“Marriage.” I scoffed at that word. “Something I’ll never know. Not sure I ever knew what it was when I was alive.”
She grabbed my hand again and placed her other one upon my cheek. “Never, never say never, Leo.” She touched the meteor hanging from her neck. “Remember, it was you who gave me this, and told me that anything is possible, so, have faith in your convictions and practice what you preach.”
I lowered my head ever so slowly to hers as I whispered, “You are so strong, so certain. You have a power in you that could rock the Heavens and put out the flames of Hell. I have a feeling that your coming into my life is like a final snowflake that lands upon a freshly powdered mountainside, triggering a landslide. I would risk it all for you, and my decision to do so may push things into motion I can never take back.”
I placed her hand on my chest. She gasped for air. “Y-you have no heartbeat. No heart.” She peered at her hand.
“If I did, it would be pounding out of my chest right now. Remember, I only appear human.” Her hot breath huffed upon my lips as we stood motionless, staring at one another. We knew what we both wanted to do next, but we were unsure how to approach it.
We circled our lips around. It was me who began to turn away, unsure.
“Wait. I want to.” She pulled me to her by grabbing me around my neck. Just before our lips met, an overwhelming pain pierced my body like millions of hot daggers. I recoiled in agony.
“What? What is it, Leo?”
I groaned. “Love…or passion. I’m a demon and these are the most powerful of human emotions. These are feelings of ecstasy for man. These are the emotions that link Heaven and humanity together. It’s sacred. I-I’m discarded and forgotten, forever banned to such a gift as love. So to have it happening to me, around me, or with me is tormenting, forever meant to discourage me from ever feeling it again. It causes great pain to a demon, experiencing physical love; it truly is pure Hell for me to even almost feel.”
Her look of pity nearly brought me to my knees. I didn’t want that from her. But before I could react, she spoke further.
“Even though it hurts, can you still kiss?” She laid her hand across my face. I feared looking at her.
“Yes. I-I guess, I can.”
The torture I felt inside was absolutely horrifying, if I could just muscle through it, I could do what I had been dreaming of with her all along…kiss her.
“Then…kiss me.”
CHAPTER 12
FREE
More pain was coming if I went any further. But not to be denied, she guided my lips to hers. The initial contact caused an agonizing sensation like hot bobby pins piercing every square inch of my lips. Along with that, my body felt like it was being stabbed a billion times repeatedly.
I eased away again. She pulled me back and kissed me hard and deep. Our lips moved together, like the swaying of a midnight ocean. Shade never faltered and kept me honest, kissing me for what seemed like a passionate lifetime, a lifetime I was most willing to devote to her if I could.
Our arms wrapped around each other tighter and tighter, we squeezed so close a piece of paper wouldn’t fit between us. I took the chance of uncovering my enormous wings in a public place. With a swish, my full wingspan slung out on display. The sound caused Shade to open her eyes. I hoped the bold move wouldn’t freak her out and was relieved to see that she closed her eyes again, unfazed.
Being that she seemed comfortable, I surrounded her with my wings, holding her in a near cocoon, sealing her in the safety of my double embrace. Although I was in extreme pain, I no longer cared. I forever wanted to stay in her loving grip, pasted to her warm, full, red lips.
Without warning, our kiss broke. She looked at me curiously as she circled her tongue across her eager lips.
“Y-our…your face. Your eyes.” She staggered back a step.
“What about them?”
“It looks like every vein has risen to the surface of your pale white skin. Your eyes. Your pupils…they turned from that astonishing, sparkling, silver blue that captivate me, to solid pools of dark black.”
“The hound of Hell in me is feeling the torture of loving you; therefore, it wants the pain to stop and tries to surface. But I fight it off…along with the pain. It is only pain and anger that brings forth the beast within.”
“I see.” She glanced at the ground, still hugging me as I continued to hold her within my dual grip of my arms and wings.
