Grandma then went on to say that the bond they shared curbed Grandpa’s demon tendencies. The longer they were together and as they grew their family, he became a very strong force for all things good and light. But as with humans, there is prejudice within the ranks of angels and demons, so Grandma and Grandpa are still to this day considered outcasts among their kind. Although other angels and demons do not bother them, they also do not associate at all with our family. We stand apart from both societies.
I also learned that my mom is a demon/angel hybrid, while Aunt Poppie is an angel/demon hybrid, meaning for my mom her demon side is dominant but for Aunt Poppie her angel side is stronger. As for me, I am the first ever demon/angel/human to be born. And although my eyes were the same as my mom’s and grandpa’s, the fact that I did not show any supernatural abilities meant everyone thought my human side was the most dominant.
It was a lot to absorb in one sitting, which made me very happy for my cup of tea and plate of cookies. Aunt Poppie knows me so well.
Chapter 4
Dr. Ivy Hemlock Flowers pulled the ancient parchment out of her drawer and read the passage again. She had waited so long for an opportunity to present itself that would allow her to regain her powers, and this was it. She was positive that her lovely little stepdaughter was the answer to her problem. Every time she looked at Marigold she could see the angel power radiating off of her. She could just about taste it.
The spell was written in the old language, and it had been so long since Ivy had read it she wanted to be cautious. If she botched the spell, it would spell her demise. She needed to get everything just right. She closed her eyes, thinking back to that fortuitous day when she found the parchment scroll. Ivy smiled to herself as she remembered how she had all but given up hope of ever regaining her powers, being stuck in limbo, not angel but not human, for the last one thousand years. She had felt so beaten down, she resigned herself to her fate and was looking for a way to end her misery. She didn’t care if she disappeared into oblivion; she just didn’t want to live a half-life anymore, a mere shadow of the powerful creature she had once been. That is, until she met Philip Flowers and things began to change quickly.
Ivy always loved antique shops; they reminded her of better times. They also routinely held hidden treasures, and this particular shop held a relic that would end her misery. To her utter dismay, the relic had been sold, but before she left the store she picked up pieces of the conversation between the customer and the shop owner.
Philip Flowers is a quirky human, always between jobs, but he had in his possession, to Ivy’s amazement, one of the ancient angelic scrolls. The poor human had no clue that he had found one of the most priceless artifacts from angel history. He’d been very vague about how the scroll came to be his when the shop owner asked, but he was eager to sell it and very annoyed that the owner offered him a measly price for it.
She glanced at the counter where Philip had unrolled the scroll, and at that moment she knew she had found what she was looking for.
She opted to exit the store and linger outside in the hopes of arranging a private sale with Philip. At that time she didn’t know his name was Philip or that he had an angel for a daughter. It was uncanny how the pieces fell into place.
Ivy knew instantly that Philip was enamored with her. His whole face lit up the moment she said, “Excuse me.” They went for coffee, and Ivy found out that he was having financial problems, which was why he was looking to sell the scroll. He was recently divorced from his wife, lost his job, and his car broke down. He was days away from being evicted from his apartment, so selling the old piece of parchment he had found in the attic was his only hope and the antiques dealer said it was worthless. As she listened to his sad tale, Ivy knew that he was just the person she needed.
It was a whirlwind romance after that, and they were married three short months from the day they met at the antiques store. And Ivy didn’t have to buy the scroll, as Philip was more than eager to give it to her. It was his wedding gift to her; hers to him was paying off his debt … oh, the power money has when you want your way….
Ivy broke out of her reverie and turned her attention back to the spell, reminding herself she only had one chance at casting it.
Chapter 5
“Marigold, it is time to wake up! Get up now! You cannot sleep the summer away.”
Yup, that is Mom yelling for me to get up, I thought, as I lay snuggled under my covers. Why do moms always have to wake you up just when you are getting to the good part of a dream? Wait! It wasn’t a dream, or at least I don’t think it was.
