“Yeah, but what are you going to do with it?”
“I know what to do.” He handed it over to me.
“If you’re going to do a blood sacrifice, let’s use Nessa.”
“Hey,” she said in protest.
“It’s my knife,” he replied teasingly.
“There’s going to be no sacrifice, but only a little bit of my blood.” I slid the knife across my palm and let a few drops fall onto the white stones. “I hope this works.” I whispered under my breath as Malachi and Nessa watched.
At first, nothing happened, and then suddenly, a ghostly image of an archway formed overhead. Silver and white lines curled around intricately through each other until the arch was complete. The white, marble stones we had uncovered, shone with the same brilliance as the arch. It was a delicate looking structure of silver vines and white marble. In the open part of the portal that would had been the door, reflected back at us like a giant mirror. We gazed at it in awe, and I wondered what to do next.
“How do we go through it?” Malachi asked Nessa.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been through many angel portals before.”
I walked up to it and tried to peer past the mirrored image of the forest behind me. But I couldn’t. I then looked at myself and placed my fingers on the surface of the mirror to test it. It was solid—there was no going through it. I started to lower my hand when I felt something warm, almost like I was touching someone else’s hand. I pressed my fingers harder to the surface as a murky image began to form behind it. It was a face surrounded by long dark hair. Gentle eyes gazed steadily into mine as if asking me to come closer. Her face became more defined, and I could clearly see it was Ezra.
“Come with me now,” she whispered as a screeching sound, like angry birds, echoed behind her.
“Seth, get away from her!” Nessa yelled as she charged towards us only to be swooped up by a white and silver figure that looked like it was wrapped in sheets.
I could hear her scream, but couldn’t remove my eyes from Ezra’s.
“Don’t look at them, look at me. We can be together here.”
I laced my fingers through hers ignoring the yells and screams of Nessa and Malachi. I tried to pull away knowing this wasn’t right, but she had me in a trance that I couldn’t resist.
“Seth, they’re glass people!” Malachi yelled behind me. “We have to get out of here, and away from the portal!”
Glass people were demons as far as monsters were concerned, and they sometimes worked for angels. This was the portal to take us to earth, but it was guarded by glass people, and also by Ezra, the love I couldn’t let go no matter what spell or mark was used.
3
April
“She’s an angel,” I looked at Ben, “an actual angel?”
“Not the kind of angel that humans have painted for centuries. There are many kinds, but Yolanda is an earth angel. She can travel to different realms, and is in the class of guardian angels of humans.”
I ran my fingers through my hair trying to absorb everything.
“Yolanda, she’s an angel,” I repeated what Ben had explained. “But she smoked a cigarette.”
Ben chuckled. “Yes, they can do that.”
“And she came for a muffin recipe?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
Ben’s face paled. “It’s no ordinary recipe, and one that I wished I never created. Sometimes an artist doesn’t know that they are creating masterpieces with the element of fire, and Yolanda is trying to keep me from getting burned.”
I looked at Ben’s kitchen with every possible utensil in it, hundreds of spices displayed like knick-knacks on the rack that hung on the wall, and fancy stainless steel appliances. He liked to cook, but what kind of recipe did he create that was so important.
“That must be some special muffin recipe.” I gazed steadily at him hoping he’d elaborate.
“Yes, it is, and that’s why Yolanda took it.” He walked into the kitchen. “Let’s finish breakfast, and we’ll talk more about this later.” Ben smiled as he tried to pacify me.
“No,” I raised my voice. “I want to know what this is all about now!” I demanded as Ben looked at me with his brown eyes and shoved in a forkful of hash browns into his mouth. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my insides. “A week ago I was at an institution called Sunrise Acres. I was there because my mom gave me up when I was four, and I have been in countless foster homes since then. But no matter where I went, the darkness followed me. I thought I was crazy, then I met you and you…I don’t know how to explain this and I know to trust a stranger is insane, but my insides tell me that I should.” Ben looked away then back at me with sympathy. “I want to know everything because I deserve to, and you have the answers to my entire past.”
I finally had the answers in front of me, and I didn’t want to take it slow. I revealed something about myself to Ben hoping he’d do the same.
“That was no muffin recipe you gave to Yolanda, it was something else. And where is this sanctuary at that we’ll be going in a week? You know I’m no stray cat you picked up, and can take wherever you want to go without telling me.”
“You’re right,” he said, folding his hands together. “There are many things that you should know, because there are many things the darkness holds.” He motioned for me to sit beside him.
“The man in the woods, the one I had to eliminate,” he looked at me with his gentle brown eyes that looked like they didn’t have an ounce of killer in him. “He consumed one of my muffins.”
“So you had to kill him?”
“I did because he was human, and he would turn into something that should have never been created. Death was the humane thing to do.”
“What exactly would he turn into?” I asked.
