She Speaks to Angels

She Speaks to Angels

by

Ami Blackwelder

AngelFire Chronicles: Book one

She Speaks to Angels

Copyright © 2012 by Ami Blackwelder

Artwork © 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Ami Blackwelder’s books may be ordered through local book venues and online retailers or by contacting the author:
http://amiblackwelder.blogspot.com

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

ISBN-13: 978-1475116724

ISBN-10: 1475116721

Published by Eloquent Enraptures Publishing

Edited by Eloquent Enraptures

Copy edited by Connie Webb

Cover art by Eloquent Enraptures

Printed in the United States by Lightning Source

A huge hug for my Beta-Readers; you know who you are!

"I tried not to sound hysterical, but it’s not every day you find out the paranormal is hunting you."

What if everything you believed was a lie?

A Suicide

Seventeen year old Allison Maney attends Millennium High School in Manhattan. Nothing out of the ordinary, unless you consider the occasional suicides at the school. At least that is what everyone is told, what everyone believes. But Tommy Bachelor was a popular football player; why would he jump off the roof of the school?

Dangerous Liaisons

When Dameon pays attention to Ali, she couldn't be more excited, because for the past three months he was all she could think about. But now that Dameon is finally pining for her affections, she is becoming more and more wrapped up in a clique of three who, as new transfers to the school, are proving to be trouble. But at least Dameon loves her, doesn't he?

A Soul Purpose

The underworld of angels and demons have one thing on their mind: Earth. Demons want to do what they want. Angels want to protect humans from these rogue angels, AKA: Demons

A Suspenseful Romance

Caught between Dameon and Kian, the suicide and the clique of three, Ali won't know who to trust…or who to love, because for Allison Maney, everything i not exactly what it seems.

Dedicated to all the angels of the world.

Table of Contents

Rooftops

As
the day began I didn’t know it would change my life forever. No one prepared me for something like this. Not parents, teachers or guidance counselors. Walking through the front doors and down the hallway of Millennium High School in New York City, I thought today would be just like any other ordinary day. Long, boring and dreadful. Take your pick. I wasn’t anyone popular. There was nothing special about me made the guys drool.

I approached my locker, combination 17-75-7. Could it have any more sevens? Out of the corner of my eye I saw him skirting along the wall, more of just a vague silhouette really. Not enough to make out a name, face, or even what clique he belonged to, but enough to make my heart race. Seriously, I could hear my own heart pounding. I wasn’t sure who I saw, but his presence sent a shiver rushing down my spine, and as the minutes ticked I grew closer and closer to finding out....

As I fidgeted by my open locker moments later, the mystery man spun past the corner and hit his lock combination: 15-40-31. I paid attention. Dameon. Raven black hair and equally stark eyes, arched brows as if he always had a mischievous appointment to attend. He probably did, as popular as he was. He wore a black leather jacket with a singular crimson red stripe that stretched from one sleeve, across his back and to the next sleeve, and black faded jeans. The only thing he altered was his shirt.

“
Hi,” I managed to squeeze out of my tensed body. Never sure of what he did to me, I realized that just being around him made me clam up and never know quite what to say. I’d had a crush on him ever since he arrived, at the beginning of my junior year. That was three months, three weeks and five days ago. Well, as soon as Friday ended it would be five days. It’s not like I was obsessed, but he was hard not to notice. And anyway, his locker set right next to mine. Of course I’d see him. And we had first period English together. He probably didn’t even know I was in the same class.

“
Hi.” He grinned and placed his hand on my shoulder. OMG! He touched me! “Better get going. You don’t want to be late for class.”

He noticed me!

As he turned away from me with his Kindle in hand, and scrolling through his English textbook, he glided down the hall to Mrs. Engstrom’s English classroom. Jennifer and Molly bounced up behind me in a semicircle. It was the early morning shark attack. That was how I thought of it anyway.

“
What did he say to you?” Jennifer pushed, her legal-eagle style sometimes irritated me.

“
Nothing.”

“
Come on, Ali! You can tell us! We’ve only been your friends since middle school!” Molly encouraged. Pale blue jeans ripped at the knees emphasized her artsy persona.

I leaned toward them, giving in. “Not much, just hi and that I’d better hurry up to class so I’m not late.”

“
He knows you have English with him,” Jennifer said, as if she were presenting a final argument in an important case before the judge.

“
I’m not invisible,” I defended myself.

