Eternal (Eternal series) (5 page)

He was right; her mom would be home any minute.  She'd better get back to the real world—unless she wanted to try explaining this to her.  She reluctantly yielded to ending their conversation... for now.

“You’re probably right.  I’ll be back tomorrow, after school if that’s okay, and we’ll talk some more,” Emma said excitedly.

“
That sounds good as long as it doesn’t interfere with anything else
,” he chided, but he sounded pleased. 

“
It won’t,” she assured him as she headed for the door. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow Micah,” she called back confidently.

"
Then I’ll be looking forward to tomorrow,
" he whispered. 

The air seemed to lose its warmth and she knew that he was gone.

So my mystery man’s name is Micah huh?
She thought to herself as she set the table for dinner.  That was an odd name, but somehow she knew it, although she was sure she'd never heard it before that day.

It seemed to fit him.  Any name would have been perfect though, if it were attached to him.  His name could have been Mud and she would have liked it.   

Micah
.

The more and more she rolled it over with her tongue, the more she realized that the sound of it made her giddy.

Emma knew she needed to be careful.  She didn’t want to have longings for something that could never belong to her—something that she couldn’t be sure would even last.  She was already in serious danger of that happening.

She knew she couldn’t actually have a relationship with this angel. That was impossible right?  Of course it was.

Emma knew exactly why she hadn’t found romance yet.  Her expectations were too high.  She had always been too selective, too sure of finding a perfect fairytale guy.  And even if she did have a Prince Charming out there somewhere, it had become clear that Emma wasn't going to find him here.   

Saying that Eden was small would be overstating it.  Secluded was putting it mildly.  It wasn't even big enough to be mentioned on a map.  Emma wasn't convinced it qualified as a town at all.  Its inconspicuous location amidst the Wasatch Mountain Range in the northeast corner of the state of Utah made it all the more isolated.

There wasn't necessarily a heaping pile of guys to choose from at her small town high school.  All of the slightly bearable ones had been claimed long before Emma had arrived.  And whenever someone new did move into town, (like Destry McQuade) they were quickly swept up into the pecking order and placed accordingly.  Like a bunch of chickens in a hen house. 

It had happened to Emma when she'd moved here—needless to say, she'd been placed squarely at the bottom.  And when you're at the bottom it doesn't take long to realize that everything bad runs downhill.

Chivalry might as well have been a foreign word in this town.  Finding the perfect guy under these circumstances didn’t even seem like a remote possibility.

Now she'd gone in search of a heavenly voice to fill the void. This was probably the craziest thing she'd ever done.

Chapter 4:  DESTINY

The next day, was a repeat of the day before... well almost; the embarrassing meeting with the new boy had been nearly forgotten.   Emma did her best to keep to herself so nothing like that could happen again.  She avoided the hallway that his locker was in and took the long way around.   She’d even scanned the lunchroom before she entered, but he hadn’t been there.  She was grateful for that.  She didn’t want to have to miss lunch again. 

As the day had progressed, Emma realized Micah was with her almost all the time.  She could feel his presence everywhere she went now that she had learned to recognize it for what it was.

She was drawn to Micah, to even the thought of him.  Her every breath seemed to revolve around this angelic being she'd discovered.
  She couldn’t concentrate on anything else.  She knew she wasn’t supposed to get this involved.

As Emma hurried to the barn after school that day, she decided she wasn't going to allow herself to be overcome by this angelic being. 

“Grow up Emma,” she scolded herself, “this is not one of your fairy tales.  This can’t end that way, so be good!”

She opened the door to the barn and stepped inside cautiously.  She wanted to have complete control over herself before he came, but as comforting waves washed over her she knew it was too late. He was already here.

“
I’ve been waiting for you
,” his voice seemed to stroke her heart.

Just act casual, she told herself, don’t let this get out of hand.  “You’ve been waiting?  I thought you were supposed to let me come to you?  Have you changed the rules already?”  Emma was flirting with him, trying to keep it light while holding back her excitement at his apparent eagerness to spend time with her too. She knew she shouldn’t be leading him on like this.

“
You told me you were coming and I knew you wouldn’t go back on your word.  If I’m interfering though, just tell me and I’ll leave
.”  He was teasing her back; daring her to send him away, because he knew she wouldn’t do it.

“
You seem to be in a good mood today.  What are you so happy about, if you don't mind my asking?”

“
I’m just glad you’re finally here so we can talk.  Believe it or not, you intrigue me.  I must admit that I was a little bored before we formally met.  I’ve always been near you but talking to you is different.  Plus, your constant inner turmoil amuses me
,” he chuckled, a low rumbling sound that closely resembled thunder and seemed to fill the air.

“
You can hear my thoughts?” Emma's voice squeaked.  She was horrified by the possibility of him hearing the thoughts she’d been having about him.

“
Not always, it’s usually only if there's something I need to know.   Usually your face and eyes give most of it away.
”

“
How does that work?"  Emma didn't like the fact that she was apparently so easy to read.  “And what do you mean by 'things you need to know'?”

“
The Father is the only one who can know your thoughts all the time.  But as your guardian angel I was given the gift of discernment, but only where it concerns you and your welfare.
”

Emma had no idea what he was talking about.  The perplexed look on her face must have given it away, because Micah explained further before she had to ask.
 

