The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural (10 page)

Just then the organ began to
pipe out its wedding anthems. DH glanced over at Ace with an
expression that read
what now?!!

“
Stand over there.” Said the
priest after catching DH’s face. “Don’t worry; you’re not the first
groom with a case of the jitters. I’ve done plenty of these
weddings in my old age.”

DH took his spot to the left
of the priest and Ace stood several paces beside them. At first
they exchanged several confused and uncomfortable
glances
, but soon grew
easy with the idea that no one was even looking their
way.

More guests continued to flow through
the large front doors and flood the pews until they were nearly
packed. Their conversations grew louder until the soft piping of
the organ was barely audible. Yet people continued to
enter.

Ace stood there quietly, his eyes
combing through the silver sea of faces. There were some people he
recognized. Malachi Sarzanouski, one of Rose’s competitors in last
years Gobble Race sat almost right in front of him. His face was
showered with a few more piercings since the last time he saw him,
but his faded expression was still the same.

A couple rows in front of Malachi were
a set of chairs. Each one of them reserved for the four High Krome
members. Of course they would get the front seats, but they
wouldn’t be entering until just before the bride walked
in.

Time ticked on, and Ace let out a yawn
without meaning to, but just as he raised his hand to stifle it, he
caught sight of a startlingly familiar pair of faces. On the other
side of the isle and seated close to the front were DH’s mother and
grandmother. Instantly he opened his mouth to alert the groom, but
DH already knew.

His brown eyes were locked
to them as a small smile stayed across his lips. Ace glanced back
at the pair. He remembered the first time he had met them. He
remembered it so well, he could practically hear his grandmother’s
Louisianan accent saying
Have some of my
chocolate peanut butter bars!

Lynore, DH’s mother, sat beside his
grandmother with that same lost look in her hazel eyes. As Ace
studied her, he saw that she made several glances at her son. She
smiled once, and DH smiled back, but then she would go right on
staring at the organ.

Finally the organ swayed into a
familiar tune: Panchelbel’s Cannon. At this sound all the guests
stood and turned toward the door. For a moment, nothing but the
organ’s notes bounced off the ceiling. No one appeared through the
door. Ace half expected the crowd to start jabbering again, but
they retained their peace and waited for the parade of honor to
lead up to the bride.

First came a pair of flower girls. They
were Aaron’s youngest twin cousins. Cherry and Rose had once baby
sat them, but that was many years ago. They had all grown up so
much since then. By now, they were almost eight years old, yet some
how they managed to waltz down the isle reverently and sprinkle
white rose petals along the carpet.

Shortly after the girls lead the way,
the four members of the High Krome followed. Throughout the crowd,
hand signs flew into the air. There might have been a whoop or two,
but overall, the crowd waited reverently.

The man in the front of the
line was a tall, late
t
hirty
year old brunet with a goatee as
sharp as the gaze in his eyes. Ace figured he was the highest of
the Krome simply by his swagger and the grimacing expression on his
face. Even though all the High Krome were dressed in silver and
white, there was something about his suit that seemed black as
coal, or maybe it was just his ora. What ever it was, he stood out
from the rest.

He was followed by a tall, strong boned
woman with wrinkles around her eyes though it was hard to judge her
age because there was so much life in her bouncing yellow curls.
She glanced up at DH with a smile and raised her hand slightly to
wave at Ace. At first, Ace was startled for he was sure he had
never met the woman in his life, and then he realized she was
probably just a friendly lady.

The next man seemed rather
young and too tall to be in the High Krome. He had an elfish
looking face along with a slightly up turned nose. There was
a
f
aiding
bruise on his acne covered cheek, and his long
sandy colored hair looked as if it hadn’t been washed in weeks.
Right before he took his place beside the third chair, he glanced
up at Ace with such a bored expression; he almost looked right
through him.

Aaron Kim finally brought up the rear.
Of the four, he received the most praise from the audience. As he
marched down the isle, he waved at a few familiar faces and blew a
kiss to one of the younger kids in the crowd. The bleached strip in
his hair had been died to a fiery red; probably in Rose’s honor.
But aside from that, he looked the same. The tattooed tail of a
dragon poked out from the bottom of his rolled up sleeves and the
piercings remained on the right side of his face. As he rounded the
isle to take his spot at the front, he planted a swift kiss on each
of his cousin’s inky black hair and gestured for them to stand at
the other side of the isle. When Aaron looked up, he winked at DH
and smiled up at Ace before casting his gaze back to the
door.

Lee was next to walk in. Fortunately
for Lee, it was easy to find a dress that fit the traditional
standard. Once more she was wearing the platinum gown the twins had
given her for Christmas. The thought of wearing that dress would
have brought back horrible memories, yet it was still a gift from
Cherry, and it was nice to have a piece of her at the
wedding.

Lee beamed when she saw Ace and a faint
rosy blush spread across her cheeks. Even though he had already
seen her in that mermaid dress, she still looked amazing. Lee
glanced down at the bouquet of yellow and violet flowers in her
hands and tried not to trip over her sparkly pink heels. When she
looked back up, she saw that DH was already gazing past her and
eagerly anticipating the sight of his soon-to-be.

Lee stood to the right of
the priest and shot a glance at Ace.
You
look beautiful.
He mouthed and again Lee
flushed. She smiled back at him then turned her eyes toward the
heavy glass doors.

For a room filled with rowdy gang
members and a bellowing organ, the chapel seemed strongly quiet.
Everyone held their breath as they anticipated the sight of Rose in
her gown. They waited, and waited until the anticipation was
murder. The organ had finished piping out the first verses. Just as
it began its last tune, the door cracked open.

