The woman sighed, gathering her long hair into a knot as she stood. “My name is Nyalla. No titles. No last name. Just Nyalla. Come here. We’ll sit, have a beer, and figure out what we’re going to do about this.”

Gabriel stood and followed her into the main room where she pulled two bottles from the fridge and set them on the table, popping the caps from them.

“I don’t eat or drink. Such sensory experiences reduce my vibration levels and hinder my quest to achieve a centered, balanced life and eventually enlightenment.”

She paused. “Such sensory experiences are going to keep you alive. I don’t know how long this spell is going to take to wear off. You can’t exactly expect to starve and dehydrate in the meantime.”

His midsection twisted painfully again. This was horrible. He might be without his wings, but he wasn’t about to lower himself to such base behaviors. “I’ll be fine. I’m an angel.”

She muttered something about him being a total fool, and how long would he live if he tried to hold his breath for a few days, then she took a drink from one of the bottles. “Fine. Your funeral. Well, hopefully not because I don’t want to be the one to explain that to your eldest brother. Actually, can you call him? I know he has a cell phone, and I’m hoping he might have some angel power that can reverse the wand’s effect.”

His brother had a cell phone? That’s right, he had seen him talking into a small device a few times. How the mighty had fallen. “I doubt he can reverse the effect. I’ll just need to ride it out.”

“Are you positive? He seems pretty powerful. I’m sure if I called Sam, she could get ahold of him and–”

“No!” Gabriel took a few breaths to calm himself. He didn’t want any of his siblings to know. He most definitely didn’t want that imp of an Iblis to know. And besides, the idea that his eldest brother could easily negate a spell that had brought him down was insulting. Micha wasn’t that much more powerful than he was. “I assure you there is nothing any angel can do to help. Eventually the spell will wear off. The timing of this is particularly unfortunate, but patience is a virtue. I’ll simply need to be vigilant and wait, and another opportunity will eventually arise.”

Nyalla’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about? Were you here on some Ruling Council business? Something you needed to do for your choir? Maybe I can help you. Well, after I finish up with my own project, that is.”

“It was a personal project.” And the idea that this human woman could help him catch and punish an angel was ludicrous.

“And this personal project involved my underwear?”

“Yes–I mean, no. I was…” he might as well be honest about this. “I was searching your room for something.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “In my underwear drawer?”

Why was his face hot? “I didn’t know where you’d put it, so I was searching everywhere. But your room is such a filthy mess that it was impeding my search. I got distracted.”

“You got distracted in my underwear drawer?”

“I got distracted everywhere. You had dirty dishes, opened food containers. Your books weren’t alphabetized or arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner. And those tiny pants were all balled up and shoved in the drawer. They’re wrinkled. I was going to iron them, but I didn’t think I’d have time for that.”

Nyalla stared at Gabe for a few moments then began to laugh. “Iron them? Never mind. What did you think I had in my underwear drawer?”

“The scroll. The one you received on the beach. The one from the Gormand.”

She sucked in a breath. “I knew there was another demon nearby — I mean angel. Sorry, but you guys both read the same energy-wise. I can never tell the difference between angels and demons. How did you hide from me? Invisibility? Did you turn yourself into a rock or a grain of sand?”

“I was the water,” he told her, uncertain why she was more concerned about what form he’d taken than the fact that he had been spying on her.

“You were the water? As in you were holding your breath underwater because you were an angel at that time? Or you were a fish?”

Where was she going with this? “No, I was the water. I have an affinity for the element. If I need to manifest a physical form, I’d far rather become the ocean itself than a creature or a rock. There’s a sense of eternity in the sea, a feeling of infinity, of cosmic balance. Outside of Aaru, it’s the place I feel most at home.”

Her mouth made an ‘O’. “I would give anything to be able to do that. Anything. To become the water itself…” She shook her head. “Back to the scroll, if you wanted to know what was on it, why didn’t you ask? All you would have had to do was come to me and tell me that you were the Archangel Gabriel and you wanted to read the scroll.”

One of his eyebrows lifted. He wasn’t sure why, but it felt like an appropriate expression in response to her statement. “I cannot believe you would have willingly handed over the scroll to a stranger who came up to you claiming to be an archangel. You hit me in the head with a frying pan.”

“Because you were in my room going through my underwear drawer,” she shot back. “And yes, I would have handed it over because I can see your heart.”

Gabe looked down at his chest, even pulling the neck of his shirt out. “You have X-ray vision? And what does my circulatory organ have to do with being trustworthy?”

