Earth Angel

by E. Van Lowe

  By the time I got home, the sun had dipped below Camelback Mountain, painting the sky with a reddish-golden hue. I walked cautiously into the quiet house. Shadows were creeping up all around me. I immediately started turning on lights. Suze wouldn’t be home for at least another hour, so I busied myself checking the windows and doors for any sign of entry. I went to my room to see if it had been ransacked. Nothing seemed out of place.

  I returned to the kitchen. If we had the ingredients, I was going to make enchilada pie. I wasn’t hungry after gorging myself on shrimp creole, but I knew Suze would be. Cooking would keep my mind occupied and off my troubles.

  I was checking the pantry when I heard a sound in the garden. A chill slid down my back, as the fine hairs on my arms stood on end. The demon, I thought. Yet as frightened as I was, my adrenaline started pumping.

  I rushed to the bay window over the sink that looked out into garden. I saw her crawling among the shrubs. At least I thought it was her. My next actions made no sense, but you can’t count on a girl to make sense when she’s hopped up on adrenaline.

  I raced to the back door, flung it open, and dashed out into the yard.

  “I see you, Erin!” I called.

  She was lurking in the shadows behind the dracaena bush. She crouched stone still, not moving a muscle.

  Just then my adrenaline stopped pumping. I was starting to get the feeling that maybe it wasn’t Erin. Like last time, all I could see was her red windbreaker—if, indeed, it was a red windbreaker. I was beginning to have my doubts.

  Whoever was lurking behind the bush was definitely wearing red. But in the light of dusk I could see it was a different shade than Erin’s windbreaker. I could hear the person breathing. The breaths were coming in shallow, ragged bursts, and I thought the person was either frightened or about to attack.

  I measured the distance between myself and the back door. If it was Erin hiding in the shadows, I could make it. If it was a man or a monster, I was in deep trouble.

  Okay, I thought. No sense running. Do not show fear, which was a lot easier to think than it was to do. I glanced down at my hands. They were trembling.

  Stop it!

  The person in the shadows moved. I got the sense he wanted to run away, but since it wasn’t full dark yet, there weren’t many shadows to hide in.

  I was also getting the feeling he was frightened. This may have been a trick my mind was playing on me, but it gave me confidence. I took a deliberate step toward the bush. “Erin?” I called, keeping my voice gentle. “I know it’s you, Erin. Come on out. It’s cool.”

  Sixty seconds passed and the person didn’t move. That’s when I got an idea. “Ibwa!” I called loudly. “I command you to show yourself.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, a horrid little creature emerged from behind the bush. I screamed.

  Chapter Nine

  The creature standing before me was three-and-a-half feet in height, with bright red, leathery skin, and canine-like features. It had tiny bat wings protruding from its back, which seemed useless since I was certain the flimsy wings could not be used for flying.

  Instinctively I yanked my crucifix from my neck and thrust it at the beast.

  The thing took a cowering step backward, tripped over its own feet and fell down. “What did you go and do that for?” It cried in a whiny voice. His beady eyes flashed fear.

  “You have been stalking me.” Despite how frightened I was, I kept my voice strong.

  “Yes. But not because I wanted to. The powerful one commanded me, and I was powerless to disobey. Put the crux away! It offends me!” he moaned.

  “You’re a demon,” I called, continuing to wield the tiny crucifix.

  “Yes. But I am not here to hurt you. I have come to warn you.” He was kneeling on the ground, his hands covering his head.

  “You lie! Demons lie all the time.”

  “I am aware of our less-than-immaculate reputation, but I am telling the truth. Please! Put it away.” He peeked out from behind his arm to see if I was listening.

  Crouched on the ground amid the sand and scrub brush, the monster didn’t seem very monstrous. I started feeling sorry for him. I put the crucifix in my pocket. “Get up!” I called.

  The creature hopped to his feet. “Thank you. I am Ibwa,” he said extending his hand. His voice was now friendly, but I didn’t trust his darting eyes.

