Testimony of the Blessed

by K. G. Reuss

  “Go on then. Go buy him some cute t-shirt with your name on it or something.”

  I went through the store quickly, finding a perfect sweater, shirt, and pink bowtie for him. I quickly paid for the items and followed Corbin out of the store.

  “What?” I asked, glancing at Corbin as we got into his car and headed back home.

  “Nothing,” he smiled. “Will that gift you picked out get you laid?”

  “Ugh! Why are you so obsessed with me having sex?” I asked, nearly stumbling on the words.

  “Because, baby girl, you’re pornstar material. I’d watch you all day, every day.”

  “Tell me why I talk to you again?”

  “You’re secretly in love with me.” He shrugged.

  “You’re out of control.” I laughed. He grinned at me, reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze. He must have realized what he’d done because he threw me another shaky smile and released my hand. “You should sleep. You look tired.”

  “I am,” I admitted, resting my head against the seat. It didn’t take long for me to doze off, a warm tingling washing over me.

  The lake looked beautiful and inviting. I walked over to the edge of it and stared out on the horizon.

  That’s when I noticed him. A beautiful man with dark hair standing off to the side.

  “Hello,” he smiled at me.

  “Hi,” I answered, frowning at him. This was a dream. I knew it was. And he was the man I’d seen before in my dreams.

  “You really like this place, don’t you?”

  “My dad used to bring me here,” I replied, looking back to the lake. “It was my favorite place in the whole world.”

  “Was?” The man now stood beside me. He towered over me and gave off an air of power. Superiority. It reminded me of Brax and Corbin, only opposite. I frowned at the thought.

  “I’ve since found a much better place,” I supplied, glancing up at the beautiful man. His eyes were strange. They were violet now instead of the blue they’d been when I’d first seen him in my dreams. I’d never seen anything like them before.

  “I see,” he murmured.

  “Why are you following me?” I asked after a moment.

  “Because I’m concerned for you.”

  “You don’t even know me. You’re in my dreams every night. You scare me.”

  “That’s not my intention, but you need to be scared. It’ll keep you safe, Magdalena.” The man turned to me, his violet eyes so intense that I drew in a deep breath and took a step away from him. “I have a message for you.”

  “Go away,” I continued to back away. He stepped forward, his eyes flashing with determination.

  “You need to listen! This is important!” He reached out for me, but I pulled away, stumbling as I tried to retreat. He seemed to be vibrating, his body jerking in terrifying movements.

  “Leave me alone! You’re not human!”

  “Neither are you!” he shouted, reaching out for me. “Don’t go! Listen! Listen to me!”

  “Maggie, are you listening? You’re home,” Corbin’s voice called out. I snapped out of the scary dream and sat forward, sweat beading on my forehead. “Damn. You OK?”

  “Just a bad dream,” I breathed out, trying to shake the way the man’s eyes had looked from my mind. My dreams about him had never been so vivid before. It was stress. It had to be.

  “You want me to help you into the house?” Corbin’s eyes swept over me quickly.

  “No. No.” I shook my head and gave him a smile. “Thank you for today. I really appreciate it.” I leaned over and hugged him. I was surprised when he hugged me back tightly, his arms lingering longer than need be.

  “No problem, princess,” he said, finally pulling away, his face a mask of turmoil. “Let me know how it goes, OK?”

  “I will.” I smiled at him and grabbed my bags. I got out of the car and hurried inside, the dream still very clear in my mind, along with the look Corbin had given me when I’d gotten out.

  Chapter 62

  When I arrived at Brax’s house Christmas Eve, I was nervous. It was our first time giving one another gifts. I still wasn’t sure about the gift Corbin had suggested. I knocked on Brax’s door and waited for him to answer. When he didn’t, I opened the door and stepped inside to find him staring off into space. He looked so beautiful sitting there.

  “You look like you have something on your mind,” I murmured, sitting down beside him.

  “Hey, baby,” he greeted me warmly, planting a gentle, sweet kiss on my lips. “You look beautiful.”

