Swift of Spirit

by Rodzil LaBraun

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: FATHER

  "Where is Swift?" Sarah demanded from the pale green angel, Watcher. Her favorite angel had not made an appearance for almost two days. She was more than a little concerned. Before he departed, Swift indicated he had some research he wanted to accomplish. To her knowledge, she was his only assignment. Whatever he was doing it had to pertain to her. Or at least a member of her family. She was still in the dark regarding Char’s interest in her father.

  "As I said before, he is investigating." Watcher replied patiently.

  "Tell me what he is investigating?" Sarah was getting frustrated with the by-the-book spirit creature left to guard her. His presence was certainly not for social interaction. For practically a whole day she tried to wear him down with her persistence. So far, he hadn’t shown any sign of giving in.

  "I cannot."

  "What happens if that Char demon attacks while he is gone?" She was at least as concerned about the safety of her family as she was curious about Swift’s investigation. She perceived that it required two angels to repel the recent evil intrusion.

  "He will not," Watcher replied simply.

  "Why do you say that? Tell me what is going on?"

  "Fine," Watcher answered, in the same tone as always. Apparently, Sarah's tenacity had finally broken through a little. "I can tell you that Char will not attack while I am here, since I made that stand for you and Swift in the woods that day. He has also reportedly lost most of his followers since then, so he will not be able to gang up on me either. You are safe."

  "Then what about Swift? Is he safe? Char could attack him while he is away on this investigation." Sarah was doing a terrible job of subduing her irritation. It was possible that her voice could be heard by her parents or siblings through the old house walls. She wasn’t sure that she even cared anymore. Keeping everything a secret had become very tiresome.

  "Swift will be fine as well. He is still strong."

  "Alright," Sarah belatedly conceded. Apparently, she wasn’t going to get anything more. "I'll try to get my school work done while he is gone. Please update me if there is any news about Swift."

  "I will."

  Over the next two hours Sarah struggled to concentrate. Eventually she completed her homework, a mere two minutes before she was called downstairs to dinner. During the meal, her parents kept asking if she was okay, since she didn't engage in any conversation and simply pushed her food around the plate instead of eating. All the energy that she would have normally used to fake being a regular member of the happy family had been thoroughly drained by her anxiety over Swift’s absence.

  Her sour mood had inescapably placed a damper on the whole family. Conversation was scarce at best around the dinner table. Though, there sure was a considerable amount of glancing around between them. Her parents appeared to be communicating with their eyeballs alone. She was tempted to complain about all the shifty looks, but preferred not to draw any additional attention to herself.

  Most of the family was close to clearing their plates by the time Sarah recognized Swift's presence approaching. It was becoming more effortless to differentiate between the few spirit signatures she had encountered, as well as picking up on multiple entities. She immediately excused herself and bolted up the stairs to her room. Alarmed, Sarah's mother turned to her husband for his reaction. Colton just nodded in reply, which she clearly took as indication that he felt the presence of spirit creatures in the house again.

  Sarah immediately shut and locked the door to her bedroom. Listening through the thin panel door she could hear her brother and sister both return to their rooms. She waited for the anticipated angel’s imminence before speaking. For some foolish reason, she had the tendency to speak louder when Swift’s aura was not visible due to distance or barrier. She had no idea whether a few hundred feet would affect his hearing.

  "Where have you been?" Sarah asked her blue friend, barely attempting to disguise her irritation at his absence. In truth, she wanted to hug him. Yet, her primary instinctual emotional response was anger. She had missed him more than she thought possible. A part of her brain told her it was unhealthy to feel this way about creature not of her species, but she had little control over the matter. There was no way to hug a spirit, though, so she just stood as close as she could to the luminous body awaiting his reply.

  "I needed to uncover why Char is so interested in your father." Swift replied as he moved to sit on the bed, indicating that Sarah should have a seat against the headboard. That was her comfortable spot for facing fears, her go-to safe-haven.

  Sarah settled against the headboard once again and pulled her bare knees up into her arms. Her frustration had made her warm, opting for shorts instead of her normal sweatpants for after school around the house. This placed her bare toes at the edge of Swift’s blue leg. She thought for a moment that she may have felt a tingle from the contact. The angel’s appearance of a human body was the most detailed and realistic she had seen yet. It made her feel giddy, like she had snuck a handsome boy into her room. Shaking those thoughts from her distraught mind, she responded, "Well?"

  "I'm afraid the information that I have will be too much for you to bare. Suffice it to say, Char and your father have known each other for quite some time." Swift tried to choose his words carefully, but knew that Sarah would demand to hear everything. He had learned, however, that if he initially indicated that he would reveal nothing, she would be more satisfied with limited information by comparison. Saying that he would share some things but not others would only make her continue to pry for more.

