Beautiful Beings

by Kailin Gow

  “All he did was kiss me,” I went on, eager to make him realize the unnatural state of attraction. “Nothing happened between us, and aside from the physical attraction, I really know little about Moore, too little to really feel anything serious, making this seeming obsession with him all the more confusing.”

  I reached out to take his hand and he eagerly gripped it. “I’m happy to see it’s not something I did. I thought you were angry with me, but Moore… that is strange the effect he has on you. I don’t really know what to tell you.”

  “Has Shayne ever kissed you?”

  A blush instantly colored his cheeks. “Once, but it wasn’t even on the lips. She came in close, and I turned my cheek to her.”

  “How did you feel after?”

  He pressed his lips into a disenchanted pout. “Nothing different. I guess for all her beauty she just doesn’t do it for me… not like you. When I first kissed you, you can’t even begin to imagine how I felt. I mean, wow. That was a kiss. A kiss from the girl I belonged with, as though our souls were linked together.” He shook his head. “Lux, I don’t know how to explain it, and I’ve kissed enough girls in my past to know when something is casual and when something is meant to be…like us.”

  I smiled, charmed by his adorable ways.

  His fingers tightened on my arms and he pulled me to him. “I don’t want to lose you, Lux, not to Asher and, even worse, Moore. I feel like I’ve been looking for you all my life, and now that I’ve found you…” He shook his head, his eyes filled with the pain of possibly losing me. “How can I have searched for you for so long only to lose you shortly after finding you?”

  “And Shayne’s kiss had no effect on you whatsoever?” I said softly.

  “None whatsoever. Being kissed by her was like being kissed by an icy stone.” He pushed his fingers through my hair. A chuckle rumbled through him, amused and slightly mocking. “She’s tried to hit on me so many times since I’ve been here, always coming on like some sexual goddess. She thought she’d be able to entice me with her sexual prowess, offering me sensual pleasures and tantalizing moments with her, but it never worked. The whole of who she is never appealed to me. Something about her just doesn’t attract me at all, something she didn’t really take very well. As you can imagine, a beauty like her isn’t used to rejection.”

  “I imagine you’re probably the first to ever turn her down. You and Asher…”

  “I guess I’m the first to really have a good reason to do so… I had someone else in my destiny, someone else to fulfill me.” He pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “It’s you I want, Lux. It’s always been you. My future is so clear when I see you beside me. I want the real deal, and I know the affection I have for you runs far deeper than just a sexual attraction.”

  His fingers dug into my scalp as he pulled me closer, enveloping me in a kiss that quickly consumed my thoughts. The warmth of his mouth pressed me to respond, and my body instantly wanted more of him. He was right. I was his destiny, and he was mine, from the very first moment we happened to glimpse one another.

  My head filled with the hopes of a life with him, of my growing love for him, but just as quickly, Moore’s face, his malignant eyes intently boring through me, his lips curled in a seductive grin that bordered on sadistic.

  The seductive grin was heated with urgent passion as he pressed them over mine, shoving away the sweet adoration of the boy who loved me and replacing it with an almost oppressive degree of desire. My heart pounded, my hands were soon damp with sweat and my body arched in for more of his blistering kiss, until I realized what was truly happening.

  I pulled away and faced the confusion and turmoil that was in Braxton’s eyes.

  “Moore?” he said through the aroused groan that’d claimed his voice.

  Stunned by my reaction to Moore’s transcendent kiss, I stared at Braxton, barely able to nod.

  “I don’t get it. I don’t know what he did to you, but, damn it, I’m going to do all I can to find out.” He fingered my cheek, his eyes softened with concern. “You’re already pale, and just from a brief kiss. Something’s going on. I’m not going to let you slip into another three day coma just because of some…” He shook his head and I could see his reluctance to spit the words out. “Some curse, or spell or whatever he did.”

