Broken Time: Tales of a Bounty Hunter Book 3

Chapter 3 - The Choice

At last, she was able to tear her gaze away from the angel grace and look Uriel deeply into his blue, electric eyes.

"Uriel," she breathed out his name. "What you've shown me is beyond words. But even with that, it's not enough to change my mind. I don't think anything is."

As Uriel's face fell, a part of Noemi felt saddened and even guilty. "I don't understand. Now you have proof. And I'm paying you." His voice was small, sad and confused.

Noemi averted her eyes, unable to continue staring at him. Instead, she cleared her throat trying to somehow collect herself. "Listen, it's not that I don't want what you're paying. Cause I do. I really, really do." she gasped. Then licked her lips. "But, if the witches are involved, I can't be a part of it. It'll be my neck on the line and they control everything. "

"I see." And if she was looking at him, she would've seen the look of realization on his face. "This is another part of your punishment."

This did get her attention. She turned her head around faster than he could blink. "What!?" she demanded.

"Your punishment." he repeated as if it was self-explanatory. "Your irrational fear of the witches. It runs deeper than I imagined."

Groundless anger rushed through her. It burned her throat and came out of her nose. Noemi hates the allusions and the hidden meanings behind words. There was nothing that irked her more than a well placed suggestion that made you overthink and second guess things that were and weren't there; the words that were and were not said out loud. Noemi fisted Uriel's coat and pulled him forward, faces inches from each other, noses touching in an eskimo kiss.

"Speak clearly, angel." she hissed between her teeth. "Because right now you're sounding more like a demon."

Uriel blinked at her. His radiant blue eyes looked even more innocent up close. Noemi stared inside them, two pools pulling her in. She could see peace in them. It enveloped her in a loving embrace, spread out all over her body. She smiled dopeyly. Her face felt numb, but she did it anyway. Then Uriel was pushing her back and the trance was dissolved. Noemi blinked rapidly and shook her head to get rid of the remaining effects.

"You should be careful in the future." Uriel's voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "Getting lost into an angel's eyes for long could leave permanent effects."

"What was that? What did you do to me?" she demanded.

"You got a glimpse of paradise."

Noemi froze and her eyes widened. "I saw paradize?"

"Oh, no." Uriel shook his head. "Just the feeling you get there. The peace of the place, our Father's love. Even as a fallen angel I retain a small part of heaven in me. That's what you felt."

She nodded dazed. Something clicked inside her. A truth that was there all along behind a barrier that kept her from accessing it. Uriel's words became more real all of a sudden. A small voice inside her head whispered that he probably enchanted her to feel this way. But the voice was small and easily brushed aside. Could it be true that they were living a lie?

"As for your other question. In the real reality, you were part of a group of unlikely allies that were trying to prevent the demons, witches, and vampires from getting their hands on the Time Lord. You were more than a thorn in their side."

"Not colleagues or friends?" That was what stood out to her.

With a small smile gracing his lips, Uriel shook his head. "No. Just a group of people with different aspirations that depended on the Time Lord being safe."

"That is..." Convenient. Expedient. Hazardous. "...coinsidental."

"True, but fate works in unforeseeable ways. None of us can know the journey we'll follow in our life. But the depination in written even before our birth. The saying is true: None can escape their fate."