“A killing machine that demons would use to take over as many realms as they could,” Ben said, and took his plate over to the sink. “Demons have been trying for a long time to create an army that would do battle for them. They are confined to the shadows and that limits them. They tried to use humans by inflicting them with their poison—biting as an example,” he motioned towards me. “But that doesn’t always work. Then, one day, a genius,” he shook his head, “came up with a serum that could turn humans into the army demons have been trying to create for centuries.” Ben turned to me with a mixture of bitterness and regret swirling in his eyes.
“Your muffin recipe,” I said, putting everything together.
“My muffin recipe was never designed for that purpose. It was supposed to enhance only monsters abilities, not transform humans into hybrid monsters. It was never intended for them. To make a long story short, I needed ingredients not of this or any world. I needed things that only grow in the shadows of demons. I made a deal, and knowing they were conniving creatures, I had to give them compensation. They demanded a sample of my serum. I gave them a different version of my serum that I thought would do nothing for them, but I found out differently.”
Ben began to do the dishes.
“That’s why you can’t stay here, and by giving Yolanda the recipe, she is giving you protection.”
Ben looked at me from over his shoulder. “She is giving us protection. You are involved as much as me now.”
A rush of anger filled me. “So you dragged me into this as well? Why?!” I stood beside him and glared as he casually finished the dishes.
“You were involved in this long before I found you.” Ben’s voice was calm compared to mine. “You know that.”
“What did you do, see me and think I would make a nice traveling buddy?” Ben turned to meet my eyes that could have burned holes through him. “I have enough troubles of my own, and I could’ve found some other way to escape.”
“No, you would only find demons that will follow you until they are satisfied. By me finding you and taking you with me, is your escape.”
I let out a sigh and ran my fingers through my hair. I began to pace the floor and then walked over to t
he window. Ben leaned against the sink with arms folded across his chest, and watched me.
“I know you’re right,” I said meekly. “The darkness is always there and getting closer.” I gazed out the window admiring his view of the Mississippi River framed in the array of trees changing into the colors of autumn. “I haven’t felt it looming behind me since I met you.”
“I can help you, April Snow, you just have to let me.” Ben stood behind me.
I felt the heat from his body seep into mine. My body tensed as I had never felt that way before. It was as if someone had turned on a light inside of me, and I was viewing things for the first time. The connection I had with Ben was going beyond just coming from the same race. It was changing into something I had never felt before.
I turned to face him, and he was inches away from me. My eyes searched his like a frightened animal. Was he going to hurt me, suck life from my body, or kiss me? A shock wave rumbled through my body. I had never been with a boy, much less a man before. I was sixteen, and never thought about guys—only how to escape the institutions I was imprisoned in and the darkness that always loomed around me. I never had time to think about boyfriends or what a normal teens’ life was. This was new, exciting, and….something I wasn’t ready for.
I pushed myself away and plopped down on the couch. Ben cleared his throat and went into the kitchen.
“I will go and get you some warmer clothes today and some proper shoes. You’ll be safe here.”
Ben left and I locked the door behind him. I leaned against the door for a moment. Yesterday I was living at an institution, and today I’m staying at a guy’s house who claims to be a monster, can move at the speed of light, and suck the life out of humans. But Ben also knew about my tattoo or hexmark as he called it, and with a swipe of some kind of oil, my cuts and bruises on my bare feet had disappeared. If I wasn’t crazy before, I would be soon.
I decided to get a shower while Ben was gone. The warm water was welcoming, and I felt human again, or should I say monster. I gazed at myself in the mirror. I stilled looked like me with long brown hair and dark eyes. I looked human, but always felt something inside of me was different. I would have never guessed it would be called monster, but something about the word fit.
I put back on my clothes and decided to wait for Ben on the couch. It was nice to be in a home-like setting instead of the sterile surroundings of Sunrise Acres. I wrapped a blanket around me and clicked on the television. I flipped channels for a while and found a travel show on the Bahamas. I wondered where this “sanctuary” was at, and if it was anything like the show I was watching. I turned off the T.V., and sat there staring into the blank screen.
“Am I gullible of stupid?” I asked myself.
Ben hasn’t done anything to hurt me, and has been nothing but nice, but what was I doing letting him take me to some place I didn’t know where it was at. Yes, his house was a lot nicer than outdoors, but what would the future hold for me? I had to think long-term, not just in-the-moment. My gut told me to trust, and since I’ve been with him, I never felt so secure in my life. My head and commonsense told me different.
I rolled up my sleeve to expose my hexmark when a sudden chill curled around me.
I got up and turned towards the front door expecting to see Ben returning, but no one was there. The sunlight blasting through the windows ceased, as the familiar darkness filled the room. Shadows deepened, the air crystalized with floating ice particles, and the wood floors creaked from invisible feet.
I tightened the blanket I had around me, and wished the thing away, but I knew it would never leave. It wanted me, and it would always find me.
With my breath fogging in front of me, I scanned the room with my darting eyes. The darkness was here, and it was stronger than ever, but…so was I. My skin began to tingle around my hexmark. I pulled my arm out, and could see it pulsating with a river of light.
Suddenly the pots and pans that hung like ornaments over the island in the kitchen, clanked together as if someone had ran their hand through them. A couple fell to the floor, and then hurled through the air as if the invisible feet had kicked them.