“
It's a spiritual gift.  God gave it to me so that when knowing your thoughts is helpful, I will know them.  It's for your benefit as much as mine.  Personal thoughts that don’t directly affect your salvation aren’t ones that I need to know, therefore they’re not usually revealed to me.
”

“
That sounds reasonable I guess,” Emma said, still worried.

“
I don't have to use the gift very often Emma,”
Micah said reassuringly, "
I can usually guess what you’re thinking.  I know you quite well after all, remember?  I’ve been around since you were in diapers,
” he sounded lighthearted in his confession, and it made her feel a little better.

“
You’re close by a lot, aren’t you?”  Emma wanted to know if her assumptions from earlier that day were right, or if she was just being paranoid.

“
I do stay close to you.  There are times I’m closer than others but I rarely leave you completely.  It’s kind of like the sun.  Sometimes you know it’s there.  You can see it, and feel its warmth.  Sometimes it goes behind the clouds, and you can’t see it as well or feel its heat quite so intensely, but it’s still there.  Then the earth turns and you are covered in darkness, but the sun is still there, where it has always been.  It never leaves and neither do I
.”

This was a new idea to Emma and kind of hard to process.  “I guess that’s kind of comforting, but still hard to think about.  It makes me feel like I don’t have any privacy at all.” 

“
Don’t worry Emma, it’s not like that.  I don’t pry.  I try not to involve myself in things that have no bearing on your salvation.  I don’t feel quite the same way about things as mortals do.  I’m only here to protect, to inspire, or to help in any way I can.  I don’t interfere though—at least I’m not supposed to.
”  He sounded like he felt a little guilt with that last statement.

Emma didn’t want him having any regrets and changing his mind about their deal.  She decided to change the subject quickly.  “Are all angels guardians like you, or are there different kinds?”

“
There are different levels of angels you could say, a sort of hierarchy.  We're not all guardians
.”

“
How many ‘levels’ are there?”  Emma said with curiosity.

“
There are three different spheres of angelic beings.  Three orders make up the first sphere.  They are: Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones or Orphanim.  These three groups work closely with the Father, guarding his throne, protecting the celestial realm where He resides, and carrying out His justice and authority.”

“
I’ve heard of Cherubim before, but aren’t they the little naked guys with bows and arrows that make people fall in love?”  Emma said bashfully.

Micah chuckled softly,
“Not at all.  Cherubim are high Celestial beings and do not often involve themselves with the mortal world
.”

“
Oh,” Emma felt a little embarrassed.  “What about the other two um...spheres?”

“
The second sphere includes the Dominions who regulate the duties of lower angels, the Virtues who supervise the movements of the heavenly bodies and keep the cosmos in order, and the Powers who are the bearers of conscience and the keepers of history.....among other things,”
Micah paused, but Emma barely noticed as she tried to absorb the information she was being fed. 

“
Are you bored yet?”
he inquired when she said nothing.

“
No, I’m just trying to take it all in.  It’s a lot of information.”

“
It’s not something you need to be overly concerned with.  You aren’t required to memorize it,”
he said lightly.

“
I know," Emma admitted, “but it’s still good to know.  What about the last level?”

“
The third sphere contains the Principalities or Rulers, they grant blessings to the material world as directed by the Dominions.  They are also the ones who inspire you mortals in the areas of art and science.”

“
Like muses,” Emma said distantly.

“
Yes, they have been referred to that way.  The next in order are the Archangels, they are the highest ranking of the Order of Angels.  They look over the affairs of mortals.  Then the last group is referred to simply as Angels.  There are many different kinds of Angels—Guardians or Messengers being two of the most recognized.  They are the heavenly beings who are the most directly involved with mortals and earthly matters.”

“
So only the lowest level of Angels can be guardians?”  Emma asked, hoping not to offend him.  It didn’t matter to her what kind of a heavenly being he was.  He was the greatest thing she could imagine.

“
Usually, but any angelic being can accept the mission of being a Guardian,”
Micah said flatly.

“
Is there only one angel assigned to each person, or how does that work?”

“
Yes, normally there is only one, although different circumstances can affect that at any time.  Like I said, we are protectors.  So whatever it takes to accomplish that task is what we do
.”

“
What exactly do you protect us from, other than our own stupidity?”  Emma smiled, knowing that was where most of her danger came from.

“
We don’t usually protect you from that.  You all have your free will, to act stupidly as you put it.  We more often protect you from accidents or the promptings of the Dark Ones.
” Emma heard a note of irritation in his voice when he said the name.

“
Who are the Dark Ones?”  Emma asked with hesitancy, not sure she wanted to know.  The name itself sounded menacing.

“
They have been here forever just like us.  They are lost souls in a way.  They will never have a mortal existence of their own.  That is part of their punishment for choosing sides with Lucifer, the Dark Angel, or the Devil as you mortals call him.  Their only desire now, is to destroy the souls of men, and drag them down into misery.  You’ve heard the saying that misery loves company; well it’s true to a point.  They will always be miserable, and they want everyone else to be miserable too, especially those who have a mortal body, because they will never have one.  I guess you could call it jealousy.
”

“
So they're always around us too?” Emma shuddered at this new revelation.

“
Yes, they are here, there are quite a few of them too.  They can’t hurt you though, they can only persuade you.  They can’t tamper with your free agency either.  They can’t inflict any physical harm; theirs is more of a mental attack
.”