Free THE FALL (Rapha Chronicles #1) (The Rapha Chronicles) by Chana Keefer Page A

When Lucifer had boasted of his residence in the garden, Rapha had immediately sought Adonai. Just short of formal protest, he had made his thoughts on the matter known—as if they were ever hidden—and in answer he had been offered only two words: “Trust me.”
    As Adonai’s calm command had filled his mind, it had happened. There were no words to describe the merest flash of Adonai’s burden. Rapha, whose body was created to never fade, suddenly felt crippled, blind, and naked, shredded before the enormity of horrors past and those yet to come. A searing stripping of his sanity overwhelmed him in grief-drenched agony. Blessedly, the connection had halted as quickly as it had begun. Then, like warm, healing oil, Adonai’s voice had flowed through his being.
    “Understanding would destroy you. Please trust.”
    Now Adam was asking him to explain the unexplainable.
    With a deep breath, Rapha said, “He is allowed here because it is his lawful right.”
    “But Adonai created all things, including eternal law. Why would He knowingly allow….”
    “I don’t know!”
    Rapha immediately regretted his outburst. Never before had he revealed vulnerability, thinking it would lessen Adam’s confidence in him.
    “Good.”
    Stunned, Rapha looked at Adam.
    “I’m glad you don’t know everything. It’s no fun to be with someone who
always
knows, who’s
always
under control. I think,” Adam hesitated, understanding dawning on his face, “I think that’s why I sometimes try to drive you crazy.”
    Rapha smiled, “You are very good at it. Diving foolishly into Lucifer’s traps….”
    “You can blame Lucifer all you want but this whole thing was your fault,” Adam accused.
    “
My
fault?”
    “If you hadn’t hidden the stone so well, I might never have disturbed the beast.”
    “Well, at least you showed
some
wisdom by abandoning our game when it meant a choice between life or being devoured.”
    With a smug smile, Adam reached into a crevice beside him and withdrew a large diamond.
    Rapha tossed back his head for a laugh. As an eternal being, surprise was a rare commodity. It felt good.
    “My turn!” Adam dove back into the water.
    For a moment Rapha breathed deep, enjoying the beauty surrounding him. The sun’s warmth filtering through the azure sky soothed him. He needed to laugh more. The joy in Adam’s face when he had sensed Rapha’s approval had also been a ray of sunshine. Instead of feeding Adam’s cockiness, the thing he had been trying to avoid by limiting praise, Rapha had sensed an eagerness to please that had been lacking in their relationship. The day was indeed full of surprises when an old angel was learning something new.
    Deep in his soul he knew this time was limited. He was under no delusions. Lucifer was biding his time, looking for an opportunity to tarnish this perfect corner of the world. Somehow, rather than bringing panic, the thought made Rapha determined to infuse as much joy into what remained as possible—as much joy
and
as much preparation. As far as was within his power, when the test came, his student would be ready.
    For now, the boy’s greatest weakness was a steadfast belief in his own invincibility. Rapha peered into the water’s crystalline depths but could not spy Adam. Would the lad really be foolhardy enough to… yes. He saw Adam shoot out the narrow hole where the creature was trapped.
    “Ah, well,” Rapha commented to himself as he prepared to seek the diamond, most likely hidden in the beast’s teeth, “maybe when the creature claims a chunk of Adam’s flesh and bone the boy will finally learn caution.”
    Later, he would wince at the prophecy of those words.
    The next morning, Rapha gave up trying to teach the boy a blessed thing. By midday, Adam was beside himself with anticipation, chattering and cavorting around Rapha in a manner that once more brought to mind the excitable Emeth. Indeed Rapha could not have felt more harried if the manchild had been