Moonfire

by M. Rae Gogetap

  Ew, no supernatural sex talk with Aunt Mer.

  “Well, she swore up and down it was Nicholas’s baby. And later, I realized she was speaking the truth. I knew we needed to protect you.”

  “From whom?”

  “From everyone. Each and every fallen one would want to inspect you, figure out how you were possible, how to make more. It’s a common genetic function of any living creature, the will to life. We yearn to procreate like humans, but on this plane, we can’t. But here you are. Now our fellow demons will want to figure out how you are.”

  “But how could you protect me by not even telling me what I am? All those medical providers and psychiatrists told me I was attention starved when I was younger. You gave me no explanation. You didn’t console me or help me feel better. You… you made me feel like a crazy person.”

  “How was I supposed to know the demon genetics would pass on to you as they did to me? I’ve never seen something like you before,” Meredith said. She carefully pushed back a stray black hair from her face, before crossing her arms. Her hair contained not one streak of gray, despite her age. I had always assumed she compulsively dyed her hair.

  “Someone,” I said. The sweet French toast smell made my stomach churn. But I needed to eat something. I chewed a piece, letting the syrup covered bread cover the bitterness creeping up my throat.

  Meredith nodded. “Someone. Goodness, you were a teenager. I couldn’t be sure you weren’t going through an angsty human teenage phase or something more. And if I confirmed you had powers, then word would get out, and I needed to protect you, Chelsea. Ignorance was the only choice I had.”

  Her explanation sounded plausible. Even rational. But still… “Some reassurance would have been nice, Aunt Mer.”

  “Chelsea, I never claimed to be perfect,” she said. “I lost my brother after you were born. Nicholas is my twin, my other half. We always had each other, in Heaven and on Earth. But then he and Anya… well, she died soon after, and he lost it. Not even I could console him. He left. Haven’t seen him since. You look so much like him.” She smiled at me then, her eyes shining. Aunt Mer had never shed a tear in my entire life. She was always stronger than steel, never afraid to stand her ground. Yet here she was, still hurting from my father’s disappearance. And evidently, he disappeared because of me.

  I reached out my hand to pat her own. Her skin was warmer than a human hand, like Dan and Vaz. As a child, Meredith never hugged me, never held me. She blew air kisses to show affection, or an occasional pat on the back. She would have seemed cold to an outsider, but to me, she was Aunt Mer. She didn’t want me to notice she was different from others, apparently.

  “I’m sorry, Aunt Mer. I guess I didn’t realize you lost him because of me.” My throat squeezed and the backs of my eyes stung as I fought the urge to cry.

  “No, Chelsea. I lost Nick because of Nick. But I also gained you. You are important to me, kiddo. When you came into the world, my life had a purpose again. I knew I had to protect you. I just didn’t know how.”

  I dabbed my eyes with my linen napkin.

  She grasped my hand. My eyes fell to a small line of black ink on her wrist that hadn’t been there before. She pulled at her sleeve before looking back at me.

  “I haven’t stopped looking out for you, Chelsea. They threatened me. My position with the Pacem. I tried to keep you from becoming a part of the demon culture. Hell, I even canceled your credit card. But you’re more stubborn than I am, apparently. And you’re here, now. And I worry for you.”

  I let out a hollow laugh. “Maybe if you’d told me about the bigger picture, things would have turned out a little different.”

  “Chelsea, I’m doing the best I can. But understand this- you cannot be with Dan. I know when we’re young, the heart can be blinded-”

  I threw my napkin on the table as my heart slammed against my ribcage.

  “I’m done with this conversation. It’s already outrageous enough. I’m not ready to discuss the rest of the insanity right this moment,” I said, standing.

  No way. Dan was not up for discussion.

  “Chelsea, wait. Please listen to me carefully. Stay close to Kale, but please listen to me about Dan-”

  “I do trust Kale. And Dan is probably the only other person- or demon-whatever- who has been truthful with me about anything!” I said, hands fisting.

  “Not everything.”

  “Tell me then, what has he lied to me about?”

