“You’re not going to kill me, are you?” My gaze still glued on the razor-sharp flesh-tearer’s.
“No, why...” He seems lost at the question, the accusation I questionably put on him. Hurt touching his eyes, a pang of guilt hits me like a speeding car. He grunts, taking in my appearance. “Take this.” He tosses me his jacket, muttering something about making myself more decent. I use it to wrap the poor kitten.
“Can you at least put those away then?” I cringe, finding myself unable to stop staring at them, as equally intrigued as disgusted.
“What?” He still seems oblivious to what the issue was. Men.
“Your fangs!” I yell out as if it were obvious, aggravated at the whole ideal. Those pointy things were making me angsty.
He lets out an exasperated sigh. “Put your wings away then Aura.” Seeing the sad turn of my lips he sighs, “You can’t, can you?” He almost looks sympathetic.
I shake my head in a silent ‘no’. “I’m too weak right now, I spent nearly the rest of my energy saving the cat's heartbeat.
“Same old Aura.” He flaunts his crooked smile, as I feel a sense of ease go over me. “Some things never change.” His smile drops, ears perking up as if hearing something in the distance, something bad. “We need to go now!” He sweeps me up in his arms, causing me to protest.
“Let me go! I can walk my damn self!” My voice sounded far more intimidating than my flaking demeanor. I can’t even summon the energy to shove him, at least not without disrupting the bundle.
“Once we’re safely away from Lex’s goons.” His voice has an edge of dark to it. “They’re not going to hurt you.” He runs, causing my world to spin a bit from the speed. How do they put up with this on the regular? Maybe it would have been more fun had I felt stronger.
I cave in, closing my eyes from structures passing by far too fast.
“We're here.” He sets me down on the floor of the 50s styled diner, earning a hit on the shoulder from yours truly.
The diner’s lights are still bright; even though the hours of operation of the door window show that the quaint place is long past closed. It’s a little diner with checkered black and silver flooring., all the chairs and booths a bright cherry red. The tables are an off-white color with a ring of the same red an inch or two from the outside. Posters from bands and singers ranging in time period line the walls. The Beatles, Nirvana, and a picture of Marilyn Monroe.
“You can’t just be doing that like I’m some damsel in distress!” I attempt to stumble over to a booth, but he catches my elbow in time, giving me a look. I resign and let him help me.
“Technically, you were Aura.” His face is back to its human form, making this easier. “I could hear your screams all the way from the diner.”
“I could have handled it.” I defend, knowing it’s a weak lie, my head feeling woozy. “Shouldn’t we? -” I start to ask, as I feel a weakness flow through me.
Luke rushes to my side. “Aura, are you, all right?” His face fades as my vision blurs.
“I-” I’m at a loss for words though. “Cat.”
The bells on the door jingle as someone else enters. “Dude, you wouldn’t believe the night I had.” The man’s voice is familiar, but I am too close to unconsciousness to place it. “What the hell is an angel doing here?” I see Gabriel’s eyes flash red before I collapse.
Chapter 6
Reawakening in the dream world, I open my eyes to a blue sky above me, and soft strands of grass beneath me tickle my skin. Perfection. Suspecting where I am, I sit up to glance over the vast area. True to my suspicions, I was in the wooded area that contained the river of memories. Peace.
“Theresa!” I call out, knowing it must have been her who called me here. She was the only person with the knowledge and power to take me to this place of such intangible beauty.
“Calm down, I’m right here, child.” She smiles warmly at me, sitting a few yards away beneath a willow tree swaying in the pleasant breeze. Her expression is one of pure bliss.
Without another thought, I run toward her, and launch myself at her with a bone-crushing hug. Though it’s been just a few hours since I’ve last seen her it felt like so much longer with everything going on. This was after all my sanctuary.
“If you keep that up, I won’t be able to breathe, and unlike your vampire friend I need air,” she teases, laughing lightly under my grip.