As I watched the sunlight stream into my room, I continued to wonder if it was just a really amazing, vivid dream. But in the light of day I knew it was not a dream, it was real. As insanely unbelievable as it seemed, it was real. It was also a secret. Which really made me sad as I was bursting to tell my cousins and show them my wings! In my demon form, I have incredible wings. But as their birthday was still three months away and Grandma wasn’t sure if they were going to be anything more than human, mum’s the word.
Begrudgingly I got out of my nice, comfy bed as I knew it was the only way to get my mom to stop yelling. A glance at the clock told me it was just after 10 o’clock so I hadn’t really slept the day away. I also didn’t get lucky enough for Mom to become so engrossed in writing her latest book for her to forget about me. She always says she never forgets about me, but sometimes when she is writing she becomes so lost in her work she loses track of time, which can really work to my advantage.
Mom was at her writing desk by the time I emerged from my room. I should have guessed she was writing when she stopped yelling for me and banging things in the kitchen. Ok, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration as our apartment isn’t really that big, so there is no need to yell if you are in the kitchen to be heard in my bedroom, as regular voice carries just fine. Anyway, I was grumbling a good morning when I saw on the kitchen counter one of my absolute favorite foods. Mom might have been working, but I was definitely on her mind. And the banging I heard was Mom making breakfast for me.
There on the counter she had placed a fresh loaf of sesame bread, which was sliced, and pesto. Not just any pesto—the most delicious pesto ever! I hummed to myself as I grabbed the plate Mom had prepared along with a glass of water and headed to the TV room with my feast. I love when Mom goes to the farmers’ market. I was now wishing she had woken me up earlier so I could have gone with her. I love sampling the food and chatting with the pesto man, he always lets me have seconds and thirds on the samples.
I quickly ate my breakfast, put my dirty dishes in the dishwasher (sometimes I do remember), got dressed, and went to hug my mom. She instantly stopped what she was working on and hugged me back. She slowly stepped back and looked at me with one eyebrow raised. “So, how are you feeling?” she asked.
“I don’t know, maybe a little blue,” I said as I willed my demon form to rise to the surface. With that, Mom laughed out loud.
Mom’s laughter confirmed that I was literally blue and everything from the night before was unequivocally true. By the way, isn’t unequivocally a cool word? Mom used it the other day and it stuck with me. It means “leaving no doubt.” But I am off topic, once again.
So Mom’s laughter, aside from confirming what I already knew to be true, also made me feel so much better. She understood my pun in answer to her question, and her reaction was natural. It was no different from any other jokes or puns we have shared. This was our life, and it was all ok. I wonder if my dad would feel the same way or if he would freak out. I also wondered if I would ever get to tell him.
As if reading my mind, Mom looked at me and said, “Marigold, you cannot tell your father about this. Not yet, anyway.” She continued, “I don’t like to ask you to keep secrets from him as I do not think it is fair. However, until we understand the full extent of your powers and your ability to control them as well as how we might be able to gauge your father’s reaction … just lik
e with your cousins, you need to keep this quiet with him.” And just like with my cousins, this totally bummed me out.
Before I could get too lost in thought, Mom was talking again. This time a more mundane topic—Daisy needed to be walked. So with that I went through my morning routine so I could take my beautiful pup for a walk. Bonus was Mom gave me some money so we could stop and get a treat at the Sugar Shack … yummy!
Chapter 6
The day was absolutely beautiful, just the perfect mix of sunshine and warmth. Daisy and I walked our entire town, which was in full summer bloom. The Sugar Shack treats tasted better than ever, and as always everyone we met wanted to just love Daisy up. I’ve yet to meet one person who does not love Daisy, well, except for my stepmother, Ivy. I don’t know why, but Daisy doesn’t like her and Ivy seems to be afraid of Daisy. It’s like Daisy knows something that no one else does, which is the feeling I get from Daisy whenever Ivy is around. But everyone else loves her; even people who say they are afraid of dogs love her.