The air began to hum with whispers as the ice particles that hung motionless, swirled with movement. Was there more than one demon here?
I had to get out of here, and turned towards the door when I ran into something solid. They wrapped their arms around me and grabbed my wrist exposing the hexmark that looked like it had been electrified.
“You can fight them,” Ben’s voice whispered in my ear.
The ice crystals churned faster through the air as if someone had put them into a blender.
With Ben’s hand holding my arm in the air, I stared into the blizzard of crystals. My hexmark burned with electricity. I felt alive, strong, and for the first time, brave. I had something to fight back with, and I was going to use it to its full potential.
Ben’s strength joined mine, and together the ice crystals began to swirl together forming a sphere of crystals. The taunting whispers turned into a hurtful moan.
I stepped away from Ben, and stood closer to the sphere.
“You can’t get me, and you never will!” I yelled into it just as a face, lion-like, formed in front of me.
I pushed closer with my arm extended as the lion-face opened its mouth in a silent roar, and with a loud pop, disappeared as if it was never there.
Silence filled the room. I stood motionless hardly believing what had just happened.
“Next time don’t step away from me. They could have taken you.” Ben twirled me around so I could see his angry eyes glaring at me with concern.
“Yeah, but they didn’t,” I said, with amazement. “I fought them off and won.”
“They will never be done fighting, April.” Ben warned. “They will keep coming back until you kill the one that bit you. That is the only way you’ll actually win.”
I looked at him with steady eyes. “Then that’s what I’ll have to do—kill it.”
Seth
“You are with me now…finally with me,” Ezra said, running her hand over the side of my cheek. “Stay with me.” She gazed at me with her desperate eyes.
“I want that more than anything. I miss seeing you every day and I find myself searching for you when I wake up in the morning.” I held her shoulders tightly making sure she was really in front of me.
“Then say it, say you want to be with me.” She pulled herself closer to me. “It’s awful here without you, and we deserve a future together.”
We did deserve a future together, but that’s not how things worked out. In fact, this isn’t how things are supposed to be. The it was pulling at me again.
I pushed myself away from Ezra.
“Seth…” she said, in a hurtful voice.
“It can’t be this way,” I whispered forcing the words from my lips.
“We don’t have many chances at being together. My time in the Shadowlands is running out…” Her skin suddenly paled and fine cracks erupted on her cheek. “Please Seth, come with me.” She reached for me as it took all my might to step away from her.
“I love you, Ezra, but you are suffering here…leave the Shadowlands and follow the path to the Mists. I don’t want you to suffer waiting for me.”
Ezra stood motionless, and stared at me with eyes filled with hurt. I couldn’t come with her, and it pained me to let her go.
“Ezra…” I said her name softly.
Suddenly her image shattered as if made of glass, and before me with wild, round eyes was Nessa. The roar of loud screams and yelling exploded around me. Ezra was gone and Nessa now stood in her place.
“Come on!” She demanded. “Malachi found the opening, hurry!”
She grabbed my wrist and we ran through the swirling fog until we found Malachi standing in front of a large, jagged mirror. It wasn’t very big, and looked like it had been cut away from a much larger portal.
“They won’t hold for long,” Malachi said as screa
ms from the glass people echoed in the distance.
“Her scent is strong, the angel passed here not too long ago,” I said, running my hands over the portal.
It swirled like liquid silver, and I stepped through it grabbing hold of Nessa’s hand. “Take Malachi’s hand and don’t let go.”
The portal was a thin one, and in the matter of only a few steps, we stood surrounded in peaceful darkness. The portal had disappeared as if it was never there. The wind was cool and I could hear it rustle through the leaves on the trees that framed the star-filled sky. Tall grass swayed in the breeze that surrounded us. We were in the openness of a field.
“Is this earth? Do you think we are here?” Nessa asked.
“This is earth. If angels have important business to deal with, they always conduct it on earth.” I replied. “It’s their home away from home.” I tried to reassure Nessa.
“Do you smell the angel?” Malachi asked.
“Her scent ended in the portal. She must have extinguished it when she got here.” I turned towards Malachi’s shadowy silhouette. “But we won’t find anything if we don’t move.”
Nessa and Malachi huddled together like two frightened rabbits.
“Yeah, but what way do we go?” Nessa asked stepping away from Malachi.
I pulled from my inside coat pocket a piece of paper and unfolded it.
“What’s that?” Malachi asked.
“The name of someone that is going to help us—my uncle gave it to me before we left along with their phone number.” I folded it back up and stuck it safely into my pocket.
“Well, who is it, or are you going to be secretive.” Nessa grabbed hold of my collar and gazed up at me.
“Her name is Ayil Archer, and she used to work with my uncle before escaping Iethia.” Just then, a large semi-truck flashed by piercing the darkness with its headlights. “There’s a road over there.” I started to walk towards it. “We need to get to the nearest town and contact Ayil.”
Dancing With Monsters Page 4