by Piper Hannah
“Yes, I pray. It’s what I do,” he said.
“And I’m human,” I said. “We die. Dying is what we do. Gwendolyn would have died eventually, but I’m here now. Alive… You found me. We’re right here, right now… together. What could be better than that?”
When Luke didn’t respond, I asked, “What else are you worried about?”
“There were things Gwen wanted - normal things that I could never give her: a family, a husband, children, a home.” His eyes were daring me to deny it.
I couldn’t. Being the same person, Gwendolyn and I would want the same things in life, but even before today, my heart had already made its decision.
I sighed. I was given a gift. I had another life, another body. Yet, here I am again. I was making the same choices, maybe making the same mistakes. I traced the back of my hand over his cheek; this was something Gwendolyn used to do. Luke closed his eyes in remembrance.
“Gwendolyn picked you over all of that,” I said, “and I pick you.”
CHAPTER 26
Luke picked me, too. Honestly, I wasn’t sure that he would. I still remember the first time I met him in the backyard almost three months ago. He said he wanted to protect me. Now I know where his words were coming from. My past life was a harsh memory on the both of us, but we both agreed to make new memories - good ones.
The next week passed us in a magical blur. Believe me when I say that time flies fast when you’re having super-fun flying around with your guardian angel.
Last night, when my family was already asleep, I snuck out. Then, Luke and I had a picnic inside the L.A. Zoo. It was already closed for the evening, and it was just the two of us, eating chocolate cake. We were surrounded by a bunch of sleeping animals; the bats were awake, though. The night before that, we flew around the buildings in downtown Los Angeles, stopping briefly to rest at the helipad of the Ritz Carlton to check out the view. It was awesome, and we always zinged. Seriously. Do you know what I mean? We really zinged.
We only flew at night when the chances of me being seen floating around the dark sky was very unlikely, and I always wore my ninja outfit. (Just in case you were wondering, my ninja outfit is all black: black skinny jeans, a thick, dark hooded sweatshirt, and black Uggs. It’s less likely to get spotted in the dark when I’m wearing black. In this outfit, I call myself ‘the flying ninja’ – just in my head, though. )
Sometimes, Luke and I did normal human stuff. After school, he helps me with my homework. Emma is getting upset and suspicious since I don’t seek her out to help me with my homework anymore. She knows something is up, and I have to be more careful around her.
By late afternoon, Luke and I usually watch some of my favorite shows on T.V. Last Sunday, we baked chocolate chip cookies together. Then, we went for a swim, and he showed me how angels do the backstroke with his wings flared out in the water. It was hilarious! (I guess you had to be there.)
Today, we were doing another human thing – watching a movie on a Saturday afternoon. Luke and I were standing in line at the movie theater. It was just the two of us, but according to the world, I was by myself. We were holding hands, sort of, and being not invisible, I still had to buy a ticket for one.
Luke tilted his head to one side, and looked at me. “Please make sure no one sits on me,” he said, and I laughed. Then, I quickly swallowed my laughter when the normal guy in front of me turned around, wondering why I was laughing… by myself.
“I just remembered something really funny that happened yesterday,” I explained to the normal guy; he turned back around, whispering something to the normal girl standing in front of him.
Just as I turned halfway towards Luke, I saw my high school nemesis, Delia Bates, walking out of the theater with what appeared to be her parents. Imagine that. Delia had parents, and they were normal looking, too. All this time, I thought she was raised by tigers… or cougars… or lions… something cat-like with sharp, pointed teeth.
She saw me, and she quickly ditched her parents walking straight towards me. Why? She always ignored me at school. I turned around again, hoping she would go away. Seconds later, Delia tapped me on the shoulder, and I groaned.
“Hi,” she said with a straight face. Here she was, knowing that she was bothering me on a Saturday, and she didn’t even give me a smile. What a freak!
“Who are you here with?” she asked.
I stared at her. I get it now. She thought I was here with Colin. Of course… Colin was her obsession. She was his number one fan. Everyone knew that.
