by Piper Hannah
I thought about it some more. Maybe it just wasn’t about the kids. How could I possibly carry on a relationship with a person only I can see?
Raine was talking about her marvelous summer vacation plans with Tommy when her cell phone rang.
“If that’s Tommy calling from the cafeteria telling you that he misses you, I’m going to throw up,” I mumbled. I pretended to grab her phone, and Raine quickly swatted my hand away.
“It’s my mom,” Raine said with a smile, wiggling her phone an inch away from my face. Raine got up and answered the phone and walked a few steps away from me.
I looked around for my angel and saw him leaning against the brick wall of the library. He was about fifty feet away, and there were more benches and students between us, but we’re still connected somehow. Luke winked at me, and my heart melted. This was enough for me right now.
I looked away and waited for Raine to finish her conversation. From the corner of my eye, I saw a demon flying in the air, close to the ground and very close to me. It was Joshua. I watched him as he landed next to me with a frown. He really did have a sour disposition – that one. Maybe it was a demon thing.
Without saying a word to me, he looked around. Once he spotted Luke, he started walking towards him in quick, long strides. I’ve never seen Joshua in my school before. What was he doing here?
Joshua stopped right in front of Luke. Then, he leaned against the brick wall next to him. Except for the difference in their hair color, they looked so much alike. It was as if they were made from the same mold.
They were talking normally, at first. Then, Luke suddenly became tense, his arms automatically crossing against his chest as he gave Joshua his full attention. They faced each other now, and Joshua threw his hands in the air. Clearly, the conversation between friends was suddenly no longer friendly.
I leaned forward and concentrated on the words leaving their lips, hoping that I could make out the words. I couldn’t. All I could hear was Raine’s voice while she talked on her cell phone a few feet away from me.
Luke and Joshua looked very angry, both of them stepping closer to each other at the same time, and their words were coming out very fast. Joshua turned to me. His face was furious, and his purple eyes were blazing. I froze, forgetting to breathe. What was it about me that was so unlikeable from a demon’s point of view? I’m a nice gal. I’m very likeable.
My vision was suddenly obstructed by Raine’s hand moving up and down in front of my face. I gulped and quickly turned my head to look at her.
“What are you staring at?” she asked, as she looked towards the direction where Luke and Joshua both stood. Of course, she didn’t see either of them. Raine looked confused as she looked at me again.
“Nothing,” I said, and to her, my answer was not a lie.
CHAPTER 21
As soon as Luke sat down in the front passenger seat of my car, I asked, “Why was Joshua in school today? You both seemed upset.” I started the car and started driving. Fortunately, Emma had to stay after school for cheerleading practice because I didn’t think I had it in me to wait much longer to talk to Luke.
Luke remained silent, and I didn’t know if I should press him for an answer. If he didn’t want to tell me, if he was having a private conversation with the demon, then I really should leave him alone.
Luke sighed. “Joshua thinks that it’s best to stay away from you. He thinks that I should get you another Guardian,” he said.
Ouch. I knew it. His friend didn’t like me. I knew I made a mistake when I called him a devil, but hey, mistakes happen, and his black wings were misleading. He didn’t have to take Luke away from me because of that. I became more and more depressed as I drove.
“Joshua believes that it’s for your own good.”
“How would it be for my own good, if you left me? How does that benefit me?” I asked. Why is a demon concerned about my well-being, anyway? I bet he’s trying to get Luke to stay away from me to torment me.
“He was not always a demon, you know,” Luke said. “He was an angel once… but that was a long time ago.”
That was a surprise. “What happened to him?” I asked.
“Love changed him.”
His response was confusing. How could being in love with anyone ever be wrong?
“And love turned him into a demon?” I asked. It seemed that angels and demons were more complicated than I first thought. When humans fell in love, they just did.
“No, but Joshua was reckless, and…” Luke suddenly paused and ran his hands through his hair. He looked at me as if he was thinking about not telling me about the fate of one girl. “She died,” he finally said.
I gasped. “He killed her?” I asked.
“No, no. It wasn’t like that. Joshua would never do that. He loved her, and the humans killed her. She could see angels, and they killed her because of that. They killed her because they believed that she was a witch, and they burned her at the stake. Joshua behaved badly when he found out, and, well, many humans died because of him. He destroyed her entire town before his wings had a chance to turn black.”
“He killed people?” I asked horrified.
“Yes.”
I didn’t know what to say. My heart ached for the girl who can see angels, someone who was a lot like me, but my heart ached more for a demon - for Joshua. What Joshua did was wrong, clearly, but I couldn’t bring myself to sympathize with my fellow humans who were stupid enough to be afraid of one girl whose only crime was to see her angel.
I already knew that angels and humans were not supposed to be together, but I never knew the extent of what could happen. This was the extent of what could happen. A girl’s death, an angel’s descent into hell, and maybe what happened to Joshua wasn’t just history. Maybe it was a warning that something similar could also happen to me. It could happen to Luke. He could turn into a demon because of me.
