by A. Catherine
Iaoel shrugged. “Fair enough. What I mean is, I’ve spent a great deal of time with demons, and they never cease to amaze me. Very complex creatures, each one having their own cacophony of tales about battles, trials, conquests… If you wish to share any of yours while we’re traveling, to pass the time…it can stay between us,” they suggested, offering a safe space for confidence.
Seere rolled her eyes. “I know what you’re doing, and I’m not interested.”
“What am I doing?”
“You’re one of those vision angels, I figured it wouldn’t be long before you got a glimpse of something about me, and that distant look in your face a bit ago proved me right. I don’t know what you saw, and I don’t care. You’re cute, and I like to play, but I’m not about to share my deepest, darkest experiences with you. So, if you’re done with the ‘let’s get to know one another’ attempts, I’d rather ride out this embarrassing experience in silence,” Seere explained.
Iaoel for a moment was taken back by her candidness but spotted the small fidgeting movements she exhibited, like playing with one of her braids.
She was feeling vulnerable.
She was a demon, who had to fight tooth and nail to gain respect. Perhaps being in a position such as this was taking her back to some of the more vulnerable parts of her past in the pit.
Iaoel would make a point of getting to know Seere further, in time they could even be friends…maybe.
But for now, “Very well.”
The rest of their cantering was spent in silence. That is until Seere decided the silence was too awkward and started hitting on Iaoel with a newly energized fervor.
TWELVE
Heather
I COULD HEAR MUFFLED VOICES in the next room, sounded like they were arguing.
I wish they would be quiet so I could sleep.
Wait. I lived alone.
My eyes shot open as the memories flooded back. A woman in the street, who turned into something unreal. Kale, the flirty library jerk, suddenly appearing in the passenger seat of my car.
My car coming to a stop all on its own, Kale somehow pushing my windshield completely off and into the woman/monster in front of me. He killed it, or destroyed it, or whatever that fire and dust effect was.
It couldn’t have been real, could it? If not, this is one hell of a dream I found my way in. One hell of a week, really.
I winced, my head throbbing. I sat up and realized I was in my bed, still dressed in that day’s clothes. The light still coming in through shades of the window.
So I wasn’t out for long. My attention went to the closed door, light flooded underneath it, and the voices behind it in the living room. Thank god for cheap, thin walls.
“Vetala’s shouldn’t be all the way out here, their place of origin was what is now Australia, which is why they were imprisoned in Nessus. One just showing up on the opposite side of the world doesn’t make any sense,” a harmonic voice muttered.
An image popped into my head, showing me the person behind the voice. Male, tall, dirty blonde hair cut short, and then there were the wings.
Wings. White. Feathers and all. Surrounded by an intense golden glow.
“We were lucky it was only a vetala, and only one. And yes, maybe I could’ve handled it better, but I was more focused on eliminating the threat quickly,” the other voice spoke.
Kale’s voice.
I took a deep breath. This couldn’t be happening. I lifted off the bed as slowly as I could to avoid making a sound. Holding still once I stood to make sure they didn’t hear.
When the next one spoke, I knew they hadn’t known I moved.
“Regardless, she’s seen too much.”
I managed to sneak over to my window, peering down. I didn’t have a fire escape, and the though the drop wouldn’t kill me, I’d break enough bones that I wouldn’t be able to run away.
“She’s seen more in her subconscious.” My eyes shot to the door.
My dreams…the shadow in my last dream, so closely resembled Kale, it had to be him. But how could it be possible? And how did they know about them?
Before I realized it, I was creeping towards the door. Slowly, not to make a sound.
“Dreams are one thing, but awake…” My fingers touched the doorknob.
I froze when a shadow passed the under the door.
Kale’s voice much closer and clearer than it was before. “You’re not in charge, you know? I get that you have your halo on pretty tight, but you’re not the only one who gets to make the decisions here.”
“As her standing Guardian, I make the final decision for her safety.” The winged voice clipped.
I waited until the shadow moved further from the door before I slowly knelt, clutching the knob.
“You’re really gonna pull rank? You’re not the highest angel on the totem pole in this case, you wouldn’t want me to bring my father into this, would you?”
A rumble sent vibrations through the apartment, making my stomach jolt.
A metallic ringing sounding a lot like a sword being unsheathed.
I pinched the doorknob to the right to begin opening it, one millimeter at a time.
“Or we could settle this right here, I’ve been itching to pluck a feather or two for a while. Of course, I had imagined it happening in a more naked scenario, but this will work just fine.”
The knob clicked slightly, indicating it was open. But they hadn’t noticed. I let the door ease open just a crack, just enough so I could peek with one eye.
