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Birds of Pray	By : Kittenmommy Category: M through R > Prophecy, The Views: 2168 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Prophecy movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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“Birds
of Pray”

Chapter
7

“Revelations”

Not
long after the men from Sears departed, the doorbell rang again.

“Now
who could that be?” Katherine wondered, leaving Gabriel
in the kitchen with the new air purifier while she went to find out.
“Don’t even think about touching that, Gabriel!”
she called over her shoulder as she opened the door.

“Surprise!”
Greg said, beaming at her. He had one hand hidden behind his
back.

“Greg!”
she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing
him soundly. “Why aren’t you at work?”

“Got
a little break,” he said, and sneezed. “What’s
with the feather?” he asked, wiping his nose with the back of
his hand. “You know I’m allergic!”

She
reached up and felt the feather behind her right ear, completely
forgotten until now.

“Sorry,”
she said, removing it. “I forgot I had it there.”
She smiled wryly. “And anyway, it’s not like I was
expecting you!”

“True,”
he agreed with a nod. “Man, that thing’s huge!
Where’d you get it?”

”Gabriel,”
she said shortly, hoping he wouldn’t press her for more
information.

“Figures!
He knows I’m allergic to birds, and so what’s he do?
Runs out and gets you a feather from the world’s biggest one!”

Katherine
laughed. “Not quite… but close.” She
absently drew the feather between her fingers as she spoke.
“Greg… what do you have behind your back?”

He
grinned. “I just got a little break… not long, but
long enough to take you out to celebrate.”

She
was puzzled. “Celebrate?”

“I
made partner!”

Her
face lit up. “Greg! That’s wonderful!
I wish I had some champagne – ”

He
produced a bottle from behind his back. “Done!”

“Perfect!”
she said, laughing. “Come on, let’s have some
before we go.”

She
led him into the kitchen, where Gabriel was once again absorbed in
the New York Post.

“What’s
up, Gabe?” Greg asked amiably.

“Gregory,”
Gabriel said, looking up from the tabloid. “You’re
aren’t at work.”

“Wow…
there’s just no fooling you, is there Sport?” he asked,
and sneezed.

“Ah
ha!” Katherine said happily. She put the long white
feather down on the table. “Let’s try this out!”
She bent and moved the portable air purifier close to Gabriel and
switched it on. The angel leaned forward in his chair and
studied the little appliance.

“Leave
it alone,” Katherine told him in a warning tone.
She went to the cupboard and produced three champagne glasses.
“Want to pop that?” she asked Greg.

“Sure.”

“We’re
celebrating,” Katherine told Gabriel, handing him a glass.
“Greg made partner.”

Gabriel
made one of his noises: hhhuhnnn.

“Be
nice,” she warned him. Behind her, Greg popped the
champagne cork and began pouring out the bubbly liquid.

“Here,”
he said, handing her a glass. “What’s that stuff on
your fingers?” he asked with a frown.

“I
don’t know,” she replied, staring down at her hands.
They appeared to be dusted with a fine white iridescent powder.

“It’s
in your hair, too,” he told her, pointing at her right temple
where the big white feather had been. “And on your nose…
right there.” He tapped her nose just as Gabriel had done
earlier, and suddenly she understood.

“Powder
Down Birds,” she said under her breath. “Damn.”

“What?”
Greg asked, puzzled.

“Nothing,”
she sighed. Powder Down Birds were, she recalled from her visit
to the pet store, the birds that produced and spread the most
allergens. And so naturally, Gabriel had to be one. It
was just her luck. She went to the sink to wash her hands.

“You
drinkin’, Gabe?” Greg asked, offering the bottle.
Gabriel held out his glass to be filled, and Greg sneezed again,
violently.

“That
thing works great, Katherine!” Gabriel observed dryly.

“Want
some Benadryl?” she asked Greg, ignoring the angel.

“Yeah,
I guess.”

She
went to the cupboard where she had stashed a box of the
antihistamines just in case.

“Here,”
she said, punching the little pink pills out of their foil wrapper
into his outstretched hand.

“Thanks,”
he said, sniffling. “I don’t understand why I’ve
been having these allergy attacks at your house lately!”

“The
feather, maybe?” she suggested, pointing at it.

“You
didn’t have it the other night,” he reminded her.
“Did you?”

“Uh…”
She raised her glass. “How about a toast? To the
firm of Garrett, Watson, Marcus… and Bailey!”

“Hear
hear!” Greg said with a laugh, clinking his glass against
hers. “That’s music to my ears!” He
popped the little pink pills into his mouth and followed them with a
gulp of champagne.

“And
to all the criminals they help get off the hook,” Gabriel
added, clinking his glass against theirs and drinking deeply.

