The Awakening (11 page)

Jonas leaped to his feet. “This is absolutely incredible.” He paced the room with his fingers pressed together in prayer fashion. Then he stopped and lowered his hands. “Angels are spiritual beings. They are invisible and from what I've read, they can pass through solid objects. They're also mostly day creatures and love natural light.”

“You’ve read this about angels?” I asked.

He nodded. “Boss has a few books.”

I bet he did. After fourteen hundred years, he probably had a priceless collection.

“I enjoyed standing in the sun earlier. Maybe I can tolerate the rays because I’m a half-breed.” The explanation seemed plausible now.

Tabby stepped into the room and looked at me. “Did you tell him?”

Jonas stopped pacing. “And you never saw or heard this man?”

She shook her head. “Never.”

“I think we need to see if I'm part angel,” I said. “Is there a way to test me like we did earlier?”

Jonas faced me. “We already know you can pass through objects. You proved that earlier. If you can appear and disappear...”

I sat up. “How would I do it?”

“The same way you became mist,” Tabby said. “Focus and picture yourself somewhere else.”

Well, her idea seemed like a good place to start. My eyes jumped to Jonas.

“It's worth trying,” he said with a shrug.

I took a deep breath. “Okay.”

With my hands clasped in my lap, I closed my eyes. I pictured myself standing in the doorway behind Tabby. I slowed my breathing, and relaxed my body. My heart thumped steadily. Within seconds, a warm fuzzy feeling stirred in my gut, similar to earlier, but not vibrating throughout my body. As I concentrated on standing in the doorway, the warmth swirled within me and energy filled my soul. I opened my eyes.

Tabby gasped and Jonas clapped his hands. “Holy shit!”

I tapped Tabby on her shoulder. She flinched and jumped back. When she saw me, her eyes lit up with excitement.

“Oh my God! You did it!” She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug. “You’re an angel.”

Jonas chuckled. “Among other things.”

Tabby released me and stepped back. Her hands gripped my arms. “Do you realize how rare angels are? Even half-breeds are rare.”

“Which makes her more valuable. I have to believe someone
is
looking for her and will stop at nothing to get her back,” Jonas said, his concern evident.

I couldn't discount Jonas's claim. According to Boss, more than one bloodline couldn't mix with a human. Yet, here I stood in contradiction of all his beliefs. Someone made me. Someone would want me. Someone murdered thirty people at a dump and left me the only creature to live. I was as dangerous as I was valuable, and my new friends were in great danger by helping me.

The computer made a soft beep. Jonas plopped into the chair, and tapped the keyboard.

“I’m sticking by you, no matter what,” Tabby said, smiling with eyes full of love.

“Thanks Tabby. I truly appreciate your kindness. It would hurt me if something happened to you or Jonas. You guys have been so nice and helpful to me.” I paused, swallowing. “I have to wonder if I should leave.” I wanted to stay with them, but my heart would rip to shreds if someone harmed them.

“You can’t leave. You don’t have anywhere to go,” Tabby said.

Jonas typed on the keyboard. “If you leave, we will hunt you down.”

I chuckled. I believed him.

“I’d like to be the one to share this new discovery with Boss,” I said, drawing near Jonas.

Jonas kept his gaze on the monitor. “By all means, go ahead. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

I turned and headed for the door.

“I’ll go with you,” Tabby said.

As I descended the stairs, an interesting thought came to mind. Why bother walking anywhere when I could just pop in? Then I recalled the last time I magically appeared in front of Boss. I decided to stick to regular modes of transport.

My heart was racing by the time I reached the office in the basement. I hoped Boss would accept me now, and not think of me as such a freak. His loyalty to his friends showed he had a caring heart. Deep down, I sensed he liked me. If I was wrong and he still wanted to treat me like an outcast...well, fuck him.

I tapped on the door. Boss sat at his computer. He had on the same attire from earlier, pants and no shirt.

“You may enter,” he said.

I took a deep breath. While I had good news to share, I suspected he would see it differently. I entered the room, holding my hands behind me. Tabby followed silently behind me.

