by J. J. Dean
I'm bumped by several people who are rapidly getting their groove on, so I save myself by jumping on to the small stage to stand next to the cackling woman. She soon calms down after the tears of hilarity stop running down her face. Wiping the streaks away from her cheeks and taking a calming breath or two, she then turns to me with a brilliant, beaming smile that renders me speechless for the first time ever.
"It’s Luna, not Flower. And you must be the band, if the whole punk rock look is anything to go by." She chuckles, holding her hand out for me to accept and shake.
I regret it the second I do, because the second my bare skin touches her smooth palm, her eyes flash a blinding silver. I have no doubts that mine have flashed in the same way, a ruby red color illuminating from my brown eyes, when her eyes widen, all humor vanishing from her face as she snatches her small hand back, clutching it to her chest.
"Ah fuck," she mumbles in a daze, staring at me as though I'm wearing a bright pink tutu and a yellow boob tube shirt as opposed to my black jeans and leather jacket.
I'm not given the chance to introduce myself when my brother comes barging through the throngs of rowdy humans. He shoves his way through until he's standing by the stage, glaring up at the Angel, Luna, with equal parts desire and fury.
"Get rid of it," he grits out between clenched teeth. He's visibly tense, his muscles coiled tight and a vein in his neck throbbing in tandem with his fast-paced heartbeat. I look over at Luna where she's smirking triumphantly in Asher’s direction. I look between the two, neither one saying a word, though Asher does become a little tenser as the time goes by.
Luna breaks the staring competition with a blink and goads Asher, using an overly innocent voice that I don't believe for one second. "Get rid of what, Mr. Ryan? Whatever could it be that you’re referring to?" She flutters her eyelashes and swings her body around in short half circles with her hands clasped in front of her, her dress swishing with the motion. I watch with amusement, a grin on my face, finding far too much joy in watching this little spitfire mess with my brother. Normally he scares the shit out of everyone, no one daring to step a foot near him. Not this chick, it seems.
"You know what," Asher groans before continuing, "get rid of it, or there'll be a God damned orgy in the middle of your best friends coffee shop."
Luna howls with laughter before saying, "Are you sure that's the reason? Or is it because you're about ten seconds away from busting another nut from the residue power still wrapped oh so snugly around you, and the humans fueling whatever lingers?"
I'm still confused, so I turn to Luna and ask, "You caused this? And what do you mean, 'bust another nut'?"
"Wanna tell him, or shall I?" she provokes my brother further with a Cheshire grin on her face, perfectly straight, white teeth flashing under the lights of the store.
"Get. Rid. Of. It."
"But everyone's having so much fun! Look, even Mr. Graham is having an incredibly enjoyable experience, if the young lady in his lap is anything to go by." She faux pouts, but not before I witness the hilarious cringe and quick shudder of disgust she tries to hide at the elderly gentleman with a woman who looks old enough to be his daughter sitting crudely in his lap.
"Luna, you did this?" I ask again, needing answers to all of this crazy.
She turns to face me proudly. “This?” she motions to the crowd. “Yeah. That was me. Neat, huh? I decided a little karaoke was in order after you and your band were late, and Asher there decided I was too stupid to realize that he was an Angel just like little ol' me," she explains by not really explaining anything at all; instead, she just confuses the ever-loving shit out of me some more. And then she's looking at me again, a dangerous looking smile on her face before she tells me, "And if those ruby red eyes of yours are anything to go by, I think I just hit the jackpot with finding myself looking at another one."
I catch Asher groan again before I can work out what to tell her, anything to salvage the plan that has been thoroughly shot to shit but come up empty. Instead, I face my brother, who's turning a particular shade of red I've never seen on him before.
"Bro? You okay?" I ask carefully.
His head snaps up and his gaze latches onto Luna like she's the last steak at a buffet and he's mighty hungry. She instantly notices, and whispers, "Ohholyfuck," so fast that it becomes one word.
