by L. L. Wright
“I need some time,” Emmie said. “Everything in my life changed, practically overnight. And there are so many things that make this complicated. I mean, you’re an angel, and I’m a demon.”
“Only part demon. Probably a third,” Leo cut in. “Maybe less, we’re not clear on percentages just yet.”
Emmie sighed, and a smile crossed her lips. “Maybe more,” she shrugged. “I just need to process everything I have going on before I add another layer of ‘new’ to my life.”
“I get it, and I have all the time in the world,” he said through a crooked smile. “We both do.”
When Leo left, Emmie finally looked around the room. She opened the wardrobe to find a few pairs of her favorite jeans, cotton tops, and sweaters, along with a duffle bag stuffed with everything else she could need, including Lisa’s small white communion bible. Emmie snorted with laughter, only Lisa would think to give her demon best friend a bible, she shook her head and tucked it back into the bag. Then she opened a closet and turned on the light to see that it was a huge walk-in. The other door in the room was a full bathroom, Oh. My. God, Emmie thought, as the reality that she hadn’t showered for days sank in. She grabbed a set of clothes and the duffle bag before hurrying into the bathroom. After taking the longest, hottest shower she was sure she had ever taken, Emmie stepped into her dark skinny jeans and a plain black long sleeve top, slipping her arms into her favorite black cardigan before digging through the duffle bag for deodorant, moisturizer and curl cream.
She pulled the comforter up and fluffed the pillows before sitting down on the bed. A moment later she was back on her feet pacing the room. What am I supposed to do here, she wondered. There's no T.V or books or anything in here, it’s like a comfortable, boring prison. She opened the duffle bag again and took out a package of mini-marshmallows, then she dragged the chair Leo had occupied earlier over to the window and sat down, staring out into the city where thousands of completely normal people were living completely normal lives. There was a soft knock at the door, and Emmie tilted her head to look across the room as she called, “come in.”
“Hey,” Leo said as he opened the door. He stepped into the room and his expression instantly looked concerned. “What are you doing?”
“You know, just people watching,” Emmie shrugged, popping another handful of marshmallows into her mouth. “Do you want to join,” she asked, offering him the bag.
Leo laughed, “I have a better idea,” he said as he walked back to the door and swung it open wide.
“You want me to go out there,” Emmie asked. “With all of the angels?”
“Yes,” Leo said, leaning against the open door.
“Mmm, I don’t know,” she said, scrunching up her nose.
“I’m an angel, and you seem pretty fond of me.”
Emmie rolled her eyes, and stood up, are all angels this full of themself? she wondered, as she glanced out the window again at the normal world she no longer fit into.
“C’mon, we’ll get you some real food.”
She sighed and walked over to where Leo stood in the doorway. She stared at the line between her room and the hallway, and for some reason, it felt as though the moment she took that step she would be entering the world of the angels and demons. But if she was being honest, she knew she was already in the middle of it.
23
Leo
The elevator doors slid open and Leo stepped inside, holding his hand against the metal frame while Emmie looked at him with quiet concern. She bit the inside of her cheek and glanced back down the hall toward her room. “Where are we going,” she asked.
Leo sighed. “What, don’t you trust me?” he said.
“Not unequivocally. I mean, you have basically been lying to me since we met.”
She does have a point. “Wow. That’s really honest of you,” Leo said, nodding his head thoughtfully. “We’re going to the dining room, come on.”
He watched as Emmie stepped into the elevator and pulled at the sleeves of her sweater nervously. Then she flipped her head upside down and gathered her still-damp hair into a high ponytail, standing upright before securing it with the thin elastic band she always kept around her wrist. Leo felt his breath catch at the simple gesture, his eyes traveled down her body, lingering on all of the places he longed to claim with his mouth. The memory of her full lips, and the feeling of her mouth exploring mine is too fresh, he thought. I can still taste her on my tongue, and I crave more. Leo paused on her neck. On the soft skin just above her collarbone, and he imagined what it would feel like to trace that space with his tongue. What would it feel like to move lower? To kiss from her neck down to her ribs and stomach, learning every inch of skin she hides under her chunky sweaters and those damn cardigans. He swallowed hard, shifted his gaze toward the ceiling. This girl is going to be the death of me. I’m beyond hooked and she just pulled away from me, again.
Emmie cleared her throat quietly, breaking through his train of thoughts and pulling him back to reality.
“I’m nervous,” she said. It was barely more than a whisper and Leo could see the tension building within her. The way she chewed at her bottom lip and tugged at the cuffs of her sweater said more than her words.
“You have nothing to be nervous about,” he said, hoping his words would calm her nerves as she tugged her sleeves further down over her hands. He knew her demonic abilities were heavily tied to her emotions, he had seen her eyes light up with power when she was excited and had watched her nearly implode with glowing hands after a heated exchange with her best friend. I need to prevent those things from happening, especially here. The Elders may have given her a pass for now, but if her powers get out of hand, if she hurts anyone, I don’t know what will happen.
“I’m the only demon blooded person here,” Emmie huffed, biting the inside of her cheek again.
Leo shrugged. “You were the only demon blooded person at West Creek High.”
