Dancing With Monsters (21 page)

Malachi was on top of me, and gazed
into my eyes. He studied me for a moment as if summing everything
up, and then slightly smiled.

“
You have beautiful eyes,
too,” he said suddenly.

“
What?” I
breathed.

“
Ahem,” said a voice that
sounded like Nessa. “Nice portal entrance.”

Malachi and I both turned our heads
towards her as Seth bent down with a smirk on his face. “It’s about
time you got here. Welcome to Shangri-La.”

Seth

“
Bringing a souvenir from
the night market?” I asked picking up a green section of material
that was twisted around both April’s and Malachi’s feet.

“
Where are we? How did you
get here?” Malachi stood up and looked around at the garden that
surrounded us. “More importantly, how did we get here?” He turned
to April for an answer, and then to me. “The last thing I remember
was running through drying panels of material, and…” his eyes
shifted back to April, “almost losing you.”

April shook her head as if
trying to get rid of the memory. “You were the one leading the
way.” She huffed. “I thought you knew where you were going.” April
stomped in front of him as she threw to the ground a small pink
section of the material they brought with them. “And more
importantly
what about
Edan following us—they seem to pass through portals…”

Malachi gently cupped his hands around
April’s cheeks as a look of surprise filled her eyes. “Are you
alright?” He asked softly with concern.

April didn’t reply at first, and then
nodded. “Yeah,” she said.

Slowly Malachi removed his hands from
April, and slipped his hand into hers. April had a mixed expression
of shock and contentment. Nessa and I watched as she nudged me with
her elbow and smiled. We watched the spectacle without
word.

“
It isn’t what you think,
Nessa,” Malachi said, glancing over at us. “We found the woman—the
gypsy woman—the one that completed April’s hexmark.”

I looked at April’s intricate hexmark.
“It’s a strong one, and I’ve never seen before.”

“
The gypsy woman said you
were both in a safer place and,” he shook his head. “I
think…”

“
Ezra helped us,” April
finished what Malachi had trouble with.

I looked at her, at her eyes trying to
find a hint of Ezra, but she wasn’t there.

“
So this is Shangri-La?”
Malachi asked looking around. “So how did you guys get
here?”

“
By an angel that lives
here,” I said, pulling my eyes from April’s. “She was looking for
us and was the one we tracked to the portal in Iethia. She’s an
earth angel, and she saved us from two demons at the market.”
Malachi raked his fingers through his wet hair. “They are gaining
strength, but have no more serum. That is what they were looking
for.”

Suddenly the portal that was nestled
between the tall shrubs, began to glow and hum with someone passing
through it. We stepped back as Malachi drew his dagger and glanced
at me.

“
Oh, and we had Ayil and
her two sidekick angels that tried to capture us,” said Malachi
pointing his dagger towards the portal.

Not sure who to expect, I drew mine as
well.

A translucent, white mist filled with
flecks of gold, slowly thickened as a single form took
shape.

“
It looks like they’re
alone.” I stepped closer to the portal knowing they would be a
little disoriented at first.

Malachi joined me as the effects of
the portal faded.

“
It’s Edan, the younger of
the sidekicks.” Malachi rushed up onto the platform and grabbed
him, jerking him to the ground and shoving his dagger in his
face.

“
Why did you want us? What
were you going to use us for?” He demanded.

“
Get off of me you crazed
baboon, or the demons will try to come through the portal!” Edan
yelled slipping his legs out from Malachi just as the portal began
to hum.

Edan said something under his breath
that I couldn’t understand and waved his hand in front of the
portal. It stopped, dropping whoever was in there in a void—the
dark places between portals.

“
I had two of them
practically gnawing at my heels as I chased you two idiots down the
street. And now, we can’t use this portal because it’s infested
with the little creatures.” He shook his head as he gazed at the
portal.

“
You still didn’t answer
our question,” I said, stepping up beside him. “What do you want
with Malachi and April?”

Edan turned around with an arrogant
gaze and smirked. “Well, let me ask you this. What are you going to
do with a contained demon, more demons coming after her, and the
serum meant to enhance monsters is now being consumed by demons,
and they are gaining enough strength to come out of their shells.
How are you going to handle that?”

Before I could answer this obnoxious
angel, a voice answered for me.

“—
with the help of an
earth angel—that’s how.” Yolanda, the angel that brought Nessa and
I here in her buggy at the night market, said standing under the
shrub that had grown and was manicured into a tall arch. “This is
our portal platform, or one of the many that are here. We control
them, so, don’t worry, when we get tired of you we’ll shove you
through one of them.”

“
Yolanda,” April said with
wide eyes as she stepped towards her. “What happened? I thought you
were to come and take us to sanctuary,” she stood in front of her,
both nearly the same height, and stared into her eyes. “Ben’s
dead.” She stated as if Yolanda was responsible.

Yolanda reached into her pocket and
pulled out a cigarette, but before she could light it, April
slapped it from her hand. “Ben’s dead, and you should have helped
us!” April’s voice shook.

Yolanda studied April for a moment,
and then smirked at her. “Feisty monster, aren’t you.” She picked
the cigarette off the ground and lit it. “No, my dear, Ben should
have stayed put in the safety of his house where I was to pick him
up. Not travel all over Timbuctoo to woo you into marriage. So the
way I see it, he took a risk and paid the price.” She puffed smoke
towards April who stood unaffected by it. Yolanda chuckled, finding
it humorous and did it again.