No wings in sight, but the man stood by the kitchen table. He wore a simple, untucked, sky-blue button-down shirt and light denim jeans.
From the way he was standing I could see that he was fit, and compared to Kale, standing on the other side of the room by my tv, he was taller than him by almost half a foot.
The contrast between the two was staggering.
Kale had a dark and twisty vibe to him, shadowed. Versus the other who was almost aglow in light, and unnaturally still. Both of them attractive in ways beyond the human imagination, which only further made me think I may have just gone completely mad and or in a very vivid and long dream.
My mind had to be playing tricks on me because I swear he had wings the last time I saw him.
They hadn’t spoken for a minute or two but had relaxed their tense positions. Kale twirling a small, curved dagger in his hand like the sharp weapon was as harmless as a fidget spinner.
They maintained eye contact however, almost like they were communicating silently. Kale’s lips curved into a smirk, and the no-longer-winged one simply sneered.
“Maybe we should put it to a vote,” Kale suggested.
The other scoffed in response.
“Well, if we want this stupid alliance to work, we’re going to have to cooperate with each other. Acting like you’re the boss of everything and everybody isn’t going to start it out on the right foot.”
A strange swirl of smoke and flickering embers filled a section of the room.
“I agree.”
My eyes bulged out of their sockets when the smoke dissipated to nothing and in its place stood another person. Someone who was definitely not in the room a second ago.
The ginger-haired male who just appeared was wearing a large black and red oversized hoodie, gray sweatpants that gathered at the ankles, and converse shoes.
A large sword was strapped between his shoulder blades, slightly hidden beneath his hood.
Though most of his pale skin was covered by his clothes, I could see the edges of a tattoo peeking up onto his neck, looking almost like black tentacles or claws—I was too far away to know for sure.
His eyes were pale seafoam green, but they pulsed slightly when they briefly locked on mine, or maybe my eyes must have been tricking me.
He turned towards Kale, not acknowledging that he saw me and dipped his head slightly, bowing to him maybe?
“Where’s Lillith and Dumdum?” Kale asked.
“Duma,” the go
lden man corrected bitterly.
The new addition to my apartment shrugged, bored. “They’ll be along shortly,” he replied.
The golden man crossed his arms, a look of disapproval written on his face.
“You shouldn’t have just winnowed in here,” he stated. Winnowed?
Kale snorted. “You did the same thing just a while ago, and with more pizazz too.” He chuckled as he used jazz hands to emphasize his words.
“And she fainted as a result. All I’m saying is, she could’ve seen you and reacted badly.” Well golden man got that right.
Where on earth did he come from?
A shiver ran down my spine, and my skin felt like something was slivering along my arm. In the corner of my eye I spotted movement, snapping my head towards my bed my eyes landed on a female silhouette, her features shadowed, all except the crimson glow of her eyes on me. A barely audible gasp burst from my lips.
“You’re a nosy little mouse, huh?”
My heart jumped out of my chest and I let out a short scream, falling back against the door, causing it to loudly slam shut.
“Too late,” Kale muttered with a chuckle.
The female let out a shrilling laugh at my reaction but was cut off when the winged-man appeared between us, light flooding the room. Her expression turning to a sultry grin.
I could see her features more clearly now in the light. Her hair was long and wavy, reaching her hips in a deep scarlet color. She had defined cheekbones and plump lips covered in a blood red lipstick. Her eyes in the light no longer glowing red, but black as night. Her skin was pale like the others, lacking any sense of imperfection.
She wore fishnet tights, knee-high suede heeled boots, high-waisted black shorts fraying at the edges and finally a strapless lace and boned deep-green corset, accentuating her defined collarbones and plump breasts.
She was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen— intoxicating and seductive.
She leveled her smile to me. “Sorry to scare you, little mouse, but your less-than-covert lurking and fear smelled absolutely delicious.”
I couldn’t look away, she was hypnotic. Her eyes twinkled with delight as I took her in.
“Mmm, I always love it when beautiful mortals undress me with their eyes. Do we need to send these brutes out for a little private time, sugar?” she asked.
I blinked, breaking from her trance. Having remembered that the winged-man was standing between us, and somehow the door had opened, and Kale was leaning against the door frame. I looked at him, his expression was bored if not annoyed.
“I nearly killed you, Lillith. I thought you were a threat,” the winged-man stated with disgust.
Lillith?
She sighed, getting up from the bed to approach him.
“So quick to defend, the white knight angel. I was only having fun.”
I’m sorry, did she say angel?