Katherine
glared at him. “Gabriel – ”

“And
to Altman, who got away with it,” Gabriel continued, glancing
at Katherine. “Do you think we should drink to poor
little Rebecca, and to those four little girls he raped and murdered…
or would that be in bad taste?”

“I
should’ve known I could count on you, Gabe,” Greg said
ironically. “So how’d you know about Altman?
I was saving that victory to surprise her with over dinner.

Gabriel
shrugged. “Aaaah, I know things.” He caught
Katherine’s eye. “Don’t I, Katherine?”

She
looked at the floor, saying nothing.

“Want
to go, Katie-Kate?” Greg asked.

“Is
that why they made you partner, Greg?” she asked quietly.
“Because you got Altman off?”

“Yeah,”
he said, smiling. “That was a big case, and I was able to
– ”

“Greg…”
She shook her head, not sure how to continue. “I’m
sorry, but I don’t really want to hear about how Altman is a
free man, OK? I know you’re a great lawyer and that
getting him off is a big coup for you, but…” She
shrugged. “I just can’t stand the thought of him out
there, walking the streets. In fact, it makes me want to throw
up!”

“But
I told you, he didn’t do it!”

Katherine
sighed. “I know you did, Greg. And I know you
believe that… or at least, I hope you do. I hope that’s
why you fought so hard to – ”

Greg
frowned. “You’ve been listening to him,
haven’t you?” he asked, gesturing at Gabriel, who was
watching this exchange with obvious interest.

“Leave
Gabriel out of it.”

“He’s
trying to poison you against me!”

“No
he’s not,” she said quietly. She was silent for a
long moment. “Let me go fix my hair and change…
and then we’ll go eat. Somewhere nice, to celebrate.
All right?”

“Sure,”
Greg agreed, sounding subdued.

As
Katherine walked out of the kitchen, she heard Greg say, “Thanks
a lot, Gabe!”

“I’m
always glad to help, Gregory,” was the tranquil reply.

*****

On
her way to her bedroom, Katherine paused outside the guest room.
The door was ajar.

She
had offered Gabriel the room and she wondered now if he had actually
been using it. She put her hand on the door and peeked inside,
her jaw dropping in dismayed astonishment at what she saw.

“Well,”
she sighed, “I didn’t explicitly tell him not to
write all over the walls…”

The
light blue walls – as well as the eggshell ceiling – were
now decorated with symbols that looked to have been drawn with a
thick black felt-tipped marker. Every available space was
covered with what she recognized as angelic script, and she wondered
briefly what it said, what it meant… and why he’d done
it.

She
realized suddenly that she literally knew nothing of his species and
their culture. Perhaps this is what angels did –
decorated their living spaces with tales of their exploits. Or
Bible verses. Or dirty limericks.

This
last made her giggle, but she soon stopped when she saw a little pile
of white feathers sitting on the end of the bed. With a little
frown of concern, she went to investigate.

He
did say he’s molting, she reminded herself.

On
the top of the pile was a broken feather tinged with the dark red of
dried blood.

“Oh…
that can’t be good,” she murmured, picking it up
and inspecting it.

The
entire length of the shaft was filled with dried blood, signifying
that it must have contained living tissue when it had broken.
The end of the quill was covered with dried blood too; clearly it
hadn’t fallen out on its own. No, it must have been
pulled out.

Katherine
sucked in air between her teeth. Ouch, she winced in
sympathy, for although she didn’t know much about being a bird,
she recognized something that had to have hurt like hell when she saw
it.

She
put the broken, bloody feather back where she’d found it and
slipped from the room, shutting the door behind her.

*****

Katherine
quickly realized that no amount of brushing would remove the bird
dust from her hair. Spurred on by horrifying thoughts of the
appalling things that an unsupervised Gabriel might be saying to her
hapless boyfriend, she hurried through the fastest shampoo and shower
of her life.

When
she finally entered the kitchen twenty minutes later, she found Greg
and the angel engaged in a heated discussion about the Arizona
Cardinals. Greg was certain that they’d make it all the
way to the Super Bowl this year. Naturally, Gabriel disagreed.

But
at least they weren’t tearing each other’s eyes out over
it.

Greg
was ticking names off on his fingers as he spoke. “Look,
Gabe, we’ve got McGowan, Warner, McCoy – ”

“Aaaah,
they all stink,” Gabriel said dismissively.

Katherine
found sports about as entertaining as watching paint dry, and so she
had no idea if the angel was truly knowledgeable about football or if
he was just automatically contradicting everything Greg said.

“You
wait and see,” Greg was saying. “We’re going
to pound Denver into the ground next week!”

“Naaaah,
it’ll never happen.”

