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fierce and terrible, and Joth would have to dwell in its heart for a year or
more before being allowed near the Clockwork."
"Well ...what if Joth didn't return?"
"Then it will probably turn into a daemon."
Lucy gasped audibly, glancing first in Joth's general direction, then back to
Ezrael.
"Wait a minute-I thought you said you weren't on Meresin's side!"
"Don't worry, I'm not!" he chuckled. "The transformation from angel into
daemon is not Joth's only fate. It will only become a daemon if its refusal to
return is not of its own choosing. If Joth makes a deliberate decision to
remain on earth of its own free will-then the fires of Creation shall burn
away its divinity and it will be as other mortals.
"It will be as if Joth was born into the world a full-grown human, knowing
hunger and want and cold for the first time-but also discovering joy and
warmth and love. What happens after that is up to Joth. Not all former angels
are muses, though most of us are-although we can be as unpredictable as any
human. However, most of us find ourselves drawn to the Blessed; those humans
who possess within them the divine spark-creative types, such as artists,
builders, inventors and the like.
"I, personally, have a predilection for the visual arts, although I know a
fellow muse who leans more towards playwrights. By using my magics in subtle
ways, I encourage to greatness talent that might otherwise find itself
thwarted or consumed. In this way I still serve the Clockwork. But now the
service is of my own choosing."
"So-Joth will become mortal if he-"
"It! Joth is an it, not a he. Besides, there's no guarantee, should Joth
choose to remain on earth, that it would become male."
"Okay, whatever. As I was saying-Joth will become normal if it chooses to
remain on Earth of its own free will. Right?"
"Right."
"But you said angels don't have free will."
"Yes," Ezrael sighed, sipping his tea. "Bit of a Catch-22, that."
chapter 7
Lucy glanced out the window and saw the sun going down. "Oh, Jesus!" she
moaned as she slapped her forehead. "I can't believe I forgot to call in
sick!"
Ezrael grunted as he ferried their empty cups to the sink. "Where do you
work?"
"A brokerage firm on Wall Street. I'm a clerk-typist. It sucks, but it pays
the bills."
"I'd say you had other things besides work on your mind today."
"Yeah," Lucy sighed. "I really thought the sky was the limit this morning. Now
I feel like I'm looking up at it from the bottom of a dry well." Lucy shook
her head in disgust. "That's what I get for having great expectations!"
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," Ezrael smiled. "After all, you're only
human."
"Which puts me in the minority around here," she said, resting her chin on her
fist. "So what do I do now?"
"We prepare ourselves."
Lucy turned to fix Ezrael with a quizzical stare, cocking one eyebrow. "What
do you mean 'we,' white man?" she asked.
Ezrael laughed as he squeezed her shoulder. "I am here to help, Lucy, whether
you choose to believe it or not."
The older man fished an antique pocket watch out of the breast pocket of his
Hawaiian shirt and frowned at it. "You are right about one thing, however-time
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is slipping away. If I am to be ready for what lies ahead, I must make a few
errands before it gets too late." He snapped the watch shut and returned it to
his pocket. "I will try be as quick about my business as I can. You stay here
and keep watch over Joth. Do you have a spare key?"
"Look in the cookie jar," Lucy said, pointing at a large ceramic bear set atop
the refrigerator. "Uh-don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't appreciate
what you're doing, Mr. Ezrael-"
"Ez," he said, plucking the spare key from where it was taped inside the
bear's head, pocketing it as easily as a magician would a coin. "Call me Ez.
And I'm doing this because I owe it to Joth-and to the memory of someone I
cared for a long time ago."
The former angel motioned for her to follow him. "I need you to make sure the
door is locked behind me when I leave. And while I'm gone, allow absolutely no
one entry! Meresin is far from the only Machinist in New York City -any one of
which would most gladly surrender a horn or a hoof to make Joth one of their
number."
Lucy followed Ezrael to the front door, trying her best not to let the fear
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