I pull away to sit next to her, a content smile on my face. “You couldn’t at least give me warning that my old family friend Luke was a vampire.” Not that my dad was ever a fan of him, but he saved my life occasionally back in the human days. Family friend. I push that thought away as it brings up bittersweet memories of a family that was no more.
She shrugs. “I figured it was obvious enough.” Her smile dissipates. “I saw you ran into trouble there when I gave you a written-out instructions Aura.” I give an embarrassed, apologetic smile.
“It was raining, hazardously when I got there, the ink was practically running off the sheets.” I defend. “Men are pigs, humans and demons alike.” My lips turn downwards thinking about it. “If it wasn’t them, it would have been someone else.” If that weren’t true enough. “Plus, his shoppe was hard to find, tucked away in some corner.” Hidden treasures were the best... or so they say.
“At least Luke was there in enough time to help.”
“Yup, he heard my screams from the shop.” She winces at my description.
“You haven’t been practicing much either with how quick you were to exhaust.” She sounds as if she’s about to dive into one of her lectures once again. How I love those, getting talked to like I’m six.
“Saving the cat took a lot of energy out of me.” My mind goes back to the black and white kitten I saved. Hopefully, she was doing okay.
“She’s fine.” Theresa answers me as if reading my mind. “I’m glad you’re okay Aura, just be more careful next time.” She rubs my shoulder soothingly. At the lack of my response she questions, “Are you okay? Did you want to talk about it?”
I shake my head ‘no.’ “I’ve been through much worse than that. Just out of practice I guess.” Seeing the pointed look on her face, I add in. “I’ll practice more, I promise. I just wasn’t careful enough in the unfamiliar territory.” Not let my emotions get the best of me again. “At least I sort of met him.” I pause. “Well, more like he ran into Luke to tell him about what he went through tonight, then wondered why there was a fucking angel there. And I passed out, so it wasn’t an official meeting.”
“You still have time for all that.” Simple words, calm as a peaceful river. If only I could be that calm headed.
My mind runs back to Luke. Was he part of her plan if things went wrong? Couldn’t be, why would a high angel as herself work with a vampire, no matter how good he seemed to be? Why did Gabriel run to him in the first place?
“Something on your mind Aura?” She asks, seeing my troubled expression.
“Why did he go to Luke?” I feel as if I’m working on a puzzle with missing pieces.
“That will unveil itself in due time, it’s not my place to tell those secrets.” Cryptic as ever.
“Why did you bring me back here?” I inquire. “Are you okay?”
“Someone who wasn’t practicing needed the healing water.” She teases me, poking my nose. Her facial features give nothing away as she seems calm. “I’m fine. I just wanted to check how my favorite daughter was doing.” A smile across her lips, as a strand of worry quickly flickers over her eyes. Something must have gone wrong here, or my actions worried her. I don’t know what to say as she studies me.
“Are you sure everything is going okay?” I ask her, hoping she’ll give me some hint to what is going on in the depths of her mind.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She answers once again, trying to make it seem believable. “You’ve been out for a while, so you should be heading back.” Was that a hidden trace of worry on her lips?
I cling to her, not
wanting to go back. “They can go a bit longer I’m sure.” I didn’t want to go back to that wretched hellhole human realm.
She kisses my head. “As much as I love having you here, you should go back. Just make sure you’re careful of who you make friends with, not everyone is as trustworthy as they seem.” That’s the last thing I hear from her as the scene fades away.
“No, don’t go.” I cry out, as useless as it is.
xxXxx
I wake with a start, a weight on my chest and the kitten’s incessant mewing. Not satisfied with me staying in the bed, the furry lovebug starts head-butting my face, wanting attention, food, something as the mewing gets louder. I wipe my unsurprisingly tear-dried face, eyes finally opening to see the cat’s abnormally big green eyes mere inches away from mine. “You seem to be doing better kitty.” I smile, reassured, scratching her behind the ears as she purrs in agreement.
