Dark Angel (Anak Trilogy)

by Sherry Fortner

  “Come,” he said simply taking my hand and leading me from the sofa to a pillow lying beside a low table in front of a crackling fire. He sat down on a cushion on the opposite side of the table. He bowed his head and raised his hands. I probably should have too, but I didn’t pray anymore which of course hurt my father. I couldn’t help it. God let my mother die. I wasn’t going to pray to him. Instead, I watched Zell with fascination.

  “Ancient of Days, we honor you and ask your blessings to be bestowed upon us. Amen.” Zell prayed simply.

  He opened his eyes and looked at me. “You are my blessing,” Zell stated quietly looking deep into my eyes. He reached out where my left hand laid on top of the table and covered it with his own. My breath caught in my throat, and I could not tear my eyes away from his lovely gaze. For long minutes, we sat there ignoring our dinner absorbed in simply looking at one another.

  Finally, Zell broke the spell and said, “Eat so you can spend the next few hours telling me what a terrific chef I am.”

  After we finished what turned out to be an amazing dinner, Zell took my hand and lifted me to my feet. I have no television here, but remember I am the perfect mimic. I can sing to you. Who will it be?” he said laughing. “Elvis, Elton John, Barry Manilow, 50 Cent, who?”

  “Barry Manilow, 50 Cent? Really? Can you play an instrument?”

  “Yes,” he answered simply.

  “Well, which instrument?” I asked thinking he was playing with me.

  “All of them,” Zell answered matter-of-fact.

  “All of them?” I echoed.

  “Eternity is quite a long time. I had to do something to occupy my time when I wasn’t killing the other Anak who came for me or the Dark Ones. I learned to play instruments, one at a time, until I mastered them all.” He moved to a shelf on the wall opposite the fireplace and took down an instrument that resembled a guitar, but the back was rounded instead of flat. He sat down on the sofa next to me and began to play softly. It was the most beautiful melody that I had ever heard. Then he began a melody that sounded familiar. When he started to sing, I knew the song.

  “Wise men say only fools rush in,

  But I can't help falling in love with you

  Shall I stay?

  Would it be a sin?

  If I can't help falling in love with you

  Like a river flows surely to the sea

  Darling, so it goes.

  Some things are meant to be . . .”

  When he finished, I was almost speechless.

  “That was my mom and dad’s song. My mother told me it was the song playing the first time she and dad slow danced. It was the song they danced to at their wedding too. She actually had an album collection of Elvis Presley’s. Dad still has it. I’ll show it to you sometime,” I said my voice falling away with those last words.

  “What’s the matter?” Zell asked.

  “I feel rotten. Really, this isn’t fair to Jon. I’m with you on this beautiful island, and you just played the most romantic song ever. This is hard,” I whispered my voice breaking.

  “Why Annie?”

  “Because.”

  “Because?” he whispered back taking my hand.

  “Because it would be so easy to fall for you in a moment like this.”

  “Then fall,” Zell whispered taking me in his arms. “This will be our song too.”

  He started to sing the song again a cappella pulling me up from the sofa and slow dancing with me in his arms. I was falling for him. I knew it, but I would not be human if I was not swept up in the romantic moment. He is singing a love song that has a special meaning to me. He is handsome, attentive, a graceful dancer, and his voice is amazing. I didn’t want this moment to end, ever. When he finished the song, his hand traveled up my arm to my chin. Lifting it, he raised my face to meet his.

  “I love you, Annie.”

  “Don’t say that, please.”

  “Why?” He asked searching my face.

  “I barely know you.”

  “Ok sweetheart, I’ve waited what seems to have been an eternity for you, but I can wait forever if that is what you desire. Come, you may choose the next song,” he said guiding me back to the sofa.

  He played for hours. Each tune was more intoxicating than the one before. Before long, I began to sing with him. When we ran out of songs that I knew, we began to sing silly songs laughing so hard we could barely finish them.