“When an angel kills a human, he becomes a demon. It’s our punishment because it’s our duty to keep humans alive,” Luke said. “Killing humans goes against our very nature – our purpose for our existence.”
“They don’t accuse people of being witches anymore,” I said softly. I wanted Luke to know that what happened to Joshua wasn’t going to happen to us. No one was burning me at the stake!
“Yes, I know. Times have changed, but unfortunately, the rules have not. I’m not supposed to change your life, Paige, and by being with you, I am changing your life.”
“But you’re different… because you would never kill a human.”
“That is where you are wrong,” he said softly. “More than any Guardian, I understand what Joshua did. I could imagine myself doing the same exact thing.”
I shook my head. That didn’t seem right. I always thought that my angel was beyond that – beyond murder. He was supposed to be everything that was good in this world.
Luke sighed. “If anything happened to you,” he said. “I would do the same exact thing.”
It wasn’t a declaration of love outright, but I knew Luke loved me. The sad thing was that I wasn’t happy about it. Having walked the same path, having made the same mistakes, Joshua’s friendship was genuine. I understand that now. As much as it hurts me, Joshua did have something to be angry about. He didn’t want his friend to end up being a demon because of me. I suppose that was something the demon and I had in common.
“You’re not turning into a demon. Not under my watch,” I said, shaking my head. “You can’t leave me. You just can’t.” Please don’t leave me.
“Then the demons… they’re going to come after me. It’s only a matter of time.”
CHAPTER 22
In bed later that evening, I was having a dream when I woke up to the sound of Buffy barking.
“Shhhhh.” I opened my eyes and noticed that it was still dark. With eyes still half shut, I reached over on my nightstand and turned the lamp on. I peeked at the alarm clock. It was three twenty in the morning, for crying out loud. “It�
�s still too early, Buffy.” I looked at Buffy, who was up standing next to the door and barking at the ceiling. Crazy dog.
“You are failing me as an alarm clock, my friend.” Buffy was still barking and was now jumping up and down. Dogs should not be barking at three twenty a.m.
Suddenly I felt my entire bed shake, and the house creaked a bit. I rolled over, drop my head on the pillow, and sighed. Within three seconds flat, I saw Luke go through the wall and into my room. He landed on his knees in front of my bed. In one quick move, he hovered on top of me, not really touching me, but he was very close. His hands were on my bed, his elbows locked, and his face was right on top of mine. I stared at him in shock as the ground kept on shaking. Buffy kept on barking.
“Earthquake,” he explained.
“Yes, I know,” I whispered. Although, the Harper family could not hear him, they didn’t have a problem hearing me. “I’m familiar with earthquakes. They don’t scare me,” I said.
“They scare me.”
Okay. That was a bigger shock than the earthquake. I didn’t know that he was afraid of anything. I always thought that he was fearless – him being immortal and all.
Luke must have seen the confusion cross my face, and he smiled.
“Let me clarify that. I’m scared of the earthquake… for you. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Even as he said it, I heard a couple of books topple from my desk on the corner.
Oh, now that made more sense. He thought I needed protecting from the big, bad natural disaster.
Luke bent his elbows a bit, still careful not to touch me. He lowered himself slightly and took a long, deep breath, smelling my hair. “You always smell like strawberries,” he said.
“It’s my shampoo.” I replied, staring at his lips. I couldn’t help thinking – hoping - that he would kiss me again. It’s been so long, and he was so close.
“You are so pretty,” he said as his purple gaze dropped to my lips. I smiled. I couldn’t help but want human things… like another kiss. Without thinking, I traced the back of my hand against his cheek gently. Luke closed his eyes and held his breath. Oh, he really likes this.
Suddenly, the ground stopped moving, the house stopped creaking, and Buffy finally settled down into her doggie bed.
I heard a bedroom door open down the hallway, and Luke pushed himself up and away from me - fast. His wings flared a little as he jumped. He landed on the carpet softly and without a sound. I sat up on my bed, resting my body against the headboard.
“You two okay?” I heard Dad yell from the hallway.
“Yes, Dad,” I yelled back at the same time I heard Emma say the same thing. Luke and I were still looking at each other, but he was already backing away.
“Wait,” I whispered.
My walkie-talkie beeped, and I groaned. I picked it up from my nightstand and pressed a button. Emma’s voice poured in.
“What was all that commotion in your room?” she asked.
“Just some books from my desk,” I said. “Nothing major.” I had to talk to Emma, or it would be an open invitation for her to burst into my room. She was really nosy like that, and she had no boundaries. She used to walk in the bathroom all of the time while I was still in it. Nowadays, I have to lock the door just to keep her out.
“That was at least a four,” Emma said with a yawn.
“Definitely a four point five,” I said. (As a Californian, we develop an internal Richter scale based on experience. I’ve honed mine through the years.)
My angel turned slowly towards the window and started walking. I yawned loudly into the walkie-talkie, trying to get rid of Emma quickly.
“Emma, I’ll talk to you later, okay? Go back to sleep, okay? There is absolutely no fire,” I said.