  “I need you, Braxton,” I whispered, my voice a meek shadow of who I was.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you, Lux.” He held me tightly, his fingers digging into the flesh of my shoulders. “I won’t let Moore hurt you.”

  “Brax, I have to tell you something, something that…” The air around us was suddenly dry and my voice cracked and croaked in my throat.

  “What?”

  “I’m not who you think I am. I’m…”

  The heated dry air suddenly darkened as a shadow rushed toward me, pushing me out of Braxton’s grip and shoving me up to the wall.

  Bewildered, Braxton stared at his empty fingers a moment before looking to me, his lips parted yet unable to speak. He shook the disbelief out of his gaze and finally found his voice. “What’s going on?” he asked cautiously. “Why are you up against the wall?”

  I struggled against the black demon that pinned me to the wall. His attack had been swift and unexpected. For the first time in my life I’d completely let my guard down and had left myself open for a lost battle.

  “I’ve got you now, Light Girl,” the shadow gurgled. “Who’s going to help you now?”

  “Lux,” Braxton called. His fist clenched in frustration, but he remained immobile.

  Struggling to breathe, to remain upright, and to remain conscious, I ran my fingers along my neck looking for the chain that held my crucifix. “I don’t need anyone’s help. I’ll ensure you let me go.”

  “Lux, who are you talking to?”

  “Really? Pinned to the wall the way you are, you hardly seem in a position to be so confident. Can it be that the demon fighter has finally stumbled, fumbled and is facing her demise?”

  His fingers tightened around my throat, rendering the bright afternoon sun a dark spot in the ever blackening sky. My vision tunneled, and a spell of dizziness was taking over. I had to overcome him and fast.

  “By the powers that…”

  My voice was stifled by the grimy cold hand that pressed my lips heavily against my teeth. The fingers at my throat closed, cutting off the scant amount of air that had helped keep me from fainting. The words I so needed to vocalize remained crippled while my fingers fought to find my crucifix beneath the unyielding fingers choking the life out of me.

  The world faded away and my legs lost the ability to keep me standing. I was losing, and there was nothing I could do. With my fingers lax around on the demon’s hand, I felt the last ounce of my consciousness ebb away.

  As I began to slip to the ground, the demon released me. Gasping for breath, my fingers soothing the tender skin of my neck, I watched with astonishment as the demon was tackled to the wall.

  The brawl was loud, violent as the demon was thrown around like a rag, barely able to fight back from the force that had suddenly attacked it.

  Braxton.

  I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Braxton shouldn’t be able to see the demon, much less fight him. Yet there he was, fighting like a seasoned warrior, a human warrior. Each blow sent the demon falling back, but, as demon’s were apt to do, it constantly came back for more.

  “How do I destroy it?” Brax called out. “How do I end this?”

  My strength, though greatly diminished, had returned enough to allow me to grab my crucifix and get to my shaky legs. I rushed to Braxton, pressed the cross to the demon’s brow and called, “By the powers of God, I cast you away, Demon!”

  As we both panted, our breathing difficult from battle and the acrid air that had suddenly invaded us, we watched the demon crumble to ashes and smoke.

  “What was that?” I said softly, still unable to believe what I’d just witnessed.

  He stoo
d quietly, staring at the spot the demon had last occupied.

  “You saw it, right? Since when can you see them?”

  “Right after you arrived here. First I saw angels, then…” He nodded at the pile of dust on the ground. “What about you?”

  “Funny,” I said with an amused grin. “This is exactly what I was going to tell you before we were so rudely interrupted. I’m a demon hunter and have been since I was twelve.

  His eyes widened and he smirked. “That certainly explains a lot of things.”

  “Really? Like what?”

  “Your lousy school record. I mean, I’ve never met anyone who’s been expelled so often.” He laughed and reached out to take my hand, his fingers lovingly playing around my wrist. “Your reluctance to make any kind of bond with anyone, to make friends, and the tough façade you’ve created.”

  “Yeah, and that I’m a freak.”

