“I helped get them from Asia into the country,” she stammered. “My boss would give me a group of young girls, and I’d get them here. Then men purchased them.”
“You sold children into slavery?!” he bellowed, the fury swiftly coursing through his entire being. He was so disgusted he nearly dropped her. Why was he even trying? Why didn’t he just let go and leave her to the demons below?
Who was he kidding? He knew the reason. The judgement wasn’t up to him – it was up to the Road. Still, he had never wanted to release someone he was carrying so badly.
The scavengers launched into the air and headed straight towards them. Kalev could do nothing more than he already was. The demons clawed at the woman’s legs, and yanked at her to pull her down. She was screaming, jerking her legs, and flailing her arms trying to evade their claws, but it only served to make it more difficult for Kalev to hold on. He tried kicking and punching at the blood red, dog-like creatures and managed to knock down two, but the third had dug in. Alone, Kalev wasn’t strong enough to carry this boulder of a soul and the scavenger together. The three of them plummeted to earth.
On impact, the other two demons jumped on top of him while the third began dragging away it’s prize. As he defended himself from the snapping jaws aiming for his neck, he could only think that, by now, Grace was surely awake. Would she be mad at him for leaving her with a stranger? Would she be frightened? What would happen to her if he never returned? A bite on his hand told him he wasn’t concentrating enough. The faster he sent these two scavengers packing, the faster he could return to Grace. He would not fail her.
Kalev was relieved when the weight of one of the demons lifted from him. Jophial snapped its neck with brutal efficiency.
“Losing your touch, Kalev?” he said, as together they twisted the head off the second demon.
“Shit, we’ve got to go after…” Kalev started but Jophial cut him off.
“Too late, man, the hell mouth was only a block from here. That soul’s long gone.”
“I can’t say I feel all that bad about it,” Kalev said reaching to take Jophial’s outstretched hand. He pulled himself up. “Where were you?”
“Lugging my own sack of bricks. Looks like this child trafficking ring got into some trouble, and multiple members ended up dead at the same time. We couldn’t haul them all at once. This soul must’ve wandered from the main site.”
“Did you save the rest?” Kalev asked, not sure what he wanted to hear.
“All but one. Though I seriously think that even the two of us will make it back into the Pearlies before these guys. They are going to be walking that road for-ev-er.” Jophial rubbed his hand over his smooth head. “Sorry I couldn’t get here faster.”
“It’s alright, I appreciate that you tried. I have to get back to Grace or else I’d catch up,” Kalev responded.
“I can’t wait to hear all about your fancy re-promotion,” Jophial said, smiling. “See you around.” Without another word, Jophial took off. The stream of souls that needed lifting was endless.
Jophial had changed since Kalev had met him. He too was starting to act less angelic with each passing year. He told more jokes and took the Council less seriously, but most notably, he seemed to also see the grey in the decisions that had to be made. Kalev found it refreshing, albeit mysterious. For now, though, he couldn’t put more thought into it; he had to rush back to Grace as fast as possible. He’d already been gone too long.
✽✽✽
Slowly opening her eyes, Grace stretched her arms above her head, arching her back like a contented cat. She hadn’t had such a deep and dreamless sleep in a long time. She looked around. She was tucked in bed, and not on the couch where she had fallen asleep. How had she… She blushed. Caleb must have carried her there. She felt a pang of regret that she had not been awake for the experience.
After ten minutes of dawdling, she dragged herself out of bed. She put on a pink, off-the-shoulder sweater and black leggings, and threw her hair up in a messy bun. She deserved to relax today. Starving, she headed straight for the kitchen to make breakfast. Waffles today. She’d earned them.
She stood on tiptoe and reached up into the cupboard for a glass.
“Hi, Grace, I am Gav. It is nice to meet you.”
Grace jumped, dropping the glass. It shattered on the floor. Shards scattered in every direction, clattering across the tile.
