“Kale, I’ll be okay. Fia doesn’t scare me. Sounds like she’s still a little tipsy.”
“It’s not Fia I’m worried about…” Kale trailed off, hesitating to say more.
“What’s up, Kale?”
“You’re more than a pahana. You’re part demon. There have to be people looking for you.”
“And I’m pretty sure they found me,” I said.
Kale raised his eyebrows, his chin raising, and he looked at me with something new in his eyes. Respect?
“I think we’ve only begun to find out the players in this game. And everyone’s idea of winning is different.”
I shrugged. “Well, at least I have two excellent players on my side- you and Dan, right?”
“You didn’t mention your Aunt.”
“Yeah… we need to chat first. She’s kept a lot from me, but I’m going to give her a chance today to explain why.”
Kale nodded, opening the door. “You’re so calm, even after all the drama. You’ll make a good pahana.”
Kale left, and I prepared for lunch with Meredith. I slathered myself in my favorite peach-berry lotion. The dry mountain air took a toll on my skin, previously accustomed to the constant humidity of the Midwest. I pulled on a tiered red, white, and blue colored skirt and a pair of suede boots. I zipped a lacy blue hoody over my red cami, anticipating a brisk morning. I blow dried and brushed my brown hair, letting it fall in it’s natural waves to my mid back. Dressing up always made me feel more confident in myself. Since I didn’t have a car or a bike, and Fia held understandable grief with me, so borrowing her car was out of the question, I decided to walk. Later, I’d find out this was one of my last independent choices.
Chapter Eighteen
Disappearing acts
AS I WALKED, I texted Dan.
Going to visit Mer. U ok?
Guilt tugged at my conscious from the energy surge I caused yesterday. Most likely my power rush had knocked them down like bowling pins. My temper didn’t usually flare up like that, but hey, my life was a little crazy at the moment.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Dan. Shaking my head, I ignored the call. Didn’t he understand the point of texting? Compartmentalization of my different crises took priority at the moment, and I’d prioritized Meredith. Mer and I needed to hash things out before she left town. My phone gave a short buzz again.
Call me immediately.
I stared at the screen. After Meredith’s authoritarian rule, his bossiness irked me. Perhaps she’d been strict because of who we were. What I was. Still, she should have explained more to me. And Dan wasn’t my Aunt, or even my boyfriend, in the technical sense. He didn’t get to tell me what to do. I ignored the text.
Turning onto Route 66, I headed west towards her hotel. My boots clopped across the pavement. Breathing deep, I felt the moment move through me. Fresh, mountain air. Flagstaff’s main drag bustled with cars motoring by, commuters en-route to their daily business. What would it be like to wake up with mundane thoughts about what to make for dinner? Your only decisions revolving around simple survival and socializing- eating, working, sleeping. Projects at work, relationships with family and friends. Were those days completely gone for me?
What new revelation I would learn about myself today? What mystical secrets would unfold regarding my family or my friends? Freaking angels lived on Earth. The fallen angels, the demons all cultures feared worldwide. And why did everyone think they (we?) were evil? Dan’s stories made some sense, but Meredith’s answers might offer a new perspective.
And, holy crap. I had sex with a fallen angel. Sure, it was mind blowing. That’s how it should be when you were with someone you loved. Not supernatural, but super amazing.
Crap. Did I love Dan? Don’t think about that now! Feel the moment. Live in the moment.
Wound dressing changes, signs of foot fungus, the mnemonic for signs of stroke. F.A.S.T. Face, arm, speech, time.
Horns honked, startling me out of my scattered thoughts. I glanced over my left shoulder, my hands bunching in the pockets of my hoody. A red SUV stopped the flow of traffic in the curbside lane. Speak of the devil.
“Get in the car, Chelsea,” Dan said in a sharp tone. A woman yelled out her minivan, blasting her horn again. His jaw clenched, and he leaned out of the window to sneer at the soccer mom behind his Range Rover. His good-looks conjured the same effect on her as it did on any female of any age. Despite his sneering, her eyes glazed, and her cheeks flamed. She laid off the horn.