  Between the music, my full stomach, the warmth of the fire, and listening to Zell play, my eyes began to grow heavy and my eyelids fluttered. Zell noticed immediately and stopped playing.

  He helped me up and showed me into an expansive bedroom. He laid one of his large tee shirts on a monstrous bed. “I’ll build a fire in here, and then I will go outside while you change,” he said. Quickly, he built the fire and strode from the room and the house in a few short strides grabbing the sheath of one of his swords as he passed it.

  I undressed and put on his tee shirt whose hem almost touched my knees. The hem of the arms came below my elbows. I found a brush lying on the table next to the bed and brushed my hair until it shone. I faced the huge bed, turned down the sheets and coverlet, and I actually had to climb up on it to get in bed. I propped up on the pillows watching the fire crackling across the room and pulled the covers up to my chin.

  Zell walked back through the door and smiled at me. His smile warmed me as much as the fire. He strode to the fire and put on several more logs. He crossed the room to where he had left his other swords and moved them to the table next to the opposite side of the bed still holding the one he had carried outside with him in his right hand. He laid that sword at the end of the bed.

  “I’m going to change,” Zell told me and left the room.

  Panic hit me. I turned facing the wall and worried. What was I doing here in this desolate place with a virtual stranger? Suddenly, I longed for home and my bed. Whatever happened to me, I deserved it for not demanding that he take me home.

  I heard Zell laugh. “You can turn around now, Annie.”

  Slowly, I did as he asked. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Zell was dressed. Although, he was dressed only in a pair of soft silver silk trousers with a drawstring waist, I felt relieved.

  He sat on top of the covers, and I was safely beneath them. I turned facing the wall again. Zell sat against pillows that were resting on a massive mahogany headboard. He bent to retrieve the sword left at the end of the bed and laid his left arm in which his hand held the sword protectively across me.

  “I have a confession to make, Annie,” Zell whispered sighing. This moment was incredible. The only light emanated from the crackling fire. The bed was so soft, warm, and comfortable, and Zell’s lovely voice was speaking to me. I was so sleepy, and yet I didn’t want this night to end.

  “I knew it was your mother’s favorite song. The first time I heard her play it, I knew I would sing it to you one day. Good night, love,” Zell’s voice was barely audible as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

  I was in the car with my mother. She was driving and fighting off a monster at the same time. The monster looked human though his eyes were the color of blood. He bared his lips in a hiss exposing two large fangs on either side of his mouth. Mother screamed and stabbed him with a pen in one of his eyes while still driving and trying to maintain control of the car. Blood spurted all over my mother as the monster sank its razor-sharp fangs into her neck.

  I cried out as our vehicle left the road. When we hit the ground again, the safety belt which the creature had cut with his claws as he tried to reach me broke in two and threw me forward through an open window. I could see a massive tree coming at me fast. A millisecond before impact something stopped me. Then I heard the same hiss I had heard before behind me. Clutching the thing that cradled me, I turned seeing the monster that attacked my mother coming for me. I saw a blade extended before me etched in a familiar looking ancient manuscript. I followed the blade to the arm that held it, then upwar
d to that exquisite face from my dreams and now my life. Zell was in this nightmare. One wing covered my eyes as he dealt a death blow to the chest of the creature. Just before the wing covered my eyes, I saw her, my mother, there in the distance, behind the monster in the wreck of her car. My mother’s lifeless body was slumped over the steering wheel covered in her blood. Her unseeing eyes looked toward me. I sobbed loudly.

  “Wake up Annie. Shhh, it’s only a dream.” Zell held me in his arms rocking me back and forth. I could see him in the glow of the firelight. I threw my arms about his neck grasping his hair with both hands and pulled his lips to mine. I kissed him as I had never kissed a boy before. With all the passion that I possessed, I kissed him deeply. I could feel rather than see the surprise in Zell, and he hesitated momentarily before returning my kiss. Then, he returned my kiss with a passion so deep that my head swam dizzily. He held me to him as if he were afraid I might disappear if he loosened his hold. I met his passion with my own, and we were both spiraling into a crevasse of desire. The next moment, Zell tore himself from me and strode to the hearth of the fireplace. Resting his forearm on the mantel, he gazed into the fire.

