Taming the Darkness

by Sarah Carter

  “Come on. We should go,” Avery says, grabbing my hand and tugging on it.

  “Make sure they forget,” I tell Raphael, looking at the crowd.

  With a nod, he replies, “We will.”

  We all start to walk through the mess. Wyatt looks at me. “Are we still going to the music festival?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” I sigh. “It looks like it doesn’t matter where we are.”

  “But, with that many people, I doubt they would try anything,” Avery says. “Right? The archangels would step in?”

  Looking back at Raphael, I say, “I sure hope so. Let’s go.” I grab Avery and we’re gone.

  Chapter 13

  We appear in a darkened room. “Where did you lead us?” Israel asks.

  “The concert,” I reply. Finding the door, I swing it open. There is a moving crowd outside. “We should disappear into the crowd.” The other reapers nod and we head outside. People look at us and are hesitant, but they don’t avoid us. Good. We blend in more here.

  “What if all hell breaks loose?” Avery asks. “Pardon the pun.”

  I scan around. “We are literally in a swarm of people. We just need to stay in the densest crowds.”

  Avery sighs. “They keep finding us.”

  “We have to have faith,” I reply.

  “Faith…” Avery trails off. “That word has never been frequent in my vocabulary.”

  Wyatt looks at him. “But you have it now?”

  “I’m not exactly religious,” Avery says. “I believe in God. Heaven. And everything that comes with it, but I see so many people of faith doing bad things. Like…isn’t God supposed to be the only one who judges people?”

  “Yes,” Katerina answers.

  “Then why do so many Christians tell each other they are going to hell? You actually take souls to hell. Why do people feel they can make that judgement call?”

  Sighing, I say, “It’s the way humans work. They judge the things they don’t understand or things they are afraid of.”

  “But they use the Bible as a weapon against other people,” Avery says. “I don’t think I want to be part of something, or a group of people, that does that.”

  “In the end, God is the only one who judges,” I reply. “It’s not right for humans to wield the word of God as a weapon. Every person is guilty of sin. Humans are very confused. You are growing and changing every day. Free will allows you to make choices every moment of your life. For example, someone will judge someone else for being gay, but then excuse infidelity in a marriage. ‘You shall not commit adultery’ is one of the Ten Commandments, but it gets tossed aside so casually. People cheat all the time.”

  Wyatt interjects, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. People do that all the time. Lies abound. Something that seems innocent can destroy a person’s life or career.”

  Katerina adds, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, house, or property. We don’t even need to elaborate.”

  “So,” Avery starts. “No one should be judging each other.”

  “No,” I laugh. “But people do it anyway. People need to be true to love. It’s all about love. Just because you sit in a pew on Sunday, doesn’t mean you are automatically saved. God wants you to be true to his message, not just say it. It’s what you do and who you truly are that matters.”

  “So, I should have faith,” Avery says.

  “You are responsible for your choices,” I state. “Including how you treat others. No one is above anyone else. You are all equal. You were all given free will and the right to repent.”

  “But don’t you judge people?” Avery asks.

  Smiling, I say, “There’s a lot that goes into a reaping other than us sending people to hell. The Marked Ones are like the CIA of heaven. God gives us the mission to go to our marks. It’s our job to get them to repent. Like you pointed out, it’s our job to save them. To get them to see the fault of their ways. When you sin so much that your soul starts to die, it’s time to intervene. A soul should be warm, inviting, pleasurable. The souls we get to are cold, hollow and empty. It’s like sticking your hand in slime that’s been in the freezer. It’s gross.”

  “That does sound gross,” Avery snorts.

  “Not fun,” Julius interjects. “Let me tell you, it’s nasty.”

  Avery takes a deep breath. “There’s so much more to this than I ever imagined.”

  “I don’t think anyone ever truly understands it,” I reply. “We don’t completely understand why our paths are the way they are.”

  “Why do some angels have sex with fallen?” Avery asks.

