Authors: Laura Kreitzer
“
Let her go,” a booming voice echoed from behind me. The tone was astute and domineering, and I felt a little relieved, though I hated being rescued by a man.
Instead of waiting for assistance, I decided to fix this situation myself. With my left hand free, I pulled it back and let it snap around, hitting Jeff with all my might right into his kidney. The pressure disappeared from around my wrist and was followed by a roar of displeasure. Jeff looked taken aback as he bent over. He straightened, expression irritated. He cleared his face, as if someone had wiped away the anger.
Blood rushed back into my fingers so quickly it was as if tiny needles poked every inch of the skin there. Karen showed a fleeting expression of satisfaction before Darren ran forward, a look of deepest loathing in his eyes.
“
How dare you accuse her of stealing,” he snapped, pointing a threatening finger at Jeff. “If she wanted—” He stared at me for a second, not sure what Jeff thought I was stealing.
“
That necklace.” I pointed to it and shot Jeff an insolent stare.
“
The necklace, she could have stolen it at any time. Why would she wait until the place is teeming with people?” His teeth were mashed together tightly. I’d never seen Darren this upset before. “FBI,” he muttered angrily.
Jeff, realizing the battle was lost, backed away. An FBI agent appeared out of nowhere and put his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “I told you to treat Dr. Moretti with nothing but respect. She’s not a thief.” The man’s voice was deep and authoritative. He looked at me and said, “I’m very sorry, Dr. Moretti, Agent Vittorio will not bother you again, I can promise you that.”
They both walked away, the FBI agent roughly pushing Jeff Vittorio out the door. Karen stared after them, a look that only spelled out “good riddance.” I wanted to scream “amen.”
Darren leaned down to look at my wrist. “Oh, my. I’m so very sorry, Ella. I should have gotten here quicker.” It surprised me when he used my nickname, one only few—very few—have ever called me, and usually only those close to me. Intimately close. I was going to have a talk with Sally later. His fingers lightly traced the horrible red marks left on my wrist. They would be bruises by tomorrow.
Karen was speechless for several painful seconds before she spoke. “I’m sorry. He’s got a temper,” she said sweetly. That was an understatement.
Darren looked up from my wrist at Karen who was only a few feet away. It was funny what happened next. They both froze as they stared directly into each other’s eyes. It was as if they had been searching for each other their whole lives. If it weren’t for the fact Darren had just called me Ella, I would have given them a nauseating expression. Instead I smirked, secretly pleased he was interested in her. I’d prefer never to hear him call me Ella again.
Darren cleared his throat loudly.
“
Oh. Sorry,” I said. “Darren, this is Karen. Karen, Darren.”
They both smiled and shook hands. They appeared as if they were in a daze-like trance. Of all the strange things I expected to happen, this was not one of them. I shrugged at the thought. Matchmaking: accomplished. Rhyming: accomplished. I giggled under my breath at my thoughts. When had I become so delirious? Sleep. I needed sleep. That was it.
I walked away, ignoring the sting in my wrist and the strange looks. Inside the other box, my eyes fell immediately upon the angel. My curiosity was like an ache, a need, like one would thirst for water. The lab tech, who had marched off with the male angel, was still gone, so I had some time before the other two angels would be taken away. It seemed like I was the only one who wanted to be near them. Could it be possible that I was the only one who felt the forceful push in their direction? The innate power begging me to protect them? Protect them. Hah. They were dead.
This second male was tall. He had long blonde hair, and his skin was very light, the opposite of the first two specimens. Angels. Whatever. I felt weird around them, as if they were suffused with some indescribable sense of power. This male angel also had the same circle and shield necklace. Just like before I wanted to take it off him so desperately that it ached deep within me. The clasp was close to the pendant, so it was doubly tempting to remove it.
Karen held out a box of latex gloves. One of her lips twitched up, curious to see what I would do.
“
No one will think you’re stealing if you’re wearing these,” she whispered conspiratorially. Her face was set in lines of amused skepticism.
Darren must have run off to do something. It was funny how I already thought of them as a couple, though they had only said a few words to each other. It was funny how that worked sometimes.
“
True.” I laughed nervously.
There was something about Karen that made me think we were best friends in another life. It was rare for me to have that kind of connection with someone. I grabbed the violet gloves out of the box and slipped them on, avoiding my sore right wrist. I reached to unclasp the necklace. My heart raced, my blood sped through my veins, and I was robbed temporarily of breath. Hello excitement, you sassy sensation.