  “Annie don’t. I’m only human, half-human that is, and the other part that is not human is evil. My father took my mother against her will. She was a good woman. He ruined her life. Back in the ancient days, a woman who conceived a child out of wedlock was stoned to death. My mother had to leave her village, her family, everything she knew until her time was passed. My aunt Miriam told everyone in the village that my mother had gone to the village of her betrothed to be married, but we lived in the wilderness in a tent. When I was two, we moved back to my mother’s village. My Aunt Miriam covered for her once again telling the people of the village that my father was a solider and had gone off to war. Times have changed I know, but I won’t take you outside of marriage. I was conceived when my father forced himself on my mother. I won’t be my father’s son. I’m sorry; I can’t. You’re too young. I didn’t bring you here to seduce you. I can’t do that to you or betray your father’s trust in you. I have sworn to protect you always. What kind of protector would I be if I took advantage of you?” Zell hung his head speaking into the fire, but I could see both his fists clenched at his side in a display of willpower.

  Of course, his kiss had left me a quivering mess as before. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry. I wanted to tell him the moment was all my fault. I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking. I reacted to his tenderness in a way that I never thought that I would. I could not orally respond or apologize, so I lay my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes.

  When I opened them again, the light of morning was filtering gently through the windows. Zell was laying on top of the covers on his side asleep. His arms covered me protectively. His sword was still drawn and in his hand. Had I just dreamed the passionate scene from last night? I didn’t think so. It was too real. I blushed just thinking about it.

  Suddenly, I felt great and wanted to be up and exploring the island. I turned in Zell’s arms, and patted him on the cheek.

  “Wake up sleepy head,” I spoke quietly. “I want to go exploring.”

  Zell opened one eye and looked at me intently as if deciding whether I was worth opening the other eye. He smiled his wide, beautiful grin.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered.

  “Get up silly,” I said squirming out from underneath his massive arm and sword. “I want to explore this island.”

  Zell laughed and hopped up returning his sword to its sheath.

  “Are you paranoid?” I asked. “What could possibly come after us on this island?”

  With a serious scowl on his face, Zell turned to look at me. “We are not safe anywhere on this planet.”

  My mouth dropped open at his words.

  “However, we are as safe here as we can be. Safe enough that I allowed myself to fall asleep,” he added reassuringly. “How about a morning swim?”

  I returned his enthusiasm for a swim, but I remembered that I didn’t have a bathing suit.

  “Look in the top drawer of that chest. You’ll find anything you need in there. I just wanted you to wear my tee shirt last night, so when we go back home I can lay it beside me at night and smell your perfume.”

  “That’s gross,” I yelled throwing a pillow and hitting him in the chest. I was up for any challenge this day brought. Hurriedly, I dressed. Zell was waiting outside for me when I finished putting on the sleek, black, one-piece suit I found in the chest.

  Zell put his sheaths around his neck and took my hand.

  “Let’s go.” We walked in silence to the edge of the bluff.

  “How do we get to the beach?” I asked peering over the edge of the cliff.

  Without a word, he released my hand and stepped back a few feet. Zell closed his eyes and concentrated. What I saw next was incredible. Huge white wings tipped in silver and black stretched up towards the heavens and spread elegantly open. There were four of them. The top wings on each side stretched toward the heavens, while the lower wings wrapped around his body like caressing arms. What a resplendent sight he made just standing there! He opened his eyes and ran toward me scooping me up in his arms as he leaped from the cliff. Screaming in fear, I clutched him tightly. His top wings spread above us like a parachute, and his bottom wings and arms held me gently. We floated down to a small sandy beach at the base of the cliff. Even after we landed, I could not force my fingers to release their death grip from around his neck.