“Are
you kidding? Denver’ll never beat us – it’s
more likely you’d sprout wings and fly!”

Gabriel’s
expression underwent a remarkable transformation: He suddenly looked
like he was trying not to laugh. “I guess we agree after
all,” he finally managed.

This
seemed like a good time to step in. “OK, boys,”
Katherine interrupted, holding up her hand. “Enough
sports talk!”

“Wow,
you look terrific, Katie-Kate!”

“Thank
you,” she said, smiling.

“Gabe,
doesn’t she look great?” Greg asked, beaming proudly.

Gabriel
shrugged. “Yeah, I guess,” he agreed
noncommittally.

“Oh
gee, Gabriel… I bet you say that to all the girls,”
Katherine said dryly. “You big flatterer you!”

Greg
laughed. “You must be a real hit with the ladies, Sport!”

“Huh.”
Gabriel cocked his head and studied Greg thoughtfully for a moment
and then came to his feet, closing the space between himself and
Katherine in one long smooth stride.

He
took her hand in his and raised it to his lips for a kiss.
“Katherine,” he purred in a seductive tone that she had
never heard him use before. “Next to you, Cleopatra was
an ugly hag… and I should know!”

This
made her giggle, her free hand coming up to cover her mouth.
“Why thank you, Gabriel!”

Still
holding her hand in his, he bent close and spoke directly into her
ear, his voice low and husky. “That question you asked me
this morning… the answer is yes.”

Katherine’s
eyes opened wide in astonishment and she felt her cheeks flush
scarlet as he released her hand and moved away. He turned to
face her as he walked, still talking as he backed toward the kitchen
door. “In a heartbeat.”

“Uh…
” She looked at the floor and cleared her throat, trying to
compose herself. “Well… um… yeah.
Gabriel. OK. Thank you.”

She
was obviously flustered, and Gabriel smiled with satisfaction.
“Have fun tonight, you kids,” he said brightly, and was
gone.

“Now
that was interesting!” Greg observed, looking amused.
“What in the world did he say to you?”

She
shook her head. “Nothing you’d understand,”
she replied, and was alarmed by how her voice shook and wavered.
She cleared her throat again. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Yeah,
sure.”

She
tried on a smile. “All right – let’s go
celebrate!”

*****

All
through dinner, Katherine’s mind kept returning to Gabriel and
all of the alarming things he had said.

That
Altman was a child rapist and murderer was abundantly clear –
she didn’t doubt it one bit. It disturbed her deeply that
Greg had helped put that piece of filth back on the streets and had
even gotten himself a promotion in the process.

And
the other things the angel had said… well, she wasn’t
even going to think about that now. Maybe not ever.

“Katie-Kate?”
Greg’s voice brought her back to the present.

“Sorry,
I was a million miles away,” she apologized.

“Yeah,
I noticed! So do you want dessert or not?”

“I
don’t know…” she hesitated.

“Go
ahead, indulge! We’re celebrating!”

“Right,”
she agreed grimly. “We’re celebrating.”

”Hey,
if you’re still upset about Altman – ”

She
held up her hands. “The last thing I want to talk about
is Altman! It just makes me sick, Greg.”

“I
promise you, he’s not – ”

“Greg,
I said I don’t want to talk about it,” she said with
finality.

But
of course he had to try again. “What makes you so sure
that Gabriel’s right about him, Katie? Come on, tell
me.” He reached across the table and took her hand.
“I know there’s something going on with that guy that
you’re not telling me about – ”

Her
head jerked up. “What? I’ve never
cheated on you – ever! With anyone –
and certainly not with Gabriel! The very idea is just –
”Tantalizing, that snarky voice in her head whispered. “
– preposterous!” she finished. The answer is
yes, she heard Gabriel say in her mind, and she picked up her
wineglass and took a quick gulp.

Greg
was laughing. “I didn’t mean it that way!”

“Then
how did you mean it?”

“Who
is he, Katie? Who is he really?”

She
shrugged. “I told you – a guy I met in Chimney
Rock.”

“Uh
huh,” he said, nodding. “And how’d you meet,
exactly?”

“That’s
a long story.”

“I’ve
got nothing but time, my dear.”

She
sighed. “Not tonight, Greg. OK?”

He
leaned back in his chair. “Actually, I have my own theory
about your pal.”

She
looked amused. “Oh? And what’s that?”

“I
think he’s a New York crime boss.”

She
actually laughed. “Oh Greg… that’s too
funny! A New York crime boss… where do you come up with
this stuff?”

“Well,
it explains everything,” he said smugly. “That
accent of his, and why he’s so secretive, and how he knows
about criminal activity – ”

“You
said Altman’s not guilty,” she pointed out.

