by V L Friends
The thought crossed my mind that anyone else would probably be stoked to have this kind of knowledge and interaction with a heavenly being. I actually knew an angel! Once I got over the idea that he had kept it from me and realized that he wasn’t like everyone else who was keeping things from me, I could begin to see that this was actually pretty awesome. My curiosity, not to mention my love for him, would not allow me to stay away anymore.
“Well, I would be lying to say that this isn’t freaking me out but I don’t want to push you away,” I said.
“Take your time; I am not going anywhere.” He gestured off across the lake at the construction of his house. I bought this piece of land from Caleb. Consider it your home as well. For the record, I think you moving out of the Alexander estate was a smart move.” Shane leaned in and I could feel his five o’clock shadow tickle the side of my face.
“You and Julian don’t get along well, do you?” I asked.
“Let’s just say he and I have history. That is a story for another time.”
“There are so many things about these walkers that have left me confused,” I said.
Shane was silent, so I took this to mean he was waiting for me to continue.
“I met someone recently that Julian said was a walker and I later found out he was a mage and he could shift into another being, a panther. How is it that he is all three of these, and then what other supernatural beings exist?”
Shane cleared his throat.
“Well, I suppose I should start out by explaining how walkers came to exist. There was a curse created by the depths of the underworld, or what some call hell. This curse is carried by a few select strong demons and it makes immortals that walk the earth. These walkers do not find out they have extra abilities beyond the super strength, agility, and fast healing until they mature. It may take several decades before they discover their abilities. The ones who are shifters know they have an animal inside them, but they rarely shift until they have been a walker for at least 20 years. Mages can wield a certain amount of magic from the start but must practice it often to gain power. It’s rare to find hybrids like the one you met, except where there is royalty of some sort. The one you met must have been royalty.”
I nod. “His father is a mage king. Why is it that it’s mostly royals who turn hybrid?”
“I don’t know; it’s just the way it is,” Shane shrugged.
“It is the vampire walkers who are the ones to really watch out for. They are generally very old walkers and… well, very tainted and ruthless. Even other walkers hunt them.”
“Are there mage vampire mixes or shifter vampire mixes or even all three?” I said, as I could not control my shiver at the thought.
I have not seen a vampire shifter nor a walker with all three abilities, but there is such a thing as a mage vampire, though they are rare. Vampires, however, often do have some very limited magic abilities that progress as they develop and morph into more dark magic through time. It takes many hundreds of years for a mage vampire to form and they are truly evil.”
I opened my mouth to ask more but was interrupted.
“That’s enough of the lesson for today.”
Shane gently moved me so he could stand. He yanked his white T-shirt over his head and stuffed it in his back pocket.
“I don’t want to ruin another good shirt,” he said as I looked at him with confusion. That still didn’t ease my confusion at his action, though.
Shane was shorter than Julian but stocky and muscular. His eyes often looked serious as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. With their light blue color, sometimes I thought I would fall into those eyes and swim forever. He had short, dark brown hair that always seemed to look perfectly styled. Often, he looked like he was growing a beard, but he never quite grew a full beard. It just became a constant five o’clock shadow. I had seen him clean shaven and he had chiseled, perfect features so now I could see why he wanted to look a little scruffier to hide his perfection. When I was growing up he caught the attention of many women, and my girlfriends thought he was hot. It would make me uncomfortable when they would go on about him, like they would because, of course, I only saw him as a father figure. I am pretty sure he knew that they whispered about him, but he mostly didn’t let on. Occasionally he would give them his wide, dimpled grin and say hello or wink at them. His clothes were often very plain and did not show off his muscles. Thinking back, I realized now that he was trying to do everything to fit in with humans.
“Right now, I think I should teach you how to dive off this waterfall. What do you say?” He gave me a grin and took me by both my hands as he began leading me to the edge.
My heart started pounding.
“No! Oh my Gawd!” I tried to pull back.
“Come on. Since when are you such a chicken?” He teased with a twinkle in his eye.
“You can’t be serious!” I said, slowly backing away.
He shook his head and sighed, softly chuckling.
“You’re right but come here,” he tugged at me gently. “I want to show you something.”
I looked at him with suspicion but slowly eased my way to his side, near the ledge.
“Do you trust me?” Reaching under my arms to lift me to him, he then secured his arms tightly around me.
I was out of breath. I had jumped off the cliffs into a pool when I was in Africa but this was much further down. What was he going to do?
“W– What?” I stammered as I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck.
“Hold on, but relax into me. Close your eyes,” he said. “You may also want to close your mouth.” He grinned down at me.
Then we dropped!
My stomach went into my throat. I could feel the wind on me and the spray of the waterfall… and the light touch of feathers brush my arms and face. I could not open my eyes until I heard Shane’s voice in my ear.
