War In Heaven Read online

  War in Heaven: The Opening Chords

  By

  Jasmine Bowen

  Copyright © 2013 RascalHearts.com

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  For questions and comments about this book, please contact us at [email protected]

  Chapter One

  “I want 45 cokes,” Ramiel said as they entered the bar, a grin on his face.

  Jinn shook his head, “Perhaps you should start with one. Gabriel?”

  “Coke’s fine,” Gabriel said, looking around in awe, his heart pounding in excitement. He had been waiting for this day all month, and now it was finally here. Their debut as a band.

  When he had seen the fliers around school that advertised auditions for a band, he knew he had to sign up. Run by Jinn, a music major in his final year at the local college, he opened auditions up to all ages, as long as he found the right people. He probably didn’t expect to find two high school freshman, one with the voice of an angel and the other who could play the bass as naturally as breathing. But along with his drums, they formed a three man band a few months ago, and had been practicing ever since, mostly Christian rock music. Gabriel’s parents didn’t mind, especially since most of their gigs were playing at Sunday morning services. But tonight was their first chance to play outside the church, at an all ages Karaoke night in downtown.

  Their band’s name, War in Heaven, was billed as going on at 8pm. It was only 7 now, and Gabriel felt like he might expire from excitement before then.

  Drinks gotten, the boys found a spot at the front. Ramiel leaned his bass against the wall as they settled down to listen to the acts before them. They hadn’t used their real names since they formed the band, and he loved seeing his stage name scrawled on the poster.

  “What songs are we doing?” Gabriel asked Jinn, who rolled his eyes, already eyeing the present drum kit on stage.

  “We’re only allowed 10 minutes, so I thought perhaps Beloved and Battle of the Dragon. They are a bit more mainstream, so maybe they’ll like them more.”

  “Hey, why should it matter?” Ramiel asked, with a shrug. “If they don’t like our music, we’ll find someone who does. Because we are awesome.”

  Jinn laughed, “That’s one way to look at it. Let’s say a prayer, boys, before we go up.”

  The three of them dipped their heads, silent words forming on their lips. Gabriel prayed for success with his voice, to fill the room, and bring the message, as well as make beautiful music. They prayed out loud as often as they prayed silently, and tonight, Gabriel was glad of silent prayer. He was too nervous to form words properly.

  Before they knew it, the manager of the place was telling them they were up next and asking them for any preset music they had. Jinn handed over the CD that they had recorded earlier that week, his booming voice doing the introduction that they hoped to use for the rest of their life. They took their places on stage in the dark. Gabriel gingerly wrapped his fingers around the microphone as if it would shock him, and closed his eyes in the darkness as their introduction began to play. This was so different than playing on Sunday mornings. At Church, it was almost guaranteed that they would be liked, it was easy. Everyone was there for the same reason, to bring the message of the Lord. But here, they were just there to create music, and music could be loved or hated.

  “And it was said that there was a great War in Heaven, started by Lucifer, the angel of music, against the Almighty Lord. After the war in Heaven, Lucifer fell, taking with him those angels that turned against the Lord, and taking with him the gift of music. Those angels that remained looked to earthly beings to assist them in returning music to praise the Lord.”

  Jinn’s recorded voice, deep and more mature the other two, boomed over the speakers, and a spotlight went on over him.

  “Jinn, the Angel of Unity.” Gabriel held his breath on that one. He knew that Jinn had chosen his stage name based on uniting religions, and people, with music. Some of the older folk at Church didn’t seem too happy with it, but Gabriel though it was beautiful. Another spotlight turned on. “Ramiel, the angel of Thunder.”

  “Hey, do you hang out with Thor?” came a cry from the audience and everyone laughed. Gabriel kept his eyes closed, waiting for his own spotlight.

  “And Gabriel, the Messenger Angel, sent to bring music back to praise the Lord. After the War in Heaven.”

  Gabriel heard the opening notes and launched into Beloved, letting the music take him over. The heckles from the crowd eventually stopped as they were swept away by his voice.

  Behind him, beating away at the drums, Jinn smiled. He knew when he first heard the kid sing that he was their ticket. Gabriel had the voice of an angel itself, so smooth and effortless, like he didn’t even need to try to hold notes for 40 counts. It was like the music was just pouring out of him and all he needed to do was open his mouth and release it.

  Ten minutes went by in a blink, and before they knew it, Dragon was over as well and the crowd was at their feet in applause, cheering and screaming.

  Gabriel stepped back so that he was even with his band mates. Without them, he wouldn’t be standing here. He knew a band wasn’t just a beautiful voice, it was so much more than that. But the crowd was screaming his name, having only heard his voice. Luckily, the other two didn’t seem to take offense, and once they were backstage, they screamed in excitement.

  “That was AWESOME!” Jinn said, giving them both of them a hug. “Thank the Lord, I think they loved it.”

  “We should go out and celebrate!” Ramiel cried, still high on the excitement of the stage. He was one who wanted to stay out late, and he was often the one falling asleep in Church in the morning. His parents had been leery at first of him joining a band. But Jinn was a responsible figure in the community and he actually kept Ramiel out of trouble as of late. The old habits were still there, but if neither of them were interested in staying out or sneaking into bars, Ramiel often gave up.

