Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [42]
“Thank you.” Father Andrew smiled. “But to be perfectly honest, it’s going to be difficult to know if your power fades away. No mortal is likely to volunteer to test it.”
She nodded.
“So how old are you?” Gregori asked.
Robby grunted. “No wonder you doona have a girlfriend.”
She smiled. “It’s hard to say. We don’t view time the same way as you. My full name is Marielle Quadriduum. I was created, along with thousands of other angels, on the Fourth Day.”
“Damn,” Gregori muttered. “You’re like . . . ancient.” He winced when Connor cuffed him on the back of the head. “Well, she is. And I thought you were old.”
Connor arched a brow at him.
“The Fourth Day,” Father Andrew murmured. “The same day God created the sun and moon.”
“Yes. And millions of other suns and moons.” She sighed. “I was assigned to supervise a solar system.”
“Wow!” Gregori grinned. “You were like Empress of the Galaxy. Cool.”
She gave him a dubious look. “There were only three planets.”
Gregori leaned forward. “And one of them had intelligent life?”
“Aye,” Connor muttered, “but ye wouldna recognize it.”
Gregori shot him an annoyed look while Robby chuckled.
Father Andrew shook his head. “Please continue, my dear.”
She leaned back in the rocker. “Each of my planets consisted of a huge, frozen rock surrounded by a thick atmosphere of methane gas.”
“Bummer!” Gregori looked offended on her behalf. “Out of all the planets in the universe, you got stuck with some duds.”
She laughed. “I hate to tell you this, but most of them are duds. Or they appear to be. Many of them still serve an important purpose.”
“Like Jupiter attracting meteors to protect the Earth?” Connor asked quietly.
She nodded, smiling. “Yes.” Leave it to Connor to know about planets that served as protectors.
Gregori glanced over his shoulder at Connor. “You know about astronomy?”
He scowled back. “I’ve been looking at the night sky for almost five hundred years. Why would I no’ learn about it?”
“By the Sixth Day, I was so bored, I asked for a transfer,” she continued. “The Father had created mankind and all sorts of animals on Earth, and He was exceedingly pleased. In fact, we were all fascinated, and the Father wanted to protect His new creations, so many angels were reassigned. Some became Guardians and God Warriors. Others became Healers and Deliverers.”
“Like you?” Robby asked.
She frowned. “I was originally a Healer. Buniel was my supervisor, and we became close friends. I loved healing.”
“What happened?” Gregori asked.
“I . . . disobeyed. The first time, it was in Eastern Europe, toward the end of what the humans call the medieval period. I was reprimanded, and I managed to behave myself for several of your centuries. But the second time I disobeyed—” She shuddered. “It was really bad.”
“You needn’t tell us if you don’t want to,” Father Andrew said quietly.
She didn’t like talking about it, but when she looked at Connor, she felt a sudden urge to confess. She wanted him to know. “I was told to heal a woman in a hospital in Missouri. I did, but as I was leaving, I heard the desperate prayers of another woman, who was crying over a dying child. The little boy was only a year old, and I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t on my list. The woman and child were in so much pain, I couldn’t bear it, so I touched her to give her comfort, and then I touched the boy. When Zackriel arrived to deliver the boy, he was furious that I had healed him. He wanted to take the boy but received orders not to interfere. I would have to watch the result of my wrongdoing. ”
“What could be wrong with saving a young child?” Connor asked.
She winced. “The mother came to believe that her son was special, incapable of being harmed, and therefore, superior to all others. She raised him with that belief, and he . . . he became warped.”
“What did he do?” Father Andrew asked.
Her throat constricted, but she forced the words out. “He murdered. Over and