“Anaya, you can let go now; we are on the ground,” he whispered with a hint of amusement.
I was giving his shoulders a death grip.
He gently pried my fingers from him and set me on the ground. That was no easy job because my legs were wrapped so tightly around his waist.
I fell on the ground and gasped. “I thought I was gonna pee my pants!”
He leaned his head back and roared with laughter. I was not laughing.
“Wait, you were flying… with wings!” I pointed at him and noticed he had wings! I couldn’t help but gawk at the beautiful soft white and grey objects protruding from Shane’s back. The feathery forms were each longer than his body when outstretched on either side of him. I couldn’t tell for sure, but they seemed to slightly glow a magnificent white. They folded in and faded to translucent before they disappeared completely. I was awestruck to the point where I couldn’t look away.
“Yeah,” he said as if it were no big deal. “I used to do that when you were a toddler.” He gave me a sheepish grin that made his eyes light up. “You loved it!”
Chapter 11 – Suspicion Builds to Crescendo
My living situation that Julian had secured for me at the theatre, as it turned out, could not have been better. The theater had a dance company and needed more members. It had been awhile since I danced ballet or jazz but it seemed to be the perfect fit for me. One night late, I walked in on Harry, the owner of the theater, playing on the piano. He had been working on a new music piece. Harry was an intense, serious artist type. Something about him seemed familiar. His shaggy, disheveled, dirty-blond locks crowned his head and I had to wonder if it ever saw a brush. His quiet, sometimes moody demeanor was easy for me to get along with. My guess was that he was in his mid- to late thirties. He was clean shaven and wore baggy kakis with a tank top almost all the time. What I did know for sure was behind those hazel eyes was a man who did not trust most people. Sometimes I would catch him staring at me when he thought I wasn’t looking. When our eyes would meet I thought I caught something like regret in his expression, behind his wire-ri
mmed glasses. He would quickly look away and I would decide not to question him. Heck, he wasn’t a walker or any kind of supernatural and that was a plus in my book. There was something about him that made me resolve to get to know him. He heard about my background in music and dance and soon I was recruited to help him with the next dance production and auditions. So here he was, late at night, playing his piano again while waiting for me to get home to pull me into one of his impromptu meetings, I am sure. To my surprise, the music he was passionately playing was a classical piece, of which I knew very little about but it sounded much like Julian’s music… Bach, I think. Anyway, he didn’t hear me come in so I sat quietly in the back of the dark theater in awe.
I had spent the evening with Shane. We had dinner at a local diner and we sat and talked and laughed for hours. It was just like we used to be together. Perhaps the weirdest part was that it wasn’t weird to be sitting across from an angel of God, not to mention him being a high-ranking warrior angel, which he revealed during our conversation. I wondered if there were many angels like him who took on the form of humans and lived among us. He told me that it was only for special reasons and actually quite rare, but he would not tell me how often. After our time together, I felt comforted and hopeful when he dropped me off in front of the theater. Shane embraced me and in that moment all my problems seemed to fade and I just felt love and happiness.
So, here it was close to midnight, and I was listening to beautiful music in the dark theatre, basking in the afterglow of joy. The front door suddenly swung open with a bang and in walked two figures, one of whom must have been nearly seven feet tall, and I felt a jolt of warning in my gut but kept hidden in the darkness.
Harry froze with his back turned to the door and the approaching men, then he sighed long, as if he knew who they were.
“We are closed, get out!” Harry’s grumpy voice echoed.
“Now, is that the way to treat your family?” answered a familiar voice. It took me a second but I realized it was Louis. Family? That was why Harry was so familiar. I was seeing the resemblance now!
No, no, no, my gut churned. Harry could not be a walker! He just seemed too… human.
Harry spun around on the bench to face the two men.
“Do you really want to pull the family card right now?” Harry growled.
“Easy, brother, I just want to talk.” Louis held his hands up, showing his surrender.
Actually, now I could see the resemblance.
“What the hell do you want, Louis?” It was clear Harry had no love for his brother.
“I am simply here to cash in on that favor you owe me,” Louis said.
Harry stood up and sat at the end of the stage with his legs dangling over the side, as Louis now stood just a few feet away from the stage. I was still in the very back of the theater so I had to now use my extra hearing ability to hear them clearly.
“So, if I do this… whatever it is… you will leave my life once and for all?” Harry asked.
Louis sighed deeply, considering.
“Why does it have to be this way, Harry? We could be partners. You are my twin brother… we should be close. We should know each other’s thoughts, have a special language, feel what the other is feeling,” Louis said.
Harry snorted mockingly.
“Spare me your fake sentiment!” Harry said and waited. “Say it. Tell me what I want to hear.”
“Fine!” Louis growled. “I will leave you alone for good.”
“Great! Okay, what is it you want?” Harry waved a hand for his brother to continue.
