Constantine - The Novelization - Whoa is (Not)

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oaring out:"Into the light I command thee!" All his will invested in an effort to force his enemy intovisibility. "Into the light I command thee!"He could feel something resisting the spell.... He marshaled all the force of his being, the veryenergy of his soul, and focused it into the words:"INTO THE LIGHT I COMMAND THEE!"The air seemed to thicken, and there was a shape like bottle glass outlining a man, floatingabove him...."Your ego is astounding," the voice echoed to him. A resonant voice, with somethingandrogynous about it.Constantine looked at the shape in the air, as definition seeped into it: a set of wings, two icy,ironic eyes."Gabriel?" Constantine said. He was shaken at the thought. The implications of it. But cometo think of it... "Figures."And he realized he'd been wrong to think it was an elemental sent by Mammon who'dsnatched Angela away in the BZR building and carried her off to Ravenscar. It had been Gabriel.Gabriel settled onto the ground in front of Constantine, alighting as gently as a butterfly, fullymaterialized now. In his hand was the Spear of Destiny."And the wicked shall inherit the Earth," Constantine said."You presume to judge me, John?"Constantine snorted. "Betrayal... murder... genocide? Call me provincial." He was shakingwith fury, trying to control it, to think of a way to get the upper hand. But to win over Gabriel?To beat an angel?Especially an angel in league with the only begotten son of the First of the Fallen."I am seeking to inspire humankind to be all that was intended," Gabriel said gravely."By handing the Earth over to the son of the Devil?" Constantine said. "Help me here."Gabriel's wings folded behind him as he walked around behind Constantine - walking by thebody of the man he'd just casually murdered."Why?" Gabriel said, seeming to enjoy the ring of rhetoric in the question. "Why are you giventhis precious gift, each of you offered redemption from the Creator?" There it was - asurprisingly human tinge of resentment and envy in his voice. "Murderers, rapists, molestersalike, you have only to believe and God takes you unto his bosom. In all the worlds, in all theuniverse, no other creature can make such a boast. None is loved so, is forgiven so, save man.And what do you do with this gift?" He smiled thinly, not much taller than Constantine butseeming to look down at him from a great height as he went on, "You wallow in lazy slaughter.You take His grace, His undying acceptance, and you defile it, commit upon each other atrocityafter atrocity of both body and soul, confident that at the end of your days a simple skywardForgive-me-Lord will grant you acceptance unto His Kingdom..."A seat by His side. No more. If sweet, sweet God loves you so, then I will make you worthyof His love."He smiled sweetly, and went on, "For you see, you are so like animals. Pleasure and rewardhave no lasting effect. But pain... pain is the language you best understand. Pain inspires you. Ihave watched you over the years. Only as your cities burn do you rush to save each other. Onlywhen the threat of blood runs crimson through your streets and your very families are threateneddo you turn your faces to God. Only in the face of horror do you find your nobler selves. Andyou can be so noble. So I will bring you pain. I will bring you horror. So that those of you whowill survive this reign of Hell on Earth will be worthy of God's love.""Gabriel," Constantine said wonderingly. "You're insane." He said it without any hope ofpersuasion. He said it simply in amazement. That an immortal could become so twisted withenvy and malice that he could go mad.And he said it in the hopes of distracting Gabriel for a moment - so he could grab the Spear of
Destiny from the angel's hand.But he never had the chance. "The road to salvation," Gabriel said, "begins tonight. Rightnow."He beat his wings, once, hard - and Constantine was lifted up by the supernatural gust, blownthrough the air backward, carried over the pool, through the double doors, back down the hall, asif he were light as a thistledown.Spinning through the air to find himself flung into the lobby waiting room, where - not at alllike a thistledown - he crashed into the mesh-screened doors. He dropped into a stunned heapbeside the mucky remains of the dead demons still steaming on the floor.--In the hydrotherapy room, Gabriel went to one knee beside Angela, enveloping her in hisarms, his wings, cradling her to him...And he began to open the way for Mammon.--Constantine lay wretched, broken in spirit more than body, on a clutter of broken shards ofmirror glass. He forced himself to get a push-up position... trying to find the will to get to hisfeet... wondering how badly he was hurt... tasting blood in his mouth....He just didn't have the will to get up. The cancer, exhaustion, the blow from Gabriel, Chaz'sdeath, and his own despair had drained his will away.Only this extremity could bring him to do what he did now. Something he hadn't done in along time.He prayed."I know I'm not one of your favorites - I'm not even welcome in your house - but I could use alittle attention...."He waited, breathing hard. Listening within himself.Nothing. Well - what had he expected? A heavenly drumroll? A choir singing, a paternalvoice booming from on high?He let himself crumple onto the floor, cheek flat against the tile. Enjoying the coolness. Hiseyes were drawn to the shards of mirror glass glistening around him. He saw his reflection inone, skewed oddly, staring back. That's when the idea came to him....