by K. D. Peters
“You’ve known me for three days. You don’t sleep in the same bed with someone you've known for just three days unless you really have to. Last night was an exception.” I told him.
“Well, if you say so, but I still say it doesn’t hurt anything. Besides, you know as well as I do that plenty of people do that without sleeping for a night.” Chris said, not bothering to look back over at me.
“Very funny smart ass.” I muttered, feeling my cheeks get hot.
“What can I say? I try.” Chris replied, although he suddenly looked a little uneasy. Maybe he’d finally considered his own words.
The elevator dinged as the door opened to the third floor. Walking down the dimly lit hallway, we found our room near the very end. The room itself really wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was nice and clean, with two twin beds, a television, and two dressers. “Well, this is better than what I thought it might have been.” I admitted as I sat down on the bed on the far side of the room.
“Outside appearances aren’t everything you know. And as long as it’s comfortable and there’s no spiders or roaches, I don’t mind putting out the extra money for a double. Although we still didn’t need it.” Chris said, lying down on the other bed. He pulled out the cell phone from his pocket and typed a quick message. I assumed it was to Will. He had said that he’d let him know where we were once we got there.
I laid myself out on my own bed, looking at the ceiling for a moment. It was my habit when I was thinking about things. “So Chris, can I ask you something?” I said absently.
“What is it?” Chris replied.
Here went nothing. “Why didn’t you tell me that they think you’re their prince?”
For a few long minutes, the room was quiet. Then he finally decided to answer. “I‘ve never really given much thought to it. It’s just the title he gave me a long time ago, and it doesn’t really mean anything to the rest of the world.” he said.
“You don’t seem to have a problem with using it on Will.” I noted.
“Trust me, it does come in handy at times. But other than that, it doesn’t really mean anything. Either way, I’m still one of the remaining Children. Whether I’m considered their prince or not, I’ll always be one of those that just doesn’t belong according to the Higher Powers.” Chris explained.
“The Children of the Abyss, huh?” I repeated softly. Yes, that was what Will had called us. That, and he said that many referred to our kind as the Beautiful Fallen.
“Like Will said, that’s what we’re commonly referred to. They used to just call us Nephilim, but they stopped because of those clans. Guess they just figured there would be too much confusion between the two. After all, they’d never want to consider us in with them.” Chris went on.
“Nephilim? Now that’s a weird name. But it’s like in the bible, right?” I asked him.
“So that woman actually let you learn about the bible? That’s surprising. I wonder if Saffron knew about that.” Chris noted.
“Why? Would he really have been that upset if he knew that?” I said. I would’ve imagined that was probably the case. After all, a Fallen Angel would probably hate anything that was considered holy.
But Chris just shook his head. “It’s not only him that makes it surprising to me. It’s also because that woman’s a witch.” he said.
I looked over at him as he said that. “A witch? What in the world are you talking about?” I said.
“Just what I said. She’s been practicing black magic for most of her life. That’s why Saffron chose her to keep you for him in the first place. He knew that she was strong enough to protect you when he wasn’t around.” Chris explained.
Well, that did answer one thing for me. The odd symbols, like pentagrams and strange shapes in triangles, that I often ended up finding around our homes. Mama often had them hidden behind pictures and drawn outside in inconspicuous places. I had stumbled upon them off and on as a child, and I did question her about it, but she always seemed to assure me that they were nothing. They were just little things that came with the homes. But apparently, that wasn’t the case. Instead, they must have been part of one of her spells. “So that’s why you didn’t want her to know about me meeting you.” I guessed.
Chris shrugged his shoulders a little, not bothering to look back at me. “I’m sure she probably has it out for whoever took you and told you the entire truth now. But I’m not worried about that old witch either. I can handle her. I’m more concerned about those so called pure white wings that have been trailing us. They’re gearing up again for a reason.” he said.
I looked down, once again thinking that perhaps it could’ve been because of me. He had mentioned something about it before. After all, I was Saffron’s daughter, and apparently he was on their most despised list at this point.
Chris seemed to catch onto my train of thought quickly though. “You know, you don’t need to start blaming yourself. They would’ve done this eventually anyways. They do it every few decades or so.” he told me.
I had to smile. He was actually trying to comfort me. Once again, I considered that perhaps he wasn’t that good with women. Maybe he just wasn’t used to them. But at least he was trying to be nice to me. “Thank you Chris. I guess you’d know more about it then I would. I didn’t even know who I really was until you came along. But I’m not sure if that’s such a good thing now or not.” I admitted.
He didn’t answer that one. Looking over, I saw him looking back at the ceiling. He looked like he was really thinking about something. Something that must have been bothering him, considering the pensive look he now had on his face.
But before I could say anything, there was a quick knock at the door. Chris looked over, then sat up. “It’s about time he got here.” he complained as he slid off of the bed.
I watched as he walked over and opened the door. Will was standing out there, a large NY&C bag by his side. “I was wondering if you’d answer the door without me sending you a message.” he said, sounding a bit mocking towards Chris once again.
“You know I can sense you. Did you get everything?” Chris asked him. He didn’t seem to care at all about whether Will was trying to mock him or not.
