by Sammi Cee
“I’m a fallen angel, and I’ve been sent by my creator to guide you out of this horrible situation you’ve found yourself in with your uncle.” I’ve never revealed myself to a human before, and don’t know a supe who has, so I have no example to follow on the best way to do this, so I’m going with the flow.
Disbelief flashes across Denny’s face before he schools his expression back into the placating one he’s been wearing since he decided I was crazy and needed to be helped. “Sure, Az. Can I call you Az? That’s what Ophaniel calls you, right?”
Right then and there I decide that the Ancient One has indeed given me the perfect mate. In his own quirky way, Denny is brave. When watching him walk blindly into the ocean last night or seeing him curl into a ball mere hours ago, I witnessed his terror at his own situation. Even watching him stumble awkwardly around the casino yesterday to spy on his uncle was a clear indication of how lost and powerless he felt. But sitting here facing me, considering me a crazy man, he’s kind and trying to put me at ease to help my poor unfortunate soul. Best of all, he really is endlessly entertaining which is endearing.
“You know what, Denny? I’ve lived a long, long time and never realized how right Ophaniel is.”
His head tilts as he regards me quizzically. “Right about what, Az?”
“I don’t laugh enough. I don’t ever really enjoy myself. Through the years I’ve splurged on nice meals or indulged in the delights of the flesh, but until meeting you, I’ve never enjoyed it. I’ve never allowed myself to experience true interaction with a human. I’ve received my assignments to help someone, done my job, and then gone on to the next. I never realized that I was missing out.”
Giving me a patronizing smile, he says, “I’m glad to hear that you’ve enjoyed our time together. And today was great. It really was. I didn’t get a chance to properly thank you for taking me out. But, Az, I think you’re forgetting something.”
“What’s that?” I humor him.
“Well, you said you’re a fallen angel. Now, I’m no angel expert, but I’m pretty sure if you’re a fallen angel, you’re not getting assignments to help people. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, but you must be confused. You need help, Az. Maybe your friend Ophaniel?”
Before I can answer, I feel a vibration in my pocket. Pulling my phone out, I open the screen to see a message from Ophi saying he has news and asking if he can come in or if he should call. Deciding that Ophi popping in is a perfect way to prove that I’m not lying to Denny, I tell him to come on in before saying to Denny, “You may want to sit down.”
He eyes the bed I’m reclining on wearily before looking back at the desk chair which may put him too far from us being able to really hear each other over the TV. “No, I’m—” and in through the wall comes Ophaniel with his wings arched in a V behind him wearing nothing but black, skin tight leather pants. Showoff. Denny pales before muttering, “I think I better sit down.” Then he stumbles to the bed, veering around toward me so that he actually folds into himself on the bed at my feet.
Ophaniel smiles pleasantly while looking back and forth between us. “It’s crazy, right, Denny? One day you think you’re alone in the world and that angels don’t exist, and boom, you’re destined to spend eternity with one. How ya handling that?”
Denny chokes out, “Azorath?” Settling his eyes, wide as saucers on me, he says, “Did he just walk through the wall?” I nod. “Does he have wings?” I nod, again. “And they’re real?”
Ophi says, “For fuck’s sake, Az. I thought you told him.”
“I did, but he didn’t believe me,” I say.
“Well, did you angel out for him?”
Scrunching my brows at Ophi, I ask, “Angel out for him?”
“Yeah, you know, like, transform in front of him so that he could see you in your angel form.” And he flutters his own wings behind him.
Rolling my eyes at him, I say, “No, of course not. I didn’t want to scare him. Besides, I’m still not sure he would have believed me. I went invisible with him standing right in front of me, and he checked the ceiling instead of believing.”
Now it’s Ophi’s turn to scrunch up his face while turning his full attention back on Denny. “Really? The ceiling? What the heck would he have been doing on the ceiling? If he’s not a supernatural being, how would he have even stayed up there?”
Denny, obviously shell-shocked, just looks back and forth between us. “Well,” continues Ophi. “At least you didn’t pass out when I came in. That’s a good sign, I guess. But I do kind of need you to pay attention now.”
