by Kari Chaplin
I hadn’t given any thought to my sister or Jake. “Shannon? Jake? Anyone home?” There was no answer.
Myra met me in the kitchen. “Is anyone home?”
“No. Demien disappeared.”
“Do you want hot chocolate?” She asked, grabbing cups from the cabinet.
“No, thanks. What are you doing here?”
“You texted me to come over,” she replied.
“I texted? I don’t remember texting you. In fact, I don’t remember getting here. I remember we were on a gravel road doing…” I looked at her as my cheeks flooded. “Then, you were banging on the door of the Hummer at my house.”
“I don’t know. He must have done a number on you.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I got a text from you. See?” She held her phone up to me.
“Want some tea?”
“Sure,” Myra said. “Where’s Shannon and Jake?”
“I don’t know. They weren’t here when I got home.” I didn’t notice if they had been here at that point or not. For all I knew, they left while I was too busy to care.
Myra and I sat at the kitchen table, waiting for the water to boil.
“So, what are you doing’ this weekend?” I asked.
“Oh, my mom wants me and Zoey to stay with her the entire weekend. Bake, watch old movies, stuff like that. You should come.”
“It sounds like a family affair,” I said, pouring hot water into the mugs.
“She is convinced that you’re her third daughter, just born to different parents. She’d love to have you.”
“Where’s your dad?”
“Football with his high school buddies. It’s at Uncle Steve’s house in Florida this year.”
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”
“So how was the drive home with Mr. Hottie?” she asked, sipping her tea.
“Fine.” I was expecting that question, but still unprepared for it.
“Fine? Well, that’s boring. Give me details. I suspect something good happened. He was determined to drive you home.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You two were doing something in the driveway, weren’t you?” She put her tea down and glared at me suspiciously. “He kissed you, didn’t he?” She had already started excitedly bouncing in her chair.
I didn’t want to answer that question. Luckily, my sister walked in, providing a nice distraction. “Hey, what’s up, sis?”
“Hi, girls. Not much. I’ve been out looking for a job.”
“How’s that going?” Myra asked.
Shannon exhaled. “Not well. I can’t find anyone hiring.”
“That’s weird,” I observed.
“How was work for you two?” Shannon asked, kicking off her shoes.
“Good. It was busy as usual. I’ve started training to be a bartender,” I offered.
“Bartender? How exciting.”
“It isn’t that exciting,” I replied.
“What were you two talking about?”
Myra grinned widely. She wanted to spill all about Demien. I didn’t want twenty questions from my sister, so I kicked Myra under the table.
“Ouch! Why did you do that?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” I lied and gave her a scowl which all but said shut up! “Myra’s weekend plans. She’s going to her mom’s to have a girls’ weekend.”
“That will be fun. Is Zoey coming back into town?” Shannon went to the cupboard and pulled down a mug. After pouring hot water into the mug, she joined us at the table.
“Yea, she is. I can’t wait to see her. I haven’t seen her since last Christmas.” Myra’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, I hope to see her.” Shannon and Zoey were close growing up. Our families did everything together, so it was only natural for everyone to be besties.
Twenty-Two
“I am so sorry, Zanj.” Demien’s eyes were full of sorrow and heartbreak.
“Sorry for what?” I asked, baffled.
“I suspected for a long time but couldn't be sure until it was too late. I’m so sorry.”
“I still don’t understand. What are you sorry for?”
“By the time I knew for sure, it was too late. I tried to stop this.” His eyes were burning with guilt and regret.
“You tried to stop what?”
He ignored my questions and continued with the story. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time.” Demien dryly chuckled. His eyes turned deadly serious eyes. “We are soul mates.”
“What? Are you insane?”
Demien’s eyes intensified into a black orb with dark violet specks. A lump of fear caught in my throat, causing me to choke a little as my breath hitched. “I wish I were.”