My two friends just stared at me. The school was comprised of girls who wore tight-fitting clothes from Hollister, Forever 21, Limited, Express. Cool, chic. Not me. My attire could be described in one word: baggy. Today my choice garb had been beige cargo pants, cream blouse and black cardigan.

“
You always go for that type of guy.” Molly brushed back her dirty brown bob with one hand as she held paint brushes in the other. Art class next. She could have chosen any elective, but each year she chose art. There was even a smudge of blue paint across her chin. She must have worked on one of her projects at home before school.

“
What kind of guy?” I focused my eyes.

“
You know. The dark, mysterious, brooding type.” Jennifer fixed her red curls into a knot on her head. Her hair had grown so long this year she didn’t even need a hair tie. After Jennifer teased me, she raced off with Molly, shoulder to shoulder and I couldn’t help but grin; we’ve been best friends for years. I couldn’t imagine high school without my crew. As they disappeared around the corner, the bell rang. Damn. I was always late. I really needed to manage my time better.

Fumbling with my NOOK, my choice eReader, I opened the closed door to English class. Mrs. Engstrom kept her eyes on me in that late-again fashion. I actually could feel those words emanate from her pores and penetrate my skull. Tripping on a television cable wire, I stumbled to the carpeted floor, dropping my NOOK and purse.
Oh, God, please let no one be watching. Please let no one be watching this.
I picked up my items hurriedly and then flung my body upward, propelling myself into an open seat. Damn; the whole class stared and a few giggles permeated the room. Awkward. Dameon sat in the back with his eyes locked on mine the whole time. No squeezing out of this embarrassment.

Plopping into the front row with a shake of my head, I let my graciously long dark hair wisp over my oval shaped face. Sea blue eyes begged me to cover them up; I didn’t want to see any more. Kids stared, and faces that once held shape and names became a conglomeration of taunting flesh. I felt dizzy with the rush of adrenaline. Emotions pulled me in opposing directions. Fight or flee? Dameon kept staring from the back. I could make him out in my peripheral vision. God, his stare even looked sexy. Sliding down in my seat, I hoped to become invisible. But I didn’t.

Mrs. Engstrom had called roll and shouted my name just to be sure I paid attention. “Allison Maney?”As if she didn’t see the circus act I performed in front of the class.

“
Here,” a defeated whisper escaped my pink-hued lips. I only used lipstick because my lips tended to chap. Molly used to tease me about my preference for wearing little make-up. Her mom, being a free spirit, allowed her to wear make-up since sixth grade. Molly said I must be the only girl in the city without it, so I added lipstick to my daily morning regime. But in truth, I didn’t need much make-up. I was one of those blessed girls without blemishes, pimples, or uneven-toned skin. Yes, one of those girls. But I quickly remedied my natural beauty with the oversized garb. My attire choices made Jennifer roll her eyes every day at lunch. She wanted to be a cheerleader; one of those “it” girls, smart and sassy. But she never made the squad.

Sliding the NOOK across my desk, my fingers clasped the delicate touch-screen and I flipped to the required English reading assignment.

“
Allison, could you read paragraph one?” Mrs. Engstrom asked, but her request sounded more like a command from the captain of a sinking ship. She had lost everyone’s interest months ago.

“
It’s Ali.” I arched my left brow like a dog about to bark. She returned a quizzical look. “My name is Ali. I’ve only told you this since school started.” The second sentence rolled out under my breath. The teacher looked like she might explode any minute as she took in a deep breath, as if fumes might just blow out of her nose. I sighed as I glanced back down at my eReader.

I guess her patience ran thin six months into school. Homework to grade. Mischievous students to send to the principal’s office. And then there was the fact that she hardly ever had anyone’s attention. She appeared surprised when I flipped my NOOK to the page that corresponded to the one on the whiteboard.

“
Just read, please,” Mrs. Engstrom replied.

I nodded.

When the dreadful paragraph ended, the room felt suspiciously quiet. Not a peep. No one ever listened in this class. Was I really that interesting? I tilted my flushing face around in Dameon’s direction just as his side of the class stood up from their seats and watched out the adjacent side window. With eyes mesmerized, the other side of the class jumped to their feet with jarred expressions as two jocks took off like a marathon over a few desks to get closer to the window. I made out a blur of something dropping past the window to the ground, but it all happened so fast I couldn’t be sure what I saw.