A man, a bookstore, fairies, a mouse, a cat and bunch of pissed off angels…Part 9 Finis

The angels dropped from the sky like gigantic white birds.

“Oh, crap,” said the cat.

The fairies and some of the Fallen rose to meet them.  The front door of the bookstore slammed open and pages flew into the street, morphing into heroes from every book where a hero was needed.  Heroes from every country, each holding a weapon from their story, joined the battle.  Men and women alike, witches, wizards and thugs, all there to stand with the Fallen.

“I get the book thing now,” said the cat.  “Harry Dresden, Sandman Slim and Robin Hood?”

The man nodded and smiled broadly.  “They’re friends.  All of them.”

The cat shrieked and hurled himself into the air, bringing down an angel already splattered with blood.  A passing witched, pointed her finger, said a few words, and the angel, held tightly in his claws, took his last breath.  The fighting was brutal, fast and furious. The noise was horrific but the power hungry angels didn’t stand a chance.

Dead Boy, from Simon Green’s books, stopped to pet Pippen.  “Long time no see, Pip,” he said.  “Suzy Shotgun is here, don’t forget to say hello.”

The cat meowed and head butted Dead Boy’s calf, as the war raged on.  The power hungry angels, who had come to slay the Fallen, littered the ground, their eyes blank, their wings crushed beneath the feet of those still standing.  Swords clanged against each other, the wounded fought on and then, like the last page of a book, the fighting was over.  The Fallen lowered their swords and looked around.  The angels who had come to kill them, were dead, their bodies burning to ash where they lay.  The wind picked up and blew the ash away, leaving the Fallen, the heroes, the fairies, and a cat standing alone in the street.

The heroes, politely accepted the gratitude heaped upon them, and went back to their stories.  The fairies,  surrounded the man and the cat jumped into his rms.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” said the man, to the Fallen. “We have won this battle but we all know it won’t be the last.  The greedy and power hungry will always exist.  And the only way to  stay free is to fight, even though we are peaceful beings.  We don’t want war but we can’t stand like sheep to be slaughtered and leave those who cannot defend themselves to be turned into slaves.  Today we fought for freedom and as much as I would like to believe that doing the right thing will always win out, you and I both know that isn’t true.  The war between good and evil is not about heaven and hell, it’s about what we do to each other.  The evil is having power over another, whether angel, human, or other species.  Whether over air, water or land.  Hate, greed, inequality and power over others, that’s what we fight to stop.  And we will continue to fight because we are all that stands between freedom and enslavement.  Every Fallen who fought today has struck a blow for that freedom and I thank you.”

The angels nodded, shook hands, hugged, slapped backs, bumped fists and spoke softly, as they began to disperse.  One of the Fallen approached the man.   “So, it takes a war for us to see each other again?”

“Uh,” stammered the man.

“Call me.  My number is the same,” she said, her eyes sparkling.  “We’ll have dinner.”

“Meooooow,” said the cat.

“I will,” said the man.  “Promise.”

Henry was so happy to see the man that she fainted.  She came to, squeaked, and ran in circles until she finally settled down and went to sleep in his hand.

The books were back on their shelves, except for War and Peace, which was found behind the counter and Nancy Drew, which was nowhere to be found at all.

“Well, she probably manifested and realized she wasn’t in a mystery, so she left,” said the cat.  “I mean that’s logical, right?”

“I’m going to be myself from now on,” said the man.  “I’m not going to age any longer and I’m going to set up a network, so that the Fallen can stay in touch.”

“Good ideas,” said the cat.  “I’m going home.”

The man looked away.

“FINE,” said the cat.  “I guess I can stay for awhile longer.  I mean you can barely tie your shoes without me.  I’m amazed that you lasted as long as you did, pretending to be human. And I kind of like being a cat, there benefits, you know.”

“You are welcome to stay here as long as you like.”

“I know that,” snickered the cat, “but tell me about the raving beauty you used to date.  Is that still a thing?  You gonna do dinner with her.  If I recall, you were madly in love with her.”

“I’ll get you a bowl of milk,” laughed the man.  “No matter what form you take, Pip, you’re always the same.”

“What’s wrong with that?  Hey, she’s really hot, for an angel I mean.  You know that, don’t you?  I mean come on, what are you waiting for?” asked the cat, following the man into the kitchen.

“He’s really a bad, kitty,” giggled one of the fairies, watching the cat.