  “I am not going to shake your hand.”

  “Of course not.” He didn’t seem offended as he withdrew it.

  “I saw you last week,” I said. “You were in our garden.”

  “Yes. It was you who stole my supper.”

  “The headless bird?” I asked, incredulous.

  “Yes, but I do not mind. I know how delicious flying things are. And I still got the best part.”A lizard-like tongue snaked out and licked his lips. He was referring to the bird’s missing head. Disgusting.

  “If you came to warn me, why didn’t you warn me last week?” I was holding my ground. For some reason I felt on equal footing with the demon.

  “Last week I was under the powerful one’s command. Not anymore.”

  I considered his words. He seemed sincere. “Okay. So, what’s the warning?”

  The creature looked around as if someone might overhear. He lowered his voice. “Do not let him have it. He will do anything to get his hands on it. The book will make the powerful one even more powerful.”

  “Book? I don’t know anything about a book,” I replied quickly. The demon was trying to get me to admit the existence of The Book of Calls. No way! No matter how helpful he was trying to sound, I knew better than to trust a demon with my secret.

  The creature looked at me,confused. A slow smile slithered across his thin red lips. “Ah, I see! You lie, too. You are not very good at it.” He chuckled.

  “EEE-BWAAAA!” A loud voice crackled in the air. I looked over my shoulder. Harrison was now standing in the garden near the back door. Beautiful, shiny black angel wings protruded from his back. His arms were extended as if he were preacher in the pulpit. “I command you…”

  Before he could get the words out, the Ibwa took off, bouncing behind a bush and over the wall. He was gone in no time.

  “I command ya to come back here!” Harrison cried, taking off after the demon. With one powerful flap of his wings, he bound over the wall and was out of sight in a matter of seconds.

  It was then I noticed Guy had entered the garden as well, a look of horror was on his face. He rushed to me and swept me into his arms.

  “Sweetheart, are you all right?”

  Sweetheart. Wow! Sweetheart was not a word you’d normally hear coming out of a high school boy’s mouth, even when he was talking to his girlfriend. It was the first time anyone other than my mother or grandmother had ever called me sweetheart. I literally swooned.

  I’m going to need to be rescued from demons more often, I thought.

  I looked into Guy’s eyes. The expression on his face was so pained, it caught me off guard.

  “I’m all right,” I said, stroking the back of his neck.

  “We were almost too late,” his voice was trembling. “Another few minutes and the demon would have killed you.” He rested a weary head on my shoulder.

  “He wasn’t here to hurt me.”

  Guy drew back and stared at me. “How would you know that?”

  “He told me. Besides, if he wanted to hurt me, he had plenty of time to do it before you got here.”

  “He is lying,” he muttered. “Megan, he is a demon. You can never trust a demon.”

  “I noticed you and the demon were talkin’ when we I came up.” Harrison had scrambled back over the wall, and was now walking toward us. The wings were gone. He was once again plain old Harrison, with his hazel eyes, chiseled features, blond ponytail and red jeans—if you call that plain. “What did the filthy beast say ta ya?”

  I hadn’t yet told Guy about The Book of Calls. I didn’t care if Harrison was an angel. There was n
o way I was going to share its existence with him.

  “He was begging me to put my crucifix away. I had just put it in my pocket when you showed up.”

  A relief filled smile lit up Guy’s face. “You are the most resourceful person. You know that?”

  His smile made me smile. I was glad to see he was no longer worried about me—although I have to admit, the worry was charming.

  Meanwhile, Harrison seemed befuddled. “Beggin’ yer pardon, Megan, but demons don’t usually engage in conversation. How did he approach ya?”

  “He didn’t. I approached him.”

  “What?” squawked Guy, the concern returning to his face.

  “Let me finish. I saw someone or something moving in the garden shadows outside the kitchen window, so I came outside. He was hiding. But when I commanded him to come out, he did.”

