by D. F. Jones
Jerry caught her hand and brought it up to his lips. “Hey, Annabelly, I have to go to this thing for work on Saturday around five or so. Do you think you could come with me?”
“Hey, Jerry, what type of thing and where is it?” she teased.
“Aw, it’s a harvest hoedown at Nelson Doune Farms. He throws it every year. They have tons of food, drinks, and great music. How about it, sweet cheeks?”
“A hoedown? Well, shut my mouth and call me shuggah,” Anna said in an exaggerated Southern drawl. Anna had been to plenty of harvest festivals and Halloween parties, but never a hoedown. “Oh, I’m sorry. The way you said hoedown just hit me funny.”
Jerry stopped in his tracks and frowned at her. “Are you finished making fun of me? I know what it sounds like, but their hoedown is fun. Mr. Nelson buys more hay from me in a summer than anyone else does in a whole year, and I live on that money. They always have a great band and plenty of dancing. Hell, last year some members of Alabama showed up and played a few songs on stage.”
Anna smiled at Jerry and playfully shoved him. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I’m just teasing, sweets. I’d love to go with you. What time do I need to be ready?’
“I’ll pick you up at four.”
Anna reached up and kissed him. “I’ll be ready. I really can’t wait. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die.”
* * *
Jerry had to leave for work, so Anna waved at him from the front door of her house. She went through the door and yelled, “Anybody home?” No one answered. Anna dropped her book bag on the couch and stepped into the kitchen for something to drink. She rummaged in the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of sweet tea and poured a glass. Anna took a long drink and walked through the house into the den, kicked off her loafers, and sat on the couch.
Ralph appeared at her side. “Hi, Annabelly.” His smile radiated kindness and emanated a feeling of love.
Anna held her breath for a few seconds. Ralph was breathtakingly beautiful wearing a pair of black corduroys with a deep purple turtleneck and black hiking boots. But it still freaked her out when he popped in without any notice. “Geez, Ralph, how about a little warning?”
Ralph draped his arm on the back of the couch cushions. “I’m not sure I can give you a warning, sorry. Now that you’ve had a little time to adjust to me, I thought you might have some more questions for me.”
Anna tilted her head and her forehead furrowed. “I have so many questions that I’m not sure how to start. Angels look similar to humans. But you have the ability to appear and disappear, at will, from one place to another through what I assume is teleportation. But I’m not sure. And I guess I’m curious about creation in general, for humans and angels. Humans have many limitations. Do angels? And I want to know how my power works.”
Ralph nodded and said, “Very good questions. The Creator made humans similarly to how He made the angels. Humans and angels have similarities, but many differences. My supernatural powers and yours are directly linked to The Creator’s DNA. Human wards have been given select powers that were previously only available to the angels. The simplest way for me to explain is that it’s similar to handedness. One human is left-handed while another is right. You both have similar abilities but use them differently. It’s all in the DNA.”
Anna twisted in her seat. Ralph didn’t answer the questions, exactly. Then Anna had an aha moment. Maybe her genetic code was altered by The Creator. Maybe He gave her the ability to heal by embedding part of His genetic code into her DNA.
Ralph moved his arm off the sofa and pressed the tips of his fingers together. “Yes, that’s exactly how it works. You’re very intelligent.” Ralph read her mind, and she added to the list of questions that kept piling up in there. He said, “Since the dawn of mankind, humans have tried to place angels on pedestals because of our supernatural powers, and some humans even revered angels as gods. Human delusions led to the downfall of many angels through time. That’s why you have to be careful using your powers. Most humans wouldn’t understand it, and some humans would want to turn you into a lab rat. Until you have proper training, if you need to heal someone, try to do it with as few witnesses as possible.”
Anna took a deep breath and exhaled. “I was already using that train of thought. My mom almost had a coronary when I healed a deep cut she got in our kitchen. Then a little while later, she didn’t remember a thing about it. Hey, was it the angels who helped the Egyptians build the pyramids? And you know how one minute you’re here and the next minute you dematerialize to somewhere else? Well, I think another angel has been watching me. I thought he was a man. I first saw him at Campbell Ridge Cave, but today, I saw him in the library. Both times he stared at me, and both times he vanished in the thin air, similar to you. Ring any bells?”
