Swift of Spirit

by Rodzil LaBraun

  "What new information?" Sarah demanded.

  "It is not my place to share it with you. It may not be within Swift's orders either. I cannot say."

  Sarah huffed. "You can't just leave me blind. I need to know what is going on."

  Watcher answered after a painful pause, "You are one of the least blind humans regarding the spirit realm in the last few thousand years, especially since last night. Please forgive me for not being swayed by your request. If you are meant to know something I'm sure that Swift will not hold back. Until then, it's best to continue with your daily routine perhaps. I can tell you that your bus is less than two minutes from reaching your designated bus stop."

  "Fine," Sarah replied agitatedly, maybe a little louder than she should have, as she darted out the door. The house was already empty though since both parents and siblings had left for the day before her. Jogging two blocks got her to the bus before it pulled away. As she sat in her regular lonely seat two rows behind the driver she began to take comfort in Watcher's words that Swift was likely to remain assigned to her. That was the most important thing to her at this point. If he chose to share new information with her, great. But, to be honest, she already had more details about the world of spirit creatures than she could possibly remember.

  The day crawled by. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket repeatedly to confirm that the old, round clock on the wall was in fact still working. In the morning, she would look around every so often for Watcher's aura. She didn't really care that she was drawing unwanted attention in doing so. She finally relaxed when she saw him at lunchtime resting under a tree in the field behind the cafeteria as if he needed shade. Knowing that Watcher was nearby eased her apprehension, but there was no guarantee that he would step in to protect her or even ward off any demons. Yet, she couldn't worry so much about things not in her control. She needed to start paying attention in school if she had any hope of passing all her classes.

  It was in her final period of the day when the chemistry teacher was deep into an explanation regarding the periodic table of elements that Swift returned. Her reaction drew the attention of other students nearby when she gasped at the sight of him, passing right across the room in front of the whiteboard, doing his best to look like a human dancing and waving in his blue human shaped aura. Though she couldn’t make out the handsome details to which she had grown accustomed, his identity was obvious. Apparently, the fine tuning of his appearance for her benefit could be visible to others and should be avoided in public. Her laughter afterwards caused her teacher to demand to know what was so funny. After apologizing she did her best to pay attention for the remainder of the lesson, but struggled to do so with the excitement of Swift's return.

  Drawing stares from the other chemistry students with her constant smile, Sarah darted for the door when the bell rang. Walking briskly without being chastised for running, she busted through the dense hallway crowd into the liberating outdoors to take a deep breath. Resisting the overwhelming temptation to call out to Swift immediately, she decided to jog home. Running was decidedly not within her personal skill set. Fortunately, it wasn't long before Swift’s blue aura was happily jogging alongside her. She kept running until she separated from other pedestrians, then slowed to a stroll. Without much physical activity in her life there was no chance she could run all the way home.

  "Swift," she gasped between deep breaths, "I'm so glad to see you.”

  "And I you," he replied, showing no hint of exhaustion, of course.

  "What happened in the meeting with your boss?"

  "I was reprimanded," he replied. "That was to be expected. My superior confessed to considering replacing me on this assignment, but expressed belief that I was perhaps still the best suited. So, my transgression will be forgiven. If I don't royally screw things up," he added with a weird human twang in his voice, "I should be able to remain with you for quite some time. And, I've been given permission to protect you from all possible threats."

  "Well, that is fantastic news," Sarah replied between breaths. "Thank you for making an appearance at school. I was very relieved to see you."

  "I know. I hope I wasn't too much of a distraction in the classroom."

  "No," she laughed. "I actually really needed that."

  Other pedestrians were catching up with them, so Sarah picked up her pace and cut across the road between traffic to get clear. In this day and age, you could get away with talking to yourself. People would assume you were using a wireless ear piece for a phone call. Most wouldn’t even look for the Bluetooth device in your ear to confirm it. However, once they were close enough to hear your words you took a chance of exposure.

  "Maybe I should proceed to your home for further conversation," Swift said, concerned about her welfare. They were already close enough that he could continue to protect her from there.

  "No, please," Sarah replied. "I'd love it if you’d stay with me for the walk home. There is a path through the woods over here. We can talk freely for most of the walk. Will you stay with me?"

  Swift agreed and they slowed to an easygoing pace while catching up on anything new. Both Swift and Watcher were directed to remain with her. Her interaction with Watcher was to continue to remain minimal, which was okay with her. When she asked about new information that Swift may have received regarding her situation, he spoke cautiously, and told her that the time would come for discussing such things. They had settled into a nice casual stroll through the woods when the familiar icy chill crawled up her spine to tingle the back of her neck.

  "Sarah," Swift cautioned, "there are demons among us. Give me a moment please."

