by Mary May
Charlotte knew that it must really be Gideon out there; how else would the butler know her name? She nodded her head and with great caution she went out into the hallway.
Edgar watched as Charlotte walked carefully to the door, looking up then down the hallway before she stepped out of Sabrina’s room. “Where is Gideon?” she asked softly.
“He is here; you just can’t see him, but I can. If you will follow me to my room we will explain everything there.”
Charlotte drew herself up and looked at Edgar. “I don’t know or understand what is going on right now, but I’m not leaving Sabrina, so I would suggest you explain everything right here!”
Edgar repeated what she had said.
“Tell her to hang on just a minute. Let me go get something.” Edgar relayed the message and in just a few moments Gideon was back with a dry erase board in his hand and a black marker. He wrote something on it that looked like gibberish to Edgar then he put it on the floor at Edgar’s feet.
Charlotte stepped back quickly when a board appeared on the floor. She looked closer at the writing on it and gasped. It was written in Lumiaera, the language of angels! It had been so long since she had seen anything from her home that tears sprang into her eyes. It said, “Charlotte, this is Gideon the Mighty. I have been temporarily reassigned as a guardian over Charlie. I need to speak with you about something very important; it has to do with the safety of this family. Please follow Edgar to his room so we don’t wake the family.”
Charlotte read the message. After wiping her eyes, she looked at Edgar. “Okay, I believe you that Gideon is here. I will follow you.”
A few minutes later they were all in Edgar’s room with the dry erase board on the table so Gideon could use it if needed. After Edgar told Charlotte the really short condensed version of why he could see them, they got on with the business at hand. “I saw the demon earlier today. I also saw Miss Cleo chase it out of the house. I heard her tell Sabrina the reason why she can see them, so that can be useful as well, don’t you think? The minions won’t be expecting that at all.”
Charlotte was sitting on the counter with one slim leg tucked under her and swinging her bare foot as she told Edgar everything she knew. She waited while Edgar told Gideon. She looked around the butler’s room, noticing the lack of any personal effects. She then spotted the tiny pink box that Charlie had given him for Christmas; that appeared to be the only thing that wasn’t purely functional that was in the room. She then thought about what Edgar had told her, the reason he could see them. It was really a remarkable story. Suddenly fingers were snapping in front of her face.
“Hello? Come back to earth, angel girl!” Startled, Charlotte reared back, tumbling off the counter.
“Oh! Oof!” She landed in an undignified heap at the butler’s feet.
Edgar rolled his eyes at Gideon. “If our safety is dependent upon Miss Grace here, we are surely doomed!”
Charlotte got to her feet, shaking out then smoothing her white and gold feathers. “You just startled me! I’m unaccustomed to anyone seeing me, so it will take me a little bit to adjust.” She swished by Edgar and walked to the window to look out, her spine stiff and her wings twitching.
Edgar actually felt contrite about hurting the lady angel’s feelings. She really was quite lovely, with long light brown hair and pretty light green eyes. She wore a long white skirt that swished when she walked and a white and gold tunic. What Edgar found most curious was she didn’t wear any shoes. “Why don’t you wear any shoes?”
Charlotte turned back to the butler and shrugged. “I’m more comfortable without them, and I don’t actually need any.”
Gideon looked at Edgar. “Why are we talking about shoes?”
Edgar actually looked a bit sheepish. “Well, she doesn’t wear any and…”
At Gideon’s questioning look, Edgar frowned. “Oh, never mind! What do you want me to ask or tell her now?”
For the next couple of hours Gideon went over everything with Charlotte, asking her if she had seen or noticed any other demonic activity when she was out with Sabrina without him. Charlotte drew her brows together in concentration. She was perched once again on Edgar’s counter top.
After a few seconds she shook her head. “I’m sure that I may not be as sharp as he is when it comes to detecting the minions, but honestly when we are not with Gideon, nothing unusual happens.”
Edgar repeated the words to Gideon then watched as he came to the same conclusion Edgar did when he heard them.