  "Bullshit!" Sarah blurted out. It was the first time she had cursed at the angel. Perhaps it was a very bad thing to do. Supposedly much worse than cursing at your parents, or even a police officer or a judge. She did not know for sure, or remotely care at this point. "You need to tell me everything. How could my father know a demon? Can he see their auras too?"

  "I do not believe so." Swift replied. "I am not fully aware of his human abilities, though?"

  Puzzled by that statement, Sarah was taken slightly aback, then slowly asked, "What does that mean?"

  "Sarah, I do not want to fight with you over this. And since I know you will not rest until I tell you what I discovered, I will let you know what I can. But I need you to be prepared for some unbelievable information. I am certain you will not be able to handle it all at once. So, let me tell you first that your father was not always a human."

  Sarah's eyes bugged and her jaw dropped. She had not in her wildest dreams considered that to be a possibility. Memories of her childhood spent with the man flashed through her brain, filtering for any indication of inhuman behavior. Playing in the sand, visits to the pool, cheering her on at youth soccer. Later, helping her with her schoolwork. Holding her close when she was troubled. Nothing stood out as alien to her. Only that his appearance had not changed much over the years. He did not age as quickly as the other men she knew.

  "Are you trying to tell me that my father is a demon?" Sarah asked cautiously.

  "No," Swift answered.

  "But technically, yes," Watcher interjected.

  "Leave it to me please," Swift snapped at his co-worker, showing rare anger in front of the girl. Turning his attention and adjusted tone back to Sarah he stated, "Your father was never really a demon. Technically does not matter. The reality is that he was a powerful guardian angel. His last assignment had him protecting an influential woman here in the United States. Do not ask her name, for I cannot tell you. Your father allegedly became very attached to this woman and was committed to do anything to protect her."

  "Were they in love?" Sarah heard herself ask, somehow already believing what she was told about her father's spiritual background. Nothing was preposterous these days. If Swift said it was true, she had no logical reason to debate the matter.

  "No, I do not believe so," Swift responded. "To my knowledge, the woman never knew of his existence as her guardian. The demon we know as Char had also at
one time been a guardian angel. However, that was a very long time ago. Nonetheless, the two of them knew each other even way back then. Once Char had fallen to the dark side, so to speak, they became enemies. Char reportedly attacked the woman that your father protected, but his spiritual assaults were sufficiently blocked. It wasn't until Char assumed human form that he had any significant success against her. In desperation, your father transferred to human form as well. Evidently, the protected woman then saw them, and watched as the dynamic physical battle ensued. They were both very powerful as humans, superhuman I believe you people would call them. The woman was traumatized, of course."

  "Well," Sarah cut in. "What happened? Who won the fight?"

  "I would say neither," Swift answered. "Though, no doubt to the woman it appeared as though your father had won. She was very grateful, but hopelessly confused by the outlandish encounter. Char returned to spirit form, but was notably much weaker than previous. He never attacked the woman again, based on my investigation. That was most likely due to a new guardian angel being assigned to her. You see, your father was decidedly weakened as well. As we discussed earlier in our relationship, an angel cannot regain the precious energy spent in the physical realm. As a result, your father may have feared that he would be destroyed if he returned to his spirit form. Or perhaps, he could not deal with the prospect of living the rest of his life as a demon. I cannot pretend to know his reasoning on the matter. What I do know is that he chose to stay human."

  "Wow," Sarah said. "That is all hard to believe. My dad was really an angel?”

  “Yes, he was.”

  “Then he turned to human and married my mom? And proceeded to have human children? Is that why I can see auras?”

  “Perhaps,” Swift replied. “It seems likely.”

  “Did I inherit any other superhuman abilities?”

  “It does not appear so, though it is possible that some skills won’t surface until adulthood.”

  Sarah considered all the implications of this new information. As much as it felt like all her whole world was a lie, the discovery also answered so many questions. “I feel so stupidly disrespectful now. Did you know him when he was angel? Were you two friends?"

  "I knew of him," Swift replied. "But we never met. He had a very good reputation, though. You should be very proud of your father. He lived millions of years before you were born, and was well respected by his peers. It appears as though he has kept the same values as a human."

  "Why did he not stay with the woman he was protecting? Did he love her?"

  "I do not know for sure," Swift said softly. "The love was not returned if he did, for she likely never knew that he existed until the fight. My understanding is that he left immediately after the battle. I have verified that she remains in Seattle, and your father has spent all his human life living on the east coast. He has never returned to her."

  "Why can't I know her name?"

  "She is still an extremely influential person and requires a guardian angel. I cannot do or say anything that jeopardizes another angel's mission. I have taken a risk revealing as much information as I already have."

  Sarah pondered this new knowledge for while in silence. It was inconceivable for one side of her brain, and concluded quite real by the other side. Coming from Swift she believed it had to be true. To her knowledge, he had never lied to her. "I wonder if my father still keeps tabs on the woman."

