Angela was watching me and shook her head no. She turned to my father looking as serious as always with no emotion.
“Xavier I think right now is the best time to seek assistance from Jeremiel. He might have the answers we’re looking for.” At her comment, Jones perked up. My dad looked at her and contemplated what she said.
Right before he was going to respond, Jones interjected. “I’ll go with her.”
“Who’s Jeremiel?” I cut in. My dad didn’t even look our way when he answered.
“He is the Angel of Prophecies. If there’s one person we can go to for answers, it’s him. But I don’t think you should go Jones. I think Max should. He’ll be able to get a clearer vision if he meets him. And since you and Max aren’t on good terms, Angela needs to accompany him.”
My mom tried slipping away but I wouldn’t let her. The last thing I wanted was for her to be alone. She looked up at me with tears still streaking down her face as I whispered in her ear, “it’s okay”, to assure her it really was. The smile she gave me wasn’t convincing but she nodded, pulled away and straightened her shoulders.
“So where is this Angel? When do we go?” My father was finally looking our way—at my mother—and his eyes glared with contempt. I pushed the thought aside. My mom was strong, they’d work it out. Jones was staring me down with the same scowl on his face when Angela turned to me and said, “We leave tonight. Go pack a bag. This is going to be an overnight trip.”
The moment she said overnight, my senses heightened and I almost jumped out of my skin, I was so excited. Though the look on Jones’ face was not agreeing with what I was feeling. Not that he was worried about me or anything, but as we arrived to the ports of Miami I realized why he was upset. We drove down Biscayne Blvd looking for the parking garage and Angela confessed we were going on a cruise. It all made sense, he wanted to spend “alone” time with her.
We grabbed our separate duffle bags and got on the shuttle bus. I saw the huge cruise ship at port and it was the only one there. The size of it was unreal.
“Where are we going?” She hadn’t said much the whole drive down here. The silence continued.
We approached the ramp for the cruise ship and were stopped by two gentlemen.
“Tickets and passports, please?” Casually, Angela stood there and handed over our documents and spoke to them with ease. They suspiciously looked over us while checking us in.
Trying to gaze anywhere but in their direction, I noticed it was pretty empty. Then again no one boards a cruise ship at 9 p.m. They waved us in and we entered a grand foyer that reminded me of the Victorian era we studied in literature class. Big crystallized chandeliers hung from the ceilings and waiters were walking around handing out champagne flutes to the other patrons. Feeling under dressed I looked over to Angela who was watching me.
“What?” I whisper, as I tugged on my shirt and smoothed out the wrinkles.
“Nothing, Max. Let’s just hurry up and find our room.”
While walking through the lobby on the fifth floor, tons of people flooded in enjoying their vacation, from couples, to families and everything in between.
We got off the elevator on the eighth floor and after passing five rooms, we found ours. But what I had expected to find was not this. My palms were sweating with nerves.
There was what appeared to be a queen size bed in the middle of the room with a balcony on the left side, looking out to the ocean. No other bed. As if nothing, Angela walked over to the closet, tossed her bag inside, and went into the bathroom. Not even bothering to notice my expression.
I scanned the small cabin—it was definitely for one person or a married couple—with a dresser, closet and a flat screen mounted on the wall. It was pretty cozy but I didn’t know how this was going to work out between us. This was probably why Jones wanted to come.
“Hey Max, do you need anything before I go?” Need what? Where is she going? Oh God, I was getting all jittery. This was beyond ridiculous. It wasn’t as if I’d never shared a bed with a girl before. But this…this was different. I didn’t know why, but it was.
“Where are we going anyways? How long is this cruise?” I said as she poked her head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth.
“It’s just an overnight trip to the Bahamas. We’ll be back by tomorrow night no worries.”
Yeah, no worries.
Once she was done, she laced up her combat boots, straightened out her leather jacket and walked out the room.
She hadn’t returned until morning and I wondered where she had been. I had thought about going to look for her last night but decided against it. If anything, she was the one protecting me, not the other way around. I attempted to stay up and wait for her but I lost the battle to sleep.
A loud bang stirred me awake and I cracked open my eyelids to see what the noise was about. Coming through the door was Angela as she tried to balance a glass of juice and a tray while opening the cabin door.
Even though she had been out all night, she looked as if she’d already showered and was in clean clothes. Instead of her normal attire, she had on a pair of jean shorts and a Ramones t-shirt that revealed almost all of her back as she set the tray on the night stand. But one thing that was consistent were her black combat boots. She handed me a tray with croissants, fruit, and a bottle of orange juice.
“Eat up, we have to head out soon.” Looking at the clock by the bed, it was flashing 6am. I nearly choked on the honey dew I had just put in my mouth. It was ungodly to be woken up at this hour. Nonetheless, stuffing my mouth with as much food, I hurried up and showered and was ready to go in record time.
Leaving the cruise ship was a headache. A long line of people were waiting, plus the ones who were going on excursions. It was pure chaos and I was a little nervous with this large of a crowd. After about a half hour, we scanned our room card keys to exit and we were soon met with a nice summer breeze.
