Feel the Flames

by BJ Sheldon

  Arna shifted in his seat next to me. I glanced over at Dorian, his curious expression sprinkled with amusement.

  “Normally, I would say that one cannot change fate. But this future is hazy. No one except for God himself knows how it will all play out. And as for your father, he hides pieces from your past—your mother’s past to be exact. And someone else keeps a secret that will unleash Hell.” We all stared at her, waiting for her to say more. But as the smoke dissipated, she sat back and crossed her arms

  Mina’s revelation left me uneasy.

  “Who?” I asked.

  Mina shrugged. “Just call ’em like I hear ’em,” she replied

  “Great. Just when I thought I was done with all this destiny shit. So, now you’re telling me that it’s only just beginning. That the fate of mankind is once again on my shoulders.”

  “No. The burden will not be yours alone to bear this time.” Mina stood. “I’ve discovered many secrets over the years. Learned things I wish I hadn’t. Mysteries of the universe should remain a mystery, and I am burdened with the truth. But one thing I’ve learned may be of use to you. If the door to Hell is left open for too long, the effects will be severe. Humanity will feel its effects and it will cause a chain reaction that once unleashed cannot be undone. Evil begets evil. Hatred, paranoia, death. They cannot be stopped once they arise. So, you must be cautious.”

  Mina gestured at the door, telling us that our time with her had ended. She opened the door and stood to the side to make room for our exit.

  Arna exited first, followed by Dorian. As I took my leave from her trailer, her fingers grasped my elbow, stopping me in my tracks.

  “Skyy. I must warn you. Things are not what they seem. Dark thoughts cloud my mind and keep me from hearing everything I normally hear. Both sides are hiding secrets. It’s muffled…faint. Whispers I cannot understand. So be careful…and trust no one. Not even those you trust the most.”

  I nodded and patted her hand, telling her I understood. But in reality, I didn’t understand any of it. Her answers had only drummed up more questions. It was clear that the oncoming storm was bigger than any battle I had fought in the Badlands.

  My thoughts raced. Raphael was keeping something from me—possibly something I needed to know in order to keep humanity safe. He and I would soon have words. That much I knew. But for the time being, I needed to get home and come up with a plan.

  I joined Arna and Dorian outside. Time wasn’t wasted and we leapt up into the air and took flight immediately. A storm was brewing to the east, and it wouldn’t be long before it landed in our path. If we didn’t hurry, we’d be caught up in it. And few things were more difficult than flying in high winds.

  “Shit,” I heard Dorian yell from behind.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Arna glanced back.

  “I forgot Lil’s sabre back there. I’m going to run back and grab it. I’ll catch up.”

  “I’ll go with you,” I replied.

  “No point in causing all of us to get caught in the rain. Seriously…I’ll be only a minute or two behind you. Go on.”

  I nodded and turned, ready to continue on my way as Dorian flew off a bit haphazardly to retrieve his sabre, his flying skills still not quite so strong. I could see a curious look on Arna’s face as he watched Dorian fly away.

  “He said he’d catch up,” I said matter-of-factly, flying past Arna.

  Arna and I flew in complete silence, the only noise being the rolling thunder booming above. I found some semblance of peace in flight, the night sky sparkling bright and guiding our way home. It reminded me of those nights I’d fly to visit Sean—those nights before my world was turned upside down with prophecy, war, and love.

  We landed at my property seconds before the storm hit, finding shelter in my trailer as we waited for Dorian to return. Arna sat awkwardly on a stack of books in the corner. I found a spot on the edge of my bed. We exchanged the occasional glance and uncomfortable smile, but we said nothing.

  Half an hour later, Dorian finally arrived…much later than I’d anticipated. His body language was rigid, his expression serious.

  “You’re late,” I said, watching the water drip onto my floor from the hem of his shirt.

  “And I’m soaked. Caught the edge of the storm just over the hills, so I tried to take cover under a group of trees on that property up the way. But I eventually figured it was just better if I got home,” Dorian replied.

  “You’re getting my books all wet!” I rushed off to grab a towel, racing back to hold back the puddle of water that was drifting toward my prized possessions.

  “I’m fine, thanks,” Dorian mumbled. He gripped the bottom of his shirt and quickly slipped it off over his head. The shirt landed at his feet with a splat.

  “You’re immortal. Of course, you’re fine. You’re just a bit wet. It’s not like you’ll catch pneumonia or anything. Get over it.”

  Dorian ran his fingers through his wet hair, and I tried to look away knowing he’d just end up distracting me from the matters at hand. He looked like a damp, Greek god, and he knew it. His hand reached out and took the towel from my grip and wiped down his chest and neck.

  “I got this. I don’t want to be responsible for ruining your babies,” he said with a smirk. Dorian dropped to all fours and used the towel to mop up the streams of water heading toward my books.

  It was times like that I wished I had book shelves like the ones in that store in town.

  Arna had said nothing, simply observing the interaction between Dorian and me. He eventually stood and subtly nodded for me to follow him outside. I quickly exited my trailer and into the pouring rain. We raced toward the studio as a nearby bolt of lightning lit up the sky.