“You are really beginning to irritate me.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
Ignoring me, he continued. “At first, I didn’t realize you are Angel, or as I call you, Zanj. I wasn’t able to gain undeniable conformation, which is what I had been searching for since I laid eyes on you.”
I stared at him, frozen. What kind of crap was he trying to feed me? I knew guys say some stupid things trying to get into a girl’s pants, but this was beyond the line.
He continued as I stared with my jaw dropped. “You were the Archangel of Justice. You are my soulmate.” His breathing was shallow; his eyes were lost somewhere far away. “We were separated a long time ago when you were born to a family here on earth. I came to earth to find you. Archangel Michael told me I would never find you, but I didn’t want to believe him. I couldn’t believe him. I couldn’t lose you. I stayed a human lifetime but came up empty handed. I decided to go back to heaven and meet you there. When I went back to heaven, the avenging angels greeted me at the entrance. Apparently, even though I was a high-ranking Archangel, I still couldn’t go to earth without permission. They ripped my wings out, per se, and cast me down to earth. Archangels could usually do whatever they pleased.” His expression was lost in memory. He let out a quiet half chuckle. “We used to go to earth all the time to console the hurting, protect humans, things like that. Apparently, being summoned by a human is okay. That was considered ‘permissible’ to leave.” He scratched his forehead with his thumbnail.
As I listened to his insane babbling, I couldn’t help but wonder if it were possible. I had an unexplainable attraction to him. No; it was more than that. It was a pull, like a gravitational pull. I could feel the irrational, maddening connection since I laid eyes on him. If I were being truthful to myself, I would admit that I had felt the same pull in my dreams my entire life. My soul confirmed the truth behind his words. My brain was a different matter. This all sounded so crazy. I couldn’t allow myself to believe any of it.
“You don’t believe me. That’s understandable.”
“Would you believe it, if you were me?” The truth was I did believe him. The physical proof was standing before me. “Well, go on. I may not believe you, but it’s an interesting story.” I had a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t telling me the entire truth.
“Let me prove it to you.” An ornery, half-smile took the place of his dark expression.
“Okay. This will be interesting. Give it your best shot.” I rolled my eyes.
“You dream about me?” His tone sounded like a question. Demien wasn’t asking.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I’ve admitted that. I’m pretty sure this is a dream. What about it?” I crossed my arms over my chest and impatiently tapped my foot on the floor.
“Let me finish. Remember after we met? You dreamt that I was in your room, watching you sleep. I had Queen of the Night orchids for you and placed them in your room before you arrived home. Then, we had lain in bed together while you fell asleep in my arms.”
I felt the crease in my eyebrows turn from light and joking to bewildered and cautious. “Yes. I didn’t tell you about that one.” I thought for a minute. “I didn’t tell anyone about that one, not even Myra.”
“Or the dreams of our meetings in the most beautiful f
ield surrounding us with orchids and azaleas?” he continued. Okay, now he was really beginning to freak me out.
“Yes,” I choked out.
“I remember one dream. You were probably about fifteen in this lifetime. We were having a picnic in our usual private field. It was a nice day, except for the dark clouds in the west. You were in a good mood. I remember you were doing cartwheels. All of a sudden, your wings appeared. Your wings are always glittering and white, beautiful, except this particular day. They were frail and jagged. You were jaded in some way. You started crying. I asked you what was wrong. You gave me the oddest look, almost like confusion. It was very close to the expression on your face now. Anyways, I couldn’t figure it out. Before I could inquire, you disappeared. I was so worried about you. You are always happy when we are together. Maybe not recently, but aside from recent events, we are always happy together. We complete each other. We can take on the world as one.” He leans into my ear and whispers, “That’s why we mustn’t be together.”
My throat made a loud gulp noise as I swallowed hard. “I remember that dream. It was right after my dad died. Several months later, I had a daydream.” I laughed at the memory. “I remember it was a daydream, because I was called out in class for not paying attention. You were happy because my wings were restored.”
