by Sarah Carter
“I’m hungry and could use some coffee,” Avery says, still looking at me with concern.
Nodding, I say, “Yeah, we should see what’s here.” With that, I head out of the bedroom. I find Wyatt and Israel in the kitchen. There’s food spread across the counter and cups of coffee. “Sweet Lord,” I gasp. “Where did that come from?”
Wyatt replies, “Katerina and I went to get it. We called, ordered, and jumped there. We were only gone a few minutes.”
“Thank you!” I exclaim. “I need food.”
“Do I smell coffee?” Avery asks, coming up behind me.
Israel waves his hand at the counter top. “Pick your poison.”
Avery swoops past me and grabs a cup. “Angelic intervention?”
Wyatt snorts. “Sort of, we got it.”
“I haven’t had coffee in so long,” Avery sighs, taking a sip. “I live off this stuff.”
I walk over to him and grab a cup. “It makes morning so much easier.”
“So, what is the plan?” Wyatt asks. “The runes are starting to weaken.”
“Great,” I groan. “No idea, but I’m open to suggestions.”
“The runes will hold up for a little while yet,” Israel says, looking around. “We should definitely come up with a plan though.”
My shoulders drop. “I don’t even know where we could go.”
“Keep moving,” Avery says. “If we keep moving, then it will be harder to catch us. You said crowded places?”
“Yeah,” I answer, with a nod. “They won’t do much in a large group of people.”
“So, where is a big group of people?” Avery asks.
Shrugging, I say, “Large cities, tourist attractions.”
He looks deep in thought. “Disneyland!”
“What?” I laugh.
“Big group of people,” Avery stresses. “Lots of people and children. Would they really risk a hostile takeover with dozens of people dressed up as Muppets and Buzz Lightyear?”
“What’s a Muppet? Is Buzz Lightyear code for something?” Wyatt asks.
I shake my head. “The demons and Azrael’s entourage would be too scared that the archangels would step in. I’m not sure if they would, but with that many innocents, the demons wouldn’t risk that. Even Azrael. He’s bold but I don’t think he would go up against God’s army by himself.”
“What about fallen angels?” Avery inquires, raising an eyebrow.
“What about them?” I reply. “Would they attack?”
Avery nods. “Didn’t you say Lucifer controls them?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “But, we have six reapers and I’m one of them. Demons know I have the seraph blade and that they aren’t invincible against its power.”
“But, didn’t you say some of them still have seraph blades?”
With a nod, I reply, “Yes, but my sword is more powerful.”
“That’s good to know,” Avery laughs. “Need to keep you around.” He winks.
That wink makes my chest tighten.
“Well, I guess that’s a good enough plan as any,” Wyatt sighs. “We just need to be on guard.”
“Let’s eat,” I say. “We will need our energy.”
Avery grabs a plate and starts to stack pancakes on it. “So hungry…”
“Obviously,” Wyatt laughs.
Katerina and the rest of the reapers come into the kitchen. “You’re up,” she says.
Nodding, I reply, “Yeah, and we came up with a plan. We are going to Disneyland.”
Katerina looks at us, confused. “Why Disneyland?”
“Crowds. Innocents and children,” I reply. “No way Azrael will start that fight. The archangels would step in.”
She nods in agreement. “That’s a good point.”
“Or at least we hope,” Wyatt sighs. “But, we can’t stay here much longer. The runes are starting to fall.”
Avery spins in a circle. “Are we still safe?”
Israel nods. “For a little while longer. Archangel runes are the strongest. Plus, this is already holy ground, but once those runes completely fall, we can’t be in here.”
“It feels like you are on fire,” Avery replies.
“How do you know?” Israel asks.
He nudges his head towards me. “She’s taken me to a church and the Vatican.”
All five reapers turn to me. “You did what?” Keifer gasps.
Shrugging, I say, “I didn’t know where else to take him.”
“How did you deal with that?” He asks, eyebrows raised high.
“When he touches me, it doesn’t hurt,” I answer, pointing to Avery.