“It’s me. I’m the one drawing them to this family.” Gideon stood and started his pacing. “How can I protect them when I’m the very reason they are in danger?”
Edgar tried to comfort him. “Look, I agree that you may have something to do with the increase in activity, but I don’t believe you are responsible for all of it. For one, when you were with Sabrina and Cleo at the farmers’ market, you had no control over where that vendor would be. You just stumbled across it, but you were there to protect the women. When Sabrina and Charlie were attacked in the parking lot, again you had no way of knowing they where there, but you protected them.” Edgar walked back and forth, his forehead creased as he puzzled over everything.
“Maybe it’s Charlie. She was there both times, and that explains why nothing happens when you’re not around.” Edgar stopped and looked at Charlotte then at Gideon.
“What? What did she say?” Gideon demanded.
Edgar shook his head and sat down wearily in the kitchen chair, looking all of a sudden like the eighty-seven-year-old man he was. “You’re not going to like it, but I think she very well may be right, Gideon.”
The big angel stood in the center of the room frowning down at Edgar. “Tell me. Now.”
The old butler sighed deeply. “She said that perhaps it’s not you that’s attracting the demons…but Charlie.”
Gideon felt an unknown feeling. For the first time in all of his existence he felt the icy fist of fear wrapped around his heart. The very idea that beautiful child was attracting the vilest, most putrid of dark minions made his stomach roll. He shook his head in denial. “No, it must be me. I can’t believe they would be after Charlie.”
Edgar laid his hand on Gideon’s arm. “Didn’t the Lord tell you that Charlie would save someone very important to him? Wasn’t that the very reason YOU were chosen to protect her? Think about it, Gideon; it makes perfect sense.”
Gideon looked down at the hand resting on his forearm. He knew that Edgar was probably right; he just didn’t know how to accept it. He walked over to the window and stared out into the darkness, remembering the day the Lord told him that Charlie was very special, that it would take a warrior of Gideon’s rank to protect her. The severity of the situation hit home with Gideon in that moment, and he knew without any doubt that this assignment just took a turn for the worse.
Right before dawn Gideon was up on the roof in his favorite spot overlooking the swan pond. He didn’t even have the energy to pace, he was so concerned about Charlie. They had gone over everything with Charlotte, and Gideon believed that he knew everything the guardian knew about any unusual activity around Sabrina. It really did seem that it was only when both he and Charlie were present that things got ugly. That didn’t prove to him that Charlie was the attractor. What Edgar pointed out to him did. Of course, both times they had walked into a situation where the demon was already present, but not today or yesterday actually. That time the demon came to them, which brought up yet another point that bothered him. Word gets around in the spiritual world much like it does in the human world. Good old -fashioned gossip! So, he felt that it was very unlikely that the minor demon wasn’t aware of WHO was guarding this home. Which led to another troublesome thought of why would it risk being destroyed; what exactly was its goal in coming to the estate? The woman never got near Charlie and, as far Gideon knew, she had not even tried. He felt confident he would have known if she did. So, what was the objective? Within a few minutes it dawned
on him what it was, and without even pausing to think, he flashed himself into Sabrina’s room to speak with Charlotte.
Charlotte was curled up on the end of Sabrina’s bed watching the dark slowly give way to the new dawn; this was her favorite time of day. She rolled over and propped up her chin in her palm. While she didn’t need to sleep, she did enjoy relaxing on the bed. It was the closest she could come to sleeping. After the sky had turned from deep purple to orange then lightened into a dusty rose, she got up and stretched onto her toes, reaching both her arms and her wings to the ceiling. She loved living in the mansion. The ceilings were tall enough she could stretch out her wings anytime she wanted. She did a few little dance steps, stepping in time to a tune only she could hear in her head. This was what she always missed the most when she was on assignment, dancing with the other angels around the throne room where praises were always being offered up to the Lord. The solitude didn’t bother her too much; she had grown used to her own company, but she did miss the dancing.
