Unselfish Sacrifice
By
S.E. Kloos
Blurb:
A passing thought cost him everything he held dear to his heart. Ripped out of the world he knew and thrust into a new setting with changes he didn’t understand, Kael finds himself a Fallen and struggles to come to terms with his new existence in the world. A choice and an intervention brings out his darker side and throws him into a whirlwind of possessive intent. Can one human female show him that Heaven is just an idea and can be found anywhere? Or -- will the fall from Grace ultimately destroy him? Is there one action that could right all wrongs and offer redemption, or will the draw of having whatever you want with no consequences be too much to ignore? Can a Fallen Angel choose to make an unselfish sacrifice or will he turn his back on his old beliefs and embrace his newfound freedom?
Excerpt:
Prologue
Pain the Devil himself couldn’t conjure wracked my whole body, disorienting to the point I couldn’t keep my balance. A grunt slipped past my lips as my shoulder hit hard against the brick wall next to me. The world spun and tilted as I dropped to my hands and knees. I panted hard as another shot of blinding agony shot down my spine, my hand grabbing my chest where my heart thundered under the skin. It was an odd feeling to be certain. Not one day in my centuries of existence has it once known a beat and now it was flying, pounding so hard I was pretty sure it was about to beat out of my chest. While the pain was agony personified, it was the blistering heat that surrounded me that made this all the worse. Sweat beaded on my brow and upper lip, sliding down my neck and dripping from the tip of my nose to splatter on ground below. I thought for sure I was on fire with no flames. I clenched my jaw even harder to try and block the escape of the scream that clawed at my throat, but it was to no avail. Never in my life had I made such a sound and I never wish to do so again. The noise bounced off the walls and radiated back inside my pounding skull. My vision blurred with every throb, going dark to bright in time with the beat only I could hear. I was being punished by God and tortured by Satan for a trespass that seemed so insignificant in comparison. A quick glance and a fleeting thought couldn’t possibly have invoked something so horrific, so profound as to be forced to endure this. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. I have spent millennia bowing down and following every command, every whim of my Creator and this is my repayment for servitude; being cast out of my home, away from the only thing I have ever known. Where was the love and forgiveness that is given to others in spades? Was my kind not afforded it? Were we held so far and high above humanity that we were held to different standards? If all things were created equal, where the hell was the equality this time? ‘The next Lucifer’ He had called me. ‘You’re following his path’ He had said. I was not. That was not my intention to give Him the perceived notion that I would ever try and overstep my bounds. Lucifer was jealous of humans, I wasn’t. I didn’t want what they had. My pleas and explanations fell on deaf ears, however. He wouldn’t hear it, wouldn’t take a moment to listen and reconsider. His mind was made up, set in its decision that I was beyond saving. Maybe I was. Perhaps he had seen something in me that I hadn’t seen in myself. Regardless of that though, I still felt slighted and misrepresented. The fact I could feel this way, paired with the torture I feel in mind and body, proves that this is real, that I have lost everything. It proves I have fallen. Struck with such a realization, the pain and anguish that ran through my veins morphed in that moment, turning into anger and resentment. More demon than angel, I lifted my head, letting my eyes scope out my surroundings as the physical pain subsided. Panting still from the transformation, I lifted myself to sit on my hunches. A weight on my back drew my attention over my shoulder, my eyes sliding shut in final mourning of my prior life as the proof stared back at me. My once pure white wings were now a coal color gray. Opening my eyes again, I sat and stared in mortified shock as they darkened by the second. Soon they would reflect the darkness that was introduced into my heavy heart. So, this was what it felt like to know that you’re really banished, that you really did lose it all. I once felt light enough to walk on air. Now, I have such a weight that even getting to my feet seems an impossible task. With a sigh and a shake of my head, I climbed to my feet. There was no way I could stay here in the open. I needed to find a place to hide, a place to reflect and see what, if anything, was left of who I was yesterday.
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