  With a shrug, I say, “I have no idea. My mother and I aren’t close. I think she blames me because she’s stuck on Earth. I rarely talk to her. I don’t understand why she slept with my father. They didn’t love each other. I don’t think fallen can really love anything.”

  “What if they can?” Avery suggests. “What if you’re wrong about the fallen? You never thought you could have any feelings.” I stop and look at him. Avery looks into my eyes and says, “But, now you know you can. Maybe the fallen can too.”

  “Maybe,” I sigh. “I could ask my father but now I can’t even see him.” I stop dead in my tracks. “Oh my God…I can’t see my father.” Looking up at Avery, my eyes widen. “If I see my father, he will try to kill me. There’s a bounty on my head now.”

  Avery looks at me with soft eyes. “I’m sorry, Raven. We’re going to fix this.”

  “How!?” I yell. “What if he comes after me? I can’t kill my dad! What am I going to do?”

  He reaches forward and grabs my hands. “Remember, he’s part of the fallen and we’re trying to save him too.”

  “You are supposed to save the fallen,” I gasp. “It has nothing to do with me.”

  “I think you are part of it,” Avery replies.

  I fall into his arms and cry. Rain bursts from above us. Everyone starts yelling. It was just sunny outside. “Raven,” Israel says. “You need to stop.”

  “You are going to wash everything away,” Keifer states. “I promise that you won’t have to face off against your father.”

  The realization sets in. “I don’t have to do anything to him.”

  “No,” Katerina replies. “We got your back.”

  My tears stop, along with the downpour. I see people looking around in shock. I wipe the water from my face. “I should have thought of this before,” I declare.

  “None of us look at our parents and think they’re evil,” Katerina whispers.

  “My mom is fallen,” Keifer says. “What if they send all our parents after us?”

  “I won’t kill them,” I state. “I won’t. I refuse.”

  Wyatt crosses his arms. “Rule. We don’t go after our own parents. We cover each other’s back.”

  “Word,” Israel says. “It’s going to be an incredibly hard fight if that happens.”

  “Maybe Lucifer won’t even think about it,” I say. “Maybe he won’t send them.”

  Shaking her head, Katerina replies, “No, he probably will.”

  “But when and where is the question,” I whisper.

  Avery pulls me against him. “Let’s deal with the here and now. We should stay in the close crowds.”

  “We need to be right next to you,” Wyatt states. “We don’t need someone in the crowd to drive a knife into your back.” A horrified look sweeps across Avery’s face. Wyatt shrugs. “What? It’s true.”

  “Make a circle around him,” I snap. “He needs to stay in the middle.”

  We start to move into formation. Avery looks around. “Won’t you sense evil?”

  “Yes, except for a possession,” I reply. “We can’t sense that because the person is human.”

  Quickly looking around, Avery asks, “What the hell are we going to do? It could be anyone.”

  “It’s not always so easy for a demon to possess someone,” I say. “Level 10 can do it pretty quickly if the person is susceptible, o
therwise a demon has to work on them for a while. This is a Christian festival so the demons are probably going to have a harder time.”

  “What about holy water?” Avery suggests. “Can you bless bottles of water and we can throw it on people if needed.”

  Julius looks at me. “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “No, it’s not,” I reply. “Let’s go find some water.” We stop and look around. I notice a stand to our right. “Over there.” We keep Avery in the middle and walk over to the stand. “We need seven bottles of water,” I tell the guy.

  He nods and grabs them. The guys hands them out to us. “We don’t need to pay,” Katerina says, looking hard at the guy. It takes a second and then he nods again. We turn and head back into the crowd.

  When we are amongst people again, I say, “Bless the bottles.”

  The reapers and I start to trace the symbols on the bottles. “What are those?” Avery asks.

  “Angelic script,” Wyatt replies. “For father, light, love and blessing.”

  “Interesting,” Avery says.

  I hand over the one bottle to Avery. I take his and bless it. “All right. We are armed with holy water,” I say.

