Beautiful Beings

by Kailin Gow

  Panicked, I kissed Braxton more ardently, willing the image of Moore to disappear, but it intensified, crushing Braxton’s sweet kiss into oblivion.

  “What’s the matter?” Braxton said. His eyes filled with concern, he put his palm to my forehead. “You're burning up all of a sudden.”

  “Am I?” With the sudden wave of intense heat came inexplicable fatigue.

  He grinned. “I’d like to think I’d had that effect on you, but I really think something could be wrong. You're red and flushed.”

  My lids were suddenly impossible to hold up.

  “Lux.” Alarm filled his voice. “Lux, stay with me.”

  “Braxton,” I murmured, grasping at the thin line of consciousness.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know. I wanted to kiss you, but Moore was suddenly there, his kiss…”

  “Moore?”

  Despite my closed eyes, I could detect his grimace.

  “Is something going on between you and Moore? Did you kiss him?”

  “No,” I said, my lips blubbering my feeble defense. “He kissed me. I didn’t start anything.”

  “Lux.”

  “He’s the one who kissed me,” I repeated as the world faded away. “I don’t feel good.”

  And then I felt nothing.

  Chapter 12

  I slowly came to, the pounding in my head matching the sound of the song we’d danced to. The sound of the music, the voices of everyone around me, the clatter of glasses, the buzz of chuckles and laughter… the party I was missing. Brax was there waiting for me and I was ruining his night, his big formal night. He had dressed so dapper, looked so handsome and had been the perfect gentleman and I was letting him down.

  I tried to peel my eyes open, forcing them to bring me back to the light of consciousness. Dry, just like my tongue that clung painfully to the roof of my mouth, my eyes refused to cooperate and the lure of sleep battled with my desire to get back to the party.

  When my lids finally parted, it wasn’t the darkness of the night that met me, nor Braxton’s concerned smile.

  Sitting up, I found myself in my bed, in my room. The drapes were pulled tightly shut, almost succeeding in blocking out the intense sunshine of the brilliant day outside.

  “Mom?” My voice, weak and dry, barely made it off the bed. “Mom.” Hardly better, I looked around and saw the tall glass of water on my bedside table, but before I could reach for it, Mom was at the door.

  “You called, sweetie?”

  Through my grogginess, I smiled, amazed at my mother’s innate ability to always hear me when I truly needed her. “I feel awful, Mom.”

  She sat beside me, her hand instantly coming to test my forehead. “You’ve certainly had us worried these past days.”

  “Days?”

  “When Braxton brought you home Thursday night, he thought perhaps you’d been slipped some spiked punch. We wanted to just let you sleep it off, but when you didn’t wake up the next day, we called the doctor.” She reached for my hand and held it gently in hers.

  “How many days, Mom? What day are we?”

  “It’s Sunday, honey.”

  “Sunday. I’ve missed two whole days.”

  “Lux, the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with you. He thought you might simply be exhausted.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. How could I have slept through two whole days? “I’m not exhausted, Mom.”

  “You said you’d have a lot of work here. Maybe this is all proving to be too much for you.”

  “No.” Again I shook my head. “Things have been relatively quiet lately. Everything is going smoothly at school. And Brax…”

  “Oh, honey, before I forget, he’s been calling every other hour asking about you. He feels awful about what happened and is anxious to hear you’re doing well.”

  “Really?” I was pleased to hear of his concern for me. “I’ll call him. Maybe he can tell me more about what happened Thursday night.”

  Mom patted my knee and rose as I reached for my phone. “Let me know if you need anything. Lunch, breakfast, juice?”

  “A bowl of soup would be nice.”

  She smiled. “Coming right up.”

  I leaned back and slowly punched Braxton’s number in. My lethargy refused to leave me making each movement difficult.

  “Braxton?” I said on hearing his soothing voice.

  “Lux?”

  I could hear the excitement and relief in his voice.

