by Tara Benham
“Actually, I have a map I’ve drawn here. Would you all like to see?”
I was very interested in comparing it to the map we’d been given, showing where the safe places were for saving Gray when the time came. He pulled out his hand-drawn map, and the details were beautiful. Declan and Had both complimented him on his talent. He gave a sheepish shrug and began pointing out different areas that he felt would be affected. However, the damage he was expecting was nothing compared to what we knew would actually be occurring. Luckily both the places we had indicated for camping we're not going to be affected. The only plus to Adam’s Peak compared to the valley was that it was far enough away that when the quake happened, it would take a while to get back in town, and by then the danger would have passed. Camping in the valley gave us the same protection, but the humans would be aware of the quake, and the destruction would be seen, heard, and felt with little they could do to help as they watched their town, friends and family disappear and die. Because my mission was to save the human life that was Gray, my predecessor was going to be collecting the souls of those who didn’t survive the catastrophic event, and just then, it struck me. If another angel was going to be taking part, then another demon must be collecting as well. My eyes shot up towards Mr. Whitstock. Apparently the color had drained from my face, because before I knew it, Hadraniel was at my side. The last thing I remember was him calmly telling me that he had me. When I woke up, I was on the stage being fanned by Gray and Hannah. Declan, stone-faced, was leaning against the stage wall. Mr. Whitstock was telling everyone to give me space. Hadraniel helped me sit up and handed me a glass of water.
“Are you okay?” Hannah asked so quietly, I felt bad for scaring her.
“Yes, I must have gotten too hot.” I cast my eyes down, praying no one noticed my fib.
“It’s been a busy day for you all. Had, maybe you should take Bayla home to rest?” Mr. Whitstock made the suggestion, but it was more of a command than anything.
I didn’t want to leave yet. I wanted to talk to him about all the things that I had learned today. But I realized that he was letting me know that wasn’t going to happen and that I needed to trust and rely on Hadraniel to help me with this information. With drooping shoulders, I nodded in agreement. Hadraniel helped me stand, and when I was steady enough to walk, I turned to wave goodbye to Hannah, Gray and Declan. Declan continued to stare at me, no emotions at all. Sadness flooded me. Hannah ran over and gave me a hug.
“Oh, Bayla. I’m so glad you’re okay. I know we just met, but I feel like I’ve known you forever.” My heart pulled at her words and the sight of tears unfallen in her eyes. Hannah was so kind and sweet. I could see why she and Gray got along so well. I hugged her back.
“Me too.” I smiled, and she gave one in return, wiping the unshed tears away. “We’ll catch up tomorrow if you want. I think I need a day of relaxation.”
“I’m off, so maybe we can go to the quarry and hang out.”
“Ok.” I glanced back towards Declan one last time, and he was gone. I scanned the café, but he was nowhere to be seen. Mr. Whitstock gave a wave, and Hadraniel and I headed off to the cottage.
On the walk home, I filled Hadraniel in on all the things that were made clear to me throughout the day, from Gray’s brother to the second demon. I kept Father Paul’s secret though. I explained that Declan must have been sent so that Mephistopheles would be available to collect the souls that were lost. I explained how evil Meph could be, and how our mission was going to be harder than expected. Angels followed the rules, and I would be receiving no help, other than from Had. However, Meph could easily decide to help Declan and we would have two very strong demons to face. As I was explaining all this to him, I realized now why Hadraniel was sent with me.
“Oh my Grace! They sent you as back up. You’re a Blue-In-Training. You’re supposed to save Gray in case I fail. The Elder’s knew! They knew I might fail, and that I might have to face two demons. Granted usually when souls are collected, there isn’t much of a fight. Most souls were already destined for one place or the other. However, with Gray being special, there would be a fight. I can’t win against both. We need to come up with a contingency plan, Had. You must promise me now, this instant, that if it looks like I might lose, you will take Gray and Hannah someplace safe. We must have a successful mission no matter the cost! Promise me!”