“It’s really quite simple. You are having a production and I wish to get two invitations to opening night, along with a personal meeting with one of your performers.”
“So, you want an invitation reserved for special guests. You know you could just come and sit in a regular seat, right?” Harry said.
“Well, there is a problem with that,” Louis said as he made his way to the front row and had a seat.
“One of your lead performers has a regular angelic presence and because of that I cannot gain access to her as I would like,” Louis said.
“And why is that?” asked Harry.
“There is a protection ward put on her,” said Louis.
I had to think. When had Shane put a protection ward around me?
“What do you want with this person and what makes you think I can help you?” asked Harry.
Just then the other man came into view. Until now I could not make him out, as he stood back in the shadows. I almost gasped at his magnificence. He must have been seven feet tall, with a broad muscular build, and his blond locks flowed passed his shoulders. That wasn’t the most striking part, though; he seemed to be wearing a fur cape over his shoulders and gold rings and a large gold chain around his neck. His face was chiseled and, if I wasn’t mistaken, it seemed he was even wearing dark eyeliner that made his ice-blue eyes stick out so distinctly that I could even see them from my hiding place. When he spoke, it was like a soothing tone that demanded attention and obedience.
“Louis, I see that you have some details to iron out here. I will just be wandering a little,” the seven-foot blond said, turning and sauntering out of the theatre. Just before he went through the double doors he stopped and seemed to glance my direction. I crouched lower to the floor. He just continued on.
“It’s simple; all I need is an open invitation to your theatre, handwritten, and it will override the wards, at least partially, enough so we can meet with her. She lives here and if you invite us in we can have access to meet with her here anytime. Of course, I will need you to keep this quiet,” said Louis.
“So it’s Anaya?” Harry shook his head. “What do you want with her and who is the other guest?” Harry’s lower lip twitched with clear agitation.
“I will not harm her but the less you know the better, brother. The other guest invitation will need to be extended to the gentleman with me tonight,” Louis said.
“Who the hell is he?”
“That… brother, is the one known as the Polar Bear King.”
“I don’t like this. Why should I help you?”
“You know why, Harry,” Louis’s tone was that of irritation.
“You only want to talk to her?” Harry asked.
Louis nodded.
Somehow, I knew he was lying. He wanted something more. I suspected my apartment had angelic wards, so he could not gain access to it and probably could not even come very near. He likely wanted access in order to abduct me. Nope, I did not trust him.
I was deep in thought at this news when I heard a very soft shuffle behind me and turned to see the movement of a shadowed figure wearing fur. He sat directly behind me.
Crap!
“Hasn’t your father taught you that it is rude to eavesdrop, my dear?” he purred.
Did he know who I was? I tried to act innocent.
“I—I was just listening to Harry play but then you two came in and I was trapped here,” I whispered.
“I understand. You could not just run away… especially when you knew they were talking about you.” I wasn’t looking at his face but I could hear the humor in his voice then he chuckled softly.
I swallowed hard and peeked around, trying to make my getaway. The blond leaned forward and whispered.
“Nice to meet you, Anaya, my name is Liam. I have heard so many things about you. No need to worry; I won’t give you away.” He leaned back in his seat, crossed his legs, and pulled out a bag from his pocket. I glanced back, in case he had a weapon.
I snorted in relief, as it was a bag of peanuts. He held the bag out to offer me some but I shook my head, so he dug in. Suddenly he didn’t seem very intimidating.
“Why are you with Louis?” I asked.
He gave me a bored look before he popped a peanut in his mouth.
“What can I say, the old boy entertains me. He reeks with desperation.” Liam gave me a grin and a wink then said, “Plus he promised to introduc
e me to the legendary Anaya Alexander.”
I frowned, raising an eyebrow. “Riiiight,”
He must have noticed my skepticism so he sighed and continued.
“Louis is looking for a wealthy benefactor to help fund his army and I am looking to invite a certain human to live in my palace for asylum.” He grabbed another handful of nuts and tossed them into his mouth. “Oh, I don’t normally get myself involved in wars, battles, or disputes but I am quite fond of humans and them of me. So I thought I would offer a place for you, rather than you being a casualty of war.”
I shook my head, trying to grasp just how he got all this information about an upcoming war. Then a question sprung to mind that took priority.
“Wait, how are you able to get close to me, when Louis can’t?”
“One wonders.” He gave me a toothy grin and winked before shoving the bag back in his pocket.
He stood up and bowed to me.
“It has been wonderful finally meeting you. I have heard enough and I want you to come live with me. I will be seeing you soon.” With that, he turned and began to walk down to the two brothers, who were still arguing.
“Liam, who were you speaking to back there?” Louis asked.
“The custodian. She is quite chatty,” Liam said as he joined them.
“The custodian?” Harry was confused, then caught himself. “Oh, yeah, right… yep, she will talk your ear off.”