by Mary Ting
“Never mind what she is. She just saved our butts,” Brody said appreciatively, flipping and landing next to a boulder. It was the first time I’d seen Brody up close. His presence reminded me of Uncle Davin—light, sarcastic, and sweet. But his eyes were glowing amber, scaring the wings out of me, and he was big, like he could crush anyone with his bare hands.
Eli kept his mouth shut, swinging his sword across space as the Possessor demons whizzed by. He moved with grace and precision, and the mists disappeared to their death at the touch of his sword. I stood behind Eli to cover his back and shot out the silvery lights from my bow. They went through the targets without a hitch.
It was the first time I’d seen a Possessor demon face to face. They transformed into a mist when in flight or moving to avoid a punch, but when they attacked or were in fighting stance, their pale skeleton bodies became visible amid the black mists. And their swords were real, clanking and clashing against ours. But there was nothing good about them. So much evil emanated from them—so much hatred and malice.
“There are too many of them,” Milani shouted as she threw fireball after fireball.
The Possessors were swarming around us, enveloping us. With their swords up in front, they came at us before I could think about what was happening. Using my bow and my wings, I fought back with everything I could give. Not only were my wings thick, fluffy, and majestic—they were special. They could be used as weapons. Each feather at the bottom of my wings stuck outward, sharp as a knife, so I had to be extra careful. Luckily, we could control when we wanted them to be deadly.
I twirled in a circle, blocking and slicing across each entity. Though it would seem impossible for any weapon to go through the mist and cause harm, supernatural weapons were able to kill demons. I wondered how Eli had gotten his and what kind of demon he was.
“Stay close. Don’t spread out,” Eli barked, throwing out orders again. I guessed he was the leader of his small pack. “Milani, the rocks.”
“I don’t know if I can,” she snapped, creating a low circle of flames around us on the sand. It kept the demons away, but it wouldn’t keep them out forever.
“Just do it!”
With her palms facing up, she raised them while chanting the word “surgere.”
Assorted sizes of volcanic rocks levitated into the air, twirling around us. There were so many of them, it seemed surreal. She snapped her fingers and they floated inside the flames that had become much higher. While the rocks were melting, the demons screeched, trying to find a way to get to us.
“Now!” Eli directed.
Milani clapped her hands together, sounding like thunder. The melted rocks darted at the demons around us. Once they made contact, they burned through the creatures. The molten rocks caused them to burn in solid form as loud, piercing screams of pain echoed into the dark. At that moment, Eli slashed through the demons with his sword, and Brody used his strength and his—wow. I swallowed a huge lump in my throat.
Brody’s teeth were sharp like a sword. I’d been told of his kind before, and though he resembled a big teddy bear you wanted to cuddle, I planned to keep my distance from him. The way he tore with his teeth and bare hands, and his amber eyes radiated as if he were a dangerous predator, gave me chills.
I stood there with my bow at the ready, but before I had a chance to help, the demons were dead, except for the ones that had escaped the rocks by slipping through the sand.
“So you must be the hot one Eli told me about.” Brody gave me a friendly slap on the back, only I wasn’t prepared for his strength. Speechless from what I had just seen, my guard was down. I should have fallen face down in the sand, but my body spun instead.
Dazed and feeling arms around my waist, I slowly peered up to see the blue moon, so beautiful yet deadly, and then I shifted my eyes to see in front of me. Eli appeared in my line of vision. I didn’t realize my arms were around his neck until they slid down his firm chest. I had intended to push him away, but didn’t. We were positioned like the ending of a tango, with my body dipped into an arch. I couldn’t tell if he was relieved to catch me or if it was something else. His eyes were cold and dark as the black stones, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.
“Let me go,” I commanded, annoyed that he’d helped me. Unable to push him away because of the way he held me, I had no choice but to wait. I would have fallen on my back if I’d tried. Technically, I needed him to release me first.
