Authors: Janice Hadden
I
blinked to the unusual colors in front of me, or rather the lack of
color in my vision. I felt absolutely normal but yet different. I
scanned my surrounding, seeing everything light and dark. Everything
was a wash of black and white and shades of gray. I didn’t
panic. I didn’t feel afraid, but just felt curious at my new
eyes, as if I was wearing something that were blocking all the vivid
hues that used to pop out.
Then,
a strange, massive roll of thunder clogged my ears. The sound was
loud and violent. A blur of shadows followed. There were too many of
them—thousands. My eyes focused and fixed on the thousands of
white, gray and black horses that appeared in front of me. Their
mane, long and beautiful—their bodies, strong, graceful and so
glorious. But their beauty couldn’t mask the fear that suddenly
drowned me.
The
images that followed were so terrifying, I tried to wake myself up. I
couldn’t really be sure if I was asleep, but I knew this
couldn’t possibly be real. But my mind wouldn’t allow me
to leave the images before it all played out. All I could do was
watch in horror—as the horses plunged to their deaths one by
one.
“
Katheryna”
I heard a voice so familiar it woke me from my deepest
unconsciousness.
Tristan
.
I
woke up to his angelic face and immediately clung to him. I held him
tight. My emotion still so fragile, I broke into a stream of tears.
“
Shhh.
It’s okay, everything’s fine,” his voice was
panicked.
“
Were
you having a nightmare again?” I couldn't say anything. My
visions are still
too
clear in my head.
“
You
always have nightmares…I’m so sorry.”
He
kissed my forehead. I placed my hand on the top of my head, feeling
the sweat of the horrifying visions. The pictures were so vivid, I
wasn’t sure If I could go back to sleep ever again. I couldn’t
erase the graphic images in my mind. I knew he sensed the fear I
couldn’t contain. I tried to focus on the thoughts of him being
next to me, and that was enough.
T
he
following day, The nightmare was almost at a distant, vanishing
memory. Steve decided to go in late to work. We had breakfast
together. Tristan left—or at least pretended to leave—came
back and dropped me off at school.
Everything
seemed normal as it was before. I had gone back to my routine and had
the usual conversations like any typical senior—the graduation,
the prom, who’s going with whom, who’s dating who, who
got pregnant, parties, ditching classes, more parties, who’s
going to college, which college. I seemed to have passed all the
overrated issues with flying colors and distracted myself enough to
make it until the end of the day. Tristan picked me up and insisted
to give me time to myself.
When
I had gotten home, I felt extremely exhausted and my mind and body
automatically drifted deep into unconsciousness despite my conscious
reservations.
Then,
I woke up to a clanking sound. I wasn’t completely coherent yet
to understand where the sound was coming from. I lay still, waiting
for the unusual noise that
woke
me. Then, I heard it again. Clank. Clank. It sounded like little
pebbles were hitting my outside window. I jolted upward and quickly
went toward the glass, slightly pushing the drapes to take a peek
below. The light was faint, but I could still see the dirt, the rocks
and the grass that was right below my room. I waited for any movement
or for the noise to come back. Then I pushed the drapes further and
saw a familiar dark hair.
Tristan.
I
smiled at even the mere thought of his name in my head. I quickly
slid the window open and before I could look down again, he was
already anchored onto the frame and smoothly and effortlessly worked
his way in. I couldn’t immediately realize if I was awake or
dreaming. But the longer I stared in his eyes, the more I realized it
was real.
“
Did
I wake you?” he whispered. His hand stroked my cheek.
“
Yes…I’m
glad you did…you being here is better than the nightmare I was
having,” I mumbled.
He
didn’t say anything, instead, he held me in his arms as I
rested my head on his chest, feeling the warmth and the comfort that
radiated from his touch. He let me go and cradled my face in his
hands. I glanced up to the concerned look evident in his eyes.
“Katheryna, please tell me…I want to know.”
“
It
doesn’t matter…I always have nightmares…I can’t
tell you everything. It’s very
random
and sometimes, I can’t really remember them. Sometimes, I’m
only left with the emotion. Sometimes they’re really scary and
sometimes very sad…you must think I’m neurotic.” I
looked down, feeling regret creeping in. I realized how crazy I must
sound.
“
No…I
don’t—I think you’re very brave…not just
brave, but strong.”
“
Do
you want me to stay?”
“
Yes…”
I pleaded.
“
Okay,
go back to bed and I’ll be next to you. I won‘t leave,”
he promised.
“
I
don’t want to go back to bed,” I said icily. I knew I was
too wound up to fall asleep again and with Tristan here, sleep was
the last thing on my mind.
“
Okay…we’ll
both stay up then.”
Then
something caught my eye—a small stack of DVD’s just below
the TV stand.
“
Do
you want to watch a movie?…I have
Breaking
Dawn
.”
Sam and I picked up our copies the next day it was released. I had
forgotten that I had even gotten it.
“
Movie?”
He asked as if the word was completely foreign to him. But
then…“Sure…sure, anything you want,” he
didn’t seem enthused by the idea. I got up and took the DVD out
of the case and fed it into the player. I went back next to Tristan
in bed and rested my head on his shoulders.
I
peered up at him. “Have you ever watched a movie before?”