  "I can say this for certainty," Swift answered, wanting to squash Sarah’s notion of treachery. "Your father is in love with your mother. I believe that there is no other woman in his heart. You can forget about doubting your father in that regard."

  "Ok," Sarah was glad to hear that. They did seem like a happy couple, pretty much all the time. Thinking that her dad was in love with another woman would definitely feel like betrayal to his family, so it was good to put those thoughts to rest. Instead, she became curious about any signs of his pre-human life she should have recognized during her childhood or recent years. "So, what kinds of powers does my father have?"

  "I do not know of any. However, he can sense when there are spirit creatures near. Though he might not be able to see their auras he can somehow feel our presence. The more of us there are, or the closer we get, the stronger he will feel it. He is likely aware that we are here now."

  "Oh, my God," Sarah whispered. "That's why he asked me if I was seeing ghosts again, wasn't it? Hey, why did he act like I was crazy when he knew that demons had been in our house? He made me feel like an outcast."

  "It is possible that your father acted according to what he considered to be your best interest," Swift defended him. "He knew that getting you to hide your ability was the best thing to do. I'm sure it was difficult for him not to reveal what he knew. You would dig deeper until you found out his past. Nothing good would come from that."

  "I don't know about that," Sarah replied. "I understand why he wanted it kept secret, but he could have trusted me. That part still hurts. In fact, everything hurts right now. My brain, my heart, and I feel exhausted. Thank you for telling all you have. You are right, though. It is an incredible amount to handle. I think I need to go to sleep now. Goodnight Swift. Goodnight Watcher. Goodnight dad, if you can hear me."

  Sarah crawled under her covers while still dressed and promptly fell asleep. Swift felt like someone should remove her clothing so she could sleep more comfortably, but he certainly wasn't going to be the one to do it. Instead he just watched over her as she slept, and faced a barrage of questions from the typically quiet Watcher.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: SECRETS

  Sarah debated the entire day on how best to deal with her father. Knowing that he had once been an angel altered how she viewed him dramatically. Paling in comparison, but still similar, it was kind of like discovering one of your best friends was an award-winning movie star. Or a war hero, or a fashion god. Well, maybe not that last one. The surprise and disappointment of finding out that someone close to you is not who you thought they were, is a clear negative. But then, to learn that they were something so great, or at least used to be, kind of changes everything.

  The fact that her father knew the horrific ordeal that she had been going through the past few years was a major issue. It had a seriously unfavorable effect on her perception of him as a human. Despite Swift's sympathetic explanation of her father’s possible motives, she felt abandoned by him. Searching her memories for any indication that he had once been a spirit creature only led her to conclude that he had fully transitioned over to the human experience. The actuality that he had once been an angel, even a well-respected one, did not completely excuse him.

  Sarah was reasonably close to her father prior to the hauntings. Kind of a daddy’s girl. As the oldest child, she had developed a special relationship with both her parents. She was their only child for a few years, so they cherished her in ways that younger siblings could not fully experience. As an obedient and helpful child, at least most of the time, that strong relationship continued well into her teens. Though, she no longer came close to fitting on her father’s lap for story time, she could be found with her head resting on his shoulder often. That was right up until the hauntings had shaken her to her core. She had hoped all along that one day they could be that close again, but this new information about his past made it seem less likely.

  Her continuous conversations with Swift gradually became more casual. She was less interested in the detailed inner workings of the expansive spirit realm, feeling that she already knew more than necessary. There had always been a certain blind comfort in the established religious beliefs that she had been taught from infancy. It was that comfort, no doubt, that inspired the dominant religious leaders to create many of those beloved doctrines. However, that fallible belief system was now hopelessly wrecked inside her head. Though some of the newly acquired knowledge made the creator and the world around her much more appreciated, others just threatened her enduring spiritual stability.

  Instead of a
sking more questions about angels and demons, Sarah began trying to get Swift to reveal secrets about her school mates and family members. It was innocent enough at first, born simply from honest curiosity. Later, after understanding more fully the opportunity that she had with her close friendship with Swift, she had ashamedly become a little devious. Noticing that the angel could be repeatedly swayed by her emotions, like a pouting girlfriend or nagging wife, she was enticed by the challenge.

  Before her blue friend could realize that he was being used improperly by her, she did get some incriminating details. Such as, her brother Hunter was rapidly approaching puberty and picking up some disgusting habits. Predictably, he had a crush on a girl at his school but stubbornly pretended that he didn't like her out of fear of what his friends would think. Most disturbing to Sarah was that he would try to catch glimpses of his older, blossoming sister through the crack of the bedroom door when she was changing clothes. He also regularly watched for her coming out of the shared bathroom wearing just a towel after her shower. Sarah was thoroughly grossed out by it even though Swift adamantly claimed it was quite natural. Now she was actively upset that there were two males in her house to be regarded differently.