by Susan Reid
“Why didn’t you tell me that her essence was hallowed fire?” I asked, keeping my accusing tone even.
Durien appeared confused but still angry. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“She possesses deadly fire. Deadly enough to kill darkness on contact. You didn’t know?” I asked him with a raised brow.
I finally joined him at the window. He continued to look up at me inquisitively with a hint of surprise though he still scowled.
“How do you know? You saw her use it? You’re still alive so it couldn’t have been too deadly, unless…” the fiery heat of anger and a challenge began to burn in his eyes once again.
Was he really going to try and fight me?
“Don’t be ridiculous!” I spat back through clenched teeth.
I meant that in more ways than one.
It took him a minute to simmer down but he was still agitated.
“I didn’t know what her essence was, none of us did but that’s beside the point now!” He was getting angry again.
“She’s fine.” I said, looking down at him indignantly.
His face instantly morphed into dumbfounded confusion.
“Say what?” he asked, brows furrowed.
“I said she’s fine. She’s safe at the hall right now as you stand here yelling and dancing on the minefield.” I repeated slowly, my eyes glowing malevolently on purpose to remind him of exactly who he was threatening.
His anger began to subside and he recoiled, taking a slight step away from me, and pausing to think.
“Seriously?” His entire demeanor had suddenly shifted from rabid attack dog to foolish chagrin.
“Why would I lie to you about that?”
After a moment, he pursed his lips and sighed deeply through his nose. “Oh.”
The tension began to slowly unravel from his body as he wiped a hand down his face and then moved into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator.
“I kind of knew something like that was gonna happen and it just about ended badly but I take full responsibility and blame. I won’t be doing anything like that again so you can forget about asking,” Durien said as he pulled out a bottled water out and pointed it at me. “You’re on your own with her. If she doesn’t remember you, you should just leave her alone altogether. It’s gonna cause major problems.”
He unscrewed the cap of the water bottle, leaned back against the arm of the couch, and took a long drink.
“I understand and I take responsibility as well. I hadn’t expected you to invite the whole gang and I certainly didn’t anticipate Baal showing up, though it didn’t surprise me.” I said.
He looked pointedly at me. “Like I said, that wasn’t my fault. No such thing as a private conversation around the hall. Everyone pretty much invited themselves. In the end though, I’m kind of glad they did. I have some idea why they all want her as a female divine warrior, and I know why you want her, but do you know the real reason why they all seem so drawn to Starling in particular?” Durien then asked.
I hadn’t expected that question from him but it was a good one. Yes and no, I wanted to reply but instead I shook my head no.
He sighed. “It’s gonna be really hard for her, especially there more so than in the human realm. The training we get may not be enough.” He shook his head.
“It isn’t.” I frankly agreed.
His eyes flicked up to connect with mine. We were both thinking the same thing.
I offered to train Starling but I don’t know if I’d extend it to Durien. He’d have to make a choice. I wasn’t about to train him so that he could share anything with a group of warriors dead set on killing me and my friends.
“So, what ended up happening? How did you get her back? And what happened after that? Did she remember you? What did she say to you?” He eagerly wanted to know and asked in one breath.
I shot him an irritated grimace with a hint of unbelieving sarcasm at his sudden barrage of probing questions. Yes, I liked Durien and I trusted him to an extent—as much as he trusted me. He did me a huge favor and risked a lot so that I could see Starling again. For that, he had my undying gratitude but any information past that was none of his business…at least most of it would remain unknown until Starling began to show.
“If she wants you to know anything then I’m sure she’ll share it with you.” I simply said.
He pressed his lips and narrowed his eyes.
“What did you have to do? Cast some sort of a spell on her? I’m sure she was terrified being that she was untrained and all. Is that when she used her fire?”
More questions.
This time I simply nodded.
A slow smile began to spread across Duriens brown face. “Sweet. Good for her.” He said more to himself.
“Is that all you wanted to know?” I then asked him, getting ready to ghost out of his home.
He hesitated, taking a quick inhalation of air as if he did want to say something else but instead chewed his bottom lip. “Yeah. Thanks again.” He gave a nod.
“I didn’t do it for you or any of the others at the hall.” I reminded him.
“I know.” He replied.
VII. Starling
I could only stare silently while Jamie broke down in front of me. She was trying to fight it and I knew I should be doing something to comfort her, but I just stood there.
“Anyway, welcome back.” She quickly hiccupped, sniffed, and began to walk away, still unable to meet my eyes.
“Jamie, wait.” I called out.
She stopped but didn’t turn around to face me.
I walked towards her slowly. “You don’t have to thank me. It was a given and I don’t regret it.” I told her.
Her shoulders shook as her breath hitched. She only nodded.
“If…if you ever want to talk about anything…”
“I’m fine.” She cut me off and began to walk away once again but then she stopped again briefly, looking back at me over her shoulder.
“He saved you, didn’t he?” She then whispered.
I furrowed my brows.
Her words caught me off guard and my pulse began to race at the thought of who she might be referring to.
