“And yet, here we are. Weaker everyday,” Krysta fumed. “Millennium High sure has its share of trouble makers.” Krysta glared at me.
“You mean more than Tommy and me?” I thought back to the sporadic suicides over the years which Millennium High had become known for.
“Yes, Ali.” Krysta rolled her eyes and reminded me of Molly. Hot-tempered. “Every year it seems that someone pokes his head into none-of-his-business affairs.”
“Enough. “Sammael yanked Krysta from behind as she drew closer to me with each word. “Let Kian and Ali work this out between themselves.”
“Fine.” Krysta stomped her foot as she gritted her teeth before she spun around and marched out of the room through a mahogany door in the back.
“I’m apologizing for Krysta’s behavior.” Sammael took my elbow and guided me to the bookcase. “She is easily aggravated.”
I wanted to say something smart-ass about Krysta, but then remembered that her family had been murdered, leaving her alone to the adoption agency. Probably explained a lot of her hostility. “Has she always lived with you, Sammael?” I cocked my head toward him as we walked forward.
“Yes, for as long as she can remember, anyway.”
“The adoption center must love you. Always picking up strays,” I joked.
“Well, two strays in Washington state and one in New York. The agencies are state-wide, not national...so they wouldn’t even be aware I have three children.”
“Still, you must be considered some kind of hero.” We stepped in front of the bookcase.
“Perhaps, but I don’t communicate enough with the human world to know.” Waving his fingers over the binding of the books on the shelves, he changed the subject.
“Take what you need to learn what you can. Now that you know we exist, we need you on our side, working with us, to help defeat Dameon and the others.”
“The others?” I jumped backward, my face contorting into something fearful, I’m sure.
“Yes, there are more demons than merely Dameon. But let Kian explain all this to you. I have got to get going.”
“All right.” I said slowly as I watched his back draw further away from me; his slippers padded on the tile softly before he left through the same mahogany door. When the door clicked closed, the room grew quiet, and Nathaniel fidgeted before turning to Kian.
“I’ll leave you two alone and check on Krysta.”
When Nathaniel disappeared, Kian rubbed his fingers over a book in black binding. As he pulled the book from the shelf, I could see that the cover had chalk-white sketches of ugly looking creatures. Demons, I imagined. “There are all sorts of demons. The most prevalent in New York are the Dark Angels. I imagine they use this form because most people associate angels with goodness, so if ever discovered, they can more easily hide their true intentions.”
“What are their intentions?” I squirmed.
“The more chaos and evil they create, the more power the darkness possesses.”
“So, they try to cause harm?” I needed details.
“They can’t cause harm themselves or they lose power. They must influence humans to cause harm.”
“But how?”
“By retaining human form and being a negative influence. By influencing dreams, or whispering into the ears of humans about what they want done.”
“Then why did Dameon try to kill me? Wouldn’t he have lost power by causing a human harm?”
“Yes, but not as much power as he would have gained.” Kian flipped to the back of the book and showed me a set of rules outlined in black and white. “There are primarily eight rules angels and demons must live by.”
Rule 1) If an angel or demon physically harms a human, he loses ‘Gift Power’.
Rule 2) If an angel or demon is intimate with a human, he loses ‘Wing Power’.
Rule 3) If an angel or demon is discovered by a human, he loses ‘Essence Power’.
Rule 4) If an angel leader or demon leader is discovered by a human, the entire flock loses Essence.
Rule 5) If an angel leader or demon leader is killed, the entire flock under him will lose all power.
Rule 6) If an angel is dying, he may transpose his wings to a human, giving his Essence and Gifts.
Rule 7) If a demon kills humans, forfeiting his Gifts, he will develop fangs.
Rule 8) If a demon is intimate with humans, forfeiting his Wings, he will develop fur.
“What do those powers mean?” I squeezed my forehead in confusion.