“Sleeping beauty finally awakens.” Luke walks into the room, causing the cat to run off.
Probably more like a sleeping zombie with how battered I must look. “You scared off the cat.” I pout, sitting up, missing the furry companion. My clothes are the same from the night I arrived, but my wings seem to have retracted back at some point during sleep.
“She doesn’t like me. I fed her, gave her everything she needed, and as soon as I walked into the room she ran off. Ungrateful cat.”
“What did you do to her to cause such hatred?” I tease him.
“She jumped on the kitchen counter during opening hours while I was cooking food for a customer, so I had to shoo her away. Wouldn’t be good for business to have cat fur in the food.”
“Surely not.” I rub sleep out my eyes.
“Nothing compared to how much she hates Gabriel though, she saw one look at him and went barging at him, claws out.” I laugh slightly at the imagery of that.
“If only I could have seen it.” I run a hand through my tangled mess of hair. “How do you two know each other, anyway?”
The laughter is deceased. “He’s my nephew.” No fucking way. Way too convenient.
“So, you are related to that monster Damien?” I’m shocked beyond words. How is that even possible?
“You don’t choose your family.” After a few seconds of silence, he changes the subject. “Why don’t you shower and get a change of clothes then we can talk more over breakfast?”
“I don’t really have any clothing to change into.” I point out, as what I was wearing was the only real thing I brought, along with some cash Theresa got me before I flew here. It was a bit of spur of the moment.
“You can borrow some of my girlfriend’s clothes until you get something of your own. There’s some in the drawers over there, and the bathroom is just down the hall.” He walks off before I can really question whether the girlfriend would actually be okay with that, but it wasn’t like I had much choice. A shower was definitely more than needed with the overwhelming wrench of death that touched my nostrils.
Chapter 7
Gabriel
There’s a variety of knick-knacks covering each corner of the room. It was as if it was a replication of the past few thousand years of major events that happened in the world. Items and paintings covered the wall space; Not a spot was left uncovered.
Uncle Luke and father dearest have been around as long as time itself. I absentmindedly pick up a small animal skull, toying with it, my mind going 1000 mph when the speed zone is closer to 35. “Why are you letting her stay here?” I stare at Luke with a blank expression, a vain attempt to gain more control of my mind or try to anyway.
You’ll never gain control. Yet, he’s taunting me more than ever. At least I haven’t flipped the switch yet. You will give into me soon enough. A deadly promise.
“You know why, Gabriel.” He crosses his arms, his voice sounding further away than it is. “How many times have we been over this?” Too many, but that didn’t make a damn bit of difference to my deterrence towards it.
“She can’t help you. Only I can.”
Luke filled me on in the details when she was asleep, denying my suggestions of just tossing her out. He was already a weirdo in the demon world. Why did he have to put another target on his back? If he were any younger, someone would have offed him years ago.
So many chances. You could have offed her. Pillow suffocation, poison, silently crushing in the skull. The possibilities are endless. Been that monster. Would have been easy.
I am that monster. The scene ripples and falls around me as I’m reminded of that kid and mother I wiped from existence. Where so much unspeakable ugly went on. Was I even redeemable?
Kill me, if there was ever mercy in you, you would do it, and not leave me as I am. How can you take what is my life and leave me here so miserable with nothing left but this? Her please ring through my mind from mere nights ago. The child…
Shut up! I want it to stop. Need it to stop.
Just give in, and it will. Far too tempting.
My eyes burn, as the change is begging to take effect.
“Gabriel!” I feel a rough hand shake my shoulder, and soon the living room is back in focus. Everything is back to normal. No crying woman or headless children in sight.
“Sorry Luke.” I scratch the back of my pounding skull, trying to play it as nothing. feeling guilty for the worry in his eyes.