I felt the burn of guilt begin to warm my face.
“He who? What are you talking about?”
She turned to fully face me again, the hint of a sad and crooked smile on her face, “The only way you managed to make it back.” Then her smile slowly turned into a frown, “Don’t ever give them his name.” She warned in a hushed whisper with her index finger to her lips, before finally walking away.
Confounded and thrown, I watched her until she turned the corner at the end of the corridor.
She knows.
I didn’t expect those last words from her. What did she mean by that? I remember Durien telling me that she had a thing for supernatural beings. She was either messing around with Spencer now or had been in the past.
Damn, Jamie was the last one that I wanted holding that piece of information. She was a hard one to figure out and I couldn’t trust her. All I could do was continue to play stupid once that information got back to the elders— and it would. I remembered her expression after she practically kicked my ass out on the training field the other day, and Spencer was trying to hold her back and calm her down. She looked like she was trying to keep herself from crying then, too.
I didn’t spend too much time pondering what her issues were. I made my way back to the now thinned out crowd in the dining hall, catching the others in the midst of setting up an impromptu welcome back celebration.
Was that cake?
My stomach growled jubilantly and I began to salivate. After I entered the dining hall, all heads turned to look at me. It was like I was re-entering once again on my first day here.
It took me a moment to realize that they weren’t just looking at me, they were all looking behind me.
I turned around— and my mouth fell.
I had a trail of divine elemen
tals following and crowding around after me. They all stopped when I did. Their freakishly human eyes and faces studied me curiously without a sound.
Oh God. They were sensing that something wasn’t right with me, and if they were sensing it, then the others would definitely be alerted to the change too.
“Well don’t just stand there, come on. We’re all waiting…” Lorelei’s voice was in front of me.
I turned back around to look at her when she stopped in mid-sentence.
Her grin slowly staggered, “Wow, you’re like the pied piper of elementals. Aren’t you special today? That’s weird.” She commented.
Scarlet and Crystal joined us to see what everyone else was gawking at as well.
“What’s going on?” Scarlet asked before seeing the posse of white animals spread out behind me just outside of the doorway to the dining hall. They sat silently with their attentive eyes focused on me.
“What, they don’t follow people around?” I joked, growing edgy.
“Not in a pack like that.” Crystal pointed.
“Well, there’s a first for everything I guess.” Lorelei shrugged, “Come on. We hope you like chocolate cake.” She smiled.
With one last glance at the elementals, I let Lorelei pull and guide me over to the table that they had decorated. The cloth napkins were creatively shaped in Origami-like flowers and the medium- sized, chocolate frosted cake sat in the center of a paper cut doily in the middle of the table.
Anthony and Gabe were already seated and waiting to dig in, and Lira was busy setting out plates and silverware. No sign of Durien or Spencer.
I hoped Durien wasn’t beating himself up over this. I tentatively pressed my palm against my lower belly, an automatic new reaction for me since finding out that I was pregnant.
“Well, well, well...looking and smelling much better.” Gabe quipped.
I smiled. “Thanks. I’m definitely feeling much better.”
“That’s good to hear.” Anthony said as he stood up to pull a chair out for me.
That was nice. I slowly sat down.
“This wasn’t necessary but thanks.” I said to everyone.
“No need to thank us. You’re safe and that calls for a celebration, so I hope you have a sweet tooth. This is a rare indulgence here.” Scarlet smiled as she began to cut the first slice.
A rare indulgence? Given the daily food choices, I could see that.
“Even if I didn’t, I’m starving so don’t be shy on my slice.” I told her.
I tried hard to separate all that’s happened and the present company of my friends, especially all the elementals that were still sitting over there in the open doorway, still watching me. It was making me really uncomfortable and nervous now.
“What’s with all the elementals?” Anthony thumbed over in their direction with a questioning quirk of his brow.
Everyone stopped to look, further making me want to sink through the floor and disappear completely, more so because everyone else in the dining hall began to make the connection too.
Crystal dismissed it with a shrug and a wave of her hand, “I wouldn’t worry about it. They’re real sensitive to auras and since yours is a little off right now, they’re probably just worried about you. That’s all.”
My heart began to race.
“Mine is— off?” I asked, searching all of their faces and eyes for more explanation.
I already knew what they meant. No doubt it will probably get worse and more noticeable as the baby begins to grow. I assumed that was the reason why.
Lorelei shook her head. “Not in a bad way. It’s probably stress. You just got back. It may take a few days.” She assured me with a smile.
I suddenly didn’t feel like eating anything anymore.
VIII. Camael
I called out to Edanai upon returning home. She was stubborn if anything and it drove me insane—that’s where we tended to bump heads at times. Instead, Rahab assured me that she was fine and so far, no incidences. Ry, Nay, and Mac were having a ball in Hollywood, so I doubted that I’d see them anytime soon unless something dire transpired.