The silliness leaves Ophi’s face and his appearance suddenly back to that of a normal human. “Can’t have my wings distracting you now, Denny. I have to talk to you two and it’s important.” Ophi walks over and grabs the desk chair, dragging it over by the bed and straddling so that he can rest his hands on the back. “Caedmon, that’s our vampire friend,” he says to Denny, who merely blinks his eyes. Ophi looks to me so I nod for him to continue. “Caedmon went to see your aunt, Denny.”
“Aunt Rhonda?” he squeaks out. This apparently pulls him out of his stupor, though, because his voice rises on the next question which he directs to me. “You sent a vampire to see my Aunt Rhonda?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Ophi says before I can answer. “First of all, your aunt hasn’t done anything that would sanction Caedmon being able to drain her of her blood. He’s a cranky old bastard, but he does follow the rules. Then there’s also the fact he’s not fond of feeding on humans. He says the taste of warm blood skeeves him out.”
I interject, “Is he really saying that? The Ancient One said that to me the other day when I thought it was a dream, but I didn’t realize that’s the case. How on earth could he not like the taste of fresh blood? He was created for it.”
“Right?” At Denny’s little gasp, I sit up from my reclined position and scoot up next to him to gently rub his back. I half expect him to pull away from me, but instead, he leans back into my hand. “Sorry,” says Ophi. “Anyway, Caedmon went to see your Aunt Rhonda and received some disturbing information.”
Interrupting Ophi before he can tell us anything else, I gently nudge Denny in the back and ask, “What do you think you know about your uncle and his operation?”
Still looking skeptical about sitting between two angels, despite leaning into my touch, he begins to stumble over his words as he tells us what he knows. “I never really had a relationship with my uncle until my parents died.” Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the tightening of Ophi’s whole body. “When my parents passed, my uncle basically took over my life. I was allowed to finish college, but the second I was done, my life became his. When he told me I was going to be working for his company, I kind of expected to be put in the mailroom or something, but he moved me right into the IT department, but working directly for him. Not that my job has really been all IT, though. I’ve kind of done whatever my uncle’s needed for the exportation of his electronics.” He rolls his eyes as he looks back and forth between us. “I’m not an idiot, though. The information I saw on the electronics were all no-name brands and low-level stuff, but my uncle was getting richer and his lifestyle was getting more exorbitant.”
He takes a deep breath and stares down at his lap. Ophi opens his mouth, and I shake my head, wanting to allow Denny whatever time he needs to tell his truth. “I’m not dumb, you know,” he whispers. “I knew he had to be transporting drugs or something. But he owned me. Everything I was allowed to have was provided by the company. My phone. My car. My apartment. And because of that, my salary’s always been minimum wage, maybe not even minimum wage when I calculate my actual hours since I’m always on call to him. Anyway, I knew he was up to no good, but right before our trip here, I overheard him and a bunch of the top executives of the company talking about people. Transporting actual people and I’ve been freaked out. I can’t be part of that. Then earlier today, he told me I was going to have to change transport information and get
him into the shipyard when we’re not scheduled to be there. He thinks, well, I did some stuff when I was younger to make him believe that I have the skills he needs to get around the system.”
“I know, Denny. I was there today when your uncle threatened you. I was there to keep you from falling when his muscle started trying to get rough with you.”
And the most beautiful transformation occurs. Denny’s face softens, making him look younger than he is as stress melts from his face. His eyes glisten with tears, a faint smile appears with the tilt of his lips, and instead of merely leaning into my hand drawing circles on his back, he sags into it in relief. “You came into the room? That’s why I felt peaceful and got a burst of confidence. I’ve never even thought about standing up for myself before, much less back talking my uncle, but all of a sudden I felt warmth on my back.” He stops and twists his head around to look down at my hand on his back. “Warmth on my back like right now, and I felt empowered.”
“As soon as I got to you today, I did come stand beside you and put my hand on the small of your back like this. Since I couldn’t be there with you, I wanted to try to make you feel less alone.”
