Authors: Janice Hadden
His
gaze was still on me when out of nowhere, Tristan appeared. For one
brief moment of confusion, my heart lifted to a momentary sigh of
relief that suddenly plummeted to horror. Deep love and anger crashed
over me—It collided like a blistering heat in the middle of an
ice storm.
“
Maxiel,
let her go!” Tristan’s voice was full of authority.
“
Tristan…so
glad you could join us. We‘d been waiting. I was just filling
out the blanks in Katheryna’s memory that you’ve erased.”
Maxiel let me go without hesitation. I slowly backed up and slumped
back against the wall. I glanced at
Tristan
in horror. The weight of the truth crushed my soul. My heart was an
endless
blazing
pain of fire. I didn’t know what to trust or if there was
anybody or anything to trust.
“
This
war is between you and I, leave her out of this!” Tristan did
not meet my gaze. His eyes were bleak, almost worn out.
“
That’s
where you’re wrong Tristan. This war is between the dephils and
the humans…and you’re interfering.”
“
I
will not let you harm her.”
“
The
same way you didn’t harm her mother…you made your choice
Tristan,” he growled. Tristan’s eyes changed color from
deep and brilliant aquamarine to a lighter opaque color with
different rays of golden brown, blue, green and finally transforming
back to a slate of gray. His clothes disappeared and a magnificent
armour breastplate embraced his body, tracing every perfect, well
defined contour of his muscles.
His
arms and legs encased in a metallic armor and thick heavy belt
clasped on his waist. A metallic, almost translucent dagger and sword
anchored to his side. Just when I thought the marvel of his
transformation would cease, a beautiful set of black, iridescent
wings appeared, unfurling to magnificent heights, extending from his
back. It was even far more glorious than the black wings that I had
seen earlier.
There
was nothing I could do but watch all of his splendor, knowing the
beauty was all but a mask—a mask of who he truly was. He warned
me and I was too blind to see.
“
Aaaah,
here we are again,” Maxiel said. “Remember the fight at
Mount Everest and the one at…Burj Khalifa…how about…”
“
I
am not here to talk about the past, Maxiel,” Tristan’s
voice roared impatiently.
“
Wrong
again! You see Tristan…everything is about the past…Isn‘t
that the whole reason why we‘re here?”
“
How
about the fight at Roller Mountain? That was quite a missed fight. I
have to admit that I was really disappointed that you didn’t
figure out my disguise. Good thing plan b worked out better than I
thought…I saved Katheryna’s life as many times I tried
to take it. Is that how it‘s been for you, Tristan?”
Suddenly,
a crippling fear plagued me. I stared intently into Maxiel’s
face. He grinned devilishly. His head tilted briefly, before Josh’s
face appeared—seeing him under the blurry chaos of fog in my
head.
“
Josh?”
His name came out as a whisper. How could this be? I cringed at the
thought and memory of that night at roller mountain.
Could
he be?
He
was the one who unsnapped my buckle and raised the bar. A struck of
terror suddenly crashed over me, magnified a hundred times by the
immediate flashes of Josh at the hospital and all the times I spent
with him. I felt so sick, I could pass out. I gagged involuntarily,
my body, trying to reject the horror in front of me.
“
I
have been waiting for this moment…who says eternity on earth
was such a bore. Katheryna, nursing me at the hospital, tending to my
every whim. I could’ve taken
her
life then and all the pathetic minions of hers,” he spied my
reaction and I
thought,
I caught a seductive edge in his expression. I couldn't focus on it
for too long, there was no hiding that the memory plagued me with
horror.
“
Oh,
the boredom of pretending to be in a coma…but I have to admit,
I liked playing the part of a wounded and fragile mortal. Humans are
so driven by emotions…such easy targets,” he rambled in
triumph.
“
So
aren’t you going to ask…why she’s still here?”
“
Why
didn’t you kill her?” Tristan asked with a shallow
interest in his voice. His face looked defeated.
“
Good
question…why didn’t I? I’ll let you take a guess.”
His voice was amused. He strummed his fingers under his chin. I could
see the anxious delight in his eyes. He smiled devilishly like he was
enjoying every moment of it.
“
I
suppose, it’s time to let you in…it’s quite
simple, really. You made her a target when you started protecting
her,” he blurted.
“
I
know all this, Maxiel.”
“
But
you see, when you started
loving
her
,
all bets raised higher.” A victorious grin dominated his
expression.
“
She’s
worth more to our cause now.” Delight curled from his lips.
“
I
was really glad that she didn’t die, the many times I attempted
to take her life—the attack at the mall and her almost drowning
incident in California…Have you met anybody new at school,
Katheryna? How about the gym?” My heart tightened inside me. He
returned his glare at Tristan.
“
She
would make a great trade…a pawn you might say. The cost of
true love.” The icy venom in his voice slithered out of his
lips.
“
I
have an offer that you might find very hard to resist, a fair
bargain,” he stated as if he was merely making a sales
transaction.
“
For
humans, a little temptation is all it takes, so weak and pathetic,”
he paused briefly. “For a fallen archangel…we need a
little bit of per-sua-sion.” The last word slithered out of his
tongue.
“
Your
loyalty to the dephils in return for her life!” his voice
roared like thunder, but his eyes were
temptuous
,
full of promise. You are an archangel and we want you back on our
side, where you belong. You have made yourself weak by associating
yourself with mortals. But it‘s not too late.” His voice
serious now.