Humming under her breath, she spun around and then tripped over a dry erase board that had suddenly appeared at the foot of Sabrina’s bed. Sprawled out on her stomach, she shoved her hair out of her face; then she read what was written. “Report to Edgar’s room at once!” Frowning, Charlotte picked up the board and tucked it under her arm. She didn’t even bother to look around the room. She knew she wouldn’t see Gideon, which was probably for the best.
It was barely cracking daylight when Charlotte and Gideon woke a sleeping Edgar. Rolling over and glaring at them both, the butler didn’t seem too thrilled to see them again so soon. “Why am I looking at you?” Both Gideon and Charlotte started speaking at the same time, irritating him even more.
“Okay, wait! I know you can’t see or hear each other, but I can see and hear both of you. Gideon, you first -- why am I awake at six twenty-two in the morning?”
Looking every inch the commander that he was, Gideon briefed Edgar on what he figured out during the night. He then instructed Edgar to pass the information on to Charlotte. Throwing back his covers, Edgar sat on the side of the bed, his steel gray hair standing on end, which was completely out of character for the always- immaculate butler. He slipped his feet into his slippers and shuffled to the bathroom, coming out a few minutes later with his hair combed and his standard black suit and tie in place once again. He ignored the two angels that were watching him intently while he brewed his tea and toasted his bagel. Only after he had consumed a full cup of tea and had eaten most of his bagel did he turn to Charlotte and give her the message.
“Our most high commander has stated that he has figured out why the demon showed up here yesterday.”
Charlotte nodded her head. “Okay, why?”
After swallowing his last bite of bagel, Edgar answered, “To do recon.”
Charlotte understood what recon meant, and that didn’t sound good.
Gideon was frowning and growling at the way Edgar was repeating his message. “Explain to her what recon is, Edgar; explain to her the seriousness of our situation.”
Edgar narrowed a look on the bossy angel that got his point across very well.
Gideon cleared his throat and tried it again. “Sorry, would you please explain to her what recon means? I’m sure she is unfamiliar with the word.”
After nodding his head at Gideon’s offered apology, Edgar turned to explain the word to Charlotte. “Recon means they are sending someone in to look around and see the number of enemies present and find out the strengths and weaknesses. They are not to engage the enemy, just slip in and out unnoticed preferably.”
Charlotte nodded, “Yes, I know what it means. I would expect that actually. They need to know just who they are going to come up against so they will know how many and how skilled a minion to send in. Like I said earlier, the fact that they don’t know you can see us and in turn can help the guardians here to plan a defense will catch them all off guard.”
Gideon watched as Edgar’s eyebrows rose into what was left of his hairline. He actually smiled just a little and looked at Gideon. That made Gideon wonder just what the other angel was saying.
Edgar was very surprised to hear what Charlotte had to say. She had a tendency to come across as a little dim-witted, but when she started speaking of tactical things, her green eyes shone with intelligence. “If you don’t mind me asking, my dear, just where did you learn of such things?”
Charlotte was seated in her “spot” on the counter again, bare foot swinging back and forth. She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Oh, I was the guardian over a WWII commanding officer. I know all kinds of stuff like that.” For the next few minutes Edgar spoke with her about the different people she had been guardian for; it was fascinating.
It wasn’t until Gideon coughed really loudly that he even remembered the other angel was in the room. “Oh, yes, sorry, Gideon. I quite got caught up in Charlotte’s history; it’s really very interesting. Did you know she was the guardian of a high-ranking commander during WWII? She actually has a lot of useful information we could use for our situation.”
Gideon looked up in surprised at that bit of information. He had never thought about who Charlotte might have guarded in the past. It would make sense she would pick up on a few things from each assignment. He would remember to ask the other guardians who they had been assigned to in the past when the rest of Sabrina’s family came back over.
“When do you think the family will be back over for a visit? If possible, you need to arrange something soon so we can get with the other guardians.”
Edgar raised his hands. “Gideon, I’m just the butler. I don’t really have any say in things like that.”