“Our dreams are not just dreams. Sometimes I find you in your current lives. But mostly I’m doomed to wander the Earth, searching for you, finding you only in our dreams.” My mouth was hanging open. I forced it closed.
“Wait… lives?” I interrupted, screaming at the top of my lungs. “What do you mean… lives?”
“Let me show you something.” He placed his hand around to the small of my back and leaned in for a soft kiss. His lips left mine and followed an invisible trail, kissing my cheek to the back of my neck. His hand followed a different trail, slowly moving from the small of my back, finding my hip, his body moving around me. My body shook with excitement and anticipation. Just when I was going to lose control, his hands found a resting place low on my hips, hooking his fingers in the belt loop of my jeans on both sides. He was standing behind me, relaxed and comfortable. Demien’s head was near my ear. “Ready?”
I slowly nodded my head, unable to find words. I felt Demien softly chuckle. His breath felt spicy and warm on my neck.
His breathtaking wings expanded before my eyes, releasing a bright, white glow with brushes of darkness before dimming to medium charcoal. Demien bent his knees slightly and gently pushed off the ground, through the window. Slowly, we began ascending.
“Whoa. Really? We are flying? This is for real?” I was in awe. The night sky was beautiful. The air was crisp and cool. I could see millions more stars than I had ever imagined. Because I lived in the backwoods, I could usually see many more stars than most people, but not this many. The beauty was intense.
Demien softly kissed my cheek as an answer.
It felt comfortable… normal. “We do this often, don’t we?”
“Yes.” His voice was rugged, yet soft… full of desire.
“I’ve dreamt about this my entire life.”
“I know, Zanj.”
Demien slowly turned me around to face him. “I love you so much. You can’t imagine…”
“This is home.”
He softly locked his lips with mine. It was a long, passionate kiss. I could feel his desire radiating from every part of him. I melted into him. I was going to ask him something, about his last comment, I thought, but I couldn’t remember. I felt a slight descent. I soon felt the ground under my feet and carpet between my toes. I didn’t have to open my eyes, I knew where we were. Disappointingly, we were back in my house.
“Do me a favor,” he whispered in my ear without moving his lips or being close to my ear.
“Wait. How did you do that?” I finally asked.
“I can do a lot of things. What are you asking about particularly?”
“Whisper in my ear like that?” I snapped. He knew what I was talking about.
“We can talk about this later. I need a favor.” His eyes were pleading.
“No. I want to talk about this now.” I pushed.
“I need you to wake up, and then I’ll talk about whatever you want.” He pushed harder.
“Don’t you dare try to change the subject. Somehow you never quite answer my questions. You beat around the bush and change the subject a lot, but what you do not do is answer my questions.”
“Fine,” he exhaled, staring me down with his black eyes. “I’ll talk fast. It’s an Angel power. Well, not that exactly, I guess. It’s more like a…” he trailed off. “fallen angel power,” he said, completing his thought. His eyes were focused on something behind me.
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
“Angels can speak to your thoughts.”
I stared at him dubiously. I found no words to respond.
“Relax,” Demien responded. “That’s how we, I mean…” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “they keep you out of trouble and alive. People call it ‘conscience’, but really, it’s your guardian angel. Let’s say, for example, you are driving. You stop at a light, which turns green. You start to proceed, but a voice enters your thoughts, saying ‘stop;’ that’s your guardian angel. You stop and see another car blow through their red light. You realize your life has been saved.” He lightly kissed the point of my nose.
“Well, you don’t sound like a thought,” I pressed. “You actually sound like you are whispering in my ear.”
He began to fidget uncomfortably. “We can manipulate you physically and mentally, and take over dreams.”
I paused as his words truly registered. “Wait a minute. What do you mean by ‘take over dreams’ and manipulate?”
“Take, for instance, the dream you had after seeing me in the bar the first time.”
“Yes, that was frightening.”