“No one,” I said. I couldn’t say ‘with my guardian angel,’ now could I?
“Oh,” she said, her eyes widening.
I stared at her, blinking a few times. The problem with the word ‘oh’ was that it was open to interpretation. I wondered what her ‘oh’ meant: ‘Oh, you’re pathetic,’ or ‘oh, I don’t believe you,’ or the generic ‘oh’ with absolutely no hidden meaning. I think I preferred that last ‘oh.’
Then, rescued by the ticket counter lady, it was my turn to purchase the ticket.
“Bye,” I said, pointing a finger towards the counter and left Delia standing there.
After purchasing the ticket - for one - I looked back; Delia was still watching me. I gritted my teeth. She was making sure I entered the theater by myself. I bit my lower lip, forcing myself not to talk to Luke as we both went inside the theater. That’s because I didn’t want Delia’s ‘oh’ to turn into ‘oh, you’re crazy.’
I didn’t want her to ruin my day. I was watching a really good movie with my guardian angel boyfriend. Nothing should be able to bother me right now. I should be invincible.
When we found our seats and sat down, the movie hadn’t started yet, but it was already dark inside.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked
“I’m fine.”
“She’s just jealous, you know.”
“Yeah. I got that.”
“Is there a reason for her to be jealous?” he asked. The words were spoken very casually, but his purple eyes slightly glowed in the dark.
I paused. I wasn’t sure if we were still talking about Delia. Was he trying to figure out how Delia felt about Colin, or how I felt about Colin? Was my boyfriend jealous? Boyfriend? I know I’ve called him my boyfriend in my head a few times, but now that I’ve actually spent every waking moment with him, I feel that I have a right to. Plus, he kissed me like a gazillion times in the last week. Okay, the actual kissing tally is twenty-eight, but some of the kisses were really long; so, a gazillion times is the real final tally. (By the way, in the dictionary, the very definition of the word ‘boyfriend’ was someone you have kissed a gazillion times. You don’t believe me? Look it up.)
“She likes Colin,” I said, “and she thinks Colin likes me.”
“Does he?” His voice was suddenly very deep.
Oh, he is definitely jealous… and why does this make me happy?
“No,” I said. “We’re just friends.” And Colin and I really were just friends. I don’t know why people made such a big deal out of us.
The previews started, and we didn’t say anything else. Luke took my hand in his and held it tight. He should know by now that there was no reason for him to get jealous. My heart was already engaged, and Luke’s name was written all over it.
CHAPTER 27
There were certain advantages to having a guardian angel for a boyfriend. Of course, I had to sneak out every time I saw him, and until I get caught by Mom and Dad, it was worth every second.
It was around two o’clock in the morning, and Luke was carrying me in his arms as we flew over the Pacific Ocean. Even in late April, it was still chilly when you’re flying via angel.
“How high are we exactly?” I asked.
“About two hundred feet up. We’re about ten and a half miles away from Catalina Island.”
“You’re like a living navigation system,” I teased.
“That’s something I’ve never heard before,” he said, grinning.
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I looked at his smiling face and felt pure joy. I liked seeing him happy, and I tried to memorize every detail of this moment. Unfortunately, Luke didn’t show up on photographs or video. He’s kind of like a vampire that way. So, all I can really do is gaze at his handsome face. I cupped the side of his face with one hand, feeling the texture of his skin.
“Are you trying to mind-meld with me?” Luke asked.
I smiled. See here… Luke already knows about the Vulcan mind-meld without me having to explain it to him. That’s because when I sleep at night, Luke stays in my room and spends his time watching my DVDs. Sometimes, he would sit in my chair or recline on the bean bag on the floor, but sometimes, he would lie down on my bed next to me just holding my hand. It’s the best way to sleep at night, and he keeps my nightmares at bay.