  “Lux, I just have a little thing to take care of and I’ll be right over to see you. I’ve been going crazy with worry.”

  “I’m fine, Brax.”

  “I’ll be right over.” He hesitated a moment. “Hmm, that is, if it’s okay with you.”

  I chuckled softly, loving his concern and his unending caring. “As it so happens, that’s exactly why I was calling you, Brax. I’d like to see you, too.”

  When Mom brought up my soup I settled at my desk by the front window. At first I opened the drapes just a slip, letting my eyes and my head adjust to the brightness. By the time I’d finished my soup, I’d pulled the drapes completely open, reveling in the warmth of the sun and eager to see Brax drive up to the house.

  Then I realized I was barely dressed, wearing only the boxer shorts and tank top I’d slept in for the past two days. I rushed, if one could call my struggled shuffle rushing, to my closet and reached for something more suitable – a comfy pair of jeans and a warm sweater.

  “Hey.”

  Clasping my bundle of jeans and sweater to my chest, I turned to face Braxton.

  “Braxton, I thought you said you had…”

  “Never mind that. I had to rush over here as quickly as I could.”

  In seconds I found myself in his arms, my bundled clothes forgotten and left to pile on the floor. He hugged me tight, his tender kisses sweeping across my temple and coming to hush in my ear as he whispered his happiness at seeing me again.

  “I’m really sorry about ruining your night,” I said as I gently pulled away. Suddenly dizzy I felt the need to sit down. “How awful it must have been for you.”

  He led me to the armchair by the window and knelt before me.

  “You’d been waiting for that evening for so long… only to have to cut it short because of me.”

  “You’re overestimating the importance of the formal. The only thing important about that evening was being with you… and whether that was holding you in my arms as we danced or escorting you home when you didn’t feel well, that’s where I wanted to be.”

  He held my hand in his and brought each fingertip to his lips. “What happened that night? One minute you were kissing me like you never wanted to stop, and the next you were completely out.”

  “That’s what I was going to ask you. What happened?”

  He paused a long moment, a wave of pain sweeping across his eyes for a second before he brought a concerned smile to wipe it away. “You went limp… all of a sudden… for no apparent reason. I thought you would come to after a moment or two, but when you didn’t I knew I had to bring you home. I thought maybe you’d been slipped something… a drug, or something in your drink.”

  “I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before; to be so totally knocked out. I think it was something bigger than just a drug.”

  “What do you think could have caused you to go out so quickly? You must have some idea.”

  I turned to look out the window and watched the birds fluttering around, skittering from one tree branch to another. Suddenly envious, I wanted a moment of knowing what it could be to have a life so easy and carefree; to not have to worry what people might think… to wonder what a boy would say if he learned I was a demon fighter.

  Braxton’s squeeze of my hand brought my gaze back to him. I looked him straight in the eye, gauging his ability to understand what was truly going on in my life.

  “Even if I told you, you’d never believe me,” I finally said.

 
“I’m a lot more open-minded then I might let on.” He smiled that gentle and understanding smile that I’ve gotten to love. “I’ve seen a lot more in my life than you might imagine. I lost my parents not so long ago, and for what reason, but a freak accident, and I’ve seen quite a bit of strange things before then. It takes quite a bit to leave me shocked or in disbelief.”

  “I’m sorry Brax, you never told me about your parents. What happened?” I reached out my hand to touch his shoulder.

  Brax cleared his throat. “They disappeared, just vanished. Couldn’t even find a trace of them, after months of searching…”

  I lifted my eyebrow and squeezed his hand.

  “Finally they gave up, and I was told to move on. That’s when my uncle appeared and moved me here.”

  “That’s very harsh. I’m sorry. I’ve always had my parents with me, and I can’t imagine losing any of them.” I leaned in to kiss his cheek.

  Brax went on. “You know the most bizarre thing is…it didn’t surprise me as much as it should.”