  Once Arna and I were inside, I shook the water from my long locks and ruffled my feathers.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Arna pointed to his head. I closed my eyes and turned my thoughts off for any outsiders to hear.

  “You heard Mina’s warning. You cannot trust anyone. I believe that whatever quest you are about to begin, you should do it alone.” Arna ran his fingers through his wet hair, combing it out of his eyes.

  “Alone? Are you nuts? You heard what she said. The apocalypse…a battle between Hell and Heaven where humanity gets caught in the crossfire. Humanity is once again put in danger because supernatural beings care more about their own selfish desires than those of mortals. Why is their safety constantly left up to me, anyway? This is huge…epic. And there’s no way I can win something like this on my own.” A drop of water slid down my forehead, my hand quickly wiping it away before it dripped into my eye.

  “You cannot trust anyone. You must do this on your own.”

  “No. You’re crazy. Besides, I’d trust Dorian with my life.”

  “I believe your trust may be displaced.”

  “And I believe you’re an idiot.” I marched past Arna and made my way to the painting of the seal which still sat prominently on its easel near the back wall. “Besides, if there’s someone I don’t trust, it’s you.”

  “Me?” Arna seemed genuinely shocked at my revelation.

  “Yes. You.” I turned and faced the angel. “You told me the whole story about my mother and father. How no one knows who my father is but that they loved each other very much. That I was an orchestrated objective in order to save humanity. You seem to know an awful lot for someone who supposedly knows little about my background.”

  “I never said I knew little about your past. I said we’d discuss it another time.”

  “How about now?”

  “You and I both know that now is not the time to discuss this. There are far more pressing matters at hand.”

  “More pressing than where I came from and why I exist?”

  “Yes. The fate of humanity—the very existence of Heaven and Hell lay in the balance.”

  “Wait. Why on Earth would I give a shit about the existence of Hell? It can implode and completely vanis
h as far as I’m concerned. It’s Hell, after all.”

  “That isn’t how it works. There’s a balance at work, Skyy. At no given time can the number of demons roaming the earth be out of balance with the number residing in Hell. The same exists for Heaven. If something happens to topple that balance, humanity would feel the effects, and not in a good way. If Hell were to unleash its population, humanity would begin to grow even more indifferent to the values and morals that many have for themselves. The world would be thrown into chaos. But if the gates to Heaven were opened and the angels were unleashed en mas, the result would be far different…but no less destructive.”

  “I’m sorry. What is the possible worst that could happen if angels reigned down upon the earth?” I asked, not exactly buying Arna’s spin on the situation.

  “Well, you already received a taste of what angels are capable of in the Badlands. While the ones that remained in Heaven weren’t thrown out for disobeying God, the majority still believe that they are truly a more magnificent creation than humans. And if they were unleashed and began battling the demons of earth, they would have no qualms with destroying any cities or its people that just happened to be in their path.” Arna paused and made his way to the exit turning only long enough to say, “Remember the warning, Skyy. Trust no one. And it would do you well to keep an eye on Dorian.”

  And then he was gone.

  The door had been left to swing open in the night air, the summer storm blowing rain and leaves into my studio.

  “Jesus, Arna. Were you raised in a barn?” I asked loudly, marching toward the door.

  As I reached out for the handle to pull it shut, I caught a glimpse of a shadowy form at the very edge of my property. I could spot a butterfly on a tree branch from half a mile away, but for some reason the trespasser was nothing but a blur in the distance. I squinted, wondering if perhaps I was seeing things. But just as quickly as I’d spotted the figure, it vanished.

  I may not have been able to get a good look at my uninvited visitor, but I was positive I knew who he was. His posture, his height…it was all too recent and familiar.

  The boy from the comic book store. The one with the less-than-charming disposition holding a skateboard.

  But that was impossible. There was no way a mere mortal could have followed me home.

  I was suddenly nervous. Who was he? Why had he been spying on me? Had he seen me fly? If he had, then he had to know I wasn’t mortal. And if he knew I wasn’t mortal, what would he do…and who would he tell?

  Chapter 13

  When I got back to my trailer, Dorian was ransacking a stack of books at the far end.

  “What the hell are you looking for?” I asked, listening to one book after another fall to the floor with a loud thud.

  Dorian didn’t reply but simply kept rifling through book after book, clearly searching for something. I stood back and observed his behavior, like a man on a mission. As he moved on to another stack, his wings knocked over a tower of older-looking books. He squatted over the mess and gathered them up. Piling them up in his arms, he restacked them. When he was nearly finished putting them all away, something seemed to catch his eye. Reaching out, he picked up a faded paperback from the floor, blowing the dust from its tattered cover.

  “What is it?”

  “This is what I was looking for. I knew I’d seen something about Solomon in these stacks. You know, it wouldn’t kill you to come up with some kind of system in this place. Alphabetical order, by genre, content…anything. It’s almost impossible to find anything specific around here.” Dorian made his way to my side of the trailer.

  “I know where everything is. You could have just asked,” I said, standing next to my bed.

  “So only a system you can understand?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Organized chaos?”