“I like him too,” said another.

“He’s really nice,” added a small blue fairy.  “He let’s me rid on his back.”

“Well,” said a lovely green fairy, “we are family after all.”

“Do you think the man has a girlfriend?” whispered the first fairy?

“Maybe.  The cat thinks so,” said the second.

“I think life around here is going to get a lot more interesting,” said the third.

“So do we,” said the others, excitedly.  “So do we.”

 

 

Post script

Nancy Drew’s Clock Tower book was found under the kitchen sink.  Just thought you might want to know.

 

 

 

A man, a bookstore, fairies, a mouse, a cat and an angel war…part 8

The man opened the front door of the shop and stepped outside.  A deafening roar immediately filled the air.  The man was shocked.  The fairies fluttered around him, landing on his shoulders and taking off again.  The cat sat by his side.

“What’s going on?” asked the man.

The cat sighed and scratched his ear.  “You were the fist one,” he meowed.  “You are the living proof that the fallen and the others can not only love, they can produce perfect angels.  After you, others realized that they were being manipulated and lied to, so their eyes were opened and they fell.”

“But I didn’t do anything to be born…I just….”

“Just go with it. You’re a symbol of freedom.  Your birth changed everything.”

The crowd parted and the man walked into the street.  He turned in a tight circle and looked at the others.  “Thank you,” he said.  “Freedom is the most important thing in life.  The freedom to be.  The freedom to become.  The freedom to choose.  I am grateful..for your help.”

Another cheer went up from the angels, their swords held above their heads. “FALLEN, FALLEN, FALLEN,” the sang. The fairies darted back and forth, watching for danger.  Finally the man held up his sword and when he did, the sun caught it and it burst into light.  The angels immediately became silent.

“Love is not the answer,” he said, “so I won’t bore you with that speech.  The celebration of diversity, that’s what matters.  Diversity allows beauty, passion and wholeness to exist.  That’s what we should strive for, no matter the difficulty.  We don’t have to agree with each other.  We don’t have to understand, or even like each other, we simply have to acknowledge that we are all different and that our differences can make us stronger. Most importantly, no single opinion, or point of view, should rule over all of us.  That is the death of freedom.  So we gather today, to fight for the right to be free.”

“Nice one,” said the cat, rubbing against the man’s legs, hoping to be heard over the roar of the angels.”

And at that very moment, the self labeled righteous dropped from the sky.

 

A man, a bookstore, fairies, a mouse, a cat and angels too…part 7

The cat was napping, a fairy tucked safely between his front legs.

“Are we going to be okay?” asked Henry.

The man smiled at her.  “Being okay is a somewhat false concept.  Okay is a momentary thing. But I understand what your asking and I honestly don’t know how things will turn out.  But, once I put this on,” he said, showing her the silver pentacle he held in his hand, “I’ll change.  I’ll be young and strong again..  I’ll be who I am.  I won’t love you a speck less,” he said, petting her back.  “That won’t ever change.”

Henry stared at him.  “Who are you now?”

“Well, I didn’t want to keep moving from one place to another, so I let myself live more like a human.  I had to age, if I wanted to stay here, so I did.”

“is this war?”

“In a way,” he said.  “There are always those who believe there is only one way to do everything and that way, is their way.  They can’t allow others to make different choices, because that is threatening to their way of life.  They want complete control over others.  Unfortunately, they break their own rules and do the same things they hate others for doing.  They are jealous of the freedom some angels have because they made different choices.  They are so afraid, they kill those who are not like themselves.  And you know how some people are afraid of you?  They scream and run, when they see you.  They don’t see your beauty or sweetness, the see something frightening, dangerous and bad.  The miss out on having you for a friend.  The angels who are coming are exactly like that.  They are afraid and hate what they don’t understand.”

“Aren’t they breaking some angel laws by doing those things?” she asked.

“They are but if you’re in charge of the rules, you can break them whenever you like.  That’s why some angels left in the first place.”

“Hey,” meowed the cat, sauntering into the room.  “Put it on and let’s get going,” he purred, looking at the pentacle.  “We don’t have a lot of time.  I can feel them getting closer.”

The man rose and carried Henry to her drawer.  “Burrow deep, my tiny friend.  Do not come out until I tell you things are safe.  You have enough food and water to last a long time, so just nap and dream happy dreams.”

Henry rubbed her nose against his thumb and dove into her nest.