They all look at him. “Maybe you are supposed to save the fallen,” Julius says.
Looking a little out of place, Avery says, “Maybe.”
“That’s unheard of,” Julius states. “We don’t completely burn in a church but it feels like your skin is going to melt off.”
“I know, I’ve seen it,” Avery replies, pointing at me.
I shiver at the memory. “Yeah, it hurts like hell,” I say. We all look at each other and then burst out laughing. “No pun intended,” I laugh.
“So, we should eat,” Avery says. “And then get out of here.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say, grabbing a plate. “Must have bacon…”
Two hours later, we are walking through a crowd. Children’s eyes widen and stare as we pass. Parents pull them closer protectively. We come to a group of restaurants. The other reapers make a circle around Avery and me but we try to look as natural as possible so as not to draw more attention than we usually do. “So, what now?” Israel asks.
Wyatt looks around. “I guess we figure out some way to blend in.”
I snort. “I don’t think there is any way for us to blend in.”
“We can wear Mickey Mouse ears,” Katerina says. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Don’t think that is going to help hide the aura seeping out of us,” Wyatt returns.
“You never know,” Katerina chirps.
He gives her a look. “That’s like putting a Hello Kitty band-aid over a bullet hole.”
Katerina nods her head. “True, but I want to get a pair.”
“No splitting up,” I say. “We need to stick together.”
She waves her hand. “Then we can all go to the store. I want ears.”
“Lord,” I groan. “Let’s go.”
We all head to the store. Avery looks at me and we laugh. Katerina immediately goes over to the Mickey Mouse ears. “I want Minnie,” she declares happily.
“A reaper wearing Minnie Mouse ears,” Wyatt laughs. “What next? Giggling about pretty butterflies to your marks? Did you see the rainbow today!? Wasn’t it fantastic?” He puts his hands on his cheeks and tries to give a cute smile.
Putting on the Minnie Mouse ears, Katerina says, “Me and my Minnie Mouse ears will beat your ass all over this theme park. Shut up.”
A weird feeling passes over me. I spin around and look out into the crowd. Everyone continues to chide each other back and forth. The feeling of unease doesn’t wane. “Guys,” I say. They keep talking to each other. “Guys,” I emphasize.
They turn to me. “What?” Katerina laughs.
I put my hand up to them and don’t take my eyes off the crowd. “Do you feel that?”
“Feel what?” Wyatt asks quietly, stepping up to me. “Demon?”
There is silence as I concentrate. “I don’t know. Something feels off.”
Katerina puts the ears back. “Maybe we should step away from the store.”
“Yeah,” I say. I grab Avery and pull him tightly against me. The other reapers make a tight circle around us. We slowly start to walk out into the square.
“Do you still feel it?” Israel asks, looking around.
“Is it Azrael?” Avery asks, sounding a little panicked.
Shaking my head, I say, “He wouldn’t have the balls to do that.”
“Are you positive?” Avery hi
sses.
I drop my seraph blade into my hand as a staff and turn it around. “Like that’s not obvious,” Wyatt snorts.
I glare at him. “Not like I can whip out a sword. Talk about freaking everyone out.”
“Can’t you hide it?” Avery asks. “So no one sees.”
“Sure can,” I say. “But, they would still feel it. This way, they will think it’s some sort of prop.”
We all stand there, scanning around us. “Something does feel off,” Wyatt agrees.
Avery steps closer to me. “There are all these people around. Would angels really step in?”
“Archangels would,” I reply. “It would be difficult though. To make everyone forget. They can freeze time though, that would work.”
“Can you freeze time?” Avery asks.
“No, only the archangels,” I answer.
He looks at me. “Aren’t you supposed to be an archangel?”
All the reapers turn and look at me. “What?” Israel gasps.
I glance at them. “Yeah, I have a mark.”
“No way,” he exhales. “Let me see.”
Great, this is not the time for show and tell. I move my hair away from my neck and turn around. “Girl, no reaper has ever had a mark,” Katerina states.
“We don’t know that for sure,” I retort. This is making me uncomfortable.