“
I
am not going to allow you to harm her.” Tristan yelled as he
took out a long sharp sword from his belt. It was shiny and looked
all too familiar.
“
You
can protect her now, but we will always come for her. Join us and we
will spare her life.” I curled in the corner listening to them
barter my life—feeling a heavy weight in my chest.
Does
Maxiel really believe I was Tristan’s Achilles heel? If it was
true that he killed my mother…why would he care to save my
life now? I tried to fit all the pieces that dangled in uncertainty,
but everything scatters into a rubble, faster than I can mentally
piece everything together.
“
I
don’t do deals with the dephils!” Tristan yelled as he
came toward him fast with the sword. Maxiel flew on top of the
railing.
“
How
easy did you forget where you came from. I know who you are,”
he said mockingly. “Or does your human weaknesses cloud your
judgment?” His eyes were fierce, blazing in intensity.
“
Won’t
you reconsider Tristan, this is your last offer and warning.”
Maxiel’s
eyes burned like an inferno. His eyes raged with a promise of
violence.
Tristan
didn’t say a word and with great speed he charged at Maxiel.
Maxiel slammed Tristan against the window, shattering the glass into
large and tiny pieces of crystal. Maxiel pulled a long sharp sword
and swung, missing Tristan by a beat. I heard a loud scream inside my
head but the sound didn’t resonate past my lips.
Tristan
flew and lunged at maxiel, plowing into him. They both fell from the
veranda, taking several slats with them. It took merely a brief
second before two shadows
jumped
back up at the railing. Maxiel swung again and cut Tristan’s
arm, deep, and
another
blow into his head. He was hurt and wounded and I was in pain.
Somehow I felt every ache in his body. Every blow, tore at my heart.
Icy
wind whipped through me as I crouched in horror. My body shook.
Tristan fell on his knees to the ground. Maxiel came toward him.
Tristan lifted his arms and opened his palms and an invisible force
knocks Maxiel backwards. But it was a momentary delay. He got up and
zoomed toward Tristan in an invisible speed, his sword aimed. Tristan
leaped into the sky, his wings expanded and blazed against the wind.
Maxiel didn’t follow him, instead, summoned a huge funnel of
wind and it twirled around us—leaves flew, swirling, whipping
our hairs. I was freezing, my hands and body numb from the chill—the
licks of air lashed out violently. My eyes kept shut, even though, I
tried with great effort to open my lids. It didn't take long until I
felt something heavy and solid hit my body, slamming into me. My hand
automatically shielded my face but my body twisted unnaturally. I
didn’t feel pain at first until I realized the sculpted
pediment fell on me…on my arm. I couldn’t move.
I
heard metals colliding. I tried opening my eyes. Maxiel swung the
dagger and cracked another railing of the veranda, taking down both
Tristan and Maxiel. A second passed before two shadows blazed back in
my view.
The
echoes of battle were deafening. I curled into myself as I continued
to shield my face from the flying broken glass and from the sharp
clanking metals. Suddenly, the shadows whisked up in the air and
funneled like a tornado. Their black wings twirled up to the clouds.
I tried shielding my mind from the sound of violence up above. The
heavy wind rolled the stone enough for me to pull myself out.
Heavy
boulders fell from the sky. I heard the loudest scream inside my head
mirrored by the sound coming out of me. It didn’t sound
familiar but I knew it was me when Tristan suddenly turned without
looking behind him aiming from below. He ducked his head and charged
in the speed I have never seen before. The sword blazed and gushed
straight at Maxiel.
Maxiel's
body fell off the veranda.
Tristan
fell on his knees, his back, to me. The wind calmed. It took a moment
before he turned. He slowly came toward me, grabbed my hand before I
could find out what happened to Maxiel. Tristan’s expression
was tangled and his eyes vague as he came near me.
“
Katheryna,
are you okay?” I twisted to face him so that I could see his
eyes.
“
Get
away from me. I yelled. I saw you!…my words tumbled out in a
slash of anger, spilling in agonizing emotions that I didn’t
have words for.
“
I
saw you kill my mother! The bite of truth ripped my heart to pieces.
He froze. He had guilt in his eyes.
The
only thing he could utter was my name “Katheryna,” he
murmured. His voice sounded surrendered. His face in agony. His
expression gave me the answer, but I needed to hear the words.
“
Why
did you kill her?” I felt my anger reignite, burning violently
and my life unraveling right before my eyes. Tears of pain were too
shallow
to
show the depths of my
brokenness
.
“
I
was there when your mother died.”
“
You
mean, when you killed her!” Tears continued into a flood of
pain.
“
The
dephils found out about your mother because of me…she
possessed the same gifts…she dreamt of the future and knew
about the fallen angels. That night…they were about to kill
her. You were with your mother. I tried to save you first. You were
much too young for them to care about. They didn’t even realize
you had the same gifts. I fought with Maxiel to try to save your
mother…but I failed. It was my fault. If I didn’t
interfere in your life…your mother wouldn‘t have died.”
He paused.
“
Before
she died…she made me promise to protect you from that night.
She didn’t want you to remember…to be afraid…but
I couldn‘t erase your memories then…not until the time I
had come back…when you found me in the woods. That was when I
had realized your mother was right, your gifts—your
visions…could get you killed. But to my surprise…the
missing memories of the night your mother was killed was not my
doing. You simply blocked it out on your own. I’m so sorry. I
shouldn’t have meddled in your life. Your mother died because
of who I am.”