  My eyes widened, as I asked, “Why?”

  “Because Lux, my parents had always been involved in similar incidents like theirs – they were investigators, paranormal ones.”

  “Oh,” I said.

  “Trust me, Lux. Just give it a try and trust me. Growing up with parents like mine could make anyone believe there was something beyond what everyone sees every day.” He rose to his knees and pulled me closer. His fingers raked through my sleep-tousled hair and he pulled me closer still, bringing our lips just a whisper away. “I’m here for you.”

  His lips covered mine, bringing with them sensuality wrapped up in such love and security. In my heart I knew I could trust him, knew he’d always be strong for me. I wanted to open up to him, to let him in on my secret. I was so tired of keeping it to myself.

  My lips parted, welcoming him, hungering for more of his touch. He kissed me more passionately and my head reeled, at first from the monumental sense of pleasure he brought me, but it was quickly dashed by a vision of Moore.

  I concentrated and pushed the vision from my mind, but it was persistent, insistent in its quest to ruin this precious moment with Brax.

  “No,” I finally said, panting from the disturbance. “I can’t.”

  His eyes wide with surprise and dismay, Brax sat back on his heels. “What’s going on?”

  I struggled to my feet and walked away from his questioning gaze.

  “Lux,” he called after me, his voice soft and confused. He got to his feet.

  Though I stared out the window, I could see him, standing there in the pain of my rejection.

  “I don’t want to push myself on you, Lux. I thought you felt something for me, but every time I get close to you, you back away.”

  “It’s not you, Brax. I like you, really I do.”

  “Then, what?”

  “It’s Moore.”

  “Again? Damn it, Lux. What’s really going on between you two?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You obviously have feelings for him if you push me away every time I kiss you because he’s the one you’re thinking of.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Do you like him?”

  I leaned into the window, letting the cool glass soothe my heated brow. “I don’t know,” I whispered. “I don’t know what I feel.”

  The sound of his breath, labored and pained, reached my ears and broke my heart.

  “You’re attracted to him.”

  “He has an unearthly beauty, just like Shayne.”

  “And that’s what you're drawn to?

  I glimpsed his reflection in the window, the tensing of his jaw, the quick lick of his lips and the unmistakable anger that reached his fingertips as he pulled them fiercely through his hair.

  Just when I thought he would walk up to me, shake Moore out of my head, he turned and stepped away. Feeling the floor drop out from under me, I turned to him.

  As he reached the door, he glanced at me. “You know, I really do like you, Lux. I even think I may feel a lot more for you than that…I’m not even sure I know what it is about you, but from the first moment I saw you…” He stopped, and looked away, swallowed then continued. “If your heart is with someone else, I’m not going to press you to feel something for me. I won’t put you through that.”

  “Braxton, don’t go.”

  His hand on the doorknob, he stared at the floor.

  “I don’t know what I feel for Moore. He has a hold on me, drawing me in and pulling me into our own exclusive and private universe. But nothing has really happened between us, so I don’t understand this pull he has on me. Give me a chance to get this all cleared in my head.”

  Turning away in exasperation, I called out. “Where is Lothario when I need him?”

  “Lothario? Who is that?”

  “My guardian.” The moment I’d spoken, I closed my eyes and tilted my head back as I realized I’d actually said it aloud.

  “What do you mean? Like your parents? Like my uncle?”

  “Oh, you know. Everyone has a guardian angel.” I turned to him and smiled playfully. “I call mine Lothario.”

  “This isn’t something to joke about, Lux.” Suddenly serious, he left the door and came to me. “Angels aren’t a laughing matter. An angel named Lothario… magnificent with wings that reach from his shoulders to his toes.”

  Frowning with uncertainty, I stared at him. “What... What are you saying?”

  He walked around me and stood before Grandmother’s steamer trunk. “I saw one once.”

  “Saw what?” I dared asked.

