by Azzurra Nox
“Well, did you guys find her?”
“No,” Michael intervened, “What the hell got into you?”
“Look, mister holy man, don’t give me a fucking lecture, okay? Dior’s just a spoiled brat. She’ll get over it. She’s probably at home by now reading fashion magazines in bed.”
“What happened?” Hope left her spot, eager to know.
“Ask Jon,” Lena glared at him.
Hope looked over at Jon, and he diverted his gaze before saying, “What? So I broke Dior’s prom queen tiara, big deal!”
“You did what?! How could you?”
“Hope, I don’t need you getting on my case as well. Look, I didn’t want to go to Prom in the first place, so why are you all surprised over how I reacted?”
“Because that’s no excuse to be cruel to someone,” Lena insisted, “Not to mention you were completely rude to Sydney, leaving her there. Connor had to come pick her up.”
A lash of jealousy bit at his insides when Lena told him that, thinking about how close Connor and Sydney were. He was probably consoling her right now, using his jerk behavior to his advantage and probably convincing her to never speak to him ever again.
“Why did Connor come? She’s got a driver, why didn’t she call him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she didn’t want anyone to know that her date stranded her at the dance after ruining the night for everyone!”
“What’s your beef, Lena? You never liked Dior, so don’t pretend you’ve got all this empathy going for her, because you don’t.”
“Stop trying to excuse an irrevocably heartless action by saying that Dior was annoying and deserved it. Nobody deserves to be humiliated like that.”
“Of course, I’ve forgotten that you’ve become one of them, my mistake, precious,” he said with an arrogant smirk, as he pulled out the last cigarette from his pack and lit it up. “We’re here for business, if you and Michael came here just to get on my case about what happened earlier, you can leave. Hope and I were doing rather fine on our own.”
Lena crossed her arms, eyes lowered in a dark look, “Fine, but we’re just sticking around because Hope said that it would be best for Michael to be here in case Adriel showed up. Other than that, I have no desire to be near you, Jon.”
“The feeling is completely mutual, pretty one,” he sneered, taking a long needed drag of the cigarette before exhaling a long cloud of smoke that swam into the fog to become one big cloud of white mist.
“Can you both stop fighting? We need to find a way to get into the school. The doors are locked.”
“That’s no problem,” Michael said as he walked up to the front entrance and maneuvered the knob in a way that popped the lock out.
“Well, that was easy,” Hope walked over to the door, and both Jon and Lena hurried over. The corridors were pitch black, and Hope pulled out a flashlight from the bag she had brought along with her. Everything looked slightly more sinister than it ever did during the day. The lockers loomed like black predators and any shadow evoked a sense of dread within him.
“I need to find the center of the school. The spell will work better there.”
“That would be the principal’s office,” Michael said. “I’ll unlock it for you, Hope. And keep watch in case something happens, while you cast the spells.”
She nodded, and the four of them headed down the long hall that lead up to the main office of the school. Father Bob’s office was within the main office. Jon’s eyes were slowly becoming adjusted to the pitch black and shaky light that Hope provided from the thin key chain flashlight. Jon knew that Father Bob’s office would be duly locked, but Michael interfered and soon the door was opened in a matter of seconds. They walked slowly, and cautiously inside. The full moon shone down from a Rose window on the ceiling of the room. It was a circular window with Gothic tracery decorating the pane. Hope placed the bag on the floor, and pulled out a couple of items. Using a white chalk she drew a circle on the ground, and in it drew a pentagram. She pulled out more items from the bag, and soon the room was lit up with five candles.
“What’s that for?”
“Protection for each of the five corners.”
Lena moved forward, and Hope stopped her. “Stay there, no one can enter the circle but me.”
“Okay.”
Hope placed the mirrors on the ground, and began chanting in Latin. She spoke so fast that he couldn’t make out the words. The only phrase he could make out was, “By the powers of three, ensure safety to my army.” He shook his head, not truly sure if he thought this was enough to keep them safe from Adriel. A large crucifix hung from the wall. In the midst of the shadows, the wax figurine of St. Lucy had a creepy aura. The plate where she held her eyes almost appeared to stare back at him with a glassy glare. He quickly looked away.
A sound came from above. Instantly he looked up at the Rose window and noticed that a dark figure loomed over the Gothic glass.
“She’s here!” he fretted.
“Quiet!” Michael silenced him, “Hope needs to concentrate. I’ve got everything under control.”
“What’s she doing up there? I don’t like her being up there,” Jon moved closer to the circle.
“Here, take this,” Hope handed both Lena and Jon a shard of mirror.
“What are we supposed to do with this?”
“Just keep it on you at all times,” Hope told Lena.
Jon placed his in his front pocket of the button down shirt. A strange light seeped from the corner and he saw that Michael was shirtless and his wings were in clear view. In his hand he held a glowing sword.
“What the hell is that?”
“My weapon. Centuries of art depicts it and yet you’re surprised it’s real?”
“Sorry, I don’t pay attention to religious artwork,” Jon shot back.
There was a thump on the window and a choked scream.
