Revelation (Blood of Angels Book 1)

by Paula Arwen Owen

  “But…”

  “Next!” The cashier handed her a black plastic bag and pushed the penny back at her.

  “Weirdo,” Des muttered as she headed for the door through a pack of masked werewolves. “It’s just a number, it’s not like I’m the Devil or something.”

  The sidewalk outside was as crowded as the store, and she didn’t see her friends anywhere. She stood on tiptoe to look for a glimpse of Rachel’s red hair, but she was nowhere in sight. She pulled out her phone to text her, then figured they had probably gone ahead to the subway station.

  The two blocks to West 4th Street station took much longer than it should have, with so many people filling the way. She paused at the row of silver turnstiles at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at the brightly colored circles announcing all the train lines that converged here. Blue and Orange circles surrounded white letters from A through F, multiple options that could get you anywhere in the city. The heat wafting up from the underground tracks was welcome after the cool night air, although the stale smell of swarming people and hot metal was not.

  She contemplated whether Rachel had meant to leave her behind. If she walked down to one of the two level platforms, would they welcome her, or would the rest of her night be filled with pointless arguments? She thought of her mom, handing out candy at home by herself, and wondered if that might be a better way to spend the night.

  “Are you lost, little vampire?”

  “What? No.” She started to move aside as a plastic horned devil came up behind her, but he blocked her way by placing a hand on either side of the turnstile she was standing in. An overwhelming odor of cheap beer wafted off of him.

  “I think you’re lost,” he said. “Why don’t you come on home with me.”

  She frowned. “As tempting as that sounds, I’ll pass. Excuse me.” She tried to push past him, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he moved closer and raised a hand to touch her hair. She slapped his hand aside and he grabbed her wrist. Her heart began to race and her face felt hot.

  “Back off!” Her voice echoed along the cement floor, along with his laughter. The cold metal of the turnstile pressed against her spine, too high for her to scramble over, too low to duck under.

  “Hey.” A quiet but steely voice made her attacker turn around and drop her wrist. “I believe the lady said to back off.”

  The voice belonged to a tall, dark-eyed young man in a mid-length black leather jacket that contoured his slim but muscular body. She could see the hint of a swirling tattoo peeking out from under the collar of his black t-shirt, ink black lines vibrant against his tan skin. Thin streaks of silvery grey peppered his wavy black hair, although he didn’t look much older than her. He stood coiled like a lean wolf ready to pounce, a warning exuding from his presence.

  The devil man sneered at him. “Mind your own business, dude. I’m having a conversation with this sweet little thing.”

  Des crossed her arms. “I am not sweet. Or a thing.”

  The tall stranger’s lips twitched in a smile that softened the intensity of his gaze. He leaned closer to the horned creep as if telling him a secret.

  “I don’t think she wants to converse with you.”

  Devil man turned to him and raised a fist, but the stranger didn’t flinch. He only raised his arms slightly, daring him to fight.

  “I ain’t afraid of you,” the drunk man mumbled, stumbling backwards. “You just...” he looked over at Des, “Ain’t worth my time.” He backed away towards the stairs, bumping into the people coming down. Des watched him retreat, then turned to her rescuer.

  “Wow, um, thanks. I am really attracting the creeps today. Do I have a big target on my forehead or something?”

  “Sorry. Do you want me to go?”

  “What? Oh, no, I didn’t mean you.” She leaned against the turnstile, feeling unsettled from the whole encounter. She tried to study him from behind her bangs, wondering what had made him stand up for her. When she met his gaze, he looked down nervously, a lock of hair falling across his angular cheekbones and settling in front of his full lips. She felt the urge to brush the piece of hair aside.

  “So,” he paused and put his hands in his pockets, his bravado seeming to fade as he stood there facing her. “Are you... actually lost?”

  “Oh, no. I’m meeting my friends…” she trailed off. She could hear the screech of the downtown F train pulling into the platform below. If Rachel and Kyle were down there, would they be getting on the train right now without her? She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.