“We have to do something about it. It’s getting worse by the day, Gabriel. What if one day you can’t control-” He’s cut off, as the blond beauty walks in, wings out of sight, looking much more cleaned up than the other day. Hot, even with all those layers of clothes on as she verbally thanks Luke an annoying amount of times. Dressed for comfort, instead of feeling the need to prove something.
I wince, such an annoying, righteous voice. How can she handle a sweater and jeans in the damn late summer heat? Prude. She’s staring right at me as if trying to see what’s going on in my head. Not a place you want to enter, darling.
She’d be fun to toy with. The demon’s back, probably enjoying this encounter more than he should, begging to have the chains freed. It wanted something, someone new to toy with.
No! I internally yell at him.
“Gabriel, are you going to say hi to our guest or continue being rude?” Luke suggests, always with the best intentions. Screw this.
“Why bother? I don’t need her help nor want it.” I had to get away from that consuming angel scent, it nearly burned the nostrils with its fresh fumes. It was like a scent I could remember from somewhere but couldn’t quite place the memory. “Some ‘little miss know it all’ thinks she can help me when she can’t even help herself. She couldn’t even get here on her own without trouble, and I’m supposed to accept her help?” I ask indigenously, as her crystalline blue eyes turn to daggers. She was clearly hurt and pissed. Great, then maybe she would get out of here.
“You think I want to help you, you selfish brat?” She spits back out at me. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have anything to do with your ass.” Bitch.
Feisty. He was having far too much fun with this.
“Well, don’t then.” I get in her face. “I don’t want to be your little pet project. Something you can brag about. I’m fine on my own, I can handle it!” I throw my hands up, exasperated. That was nothing new.
“Right, because you dismembering a kid’s body is handling it so well.” My body shakes as she throws my weakness in my face. “Or every other thing you’ve done wrong. How many little old ladies have you pushed in the street, to be crushed by oncoming traffic?”
“Bitch!” Her mouth gasps as soon as it leaves my mouth, I enjoyed pushing the stupid blond off her fucking high horse. “At least I don’t pass out for two days because of a few measly run-ins that I’m too weak to handle!” Tears prick in her eyes at the comment and I catch myself feeling slightly bad. I’m far too angered to apologize, though.
“Fine. Handle it on your own.” She takes off, making a run for the open window. “While you were busy drinki
ng, feeling sorry for yourself, at least I was trying to do something!”
“Aura, no!” Luke tries to go after her, but she’s already flying off. He glares daggers at me. “No words can express how disappointed I am in you right now, Gabriel.” I avoid his gaze.
“She’ll get over it.”
“If she survives the city.” He throws his arms up. “Go after her.”
“As if.” I scoff.
“Just do it. You created this mess by being cruel to that innocent girl, so fix it.”
“She’s grown up, she can handle getting her feelings hurt every once in a while.” I can’t trust my demon around her right now. Poor girl will eventually realize that I’m a lost cause and get her pampered better than everyone else’s attitude back to where it belongs.
Chapter 8
Aura
The view of the vast cityscape was almost nicer in the daytime. In the right spot, perched on a towering building, one could say the skies above were nearly a nice blue. Yet not quite. If you looked past the fumes and put a little imagination in it though...
I shed my sweater, giving my wings room to stretch out. They were a bit sore, maybe even bruised, after the attack but had healed for the most part. With their expanse fully extended, they reach 12 feet, yet the feathery demur is light as can be. Hiding them had felt so unnatural.
“Why Theresa did you have to give me such a task?” I mutter absentmindedly, wishing I was in my place of peace in the clouds instead of this city, with its lack of beauty. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if it was more scenic. More lifelike.
Gabriel was no better than the rest. He didn’t even want my help. What was I supposed to do? Go back to Theresa and let her know I failed my mission before even getting the chance to start it or go back to him to deal with more nice verbal slews, not that I didn’t get in some of my own. I get that he has a demon in his head, but does he have to be such a schmuck? Other people deal with their own personal demons better than that, on the regular.
The Demon Inside (Hell's Creatures Book 1) Page 3
