Authors: Karice Bolton
I would be lying to myself if I didn’t recognize that more times than not they were staring danger straight on, and the outcome was not always as I hoped. I shivered as the image of Athen being defeated flew into my mind in an instant with his glow being diminished and floating gracefully up to the sky. I immediately flushed it out as fast as it came as if the mere acknowledgment would make it real. It was almost too much for me to handle between thinking that Athen could be taken away from me by these horrid creatures, whisked to the sky with nothing left or, possibly worse yet, stolen by a woman claiming to love him and possibly getting to him before me. This had to be my mind trying to reconcile the stories I was told of my demise mixed with the worry that I could lose my love again. There was no way any of this could happen. His love was too strong for me. I was certain of it, but the serpentine eyes piercing through me wouldn’t leave my thoughts.
Matilda readjusted herself as I found my spot when I heard rustling come from down the hall. It sounded like the others were getting up. I hesitantly got up from the comfort of Athen’s bed and decided to go shower. I trudged into the bathroom, seeing all of my things organized perfectly on Athen’s bathroom counter. Excitement began to build, but self-doubt started infiltrating my happiness. I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case I woke up from this dream life that suddenly started presenting itself to me as complex and unbelievable as it may be.
The previous night’s dream didn’t help either. Their hands interlocking; I pushed the image out of my mind instantly. The shower was running hot as chills came over me. I began shaking and had to sit down before I fell down. Between the nightmares while I was sleeping and the battle that took place before falling asleep, I felt like I was burdened with more than I could handle. How did I even know what was what anymore? What was real; what was fantasy? I was safe for now and I knew I that was protected with everyone by my side, but the fear that ran through me the night before wouldn’t go away. I was sitting on the floor holding my head trying to make the imposter stop attacking me when I heard footsteps coming. I knew at once who it was going to be so I tried to sit up before he caught me looking so miserable. It didn’t work. I was a wreck.
Athen knelt down, gently reaching for my chin. I grabbed him as the tears began flowing down my face unable to control the emotions that I prided myself in hiding. I couldn’t stop and wasn’t even sure what made me start. Not even being able to decipher fact from fiction any longer, I didn’t know if it was the actual events that took place or my dream with the serpentine eyes but being in his arms began to make me feel halfway human again – even though I never really was.
“
I’m so sorry.” I began sobbing over and over again into his shirt, which was quickly becoming saturated.
“
Ana, you have nothing to apologize for. If anything I put you in danger. I didn’t tell you the gravity of the situation because I always counted on being there when the demon arrived. I knew I could finish him, but I didn’t expect him to get to you before I was there. I’m the one who should be apologizing.”
“
I never understood the seriousness of the situation before. I’m so sorry. I know you had told me that the demons tried to procreate with humans and us, the white demons, but I never imagined it would happen to me. If only I had paid attention. I knew it wasn’t you, but it looked so much like you that I let everything override my senses. You could have been killed, and it would have been my fault.”
“
Ana first, I was never in any danger. It was a young demon. It probably thought it had a chance. As you saw, it didn’t. Second, the demon’s ability to morph is what gives them and us the advantage. We can morph as well. That is something that you’ll relearn in time. It can work to our advantage. I should’ve told you the full implications of a demon’s actions, and I didn’t. I was too cocky. I have been so happy to have you back in my life. It’s like I’m showing off all over again. This did teach me to be more cognizant of our surroundings, like when we were searching for you. I let my guard down. What you witnessed is what happens to us. The only difference, if it matters, is that the black demons turn to the black mist that you probably saw or they shatter to pieces. Whereas the white demons or fallen angels, like us, turn to white, sometimes with a green cast, as they are phased out. We almost look like a fog that is rolling to the sky. If it didn’t signify what it did, it would probably be quite breathtaking. Hence the term white demons.”
I crumbled in his arms, and his warmth came through to my bones. The image of him being taken away from me in my dream made the tears resurface. I couldn’t lose him. I made myself switch thoughts immediately. I couldn’t jeopardize Athen possibly reading my mind. I saw Matilda wagging her tail as best she could, which reminded me of the pictures I saw in his room and figured now was as good of a time as any to ask. Good way to switch gears.
“
Athen, I saw some of our pictures in your bedroom. I was wondering how Matilda could be in the pictures that aren’t current?”
“
That’s a funny one to explain.”
“
Really? I think at this point it all is about the same.” I said laughing to myself more than to him.
“
So she is kind of like our little homing beacon. She is the only link we have when or if we get separated. She is our family’s spirit in a sense. That is the one benefit that the white fallen angels have over the demons. That is why if we choose, we can stay together as a family. It’s the one gift that was given to us when this entire thing started. It just so happens that we chose in recent decades to have our spirit masquerade as a bulldog.”
“
Huh, well I’ve heard more bizarre.”
Athen squeezed me one last time. I was so relieved I could confront him and get honest answers or at least as accurate as possible for the time being. I think he sensed that I was feeling better and wouldn’t, hopefully, be breaking down into tears again soon. He helped me up into the shower as I prepared for my day. I could tell this was going to be a long shower. I definitely needed it after everything the last 24 hours presented both real and imagined. The thought of almost losing Athen, even though I have repeatedly been told that wasn’t going to happen and finding out my little Matilda is a homing beacon made for a headache bigger than my meager shell could handle.
I
t was mid morning on the Monday before Thanksgiving, and I was trying to get the last of my things together for our trip down to Seattle and then to Kingston for the holiday. I was pretty confident that had I grabbed everything, but went through my bag one last time and was pretty satisfied with everything that I had packed. Besides I could always buy something I forgot I told myself. It was lightly snowing outside, and I was hoping by the time we got back up here that snow would be covering the entire mountain.
