Alan Price and the Statue of Zeus (The Nephilim Chronicles Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

responsibilities behind?”
    Raphael pursed his lips, which Alan could hardly see among the man’s beard. His response came in the form of motion instead of words. Raphael’s right hand began to tremble ever so slightly. With a sigh he placed the net on his lap and stretched the fingers on his shaking hand. “I can see now why you decided to follow me when I left the Statue.”
    Alan’s eyebrows rose in mock surprise, “Hey, I’m not trying to convince you to join us. You made your decision clear. I’m just trying to get a better idea of what happened.”
    Raphael studied Alan wearing a mask of indifference. “Alright, Horseman. Although, do not think me ignorant. I know you have not given up hope.” Raphael cleared his throat and clenched his trembling hand into a fist. “After the war in heaven, I was never the same again. How could I be? I spent centuries trying to forget what I had done but it would have been easier to forget my own name. When the demons on earth began calling themselves gods, Michael and I, along with a handful of our greatest warriors, came down to stop them. I know now that the demon calling himself Hades was actually Gabriel. At the time, Hades was only a whisper, while we dealt with the other demons who confronted us directly.”
    “You never actually met Hades during that time?” Alan mused connecting the dots as to how the Fallen Archangel could have hidden his identity on earth so long.
    “That’s correct,” Raphael answered. “When we quelled the rebellion the demon known as Hades disappeared. We searched for him but to know avail. It was after that encounter that I decided it was time to step away from the bloodshed and death. I relinquished my power and have led a quiet life ever since.”
    Something Raphael said sparked a thought deep inside Alan. “What do you mean when you said you ‘relinquished’ your power?”
    Raphael took a deep breath in through his noise and released it slowly through his mouth. His chest rose and fell in time with the action. If it was possible, the Archangel looked even wearier than earlier that same day. “It is not within my ability to remove my immortality or I would have long ago. However, I can choose to abandon my powers. I did so and I have not regretted the action since.”
    In a second, the dots connected and Alan placed each piece of the puzzle together at once. “You abandoned your powers at the Statue of Zeus, didn’t you? You were there today because you knew the Statue had been resurrected.” Alan couldn’t believe the thoughts running through his mind. Raphael had been lying to him this entire time. “You were at the Statue because you were checking whether or not you could get your powers back!”
    Raphael shrugged, “What does it matter now? The power I abandoned there long ago is gone.”
    “And that is why Gabriel is so powerful now,” Alan said in a whisper as he spoke aloud his current train of thought. “He found the power you left and took it as his own.”
    “Like I said, it doesn’t matter now. I returned to the Statue to see if it was already taken. When I learned Gabriel was still alive, I knew he would try to consume the power I left. But it seems I was much too late. Gabriel took the power when the Statue was first destroyed in the fire centuries ago. A fire we can now assume he started. After seizing the power, he has been content to wait and hide. It was foolish to hope I could stop him from getting what he wanted.”
    “And now that’s it?” Alan said not believing the level of defeat in Raphael’s words. “Gabriel is twice as strong as any angel because he found the power you left and you’re not going to do anything about it?”
    Raphael rose from his chair and walked across the room as if he was in a daze. He left Alan in the echo of his own unanswered question.
     
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    Alan was reeling in the aftermath of what he just learned. He couldn’t help himself from pacing across the large room,