“Who are you?!” she shouted, immediately putting her hands up to protect herself.
“I apologize if I startled you. I shall repeat myself. I am Gav, Caleb’s friend.” He stuck out his hand gesturing to shake hers. She didn’t take it; she wasn’t sure she could trust him. Instead she examined him carefully. While she had thought Caleb was tall, this man had at least 3 inches on him. His dirty blonde hair only accentuated the intensity of his ice blue eyes. He was more than intimidating; he was a wall of muscle blocking the only way out of her galley kitchen. There was no way she could hope to take him on. Maybe she could roll over the countertop and rush back to the bedroom? It wasn’t very likely to work, but what other choice did she have? If he tried anything, she’d have to chance it.
“Why are you here?” she said, still not taking his hand. He strangely left it outstretched.
“Caleb had to depart temporarily. He asked me to watch over you. He said he shall return by sunrise.” He made what might have been an attempt at a smile of reassurance, but it looked more like someone ‘fake-smiling’ for the camera.
“It’s already past sunrise,” Grace stated, trying to keep the sudden panic out of her voice. She impulsively started to run to look out the window for him, but Gav grabbed her before she could even take one step. Terrified, she struggled against him, trying to remember what Caleb had taught her, cursing her stupidity, but he was so strong and solid she couldn’t get his arms to budge. Her feet dangling and her mind racing, it was only after she had opened her mouth to bite him that she heard what he was saying,
“Grace, please remain calm. I did not mean to distress you. There is glass on the floor. I do not wish for you to experience harm.” The words resonating, she relaxed, her clawed grip on his shoulders releasing. Instead of putting her down immediately, he carried her a few steps out of the kitchen and lowered her to the ground away from the glass. Grace surmised that a demon or otherwise nefarious character probably wouldn’t be thoughtful enough to stop her from cutting her feet. Okay, maybe he was telling the truth. She would, however, have to give Caleb a stern lecture about surprise house guests.
“I’m sorry, Gav. You scared me, that’s all. Caleb never mentioned you, and I wasn’t expecting to find you in my kitchen.” She stuck out her hand to finally shake his. He took it as gently as if he was folding a butterfly into his palm.
“It is I who am sorry, Grace. I should have made you aware of my presence and explained myself before approaching you,” he responded.
“Um….thank you,” Grace said unsure of how to reply to his ardent apology. “You said Caleb should be back by now,” she continued, worry coursing through her once again. “What should we do?”
“I’m sure he will return shortly. Let us give him a few more minutes before we create a plan of action. His errand may have taken a bit longer than anticipated. He would call me if he wished my aid.”
Gav’s confidence calmed her. Now that she was less anxious, she was better able to focus on his words and was intrigued by Gav’s unique manner of speech. Grace grabbed her dustpan and began sweeping up the glass.
“Why don’t you have a seat at the kitchenette while I clean this up.”
“I am comfortable here. Thank you,” Gav answered and remained standing, arms folded. He didn’t look very comfortable, but who was she to argue.
“So, how do you know Caleb?” she asked, genuinely interested to meet someone else in Caleb’s life.
“We work together.”
“You mean as a personal trainer or….” Grace trailed off. What if Gav didn’t know what
Caleb really did. She quickly dismissed the idea; Caleb wouldn’t leave someone to protect her that didn’t know what he was doing.
“I am not a personal trainer,” Caleb answered.
“Gotcha,” Grace winked at him playfully, but only seemed to confuse him.
“You’re not from around here are you?” Grace said more as a statement than as a question.
“No, I am not.”
“Where are you from then?” Grace asked, trying to maintain the conversation.
“I landed in Wales, but I have not lived there for many years,” he answered. She was puzzled for a second. Landed? What did he mean by landed? It was then that she put two and two together. His strange cadence, his overly proper word choice – clearly English wasn’t his first language. It should have occurred to her sooner.
“Born, is the word you are trying to use. You were ‘born’ in Wales.” She smiled, trying to appear friendly and helpful.