So we had a great time in town. We checked out all the window displays. My favorite was the bookstore, which always has my mom’s books showcased. Mom says the owner loves the fact that she is a local author. I think my mom may be like a mini celebrity, although she tells me no.
The best part of my walk was meeting up with my cousins, Luna and Solé. They were heading to the library to get caught up on our summer reading assignments. So the three of us stopped at my house to drop Daisy off so I could join them. Unfortunately, I needed to do my summer reading, too, but I also wanted to see if there were any books on angels and demons in the library.
The library was really quiet compared to how it is when we are in school. Most of us head to the library after school before going home. As long as you follow the rules, the librarians don’t mind if you hang out there. Most of us just cluster in a group and do our homework. Although I do like to explore the library to see what secrets it might hold. Up until today, it has been an everyday, ordinary library.
The three of us found a table in a quiet corner, and then we each went our separate ways to find books we needed for summer reading. Well, that was what I was supposed to do, but instead I headed to the religion section to see what I could find on angels and demons. I wasn’t sure it was the right section to be in, but I didn’t want to ask the librarian where I could find those types of books. In my head, I envisioned they would be in some kind of restricted section. Little did I know that they kind of are.
As I walked down the aisle, I saw a shadow that seemed to grow more solid as I got closer to it. It was the shape of a person, and it looked like it was putting books on the shelves. Except the person and books were transparent. And then it saw me. I felt a shiver run down my spine and panic start to rise … the library is haunted! Has it always been haunted? Is this part of my powers that I can now see ghosts? Oh, I really hoped that was not it, and if it is wait until I see my mother. And I do not mean that in a good way.
Just as I was starting to slowly back up out of the aisle, the apparition saw me. I mean, it looked right at me and started to float toward me. I froze. I really wanted to run, but I was literally frozen in place. That transparent ghost person froze me so I could not move, and, worse, I couldn’t call up my demon powers, not that I knew how to use them but I figured a ghost would be afraid of a demon, maybe?
As the ghost got closer, I could see that it was a lady and she was very young and very lovely. Also, as she got closer a feeling of peace started to envelop me, my heart stopped pounding like a jackhammer, and I stopped frantically trying to get my demon to rise. She appeared to be a few years older than I was, and she was dressed really oddly. Her clothes reminded me of pictures you see from history books, back when women always wore long dresses but not like prairie dresses. I wish I knew the time period as it was like she died in a Halloween costume or something.
The closer she got, the more I relaxed, and my whole body seemed to unfreeze. I wasn’t concerned about running away anymore, and was so relieved I could control my body once again. When she was a few feet away from me, she said, “Hello, can I help you find something?”
I giggled. I couldn’t help myself! This was a ghost librarian, and she wanted to help me find something. And because she was a ghost and I was looking for books on demons and angels, I answered, “I am looking for information on demons and angels.”
With that, she nodded in acknowledgment and said, “Follow me.” So I did.
I followed her to an area of the library I had never seen before, and, to be honest, I don’t think it existed before that day. But then I reminded myself, I was following a ghost librarian and I had just found out I was a demon/angel/human hybrid, so it shouldn’t be strange that I might be going to a part of the library that only supernatural beings can access. Hey, stranger things have happened, right? Ok, well, maybe not.
The room we entered was lovely, and are you ready for this? The door we entered had a sign that read “Restricted.” I laughed right out loud when I saw that. As soon as we entered the room, the ghost librarian became solid. I don’t know any other way to explain it except to say she went from being transparent to being not transparent. Then she looked at me and asked, “You can really see and hear me?”
Um, well, duh is what I thought, but my answer was a simple “yes.”
She seemed relieved, and a smile lit up her face as she introduced herself. “My name is Tessa, and I am the librarian for the restricted section. And you are?” I told her I was Marigold and it was nice to meet her. And with that she led me to a bookcase that held nothing but books on angels and demons. They appeared to be old history-type books, and they looked like exactly what I was hoping to find.