In a matter of seconds, Luna's eyes are flashing that beaming silver color, and at the corner of my eye, I can see a whisper of movement trickling towards where she's standing with her hands by her side, palms facing the crowd. I watch as the barely there substance glides from the humans and is absorbed by Luna.
Before it all disappears, however, she leaves enough that I can only see flashes of it wrapped around Asher. Her eyes snap open before she smirks at him. I quickly figure out it’s one of the powers He blessed her with, and internally facepalm for not realizing it sooner. That has to have something to do with her singing, if I’m adding things up right and her karaoke comment is anything to go by.
"Have fun with the boner from Hell, unless you're coming like a teenager before I even get my ass out of the door," she throws at Asher. With that, she's nothing but a blur, spinning around and jumping off the stage in a flash of tattoos and purple. She's pushing quickly through the horde of people, nudging the confused patrons out of the way in her rush for the door.
I go to check on my brother, only to find him chasing after her like he's either going to throttle her when he gets his hands on her or crush her against the wall and have his way with her.
I catch Luna calling out, "Keep my purse safe, Francis! I'm a woman on the run, but I'll be back! In a while..." and spot a woman who looks to be in her sixties, who’s popped up out of nowhere, wiping tears from her eyes while she heaves for air after laughing so hard.
Luna’s voice trails off as she barrels through the door and takes off in a sprint down the pavement. I watch as her gorgeous legs push her inhumanly fast, propelling her further and further away from Asher, who is now outside leaning his back on the door while hunched over, his hands resting on his knees. I notice his entire body is shaking and twitching before it dies down and he drops his head in his hands and shakes his head.
I can do nothing but watch in amused fascination as one Angel flees the scene of an almost orgy that she caused and my brother, in fact, busting a nut outside of a coffee shop, that she also caused. And this is the woman we’ve been sent to convince to pick the side of Satan himself.
What the Hell have we gotten ourselves into?
Luna
"Run , run, run, run," I chant breathlessly to myself as I'm sprinting like I'm taking part in a marathon and shooting for gold. I take a quick glance behind me to check if I'm still being chased and heave out a breath before slowing down to a light jog when I realize no one is behind me. Well, no one is around at all. The street is empty and there’s not a moving vehicle in sight. I'm not as stupid as some might assume, however. I'm not going to stop running just because I can't see the super-hot and super furious Angel that was close to catching up with me before another blessed orgasm rendered his efforts futile. We Angels are fast, so I'm not risking it.
I decide, since I'm pretty much the equivalent of a fugitive right now, I may as well go do something productive while I wait for the Angel’s I ditched at Frenchie's to abandon post and leave my usual haunt. What better way than to find someplace I can read? That’s productive, right? I hurry my way to the nearest library and thank my lucky stars when there’s one right around the corner of the street I’m still jogging down. I'm not hiding, though. I'm just... laying low.
I reach my destination and don't hesitate to rush up the old cracked steps that leads to the worn-down looking building. I push the heavy door open and slip inside, listening to the groans of the door as it shuts soundly behind me.
"Hello?" I whisper-shout, not wanting to raise my voice any higher in a building so quiet that you could quite literally hear a pin drop. I look around for any signs of
life, and see none, not even behind the front desk where there should be at least one human doing all the mundane things there's to do at a front desk of a decrepit library.
I walk up to the dark wooden desk anyway and lean my elbows on the surprisingly smooth surface. I glance around the area, not much to be seen in the entrance, but I spot a number of bookcases off to the left side of the room and an old looking couch to the right. I'm tapping my black lacquered nails rhythmically on the desk before giving up my wait for someone to offer me assistance, or just appear in general.
I push myself away from where I'd been leaning, and fate takes me to the left of the library. I freeze a moment to take in the room, surprised that it looks nothing like I'd imagined it would have from the outside.