“Your wings, I’ve never been this close to them—they’re huge. How can you just hide them and then bring them out like you don’t have them attached?” She freed one arm from my waist and ran it along the top of one of my wings.
I smiled at her, enthralled with her curiosity as she ran the charcoal-ash colored feathers through her fingers, feeling the texture.
“Wings are, and always have been, spiritual, whether on an angel or demon. It’s when we display them, for whatever reasons, they manifest into physical wings, so we can still move about in secret in this physical world. Angels, as I’m sure you’ve seen in pictures, really do have breathtaking white wings, while demons have these dark, ashy looking wings, not nearly as beautiful as a heavenly soldier’s feathers.”
Her hand caressed every inch of my wings. Although her touch was soothing and sensual, I continued to hold back the sweet pain of passion.
“I still think they’re beautiful. I think you are beautiful.” She looked at me with sincerity. “I-I know that your being here has something to do with Darryl trying to kill me.”
Her words shot through me like a spear of truth. I dreaded this conversation, but I didn’t expect it would arrive at a moment like this. I was embarrassed and ashamed, but determined to tell her the truth. I owed her that much.
“Again, you are a brilliant observer, girl, and it’s true what you say. I was sent here to recruit Darryl into demon service. In order for him to become one, we had to tip the scales in our favor, tempt him to do an unspeakable act. Unfortunately, that act involved…killing you. It was me the entire time silently whispering in his ear, in his head, feeding his jealous thoughts about you. It was me who pushed him into drinking all the time, and it was me who tempted him to bully you in Sandra’s driveway. I wasn’t there to witness his actions, because I couldn’t bear to see him hurt you. It was also me at the party that helped plant those thoughts in his head, forever in his ear about you. I…was in the room…in the shadows, when he was hurting you. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t sit back and do nothing.”
She placed her finger upon my lips. “Leo, I don’t care what you did. I know it wasn’t your idea to do me harm, because, well, you wouldn’t have saved me. You were just following orders. I’m glad you were there, and in a way, I’m glad your demon boss sent you here for Darryl, because otherwise, we wouldn’t have met.”
I couldn’t believe what she was saying. She had such inner beauty. I knew the truth had to pain her. This thought humbled me, making it hard to look into her eyes again. “Shade, I-I’m so sorry.”
“Sssssshhhhh.” She placed her hand back on my face. “Leo, I forgive you. Forgiveness. This is something Heaven should do as well for a beautiful soul like yours.”
Suddenly this warmth consumed the emptiness inside me. This triggered a sense of emotion I felt the need to share with her. “I’ve never felt anything like what I feel for you. I think…no, I know, it’s love. Shade, I love you.” The pain awoke again, but I didn’t let it show.
“The pain hit you again, huh? The blackness rose in your eyes and your veins surfaced again. Well, do the best you can to get used to it because…I love you too, Leo.”
Her words parted me like an arctic wind; never were sweeter things spoken to a creature like me. The only thing I could think of was moving in for another kiss, so I did.
After a short, but firm peck, I rested my cheek on the top her head while she placed her ear against my chest. We stood there motionless for a while.
“Have you ever want
ed to fly?”
Shade shot her head up. “Hell yes!” A look of enthusiasm came over her that almost frightened me.
I released my grip around her and moved behind the unsuspecting girl. I placed my arms around her waist, locking my wrists together on her stomach and whispering in her ear, “Then, hang on.”
Shade wrapped her nervous arms around mine like she was wearing a demon backpack. I started slowly, flapping my wings, raising a great gust of dirt. We raised off the ground, swishing the plant-life with each curl of my wings. Shade’s stomach twitched beneath my hands and I tightened my grip. She exhaled a breath of nervous anxiety from the sudden weightlessness.
“Don’t worry. You are as safe as in your mother’s arms. I got ya, girl.”
She stuck her chin over her shoulder and smiled, then gazed back at the earth that grew further and further away from our feet.
Finally I leveled off at a respectable height and flew over the top of the Gardens of Zeus.
