She Speaks to Angels (27 page)

My foot almost slipped a couple of times, but I remembered what my Dad had said to me when he practiced with me. “Just imagine the bike is a horse. You have to caress the animal to keep him in your reigns.” Daddy knew I loved horses and, though I never rode one myself, the notion that the bike could be something like a horse gave me a stronger will to succeed in riding it and less fear about the whole thing.

When the ride ended, I felt we ended too soon. Two hours flew by, and Lucianda hustled to return the bikes before the next hour began. She didn’t want to have to pay for a third, unused hour.

“
How’d you like it?” She asked me while gripping my arm and guiding me onto the sidewalk.

“
Loved it! One of the most gorgeous views in Manhattan!”

“
Good, I’m glad. How about we walk a bit?”

“
Sounds good.”

Manhattan at night. Something I’d recommend to everyone. The moon hung like a blinking eye as the clouds draped the greying sky. Lucianda whipped around a corner with me still in her grip and we jumped into a costume shop.

“
What’s this?”

Laughing, Lucianda grabbed a wolf mask and placed the rubber over her face. “Try one. It’s fun.”

The more I got to know Lucianda the more she seemed the complete opposite of the woman at the banquet. She kept a game face for sure; a face that said
stay away; no emotions here
. But when I peeled away the layers on the surface, she reminded me a lot of Molly. An older and more equipped Molly, but someone similar nonetheless. A street smart-tough, kick ass-take care of herself and yet still fun kind of girl.

Taking the mask of James Cameron’s Avatar off the shelf, I pulled the fabric over my face and made a spectacle of myself in front of the mirror. Dancing in front of the reflection, I felt like a kid again...or a fool. But I was having too much fun to care. Lucianda and I tried on one mask after another to scare ourselves or each other, just to switch into another mask minutes later. We kept on like this until the attendant showed us the exit.

Laughing at ourselves, I had almost forgotten I had been marked for death. Something about being with Lucianda felt a lot like being with Kian, like I didn’t have to worry about anything. Walking up the alley to the sidewalk, I found opportune time to ask Lucianda some question that had been nagging my mind.

I had that look.

“
What?” Lucianda asked.

“
I was just wondering” I hesitated, “why the other seat at the banquet was empty?”

“
You mean the seat opposite Sammael, right?”

“
Yeah.”

“
No one told you?”

“
Nope.”

“
Because five years ago Sammael’s wife was killed by Azrael.”

“
Oh God!”

“
Our family got close to finding his location and Sammael’s wife eventually did. But she didn’t wait like Sammael had warned her. She figured it was now or never. She fought him and lost. The seat has been empty for five years.”

Lucianda used the word ‘family’ like she belonged to this great angel clan even though she was human, and it made me think that maybe I would one day belong to this angel family too.

“
I’m so sorry to hear about Sammael’s wife.”

“
Sammael almost lost it when she died, but he is with us now. Heart, body and mind.”

I didn’t know what to say. I knew how devastating loss could be; I had lost my father at a young age. I knew words would never suffice. So I changed the subject.

“
You and Jacob have known each other for awhile?”

“
Ten years to be exact.”

“
You must have seen a lot.”

“
More than I care to admit.”

We turned a corner and headed south into a crowded area before I asked, “How was Kian before...I mean before he met me?”

“
Much the same, but maybe a bit more depressed or lost or something.”

“
How do you mean?”

“
I mean he never felt like he belonged to our family, you know? I took a while to warm up at first, but I’m a human. He is angel, so one would think this Angelfire would come as second nature to him.”

“
But it didn’t?”

“
I guess he never felt like he had a place of his own in the family; like he always kept one eye on the clan and one eye on the outside world searching...for something.”

“
And he doesn’t search anymore?”

Lucianda stopped in her tracks and acted as if she had never contemplated this before, my effect on Kian. “Actually, no he doesn’t. He seems a lot more content now that you are with us.”

I smiled unintentionally under the twinkling sky as we both turned back on course. When we rounded the next corner and headed into a cafe for a bite to eat. I felt exhausted; I needed sustenance. After ordering two iced teas, two coffees and a large pepperoni pizza, we sat in the center booth and ate.

Minutes after I shoved a slice of pizza into my drooling mouth, Lucianda caught wind of something. Her nostrils flared, and she pulled her black hair into a ponytail with a tie from her pocket. I searched her expression for some clue to explain the change in her mood. Rolling her shoulders and arching her back, she did not appear relaxed at all; if anything, she looked constipated. But I knew that wasn’t it.

“
What?” I whispered across the table. She watched a couple across the room in a corner booth, so I took a quick look. Only the eyes of the male could be seen, but even I noticed a hint of silver color beneath his lids. A demon? In a cafe? In human guise? Well Dameon took human form at my high school. I imagined demons must be everywhere, but I hadn’t thought about it, really thought about it, until that moment.

Lucianda yanked me up when the couple left the café. We left our pizza and drinks to fend for themselves on the table. I was sure they’d be gone by the time whatever this was ended. Damn. I was really hungry.

As we followed the couple into the alley, the male suddenly jerked around with silver in his eyes and protruding claws on his fingers. The female took no time at all to mimic his movements and appearance. Both wore black leather pants and tight stretch tops. Jet-black hair matched Lucianda’s. When their skin began to glow, this looked like it would become a full-fledged demon-on-human street fight...and I had no idea what to do next.

Street Fights

In
an instant, Lucianda swung around, and her leg arched through the air, like a ninja from some distant Asian country we only see on television. Her heel pounded against the male’s chest and knocked him back an inch before her hands moved like nun chucks, and her body spun around twice. Maybe she liked showing off? But I was glad she was on my side.

