Chapter 42: Rachel's Recovery and Longing...

It was a tall building. There were taller ones in Seattle, of course. The hotel wasn't even half the height of the Columbia Tower several blocks uphill, nor was it the tallest among those closer to the water. But looking up at it from the sidewalk below, the hotel loomed more than large enough.

Her borrowed waitress's uniform was gone now. Rachel stood on the sidewalk clad in her simple, thin white dress once again. Nobody looking her way actually noticed her, whether driving by or sitting behind a window looking out at the street. They didn't see the blonde angel looking up to the sky, letting raindrops fall gently on her face.

Nor did they see the wings that grew from her back, full and white and glorious in their spread.

She had felt the stirrings of their recovery while in the church as her halo began to glow with its former brilliance. That had been alarming, seeing as several of Alex's good deeds had been accomplished while facing great danger and suffering harm. But when she had caught up to him, seeing her charge and his companion getting into her car, she had recognized the unmistakable look of love between them.

Love was in the eyes of a demon. Rachel had seen it there, and understood why her recovery had enjoyed such a sudden leap ahead. She reaped as much of a personal reward in that momentous development as had Alex himself.

It would not have been possible without the ritual that had summoned and accidentally bound both Lorelei and Rachel to him, of course, but there had been so many ways for all that to go wrong. This development had been well beyond Rachel's expectations. Her first thoughts had been only that it might be fitting for such a nice guy to have lucked into such a wonderful fuck-toy for himself...

...but perhaps that thinking had been borne of the drain on Rachel's own virtue. It had seemed harmless, she knew, but in the days that followed she felt herself becoming more and more attached to this brave, well-meaning mortal.

Rachel had followed them as they left his home. She hadn't heard their conversations, of course, but once they were at the shopping center and she saw Alex buying the black pearl choker she began to suspect what was developing. She had followed and watched him speak with her, claim her, fuck her brains out, all so very clearly at Lorelei's willing behest. There was no particular goodness there, of course, no triumph of virtue. Nothing of the sort. But there was no evil, either.

It wasn't the sort of relationship that Rachel dreamed of, certainly, but it was a sweet and naughty thing to watch. If anything, she silently cheered them both on.

But it was in the restaurant, with Lorelei facing the sins of her own past and seeking redemption, that Rachel knew her recovery was essentially complete. What had happened was unprecedented. Rachel hadn't followed Lorelei into the restroom, hadn't eavesdropped on her... but she knew. She could feel it happen. Through Alex and their bond, perhaps, or more likely just through proximity. All the other guardian angels in the restaurant had certainly perked up when it happened.

Inspired by love for a virtuous man, one of Hell's most accomplished destroyers had repented.

Rachel's wings spread out, beat twice, and then carried her into the air. She soared around the hotel tower. She rose and dipped and spun and looped. The angel laughed in gratitude and joy. She rose into the air, taking her time and indulging in a broad, sweeping path before finally landing silently on the balcony of the honeymoon suite.

She knew where they were. She could see them now, or more accurately, she could see Alex in her mind whenever she concentrated regardless of Lorelei's presence. Rachel looked in on them through the glass balcony door, unhindered by the dim light. They lay on the bed, making love in one another's arms.

The bed had already been rearranged. Lorelei lay atop an arrangement of pillows that allowed her to recline while Alex remained upright on his knees above her, thrusting between her legs as they watched one another. She was quite vocal about her enjoyment. Her hands searched for his, pulling them to her breasts as he ravished her until, at length, they both stiffened and groaned in a shared climax. Alex sank into the bed then, with the couple twisting happily until Lorelei crawled on top of him like a predatory cat toying with prey at her mercy.

Rachel watched, smiling softly. She wondered how much longer it would be before she succumbed to her own needs and shared Lorelei's place in his arms. She imagined herself there instead of Lorelei, but not as a replacement. Rachel would die before allowing anything to come between this love, including herself. But she knew that she wouldn't have to in order to claim her own happiness.

She thought, momentarily, about slipping inside with them. They would have her. She knew that. Lorelei hadn't been lying, not at all, and Rachel could tell that Alex's heart swelled whenever she was near. She heard it in his voice. Saw it in his eyes. Felt it in his kiss.

But there would be time for that later. And after tonight, she was going to have to have another long conversation with the angels and archangels who watched over this city. Oh, what fun that would be.

Rachel leapt up over the ledge above her to sit on the top of the tower. She looked out across the Bay, unbothered by either the rain or the cold. She felt quite comfortable. Her lips spread into a quiet smile. Eventually, she began to hum, and then finally she softly gave the familiar tune words.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see..."