  “You commanded the demon to come out and he obeyed?” Guy seemed incredulous.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “A mortal cannot command a demon!” Harrison barked. He turned his angry eyes on Guy. “You need to tell yer gal to stop with the lying and turn it over to us.”

  I shot Guy a questioning look.

  “He think’s you have The Book of Calls.”

  I could feel the color draining from my face. “The what book?”

  “She doesn’t have it!” Guy snapped at him.

  Harrison faced me, his beautiful features marred by anger. “You are lucky to be alive.” He practically spat the words at me. He turned to Guy. “And you are blinded by love, mate.”

  With those words Harrison stormed across the garden, and hopped back over the wall, this time without the use of wings.

  “What’s with him?”

  “He’s a tracker. I think he’s embarrassed you dealt with a demon so easily.”

  “Some tracker,” I muttered.

  “But he’s right,” Guy continued. “A mortal cannot command a demon.”

  “I did.”

  “At least that’s what the demon wanted you to believe. For some reason he was trying to win you over.”

  “Perhaps.” Waves of guilt rippled my stomach. I needed to tell Guy that I had The Book of Calls. But I couldn’t tell him now, two minutes after I told him I didn’t have it.

  “I don’t think the demon was playing a trick,” I said, mashing the guilt down deep into my gut.“He was hiding when I came out. And I could tell he didn’t want to reveal himself until I commanded him to.”

  Guy looked into my eyes, his expression unreadable. When he next spoke, his voice was coming from far away. “Megan, you need to be careful when I’m not around. You may not realize it, but you are in danger.”

  He continued staring at me, and I recognized the look in his eyes. It was the look of love. I knew Guy loved me, but I hadn’t seen that special look in his eyes before. It made me go all gooey inside.

  “Megan, are you out there?” Suze’s voice rang out from the kitchen.

  I saw Guy move. At least I think I did. There was a wooshingsound, like a mini-tornado had sprung up in the garden. And he was gone, just as Suze poked her head outside.

  “Did I hear you talking to someone out here?”

  “No. Just thinking out loud.”

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  Not a chance.

  #

  Guy texted me three times that night. He was checking up on me, making sure I was safe. All this attention from him left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling, as if I was the belle of the ball. Girls like Ashley Scott had boys crawling all over them all the time. I didn’t. Guy was my first real boyfriend. My first love. Guy was the first and only boy to give me a feeling of security whenever he was around. I trusted my well-being, my life, and my heart to him.

  Yet as exhilarated as it felt having a boyfriend who was concerned for me, the feeling was covered in a patina of dread. Guy had good reason to worry. I had both demons and Satanists beating a path to my door because they wanted The Book of Calls. I couldn’t expect Guy to jump out of the bushes every time a potential threat came along. I needed to replenish my supply of holy water. After that, I needed to figure out what to do with the book.

  #

  After a few days of constantly looking over my shoulder and jumping at every sound, I began to relax. I’d purchased the holy water, and had picked up a twelve-inch blessed crucifix. I started wearing my tennis shoes every day in case I needed to make a quick getaway. I also knew that Guy could sense when I was in danger. I was as prepared as I could be.

  #

  What a pleasant surprise,”said Mrs. Chambers when she saw me standing outside her door. She was smiling. “Please, come in.” There were dark circles under her eyes. A furrow I hadn’t seen before creased her brow. She had aged during the two months I hadn’t been around.

  “Is Erin upstairs?” I asked.

  Erin’s mother looked up the stairs. “No,” she said softly. “Want me to pop some popcorn? I’m sure she’ll be home from school any minute now.”

  “Umm, sure.”

  We moved into the kitchen. The Chambers’ kitchen was bright and airy. It was much larger than ours, with modern fixtures, and an island at the center.

  “I haven’t seen you in quite a while,” she said as she removed the cellophane wrap from the popcorn pouch. She placed the pouch in the microwave, shut the door and stared at the timer pad. “I’m never sure how long with popcorn.”