  The noise of the train faded, and her stomach rumbled instead. She peered into her black plastic bag with a frown.

  “Is that your dinner?”

  She glanced back up at him, trying to guess if he was making fun of her.

  He pushed the stray lock of hair from his face. “I thought,” he began, then paused again. “I was wondering, if you would like to have a proper dinner. With me.”

  Des bit her lip and imagined her mother’s voice lecturing her about strangers on the subway. But she was eighteen now, not a little girl. And the way he kept looking at her did something funny to her skin, bringing an unbidden flush to her cheeks. Of all the ways her night could go right now, this might not be so bad at all.

  A small crooked smile crept across her lips. He smiled in return, making her heart race just a little faster, this time in a good way. Turning away from the bright lights of the station, they went up the cement stairs toward the dark chaotic night.

  A Meal for Two

  They turned off of Sixth Avenue onto a side street lined with brick townhouses shaded by leafless trees. Streetlights cast long shadows through the branches and over ornate iron fences with spikes lining the top. Des trailed her fingers along the iron bars as they walked, scattering the long shadows into distorted pools of blackness. Her other hand swung close to his, but not quite touching.

  “So,” he said, “we didn’t get properly introduced. I’m Adrian.”

  “Desdemona, but you can call me Des.”

  “Desdemona, the fair devil,” he said softly. “The ill-fated one.”

  She frowned at him. “You had to read Shakespeare in school too? Not the best character to share a name with. But it’s also a star. I could be named after a star.”

  “I think that’s more likely. A star is also pale and beautiful.”

  Des blushed and looked at her feet. The sidewalk sparkled delicately under the streetlights as if it reflected her namesake far above. It turned dark again as they passed under one with a broken lamp.

  “So, where are we going?” she asked, looking ahead and seeing nothing but more townhouses and darkened corners.

  “Someplace a little more quiet.”

  “Hmm. Are you sure you’re not a vampire luring me to my painful but blissful death?”

  He laughed. “Unfortunately, nothing so romantic. Just a small out of the way restaurant.”

  They turned a corner and the soft glow of outdoor lights welcomed them up ahead as they neared the restaurant. Charming pumpkin lanterns hung from wrought iron posts in the small open courtyard. They were greeted at the door by a waiter in a white minidress trimmed with feathers. He had small feathered wings strapped to his shoulders and a glittering gold halo circled his curly hair.

  “Happy Halloween!” he exclaimed. “And who do we have here, could it be Bella and her brooding Edward?”

  “Oh, we’re not really dressed up,” Des said with a shrug.

  “No, he looks more like Jacob, Mm hm.” The waiter gave Adrian an appraising look before leading them to their table and handing them two menus.

  “This is our Halloween menu, all appetizers are absolutely sinful, and only $6.66. Can I get you darlings anything to drink?”

  Des ordered iced tea and Adrian asked for water. Their waiter sauntered off.

  “Sometimes I feel like I see that number everywhere,” she said, pointing to the appetizers. “I freaked out this lady earlier when the number came
up on her register.”

  Adrian pulled out his wallet and placed a card on the table. His driver’s license.

  “You have a car?”

  “If you can call it that, it’s more rust than car. Look.” He tapped his finger on the license number. The middle numbers were the infamous trio, 666.

  “No way!” She caught a glimpse of his birth date as he put it away, trying to calculate how old he was. At least a few years older than her. “What do you think it means?”

  “Well, if you believe in that stuff it means you’re marked with the sign of the beast.”

  Des laughed. “It seems kind of improbable, don’t you think? The whole fire and brimstone thing. Besides, the Jewish religion doesn’t even believe in the Devil. He only shows up in the New Testament.”

  “You read the bible a lot?”

  “Just the good parts. My dad used to drag me to temple and that’s all they have to read there.”

  “I thought maybe you were Wiccan.” He nodded at the silver pentagram necklace around her neck, the one that matched Rachel’s. It hung next to a small Star of David and a pewter dragon with tiny red jewels for eyes.