  “It’s not for me to say. Dan should be the one…”

  “Ugh, there you go again. Okay, Meredith, thank you for your disclosure, however limited. I’ve got to go.”

  “Chelsea, I can’t…” Then she sighed, standing to follow me.

  “It’s okay, like I said before, one step at a time. I’ll figure it out,” I said with a confidence I didn’t feel. My own Aunt held out on me still, telling me not to trust Dan without offering any evidence as to why. What did that say about her?

  “I wish you lived closer to home,” she said, giving me a quick hug.

  “I’ve got to go,” I said, fighting back tears. “I love you.”

  “You too, kiddo.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Guardian

  “WHAT A TRAIN wreck! American drama is ten times more sappy than India’s cheesiest soaps, and that’s saying a lot. Are you and your Aunt always that emotional?” Vasuman’s voice said as we made our way towards the side parking lot.

  I turned around to kick what I hoped was his shin, but got air instead. Vasuman chuckled.

  “Careful, Chelsea Shephard. You shouldn’t harm your keeper.”

  “I thought you were Australian? Why do you keep talking about India?”

  “Ever pick up a globe? India’s pretty close to Aus-land. Been my home near a century, now.”

  “Remind me, why are you following me around again?”

  “To protect you from the boogeymen.”

  When we arrived at the parking lot where Dan had parked, the Range Rover was gone. My heart pounded in my chest as I punched Dan’s number into my cell. Where was he? When he didn’t answer, I sent him a text.

  where r u? Done with chatting… ready to go home… will start walking

  My aura prickled with agitation. “Hey, uh, why are you still invisible?”

  Nothing but the wind responded. A sudden gust lifted the hair off of my shoulders. Goosebumps ran down my neck to my arms.

  “Vasuman? Hello, aren’t you supposed to be guarding me?” I asked.

  A few parking spaces away, a woman unloaded shopping bags from her car onto a stroller. A black haired girl babbled happily. The woman stared at me with wide eyes and took a step away from me in fear. I stared back, probably with the same coyote in the headlights expression. She wrinkled her eyebrows and hurried into her car.

  “Okay…” I said. With no other choice, I started walking towards the apartment. Only fifteen minutes or so. Apparently some demons were after me. No big deal.

  Concentrating on keeping a steady space and not breaking into a run, I sang a Beatle’s song in my head. But the song kept getting interrupted by random thoughts.

  Maybe Dan had to grab a bite to eat. He did eat a lot. Back in high school, I had thought Dan had invited ten other people to dinner with us when he’d ordered three large pizzas and a thirty piece hot-wings. But it turned out he had quite the appetite. He had polished off an entire pizza and most of the hot-wings within twenty minutes. I laughed, remembering the contented expression on his face when he had finished eating, like a bear’s first meal after hibernation.

  “Earth to Chelsea.”

  I jumped at the voice that interrupted my memory.

  “Oh, now you show up. Where did you go?” The engine of a train blasted in warning, rumbling down the train tracks where I was waiting behind the barricade. “And why are you still invisible?”

  Vasuman reappeared with a casual shrug, but his olive colored eyes flashed with irritation. His perfect heart shap
ed lips set in a thin line. I narrowed my eyes. His unexpected appearance earlier had prevented me from noticing what he wore. Or rather what he didn’t wear. He was shirtless. What the hell? Well, not completely. A black cord hung around his neck with a copper colored circular pendant, hanging against a tanned, and bare, chest. Muscled pecs and abs revealed perfect eye candy for any female. He wore a lightweight gray hoodie over his arms and dark colored jeans, and black leather sandals on his feet. When I looked back at his eyes, his eyebrows were raised in question and he smirked.

  “Like what ya see?”

  I shoved at his chest, his heated skin almost burned my hands. “Discretion, much? Aren’t the demon folk supposed to be on the down low?”

  Vaz crossed his arms, and looked down at me. He was taller than me, but not quite Dan’s height. He had a striking sort of dark beauty. Not anything I’d ever admit to him.

  “Humans are oblivious. Demons have been here for eons. Haven’t been caught yet, have we?” he said, returning the perusal. His eyes lingered on my chest, pissing me off. I crossed my arms and looked away to see the last rail car had passed. I walked under the raising barricade to continue speed walking.