The port in Nassau was amazing, with all the different colors, the music, the liveliness, but I didn’t get much of a chance to keep gawking. Angela had a firm grip on my wrist and was dragging me through the crowd of tourists and natives. We stopped where a long line of taxis were parked outside the pier. One cab was parked on the opposite side of the rest, at the end of the road by itself.
Pulling me harder, we went straight for it.
“Pretty girl, I haven’t seen you here in a while.” The taxi man said as we approached him standing outside the cab. He was a middle aged guy with a slight beer gut and a strong Bahamian accent.
“Marcelo, how’s it been?” They embraced and it was the first time I’d seen her behave friendly towards anyone.
“Good sistah, things been real good. You on the way to the spot?”
“Not this time. I actually need a ride to Jeremiels.” There was a pregnant pause and the cabbie’s features turned from happy reunion to stoic concern.
“You know I don’t go that way, pretty girl, and you shouldn’t either.”
“Marcelo please. I don’t need a ride back, just get me there.” He looked her over with stern eyes.
“What business you have there?”
At that, Angela’s whole composure changed. Her friendly attitude was gone and now took place the reserved girl who wanted to tell you to get lost.
“My personal business. That’s what I have there so let’s cut the pleasantries. Will you or will you not take me?” She pinned a hundred dollar bill to his chest with her pointer finger. He swallowed at her brashness and jerked his head toward his cab. With a grip on my wrist again, she pulled me in the car and didn’t utter a word.
12
After a twenty minute car ride, we stopped at a huge austere mansion that was closed off with a gate.
“This is as far as I take you, pretty girl. You’re on your own from here.” She handed him a pouch and got out the taxi without even a glance back. Marcelo grabbed my arm before I could exit. “You be careful out here, brotha. Your kind is wanted arou
nd these parts. You no secret.” I was stuck staring at this man who probably had the answers I needed but was too scared to ever tell me.
“Max!” Angela yelled and I pulled my arm from his hold. Before I could close the door, he sped out onto the road leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
“Did he say something to you?” She asked with her eyebrow lifted. I shook my head. I didn’t know why I hadn’t told her the truth but I wanted to keep this to myself for now, at least until I got answers and understood what he meant.
Angela walked up to the keypad at the gate and plugged in some numbers. The gates churned open and we walked up the driveway and stopped in front of the door, knocking on it twice.
Nothing.
We waited for what felt like forever. I was about to say something when Angela reached for my hand and squeezed, shutting me up. I couldn’t stand there any longer. The sun was beating strong on the back of my neck and arms.
After a good three minutes of waiting, the small window on the door opened and an older man stood there poking his eye out to see us. His eye was a clouded grey and you could tell he was old just by staring at them. They were aged and full of history. His crankiness was what I didn’t expect.
“What do you want?” His raspy voice sounded like he’d smoked too many cigarettes in his day. I cleared my throat to speak when Angela beat me to the punch.
“Jeremiel, we seek your help.” He eyed me up and down through the small window and a spark of recognition crossed his face just as it disappeared.
“Who is he?” His voice boomed, making me stumble back a little.
“This is Maximillion. Son of Xavier.” Her voice was filled with power and conviction. I was jealous of how confident she was while I stood there nervous.
He looked me up and down again then slammed the window shut. We listened as he unhooked the chains and locks of the door.
Standing in front of me was an elderly man, probably in his nineties wearing what looked like a toga. His hair a grayish white, but mainly white only on the sides of his head and possibly in the back. The top of his head was completely hairless. He smiled broadly at us which was the complete opposite of what he sounded like just a few moments ago.
“Well, why didn’t you say so! Come on in!” he said as he waved us inside.
I looked to Angela and she gestured for me to go first. We walked in to his foyer that was the size of my living room. It was surprisingly bright and contemporary. Various works of art hung on the walls, a dual staircase in the middle and women who resembled Vegas showgirls stood with trays of champagne.
He led us past the foyer to the lounge chairs in his living room and I took a seat next to Angela. His home was beautiful and I couldn’t help but gape at it.
He looked between us with a smirk on his face as if he were in on some secret.
“Well Jeremiel, I bet you already know why we’re here.”
His smirk disappeared to a more business like attitude. He leaned back on his seat and clasped his hands together. “I have an idea, why don’t you enlighten me first.”
“Max was kidnapped by a succubus and now he has these powers that he never had before. We don’t know what’s going on. He’s supposed to be human,” Angela said.
I couldn’t understand why everyone was against me being anything but human.
Jeremiels gaze fell on me as I rolled my eyes and I looked away. He sat up straight and crossed his leg over the other one.
“And what can our Maximillion do?”
“He can turn into fire, blue fire that I’ve never seen before, but Xavier said it might be Heaven’s fire.” That was something I didn’t know. So much for keeping me in the loop.
“Wrath,” Jeremiel whispered. “Angela sweetheart, why don’t you go into the next room so I can talk with young Maximillion alone, hm?”
“I rather not. I’m his Guardian so anything you tell him, you can tell me.”
“Angela dear, I wasn’t really asking. Go.” Her nose flared at his dismissal but she slowly stood and went into the next room. I heard the clicking of the door once it shut. For some reason I got goose bumps, but I wasn’t scared. More like nervous.