“What the hell are you doing, crazy? You can’t stop in the middle of the road- it’s Route 66 for crying out loud!” I yelled.
“I’m not the little mouse walking around with a giant flashing sign that says ‘Eat me’ to all the hungry hawks circling her!” He slammed his hand on the steering wheel, turning to leer at another upset driver behind him. I crossed my arms.
“I’ve been doing fine without you for years, Dan,” I said, raising my eyebrows. The memories of him leaving me all those years ago threatened to surface. “Go on ahead. I’m enjoying my walk. We’ll talk later.” I turned west again, ignoring the snickers and wide-eyed glances from other people on the sidewalk.
“Get in the car, and then traffic can resume,” Dan said in a crisp tone. He leaned to open the passenger door, muscles bunching under the cotton of his t-shirt. A slight tugging pulled at my aura, distracting me from his biceps. Continuing to walk would be silly, but my pride still felt bruised.
“I don’t need a ride. Mer’s hotel is like six blocks away, Dan,” I said. His amber eyes caught my own, taken in by the swirling gold flecks of his gaze, I walked towards the car. What the hell? Something quelled my urge to stomp my foot in frustration, and when I got in the car, my arm didn’t listen when I tried slamming the door.
“Did you freaking use persuasion on me?” I said, gritting my teeth. When did Dan learn how to do that?
“The days of you wandering about by yourself are gone,” he said, ignoring my question. He wore a pleased smile on his face, as he perused me from my boots to my eyes. I returned the perusal, appreciating how the red shirt he wore made the gold flecks of his eyes pop. “I’m surprised Kale let his pahana go off on her own.”
“Excuse me? I am not anyone’s pahana. If anything, the freaky necklace has power. The necklace might as well be the pahana.”
“That necklace was a gift to humanity from the second in command of the Heavenly dimension. It is a conduit for vast power. You are the power and it is the conduit,” he said. He steered to the hotel’s entrance, pulling into a side parking lot. With a click, he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to me.
“Besides, it won’t ever work for anyone else. Only you. Chels, please understand I can’t tell you everything, not all at once. For now, trust me. You will need a guardian, someone to watch your back when I cannot. To train you in your abilities.”
I sniffed and noticed Dan’s car smelled different. Something like spice, and lemons.
“New air freshener?”
Dan only smiled.
“Why can’t you train me? And be my guardian?”
“I’m not an Ikna, generally speaking,” Dan said. Right. He ran his hands through his hair, and I forgot about the persuasion incident on Route 66. My gaze watched his long fingers brushing through his sun-kissed locks. He caught my staring, and he winked. “And I can’t be your guardian because I have other responsibilities. However, I know the perfect teacher.”
“Is it another demon?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Okay, when do I meet them?”
“How ‘bout right now?” an accented voice asked. My head hit the roof of the Range Rover as my body popped like a breakfast tart out of a toaster.
“Chelsea, there’s someone I want you to meet. Vasuman, meet Chelsea. Chelsea, this is Vasuman.” Dan gestured to a dark skinned man in the backseat.
“Woah,” I said, trying to swallow back down my digestive tract. “Are you kidding me? Where did you come from?”
“Right here the whole time. A simple concealment spell,” Vasuman said. “I didn’t want to ruin my man’s game there on the side of the road. I figured I’d have a go at meetin’ my assignment after you’d calmed down a bit.”
I listened with fascination to his accent. Australian, like my bestie.
“Wait, I thought you were a demon?” I said. “But you do magic?” Were there witches in Australia? Hell, demons lived all around the whole world. Witches must be real, too.
Vasuman chuckled. “Not magic, Chelsea. Energy manipulation. Persuasion on steroids,” he said. “Our gift is highly advanced in our realm, but not all are so lucky to be Ikna, right my man?” He patted Dan on the shoulder. Dan rolled his eyes.
“Chelsea, you should know he’s got an ego the size of the Grand Canyon,” Dan said.
“A common anatomical comparison for me from many women, as well,” Vasuman said, stretching his arms behind his head. Light olive, almost gray eyes gleamed at me. With a shadow of a goatee, jet black hair curling at the nape of his neck, and complexion of coffee and cream, his claims were probably not an exaggeration.
