Between

by Mary Ting

  “Katherine and I talked it over. We thought it was a good idea for you to learn how to use one. After all, you are one of us. You might as well learn to defend yourself; however, Michael may disapprove, but I don’t care what he thinks,” he said bluntly, giving me an “I don’t care” look.

  Why would he disapprove? I thought. But I didn’t pursue his statement. Instead, I was more interested in my gift.

  “Can you show me again?”

  “Sure, after I give you few lessons, you’ll become an expert.”

  I didn’t know if I would be an expert, but I was determined. Whatever the power that was bestowed upon me, it was somewhere buried deep inside. What had once happened in the bathtub hadn’t happened again. Being useless was a feeling I didn’t want to have. This was a great way I could contribute, something I could use to defend myself and my friends.

  We went outside and shot at empty space at first. He stood behind me again, but this time I felt comfortable. While Austin continued to direct me, I was focused, determined.

  “Why, aren’t we a bit cozy?” Startled by her voice, I jerked away and the shot aimed sideways. I turned to see Michelle and Gracie standing by the double door.

  “Should we leave you two alone?” Gracie asked, smirking. “Is this like a date?”

  “Where’s Trinity?”Austin asked, looking irritated.

  “I don’t know. She told us to stay here. Unlike you, she trusts us,” Michelle said.

  “Stop playing around. Where is she? You know I can make you tell me the truth,” Austin challenged.

  “Okay. She said that she was going to meet Michael.”

  My face turned blood-shot red, and I didn’t know what to think of what she had just said. Michael told me he had something to take care of. I didn’t bother to ask because I wanted to trust him.

  “What are they doing?” Austin asked. “I don’t care about Michael, but I want to know what Trinity is up to.”

  “Why? What’s it to you?” Michelle teased. “You have a thing for her too?”

  I had never seen Austin move so fast. With fluid precision, he had Michelle pinned against the door, and his wings opened. Gracie stumbled back and banged her side against the other door. I ran toward where they stood but kept my distance. I didn’t know what I thought Austin would do with me standing by them, as if I could stop him.

  Michelle looked horrified at first, and then she gave a cunning smile. “I was just teasing,” she said playfully, expressing no emotion in her eyes.

  “I’ll ask you one last time.” Austin’s eyes pierced into Michelle, letting her know how serious he was.

  “Okay! Trinity has another lead. I think they went to check it out.”

  “Where does Trinity get her leads? How does she know so much about these demons?”

  “I don’t know; I’m not her friend. I don’t even like her. She has an attitude.”

  “Really, as if you don’t,” Austin said and released his hold. “Why don’t you and Gracie go to another room and stay the hell away from me?”

  “Hell is a long way.” Trinity walked into the room. “I had a lead and Michael offered to come with me. Is that okay with you?” Trinity glared at Austin and then at me.

  “You need to be with them at all times,” Austin said, referring to Michelle and Gracie.

  “I trust them…so should you.”

  “I don’t trust anyone. If you can’t do this one thing right, then I’ll ask someone else.”

  “Okay…feisty aren’t we? Just because you are Katherine’s son doesn’t mean you can order us around.”

  Katherine is Austin’s mother? There was a sudden uncomfortable silence in the room. Austin didn’t look at me. He looked upset with Trinity for revealing a secret he didn’t want me to know, but he didn’t refute her. Instead, he asked another question. “What did you and Michael find?”

  “Nothing,” she said with an astute smile. “We fooled around.” Then she stared me down and walked out of the room.

  Michelle and Gracie stormed out of the room after Trinity. “This is how they treat us,” Michelle muttered through her teeth. “After all that we have done for them.” I couldn’t hear the rest of her words as she walked out of the room.

  After they left, I turned to Austin. “Why are you so mean to them? Besides the obvious.”