“Do you like Maximillion or Max?”
“Max is fine.” I couldn’t help but fidget with the bottom of my shirt. I could feel his eyes burn into me as he stared.
“Okay, Max it is. So Max, tell me how you feel about all the changes?” His question caught me off guard. I looked up to see true curiosity. This was something no one had asked me since the night of the kidnapping.
“Um...I don’t know. I guess I feel a little lost.”
He nodded his head to my response. “Of course you feel lost. You were human one morning and then you’re...this.” He pointed to me.
Not able to hold back, it was as if I had a sudden case of verbal diarrhea. “Yeah, I have no freakin idea what’s going on. I mean angels, really? This is all nuts! They can’t be real, sometimes I think I’m hallucinating because I turn into flames and they’re not real fire and Jones is like the incredible freakin’ Hulk and Angela…she…she…she’s freakin amazing. I mean she can freeze stuff, you know? And then a damn succubus comes for me! This is unreal! I feel like I’m a character off of X-men or something. Why doesn’t anyone tell me anything? Am I not trustworthy or something? I mean I wouldn’t have said anything. Does anyone else know? Holy crap, does anyone else know? Like my friends at school? I mean are they even my friends? Jones stopped being my friend once I found out and now I’m alone and—”
“Calm down Max, breathe,” he cut me off before my lungs collapsed. I was breathing raggedly and I knew I was having a panic attack. I hadn’t had one in years. I didn’t even notice he was sitting next to me, a stern hand on my shoulder keeping me still. “Drink this, it will soothe you.”
With shaky hands I took the cup of tea he was offering me that came out of nowhere. It was strong and bitter but with just a sip, my insides melted and I relaxed.
He went back to his chair opposite me.
“Better?” He asked and I nodded. “You sure have a lot going on, Max. You can’t keep holding all that in. Have you mentioned all this to your father?”
I stared at him and shook my head. How could I? We barely spoke to begin with.
“Well, you need to son. I’ve known Xavier for many millennia and I know how he is. He can be distant but never doubt his love for you. He cares and will do anything for you. Seek his guidance. He won’t know you need it unless you ask.”
We sat there staring at each other for a while and I felt like I was seeing a therapist.
“Now before I give you all the glorious details let me give you a little history first. I am the Archangel of Prophecies. I spend most of my time with the big guns upstairs, but I sometimes hang around here on Earth.”
One of the girls with the trays walked towards us and I shook my head. I had lost my appetite.
“The first time I met you, Max, you were barely a week old. Your father rushed you over here for guidance. He was scared for your safety and he didn’t know if you were human, angel, or other. Emily had a normal pregnancy and you were as fragile as any human baby. Unfortunately, I am not an encyclopedia that you can come to for answers. I can guide you, but those answers you have to find yourself, and that is what I gave your father. I am a bit disappointed at the choices he made with you, but I don’t blame him. He wanted to give you normalcy. You had that for the past seventeen years of your life, but that’s all you’re going to get.”
I felt frozen in time. I couldn’t blink or move, I didn’t think I was breathing. That’s all you’re going to get. I kept repeating that over and over again, letting reality sink in.
“Now just because I couldn’t tell your father what your origin is, doesn’t mean I didn’t keep a close eye on you. You’re one of the main reasons I even stay on Earth. I was there for your first birthday, when you broke your wrist learning to ride a bike, and even for your junior high prom. Which by the way
that young lady you took was quite promiscuous if you ask me.” He chuckled and I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. I felt like I was talking to my grandfather.
“Were you there when my mother and I got attacked in the parking lot?” His eyes narrowed as he studied me and he nodded.
“So you’ve been stalking me?” I raised one eyebrow like Angela. He let out an even louder laugh and he keeled over trying to catch his breaths. Forgetting about my panic attack, I laughed with him.
“Oh no Max, not stalking. Aside from your guardian angels, I like to keep a protective watch on you myself. I wasn’t around when you were kidnapped and actually this is the first of me hearing about this. I do apologize.” His apology was sincere and I felt more relaxed around him.
“Jeremiel, can I ask you a question?” He motioned for me to continue and I built up as much courage as I could, “What am I?” I asked and a small smile came over his features.
“Follow me, Max.” He lead me across the foyer and to another door.
We walked in to a massive room with walls lined with books. Aside from the wall, there were bookshelves throughout the room that gave it a library feel. The lights were dimmed but there were lamps and overhead lighting where needed. In the far back was a floor to ceiling window that took up most of the wall. In front of it were a couple of loungers and chairs and a coffee table in the middle of them.
At the moment we were still at the threshold of the door and Jeremiel waited until I took it all in. He motioned for me to keep walking and we took the small stairs of no more than five steps down to the main floor.
He walked to a bookshelf in the far back wall and I followed, still gawking at the room around me. “I’m sure Xavier is putting the pieces together by now, but with his track record of keeping secrets, I don’t know if he’ll share this information with you. I can answer questions that are basic in nature but I cannot tell you the whys and the who’s. Like I stated before, I’m no encyclopedia. Do you understand?”
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