It is what I'd compare to the Tardis, small on the outside but big on the inside. There are cases upon cases of books in every size and color lined throughout, some facing different directions to the others instead of standing in uniform. It’s like controlled chaos, but it weirdly works. There are stairs to the right as you step into the massive space that lead to the upper level where I’m sure are more books. I take a quick look around the downstairs before realizing there's nothing that pulls at my attention, so I take a quick trip up the stairs. There's a line of bookcases that are overflowing with paperbacks, at the edge of what would be a balcony effect floor, that hides the plethora of computers that sit unused amongst the towers of literature. I wonder why they'd need so many?
Unable to find anything that piques my interest amongst the science books and computers, I head back down the well-kept stairs and out of the room. I find myself back at the entrance where there is still no employee to be found, so I wander to the right of the building where the room is equally as large as the one on the left.
What sits inside this room is pretty much a glorified living room that was designed to sit large quantities of bodies. The back wall is covered in books. I'm talking an entire wall of books. It has one of those neat moving step ladders that's attached to the wooden frame of the giant book case and rolls on the floor. You know the ones. The one like in Beauty and the Beast where Belle dramatically swings her arm out while gliding across the floor, describing her favorite book? Yeah, that nifty contraption.
I stuff down the urge to re-enact the scene and focus on the rest of my surroundings. The entire room is filled to the brim with comfy looking couches, beanbags and single seated armchairs. They're all scattered around the room, in various colors and patterns, some surrounding coffee tables or cute little tables. There's a lit grand fireplace in the middle of the wall opposite the entrance to the room which has my eyebrow raising. If there's already a fire burning, then surely there's someone in the building, right?
I take another look around, but still no sign of anyone, so I shuffle my way towards the wall of books and set myself in search of something that will keep me occupied for a little while. I lose the fight with my restraint and find myself gliding on the ladder with the excuse that I needed to search the books further up in case anyone just so happened to catch me in the act and asked what I was doing.
After my fun, I find three books that call to me before I make my way to the pretty coral colored armchair with a tattered cream cushion. I sit my ass down and sink into the second comfiest chair that has ever existed. I get myself comfy before opening the first book to the beginning and fall into a world of vampires and romance.
***
"Have you seen a woman with dark purple hair, falls just past her waist. Arms full of tattoos," an all too familiar voice asks from somewhere around me, which is weird considering I don’t even know where I am. Where the fuck am I?
I open my eyes and find myself staring at a mismatched group of furniture and I quickly realize I'm still at the Tardis library. I must have dozed off in the middle of reading my book. I musn’t have realized how tired I'd been after my getaway sprint and the adrenaline wearing off. Adrenaline that seems to kick back in at the sound of Asher listing a description that paints me perfectly.
I listen out for a reply from somewhere that could be behind my chair. I don't have to wait long when a man’s smooth, gentle voice responds. "Can't say I have. I'm sorry. We don't get many wanderers here. This library has gone mainly unused for quite some time."
That voice has my eyes slowly drifting closed again, so calming and soft. It's like a warm blanket has been wrapped around my shoulders. I fight the urge to fall asleep again and am rewarded with a frustrated growl from the source of my low lying.
"If I give you my number, can you let me know if you see her? It's important," Asher's deep, rumbling voice gravels out, setting a wave of goosebumps bristling across my arms. I nestle down further into my chair and hope with all of my being that he and the unknown person don't come searching the room, anyway.
The stranger politely responds with, "I'll be sure to do that," and then it's quiet save for Asher’s thundering footsteps. I listen until the sounds of his walking fades and listen some more when nothing but silence stretches on.
"You can come out now," the strangers velvet like voice sounds from directly behind my chair. I roll my head until I'm facing the ceiling but a jaw droppingly handsome man's face obscures my view of the antique beams in the high ceiling.
The man has the softest looking hair, the color of caramel that has my hand itching to run through the mussed locks. He's cut the sides somewhat short, but the mop of hair at the top has been grown out. It sits in a calculated mess and styled perfectly so it's out of his eyes. Hazel irises framed with long lashes peer kindly at me through black thick-framed glasses, and a full set of lips sit nicely on his face.