His lips tilt up into even more of a smile as he looks me straight in the eyes. “It worked.”
Ophi manages to contain himself for about half a minute before saying, “Gag. I hope the Ancient One doesn’t ever decide to have a suflet mwenza waiting for me somewhere. You guys are grossing me out. Anyway, this is serious. Your uncle is a despicable human being. Thankfully, we’re here with you because back talking his kind of nasty is never a good idea. Your aunt said, well, she suspects that your parents’ death was no accident.”
“What?” Denny and I say at the same time.
“Apparently, your parents turned to your uncle for help when you were a teen. Your parents had enough money for a comfortable life, but they didn’t have the kind of money your uncle did. They were worried about what kind of lawyer they were going to need to keep you out of jail. Your aunt didn’t know all the particulars of what actually went down, but she knows that your uncle went back to your dad when you were graduating from high school and basically demanded that you be handed over to him for whatever he’d done to help with your legal situation earlier. Your parents, of course, refused. Then the next thing your aunt knew, your parents had died in a tragic house fire.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean my uncle had anything to do with it. Him wanting my skill set doesn’t mean he would’ve killed his own brother. Aunt Rhonda’s grief must be making her paranoid.”
“I’m sorry, Denny. No. It was the way your uncle responded as soon as they were notified of your parents’ death. He already had everything in place for you to continue your education and for it to be like you’d been with them that whole time. Your aunt confronted him one day. It was an accusation that landed her in the ER and ended up limiting her proximity to you.”
Denny’s face drains of any of the color he’d had left after this crazy day. Bending forward, I reach out and pick him up to plant his small body in between my legs. He buries his face back into my chest, so I tilt my head to the door for Ophi to go.
Every protective instinct in me is on overdrive, but first I need to comfort this precious gift from my creator. Ophi nods at me in understanding, but before he goes, he says to me, “Caedmon will be here tomorrow. Tonight he’s getting Aunt Rhonda packed up and moved so that she’ll be safe. She said her happiest memories were with Denny’s family and asked to go to where they lived, back to Highvale.” My eyebrows shoot up my forehead, and Ophi gives me a knowing look. “I’ll leave you two for tonight, and we’ll reconvene tomorrow once Caedmon arrives.”
I nod my thanks at my friend before he gently pats Denny on the shoulder and disappears.
12
Denny
Azorath doesn’t speak after Ophaniel leaves. He holds me silently, stroking my hair back with one hand while continuing to rub my lower back with the other. After I don’t even know how long, he pulls back a little to pick me back up and maneuver me up to lay my head on the pillow at the top of the bed. We both remain silent as he slowly undresses me and pulls the covers over me. I don’t think to question him, but I allow him to take care of me.
As soon as he’s done, he carries the chair around to the side of the bed next to my head. “Are you doing okay, Denny? I’m so sorry about your parents.”
Biting back the tears that have been hovering near the surface since Ophaniel’s announcement, I say, “I need a distraction. Will you tell me about you? Where do you live? Where do you come from?”
With a deep sigh, Azorath leans forward in the chair, planting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands in front of him. “This isn’t a conversation I ever expected to have with a human.” He gives me a small grin, letting me know it’s one he’s willing to have, but I wait several moments while he closes his eyes trying to gather his words. Finally, he opens them and begins to tell me about himself, his world. “Supernatural beings have been around almost as long as humans have. The Ancient One created us to help humanity where your governments were failing. We don’t operate the same way you do. Each of us is created with a specific purpose to help your kind not only survive but thrive.”
“What does that mean exactly?” I ask.
“Well, take Ophaniel for instance, he’s an angel. His purpose is to offer protection and keep your kind from senseless accidents that could cause you harm. When he’s in angel form and invisible to the naked eye, he can swoop in and keep a car from plummeting off the edge of a cliff if it slips on black ice. Or he’ll keep someone from falling if they slip while walking down the street.”
“So he really did come into the water that night and save me? He wasn’t lying at all, was he?”