“It’s a metaphor. Or a simile. I always get them mixed up. I have a gift. I can see your intentions. Walking up and introducing yourself, perhaps even using that magic word ‘please’ would have gotten you cooperation. Breaking into my room and being angry with me, wanting to punish me, gets you hit in the head with a frying pan.”

“I wasn’t angry when I was going through your underwear drawer,” he argued.

“No, but you were thinking lots of bad things about me.”

He had been. He’d been thinking what a horrible, filthy, disorganized, messy person she must be, that her vibration patterns were far below acceptable levels, that she her FICO score was most likely substandard.

Once again this human woman was making him feel ashamed. “I’m sorry. Can I please see the scroll?”

“Why?”

“Because I asked nicely?” By the creator what did this woman want him to do now, get on his knees and beg?

“No, I mean why do you want it? Are you trying to retrieve the same item that I am here to get? Because Sam sent me here for it. I think she’s going to give it to your brother for a born-day gift.”

Gabe blinked in surprise. “Micha has a born-day? I mean, he knows his born-day? None of us knows the exact moment in time that we were created.”

She shrugged. “Honestly I think Sam just picked a day. Don’t tell him. She’s planning on a surprise party.”

A surprise party? No one had invited him.

“No, I’m not looking for the artifact, I’m looking for the angel that brokered it to the Gormand. If I can get my hands on the Gormand, I can convince him to lead me to the angel.”

“Are you going to kill him for stealing the artifact?”

“As much as I would like to summarily deliver justice, this angel needs to answer to the Ruling Council for his crimes. And those crimes are far more serious than the theft of an artifact.”

He wanted to kill Tura. He was hoping for an excuse to do so. But if the rebel submitted, then he’d have no choice but to follow angelic law and bring him before the council for judgement.

“What were his crimes?”

That wasn’t her business to know. “I won’t discuss that with you. Suffice it to say that he is more than a rebel, he is a traitor, and her personally betrayed me. But how he violated my trust isn’t the issue, it’s his traitorous actions toward Aaru, the Ruling Council, and my siblings.” He couldn’t help a snarl at the last bit. His family. He didn’t like to admit it, but they meant everything to him. Everything.

“Okay.” Nyalla took another drink of her beer, licking a few spilled drops off her lower lip. The beverage did look tasty and refreshing, the perfect accompaniment to the sound and smell of the ocean filtering in through the window. But he was an angel, and that meant holding strong against the temptations of sensory experience. And that included the urge to reach out and touch her lips. They looked so soft, so beautiful with their pink, curved shape.

“What?” Gabe asked, realizing that Nyalla had been speaking and he’d been too busy thinking about digging his toes in the sand, drinking an alcoholic beverage, and the fascinating way his physical body reacted to watching her tongue sweep across her lip.

“And now you’ll have to wait, because you’re human and you’re no match for an angel right now.”

How humiliating. But even if he couldn’t confront Tura right now, he could at least discover where he was hiding, and who his contacts and accomplices were. And, oddly enough, being human was most likely the best disguise for this kind of undercover work. He’d be just like those police-show detectives that Rafi kept talking about. He’d gather information in this stealth-mode, then once he’d regained his angelic powers, he’d strike.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like to accompany you when you meet with the Gormand,” he said.

Gabe thought he’d need to persuade her, and wasn’t sure how effective his efforts would be without his angelic abilities, but he was surprised to see a lovely pink color come up in her cheeks. Her lips curled up at the edges and her eyes sparkled.

“Would you? I’d really appreciate it. I mean, I know a lot about demons, but not that much about angels, and I don’t have any experience with these artifact things. I’m relying on Terrelle, she’s an information demon, to let me know if the Gormand is trying to pass off a fake or not, but I’d love to be able to rely on your expertise.”

Her words caused a rush of warmth through his body that was rather pleasant. He was quite knowledgeable about the artifacts as well as the angelic host, but it was nice to have a human recognize that. It was nice to have this human recognize that. And beyond his knowledge, he felt a responsibility to protect her. He’d broken her wand. Besides, what idiot would send a helpless human accompanied only by an information demon and a Low to conduct a potentially dangerous exchange? He’d always thought the Iblis a fool, but it seemed she was a reckless fool who took unacceptable risks with the lives of lesser beings, too. Judging from the amount of four-nine-five reports the imp needed to fill out for having caused the death of humans, he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Splendid.” He sat down at the table, moving the bottle of beer aside. “So fill me in on the details of the meeting.”

“We’re meeting the Gormand tomorrow night at Charlie’s. In the scroll he provided authentication of the artifact from an angel. Tonight Terrelle and Snip and I will get together to work out the details of the exchange over dinner. Then hopefully it will take place tomorrow night or the next morning. Sometimes demons like to drag things out a bit. Sam said to expect a few meetings over the next three days before we had the item in our hands and could head back.”