She trailed her finger along his shoulder and withdrew quickly after a searing sound resulted.
“Ooh, I live in hell, boy. I like a little burn.” She continued past him, sending me another seductive smile before slipping into the living room.
She lives where? My thoughts were swimming from the small kernels of information that was being tossed around like they were nothing important.
The winged man leaned down towards me, still crouched on the floor. “Are you alright? There’s nothing to be afraid of, she couldn’t have hurt you even if she tried.”
Up close I could see that his eyes were deep blue as the Pacific.
“Breathe,” he said.
I did as he said, feeling less dizzy.
“Who are you people?” I asked, my voice raspy and broken. I swallowed, the whole action feeling unnatural.
He held out his hand, and against my natural instincts I took it. And when our hands met I felt a wave of warmth wash through me, calming the churning uneasiness of my stomach. The feeling was so familiar, and for a split second I thought of that man I dreamt of dying in my arms.
“That’s a bit hard to explain, there’s a lot to explain, and I’m not sure we should—”
“Cut the crap, Gabriel. Just tell her,” Kale snapped from the doorway.
Gabriel, that was his name.
“Her mind may not be capable.” An entirely new voice sounded from the living room.
How many people were in my fucking apartment?
Gabriel led us to the living room, Kale turning outwards to lean against the wall.
The new voice came from near the front door. He was about Kale’s height, same as the ginger-haired male. Only his hair was shoulder-length and dark brown. His skin was tan, and his features suggested Native American, his eyes a caramel brown color. He was wearing a simple black sweater and brown pants. A small scar curving above the curve of his left eyebrow.
This one must be Duma, assuming from their previous mention. He was standing with his arms folded, casual, but his stance was balanced, conveniently ready to move if necessary.
“So your vote is no,” Kale plainly put.
“We’re not putting it to a vote,” Gabriel snapped, releasing my hand but staying next to me, as if to prepare for another fainting episode.
I could see a difference in all of them, a similar contrast to Gabriel and Kale. Lillith and the ginger male felt shadowed and even had similar scents of chili pepper, cumin, and firewood.
Duma had an aura of light like Gabriel. Not only that, but even just looking at Gabriel and Duma I felt a sense of trust and warmth, whereas with Lillith and the others there was temptation and fear, like an adrenaline rush mixed with danger.
Though Kale felt…never mind.
“Why not? I’d like to have a say,” Lillith purred, finding my couch to be a comfortable place to spread her body over. “Let’s see how much her feeble mind can handle.”
Gabriel tensed next to me. “Besides the fact that I’m in charge of her well-being, putting it to a vote would mean bringing everyone else here, and the apartment is already feeling crowded as it is.” He turned to me apologetically. “No offense intended of course.”
But I didn’t care about that, what I cared about was that additional tidbit of information: there were more of them, whatever they were.
“If this is a dream, I’d really like to wake up,” I rasped, my mouth feeling dry.
“I’d say that’s another ‘yes’ vote,” ginger chimed in.
Kale chuckled. “Indeed.” He watched me with amused approval.
“Enough. All of you need to leave, we’re overwhelming her.” Gabriel’s voice rumbled the apartment once again.
Lillith clicked her tongue. “Whatever, I don’t want to sit here while you tell the story anyway, so boring.” She motioned to Duma with her red manicured finger to ‘come here’.
He nodded slightly and crossed the room, stopping short of Gabriel, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll be at the warehouse, send us a shout if you need anything.” Then he stood next to her, as she looped her arm through his, looking uncomfortable with the intimate touch.
The ginger male reaching to grab her other hand before they all disappeared together in a plume of smooth red fluid.
I gasped at their departure. My brain throbbed, not given enough time between surprises to prepare for the next.
“You should go too,” Gabriel spoke to Kale, who still leaned against the far wall, unmoving, watching my every move.
A predator sizing up his prey, that’s what it felt like.
He didn’t bother to look towards Gabriel when he spoke, “I’m staying.”
Gabriel shifted, tilting more towards Kale. “It may be easier if—”
Kale’s eyes snapped to his at that. “I’m staying, featherbrain. Lest you tell a biased narrative. Or worse, choose to erase her memories while no one is here to stop you,” Kale interrupted.
His eyes clicked back to mine, and my heart skipped a step. I couldn’t tell whether I was grateful or disappointed that my memories
of all this weren’t going to disappear.
Gabriel grumbled, but didn’t argue further, facing me.
“Where should I begin?” he sighed, though the question wasn’t actually for me. But I knew where to begin.
“You had wings be-before,” I stammered. I sighed to steady myself, “Let’s start there.”
THIRTEEN