by Robin M Helm
“There is absolutely no chance that I will forget it.” She turned from him and slid into the cab with her mother.
He stood watching as the car drove away. Look back at me. Please, Elizabeth, my love. I want to see your face looking at me.
As if she had heard him, she turned to look out the rear window at him, and lifted her hand to wave goodbye.
Xander smiled widely and waved back. Then he quickly stepped into a crowd of people and changed into angelic form. In less than a second, he had caught up to the cab and flew over it with Niall.
You are grinning like a lovesick teenager.
Xander could not find it in himself to care whether or not he looked foolish. His heart was light and filled with hope. This may not be as difficult as I thought it would be.
Then he remembered the demons on the wing. There will be complications.
We will deal with them, answered Niall with confidence.
I look forward to it, said Michael appearing suddenly on Xander’s other side, flying with them in formation.
Chapter 2
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.”
Ephesians 5:18-19
Xander, in angelic form, stood to Elizabeth’s left as she seated herself at the piano, took a moment to compose herself, and began to play Liszt’s La Campanella. Her hands flew with such fluid speed over the keys that her audience was left breathless by the artistry of the sound and movement. She followed the playful piece with a lightning rendition of Valse Oubliée by the same composer and finished her first set with a virtuoso performance of Igor Stravinsky's Firebird Suite (Danse Infernale, Berceuse, Finale) arranged by Guido Agosti. Her skill was such that she was able to mimic the orchestra parts, introducing a bell-like quality to parts of the music, and she brought the cheering audience to its feet with her amazing strength in the final bars.
Elizabeth rose from the instrument, bowed to the audience, and left the stage, closely followed by her guardian, for a brief break as the members of the orchestra took their seats. She thankfully took the water offered to her by a stagehand and sipped it thoughtfully. Though she was focused on her performance, she could not stop herself from scanning the audience from the wings, searching for a tall, incredibly handsome man with wavy dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. Where is he? I suppose I could possibly miss him in this crowd. Maybe he couldn’t get a ticket after all. I wish he had asked for my cell number. But mom was there. Awkward! She flashed a secret smile. Maybe I should just grab a microphone and ask if Xander Darcy is in the audience. That would get his attention. Or I may just have to wait for school to start back. Enough! Time to think about the performance, El!
She is disappointed not to see me! Xander could not suppress a smile as he caught the melancholy edge to her thoughts, followed by her lightheartedness. Several guardians with orchestra members noticed his expression, but were careful to show no response. They had observed their intimidating Chief the previous evening at rehearsal, full-well knowing his feelings for Elizabeth, and had seen his love for her displayed on his countenance during unguarded moments. It was a matter of intense interest to them, but an undue show of attention from the ranks he commanded would be unseemly. Now that they could hear her thoughts concerning the imposing guardian, their curiosity was truly piqued.
After the orchestra was seated, the dark-haired young beauty walked confidently back onstage, her trademark white gown flowing behind her as the stage lights caught the rhinestones at her waist and on the straps of the dress. She returned to the bench, nodded to the conductor, and poured her heart into Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Part 1. Afterwards, Elizabeth chose to give the orchestra a short respite by following the demanding piece with a piano solo, Chopin’s Etude Op. 25 No. 1, also known as the “Aeolian Harp.” The audience was as mesmerized with watching her willowy form moving emotionally with the flowing music as they were by her proficiency at the instrument. She was truly striking – a brunette with long curls flowing artlessly down her back, contrasting sharply with her white gown. Her slender arms moved gently, and her graceful fingers caressed the keys. With each swaying movement, the stage lights caught the rhinestones woven through her hair, holding the shining mass back from her face. She was strong, yet gentle; soft as a whisper and bold as the thunder. The black sheen of the Steinway grand reflected the image of her magnificent hands as her long, slender fingers flew effortlessly over the ivories. Her technical mastery of the instrument was astounding, but her astonishing ability to convey emotion through her music was what set her apart from all other musicians. Elizabeth’s performances always left her audiences enthralled and breathlessly wanting more.
As the hall erupted in applause, she stood and walked to the center of the stage, accepting the wireless microphone brought to her by a stagehand while another pianist took her place at the Steinway.
“I hope you have enjoyed the selections thus far,” she said, smiling and speaking easily with no signs of nervousness. Her stage presence had matured along with her musical skills.
Further applause signaled the appreciation of those fortunate enough to have obtained a ticket.
“I would like to leave the classical realm now and share with you my own arrangement of a medley of songs taken from one of the few American musical art forms – the Spiritual. I find the words to be poignant and meaningful, and the music to be amazingly powerful in its simplicity. As the slaves sought freedom from physical slavery, many seek spiritual freedom from sin through Christ. These songs equate freedom in the Promised Land, the northern United States and Canada, with heaven. Will you indulge me?”