Hadraniel looked ghostly white, but he nodded.
“I need to hear you say it, please.” My voice was barely a whisper.
“I promise.” His wasn’t much louder. After a moment’s pause, he spoke again, a little louder and more confident. “I don’t think it will come to that though, Bay. Honestly, I think it will all be okay.”
I appreciated his confidence in me, but it only made me more nervous. Once we got inside the cottage, it took everything I had to make it up the steps to my room. I collapsed into a fitful sleep full of dreams and nightmares of what the next few weeks might hold.
There's no love like the first. ~Nicholas Sparks
The next morning, I was still in bed way past the time I normally woke up. I gathered up my stuff and was heading to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day when I heard voices from downstairs. I tiptoed to the edge of the steps, knowing whoever was down there couldn’t see me, but it gave me a better vantage point to hear what was being said. I could make out Hadraniel’s voice but wasn’t quite sure to whom he was speaking.
“I’ve never witnessed Bayla like this, ever. I don’t know what to say or do for her. I don’t know how to make it better, to ease her mind.”
My heart ached at the sweetness that Hadraniel had within him. I knew it was a smart thing to make him promise last night to leave me if needed. What I couldn’t say last night to Had was that it wasn’t that I was afraid of Meph, as I’d faced him multiple times. It’s just that we’d never had to fight over souls before. We rarely even interacted. He collected his, I collected mine, and we went on our merry ways. This was the first time since the birth of the Son that an Angel and a demon would have to battle over the soul of a human who, for whatever unknown reason, was so special. I could fight Declan, if it were just him. I have the training. I could even fight Meph if I must. I wasn’t afraid of the fighting..., but I was scared of what could happen if I didn’t win, not just for myself, but for both Gray and Hadraniel.
“Just let her rest the next few days, don’t do any researching. Just have some fun. She seems like someone who needs to learn how to relax. There’s still a few days before Gray’s parents’ cookout when she’ll need a more definite plan. Until then, don’t let her near the bookstore.”
That was clearly Declan’s voice. If I hadn’t heard such sincerity in his voice, I would’ve sworn he was just trying to trick Hadraniel out of learning more about the quake. Declan was full of surprises. Even if the other side’s plan all along was to fool me by sending a newbie. I would have thought they would have sent someone more formidable. Someone that would throw me off my game, but not like this. Someone who could be stone cold and scary one minute, and offering a Blue-In-Training advice how to protect his angel the next?
“Yeah. I know she’s supposed to meet Hannah later today to spend the day at the quarry, I believe. If she’s not up soon, I may have to wake her.”
“Good luck with that.” Declan chuckled.
“No kidding. I don’t know how she would react. She’s always the first one up.”
With that, I decided to sneak back to my room and very loudly close the door to signal I was up and getting ready. I walked to the bathroom to turn on the shower water. I loved the water as hot as I could tolerate it. I got in and just stood there for what seemed like an eternity. I let the water fall down over me as I prayed. I asked for guidance, strength, and a level head for when the time came. I knew a day with Hannah would be a nice break, but it would still be work. I would still be gathering good information about her and about Gray. I knew I needed to be finishing up soon and getting dr
essed to go meet her, but the heat felt good on my body. Since yesterday, I had felt chilled to the bone. I gave myself five more minutes before I finished showering.
I decided that for a day at the quarry, my hair didn’t need to look cute. I pulled it into a curly, messy bun on top of my head, put on a black two-piece suit with a black sundress over it and headed down to grab a quick bite to eat before leaving for town. Shockingly, Declan was still there, and he was alone in the kitchen. The sight of him relaxing at my table took me aback, and I stopped in my tracks. He gave a lazy grin and nodded before speaking.
“Well Bay, I must say, you look H-O-T hot in black.”
I harrumphed in his general direction, mainly because I didn’t know how to respond. My lack of response changed his lazy grin into a face-splitting smile. He was beaming at being able to make me speechless. I had to remind myself he was a demon, and he was made to know how to charm people both with personality and looks.