  “Right, all those silly legends about angels and demons, Heaven and hellfire. We just pulled those stories from our imaginations. There were no winged demons or angels blatantly appearing and disappearing amongst humans. We just made all that crap up.”

  “Humans created the stories that the angels forced upon them. Hell is fiction, it’s merely a fear tactic. A manipulation. To make our eternity feel a little longer. Ritiouss bloke, that Sabathiel. Didn’t get his way so he traps us and makes the Earth natives fear our power. Demons aren’t scary, are we? We’re rather quite striking.” Vasuman grew serious, and put his warm arm around my shoulder. His bare skin felt hot even through my hoodie, yet he still gave me goosebumps. He leaned to my ear. “And as you know, we’re also quite extraordinary in the-“

  “Vasuman! Inappropriate conversation. We need to lay some ground rules. No talking about your stamina, or how good looking you are-“

  “Ah, so you do agree,” he said, smiling again.

  “Where is Dan?” I asked, biting my lip.

  Vasuman shrugged. “Probably grabbing a bite to eat.”

  Ugh. Why did everyone know that I had slept with Dan? Or were Meredith and Vasuman just making assumptions? I threw his arm off.

  My phone buzzed. It was Fia.

  sorry bout earlier, can u pick up some rockstar on your way home?

  I snorted. “Sure, why not,” I said to my phone.

  Vasuman glanced down at my screen. “She’s bossy, that one.”

  To my exasperation, Vasuman followed me to the small grocery store near the railway station. After purchasing the energy drinks for Fia and sour apple bubble gum for myself, I found my bogey-man guard was still waiting for me.

  I began to have a sinking feeling in my stomach when we reached my apartment and I still had no word from Dan. Where was he? He wouldn’t leave me without a message. Vasuman had to know where Dan was. What was my supposed guard hiding? I opened the door.

  “All right, thanks for the walk home. I’ll see you later,” I said with false sweetness.

  “Wait a minute. There’s no Dan around, remember? I need to come in, keep you ladies safe,” he said, grinning. But he stayed just outside the door.

  He couldn’t come in.

  The second time that Dan visited me, he had waited outside on the balcony, until Fia asked him in. Maybe demons were like vampires. They required an invite to step into someone’s house. Wait a minute, there weren’t really vampires, were there? I shook my head to focus on the theory at hand.

  “No, there aren’t vampires per-say. Now, be a good girl, let’s make some cocktails.”

  I gritted my teeth. I was going to have to learn that mind reading technique.

  “It’s all right, I’m cool here. Bye Vasuman!” I said again, but left the front door open.

  “Wait a minute, let me use your bathroom.” He leaned towards the door.

  “There’s a public restroom downstairs.”

  The feeling that came over me next I can only describe as suction. It must be how a dust mite feels when it is getting sucked into a vacuum. I grasped onto the sofa, and watched as Vasuman’s gray-green eyes darkened and began swirling dark gray. He sneered at me.

  “What the hell, Vaz. You’re knocking over my vase,” Fia said, entering the living room. She righted an expensive looking turquoise Native American artifact that was teetering near the edge of the coffee table.

  Vaz? The name sounded familiar. Fia knew him, too?

  Fia crossed her arms and glared at Vasuman. She had on a fuzzy pink robe and her short blonde hair was still spiky and undone.

  Vasuman’s eyes slowed in their swirling. He smiled at Fia. “Sofia, Chelsea here doesn’t want to let me in.” His shoulders relaxed, and he raised his eyebrows with a pleading look.

  “Don’t you think that Vasuman is acting a little, I don’t know, super-human?” I asked Fia, gauging her reaction. Did she know about the angels and demons, too?

  Fia shrugged and sat down on the sofa, flipping on the t.v. “He does have a temper.”

  “I’m passionate!” Vasuman shouted, still standing just outside the door.

  Fia smirked. “I won’t argue that.”

  “You’re not coming in until I speak with Dan,” I said, and closed the door.

  “Sofia, your father will hear about this!” He yelled through the door.