At my words, Luke froze. He turned around, and I saw the confused look on his face. My lamp was still on, and I could see his expression clearly. For the first time since I met him, he looked vulnerable.
“And there’s no smoke,” Emma said, her voice drifting through the walkie-talkie. “Over and out.”
Without breaking eye contact with Luke, I placed the walkie-talkie back on the night stand. Luke opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. Then, in one quick movement, he turned around and hurled himself towards the wall, disappearing through it.
My shoulders slumped. I looked at Buffy, but she was already asleep in her doggie bed. There was nothing else for me to do. I turned the lamp off and dropped my head on the pillow. I pulled the sheet up to my chin. My head was full of thoughts of Luke. I closed my eyes.
Oddly, I fell asleep right away, and I started to dream. No, not to dream this time. I started to remember, but the memory wasn’t really about Luke. It was about me. Maybe the earthquake somehow shook my subconscious and opened up a door to my past… and my past, it was kind of creepy… with a lot of fire and smoke.
It goes something like this…
CHAPTER 23
England in the year 1080
It was night, and it was cold in the shed that the villagers had locked us in. It was pitch black inside because no one bothered to give us a candle.
I knew this shed well. My father is the carpenter in this village, and I helped him find the wood to build this shed. It was built three winters ago, and it was used as storage for the town’s livestock. It still smelled like animals and dirt, pigs and mud. On this day, this shed was our prison.
Was I a witch? The villagers certainly think that I am, but my angel would say no. So, my answer is no. I am not a witch.
My sister was with me, and we were both locked away in this shed. Elizabeth - my poor sister. She was only fourteen and already destined to suffer for this as well. We were huddled in the corner farthest away from the door, and we were shivering. My arms were wrapped around her for warmth and comfort. At a time like this, we can only get it from each other. Nobody cared about us now, at least, not here.
“I told you not to tell anyone,” I whispered, hugging her closer to me. Elizabeth remained silent, but she knew I was right. Until today, we never had anything to fear. Our village was small with only fourteen families. They were God-fearing people, who worked hard and were pleasant most of the time, but not today, and especially, not to us.
We heard muffled voices outside as important decisions were made. It was useless, really, since everyone already knew what the decision was going to be. There was only one penalty for being a witch: Death.
“We are not witches, Gwen,” Elizabeth said. Her voice was strong, almost angry. Here I was, cowering in the dirt in fear, while my younger sister remained so brave. She was always the courageous one. I always admired her for that.
“Yes, I know, but no one understands why we can see angels. You should have known better than to tell Edith.”
“I did not know that she was going to turn into a traitor and tell everyone our secret,” Elizabeth said. “She was our sister, after all.”
Edith was our oldest sister, and Elizabeth was the youngest. I understood Elizabeth. Even I couldn’t believe that Edith would do this to us, knowing what the villagers would do to us.
“Edith was going outside every night when she thought everyone was asleep,” Elizabeth explained. “I thought she could see angels and was going outside to meet with them.” I understood what she was trying to tell me. Meeting the angels at night was something Elizabeth and I did often. It was dangerous, but we never got caught until today.
“Edith was meeting a man,” I explained, finally telling her what I have known for some time. I knew Edith’s secret. We all shared a room, and Edith was not that quiet, and I followed her once.
“Why did you not tell me?” Elizabeth asked.
“Because secrets are meant to be kept. It was Edith’s secret, not mine.”
“Just like I should have kept our secret?” she asked in a small voice. She never apologized, but it was there in the sound of her voice – her remorse.
“Ye
s.” Because no one would ever understand how Elizabeth and I could see angels. It was useless explaining, and this secret may cost us our lives.
“Don’t worry. Our angels will come for us,” I said. “Everything will be alright. They will take us away from here.”
I prayed that what I just said was true - that somehow, our angels will know that we needed them. I hope that they would come for us, but I also knew that our angels only came out at night. There were more people like us, people who could see angels, and darkness was an angel’s best defense from human eyes. As Luke explained it to me, angels cause chaos amongst us humans when they are seen by many. They choose who can see them, and for some miraculous reason, they chose me and Elizabeth. We were not witches. We were blessed.
I started crying, and my sobs echoed through the shed. I hugged Elizabeth tight. Our angels might not get to us in time. If they come in their usual hour after the sun sets, it will be too late because Elizabeth and I would be ashes by then.
‘Oh, Luke,’ I thought sadly. ‘I’m scared. Please get here in time.’
***
It was almost daybreak, and the sky was turning a lighter shade of gray. Elizabeth and I were tied together, our backs pressed against a wooden post. We were in the center of our small town, surrounded by scraps of wood and other debris that were meant to be burned along with us. There were logs, a few pieces of wood broken off from a chair, an old chopped up door. To the right of me, by my feet, I saw Elizabeth’s doll, which made me weep harder. Elizabeth was too old for dolls, but this doll was one of the few possessions she treasured. I think Joshua made it for her when she was younger, and it was being thrown away like rubbish to burn along with us.