  “Once a traitor, always a traitor; I don’t trust them. Just because they gave us information doesn’t mean we can trust them. Katherine saved Trinity because she has a special gift. As you know, every angel or nephilim has a special power, some more than others, especially if they were parented by a Twelve. All angels can heal to a certain degree, but Trinity can heal deathly wounds, except for the wounds inflected by the crystal. Holly, Patrick, and I don’t have a specific special power. Never mind them. They are nothing to me. Let’s concentrate on you.”

  I had many questions, but now was not the time to ask so I decided to wait.

  “Let’s move on to a real target,” Austin said. “See that rock?”

  I nodded. “That’s our target? But it’s too small.”

  “You can do it. You have to believe. The flame is an extension of your arm. Concentrate. Will it to that stone.”

  I waited for him to go behind me, but he didn’t. I turned to him. “Aren’t you going to help me?”

  He backed away. “Not this time. You’re ready to be on your own.” He smiled to give me confidence.

  “I don’t think…”

  “Nuh uh…no more talking. Just do it,” he commanded.

  Exhaling deeply from frustration, I placed my right leg behind me to give me balance. Then I pulled the imaginary arrow back as far as I could. Am I supposed to pull this far? I can do this! I narrowed my eyes to the target. Then I let go. Instead of watching the flame escape, I was pushed back by the force of whatever I did wrong and landed a few yards back, flat on my bottom.

  With lightning speed, Austin knelt down to my level. “Are you okay?” His lips curved slightly, holding back a smile, and I could tell by his expression he was desperately trying to hold back from laughing out loud.

  “I’m okay,” I said trying to get up. Austin gave me his hand and pulled me up. “I told you I wasn’t ready,” I said, rubbing my behind.

  “Someday, you’ll laugh about it, but I’ll laugh about it today.” Then he chuckled lightly. “Sorry, you should have seen yourself.”

  “And if I could, I’d rather not.”

  “Don’t pull back so far. You’re not ready for that kind of power.”

  “You should’ve warned me before you let me go, free to hurt myself.”

  He chuckled again. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I was too busy watching you move, enjoying myself.”

  Then he made me blush. “Again,” I said and picked up the bow. “You should watch yourself. For laughing at me, I may choose a bigger target next time,” I teased.

  “I’m too fast for you.”

  “I may be faster with enough practice,” I smiled, preparing myself for another round of practice. Many times I missed, but toward the late afternoon, I was much better.

  After practice, Austin took me to show me the rest of his place. It was not as big as I had thought. There were about ten rooms. One of the rooms was a meeting room, furnished with a round table and about twenty chairs. Though it was pretty empty, I was mesmerized by the colorful, stained-glass, high ceiling dome. The walls were adorned with huge oil paintings with the most beautiful golden, thick frames I had ever seen. When I spotted Katherine, Philip, Margaret, and Agnes, I realized the paintings were of the Twelve.

  Even though I was in the presence of the paintings and not their physical entities, I felt overwhelmed with awe. My blood pressure shot up too fast, and I found myself short of breath. It was almost like being star struck, just like the way I’d felt in front of Katherine when I first met her, but it was a hundred time worse. I looked at every painting carefully, noting the details, from the color of their hair to the color of their e
yes. When I counted only eleven frames, I recounted to make sure.

  “There are only eleven,” Austin said, noting what I was doing.

  “These are the paintings of the Twelve. Why are there only eleven?”

  “The Twelve voted to take down Aden’s painting.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  Austin walked across to the other side of the room, and I followed behind. He pointed to a painting of a good-looking angel with dark brown hair and chestnut brown eyes.

  “His name was Zachariah. Aden killed him. This was before my time. I heard he was a great leader.”

  “Aden killed him,” I repeated his words as I looked carefully at his angelic face. His eyes reminded me of Michael’s. As I recalled Michael telling me that his father was one of the Twelve, I wondered if Zachariah could have been his father; and if he was, how heartbreaking it would be for Michael. I didn’t know which would be worse—knowing your father was dead or knowing your father was alive and didn’t care if you were his son or not.