I blushed. “Ok, ok. I’m late for my brunch date. So which one of you is accompanying me inside?” I said, trying to distract myself from the mental parallels Vaz conjured. I opened the passenger door to step out.
“I shall go, man. Do your business and we’ll parley shortly,” Vasuman said. He slammed the back door shut and turned to me. “Don’t mind me, Chelsea Danika. Pretend like I’m not even here.” And with that, he disappeared from my sight. I stepped forward, reaching my hand out with care.
“Wow, amazing,” I whispered. My hand reached out to touch his arm, and I felt heated skin, like Dan’s. But my eyes told me there was nothing there.
“A bloke never gets tired of hearin’ that, does he?” Vasuman said, his invisible lips brushing my ear. “You might want to put your hand down, though. Daniel is a jealous lover.”
My cheeks felt like they were on fire when I finally removed my hand from Vaz’s arm. “Oh, sorry. I guess you’re still there, even though I can’t see you.”
“Oh I’m here, aren’t I?”
I blushed again. Vasuman’s accent sounded lazy and sexy at the same time. There were too many good looking guys distracting me from my mission today.
“Okey dokey, most awkward introduction in my entire life,” I said. “So, I guess I’ll see you later?”
“I won’t be far.”
I leaned into the car, giving Dan a shy smile, waiting for him to kiss me goodbye. My breath held as he maintained a distance, like last night. Something was wrong. My eyes widened. He stared back at me, expression blank.
“Vaz. Leave,” Dan said.
“Right. No steaming up the windows, love birds, we’ve got appearances to keep up, and all that.”
I wrinkled my nose. Dan coughed.
“Um, ok,” I said. I put out my hand to shake his own. Dan stared at me like I'd grown horns. “What? It’s weird for me not to make some farewell motion. No hugs, no kiss, no handshakes?”
“Do you know what you do to me when we kiss? No, I can’t do that in public. I’d never be able to stop,” Dan said, his fingertips reaching forward caressing my knuckles.
I shook my head, relishing in the feel of his heated fingers on my hand.
“Do you want to see our valediction, the fallen way?”
I nodded.
Dan turned my palm in his hand. Then he brought my fingers to encircle his wrist, repeating the gesture with his hand. Our hands grasped each other's wrists. He said something in another language. The words flowed like soft church bells.
“What did you say?” I asked.
“Never let me go,” he said, bringing his hand to his lips and kissing my fingers.
“You say that to guys, too?”
He chuckled.
Vasuman leaned in the open passenger window. “Man, I can watch this cheesy crap on the Bollywood channel, can’t I? Are you completely finished yet?”
“Not even close,” Dan said. I smiled, unsure if he answered Vaz’s question or my own.
Dan finally released my wrist, and I wiped my hands nervously on my pants. I shut the car door and turned to face the hotel. My Aunt wouldn’t be happy with my tardiness. Hell, at least I showed up. I steeled myself at the lobby doors. A slight breeze wafted a spicy lemon scent to my nose.
“You look nervous,” Vasuman’s voice whispered close to my ear. I covered my mouth to stifle a pretend yawn.
“Don’t talk to me if I can’t answer you!” I whispered behind my hand. “I already feel schizophrenic enough here.”
My invisible companion chuckled. “Don’t worry so much. I shall protect you from the boogeymen. In any case, this is more like a get to know you security mission. Your Aunt would never harm you. Ahh, I remember Meredith well. She was a rager. With a very healthy appetite, and I am not talking food.”
“Eww, do not even go there. I don’t want to hear anything like that about Aunt Mer. She’s like my mother!”
The restaurant of the hotel was in the rear of the lobby. My shoes clicked against the polished tile floors, echoing around me. Where would our conversation begin? How did my mother get pregnant with a demon’s baby? Was I an accident? Or was I planned? Was my mother scared when she found out she was pregnant with me? She must have felt scared and maybe repulsed. For all intents and purposes, my mother gave birth to a mutant. A monster. A has never been before.