  A light chuckle escaped him. “You're the furthest thing from a freak. I mean, I admit I thought I was going a little nuts for a while, seeing the weird things I was seeing, feeling a bunch of things that didn’t make sense, but now, now everything that had been upside down is right side up again. It all makes perfect sense. That quick glimpse of you that first day as you drove by, the strong feelings I had for you even though I barely knew you… this was all meant to be.”

  “But you didn’t get a guardian angel to help you along?” I asked. “Don’t get me wrong, you fought valiantly, admirably, but you obviously lack a few basic skills in order to win against these demons.”

  “I didn’t know I was supposed to have a guardian angel. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do.”

  I pulled away from him and paced before the empty fountain in the center of the courtyard. “I don’t get it. You should’ve had some kind of guidance.” I turned back to him. “The only other person I know here who is like you is me. I’ve had more than one guardian over the years, each with messages about the gifts I had.”

  Returning to the comfort of pacing, I turned away only to have his hand warm my shoulder bringing me back to him. “Maybe you're my guardian angel, Lux. Maybe you're the one who’s meant to show me what I should be doing with these demons.”

  I smiled as Lothario’s words came back to me. I was to find others like myself. The task hadn’t been as easy as he’d let on, but perhaps now I would truly find people like me, people who could help me.

  “I think you might be right,” I said. And I will teach you, I thought.

  Chapter 15

  Virtually every free hour of every day was spent with Braxton. With the exception of having Asher show up at my house a few times for dinner and to hang out with my parents and me, I tried spending whatever time I had, training Brax on how to exorcise and slay demons. Our mutual vision of demons and angels, the fight he helped me with, and discovering, more than ever before, just how completely we were meant to be together, brought us closer and closer. Whenever I was with Brax, I felt as though he was my love, yet whenever I was with Asher, I felt as though he could possibly the boy in my dream, too. Never having even one boyfriend in my life before because I didn’t stay anywhere long enough, now I was facing the intense feelings of two gorgeous guys of which fate has brought us together.

  As I got out of Braxton’s Escalade, I hardly took notice of his imposing home. It had become second nature; getting into his car the moment school let out, enjoying the peaceful and lovely drive to his front gate, entering the grand manor and feeling as cozy and at home as if I’d lived there all my life.

  “Did I tell you the results of that flash quiz we had in math yesterday?” I asked him as we passed through the breakfast nook, each grabbing an apple from the tempting fruit basket and heading outside. I was so proud of the great work we’d been doing these past weeks. “I only made two mistakes… and they were silly mistakes. I knew better, but allowed myself a moment of distraction.”

  He set his books down on the coffee table of the outdoor living space at the back of the manor. “I’m not at all surprised. Every time I sit to study with you, you understand and pick up everything the very first time.” He pulled me into his arms and stared into my eyes.

  The pride, joy and love I saw shining in his eyes made me want to melt into him, cling to him. “I’d be a mess if it weren’t for you,” I whispered.

  “Yes,” he conceded. “And what a lovely mess you’d make.” He chuckled softly, letting the depth of his passion travel from deep within and ride on the throaty sound of his laughter.

  I wanted to kiss him, as I so often found myself longing to do, but we’d carefully avoided any prolonged or overly passionate embraces in the hopes of curbing Moore’s control over my emotions.

  Sensing my desires, Braxton came in close and laid a chaste kiss on my lips. Far from extinguishing my desire for him, his quick kiss heightened my longing to touch him and get closer still.

  “What do we have on our agenda tonight?” he asked, the gruff passion still clinging to his voice.

  “The joys of English.” I pulled out the novel I’d been assigned to read weeks earlier, but had yet to crack open. “You know, it’s not so much that I hate to read, but why do they have to make us read such dull, metaphor filled novels.”

  “I take it all that fighting demons over the years hasn’t left you with much time to appreciate the classics.”

  “No offense to Dickens, Hemingway or Steinbeck, but I’ll take the opportunity to kick some demon butt over reading any time.”