So far, he’s seen about twenty-five of my favorite movies: Star Trek, Star Wars, Avatar, The Matrix… He went through the classics very quickly. I’m pretty sure he enjoys them, too, because it’s not like I’m forcing him to watch them. Although, I do believe he prefers watching the History Channel. I found that he likes to critique and comment on what really happened hundreds or thousands of years ago. Apparently, we humans get our own history wrong sometimes.
While still flying, I kissed him on the cheek. He turned his head until I was kissing his mouth. Kissing, while flying, was so exhilarating.
I felt his lips travel down my neck. Question: If an invisible angel gave me a hickey, will other people be able to see it? Mmmhmmm…. Never mind… I’ll worry about that later.
Moments later, with his lips still on my neck, I felt Luke’s body stiffen. He turned away quickly, glancing over his shoulder. “Demons behind us,” he said as his arms tightened around me. His face became grim.
I looked behind him, but all I could see were Luke’s flapping wings. There was a full moon guiding us, but it was still very dark.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I don’t see anything.”
“They’re there,” he said. “I could hear them.” This close to him, with my chest almost pressed to his, I felt the quick pounding of his heart. He was nervous. “We are still too far away from Catalina Island, and I don’t want to drop you.”
We were flying faster; my best guess was somewhere around fifty miles per hour – sixty tops. Even held together tightly with a clip, my hair whipped around us furiously. I could hear the flapping of his wings in the air going faster and faster. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Without him telling me, I could tell that the demons were gaining on us. I could hear their wings now, and they weren’t very far behind.
“How many?” I asked nervously.
Without looking back, Luke said, “Five.” He swooped down, almost straight down, and I gritted my teeth from the sudden decrease in altitude. I became a little bit light-headed, and I tried not to scream.
Luke leveled, but he kept looking around. It was a sky-chase, and there was no place to hide. “The demons aren’t after you,” he said. “They’re after me.”
And I was just weighing him down. Talk about being a burden. “I could swim,” I said. “I’m a good swimmer. You can come back for me later.”
“Not an option,” he said as he swooped down again. This time, I did hear more wings flapping around us. I felt a sharp pull, and we jerked to the right. I looked up and saw a dark shape flying directly above us, tugging Luke’s right wing. Then, a fist came crashing down on Luke’s head, only a few inches from my face. I screamed.
We fell several feet and another dark shape bumped Luke from his left side. Luke quickly pulled my arms away from his neck, and kissed my forehead. A demon tugged his wing back, and then, Luke did something I didn’t think he would ever do. He dropped me… intentionally.
I closed my eyes and held my breath as I fell. The wind rushed all around me, pushing me in all directions. I was going to hit the water. Oh, crap, crap, crap.
My mouth was open, and I was about to scream when I felt someone catch me mid-fall. “Oomph.” My back and my legs hit something solid.
I opened my eyes and saw Joshua’s face right in front of mine. He was carrying me in his arms, but my right hand landed on his face.
“Ow,” he gritted out. “Do not poke my eye.”
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” I said as I dropped my right hand from his face. I breathed a sigh of relief.
I was shaking from fear. I would have hit the water if Joshua didn’t catch me.
Wait a second. “Did Luke know you were going to catch me when he dropped me?” I asked. Joshua’s answer wouldn’t have mattered to me, of course. If Luke decided to drop me on purpose, it must have been for a good reason. Plus, he already knew that I could swim.
“Maybe,” Joshua said, “and this is how we play catch.”
We were flying so close to the ocean’s surface that my Uggs grazed the water. I looked up; I didn’t see or hear anything. “They’re still out there. They will kill him,” I whispered. “You have to help him.” Even as I said it, I wrapped my arms around Joshua’s neck; I was afraid that he would do just that and drop me in the water. My Uggs were now soaked, and I could tell that the water was definitely freezing. Come to think of it, maybe I was also afraid of sharks.
