The Falling (Book I)

Rings

"Come on, we shall get the rings first. Is there anything in particular you want?"

"Just a simple band is good enough for me," I said. "Maybe with a matching chain for it."

There was about a fortnight left before my wedding with Lin. I had seldom seen William and had yet to tell him that Lucifer knew about us, or more specifically about him. I was worried telling him would only put him in more danger. After all, what if my identity had been discovered and they were merely biding their time until they caught William? At the time, it seemed best not to tell him.

It was warm in the Human World that day, the sun shining. Birds chirped merrily in the trees. He held my hand and we traipsed down the trail toward the village. He had summoned me by the portal rather than his house. I concerned him when the first thing I did was kill what appeared to him to be a common snake but was, in fact, one of Lucifer's spies.

"What was that about?" he had demanded, upset by the creature's death.

I muttered something insincere about disliking snakes and asked for his forgiveness. With a roll of his eyes and a stern order of not to do it again, he gave it to me. We then began to bicker about rings. He wanted to get me something nice but I was content with a simple band. In the end, I won.

He nodded politely to any human we came across, both on the trail and in the town, but I inched closer to him, looking at my feet.

"No need to be nervous, Mel, no one will hurt you," he soothed, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. I squeezed his hand back in response.

"That is not what I am worried about," I mumbled, "it is my eyes."

"Damn, I did not think of that. Maybe it would be best for you to look down then until we can figure something out." He said.

We were gawked at in the town. The humans knew he was an angel and gave him a wide berth out of reverence rather than fear. His presence kept them from noticing me. Thankfully, none spoke to us.

The town had grown since I had last been in it. The hay roofs were now made of something stronger and stone had replaced wood. Some signs that used to use pictures of what they sold now had words to accompany the pictures.

"How much time has passed?" I questioned him. "The last time I was here they were still using hay roofs."

"Humans evolve quickly. I believe it has been about a decade since then." He said nonchalantly.

I was surprised by the number of years that had passed but for me, a decade was a blink compared to a human. What I had a hard time believing was that I had been in friendly terms with William for that long.

We stepped into the jewelry store, the door jingling to signal our entrance. The jeweler greeted us warmly when we approached the wooden counter. He paused and scrutinized William before his eyes widened in realization.

"An angel? How may I be of service to such an exalted creature?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

"My fiancée and I are getting married later today and would like to look at your rings. Just two gold bands with a matching chain if you have it." William explained, releasing my hand.

The human's eyes swept over me. He did not comment on my bowed head. "Ah, congratulations! What sizes?"

"I am a twelve," William answered.

The jeweler asked, "And you, dear?"

"Um, a four, I think." I stammered.

"Let me see what I have..." He ducked behind the counter, muttering to himself as he searched through his merchandise.