“Of course I did.” Will said, picking up the bag and letting himself in. He walked over and handed it to me with a smile. “Happy birthday. I’m hoping I was right about the styles that you might like. I wasn’t too worried about the size. That was pretty easy to figure out.”
“Thanks. I owe you one.” I said, smiling back at him and looking into the bag. I couldn’t really complain about what he’d gotten. The clothes were all name brand, and really nice looking. They were all my size too. He really must have had a talent for that. And he’d even gotten the personal stuff I’d need.
“Don’t worry about it. It isn’t right for you to not have anything.” Will replied. At that, he looked back over at Chris. “By the way, there was something I wanted to propose to you as well, considering I’ve had the luck to run into you with all of this.” he added.
“Really?” Chris said, his expression not changing.
“You know as well as I do that their tracking all of our moves as best as they can now. And it seems now that they’re well aware of you traveling with this girl. So I think it’s about time to switch up a little on them.” Will said, holding up a car key.
“I suppose you’re thinking of taking my motorcycle then.” Chris noted, frowning slightly.
“Exactly. And you’re taking the Dart.” Will confirmed.
Chris made a face at him then. “And why should I take that thing?” he asked him.
“Oh come on. It’s brand new and has a powerful engine. Just because you think it’s small isn’t an excuse.” Will countered.
“I don’t think that. I prefer my motorcycle.” Chris defended.
Will wasn’t put off though. “I promise I won’t hurt your precious motorcycle, and if something does happen to it, I’ll either fix it or replace it.
So just take the damn key and give me yours. You know that if anything happens, she’ll be much safer in a car then on the back of that bike of yours.” he said.
For a moment, the two just stared each other down. Then Chris conceded, taking the key of the motorcycle out of his pocket and trading him. “Fine. I’ll do it if it keeps her safer. But that’s the only reason I’m agreeing to this.” he said.
“I knew you’d see it my way.” Will said, smiling at him. No doubt he was more than happy over winning this battle. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get myself back before they notice the switch. I see they’ve been sending more spies down, and it took quite a bit for me to shake them in getting here. I’m sure that if I leave on that bike, they’ll follow thinking that I’m you again.”
“Please be careful.” I said. His words actually had me a little worried. But then again, I never did like the thought of seeing someone get hurt. Some demon kid I was.
Will just smiled at me. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing, and I’m pretty good at avoiding trouble anymore. I’ll see you in Baton Rouge soon enough.” he promised.
Chris didn’t seem too concerned at all though. Instead, he looked towards the door. “Come on. I want to see this car before you go.” he said. Then he looked back at me. “Stay here till I get back.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. After the things I was hearing, and the things I’d already seen, I felt a little bit paranoid when he wasn’t around. But watching them walk out and the door close, I couldn’t help but let out the breath I’d been holding. What a time this was turning out to be. While I was glad that I was being protected while I was trying to figure out more about myself, I also felt more than uncomfortable about my current situation. There was a lot that I was sure that I didn’t understand about this situation, and about Chris himself. While he tried to be nice, there was still that little part of him that tended to be very stand offish to me. And to top it all off, now I knew that I was being hunted while he was trying to get me to Baton Rouge. This trip wasn’t exactly turning out to be much of a pleasant one.
Getting myself up from the bed, I took out one of the new pink tank tops and underwear that Will had gotten for me and went into the bathroom to get a quick shower. I was kind of hoping that it might have calmed my nerves. Not to mention I felt really dirty from being out on a motorcycle all day. I had to admit that I was thankful too that Will had brought me cooler clothes. The climate change was definitely noticeable now, and the long sleeves I’d had on had been awful hot. I wondered how in the world Chris stood it wearing the black jacket. Even with the sleeves rolled up halfway, he had to be hot too. Hopefully he had packed himself some lighter clothes in that back pack for tomorrow….
But as I undressed, I found myself staring into the large mirror there. I couldn’t help but lean forward and study myself a little bit closer, touching my face. Once again, I thought of the picture of Saffron that was in my coat pocket out in the room, and the visions I’d been able to have of him. Chris and Will were right. I did look a lot like him. And I definitely had his eyes.
But as I thought about this, my eyes fell to the pendant that I was still wearing around my neck. Standing back a little, I carefully held it in front of me, studying it and its detail. It didn’t look any different from any other time before when I really looked at it. The deep black stone seemed darker than an abyss. Still, I knew that I had seen it glow several times now. And Chris had mentioned to me that he believed that this was how Saffron was able to keep tabs on me. I wondered if maybe I could use it to eventually communicate with him. As crazy as it sounded, I really did want to see my father now. It didn’t really matter to me about what he was. I’d had time to let it sink in, and even though the thought of him being a fallen angel still scared me, I also found that I wanted to know him again. The memory from my childhood spurred that on a lot for me. And, of course, I still needed some answers for myself. It just felt like the most important ones were lying with him, and only him, now.
The sound of a knock on the door brought me back out of my thoughts. I actually jumped a little, dropping my pendant back down to my chest. “Hey, are you okay in there?” I heard Chris ask.