“Where’s Haddy?”
Declan stood up and made his way towards me. He kept his eyes on mine the whole time. I felt like I couldn’t look away, and it was so intimidating that I needed to take a step back as he approached, causing his to smirk.
“He went out back to grab his gear. We’re going to hike to one of the places on the map Mr. Whitstock told us about.” My eyes must have widened, because before I could question that decision, he spoke. “Don’t worry Bay, I’m not going to hurt your precious Haddy. It’s an honest trip. I need to know as much about the layout as you all. After all, I have a bet to win.” With that, he winked at me, smacked my butt and headed out back to meet with Hadraniel.
I growled and stamped my foot at him with disgust. “Don’t ever do that again. Do you understand me? It will not bode well for you.” To which he threw his head back and gave a haughty laugh as the door behind him closed. I was still fuming as I gathered my toast and bags to head to town. I could not believe the nerve of him to touch me, and in such a familiar manner at that!
I must have been angrier than I realized because I made it to town in no time. I was sitting at one of the tables that were outside the café waiting for Hannah. The day was beautiful and hot. It was the perfect day to spend at the quarry with just Hannah. We could lay out, relax and talk. I had never had a connection with other girls, Angel or human. There was something about Hannah that made friendship easy.
“Hey! Want to grab a smoothie before heading to the quarry?”
I turned to see Hannah who had brought Alissa and some other girl I hadn’t met yet. I wanted to roll my eyes but smiled instead. I was hoping to get one on one time with her so that I could get one up on Declan, but it appeared it would be no such luck. There was a quick introduction between myself and the new girl, Sadie. She apparently was newer to town too, having just moved here a little over a year ago.
When we walked inside the café, Gray had four banana strawberry smoothies already made. I assumed Hannah must have texted him on her way in, or there was more to him than I knew.
“Psychic mind reader?” I pointed to the smoothies.
“Oh, yes. The great and powerful phone knows all things.” he said with a laugh.
I smiled and took the cup he was handing me.
“You girls don’t have too much fun today.” Gray said to none of us in particular while he handed his jeep keys to Hannah. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
Inside the jeep, Hannah insisted I sit up front with her, leading to slight protests from Alissa. Hannah gave her a look that told her it wasn’t up for discussing, and she shrugged and climbed in back with Sadie. Gray had taken off the top of the jeep, so the wind was enough distraction that I hoped I could talk to Hannah some before we got there.
“You look better today, Bayla. You really gave us quite a scare yesterday. Declan caught you and carried you to the stage before the rest of us even knew what was happening.”
“You mean Had. He caught me and told me he had me.” I distinctly remember Hadraniel coming behind me before I passed out.
“No, that was Declan. Had made a move to stand beside you, but Declan caught you. He was whispering something to you as he carried you. You should have seen the look on his face when you passed out. It was like his whole world collapsed. Had pushed him out of the way once you were on the stage which is why he was huffy afterwards I suppose. There was too much commotion after that for me to go check on him. Have you seen him today yet?”
I couldn’t quite process what I was hearing. Declan carried me. Declan whispered that he had me. He was mad at Hadraniel for taking over. I must have been thinking about it a little too long because I heard her ask me again if I had seen him yet today.
“Yes, sorry. I just guess I’m still a little off today. I think I just got too hot yesterday with the studying and going with Gray to see the valley.” With the word valley, Hannah slammed on the brakes and turned her entire body towards me. Luckily there was no one else on the little side road we were on.
“He what?” She didn’t look angry, just shocked, and maybe a little hurt.
“He found me outside of the bookstore and asked if I wanted to join him on a hike. He took me to the top of the hill, told me about his brother and showed me the valley.”
“He talked about Oliver?” The tone of her voice had increased almost to a squeal. “He hasn’t talked about Oliver since his death!”
“You’re not mad are you?” I didn’t know if I was supposed to have told her or not.