“
Are you packed? What all did you bring?” I heard Arie blasting down the hall towards my direction, with Matilda following swiftly behind her. Her energy was undeniable.
“
I packed everything you told me to. I swear!” I exclaimed.
I was so thrilled to be going to Seattle and then on to their home, my home. It was so exciting. I was hopeful it could even be a way to escape the horrible nightmares that kept trailing me.
“
Awesome! As long as you bring layers, we should be good,” Arie said bouncing on my bed, ”It’s a bit more wet down there.”
“
Where’s Athen?” I asked trying to seem nonchalant.
“
He’s with Cyril getting snacks for the road trip. You’d think we were driving to Florida with as much as they were talking about getting.”
“
Great minds think alike.”
I tried to think of anything else I might need. We were only going to be in Seattle for a couple days and then head onto the Kingston home Thanksgiving. I gathered Matilda’s bed, food, and a couple toys and couldn’t think of anything else to grab. I lifted my bags and headed towards the living room to set everything down. I did a double check that the confirmation for the hotel was in my purse. I heard the keys in the front door, and immediately my stomach began tumbling at the thought of getting to see Athen in mere seconds. I hoped that feeling never went away. The door flew open, and both Cyril and Athen had bags of food in their hands.
“
Holy cow, Arie! You weren’t exaggerating!” I saw the tops of several chip bags sticking out of the grocery bags, and what looked like a case of Aquafina under Cyril’s arm, “Looks like we will be set for an eternity.”
“
Doubtful,” Cyril piped up, “This should get us to Seattle though. I’m going to go put some of this in a cooler, and then we should be set to take off. Valet is bringing our car so they will give us a call when it’s downstairs.”
I couldn’t get the smile off of my face. I was looking forward not only to this trip but to the car ride and being in such close quarters with Athen for hours. My day couldn’t get any better. The phone rang disrupting my thoughts. Athen grabbed it, and I heard him telling valet we’d be down.
“
Ok, everybody got everything?” Athen asked looking only at me.
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Yep, I think so.” I replied looking over at Arie as she was hooking up Matilda’s leash.
“
Alright then, I will grab the bags. Ana, you grab Matilda, and I think we are set.” He leaned over and kissed me on my cheek, which got me all flustered yet again.
“
Come on, Matilda.” I grabbed her leash, and out the door we all went.
As the elevator took us down to the lobby I got more and more excited at the prospect of getting to see where Athen called home. They kept telling me it was my house too, but I didn’t quite feel that way yet. Everything was so new, and it was a lot to take in, especially the what’s mine is yours aspect.
We all walked over to the Valet desk, and the guy led us out to our car. I wondered which car from their many we would be piling into. I wasn’t disappointed to see Athen’s X6 waiting for us. It had 5 seats, which got me that much closer to him regardless of which seat I was sitting in. The trunk opened up with the push of the key, and Cyril began arranging everything making a point to grab the first round of snacks out of the cooler. Matilda looked anxiously as the back filled up more and more. As I was trying to calculate where I would be sitting, I saw Athen tip the valet and wish him Happy Holidays. It must have been generous I thought as I saw the valet light up the way he did. Matilda jumped onto the back seat and planted herself right in the middle so she at least figured she was set to go.
I noticed Cyril head for the front passenger seat so I took my cue and crawled in the back next to Matilda. Arie climbed in on the other side. Athen climbed in, and we were off for the day’s travel. I knew it would take about 4 hours to drive to Seattle, give or take a little time at the border, and I was determined not to fall asleep. I didn’t want to miss any of the trip. As we pulled out of the hotel circle, I noticed a guy sitting on the hotel’s bench with a newspaper. Something told me to point him out.
“
That would be one of them, Ana. Good eye. Not to worry, though, he is a young one. He would never dare to cross a family full of experience. We call those types posers.”
“
Glad you are so sure about that.” I said to myself more than anyone in particular. I was sure that creature had made an appearance and disrupted one of my many slumbering nights.
“
Are they all over?” I inquired.
“
Pretty much. There’s a lot of evil in the world. Somebody’s gotta keep it going. We have to do our best to stop it. Even the little things can add up. A low ranking one like that dabbles until they become more skilled in manipulation and fighting.”
“
What do you think that one was doing?” I imagined back to the scenario I encountered with Karen and wondered if it was something like that.
“
Hard to tell. If we were close by, we could tell his motive pretty quickly.”
“
Huh, well I hope it isn’t dire.”
“
Not to worry, sweetie, very seldom does a newbie like that cause harm of any significance.”
“
So, when you say he is young, how does that work? Are they not all like us? It seems we’ve been around a long time, to say the least.”
The air began filling in heavy in our little space, but this was something that seemed really important so I pressed on.
“
Well?” I asked impatiently.
“
It’s pretty complex, almost incomprehensible. What I mean by a young demon is one that is newly created.” Athen spoke in a low almost inaudible hush.
I could feel the blood rushing out of my head, and the sickness begin to creep in.
“
What do you mean created? You mean like demon possessed?”
“
Well, partially. Except it’s one step beyond. When a human is possessed there is still a chance that we can get them back. When the demon has fully succeeded, the human is no longer possessed, they just are...” He breathed out steadily, looking into my eyes through the rearview.
It hit me, “A demon…the hikers? The snowboarder? That’s all related isn’t it? What is going on?”
“
We don’t know yet, but yah. It appears that’s possibly the case.”
“
Is there no hope for them? Did they really turn into monsters?” My heartbeat slowed. Trying to comprehend the enormity of the situation seemed like an endless task. Am I a monster? I still came to existence in the same fashion as the others. Plus seeing Athen with that demon, who knows how easily swayed we are. Maybe it’s a finer line than any of us know. I trembled a little thinking of it, praying that it was only a figment of my imagination.