The crowd applauded their encouragement for her to continue. Elizabeth stood, much as she had at the Fine Arts Festival ten years before, with Xander towering regally behind her. The top of her head now reached his shoulders, but his neck and noble visage were clearly visible to every angel present, and she was again illuminated by his gentle glow.
Niall, in the audience with Lynne, was struck by the similarity of the events. They truly belong together. Our Master is wise beyond any imagination.
From beside him, Michael answered, As He said in Isaiah 55:8-9, ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’
Hearing the thoughts of Niall and Michael, Xander gazed directly at them. We do belong together. Jehovah-Bara formed us for one another. He knew in that moment that everything would work for their good. He had assurance that whatever they might have to face, and he was sure that it would be terrible at times, God would bring them through it together. He was glad that his Master, in His infinite wisdom, had sent Michael to be with him so that they could guard Elizabeth together. He was beginning to assume human form more and more often, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to ensure that she was never unprotected.
The orchestra began the medley of her symphonic arrangement with the plaintive wails of the violins, playing “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” as Elizabeth began to sing softly in the lower part of her range; however, she used the extent of her four-octaves and the full power of her voice as she continued to change keys, going higher and higher, supported by the woodwinds through “Were You There,” “I Am a Poor, Wayfaring Stranger,” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” As the music became more upbeat, the orchestra shifted into a swing rhythm featuring the brass section in “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel,” and the rousing “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho.” After she finished the medley, she immediately began singing “Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone,” by John Newton, Chris Tomlin, and Louie Giglio, with a simple string accompaniment, modulating up a half step on each verse. On the final verse, Elizabeth closed her eyes an
d sang a cappella, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing His praise, then when we first begun.”
And He was there, in the whirlwind of the Spirituals, and in the still small voice of “Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone.” The angels felt His presence in that place and raised their palms toward heaven, faces lifted as they hummed in worship. The light grew and multiplied, and souls were touched to seek Him.
John Newton’s hymn, written after he had been saved out of the horribly sinful life of the captain of a slave ship, was a fitting end to the medley. As Elizabeth sang the final notes, the crowd was silent. There was no standing ovation or polite applause; no one wanted to destroy the mood she had created. Overwhelmed by the words she had just sung, Elizabeth began to speak to the audience. She told them of how God had shown his mercy to a small-town, Southern girl of humble birth and no importance. For the first time before a large audience, in a few sentences, she shared her personal testimony and her salvation experience. Elizabeth spoke of God’s love, forgiveness, and mercy. When she was finished, she handed the microphone to the waiting stage hand, and returned to the piano, closely followed by her protector.
For the finale of the evening, she had decided to do her own original arrangement for piano and symphony orchestra of great hymns of the faith. Elizabeth realized that her choices for the latter part of the evening had been unusual, and that she was very likely changing the course of her career, but she felt led by God to do so. She was serene as she began the opening notes of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” and continued through “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee,” “Be Still My Soul,” “O, The Sweet, Sweet Love of Jesus,” “It Is Well,” “What Wondrous Love Is This,” “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah,” “Be Thou My Vision,” “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” and ended with Handel’s “The Hallelujah Chorus” from The Messiah. “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” was entwined with Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” “Be Still My Soul” was paired with Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” “What Wondrous Love Is This” was woven with Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” and “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” was meshed with Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.” The music ebbed and flowed with classical themes woven throughout the arrangement, brilliantly joining the genres in a celebration of God’s gift of music.
Xander remembered standing by G. F. Handel in 1741 as the fifty-six year old man had composed the music for The Messiah, setting to music the Scriptural text, or libretto, written by Charles Jennens. The entire musical score had been completed in an amazing twenty-four days, and Handel had written the letters “SDG,” Soli Deo Gloria, “To God alone the glory,” at the end of his manuscript. The oratorio had been quietly received at the time of completion, but had since become one of the best-known choral works in Western music, as well as one of the most frequently performed. To God be the glory, indeed, George. You would have loved this performance, thought Xander.
The audience stood, as was traditional, when they recognized “The Hallelujah Chorus,” and they were surprised to see a choir coming down the aisles of the auditorium, singing as they walked. The sound of voices blending together to sing the familiar words filled the hall with His praises, and one hundred six-winged angels, in addition to the guardians present, flew through the ceiling and filled the upper chambers of the theater. The people felt the air stir with the gentle rush of angel wings as the seraphim swirled and dipped in a choreographed dance of joy as old as creation itself. They glowed with all the colors of the rainbow joining in the center of the auditorium to create a brilliant, white light which chased every demon within a mile radius of the building into hiding, creating a holy circle in the center of the city. Believers in the audience lifted their hands to heaven, knowing that they were in the presence of Jehovah, and their faces shone with His light.
