Free Gabriel by Tina Pollick Page A

now.” She pulled her
knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
    Gabriel arched a brow. “Would
you like me to continue?”
    “ Sorry. Yes, please continue.”
    “ It was a very different time and not at all like the time you live
in now.”
    “ So how was it different? I mean there are wars here all over the
world. I would consider that to be a world filled with chaos. Today, people
still practice different religions. In fact some of our wars are over
religion.”
    “ Calla, are you sure you want to hear this?” Gabriel’s brow
creased.
    “ Yeah, but can I get the abbreviated version?”
    Gabriel shook his head,
exasperated. “Okay, the abbreviated version then. There was a king who
represented himself as a god to the people of the east. His name was Baal. He
craved more power, and with power came sacrifice. The sacrifices were his
people. Women, children, old or young—he did not care because he did not value
human life. He made a deal with the one your time refers to as Satan.”
    “ What do you mean people of our time? Hasn’t he always been Satan?”
Calla released her legs and leaned toward Gabriel.
    “ You wanted the short version. I could go back to the beginning…”
    “ No! I mean, no, that’s okay, please continue.” She smiled.
    “ Satan and Baal made a pact. If the deal they made had only
affected his future the Almighty would not have interfered. But this deal
affected souls of all the people on God’s lands. Satan gave Baal his own army
to spread death and destruction across the lands.” Gabriel grasped Calla’s
hand.
    “ But if they killed everyone, what purpose did that serve? I mean
you can’t rule over the dead, right?”
    “ You are very wise, Calla. That would be true if Baal hadn’t
promised the souls of those the army killed to Satan.” He squeezed her hand,
before he released it.
    “ Wait a minute. He can’t give away what’s not his. Can he?”
    “ As I tried to impress earlier, it was a very different time. They
offered their bodies and souls to the one who they believed was their God.”
    “ Oh. So Satan was on a soul-sucking mission, and Baal was his
patsy.”
    A smile slid across Gabriel’s
face. “Baal would not approve of you referring to him as a ‘patsy’.”
    “ Well, if the shoe fits,” Calla said.
    “ Baal was promised immortality, an army of his to command, and a
place next to Satan in Hell. They slaughtered ten thousand people within a
week. The Almighty could no longer bear to watch his beloved children maimed
and killed. He sent seven archangels to destroy the army and Baal.”
    “ Wait a minute. He sent seven guys to fight an army? Give me a
break, seven.” Calla crossed her arms.
    “ Yes, Calla, seven against an army. My brothers and I are warriors.
We have fought many battles, and we have never failed. Until now.”
    Gabriel lowered his head,
unable to look her in the eyes.
    “ Gabriel, you were outnumbered. It wasn’t your fault. Wait a
minute. If you were defeated before the beginning of time then why are they
showing up now? Where have they been all this time?”
    Gabriel continued to look
towards the ground, as if the answers were written on the floor in a language
only he could read.
    “ We were defeated because we could not kill them. They possess an
ability to regenerate. As soon as we took down a hundred, the previous hundred
rose up and attacked us again. My brother, Michael, our leader, formulated a
plan. If we could not kill them, then we would trap them. With the help of the
Almighty, a prison was formed deep inside the earth. We tricked them into the
prison and then sealed it. Each of us took a turn guarding them. To make sure
they never escaped.”
      “ So how did
they get out?”
    “ There was an earthquake. The ground split, and they escaped. I
stood guard that night.”
    He raised his head to see
Calla’s expression. He didn’t see any signs of revulsion at his failure.
    “ The Kematians drink blood and