Gideon thought about that for a moment. “When is your birthday?”
Edgar shot Gideon a look. “Next week, why?” He looked suspicious at Gideon’s question.
“That’s perfect! You can announce that your birthday is soon, and Sabrina will jump all over that as an occasion to celebrate and will invite the others over.” Gideon announced it like it was settled. Edgar wasn’t too happy with that plan, but, unable to come up with anything better, he agreed.
Sabrina was in the kitchen making Charlie a bowl of cereal when Edgar came in. “Morning, do you want some Lucky Charms?” She waited with a smile, knowing what the butler’s answer would be.
“That stuff is pure rubbish, Miss Sabrina, not fit for human consumption at all.”
Charlie smacked around her bite of “rubbish.” “Luckies is good! Eat some!” She held out her spoon, offering Edgar a bite while dripping milk on the table.
Edgar smiled at the little girl, reaching for a dishtowel. “That’s alright, Miss Charlie. I just had my breakfast, a proper breakfast of a toasted bagel and tea.” Edgar puttered around the kitchen trying to come up with a way to just announce his “Birthday.” He finally gave up and did just that…announced it! “Miss Sabrina, my birthday is coming up next week and…well…Yes, it is.” There he stalled out, not knowing where to take it from there. Turns out he didn’t need to carry it any further.
“Really? That’s great, Edgar! I never knew when your birthday was. What day next week?”
Edgar glanced around for a calendar. “Umm… next Tuesday, I believe, Madam.” Gideon stood in the corner waving his hand for Edgar to continue. “Yes, next Tuesday is my birthday…the day of my… umm… birth.”
Gideon rolled his eyes and shook his head while Charlotte covered her mouth to hide her smile at Edgar’s clumsy delivery.
Sabrina looked at him and laughed. “Yes, that’s why we call them birthdays! I’ll have to call mother and we will have a birthday dinner for you. How fun!” Sabrina hurried off to make the phone call to Catherine.
For the next several days all was quiet around the estate, at least in the spiritual realm. Gideon was on high alert at all times and was quite frankly working on Edgar’s nerves. When he wasn’t grilling him on what to do if he encountered a demon, he was using him to communicate wi
th Charlotte. Two days before Edgar’s birthday dinner, the butler had enough. It was well after midnight and Gideon once more was going over exactly what needed to be done and said when the other guardians arrived. Edgar was exhausted, not having had more than five or six hours of sleep each night in the last week.
Gideon had just told him to tell Charlotte something when Edgar realized he was falling asleep at his own kitchen table. “Gideon, that’s enough…I’m tired and I’m not telling Charlotte another thing for at least eight hours! I’m going to bed. Please show yourselves the door. Good night.” Then without saying anything else Edgar turned off his lights and crawled into bed, leaving the two angels sitting in the dark.
Gideon fumed until he realized just how hard he had been pushing the old guy. Edgar wasn’t one of his warriors; he was an eighty-seven-year-old man who needed his rest. Gideon rose from the chair and tucked the covers in more tightly around the already sleeping butler then quietly left the room.
Chapter 16
Sabrina was in the kitchen with Cleo putting the finishing touches on Edgar’s birthday cake. She couldn’t believe that he had just come out and announced that his birthday was this week. It was very unlike him; he kept all things personal…well, personal. She was overjoyed to have a chance to celebrate the birth of this dear man who was so much more to her than just an employee. He was family plain and simple and he would be honored as family. Licking a bit of vanilla cream frosting off her finger, she stepped back and surveyed her creation. The three-tiered cake was off-white with black piping around the edges. There wasn’t anything fussy about it, just like the man it was made for. However, in the middle was a sweet cream cheese and blackberry filling that was also like the man you couldn’t see from the outside. Cleo was making her delectable ham and bacon roll-ups; Catherine was bringing mini cucumber sandwiches. Sabrina hadn’t heard exactly what Keelie was bringing, but it was sure to be something wonderful.