“And
you seem to think that he is because Gabriel says so –
in fact, you believe that guy over me, your own boyfriend!”

“Too
bad he’s not really a crime boss, Greg – you could
represent him when he got arrested! That’d be right up
your alley, wouldn’t it?”

“Or…
I know,” he continued, not rising to her bait. “He’s
one of those psychics, right? Those guys who go to the cops,
saying they know where bodies are buried!”

“No,
Greg,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. “He’s
not a psychic.”

“So
tell me… what is he, Katie?”

For
a moment, she gave serious consideration to telling him everything –
but she knew how insane the story would sound, and she just didn’t
have the mental energy to deal with trying to prove it, trying to
convince him. “Greg… I can’t. Not
tonight.”

“Soon,
though. OK?”

She
nodded. “Soon,” she promised.

“All
right.” He motioned to the waiter. “Check,
please.”

*****

The
house was dark when they returned, the only light coming from a
second floor window that Katherine recognized as the guest room.

“I
hope he didn’t figure out a way to draw on the carpeting, too,”
she muttered.

“What?”
Greg asked as he parked the car.

“Oh,
Gabriel wrote all over the walls in my guest bedroom,” she said
offhandedly as they got out.

“He
did?”

“Yeah.”

Greg
slammed his car door. ”Katie, that’s… that’s
just weird.”

She
sighed. “I know.”

“What
did he write?” Greg asked, curious.

“Oh,
who knows? It’s in another language.”

Greg
shook his head. “That guy just gets weirder and weirder,
doesn’t he?”

“Yeah,”
she agreed. “He sure does.”

“Well,
let’s go see what he’s up to now,” Greg said with a
laugh.

“I’m
almost afraid to find out!”

They
heard the singing when they got in the house.

“Come
fly with me, let’s take off in the blue!” Gabriel sang
from somewhere upstairs.

“Frank
Sinatra is spinning in his grave,” Greg observed as they
climbed the steps. Katherine giggled.

“Once
I get yoooou up therrre, I’ll be holding yoooou so near, yoooou
may hear angels cheer ‘cause we’re together!”

The
singing was coming from the bathroom door, which stood open.

“Come
fly with me, come fly we’ll fly awaaaaaay – “

They
reached the doorway. “Gabriel, I – ” she began, and
then let out a shriek and covered her eyes.

Gabriel
was standing at the sink, completely naked. He was shaving,
using soap and the edge of a very sharp-looking knife.

“Whoa,
Sport – put the snake back in his cage, huh?” Greg said,
looking away.

“Sorry,”
Gabriel apologized. “I didn’t hear you guys come
in.”

”It’s
no wonder – you were singing at the top of your lungs!”
Katherine said. “So, is it safe to look?”

”Yeah,”
he said, laughing. “I think so.”

“Good
grief, what a sight,” Katherine said as she cautiously
uncovered her eyes. He’d wrapped a towel around his
waist, thank God.

“And
we just ate, too,” Greg joked.

The
smell of clean, wet bird was nearly overpowering in the small steamy
bathroom. “Greg – you’re not sneezing,”
Katherine suddenly said, obviously surprised.

“Should
I be?” Greg asked curiously.

“Um,
well –”

“Look,
it’s been fun,” Gabriel interrupted, unexpectedly coming
to her rescue. “And I’d let you two stay and watch,
but that’s not really my thing… you know?”

Katherine
blushed deeply, while Greg just laughed.

“OK,
Gabe… we’ll let you take care of business. Sorry
we walked in on you, man.”

”Yeah,
I’m really sorry, Gabriel,” Katherine apologized, still
mortified.

“Aaaah,
it’s my own fault… I should’ve shut the door.”

“Something
to keep in mind for next time,” Katherine told him as she
walked out with Greg.

“You
bet. Good night, kids,” he said, and closed the door.

*****

Later,
as Katherine lay in the dark with Greg sleeping beside her, she
couldn’t help but think about what she’d seen earlier…
and frown over it.

She’d
only gotten the briefest glimpse before covering her eyes, but it had
been enough to register that something just wasn’t right
with Gabriel… that he came with something other than the
standard equipment. Which was possible of course, since he was
a completely different species…

“I’m
not curious,” she whispered. “I’m not.”

She
turned over on her side and kissed Greg on the cheek. He
stirred and mumbled in his sleep.

“Good
night,” she murmured to him, but it was a long time before she
actually slept.

*****

AUTHOR’S
NOTE: About blood feathers, and what happens when they break:

http://www.mytoos.com/bloodfeather.html

http://www.quakerville.com/qic/qbfeathe.asp

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww13eii.htm

And
for info about feathers in general:
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww46eiv.htm
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Birds of Pray