Taking Angels (The Angel Crusades)

by CS Yelle

  “What was that?” I spoke in a whisper, shaking against his chest.

  “Shimmering.”

  “Shimmering?”

  “We can move over short distances with a thought. It’s one of the perks of being an Eternal,” his voice was lighter, almost amused.

  Shaking my head, I pushed away from his chest, hard. “No.”

  The force caused him to stagger backwards a few paces. He teetered on the edge of the pit for a second as his eyes met mine and he toppled over backwards, surprise filling his eyes.

  “Allister,” I shouted in horror, dropping to my hands and knees and scrambling to the edge of the pit in time to see him splash into the lake below.

  “Oh my God,” I cried out.

  “Humph.”

  I rolled over to see a drenched Allister standing behind me. He smiled deviously and moved over to extend a hand. I grasped it and he pulled me to my feet, covered in orange iron ore dust, staring at his confident gaze.

  “You were surprised, but you weren’t scared.” I said, realizing it as I spoke.

  “I can’t die. There was nothing to be afraid of,” he said smiling.

  “No, this isn’t real. This can’t be real.” I turned, threw my hands up in the air and walked away from the pit following the old road as it wound up over a hill and back towards the main road.

  “Britt, wait, I’ll take you back to the other side,” Allister cried after me.

  I didn’t turn around, walking defiantly away from him and his bizarre claims. I froze in place as I realized something. If he could move across the pit like that, was the rest of his story also true? I shook my head, silly nonsense. I had my soul. His story was b.s. I needed to get out of here and sort this out. There had to be some reasonable explanation.

  Allister appeared out of nowhere in front of me, his hands held up before him, trying to calm me down. “Britt, please, you need to listen to me.”

  I stopped a few paces from him, crossing my arms and glaring at him with my best daggered look. He cringed and I fought to keep a satisfied smile from my lips.

  “I’m telling you the truth. You have to believe me.”

  I thought for a minute. “How old are you?”

  “Eighteen,” Allister answered.

  “Ah ha,” I exclaimed in triumph.

  “What?”

  “I thought you said you lived an eternity. How can you only be eighteen if you’re immortal?” I said nodding with vindication.

  “Eternals age ten times slower than normal people,” Allister explained.

  I did the math in my head. “No way.” I stared at him with shock.

  He nodded that it was true.

  “A hundred and eighty? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I’m not lying.” He stared hard at me, his eyes pleading me to accept what he said.

  I sat down heavily, adding to the orange marks the ore tailings left on my jeans. How could this be? How could I not have a soul and be oblivious to that fact? Allister sat down next to me, waiting patiently for me to look over at him, which I tried my hardest not to do. I stared back at the pit as birds dove below the edge, disappearing from sight, their calls echoing around us. When I finally turned to him, Allister looked calmly back, resignation on his face.

  “How did I lose my soul?” I asked finding the strength to utter the words momentous.

  “Angelina and I weren’t the only Eternals on the riverbank that day.” My eyebrow rose at what he implied. “A rogue Eternal has been tearing guardian angels from people and we followed him to that waterfall. He killed you before we got there. Your soul was gone before I touched you, except I didn’t discover that until I touched you.” Allister’s words were hard to hear. He spoke them with such empathy, I almost felt sorry for him.

  “Eternals don’t usually take guardian angels from people?” I asked, still trying to digest the information.

  “Not at all,” he said vehemently. “We live quietly, trying to avoid unwanted attention from the angels. Taking guardians will bring the angels’ wrath down upon us.”

  “Guardian angels’ wrath?”

  “No, these angels are more like the enforcers of the angel world. They ensure nothing happens to the guardian angel-human balance. Protectors seeing to it nothing interferes with the flow of nature.”

  I got to my feet, the idea of being an Eternal seeping into my reality, making me feel sick.

  Allister looked up at me, questioning.

  “Can you take me home? I don’t feel too good.”

  “Sure,” he said getting to his feet. He stepped closer, moving to take my arm again.

  “No.” I stopped him with a raised hand. “I’m not ready to do that again. Can we walk back to the car?”

  “Sure.” He nodded and stepped next to me as I walked along the path.

  It was dark by the time we got back to the car. We didn’t talk as I remained deep in thought. The silent car ride was nearly unbearable, though I didn’t want any more information to digest, yet. My new reality loomed before me with no certainty I could deal with it. We pulled up in front of my house and he hopped out, running around to open my door. Allister leaned on the open door when I stopped to look at him.

  “Can I die?” I asked, not knowing where the question came from.

  “Not naturally, at least, none of us have yet,” he clarified.

  I nodded at his answer, more out of numbness than really registering it.

  “Is it alright if I stop by later and check on you?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  With a nod, he got back into his car and drove off as I watched the red taillights disappear around the corner over my shoulder. I turned to climb the porch steps and nearly ran over Angelina, standing in my way.

  “We need to talk,” she said, her expression hard.

  I staggered back falling on my butt, stunned by her appearance out of nowhere.

  “You need to stay away from my brother.” She put her hands on her hips.

  “What?” I gaped, getting to my feet and brushing the grass off my jeans before remembering they were already ruined by the iron ore stains.