Ralph tensed and faced Anna. “What did this man look like?”
Anna placed her glass of tea on a crocheted coaster on the cherry coffee table. “Well, he was tall and big. Not fat, but muscular, with long black hair, and he either had dark brown eyes, or maybe they were black. Very handsome and he smiled both times. But his smile was a little on the sinister side. Like he knew my deepest secrets or some shit.”
Ralph stood quickly and straightened his shoulders. “Anna, I want to have a longer conversation about the pyramids, but I have to go. I have to report your sighting to my team.”
Ralph’s mood seemed to change abruptly from warm and fuzzy to rigid and cold. She looked at him anxiously. “Do you know who it is?”
“I have a hunch. I’ll be back after I have gotten to the bottom of it. Anna, stay away from that man. Close your eyes. I’m going to place a veil of protection over you.” Ralph placed his hands on top of Anna’s head.
Anna closed her eyes and didn’t move a muscle. The warm liquid heat started at the top of her head, like the cracking-an-egg-on-your-head game she, Ruby, and Sandy had played in middle school. The heat poured over her, penetrating to her bones.
“Open your eyes. You’re safe, dear one. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I have a team that I work with, and I want to discuss this man with them right away. Remember that I’m never far away. If you need me, just call out my name.” Ralph kissed her forehead, and poof, he vanished.
Good grief. The disappearing act twice in one day set off alarm bells. Anna believed Ralph knew the man in the library. She hadn’t sensed fear in Ralph; she had sensed anger.
* * *
Ralph crossed through the Campbell Ridge Cave portal and entered the gates of Heaven. He said, “Hi, Pete.” Pete held the keys to Heaven and the master list of new arrivals.
Pete leaned against the pearly white gates that disappeared in the clouds over their heads. “Trouble with the earthlings again?”
Ralph stopped walking and shook his head. “You’ve been watching too much of Seneca’s screen again. You have no idea what those poor souls have to live through every day while you’re safely standing by the pearly gates.”
Pete crossed one foot over the other. “I’m happy where I am, thank you very much. Seneca is waiting for you in the Hall of Moses, conference room zero-zero-one.”
Ralph walked through the gates and yelled back over his shoulder, “Thanks, Pete.”
Ralph strolled down the streets paved with gold. He could’ve ported to the Hall, but he loved walking through Heaven. It was pristine, no filth and no dirt. He walked through the Hall of Moses and entered the conference room where Seneca, Baldric, and Luwenia waited for him.
The walls in the Hall and conference rooms were made of crystal that resembled a sea of glass and trimmed with the purest gold to allow diffuse light to enter the room with resplendent beauty. The floors were crimson red plush carpets, and the tables and chairs were created from the oldest trees of time and space.
Seneca approached Ralph and gave him a hug. “Brother, it’s been a long time. I’ve missed you.”
Ralph kissed Seneca’s cheek. “Ah, and I’ve missed you, brother.” Ralph turned to the beaut
iful Luwenia, and she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. He held her hands and said, “You grow lovelier every time I see you.”
Ralph looked at Luwenia’s shiny raven hair and pale complexion. He glanced down at her full lips as dark as cherries and raised his gaze to meet her shimmering aquamarine eyes with thick black lashes. She was more beautiful than all of the female angels in Heaven, and one of the most lethal, especially when it came to protecting her ward, Jerry. She said, “Raphael, you’re looking good. Purple is a good color for you.”
Ralph stared at her mouth, wondering what it would be like to kiss her. He dragged his fingers through his thick platinum hair. “Anna has seen Luc.” He turned to Seneca. “Has Ruby seen the dragon?”
Seneca placed his hands palms down on the table. “Yes, Ruby has seen the dragon. I’m not in control of the dreams she receives. They come from The Creator. He’s trying to prepare her, and the time is coming to reveal why they have the power of angels. We still have a few earth years left to allow their powers to grow.”