“You—have wings?” he sputtered, sounding disgusted. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I was too shocked by his words to respond. Did he see me as a freak? Most beings would admire the beauty of the wings and wish they had them. But Eli made it sound like they were worthless or revolting, as if they were beneath him.
After taking a second to tame my anger, I answered, “Either that, or you have a wild imagination. Maybe the demons made you see them. Looks like we’re even.”
He cocked a brow and tried to hold back a hint of a smirk. “You didn’t listen. I told you to stay in the car. You interrupted our plan.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You could have gotten one of us killed.”
“It’s strange how I was perfectly fine until you arrived,” I spat out. “The demons showed up when you landed on my car.”
“They were following you, so we were following them. So, yeah, you’re welcome.” His tone made it clear he was as annoyed at me as I was with him.
I wrung a fistful of his shirt and pulled him closer to me so he could hear the intensity of my words, but it was a big mistake. His lips being so close to mine awakened something inside me. Ignoring this feeling, I seethed, “I didn’t ask for your help. And how did you know demons were following me? Are you spying on me? How do you know I have an uncle?”
Eli groaned as if to hold in his anger. He leaned in closer, and heat ignited as his body touched mine. “Your uncle happens to be one of my teachers.” Then he rolled his eyes. It should have made me furious, but I stared at his enigmatic dark eyes and the desire to know more about him coursed through me.
“This is getting ridiculous,” Brody chided. “Either kiss her or pull her up. The two of you could be on the front of a Hallmark card, backed by the blue moon. Don’t get me wrong. It’s beautiful, but I’d like to get out of here.”
Eli pulled me up and released me as if I had stung him. I dusted off my shorts and T-shirt as though I could dust off what happened—every look, every emotion that had stirred in me while he had been holding me in that awkward position.
“I wasn’t—I didn’t….” He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around. If it’d been daytime, I would’ve seen him blushing. “Where’s Milani?”
“Right here.” She stood up. Her black outfit camouflaged her against the black volcanic boulder beside her. “Lucia is right. We shouldn’t have gotten involved. They’ll be after us too.” She bent back down and picked up a black stone and tossed it across the water. It rippled as far as I could see.
Zach and I used to toss stones with Uncle Davin in a place we called Between. Thinking of them, I became alert again. I needed to find them. If they had gone home and I wasn’t there, I could imagine they’d be worried. But Milani’s words concerned me.
“What do you mean they’ll be after you? Don’t they already know you exist?” I turned to Milani. “What are you, anyway?”
Milani walked toward me with a purpose, giving me the evilest stare. Looking squarely at me, she said, “You’re so lucky Eli is here or I would burn every fluffy feather from your wings. You don’t deserve those majestic wings. The question is, what are you? Are you some kind of demon fairy?” She wiggled her fingers as if they were the wings.
“Stop, Milani. That’s enough,” Eli ordered. “We need to get out of here.”
Milani narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m your friend, not the girl with wings. Don’t you forget that.” Then she headed for my car.
What did they have against wings? I’d never felt so small in my entire existence.
“Never mind her. She’s just jealous,” Brody said, catching up to her.
“Wait.” I stepped in front of Eli to stop him. “Were you at my house last night?”
Eli cocked a brow at me. “And who is being the arrogant one? I’ve got better things to do than stalk you.”
I guessed I deserved that answer. What was I thinking? He wouldn’t admit it, but I was almost positive Eli had been there. Before I could say a word, he said, “By the way, I’m not a coward,” and flashed into a black mist in front of my eyes. I had taunted the entity outside my house the night before, calling it a coward. He had just admitted he was there. Ugh!
Chapter 11
“I don’t need you and your friends to escort me.” I tried not to sound rude.
“It’s not safe, and although you fight like a trained warrior and I’m pretty impressed, you still can’t take them on by yourself.” Eli opened my door for me and practically shoved me inside. I decided not to take off without him—he could go right through the car door anyway. After he got in on the passenger side, he leaned back and closed his eyes.