“Uh, yes. Born,” he repeated.
“You speak English very well. It took me until now to figure out it was your second language!” Grace said cheerfully.
“It is not my second language,” he said.
“Oh! You speak more than two? How many do you know?” she asked, fascinated. He seemed to have to think about it.
“Twelve,” he said casually, as if it were commonplace to speak that many.
“Twelve?!” Grace said in astonishment. “That’s incredible!”
“I have lived in many places,” he replied.
“What are the twelve languages? Where did you learn them?” Grace had always wished she was proficient in at least one other language (her high-school Spanish classes were not enough to obtain anything remotely close to fluency). It was mindboggling that this man could speak twelve. Grace put on a pot of coffee as Gav started to explain.
“I am currently posted in Brazil, though I learned Portuguese in Portugal itself,”
“Have you been to the Amazon?!”
“Oh, yes. The Amazon is a wonder of creation, in fact—” Gav didn’t get a chance to finish what he was going to say because the door burst open.
Chapter 9
The doorknob crashed into the back wall. He might have shoved open the door a little too hard. The startled look on Grace’s face and the attack stance that Gavriel was positioned in confirmed it.
“Sorry, guys. I was, uh, a bit worked up,” Kalev said, running a hand through his hair in embarrassment.
“Is everything okay?” Grace asked, concerned.
“Yeah, fine. I ran into trouble on the way back, but I took care of it,” he said. “Thanks for looking out for her, Gav.”
“She is a very pleasant human being. I would be honored to guard her at any time.”
“Would either of you like something to drink or eat? I was just about to whip up some breakfast,” Grace piped in.
“No, thank you, Grace,” Gavriel said politely. “I must depart now.” He nodded at each of them in turn and left through the still-open door. Kalev nearly sighed with relief. Gavriel might not be able to carry on a normal conversation, but at least he had remembered to exit through the door.
“I can’t believe that he can speak twelve languages,” Grace announced as she grabbed mugs and filled them with fresh coffee.
“Oh? What else did he tell you about himself?” Kalev hoped that Gavriel hadn’t shared too much.
“We didn’t really get a chance to talk,” she said, putting a mug in front of him. “In the future could you please tell me if you are going to invite a someone into my apartment? He scared the crap out of me!”
“Yes, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want to wake you. You needed rest, but I had to check out a lead. I thought I’d be back before you woke up.” He stirred the coffee in front of him. In the morning’s excitement she must have forgotten he didn’t drink it. But now that they were going to be together more often, food and drink were going to pose a bigger problem. He couldn’t digest food, or taste it, but what choice did he have? It was going to look weird if he never ate or drank anything around her. He would have to work with it.
“I appreciate you looking out for me,” she smiled at him. “Would you like eggs? Cereal?” She eyed his untouched mug with sudden comprehension. “Oh shoot! I forgot you don’t drink coffee. Could I get you something else?”
“No, the coffee is fine, really. I might indulge in a few sips. But I don’t usually eat breakfast,” he answered. At least he could get away with that much. “Besides, I don’t recommend a big breakfast before a training session.”
“Training? I have to go to work!” she exclaimed, as if his suggestion was preposterous.
“You had quite the run-in yesterday. I think you deserve a day off – don’t you?” he suggested.
“I never play hooky.”
“All the more reason to today.” He winked at her and gave her a roguish grin. When she smiled back and rolled her eyes, he knew he’d won.
“My cell is in my room. I’ll go give Annalise a call.”
As soon as Grace left the kitchen, Kalev grabbed the coffee and strode to the sink. Now was his chance to dump some of it and pretend like he drank it. Just before he tipped the mug, he stopped. Maybe he’d try one little sip. It smelled so good. Even if he couldn’t taste it, maybe he’d feel its warmth, or how ‘smooth’ it was, or one of those other textural descriptions people used to worship their coffee. He was sure he could find a moment alone to convert the tiny amount of energy it would provide into light and emit it. One sip would be so insignificant he probably wouldn’t even glow for a full second.