“Don’t look so lost, little one,” Vasuman said against my ear. “You’ll find the answers you seek.” He nudged me forward. I spun to where I thought he would be and scowled. Itching my nose, I said behind my hand, “Quit it. You’re not supposed to make me look like a crazy person talking to myself. Quit talking to me.”
“My job’s to keep ya safe. Says nothing in my contract about your sanity,” he said.
I digested the contract comment. Now people were being hired to guard me?
Hell.
One crisis at a time.
Marching to the hostess stand, I gave a young woman my name. She gave me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Oh great, your mother is waiting for you near the arboretum,” the young hostess said. I tried to swallow down the bitter taste in my throat. Mustering a smile, I held my head high, following her bouncing red ponytail to the back of the restaurant. Meredith gazed out a picture window overlooking an interior greenhouse of lush ferns, lost in thought. She wore white linen pants and a low cut red blouse. An outfit appropriate for someone in their twenties, yet Meredith looked gorgeous nevertheless.
I cleared my throat, making sure to plaster back on a sunny smile. “Morning, Aunt Mer,” I said, causing her to jump. She gave me a small smile, then rose.
“Chelsea, dear. I thought you weren’t going to show,” Meredith said in between air kisses. “You’re late.”
I flexed my toes.
“The walk took a little longer than I thought,” I said, taking a seat.
“You’re here with me now. That’s what matters. I ordered for you. French toast with fresh strawberries, and an Americano with cream.” She gestured to the plates in front of me. I bit my lip to keep from tearing up. My emotions jumped and dived in a frenzied way. Even though Meredith had raised me, and knew me better than anyone, I felt like I sat in front of a stranger. Coffee, I needed more coffee. I clasped my hands around the mug.
Meredith took the initiative, as usual.
“So, first off. I want you to stop seeing Dan,” Meredith said. She sipped her coffee, watching for my reaction. I winced as hot liquid spilled onto my shaking hand.
“You’re starting with that? How about, so Chelsea, I never got around to telling you, but you’re part demon? Or, sorry I didn’t bring this up before, but you aren’t crazy, and you have special powers? My fault for sending you to shrinks and making you feel like a nut job.”
Meredith glanced around the restaurant as if looking for the waiter. But I
knew she scoped the scene for Dan. We sat alone in the back section, although the front of the restaurant bustled with guests. Meredith’s doing, no doubt. Through persuasion?
“First of all, lower your voice. I can’t persuade the whole damn restaurant,” she hissed.
Yep. Persuasion, like me.
I stared at her.
“Stop gaping, for goodness sakes.”
“You mean, you can… too? What the hell Aunt Mer? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We’ll get to that. But you can’t see Dan anymore. You barely know who you are, much less the hierarchy of our culture. You will obey me in this.”
I shook my head. “No, let’s start with the beginning, not the present. Tell me about my parents.”
Meredith raised her eyebrows, surprised at my insistence. “Okay, okay. Your father is my brother, Nicholas.”
“A demon?”
“Yes, he is. Your mother was Anya,” she said. “They met when her family moved here from Chechnya. You see, there was a civil war where she lived.”
“I know this part, Mer. Dede told me all of this before his dementia set in,” I said.
“Okay, right. Well, most angels are born with gifts. Yours and mine, we have the gift of influencing energy as Ikna. Nicholas is a creative genius. He can see and hear patterns mere humans study for years to master. When Nicholas plays an instrument- any instrument- it’s like an extension of his soul. He always preferred small stages but he’s played all over the world. Your mother, Anya, and he met at a bar in Omaha. She was a waitress, who appreciated his music. He played at the bar often, and he admired her beauty.”
My eyes filled with tears. Dede couldn’t bear to talk about my mother, so I had stopped inquiring about her at a young age. The image of my mother and father meeting in an ordinary bar. Nothing spectacular. How normal.
“Well, you’re sitting here in front of me. Obviously, one thing led to another. Honestly, I was certain that the baby wasn’t Nicholas’s. It’s never happened, you understand? Demons are sterile when they fall. We can’t procreate with each other or with humans. Sure we can… well, you know.” She narrowed her hazel eyes at me. I raised my eyebrows at her, staring back with my own hazel eyes.
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