Inception (The Reaping Chronicles, 1) by Teal Haviland

convincing smile she felt she had in her and reached for his hand. It was very warm, warmer than any human’s would be. His seemed to be warmer than any incarnated angel she’d touched—considerably so. And his light, when in his true form, was brighter than any angels’ she’d ever seen. It was almost blinding. He looked at her for a moment, then smiled and gave her hand a firm, loving squeeze.
    “You know, Gabrielle, Yahuwah doesn’t expect this of you, and I’m sure He would be happy to have you solely in Heaven once again. If you ever decide this isn’t still in the best interest of His Divine purpose, it would not be looked upon by Him, or any of your brethren, as a failure. No other before you has ever taken on such a heavy responsibility without being commanded to do so. You have earned a great deal of respect with your actions.”
    Gabrielle said a quick prayer of thanks to Yahuwah for giving her such a supportive and loving ally. “This isn’t about earning the respect of my peers. You know that.” He nodded in acknowledgement. “It’s the need to understand why the tactics I’ve always used are no longer making an impact. If I don’t figure out new ways of creating the desire in the hearts of people to do, and be , good … Darkness will take over their minds—this world. I can’t allow that to happen. I can’t continue to just watch the battle for human souls being lost while our Asarers fall along with them.”
    Gabrielle felt the need for rest begin to take over her human form. Her mind hurt, eyes burned, and the little perk her afternoon shower seemed to give her had waned. She needed to sleep. As an angel, she had no need for rest, but she had been trying to remain in her human body as much as she could to get in touch with what people deal with on a daily basis.
    Amaziah, as usual, knew exactly what she needed.
    “Gabrielle,” He stood up and lovingly cupped her face with his hands, “I didn’t mean for you to feel you had to convince me all over again. I just wanted you to know that there is still another choice, and that you aren’t stuck with this decision. It doesn’t need to be discussed further. I can see you need sleep. Give your human body a little extra time to rest this evening. I would like to know how your day went and what you may have learned, but it can wait.”
    With that, he smiled and disappeared like fog being shooed away by a stiff breeze.
    Gabrielle went upstairs to her bedroom and climbed into bed. The last image she saw in her mind before she fell into a deep, but restless sleep was Lucas.

Chapter Eight

    Javan ~ An Angel
    Javan had just finished pouring a shot of whiskey when Mara walked into his loft. Liquor was the only thing he had to numb the emotions the human body inundated him with. Human emotions were a nuisance he hadn’t bargained for. He downed the shot and grabbed a second glass as Mara made her way to him, filling them almost to overflowing.
    “Mara. I wasn’t expecting you. Why are you bothering me?”
    A smile barely showed as she grabbed her glass, downing its contents.
    “I can leave,” she said and turned to make her way back to the door. “I just thought you’d want to know there’s a pretty little angel posing as a student at school. But I can see now it wouldn’t concern you, so I’ll see you later.”
    “Wait.”
    Mara continued to the door. He hated when she tried to be flippant. It irritated him. He was in front of her so fast that it startled her, and the indifferent expression rearranged back to the one of servitude he wanted. He grabbed her face with one hand and moved close enough that their noses touched.
    “Don’t play with me, Mara,” he said through clenched teeth. “You know I don’t have the patience for it.”
    She nodded as much as she could in his grip, and he let her go.
    “Come have another drink. Tell me about this angel.”
    She sat on the stool across the counter from him. He slid her a glass and