by K. Anne
“Because the soul will have the Touch of Death. Once in the realms, anyone this soul touches will die or lose all of their abilities, depending on how strong the soul is. And there’s no coming back from Death in Heaven or Hell. Your soul is just gone. The soul’s touch won’t kill the lessers or Charmeine or Joseph, but it will strip them of their powers. At least, we don’t think it’ll kill them.” Asher said.
“What kinds of powers do the leaders, lessers, angels, and demons have?” I asked.
“Several, but just to name a few—speed, strength, traveling between the realms and Earth. Angels and demons are usually invisible on Earth by choice, but they can also change their appearance to whatever they want, and they can enter dreams. Like I said, the powers lessen with each chain of command. The leaders are the strongest, then lessers, and then the angels and demons. Souls themselves have none of these powers unless they’re chosen to be an angel or demon,” Cain said.
I looked back and forth between the two brothers. They never got along or agreed on anything, yet here they were, telling me this insane story together.
“And where do you two fit into all of this? Because that’s what I want to know.”
Asher and Cain looked at each other again.
“Remember how I said angels and demons are the ones who look after and control the souls for the leaders and councils?” Asher asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Asher hesitated, and Cain snorted.
“For Heaven’s sake, Asher, just spit it out.” Cain looked over at me. “Asher is an angel, and I’m a demon. We’re on opposite teams. Asher is the innocent, pure brother while I’m the big, bad demon brother every mother warns her daughter against. We were both sent to Earth to do the same job.”
“And what job is that?” I asked.
“We can’t tell you that—not yet,” Asher said.
I glared at Asher, but he ignored me.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t.”
I glared at both of them for a while before finally giving up. Apparently, my glare was as terrifying as a baby kitten. Then, I did something strange. I laughed, and then I laughed some more. “Are you two kidding me? Do you really expect me to believe that I’m sitting in this house with an angel and a demon? Really?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but it is the truth. You wanted to know what we are, so we’re telling you.” Asher said.
“You are both insane,” I said, growing serious.
I stared at the brothers and noticed the intensity in their eyes. They believed every word that they’d said.
“Oh my God, you both really are insane,” I said.
Cain growled, “Think about it, Ella. You know something’s not right with us. That’s why you demanded answers. Tell me I’m wrong.”
I hesitated, thinking of all the things I’d noticed about the brothers. I knew they were something, but an angel and a demon?
“This is a joke,” I said finally, refusing to believe they were telling the truth.
“Why would we lie to you?” Asher asked.
“Because you’re crazy!” I shouted. “If you’re an angel and you’re a demon, prove it! You said they have special powers. Well, show me!”
Cain shrugged before standing. “If that’s what it takes…”
He disappeared, literally disappeared, right in front of me. I screamed and threw myself back against the couch, willing myself to become one with the cushion. My mind couldn’t process what I’d just seen. I looked at the chair, waiting for Cain to reappear so that I’d know I’d just imagined him disappearing into thin air.
“I’m behind you.”
I screamed again as I leaped off the couch and spun around. Sure enough, Cain was standing behind the couch. I looked back and forth between him and Asher, unable to process what I had seen.
“What just happened?” I managed to gasp out.
“I can move faster than your eye can follow. Also”—he walked over to the chair—“we have strength that no normal soul possesses.”
I watched in horror as he lifted the chair like it weighed nothing. My mouth opened and closed, but no words formed.
“Shit. She’s going into shock,” Cain said as he put the chair back where it belonged. He rushed to my side and gently pushed me down onto the couch. “Look at me, Ella. I know it’s a lot to take in, but we’re telling you the truth. You just saw it with your own eyes.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. “Oh my God, I kissed a demon!”
He chuckled. “And you liked it.”
My eyes swung to Asher. He was suddenly looking anywhere but at me.
“She kissed you?” Asher asked Cain.
“You seem surprised, brother.”
Asher looked away from both of us. “It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you accept all of this, Ella.”
“Why? I don’t understand any of this. Why do I have to accept it? Why can’t I just go back to twenty minutes ago when I thought you two were on drugs or something?” I whispered.
“Because you’re in danger,” Cain said.
“What?”
“That cloaked figure in your bedroom last night? That was the same figure who turned your kitchen into an icebox.”
“Who is he or it or whatever I’m supposed to call the cloaked…thing?”
Asher finally looked at me again. His expression was grave. “You’re being stalked by Death, Ella.”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“That cloaked figure is Death. He’s the real deal. You’re probably the only living person who has actually seen Death and survived to tell the tale.”
“But why is he stalking me? I didn’t do anything!” I shouted. “And where does he fit in with all of this?”
Cain and Asher looked at each other. I saw Asher shake his head just barely.
“That’s what we’re going to find out. Until we do, you’re in danger. Death doesn’t make it a habit to randomly stalk mortals,” Asher said.
“And as for where he fits, he doesn’t. Death is his own entity. He doesn’t choose sides between Heaven and Hell. He simply comes when it’s time for a person to die. He takes the life force and releases it. Then, it’s up to the angels and demons to decide where that person’s soul goes.”