  “Yeah?” I asked happily.

  “I’ve never seen you in red before,” he continued, eyeing me hungrily.

  “I bought it for tonight,” I admitted, smoothing the dress nervously. He kissed me once more. I felt so nervous.

  “Don’t be nervous, baby,” he breathed out, reading me easily. “It’s just me.”

  “I know. But you make me breathless sometimes,” I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat. “I just can’t believe how lucky I am that someone like you would want me—”

  “Hey, shh.” He pressed his mouth to mine again, effectively silencing me. “You’re my beautiful angel. There’s no one else out there that can do to me what you can. Don’t you forget it.”

  “Right back at you.” I kissed him deeply again, my fingers in his hair.

  “I made you dinner,” he said, after the kiss broke off. “Lasagna.”

  “My favorite!” I grinned, following him to the dining room.

  We ate fairly quickly, Rusty at our sides lapping at his own plate of lasagna. Brax had become quiet again. If history had taught me anything, it was that whenever he was quiet, he was worrying or overthinking something.

  “Brax, is something wrong?” I asked him. “Because you’re acting strange tonight. Talk to me.” I watched as he got to his feet and came around the table to kneel in front of me.

  “Let’s open gifts,” he said, giving my hand a squeeze. “I have something very special I want to give to you, and I’m not sure if you’re going to like it.”

  “You’re worried I won’t like your gift?” I frowned at him. “I’ll love anything you give me, Brax—”

  “I hope so, Mags,” he said, leading me to the couch.

  “Can I give mine to you first?” I asked eagerly, just wanting to get it out of the way. I didn’t want him to know that I had the same fears as him. And they were tearing me up with worry.

  “Sure, sweetheart.” He smiled and sat beside me. I bent down and grabbed the gift and handed it to him, watching as his hands shook slightly.

  “This is perfect.” He laughed, fingering the pink bow tie from the gift I’d gotten him at the department store. I watched as he tugged his shirt off, displaying his glorious torso before tugging my gift on. “What do you think? How do I look?”

  “Delicious.” I giggled nervously, reaching out for him. I couldn’t resist. I had to touch him. He planted a tender kiss on my lips.

  “Thank you. I love it.”

  “I’m not done!” I said, handing him the book. He looked at me with a curious smile before he tore the paper off.

  “Where did you get this?” he asked, his voice soft and trembling.

  “I-I looked all over for it. I wanted to get you something special. I didn’t know what, so I asked Corbin since you guys knew each other from before. I thought he could help me. So, we went out of town and found one—”

  “You went out of town with Corbin?” he demanded with quiet control. “When?”

  “A few days ago,” I rushed on, feeling worried. “Is it bad? He said it meant something to you, and it would be the perfect gift. I’m sorry if you hate it! I can return it—”

  “I don’t hate it,” he answered, his voice barely above a whisper. “It just took me by surprise is all. My mother… She and I went and saw a performance of Romeo and Juliet ages ago. It was her favorite play. She’d read it to me as a child. It was the last play we saw together before she passed away.�
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  “Oh, Brax.” I covered my mouth, my eyes burning with tears. “I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t know—”

  “It’s OK. Thank you.” He leaned in and kissed me gently. “I do like it.”

  “Swear?” I asked, my voice shaking.

  “I swear it,” he assured me, giving me a tender squeeze. I rested against him, feeling all his hard muscles tensing. He was nervous again.

  “I wanted you to have something to remember us by,” he said, handing me a small box. I looked at it for a moment before opening it to find the most beautiful silver locket inside. “Oh, Brax,” I whispered, fingering the locket. “It’s so beautiful. I love it.” I reached over and hugged him tightly. It even had a photo of us inside. My eyes moistened as I looked at it.

  “Let me put it on you,” he said. I turned around for him, and he placed it around my neck. “It looks good on you.”

  “I really do love it.” I leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips. “Why does it say Remember Me?”