  “Come on boys, I have to get you both home before your parents kill me. Get your stuff.”

  “Killjoy,” Ramiel said, but began to put away his bass. Gabriel could only grin, unable to wipe the smile off his face.

  “Did you have fun?” Jinn asked him, as they started towards the door back to the stage.

  “I think I could do this the rest of my life.”

  “Well, that’s the plan,” Jinn replied. “C’mon Ramiel, hurry up.”

  They were standing just outside the entrance to backstage, waiting for Ramiel, when Gabriel first heard her voice.

  She was standing alone on stage, no complicated set up, no lights of even back up. No one was paying any attention to her, and she didn’t have an introduction. It was just her, clothed all in white, a long white skirt, and a white top. Her hair was on top of her head, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. She simply leaned towards the microphone, ignoring the idle chatter of the crowd, and began to sing.

  Instantly, the whole room stopped to stare at her.

  Her voice was pure, and golden, a high soprano where every note was perfect. It was soft, not a powerful Broadway voice, although Gabriel had a feeling she could fill a room if she wanted to. Her only staging assistance was a light, a single light, over her head, making her shining hair glow.

  There was nothing about her that was traditionally beautiful, no high cheekbones or slim body. There weren’t perfect proportions or full lips or doe eyes. But as she continued to sing, Gabriel was mesmerized. Sh
e was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, or heard.

  “Jinn, let’s stay,” he managed to get out in a strangled voice that did not reflect the performance he had just put on.

  Jinn took one look at his face, and nodded, “Sure, five more minutes wouldn’t hurt.”

  She was singing a cover song from a popular band, and yet Gabriel felt like he had never heard it before. It was as if he had been transported to another planet, and the only thing that existed in the world was him, and her.

  She only sang one song, but one song was all he needed. As soon as she came off the stage, to a splattering of applause, he approached her.

  “That was beautiful.”

  “Oh, uh, thanks,” she looked up, surprised. Gabriel stood at least eight inches taller than her, with golden hair cut at the nape of his neck, longer than his parents approved of. In a cut off shirt, his lanky muscular arms reached out to shake her hand, and his lean hips angled towards her, every fiber of his body paying attention to this girl. She shook it, gingerly, a blush filling her cheeks.

  “I’m Gabriel.”

  “I’m Isda,” she said, softly, a smile playing on her lips. His jaw dropped.

  “Isda. The Angel of Nourishment. Is that your real name?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “Is Gabriel your real name?”

  “It is now,” he grinned. “You have the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard. Where did you learn to sing like that?”

  “Church, mostly,” she shrugged. “I’ve just always sung. This is the first time I’ve come to something like this.”

  “Us, too,” Gabriel replied. “We normally play at Churches as well.”

  “You were pretty good yourselves,” Isda said.

  “Hey Kid, we don’t have all day,” Jinn screamed across the room, making everyone look. Gabriel blushed, pulling out his phone.

  “Could I get your email or something? Or your phone number? Perhaps we could jam together sometime.”

  “Sure,” Isda replied, taking his phone and tying in her number. “That’d be fun.”

  “Great,” Gabriel grinned, taking the phone when she was done, and shoving it in his pocket. “It was nice to meet you, Isda.”

  “You too,” she replied. He turned, although it was difficult, heading back to Jinn before a giant hook straight out of a comic book grabbed him. He knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it in the van on the way home, but that didn’t stop him from grinning like a fool the whole way.

  “She was good, eh?” He asked, sitting in the front seat. Jinn grinned as he started the engine.

  “Sure, kid. She actually sounded fantastic.”

  “Not much to look at though,” Ramiel put in from the back and Gabriel leaned around to smack him.

  “What are you talking about? She looked like an angel.”

  “I think the performance has gone to your head.”

  The bickering continued all the way home, and even up the street when Jinn dropped them off and made sure they got into their neighboring houses all right.

  Ramiel’s eyes were drooping as soon as his head hit the pillow, but Gabriel lay awake, staring at the ceiling and hearing that stellar voice over and over again in his head. It was like nothing he had ever heard before. People told him he had the voice of an angel but this was beyond his own. He had a feeling Isda could hold any note twice as long as he could, at the very least. And her octave range was probably bigger. Gabriel had worked with the choirmaster in church for the last year to get an 7th octave, but she had surpassed that without even thinking about it.

  At 3am, unable to sleep, he pulled out his phone and composed an email to her, his hands shaking and debating every word he wrote.

  Hi, Isda, It’s Gabriel, we met at the Karaoke thing tonight. My band is having a jam session Thursday, at 7pm, we are performing in the Sunday service Carnige Church. It’d be great if you could come. Let me know.

  He read it over twice and then clicked send, putting his phone down and closing his eyes. In a mad world, what he really wanted to write was send me a sample of your song so I can listen to it over and over again, but that would be a little weird.

  His phone clutched in his hand, he finally drifted off to sleep, just as the dawn sun rose over the trees.