“This can’t be happening to me.” I tried to process what the brothers were saying.
“It is happening. Do you think it’s a coincidence that your own mother tried to kill you and you now have Death on your heels? Something big is in play here, and you’re right at the center of it all.” Cain said, not bothering to sugarcoat the truth.
“So, I’m your job, aren’t I?” I asked.
“What?” Asher asked sharply.
“That’s why you were both sent here—to watch over me and find out what’s really going on. Heaven and Hell are both curious about me.”
I couldn’t believe that I was taking all of this seriously. If I had any common sense at all, I’d walk out of this house and never look back.
I couldn’t though. Just the thought of Death watching me, standing in my kitchen, my bedroom, made me want to pee myself.
“They are. I won’t lie, but they’re not what’s important right now. We need to focus on keeping you alive long enough to handle this,” Cain said.
I gave him a look of disbelief. “I can’t run from Death, Cain. If he’s after me, then I’m going to die.”
“You’re mortal. Of course, you’re going to die. But it doesn’t have to be right now. Although you can’t do anything to protect yourself from Death, we can. One of us can hold him off for a while. Together, we can push him away.”
Asher looked as if he wanted to speak, but he caught himself at the last moment.
“So, basically, I’m going to have one of you around me at all times.” I groaned. “That’s just wonderful. I’m being stalked by Death, and a demon and an angel are now my babysitters.”
Cain smirked. “It could be worse. I mean, your babysitters co
uld be ugly. Consider yourself lucky. You get to look at one of us at all times.”
I flipped him off. He only laughed.
I rested my head in my hands as I tried to process everything I’d just learned. Heaven and Hell were real even if they weren’t exactly how they were portrayed in the Bible. Angels and demons existed. They walked among us, harvesting souls to take them back to Heaven and Hell. Souls were at war.
“And to think, I was worried about college a week ago,” I mumbled.
I jumped when I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked up to see Asher standing next to me.
“It’ll all work out in the end, Ella. I promise.” His face was so sincere that I wanted to believe him.
I glanced over at Cain who was curiously watching Asher.
“I do have a question. Actually, I have two,” I said.
“What?” Asher asked. “I’ll answer them if I can.”
“If you’re an angel and a demon, don’t you two, like, hate each other? You’re technically on opposite sides.”
Cain chuckled. “That seems to be the story of our lives—and afterlives.”
“Being around each other is…hard,” Asher answered. “But we both agree that it will take two of us to protect you. We’ve agreed to work together for now.”
I shook my head. “No wonder you two hate each other so much. It’s been ingrained in your heads to despise the other.”
“What was your other question?” Cain’s tone was sharp. Clearly, he was just about finished with this subject.
“Oh, yeah. So, on that paper, it lists the casualties by Loyalists and Patriots. You two are on different lists. How did that happen?”
Cain’s entire posture stiffened. “That’s a story for a different day.”
Then, he disappeared.
“Where have you been?” Uncle Jack demanded as soon as I walked through the front door.
I froze, and Asher, who was walking behind me, bumped into me. Uncle Jack noticed Asher behind me and frowned.
“I, uh…I went over to Asher’s house to see if he wanted to help me with some of my homework,” I lied.
“And that took you two hours?” He glanced at my empty hands. “Where are your books?”
I glanced behind me and gave Asher a pleading look.
“She had a little bit of trouble waking me up, so she stayed downstairs with my mom until I finally managed to crawl out of bed,” Asher lied smoothly as he moved past me and stopped only a few feet away from my uncle.
Uncle Jack still looked skeptical. “Next time you decide to leave the house before I’m even awake, at least leave a note.”
“I will. I promise,” I said, feeling guilty that I had worried him. I’d been so determined to find out the truth that I hadn’t thought my plan through. Obviously, my uncle would have been worried about me after what had happened this weekend with my mother. If he only knew.
“Good.” He glanced over at Asher. “So, you’re one of our new neighbors.”
Asher nodded. “Yes, sir. We just moved in last week. Ella has been showing us around. I’m glad that we have such a nice neighbor.” He stepped closer to Uncle Jack and rested his hand on my uncle’s arm.
“What are you—” Uncle Jack started but stopped speaking mid-sentence.
“Ella is going to be spending a lot of time alone with my brother and me for a while. You’re going to let her with no questions asked,” Asher said firmly as he stared up at my uncle.
My eyes widened when I saw Asher’s eyes glowing just like Cain’s had on more than one occasion.
Uncle Jack stared at him, dumbfounded, before nodding. “You and your brother are going to spend time alone with Ella. I won’t ask questions.” His voice sounded dead.
I shivered.
The room filled with silence as Asher released Uncle Jack and stepped back. After a moment, my uncle shook his head to clear it.
He smiled at both of us. “Well, I won’t keep you kids any longer. I’m sure you have a lot of homework to do.”
With my mouth hanging open, I watched as my uncle turned and walked into the kitchen, unable to believe what I was seeing.
“Are you coming?” Asher asked.