  “Just in case,” he murmured, brushing a stray piece of hair away from my face. My heart banged around in my chest. Just in case nothing! There would be no just in case! We’d always be together.

  “The next gift is going to be difficult for me to give to you. I’m worried you’ll hate me, Mags.”

  “I’d never hate you—”

  “You might,” he continued thickly, worry etched on his beautiful face. “The next gift I want to give you is the truth.”

  I stared at him, my turn to be worried. The truth? About what?

  “I’m not who or what you think I am. I-I’m not even human. Not anymore.”

  “What?” I frowned as my heart really started to take off. The memory of my dream flashed through my mind. The being in it wanted to tell me something. Something didn’t feel right. I watched as Brax got to his feet and pulled his shirt off again. I stared at him. He didn’t have a heartbeat. I knew he was different. . . but not human? “What’s going on?”

  “Maggie, I promise I won’t hurt you. I fucking swear I won’t. I just have to show you who I am. Please. Please don’t be afraid. And please. Don’t run. Don’t leave me.” His eyes were wild as he stared at me, begging me to stay.

  I didn’t move. I wouldn’t leave. No matter what, I’d stay.

  Chapter 63

  Time stood still as I stared in shock at the massive black wings that had unfurled from Brax’s back. His eyes turned to the color of a stormy midnight sky. Tiny black lines snaked their way over his skin.

  I couldn’t breathe. I was shocked. He stared at me with so much worry and desperation on his face. And I didn’t have any words. I steadied myself against the couch as I stared at him. There was so much happening. He wasn’t human. But the fear written on his face was a human expression. And it broke my heart.

  I took a step toward him and then another. And another. Until we were face to face. I reached out and traced his lips with my fingers causing him to drag in a shaky breath. He was so beautiful.

  “You really are a goth bird,” I mused softly, my hand moving to touch one of his silky black feathers.

  “Are you afraid?” his voice was a hoarse whisper.

  “No,” I breathed out. “You don’t scare me, Brax Shepherd.”

  “Really?” He looked at me, the worry still on his face.

  “Really.” I assured him, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the corner of his lips. “You’re an angel to me.”

  “Oh, Mags.” He relaxed as he opened his arms for me. Within moments, I was wrapped in them. My safe place. My new favorite place. “I thought you’d hate me.”

  “Never,” I mumbled, burying my face in his neck

  “Can we go for a ride?” I asked as we held each other.

  “You want to ride me?” he teased sweetly, causing my face to flame red.

  “I meant, can we fly?” I corrected, giving him a tiny, playful smirk.

  “You want to fly with me?”

  “Yeah. Show me your world, Brax.”

  “Absolutely.” He led me to the backyard and scooped me up into his strong arms. I wrapped my own arms around his neck, gazing fondly at the beautiful creature I was head over heels for.

  “Up, up, and away.” He smiled. We lifted off the ground so fast that I let out a whoop of joy, feeling the freest I’d ever felt in my life.

  And I owed it all to him. My little goth bird.

  Chapter 64

  We flew to the ocean and sat on the beach together. I listened intently as Brax recounted his life to me. It broke my heart listening to his story of love, loss and betrayal. He was such a kind, good soul. I hated to hear the pain in his voice.

  And when he got to the end of his story, I couldn’t bear it any longer. I knew it would hurt him too much to finish. He didn’t need to tell me the rest. I had a really good idea of what happened next.

  So, I pressed my fingers to his lips, silencing him.

  “I don’t need to know,” I said to him softly. He nodded, relief washing over his handsome face. I thumbed away the black tear that had fallen from his eye and proceeded to kiss each of his eyelids before pressing a tender kiss to his lips. I didn’t care who he was. I didn’t care what he’d done. Everything had a reason, including him. I knew he was suffering and had been for a very long time. In that moment as I was wrapped in his strong arms, I made a vow to God that I would save his tortured soul and give him a life he could be proud of. I’d give him anything and everything he could ever want.

  “Do you accept me as I am?” he asked, hovering over me, our bodies close as we lay in the sand.

