Keeper of the Innocents

by Kristy Centeno

  In a matter of minutes we were inside my small but comfortable home, and since Renee already knew the layout of the apartment, which was slightly different from hers, she immediately headed towards the kitchen to the left. There she found Mom still moving about the room.

  As I closed the front door I could hear Renee asking Mom a million questions about what she was doing, how she learned how to cook, what was her favorite thing to eat, etcetera. Renee was small but she could keep an adult engaged in conversation for hours.

  I walked over to the couch after locking the door, placed Mr. Snuggles and her Barbie backpack on the couch, and then joined Mom and Renee in the kitchen.

  “Renee, go sit down. I’m going to help Mom set the table.” I ushered her out of the kitchen and she joyfully obeyed.

  I helped Mom set the table, and after Dad joined us, we enjoyed a breakfast of French toast, diced fruit, apple juice for Renee, and coffee for us.

  After we’d had our fill, I helped Mom clear the table and wash the dishes while Dad entertained Renee with a good old game of hide and seek. Being the tiny thing that she was, Renee had no problem at all hiding in places where Dad had a hard time finding her.

  By eight thirty Dad had to leave for work and I decided to take Renee to the playground at the back of the building. It was early enough that the summer heat wouldn’t be as uncomfortable but I opted for taking a small water cooler filled halfway with ice with us just in case. I took my cell and asked Mom to call me if anything important popped up.

  On my way out of the apartment, I found myself hoping I’d bump into Rhyzel. Even though in a few hours we were scheduled to meet at the front of the building, I wanted to see him. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to be exposed to his presence, even if it only for a few seconds, but he was noticeably absent as I made way toward the building’s main exit.

  When I finally got the front of the building I noted his motorcycle was gone and I assumed he must have gone to work. I had no idea how he could risk a drive to his job after being up half the night. But he’d been shown to be a resilient person and by the looks of him, he was used to being on the go.

  No doubt it hadn’t been the first time he’d had to get up and leave without getting much rest. After what I’d seen in my visions of his life, it was easy to put two and two together. What bothered me a bit was wondering what his fate would be in the upcoming days or even weeks. Rhyzel had mentioned before that the demons that were after him usually found him whenever he used his powers.

  And he’d used a lot of power during the battle with the Rake. Would they come looking for him at any moment? And if they did, would he be forced to take off? Was there a chance I wouldn’t see him again?

  These thoughts consumed me as I walked around the building, through the carefully designed landscape of low Kentucky blue grass, tulips varying in colors all perfectly aligned against the eight foot fence bordering the sidewalk, and a walkway constructed of river rocks, flattened to make for a safe walk through.

  I led Renee across the walkway to the huge playground at the back. The day was a little humid already, but I didn’t have to worry much about the sun. The property’s owner had made sure the park would be protected from the worst of the elements and he’d designed the play area with a sturdy roof that provided shade on sunny days, and protection from the rain and snow during the worst weather days.

  Being that it was so early in the morning, we were the only ones present, so we took advantage of that fully. I set the water cooler next to the slide and followed Renee around as she climbed the jungle gym. I kept a watchful eye on her at all times, gently pushing on her back when she went on the swing, going down the slide with her on my lap, and holding on to her midsection when she decided to give the monkey bars a try.

  After about a half hour we both needed a water break, so we sat on the end of the slide and hydrated ourselves. Once she’d gotten her fill of the liquid she decided to go for round two and I joined in. Overall, Renee and I had fun. Child or not, I enjoyed Renee’s company. She was a sweet little girl and her enthusiasm for life was overtly contagious.

  As I observed her, I questioned whether there was ever a time in my life when I’d felt so carefree. I couldn’t remember if that was ever the case. Not that I had a bad life. My parents were great and I’d always had what I needed. But as far back as I could remember I’d always been exposed to magic, demons, and overall evil. It hadn’t traumatized me in the full sense of the word, but I did wonder often what my life would have been like if I’d had a normal upbringing.

  Did Rhyzel ask himself the same thing? Had he ever had the desire to have a normal life? Was he tired of running and hiding? When it came to analyzing my entire lifespan, and comparing it to his, I’d had a much more tranquil existence. I didn’t have to worry as much about hiding from other magical or supernatural beings. Those with enough power or magical knowledge could tell right away I was a witch.

  Rhyzel was half demon. His mere existence would always prove challenging no matter how well he hid or how he chose to live his life. Hadn’t I automatically assumed he was a danger for humankind? Hadn’t I judged him for what he was right away? I hadn’t even gotten to know him. I just presumed he would hurt people. I presumed he was a killer or would soon turn into one. All demons killed, so why would he be different?

  The truth of the matter was that he was different. Very different. He was, perhaps, a lot like me. Maybe if I got to know him more I’d come to find out we had a lot more in common than I already knew.

  “Demi! Let’s go down the slide again.” Renee’s voice snapped me out of my stupor. I glanced around, realizing I stood in the middle of the playground unmoving with my eyes staring ahead. I hadn’t even noticed at what point I’d stopped moving, my thoughts putting me in a complete daze.