  Sarah was both alarmed and confused. She could differentiate more than half of a dozen red and dark colored auras confronting them in the woods. Her relentless demands for Swift's attention were unanswered. It was obvious that he had his spiritual hands full with the evil creatures outnumbering him. Delightedly, she saw the recognizable pale green aura of Watcher rush in to join the group. Sarah anxiously held her breath. She didn't know whether to be worried about herself or for Swift. If these demons were here to attack him he was grossly outnumbered, even with Watcher's help. She began to shake with worry and as the first tear rolled down her cheek the unwelcome villainous auras drifted away.

  Sarah collapsed to her hands and knees, coughing uncontrollably. She had held her breath much longer than she had realized. The path was damp from recent rainfall. Brushing the mud and dead leaves from her hands she cursed under her breath. Her jeans would likely be permanently stained, but that was of little concern considering the situation.

  "Are you okay?" Swift asked in unwarranted casual human tone. He had yet to learn how to vary his inflection with circumstance. His physical reaction was more on point, though, as he drew close and mimicked a worried human expression. Though she could not feel it, it was comforting the see one of his luminous arms wrapped around her shoulders.

  Eventually Sarah regained her composure, from both the near-death experience and the arousing proximity of her self-interpreted, very male spirit friend. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied as she stood up, continuing to pick away at the dirty spots on her pants. "Now that the demons are gone. And you are still here. What happened?"

  "We were nearly attacked," Swift answered, again without showing the proper emotion, but at least trying by adding a raised inflection on the last word. "There were seven demons, including Char. He was their leader, and the demon that threatened you in your room. He noticeably has a personal interest in you. Watcher has encountered him snooping around before, as well. Power was on his side if there was battle. That is, at least, until Watcher stepped in. Between the two of us they would not all survive if they went through with the attack. The best news now is that Char's supporters will question his ability to lead after this failure. He obviously did not anticipate Watcher's willingness to lend support. To be completely honest, I had not counted on it myself. It appears that we have made an impression on my spiritual cowork
er. I have expressed our gratitude to him already."

  "Thank you," Sarah said. "Yes, of course, I am very grateful for Watcher's help. I didn’t realize the two of you were so strong among your kind. Two against seven?”

  “There are many angels stronger than myself,” Swift replied humbly. “Demons, however, tend to be weaker due to the lost energy expended in your plane of existence. I could not have defeated them by myself, though. Watcher’s power is formidable.”

  It was reassuring to know that her protectors, now two of them, were worthy of the challenging task. However, didn’t that mean that Char would just try to raise a larger army next time? Would this one setback really cost him his supporters? Sarah figured there was nothing corresponding to money in the spirit world, but couldn’t more vile demons be bought somehow? Those were questions for another time.

  “I don't understand why these demons are so interested in me. Is this all because of my ability?"

  "Well," Swift weighed his reply. "I believe It has more to do with your father."

  "My father?"

  CHAPTER TEN: COLTON

  Sarah joined her family for dinner that evening as the two angels silently watched over them. Despite the terrifying confrontation just a couple hours before, she found herself to be in a good mood. No doubt her opportunity to continue her relationship with Swift was a key factor. Threat and fear of inevitable demon attack was minimalized by her new dual angelic protection. Even after discovering that her father was possibly involved somehow did not crush her enthusiasm for the near future.

  Both Hunter and Jenny occupied the attention of her parents for most of the meal. Sports, tests, and gossip provided the much of the day's excitement for family conversation. Hunter was doing surprisingly well in his sports interests, especially track and field. He claimed to have broken the school record in some race. She had no idea if it was true. Then, Jenny let everyone know she was proudly still on track for her customary perfect grades. She had also been selected for young missionary training at church. The understanding was that she wasn’t actually going to go anywhere. She was just getting the training as if she would, presumably added fuel for the self-righteous, Sarah thought. Yet, her sister’s strained humility appeared to remain intact. 'Mere mortals" she chuckled to herself. When asked about her day she lied outright and claimed it was uneventful.

  However, after the meal Sarah's parents asked that she stay seated for a brief discussion. Sitting patiently racking her brain, she tried to determine what they wanted to talk about. Maybe her grades, or perhaps it was time to discuss college opportunities. More likely it was her unusually perky attitude of late. You’d think they would be delighted at the upswing, but it seemed any change in behavior warranted attention. After her parents cleared the table they sat down across from her with expressions a little too serious for Sarah's liking.

  "What's going on?" Sarah asked.

  Both her parents were still in their work clothes, which was usual. Her dad had removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie after coming home. During dinner, he flipped it over one shoulder to avoid food spotting it up, and there it remained. It seemed easier to Sarah to just take the thing off. Her mother had on a skirt and blouse, but covered the front with her favorite flowery apron for the duration of the meal and clean up.

