Max, just stay in your room, it’s going to be fine.
I spun around expecting to find Angela in my room; I swear I heard her voice.
“Angela?” I said out loud hoping she was outside my door or something.
Look at my bedroom window.
I saw her standing there looking straight at me. She was speaking to me in my mind. Okay, that was creepy.
No it’s not creepy it’s called telepathy, you jerk. Now listen up, your room has a protection rune around it. Just stay put, Jones and I are handling this.
Stay put? Is she serious? I looked over to her and shook my head. I left my room before I could change my mind.
Stopping at the top of the stairs, all I could see was my dad’s back and I froze, listening in on their conversation.
“—you’re more of an imbecile than I thought if you didn’t see this coming,” she spat at my father. “He is the last of the seven and I will be taking him with me. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
At that moment, the front doors burst open and a limp body was dropped at my father’s feet. We both flinched at the sound of Jones heavy body hitting the ground.
I took a couple steps closer down the stairs and got a better view of the two demons that brought in Jones’ body. They were nasty creatures. Although they had many human features, I could still tell them apart. They had eyes so black it was as if they didn’t have pupils, and their teeth were pointed and sharp as knives. Their skin a waxy grey—it was sickening.
I didn’t know I was moving until I was at the bottom of the stairs. My anger seeped from my skin and I could feel my temperature rise.
“Then we’ll do this the hard way,” I said.
She grinned at my response and I knew she found this entertaining. The two demons that brought in Jones came towards me. Hunger in their eyes.
“Max run!” My father yelled but I didn’t have time to respond. I wasn’t running anymore.
I met them head on as my arms were engulfed in the now familiar blue flames that quickly began to spread throughout my body. I grabbed the first demon by the neck and slammed him to ground while dodging the other demons attack. The one on the ground screamed in pain as he clawed at his neck. The fire burned him on impact.
Now that I knew the effect it had on them, all I needed to do was get my hands on the next one, but he caught on and changed from an offensive to a defensive stance.
The flames surfaced all over my body to my chest and they felt great. I didn’t just have the need to grab this demon—I had the hunger to kill him. A primal growl escaped from my throat and I hurled a ball of fire his way as he dodged, but he didn’t expect the second one I threw where he landed. All too soon, he was burning from head to toe until there was nothing but ash.
Angela stood in the doorway wide eyed, staring at the scene in front of her. I looked toward the woman called Azrael and cocked my head to the side. The need to hurt her was overbearing. My hands twitched at the thought of wrapping my hands around her neck and watching her burn. I let out a snarl in her direction and she squealed in delight.
“Wow, this is fantastic. You are everything we ever hoped for and more.” She clapped her hands in excitement. I was so intrigued by her pending death that I didn’t feel Angela saunter over to me.
“Max, calm down please. Your fire is changing colors, remember what Jeremiel said.”
I tried to process what she said but my mind was all fuzzy. I heard her but all I wanted to do was kill.
“No, dear girl. Let them change colors. The sooner they turn, the better.”
I snapped a look at Azrael and then felt Angela’s hand on my wrist. She flinched but held on tight. Through gritted teeth she said, “Don’t.”
“Ugh, I don’t have time for these dramatics.” Azrael said as she took a step towards me.
Not wasting any time, I had a fireball in my other hand and blew on it in her direction. The fireball turned to a flame that would have swallowed her whole in one shot.
She staggered to the side, barely missing the flames, and leaned against the wall. She tried to control her facial features but was failing miserably. She was spooked.
“This may not be the right time. But since I know what we’re working with now, I’ll be back.” She winked at me and like myself, she was engulfed in red and orange flames that soon disappeared with her.
The tug on my arm made things come into focus. My father grabbed Angela to pry her hand off my wrist. He looked at me with fear. I saw her blistered hand and the pain on her face made the flames dissipate and I tried to reach for her but my father put a hand up blocking me.
The sound of my mother’s purse hitting the floor distracted me as my mom walked in and scanned the aftermath of the chaos that had unfolded. She ran over to me, grabbed my face and arms, checking for injuries. Dad quickly rushed a shaking Angela into his study and slammed the door.
“Max are you okay? Talk to me sweetheart, please.” I nodded my head and tried to get out of her grip. I walked over to where Jones was still on the ground and picked him up, laying him down on the sofa.
Still reeling from the adrenaline rush, I explained everything to my mother. She was starting to panic when my dad walked out of his study, putting all his attention on an unconscious Jones. Angela hadn’t followed him out and I got up to go see her when my dad said, “Don’t go in there.” He caught me off guard as his words dripped with disdain. My mom noticed as well and gave me a sympathetic smile.
I frowned. “Why?” How could he be so cold with me? I just saved us!
“Because I said so!” He turned around to face me, fists clenched at his sides and red in the face.
“Xavier, calm down.” My mother was at his side in an instant, trying to soothe him.
“For once, stay out of this Emily!” His words stung her but she kept rubbing his arm. This was the day, the day the ticking time bomb that was my father would explode.