  “I usually set it for three minutes, and if it stops popping before then, I take it out.”

  She shot me a grateful smile. “Good thinking.” She punched three minutes into the pad and moved away. “So, what have you been up to?”

  “Same old. School. AP tests are coming up pretty soon.”

  The sound of the popcorn sizzling in its oil drifted from the microwave. Mrs. Chambers removed a big bowl from the overhead cupboard. She set the bowl on the counter and looked at me, the cheer in her face falling away. “What happened between you two?”

  I let out a slow sigh and shrugged. A knot formed in my stomach.

  “You were so close. Best friends. Your relationship went south when she got closer to Matt, didn’t it?”

  Her eyes dug into me. “We’re still friends,” I said. “We’ve just been busy is all. That’s why I stopped by.” I put on a fake smile. I could hear the popcorn popping furiously in the microwave. That’s exactly how my stomach felt.

  “I hope so,” she said forlornly. “I can’t seem to get through to her anymore.” She looked at me again. “This is an odd time of year for her to changeschools. But she insisted on it. She said if we didn’t move her, she would drop out.”

  “So, umm, when do you think she’ll be home?” I needed to get her off the subject of Erin and me.

  “Soon, I guess.” She looked at the microwave. “Almost ready,” she sang, putting up a brave front.

  I was beginning to regret my decision to stop by—not because I didn’t want to fix things with Erin. I did. But I could tell Mrs. Chambers was hurting. The change in Erin was scaring her, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

  “I asked her older brother, Bill, to talk to her. Looking back,I don’t think it was such a good idea. She got mad at me.” Mrs. Chambers sighed. It was as if a light had gone out. “Her brother told me she’s been hanging out at a social club.” She shot me a raised eyebrow. “It’s not a social club. It’s a bar. The Rattlesnake Lounge.”

  I’d heard of the place. It was a local hangout for cowboys and roughnecks. It’s probably where she met Danny Tambor. Mrs. Chambers took the popcorn from the microwave.

  “All done.”

  “Maybe I should go. Tell Erin I stopped by and to call me.”

  “Don’t go,” she said. Her voice was low, her eyes imploring. “Please stay.”

  It was the last place I wanted to be. “Okay,” I said.

  She poured the popcorn into the bowl. We went into the living room and talked about the old days for almost two hours. Erin did not come home.
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  #

  Friday after school, Maudrina and I decided to go the game against Coronado together. Maudrina knew even less about basketball than I did. At least I’d had Matt to explain it to me. She had me, God help her. However, Maudrina wasn’t going to the game because she had developed an interest in basketball. Curtis was going to be at the game.

  The exodus across campus to the gymnasium was massive. Even though we had a losing team, our home games were always well-attended. That’s because the Poplarati went to every home game. Most of the jocks were members of the Poplarati, and they always supported their own kind. This support rubbed off on the rest of the student body. Wherever the Poplarati was, the rest of the school wanted to be.

  “Look, there’s Guy,” called Maudrina as we approached the gymnasium complex.

  He was standing atop the gymnasium steps, a dour look on his face. A beautiful girl stood by his side. She was our age, with blond hair, bleached by the sun, and a California tan. She was staring at me, contempt looming just beneath the surface of her eyes.

  As soon as I saw her, my legs got weak.

  “Is that Guy’s sister?” asked Maudrina.“She’s beautiful.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before.”At first sight, I knew the girl was an angel. She had a sexy, yet athletic build. No way was this Guy’s sister. My stomach started doing flip-flops.

  Are demons coming for me at the game?

  The question fired through my consciousness. I believed the girl to be a tracker, like Harrison. Guy knew I didn’t like Harrison and had replaced him with the girl. From the look in her eyes, she didn’t want the job.

  “Hi there,” Guy said as we reached the top of the stairs. His smile seemed forced. “Megan, I want you to meet my, umm, friend, Rocky.”