Page 122 of Into This River I Drown
sheriff’s perpetual sneer falters as he looks into the angel’s eyes. I don’t know what
he sees, and I don’t know if I want to. If everything I’ve heard about the angel
hierarchy is correct, then Michael is almost the top of the top, just under Metatron,
the one Cal said had disappeared long ago. That alone is enough to intimidate. “What do you want?” Griggs asks. “You better take a step back.” “I try not to involve myself in little things,” Michael says softly, though his voice
still carries back to where we stand. “There are matters of greater consequence that
always seem to demand my full attention. However, the fact that I am here should be
enough to convey the importance of the situation.” He glances back at Cal as he says
this last before returning his attention to the sheriff. “Since I am here, I must admit to
being a bit curious about you. We are not meant to interfere, much as we sometimes
want to. Our Father has dictated as such. But even still….”
Michael flashes his hand up and presses his palm flat against Griggs’s chest. The
sheriff’s head falls back and his mouth opens in a yawning gape, but no sound comes
out. The cords in his neck stand out as his hands twitch lightly at his sides. It’s over
in a matter of seconds, and the sheriff gasps as Michael frowns and takes a step back
from him. “Ah, Sheriff,” Michael says as he shakes his head. “If you only knew….
No matter. Leave this place. I have no desire to look upon your face any longer.” Griggs looks confused and angry but obeys almost immediately. We stand watch
as he starts the car and the headlights come on. I can see him watching Michael
through the windshield before he turns the car and peels out down the driveway, the
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engine a fading roar.
“What in the hell is going on?” Christie snaps. “Who is that man?” “He is kind of scary,” Mary says. “Did you see the look on George’s face? I
thought he was going to piss himself, to be honest.”
“Bad word,” Nina intones quietly.
“Calliel,” Michael says, still facing the way the sheriff has gone. “To me,
please.” His tone leaves no room for argument.
But that doesn’t stop me from trying. I grab Cal’s arm as he starts toward
Michael. Cal pauses for a moment, then looks back and shakes his head, his eyes
resolute. “I must go, Benji.”
“You’re leaving?” I ask, hating the way I sound.
His eyes widen and he pulls me into him. “No,” he says harshly in my ear. “No, I