Her beauty was like nothing
the world had ever witnessed. She was encased in an elegance of
pure snow. As she drifted down the isle, she saw nothing but the
man she loved and a diamond tear
t
hreatened to slide
down her veiled cheek. A bundle of milky roses
were held in her hands and the green of the stems seemed to be the
only other color distorting her pure essence. Her gown was full of
lace and fluffed out like a ball gown, and a river of clouds seemed
to trail behind her, making her overall appearance seem
heavenly.

Her gown bound tightly around her waist
showing off how slender and how fragile her curves were. As the
material spread up her torso, it became sheerer until there was
hardly any material to cover her collar. A glittering tiara held
her veil in place atop of her crimson curls which cascaded down in
perfect spirals. The sight of the bride was so overwhelming that no
one in the audience had even summed up the magnitude until the last
of the organ’s song faded and Rose was standing beside
DH.

The priest motioned for the gang to sit
and with a ruffling silence, they obeyed.

“
Dearly beloved, we are
gathered here today…” he began as DH grasped onto his fiancé’s
small hand.

This was it. They were about to be
together for the rest of their lives. DH hardly heard a word the
priest said. As his fingers were laced with hers, his mind kept on
spinning back to the first time he realized he loved her. She was
his first crush and the only woman he had ever wanted to be more
than friends with. Even when he was a young boy watching her every
day at school, he had crushed on her. There was something so
intriguing about her red hair and the fact that she was a twin. But
the one thing that made him fall for her was that when she smiled,
her entire face lit up.

Rose on the other hand had never felt
anything with any man until just recently with DH. She never made
the connection that all along, she had loved him too. Not until he
turned out to be the one thing she needed more than a best friend.
She never noticed that look in his eyes when he listened to her
speak. Not until she realized she did it too. DH had always been
more than a friend; it had just taken some time to realize how much
more.

Their love was like the stuff of fairy
tales. Every cliche in every romantic song summed up their
feelings. They had known each other for nearly twenty years and
within those years, all their actions lead to this point. Now with
this sealing, they were going to practice love until no breath
could fill their lungs.

Rose beamed up at him. Her pearly smile
almost as bright as her dress. His large dark hand brushed back a
strand of her flaming hair and wiped away a glistening tear of joy.
When she smiled the corner of her cheeks dimpled. He wasn’t even
sure if he was supposed to be touching her, yet his hand remained
where it was cupping her face.

“
I do,” he heard her say. If
it weren’t that the Krome tradition was for the woman to state her
commitment first, DH might have missed his turn.

The priest said something, but DH heard
nothing. His eyes were lost in hers. Every piece of his internals
was squirming around. His heart felt as if it was on fire. He
didn’t know what to make of all the happenings around him. All he
knew was that till the end of time he would love her and that every
day he would work to make her show off that radiant
smile.

“
I do.” DH stroked her cheek
and traced his fingers along her jaw. “I love you.” He
whispered.

Rose slid her arms around his waist.
She was trembling now and she had given up on hiding her tears. “I
love you too.” She whispered back. “Forever.”

Then she sealed that promise
with a kiss
knowing that she had never said
anything more honest in her entire life.

The whole crowd cheered.
Their
c
ongratulations
rang up through the
high ceiling and bounced back into their ears. Aaron wiped away a
tear before standing up and clapping. The flower girls showered the
married couple with more rose pedals
as
the
priest turned away to give them some
privacy
.

Unable to stand not having her body
pressed up to his, DH lifted his wife by the waist and cradled her
against his chest. Her arms climbed up his back just as the crowd
around them shouted even louder. She tasted salty from tears and
her lipstick was bitter in his mouth, but for DH that was the
world’s best kiss.

He set her back down gently. “I love
you.” He breathed, and that time they said it together. Together
they giggled then their lips met once more.

The audience was still clapping when
Rose and DH finally broke apart. With their hands clasped tightly
together, they made their way down the isle and out the doors.
Everyone filed in behind them, squeezing through the large space.
They all wanted to see the married couple drive off in their tagged
car.

Only a few people didn’t prioritize
being the first ones out. Three of the High Krome sat in their
seats waiting for the crowd to die down. Aaron had to sprint down
the isle to be one of the first guests out. After all, he hadn’t
tagged Rose’s car for nothing. Ace and Lee remained standing on
opposite sides of the alter both eyeing the quickly diminishing
crowd. Sometime in all the ruckus the priest had disappeared
through a door under the organ to sign the certificates.

“
What did you think?” Ace
asked coming over to Lee’s side.

“
It was very moving,” she
admitted taking his hand and together they slowly made their way to
the doors. “Didn’t Rose look absolutely amazing?”

Ace opened his mouth
to
agree
, but
instead someone spoke from behind him.

“
You’re that supernatural,
aren’t you?” Though there was still a ruckus from the diminishing
crowd, those words seemed to ring off the high ceiling.

Ace whirled around. The remaining High
Krome had come to their feet and Ace searched for the one who had
spoken. It was the beady eyed member with the pointed goatee.
“You’re the one who was on the news a wile back?” he asked. Even
his voice sounded cold.

Ace nodded and his eyes studied each
face of the remaining Krome. “Yes,” he confirmed as the leader
approached, “I don’t believe we’ve ever met.”

“
Dohnatello.” said the man
extending a hand. They shook then Dohnatello gestured to the rest
of the High members. “Alma-”