“The fairies said the books are ready, whatever that means,” said the cat, jumping onto the dresser, watching the man put on his necklace.  “Ah, nice abs,” he meowed.  “How could you stand that old, worn out body in the first place.  Look at you now.  I mean you’re YOU again.”

“It does feel kind of good,” the man admitted.

“Your sword’s on the kitchen table.  The fairies brought it upstairs.”

“Very kind of them.”

“They’re vicious little ones,” smiled the cat.  “Well armed and fierce.”

“They are that.”

“They will fight to the death for you.”

“I hope it won’t come to that.”

“What’s that noise?”

“Look out the window,” said the cat, grinning.

The man pushed the curtain aside and gasped.  The fallen were everywhere.  They covered the rooftops, the streets and the empty lots.  Fallen…as far as the eye could see.  Wings open, swords up, focus intense.  The noise was simply the hum of their comncentrated energy, as they stood, surrounding the bookstore, ready to fight.

A man, a bookstore, fairies, a mouse and a cat…oh and bad angels too…part 6

“Wait,” said Henry.  “Flaming swords?”

“Yes,” said the cat.  Flaming swords of righteousness.”

“But they’re not righteous,” said a fairy.  “They are the bad guys.”

“That’s true,” said the cat.  “They kill anyone who isn’t like them.”

“Um” said Henry, looking at the man once again.  “Do you have a flaming sword?”

“I have a sword,” he said, looking around.  “I just don’t know where it is.”

“Great,” hissed the cat.  “So you haven’t been keep your wings in fighting condition, nor anything ELSE, it seems!”

The man sat perfectly still, then started to open his wings.  He concentrated as hard as he could and little by little they opened more and more.  Feathers fell to the floor and the cat pounced on them, upset with himself for doing so.  Finally, his wings hit the walls of the living room and could go no farther.

“They don’t look that bad,” said the cat, a feather, stuck to his side.  “How do they feel?”

“Strange but familiar,” said the man, smiling.

“I made a couple of stops before I came here,” meowed the cat.  “I talked to a few of the fallen and they couldn’t believe that those idiots,  that was their word,” he said haughtily, “would come after you after all this time.  They volunteered to help you fight.”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” said the man frowning.  “This is my fight and I don’t want anyone to get hurt on my behalf.”

“Oh, blah, blah, blah, it’s not all about YOU,” said the cat, pacing back and forth in front of him.

“It’s not?” asked the man, surprised.

“Okay, it is, but there are a lot more like you now, than there have ever been before and they want to fight against the establishment.”

“I get that,” said the man nodding.”

“So where do you think you put your sword?”

“It’s in the back room behind a lot of rare books,” said one of the fairies, brightly.  “I’ve been polishing it for years.”

“You have?” asked the man, taken back.

“Sure,” twittered the fairy.  “I thought it might come in handy one day.  You know, in case you ever had to fight for your life, or protect us,” she said, pointing at everyone.  “I’ve been taking care of the gun under the counter as well.”

“I’m going to talk to the books,” said another fairy.  “They can help.”

“How?” asked the cat.

“Leave it to me,” said the fairy, flying out of the room.

“How many will show?” asked the man.

The cat caught another feather and rolled on top of it.  “No idea,” he mewed.  “They said they would pass the word.”

The man nodded.  “I guess I’ll get ready then.”

“Okay,” purred the cat, rubbing against the wall.  “I can’t wait not to be a cat,” he meowed.  “They do such…oh, another feather,” he said happily, leaping into the air.

The man leaned over and scratched the cat’s head.  “You make a wonderful cat.”

“I make a wonderful ANYTHING, and don’t you forget it.”

The old man picked Henry up off the table and took her into the bedroom.  He put her in her drawer and told her not to come out until he said it was okay to do so.  Then he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

 

A man, a bookstore, fairies, a mouse and a cat…part 4

“My wings are just fine, thank you,” said the man.

“When was the last time you opened them?” asked the cat, licking his right shoulder, grimacing as he tried to get the fur off his tongue.

“Not that long ago.”

“How long, is not that long ago?”

“Years,” said the man, honestly.  “Years.”

“We’re all gonna die,” sighed the cat.

“No, we aren’t,” said the man.  “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the others.

