An Angel's Ascent

by Christina Worrell

  I listened while he made up an anonymous report on his computer.

  “I hope you’re okay Angel. Do you need an ambulance?”

  “Nope, they’re so out of it, they took each other out before they could catch me. I really think you guys should press the danger of this area,” I replied.

  Carlos growled, and I could just picture him slamming his coffee cup down.

  “You let us worry about our jobs, Angel. This city’s safety is our problem, not yours and Ravens. Why do you insist on putting yourself in this situation?! Every time dispatch puts a call through, I’m expecting it to involve you. Why’s that?”

  I didn’t answer him… I couldn’t.

  “Seriously, what were you thinking going into dark secluded alleys alone? My momma would skin me if she knew what I let you do.”

  “Meeting my friends halfway, so we can walk into town and catch a movie.”

  “Drive next time, even if you can take care of yourself better than most men… I’m beginning to feel we need a special unit just for you girls and your anonymous calls,” he replied snidely.

  I groaned.

  “Be more careful Angel. Try to stay out of trouble. I already have a stack of ‘anonymous’ reports and incidents. If I keep this up the chief will not only notice, but he’ll put me on traffic duty again!”

  “I know Carlos. Trouble just has a way of finding me… a lot. Thanks for keeping this between us. It means a lot,” I whispered. He’s just doing his job even if his Latino side made him quick to anger.

  He finished his lecture with another momma comment and hung up. If Carlos only knew what I did… he’d keep my name clean without question. Only reason he didn’t put his foot down was because he knew about my karate training.

  It was good to have friends in high places, even if they didn’t know how much their help was needed or appreciated, and they grilled you like an overprotective older brother. He knew Raven and I were kind of close.

  I met up with the girls a few minutes later. We agreed to patrol a six-block radius, two to a side. Raven and I’d take the right, Alisa and Simone the left. The conversation wouldn’t be about paperwork and shoes. I refused. I quickly briefed them on my alleyway encounter. They were all relieved that it had come to nothing. Raven looked like she wanted to talk to me about something, and waves of apprehension rolled off of her.

  I told Raven how Michael had scared me and how my day had gone since.

  “Seriously, imagine walking all alone after a demon hunt. I could’ve killed him!”

  “He’s a little naïve and protective but no, he doesn’t think about things like we do,” Raven whispered, agreeing.

  Quietly, she told me how she was hoping Michael would notice her. She knew he liked me but still hoped someday he’d give up. Raven knew I wasn’t interested. She’d never blamed me for the way things were. I’d set them up if it were the last thing I ever did. Somebody ought to get laid around here.

  I was right though, she wanted to discuss Michael of course. I sympathized where I could and agreed to help her with her plans of Michael's domination, as she called it jokingly.

  I told her about the antique broker and laughed at my silly ideas of his love life. We were hysterical by the time we made it a third of the way.

  It was near ten when we hit the six-block mark. We made plans to patrol again Sunday around seven, since it was getting so late. I told them that we probably wouldn’t see anything for a few days. Demons didn’t encroach on another’s territory usually. Bad manners I guess.

  I had no trouble getting home that night. I told Simone good night and ran up the stairs to my apartment.

  Around eleven I began reading one of my books and not too much later started to drift off, so I decided it was time to give in to the damn sand man’s wishes and rest. I went to my room and snuggled in. It took a few minutes to get comfortable, but eventually I felt sleepy again.

  Then as my eyes were closing I felt my pulse accelerate and vague colors randomly flash before me. I began to hyperventilate as my body tightened. It felt like my body was being possessed. I had only done this a few times, and the first time I thought I was dying. Once again, my body was not my own.

  “Shit, not again!” I cried out. Not again… I hated when this happened.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Feelings of anticipation and weariness flooded me. I sensed that my upcoming visit to the club would be eventful. I felt butterflies in my stomach as things shifted, and I began to get scared. Not in terror, but more like jumpy scared. If I’d known what would happen, I’d have kept my little butt home Friday despite hurting Michael, in the end, though I probably wouldn’t have a choice. These episodes usually kept me awake for hours. This was getting ridiculous. I was going to start charging someone if I didn’t get some rest soon.

