Authors: Angelica Twilight
Petry looked shocked. “I’ve been talking for hours trying to find out about him. You walk in and…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head. God, he looked so cute!
“You’re Malachi. I saw you in my dreams, at least I heard your name. Michael spoke it, and he sent another angel to earth, a…damn! I forgot her name.”
“Her name is Miss Gilbert.” I turned and saw Ethan Miller. He stood in the doorway looking grim. He was a football player, and he’d never been to my house before. He nodded at Malachi, who inclined his head. “I guess Petyr is here somewhere, too.”
I was shocked, unable to respond. Malachi wasn’t. “He’s sitting on the sofa.”
“How do you know about—”
“He’s a wolf, Mia.”
I looked at the angel boy. “What?”
“Werewolf.” It was Ethan, and I turned back to him.
“God, shut up. I don’t need any crap right now.”
Suddenly Petyr was by my side. “Mia, there’s a ghost and an angel in your living room.” I closed my eyes and leaned against him.
“What the hell is next?”
Ethan walked in front of me. “A vampire, a witch…who knows what else?” The words didn’t quite register, but he stared intently at me. “I can almost make out Petyr, almost.”
Malachi stood and walked to Ethan, extending his hand. Ethan hesitated but took it. It was strange. The music from my dreams seemed to fill the room briefly and Ethan’s eyes became a sickly yellow. He jerked his hand back and looked ready to pounce, but when he whirled around, he stopped on where I stood. “Petyr.”
Petyr smiled and stepped forward. They’d been—well, not exactly friends, but they’d known each other before Petyr’s accident. Ethan surprised me by rushing forward to embrace him. He rushed right through him and ended up hugging me before jumping back in shock. I was mortified, but Malachi and Petyr began laughing, and soon all four of us were a giggling mess.
Eventually things settled down. Ethan turned to Malachi. “How did you do that?”
“I didn’t. You did. You could always see Petyr with your wolf eyes, but you needed someone to calm the chaos. Do you remember in the beginning, when you could only change at certain times, and you always had to worry about what would happen when you did? Do you remember how you fought for control for years until you finally changed when you wanted to and still kept your mind? It’s the same thing, but you’re just changing your eyes. You can do it your—”
“That never happened.” Ethan ran his hands through his hair. “Yesterday was the first time I changed and kept control, and I didn’t fight for it, it happened just like what you just did. I was—”
Malachi stood. “Then an angel is here. We must—”
Malachi jumped up. “Yes. Damn. Yes. I was so freaked out with Petyr I forgot. Our new teacher, Miss Gibson. She kept me after class. I thought it was gonna be another lecture about quadratic equations or something, but it wasn’t. She told me she was an Angel.”
“She told you?” Malachi looked stunned.
“Yeah, just came right out with it. She said we both knew I wasn’t human. I was all ready to run away, but I couldn’t open the door. It wouldn’t budge. The handle wouldn’t even jiggle. When I turned back around, she was in white robes with wings and everything.”
“Lailiah,” I whispered.
Malachi’s eyes grew wide. “Where did you hear that name?”
“In my dream, I…I heard it in my dream. She was talking to Michael and…Look, what the hell is an angel; no, two angels. What the hell are two angels doing in Brackton Lake
?
”
“Havenmoor,” Malachi said.
“What?”
“That’s what this town was called a long time ago. Havenmoor. That’s why we’re here. It’s some kind of a…I don’t know the word, your word. It’s a convergence, a place where this world interacts with others, with Heaven.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And hell.”
“So two angels are here because this is some kind of gateway?” I tried to wrap my mind around it, but it wasn’t easy.
“Not a gateway exactly, and I’m not really an angel, I’m…” Pain seemed to flash over his face. “I’m a half angel. And Lailiah isn’t just an angel. She’s
shomeret emet, a guardian.”
“A guardian angel?”
Malachi nodded but then shook his head. “It’s not quite that simple, she’s a guardian, sure; but she’s mostly a…a guardian of truth, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s complicated.”
I couldn’t believe it. Angels on Earth. Guardian angels! “Was she like a police officer or something when she was alive?”
Malachi smiled in a really condescending way. “Angels were never human, Mia. They don’t die and get wings. Each angel was specifically created by God. That’s why it’s such a transgression to…” His voice trailed off in another mask of pain.
There was an awkward silence, and Petyr said softly, “That’s why you’re here. You’re a half angel. Your mother or father broke the rules.”
Malachi nodded slowly.
I was angry. “So you get cast down because of something your parents did? Somebody dared to defile pure Angel blood? That’s a load of bullshit.”
Malachi looked up. “Not Angel blood, Mia. Someone dared to defile human blood. There is nothing more precious. Every Angel…every single one would choose to be human if given the chance. I suppose that’s why I’m alive. To kill me would be to kill my human half.”
Everyone sat silently for a moment. Ethan asked softly, “What about me?”
Malachi smiled sadly. “You’re human, Ethan. So is Petyr. You’ve changed, but you’re human. If you were once human, you’re always hu—”
“Christ! The others!” The force of Malachi’s voice was shocking, and I think I would have jumped about eight
feet in the air if Petyr weren’t
holding me. “There are more of us. Me, you three, Cassi, Julian, Ellie, Rosemary—”
“Rose?” Malachi sounded in
credulous. Rose was a sort of G
oth girl. She was sweet most of the time, but she also seemed strange. Did I detect a hint
of something in Malachi’s voice?
“Yes. Anyway, Miss Gibson—”
“Lailiah.”
“Yes,” Ethan said impatiently, “Lailiah is here to help us.”
“To help us what?” Malachi and I said it at the same time. Petyr was going to, but he stopped himself.
Ethan looked stunned. “Haven’t you been listening? She’s gonna help us save the world.”