  “I like to think of it as job security.”

  “You don’t have a job.”

  I scrunched up my nose and plopped down on my bed, rolling over onto my wings trying to hold back a smirk.

  “Please,” I began. “I work every day to annoy you. And it’s exhausting.”

  “You’re exhausting.” Dorian reached over, grabbed a pillow from my bed and whipped it back at me, hitting me squarely in the face.

  Dorian’s laugh was contagious, and it was hard not to follow suit when he started.

  I chuckled and shook my head at his attempt at humor as I pushed myself up from the bed. He held out the book for me see, and I snatched it from his grasp.

  “The Myth and Mystery of King Solomon by Wolfgang Kleinheinz. Huh…forgot I had this. Rescued it from a Catholic library back in…nineteen…thirty-two, I believe. They were throwing out a bunch of old books they felt had a bit too much Islam or pagan history. It took me eight trips to get them all back here.” I flipped open the cover and began to leaf through the pages. “I wonder if there’s something in here that could help us.”

  Dorian ripped the book back out of my hands and glared at me.

  “Well, why do you think I was looking for it?”

  “Thought maybe you were just looking for a little light reading.”

  “Always with the sarcasm, Skyy.”

  “You’d think there was something wrong with me if I was sincere all the time.”

  Dorian folded his arms tightly across his chest, the book hanging loosely from his fingers. His head tilted to one side and he gazed at me inquisitively, mouth scrunched up to one side.

  “Hmm. Probably true. If you were sincere, I’d know you were secretly in danger and would have to come to your rescue.”

  “If anyone is rescuing anyone, I’d be saving your ass. Not the other way around,” I snapped.

  “Pretty sure of yourself, don’t you think?” Dorian slid forward a bit leaving only inches between us, his eyes gazing deeply into mine.

  “I was beating up bad guys and learning hand-to-hand combat before your mother was even born.” I slid even closer, closing the gap completely. He dropped his arms to his side, and with one swift flick of his wrist, he tossed the book onto the mattress and grasped my waist with his hands.

  I was putty in his hands when he looked at me like that, but I fought hard to hide it. I couldn’t let him think he had that kind of hold on me. I knew it was selfish, but it was the only way I knew how to exist. I loved him, but I wondered if that was enough. Lately, he’d been showing signs that he wasn’t always happy with me, and I wondered if that was normal or if he was actually beginning to tire of me. Dorian had made a point to say he’d never grow tired of me, but people could change.

  I’d been alone for much of my life, and if I began to let on that I needed him as much as I did, he’d force me to break down that wall I’d worked so hard to build. I needed to protect myself, because if he ever decided to move on and break my heart, it would be easier to deal with his departure if I didn’t show my hand.

  “I keep forgetting I’m dating an older woman. Guess this means you’re a cougar.”

  “I’m a…wild cat?”

  Dorian’s laugh echoed through the trailer as he tossed his head back.

  “A cougar. It’s a term the humans use for older women who date younger men. Cougar.”

  “Humans are weird,” I stated.

  My hands instinctively found their way to Dorian’s elbows and slowly made their way up his arms, stopping momentarily to enjoy his well-formed biceps.

  “You’re weird,” he growled playfully.

  His grip on my waist tightened, pulling me closer. I wanted to kiss him, get lost in his arms, as my heart began to race wildly in my chest. It was as if I couldn’t look away from his gaze, something about him hypnotizing me. No matter how hard I tried to keep from falling deeper for him, he somehow managed to draw me in even further every time he looked at me.

  Dorian leaned in, placed his lips on mine. My head felt as if it would float off my shoulders, my hands gripping the back of his neck for support. It wasn’t easy playing tu
g-of-war with my own feelings. One moment, I wanted to open myself up completely and let him know how I felt about him. The next, I was too afraid of getting hurt emotionally to let him in entirely. The whole “relationship-thing” was new to me, and to be perfectly honest I wasn’t entirely positive how to do it. I was so used to a solitary life that being a part of a couple was virgin territory.

  “Thank you,” I muttered awkwardly, pulling away.

  Dorian laughed. “You don’t have to thank me every time I kiss you, you know.”

  “I thank all of the guys who kiss me,” I said. “I’m nothing if not polite.”

  He tossed his head back in a mock laugh. “You can just never be serious, can you?”

  I shrugged.

  “Nope.”

  Dorian kissed the tip of my nose and sat at the edge of the bed.

  “Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.

  “Of course I do. You and Lillith thought you were saving me from those Hybrids.” I joined him on the bed, taking a seat next to him.

  “We did save you.”

  “I had it covered,” I replied smugly.

  “Well, we didn’t know you were immortal at the time.” Dorian’s face grew somber. “Skyy, do you like having me around?”

  “Why would you even ask a question like that?”

  “You’re not always the easiest to read, you know. It’s hard to tell if you hate me or love me most days.”

  Dorian had used the L-word. A word that I hadn’t used before, at least not out loud. I opened my mouth but words wouldn’t form. I wasn’t sure how to respond without sounding like either a complete ass or a bumbling idiot.