I glanced around taking in the atmosphere. It reminded me a lot of my grandmother’s house back in Los Angeles. The kitchen smelled heavily of oregano, cinnamon, and sweet pineapple. The Last Supper painting was hanging on the dining room wall, and there was pan dulce—Mexican sweet bread—inside a covered glass cake stand. It felt like home.
“Están listos para ordenar?” One of the young girls asked. I noted her beauty as I peered up. Her dark black hair was tied in a bun accentuating her beautifully trimmed eyebrows and brown eyes. And although her smile was warm and inviting, she wasn’t paying any attention to me.
“Me da un Vuelve a la Vida y un arroz blanco, por favor,” Milo said in perfect Spanish.
Impressed and surprised I said, “I didn’t know you could speak Spanish.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me,” he said brushing his finger over mine.
“Obviously.”
“I ordered you a—”
“Come Back to Life,” I said, cutting him off. “I may not speak Spanish fluently like you, but I do understand it.”
“Why is that?”
“My mother. Her husband doesn’t speak it, so she decided it was best we didn’t either. She didn’t want him feeling out of place,” I said irritated. “I remember speaking Spanish as a kid.”
“That’s a shame. Spanish is a beautiful language.” He cocked his eye then winked. “Maybe I can teach you.” He finished in a tone that implied he wanted to teach me more than just Spanish.
I smiled at the thought then glanced away shyly. “So how do you know Angela?”
“It’s a long story.”
“It’s not like I’m going anywhere,” I countered.
Milo gave in then said, “I met her a long time ago.”
“Oh? How long ago are we talking about?”
“Let’s just say she’s changed. A lot.”
I was getting frustrated with his curt answers and lack of details. “Was she a kid?”
“Around twelve or so.”
My eyebrows rose. “Twelve? That was a long time ago. Before you arrived on Earth.”
“Yes.”
“But…how?”
“Angela has a sixth sense so to speak. She can see beyond the veil.”
“The veil?” The angels had been living on Earth for seventeen years, never once have I heard any mention on the news about a veil.
Milo took a deep breath like he’d said too much. He scoped the room to make sure no one was listening. “Maybe this is not the right place to talk about this.”
“I really hate when you do that.” I objected.
“Do what?” He feigned confusion.
“Dodge my questions. Why can’t you be upfront and answer them like normal humans?”
“Because I’m not human.” Milo’s dark eyes were guarded giving nothing away.
I remained silent. I couldn’t keep the hurt from my eyes which Milo quickly noticed. He was hiding something—not just him, but the angels as well.
“Okay, fine.” His dark expression turned soft. “I’ll answer your question with one condition.”
“What?”
“Let me pick you up from school Monday.”
I hesitated. Milo in Dixon didn’t sound like a good idea, especially after what happened at the carnival.
“Why can’t you tell me now? Is it some sort of angel secret no one can know about?” I frowned. “Did she see you flying around? Stealing chickens from her family’s farm?”
“He saved my brother’s life,” Angela said as she placed a bowl of soup in front of me. “If it weren’t for Milo, my brother would not be here with us today”—she looked at him appreciatively then rubbed his shoulder— “Es mi angel guardian.”
Guardian angel.
When Angela was out of earshot, I asked, “you saved her brother?”
“It happened a long time ago. It’s not a big deal.”
“That is a big deal. You saved his life. Not many people get a second chance. How did it happen? Where did it happen?”
The tension in Milo’s shoulders eased. “Near a river where they were swimming. The tide was too high, it carried her brother away,” he said, his face wrecked as if it happened yesterday. “I visited Angela every other year to make sure her family was okay.”
The more good I found in Milo, the more my heart melted. Behind the bad boy facade, there was someone who cared for others.
I looked down at my soup, the infamous Come Back to Life soup that helps with hangovers. It was composed of finely chopped fish cooked in lime, bits of octopus, scallops, and shrimp mixed with pico de gallo, tomato juice, lime, and slices of avocado. I squirmed in my seat at the thought of eating right now, all I wanted to do was puke.
Taking a spoonful, I tasted the soup, it was cold, spicy but sweet. It actually tasted…good. I took two big bites before my stomach began to rumble. I raced to the bathroom closing the door, then puked my guts out. The nausea eased, relief settling in my stomach. It felt like I’d come back to life. There were individually wrapped toothbrushes inside a cup on the sink—I was glad to know I wasn’t the first to vomit my guts out. I quickly brushed my teeth, went back to my seat and noticed everyone staring and giggling.
“Better?” Milo asked, a hand over his mouth repressing a smile.
“Yes, much better.”
☩
Milo pulled to a stop in front of my house. Lucky for me, my mother was outside raking leaves with Isaac when we showed up. She froze when she saw us, I could tell by her rigid posture she was mad.
“Well, it was nice knowing you. I’m probably going to be grounded for the rest of my life,” I said taking off the helmet.
Isaac fearlessly ran to the motorcycle and stroked his hand over the handlebars.
“Cool bike!” he beamed. “Can I get on?”
“Sure,” Milo said, immediately hitting it off with Isaac.
When my mother saw Isaac’s interest in Milo, she quickly walked to us. “Isaac get off the motorcycle now!”
