Dark Angel (Anak Trilogy)

by Sherry Fortner

  “Oh Zell,” I breathed softly, “This is exquisite.”

  “I’m glad you like it. It is for you.”

  “What are you talking about, for me?”

  “I mean that I created this garden for you. I just hoped that someday I would be able to show it to you.”

  “But how did you create all this?”

  “I can kill a great beast with only a sword. What kind of a challenge are a few flowers to me?” Zell laughed. He reached down and snapped the stem of a deep red rose in half. He pulled the thorns from the stem and gently ran the rose underneath my nose.

  ”Ummmm, that smells heavenly, but seriously,” I replied not impressed with his humor. “How did this place come to be, and what beast are you speaking of?”

  “I wanted a place where we could be totally alone, so I created one,” Zell answered sweeping his hands out toward the landscape.

  “You really created this place.” I replied in wonder.

  “Yes, for you.” With that, Zell placed the rose in my hand.

  “But you live alone already.” I murmured quietly lifting the rose to my nose to inhale its fragrance again.

  “I have a housekeeper and an assistant who runs the family business, and they, also, can pose as my mother and father when needed. They live on my property.”

  “I didn’t see them.”

  “They are very discreet.”

  “Mmmm,” I replied not knowing whether I answered him or was responding to the scent of the rose.

  “How long did it take you to make it this beautiful place?”

  “Only a hundred years or so.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I’m not. It was just a big rock in the middle of the ocean when I began,” he answered.

  “What did you mean when you said a minute ago that you could kill a great beast with only a sword?”

  “Do you not remember what happened the night you left school late after basketball practice?” he asked.

  “No, I tried to remember earlier, but I felt frightened and just stopped thinking about that night. I only remember waking up late the next morning.”

  We walked to the side of the island with the waterfall. I moved to a flat boulder that rested against the rock wall making a sort of natural chair and sat down to gaze toward the side of the island we had just come from. It was breathtaking. There were trees with long, limber branches like a willow, but were covered in violet and rose-colored blooms. Hydrangeas in hues of azure, purple, red, pink, and white grew expansively along a wall of bamboo. In front of the hydrangeas grew marigolds, petunias, dahlias, coneflowers, and multitudes of other flowers that must have been tropical because I was not familiar with them. In front of this row of flowers grew low growing, flowering border plants in white, blue, and purple. Zell sat on the carpet of flowers at my feet leaning against my calves and the rock upon which I sat. Shyly, I looked at his profile. He was unlike any young man that I had ever seen. There were no imperfections in his face or body. I looked at the smooth line of his jaw and wished I could run my fingertips along it.

  I forced my hands to remain in my lap. I could not let myself fall in love with him. I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend. I repeatedly recited this fact in my head to keep from touching Zell.

  I looked at his back, and there was no evidence of wings. There were no bumps or any indication that his back had been a mass of wings.

  As if I had spoken his name, Zell turned looking at me.

  “Where are your wings?” I asked running my fingers over his smooth back.

  “They are there.”

  “Where? I don’t see or feel anything.” I answered wondering if I was going mad. Wondering, if we had really just flown here, or if I was dreaming again.

  “They are there.”

  “Where?”

  “Let me see if I can explain this.” Have you ever seen any of the older model sports cars whose headlights flip up when you turn on the lights?”

  “Of course,” I said sharper than I meant to be.

  “When you turn off the headlights, they disappear back into the hood of the car. It is the same way with my wings. When I don’t need them anymore, they disappear into my back.”

  “That is just too freaky.”

  “Freaky or not, it’s part of my equipment,” Zell said laughing at me.

  “Zell, may I ask you another question?”

  “Of course, anything.”

  “You spoke earlier of my destiny. What is my destiny?”

  “You will know when the time comes. I have seen a couple of ways that this may be accomplished, but it is up to fate as to the events that come to pass. It is also up to you the path you actually take. You will change the world.”

  “Should I be frightened?”

  “Yes,” Zell answered honestly, “because of your destiny, you are hunted by the Dark Ones, but you have me. I will protect you with my life.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “We survive until it is your time,” Zell stated flatly.

  5. PARADISE

  WE SAT THERE FOR A LONG TIME TALKING

  to each other and gazing at the garden. Finally, Zell stood up taking my hand and pulling me up with him.

  “Come, I want to show you something.”

  Zell pulled me across the clearing to the bamboo forest where a stone trail disappeared into a thicket of bamboo skyscrapers. We followed the trail in silence. Zell held my hand and pulled me behind him. The path ended at another stone cliff where it widened into a clearing. Built into the stone cliff, there stood a small stone cottage. The flat, thick stones were stacked into sturdy walls. There were tiles of cedar on the roof. Zell saw me looking at the roof.

  “I hewed those from actual Cedars of Lebanon. I thought they would give the cottage a rustic look.”

  “You built this cottage?”