Gabe nodded. “What are you providing him in exchange for the artifact?”

She suddenly looked sad. “The collar — the one I used on you. We think it’s the only one left. It was a product of angel, demon, elven, and human sorcerer collaboration, and the makers are dead, so it’s not likely there will be more of them.” She sighed. “I hate to give it up. I’ve used it several times and as useful as the wand is, or was, it’s obviously susceptible to breakage.”

He winced. “I’m so very sorry.”

Nyalla shrugged. “It happened. It’s done. But losing the wand makes me even more reluctant to hand over the collar, especially since we’ve no idea what this item, or artifact, is.”

The collar. If it had been so very effective on him, then it was most likely just as effective on demons. But Gabriel had the idea that angels would be the real target of that unusual weapon. And just like Nyalla, he was also reluctant for her to hand it over.

The Gormand was the go-between. The collar wasn’t what he wanted, it was what the angel wanted. And he doubted Tura would be using the collar on demons. Suddenly this was deeper than just catching rebel and bringing him to justice. Gabriel needed to know what Tura was planning. He had no doubt the angel had stolen this particular artifact for a reason — either to use it in some way or to be a bargaining chip, one step in a larger scheme. And whatever happened, that rebel could not get his hands on that collar.

Taking down Tura wouldn’t necessarily end his schemes. There was a whole network of rebels. Removing one cog wouldn’t do more than slow down their machine. More important than bringing justice to Tura was discovering what they planned and putting an end to it. And if Tura were captured along the way, all the better.

Gabriel eyed Nyalla. How much should he tell her? Normally he would never include a human in such matters, but trying to go around her and steal the scroll had led to disastrous consequences.

“The angel who authenticated the artifact? He’s a rebel that I’ve been trying to track down for the last year. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I want this Gormand. The angel, Tura, most likely stole this artifact for a reason, and in addition to bringing him to the Ruling Council to answer for his crimes, I need to know what he and the other rebels are plotting.”

Her eyes danced. “Oh my gosh. It’s like one of those western movies and you’re the marshal with a warrant, trying to bring the killer in for hanging. Are you going to ride a horse? Oh, please tell me you’re going to ride a horse.”

He had wings, why would he need to ride a horse? Oh. No wings. “There is a remote possibility I may need to ride a horse,” he admitted. “But as gratifying as it would be to dangle Tura from a rope, he needs to be sentenced by the Ruling Council.”

Although with Aaru and their traditional punishments out of reach, perhaps he could suggest the rope idea. Or what that Sisyphus fellow went through.

Nyalla polished off her beer and grabbed the second one, leaning over the table toward him. He eyed the beverage wondering how much it would take for a slim woman like her to become impaired. Then he realized that her position across the table gaped the front of her tank top, allowing him a clear view of her lightly tanned skin. It was difficult to remove his gaze and shift it upward to her eyes.

“Sam may have offered a favor in return for the artifact as well. She often does. I’ll message her and ask if perhaps she could substitute another favor for the collar. If I explain what happened, that I need the collar, she’ll understand.”

“No!” he felt something tight in his chest. Panic? “You can’t tell her that you broke the wand without her knowing what happened. I’ll think of something. I don’t want the demons or the rebel angels to have that collar. I’ll think of something.”

“So what’s our plan tomorrow night? I don’t want to scare the Gormand away before we get the artifact, but perhaps we can get information from him. Or…Or, we tell him that even with the angel’s authentication on the scroll, we are concerned we’re getting a fake. The angel needs to be there to authenticate the actual item as it transfers, otherwise no deal.” She bounced in her excitement, the round portions of her chest nearly springing free from the tank top. Gabe once more wrenched his eyes away.

It was a wonderful idea. If he’d recovered his grace by then, he could apprehend Tura. If not, then he could still gain valuable information about the plot that was surely brewing and set the framework in place to bring the whole lot of rebels to justice.

“That sounds like a solid plan. What do you intend to do in the meantime? You said there was a meeting with the other two demons tonight. What else are we to do before tomorrow night?”

He was strangely reluctant for her to go off to meet these demons alone, or to do anything without him. It must be his discomfort with being human and being in an unfamiliar hotel room. Actually everything was unfamiliar. Without his angelic abilities, how was he even supposed to travel from place to place?

“Since you’re now working with us, you can join the meeting tonight over dinner. After that I planned on going for a walk, maybe sit on my balcony and read. Tomorrow I wanted to try one or more of the activities here on the island.” She hesitated, then her eyes met his. They were such a clear deep blue, a smile tentative smile on her face. Something in his chest lurched. “Will you come with me? I know you’re an angel in a human body right now, but you said you have an affinity for water. Well, I do too. And playing in the ocean is probably better than sitting up here in the hotel room plotting revenge, right?”

