Page 16 of Far From Center
Nyalla bit her lip. “Well, that’s too far. He’s just going to have to deal with the situation. I’ll argue that you’re not at the negotiating table, and that you need to be nearby for my own safety. He’ll be flattered that he’s so much of a threat that I need bodyguards.”
Gabriel snorted. “He’s not much of a threat if your bodyguards are a Low and a Noodle. That’s more of an insult than any sort of flattery.”
Terrelle glared at him. “I’m going to ignore that. And remind you that I need to look at this artifact, whatever the heck it is, to verify that it’s real. If I can even do that.”
Gabriel blinked. “You don’t know what it is? Does no one know what it is? What if this Gormand decides to pass off an old banana or a random piece of pottery as the artifact?”
“I’m not inept,” the information demon snarled. “I can tell a magical item from an old banana. I just am not sure if I can tell one magical item from another, especially since I don’t know what I’m looking for and haven’t had time to appropriately research it. I’d like to see you do better.”
“I probably could, given that I’ve seen–”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Nyalla put her hands between the two. “Enough. Terrelle is better than Wikipedia when it comes to this stuff. And you,” she pointed at Gabriel, “you are ahumanwho probably can’t tell a banana from an avocado, so button it up.”
The angel clamped his mouth shut, staring sullenly down at the untouched glass of water in front of him. “Fine.”
Fine. It wasn’t fine. Gabriel was going to have half the island knowing what he had been and what had happened if he didn’t stop acting like an angel. Nyalla wouldn’t need to worry about keeping his secret, because it would be all over the hemisphere before they even returned home. And she didn’t want him mad at her, or pouting like this. Her goal this evening was to make him smile, and so far, she’d been failing miserably.
Time to break out the not-so-secret weapon. “Let’s call it a night. We’ll connect tomorrow, but plan to meet in the lobby around five to head to Charlie’s if we don’t. Until then, go have fun.”
Snip practically knocked his chair over in his haste to get up. “I’m going to that bar down at the end of the pier and see if there’s anyone drunk enough to have sex with me.”
Terrelle also got up, still glaring at Gabriel. “And I will go back to my room to research what potential artifact this item might be. Because that’s my area of expertise, and I’m damned good at it.”
Nyalla watched the two demons head off, handed cash and the bill to the waitress with a smile, then turned to Gabriel. “Dance with me.”
His head jerked toward her. “What? Dance? As in coordinate bodily movements in time with the beat of the music?”
“Yes. Humans dance. We love music. Don’t angels love music?”
He tilted his head, regarding her with curiosity. “Yes, we do, but this is different from the human music we appreciate. And angels don’t dance.”
She stood. “Maybe they should. If you like music, why shouldn’t you enjoy it with more than your ears. If a song is truly sublime, shouldn’t your entire body experience it?”
He stood and she could see he was undecided, teetering on the edge of giving in. “But to enjoy things of the flesh is to lower our vibration pattern. It may not be exactly sinful, but it certainly can’t be in keeping with our holy quest to touch the divine.”
“Actually I think it is. We humans also want to touch the divine, but we have to live with the limitations of our physical form and our lower vibration pattern. Isn’t our quest for enlightenment just as valid as yours, or are we forever condemned because of the nature of our birth?”
He hesitated, eyeing the other dancers. “I meant no disrespect. I haven’t known you for very long Nyalla, but you seem to have a purity of spirit that gives me hope for the human race. Perhaps therearemany paths to the divine. Yours may be a valid path, but it’s a human path and I’m an angel.”
“You’re not an angel at the moment. Should your quest for the divine be put on hold because of your temporary circumstances, or should you continue to seek and improve yourself only as a human?”
“Perhaps,” he mused. “But some of those dancers…that is a very physical enjoyment of music. It’s too sensory. I feel I may cross into an unacceptable area if I indulge in such a thing.”
“Ears are physical. You use them, use the sense of hearing to enjoy human music. You use your eyes to enjoy the beauty of the world that surrounds us — a world gifted to us by the creator. Why not use your other senses to see and experience the splendor of life?”
He took a deep breath. “I will try this dancing experience, but if I feel it is sinful, then we will stop.”
She hid a smile. “Absolutely. I would never ask you to sin.”
She wouldn’t, but she got the feeling that her definition of sin was very different than Gabriel’s. Oh well. It was high time this stuffy angel broadened his horizons, and saw the beauty, the purity that was inherent in something he’d always avoided.
Nyalla took his hand and led him to the dance floor in front of the palapas. The moon shone down on them, illuminating the night. Tiny white lights that looked like flying fairies hung around the wooden beams. Putting one hand on his waist and the other around his neck, she pulled him close and swayed to the music.
He stood awkwardly with his hands by his sides for a moment, then mirrored her position, easily following her steps and the movements of her body. Everything seemed to come together like pieces of a puzzle — the moon and stars, the sound of the band and the soft noise of the surf, the fairy lights, Gabriel’s strong arms around her, his body just inches away, his breath stirring the hair on the top of her head. It was glorious and Nyalla rested her cheek against the angel’s chest, leaning into him. He put his cheek on the top of her head, tightening his arms so that she snuggled tight against his body.
“I like this.” His voice was soft and husky. “I understand the appeal and how this adds to the enjoyment of the song, but I don’t think it’s the movement of my body that enhances the experience, it’s your closeness to me. I think humans need physical contact. It amplifies everything. The shared connection, the mutual enjoyment of something is what brings humans closer to the divine.”
“Hush.” She smiled against his chest, rubbing her hand along the hard muscles of his back. “Stop analyzing everything. Just be quiet and for once in your crazy long life enjoy the moment.”