  “Oh,” she frowned, twirling the necklace. “Not really, my friend Rachel is more into that stuff than me. It’s supposed to protect against evil.”

  “Evil you don’t believe in.”

  She grinned. “If there is a hell, I bet it’s here on earth, in my high school.”

  Adrian laughed. “Well if hell is here with us, I would bet heaven is too.” He settled his gaze on her as if she was the only thing that existed in the world, and Des looked down at her napkin, certain the whole restaurant could hear the thudding of her heart.

  “Some virgin drinks for our little gloom bunnies!” The waiter set her drink down in front of her, making her jump. “Have we decided on our meal?”

  Des ordered a steak dinner, then regretted it as Adrian only got an appetizer for himself. She wasn’t sure if it was rude to get the most expensive meal, but she was starving. She had never been on a proper date like this. The most romantic meal she had been invited to was pizza on paper plates.

  As the waiter left with their order, she noticed a scruffy hollow cheeked man watching her from the next table, and for a moment she thought of the preacher from earlier. He acknowledged her with a slight nod, and as he did his eyes flashed red. She threw a startled look at Adrian, who raised an eyebrow.

  “Did you see that?” she whispered. The man had turned back to his meal, and she wondered if she had imagined it. Or maybe he had some weird contact lenses. “That guy had the strangest eyes, must be contacts.”

  “Like yours?”

  Des lowered her eyes self-consciously. It always unsettled people when they really looked. Her eyes were slightly different colors, both hazel but one was more greenish blue, and the other was filled with enough gold specks to look like amber. They changed even more when she was upset or angry.

  “Mine are real. Do they freak you out?”

  She felt his hand gently push her bangs aside, then rest against her cheek, his thumb tilting her chin upward to look at him. His skin was warm against hers, and she leaned into his palm with a small sigh, her breath tickling his fingers. His hand trembled slightly as she found herself staring into his eyes, a brown so dark they almost looked as black as night.

  “They’re beautiful,” he murmured, and her gaze travelled down to his lips, imagining how soft they would feel against hers. She bit down on her own lip and pulled away, the noise of the restaurant rushing back to her consciousness.

  “So, um,” she fidgeted with her napkin, deciding to change the subject. “What about you? Are grey highlights the new thing?” She gestured at his hair, the grey streaks shining silver against the ebony black. His hair came down to his chin, thick and slightly wavy. It almost matched her own, raven black and streaked with lavender. She had dyed it a deep purple for her birthday a few weeks ago, but the color was already fading.

  He ran a hand through his hair and his lips twitched in a half smile. “I guess I grew old too fast.” The smile faded as she tried to figure out what that meant. “It changed color after my mom died,” he explained.

  “Oh.” Des felt bad for asking. “I’m sorry.”

  “It was a long time ago,” he assured her. “Car accident. My dad couldn’t handle raising us, so my brother and I grew up with my uncle before moving here.”

  “I grew up here,” Des said. “I mean in Brooklyn. With my mom. My dad is gone, I mean he left, not... gone.” She grimaced as she fumbled her words.

  The meal arrived to save her more embarrassment, and she ate her steak ravenously, until she noticed him watching her, picking at his own food.

  “Hungry?” he grinned. She slowed down, although there wasn’t much left. “Yeah,” she said sheepishly. “Low blood sugar I guess.”

  She already felt a bit guilty about ordering the steak, and was pretty full from dinner, so they skipped dessert. Des glanced at the red-eyed man again as they left and he winked at her, but his eyes remained a normal shade.

  Adrian took her hand in his as they walked back down the quiet streets and ran his thumb lightly against her palm. She shivered, both from the pleasant sensation and from the chill night air.

  “Are you cold?”