  “That was amazing! Can we do it again?” I cried.

  Zell threw his head back and laughed. “I have been reduced to an amusement park ride.” He gathered me in his arms and shot like a rocket into the heavens. When the island was just a dot in the water, he hovered hugging me to him. “Ready?” he asked.

  I had barely caught my breath from our vertical climb, yet I nodded my head yes. He suddenly dropped like a speeding elevator. The ground was coming at us fast when his top wings popped out like a parachute, and we floated down to the beach.

  “That was so much fun,” I laughed when he released me and ran toward the water. I stopped at the edge of the water and the smile faded from my lips. “What about sharks?”

  “I am the predator here. No sharks will dare come near us. There is a family of dolphins that swim around here though. They may swim with us.” As if on cue, three large and two small dolphins poked their heads out of the water chattering in their dolphin language as if inviting us for a swim.

  6. THE COOKOUT

  ZELL AND I LAY ON THE BEACH DRYING

  in the mid-day sun. All the swimming made me famished. I was exhausted but happy. The dolphins enjoyed our company and played in the water with us for hours. I held on to their dorsal fins, and they pulled me gliding effortlessly through the water. Zell was always protectively at my side. I turned over on my stomach in order to see Zell and talk to him.

  “I have to go back today.”

  “I know,” Zell answered not looking at me. “I wish you didn’t.”

  “Me too,” I replied quietly. “I’ve promised everyone that I am going to the cookout tonight at Lauren’s beach house. You know how I am with promises.”

  “Yes, I know.” Silence stretched for several minutes then Zell said, “Do you really wish that you could stay here? If you do, please stay. It is dangerous for you to go to the party Annie.”

  “Nevertheless, I’m going,” I stated flatly.

  “Correction, we’re going,” Zell insisted.

  “But Jon will be there.”

  “Who?”

  “You know perfectly well who.”

  “Isn’t it about time you broke up with that guy?”

  “Why should I?”

  “You have me now. You don’t need him anymore.”

  “I never did need him, but he’s my friend.”

  Zell turned on his side and looked into my eyes.

  “Do you remember what happened on Tuesday night
, Annie?”

  “You mean the night before you enrolled in school here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Not really. I remember staying after practice with Kate to shoot free throws. The next thing I remember is waking up late the following morning.”

  “You were almost attacked, Annie. A creature tracked you to the parking lot. If I had not been there, . . . ”

  “Not this Dark One Myth again,” I groaned.

  “Am I a myth? Do I not exist?” Zell answered never raising his voice.

  “Of course, you do, but just like you said you’re the only one of your kind.”

  “Yes, my kind, but a Dark One is not my kind.”

  “I think you’re only looking for a reason to hang out with me, Zell and for a reason for me to dump Jon. You have yourself believing in this whole boogie man thing. You believe you need to protect me to justify you being with me,” I threw back at him.

  “What about the dreams, Annie?”

  “I’ve always had bad dreams ever since my mother died.”

  “What killed her Annie?” Zell moved within inches of my face.

  “A car crash killed her,” I yelled back at him.

  “What really killed her Annie?” Zell kept pushing me for an answer.

  “Take me home, Zell. I want to go home,” my voice began to quiver.

  “You know it’s all true Annie. Your nightmares are not dreams. They are memories,” Zell said forcefully yet calmly.

  “That’s not true,” I spat back at him.

  Zell stood up then towering above me. He snapped his wings up like a Geisha Girl snaps out her fan. The wings popped into place. Zell pulled me to him covering me to protect me from the wind and gave a great push. We soared upward so fast that the movement took my breath and made me a bit nauseated, but it was more thrilling than anything I had ever experienced. We landed outside the cottage door, and Zell ordered me inside to change. He followed closely behind me grabbing his clothes and then stalking back out the door. When I emerged from the cottage, he was dressed and waiting on me. He held his arms out, and I moved into them. It seemed to only be minutes later, and we were standing beside my car.