“Why? It’s awesome!”
Milo noticed how uncomfortable my mother became. “I’ll take you for a ride next time,” Milo promised Isaac. With that, Isaac left happy.
Milo focused his attention on my mother, he outstretched his hand to formally introduce himself, but my mother shoved Isaac behind her.
“I’m Milo,” he said, a non-threatening smile spread over his face.
“I know what you are,” my mother said in a cold and harsh tone ignoring the gesture. She eyed Milo judging every inch of his appearance. She grabbed my arm digging her nails into my skin and shoved me toward the entrance
I almost burst into tears. “Go inside, Alexis!”
“You don’t have to do that—” Milo tried to interfere.
“You stay away from my daughter!” she screamed. “I don’t ever want to see you around here again!”
A guilty expression flicked across Milo’s eyes as he watched me obediently go inside the house. I mouthed I’m sorry before closing the door.
Through the living room window, I watched as he drove away. When I saw my mother walked toward the house, I ran to my room.
“Alexis!” I heard her holler.
My mother’s rushed footsteps neared my door. I sat on my bed…waiting.
“Who was that?”
“No one.”
“You know I hate it when you lie to me,” my mother said pacing back-and-forth. “He’s an angel. You brought an angel to my house! Didn’t you learn anything from your sister?”
“My car broke down on my way home from Jane’s, he gave me a ride,” I lied.
She scoffed. She didn’t believe me. “An angel just happened to be in Dixon when your car broke down? Did you do anything with him?” she asked in an accusatory tone.
“No,” I replied defensively. “I told you, I don’t know him.”
“You’re grounded. Give me your keys.” My mother extended her hand waiting.
“Bu
t why?” Angry tears pooled in my eyes. I clenched my jaw and pushed her hand away. “No.”
“Alexis, give me those keys so help me God!” she yelled at me.
“That’s my car! It’s not fair you’re taking it away over something stupid!”
Seeing that I wasn’t giving in, my mother rummaged through my dresser. She didn’t know I had my keys in my back pocket. My mother gave up when she didn’t find them.
“You will give me those keys,” she said in a warning tone. “Or I will send you away to the same place I sent Priscilla. You will never see him again.”
“You sent Priscilla away?” I asked confused, taken by surprise.
There was a hint of guilt that crossed my mother’s face. Realizing she’d said too much, she stormed out of my room.
Where did she send Priscilla? I thought back to the last time I saw my sister. It was the night she came home unusually late and told my mother she was pregnant. I was more confused than ever. Did my sister really run away? Or did my mother send her away?
CHAPTER
20
The text cursor blinked as I stared at the blank document on the computer screen. I’d been sitting in the library for several minutes but couldn’t get a word out. The clock ticked away as I tapped my pencil on the desk. I had an English Lit paper due on the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet, and I’d been slacking all through study period. It was so hard to focus when all I could think about was my sister. I was trying to make sense of what my mother told me. Saturday evening, after Milo dropped me off, she threatened to send me away to the place she sent Priscilla so I wouldn’t see Milo again. The thought alone formed agonizing and painful lumps in my throat.
I bent over and stuck one hand inside my backpack. I rummaged through my books until I found the pamphlet the religious girl gave me at Eve’s Paradise. I glanced over the cover. A college-age girl was hugging the statue of an angel. What Does the Bible Say About Interracial Relationships With Fallen Angels?
I opened it, skimming over the introduction.
Deuteronomy 7:3
You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons…
Great, I thought. Already this wasn’t good.
Interracial relationships with angels are becoming more common today. With the recent law that was passed by Washington D.C., angels and humans can now marry. What does this mean for the fate of our race? What is the true identity of the ‘angels’? Why are they here? Let’s take a look:
Genesis 6:1-4
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose…The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them.
The angels who live on Earth today are the sons of God that roamed the Earth during Noah’s time. They fell from grace because they fornicated with the daughters of man. That’s right. fallen angels. They have come to Earth to wipe out the human race by replacing it with a superior one, the Nephilim, the giants described in the Book of Genesis. This is part of a government-angel agenda to gain power and control over all the nations. Beware of these creatures and their lies. They are excellent tempters of the body who can easily seduce the mind.
The more I read, the more irritated I became. I thought the angels couldn’t procreate? At least that’s what their spokesperson on the news always claimed. But what if the pamphlet was right? What if the government was hiding something from us? And when did religious pamphlets get political? I flipped the pamphlet around and skimmed through it, down at the bottom of the page there was small text barely visible. It said, Sponsored by the Knights Army.
Of course.
I threw the pamphlet on the table and decided to do more research. Where would I begin? Grabbing the keyboard, I typed in Non-serviam. The secret password from Eve’s Paradise. It didn’t take long for the search results to come back. The first were the lyrics of a song by a band called Rotting Christ. I scrolled down further until one entry caught my attention:
Non-serviam, Latin for ‘I will not serve.’ The phrase Lucifer spoke when he refused to serve God.
