She Speaks to Angels (22 page)

But I could feel the eerie heat of Dameon rising and falling off my shoulders and back. Even with Kian down the hall in his classroom and knowing he would be waiting for me after this English class, I felt like I had entered the inferno. Perhaps one of Dante’s levels of hell? Squirming in my seat, I wanted to jump out of the desk and race to Kian just five doors down. But I held my breath instead. The fifty minutes would be over soon. In the mix of whispers and chatter in the classroom, where no one really listened to the teacher, Dameon couldn’t be overheard very well, and he used that to his advantage.

“
Amazing you’re still alive. But Kian won’t be able to protect you everywhere.”

Then a bolt of bravery shot through me and I jolted around, my back twisting until I faced him. Eye-to-eye I stared him down like a bulldog. “I’m not the one who will need protecting.” I growled, practically snarled and showed my incisors.

“
Are you sure about that?” he said with such a cocky air about him that I had an unstoppable urge to slap his face. He smirked, and I just broke. Lunging over the back of my seat, my hands propelled toward his face and landed promptly around his neck. I squeezed, hardly knowing what had come over me. Vengeance? What goes around comes around? But for the first time, without Kian, I felt powerful, as if nothing could stop me. And then Mrs. Engstrom shouted from where she sat at her oversized desk.

“
What has gotten into you?” She raced toward me with her arms all amuck, waving about in the air. “Stop it this instant!”

I caught myself, releasing my hands slowly as I watched the surprise in Dameon’s expression. The trip to the principal’s office was well worth it. I wore a grin the entire way.

The rest of the day carried a feeling of triumph for me as I walked the halls with Kian. I had stood up for myself and felt proud.

By the time of my last period Spanish class, I felt like I was floating on a cloud in the sky. This must be what Kian felt like all the time. Nothing could touch me. I had stood up to the biggest threat to my life. I could handle Dameon. But just to be sure, I kept my eye on the Spanish class door with its small rectangular window, the one where Kian would be standing just as soon as the last bell rang.

As the instructor tightened her blond ponytail and weaved through the desks to make sure all her students remained on task, I heard a loud
bang!
The sound echoed through the door as the door shook.
Bang! Bang! Bang!

Mrs. Cuttle shuffled toward the door with a frantic expression on her face as my eyes fixed on the glass. Kian’s nose pressed against the window as his hands nervously turned the knob. Fear rushed through his face as I watched his brows rise and cheeks flush with aggravation.

“
Open the door! Open the door!” He banged on the Spanish class door fervently, in hopes that Mrs. Cuttle would finally open it.

“
Whose friend is this?” Mrs. Cuttle looked around in search of the culprit.

“
Mine, Mrs. Cuttle. Sorry; it will just be a sec.”

“
There will be no such thing. You know the rules, Miss Maney. There are
no
interruptions during class.”

“
But...”

“
No buts!” Her ponytail flipped just like her flippant attitude as she turned toward the white board. “We will ignore him!”

With her back to the class and Kian banging again, I jumped to my feet and scurried over to the door. My hands strangled the doorknob. The locking latch sat right above the knob. As my left hand unlocked the latch, Mrs. Cuttle spun around and shouted, "Get yourself to the principal’s office for a second time today, Miss. Maney!”

Kian flung the door open and flew inside the room in about a nanosecond.

“
You
all
must get out of here now!” His words hit me hard.

“
Dameon?” My face squished, but I knew Dameon could be the only reason for this dramatic disturbance. Kian, as marvelous as he was, would never bust into a room without good cause.

Mrs. Cuttle lunged toward Kian as if he were the antichrist and shouted again. “What are you doing in here? Get out now! I’m calling the front office!” She stepped toward the phone on the wall next to her oak desk.

The class grew quiet as all eyes were fixed on Kian and me. Before Kian, before Dameon, I had been the quiet girl whom not too many people knew. And now, I became the focal point of most discussions, the girl with the fastest growing reputation. Several mouths dropped open as Kian screamed at the class.

“
Everyone must get out now! There is a bomb!”

Whispers ensued. Mrs. Cuttle stood silently, the words processing too slowly in her brain. She was not sure whether to believe this intruder or dismiss him. But the students, already too familiar with shocking events since the suicide, looked concerned. All at once, the class dispersed throughout the room, some already racing toward the door, stumbling over each other.

The class stampeded out, leaving no room for me, the sure target and reason for this. As the room cleared and Mrs. Cuttle stood dazed and alone at the door, her faced turned to the movement in the outside window.

Crack!
The window smashed to pieces all over the hard floor, and a round black ball rolled toward me.

“
Ali! Ali!” Kian yelled. As he threw his arms around me, I felt his skin start feeling soft like feathers as he morphed.

“
You can’t!” I thought of his need to keep his identity secret, of how Mrs. Cuttle’s knowledge of his angelic quality would lessen his power and make him weaker against Dameon.

“
No time!” As he finished, the grenade exploded and sent shards of desks flying all over the room. I didn’t feel anything except Kian’s white feathers. I felt completelysafe and warm.

When Kian finally did let me go, I opened my eyes and saw the room in complete shambles. Mrs. Cuttle had been hit in the head with a flying chunk of a desk and had fallen unconscious to the floor. Running over to her, Kian placed his finger over the artery in her neck to feel for a heartbeat.

“
Is she alright?” I rushed up behind him.

“
Yes, she will be fine. Hopefully the incident will make her question what she saw.”

I nodded. I didn’t know what to say. My eyes explored this crazy world in which I now stood and tried to make sense of it.

“
We have to go now.” Kian grabbed my arm. But I couldn’t peal my eyes away from the instructor, her limp body.