“No! I’m a little sad he didn’t talk to me about Oliver. I miss him a lot too, but it’s good for him to talk about him. It was hard on Gray when he died, but it helped him straighten up too. He was on a rough path before all that happened. He was supposed to be staying with Oliver that night he got sick but left him alone for a little bit to practice with a different band he was in. Oliver had stayed alone before, so Gray didn’t really think much about it. When he came back, Oliver was sick, and had a fever. Gray called his parents, and they took him to the hospital. He never came home. Gray took it hard. He holed up in his room for a long time. His parents had to threaten him to get him dressed and to the funeral. The whole town showed up. It was months before Gray was somewhat himself again. That’s when he decided he was going to be an art teacher. He had seen how his drawing really brought out Oliver’s personality, and he wants to be able to help other children in the same way.”
There was so much love in the way Hannah spoke about Gray. I didn’t know that feeling, but the way she expressed it, made me jealous, made me want to know how it felt to love someone that much. I audibly sighed, making the girls in the back giggle.
“That’s how I feel about Gray, too.” Hannah giggled.
All these things made Gray special and kind, but still not so astounding that I could figure out why he was more special than other humans that had been kind and caring. Tired of racking my brain as to why I was supposed to save him, I decided to give it a rest. The Elders knew what they were doing, and I had a mission. It didn’t matter why he needed to be saved, just that he did. The beach was crowded when we parked the jeep. We decided not to unpack our stuff, but just lather on the sunscreen and head to the floating platform to lay out as there wasn’t anyone out there. The swim was nice and refreshing, but I was ready to lay in the sun and sleep by the time we got out there. I could hear Alissa and Sadie discussing how hot Had and Declan were, plotting about how they could try to get dates with them.
“Had actually is talking with someone.” I said in a sleepy haze. All this time with these human girls, made me realize that once I was home I needed to give Aniston a chance. Maybe she wasn’t so bad to have as a roommate.
“What about Declan?” Alissa asked.
“Declan….is Declan. Who knows what he’s doing.” I had a twinge of jealousy at the thought of Declan with Alissa. Then I reminded myself that was his false advertisement, and he was using his strengths to play with my mind. If Alissa wanted to date a demon, more power to her. I was here
on a mission, and to learn to enjoy myself some, and that’s what I was going to do. I stretched and rolled over to tan my back. I glanced over at Hannah and noticed she was smirking at me.
“What’s with the face?” I asked grinning. I couldn’t help it. She was so bubbly it flowed over to anyone around her.
“You like Declan.”
“I do not. I tolerate him.”
“Nuh-uh sister, you like him. A lot! Your body language when he’s around, your snarky responses to Alissa, the way your eyes widen when I talk to you about him give it away. I think it’s fair to say you may even love him.”
The absurdity that I could love him without knowing what love really was made me cough out loud and laugh. I had to explain I wasn’t laughing at her before I hurt her feelings.
“I have never even had a boyfriend before! Remember we’ve lived missionary lives, so I highly doubt I could love him. I don’t even know what love is.”
She smiled. She looked to be plotting something that would not be good for me in the end.
“You don’t have to know love to feel it, Bayla. You just wait. You’ll see. It’s love, and I would bet my next paycheck that he loves you too.”
“Save your money, Hannah, for something more worthy.” I slipped off the platform, and went for a swim so I could avoid having the rest of that conversation. I didn’t want to think about Declan loving me. It wasn’t a possibility. Like, ever. Maybe if we were just humans I could see being with Declan. His stormy eyes made him more interesting than any of the angels I knew, and he was definitely steaming hot. I took a deep breath and went under. Maybe the lack of air would reset my brain and my heart. I swam for a quite a distance underwater before coming back up. Hannah was waving at me to head back to the platform.
“You were under for so long, I got worried.” She reached her hand down to help pull me up on the platform.
“Sorry.” I forgot that sometimes I had to decrease my physical abilities some to not bring attention to myself for the wrong reason.