  “Are you hard of hearing as well as dumb? You need to stay away from Allister.”

  “Why?” I stammered, confused.

  “You being around him isn’t good for him.”

  “Why don’t you tell your brother to stay away from me?” I frowned.

  “I did, but he’s too stubborn for his own good and I need you to stay away from him, no matter what he says.”

  “Why would I do that if he doesn’t want me to stay away?”

  “It’s complicated and I’m not sure your small brain could comprehend it.” She pointed to her head to emphasize her point.

  “Hey, I’m getting a little tired of you referring to me as dumb and stupid.” I took a step towards her and glared down at her standing a good head taller.

  “If you care at all for Allister you need to stay as far away from him as possible.” She crossed her arms in front of her and glared back.

  I stared at this small, obstinate girl. She didn’t look the least bit intimidated. I didn’t know if I cared about Allister or not, but the way Angelina referred to his feelings about me, he seemed to care for me to the point he would ignore his sister’s warnings.

  “I don’t know if I can do that,” I admitted, surprising myself with my boldness.

  “Ahh!” she spun away from me, throwing her arms up in disgust. “I knew I couldn’t count on you to just do as I asked. Fine.” She turned back and moved right up in front of me, pointing a finger in my face. “Allister did something that could get him killed. If you and he are seen together by the wrong people, both of you are in danger. Just stay away from him.”

  “You mean changing me into an Eternal can get Allister killed?”

  She gave me an infuriated look, locking her eyes on mine for the longest moment. “So he went and told you everything. I might have guessed. The fool. Now we’re all
in danger and it’s because he couldn’t resist you.” She considered me for a moment, and then put a finger in my chest. “If the Eternal Council finds out Allister touched someone when they were already gone, they can sentence him to death.”

  “What about the Eternal who took my guardian angel in the first place?” I argued and pushed her finger away. “Wouldn’t they blame him for causing Allister to break their law first?”

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Angelina frowned. “What Allister did is strictly forbidden by the council. His crime is much more grievous and punishable by death. If another Eternal sees you, they will know instantly that you were created, not born.”

  I stood, staring at her, unable to fathom Allister being killed for saving my life.

  “If you don’t care about Allister’s life, then maybe you’ll save your own skinny neck. The council will kill you too, not to mention the Eternal who took your guardian will want you dead as well to cover up his crimes. Maybe you had better think about that.” Angelina looked me up and down, and then vanished before my eyes.

  I spun in place, looking around, but Angelina was gone.

  Chapter 10 Flopping down on my bed I looked at my nightstand and reality turned bitter. I reached over, taking the picture of me with the amigos in my hand, wondering what to tell them.

  “Nothing,” I sighed. After that whole fiasco at Allister’s house, they would never believe anything like that again unless... Unless Allister told them. Why couldn’t they know the truth? I would press the issue if given the chance.

  Thinking about living forever it all became crystal clear. Everyone I loved would die and move on. I would watch loved one after loved one die and leave me, never to be with them again. No afterlife, no eternal happiness, the promise of reuniting with them someday taken from me, forever. Trish, Elisa, and Cassie would die and leave me. Mom and Dad, I expected to deal with someday, but anyone I cared about would eventually be gone and beyond me seeing ever again.

  Except Allister. My family consisted of Allister now, and Angelina, I added with a grimace. You know what they say, you can’t pick your family, but in this case, Allister had.

  I didn’t know how comfortable I felt with his ultimate decision. Time would tell. Time, the only thing I couldn’t run out of anymore.

  Lying in bed, thinking of the day’s events, I couldn’t get Allister out of my head. I still had so many unanswered questions, but like he said, there was no hurry.

  I crawled out of bed and headed downstairs. I walked into the living room where Mom and Dad were watching the news. They looked up curiously as I entered.

  “What’s up?” Dad asked. “Not much,” I lied. “Can’t sleep. Thought I would head out to the shed for a while.”

  Dad nodded with a smile.

  “We hoped you’d feel like going out there again,” Mom grinned knowingly.

  “Yeah, guess I’m going to check it out and see if I feel it again.” I shrugged and walked out the back door, following the lighted path to the shed adjacent to the fence that ran along the alley. I paused in front of the door, peering into the blackness inside through the window then reached for the door knob and gave it a turn. The door swung inward with a light creak. Searching the wall around the corner I flicked on the light and the shed lit up brightly.

  White sheets covered nearly everything in the room except the shelves holding pots of different shapes, sizes, and colors. I walked over and pulled the sheet off the potter’s wheel and chair, grinning with familiarity. I turned and pulled the remaining sheets into my arms and dropped them in a corner, turning back to look at the kiln, boxes of clay, and the large recliner set in the corner. I sat down in the chair in front of the wheel and flipped the power on, placing my foot on the pedal and tentatively pressed down. The wheel jumped to life. I grinned.

  This was where I used to escape all the pain and harsh realities of my life. Creating something that would outlast me and maybe share some happiness with others when I was gone.