I took a few deep breaths, feeling relieved. It was only Chris. “I’m fine. Just getting in a quick shower.” I called back.
“Okay. I went ahead and ordered us a pizza while I was out there. It should be here in about a half an hour or less, according to the person on the phone.” Chris told me.
I had to smile. That sounded great. I was starving again. “Okay. I’ll be out in a little bit.” I promised.
After getting in a quick shower, which I’ll admit felt wonderful, I dried myself off and dressed. Pulling the tank top over my head and readjusting it some, I looked at myself in the mirror. It really did fit good. Will was amazing.
Walking back out into the room, I found Chris flipping through the channels on the TV. He was laid back on his bed again, and looked like he was trying to relax. I stopped for a moment and took the time to look him over again. Chris wasn’t really that big of a man, but he definitely was tall and well defined. He’d changed into a pair of jeans and another black tank top now too. But looking at that, I realized something. He didn’t have the bandages on now. In spite of myself, I walked over and took a seat beside him. “Hey, you don’t need the bandages anymore?” I asked.
Chris shook his head, looking back over at me. “No. It’s healed now, so there’s no need to have them.” He replied.
“Seriously?” I said, taking a closer look without even thinking twice. Yep, the wounds were definitely completely gone. There wasn’t even a scar left.
Chris just shook his head, sitting himself up a little. “I told you not to worry so much about them.” He reminded me.
“I know. But I didn’t think they’d go away that fast.” I admitted, putting my head down. I was starting to feel a little bit defeated with all of this now. Maybe I wasn’t ready to learn so much about what I’d come from and where I was going in my life after all…
Chris let out an exhausted breath, making me look back up. “Stop worrying about this so much. You’ll get used to it eventually. Let’s just try to relax.” He told me.
I nodded my head, reluctantly agreeing. I knew he was right anyways. I needed to make myself relax for at least a little bit while I had the chance. There was a lot more coming soon enough.
Our evening actually did pass pretty well in the end. While I couldn’t say that I completely understood Chris, he did make for good company. We had our pizza, and ended up lying back together and watching TV for a while. We watched pretty much whatever looked interesting. Eventually, I ended up falling asleep around eleven, feeling quite peaceful.
But once again, I would find my dreams invaded.
Opening my eyes in my dream, I found myself standing in an unfamiliar looking room with dark colored floors and shadows dancing on the walls from the dim light coming in through the windows. I looked around, not sure of whether or not I should move. The room itself was pretty big, and I couldn’t see any doors. There wasn’t even any furniture in there. I’ll admit that I was very confused. I’d never had a dream like this one before.
Suddenly though, I realized that I wasn’t alone. The feeling was strong and incredibly uncomfortable. Quickly turning to my left, I saw a man standing there. He had very dark hair, and was dressed in black. But the thing that I noticed the most about him were his green eyes. They were almost cat like, standing out even in the dim light. “Well, well, well. What have we here? Has it really been so long?” he said, his voice as smooth as ice.
I couldn’t make myself move from where I stood. In fact, I could feel the cold fear welling up inside of me, holding me tightly to the floor. “Who are you?” I asked, my voice tense with fear.
The man didn’t seem surprised. “Well, I could see where you wouldn’t recognize me. After all, we never have met in your conscious lifetime, have we?” he said, walking over to
stand in front of me.
I stared up at him as he stood there. He was towering in front of me, and very intimidating. But standing there, looking into those eyes, I suddenly realized that I had seen them before. A vision flashed through my mind from before. Being in that room, standing over Faith Kent’s body and looking at Saffron holding me. And beside me was the other one. The Fallen that had once worked very closely with Saffron, and had been pursuing him at that time…
“Jade.” I whispered.
Jade smiled at me then. I wouldn’t have exactly called it friendly. It didn’t feel at all like the smiles Will had given me. “That’s right. It seems you’ve gotten a few small glances at the past. Tapping into the past through your dreams must be one of your talents, although you see it as more of a curse. But I’m sure he’s used it to his advantage as well in all of this. If you’ve gotten to see me, then I’m certain that is the case.” he said.
I wasn’t too sure of what to do then. I was actually praying that I’d wake up. This dream felt far too real, far too dangerous. Like he could harm me in this dream and it could happen in the real world. I had the distinct feeling that Jade didn’t like me being alive. It very well could’ve stemmed from my father, but then again, I could've imagined that Fallen Angels probably were just plain malicious too. After all, they were basically demons, no matter what anyone said.
“Let me out of here. Let me wake up.” I managed to beg as I took a step back.
“Not so fast my little girl. You and I have a bone to pick here.” Jade said, grabbing the top of my left arm. His grip was tight, and actually hurt a little bit.
“What do you want from me? I just want to wake up.” I cried, though I couldn’t look at him anymore. Instead, I turned my head towards one of the nearby large windows. All I could see was the illumination of the dark curtains fluttering around it, as though there was a breeze trying to come in.
I got the distinct feeling that he was smiling again as I looked away from him. “So you fear me. That’s just as well. Being feared is always better in the end. But I have no intentions of harming you just yet. Instead, I simply longed to see just what his offspring turned out like. And to see what has so attracted the attention of my own.” he said.