Chapter 7
“The Devil Went Down to Georgia”
Charlie Daniels Band
~~~ 

Four Event-Filled Weeks Later,
On a Park Bench in Mid-Town Atlanta,
One Way-Too-Cold January Afternoon.

JAKE KNEW ONE true thing—if the devil really was looking for a few souls he could steal, Atlanta made a mighty fine hunting ground. In the two weeks since his arrival, he’d seen miseries and meanness of every kind written on the faces of rich and poor, black and white, male and female.

It wasn’t that there were no decent, honest, or God-fearing people in Georgia’s capital. It was a matter of sheer numbers. In a city with a metro area population of over five and a half a million, even a small percentage of lost souls added up to a huge number of humans in peril.

He’d been busy every minute since he’d arrived, reaching out to those he recognized were in need. He even managed to get through to some of them, but he was only one person. Oh. Maybe he really couldn’t refer to himself as a person these days. Another question for Azrael. But by any description, there was just one of him, and he could only reach so many souls a day.

Jake had been so overwhelmed by how many people needed him, he hadn’t even realized how long he’d stayed in one place. It was way past time to get back on the road, but it felt wrong to walk away when he could see how many people were in danger. Their anguish reverberated down to his bones. Sometimes, the pain of someone truly on the brink would wake him at night and send him racing into the dark, trying to locate them before it was too late.

It was like a freakin’ bat signal hovered over the city twenty-four hours a day.

If only he had some help. Yeah, that’s what this whole deal needed. More emissaries, covering a wider range.

“That was my original plan, you know.”

Jake jumped a foot off the bench. “Geez, Azrael! You want me to have a heart attack and die on the spot?”

Azrael lifted an eyebrow.

“Okay, I know I can’t die again, at least not here. But I hate when you do that. Look! You made me drop my coffee on the ground.”

“This is not a problem of mine.”

In for a penny, in for a pound. “And that’s another thing. You really should work on your slang. Idiom. Whatever you want to call it. No one would say ‘This is not a problem of mine.’ They’d say ‘Not my problem.’”

Azrael’s brow wrinkled. “Is it not the same thing? A problem I do not have?”

“Technically, yes, but when you say it all wrong, it weirds me out.”

“Weirds you out? This means it feels weird to you?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Why out?”

“Huh?”

“Feelings are usually thought of as being internal. Why would it not weird you in?”

Jake groaned, executing a face palm worthy of Jean-Luc Picard. “Arrggh. I give up. I don’t know how to . . . wait. Are you . . . are you laughing at me?”

“Me? Laughing at you?”

“You are! I can’t believe it! You pop up beside me out of thin air, scare me half to death, talk like some sort of grammarian from the Middle Ages, and then you laugh at me?”

“When you put it like that, it does seem a bit unfair, I suppose, but you are so very easy, sometimes.”

“When the heck did you develop a sense of humor? And by the way, at least I understand the basic function of a contraction. You should try one now and then. It might keep you from sounding like you have a stick . . . oh. Umm . . . never mind.”

Azrael’s eyes flashed an icier shade of blue. “I beg your pardon?”

Jake reminded himself he wasn’t talking to some punk wise-ass wandering the streets of Atlanta looking for trouble. This was Azrael of the flaming sword, his warrior angel of a boss. Not to mention the person—or being—who brought him back to life. The angel deserved some respect.

“What I really meant was, I’m glad to see you.”

Azrael’s smile returned. “It is good to see you, too, Jake. I had a feeling you wanted my counsel.”

“As a matter of fact, there are some things I’ve been wondering about. Can we talk? I mean, I assume you’ve already put up the Pass By thing again, since no one seems surprised to see a man with huge white wings sitting beside me on a municipal park bench.”

~~~

A Talk-Filled Quarter-Hour Later,
Same Park Bench Somewhere in Mid-Town Atlanta,
On the Same Miserably Cold January Afternoon.

“SO I’M REALLY doing okay with this?”

“More than okay. I am pleased with how you are handling this mission.”

“Good. That should mean you’ll be able to enlist more emissaries, right?”

Azrael looked away, mouth a tight line. “No. At least, not yet.”

“Why not? If it’s working well, wouldn’t it be a good idea to have more help? Seems like a no-brainer to me, no offense.”

“I am not offended. I am also not the one holding back on this idea.”

“Well, who is?”

Azrael actually laughed out loud. “You certainly do enjoy kicking the hornet’s nest.”

“Hey, you can’t blame me for being curious. The more I understand, the better I can do my job.”

“You might as well give up, Jake. I am not at liberty to explain the inner workings of the Council of Angels to you.”

“Council? Sounds like hush-hush big business dealings. Or a political group.”

The angel’s laughter disappeared. “You are not so far off the mark. Suffice it to say, I cannot tell you more about these things, even if I wished to do so. And I do not. Your focus should be on your mission. Leave the machinations of the angels to me.”

“Okay. I give up for now. Besides, if the rest of the angels act anything like Simiel and Raguel did, I’d just as soon stay far away from them.” Lightning bolts and icicle spears, indeed.

“That is not all you wished to talk about, is it?”

“No. I was wondering—not that it matters much—but after I left the Keys, I kept thinking about that man’s body, slumped over the driftwood where we’d been sitting.” He looked away, then gave a shake of his head. “Never mind. I guess I don’t need to know.”

“Ah. You are wondering where your own body is.”

Jake nodded and braced himself, sure he wouldn’t like Azrael’s answer. He was right.

“It is where you left it, Jake.”

“I left it in the freakin’ mud at the bottom of a cold, dark river.”

“Yes.”

