Fallen Star

Third Time's a Charm

I returned to Asher's farm in a new body for a third time. The sun was fully set by then. Nocturnal insects chirped and sang as I huffed and jogged across the darkened fields.

Asher's shadowed form paced in front of a candle he'd left out to guide me in the blackness. He looked up as I neared him. "Cathetel?"

I nodded, and then gripped my knees and caught my breath. I'd just ran several miles. The farmer I possessed was named Eli, and he had a fit body. But I—the disembodied being—had little experience with lung capacity.

I'd tried manifesting my wings halfway through my sprint from Eli's home, but of course my angelic strength was too weak. Three possessions in one day had drained me.

When I could finally draw breath, I stood and gestured to my third attempt at finding the right vessel. "Good?"

Asher's eyes roved over my final form. Eli had well-muscled arms, and a full beard hung below his chin. He had a bit of a boorish look to him, and one of his front teeth was broken, but in my defense, it had been slim pickings. Finding a twenty-something male farmer who hadn't gone to bed with the sun was like finding a virgin at Bacchanalia.

(i.e., Roman Coachella.)

Asher made a face, but shrugged. "Eh. Better."

"At last!" I seized Asher's shoulders, dragging him into a kiss.

No sooner had my lips grazed his, however, did Asher pull away from me.

"Woah, dude," he said. "You can't just kiss me whenever you want. You have to ask."

"Why?" I demanded. "You like kissing!"

"I like kissing when I choose to. You don't get to choose for me."

"You humans have things done to you constantly without choice." I pouted. "God never asks before he destroys your crops or sends a plague. You never get pissy at Him."

Asher's eyes lost their warmth. "We do get 'pissy.'"

The abrupt bitterness in his tone took me by surprise. I stared at him, speechless.

Asher flicked his gaze at me; he must've noticed I was taken aback. He closed his eyes, and I imagined he was wrestling his sudden anger back into an internal Pandora's box.

When he looked at me again, the coldness was gone. He smiled. "Ask if you can kiss me."

I excitedly grabbed his arms and tugged him into smooching range. "Can I kiss you?"

"No." Asher disentangled himself from my grip.

"Why not?"

"I don't have to give a reason. I said 'no'."

"If I can't kiss you," I snipped petulantly, "then why am I here?"

"Come inside." Asher pushed the tapestry covering the doorway aside and gestured for me to follow him.