“Pretty sure we would know about it,” Katerina says. “No reaper would be able to keep that to themselves.”
Glaring at her, I say, “I kept it to myself.”
“Maybe that’s why you got a seraph blade,” Julius declares. “Maybe you are something special.”
“You are the best reaper,” Katerina interjects. “Maybe there is a reason why.”
I hate this conversation. I want to be anywhere but here answering questions and enduring the stares of fellow reapers. “It’s not like that,” I snap. “I have a mark, so what?”
“So what?” Wyatt laughs. “Come on, you have a seraph blade and a mark! That means something.”
“Whatever, let’s concentrate on whatever is moving around in this crowd. It’s definitely not human.”
Leaning in, Avery asks, “Have you ever tried to freeze time?”
“What?” I retort. “No. How would I do that?”
“I don’t have any ideas,” he says. “But, do demons freeze?”
“No, only humans,” I reply. “Angels and demons don’t freeze.”
He waves his hand. “Then if there was anything bad out there, you would be able to see it.”
What? I stare him dumfounded. “You just think I’m going to say, ‘hocus pocus’ and time is going to freeze.”
Avery waves his hand. “Is it going to hurt to try?”
I roll my eyes and then close them. Stop time? How the hell am I supposed to stop time? This is ridiculous. Stop time Raven. Just stop it. It should be as easy at that. I’m not some voodoo wielding magician. Stop time, all mighty God. Stop it in its tracks.
Suddenly, I hear, “Raven, open your eyes.”
Opening them, I gasp. Everyone is frozen. “I did it,” I exhale.
“You did,” Avery replies.
Suddenly, we see movement to our left. There are three figures. “Fallen,” Israel snaps.
“Go!” I yell.
The other reapers tear off to the fallen. I grab Avery and pull him against my back. I twirl the staff around and now it’s a blade. “Don’t let go of me,” Avery gasps.
“Not planning on it,” I declare. “We need to move though.”
Avery latches onto my back and we move forward. The other five reapers attack the fallen and they fight back. Wyatt jumps and twirls around, cutting off the arm of one of the fallen. The fallen screams out in pain. Israel spins around and cuts another fallen’s leg. That guy crumbles to the ground. “You need to kill them,” Avery snaps.
“You are supposed to save the fallen, not kill them,” I growl. “If we hurt them bad enough, they will leave.”
“So much for being the happiest place on Earth,” Avery says.
“Stay by me,” I instruct. “Keep your eyes open.”
He nods and wraps his arm around my waist, pressing himself against my back. I look around. It seems that they’re the only fallen here, but I’m not going to chance it. The other five reapers are on top of the fallen. Thankfully, I have five fierce fighters with me. Soon, the fallen run away. I grab Avery and pull him through the frozen crowd. “Is that it?” Avery yells.
Israel turns around. “I think so.”
“The fallen took the risk, would Demons?” Avery gasps.
“Demons have more of a mind of their own,” I state. “Fallen have to do what Lucifer says. He doesn’t care about them. He doesn’t really care about anything but himself. That’s the whole point.”
Suddenly, everyone starts moving again. A few people jump because we seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. “Okay, what do we do now?” Julius asks.
“Act normal,” I say. “Let’s go get the Mickey Mouse ears so we blend in a little more.”
“Since most everyone is staring at us in the first place, I have a feeling ears aren’t going to matter,” Julius whispers.
“Well, let’s try to be normal at least,” I suggest. We head back to the store. We buy a bunch of ridiculous souvenirs. I feel so stupid. “We look dumb.”
“Yes, well, that’s true,” Katerina replies. “But, we fit in more.”
“I’m getting a little hungry,” Avery declares.
With a firm nod, I say, “We should get food.” We walk over to one of the food vendors. “Dear Lord, we are going to need a small loan for this place.”
“Can’t you just fabricate money?” Avery asks, looking at me.
I give him a dumb look and then say, “No, we can’t.”
“How are we going to pay?” He whispers.