“Gift Powers are abilities all angels and demons possess. Dameon has the ability to create fire from his hands. When he tried to harm you, some of that ability dissipated. He took a great risk trying to kill you. By failing, he exposed himself to a human and lost some of his essence, and in turn, he also lost some of his gift. But if he had succeeded, he would have only lost some of his ability to create fire. He would have regained the Essence Power he had lost each time you stepped closer to our discovery.”
“What is Essence Power?” I sat on the floor with my legs crossed, taking all this in. It felt like it would take weeks, but I only had today. I had to return to school tomorrow.
“It is like our lifeline. Without it, we would cease being angel or demon. Every time a human takes some our Essence Power away we weaken.” He sat across from me.
“So, by me knowing what you are...I am killing you?” Wrinkles formed crevices on my forehead.
“I’m not dead, am I?” Kian gleamed as if everything would somehow be fine. “I’m just weaker than I was, say a month ago.” He chuckled. “And not just me, but Dameon, too. The playing field is still even. Besides, human awareness doesn’t kill us per se, just our supernatural form. I would simply become mortal.”
“So, if enough humans ever found out about this...this supernatural world...” My shoulders rolled forward as I hunched and grabbed my temple, trying to keep the facts straight.
“Yes, we would all cease to exist....as angels.” He rubbed his fingers together and waved them into the air. “Current angels would become like dust...it’s possible more wouldn’t even be born.”
“So what can I do to help?” I rolled my shoulders back and took in a deep breath. The lighting of the crimson room felt heavy on me.
“Dameon is the Dark Angel of Destruction, and like other Dark Angels or demons he reports to a leader...the same as we report to Sammael, the angel of souls.”
“Who?” Or perhaps I should have said what.
“Azrael.” Kian flipped the book open to angel-demon pictures with descriptions and names. “His name means Angel of Death.” Kian’s long forefinger pointed to the name Azrael in the book. The sketched image was only that of a mere man with dark, elongated wings stretching from one side of the page to the other. His red eyes and the ominous fog that surrounded him denoted him evil.
“So, Dameon follows his orders?”
“Pretty much. If we destroy Azrael, then the entire Dark Angel population would cease to have power. We will essentially have won this war in Manhattan.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“Because finding him is nearly impossible. It’s the reason Sammael also hides from the human world, from the demon world. If a demon ever killed Sammael, all of us under him would be rendered powerless.”
“How do you mean?”
“We would lose our gifts, our wings, our essence. We would cease to exist as angels and become mere humans.”
I tried to imagine Kian, Krysta, and Nathaniel as mere high school students at Millennium High. How different my life would be now if Tommy’s death had been a simple suicide, if there is anything simple about suicide, and if I didn’t have a demon hunting me down, a demon I once thought I loved, thought I would sleep with. OMG! I grabbed my chest as I felt a sharp pain stab my heart.
“You still haven’t explained to me how I can help.”
“Well, the demon world knows of you and knows you’re the reason Dameon is weaker. Dameon will try to kill
you again, Ali.” My hands hugged my throat.
“Don’t worry...everything will be fine.” Kian tried to be encouraging, but I could tell he didn’t even fully believe it. “We can use this to our advantage.”
“How?” I shrugged.
“By using you as bait...as something they want. We can set a trap that will draw Dameon out and wound him enough to aim him straight back to Azrael.”
“Won’t Dameon just show up at the school? Why not take him there?” I reasoned.
“Took much exposure. He wouldn’t risk it, and we wouldn’t risk it. Too many human eyes.”
I glanced at my watch. “It’s getting late. Mom is going to worry about where I am. I should be getting back. I will see you at school?” I stood and dusted off my jeans.
“Your life is in danger, Ali. Don’t you get it? You can’t just go back home. Dameon will be looking for you there.” Kian nearly bit his tongue.
“What! I can’t go back home? Mom would go crazy with worry! I would go crazy living inside this building all day! I’m going home.” I spun away from him.