The man carried the cat out of the bathroom and listened to the silence.  He put the cat on the table and called to everyone.  “Please, come and meet someone I’ve known my entire life.  His name is Pippen and he’s taken the form of a cat but he’s not a cat at all.”  No response.

Finally, two fairies flew into the room.  Their high pitched terror hurt every ear within a two block radius.  “Calm down,” said the man, holding out his arm.  The fairies landed but clung to each other.  The cat didn’t move.  “Pippen won’t hurt you.  He may even take you for a ride, if you ask nicely.”  The cat glared at him, as one of the fairies flew to the table and moved closer.

“Mew,” said the cat, sweetly.  What he thought was…that he could have her caught, eaten and even digested her, in the time it would take her to even know that something was wrong.  He pushed that thought away and started to wash his paw.

“See,” said the man.  “He’s barely moving.  You can pet him, if you like.”

The cat hardly felt the fairy’s touch.  The other fairy, seeing her sister run her hand over the cat’s fur, joined in.  Suddenly there were fairies everywhere.  The cat closed his eyes and tried not to scare them.  Three of them were on his back and he finally stood up and jumped to the floor, just as Henry came out of the bedroom.  She fainted dead away and lay there on her side, her lovely pink, paws, curled up into tiny balls.  The fairies rushed to her and so did the man.  The cat tried not to think of playing with her, in  very cat-like way, but it was difficult, since he WAS a cat, even though he really wasn’t.

Henry woke when the man put a lovely chunk of her favorite swiss, under her tiny nose.  He explained how the cat wasn’t really a cat and if she would just let him sniff her, everything would be okay.  She closed her eyes, and while still in the man’s hand, she let him mover her to the cat’s black nose.  The cat, bumped and sniffed her until he had enough.  He licked her once then leapt onto the soft chair, in the small living room, and sat waiting.  “You need to tell them,” he said to the man.  “Their lives are in danger.”

Eventually, every settled down on the sofa, cheese, crackers and grapes for everyone, lay on the battered coffee table.  No one spoke, everyone waited.

“I have known Pippen, who is currently a cat, for a very long time.”  Everyone stared at the cat.  “He has come a very long way to warn me of danger.  You see, I’m not really human.  I never thought it was important enough to mention, because we were all happy and content and…”

“…and a ton of disgruntled angels are coming here to kill him,” said the cat.  “If I let him tell the story, we’ll be here forever.  Well, that’s not actually true, considering that WE WILL BE DEAD soon, unless we come up with a plan to either fight back, which is a truly TERRIBLE idea,” he hissed, loudly.  “Or we disappear.”

“But this is where we live,” said one of the fairies, her eyes wide, as she looked around the room.  “Right here, in all of these rooms.”

“I understand that,” said the cat, impatiently.  “But you will probably die, if you stay here.”

“Unless I leave this place and let them come at me somewhere else,” said the man.

“I think you’ve been away too long,” said the cat.  “You can’t just leave here.  I doesn’t work that way.”

“What can we do to help,” cried the fairies, brandishing their weapons.

“Um,” said Henry, staring at the man.  “What exactly are you?”

The man shrugged.  “I’m not sure.  Not exactly.  My mother was an angel, my father was…”

“…a fallen angel,” said the cat. “He was a lovely angel, that’s why his mother fell in love with him but none of the matters because they just want him dead.”

“But why?” asked Henry.  “What did he do?”

“He didn’t do anything at all,” said the cat, his tail twitching.  “The angels just don’t want others to know that angels and the fallen, can love each other.  Some angels are purists.  They think fallen angels should stay where they belong, or go back to where they came from.   The problem is, that they all came from the SAME place.  The purists want to send the other angels to what you might call hell, and others might call the right wing, conservative element in this country.

The man burst into laughter.  “I never thought of it like that,” he cackled.  “But that’s not really the whole truth.  The fallen are simply angels who don’t agree with the angelic politics of those in power.  Fallen, is a label given to those who disagree with the status quo, among angels.  A label that makes others think that certain angels are evil, rather than angels who simply hold a different opinion.  The conservative angels believe in hate tight control over others, guns, war for profit, and division between themselves and those who are liberal and believe in freedom, peace, sex and rock and roll.

Pippen laughed, a cat laugh, sure, but he laughed nonetheless.

 

“So,” said one of the fairies. “Angels are fighting other angels because they disagree politically?”

“Yes,” hissed the cat.  “That’s exactly what’s happening, and they are coming for him with flaming swords of death.”