  I lifted my foot from the pedal and the wheel ground to a stop while I spun in my chair to look up at the shelves holding my work. Each bore a label to the person it was meant for. Funny, I never thought I would outlast the people whose names claimed the pots, but if Allister was telling me the truth, that’s exactly what was going to happen…unless Angelina was right and Allister and I were in mortal danger because of what he did.

  I stood and walked to the recliner, flopping down in the comforting chair. How did all this happen? I stared at the wheel, trying to put the puzzle pieces in my head together to make sense of it all. Sliding down further in the chair, I pulled the blanket hanging over the back down and draped it over me. How could my life have become this?

  I fell asleep, a whisper in my mind reminding me of the terrors waiting, just before drifting off. I recognized the setting; walking down the street to the school. A lone light shone in the gray cement building as I moved to a window and peered in. Mr. Kinsley worked at a desk, paging through papers, stopping every so often to take a drink of soda. I felt a strange tingling through my body and then stood in the classroom, facing my teacher.

  He looked up with shock at my appearance. “Who are you?”

  “Someone who needs something from you?” I said, my voice once again, not my own.

  “You’ll have to come back during school hours on Monday. I’m finishing up some grading and heading out in a second. How did you get in here at this hour?” He glanced at his papers and then looked back with a frown.

  “I can’t wait until Monday. What I need from you I will take now,” the voice said.

  I moved beside Mr. Kinsley in an instant, placing a hand on the man before he could respond. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened to scream, but nothing came out. A familiar vapor rose from Mr. Kinsley, taking a vague shape as the hand grasped it before it could fully finish forming. The cries emitted by the vapor pierced my ears as it shrieked. It went silent and slipped into the extended arm, not my arm, a strangers arm, one I recognized from nights past.

  I walked to the door, taking one last look at the lifeless body of Mr. Kinsley slumped back in his chair, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, mouth open in one futile, final cry for help. I switched the lights off and the tingling feeling returned.

  I jerked awake with Allister holding me, my sobs quieted into his chest, grabbing at him hysterically, wanting to hold something real, substantial, instead of the dream world tormenting me. I began to calm and think clearly again as the smell of lilac filled my senses. Then, I pushed him away as my anger built up in me. This was his fault. He did this to me and now no one was safe, even the amigos could be in danger.

  “You can’t just pop in anytime you want,” I scolded.

  “I’m sorry, but I didn’t know you had dreams,” he said.

  “Nightmares, visions,” I corrected, wiping the tears from my cheeks with the backs of my hands.

  “What about?”

  “Tonight Mr. Kinsley died. I went to his room at school and took something vapory out of his body and he died.”

  Allister looked at me, doubt and horror competing for control of his features.

  “I’m sure it’s real. I saw other people killed and then read about it in the newspaper.” I stopped short, afraid of what Allister might think of my confession.

  “I need to check something. Are you alright for a minute?” he asked.

  I shrugged and he shimmered into nothingness. It felt longer than a minute as apprehension grew for what might come next. Then he reappeared and knelt down next to me. He looked at me, terror alone filling his eyes.

  “What?” I whispered.

  “Mr. Kinsley is dead.”

  “How is this possible? How am I killing all these people in my dreams?”

  “You said you went to his classroom and took something from him?”

  “I went to his classroom and killed him.”

  He shook his head, staring down at the floor. He looked at me, his eyes filled
with compassion. “Britt, you aren’t killing people. You’re witnessing someone else killing them.”

  “But, I’m right there when they’re killed. I’m as good as killing them myself.”

  “You’re seeing through the eyes of the Eternal who took your guardian angel.”

  “What? How could this be happening? How am I seeing through the eyes of that monster?”

  “I don’t know, but I know someone who might,” he said.

  “Who?” I asked.

  “My sister, Angelina.”

  “How would she know?”

  “Angelina has the ability to sense a person who has been in a room before her or touched an object she touches. She may be able to touch you and see who this Eternal is.”

  “I thought you knew who he was?”

  “We never identified him, though with Angelina’s help, we might be able to sense where he plans to go next.”

  “You think the Eternal who killed Mr. Kinsley is connected to me after taking my guardian angel?” I couldn’t wrap my head around this.

  “Let’s go find out,” he said extending a hand to me.

  I hesitated, not looking forward to the feeling of shimmering again, then placed my hand in his and had the same tingling feeling I felt in my dream. We now stood in a bedroom; a large four post bed with a silky, blue canopy took up a large portion of the generous space. Other ornate and luxurious furniture filled the space while the light smell of potpourri filled the room, nothing like the lilac I smell after witnessing the murders.

  Angelina sat looking at us from the edge of her bed, no sign of surprise on her face. “Brother, we are now bringing the secret into our very house?” she said with disapproval.

  “She dreamt of the Eternal we seek,” Allister told her, causing Angelina’s eyebrow to rise.

  “She keeps surprising you, Allister. Soon you will need to test her for all her possible skills,” she said, standing and moving over next to me.

  She stopped before me and placed a hand on my head, a rush of energy dropping me to my knees and a flash of white across my vision. Seconds later, I knelt on the floor, blinking rapidly, trying to get my vision back. Allister knelt beside me, his arm around my shoulders, comforting me.