by JK Ensley
“Hmm… You used to be much better at hiding your sarcasm and disdain. You are losing your touch, Naga.”
“That was back when I wished not to cause too great an offense. Now… I just don’t care.”
Uriel narrowed his eyes. “Does Daichi remain with you, always?”
“He heals me daily, if that’s what you mean.”
“Physically, perhaps,” he mumbled.
“That is the only way he heals me because that is the only way I let him. It’s the only type of healing I need.”
“So you say.” He cut his eyes sideways at her. “It must be nice to be so young yet know everything.”
“Eh… it has its good days and bad,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
And with that, Jenevier darted into the clouds, leaving the Arch to chase after her.
*****
Uriel’s mighty wings joined hers as she gazed down upon the carnage below them.
“You are maddening, little Naga,” he said.
“So I’ve been told,” she mumbled.
Her eyes never left the bloody scene laid out upon the ground.
“It is horrible, is it not?” he whispered.
“No matter what I happen to witness, Uriel, no matter what horrible thing I come across, the atrocities contained within the heart of man… never cease to amaze me.” She shook her head, sorrowfully.
“΄Tis true.” He slowly nodded his agreement. “This particular realm has known its fair share of war and unexplainable violence, to be sure. Magic was once a blessed thing upon Earth. Long has it been absent this place.”
“But, these people, Uriel…” She drew closer, morbidly mesmerized by their raven hair and fair skin. “They look like…” She paused.
“Yes, Naga.” He lightly touched her shoulder. “And that is the truth of why I am here with you today.”
She looked at him, confused.
“For support,” he continued. “Support for your heart, if you need it. And support for your mission, should you not be able to complete it.”
She bent down and brushed the long black locks off the cold cheek of a young woman. “Why would I not be able to complete it?” she asked absently.
He waited until the realization of what she was looking upon sank in.
She gasped. “Uriel, this woman… she could be Hinata’s twin.” She turned to make sure he was looking. “This woman, Brother, look at her. How can these people be as my own? You said we are on Earth, did you not?”
“Yes, Naga. We stand upon the eighth layer, yet a different part from what you have seen before. The humans who live here, they call this part of their realm, Asia, to be exact. And, yes. They greatly favor your Jinnites in looks and coloring.”
“It is wretchedly uncanny,” she whispered, mostly to herself.
She narrowed her eyes when she looked back up, studying Uriel’s guarded face. He shuffled uncomfortably under her penetrating gaze.
“What do you hide from me, Brother?” she said, staring deep within him. “Why is your mind so closed to me? Do you not think, in just a very short time, I will find out your secrets for myself?”
He didn’t answer her.
“Very well, Brother,” she half hissed. “Keep your knowledge locked away. You can bloody well drown in it, for all I care. I can plainly see these mangled bodies. Yet, I know they are not who they appear to be. Believe it or not, I learned years ago to look deeper than the wrapper.”
“That is what we all tell ourselves, yes,” he whispered. “Alas, the eyes are extremely powerful things, Naga. Vision claims a direct line to our hearts, little sister, almost magically so.”
“Save your wisdom. Store it alongside your secrets. I wish for neither,” she spat. “The reality is this. A madman is murdering innocents at an alarming rate. He poses their lifeless forms within this forgotten forest and visits them as one would admire their possessions. I am here to put an end to his wicked game and cease his life. No worries. I have done this same deed many, many thousands of times before. Your ridiculous babysitting is not necessary. I got this.”
Still, Uriel didn’t speak.
She sniffed the air. “He comes,” she whispered.
Uriel remained silent, motionless.
Jenevier watched as the long barrel of the cold black gun emerged cautiously from the dense bamboo. She stepped closer, removing her mask.
“Naga, what are you doing?” Uriel demanded. “He will be able to see you in that form. Don Vashti, now!”
She turned toward the infuriated Arch, rolled her eyes and crinkled up her nose at him. She almost stuck out her tongue, but caught herself.
“Is this how you carry out your missions, Angel? Does Daichi know about this? Does anyone?” He started toward her. “You are reckless and foolhardy, little sister.”
The man’s face appeared at that very moment.
Her eyes went wide. She took a hasty step back.
“By the gods…”
He spun at the sound of her shaky voice, gun leveled at her angelic face.
“Musashi…” The name forced itself from her lungs, painfully taking her breath with it.
The man dropped his gun and ran toward her. Quickly speaking in a language she could not force her addled mind to understand.
When he touched her, grabbed her shoulders… all hell broke loose.
Her claws sprang out, full length. She raised her arm, meaning to slash open his massive chest, but Uriel grabbed her wrist.
The man could see neither her ethereal weapons, nor the Angel now restraining her, keeping her from claiming his life. He simply watched, amazed, as the tiny little woman covered in colorful curls, struggled with the very air about her.
Fear has claimed her mind, the man thought.
“Hold, Naga,” Uriel shouted. “Don your mask and calm yourself. That is not Musashi. Look closer. He is not—”
She screamed as she tore free from the mighty Arch, leaving him with a nasty cut down the length of his forearm, and minus a handful of his lovely angelic hair.
