we shall leave this place. Will you go with me? Can you leave your sisters, your family, and join me?”

“Yes. I cannot bear to be without you.”

“Then I shall fight for you. I’ll never stop fighting for you.”

“Nor I you.”

Lash gasped as Rachel pulled her hands away. He blinked down at her. “Was that a memory?”

She glanced around the garden with a worried look. “Please don’t tell anyone I did that.”

Of all the memories he’d been shown of his past, this one was the most vivid. He could feel it to the core of his soul as he if were actually there. He could feel the strength of Naomi’s love. She was willing to sacrifice everything to be with him. Not Jeremy. Him!

He scooped Rachel into his arms, lifting her off her feet, and swung her around. “Thank you, Rachel! That was the best gift anyone has ever given me.” He set her on the ground and held her tightly against his chest in a bear hug.

“Yohwocom.”

“What?” He laughed at the muffled sound she was making and let go of her.

She brushed back her hair and let out a breath. “I said ‘you’re welcome.’ Sometimes, you don’t know your own strength. You’re pretty strong for a seraph, you know.”

“Sorry.” He grinned.

“Feeling better now?”

“A little. I mean, it helps to know how much she loved me.”

“Loves. Present tense, Lash.”

“Okay, loves . But she’s still mad at me. I hate leaving things like this.”

“She’ll be back. In the meantime, you just need to keep yourself distracted while she’s gone.”

She furrowed her brow in thought and then her face lit up. “I know! I’m going to send Uri to you.” She slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Get ready for a poker night—Uri style.”

A pair of clear blue eyes gazed intently at Lash. “I don’t think you have it,” Uri said with a thick Russian accent.

“Maybe I do, and maybe I don’t.” Lash reached for the bottle of vodka, a smuggled gift from Uri, and poured himself a drink. Keeping his eyes on him, he downed it and placed the glass down on the table. “Care to make this interesting?”

Uri’s clean-shaven face lit up. “Now you’re talking, my friend. What’s your price?”

“Cuban cigars.” Lash poured himself another drink and brought the glass up to his lips.

“Don’t you already have a stash?”

“Raphael found them when he was helping us move,” he grumbled.

Uri chuckled.

Lash threw him a glare.

“Say no more.” Uri stared down at his cards, his lip twitching.

He shook his head, taking another sip. “What’s your price?”

Uri looked up and thought for a moment. “Umm. Okay, Mr. Mister.”

Lash choked on his drink and coughed, laughing. “Why are you calling me mister?”

“I’m not calling you mister. I said I want Mr. Mister.”

“Uh, okay, so you want a mister?” He furrowed his brow. “What about Rachel?”

Uri looked at him wide-eyed. “It’s for Rachel.”

“For Rachel?” Maybe he didn’t know Rachel as well as he thought he did.

“Mr. Mister is an 80s pop rock band. Don’t you remember?”

Lash shook his head. There was a lot about the 80s he didn’t want to remember.

“She loves their Broken Wings song,” he continued. “It’s our song. When she was on assignment with me in ’86, she played it over and over on an old record player.”

“Oh! A record.” He was relieved. For a moment there, he thought he was going to be responsible for getting Rachel kicked out. “Well, that might be a little tough to get now-a-days, but I think I can manage.”

Uri tilted his head. “What did you think I was talking about?”

“Nothing.” His eyes darted to his cards. “Okay, what do you have?”

“Royal flush.”

“Shit!”

Uri howled as he leaned over the table and poured himself a drink. “Don’t tell Rachel. I want to surprise her.”

“No problem there. I don’t know when I’ll be able to get it for you though. It doesn’t look like I’m going down anytime soon.” Lash pushed himself away from the table, and taking the bottle with him, he went to the large window that overlooked the valley below.

“Care for another game?”

Lash pressed his forehead against the glass. It was no use. Even the wisecracking Uri couldn’t keep his heart from aching over Naomi. He’d been so happy when Rachel showed him that memory of Naomi giving up everything just for him, proof of her love for him. He wished he could just hold on to it. Instead, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was the hurt on her face. Eyes that once looked at him with tender love were glazed over in pain and betrayal, eyes that wouldn’t even look at him when she left. Had he gone too far? Had he lost her love?

“It’s no good, Uri. Thanks for trying. It’s just...I can’t get her out of my mind.”

He heard the sound of cards shuffling as he looked at the bridge, wondering if he would be able to find her if he looked. Maybe he could sneak over there in the morning.

“You don’t remember this, but long ago, I was a royal ass-hole.”

Lash spun around, taken off guard. “Did you say ass-hole?”

Uri stared out into space as he shuffled the cards deftly in his fingers. “I didn’t deserve the love Rachel gave to me. I knew she cared, and I took advantage. I didn’t know what a gift she was until she came after me, and then it was too late. When I returned centuries later as a human, she was there again. Of course, I didn’t know her at first. I kept having these strange feelings whenever she was around. What do you call it?”

He paused for a moment then snapped his fingers. “Déjà vu. It was like I knew her before in another life. Then, I fell in love with her. I couldn’t help myself. By then, the tables were turned, and she kept her heart away from me. Oh, she watched over me; that was her job, but never would she let me in. I know now it was because of how I treated her in the past.”

Lash stayed silent. This was the first time he’d ever seen Uri so serious. Rachel never talked about their past. In his mind, they were the perfect couple, forever loyal to each other and deeply in love.

Uri placed the cards on the table and looked at him with determination in his eyes. “I had to fight to win back Rachel’s trust. That is what you must do, my friend. Fight for your woman.”

“You think I don’t want to do that? I’m stuck here waiting for her.”

Uri pushed himself away from the table and went to him, slapping a hand down on his shoulder. “Then you will go to her. I’m giving you permission to go down and find her.”

“What about Gabrielle and Michael?”

“I’ll handle that. If you’re brief, we may not have to deal with them.”

“When can I go?”

“When the moment is right, I’ll find you. Be ready.”