  “So, I’m going to walk around with this open and in my hand,” Avery says. “What will happen if I throw it on a demon or anything else.”

  “Well, if you can actually get it on them, it’s like throwing acid on a human,” Wyatt answers simply.

  Avery nods his head. “Good.”

  “Well, should we at least go watch a concert?” Julius asks.

  “Yeah, might as well,” Katerina says.

  “I’m excited to see Red,” Israel exclaims.

  I smile. “So easily amused.”

  “We could use a little fun,” he responds, raising an eyebrow.

  “We did go to Disneyland,” Katerina says. She looks at him and waves her hand.

  He nods. “So, a little fun, then battle, sleep, a little fun, battle and sleep. Sounds like a plan.”

  “Won’t it be nice when this is over?” Avery sighs. “If this is ever over.”

  “Hey, you’re part of the prophecy,” I snort.

  “Well, I think you are part of the other prophecy,” he remarks back. “So, you’re part of this, too.”

  Shaking my head, I sigh. “I just don’t know how I’m supposed to put a band-aid on a war that’s lasted millennia.”

  Avery shrugs. “Well, when you find out, let me know. I’m still juggling the fact that I’m not as dark and shut down as I thought.”

  “You’re not?” I ask.

  He looks startled, as though he admitted too much. Finally, Avery furrows his eyebrows. “I guess not. I’m not all warm and fuzzy and colorful rainbows, but…I’m definitely not immune to love, or at least the affection of someone I care about.” He looks at me as he says the last part.

  I quickly grab him into a hug. “I knew you had it in you.”

  “You had a lot to do with it,” he whispers into my ear. Pulling back, I look at him. Slowly, he bends down and kisses me.

  “Raven,” Katerina hisses. “Your angelic light is starting to show.”

  Pulling back, I say, “Oops.”

  Avery smiles at me. “Maybe we are healing each other.”

  I smile. “We’re finding the light together.”

  “I don’t think we have to search anymore,” he says. Avery bends down and gives me another quick kiss.

  “Enough with the mushy, gushy stuff,” Wyatt groans. We look at him and he winks. I roll my eyes.

  Keifer waves towards a stage. “Let’s go get our rock on.”

  Avery grabs my hand and interlocks our fingers. It feels so nice. I never knew a simple touch could feel this way. I look up at him as he’s looking around the crowd; checking things out. He makes me have butterflies. Looking forward I can’t believe it how much we have both changed in a few days. But maybe we both had light and love inside of us the entire time.

  We finally make it into the crowd in front of a stage. Katerina looks around. “I wonder who’s playing?”

  “No idea,” I reply.

  “Hopefully they don’t suck,” Wyatt laughs.

  “I haven’t been to many concerts,” Avery declares. “This is kind of cool.”

  Wyatt laughs again. “Fun, run, sleep. Fun, run, sleep.”

  “Pretty much,” Avery snorts.

  Katerina looks at me. “I just thought of something.”

  “What’s that?” I ask, looking at her.

  She furrows her eyebrows. “How much do we have to worry about the crowd? I highly doubt that anyone is walking around carrying a knife.”

  “You never really know,” I reply.

  “You think? Even here at a Christian concert?” Katerina laughs. “Probably not.”

  Nodding my head, I say, “That’s probably true.”

  Katerina looks around. “I say we enjoy this concert.”

  Avery holds up his bottle of water. “I’m all set, too.”

  “We all are,” Wyatt says.

  We hear a band member scream into the microphone as the music starts playing. I’ve never been to a concert before so I’m not sure what to expect. Maybe this will be good for me. Broaden my horizons a little.

  The band isn’t bad. Everyone is jumping around acting a fool. The other reapers are doing the same thing. I raise an eyebrow. My eyes don’t stop scanning the crowd. My senses are up and on over drive.

  Avery leans over. “You’re not enjoying this at all.”

  “I’m on high alert,” I yell over the music. “One of us has to keep their eyes out.”