  “Yes, I told you it took me a hundred years or so to build this island for you. Of course, I didn’t get to work on it every day. There have been a few Anak to slay, Dark Angels to battle, and monsters to cut down to size every now and then. I somehow knew that you were only a century or two away from being born. I guess you could equate the mood that enveloped me to that of an expectant mother who knows her time is near and starts cleaning and preparing for her babe to be born. I was the same way. I was consumed with preparing a place for you both here and at the lake house. I haven’t worked on either since the day you were born.”

  “The day I was born?” I echoed questioningly.

  “Yes, once you were born, I have done nothing but protect you.”

  “Protect me?” I asked again dazed.

  “Yes, the Dark Ones have hunted you from the day of your birth,” Zell answered darkly.

  “How is it that I have never seen you before?”

  “Oh, but you have Annie,” Zell replied taking

  my face in his large hands.

  “I don’t remember ever seeing you before your first day at school. However, I think I have dreamed of you,” I whispered still staring past Zell at the cottage.

  “Come, I want to show you inside.” Zell put his arm around me deciding not to comment on my last remark.

  Reluctantly, I went with him through a massive solid wood door. Of course, it would have to be massive for Zell to fit through.

  “I couldn’t wait any longer to show you our special place.”

  “Wait a minute, Zell. There is no ‘our.’ I have a boyfriend.”

  “Pshttt.” Zell sputtered and waved his hand as if dismissing the thought.

  “As I was saying,”

  “Zell, I hate to interrupt you, but it is getting late. I have to get home.”

  “Why, tomorrow is Saturday?”

  “My dad will be worried.”

  “No, he won’t. I’ve already called him.”

  “What do you mean you’ve already called him?”

  “I called him and told him you were staying at a friend�
��s house tonight.”

  “What friend?” I asked.

  “Your new friend, Starr.”

  “Wait a minute. My dad has never met you. Why would he believe anything you say?”

  “I didn’t say anything. You did.”

  “I did?”

  “Yes, you.”

  “I am totally confused.”

  “Well, I must admit. I did sound like you when I called.”

  “Zell, what did you do?”

  Zell shrugged his shoulders and smiled mischievously.

  “Promise you won’t be mad?” Zell asked.

  “No, I don’t promise anything.”

  “You have to promise, or I won’t tell you.”

  “Zell!” I yelled, “Spit it out!”

  “Promise me.”

  “No!” I stated emphatically.

  “You’re just going to have to trust me then when I say that your father is not expecting you,” Zell said coolly moving over to an expansive sofa and sitting down.

  “Zell, take me home now.”

  “No can do,” Zell stretched out resting his massive arms on the back of the sofa.

  “OK, I promise,” I gave up the fight raising my hands in defeat.

  “Oh, Annie, you gave up too easily,” Zell laughed out loud.

  I gave him a dark look. He laughed easily.

  “Fine, fine, but remember you promised you won’t be mad. Remember the day in class when I wrote your report in your handwriting?”

  “Of course, I remember,” I retorted not smiling and not knowing where this was going.

  “I have this gift of being a perfect mimic. Possibly it’s an angelic gift, but perhaps not. I don’t know. I just know that I am an extraordinary mimic. When I called your dad this afternoon, I used your voice while you were still asleep. I couldn’t take you home in that condition. I honestly didn’t know how long it would take you to recover. I didn’t want your dad to worry, or for you to get in trouble. I know it wasn’t right, but it was the only solution that I could think of. This is all different for me too. I have rarely used that particular gift on anyone,” Zell explained acting embarrassed that he had kissed me on the cheek at school and caused this whole dilemma. “I was trying to protect you. I pretended to be you and asked him if you could stay over at a new friend’s house tonight named Starr. Your dad trusts you completely. He never hesitated to say yes. You have nothing to fear from me. I promise. I know it wasn’t the right thing to do, but I couldn’t take you home. I’ve dreamed of showing this place to you for so long. I understand though if you want to go home, I’ll take you now,” Zell finished and waited for my reaction. He was expecting the worst, and I think he was surprised when I calmly answered.

  “I see,” was all I could think to say. “I guess I can stay for a while since I’ve already cleared it through my dad,” I said giving Zell a sour look. I had promised not to be angry, so I was trying hard not to be. I wandered back outside and took in the breathtaking beauty of the island, our island, and the serenity of it immediately soothed my anxiousness.

  Besides, perhaps Zell was just trying to protect me and save my Dad from worrying about me. What did Zell have in mind for this evening though? Most of me didn’t want to stay with him, but another part of me was excited at the thought of having Zell all to myself. Especially having him to myself on this beautiful island that according to him, he built for me before I was born. This was all too strange to be true. Should I be frightened? Was this person standing before me a sinister force? Could he possibly be who he says he is? Could he actually be over six thousand years old, but yet still not appear much older than me? He did fly us to this island without the help of a plane. His kiss, even those that barely qualify, reduces me to a quivering mess. Then there are the dreams and the nightmares that are so frightening. In them, someone was always there to protect me. Was it Zell? If I were honest, I believe I could remember him too in my earliest memories and dreams. We have just never spoken or touched until now.