  I shook off all thoughts of Rhyzel and concentrated instead on Renee. She was a very perceptive child and she could always detect when I wasn’t feeling like myself, so I made my way toward her and pretended as if everything was okay. I didn’t want her to pick up on any concerns I might have. She might think it was because of the argument with Mina and blame herself again.

  Although Mina had stormed off angrily first thing this morning, and I had no idea when she’d be back, I knew her well enough to know that once her temper subsided she’d reappear and behave as if nothing ever happened. She’d done it before. So I ignored any form of guilt that tried to push itself to the surface and continued with my early morning adventure with Renee.

  We played for a good two hours, stopping often to hydrate. I realized it was time to go home and cool off when Renee’s cheeks, which were usually as pale as a sheet of paper, turned tomato red.

  “Let’s go inside and eat some cold fruit.” I picked up the water cooler. “It’s getting too hot to be out.”

  Renee skipped towards me. “I’d like to have blueberries.”

  “We have blueberries.” I extended my arm. “Let’s get going.”

  She took my hand and together we made it back to my apartment. Once back indoors, we had a light snack of diced blueberries, apples, and strawberries with yogurt, accompanied by a glass of cold orange juice. Soon thereafter Renee suggested we play a round or two of her favorite game, Candyland.

  We spent about an hour pretending to give Renee a run for her money, but I opted out in order to prepare lunch. Mom kept her busy while I cooked and an hour later we sat around the table and enjoyed a menu of grilled cheese, homemade fries, and cold milk.

  After cleaning up, Renee cuddled up on the couch with Mr. Snuggles and watched some TV. Finally feeling the heaviness of the lack of sleep, I sat next to her and shut my eyes. I hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep until Mom shook me awake and told me to go lie down on my bed.

  When I glanced down to where Renee had been sitting watching TV I noted she was curled up in a fetal position, fast asleep. I decided to follow Mom’s advice and leave the couch for Renee to take her nap. She fit better than I did, a
fter all.

  I got up and walked away just as Mom was setting a blanket on Renee.

  “Wake me up when she does,” I tossed over my right shoulder just before walking into my bedroom and jumping on my bed.

  Since I hadn’t heard from Mina, I took out my phone from my shorts pocket, and dialed her number. It rang three times before going to voicemail. I ended the call and tried again, but got the same response so I texted her instead. She didn’t reply.

  Frustrated, I shoved my phone inside my pocket once again, turned over to my side, and reached for my pillow.

  The last thing I remember before falling asleep was hugging my pillow and bringing to mind Rhyzel’s handsome face and haunting green eyes.

  ***

  I woke up completely disoriented and confused. Since I wasn’t used to taking a nap during the day, upon waking up I felt as if I’d slept through a lifetime of events. I knew that hadn’t really happened, but the feeling was there nonetheless.

  Still a little groggy, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and got to my feet. I’d woken up suddenly too so the shaking of my body was unavoidable. Even though nothing had prompted my trip back to reality, I shook all over as if a foghorn had gone off and I’d been sleeping right next to it, waking me up instantly.

  “This is why I hate taking naps during the day.” Not to mention I woke up more tired than when I’d fallen asleep in the first place.

  I glanced around the room, noting the sun was still shining brightly outside. I took that as a good sign. At least I hadn’t slept straight to the evening.

  Recalling that Renee had fallen asleep on the living room couch, I walked out of my bedroom and found the curly haired, baby face sweetheart sitting on a chair, hovering over a piece of paper, dutifully working on a new masterpiece.

  “Mom?” I called out when I didn’t see her anywhere.

  Mom popped her head out of the kitchen entrance. “Demi, you’re finally awake.”

  “What time is it?” I’d lost my sense of time altogether.

  “About three thirty.”

  “What?” I turned my gaze over to Renee who was now looking back at me with a smile on her face. “Why’d you let me sleep so long?”

  “You needed your rest. Besides, Renee woke up not too long ago anyway.”

  I sauntered over to the table, pulled out a chair and sat on it. “Did anybody call me?” I hadn’t heard from Mina all day and I was beginning to worry a little. I should have heard from her by now. She wasn’t the type to stay angry for more than a few hours.

  “I don’t know.” Mom disappeared back inside the kitchen. “You have your cell.”

  That’s right. I never took my phone out of my pocket!

  I pulled out my cell from my pocket and started going through it, surprised to find a long text message from a number I didn’t recognize.

  Being that I forced you into going on this date with me, I’m giving you the option to bail out if you want.

  I had begun to wonder why Rhyzel hadn’t bothered to ask for my phone number, now I knew why. I didn’t bother with setting up a passcode for my phone since no one ever went through it but me. Mom and Dad had never invaded my privacy like that and even if they had, there was nothing on my phone that would get me in any trouble.

  Rhyzel had taken things a step forward. Not only had he gone through my phone but he’d programmed his number into my contacts without me knowing.

  And now he was giving me the choice to forget about our deal. As strange as the whole scenario had turned out, if he hadn’t blackmailed me when he had, I would never have gotten to see the capacity for good he did have. What other guy would put himself at risk to help out the very person with the power to vanquish him?