  He puts his arm around my shoulders. “Relax a little,” he says. “Try and enjoy this. The likelihood of something happening is slim, right? In a crowd like this?”

  I look at him. “Yeah, but…”

  “This band is pretty good,” Avery says.

  My attention turns to the band. “Yeah, they are,” I reply.

  “Let the music consume you. Enjoy it. Feel it in your soul,” he instructs, with a smile. “Let loose a little.”

  Let loose. I don’t let loose. I’m tense all the time. “I never relax, especially when I’m on a mission and all of hell is after us.” My eyes continue to scan the crowd.

  Avery holds up his bottle of water. “Holy water bomb. I think we will be okay. We all have one.”

  He has a point.

  “Come on. Enjoy the music,” Avery demands playfully. He gives me a look with his beautiful eyes and makes my heart melt. Avery pulls me closer, “Music can cleanse your soul. Let it heal you.”

  My eyes look up on stage and I listen to the band. They are singing of lost love and the power to find it again. The lyrics hit me. They are singing about not letting the darkness consume you. They are singing about having faith in love. My body starts to physically relax. The music starts to reach into my soul. I feel myself begin to sway with the beat.

  “That’s it,” Avery yells.

  I close my eyes and the music gets to me. I’ve always listened to heavy metal, but this has a message. The lyrics are so true and pure. They talk of understanding love in a way I have never known. I start to jump around like everyone else. I don’t even know I’m doing it until my feet hit the ground. My eyes open and I see the world a little differently. So much life around me. All these people are happy. They are enjoying themselves.

  Continuing to jump around, my eyes still scan the crowd. I’ve never let music takeover like this. I feel light. I feel like nothing can touch me.

  We jump, and act like fools with everyone else. Avery and I laugh together. It’s awesome. It’s enlightening. A while later, the band finishes their final song. Everyone starts screaming and we join in. The reapers and I look at each other.

  “They were pretty good,” Wyatt laughs, obviously he enjoyed it.

  “We need to go to more concerts,” Katerina adds in. She smiles broadly.

  Avery looks around. “I need to use a bathroom.”

 
“I can’t go in there with you,” I emphasize.

  “We’ll go,” Wyatt says. “There are four of us.”

  “Four of you to chaperone me while I take a piss,” Avery snorts. “Lovely.”

  Wyatt shoots him a look. “You’d rather have your heart ripped out of your chest?”

  Putting up his finger, Avery says, “No.”

  “I will stand outside the door,” I declare. “Nothing will come inside.”

  “Alright, let’s go,” Israel says, looking around.

  We make a circle around Avery and head to the bathrooms. There’s a line. Katerina and I stand by the guys but off to the side. The other guys in line keep checking us out, one in particular is staring in a way that’s making me uncomfortable. My guard is up because I know we’re still not 100% safe in this crowd. The guy leaves the line and approaches us. I take a step back.

  He hesitates but continues to walk forward. I’m about to drop my seraph blade in my hand when the guy smiles. “Hey, you look familiar.”

  I narrow my eyes. “I don’t think we have ever met before,” I state strongly. I’m ready to pounce.

  “No, seriously. I feel like we know each other,” the guy says. He looks like he is trying to place me.

  “I promise we don’t,” I say.

  The guy continues to stare at me. The other reapers start to tense up. He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. You just look really familiar. No biggie. Are you enjoying the concerts?”

  “Yeah,” I reply slowly.

  “I’ve never been to a Christian concert,” the guy says, looking around. “I’m newly Christian.”

  Then it dawns on me. He’s a mark. “Oh, wait,” I say. “Your name is Scott.”

  He looks startled. “So, we have met before.”

  “You don’t remember who I am?” I counter.

  Shaking his head, he says, “No, but I really feel like I know you.”

  “You do, my name is Raven. I’m the one who talked to you about repentance.” I try to whisper so it doesn’t sound all freaky cult-like in a group of super religious people.