“Don’t worry about Luke. He’s a soldier. He’ll be fine. I’ve never seen him hit the ground in a fight.” Joshua said. “Angels and demons… we all have the power to heal. If we didn’t, we would have killed off each other a long time ago. We would be extinct.”
“But he can still get hurt,” I reminded him.
“Little girl,” Joshua said with frustration, “you are the only one who can get hurt in all of this. I predicted something like this would happen. I warned him many times.” From the distance, I saw the lights of Catalina Island, and Joshua flew towards the lights. I heard a splash somewhere behind us.
“Whatever you two are doing, the demons aren’t going to idly stand by. Trust me when I say that the demons will not let one angel meddle in the life of one human when they cannot. It’s a jealousy thing. We demons like to play with humans, too.”
“Do you think the demons would go after me, then?” I gulped. I was definitely freaking out. “That they would try to kill me?” I added.
“No. Demons don’t kill humans. Only angels would do something idiotic like that.”
Joshua said it so simply and without any emotion in his voice, but I already knew his past - at least the part of how he turned into a demon. I wondered if he ever had any regrets for killing an entire village of humans.
“When a demon kills a human, the demon dies,” Joshua explained. “Disappears forever, never to be heard of again. Some demons believe that if we die, we turn into nothing. That is why it never happens… because there is nothing worse than being nothing.” Joshua shook his head. “We fear death, just as humans do, and that’s the reason why we demons stay away from humans. You are just too fragile. It becomes too much of a risk.”
We reached the island, and Joshua slowed down. “Sadly, you have more to fear from angels,” he murmured. “Some angels don’t care if they turn into demons.”
The lights on the island casted an eerie glow on the beach. There were no humans in sight. At this hour, it seemed that everyone in Catalina Island was asleep. Joshua landed, and he gently lowered my legs on the sand. On wobbly legs, I resisted the urge to kneel down and kiss the ground.
“Thank you for saving me, Joshua, but just so you know, this doesn’t change anything,” I said. My voice was filled with regret. I really wanted us to be friends, but I didn’t think that it was possible. “You still killed my family. I can’t forgive you for that.”
“Killed your family?” Joshua scoffed. “What planet are you from?” he asked sarcastically.
“Um… well, I’m from Earth.” Hello… What planet was I from? What kind of a stupid question was that? What did he expect me to say? I’m from Pluto? Wait. Pluto is still a planet, right? Because I’m still very confused about Pluto.
Joshua leaned forward until he was very close to my face and really looked at me. “You are… Gwen?” Even in the dark, I could see his purple eyes blazing. Suddenly, he turned around, and his black wings flared as if he was prepared to fly. Instead, he kicked the sand under his feet while mumbling some words I didn’t understand. I think he was cursing in Latin.
“Of course it’s you,” he said. “I should have known. This is the reason why this is happening.”
Joshua glanced up at the night sky, just as I did, and we waited for some sign of Luke.
“Just so we’re clear,” he said. “I did not kill your family. It was very difficult for me at the time to let them live, but I let them go.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because Elizabeth wouldn’t have wanted me to hurt them. Regardless of what happened, she still loved them.” He shook his head. “Her family was very important to her,” he said bitterly, “and she loved them just like she loved you.”
Without any warning, I saw a demon fall ten feet away from us, his black wings hitting the sand with a thud. Joshua grabbed me from behind and flew us backwards, landing several feet away. He gently lowered me back on the sand.
Luke landed gently, next to the fallen demon. Immediately, two more demons dropped down on top of Luke.
“Luke,” I said, taking a few steps towards him. Joshua grabbed my right arm, holding me in place.
“Leave them,” Joshua said.
“You have to help him,” I said. It wasn’t a fair fight; he was outnumbered. I watched helplessly as Luke threw a demon off of his shoulder. Another demon clung on his back; the demon raised his fist and slammed it on Luke’s shoulder. I heard a sickening thud, and I flinched. My eyes watered, and I tried very hard not to let my tears fall.
“Please help him,” I said as I jerked my arm away from Joshua’s tight grip.