  As an empath I don’t just read people’s feelings, I can also read feelings from inanimate objects or from the future. Like deja vu or gut feelings.

  “Damn it to hell!” I hated when these things happened. I remembered how it felt when I touched the box downstairs and wondered if they were connected somehow. I pushed it all away and forced myself to sleep. It took over an hour and a steaming hot shower, but I finally slept. No dreams this time, luckily, I had enough sleep interrupted.

  Five a.m. came fast, but tired or not I had a schedule to follow. I went through the motions as usual and once again found myself in my chair on my little social network that was just so darn popular. I had a few contacts through this, and talked to some witches giving them advice and selling them books. With an energy drink beside me, I decided to research the band, Undead Ones.

  The band consisted of six members. All gothic guys, insanely tall and well built, like gorgeous Vikings, hee hees. Four had long hair, all but one blond or brown. The pictures were small, so I couldn't see their faces, but from what I could tell they were hot! I didn’t usually drool over men, but I wasn't blind. My hormones were the same as any girls, but had not gotten me into trouble yet. Part of me had a dirty little thought that these guys could be Angel’s first. I’d melt in their ripped arms and drool over their chiseled chests.

  I listened to their music for a while and was astonished by how good they were, maybe the best out there. Their vocalist was haunting, sad like. He also played a mean guitar. He could scream; he could go fast almost like he was rapping, and if he sung leisurely he was still amazing. Kind of like what I hear about sex, I thought laughing. He actually gave me goose bumps. I decided to download some of their music and add it to my mp3 player. If you heard his vocals, you would do anything to hear them again and again.

  I got curious looks as I was doing my own one woman mosh pit behind the counter. Even the customers stopped to listen and a few explained how they were the best rock/metal band out there. Top ten any day. Which was weird in itself, because metal is not a widely appreciated genre. Especially with the carbon copy, auto tuning pop stars that the music industry shoves onto us. But hey, to each his own… You’ll never catch me listening to that disarray.

  I felt like I was on a drug as the music seemed to put me nearly into a trancelike state. I wonder how he’d be live if he sounded this good now.

  I happened to know the club owner, due to the fact that he dabbles in the black arts. He emails me his list and then has an employee pick it up when I let him know that it’s in. Michael would get a kick out of meeting the band, I was sure, and greedy little me wanted an up close and personal look at this band leader named Aries.

  I picked up my phone and called asking for Frank, the manager. I know I shouldn’t do this, but damn they were irresistible, at least from what I’d seen so far and heard.

  “Hey Angel, he’s a little busy at the moment. This place is crawling with roadies, and he’s trying to corral them at the moment.”

  “Wow,” I commented.

  “Yeah, one kid already put a hole in the wall when he was trying to get one of the massive amps on stage. Then the circuits got fli
pped a few times from the mounds of electrical cords they plugged in on stage. This is our biggest band yet, and I don’t think Frank was ready for all this just yet. Can he call you back, or is it the usual Angel?”

  “Actually Casey I want to meet the band Undead Ones, if it is possible. I just listened to some of their music and was blown away. I know it’s a lot to ask for, and the band is busy. I don’t need much time though, just a ‘hey, I’m Angel thing’.” I picked at my fingers nervously, like a teenager's prom night.

  “I’m sure Frank can arrange something for you, seeing as he gets a lot of his patrons sent here from you. Let me talk it over with him and the Undead Ones and I’ll see what I can do. It’d be Saturday more than likely as they are not as busy. We’re having their opening act alternate with them that night. They’re a local garage band, so they are on cloud nine opening for the Undead Ones. I’ll call you as soon as this circus sideshow calms down and let you know what’s up.” I heard Frank barking orders in the background so I asked him another quick question before he could hang up on me and run to his boss.