As the singers sang the final “Hallelujah,” the angels floated and twirled, finally leaving the building with the human audience stupefied as to what had actually happened. Everyone knew that something momentous had taken place, but only the believers in the crowd knew that God had touched them. They had shivered during those moments of perfect connection with the Almighty, and they had praised him. There was a total oneness with their Creator, and they looked forward to the day when they would meet Him face-to-face.
Even more wonderful things were happening in heaven as thousands of angels repeated the joyous patterns over and over. In every place on the earth, light beings looked to the heavens, seeing the dancing beams, and they listened. Through the spiritual plane, they heard Elizabeth’s music, and the whole earth rejoiced.
After a moment of silence, the people erupted into a roar of applause and appreciation for what they had experienced. Some wondered why they suddenly had the urge to go to church, or to pray, or to pull out that old Bible from the closet. Others could not explain what they had felt, but they wanted to know the feeling, that connection with something larger than themselves, again. Still others wanted to think it was foolishness, and denied that it was anything other than emotional trickery. Those who had been before to the auditorium wondered at the light show. They had never seen such a display there in the past, and they could see no equipment that would produce such beautiful, dancing beams. No matter what they said or thought, everyone there knew, in that secret place of the heart, that something supernatural had been there with them. It was a beginning of great things to come.
Elohim received the offering of praise and was well pleased.
~~oo~~
As soon as Elizabeth left the stage for the final time, Michael took his place by her side as Xander ducked quickly behind a curtain and emerged backstage in human form. He leaned his shoulder casually against a wall directly in her path and put his left hand in his pants pocket, keeping her in his line of vision at all times. Knowing that she would be dressed formally, he had opted to wear a black Italian tailored two-button suit with a grey vest over a white shirt. Niall insisted that he wear an ice-blue tie “to bring out his eyes,” and black dress shoes. He felt very conspicuous, noting that every human that passed by looked at him from head to toe. Is that good or bad? He kept trying to think of things he could say to her, and he desperately hoped that he looked more relaxed than he felt. Something was definitely doing a little dance in his very human stomach, and he fervently wished that he could be assured that it would not work its way down to his legs and feet.
Xander watched Elizabeth, followed closely by Michael, who was dressed as a warrior guardian, as she glided towards him, and he knew the exact second she saw him. Her brown eyes lit up with happiness, and the sun seemed to shine from her smile. Xander’s heart skipped a beat and glowed as he felt the warmth from that sun. There is that adorable double-dimple in her right cheek. I know Lynne told her it is where the angels kissed her before they sent her to earth, but it is actually where an angel wants to kiss her. He returned her smile. Niall is correct. I am as silly as a teenage boy with his first crush, but I am no longer anxious. This feels right.
Oh my! she thought. He cleans up very well. I thought I couldn’t possibly be remembering him clearly, but he really is just as beautiful as I pictured him all day long.
“Hello, Xander. I’m supposed to meet Mom in my dressing room. We’re going to get my things so that we can put them in our hotel room before we eat, if that’s okay with you.”
“The concert was wonderful, Elizabeth. I enjoyed every minute of it. And whatever makes you happy will always suit me.”
He opened the door for her, and she was surprised to see a huge vase of sweetheart roses on the dressing table. She went quickly to get the card and smiled broadly as she read silently.
I missed being there with you tonight. You really shouldn’t give concerts without me. See you soon.
Always yours, Gregory
Xander felt a distinct chill. I should have thought of flowers.
She turned her head and looked up at him. “Gregory Wickham sent the flowers. D
o you know him?”
Michael frowned. Gregory!
Xander hesitated just a moment – just long enough for her to notice. “We have met a few times.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you don’t like him?”
Because he is the spawn of Satan? Because he wants to kill you? “I do not think he likes me very much,” Xander replied carefully.
“That’s odd. Why wouldn’t he like you?” She tilted her head to one side with a puzzled expression.
Careful, Xander. He is her friend, thought Michael.
Xander sighed. “I suppose our families have never been particularly close. There was a time when his father worked for mine, and we were like brothers, but that friendship ended years ago. I would rather not open up old wounds.” True. I would rather open new ones. And please forgive me for deliberately leaving the ‘we’ vague as to whom it is referring.
Michael grinned, his green eyes twinkling.
“He goes to Converse, you know. You’ll be in some music classes with him,” Elizabeth said diplomatically.
“I am sure that we will get along well with each other. We have something in common after all. We both think you are wonderful. Should we begin to gather your things? Your mother will be here soon, and it is nearly time for our dinner reservation.”
He is avoiding the topic of Gregory. What does he know that I don’t know? We’ll return to this later.
“You’re right, of course. Mom will be here soon. Just let me look around and make sure that I remembered to put everything in my bag before I went on stage.” After Elizabeth made a quick check of the room, Xander smiled at her and reached for her bag. She had given it to him and was about to pick up the flowers when Lynne and Niall came into her dressing room followed by a man with his guardian.