Ralph placed his hands on his hips and stood with his feet hip-width apart. “Ruby’s dream about the dragon along with Anna’s revelation about seeing a man in the cave and the library may indicate that Luc has set his sights on the Campbell Ridge wards.”
Baldric the Warrior had been given the responsibility to protect Sandy. He wore a coat of impenetrable armor made of gold and held a large sword in his right hand, making a figure eight with the blade. The sword had the ability to be a blade of steel or laser of light at the flick of his wrist. Baldric commanded attention as he sat down in the chair and propped his dark brown leather lace-up boots on the table. He gruffly stated, “My ward is a pain in my ass, and she constantly places herself in harm’s way. That son of a bitch better stay away from my baby girl or he’s going to feel a universe full of hurt unleashed on his sorry ass.”
Seneca coughed several times, covering his mouth with his hand. “Baldric, may I remind you where you’re sitting? Please refrain from the use of profanity. I’ll have a meeting with Michael and find out if he has any intelligence on Luc’s plan for Campbell Ridge.”
“I’ll stick close to Sandy. I swear that woman isn’t afraid of anything or anybody.” Baldric gave Ralph a rare smile and winked.
At once, Ralph recognized Baldric’s capacity for true love. Ralph thought he would never see the day when one of them, especially the Warrior, would find true love. But Baldric sat there at the table with the smile of a smitten man. Instead of Ralph teasing Baldric, he said, “Sandy is a worthy and true friend.”
Baldric’s shoulder-length hair shimmered like golden silk. His dark sea-green eyes met Ralph’s. “That female has the sexual appetite of a male warrior.”
Seneca and Luwenia both laughed out loud.
Luwenia placed her hand on his shoulder. “You would know, Baldric.”
The tips of Seneca’s fingers pressed together in prayer mode. “Now that we have the small talk out of the way, does anyone have suggestions on keeping the dragon at bay?”
Luwenia pulled out a chair and sat down, then swiveled the chair around to face the rest of the team. “If Luc is stalking Anna, then he’s stalking the rest of them. Ruby sees the dragon. It’s only a matter of time before Jerry and Sandy see Luc or one of his demons. We need intel, and we need to inform the AAF in case we need backup.”
Seneca sat at the head of the table, and Ralph took the chair beside him across from Luwenia.
Ralph rested his forearms on the table, linking his fingers together. “I’ve heard through the Spirit of Man and some of the earth angels that Luc is stripping the wards’ powers to help him gain access to heaven’s realm. Supposedly, he uses the wards’ genetic link to The Creator to breach security on the outer banks.”
Ralph pushed his chair back and began to walk around the table. “The rumor has it that Luc is trying to recruit the wards first, and when that doesn’t work, he strips the weaker wards’ powers until they die, and the stronger wards Luc enslaves in Hell. The earth angel, Kaduntz, told me that Luc toys with and tortures the stronger wards until they either relent or die. Seneca, check with your sources and see if any of that information is accurate. Because if it is, then Luc has the Campbell Ridge wards on his radar. They need training.”
Luwenia held Ralph’s eyes for a long second. Time seemed to stand still as the gaze they exchanged between them released unspoken words of attraction. Luwenia finally said, “How would possessing the wards give him access to Heaven?”
Ralph swallowed hard and tried to remain focused on her question and not her gorgeous eyes. “As I said, for now, it’s purely speculation and rumor. Kaduntz seems to think it has something to do with The Creator’s DNA. Whether Luc is absorbing their powers through blood or the spirit, I have no clue.”
Baldric slammed his fist on the table. “Give me permission to address Luc. I’ll find out exactly what he’s up to.”
Seneca pushed back his chair and stood. “Baldric, no. This meeting is not about the long-standing feud between you and Luc. It’s about the wards. Tipping him off would only give Luc time to redirect his strategies. If the rumors are valid, our wards could be taught how to ensnare him, and we will bring Luc to his knees.”
Ralph, Baldric, and Luwenia all snapped their heads in Seneca’s direction. Ralph said, “That makes them human guinea pigs.”
Seneca took a deep breath and sighed. “This is war, Ralph, and we must use every advantage to win it. I have faith in our abilities to protect our wards.”