  He cocked a brow. “Hmmm, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d be able to name one author, never mind three.”

  “Funny.” I gave his knee a playful, but resounding slap. “Now show me just how smart you are by helping me through this.”

  Having already gone through several chapters, Braxton poured us some iced-tea, settled on the outdoor couch and proceeded to give me a play by play of the book so far.

  “You’re really a great raconteur,” I said. “Your voice lends itself well to such storytelling.”

  “I think you might be a bit bias.”

  A silly grin crept to my lips. Of course I was bias. I could easily confess to loving everything about him and thinking him utterly infallible. Feeling the love I had for him swell inside me, I reached for his hand and gently ran my fingers up his strong arm.

  “I have to admit, learning of your capacity to see…” I paused, not yet willing to say the vile words that best described what we both saw. “… beings, let’s say, has brought me all that much closer to you. There’s something liberating in knowing you know what I’m going through.”

  “Have you ever tried sharing your experience with others?”

  “The few times I did it was a disaster. School mates thought I was nuts, teachers just looked at me funny and the principal thought I had a drug problem. The only place I could truly open up and speak out about all I was going through was at home.”

  “Your parents are remarkable.”

  “Tell me about it. I think I truly would have gone nuts had they not been so understanding. They’ve literally bent over backwards in order to make my life as normal as it could be under the circumstances… and that’s no easy feat.”

  “How long did it take for you to stop being spooked by the whole thing?”

  “The first angels I saw didn’t really spook me at all. I mean, even if I was young, I knew I was facing something good and I didn’t really allow their intimidating size to… well, to intimidate me. But the first demons I saw… that was a whole other story. You know, you grow up fearful of monsters, of unimaginably ugly creatures, but nothing on this earth can prepare you for that first encounter with a demon. Beyond the visual ugliness of these beings, it’s their vile nature, the depth of evilness that is what they innately are that is so repulsive and so frightening.”

  “I can’t imagine being a little kid and having to face one. I mean, I hate to admit it, but I wasn’t feeling too brave when I finally came to see that demon who attac
ked you the other day. Not only did I have to deal with the disbelief, but then the thought of approaching that thing… Man, had it not been you in its clutches, I don’t think I would have done anything but run in the opposite direction.”

  “Don’t underestimate yourself. When faced with such evil, it’s surprising what we can do. I remember the first time I saw one. Before I even saw it, I could sense it. The air chilled and a putrid scent wafted around me, something indescribable; something I’d never smelled before. My skin still crawls when I think of it, but when I have to face such demons now, I’m filled with a degree of rage that leaves little room for fear of any kind.”

  I caught the flash of surprise in his eyes.

  “Their only purpose on this earth is to destroy all that is good and cultivate all that is evil. That’s all I have to keep in mind when I face them.”

  “It’s amazing you’ve not become more jaded with all these encounters with demons. I admire you; your guts and courage.”

  “Thanks. I actually surprise myself sometimes. Just when I think I’ve seen enough, fought enough, I find a whole new wealth of strength and bravery.”

  Brax pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing me on the top of my head. “Knowing that you’re a demon hunter makes me love you even more, Lux. It’s so dangerous, yet you put yourself in the middle of danger to protect everyone else. I’m so proud of you. You know that, right?”

  I nodded. I wouldn’t think anything less than acceptance from Brax. He was that good of a person that it was not surprising to hear he cared more for me for being me, freak and all. “Brax, I’m not the only one, though, who fights demons.”

  “What?” Brax asked suddenly surprised. “There are more of us?”

  “Yes…I’m not so sure he’s like us, though, because I think he’s supposed to be more like Lothario.”

  “Who?” Brax asked. “Does he go to St. James? Is he someone I know?”

  I swallowed. “Asher.”

  Brax’s eyes widened. “Asher, Thrasher, Dasher…the bad boy on the bike. Him?”