“It wasn’t a dream.”
A lump of fear formed in my throat. “What do you mean?”
We intensely stared at each other as the space between us grew.
“Vanessa, you have never been so thick headed.” I said nothing as he babbled on. “You usually get it much quicker. I assume it’s because you have no religious ties so you don’t believe in fallen angels or angels at all.”
“It can’t be possible. I can’t believe this. I hear the words coming out of your mouth. How is it possible?” He said nothing as he listened to my audible disbelief. “How can you have these abilities?”
I waited for him to respond.
Finally he said, “I was stripped of my powers when I fell.” He wouldn’t look me in the eye. He mumbled, “I always hate having to explain this to you.” He frowned and hung his head.
“Well, how can you still do that?” I was getting a little agitated. It was like pulling teeth to get a complete answer out of him. If we had gone through this several times in the past, then why didn’t he just spill it all at once and save us both the trouble?
The irises in Demien’s eyes turned from light grey to black. “I'm a part of the demon brotherhood. We have, sort of…” he paused for a moment. Demien seemed different as darkness took over his composure. He was terrifying. I was determined not to let him know how much he scared me at that moment.
“You have?” I, somehow, was able to feign calm.
Looking up at me with solid black eyes, he said, “Makeshift powers. Stripping us of our powers is like trying to change a human’s habits. A person never truly changes.”
“Oh, I see.” I hadn’t thought about that. “Well, you still have wings--beautiful, elegant wings. According to religious testaments, fallen angels are stripped of their wings. Is that…” I gulped, “his doing, too?” I wasn’t sure I wanted an answer.
His laugh was dark and sinister. “No, wouldn’t it be frightening to see a person with wings?”
“Yes. I guess.”
“Our wings aren’t ripped out. They are made of spiritual matter, so human
s can’t see them. The archangels had ordered me to fold them behind my back, never to use them. Our flying power was taken and wings deactivated, which is referred to as...”
He looked pensive as I interrupted, “Getting your wings ripped out.”
He laughed. “We never listen. Not flying is like being trapped in a cage for all eternity. That is supposed to be the point of our punishment, but what can I say.” He shrugged his shoulders sarcastically.
“I can see them in my dreams. I’ve even seen them when I’m awake, too,” I urged.
“Yes, but you are very special. Now, no more questions, I need you to wake up.” Unfortunately, I knew how he was able to fly. I didn’t want to acknowledge that side of him.
“Wake up? What do you mean? We are dreaming again?”
“Yes, we’ll go with that. Please wake up. We’re running out of time,” he venomously commanded.
“But, I like this dream. Maybe I’ll sleep for a little longer.” I smiled at him, flirtatiously.
His face was tense, distracted. He growled, “You can’t. You have to wake up. We are together now. You know as much as I can tell you, and we have used up enough time. Now, please wake up.” He sounded angry and anxious. His eyes were intense.
“What will happen if I don’t wake up? Will we get to be together forever then?” I asked, as a desperate attempt to stay with him.
“Our saga will be over for now.” His eyes met mine with frightening intensity. “I will try to resist the temptation to find you in your next life, but I will not be able to help myself. I will seek you out. It may take another hundred years, but I’ll never give up. I can’t give up, even if I wanted to. It is part of our curse.”
“Are you crying?” I asked. I couldn’t understand him.
Demien trapped my eyes with his dark expression. “Are you serious right now?” He put my hand in his and twirled me around to face the opposite side of the living room. “We don’t have much time. They are coming for you.” He said in a dry, emotionless voice.
My heart stopped at the vision in front of my eyes. “What happened?” I screamed. My body was lying in a pool of my own blood on the floor. My face and arms were badly battered. My clothes were ripped and darkened by blood that had stained them. “I’m unconscious,” I screamed in panic. I searched my brain for answers. My gut was telling me something was wrong--very wrong. “This isn’t a dream, is it?”