Pienza, Italy
1506
20
My eyes fluttered open and I took in the darkness of the room. Torch lights hung on the walls and I laid on a cot with not enough hay.
I tried to sit up, but the uncomfortable bedding along with the dizzy spell that came over me, kept me in place. Sweat dripped down my back and heat protruded from my skin.
I was dead. Burnt at the stake.
I was dead and in hell.
What did I do? I thought as a single teardrop fell from the corner of my eye. The burning of my body made me want to claw at my skin.
I screamed to the devil, to God, to anyone who would listen as my dirt-filled nails dug into my arms.
“Enough, Angela.” A hooded figure emerged from the corner of the room. I stopped and watched as he approached me and knelt next to my cot. His hand came to my cheek and caressed me with care.
“Do not fear me, child. I am a friend of your father’s. I do not wish to harm you.” His voice was lovely. The sound put me in a state of calmness.
He took his hood off and I met the face of an angel. He was beautiful in every way possible. I did not fear the darkness of his hair and eyes. On the contrary, they glistened and I melted in the warmth of his presence.
“You’re my father’s friend?” I asked and he nodded with a smile. He was lovely and I couldn’t look away. This man I had never seen before was like a painting. Just the closeness of him sent comfort through me.
Pale but smooth skin that I itched to touch; a picture of perfection. The corners of my mouth tugged upward as I took in all of his features.
You’re so vulnerable; I don’t understand how humans can be so cruel.
He picked up a wet cloth from a bowl and cleaned up the dry blood and dirt from my face, arms and legs. He was caring for me.
She is just a child. A defenseless child. Why would they do this to you?
He squeezed out the bloody rag and the red liquid streamed out into the bowl at the foot of the bed.
“I don’t know,” I
responded and my voice came out hoarse.
“Pardon?” He said not looking at me as he moved on to my feet. They were scraped, cut and bloodied beyond repair.
She will have scars for life after this.
I cleared my throat to speak again.
“You asked why they would do this to me, but I don’t know. They’ve never liked me.”
I looked away from his face; I didn’t want to see the look of disappointment. I shouldn’t have told him that, now he would treat me like everyone else, as if I were the plague.
You can hear me, Angela?
He spoke again and I didn’t understand his question. With confusion I responded.
“Yes I can.” He gripped my chin and turned it so we met eye to eye.
Please don’t hate me! Please don’t!
“You are marvelous. Your abilities are already at work,” he said and I didn’t understand. All I focused on was the fact that he said I was marvelous. No one besides my father had ever made me feel this way. Made me feel loved.
“I don’t disgust you?” I questioned him, thinking this was all a dream.
His face came in to a scowl and he blanched away from me.
“Angela, how can you say that, child?” I looked away not wanting to see his look of disappointment.
“Am I in Hell?”
At that he laughed, and the sound was magnificent. “No child, you’re in heaven and because of all the burden that was placed on you on Earth…you will be reborn into an Angel. Like me.”
I’m in heaven? An Angel? So I did die and they were wrong. I’m not evil, God loved me. I was not being punished into the pits of hell.
“Who are you?” I looked up to the warm man with dark eyes.
“I’m the Angel Xavier.”
Present Day
21
“I want you out of my sight, NOW!” His voice echoed through my body leaving me empty inside. The anger in his eyes mirrored the anger I felt not too long ago. I wasn’t backing down. Noticing my change in demeanor, mom came in between us trying to bring in the peace.
“Please, not now. This is not the time to fight one another. Please try and see reason.” My mother’s panicked pleas fell on deaf ears.
“You have no regard for anyone’s safety and you just put us all in danger! When I tell you to do something you better damn well listen!”
My father’s yelling woke Jones and it seemed like he’d been listening in for a while. That bastard was probably faking it. I didn’t break eye contact with my dad. He was not going talk to me like this.
“I didn’t tell Angela to come near me, that was her decision and I saved you all so don’t make me feel bad for my actions.” Jones was at my side as he put a hand on my shoulder. Not knowing if he was going to lash out at me too, I shrugged him off and pushed through to my father’s study.
I heard their footsteps behind me and saw Angela sitting on top of my dad’s desk with only her undershirt on and her hand bandaged up to her wrist. I felt bad, I didn’t mean to hurt her, but that didn’t stop the venom that came out of my mouth. “You should have stayed out of it! I had it all under control!” I marched over to her with my finger pointed in her face.
She didn’t flinch. Instead she looked tired, sweating profusely, like her life force had been drained out of her body. Her normal sun kissed face was now pale and ghost-like. She didn’t answer nor make eye contact so I turned to my father.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” I said as he pushed past me and pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket. He approached Angela and tilted her head back. Opening each eyelid wider, he flashed the light in each eye.
Without looking my way he answered, “The fire that you produce, Max, is the fire of heaven. It is very dangerous and deadly which is why you were able to defeat those demons so easily. So don’t give yourself too much credit. Angela is in a state of shock from coming in contact with it.”