“Why… you little demon,” he snapped.
Then, her maddened eyes revealed to him the extent of her temporary insanity. Naga was gone. She stood before him as weapon only—raw, unreasoning, Death.
By the gods… What did that man truly do to you? Uriel thought.
The Arch lunged for her just as another raven-haired man stepped into the secret clearing.
She dodged Uriel’s grasp and found herself, face to face, with a dear friend and trusted companion.
“Yui!” Jenevier flung her arms around his neck and held on for dear life.
The shocked man slowly returned her frantic embrace, fixing his gaze upon the now unarmed man before him.
Time froze.
“Kagi Naga, open your damn eyes before I remove your head,” Uriel shouted.
She shook her head violently, burying her nose into the second man’s neck, her curls half covering his hardened face.
“Yui, I thank all that’s holy, you are here.” She pulled back, holding his cheeks in her hands. “He is alive, Yui. He came back for me.” She smiled lovingly at the confused man. “I knew you would save me. Just like last time. Hold me in your arms, dear friend. Keep me safe. Hide me from the beast.”
She kissed his fair cheek and then his nose. Giggling at the look on his face, Jenevier kissed him again, over and over until he gave in to her.
Tightening his arms about her, the man looked deep into her magical eyes, tenderly ran the tip of his nose along her cheek bone, and then inhaled deeply the thick rose scent of her colorful hair. He moaned softly, then slowly covered her mouth with his. She was startled by this unusually forward action. Yui had never kissed her like this before, not like a man would. But she was too relieved by his presence to just push him away. His tongue entered her mouth just as a burning, searing pain shot through her back.
Jenevier fell to her knees, gasping for air that wouldn’t come. Loud shots rattled her ears, bounced
through her throbbing head. Then… Yui’s body fell to the ground before her, crumpled in an unnatural position. She focused on his still open eyes, on his still open black eyes. All life had left them.
Then, she heard the reapers—the dark ones, the ones that made her shiver, caused painful goose bumps to cover her arms.
“Yui?” she whispered, confused.
She tried to reach for him, one shaky hand stretching out toward his long raven locks. Another sharp pain in her back caused her to retch. Darkness slowly closed in around her. She felt strong arms encompass her, lifting her into the air.
“Naga, open your eyes.”
She heard Uriel’s voice, distant and fading. She tried to do what he said, only to behold an unfamiliar blood-stained shirt blocking her blurry vision. His strange scent filled her nostrils. Then, she slept.
*****
“Naga. Naga. Open your eyes, Naga.”
“Yui?” she rasped.
“Open your eyes, Kagi Naga.”
It was dark. A single lamp was all that illuminated the tiny hut.
“I… thirst.” She choked out the words.
Large hands seized her raising shoulders, gently pushing her back down onto the hard mat. She winced from the pain.
“Do you have any idea how long you have lain here?”
She blinked, trying to focus on her angelic back-up. “Uriel? Where are you?”
Someone pinched her toe. She looked down to find the handsome Archangel sitting on the floor near her feet.
“What are you doing down there, Brother?”
“Waiting for your ministering angel to leave this forsaken hovel long enough for me to wing you out of here.”
“What in the world are you talking about? …Crazy old Arch,” she mumbled.
“Focus, Naga,” Uriel demanded. “Try to sort out the past three days. Can you do it?”
“Three days? But… why?”
He sighed. “Yes. Three days have you burned with fever. This human, he does not realize your body is trying to heal itself. He stays by your side, wiping you down with cold water. He hasn’t even so much as left the room to piss.”
“What? To… piss?”
“Yes, I know, right?” Uriel threw his hands up. “He just whizzes out the window, there, and then sits back down by your cot. It’s not like I can just pick you up before his eyes and lift you into the air.” He rubbed his temples as he shook his head. “Imagine the stories. They would probably start a whole new religion around it—Floating Maidens and Invisible Spirits.”
He waved his hands in the air as he said it. She giggled.
“We cannot make waves such as those, Naga. And that is exactly why you simply cannot change to Vashti and fly yourself home. So… here we sit. Waiting for a brave soul to give up on you or heal you, whichever he thinks he can manage.”
“Uriel?”
“Yes, Naga.”
“Why couldn’t I understand them? Why were their words simply as gibberish to me?”
“Because you weren’t concentrating, Little Fire. You let your emotions rule you. First anger, then fear. You were thrown by the wrapper, Naga. The same wrapper you swore you could look beyond. You simply weren’t on your game this time, oh Mother of Dragons,” he said in a mocking, high-pitched voice.
“It’s because you were here, pushing my buttons and throwing me off my game.” She tried to rise up on her elbows but the man gently eased her back down.
“You best be thankful I was here, little sister. Or that poor soul tending you now…” Uriel nodded his head in the direction of her savior. “…he would be as dead as the others you bore witness to.”
She turned then and looked upon the man, looked upon the exact face of the only man she had ever truly hated.
