Damage

by Jane Lebak

Everyone knows about guardian angels — and Nezeq knows he should never have been made one. He’s a demon, after all. So instead of protecting the human Joshua, Nezeq tries to kill him. And fails.

That’s his first mistake.

His second mistake is in coming back to finish the job.

There’s not going to be a third mistake.

Originally published in Dragons, Knights and Angels magazine, Damage won second place in the 2006 Reader’s Choice Award for short fiction.

Damage is also part of the "Seven Angels Short Story Bundle," along with "Even A Stone," :Winter Branches," "Hired Man," and eight bonus shorts.

20 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2015

About the author

Jane Lebak writes about angels, smart women, and angels who have to put up with smart women. Her stories are a random assortment of genres, both fiction and nonfiction, long form and short form. Some of it is pretty weird. One editor told her, "You think so far outside the box, I'm not sure you know there is a box."

Boxes are for cereal. Fiction wants to be free.

Jane lives in the Swamp and spends her time either writing books or ejecting stink bugs from the house. She is pretty sure no one reads these author bios.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note this story also appears in the Seven Angels Short Story Bundle by Jane Lebak.

This is one hell of a story. Literally. A demon is assigned to be a guardian angel for a baby who is anencephalic. But a strange connection develops. It is also a powerful testimony for the pro-life movement because of being written from personal experience. It is a very moving read.

This is a deeply moving story, and one of the most powerful in the larger collection.

This story also appears in the Seven Angels Short Story Bundle which can be read on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Jane Lebak.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2019 Catholic Reading Plan!