He wasn’t plotting revenge. Such a thing was beneath him. No, he was planning justice. But sitting in a hotel room all night and tomorrow didn’t seem at all appealing. “I will most definitely join you in your water activities.”

Her smile broadened. “Good. Now we need to discuss your unfortunate circumstances. You’re human, and unless you want everyone to know what happened, you need to act like a human.”

He stared at her for a few seconds. “I have no idea how to act like a human. I’ve been avoiding them for centuries, minimizing my contact with them. I’m rarely in this form, and never to this degree. I…I feel everything. I don’t know how you cope. I don’t know what to do.”

Her blue eyes softened, glistening as if she were on the verge of crying. “Gabriel, you might be this way for days or months or even years. You need to know how to survive, how to function as a human without your angelic powers.”

He’d never felt so helpless, so weak. Even with billions of years trying to prove to his elder siblings that he was just as good as they were, he hadn’t felt so inept. He was powerless. He was weak. And this pain in his middle was horribly distracting, It was all distracting — the intense colors, the smells, the sounds, the curve of Nyalla’s breasts just visible at the open neckline of her tank top.

“I don’t know what to do. I’m not…I never…” He gestured helplessly.

Her mouth trembled, then twisted as she reached across the table to take his hand in hers. “I’m so sorry. I’ll help you. I promise I’ll help you every step of the way until you’re an angel again. I’ll make sure you know everything you need to know, that you don’t do things that can get you killed. I’ve been there. I mean, I wasn’t an angel who suddenly found herself human, but I grew up somewhere else and had to learn this world and the culture, even the language. I promise I’ll help you. I won’t let you down, Gabriel.”

And now he felt like he was about to cry. “I think there’s something wrong with me,” he confessed. “There’s an organ in my torso that keeps cramping up.”

She blinked back the tears, and the corner of her lips twitched upward. “Gabriel, that’s your stomach. Your body is hungry and needs to be fed. You’ll also need to drink. Maybe not beer, but at least some water.”

Everything was spiraling out of his control. He’d always held fast against sensory experiences that might lead to sin and a lowering of his vibration patterns, but it seemed that these experiences were unavoidable as a human.

“I’ve never consumed either food or beverage. Ever.”

She squeezed his hand. “Eventually you’ll have to. Take your time getting used to it, but don’t take too much time or you’ll get weak and shaky. You’ll die if you don’t eventually eat and drink.”

He took a breath, clinging to her hand as if it were a lifeline. “What else do I need to know?”

She chuckled. “More than I can explain in one sitting. Humans are social and friendly. Most of them live and work in groups, have friends that they enjoy spending time with. Most find a member of either the opposite or same sex that they feel a strong emotional attachment to and make a commitment to pair with that person. And that emotional attachment comes with physical affection. Sex among humans isn’t just for procreation, it’s a way to bond with another. It connects us, makes us feel as if we’re not so alone in the world. We’re physically affectionate with friends and family too — hugging, touching, even kissing — but sexual intercourse is…it’s a way of affirming an emotional bond, whether that bond be temporary or life-long. You’ll see couples kissing and hugging. It’s not sin, it’s the need to establish a sensory bond that supports their commitment. So get used to humans congregating in groups, laughing and talking, eating and drinking, and showing physical displays of affection toward each other.”

It was too much. His head swirled with it all, unable to process and come to terms with a life that revolved around sensory experiences he’d always avoided.

“I…I…” He couldn’t even verbalize how confused he felt, how afraid, how very very alone he felt.

“I won’t leave you,” she whispered, holding fast to his hand. “I’ll help you every step of the way. And it’s just temporary. It’s just until you’re an angel once more.”

That. He worried that he might never be an angel again. And even if he were, would this human experience forever change him? Would he never be able to achieve the vibration pattern, the grace, the enlightenment he sought on his path to touch the divine?

This was too overwhelming. He needed to stop thinking of this, stop discussing it and go back to what he came to this island to achieve — find and bring Tura to justice. Gabriel pulled his hand away from Nyalla’s and composed himself, drawing upon the inner strength he’d always possessed. “Thank you. I truly appreciate your assistance in my learning to navigate this world as a human. So, when do we leave to meet the two demons tonight?”

Nyalla eyed him, as if she saw right through his efforts to appear stoic to the fear and uncertainty underneath. Then she polished off the rest of the beer and stood. “Right now. And our Human 101 lessons begins with how to use the door swipe-card and operate the elevator.”