--In the hydrotherapy room, Angela, cradled in Gabriel's arms, began to stir. She was alive - shehadn't been quite physically dead from drowning, and Gabriel had restored her just enough forwhat had to be done. Her feet dangled in the water.She opened her eyes. Not seeing anything clearly...Except a beautiful, benevolent face, smiling down at her. How could she resist that face? Hewas... angelic.She waited...And she felt a certain energy opening the way. Gabriel watched her eyes. Saw the darknessbegin to gather there.A doubt flickered through Gabriel then - something he was not accustomed to. He had longbeen "out of touch" with God's direct will, retaining his supernatural powers but not his angelicstatus. He had assumed that he was doing what was best for God's cosmos. He felt he knew thehumans better than God did - God was lost in contemplating His creation, detached in Hisremoteness. Gabriel was doing what God would want done, if He only understood. Surely Hewould see, when all was accomplished.Gabriel began to wonder. Was this really what God wanted? Had he allowed himself to beinfected by earthly emotion, earthly resentments, and anger?
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Styrofoam cooler. Last month, openi
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wreckage, both of them hoping no on
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at the furious response. That thing
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"What? Why?""Just MOVE THE DAMN CAR
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"Like I said, John, I found you som
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two children, near a vendor's cart.
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and making the whole as long as a b
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Much less killing anyone. They have
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Outskirts of Mexicali, MexicoThe ol
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--In another part of the hospital,
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hostel in JanSport packs sharing a
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He nodded. It was true enough.She t
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"You're better off without another
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fumbling with the remote to turn it
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scattering creatures.Heart thudding
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Constantine didn't even glance back
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"And... I saw a soldier demon tryin
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gray dirt on that side; brown and g
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himself much, he pointed over her s
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were their prey; flying predators f
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y Jacob Needleman.He smiled. This w
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Just keep moving. You can stay ahea
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Materialized it here. Something mis
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Molly's Burger was unusually crowde
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thousands of leering insect mandibl
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Angela reached out and put her hand
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to tell her... how very final it wa
Page 58 and 59: who. Lucifer and his boys. Demons a
Page 60 and 61: "Show me her room," Constantine sai
Page 62 and 63: ELEVENConstantine didn't explain ho
Page 64 and 65: Constantine glanced at her, smiling
Page 66 and 67: The darkness seemed to thicken arou
Page 68 and 69: getting two women into bed and putt
Page 70 and 71: Let go, he urged her, mentally. If
Page 72 and 73: THIRTEENFrancisco had decided to ch
Page 74 and 75: insects and sores and infinite regr
Page 76 and 77: moment perhaps glimpse a snarling f
Page 78 and 79: Balthazar was writhing now. Wailing
Page 80 and 81: "It's okay now." Yet his voice was
Page 82 and 83: "Xavier.""Why am I not surprised."T
Page 84 and 85: infused with sacred symbols, divine
Page 86 and 87: "You know," Constantine said, ponde
Page 88 and 89: of him that was ultimately more rea
Page 90 and 91: Constantine cooked a pan of religio
Page 92 and 93: Chaz looked at Midnite more serious
Page 94 and 95: He'd sound like those lunatics who
Page 96 and 97: The darkness reached its maximal th
Page 98 and 99: madman, yet freighted with meaning
Page 100 and 101: Constantine had come out of the con
Page 102 and 103: second-sight. "You think Satan's so
Page 104 and 105: mumbling castings, so that they wer
Page 106 and 107: NINETEENConstantine and Chaz burst
Page 110 and 111: He was supposed to be immune. He ha
Page 112 and 113: seconds?"Satan thought about it....
Page 114 and 115: his lips were too heavy to move. He
Page 116 and 117: Gabriel cleared his throat. "Then..
Page 118: the smoke away, and went to the fir
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