I wasn’t sure if April was going to
attack Yolanda, or begin to cry. Malachi noticed, and pulled April
away and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and lifted her
eyes to me. There for a flicker of a second, were Ezra’s dark eyes
staring into mine. I wanted to hold her again, to talk to her
again, but knew I couldn’t. She was just letting me know she was
here, and protecting us. Like a quickly approaching storm taking
over a summer sky, Ezra was gone, and April gazed back with
apprehension. She was unaware that Ezra had surfaced for just a
moment.

“
You are two in one now,
half-baked.” Yolanda stepped in front of April flicking her
cigarette to the ground and crushed it out with a twist of her
foot.

“
What do you mean two in
one?” Edan stepped beside Yolanda, and they both looked at April as
Malachi shoved her behind him.

Yolanda sensed Ezra’s presence even if
it was for only a discreet second.

“
Yolanda,” I said, gently
touching her on the shoulder. “We were going to discuss things back
at your haven, weren’t we?” I asked. “There is a great deal going
on, and now with demons gaining strength, time is running
short.”

“
Yes, I suppose we should
get back, my husband is waiting for us, and he hates it when I take
too long.”

“
Wait, wait, wait,” Edan
said, waving his hands in front of his face. “This is not only
earth angel business; this is archangel business as well. We need
to open a portal, and I know you have many, for my father and Ayil,
his agent.”

Yolanda glanced over her shoulder
towards him. “The portals are sealed, and there’s no one leaving or
entering until things are secure. If you didn’t want to risk
getting trapped here, then you shouldn’t have tagged along and
wandered blindly into the portal. I can’t help it if you archangels
aren’t in touch with the reality of the realms and expect us to
bend at your screw-ups.”

“
Excuse me?” Edan caught
Yolanda’s shoulder. “Archangels preside over earth ones. You know
that, and it’s a law.”

Yolanda jerked her
shoulder out from under his hand. “You’re in
my
realm now, and laws work a little
differently here. I suggest if you want to help the matter, you
follow me or if you want to discuss what laws juristic over what
realm, then you can stay here and discuss it over with
yourself.”

Yolanda and Edan exchanged looks for a
moment and then with a shrug of her shoulders, she motioned for us
to follow. Malachi and April walked together as I walked beside
Nessa.

“
Too bad he didn’t get
sealed in the portal instead of those demons. At least we can kill
a demon and not get charged with anything.” Nessa giggled like a
school girl telling a dirty joke.

“
I heard that!” Edan
tromped up behind us. “I heard that,” he repeated now walking
behind us. “And that was a threat.” He grabbed hold of Nessa’s
shoulder and twirled her around with his finger pointed in front of
her face.

“
It wasn’t a threat.” She
crossed her arms and glared at him as she passively lowered his
extending finger with hers. “Did I threaten your life? No. I
threatened the demon’s.”

Edan scrunched his face as Nessa shook
her head. “Yes, but you did indirectly and,” a smug look blossomed
on his face, “I plan to make formal charges against
you.”

“
Is there a problem here?”
asked a thick voice behind us.

Nessa and I turned around both in awe
of the tall, dark skinned man with neon green eyes that gazed down
at us. His massive, crossed arms were folded across his chest and
looked like two weapons ready to be used if we didn’t answer the
question correctly.

“
No,” Edan answered
meekly.

“
Good, then please join me
and my wife, Yolanda, back at our haven.”

Shangri-La had been the home of earth
angels for a long time. I’ve never been here, but heard plenty
about it from Uncle Hes. It was just as he described it with its
sweet air, clear skies, magnificent gardens, and pristine scenery.
It was also a preservatory of endangered animal and nearly extinct
plants. Very few could come here as you had to request permission
to do so. It was the best place we could be in right
now.

“
So when are we to discuss
the current and not to mention the pressing issue of demons, serum
and the two being mixed?” I asked as Yolanda poured wine for each
of us.

“
I have to agree with the
monster,” Edan chimed in. “You earth angels are good at hosting,
but I don’t think you’d like to be serving demons…and that’s what
you’ll be dong if the matter isn’t handled properly. The two demons
at the night market were following me and I’ve sealed them in the
portal—practically brought them to you on a silver platter. Why not
deal with them now?”

I shook my head. “They may have been
in there for a little, but they’re out by now. Those demons, if
traveling through the night market and were chasing you, are
probably the demons strengthened by the serum. They may not be able
to come here, but they are not trapped like you think.” I looked at
Edan as his face turned sour.

“
You’re just a monster.
What do you know about demons?”

Edan agitated me, and we didn’t need
someone like him on our mission, and I certainly didn’t need to
prove anything to him.

“
Well, you can go back
into the portal and search for them if you like, and if you find
them, why not kill them and claim all the glory?” I asked as
Yolanda poured me some wine with a smile. Adan’s face
paled.

“
Unfortunately, the
archangel here has sealed the portal at our end rendering it
useless for the time being. The demons, Seth you are correct, are
out of the portal and still searching for their sister,” she
motioned with her head in no particular direction, “that is here
and contained in a lightstone from Iethia. She was put there by
Seth Fairstone, who is
just
a monster,” her eyes flicked to Edan, “and kept
her there until he got here where she is contained within the
lightcell stone—the strongest containment—what do you archangels
like to call our inventions,” she glanced up at the sky with a roll
of her eyes. “Oh, yes, gadgets. And Seth, who is just a monster,
did it with very little training. How long have the archangels been
trying to control the demons? Eons has it been?”

“
Demons aren’t easily
extinguished as you think.” Edan retorted. “They live in shadow,
but when that shadow is penetrated by light, they die. To use the
entire archangel light would be our demise. You can’t destroy the
demons by yourself and your knowledge of history,” his eyes shifted
to me. “We need to make a plan or we will all perish.”