Was he tired? I almost smiled at the fact he thought I was a good warrior, when I wondered what the heck I was gushing at. “Are your friends going to get inside the car, or do they enjoy riding on top?” I asked sarcastically as I started the engine and got on the main road.
He took a long deep breath with his eyes still closed and then finally opened them. “They like to surf, and air surf or car surf...whatever you want to call it.”
“Seriously?” I checked the rearview mirror. “Humans can see them. They should sit in the backseat.”
Eli looked out the windshield, then back to me. “It’s pitch black outside. There are no cars around and it’s late. Besides, it would be too crowded back there.”
I took a quick peek in the backseat. “There’s plenty of room for two.” I shook my head, trying to figure out what his problem was.
“There’ll be three,” He arched his brows.
“Three?”
Eli rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger as if buying time to answer me. “Your friend is back there—or in this case, maybe an intruder. I was trying to tell you that before we were interrupted by the demons.”
“No one is back there.” He was driving me crazy. Did he enjoy messing with me?
I swerved the car to the left and almost drove off the road when Jack popped out from behind me. No wonder I hadn’t seen him. Too distracted by Eli, I hadn’t sensed Jack’s presence.
“I knew your kind existed on Earth. I knew you were an angel,” Jack threw in excitedly. His eyes were glowing and his voice loud. “That was awesome what you did. Wow. Your wings are amazing and beautiful.” Unlike Eli, Jack was elated about my wings. Wait—Jack? How did he...?
“Jack! What are you doing back there? You were following me too?” I didn’t mean to scold him, but he had taken me completely by surprise. This was not the way I had wanted him to find out about my kind. He should never have known. I ran my hand down my face, as if somehow I could redo the night.
“No, no, no,” he insisted. “I was making sure you were going to be all right. You took off when my little brother scared you with all that demon talk. I followed you to apologize, but when you stormed out of the house and got in your car, I did the same. But I got in the back before you could see me. You should keep your car locked,” he rambled. “But, Lucia, you and Eli? Wow. I’m speechless. This is so surreal. You’re both—there are no words. I can’t wrap my mind around what I saw between all four of you and the demons. Was that even real? Tell me I’m not dreaming. My grandfather was so right. I knew he wasn’t crazy. He told me supernatural beings existed. If only he was alive to witness this. Holy—”
“JACK,” Eli hollered, frowning. “Stop talking.”
“You know who I am? You know my name? And all this time I thought you didn’t even know I existed at school.”
“You are nothing but a small human. You don’t exist to me,” Eli stated.
In the rearview mirror, Jack seemed offended from the way he grimaced at Eli.
“Oookay, tough guy. Just because—” Jack started.
Eli turned to me. “I’m going to toss him out the window if you don’t make him stop talking.”
“Jack,” I barked, knowing Eli was serious. Though I didn’t know him well, obviously he was the type to keep his word. “Stop talking for a second. You could have been hurt. Don’t ever do that again.” I hadn’t meant to sound harsh, but I needed him to listen.
“Oh,” Jack’s tone softened. “I’m not that weak.”
Eli gave Jack some kind of look I couldn’t see. It made Jack cower back and kept him quiet for the time being.
“Don’t be mean to him.” I regretted saying it when I recalled Jack telling me not to stick up for him. I scowled at Eli, but he couldn’t see my expression. So I threw him a slap, but just before my hand contacted his arm, his hand flew up, stopping me. He held my hand in the palm of his and made a perfect fist. Electricity sparked at his touch and tingles thundered inside me. He must have felt the same from the intense yet confused look he gave me.
Eli let go of my hand as if I had burned him and faced the front. “My friends would have squashed him to keep his mouth shut. The reason why they’re on the roof instead of sitting in the back.”
I kept my eyes on the road and drove as fast as I could in hopes of arriving home before my uncle and Zach. We drove for miles in silence until I couldn’t stand it anymore. Recalling what had happened, I asked, “Milani is an Elementum, isn’t she? I mean, it’s obvious—she can manipulate fire and the rocks.”