  Austin continued. “They meet here, or sometimes they meet in Crossroads.” Austin led us out the door into the grand hall. “None of us spend much time here, except for me. It’s a place where I find comfort and peace. Though it’s used as a safe house, I kinda like to think this is my own,” Austin said, leading me to the kitchen. As we approached, the aroma swirled in my nose, and my stomach panged with hunger.

  The kitchen room was huge with an oak tree dining table that was off to the side. “Why don’t you eat dinner and I’ll meet you back in your room?”

  I saw the plate on the table and turned back to him. “You’re not eating?” I asked.

  “You know that I don’t need to eat…right? We eat for pleasure and for company and for no other reasons. I assumed you knew since the alkins don’t need to eat.”

  “I…I…yes, of course I knew,” I lied, now recalling how he barely finished his dinner at Patty’s birthday party. “Where are you going?” I asked timidly.

  “To talk to those girls.” He must have seen the worried expression on my face. “Don’t worry, I‘m not that mean. I just do things to let them know I’m serious when they don’t cooperate.”

  “Okay,” I said softly and nodded, reassuring him that I trusted him. I was surprised at myself for being disappointed that he didn’t join me for dinner and left me here by myself. But I brushed off the feeling and sat down to eat my dinner.

  After I ate, I walked around the pebbled grounds to where the cliff lay ahead. Day had turned to night, and the thousands of stars glistened brightly. They felt so close, as if I could extend my arm and touch them, just like how I felt when Michael and I flew that night. The full moon cast a horizontal glow across the ocean, and the ocean sparkled like shimmering crystals. The ambiance was serene, and it caused me to take a deep breath to smell the crisp, clean air.

  When I approached the cliff, I felt a sting of warning, telling me to back away. Many times I tried to overcome my fear of heights, but it was hopeless. I don’t think it’s something you can teach yourself; it’s in you. Your body reacts to it no matter how hard you try and no matter what you say to yourself. Just as I was wondering why I felt this way, I heard footsteps.

  “Do you see Orion?”

  I let out soft giggle. “Yes. The great hunter.” I recalled that night at camp when he’d told me about the myth of Orion.

  “Here, you can see all sorts of constellations. The stars in the sky are divided into eighty-eight constellations, and you can see all of them. The brightest constellation is Crux. The constellation with the greatest number of visible stars in it is Centaurus, but the largest constellation is Hydra. Am I boring you?”

  “Nah, go on. I like to hear about them. They are fascinating,” I said as I marveled at their beauty and sat down, tucking my knees to my chest. Then Austin sat down beside me.

  “There are twelve zodiac constellations. Your birthday is…”

  As if I knew his question, I said, “October. I’m a Scorpion.”

  “I see. You remember me telling you that Scorpius is the beast which finally killed Orion?”

  “Yes, I remember. Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you…maybe,” I teased.

  “Remember, I’m faster,” he winked.

  “We’ll see,” I joked back. “Did Michael tell you when he would come for me?”

  “No. I thought he would’ve been here by now. He’s just running a little late…I think.”

  “Hmmm,” I said and changed the subject. “Do you think that the stars are really angels’ souls?” I asked, thinking of Gamma.

  “Did someone tell you that?”

  “Gamma told me to look up at the stars so that I know I’m not alone.”

  Austin paused. “I do know that only spirits are the elements that actually go to a place humans call Heaven. We’ve been told that the stars are Earth angels’ souls. Earth angels are special because they are the ones that live among humans. They have a deeper connection with them. When an Earth angel passes away, they are split into two: one part is a soul that turns into a star and stays there as a reminder to humans that there are greater beings watching out for them. A reminder that when all hope is lost there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that they are not alone.”

  I closed my eyes, consuming his words. Tears welled up, and I desperately held them back from falling. I looked at the stars and called Gamma in my heart. How I missed her. And all the Earth angels up in the sky, watching over us and giving us hope even after death, thank you, I said from my heart and soul.

  Then I changed the subject. “Why didn’t you tell me that Katherine is your mother?”

