The Guardian, a Sword, & Stilettos (The Enlighten Series Book 1)

by Kristin D. Van Risseghem

  I shook my head, afraid to believe any of it. “So tell me, am I safe here?”

  “Yes. You’re safe here with me. And your house has some protection wards. It’s how you can stay in the same house without fear of discovery.”

  “Do my parents know what I am?”

  “No . . . at least, I don’t think so.”

  “How could they not?”

  “An angel would’ve had to tell them. And it’s better if they didn’t know.”

  I dug in the deep pocket of my skirt and pulled out my cell phone, checking the time again. “I gotta go home.” I slipped it back in my pocket. It felt strange to think about regular, human events. “It’ll be dinner soon, and it’s a school night.” I slid off the tire and walked toward the house. Halfway there, I picked up my Converses, crammed my mud-covered socks into them, and walked the rest of the way barefoot.

  “Maybe you should call your parents and stay here, for a while longer,” Kieran called out.

  “I can’t just fight demons, you know. I have chores and homework to do, too.”

  “Want me to walk you home?” He still sat on the swing.

  I turned back and shook my head. “No, I need to be alone for a while. But thanks.”

  “At least have Shay walk you home.”

  I didn’t respond. His whole life and everything in it had been a lie. His life with me, anyway.

  The truth was I wasn’t mad at him, exactly. It was just a lot to take in. He had kept details from me for all these years, and pretty major details, apparently. How could I trust him now? Okay, I figured he might have thought I would freak out or maybe not understand, but the fact remained this was the biggest part of his life, and he’d kept it entirely hidden. The memories I had of him growing up with me were a sham.

  Kieran was not the person I’d thought he was. He wasn’t even a person. In a way, I guess I was more upset about Kieran’s cover up than I was about the existence of Enlightens.

  What did that say about me as a person?

  When I reached the back door, Shay blocked the whole frame, his arms folded across his chest. There was no way for me to get past him, not unless he moved.

  “You can’t leave. We need to continue—” he said.

  “I’m not doing this now.” I held up my hand and shook my head.

  He moved to let me pass and followed, then stopped at the front door. I felt his eyes on me the whole time I walked toward my own house.

  By the time I opened my front door, I was in shock. I couldn’t even recall the walk from Kieran’s house to mine. My body moved like I was a robot, and I shuffled to the kitchen, automatically starting to set the table. In a daze, I opened the cupboard, removed four plates and glasses, then turned as my younger sister bounded into the room.

  “Where have you been? Out with Kieran?” she taunted.

  Stella was incredibly annoying. I shuddered to think I might have been like that when I’d been thirteen. With everything else going on, I couldn’t deal with her right now.

  “I’m going to my room. Tell Mom I’m home.”

  “Wait!” she yelled. “You’re not done setting the table! You’re going to get in trouble!”

  I didn’t care. I climbed the stairs and headed down the hallway to my room. I stood in the doorway and looked around at my lavender walls, taking in my simple white furniture and the sleigh-styled queen bed with purple flowered bedding, the one I had begged for on my tenth birthday. Everything in here was familiar to me.

  Unlike Kieran.

  I shut the door and plopped face down on my bed. After a while, during which I tried in vain to forget what I’d just learned, I lifted my head and started doing my AP English assignment, preparing for a discussion of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But the words blurred on the page behind my tears. I grabbed the edge of the comforter, climbed under the covers, and closed my eyes, shutting out the world.

  Someone knocked gently on the door. “Zoe? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine, Mom,” I replied, trying to sound cheerful. I did not want to have a discussion with her right now.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  “That’s not an answer. Did something happen at school?”

  “No. I just have a lot going on right now,” I mumbled. People suck. Lying people suck. We’d never fought before. Was I fighting with Kieran?

  “Well, okay. Come down for dinner. I made Chicken Parmesan.”

  After a few more seconds, I dragged my body out of bed and shuffled downstairs, joining my family around the table. I plastered on a smile so my parents wouldn’t grill me about my day, and tuned out everything said. I moved food around my plate, unable to keep up the appearance nothing was wrong.

  “Honey, are you feeling okay?” Dad asked, apparently noticing my tactic. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I couldn’t tell him the truth.

  “Yeah. I’m just not hungry tonight. Lots going on in my head that I have to sort through, um, with school. May I be excused?”

  “Sure thing.”

  I carried my plate to the sink and stared out the kitchen’s bay window. The sun had just set, casting a brilliant array of blues and purples across the sky. The image of wings flashed in my mind, making me drop my plate into the sink. Can’t I get away from the angel thing for just a few minutes?

  As I passed the living room window, I stopped and peered outside again, suddenly alert. Something had moved in the tree line in the backyard. I scooted closer to the window, focusing on the spot, but saw nothing. My heart beat faster, and I thought back to the warehouse. Demons! Two had already found me today, and Devin had warned there would be more.

  I ran up the stairs, shut the door, and dove onto the bed. As I bundled my comforter into a security blanket around me, I reached for my cell phone. I needed my best friend.

  Me: Hey K. Sorry I ran out. It’s just a lot to take in, ya know

  It only took a second before he replied.