“No. He was telling you the truth. When I caught sight of you walking toward the water, we followed you. I was merely curious what you were up to since I hadn’t seen you since you disappeared in the casino hallway.”
“How long had you been following me?” I ask curiously.
“Just for the day, but Ophaniel had been here on a vacation of sorts, and he’d already come across you several times. In fact, he said he’d had to keep you from hurting yourself by the elevators, in the stairwell, and in the pool. He pretty much had decided you were a disaster waiting to happen.”
Snorting, I think back to the few days before I met Azorath. “I think I remember what you’re talking about. My mind’s been replaying the conversation I heard from my uncle’s office on a continuous loop. It was making me clumsier and less cautious than normal. It’s like I couldn’t find my center. Each time I thought how lucky I was that I managed to catch myself or help myself. I didn’t even realize…” I trail off.
“You’re not supposed to realize. Back many, many centuries ago, supernaturals would reveal themselves only to their soul-mates. But it’s been outlawed for so long that I don’t even recall the last time.”
“Why? Did you your Ancient One outlaw it?”
“My kind live in a different realm that’s connected to yours by a series of doors located throughout the world. My home is called Uchawilume, and we have our own plane of existence. It’s beautiful there. Everything we could possibly need has been provided to us by the Ancient One, so we never had any form of government. Until we did. And the council that rose up outlawed us revealing our true nature to anyone human. I’d always assumed it was at the Ancient One’s bidding, but now, after a dream I had and meeting you, I’m not so sure.” He shakes his head briskly. “No, I’m positive that it isn’t true.”
Confusion and sadness mar Azorath’s face, so I say, “You keep saying supernaturals and your kind. Ophaniel talked about a vampire. So there’s more than just angels?”
He blinks at me before his small smile returns. “So many, Denny. There are angels and fallen angels, shifters, and demons, dragons, and unicorns. All the things you consider folklore are real. They exist for the betterment of humanity.”
My mind starts spinning as I listen to him speak. Of course, being a B-movie horror junkie, my mind immediately goes to all of the horrible things that could go bump in the night. After spending so much time talking today, Azorath picks right up on my thoughts. “Denny, I meant what I said about being created to help humanity. That’s why the council said they were forbidding us from revealing ourselves anymore. As with any secret, over time whispers and gossip started circling about our kind. Soul-mates weren’t as quiet as they were supposed to be. Supes were seen when they shouldn’t have been. You know, things like that. Eventually, we became stories to scare children and keep them tucked home and in their beds at night.”
“But I heard you guys talk about your vampire friend and him sucking blood. That’s scary Azorath and that’s exactly what the stories of vampires speak of.”
“True. But what the stories have wrong is the why. The Ancient One created vampires to drain the blood of the parasites of your kind. The ones that were escaping the detection of the authorities. Criminals and killers so evil that their very existence was a threat to those who encountered them. Blood is a need for a vampire to exist in this realm, but not in ours. Which is why I’m so concerned about my friend Caedmon. He rarely returns to Uchawilume, spending most of his time in his home here, so he needs blood.”
As interested as I am in knowing more about vampires, my main concern is the man, well, fallen angel before me. The one who is claiming that I’m his soul-mate. “And what’s the distinction between you and Ophaniel. He’s an angel, but you’re a fallen angel. Did you do something wrong in your realm or were you originally created that way, too? And Azorath, many do actually believe in the existence of angels, even if they don’t believe in anything else. Why is that?”
“Ahh… yes, so angels and mortals have a different relationship. Now don’t take this wrong, Denny. I’m explaining this to you as we see it from my realm, with our ability to easily go all over the world. One gifting that every paranormal being has is that we can understand and speak every language on your planet which gives us a higher awareness of humanity. You all live so isolated in your own cultures and ways of thinking. So for many places, angels tie in to the religions you’ve created. And because of our winged appearance, and the fact we have been spotted through time giving aid, we’ve become a valuable part of those religions. Plus, humans love things and people that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, which angels are. Well, angels like Ophaniel are.”