I looked up to see Asher standing on the bottom step of the staircase. I pressed my lips together as I forced my feet to work. I had several questions, but I wouldn’t dare ask them here. If my uncle heard, I would have a lot of explaining to do.
Asher and I made our way up the stairs and down the hallway to my room, both of us silent.
The moment we walked into my room, I closed the door and turned to him. “What was that?” I demanded.
He gave me an innocent look. “What?”
“Don’t what me! What did you do to my uncle?”
He grinned as he sat down on my bed. “I made sure that he wouldn’t cause us any problems in the future. Do you really think he would let us be around you twenty-four/seven if I hadn’t…asked him nicely?”
“You…you brainwashed him!” I said.
He shook his head. “No, I just persuaded him.”
“You did more than that!” I hesitated. “What did you do?”
He sighed. “I have the ability to persuade mortals if I need to.” He held up his hands when he saw the worried expression on my face. “Don’t worry. He won’t remember what I did, and it won’t affect him in any other way.”
“How?” I asked stupidly.
He shrugged. “It’s one of our gifts. Normally, we don’t have to deal with mortals very much, but when we do, it’s a nice little trick to have. It makes things a lot easier.”
“Is there anything you can’t do?” I mumbled.
He chuckled. “Yeah, there are a lot of things I’m not capable of.”
I walked across the room and sat down on the bed, careful to keep plenty of space between us.
“So, what happens now?” I asked.
After Cain’s abrupt departure, I’d been too freaked to ask anything else. Instead, Asher had decided it was time for me to come home before Uncle Jack decided to search for me. Now, I couldn’t help but wonder if Asher had somehow known that my uncle was already starting to worry.
“Now, we wait. And we make sure you’re protected.”
“So, you’re basically my bodyguard…my undead bodyguard.” I tried to sound playful, but I couldn’t quite manage it.
He frowned. “I’m not a zombie, Ella.”
“Right, I almost forgot. You’re an angel.” I sounded insane just saying those words.
He sighed as he lay back on my bed. “Why don’t you ask me a few questions before we actually start working on your homework? I’m sure you have a few.”
I snorted. “More than a few, but I don’t even know where to start.”
He stayed silent as I tried to work out exactly what I wanted to ask.
“What kind of abilities do you have—besides what I’ve seen and what you guys told me earlier?”
He smiled. “I don’t want to give away everything about myself, now do I? What you’ve seen and heard are the main abilities.”
“You two sure like to keep secrets, don’t you?”
He raised his arms above his head and stretched like a cat. My eyes fell to the tiny slice of skin I could see when his shirt rose. Embarrassed, I quickly looked away.
“After two hundred years, it’s easier to just keep the secrets, Ella. It’s what we’re used to.”
I chuckled. “I’m sitting next to an angel who is over two-hundred-years-old. Man, I thought life was difficult before.”
“You have no idea just how hard life can be.” He seemed to be speaking from experience.
My curiosity got the best of me as I asked my next question, “What happened to you?”
“What do you mean?”
I played with a string on my jeans. “You know, when you…well, died.”
When he didn’t answer, I chanced a look back at him. He seemed lost in thought, his expression a thousand miles away. Or maybe
he was two hundred years away.
“You know that I died in the Battle of Oriskany back in 1777.”
I nodded.
“Things were different back then. The colonies were being ripped apart by not only the British, but also from the divide within each. Some wanted a new country where the British could no longer control us. Others, like my parents, were fine with the way things were. They didn’t want a war where so many would die. Cain was determined to fight with the Patriots. The moment he signed up for the army, my father kicked him out.”
“That’s horrible,” I whispered.
Asher nodded. “It was. Luckily, one of the other militiamen took him in. Otherwise, he would have been homeless.”
“What about you?” I asked.
He glanced at me. “What do you mean?”
“You said your parents were against the war and that Cain joined the Patriots. How did you end up fighting for the Loyalists?”
“Why would you care?” he asked. There was an edge to his voice that I wasn’t used to.
“Maybe I like history. Plus, I’d like to know more about you. It’s not every day that someone gets to meet an angel.”
He studied me for a moment. “Most people hope to never meet an angel or demon until they’re very, very old.” He paused. “As for how I ended up on the opposite side, when it came time for the true war to start, my father finally gave in and joined the Loyalists. I was expected to do the same.”
“Even though that put the two of you against Cain?” I asked.
He nodded. “My father exiled him from our family. I don’t think it mattered to him.”
“What about you?” My voice was soft. “Did it matter to you?”
“I did what I was supposed to do. I listened to my father. Cain seemed to always do the opposite. In a way, it didn’t surprise me that we ended up on opposite sides of that war and this one. Everything we’ve done has always been opposite of each other.” He sounded defeated and maybe even sad over that.
“I guess that’s how you two ended up on different sides after you died,” I said.
“Heaven came to me. Hell went for him. It was pretty cut-and-dry for both of us.” He hesitated for a moment. “We were close enough that I watched him choose to go against me. He knew that I’d agreed to go to Heaven. The angel who found me said that Heaven would take him, too, but he never gave it the chance. As soon as Hell knocked on his doorstep, he agreed.”