  Kieran: Understand

  Me: I think there’s someone or something in the backyard

  Kieran: You are safe inside your house

  Me: Really?

  Kieran: Trust me, you are protected with us around

  I wondered if he’d ever know how good that made me feel. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to get my heartbeat to slow as I typed.

  Me: Got homework to do. I’ll see you tomorrow. Usual spot

  Kieran: Sleep well

  I slid the phone to the side and pulled my textbook closer, trying to focus. When my cell beeped after only a second, I grabbed it and smiled at his text.

  Kieran: Are we good?

  Me: Yeah. We are

  After AP English was done, I grabbed my astronomy book and opened to chapter seventeen. I suppose it didn’t help that I was working on an assignment about the solar system and neighboring planetary systems, because my mind quickly shifted to thinking about the Enlightens. I slammed the book closed and tossed it into my backpack. If the teacher called on me tomorrow, I’d have to wing it.

  Wing it.

  I grabbed a tank top and boy shorts from the dresser and headed to my bathroom, where I brushed my teeth and washed my face. Finally I stretched onto the bed, relishing the quiet time.

  The prophecy foretold my birth. It seemed impossible . . . and slightly ridiculous, if I was being honest with myself. How was I supposed to become a great savior of the world? I couldn’t kill people. I wasn’t a leader at all. I wasn’t . . . anything.

  But I had Kieran. He would help me. Shay, too. Maybe.

  I dropped off to sleep, dreaming of his aqua eyes and blocking out everything else.

  My body jerked awake, and I fumbled for my phone to check the time. Midnight. The bedside light was still on, but the house was silent. Everyone would already be in bed. I closed my eyes, hoping for sleep. When something ticked nearby, I bolted straight up in bed. The sound came again, except louder. It sounded like rain tapping on my win
dow.

  Demons!

  “Zoe?”

  I didn’t recognize that voice, but it sounded husky, as if whoever was calling was trying to be quiet. I listened hard, not answering, wondering if I’d just imagined it. Then I heard my name again.

  “Zoe? Are you awake?”

  I climbed out of bed and tiptoed to the window. My stomach flip-flopped when I saw Shay standing on the grass two stories below.

  “Are you okay?” he mouthed, motioning for me to open the window.

  I slid it open as quietly as possible. “If I said I was fine, would you believe me?” I whispered back.

  “No. May I come up?”

  “No!” I cried. “If my dad found out I had a guy in my room, he’d kill us both!”

  He tilted his head to one side, mulling that over. “I don’t think he could kill me. Not unless he has a sword dipped in Hell’s Fire or from the River Styx.”

  “Not funny.” I shook my head. “Did Kieran send you?”

  “No. Please. Can I come up?”

  “It’s midnight!”

  “I know. And it’ll be even later the longer you keep me standing out here.”

  “Why didn’t you come earlier?” I listened behind me, but I didn’t hear any sounds from the rest of the house. Still I hesitated. “I don’t know. Can you be quiet? How are you going to get up here?”

  “Back up a little.”

  Shay’s shirt suddenly disappeared, and I stared at the two huge silver wings which framed his back. They flapped a few times as he rose from the ground, sounding like laundry on a line when the wind gusts past. He hovered outside my window, grinning at me. Once I moved past the wings, I found myself staring right at his perfectly sculpted chest. Oh man.

  I finally figured out he was waiting for me to get out of the way. I stumbled back from the window, scrambled over to the end of my bed and sat, hugging my knees to my chest. Shay slipped inside, protecting his wings as he moved. I stared, rendered speechless by his beauty and the massive silver feathers protruding from his back. And this was only a half-angel?

  As he made his way into the bedroom, a soft glow enveloped everything, turning my lavender walls white. I couldn’t tell if the light came from his body or from his wings. Guessing I’d be curious, he unfurled them for me to see, and they took up almost the whole width of my room. It was the most exquisite thing I had ever seen. My eyes swept over his half exposed body, taking in his tanned skin, his muscled arms, and the lean waist which narrowed and fit nicely into his black jeans. He still wore the black combat boots I’d seen him in that afternoon. Once again, my cheeks warmed, and I dropped my chin, embarrassed. I’d just blatantly checked out his body.

  “Hey, don’t do that,” he whispered. “Don’t hide your beautiful face.”

  An electrical jolt coursed through my body when he cupped my chin between gentle fingers, forcing my eyes to meet his. Shay’s eyes widened, and I realized he’d felt it, too.

  Wait. He just said I was beautiful.

  I scooted off the bed and stood on wobbly legs in front of him, the top of my head coming to just under his chin. Warmth radiated off his body in waves. His tender gaze was on me as I walked around the room, admiring me, and when I returned to face him, he wore a small, knowing smile.

  The wings were the whitest of anything I had ever seen, dotted by silver specks. I wanted more than anything to feel them, so I raised my right hand, my silent gesture asking if I could touch. He nodded, giving me permission, and my fingers lightly grazed over the feathers. They felt like silk, and his whole body shivered under my touch.

  “They’re so soft,” I marveled. I bet just like his skin.

  His eyes danced. “Would you like to go flying with me?”