  Austin looked surprised by my question, took a deep breath, and spoke. “It wasn’t important. And I didn’t want you to treat me differently because my mom is one of the Twelve. You understand, don’t you?”

  I didn’t understand why he would keep it secret, but now I understood his reasoning because there was a part of me that felt like I had to give him a bit more respect. Then I thought I should have put two and two together and known that Austin was a child of one of the Twelve since he had wings. Descendents of the Twelve have wings. “I guess it would be like you telling me that you are the prince of England. So, what’s it like?”

  “Patrick and Holly already know so they don’t treat me any different. I don’t have any human friends except for Andrew, and Andrew doesn’t have a clue as to what I am. It has its advantages and disadvantages. Let’s talk about something else. It’s a boring topic.”

  Knowing he felt uncomfortable, I focused the subject about his friend. “Andrew is your only friend?”

  “Holly and Patrick are my friends too. Katherine found Holly and Patrick at an orphanage. When a nephilim turns eighteen, something happens to them. Their body makes something similar to a cocoon, like a moth does, and they are encased in it. While inside, their body structure changes; they become much stronger and faster. After they break out, they are reborn. If you are a descendant of one of the Twelve then the layers of cocoon forms itself into wings. Can you imagine if this happened to you, how scared you would be?”

  “I didn’t…I mean …” I didn’t know what to say. I was astonished because it sounded so unbelievable.

  “That’s because you’re special. You have the Holy Spirit soul. And Gamma made your body believe that you are one hundred percent pure human. Katherine goes searching for nephilim. She tries to find them before the transformation takes place and before the fallen get to them. With her power to feel emotions, she can tell if a being is different. There were many incidents where these children went to the dark side, became a fallen, or afterwards, committed suicide out of madness. We don’t know how many are out there or if any are left at all. Holly and Patrick don’t know it, but Katherine and I believe they are Aden’s offspring.”

  I sucked in my breath with shock and gasped at the thought. “They don’t know?”

  “Nor will they ever know. You must keep this a secr
et.”

  I nodded sincerely. “But how do you know?”

  “Holly and Patrick have wings. When you are born from the Twelve, you have more power, strength, and you have wings. But for some reason, I guess you can say it’s genetic, Michael’s powers are unique and different. I hate to admit it, but he is special.”

  “Yes, he is,” I agreed. Austin didn’t like my response, and I heard him huff.

  “Do you have any information of Michael’s parents?” I asked, wondering if Austin knew since he seemed to know many secrets.

  “No, I don’t. You have to remember that Michael was born many centuries ago. They were the first of their kind, half human and half angel. That is why they are called alkins—meaning the first generation of nephilim. Though I am half as well, we use the term nephilim, but we call ourselves venators because we are trained to be demon hunters. There is a handful of nephilim being trained by Katherine.”

  “There are? I didn’t see them.”

  “You don’t know because it’s on a need to know basis. They are being trained in Nubilus City, but you don’t know that…okay?”

  “Hmmm…I see. You’re telling me lots of secrets I can dangle over your head,” I warned playfully.

  “Dangle all you like; I’m already under your command.”

  I let out a nervous laugh. Then I changed the subject. “Are there many demons?”

  “We don’t know how many, but I’ve killed many of them. And there are still many out there.”

  “So the three of you go looking for these demons?”

  “You need to add one more—your favorite person, Trinity,” he smirked as I rolled my eyes. “Sometimes we do. It’s quite dangerous. You should come with us one day.”

  “Nah,” I shook my head. “I’ll stay in my comfort zone.”

  “You would, wouldn’t you, my sheltered one?” he said, letting out a short laugh.

  “It’s beautiful and peaceful here,” I said, redirecting the conversation.

  “I’ve only shown you the inside. Someday, I’ll take you around the Island. I’ll show you the Tree of Knowledge. You know about the Tree of Knowledge, don’t you?”

  “The one and only Tree of Knowledge? The one where the serpent convinced Adam and Eve to take the first bite?” I asked, beyond excited.