  “I was little, maybe three or four. I didn’t really understand what I was seeing; I just remember being mesmerized by it. Then I didn’t see anything for years. Actually I didn’t see anything like that until I saw you. Right away, I saw the glow that emanated from you. And it really has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I mean, I sensed it before I even spoke to you.”

  He turned away and pressed his fingers to his brow before turning to me again. “When I went inside the house, that first day after I saw you pass by, he was there.”

  My heart pounded in my ears as I waited for him to go on.

  “An angel, not the delicate little flying things so many people imagine, but this huge, gladiator-like warrior, easily reaching two feet above me… and his wings… I was completely awestruck.”

  “What did he say?” I sat on the edge of my bed, reached for my comforter and fingered the edge as I listened to him, riveted to his every word.

  “That I was to meet a girl, a girl who’d change my life.” He came and sat beside me, his strong shoulder leaning into mine as he looked sheepishly at me. “I think that girl might be you, or at least, I want it to be you.” He reached over to hold my hands in his. “I act like I have everything under control at school, and everyone thinks I’m this perfect guy, but inside, I’m going through a lot. All that changed when I saw you, met you. You don’t know how much you being here in my life means to me, Lux.”

  The desire to kiss him filled me. It felt so good being with him, so natural, yet the fear of the hold Moore had on me kept me from getting closer to Brax. Until I knew more about Moore, I couldn’t allow myself to become more involved with Brax. I had to find out who Moore was. What he was.

  Averting Braxton’s gaze, I leaned into him and prepared to beg him to be patient with me, but a loud crash from downstairs made us both start.

  Suddenly infused with adrenaline, I rushed to the door and hurried down the tight staircase, Braxton close at my heels. “Mom,” I called from the second floor. “Mom, are you okay?”

  My heart was about to pound its way up my throat as I raced down the steps to reach the living room.

  “Don’t get all panicked, honey,” Mom said, her voice in a controlled calm. She knelt before the television picking up the pieces of the teapot that had shattered on the hardwood floor. “I just stumbled over that new area rug you fathe
r insisted on laying here and dropped my tray.”

  While her explanation made sense, it was the familiar figure stooped beside her that didn’t.

  “Asher?” I said. “What are you doing here?”

  Holding a few shards of ceramic, he seemed just as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

  “I, um…” He set the shattered pieces on the coffee table and came to me. “I thought you needed help… needed me.”

  “What would make you think that?”

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around with uncertainty before meeting my gaze again. “You disappeared so suddenly from the formal and a few rumors were out that you were carried out.” His gaze shifted uncomfortably to Brax. “But I see that Braxton is here with you, so I guess…”

  “You really have nothing to be worried about. I’m fine.”

  Mom finished with her clean up. Her hands filled with the remnants of her favorite teapot, she turned to us. “Would you kids like a soda or something.”

  We all muttered our no thanks and she headed to the kitchen.

  Asher stepped closer. “Can I talk to you for a second… outside?”

  I looked at the remaining mess on the floor and back to Brax. “Do you mind helping my mom with the rest of this? I’ll be right back.”

  “Sure.” Brax didn’t look too please at seeing Asher, but he walked over and starting picking up the pieces from the floor.

  I led Asher out the front door, but the front porch didn’t satisfy him. He took my hand and guided me down to the sidewalk.

  “This isn’t just about me leaving the formal early, is it?”

  “No,” Asher said, his eyes wide with alarm. “It’s those dreams again. I saw a girl with a glowing light around her, the girl I believe to be you. She was calling me for help. A mist of dark clouds surrounded her, blocking out the light. I just had to come and see if you were all right.” He gripped my shoulders. “What happened to make you leave the formal?”

  I didn’t know how much I should tell him, about Moore and the kiss, about the way I’ve been feeling since. “I’ve been feeling faint lately… weak. It’s unlike me. I’m usually so strong. I never get sick and I’ve never had fainting spells before.”