  "Actually," her father answered. "That's what we were wondering. It's good to have you at dinner with the family, and obviously in a better mood than the past couple years. But it does make us curious. Please tell us what is new in your life to cause this."

  Sarah tried to think of a response that would satisfy them, but could only think of fabricated stories that would be too difficult to weave to be convincing. Honestly, she preferred not to blatantly lie to them anyway. Yet, there was no way she could tell them about the supernatural beings that were now part of her life. She was absolutely certain that they would have her back in the psych office immediately, possibly even admitted. She decided to deny that anything was responsible.

  "I don't know, I guess it was just a phase or something."

  "Do you have new friends at school?" her mother asked.

  "Yes, actually. I do have a new friend. Her name is Melissa, but we don't hang out much. She mentioned maybe going shopping sometime soon, if that's okay."

  "Sure dear," her mother replied. "That’s fine, of course. Do you have a boyfriend now?"

  Sarah laughed and answered that she didn't. It had been a while since she noticed any boys paying her any significant attention, at least of the desirable kind. Maybe it was Swift that was making her act like she had a love interest. She knew it would be an impossible romantic relationship, but he was her best friend, had a handsome appearance and spoke in a strong male voice. It was inevitable that she developed some feelings for him. She just couldn't confess that to him, and certainly not her parents.

  "Are you sure?" her father asked. "Are you hanging out with any boys?"

  "When would I be hanging out with boys?" she replied. "You guys know where I am at all times, usually here at home."

  "That's true, I just thought that maybe at school.... Never mind. We are glad to hear that you made a new friend, though. Have you had any problems like before?"

  Sarah tensed up noticeably before she could stop herself. "What do you mean?"

  Sarah's mother answered before her father could. "Have you been seeing any ghosts, sweetheart?"

  It took a few minutes to convince her parents that she wasn't seeing ghosts, especially after her initial reaction. But finally, they let her go to her room. She made sure to keep her voice low when talking with Swift that evening, in case her parents still had some doubt and were planning on eavesdropping. Evidently, she had not been sufficiently cautious enough in the past. Something must have tipped them off. A minute after Sarah left her parents at the dinner table, they continued to discuss their daughter. Only her angelic friends were capable of hearing the conversation.

  "I don't believe her," Colton whispered to his wife. "I have been having that same bad feeling as before. I'm certain that there have been spirits in our home. In fact, the feeling is much stronger than before, like there are more of them or they are here more often. I kind of feel that way right now, like they're around us as we speak."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: REVELATION

  Swift divided his attention to the best of his ability. For most angels, it was not a challenge to pay close attention to two separate human conversations, especially if they were conducted close to each other. But Swift was not most angels. On his last assignment, another angel jokingly stated that Swift had the spirit equivalent of attention deficit disorder. It would have been funnier if it was less true. So, he kept the conversation with Sarah going at a sluggish pace while listening in on her parents one floor below them. Aside from the father's statements right after Sarah left the table, there was not much revealing.

  Swift reflected on the time when he was first assigned to the Hutchins family. Hover did not specify which family member was to be the dominant focus. It was through his own investigation that he determined Sarah to be the most interesting. In truth, it was primarily due to her special ability. It shouldn't be so surprising that her father, Colton, could sense spirits nearby as well. Sarah would have had to inherited the ability somehow.

  To be honest, Colton Hutchins was not the first person that he noticed could sense his presence at a nominal level. Swift had experienced hundreds of encounters when a human distinctly reacted to spiritual proximity. It was frequently noted by a chill down their spine or the hairs standing on the back of their neck or arm. A few times he heard it described as a tingling in the back of their brain. It did not, however, indicate that they could see the auras of angels and demons as his new friend Sarah did. Swift was certain that the father had not observed his aura on the several occasions that he was within the man’s human visibility. If the ability was hereditary it was possible the other two children could sense him as well. It would be wise for him to scrutiniz
e their reactions to his presence for that capacity. The talent of recognizing auras was possibly a trait that skipped a generation, or needed to be combined with the genes of a particular mate to surface.

  Jessica Hutchins, Sarah's mother, apparently did not have this skill, since her husband felt the need to inform her that he was sensing spirits. The children would have to be receiving the necessary genes from him. Swift decided it was time to more adequately research Colton's ancestry. He wasn't far into his investigation before he realized that Colton's recorded parents were completely fictitious. They simply never existed. There was only the minimal amount of documentation to satisfy a surface inquiry by human agencies. A quality private investigator would eventually come to the same conclusion. Now, the question was why.

  There were a number of possible reasons for inventing parents. It was conceivable that his real parents well known Nazis, or serial killers. Hiding that information would likely improve his chances in a job interview, especially when applying for a government position. Or, maybe his father and mother were special agents for some branch of the United States intelligence. If they were in a deep cover situation it would be very important not to reveal their existence in a paper trail.