  “I will always accept you,” I answered. He didn’t hesitate. He pressed his mouth to mine, kissing me to the rhythm of the gentle waves with the moon and stars as our audience.

  Chapter 65

  “You look terrible,” I murmured, pushing Brax’s damp hair away from his pale forehead. He gave me a tired smile. We’d spent every day together since he’d shown me his wings. “Go home and rest. Please?”

  “Then I’ll miss being with you.” He kissed me gently as we lay on my bed.

  “Then you’ll be rested and maybe you can kiss me more after taking me flying again.” I peppered kisses along his jawline.

  “Mm, angel, I would love that.” He smiled as I pulled away. “Maybe I will go home and get some sleep. I’m not feeling all that well.” He looked gaunt and exhausted. His eyes weren’t as bright or as open as they usually were. I was definitely worried about him.

  “I’ll be here. Waiting,” I said, getting to my feet with him.

  “I’ll miss you.” He kissed me lightly.

  “I’ll miss you more,” I returned, giving him a big hug. When I released him, he went to my window and looked back at me, a tiny, sweet smile playing on the corners of his lips. I gave him a reassuring smile in return. He leapt from the window and was gone without a trace, leaving behind a black feather. I picked it up and brushed it against my lips.

  And then it dawned on me.

  He’d been in my room before!

  I rushed to my nightstand and pulled out the other feather I found the night that Lance stayed over with me. Brax had been watching me. Us. And I hadn’t known it. That should’ve made me mad, but something about it was sweet. Like maybe he was my guardian angel. I knew it was more than that, but I pushed those nagging worries away. To me, he was my angel. Regardless of whatever else was going on.

  I placed the new feather with the original one in my drawer and closed it with a smile. Something told me he may have even been the one holding me while I cried at night all those times.

  I sat down and started working on my homework. I lost track of time, and by six that night, my back was aching from sitting so long. Grateful that Alan wasn’t home, I got to my feet and went to my phone.

  I was surprised that Brax hadn’t left me a message. Then again, I knew how exhausted he was. I was just about to put my phone down when it rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey,
princess!” Corbin’s smooth voice greeted me. “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing,” I replied. “Just finished doing some homework.”

  “Ah, ever the scholar. You know, I passed that calculus exam you helped me study for.” He chuckled, not waiting for me to congratulate him. “You bored?”

  “Yeah, I guess.” I shrugged even though he couldn’t see it.

  “Want to hang out? Get some ice cream on the strip? Maybe do some people watching?”

  “Sure,” I answered. I was feeling antsy. Going out would take my mind off my worry for Brax.

  “Fantastic.” He sounded happy. “I’ll see you in ten. Wear something sexy!”

  Shaking my head, I laughed as he ended the conversation without waiting for my response. He always told me to wear something sexy it seemed. Not interested in being sexy for Corbin, I fixed my ponytail and went downstairs to wait for him.

  “Going out?” my mom slurred from the couch.

  “Yeah, Corbin is coming to get me,” I said, adjusting my bag on my shoulder.

  “He’s a dangerous one. Your father used to warn me about guys like him,” she continued, her eyes hazy and unfocused. “Same goes for that new boyfriend of yours. Best be careful.”

  “Mom?” I stepped toward her. She was a mess, and it broke my heart. “Why do you do it? Why are you like this? Do you remember when we used to go to the lake with dad and have picnics and fly kites?”

  “I try to forget,” she murmured, a faraway look in her eye.

  “It’s important to remember,” I said. “He’d want us to remember.”

  “He wanted a lot of things. I failed on all accounts,” she muttered, taking a long dreg of wine. “I was supposed to keep you safe. I wasn’t supposed to let boys like that Brax or Corbin kid around you. But you know what?” She looked at me all glassy-eyed.

  “What, Mama?” I knelt in front of her, and she cupped my face.

  “I don’t care if it ends. All of it. Let it end. Put us all out of our misery,” her voice shook as she stared down at me. “He’ll never forgive me, but he’s gone so it doesn’t matter.”