“But why Xavier? She’s an Angel of heaven, it shouldn’t affect her like this.” Jones said from behind me.
My dad was flustered and was looking anywhere but at us, searching for an answer. “I don’t know,” he said and the thought of him knowing more than he gave on crossed my mind. He knew why, he just wasn’t saying. I looked to Jones and he nodded in understanding. He was thinking the same thing.
“Jones can you please take her to the guest room upstairs. She needs rest.” My dad’s hands were shaking as he raked his fingers through his hair. He was nervous.
I couldn’t sleep from the thoughts of this evening clouding up my mind. I hadn’t eaten dinner and it caught up to me at midnight, when my stomach started to growl. I walked in the kitchen and found Jones at the counter eating a sandwich.
Does he ever leave?
“What are you doing here?” I said with a little more attitude than intended.
“Relax man; I was just grabbing a bite since Emily didn’t make dinner tonight. I’ll be out of your hair in no time.” He continued eating his sandwich and just the look of food made my stomach churn. He looked up midway and smirked at me, shaking his head.
“What, I’m hungry too,” I grumbled as I went to the fridge.
“You know none of this is your fault. Xavier just doesn’t understand what’s going on, it has him freaked. Azrael is the Angel of Death and when she comes knocking, that is never a good thing. So it’s not you.”
I turned around with leftover meatloaf in my hands, shocked that he said something partially nice to me. I shook my head at the absurdity of it all.
“I was human once,” he continued and I stopped at the counter. “Most guardians are. When we have an untimely death, we get the choice to walk among the living again but to protect in exchange for dying accidentally. It’s almost a joke.” He chuckled as he played with the crumbs on his plate.
“It was in the early 1800’s and I was a slave from the cotton fields of Montgomery, Alabama. My mother was a beautiful woman, she was barely eighteen when she had me. She caught the eye of every—black and white—man that passed by her, which included Master Jenkins, the owner of the plantation we lived on. What he didn’t know was that my mother was having a secret love affair with his son and was already pregnant with his baby. But Master Jenkins thought I was his offspring. My light skin and eyes made him a proud father compared to the other bastard children he brought into the world. I was the only one who didn’t have to work in the fields. I ran errands for him and watched over the fields in the evening. One night I came home early to find Master Jenkins and another white man holding my mother down on the bed against her will. I spent twenty years looking up to this man I called my father, all while he and his pals abused my mother. Twenty years of this and I had no clue. I beat the white man to a bloody pulp and when I came face to face with my so called father, I couldn’t do it. The mercy I had on him, he didn’t have on me. The following morning I was lynched to death. My guardian angel didn’t make it on time.”
Not knowing how to react to his confession, I looked to the ground, a habit of mine when put in uncomfortable situations. Jones was never one to talk about his family. All I ever knew was that he lived in an apartment down by the pier with his “foster parents” that were always at work. It never occurred to me that I didn’t know anything about his personal life and I was so self-absorbed to not ask.
Noticing my discomfort he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry man; I don’t know why I told you. I really do need to get a filter.” He tried to laugh it off but I wasn’t laughing. I finally put my leftovers in the microwave and saw him drift off with his thoughts.
“Jones, I know you’re really adamant about not being friends and I know I’m just some stupid human to you, but if you ever need to talk dude, I’m here.”
He looked at me and laughed, I didn’t even know why I tried. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the microwave.
“I know, Max.” His response caught me off guard. “I don’t deserve your friendship, but I know.”
; He rinsed off his plate and put it in the dishwasher. Before leaving he said, “I see the way you both look at each other. I don’t know if it’s just a physical attraction or what, but if she wants to be with you, I won’t stand in your way.”
I closed my eyes as his words settled in, knowing that was as close to a truce he would offer. The thought was comforting.
22
School was a lot better for the most part. Jones and I weren’t best friends after our pow wow last night but we could at least be in the same room again. Angela didn’t go since she was still recovering and Jones left after lunch to keep her company.
I dropped Melanie off at home so she could get ready for tonight. I was surprised when I got home and Jones asked if I wanted to train with weapons today.
We went to the backyard and he showed me a variety of swords, daggers and knives. He patiently explained how to use each one as he demonstrated. We practiced hand to hand combatives and he definitely kicked my behind with his super strength. I would have thought he’d tone it down like he did for football, but no dice.
“That was so not fair, man. You’re like the freakin hulk; you should have gone easy on me,” I said as we went in the house to the kitchen.
“No way, you’ve been training for a while now, you can handle it. Besides, they’re angels and demons that are much stronger than me so think of this like practice for what’s to come.” He smirked and I almost dropped my glass of water.
“Stronger than you? Are you trying to freak me out?” My jaw was almost hitting the floor as he laughed.
“Of course I’m trying to scare you. You’re so gullible.”
“Dude, I’m so not. You’re the one who got fooled by some succubus, so technically you’re the gullible one.”
Jones leaned up against the counter with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was so not going to let me get away with that. “Touché Max. But seriously, I should have known. Those twins were too hot for high school.”
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