Sneak Peek: Hell’s Gift

Today we have a sneak peek from the new novel by author K.S. Haigwood, Hell’s Gift. Depression consumes the guardian angel, Rhyan, after his human charge chooses her soulmate over him. Filled with anger and despair, he lashes out. And when his hate-filled words land him neck-deep in Hell, he realizes he’s gone too far.

HELL’S GIFT
by K.S. Haigwood
Available from Amazon.

Someone cleared their throat. It must have been to get my attention, because we don’t have the human annoyances of allergies or head colds, and I was the only other being in the recreational room.

Nevertheless, I kept my head lowered and my eyes drifted shut in hope the approaching angel would get the hint that I had no interest in idle chit-chat.

“She’s happy, Rhyan.”

My lips parted and something in between a moan and a sigh escaped on the exhale. I’d heard the same line a thousand times. Next it would be, “You should be happy for her, not moping around here like a lost puppy. It’s been a year. She’s married to her soulmate and has a child now. You need to move on. Get over her already!”

The whole of Heaven’s occupants knew my problem. I felt like each and every one of them had voiced their opinion more than once, and I wasn’t going to sit there and listen to it again like a broken record or a compact disk set on repeat. It wasn’t like I was the only angel in love with their charge.

My eyes shot open and focused on my new company. My stare held the first warning. Actually, there wouldn’t be a second one. I’d heard enough.

Josselyn froze and held both hands up in a silent apology or truce. “I’ll shut up.”

I groaned, uncrossed my ankles from the foot stool and got swiftly to my feet. “Talk all you want, but I’m not staying here to listen to what you or anyone else thinks I should do with my eternity.” I started for the door.

I had to get out.

I could feel the walls of the large room closing in on me.

It was bad enough that I could hear Kendra’s every thought, but when someone mentioned her, or reminded me that I needed to stop torturing myself because I will never have her, never touch her, never kiss her again…

“Rhyan, please,” she said, and I paused with my hand on the gold door knob. “I’m really sorry. I don’t know what you’re going through, but I seriously didn’t come in here to make it any worse than it already is. I promise not to say anymore on the subject if you want to just hang out.”

I laughed sarcastically. “I can’t just hang out, Jossel. I’m not me anymore!” I shouted, my body language suddenly changing to show how I really felt. Pissed.

My fingers curled, forming a fist. I wasn’t going to hit her, but the wall beside me wasn’t out of the question. I guess there was a second warning after all.

I growled in frustration as I pointed to the always spotless floor. “My Heaven is on earth, and she is sleeping with another man right now, a man that would have had a one way ticket to Hell if Coen hadn’t interfered.”

Josselyn’s eyes grew wide as she stared at me in shock. She finally blinked and looked around nervously. Her voice was considerably lower when she spoke again. “You don’t mean that–”

“I do–” I started, but she ran to me and covered my mouth with her hand. Surely she wasn’t dumb enough to think that would shut me up.

“Are you insane?” she whispered frantically. She looked around cautiously again to make sure that we were still alone. “I get the whole depressed thing…” Her brow furrowed. “…well, not entirely, but I can see that you are upset because you think some other kid stole your favorite toy. But you can’t go around damning people to Hell unless you have a wish to go there yourself.”

I jerked my head away from her hand, then grabbed her wrist, stilling it in its place when she tried to follow my movement. I glared into her deep brown eyes. “Hell couldn’t be any worse than the one I’m already living in,” I said through a clenched jaw, then shoved her away from me and walked out the door.

I lost my footing and practically fell into the corridor. My legs felt like jell-o and there was a high pitched ringing in my ears all of a sudden.

What’s happening to me?

I shook my head in confusion and rubbed my blurry eyes in an attempt to clear my vision. I stumbled into the wall and fell to my knees as Heaven spun around me; my palms, then skull, slapped the shiny floor with a loud clap and thump.

Something was seriously wrong with me, but I had no clue as to what. Angels were free of imperfections. We never got ill or injured. Evidently those standard rules didn’t apply to me anymore.