“That was different, no one else knew I was different. Everyone here will know.”
“Angel's have better things to do than gossip about newcomers,” he rolled his eyes and shook his head as the elevator doors slid open on the third floor. Maybe that wasn’t completely true, he thought as the crowded hall froze. They stared and strained, leaning around each other to catch a glimpse of Emmie. She inched behind him, trying to avoid the prying eyes and whispered, “You were saying?”
Leo stepped out of the elevator, and Emmie followed closely.
“What are you all looking at? Get back to work,” he gruffed as they made their way down the crowded hallway, reaching The Faction dining room at last. Leo pushed the door open and held it wide so Emmie could slip in ahead of him.
24
Emmeline
Emmie’s head shot up as someone whistled, and Leo followed the sound and her gaze to the center of the room, where Collin sat alone at one of the long dining tables.
“Really?” Emmie asked.
“I swear he’ll grow on you, in time,” Leo smiled, gently nudging her shoulder before heading toward the table.
Leo pulled out the chair opposite Collin and offered it to Emmie. She reluctantly sat down and looked around the large room, her eyes settling on the long wall of windows.
“I’m going to grab some food. I'll be right back,” Leo said, squeezing her shoulder lightly before he walked away.
“You know,” Collin mumbled between bites of food, and without pulling his eye away from the tablet propped up on the table. “I wasn’t trying to drug you, at the coffee house.”
“Yeah. Leo told me,” Emmie said, her attention on the city lights visible in the windows behind him.
“I wasn’t trying to pull a prank either,” he continued, as he took another huge bite of his sandwich. “I was testing to see if you were a demon. We weren't sure yet.”
“How would holy water tell you if I was?”
“It burns demons on contact,” Collin said, shoving the last bite into his mouth.
<
br /> “Lovely,” Emmie said, imagining the unpleasantness that would have befallen her if she had drunk that coffee.
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad my sedative didn’t kill you.”
“Your sedative?”
“Yeah, I developed it. Science is kind of my thing around here. You know, when I’m not pretending to be a sixteen-year-old jock. Anyway, usually, it knocks the demons out for a few weeks, giving us the chance to draw some blood and run some tests on them before we send them back to hell,” Collin explained. “But it has killed a few weak ones.”
“You're a real charmer, you know that,” Emmie said. Her stomach dropped at the thought of demons being experimented on and then disposed of, are they anything like me, or are regular demons really just soulless monsters?
Collin looked up from the screen in front of him and Emmie thought she noticed the smallest smile flash at the corner of his mouth before he said, “I'm working on a way to separate your demon blood from the rest of you.”
“Oh?” Emmie said, looking at him with wide eyes.
“Yeah. It’ll probably hurt like hell though,” he said, his eyes returning to whatever he was working on.
“Seriously, do they not teach tact in angel school? Leo isn’t nearly as rude as you are.”
“No, they do. But like I said, science is kind of my thing. So while Leo has been moping around with the humans and pouring himself into the hunt, I’ve put my skills to better use here, in my lab, away from all of you.”
“Leo doesn’t mope,” Emmie said, creasing her forehead.
Collin looked up from his screen and nodded. “He used to.”
Emmie turned around and found Leo standing at the long silver buffet counter talking to a man in a chef’s uniform. They were both laughing, deep in a friendly conversation.
“What made him mope?” Emmie asked, curiosity getting the best of her.
He continued running his fingers along the touchscreen as he said, “losing someone.”
“Who?”
This time Collin folded his tablet into its thin leather case, laying it flat on the table in front of him. He sighed and sat back in his chair.
“Angels are created in pairs. Two beings made to complement and complete each other. Soulmates formed at exactly the same moment so as to never live without one another. Leo and I no longer have that,” Collin said quietly, and Emmie felt her heart tighten with sadness. “Angels are forbidden from pairing with humans, or demons for that matter. So unless two angels lose their match and happen to be compatible, we just get the one chance. Needless to say, Leo and I really aren’t each other’s type. So, we’re on our own.”
“I’m so sorry, Collin. I had no idea,” Emmie said quietly.
“For me it was a long time ago,” he shrugged. “I have my lab, and my work, and Leo. I’m fine.”
“But what about me,” Emmie asked, leaning her arms on the table.
“What about you?”
“Well, I’m part angel, right? What does that mean, do those rules apply to me too?”
Collin drummed his fingers along the edge of the table, “Demons were born from the union between angels and humans, so as long as angel blood runs through your veins you would be subject to the same rules that we are. But that won't matter if we can’t separate your demon half from the rest of you.”
“What do you mean?” Emmie asked
“If you were to carry a child with even a trace of demon blood coursing through your veins, it could be a soulless monster,” he said casually. “The Faction won’t let that happen. But don’t worry about it. I’ll come up with something.” Collin stood up and grabbed his tablet off the table before he turned toward the door.
“Collin,” Emmie said quietly, causing him to turn around. “Am I really the only one?”
He sighed and pressed his lips into a hard line, “It looks that way,” he said. His eyes shifted to the floor and he looked deep in thought. “Emmie, what about your parents?”
She sighed, revisiting the question she had asked herself several times since her trip to the hall of truth.