  “Always.” It was true, the cold always bothered her, unless she was flush with anger or embarrassment. He wrapped an arm around her and she leaned against him, savoring the warmth from his body. She slid an arm under his coat and around his torso, her head resting just below his chin. His body tensed slightly at her touch and she could feel his toned muscles beneath his shirt. He stopped and she glanced up at him.

  “So, will I see you again?” he asked.

  She smoothed an unruly strand of hair away from his eyes and found herself lost in them. The lamplight cast a shadow that made them seem endless, like the deepest spaces between the stars, and she felt like she was falling into those spaces as he leaned his head down and hesitantly pressed his lips against hers. They felt just as soft as she had imagined, and she leaned into his kiss, pressing her body against his. His hands slid across her shoulders and down her back, sending electric shocks through her body as they slipped under her shirt to her bare skin.

  She pulled away with a small gasp and leaned against the iron fence behind her, the metal points poking her arms. The dull pain helped to straighten out her jumbled thoughts. She had been kissed before, but never with such intensity and desire. It made her entire body yearn for more, and if he asked, she might have gone home with him right then. But he didn’t ask, he only leaned close to her, running a finger along her skin until she grabbed his hand to stop the little sparks it left behind.

  “I should probably go,” she whispered. Before I do something stupid, she thought to herself.

  He nodded, closing his warm fingers around hers and kissing her knuckles lightly before standing back. She sighed as the chilly air filled the space between them.

  “I’ll walk you to the train.”

  She linked her fingers through his again as they strolled slowly back towards the station, ending up near the turnstiles where they had met not that long ago.

  “Are you sure you’ll be all right getting home?”

  Des looked around the busy station and smiled. “I don’t see any more monsters here.”

  “Let me know if you do.”

  “Why? Will you slay them for me?”

  “Of course.”

  She bit her lip as she looked up at him again, dug her nails into her palm as he leaned towards her and gave her a short, sweet kiss, like the spark of a match before it ignites. She pulled herself away towards the turnstile, walking sideways to see a last glimpse of him before heading down the stairs to the platform.

  She barely noticed the people jostling around her on the train as she slid into an empty seat between a brown-robed Jedi and someone covered in glitter and sparkles. She checked her phone to make sure his number was sav
ed in there, already planning the next time they could meet.

  The B train rumbled over the Manhattan Bridge and she stared out the window at the jeweled city skyline, multicolored lights reflecting along the water like crystals in a shimmering abyss. The darkness of night hid all the dirt and grime of daytime under its seductive veil, transforming the city into a land of beauty and mystery. It certainly gave her something beautiful tonight, something that made her feel a rare tinge of happiness, a glimmer of hope in a bleak and unforgiving world.

  Vision of Fire

  The skyline had a much different character in the morning, less mysterious and more full of window glare, dull grey metal and brick. Des shaded her eyes from the bright shafts of morning sun bursting into the subway car as the train slowly rattled across the Manhattan Bridge. It was a long ride to school, but she had managed to get the corner seat she liked on the B train, by the window. There were two more trains to switch to before she made it all the way uptown, and those were often standing room only.

  The sun glinted off the steady stream of cars and buses crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, visible just across the water to her left. She peered down through the wooden slats of the train tracks to see the Hudson river below, watching the rippling water glitter as if a thousand crystals rode the thin crests of the waves. The crossed steel beams of the bridge cast long shadows across her seat, flashing between shadow and light as the train moved along. Just like this city, she thought - one moment glittering and beautiful, the next minute shady and grim.

  A saxophone player at the end of the car played a lonely riff. The plaintive song and the rhythmic movement of the train began to make her drowsy, and she leaned her head against the window, thinking of Adrian. She checked her phone again, but there was nothing new. She hovered a thumb over his number, trying to resist texting him first.

  With eyes half closed, she noticed an odd shadow far below her, skimming the top of the water. It seemed to grow, spreading huge wings across the span of the bridge. She looked up to see if anyone else had noticed it, but the train car was suddenly empty, and the light had changed to an eerie orange glow. The glow was coming from the skyline, which had erupted in raging flames.