The handsome stranger gives me a soft smile when all I do is stare, and I shake myself out of yet another hottie haze. I move so I'm sitting upright and the stranger walks around my chair to sit on the coffee table in front of me. His white shirt wraps around him snugly, showing off his athletic build and well-defined muscles. A pair of black jeans hug the lower half of his body, and a smart looking pair of shoes complete the ensemble of the seriously good-looking guy I can’t stop staring at. I shake it off when I witness a blush creep up his neck.
"You told that man you hadn't seen me," I croak and immediately clear my throat that must have dried without use.
The stranger gives me another kind smile, his face lighting up with it, and I find myself relaxing completely around him. An unusual effect from someone I’ve never met before.
"I'm assuming you know him somehow, and that man looked like he'd rip my head off and throw it in the nearest dumpster, so I assumed you were hiding from him when he listed your description. I found you sleeping about an hour ago, so I let you rest. Looked like you needed the sleep," he explains shyly, the cute tint of pink now fully coating his cheeks.
"I was lying low, yeah. I might have pissed him off immensely earlier on in the day," I respond like it's an everyday thing, a normal occurrence that I go around aggravating buff men that could easily snap my damn neck with just a flick of a finger.
It's like the hottie mirrors my thought when his concerned reply reaches my ears, "I really hope you don't make that a habit."
I chuckle at the serious expression he wears, and tell him honestly, "No, today just happened to be a weird day for me. It's a one off. So... do I get the name of the man who saved me from likely being carted off by the caveman?"
"Oh! Yeah, sorry. Noah. My name's Noah Samuels. I'm the librarian. I work here," he rambles. He's so damn cute that I can't help but smile at his bumbling efforts.
"Luna Greyson. Thank you for helping me, Noah," I respond, my gratitude evident in my words. "I best head home, though. If the guy that stopped by looking for me is here, that means he's not around the coffee shop I escaped. Now's a good a time as any to make a run for it."
He gives me a nervous chuckle in response, probably not sure if I'm joking or not. The less he knows, the better, in this case. I make to move off the chair, but I stumble when my left foot cat
ches my right and I fall into Noah, who is quick to stand and catch me before my head collides with the coffee table.
My weird day seems to be nowhere near being over when Noah's gentle hands touch the bare skin of my arms and I find myself watching his eyes light up the color of citrine, a stunning yellow that rivals the sun. He lets go of my arms quickly when he no doubt witnesses my eyes flash their shade of silver and I can see his wide-eyed expression when the brightness dims and his hazel color returns. Why is this happening to me? I’m finding myself suddenly surrounded by one Angel after the other and have no idea which of their leaders are sending them.
My guard immediately goes up, especially after my encounter with the two Angels I met earlier, and I take a step back, only to bump into the chair. Noah reaches out to steady me again, his left-hand making contact with my waist.
Neither of us react, both of us staring intently at the other. The spell is broken when Noah whispers the only thing that turns my blood to ice, my entire body freezing the moment I hear it because the only people to ever utter the name is Javos and Brolos, and before them, it was only spoken in Heaven by Him.
"Nevaeh..."
Noah
She suddenly makes to turn and no doubt leave, but my hand that is still resting gently on her waist tightens a fraction, halting her movement. She doesn’t move to turn to face me fully again, just freezes where she stopped.
"Nevaeh, wait-"
I catch her eyes flashing a bright silver before she can contain it, a brief glimpse of anger pushing its way into her expressive gaze. There’s no need to ask what it is that made her temper flare when she opens her mouth and speaks through gritted teeth. "It's Luna. Not Nevaeh. I haven't gone by that name since He banished me," she snarls, tugging her body, trying to shake off my hold on her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I only know of you as Neveah," I explain, before pulling my free hand up and making an X gesture across where my heart lay in my chest. "I vow to only call you Luna unless given other instructions by you."