“I’m not going to answer that. As far as we’re concerned, nothing happened tonight.” His tone sounded final.
I could understand his need to protect her, seeing how they were so close. In fact, the three of them seemed like they’d been friends for a long time. In a way, I envied that. I had my brother, of course, but I really didn’t have friends.
Since I also wanted to forget the night, I agreed. “Okay. Do you know why the high school kids are missing?”
Eli took a few long seconds to answer my question, as if he were debating possibilities in his head. “I have a theory, but not in front of—” He pointed to the back.
I nodded, realizing it had been irresponsible of me to ask in front of Jack. He already knew too much.
From the speed at which I drove, we were back home in good time. During the whole ride I’d hoped to reach the house before my uncle and Zach. But the stars were not aligned in my favor. When I pulled into the driveway, they were standing by the front door as if they expected me. Seeing Zach standing tall and guarded, I became aware of how much he resembled our father. For a split second, I thought he was Father.
I got out of the car and slammed the door. Uncle Davin stood right in front of me with a frown. Yup, he was mad. A volcano could have erupted out of him.
“Hi. I can explain,” I said. Everyone gathered behind me. They were afraid of him too, and I didn’t blame them. Uncle Davin’s murderous expression alone was the look of the devil.
Uncle Davin glared at me. “What’s to explain? Brody and Milani were riding on top of my car because that’s normal. And what was Elmo doing in the front seat and Jerk in the back? You weren’t going hunting for demons, that’s for sure, ‘cause we’re not supposed to pretend we’re super beings in front of humans. I’m sure Jerk saw everything. We will have to kill him.”
Everyone’s eyes grew wide, even mine. I knew Uncle Davin was joking, but everyone else didn’t.
Eli stepped forward. He was the brave one. “My name is Eli, not Elmo.”
“Whatever.” Uncle Davin threw his hands in the air. “I’ll call you whatever I want to call you.” He jabbed his finger in Eli’s chest, but he didn’t budge. Obviously baffled by Eli’s strength, Uncle Davin shook his head and continued, “So—” He stopped speaking when he saw movement behind me.
Jac
k stepped out of my shadow and slowly started to take steps toward his house. “You’re not seriously going to kill me, right? ‘Cause I didn’t see anything. In fact, I’m not here at all. I’ll just start walking to my house. I don’t even live next door. I don’t even know who you are.”
“JACK,” Uncle Davin roared.
Jack froze in place.
Closing the gap between them, Uncle Davin pierced his eyes into Jack’s. “You will forget what happened today. The last thing you remember about tonight is having a nice dinner with Lucia. Lucia went home. You will go home and go straight to bed.”
Uncle Davin used his angelic powers to make Jack forget, what we called glamourizing. Only angels of the higher orders had this ability, as it needed to be practiced and nurtured. Someday Zach and I would have that skill.
When Jack headed home and I knew he was safe, I turned to the others, wondering what Uncle Davin was going to do to them.
“You three.” Uncle Davin pointed to each of them. “Inside my house, now.”
Zach opened the door and went in first and then I trailed in behind my uncle. When I stopped hearing the sounds of footsteps, I checked behind me.
“What happened?” Uncle Davin asked, whipping around. He frowned when he saw they were gone. “I guess I scared them.” He scoffed, back to the uncle I loved, but his stone-faced stare said he was still upset. “I guess I’m going to have to interrogate them at school or follow them home.”
“They’re not human,” I blurted.
Uncle Davin rolled his eyes. “Obviously. I wasn’t born yesterday, Lucia. And don’t ever go anywhere without Zach or me. It isn’t that I think you’re not capable; there is safety and more power in numbers. Something could have happened to you. Do you know how worried we were?”
“I’m so sorry.” I gazed at my brother too. The truth was I deserved every bit of scolding, so I listened and remained quiet as I let my uncle lay it out for me.