“No, you can’t, Ali.” Kian grabbed my shoulder as I turned to the oak door to flee across the hardwood floors and down the iron winding stairwell.
“I’m going.” I had never said anything more sincerely. I couldn’t do that to Mom. Make her worry about me constantly. She had enough on her mind since Dad’s death.
“Then I’m going with you. I will have to keep watch on you wherever you go.”
“Then you’d better pack your school bags, because I’m hitting Millennium High tomorrow.”
“Don’t you see this is a death wish?”
“You said yourself that the school has too many human eyes. Dameon wouldn’t try anything there. That would be angel-demon-suicide. Besides, I need to see my friends and get an education. I do have a future to look out for, you know. And Mom would never let me just stay home and skip.
“All right.” Kian’s red cheeks had faded. “You’re right. You have to live your life. But you must never -NEVER- be alone. I must be with you every minute of every day, or you might just die. Dameon will be waiting for that one moment, that one chance to end your life, to take back the power you took from him.
Kian raked his fingers through my brunette hair. “He has done it once already.”
“Tommy?”
“Yes. Dameon went to a kind of graduation ceremony with Azrael after he murdered Tommy. A graduation of sorts for his first kill. Now he is officially a member of the Dark Angels.”
“You mean the supposed funeral arrangements for his mother?” I realized.
“Was his graduation ceremony into Azrael’s fold.” The chill crawled along my skin like a spider.
“All lies?”
“Not completely.” Kian walked me across the hardwood floors, and I saw the piano out of the corner of my eyes. “He did lose his mother to a car accident long ago when he was one year old. He never knew his father. Sammael tried to adopt him, but Azrael beat him to it. When Azrael and his legion of demons moved from Washington to New York, Sammael followed. He sensed Azrael was up to something. But what, we can’t be sure.”
“Why Dameon? I mean, Azrael didn’t try to take you did he?”
“No, he didn’t, and for reasons we can’t be sure of, either.”
“Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me...” I chuckled, tilting my head in Kian’s direction. “To figure out what Azrael is up to in New York City, why he needs Dameon, and eventually, to figure out how I can lead you angels to him so that you can destroy him...and then New York can be a safe place to live once again...ha ha!” I felt rather overwhelmed.
When we strolled to the ground floor, a dingy cubicle with a stairwell, a few cobwebs and an exit door, Kian wrapped his arms around me and drew me close to his chest. I felt his breath over my skin and wanted desperately to kiss him. “I’m glad that if I had to do this with anyone, it is with you.”
I blushed, but before I could kiss him, he flitted off the hard ground with me bundled in his arms and against his chest, shot through the door and into the sky and through the clouds, until we disappeared from human view. The time we spent flying seemed to pass like a dream until we approached my house. Shooting through the window of my room, which was still ajar, he landed softly on the carpeted floor before releasing me.
“I’ll be close; always.”
“Wait!” I called to him just before he vanished. His foot stopped on the window frame.
“What is your angel name?”
His left brow arched. “Qaphsiel, Angel of the Moon. The angel who drives away enemies.”
Assignments
Monday morning I rushed to get ready on time. I hadn’t slept much Sunday night on account of Kian’s secrets and all. The vision of his home stained my mind; the winding iron stairwell, the empty crimson room with only a bookcase, the piano room...and then there was, of course, the mahogany door at the end of the crimson room which everyone seemed to go through, except me. Curiosity left my head spinning. Had the room been where...what was his name? Jacob slept? Could the room harbor even more secrets? I felt information overload.
As Jennifer pulled into the school parking lot to let Molly and me out for classes, I felt Kian nearby. Somewhere in the skies, I sensed him and smiled, the kind of smile that stretched from ear to ear. I never had to feel lonely or scared again, because I knew Kian would always be there protecting me.
“So whatever happened to you over the weekend?” Molly asked, tugging on her paintbrush as we walked side by side. Jennifer neglected her preoccupation with her hair to tune her ears in closer to the conversation. “Did you and Dameon kiss?” Mol’s face lit up like a Christmas light, and Jennifer barked.
