Cafe Nowhere - Kameoth

Cafe Nowhere Series



Erin Sinclair
Xavier perched in silent reverie on the precipitous slope of a cathedral roof, anchored by black claws where toenails of a human foot usually existed. It was hot, warmer than usual, and very dry. The air smelled acrid, still soured by the British and American air raid that devastated the central and northwestern districts of Altona, Eimsbüttel and Hoheluft.

The sky was dark as well as the city, the telltale light of a myriad of stars the only illumination. Citizens shuttered their windows and doused all lights in meager protection against another bombing run by Allied forces. Previous bombardments experienced by the Germans were, until recently, mostly nuisance runs, more annoying than serious damage inflicted. Rumors among the officer corps signaled a change in their efforts, however.

Death is on the wind. Xavier harbored the fear of it deep within him. They were, after all, old friends, if one could consider Azriel, the Archangel of Death, a friend. No. Not friend. Inevitable companion. He stifled another sense of dread as it dared raise its head in his normally fearless being. None escaped the Destruction, not angel, man, nor beast. Spreading black wings against the night, he lifted his perfect form without effort. Natalina waited and he hungered.

***
She would come willingly this night or he would take what was due. After all he had done for her she owed him her life and more. He brought her glorious voice to the attention of the appropriate individuals, nourished her talent and fed her starvation for life beyond the simple farmstead of her childhood. How such a dove came to be born among the filth of agrarian life was beyond him. Xavier never had an appreciation of God’s humor, even less of an understanding of His thoughts once he heard her sing amongst the stink of swine in the barn where he found her. A brief conversation with her parents ensued. They were more than relieved to see her go, as if they knew the girl were an oddity, a freak to their kind and in whose presence they were never comfortable.