He lifted the mug to his lips and let in one mouth full. Shock made him spray the coffee out into the sink. He had ‘tasted’ something. Every curse word in every language he could think of ran across his mind. It had been a strikingly bizarre sensation. It was like smelling with his tongue, but in a sharper, clearer way. Part of him was fascinated by the idea that he could explore the myriad tastes the world had to offer, but most of him was in near panic. An angel shouldn’t be able to taste, and yet, he had. Why? What was happening? This was not a good sign. This guardianship should have been his salvation; instead, it was becoming abundantly clear that it could very well be his downfall.
Feeling mischievous, and a little guilty for calling into work, Grace returned to the kitchen to see Caleb staring at his mug of coffee over the sink.
“Is something wrong with it?” she asked.
“Oh, uh, no, I just spilled some,” he responded. “The coffee’s fine.”
Grace took a long swig of her own coffee to be sure. She relaxed into the velvety texture. Coffee in the morning was the best way to start the day.
“So, training today,” Caleb began, but Grace interrupted him.
“We will not, under any circumstances, be running.” Grace crossed her arms for emphasis. She had run more than enough yesterday. She was surprised that she wasn’t sorer than she was. Apparently 12 hours straight of dreamless sleep was the cure-all she’d needed. Even her cheek had healed better than she had expected it to. Caleb had been right — it must not have been as bad as it had looked.
“No, we will not,” he agreed, chuckling. “I had something different in mind.”
Even though she knew he hadn’t meant it as innuendo, the statement inflamed her just the same. He looked so appealing leaning against her counter in a tight white t-shirt, each line and ripple of his chest accentuated and black workout pants with two white stripes down his long, muscular legs.
“Grace?”
“Hmm?” she said, shaking her head. “Sorry did you say something?”
“You looked like you were off in outer space.”
“I’m still waking up, that’s all,” she lied, although she feared that her heated cheeks were giving her away. If he had noticed, however, he hadn’t shown it.
✽✽✽
When he took out a blindfold as they stood in the center of the living room, her knees went a little weak. Her mind i
mmediately jumped to heated fantasies containing said blindfold and the Adonis currently holding it out to her. Her throat too dry to even attempt a snarky remark, she put the blindfold on without comment.
“Today, we are going to practice utilizing your other senses. People rely much too heavily on sight alone and miss many of the important queues that the other senses provide,” Caleb began. “For starters, tell me what you hear.”
Grace tried to focus in on her surroundings, paying careful attention to each little noise. “I hear the floorboards creaking under your feet. The faucet’s dripping. Someone is walking around their apartment upstairs. There’s a dog barking somewhere, maybe the Akita two doors down.”
“That’s a good start. There are more, though. Try to focus past the obvious noises. You’ve gotten some of the subtler ones, but there are others.”
Grace tried to do as he asked, concentrating solely on what she could hear, straining past the clear sounds, listening to the spaces in between the louder noises.
“There’s construction outside. A drill, maybe? Oh, there’s the beeping of a truck backing up.”
“And in here?” he murmured.
“I hear the hum of the refrigerator and air coming through the vents.” She hesitated for a moment, “I can hear you breathing.”
“Better,” he complimented. “Now tell me what you smell.”
Grace refocused. “I can smell the leftover coffee in the pot,” she commented, “but I’m pretty nose blind otherwise. I’ve gotten used to the other scents in the apartment. Sometimes, if I leave and come back, I can smell the tropical hibiscus candle in the bathroom or my BoraBora perfume if I sprayed it before I left. I notice when smells are different from the norm.”
“Fair enough. We’ll have to try it sometime in a different location,” he answered.
“Oh! I bet Quincy Market would be loads of fun. And then we could do taste too. I’d happily sample my way through that place.” The thought of food made her stomach rumble.
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