r iranda R M

U ntilthenightiwastaken, demonicallyinfected,the

guardian angel achary watched over me. now, i watch Z overhim. its not your average ong- istance relationship. l d Roman icentanglementsbetweenhumansandangelsare t rare,archaic,anddiscussedonlyinhushedtones. a romantic entanglement between a guardian and one of the murderous undead had been unprecedented. thenwefellinlove. One of the consequences of acharys slipped staZ tusisthat,thoughnotfallen,hesearthbound,limitedto corporeal form, and banished from the ethereal plane.
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t herefore,hesbanishedfrommeas ell... tleastfor w a the oreseeablefuture. f M eanwhile, achary will continue to devote himZ self to counseling neophyte eternals, those who might embraceredemptionlikeidid. assuming the monster lying in wait for him around that thorny bush doesnt pluck out his eyes, claw out his throat, and rip his glorious uscled body to bloody m pieces. Z acharyisimmortal.hewearsagleamingholysword withagoldhilt,aweaponforgedinheaven.hisbloodis astoxictoaneternalasholywater.Yethesnostrongeror fasterthanamortalman.hecanstillbebrutallyinjured. hehasbeeninthepast. Far, far, far above, im urled in a plush wing chair c in a tropical lobby of the enultimate, the way station P for ascended souls immediately outside heaven. im one of hundreds of thousands, gazing down on loved ones, enemies,andtheoccasionalcelebrityoftheday,tryingto makeourpeacebeforepassingthroughthefamedpearly gates. its usually a comfort, watching over achary, a Z way to hold the loneliness at bay. Yet at moments like this, when hes in danger, i feel every inch the predator defanged. izeroinonthenearestlakesidedock. heredidthe w

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fiendgo?inevershouldvetakenmyeyesoffit.notthati canwarnmyangel,notthatimusefulinanyway. Z achary scans the shadowy trees. in his matte black cowboyshirtoverblackjeansandboots,hemakesadashing, romantic figure. My fingertips twitch at the sight of hisgoldenhair,litbythemoon. hes come from working as a waiter at a ampire- v t hemed talian restaurant located a few blocks south. i t here,thedangerispretend. its past 3 a.M., a few hours before sunrise on new Years Day, on the wide ike- nd- ike trail surrounding h a b ladyBirdlake.itsanaturalborder,dividingdowntown a ustin, exas, from its south side. Lake is something of t a stretch. it looks more like what it s dammed seci a tion of the olorado iver, lined with trees, brush, and C R p arkland playground for waterfowl and boaters, a famousforitsbats. You can see across it, stroll from one side of the bridges to the other in only a few minutes. erhaps im P biased from having resided on the coast of hicagos C ormidablelake ichigan,but,tome,itsmoreofawater f M featurethanalakeperse. i slip in my earbuds and raise the volume on my alm- ize onitor- om. now i can hear acharys foot p s m c Z steps on the sandy path and the whiz of a stray ottle b rocket,punctu tedbyaloudpoppingsound. a

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lastautumnthisparkwasthesceneof ahandfulof murders he victims found punctured, nearly emptied t ofblood. ocalshopedthatwouldbethelastofit. l Z acharyexudescaution.hecarriesaheavyflashlight, thoughitsnotturnedon.hesnotemittingheavenslight or showing his wings either, though he regained those powers during our brief time together. My angel makes everyefforttooperateincognito. Reso,reso,resolution,beginsastockyfigure,whos somehow doubled back to end up behind achary. Z esolved. R t urning,myangeldrawshisswordfromthescabbard withonehand,clicksonhisflashlightwiththeother,and shinesitinthe ternal mean, ampire ace. e s i v s f appynewYear, itch,hereplies.ivebeenlookh M ingforyou. M itch isnt displaying his fangs, and his ornflower- c blue eyes look as cool as creation. hes dressed up, too. i nopjbottomsorcamouflagepantstonight. nstead,hes shaved and sporting jeans with a ong- leeved black t l s designedtomimicatuxedoshirt,jacket,andtie.hesalso holdingacardboardsign,thoughicantseewhatitsays. hap, happy, itch says. appily ever after. the h M endisbeginning.itsthebeginningoftheend. M itch has been homeless for as long as anyone can rememberandisaffectionatelythoughtofasalocalceleb rity. Before he first rose undead, Mitch had been pure of

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h eart o pure that he could identify achary, even in s Z humanform,asanangel. ypically,onlyquiteyoungchilt drenpossessthatlevelofgoodness,innocence,andfaith. some say that itch used to build wells in cuador M e with the eace orps. thers claim he was wounded in P C O V ietnam. what i know is that itch is young for our, or M rather,hiskind.hewasinfectedonlylast eptember,and s for months, hes been sustaining himself on pigs blood withtheloveandsupportoffriends. we need to talk, Zachary begins. bout that kid a youdrainedlastnight.... M itchstaresathistornsneakers.hewasadruggie, drugdealer. hewasfourteen. esperate.Bothofhisparentslost D theirjobslastyear.hehasfiveyoungersiblings.theyre strugglingtomakerent. Mean, youre mean. i mean, i didnt mean it that way.iwasjust aying s whatareyousaying? acharypresses. Z its not like him to lose patience. My angel blames himselffortheboysdeath. P ainfulasitis,hesnotbeingunfairly elf- agellating. s fl what happened was oreseeable. if achary had already f Z struck itchdown,theteenwouldstillbealive. M i couldve warned him that this would happen, that itchcouldonlymanagehisbloodlustsowellforsolong. M thenagain,perhaps acharywouldnthavebelieved Z
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me.hesaconfirmedoptimist.hedoesntknowthethick, stickysatisfactionofnursingfromasavaged,leakingvein. hedoesntmissitlikeido. M itch replies, i, i, bye. ye- ye, achary. its time. B b Z R esolution. esolved. R heholdsuphis and- etteredsign.itreads: h l

H EAVEN OR BUST
Youresure?myangelasks,andihearthecatchin hisvoice.hemayhavesetouttonighttoremove itchas M athreat.Yetnowthattheneophyteiswillinglyofferingto endhisexistence,itsbecomeamatterofresolveforboth ofthem. M itch has taken ives ore than one. hes orchesl m tratedviolent,bloodydeaths. Yetiserveasproofthatakillermaybeforgiven.iwas tentimesthemonsterthat itchis,afiendtowhomother M fiends roveledandbowed. g atthesametime, acharycantknowwhetherhellbe Z sendinghisfriendtothe enultimateenroutetoheaven P orwhetherhescondemninga nce- indmantohell. o k Z acharyturnsofftheflashlightandtossesitaside.the bladeofhisswordburstsintoflame. aisingtheweapon, R hebegins,whatyoure oing... fferingyourselftothe d O

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Big Boss, theres no better decision you couldve made. Youregoingoutahero. Myangelsaidasmuchtomewhenibeggedhimto use his holy radiance to burn me to nothingness, when i surrendered my own demonic existence for true eternallife. i can only imagine how painful tonight must be for Z achary, having to once again destroy someone he cares about.nodoubtitmustbringbackmemories. itsarchangelswhoarewarriorsborn,notguardians. guardiansaresenttoearthtocare. good, good, itch replies. good for you. Youre M good,too.hero. Z acharysfierybladefallson itchslastword. M

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