  “Casey, I got a friend coming with me, but he’s really shy and laid back, so I know he won’t be a problem. They’re his band if you know what I mean, and it’d mean as much to him as it would to me. He comes to the club a lot. You may know him, Michael. He’s gorgeous and would probably come alone...”

  “Yeah I know Michael. He’s here every Friday and Saturday and usually helps set up for us. Seeing as it’s you two, I see no problem with it. Undead Ones have their own setup crew as you can hear, so Michael wouldn’t be working anyways. The band should be here any minute.”

  I thanked him, and we said good-bye.

  Michael was going to flip when he found out. I decided to close an hour early and go to the mall. It was definitely in order, I wanted to impress, I thought to myself smiling.

  I counted the money and dropped it in the safe. Then I grabbed my purse and a jacket, turned out the lights and set the alarm. I hated walking to my car at night being as it was around the back with no streetlights. There was a small parking area for the store owners and a little alley. The light had been knocked-out years ago, and no amount of complaining got anyone around to fix it.

  The electric company charges the closest five businesses a fee to maintain the light post, and I was sure by now we owned it, but still we were stuck with a dark and unsafe alley. In my opinion, if I was going to rob one of us, it would be right here where it was secluded, shadowy, and the first place the business owner would go if he was driving to the bank to drop a deposit.

  I heard various chilling sounds as I walked to my car, meowing cats, barking dogs, and random unknown metal sounds.

  My lovely was a glittery, metallic purple 2011 Mustang. I loved my ride. I had a sweet top of the line system professionally installed and some bad ass, black chrome rims. Custom made showcase car off the floor. I babied it bordering on insanity. It was my precious.

  I connected my MP3 player and within a minute I had Undead Ones distracting me.

  I hated driving nowadays with the maniacs on the road. If you can’t drive let someone else behind the wheel. How hard was that? I mean. How do they pass the tests? I had a sneaky suspicion that somewhere someone was selling forged or fake licenses for the right price. Okay that idea came from a book so it was not officially mine.

  Nearly an hour later I found a parking spot toward the front under a light, locked up my sweetie and took a deep breath, calming myself before I entered an establishment that held thousands of people.

  Empaths hated crowds, because unless you could shield properly your head exploded like a jack hammer was insanely attacking, and you felt like a moody bitch the entire time. When I was younger, I’d cry if I ever left my room. I was one of the lucky ones who could shield unconsciously every now and then before they hit their teens. A crowd this large though still made me want to vomit, especially without any distractions.

  Inside it was nearly empty. Thank the gods and goddesses, which was odd considering that night was when they got most of their business. I went to the store I normally shopped at; Dark Beauties Attire. The private owner usually had great deals. I began the search for a suitable outfit. I hadn’t been here in months and things had drastically changed apparently, keeping up with current fashion trends.

  The owner swooped in on me immediately, like a carrion bird after its prey, okay bad analogy. Usually it was crowded just enough that he couldn’t tend to every customer, just bad timing on my part.

  “Hey sexiness, can I help you?” I nearly laughed but managed to catch myself just in time. I mean I’m not judgmental, racist, or biased at all but, well, if you'd seen him. You'd be hysterical. Kind of what I pictured about southern gays by the border.

  “Not really, just checking out what’s new.” I sensed confidence and an eagerness to truly help. Most shop owners were greedy bastards.

  “Let me guess? No… no… Aha, leather and yes knee-high boots?" His voice was nasally and sort of high pitched.

  “Sure,” it was eerie how he knew me. The man was about as flamboyant as they come, that much was instantly obvious, but he could have been a little off in the head. I didn’t get psycho feelings though. More like been to way too many rave parties and taken the candy too many times, but he seemed like a genuinely nice guy, so I felt comfortable with him. Hell, I could probably get naked in front of this man, hee hee.