Tessa told me I was allowed to use any of the books I found there; however, I was not to remove any of the books from the room and no one else was allowed in. Just like with not being able to tell anyone about my birthday transformation, I was disappointed. I knew my mom would love this room, and I hated having to keep it a secret from her, but wait … Tessa said no one was allowed in, she didn’t tell me I couldn’t tell anyone about it, so maybe I would tell my mom. Or maybe I should have Tessa be more specific on the rules for the restricted section as I did not want to lose access to it over a technicality.
Just as I was about to ask Tessa to be more specific, she pointed to a plaque on the wall, which believe it or not, showed a list of rules. The plaque said the following:
“Use of the Restricted Archive
• It is prohibited to discuss the existence of the restricted archive without approval from the Restricted Archive Librarian.
• No one is allowed in the archive unless accompanied by the Restricted Archive Librarian.
• No books are to be removed from the archive.
• No photocopies can be made of any of the books in the archive; note taking is allowed.
• No pictures may be taken of the books or of information in them.”
I wondered if I had any other questions about the use of the room would they appear on this list before I could even ask them aloud? Before I could ask Tessa, my phone started to vibrate. I had a text message from Luna wanting to know where I was as they were getting ready to leave and did I want to go to their house for lunch.
So with that I bid Tessa good-bye and headed to meet up with my cousins for lunch at their house. I also needed to text my mom so she knew I was going to Aunt Poppie’s house.
Chapter 7
Tessa watched as Marigold navigated the library to meet up with her cousins. Once she knew they were safely out of the building, she closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. She was definitely playing it risky with her interpretation of the edict passed down when her closest and oldest friend went rogue. But how could she stand by and do absolutely nothing? It is not like she is really interfering with their lives, she is just trying to level the playing field and give Marigold a chance. But she knew if she were found out, there would be a steep pri
ce to pay for what would be viewed as a betrayal of her kind.
She still remembers the day when her dearest friend went rogue. Angels and demons alike were in an uproar. Never in their entire history had something like this happened, well, not that anyone knew about, anyway. And what was even more unusual was that the Angel Elders and the Demon Elders passed down a shared edict to all of demon and angel kind. The rogues were to be left alone. No one was to see them, speak to them, or in any way interact with them. Basically, we were all supposed to pretend like they did not exist. The Elders even went so far as to include any offspring they may have. It made Tessa’s heart ache, but she, like so many others, was afraid of what would happen to her if she disobeyed a direct edict from the Elders. And not just any edict, but one made jointly by the demons and angels.
However, recent events had her rethinking her actions and questioning whether ignoring her friend all these years was the right thing to do, especially now when a malevolent force was out to destroy them and perhaps the entire angel/demon balance in the world.
So now she was taking action. It might be small and perhaps insignificant, but if the knowledge held in these books could help Marigold defeat the evil that is out to destroy her family, then Tessa was going to make sure she had access to it. Knowledge is power, and history tends to repeat itself, so there is a good chance that as Marigold learns more about angels and demons she will be able to fight what is coming her way.
Tessa did not know exactly what it was that was coming, but she did know it had the power to mask Marigold’s true essence from her family until her 11th birthday, as well as the twins. And Tessa had heard rumors of stolen powers and of a truly strong and remarkable angel trapped between angel and human forms. The Elders seemed unconcerned by these events, which made Tessa even more suspicious that something evil was coming.
Chapter 8
Lunch at Aunt Poppie’s house with cousins is always the best. Aunt Poppie is the best cook, and it is so sad that my cousins are such picky eaters. Aunt Poppie gave me leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy … yummy! My cousins turned their noses up at it and ate cereal, go figure. But my mom says I happen to have a good palate, meaning I like food. My favorite meal to eat at Aunt Poppie’s is mussels with Uncle Luis. Aunt Poppie said she will teach me how to make them so I can have them whenever I want, well, as long as Mom will buy me mussels to cook.
Marigold Flowers: A Little Blue Page 2