  When his alarm went off, the first thing he did, before he even fully opened his eyes, was squinted at his phone. Sure enough, there was a new message flashing at him, sent just a few minutes ago.

  Hello Gabriel, it was nice to meet you last night. I have a prior commitment on Thursday, but I’ll be able to attend at 7:30, if that’s not too late.

  “Wahoo!” he yelled, a little louder than he should, typing back a reply in the affirmative.

  His mother opened his door then, giving him a puzzled look. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this excited about waking up since you were 5 and it was Christmas.”

  He smirked, throwing back the covers, “I’ll be downstairs for breakfast in a bit, Mom.”

  He could hardly wait for Thursday, and when it came, he could hardly focus on anything else. Ramiel had been rolling his eyes all day at him, and when they got to the church to practice, he was just about ready to strangle him.

  Jinn was already there, setting up the equipment. The church let them jam here whenever it was free, provided that they also rehearsed for the service. It was perfect, because Gabriel knew how hard it was to get space to rehearse. When he started solo, practicing around the house, his parents started wearing earplugs. Despite his voice being beautiful, they enjoyed a few minutes of silence in a long day, and Gabriel had the lung capacity to belt out tunes from dawn to dusk.

  “Is she bringing any stuff?” he asked, by way of greeting. Gabriel shrugged.

  “I don’t know…I didn’t ask. I just uh…hmm. I think she just sings.”

  “Gabe, if I left the details to you, I would probably not even have any songs,” Jinn teased him, as he set up a second microphone. It was usually Jinn who did the set up, while the boys goofed off. Without Jinn, they would be lost, though, and they knew it. He had the driver’s license, the head for business, and ended practice early enough for them to get enough sleep. He was a big brother to both of them, and probably the reason both their parents let them out late at night, as long as they were with him.

  “We should try some new ones tonight,” Gabriel said. “Why not? Maybe, if this goes well, we can make her a permanent member of the band, and have some great harmonies.”

  “It’s like you’re a cartoon character and hearts are coming out of your eyes,” Ramiel said, as he idly plucked the strings of his bass.

  “All right, guys, settle down, “Jinn reached for their hands. “Let’s just pray for a good practice session to help us spread the message of the Lord.”

  “At least we can agree on that,” Gabriel replied, bowing his head. He enjoyed the fact that they prayed before every session, rehearsal or show. It gave him a moment to help ground himself, to remind him why he was there. He felt like he had been given a great gift, to be able to worship with music. It was combining two things that filled him with happiness, and together, he felt like he would explode.

  The time flew by when practicing, old songs mixed with new. Gabriel was listening to Jinn tap out a new beat that might work in the middle of Touch the Cross when the door to the hall opened.

  His head shot up so fast that he almost dropped the microphone.

  “Hi!”

  “Hi.” Isda was wearing a yellow sundress today, with sunglasses stuck in her hair, and carried a backpack. She had clearly come straight from somewhere and looked a little tired. But if it was possible, Gabriel thought that she looked even prettier than the last time he had seen her. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “You’re not late!” Gabriel stepped forward to take her bag. “You’re right on time. Here, you can put your bag down here. Do you need a drink of water? You can sight read, right?”

  “Gabriel,” Jinn called from the stage. “Give the girl a chance to breat
he.”

  “Water would be great,” Isda smiled at him and then put her bag in a pew and headed up the stairs. “What are you guys working on?”

  Gabriel almost tripped up the stairs on his way back up. Behind him, Ramiel made a face and he made a face back, hoping Isda didn’t see. But she was focusing on the pages and pages of music that lay on the stand in between them.

  “You guys wrote all of these?”

  “I did, mostly,” Gabriel said. “Although not all of them have been played. We were thinking of working on some new stuff tonight, but we don’t have to. We can do whatever you want, really, this is just to jam and keep warm.”

  “No, we can do new stuff,” Isda replied, paging through the music. “That way, we’ll all be equally lost together.”

  “I’m kind of interested in this one, looks like it has some interesting melodies in it,” Jinn said, waving a yellow photocopied sheet at them. Gabriel smiled at Isda.

  “It matches your dress.”

  “It does. What’s it called?” she asked.

  “Whore of Babylon,” Jinn replied, and Ramiel shuffled to get the music behind him.

  “I wrote that in my first music workshop at church,” Gabriel said, almost apologetic. “I was reading Revelations and it just…I don’t know, it just came to me. But I don’t know if it’s very good. It’s really just a bunch of verses thrown together. I mean…”

  “Let’s try it shall we?” Isda asked, a sweet smile on her face. “We can sing it in harmony. I’ll start on the B flat?”

  “All right,” Gabriel replied, trying not to stand too close to her while reading the music. “I’m sorry if this sucks, guys.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be great,” Isda said as Ramiel started the opening base line. Gabriel took a deep breath, more nervous than he had ever been in his whole life. He closed his eyes, remembering his 13-year old self sitting in the corner of the church playroom, Bible open, and scribbling verses in a logical order, filling in the sharps and flats, the long notes and quarter notes, brushing the hair out of his eyes. He took a deep breath, and began the tune.