“What the hell is happening out there? Can’t you do anything?”
“She can’t come in,” Michael explained.
“Don’t go out!” Lena rushed to him, holding unto his arm. Jon looked away, hating the moments when the two of them were ever affectionate to one another.
“He’s got a sword that could impale Big Foot and you’re worried about him? Come on!” he scoffed, but then he was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass and before he knew it someone swan dived right into the center of the pentagram circle. Lena screamed, while he tried to make out who it was, but even before he had the chance to take a closer look, Hope was hovered over the body crying desperately.
“Gram Ginnie!”
The figure was of a petite elderly woman with white hair. Blood draped down her face like a red curtain of sorrow. Jon stepped into the circle, not caring if he was breaking any rules of the spell.
“Hope, who is she?”
“She’s my grandmother!” she sobbed, holding her tightly. “Gram Ginnie! Please! You can’t leave me!”
Adriel flew overhead, laughing hysterically.
“Did you really think you could stop me? Don’t worry, she didn’t suffer. A pint of antifreeze did the trick.”
“You poisoned her?!”
“I only gave her what she wanted. A way out of her precarious and miserable situation. Nobody wants to be homeless.”
Homeless? Jon was confused. How could she be? And did this mean that…Hope had lived on the streets all this time with her? Suddenly he began feeling very sorry for her and began to understand why she looked like she hardly ever washed her hair and why she had that gaunt, underfed expression surrounding her at all times. How could they all had been so blind to her reality?
“You didn’t tell your friends that, did you?” Adriel sneered. “Just like I bet Michael hasn’t told you the truth about him.”
Jon shot his gaze over to Michael. “What’s she talking about? What truth?”
“He hasn’t told you? Not even Lena?”
“Stop prancing around and tell us!” Jon shouted.
“I’m not leaving till you let them know your secret.”
“What’s she talking about?” Lena questioned with a shaky voice. Hope was too busy sobbing over her grandmother’s dead body to take notice of the commotion going on around her.
“What have you been hiding from us?” Jon rushed over to Michael in confrontation. “What’s your secret?”
Michael flapped his wings, rising up from the ground and flew upwards. His sword was aimed straight at Adriel. The two of them fought over the school roof. Jon couldn’t take being below all the action.
“I’m going to the roof!” Jon shouted and made a mad dash out of the room. But he forgot the flashlight in the principal’s office and soon was engulfed by darkness, safe for a few lights coming in from the streetlights outside.
“Wait!” Lena shouted after him, “Jon! Let me come too!”
His footsteps were slow, and in his mind’s eye tried to recall in what direction the stairway to the roof was. Lena grabbed hold of his hand, and he jumped from the unexpected touch.
“Don’t leave me alone, please,” she begged, “I hate the darkness.”
“Hold on to me, and don’t let go for any reason, deal?”
“Deal.”
He knew that the stairway wasn’t too far away from the main office, but trying to find a sense of direction in the pitch black was beginning to feel like an impossible feat.
Stumbling, he fell to the ground, bringing Lena down with him. They both landed with a soft thud.
“What happened?”
“I tripped over something. I’m sorry.”
Scrambling back on their feet, he felt the walls, and noticed that it was coming to an end, meaning that the staircase was up ahead of them. Sure enough, the handrail came in touch, and holding on tightly they made their way upstairs. He could hear certain amount of commotion coming from the roof. The sound of flapping wings and the strike of metal against stone was heard. Soon he came into contact with the metal door, and he pushed it open.
The street illumination made it so that he could see what was happening up in the night sky. It looked like there was a fight between the two angels. Adriel’s nails were elongated and sharp, whilst Michael’s sword gleamed with a yellow glow that brightened up the whole sky.
“Tell her what you are, Michael! Tell her, and see if she’ll still love you!” Adriel shouted enraged.
“What is it?” Jon yelled. “What must we know?”
Adriel noticed him below and a smirk formed on her face as she directed her response to him, “Didn’t you know? Michael is just like me. He’s a Death Angel too.”
“No, that’s impossible!” Lena exclaimed from where she stood. “You’re lying! You’re nothing but a liar! He’s not like you!”
“Sorry to break it to you, pretty girl. But it’s true. We just work for different bosses, so to speak,” and a high pitched laugh rose into the night.
“Silence!” Michael hollered, flying directly at her with the sword aimed for her chest, but she quickly flew away from his deadly weapon.
Without much notice, she was suddenly standing in front of Lena and told her, “Want to know who took your darling mother to the otherside? Your divine Michael.”
“What?! No, no, that can’t be true,” Lena had tears glistening at the corner of her eyes, that fell silently upon her pallid cheeks.
“Don’t listen to her!” Michael swooped down, landing on the rooftop next to Lena.
“I knew it! I knew we couldn’t trust you!” Jon charged him, but fell backwards as though an invisible shield wast cast around Michael. The fall knocked the air out of his chest, looking up at him with a confused expression.
“I only take people when it’s their time. Not before!”
“My mother was young, how could it be her time?”Lena cried uncontrollably.