  “Relax, I’ve worked here for a while sister, before that I worked with the professionals. They get really bitchy and demanding so I thought, why not owns my own store right? Then I could work with the nobodies. No offense or anything,” he said gazing longingly, his t‘s sounding a lot like d‘s. I’m a busty girl for my small frame, and I was going to accentuate my best features.

  “None taken,” I smiled and took the outfits he had just hunted down, and followed him to the dressing room.

  They fit almost perfectly. Very comfortable, and the Lycra made them just the right amount of stretchy so when I moved they moved with me. I liked all three so well I bought them all, along with some matching jewelry. They were all on sale so I splurged. Who wouldn’t really?

  The jewelry was black and silver bangle bracelets, and a very chic necklace shaped like an angel’s wings.

  One outfit was regular black leather but had different chains as belts. The corset a leather type piece with crisscrossed ties up the chest and the boots were knee high with large silver buckles around the ankles like miniature studded waist belts and chunky heels. The other two outfits were purple and black, a little leather, all with Lycra spandex to give me that poured into look. They showed a daring amount of cleavage, but when you’re blessed like me who wouldn’t want to show off these girls. Exactly what I was looking for, but I didn’t know it. They were dressy, not too risqué, and black nothing but black.

  “Thanks for your suggestion. I think you not only captured my style, but the pricing is perfect.”

  “I take it, you like all three? I rarely find an unsatisfied customer, but most women are just so demanding and picky, thinking they need undivided personal attention for over half a day.” He replied grinning insanely, pleased that I went with his suggestions. Each outfit was over three hundred, but they were not cheaply made. The thousand I just handed over made him one happy camper.

  “Yeah they’re perfect. I’m going clubbing this weekend and want to go Goth with a little professional taste, but nothing too loud. This was just way, way too perfect. A deal I simply could not resist.” I smiled back at him, happy the man was talented.

  “I took one look and knew exactly what would enhance your sexy and bring out your sense of style as well. You’re not our typical Goth teens, so I assumed something a little more would be just right. Don't take this the wrong way, but girl you could be walking the catwalk in New York with a perfect figure such as yours. Have you considered modeling or acting by chance?” he asked casually, fiddling with the counter.

  “Thank you, b
ut no, I run a business too. Faellin Angels Realm, old downtown. It’s a very unique store that supplies new and used books, Wicca supplies, and medieval weapons and armor.” I told him, wondering why I didn’t feel freaked out by his insistent ogling. Sure I could sense his emotions but in this type of situation the feelings he was experiencing could be taken different ways. Well, maybe it was his obvious preference to the male species.

  “I’ll spread the word girlfriend, if you will in return. We have to stick together in this cruel world right, right?”

  “Absolutely, I make a very good income, so I don’t overprice.”

  I paid him and then I went to get dinner. Chinese was my favorite and the one here was to die for. I always tipped a little extra for them to cook it my way. I ate quickly, enjoying my small break.

  I took my bags and went to my car, thinking about the upcoming weekend and finally having some fun. I really did deserve this, I told myself. I wasn’t going to feel guilty, even if I had spent more than I’d wanted.

  It was past midnight when I got home. I’d taken my time at the mall and on the drive back. I had to stop to fill up on gas and grab another energy drink or three. I was addicted; they were my coffee. So sue me. Needless calories but I ran them off within two hours.

  I slept pretty well that night and actually missed the alarm. I’d decided to cut back jogging to three times a week, so I’d have more time for things like checking out my new toys.

  Wednesday kept me busy enough I couldn’t focus on anything but the store. I made a good bit that day and was aware that a bank drop was in order. I use to go once a week, but I’d never been robbed so I stopped being paranoid and started only going when I had to go out for something anyway.

  I rearranged my store a bit and restocked as much as I could between customers so Raven would have less to do.

  Afternoon finally arrived and I decided to call my best friend and see if she wanted to stay the night with me. When she did she was always gone before I woke in the morning. I think she was just as busy as me.