* * *
Jerry pulled into Anna’s driveway Saturday afternoon to pick her up for the harvest hoedown in Arrington. She wore her Levi’s and a cerulean blue sweater paired with tan cowboy boots. The sweater set off her crystal blue eyes and curvaceous figure. Anna swiped on cherry blossom lip gloss and shoved it into her pocket. She pulled on a brown corduroy jacket, grabbed her purse off her bed, and ran out of the house and down the front steps to meet her man.
Jerry wore some pretty tight faded Levi’s that made Anna unconsciously look straight at his well-proportioned package. He had on a white button-down, rolled up at the sleeves, which complimented his golden skin. Jerry was tan as a biscuit from driving his dad’s tractor.
Anna’s arms went up and around his neck, and he leaned down to kiss her. Jerry pulled back slightly and said, “I just love the way you kiss me. Are you ready to roll?”
“Yep. Let’s ride.” Anna walked with Jerry to the passenger side of the Blue Goose.
He placed his hands around her tiny waist and helped her up into his Ford truck. He chuckled. “Dang, Anna Faye, you’re looking mighty fine in those tight-ass jeans.”
The blood rushed into her cheeks. “Why, thank you, Jerry. You’re looking pretty durn good yourself.”
Jerry laughed loudly and walked around to his side of the truck. Anna loved Jerry’s deep belly laugh. He jumped inside and gave her a smile that revealed his irresistible dimples. A rush of adrenaline shot through her. Jerry didn’t know it, but tonight she was going all the way. After dating him almost six months, she’d waited long enough. Anna wanted to make love to him.
Driving down Tennessee Boulevard, Jerry fiddled with the radio dial until he found WNCM-FM, a country music station out of Nashville. Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” belted out over the airways. He glanced over at Anna and caught her staring at him. “We’ll never make it to this party if you keep looking at me like I’m ice cream and you’re the spoon.”
Anna smiled wickedly, slid over on the seat next to him, and rubbed her hand up and down his thigh. “Fine by me. You look good enough to eat.”
Jerry glanced off the road for a second, and the truck went onto the shoulder. The truck sprayed gravel, and he gripped the steering wheel and pulled the truck back into his lane of traffic without hitting the passing car. “Dang, woman, I nearly ran off the road. You better watch what you say, sugar lips. Those tight jeans and your sweet sweater are making me sweat. Aw, hell, Anna, I have to show
up for a little while. But when this shindig is over, I’m going to take you to my uncle’s place up on Windrow Hill. I’m housesitting for them for the next couple of weeks while they’re on a road trip out west in their RV. Their place overlooks Murfreesboro, and there’s not a cloud in the sky. We’ll stargaze.”
Stargaze my ass. “Okay, I’ll behave for now. I love looking at the stars.” Anna giggled and looked out the truck door window embarrassed and excited by the thought of making love with Jerry for the first time.
Nelson Doune Farms was magnificent, with its rolling hills and black rail fences surrounding the perimeter of the five-hundred-acre farm. As Jerry pulled down the long pebble driveway, Anna spotted a dozen or so of the prettiest Tennessee walking horses grazing in the front lot. To the left of the driveway, there was an old brick plantation-style house sitting on a hill overlooking a small lake lit up by a string of brightly colored lights.
Jerry pulled his truck to a stop. He reached over and trailed Anna’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “You make it difficult to think straight. And, well, you smell as sweet as magnolias in full bloom.”
Jerry swallowed hard, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. She leaned over and trailed her tongue up the column of his neck. He tasted spicy and slightly salty.
Jerry pulled her next to him and ran his fingers through her hair. His breathy kiss was hot and urgent as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Just as she cupped his face with both hands, someone in another truck pulled up beside them and honked a horn, and they quickly broke apart.
In a low rasp, Jerry said, “Oh, God, Anna, let’s get this thing over, okay? And we can pick this up where we left off.” He stepped out of the truck, rushed around to her side, and opened her door. He helped her down from his truck, and her body slid down the front of his.
“I’m pretty sure I can get out of your truck by myself, but thanks.” Anna inhaled Old Spice and the starch from Jerry’s freshly pressed shirt.