“Do we really care, Mol? I mean you’ve been ditching us at lunch lately and we don’t seem to be very important to you anymore. Your best friends since middle school, not important enough!” Jen rolled her shoulders back which meant she really fumed.
“I care,” Mol defended herself.
“The only reason I still chauffeur you to school is in the hope that you’ll come to your senses again!” Jen concluded with loud a huff.
Fidgeting, I answered, “I’m...I’m sorry. I didn’t know you felt so strongly. I didn’t mean to push you two out of my life or something. I just have a lot going on is all.”
Jen butted in, “I have a lot going on too, Ali. A Chem test, a who’s going to take me to prom dilemma. There are other people besides you, you know.”
“I know.” My head dropped. I felt ashamed of my behavior. “I promise I will make more of an effort.”
“Good.” I caught a slight smile on Jen’s lips.
“Well, I for one need to know,” Mol interjected. “Did you kiss Dameon?”
“I...we...never got to that point.” The memory made me cringe, and Mol noticed my uneasiness.
“Why not? What happened?” Mol’s jerky reaction sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn’t tell them. How could I? Endanger their lives? My best friends. They’d never believe me anyway.
“I...I,” I couldn’t find the words, so I squirmed, even resorting to biting my lip..
“I’m sure she has her reasons.” Jen butted heads with Mol. I couldn’t be sure if she just didn’t care or if she was defending me at this point.
“You’d better tell us at lunch.” Mol shook her bob, excited.
“Sure, lunch.” I gave in, because that would at least put us back into good graces with each other. I took off toward my locker and noticed Kian leaning beside mine already. He was decked out in a white t-shirt, brown jacket and blue jeans; he seemed to enjoy dressing casually.
“OK, lunch it is.” Jen affirmed and nudged Mol in the shoulder to direct her down the hall to their classes. The curious grin on her face that said ‘I won’ assured me she wouldn’t let go until she learned the details come lunch time.
As I approached my locker, my eyes searched vigilantly for Dameon. I didn’t want to run in
to him today. “Is he here yet?”
“Just arrived. I can hear his screeching Cadillac pull up in the parking lot.” Kian leaned against Dameon’s locker liked he owned it, like he had readied himself to take the demon down. Calm, collected. I guess Kian faced demons every day.
“You can hear that far?”
“Angelfire can hone in on sounds and sights, as if nothing else is around us.”
“Cool gift. Can Dameon do that too?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The hallway where my locker set cleared of students, and soon only Kian and I stood by my locker. I fumbled over the combination as a figure in a black leather jacket with one red stripe rounded the corner. My hands shook as I pressed my fingers over the lock.
“Come on, come on!” I whispered to myself, trying to get my mind to focus. But all I could think of were Dameon’s hands squeezing around my throat.
“17-75-1” Kian whispered, seeing my distress. As red hot as my cheeks felt, I knew my freckles had surely disappeared.
“Made it to school today,” Dameon surprised me as he commented over my shoulder. Kian released a sound I’d never heard from him before, a cross between a growl and a squawk. His body language geared into attack mode. Coarse breathing wrapped over my shoulder and neck from behind, and Dameon’s smell brought back all the memories of yesterday as the day replayed in my mind. Why did he have to have a locker right next to mine?
Opening my locker, I pulled out my assignment folder as Kian retorted. “You think you could really scare us away, Dameon? You’ve got to know by now that we run into your kind every day.”
“You’d better hope so, because you’re going to have to keep a close eye on your little girlfriend if you don’t want her ending up in the obituaries.”
My locker clicked shut as my face remained frozen and my eyes stared at the yellow metallic paint in front of me. I couldn’t turn around and look into those empty, liquid black eyes again.
She Speaks to Angels: YA Angel Thriller (AngelFire Chronicles Bk #1) Page 12