“How is the research coming along?” I stopped a few feet from his side and saw my dagger lying on a towel next to his computer.

Boss leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. “I narrowed down the warlocks able to create the type of blade you were carrying. Only two can create such a deadly weapon. One is in the States and the other is in Europe.”

“Did you contact them?”

“Not yet. I don’t want to raise any suspicions at this time. I want to hear more from all the councilmen and see what we can find out on our own first.” He wrapped up my blade and tucked it inside the second drawer.

I wanted to ask for
my
dagger back, but the timing didn't seem appropriate. Twisting sideways, I saw Tabby standing near the bookshelf. She gave me a smile.

“Jonas has been keeping me apprised of his findings,” Boss said.

“Mm-hmm, I just saw him.”

I headed toward the door at a slow pace. I had to show Boss I could disappear and reappear. First, I needed to create distance between us, and then grab his attention.

“We are still waiting from several leaders to find out if they knew anything about the meeting at the dump,” Boss said. “It’s still too early to have any definite answers.”

I stopped near the door and spun around. Boss was staring at me.

“Are you all right?” He had a brow arched. “You're acting … strange.”

I took a deep breath, and pictured myself standing next to him. I relaxed my arms at my sides and stood still. A surge of energy ignited in my gut and spread through me, zinging every nerve and cell in my body. My body warmed and I felt numb. Again, I pictured myself at Boss's side. In a blink of an eye, I had moved from the door to the position I had wanted.

“You did it,” Tabby said. She rushed toward me with a wide smile.

Boss rose from his seat. “How did you do that?” His dark eyes bore down on mine.

“I ran into an angel named Benny. He said I was a half-breed.”

Tabby nodded. “I was with her. I never saw him.”

“He walked through an entire shelf and disappeared in front of my eyes,” I said. “I tried to disappear and reappear upstairs and it worked.”

“This isn’t possible,” Boss said.

“You keep saying that,” I said. “And yet I keep running into creatures that believe I’m a half-breed of their race.”

“Hey.” Jonas strode into the room. “What have I missed?”

“She vanished from there.” Tabby pointed at the door. “And reappeared next to Boss.”

“Did you see it, Boss?” Jonas asked. “Looks like she's got angel blood in her.”

Boss sat back down in his chair. He leaned his elbow on his desk and ran his hand through his hair. Given the blank expression on his face, I guessed I stunned him with the latest news.

“Angels are divine creatures. They’re rare and almost never seen,” Boss said.

“Well the gods must be crazy or someone has a twisted sense of humor,” I said, crossing my arms.

Boss glared at me and for a second recognition flickered in his eyes. He twisted in his chair and touched his keypad. “I have a few more items I need to take care of before we check out the bookstore on your receipt. Why don’t the three of you have dinner? I’ll meet you after sunset.”

Whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself. I wanted to ask what idea had come to him, but I stayed mute. I dared not press my standing with him. The fact he hadn't called me a name or shown hostility led me to think our relationship might be improving.

“Come on. I’ll make spaghetti,” Tabby said.

Jonas lifted a finger to us. “Hold up. I'll come with you.” He turned to face Boss's back. “Boss, Sal responded to my message. He’s checking on the location of his leader. He claimed he didn’t know about any meeting. I told him the vampire councilman sent Stephanie to see you and she hadn't checked in yet with the clan because she was with you.”

“It buys us a little bit of time until they figure out the truth. I find it curious the demon councilman and Sal’s leader are both out of contact,” Boss said, his gaze on the monitor.

“Did you find the woman or man who bought the watch?” I asked.

Boss stopped typing. He grabbed a folded piece of paper from his desk, spun around, and handed it to me. “Tell me if she looks familiar to you.”

I flipped the top page up and stared at the picture.

Jonas peeked at it from the side. “Hey, isn’t that–”

“Don’t say it,” Boss said. His eyes met mine. “Does she spark any memories?”

I studied the woman’s features. She had long brown hair, too much makeup for my taste, and a big phony smile. Small wrinkles branched out from the sides of her eyes and above her lip. Though the picture stopped just below her shoulders, she looked prestigious wearing gold earrings and a stiff blazer.