“You don’t understand. I couldn’t stop the guy that was driving. He was exercising his free will. I couldn’t meddle with that. The only thing I could do was to take her with me before it was too late.”
Lena’s chest was rising and falling, shaking her head. Then a wild cry escaped her lips like that of a wounded animal. She tried to hit him, but was met with the same shield that Jon had found just a second ago, and her closed fists smacked loudly against the invisible vessel.
“How could you?! How could you take her away from me?!”
“Lena, there was nothing I could do! I can’t change fate! I can only save souls from falling into limbo!”
Adriel laughed loudly.
“You see what kind of a hero you’ve got? All that power and he couldn’t save your mother!”
“I couldn’t! That man made that choice and I couldn’t change that!” his plea sounded desperate and with a tinge of defeat. His emerald eyes held a sadness that Jon hadn’t seen there before. “You don’t understand what it’s like for me to be impotent in the face of free will. I can’t stop it. I can only bring the souls with me before they go to her!”
“I take people away from their misery. They beg me for death!” Adriel defended herself, rising upwards, wings flapping wildly.
Jon’s hair flew over his eyes, as he tried to look up. Michael flew up after her, as she tried to fly away. He brought his sword down just as she was flying out of reach, and a loud unearthly shrill filled the air. Something fell from the sky. Jon had to take a double look at what it was before he could fully allow himself to focus on the severed hand that was near his foot. A strange combination of blood and black liquid oozed from it. In a matter of seconds it combusted and turned to ash. He peered up and saw that Adriel was holding her wrist where her hand used to be.
“I’m not done with any of you yet!” she yelled, before disappearing into the growing fog.
Michael looked down at them, the white blade of his sword smeared with the odd conjecture of blood and black fluid, but didn’t make an attempt to return to them. Jon walked over to Lena who was still shaking and crying violently. He hugged her, and from the corner of his eye he could see Michael slowly fade into the mist, just as Adriel had done.
“I love him, but I can’t forgive him,” Lena sobbed.
“Let’s get out of here. Come on,” he urged her, taking her hand, and holding her close to him.
Prom night was supposed to be the most memorable night of a teenager’s life, but Jon would’ve never believed just how true that statement would ring to him until that night. There was very little hope in the midst of death and destruction, and he tried to steady Lena, as they both walked down the dark steps that led back into the school.
“I feel like I don’t even know him anymore,” she mumbled. His shoulder wet from her tears. He was certain that her black makeup was all over his white shirt, but he didn’t care.
“How could you ever know him? You’re a mortal. He’s an immortal. The two should never mix. Only trouble can come out of it, as you’ve witnessed.”
“But shouldn’t love conquer all?”
“I’ve never been an expert on love, so my opinion of it is perfectly flawed. But I can tell you one thing, if you believe that love should conquer all, then you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment.”
He couldn’t admit that for him love had become an impossible mecca in which he had no way of reaching the destination.
Chapter Nineteen
The days lingered without a definite end soon after her mother’s death. Lena found herself staying up late at night, practicing ballet steps till she was so exhausted that she’d throw her limp body in bed and instantly fall asleep. It was the only way she found that she wouldn’t think. Apart from her parents room, the room she tried to avoid the most was the studio. In there, the shelves seemed to whimper with disdain under the weight of all the condolence cards they received in the coming days after her mother’s untimely death.
All th
e cards were filled with good intentioned sentiment but when she read the words, they sounded empty and pointless for the pain and anger that she felt. Time heals all wounds.
It will get easier.
Cherish the memories you have.
She stopped reading the cards when they arrived, knowing that they wouldn’t provide any comfort at all. Some days the pain wasn’t as intense, but other days it was unbearable. The first time Mother’s Day rolled by without her mother, she soon realized how awful such holidays were. It made the pain more acute and tangible. So terrible that she blindly took a ridiculous number of barbiturates as a way to settle the gaping hole she felt in the middle of her chest. Afraid that she had made a mistake, she tried to induce herself to vomit. But Lena had no recollection of what happened after, other than waking up in a hospital bed hooked up with an IV needle and seeing her father’s somber eyes anxiously awaiting for any signs of life coming from her.
A year had passed since her failed suicide attempt, and she had blocked it from her memory. Not because she didn’t remember, but rather because she wanted to expunge the event from her life. The only reminder she had of it, was the designated times she had to take her lithium pills and the faint memories of having spent a year in an institute for trouble girls. Something that the shrink had suggested would keep her away from feeling hopeless. Lena didn’t argue with him, or her dad. She only wanted to feel normal again, whatever that meant.
Intent on placing her feet in the right position, she stood next to the horizontal bar her dad had placed in her bedroom in front of a wall mirror, so that she could practice at home when she wasn’t at the dance studio. She tried to cast away the unwanted thoughts that were buzzing like an annoying gnat in her mind. Her white leotard seemed washed out against her pale skin. She tried to keep her concentration, when the mobile rang. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that she had placed it on her bed. The ringtone was Muse’s Unintended. She liked the song so much that sometimes she waited a couple of rings before she answered. This time was no exception.