“Well, isn’t that special? A muddy, unmarked grave for me, then?”

“Probably so, although, drowning victims are recovered from time to time, are they not?”

“Somehow, I think you know that’s not the way it will work out for me.”

“I am not able to see everything that happens in the future, though I can usually guess. But you should not worry overmuch about this. Your sacrifice for another assures that wherever your mortal remains end up is hallowed ground. Believe me when I tell you there are many, many people lying in grandiose tombs that are far less sanctified than your final resting place, humble though it be.”

“Well, I guess that’s good to know.” He looked down at himself, frowning, then studied his hand, turning it this way and that. “But what about this? This body I have now? How could you have done this without my old one?”

“Did I not tell you when we first met that there is no real limit to my power? Let us just say I used your original body as a template when I gave you solid form again.”

“A template? Hold on. Are you saying you created a brand-new body for me, yet gave me every ache, pain, broken bone, scar, wrinkle, and failing of my old one? Why in the name of all that’s holy would you do such a thing?”

“Do not swear on that which is holy, Jake. And I did such a thing because it seemed like a good idea to give you the body you were already familiar with.”

“Okay, I’m sorry about the swearing, but for Pete’s sake, Azrael! I’m familiar with this body, sure. I’ve had it for forty-one years! But I’m half deaf in my left ear, and my eyesight isn’t what it used to be. If you weren’t going to start from scratch and give me the body of a rugged twenty-year-old, couldn’t you have at least refurbished this one?”

Azrael cocked his head to one side for several minutes as he considered the question.

His answer came as a surprise.

 “I never thought about it. All of this is uncharted territory, you understand. I am afraid I was focused on what your job would be—how you might best be of use to us. Therefore, I was thinking only in terms of your body being equipped to stand up to the rigors of the extraordinary task ahead of you. I never once took anything else you have asked about into consideration, and I apologize for that oversight. I will take care of it immediately.”

Jake’s eyebrows shot toward the sky. “You mean, you’ll fix this body up for me? Get rid of my scars and wrinkles, and make me young again?”

“Do not be ridiculous. I most certainly will not fix cosmetic issues. The wrinkles and scars stay. And no, I will not make you younger, either. Your face is perfect for this job, lined in all the right ways. It is a kind, reassuring face, and one people can trust. I will however, take care of your aches and pains. Those could make doing your job more difficult.”

“Even my right foot? I have a steel pin in that one, and it has been a problem for years.”

“It will not bother you anymore. Now close your eyes.” Azrael touched the tip of his forefinger to each eyelid and each ear.

When Jake peered around again, he gasped with pleasure. Then he looked at Azrael and his mouth dropped open. “Oh, geez!”

The angel sighed. “Now what?”

“Your eyes! They’re so blue, it’s scary. I mean, way, way more than I noticed before. And they’re all . . . glowy.”

 “Glowy? And you lectured me on how to speak properly?”

“I swear, I’ll never lecture you again. About anything. It feels like you can see straight through me.”

“And you did not notice this before I ‘refurbished’ your eyes?”

Jake shook his head, still staring.

The corner of Azrael’s mouth curved up a tiny bit. “Hmm. A pity I did not find out about your vision problems earlier, then. I could have taken care of them from the start. Things might have gone more smoothly, had you been able to see me and my ‘glowy’ eyes better.”

“I suspect you’re right on that one. I doubt I’d have been quite so outspoken the night I met you, and for sure, I’d never have had the nerve to try walking off the job before we even got started.”

“Nevertheless, you stayed. You have done well so far, and now, you can even see and hear properly again. Your aches and pains are gone, too. Do you know what this means?”

Jake sighed. “I’m guessing I’ve just lost any excuses for messing up, haven’t I?”

Azrael’s smile grew wider and his glowy blue eyes positively dazzled with inner light. “I believe the expression is ‘got it in one.’” And then he disappeared.

“Hey! What the heck, Azrael? No goodbye, or blessing, or kiss my grits? What’s up with that?”

He searched the gray sky as though he might see the angel hovering directly above, but only ragged, wintry clouds looked back. Surprised to discover how much he’d counted on their usual farewell ritual, his spirits sagged.

Then a faint whisper filled his head. “Cheer up. I just wanted to check your newly improved hearing. And Jake? I will never, ever leave you without giving you my blessing. Close your eyes now and hear my prayer.”

The benediction—affirming and hopeful as always—came to an end, and Azrael departed for real. All was right in Jake’s world again. At least, as right as things could be in a world with so many lost souls to track down.

~~~

“NOW WHAT?” JAKE held up the fancy silver key ring he’d just pulled from his pocket. He’d never seen it before, and it bore absolutely no resemblance to the set of keys for the big semi. And speaking of his truck, where did it go? It was certainly not where he’d left it. In fact, the only car in the parking lot was a sleek, black BMW. On a hunch, he pushed the unlock button on the key in his hand, and the BMW’s lights blinked. Well. How about that!

Upon investigation, he found his travel bag and CD case in the trunk of the car, and a note laying on the passenger seat—a note written in an elegant hand on a piece of heavy, cream-colored parchment, no less.

J—

I hope you like your city car. I have a feeling you will be in Atlanta for a while, and you may as well have something less unwieldy to drive, at least until you are ready to hit the highway again.

Continue to follow your heart—and the rules, of course—and you will do fine.

Have faith.

A.

All righty, then. Azrael had spoken, and Jake was officially on the job in Georgia. Time to put the devil on notice that his luck was about to run out.

---

There you have today’s offering.
Stay tuned for Chapter 8 tomorrow!

THE EMISSARY