  “Annie?” Zell asked concerned at the faraway look in my eyes. “I’m sorry that I deceived your dad. I’ll never do that again. I feel so guilty about it. I just couldn’t take you home as you were. I didn’t know how long the effects of my kiss would last. I just saw Jon coming through that door after you, and I reacted badly. I admit that I wouldn’t mind if he chose to break up with you, but it’s not right embarrassing you or him with a crowd watching. I hope you’ll forgive me. I’m not sure how the kiss works. I only used it on one other person, and she was many hundreds of years ago.

  I felt a ridiculous pang of jealously, and I snapped back to reality to search Zell’s face.

  “She saw me in my Anak form. She screamed and screamed and screamed. I kissed her to stop her screaming, but she was unconscious for a week afterwards. That’s why I called your dad. I thought you would be unconscious for at least a couple of days. You must be stronger than she was.”

  I breathed easier knowing his kiss was not a lover’s kiss, but he meant to soothe the woman. I blinked a few times and tried to focus on his face.

  “Possibly,” I answered quietly.

  “Are you angry with me?”

  I shook my head slowly. “No, I promised I wouldn’t be.”

  “What is it then?” Zell asked with a worried expression.

  “I just . . . I just think that your kiss might have worked. It seems as if I remember you from a childhood memory,” my voice trailed off as I seemed to go catatonic again.

  Zell gathered me in his arms and held me close. Neither one of us said anything. Slowly, my arms left my side and slid around Zell’s waist. He crushed me closer still and laid his head on the top of mine.

  “Annie,” Zell barely breathed my name. “If I die now, I die gladly now that I’ve held you in my arms. This moment—it’s all I’ve ever dreamed of.”

  We stood like that until the sun began to fade outside. Finally, Zell took my hand and guided me into the cottage. He motioned for me to sit on the sofa in front of a stone fireplace that looked hundreds of years old and most likely was.

  “I’ll build a fire. The wind on top of this plateau is pretty cool after the sun goes down. That is why I planted the bamboo forest on the windward side of the island to break up the blow of the wind.” Zell talked as he busily built a fire. “I’ll fix you something to eat.” He suddenly acted awkward and uncomfortable about the fact that we were truly here in the middle of the ocean, perched high atop impenetrable cliffs, utterly alone, just the two of us. He moved to a small kitchen area and took out a large steak which he cut into strips. He lightly browned the strips on top of a gas stove that looked incredibly modern and new. He quickly made a salad as the steak strips sizzled.

  “A guardian angel that cooks?”

  “I’m half human, remember. The best part of me is human. I understand why God loves you so. As a race, you are spectacular.”

  “I don’t feel very spectacular at the moment. Tell me about your mother.”

  “She died in childbirth when I was thirteen years old.”

  “Did your father raise you after she died?”

  “Humph,” Zell snorted. “My father was only in and out my whole life. It was over a year after she died that he came back and found out she had died in childbirth.”

  “Did he stay with you then?”

  “No. When he swept through the door asking for her, I told him she wasn’t there that she, and my baby brother died during the birth. He stood still for a few moments looking into my face. Then he turned and left again without saying a word.”

  “How did you live? Who took care of you?”

  “My mother’s sister, my aunt, Miriam, looked after me somewhat. Her house was too crowded and small. I lived in my mother’s house alone most of the time. Although, in the beginning, I usually showed up at Aunt Miriam’s at meal times.” Zell’s serious tone was broken by soft laughter. “I had eleven cousins, each more mischievous than the last. That is when I learned to cook. Bet
ter to cook than to fight them over the meals.” He laughed again at some faraway memory.

  “Is that the last time you saw him?”

  “No, when I was fourteen he came back again. I had just had my vision of you a few weeks before his return. He taught me how to fashion swords and the secret of the flaming sword. According to my father, he was teaching me a trade, so that I could support myself. I decided then and there that I would become your protectorate. That I would turn the only thing my father ever gave me, the knowledge to fashion weapons from metal and make a business of it. I vowed that I would perfect the swords and knives I made, and I would become the most skilled warrior the world had ever seen. I decided to wait for you and defend you even until death itself.”

  “The Archangels became upset that Azâzêl, my father, was teaching humans to make weapons. Not just me, he taught many men how to make war, and they came to get him. They bound him up and took him away. I thought they were going to take me too. You have never seen anything quite as frightening to look upon as an Archangel.” He lowered his voice and looked me in the eyes.

  “Don’t get me wrong they are not monstrous looking like the Dark Ones. Quite the contrary, they are absolutely stunning, but fierce looking, like the gigantic, unbeatable warriors that they are. They all bent down to look at me as if deciding what my fate would be. I heard a voice I shall never forget. Just the sound of it made me want to weep. It was like if thunder could make words, all it said was ‘Leave the boy.’ The Archangels stood up then and left taking my father with them.” Zell finished the story and our dinner at about the same time. He laid our dinner on a low table in front of the fire.

  “You say your race is called the Anak?”

  “We are also called Nephilim or Jedi. I read one piece of research that suggested the union between the celestial angels and the human women corrupted the DNA code, and that corruption explains why the Anak were bloodthirsty giants. Whether true or not, I don’t know, but it makes sense.”