The female flung herself forward in a midair somersault, landing on top of Lucianda. When my friend’s back hit the ground, I gasped. OMG! Flaying arms knocked into the demoness as fists smacked her across the head. In an instant, Lucianda had rolled over and pinned her opponent to the ground.

Hissing, her ‘boo’ lunged at Lucianda from behind. I couldn’t just stand there and watch my friend — the only other friend in the world who knew what I knew — die! Grabbing a large rock that lay in the corner of the alley, I threw it like a baseball at the demon’s head. Smack! Even I heard the thump.

Spinning on his heel, the demon growled, revealing his sharp teeth. For the first time, I could see something hideous, monstrous. In an instant, his human form morphed, and mist conformed to the shape of the Dark Angel. Black leathery wings spanned ten feet on either side of him, flapping. All I could hear was the flap-flap-flap of those gruesome wings.

Street lights provided his shadow which stretched many feet before him, and each step he took toward me made the alley feel like walls were caving in on top of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lucianda struggling with her assailant. The demoness threw a fist, and blood poured from Lucianda’s angled nose. Both rolled over the street like they fought to win a wrestling match.

But I didn’t have long to focus on Lucianda, because the demon approached me rapidly, and he looked pissed. Though he was not a vampire, his teeth reminded me of one, and his dead-black eyes appeared hollow to me, as if he had no heart beating within his thick chest. Cowering against the brick wall, I had no further to go. Nowhere to escape to. I had to fight or die.

Picking up another rock, I threw it hard against his pristine facial features. It scathed his cheek. Blood dripped off of his face and to the alley dirt. Hissing, he sounded more like a wild animal with rabies than an angel. Fangs protruded from his mouth as he drew closer and closer. The alley shrank as the demon became my world. Ragged black hair loosely hung over his eyes, blending with all his black attire. But unlike with Dameon, I wouldn’t let this one beat me.

The monster flapped his wings as he hurled himself over me. Everything went dark as when the moon eclipses the sun. An unearthly darkness. Cold clawed at my skin as I crumbled to the ground with this canopy of blackness engulfing me. I felt his sharp nails scratch my back as drool dripped from his mouth onto my bare arms; I couldn’t use my eyes to win this. I would have to hone in on sounds and smells and use my tactile sense.

Fishing around with my hands for any kind of weapon, I finally found a thick stick — or maybe it was a broken bat — and I gripped with all my strength. Without aiming, I swung several times and felt the force of the bat change as it must have hit the demon’s head, chest, and shins. When I could finally see moonlight again, I knew the Dark Angel had released me.

The crescent moon reflected well enough for me to see the monster scurry to the other side of the alley, against the wall. He actually seemed wounded, and did I see fear in his expression? Did I actually make him afraid of me?

As I bit the inner corner of my mouth in question and concern, Lucianda stood face to face with her demon and threw a kick. Her foot rounded off the demoness’ lower jaw; saliva flung out of the creature’s mouth as her winged body fell backward onto the ground. In one motion, Lucianda dove on top of the demoness and punched her several times before pulling a silver blade from her back pocket.

One stab to the heart, and the demoness lay limp, her head to one side. The demon against the brick wall screamed as if in pain. The eerie, primal screech sounded like nails scraping on a chalk board. Perhaps his love just died? Perhaps he felt himself grow weaker from her death? But it sounded like a supernatural war cry.

As soon as the demon screamed, Lucianda lunged to her feet, knees slightly bent, hands in combat motion, and she held that silver blade still dripping of the demoness’ blood. She marched up to the demon who now clawed the air to keep her away. As I watched her move against him, I saw for the first time the power we humans had. I had never seen a demon afraid before, especially not of a mere human.

But Lucianda changed that for me.

The demon clawed at Lucianda, but weakened from my blows, he did not have much vigor left. He ducked when Lucianda first attempted to stab him, and then my friend kicked him in the stomach.

“
Argh!” he yelped, but his yelp became a screech of pain as Lucianda’s knife stabbed his arm. Crimson blood dripped, and I saw how fragile demons could be, or at least this demon. Soon Lucianda’s silver blade found his empty heart, and he fell to the ground, already growing pale. The dark wings from both demons crumpled to dust seconds later, and the once glowing skin looked more like a deathly blue-white. They could have been any human citizens of New York City; victims of a mugging. I was sure that was what I’d hear on the news.

Staring at the carnage, I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene before me until Lucianda yanked my arm. “Come on! We have to get out of here before the cops get here!”

Cops? My mind swirled to my brother Samuel as I raced out of the alley with Lucianda. We backtracked the way we had come until we reached the bicycle shop. Somehow I felt safer there in familiar territory.

“
What the hell just happened back there?” I breathed heavily, stopping in front of the bicycle shop door. Darkness hid the faces of most of the people on the sidewalk.

“
What do you mean? You saw what happened!”

“
No...” I shook my head. “What I mean is how the hell did we manage to kill two demons?” I waved my hands like a mad Italian. Lucianda gripped my shoulder and pulled me into the side street away from the stores.

“
Watch what you say in public. People can hear you!”

“
Sorry.” I blushed red. Hot from the fight. Hot from embarrassment. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“
Those were Fanged Demons.”

“
What does that mean?”

Lucianda stomped her foot in a huff as if this were common knowledge I should have known. “Didn’t you read anything in the library?” I gave an exasperated expression before she spilled the rest. “Demons are fanged because they kill humans. They’ve lost their Gift Powers and because they’ve exposed themselves to so many humans and allowed some of the humans to escape, they’ve also weaken their Essence Power.”