“It’s even more beautiful from up here! Look, there’s the lookout point where you can see into the canyon and view the river below. But I guess I don’t have to take you to the observation point now. The view is far more exciting from this vantage point!”
Sure enough, there was this little overlook, safely guarded by what I could only assume were thick glass security shields, held together in sections by sturdy white painted steel poles that kept the sightseers from falling into the canyon below. If one couldn’t fly, that truly would be a breathtaking view. But she was correct, our point of view was way better.
“Aren’t you worried someone will see us?”
Her hair hit me in the face. I removed one of my arms from holding her and brushed a few strands out of my mouth, disregarding the very possible danger, besides flying, of being seen. “Aaaahhhhh, to Hell with ‘em,” I joked as Shade laughed with me. “Besides, how can anyone see us if we’re moving so fast?”
“What?”
I roared out a devious laugh and hit the gas.
Shade screamed, “Whoooaahh” as our speed increased. I dive-bombed into the canyon below. The g-force caused the back of her body to stick to the front of mine.
She continued to yell, both terrified and overjoyed at the same time, as we flew at a breakneck pace to the canyon river. Just a few feet before hitting the water I smoothed out our flight path and soared diagonally just above the surface.
“I could touch the water!” She held out one arm toward the river.
“Don’t do it, girl, the velocity could cause you to break, or even lose that arm! Now, hold on tighter. I hope you don’t get sick easy!” I blasted into an upward curve and did a few corkscrews. Shade could only bellow out in loud screams and panic-filled laughter as I soared towards the sky while pulling off a couple of loop-de-loops on top of it all.
When I stopped circling and darted throughout the valley at high speed, still narrowly missing some of the jagged red and brown rocks that stuck out from the canyons walls, Shade spoke up again.
“This is so intense! But slow down for a sec, I wanna do something.”
I slowed to a respectable and steady pace. She stuck her arms out to the sides of her body. “This is magnificent! It feels like I’m flying all by myself!”
“Should I let go then?”
“You better not if you know what’s good for you, boy!”
I could only giggle.
“I’ve always wanted to fly.”
“Well, how does it feel?”
“Better than I could have ever dreamed. I love it. We’ll have to do this again, hopefully in the daytime.”
“Good, I’m glad you like it, and we will…many times, I hope. As long as the coast is clear,” I replied with heartfelt joy, even though I had a sinking feeling Christian’s wrath was coming soon. But nonetheless, I was happy she was living out a dream with me.
We flew for another few minutes until the all too familiar sound of a cell phone ringing came from her pocket. Shade pulled her arms in, and fumbled around in her clothing.
“Don’t drop it,” I kidded her.
“No joke.” Finally she placed the phone against her ear. “Hello…Hey, Sandra, what’s up, girl? What? No, I have a window down.”
I chuckled. If only she knew.
“Wait…what? What’s going on? You and Mark are at Miller’s Hill?”
I leaned into her ear and let out a small, “Woohoo,” knowing Miller’s Hill is the top make-out spot and was also, of course, the start of Darryl and my testosterone-filled race. Shade just rolled her eyes.
“Hold on, let me roll up the window so I can hear you.” She pointed down.
Complying with her request, we gracefully landed on one of the many canyon peaks. We hit the ground at a nice pace and I released the chatting girl. She walked a few paces away with her back to me, pushing one finger into her other ear so she could hear better. She spun around with a look of great concern on her demeanor. “What now? Who’s there? What are you talking about…what?”
“What, is Scruffy getting a little too fresh?”
She tossed her hand up, letting me know that what was happening on the other side of the phone was no joking matter. “Sandra. Sandra, what’s going on? Hello? Hello?”
Her finger hit the end call button then she feverishly tried calling back her friend.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t really make out everything. I heard her say something about a few guys and girls surrounding her car, threatening them or something. I could hear Mark in the background telling whoever it was to back off, then Sandra screamed and the phone lost signal. Leo, we gotta get to them.”