“I don’t remember her, but something about her seems familiar. I’m not sure what it is,” I said.

“The woman is Senator Galluzzi,” Boss said. “She works at the Statehouse.”

“And she’s running for president in the next election,” Jonas added.

I handed the picture back to him. “Is this woman a demon?”

“She’s not listed in the local roster of demons,” Jonas said.

“No, she is not on the list,” Boss said. “But after the research I've done, I believe she
is
a demon. Even if she is a half-breed, she still has to register with the clan. When Sal comes back with more questions about Stephanie, I have a big one waiting for him.”

Chapter 12

Jonas and I left with Boss a half hour after sunset. A soft glow from the horizon would soon disappear and shadow our bit of the Earth. I sat in the back seat, staring out the window. Air blowing in from the window fanned my hair away from my face. The scent of rain and exhaust fumes from the huge truck in front of us flowed into the car. I'd take the odor of diesel any day of the week versus burned flesh or garbage.

Tabby stayed at the house to wash all our new clothes and check for e-mail updates on Jonas’s laptop. We’d only been gone twenty minutes and I already missed her cheery personality.

Sighing, I lowered my gaze to the receipt in my hand. I studied it again, trying to figure out what I had bought and why. Nothing came to mind.

I thought about the information Boss told me. The warlock who created my dagger seemed to be the biggest lead we had. If only two had the power to create such a fine weapon, one had to know something about me, or at least know the person who requested creation of the blade. The cool air blowing into the car soothed my warm skin. As much as I enjoyed the warmth of the sun, I reveled in the darkness of the night. The shade electrified me and sharpened my senses. I picked out scents quicker, I differentiated sounds faster, my vision became clearer, and I had the energy of a wild animal. During the day, I wanted calmness and serenity. At night, I wanted action.

Boss hadn't said much since we left the house. I wondered what thoughts swirled in his mind. He’d survived fourteen hundred years and believed someone like me couldn’t exist. Yet, here I was, flesh, blood, and spirit. The temptation to slip in his head and listen to his thoughts nagged me, but I held back. I needed to gain his trust.

Jonas turned from the interstate, following the directions on the screen in the middle of the dash. We reached a busy area of town. Traffic crawled and we waited over ten minutes to pass one stoplight. Restaurants and shops lined the street. According to my receipt, I’d been here before at night, but nothing looked or felt familiar.

Jonas turned away from the main street, into an area with little shops lined up in a row. In the middle of the building, I saw a small sign for Arnie’s Books. Jonas parked the car in a spot near the store.

“Are we going in armed?” I asked.

“No, too many humans are around. We would draw attention,” Boss answered before he pushed open his door.

A part of me disapproved of his answer. All the nocturnal creatures were roaming merrily. If one found me, I had nothing to use to protect myself. I considered sneaking in Boss's office later to get my dagger back.

I slid out of the car on Jonas’s side. The heels of my boots clacked on the pavement as I walked next to him. “Think we’ll find any answers here?”

“I hope so,” he answered with a smile.

We stepped inside Arnie's Books and stopped a foot from the door. The stagnant scent of dust and age saturated the air. Shelves of books covered the walls. Piles of more books consumed the floor. How did the owner sell anything in such a mess?

“Welcome to Arnie’s,” a male voice said from the back.

I strode toward the cash register in the middle of the store, passing by shelves of books. A short man with a ball-shaped head, thinning brown hair and thick glasses emerged from a room in the back. He carried an armful of books and set them on the counter.

“Can I help you find something?” The top slipped off the stack and he caught it before it hit the floor.

Boss stood at my side, facing the man behind the counter. “Are you Arnie?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember this young lady coming in here a few days ago and making a purchase?” Boss asked.

I smiled. Young lady? At least the description sounded better than “abomination”.

Arnie’s eyes slid to me. “Yes, I do recall she came in not long ago.”

I held up the receipt and gave it to him. “I bought something and I can’t remember what it was. The receipt shows the price eight ninety-nine. Do you know what I purchased?”

“We have many books matching that price.”

Boss reached for the receipt. “Do you recall which book she purchased?”