“
Sure…lots
of times. It‘s my favorite human hobby,” he said
sarcastically.
“
Wow…it’s
your first time…it’s sort of special,” I grinned.
The opening credits started.
“
Oh
no…this is sort of the last movie out of the five…maybe
we should watch it from the beginning…like when they first
met,” I ranted.
“
You
do realize, I don’t care about the movie, right?”
“
Oh…um
I know,” I said, disappointed, my voice dipped low, realizing
that he held no
interest
at all.
“
Well…what
is It about?” his tone seemed engaged now.
“
I
guess it’s sort of a love story…but there’s action
too.”
“H
mm…I’d
like to watch it if it’s important to you, but I have to be
honest…I have never really been interested in humans for a
very long time…let alone their love story,” he said
glumly.
“
Well…good
thing then, because it’s about vampires and werewolves.”
“
Still…I’m
only interested in my own love story,” he countered.
“…
and
the characters in it are just you and I,” he added proudly.
“
I’d
love to watch that one,” I whispered. I suddenly found my arms
clutched around his neck and pulled him closer. I kissed him first
this time and barely a second passed when heat started rising in my
head and I couldn’t find a way to stop. He carefully unclasped
my hands from behind his neck. He grinned.
“
We’re
going to miss the movie,” he disciplined with a clear subdued
effort. The flame was evident in his eyes.
“
I
thought, you didn’t care about the movie?”
“
But,
I’ll watch it with you. It makes me happy that you’re
happy,” he added “…and that part, I’m very
much interested in,” My ears flushed.
“
You
know, it’s really not helping your cause when you say things
like that,” I complained, feeling utterly regretful after
saying it.
“
Do
you prefer, I’m rude?” he smiled, teasingly.
“
I
had been under your less than polite self…and even then, I
couldn’t seem to stay
away
from you…so it probably won’t work on me anyway,”
I countered. And as promised, he watched the movie with me. Two
movies after and I drifted off.
H
is
face was young. He looked like a boy but with a man’s
features—almost cherub-like. He had deep set, rounded eyes, a
circular face and skin as luminous as a porcelain doll. His black,
glossy, long and thick hair draped all the way down to his waist. He
wore a dark suit, all polished, sheen and sleek. His presence felt
angelic, divine. He glided swiftly and smoothly toward us in perfect
precision as if he were above ground. His eyes were fixed on me as he
came closer.
His
appearance caught me off guard. Just as when I was getting used to
Tristan looking insanely handsome, this fallen angel looked
different, but yet so divinely beautiful as well. Tristan was leaving
once again and this time longer than usual. Even for a day, Tristan
didn’t want to take a chance on leaving me. His rank among the
fallen was crucial in their constant negotiations and training of the
rest of the young immortals—The
Nephilim.
Tristan
had explained to me that the
Nephilims
,
being an offspring of humans and fallen angels, were a special group
of beings that required intense training. They possessed both the
emotions of humans and fallen angels special gifts, and that having
both, gave them special advantages. They are capable of possessing
much greater strengths once they reach a certain age and with proper
training, their abilities only increases.
“
This
is Constantine, he’ll stay with you until I come back.”
Constantine is Tristan’s most trusted second in command among
the fallen. But even with that knowledge, a sudden simmering shot of
panic overcame me. I didn’t want Tristan to leave, and the
thought of being left with a fallen immortal whom I’ve never
met before sent an automatic fear in me. Knowing also that angels
could tap into my emotions, made me feel too vulnerable. But even
with the reservations, it seemed, I couldn’t have a say in the
matter.
As
soon as he kissed me, I didn’t want to let him go, but I knew
he must do whatever he needed to do. I held him tight. He reassured
me once again with a long kiss. I inhaled deeply and pressed the
memory of his scent into my brain. But before I could exhale—he
was gone.
“
Don’t
worry, he’ll come back soon. Nothing is going to happen to him,
I assure you,” I smiled nervously. Knowing a fallen angel’s
ability to prowl into my brain, made me feel like I was somehow a
book that he could just open and read.
“
I
will leave you to your thoughts,” he said it so clearly, as if
somehow answering something that I said out loud. It seemed like, he
clearly knew what I was thinking. He began to glide over to the other
room.
“
Wait!
I have some questions…actually, I have many questions,”
I insisted. Realizing that I might not get another opportunity to
talk to another fallen besides Tristan, I decided to take advantage
of it.
“
What
do you want to know?” a concerned look flashed his magnificent
face. I walked toward him and sat on the sofa. He followed and sat on
the white chair across the room.
“
How
long have you known Tristan? How many fallen angels are there?”
Tristan had
mentioned
that there were a lot of fallen, but he had given me no number.
“
I’ve
known Tristan since the beginning…the beginning when angels
were created…way before you came to be,” he stated.
“There are legions of fallen angels…hundreds
of
thousands that roam the earth.”
An
overwhelming fear coursed through me. “Hundreds of thousands?”
My mind blinked to flashes of hundreds of thousands of wings beating
endlessly in the dark sky. I meant to keep the sound of shock in my
thoughts, though in this case it probably wouldn’t have
mattered.
“
Tristan
is an archangel. He possess greater strengths and abilities than the
rest of us. There were very few archangels that have fallen…and
one of the reasons why his side of loyalty is too important to
ignore.”