  By using his powers he’d practically turned on the internal tracking device that would lead other demonic entities straight to him. I owed him my life, the least I could do was go on the date with him.

  Are you trying to bail out on me?, I texted back.

  He texted back right away, saying, I thought over what happened and didn’t think you’d want to go.

  I replied with, I do want to go.

  I don’t want to force you into doing something you don’t want to do, he replied back.

  I’ll see you at seven. And don’t be late.

  He didn’t reply back but he didn’t have to. He’d gotten the message. I was meeting up with him by choice, not because I was being forced into anything.

  Knowing I’d have to provide some kind of explanation so that my parents wouldn’t worry, I got up from the chair and walked into the kitchen where Mom was busy getting an early start on dinner.

  “Mom?” I stood in the middle of the room, hoping she wouldn’t be able to see straight to the bold face lie I was about to tell her. “I’m meeting up with some friends from school later on. I don’t know how late I’ll be, but I’ll call and let you guys know if we’re going to be late.”

  She didn’t seem to be at all aware of the lie. My lying skills must have improved over the past few weeks. I couldn’t tell her the truth. She would never allow me to go anywhere alone with Rhyzel, even if he had saved my life.

  “Just make sure the boy doesn’t bring you back home too late.” She had her back to me as she chopped vegetables, but she didn’t miss a beat as she added, “And let him know Dad has a gun, too.”

  I froze. Was I transparent or something? How did she know I was fixing to go out on a date? Seriously, it was scary how she could read straight through my lies.

  “Um…How did you…?”

  “I’m your mother, Demi. I can always tell when you’re lying, and…I tried to pull that one on my own mother many times.”

  So much for thinking my ability to come up with a lie had improved. I could lie to anyone and no one would know the difference. When it came to Mom, I could never pull off even the tiniest of white lies. Go figure. “I won’t be too late.”

  “Remember to call if you’re going to be home after midnight. I don’t want to spend the night worried sick about you. I don’t think my heart can take it.” This time she did turn around to look at me. “Not again.”

  “I will, Mom.” I wanted to kick myself for making my parents go through the trauma of not knowing what had happened to me. They probably had all kinds of crazy scenarios cross their minds. I knew what that felt like. Growing up, I was often sick with worry when Mom had an emergency with one of her charges and didn’t come back home until late at night.

  “That’s all I ask for.” She turned and continued chopping vegetables.

  I said nothing as I walked out of the kitchen and joined Renee at the dining table again.

  During the next hour and a half that followed, I kept Renee busy by simply keeping her company. We sketched for a bit, snacked on graham crackers, cheese, and orange juice, and later watched TV for about half an hour before Evan knocked on the door promptly at five o’clock.

  Since I hadn’t heard a peep out of Mina, I casually mentioned that we’d had a fight without giving any major details, and asked if he could call her and find out whether she had come back home or not. I hadn’t had the opportunity to check and since she hadn’t picked up for me before, I opted out on calling her again.

  Concerned, Evan called Mina’s cell and she finally responded. After convincing her that they should all go out for dinner and spend some time as a family, Mina finally agreed to come back home.

  “She thought you were home so she took off,” Evan said as he hung up.

  “I tried calling her but she wouldn’t pick up the phone,” I said. “I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. Could you tell her that?”

  Evan smiled. “I will. Don’t worry; I’ll try not to get on her bad side tonight. I’m too tired to get into another argument with her, anyway.”

  I couldn’t help but think that Evan sounded more like Mina’s father than her older brother. He had too many responsibilities and not enough rewards. The guy didn’t even have time to date. His entire li
fe consisted of working long hours—sometimes up to sixty hours a week—and rushing back home to take care of his sisters.

  “Good luck with that.” I picked up Renee as she skipped by and she broke into a fit of giggles as I lifted her up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Mom stepped in next to me. “It has been fun, Renee.” Reaching out for a red curl, Mom playfully tugged on it. “I hope we can repeat soon.”

  “I hope so, too.” Renee threw her tiny arms around my shoulders. “What are we going to do tomorrow? Today was fun.”

  Mom let go of Renee’s hair and stepped back.

  “I don’t know yet, but I’ll think of something.”

  “Okay.” She kissed my cheek right before I set her down on her feet.

  “Come on, Renee. We’re going out to dinner tonight.” Evan motioned for her to join him.

  Renee picked up her backpack and put it on. “Where are we going?”

  “I’m not sure. Let’s wait until Mina gets back and then we’ll decide together.” Evan grabbed a hold of Renee’s hands and led her to the door.

  “Can we go someplace fun?” She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

  “Maybe,” he replied with a smile. “We’ll see.”

  “Bye, Demi.” Renee waved goodbye as Evan opened the door.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said.

  “Thanks, Demi. Mrs. Redding.”

  “Sure,” Mom and I replied simultaneously.

  A second later, Evan walked out of my apartment with Renee skipping next to him. As soon as they were gone, Mom turned to me and asked what had happened with Mina. Up until then I hadn’t mentioned anything regarding my argument with her in the morning.

  I explained as best as I could what had happened. It wasn’t in my nature to provide too many details so I only mentioned what I felt was necessary and nothing more.