“My aura,” I answer. “It should work.” We wait in line for a long time. Why would anyone sign up for this for fun? We finally get to the front of the line. I press out my aura. “We would like seven number 2’s and we don’t need to pay.”
The guy shakes his head. “Huh?”
Katerina steps up next to me. “We don’t have to pay.”
Finally, a glazed look passes over the guy’s face. “Yeah, of course. Let me get that for you.”
We are silent and stare around us. The other people in line are watching us hesitantly. Again, I will state, this many reapers together makes people's skin crawl. We are all dressed in black for the most part. Maybe they will think we are a bunch of goth kids. But what would a bunch of goth kids be doing at Disney?
After a few minutes, the guy comes back with our food. We all take it. "Thank you," Israel says to the attendant. The attendant stares at us blankly and nods his head.
Grabbing a nearby table, we sit down. "Isn't stealing a sin?" Avery asks, as he pops a French fry into his mouth.
I shrug. "Well, considering we are on some top secret angelic mission, I think we can bend the rules a little bit. I have to keep you alive for a few more days. Starvation isn't going to help that."
Avery raises an eyebrow and looks at me speculatively. "A few more days? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I was told I needed to keep you alive for a week," I state, shrugging my shoulders again. "I have no idea what that's supposed to mean."
"So, like I'm supposed to save the fallen in three days? I don't even know what I'm supposed to do!"
Wyatt points his french fry at Avery. "I agree. I don't understand how it makes any sense."
"See!" Avery yells.
"God told me," I emphasize. "Who are we to doubt God?"
He just shakes his head. "I don't get it."
"None of us do," I state. "Maybe we aren't supposed to understand it. Raphael says we both have paths to follow. You are supposed to save the fallen and I'm supposed to find my light." For a moment I’m caught in the memory of Avery’s kiss and the way the darkness faded. Is Avery the key to the light
?
"Do you think they are going to be the same thing?" Julius asks, raising an eyebrow.
I sigh. "Honestly, all I'm concerned about right now is keeping us alive."
"Well, I'm hungry," Israel states. "Less talking, more eating."
Chapter 10
We silently sit at the table looking around us. “So, what are we going to do now?” Avery asks.
I sigh. “Not sure.”
“Let’s go on a ride,” Katerina exclaims. We turn and look at her. I raise an eyebrow. She spreads her hands out. “I mean, we can have fun. We are at Disneyland, we might as well have some fun.”
Israel states, “We are reapers. We don’t do fun. And even if we did, standing in lines with sweaty humans doesn’t equal fun.”
“Oh, blah blah blah,” Katerina counters. “But rollercoasters!”
“This is serious Katerina,” I emphasize. “We have to protect him.”
“And we will, but we can pretend to be tourists too. Come on, we are at Disneyland. Let’s live it up.”
Turning, I look at Avery. “What do you want? We can just hang out and make sure we are safe.”
“Well, I’ve never been here before,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to come here, not with demons chasing me though. I’m okay with riding some roller coasters. As long as we are in well populated areas, we will be fine.”
“Where should we start?” Wyatt asks, looking around.
“We should get a map,” Julius drawls out, obviously not amused by this idea. “Do we really have to go on rides?”
Katerina stands up and beams. “Yes!”
“I actually want to see the Star Wars stuff,” Avery declares. “Let’s go do that.”
“Star Wars?” I scoff. Lame.
He looks at me. “You don’t like Star Wars?”
“Never seen it outside of movie trailers,” I reply.
His jaw drops and he stares at me. “How have you never seen Star Wars?”
Shrugging, I say, “I reap. That’s what I spend most of my time doing.”
“Once this is done and over with, we are going to have a Star Wars marathon,” Avery states, nodding his head sharply.
“Whatever you say,” I laugh. All I can think is, I hope we make it that far, but I won’t say that to him. I wouldn’t want him to panic. This is war and I’m not entirely sure we’re prepared for this. This isn’t what reapers are supposed to do. We reap souls. Sometimes we battle demons and fallen, but nothing like this. Hell is after us. I just hope I can keep him alive until this is over.