“
She
will
be fine.” He emphasized will. My gaze finally met his. They were still the same amber eyes I had gotten to know at his place, but today they had a touch of fear in them, as if the world now rested on his shoulders. “Dameon won’t take long to examine the carnage.”

Nodding, I folded into Kian’s chest as he guided me to the broken window. Holding me, he scrambled through the window and flew upward into the sky.

The Station

The
next day school had been cancelled. Students were not expected to return to Millennium High until a full investigation had been completed, one my brother Samuel would surely soon be a part of.

I lay in my bed, my legs tangled in the sheets, wondering what Kian was doing and where he was. I had felt him with me all through the night, like a beacon of light in an otherwise dark world. He stayed with me every night, just in case Dameon made a move. But in the mornings, his whereabouts were as elusive as his powers.

I often imagined him playing piano at his mansion or fighting demons in the back alleys, but I never really knew for sure. He rarely told me what he did when he was not with me. Probably better that way; perhaps he’d be breaking some other rule or endangering my life if he told me.

In the middle of my quiet reverie, a loud pounding at my door jarred me to the present.

“
You in there, squirt?” Samuel knocked again with what sounded like his elbow.

“
Yeah! Where else am I gonna be?” I layered my retort in smart-ass.

“
Then, are you gonna let me in?”

“
What for?”

“
We need to talk.”

I slipped off my bed and plodded to the door. I was sure I knew what this would be about: yet another school-related discussion. Why did so much have to happen at Millennium High, anyway? By now, I couldn’t decide if I would have been better off entering another school my freshman year. Would everything still have happened to me? Doubtful. I’d probably be dating the nice nerd in the back of my math class, enjoying a quiet evening with him, hanging out with my best friends on the weekends. That idea sounded good, but then I remembered Kian. I could never regret meeting him.

I stared my big brother in the eye, even though he towered over me.

“
So, you gonna let me in or what?”

My hand still clutched the knob, but I opened the door further and motioned him in. “Come on.”

I plopped down on my bed in a place where the vanity mirror on the opposite wall would provide a clear reflection of every facial expression I made. I became highly aware of how I looked: innocent or guilty.

Samuel stood next to me, his black-blue uniform reminding me how deviant I’d become. I hadn’t lied to my family so much in all my life. Since Dad’s death, we had all promised to remain close, to tell each other everything. I’d broken that promise one too many times since all this demon-angel activity began. I felt guilty, but what could I do? The truth could literally kill Mom and Samuel and weaken Kian to the point that he would be open to Dameon’s attacks. I wouldn’t risk their lives.

When Samuel sat down beside me and placed his hand on my shoulder, my eyes veered away from the mirror and in his direction.

“
So, the grenade going off in your Spanish class must have really shaken you up.”

“
You could say that again.” I shivered. Despite the fact that I knew who threw the grenade and why, I still felt out-of-sorts.

“
Do you want to talk about it?”

What could I say? But I knew if I said nothing, he wouldn’t let it go and might become even more suspicious of me and of what is really going on at that school.

I fidgeted. “I feel in shock. I mean...”

Rubbing my back, he offered the explanation. “Yeah, first Tommy Bachelor dies in front of you in English class, and now a grenade goes off in Spanish class. You must be a ball of riddled nerves.”

“
Yeah.” I nestled my head between his shoulder and neck.

“
Well, Mom and I don’t want you returning to Millennium High.”

My head darted up. “Like ever?”

“
Yes.”

“
But what about my friends? What about Molly and Jennifer, and what about my assignments? And graduation?” I could see my reflection in the mirror now, my face reflecting disagreement and worry. Eyes bulging, lips contorting.

“
Don’t worry. Mom called the school already. Your instructors will send your assignments to the house, and you’ll finish your schooling here. You can still see your friends after your schoolwork is done or on the weekends.”

He sounded so rational, so like Samuel.

“
Ok, ok.” My brain absorbed the information, the drastic change, as I breathed heavily. In a way this might be better. Kian would have more control over where we went and how he could protect me. He wouldn’t have to leave me alone for fifty minutes each period.

“
Mom and I talked last night, and we want you safe. Having a grenade go off at the school is very dangerous, and then for you to be in the class where it happened….” He shook his head. “Mom’s nerves are shot.”

My gaze met Samuel’s again. “Tell Mom I’m fine. I’m fine, really. I don’t want you guys worrying about me.”

“
You need to tell her yourself. It would sound better coming from you. Besides, I have to head off for work.”

“
Investigating the grenade incident?”

“
Yes.” Samuel stood, his silver badge shining in the mirror’s reflection. He sighed as he looked at me, like he wanted to say more but couldn’t just yet. I had a hunch it had to do with Tommy Bachelor. I’m sure he suspected that the two catastrophes were related. That is how his mind worked. After all, what were the odds of two unlikely, unrelated events?

“
Later?” I smiled as he stepped out the door.

“
Later.”

He shut the door behind him, and then I changed into a pair of faded jeans and an avocado-colored sweater. Vigorously, I brushed my teeth in the bathroom as I stared at my reflection in the mirror again. A reflection of shapes. But this time I didn’t see contorted skin or worry lines or bunched nerves. I focused on Kian and on my bravery in English class yesterday...on how I stood up to Dameon. Maybe I could do this?

Skipping my morning shower, I bounced down the steps to the kitchen where Mom was cooking eggs and bacon. The room smelled so good! Fixing us both a plate, Mom sat across from me at the wooden table.

“
So, Samuel told me he had a chat with you.” Mom broke the ice.

“
Yeah.” My eyes widened in the way they do when I’m unsure of what to say.

“
Went well?”

I shrugged. “I guess. I do feel better. I don’t want you or Sam to worry. I’m doing well. I really am. I mean I am...I was shaken up a bit from the explosion, but I’m fine. Really!”