“…Musashi.” The whisper fell out of her mouth unbidden.
She tried to scoot away from him, but he held her fast.
“Calm yourself, Angel,” Uriel said. “Look into his eyes. You will find no hint of the rare lavender you love so well. That color isn’t very common upon this layer. Do it. Look into his eyes and concentrate on his words. Use the power you have, Kagi Naga.”
She tried. Slowly, his words became coherent and his mind was opened to her.
“Please, Madam. You will only hurt yourself if you struggle so,” he was saying.
She felt the kindness of his soul and read the words within his head.
“I thirst,” she whispered.
His dark eyes went wide when he heard her speak in his tongue. “Ahh… sure, sure.”
He helped her to sit, and then placed a cup in her trembling hands, guiding it to her lips.
She took a long sip, and then sighed. “Ahh, that is so good. Domo arigato.”
He laughed softly. “Douitashimashite.”
“Aww, how sweet,” Uriel said, rolling his eyes. “Now, tell him you feel just fine and get up and walk out of here. My wings are cramped, and this floor is cold.”
She giggled. Fine, you big baby. Give me but a moment. I should be just a little more polite than that. Don’t you think?
Uriel pinched her toe again.
“What is your name?”
Jenevier turned back to the speaking man. “My name is Naga, Kagi Naga.”
He chuckled. “So, your father called you a Fire Dragon?” He gently touched one of her pink curls. “I would have named you Sakura. You look as if you fell from the trees. A little cherry tree blossom—Sakura Mankai.”
She smiled. “After how I treated you back in the forest? You would still name me a cherry blossom, and in full bloom at that?”
“Hmm… Perhaps your father was right.” His smile was so gentle, so kind. “You may look Sakura Mankai, but you definitely act Kagi Naga.”
He winked and she giggled, nodding her agreement.
“What is your name, kind sir?”
“Ah, my name is Tokiwa, Suou Tokiwa. Please, call me Suou.”
“Are you certain?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Yes.” He lowered his head. “I have shamed you, Madam. I had to remove your dress to stop the bleeding. The least I can do is let you use my first name.”
“Suou?”
He looked up at her.
“I would never have made it without you,” she lied. “I will be forever grateful, never shamed.”
Relief washed over his face. “Domo arigato.”
“No, thank you.” She smiled and touched his hand. “I must be going now, Suou. I have people who will be worried about me if I do not return soon. You are a rare blessing to your people, Suou Tokiwa. A valiant soul if ever I have met one.”
“Naga,” he softly whispered her name as he touched another curl.
“Ask him to lay with you,” Uriel said.
She sent the smirking Angel a scalding glare.
“Well, do you want to leave or not? Listen, Naga. I have sat here the full three days. That human next to you has not closed his eyes for a single moment. I know. I have watched him. Trust me. It will not take long.”
Jenevier shook her head wearily. She really did not want to do this.
“Suou, you have not rested a moment. Have you?”
He blushed but didn’t answer her.
“Your health is too precious a thing to waste upon the likes of me. I am fine now, thanks to you. So come. Be at rest, my friend. Lay down by my side and sleep. You have earned it.”
He shook his head furiously. “No, Naga. I could never do that—”
She put a finger to his lips, instantly halting his words. “I insist,” she whispered. “Please.”
He stared at her a moment longer, then he slowly laid down beside her, facing away.
She cut her eyes toward Uriel. The Arch stood, touching Suou’s forehead. The man’s racing heart slowed, his breathing steadied.
Once he was fast asleep, the two Angels quietly stepped out into the night, and disappeared.
*****
“Where is Naga?” Daichi roared whe
n Uriel burst through the clouds over layer nine.
“What do you mean, where’s Naga?” The Arch looked to his right, and then turned all the way around. “Sh-she was r-right beside me,” Uriel stammered, confused.
Daichi shook his head. “Dammit to hell!” He roared loud enough to rattle the walls. “Come. Tell me all that befell you upon this summons, Uriel. I want to know every single detail, every tiny little thing that happened. I have been sick with worry.”
He stormed back inside the palace, not even waiting for the Archangel’s response.
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About the Author
JK Ensley is a native Tennessean by way of Missouri, born there and quickly ushered down South. A product of public school and private college, she spent her early twenties bouncing across the country. Fascinated by rich culture, ancient customs, and thick accents, she’s compelled to drink in the many exquisite differences humanity is gifted with. A self-described, happily divorced mother of three with a black belt in sarcasm and an über common minivan, she does little to hide her wicked wit, advanced sarcasm, and extreme shoe addiction. “At the core of me, I’m one slightly twisted, pink haired, sword wielding, invisible ninja with a laptop, an imagination, and very little me time. That’s just who I am. I’m comfortable in my skin and I love my life. Totally not kidding about the hair, the swords, or the laptop, but I might’ve stretched it just a little with the invisible part.”
You can find Jennifer at the following locations:
http://www.facebook.com/ADancewithDestiny
http://www.jkensley.com
http://www.twitter.com/JenniferEnsley
Download the entire series here.