“C’mon. We can get the car later.” I hurried behind her again. “Hold on as tight as you can. We’ll get to them. I promise.”
Wasting no time, I leaped into the night sky.
Being where they were, I had a sneaking suspicion I already knew the answer to my own growing concerns about my friends. I just hoped we weren’t already too late.
CHAPTER 13
SQUASH
It didn’t take long to fly to Miller’s Hill. I took a quick loop around the hillside to assess the situation. While we circled our two terrorized friends, we could plainly see that five figures, appearing to be four guys and one girl, had surrounded Sandra’s convertible, trapping her and Scruffy inside. It was easy to tell they were intimidating them, daring them to get out.
“I knew it.” Knew what?”
“Well, you know how everyone thinks Miller’s Hill is haunted, or whatever?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Well, it’s kinda the truth, although it isn’t haunted by ghosts or anything of that sort. It’s what is real that can hurt you here. It makes the rumors about this place even more terrifying.” I searched for a safe spot to put Shade before I made my landing right smack in the middle of harm’s way.
“What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
“Miller’s Hill is a feeding ground for the area vampires. Just about every town or city around the world has a colony of them. Whether it’s one or many, they’re always lurking in the shadows. These particular vampires hang out here at Miller’s Hill because it’s out of the city limits, dark, and all to itself. Not only that, the horny youth of Mountainside come here in droves, thinking they’re in solitude. The best area for a vampire is a place where they don’t have to go out and hunt. Usually they like to play games and scare off anyone who shows up where they hide…if they feel like doing that much work. This is where rumors about certain haunted locations stem from. It’s usually vampire, and sometimes demon work. In the case of Miller’s Hill, these five have been here frequently, but have never fed on a human, as far as I know. I’ve kept my eye on them for a while now. They, too, are aware of my presence. But this time it looks different; it looks as if they desire to do more than just employ some of the usual scare tactics. They’re right out in the open tonight. This tells me that real feeding time m
ay have arrived for this clan. I guess they got tired of feasting on the area wildlife.”
“Oh my God. I had…we all had no idea. Why are they picking now to feed?”
“I’m not sure, it’s odd. I’m just wondering if they’re being pushed into doing so, or just set free in general. And that would take permission.” It was strange they chose now to come out of the shadows. It was also weird they chose our two friends. It could be a coincidence, but my demon insight told me something was off.
“You’ve got to do something fast, Leo.” She pulled me out of my thoughts.
“I am, but first let me make sure you’re somewhere safe.” I landed on a thick lower branch a few yards away.
“Now stay here. Under no circumstances, no matter what happens, do you get involved. It’s suicide for a human to enter a vampire’s feeding ground when they’re in bloodlust. You may not only die, but they may make you become one of the undead yourself. So, stay put. Okay?”
I placed both arms on her shoulders and looked strongly at her, making sure she knew I meant business.
“Okay, okay, just hurry. And please be safe.”
“I will. I promise I’ll be back in a minute. Like I said, stay put, remain out of sight…no matter what.”
“I will. Now go, Leo!” She pointed me in the direction of the trouble. “Leo, one more thing. This tree thing…you’re killlllllinnn’ me.”
I chuckled hard. What a time for her to criticize me for sticking her in yet another tree. “What can I say, girl, I like trees. You can see everything around you.” I threw my hands in the air. She just pointed to the ground, silently telling me to shut up and get to work helping our friends.
I flapped my wings and blasted back into the air. I stopped just above some of the tallest trees and took one final look at what was going on. One of the male vampires had grabbed Scruffy by his shirt and was lifting his flailing body into the air. The rest of his crew was closing in on the now-screaming Sandra.
I shot like a dart towards the unfolding drama, landing just out of the sightline behind my two frightened buds. I hit the ground with extreme impact and flapped my wings one last time, letting the stalkers know what I was and capturing the attention of the vampire holding Scruffy. He dropped my friend back into the car.
Drift (Drift Series) Page 14