  Michael? Then I remembered where I had heard the name before. Fia had mentioned a Vaz while we were at her cabin. Vaz was Vasuman. Vaz worked for Michael? I shook my head, still confused.

  Plopping down on the sofa next to Fia, I asked, “You know Vasuman?”

  Fia flipped through cable channels. She curled her legs under her fuzzy pink robe, eyes glazed as they stared at the TV. My inquiry went unanswered.

  I sat down next to her slowly, and waved my hand in front of her eyes. “Fia, did you hear me?”

  “What?” she asked, rapidly blinking her eyes. She turned to me. “Oh, when did you get home? Did you bring my Rockstar?”

  I bit my lip. Did Vaz use persuasion on Fia? Dan had said that Vaz’s powers were similar to mine, but I had never been able to influence other people do something. Sure, I would influence their emotions but I’d never tried commanding people to do anything. I shivered.

  “Yeah, here it is.” I handed her the can, and stood up.

  My fingers touched my necklace. What kind of world was I living in? I started to pace. Vaz worked for Michael? But Meredith seemed friendly with Michael, so he must be an okay guy. According to Kale, Michael wasn’t a demon.

  “So, Kale and I are over,” Fia said, watching me pace.

  I stopped pacing and plopped down next to her on the couch. Her eyes were downcast. “You know that I would never disrespect you like that Fia. You’re my friend.”

  “I didn’t really think you guys would. Sometimes, I just feel like I’m going through the motions, you know? Like I’m doing what is expected of me. But not really what I want to do.”

  Yeah, I can see that, thinking of her dazed expression when Vaz had just left. How many times had that happened to her? Was Vaz using persuasion on her father as well? Goosebumps covered my arms.

  “Ok, we’re having a veg day,” I said. “You pick the show, I’ll make the popcorn.”

  Fia grinned. “Vegetating is my middle name, let’s do it.”

  As the popcorn was being cooked, I called Dan again. There was no answer. The urge to stare at my patio door in anticipation of Dan’s arrival won out over my attention to the popping corn.

  Beep-beep-beep. Smoke and burning corn kernels was filling the kitchen. I choked and waved the smoke away from the smoke detector.

  “Damn, and I thought I was a crappy cook! You can’t even use the microwave, Shephard?” Fia said, hopping up from the kitchen and helping to disperse th
e smoke. I laughed.

  “I was distracted, I thought I saw something out the window.”

  Fia bumped by shoulder with her own and grinned. “Uh-huh. Hoping someone will drop on by? Where is surfer boy anyway?”

  I shrugged. “No idea. But who cares? It’s vegetating day, that means not worrying about anyone but ourselves. Go sit down, I’ll make another bag.”

  When I brought a bowl of un-burnt popcorn to Fia, she was yelling at the TV.

  “Come on, freaking mat-eater. Get over yourself. You don’t even deserve that score!” she yelled.

  I laughed. “Friend of yours?”

  Fia took the popcorn and snorted. “Gina Schulte. I mopped the floor with her scores back when we used to compete. And look at her now, at Southern Summer Championships and complaining about a score that she doesn’t even deserve.”

  I watched Fia shake her head and shovel popcorn in her mouth. Her lips were curled, but her green eyes were wide.

  “You miss it, huh?” I said.

  “More than anything,” she said, quieter. “Honestly, this is why I don’t even watch gymnastics anymore. It pisses me off that I can’t compete anymore. I could totally school those idiots. I was really good. It was all I was ever good at. Now I just have this stupid internship that I don’t even want to do. It’s like, I want to get out there, and use all this energy I have, you know?”

  I nodded in sympathy. “What about nursing? I thought you said-“

  Fia shook her head. “My dad is forcing me to study something. But I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Nursing is too tame for me,” she said. “But if I don’t pass this internship, he’s cutting me off.”

  “Really? I doubt-“

  “For real, he said no more allowance, no more living expenses, no more clothing budget. What would I do then? I’ve got no real world skills. Balance beam and horse back riding can’t earn money, not really. Carmen’s ready to fail me. I might as well sign up for unemployment benefits now.”