“I don’t think they have anything to do with this,” she said after a moment. “My dad died in a car accident when I was just a baby, and my mom works for a law office in Hartford. She’s pretty normal, her magic hasn’t even been active in years. She’s never said anything about angels and demons. Growing up she told me we were witches. It’s what her parents told her before they died,” Emmie explained. “It’s only ever been the two of us, and I just don’t see the motive behind her lying to me for all of these years, you know? If anyone knew the truth I think it died with my grandparents, maybe even before them.”
Collin nodded his head thoughtfully. He moved his attention toward the windows for a moment and then without a word he turned on his heels and headed out of the room.
Emmie nervously tugged at the sleeves of her sweater as she sat at the long dining table alone. People hurried in and out of the room grabbing bagels, and bags of food to go, and most of them didn’t seem to take any notice of the one and only demon occupying Faction towers’ dining room. A few people pointed and whispered as they glanced her way, but Emmie was too deep in thought to be bothered by it.
“Hey, sorry that took so long. I asked Louis to make you something special,” Leo said as he placed a pepperoni pizza and a basket of french fries on the table in front of her.
Emmie looked up from her lap and smiled halfheartedly. Collin’s words were still swirling around in her mind, and she wasn't sure exactly what she should do with them.
“Thanks.”
“Uh oh, what’s wrong?” Leo asked as he slid into the seat beside her. His brow was creased with concern.
“I just had a very enlightening conversation with Collin. It’s nothing, he just gave me a lot to think about,” Emmie said as she reached out to grab a french fry, and took a small bite. After their little chat her appetite was basically gone, but Emmie knew she needed to eat something, and she didn’t want Leo’s efforts to go to waste.
“I love Collin like a brother. He’s been my field partner since the beginning of the hunt, but you have to ignore at least thirty percent of what he says. The guy has no filter whatsoever,” he said, and he grabbed her free hand between his, squeezing it gently. “You’re not in this alone, Emmie. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” Promise? Emmie thought as her gaze dropped to Leo’s hand on her own. He had begun lazily drawing patterns with his thumb against her skin.
An overhead siren blared and everyone in the room stood up suddenly, exchanging concerned glances before rushing toward the door.
“Leo, what is that? What’s going on?” Emmie asked, taking a step toward him.
“It’s the alarm, there’s been a breach in security,” he said, his eyes wide. “Give me your hand," Leo urged as he reached for her, pulling her into the hall, and back toward the elevator. Emmie coughed as a haze filled the corridor. She gasped and her lungs tightened with every shallow breath.
“Emmie, cover your face,” Leo shouted through the sleeve of his henley.
She nodded and tried using the sleeve of her sweater to shield her nose and mouth, but her breaths were already too short and her lungs screamed, desperate for clean air. The fog burned her eyes, and she pressed them shut in response, coughing and choking blindly. She pried them open briefly and could no longer see Leo ahead of her, but his hand held her tightly as he pulled her toward the stairwell beside the elevator. Emmie choked and gasped as the thick haze continued to fill her lungs, suffocating her slowly with each shallow breath she drew. She could hear people screaming and coughing in every direction, and with her eyes shut tight against the burning, Emmie noticed her sense of hearing was heightened, and every sound was piercing. Bodies rushed by, fighting to get free, to breathe, to live. She strained to open her eyes against the burning, suffocating cloud that enveloped her, and she willed herself to keep moving as her legs shook and her head began to spin. She could see th
e red light above the elevator up ahead we must be close to the stairwell she thought to herself. She could feel a crowd of people surrounding her now and the screams intensified as hands pushed and pulled at her. She felt Leo's hand slip away from her own, and she reached out with her other hand, grasping at the place where he last stood. If she lost him now she didn't know if she could make it out on her own, and in her panicked state she swallowed a gulp of the mysterious fog and began gasping and coughing. Emmie felt an arm roughly hook around her waist, dragging her in the opposite direction. She tried to scream, but only coughs escaped her mouth and she lost her footing in all the commotion. She felt her body slip, falling toward the floor, and everything went dark.
25
Emmeline
Emmie strained to stretch her tense muscles, and she felt the cool cotton of bed sheets surrounding her arms and legs. She remembered the chaos and the fear from the moment just before she blacked out and but nothing about this felt familiar. She could feel panic setting in, as her heart began to race, and her hands began to sweat, feeling hot and clammy. Emmie tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy to budge.
“Emmie?” She heard her mother’s voice close by. “It’s ok Emmie, I'm right here with you,” she said, placing a cool hand on her forehead.
Emmie took a deep, calming breath and tried to open her eyes, this time with less resistance. She blinked against the dry, burning sensation in her eyes, everything looked gray and hazy, out of focus and blurry. She waited a minute and then blinked again, watching as her vision slowly became clear and her room came into view. Her body felt weighted, and she couldn’t move more than her head.
“Emmie, you’re safe, and you’re at home, but you need to rest for a while,” her mother said, and a moment later Emmie felt a sharp pinch in her upper arm, what is she doing, Emmie wondered as the ceiling of her room became blurry again and everything started to spin, slowly pulling her back into the darkness.