My throat went dry as I stared at the computer screen. I thought back to the angel’s unusual behavior. None of them acted like the pious angels on TV. Was it possible all of the angels were fallen? Was the compassion and kindness they displayed on TV all an act? If so, it only meant one thing; Milo was a fallen angel. Lucifer was real.
“What you reading?” Julian interrupted my thoughts.
I jumped. “I was, uh—”
“What is this?” Dawn said picking up the pamphlet. “Fallen angels, uh? I once read the angels are actually the aliens that landed in Roswell like a million years ago.”
“You know how to read?” Julian said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Yes, I know how to read,” Dawn scoffed offended. “I’m not as stupid as you look.”
“Sure had me fooled,” Julian retorted.
“Fallen or not, the angels are sexy. I don’t care what anyone says,” Dawn replied.
“But if it’s true? You don’t think it’s strange the angels from Eve’s Paradise are never in the news? Or that they drink, have sex with humans and gamble?” I asked.
“They’re trying to fit in just like everyone else,” Julian said dismissing my suspicions.
“By drinking, having sex and gambling?” I jerked my head to Julian.
“Everyone is doing it,” Julian said. “Why can’t they?”
“I don’t know about you, but that sounds to me like a fallen angel. If they are then that means they could be— demons.” The thought sent goosebumps up my arms.
“You’re starting to sound like all the Jesus freaks in this town. Besides, the angels already confirmed the devil isn’t real. He’s your ego—whatever that means,” Dawn said. “So, it doesn’t matter. Sin is in”—Dawn took her cell phone out and took a quick selfie then uploaded to her Snapchat— “hashtag sinner.”
Later that afternoon, I was sitting in my art class trying to finish the latest project. I’d been in class for almost thirty minutes, but my canvas was still blank. I couldn’t stop thinking about what I found. Non-Serviam floated through my mind, I will not serve. Priscilla’s distress call.
I glanced around the room, scanning the faces of the students until I stopped on the auburn-haired girl who asked me about the angels last week—I think her name was Mary. She was diligently painting on her canvas until she caught me staring. She smiled when suddenly her face briefly distorted into a demonic figure.
I jumped out of my seat accidentally knocking over a bucket of paint brushes. I made a run for the door but ran right into Mrs. Mercury.
“Is everything okay, Alexis? You seem distracted,” she asked, a concerned expression crossed her eyes. At that moment, Mrs. Mercury’s eyes twisted abnormally.
“I think I need to throw up!” I exclaimed.
Mrs. Mercury moved out of the way as I ran past her. Five minutes later, I was in the bathroom splashing cold water over my face. What was wrong with me? Lately, I’d been seeing things. First the figure at my house, then the black SUV, the man with the black hoodie, my sister, now this? I kept telling myself that it was nothing. I’d been hallucinating. I blamed it on the weed and the drinking. The image of the demon was nothing but a figment of my wild imagination. Turning the faucet off, I grabbed a few paper towels to wipe my face. The toilet flushing behind startled me. Through the mirror, I saw Savannah exit the bathroom stall.
“Move,” she commanded with an attitude. Savannah shoved me out of the way.
Irritated by her hostility, I replied, “what’s your problem?”
“You’re my problem,” she said without looking at me.
I fixed my angry eyes on her and decided to confront her about what I saw at Stone Mountain.
“I saw you,” I said.
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Savannah kept her gaze on her reflection and applied lipstick. “Saw me where?” she snapped.
“I saw you at Stone Mountain.”
Her peach face turned ashen at the mention of Stone Mountain. Her eyes suddenly became distant for a tiny second, lost in thought, before she narrowed her eyes at me through the mirror.
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” she replied then went back to fixing her face.
“What did you swear your allegiance to?” I continued to push for answers. “A cult? Are the angels forcing you to do things?”
“They’re not making me do anything!” Savannah shouted. “God, you’re so pathetic. Just like all the other losers in this town. Do you know what’s it like to feel like a prisoner?”
Actually, I did. But I didn’t say it out loud.
“All my life, I’ve been told what to do, what to believe, how to act”—she suddenly mocked her mom’s voice— “Yes ‘ma’am, no ‘sir. Behave like a lady! It’s driving me crazy!”
I stepped back unsure how to react to Savannah’s meltdown. It was almost as if, the real Savannah had finally been unleashed.
“He makes everything better,” she giggled, her expression coming alive. “He makes all of your fears disappear. I don’t have to hide who I am when I’m with him.”
“Who is he?” I asked afraid of the answer.
Savannah looked me straight in the eye, her frown blossomed into a knowing smile.
“You know who.” Her tone sent chills all over my body. Savannah stepped out of the bathroom. Who was Savannah talking about? Zane? I wasn’t entirely sure. There was only one way to find out.
CHAPTER
21
I was writing down the last answer to my World History quiz when I looked out the window and saw Milo leaning against his motorcycle looking hot as ever. My entire body flushed with heat. His marvelous dark hair hung loosely around his face. I almost dropped my pencil. When he offered to pick up on Monday, I thought he meant after school, not during school.
My heartbeat picked up, torn between staying in school to finish out the day or skip school altogether to spend time with Milo. Standing up from my seat, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked toward Mr. Gregory.
THE TRAGIC + DIVINE, Book 1 Page 19