All I could do was wait until I saw Starling tonight. I had plans, and after ducking out into the human realm once again to retrieve a few items for our date, I noted that it was nearing the holiday feasting of turkeys and soon to be gift giving time. The traditions and events of other beings all over the world fascinated me. I didn’t care anything about their significances, I simply enjoyed the festivities and the décor.
Starling didn’t pay much attention to the birthdate on her drivers’ license. Of course, she wouldn’t have made the connection anyway given that she had no concept of human realm time as opposed to time in the spirit realm.
Her birthday, via human realm time, was coming up and I wanted to both do something and get something exceptionally unique and special for her. Realizing that I should have given Starling her phone, or at least had her make a few calls before taking her back, didn’t dawn on me until I saw it going off again. Glimpsing at the display, I saw that she had numerous text messages and her voicemail notification light was flashing once again.
It was of course, China.
I never asked what Edanai told her last but apparently it wasn’t enough to keep her from calling again. I’d have to think of something else for now and have Starling call her back herself. I texted back an, ‘I’ll call you tonight,’ and left it at that. I’m sure she would wonder why she was avoiding her again and didn’t bother to answer just now but oh well. I hoped that what I was doing didn’t end up distancing their friendship in the end.
I retrieved the book that Berith had given me, handling it delicately as I placed it gently on the square cocktail table, and then proceeded to fix myself a cup of tea. This was going to take a while to decipher but I was determined to make some sense of it, even if this wasn’t the whole text.
With a pad of paper and a pencil, I started with the first line, taking each repetitive symbol and notating how many times it appeared. I did the same with the next one and so on, until I essentially created a key of some sort. Trying to focus on each symbol and match it to that of my distant memory of the language was proving to be more difficult than I thought.
After five cups of tea, four glasses of burgundy wine, and half a dozen bread buns stuffed with lamb and spices that Rahab made the other day, I had only managed to decode two words that I was certain of: ‘Arrogance and weapon.’
I was even more puzzled now than I had been since starting this. Who wrote this? Why had it been written, and why does Morning Star have it much less want it? Those two words burned into my mind, allowing me some form of an idea and picture. Was this key to the final days of humans? Did it have something to do with Morning Star’s coming invasion?
“Cam`ael, I must speak with you. A new task has been requested by Elohim and it must be done with haste.”
It was Aliks’ voice, or what sounded like him.
I paused, scowling at the mere disturbance let alone what he was saying.
Another request? Again? Since the last one, when Drakael had apparently manipulated my loyalties to Elohim and tricked me into becoming a pawn for his own plans for Starling, I was less enthused and wary.
“I’m done with requests, especially if it involves releasing anyone.” I flatly replied.
There was silence on his end.
“You refuse even though Elohim has granted you all that you have most desired, and has allowed everything that has come to pass?”
I clenched my teeth in frustration. So he was playing that card now? As much as having another request irritated me because it might take me away from Starling, I had no choice.
To Elohim, I have always been loyal and obedient and I still am. Anything he asked of me, I would risk myself to do or complete and I have up until the incident with Drakael.
“I’m outside.” Aliks then said, reading my silence accurately.
I ghosted outside of my home, seeing Aliks
’ slight, glittering form and silver and pink flowing hair, standing at the peak of the mountaintop. It was adjacent to the spot where I had spoken to Drakael.
My wings were out when I manifested back into flesh form, meeting a smug Aliks.
“I’m impressed by your loyalty to Elohim. I understand why it is that he has not lost faith or favor in you.” Aliks complimented.
“Just get on with it.” I snapped.
He began to pace.
“This is a nice view. One can see…everything from here.” He mused as he gazed out onto the landscape, more so, the side facing the Dark Lands.
I already didn’t like where this was going.
Against the purple horizon, a carriage of faded blue ghostly forms, all corralled into a lasso made of glowing green vines, was being pulled by a pair of aural bandits, accompanied by a Psyren. They rode on the backs of poisonous, scorpion-tailed, winged, black Pegasus’. Her shriek of elation pierced the air with such a sharp, nearly deafening pitch, it nearly made my nose and ears bleed.
Judging from the cluster of pale, ecto-plasmic forms bundled behind them, and the howls and catcalls ululating from the bandits, I’d say that they had just rounded up a large bundle of souls.
I haven’t seen very many of them at all lately, so this was interesting to me. I wondered from where they had acquired so many.
Aliks turned to me, a furtive side grin affixed to his pale face. “They all know who you are, don’t they?”
“What are you getting at? What is the request?” I was short of any patience.
“Your name and presence strikes both fear and veneration among many of the dark ones, including many other fallen.” he began.
“Don’t forget loathing. Those aren’t necessarily good things either.” I quipped.
Aliks shrugged a single shoulder and nodded in agreement. “Nonetheless, it’s a level of respect. Gain and maintain an alliance with the aural bandits and the Psyrens. That is the request.”
I wasn’t sure if I’d understood him right.
“What? An alliance? Is this a joke?”
Aliks pursed his lips. “Elohim would not request anything without a reason. You know that.”