  I nodded, but my body didn’t move. Oh my God! I’m going flying! He turned me so I faced away from him. He guided me toward the window, and once again, as soon as he touched the small of my back, electricity streamed throughout my body. His fingers twitched.

  “Climb out and stand on the sill,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.”

  I grabbed a hoodie from the back of a chair and threw it on over my tank top, then I darted into my closet to slide black yoga pants over my shorts. Shay shook his head, smirking as I climbed out the window.

  “What?”

  He winked. “Nothing. It’s just, well, what you had on before was just fine with me.”

  Typical guy.

  I stood on the sill with my hands pressed on the frame, bracing myself and wondering what on earth I was doing. Then Shay’s body pressed up against mine, and I felt entirely safe. He wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me closer, and the electric current danced through us.

  “Are you ready?” he whispered.

  I couldn’t find my voice, so I just nodded. With no apparent effort, he lifted me then set me back down so the heels of my feet were on the hard tops of his boots. His grip around my waist tightened, then he bent his knees and launched us into the air. For one instant I experienced the terrifying feeling of falling straight down, then his gigantic wings gave one good thrust and we shot up into the starry sky.

  I suppose I should have been terrified, but I wasn’t. And I couldn’t close my eyes, because I wanted to take everything in. St. Joseph grew smaller and smaller, turning cars and houses into little dots as we soared toward the clouds and across the countryside.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t drop you,” he breathed into my ear. I shivered, but it wasn’t from the temperature. With him wrapped around me, how could I be cold?

  “I’m not.” It was true. The absolute trust I felt for Shay was something I sensed in my bones. I relaxed into him. We soared above the clouds, and I eventually extended my arms, feeling free and happy. I heard no worldly noises except the wind whipping past.

  We climbed upward for a few more seconds, then he spiraled downward, the downy silver and white of his wings wrapping around us like a cocoon. We breathed in unison, and I felt Shay’s heart beating against my back. He sighed, sounding happy as he rested his chin on top of my head and his other arm crossed over my waist. Suddenly, the most intense shock passed through our bodies.

  “Why does that happen when we touch?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure. We can ask Kieran tomorrow.” He sighed again, but this time the tone of it was different. “It’s getting late, Zoe, and we have to talk, yet. Ready to go back?”

  I turned my head so I could see his profile. “And if I say I want to stay like this forever?”

  He chuckled. “I should take you back.”

  Way before I was ready, we landed on my windowsill, and he took my hand to help me through. Remembering he’d need extra space for his huge wings, I moved to my bed so he could follow me in. As he did, the wings contracted, disappearing into his back, and a new black T-shirt instantly covered his torso.

  “Thank you for taking me. That was incredible,” I whispered, patting the bed for him to sit next to me. “Where does the shirt go and does it have to disappear in order to fly? I mean . . . if I get wings . . . ah, I don’t want to be topless.”

  He chuckled, unlaced and kicked off his boots, but didn’t sit. Instead, he leaned against the desk. “For guys, it’s easier to not have a shirt. But it doesn’t actually have to disappear. You can fly fully dressed, too.”

  I released the breath I held. “How come Kieran didn’t come, too?”

  “I think he wants to give you time and space. But I’m here because you deserve to know who’s protecting you.”

  I nodded and sighed, forcing me to wrap my head around all I was told. “The prophecy . . .”

  Shay leaned forward and looked me in the eyes, his expression entirely focused. I couldn’t look away. When he spoke, his voice sounded almost as if he were chanting.

  “Glory!

  Babe born.

  First and last.

  Heaven and unto Earth.

  Receives the highest in jubilation.

  Enlightens will
unite, they shall band.

  Triumph be if darkness is driven back.

  Help found who love, the world will stand.”

  “What does that even mean?” I crossed my arms.

  “I agree with Kieran that you are the babe.” He crossed and then uncrossed his legs. “When you were born, the veil to the underworld broke. So evil has been festering all this time. Waiting. When you turn eighteen, the door will bust open allowing all of hell to descend to Earth.”

  “So I caused this?”

  “But you’re also the Redeemer who will save us, too.”

  “Great.” I shook my head. “Now I feel awful . . .”

  “We’ll get through it.”

  “Yeah.” I laid my head on my knees and turned away from him. “Keep telling yourself that.” I sighed.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

  “I need to wrap my brain around all that. So, tell me about you and where you came from?”

  He took a breath. “My mom, Lindy, was a waitress at a diner in Santa Clara, California, when she met my father. One summer day he had stopped in for a late lunch. It was a slow day, so they had plenty of time to talk. He returned the next day and the next, eventually convincing her to have dinner with him and did whatever other young couples did back in the 1930s.”

  He moved away from the desk’s edge and walked slowly around my room. “She knew she was in love with him. She would have done anything he asked.” His eyes went to mine, suddenly serious. “But Gabriel—that’s my dad—finally told her he was an Archangel, and that meant he couldn’t marry her because of the rules of being an angel.” Shay took a seat on the corner of my bed and his mouth curled up. “I was born soon after they had met. That’s when he had to explain to my mom that I would be special. I would be a nephilim.”