I held up the necklace to catch a better look at it, and my heart beat even faster. Warmth spread from the tips of my fingers down to the tips of my toes. The golden glow the necklace had when it was on the angel’s chest faded, as if it lost its supernatural luster. A heavy weight disappeared from my shoulders; one I never realized was there. I felt free, and a strong desire to laugh bubbled to the surface. It was as if the life had drained from the gold and into my body. Thoughts and questions exploded in my head like tiny nuclear bombs.
Karen held out a plastic bag for the necklace and handed me a label so I could tag it for shipping. I couldn’t decipher the look on her face. Her eyes were wide. With astonishment? Amazement? But why?
“
Thanks,” I said, eyeing her carefully.
“
It’s the least I could do after Agent Vittorio.”
What was with this Jeff Vittorio? And what was his problem? She looked anxiously over her shoulder.
“
He’s not there. I guarantee Darren helped escort him out just for the pleasure of it,” I said. We both had a good chuckle at the image, a sort of camaraderie building between us.
“
Do you want to take the necklace off the woman, too?” Karen’s eyes went oddly bright.
I nodded, but when we looked up from the male angel, the lab tech was back, already screwing the lid shut. Karen’s face fell, highly disappointed.
I shrugged. “I’ll do it in D.C.”
Karen glanced around the room. “Well, is there anything else we need to take with us?” she asked in an offhand sort of way.
I suddenly remembered the box on my desk upstairs. Surely it had something to do with the shipment from Italy. I shuddered at the thought of the dark creature, but now that I was down here, away from the horrid chest, I was beginning to think the whole incident was just a dream. Deep down I knew that was wrong—I hadn’t been dreaming. Those bodies were angels. I had no doubts in my mind, even though I wished I did. Being sure seemed worse than uncertainty.
Was this just some cruel joke the universe was playing on me? Or was I really barking mad?
“
Maybe,” I said thoughtfully.
She only raised an eyebrow, and I beckoned her to follow me to my office.
CHAPTER
5: GUARDIAN
The elevator was quiet; no music here. The ride was painstakingly slow, but Karen and I finally made it to my floor. Sally was absent from her desk, and I wondered where she was. I checked my watch to see if it was time for lunch. Not yet. Maybe she had quit? Nah, I couldn’t be so lucky.
We approached her desk. It was cluttered and dotted with Post-It notes and randomly splayed files. I was embarrassed someone from outside our office was seeing this, but Karen walked on by as if it were no big deal.
My gaze turned from Sally’s disaster of a desk to the door of my office, which was ajar. My heart gave a horrible jolt and shivers ran up my spine. The images of the dark creature flickered again in my exhausted brain.
Had I not secured my door? I always locked it when I left; there were secure records and files, most of them for my eyes only. I pivoted to see that Karen also had a look of apprehension on her face. I shrugged to show nonchalance and forged ahead, nearing the door. With each step it felt as if my legs were filling with liquid steel. My nerves getting the best of me.
My hand made contact with the metal door, and I exerted only the tiniest pressure, easing it open. I was anticipating something horrific, something wrong, and I was prepared to pounce to protect myself. Though how do you fight darkness? That
thing
could take me, hands down.
I nervously peered into my office.
It wasn’t the blazing-eyed creature from before. It was Sally—close enough. She was leaning over the open box on my desk and gingerly handling the chest within. The box-cutter lay on my desk.
“
What hell are you doing in here?” I barked, completely exasperated and a little relieved.
Sally jumped in surprise. Her red hair whipped around, and the chest went flying out of her hands. It somersaulted through the air, and I caught sight of the symbol engraved on it for the first time. In that instant, I knew I didn’t want the box to break open. Ever. Despite not wanting to touch it, for the second time that day I dove through the air, torpedoing across the floor to try and catch the chest before it hit the floor. But it was Karen, seemingly from nowhere, who snatched it from the air with force. I hadn’t even seen her come into the office.
She stood with the chest in one hand, cool, calm, and collected, and stared at us in amusement. I had skidded across the floor after my failed dive to catch the chest (another one for my old baseball coach), and Sally stood by my desk with a look of shock on her pale face. The moment was comedic indeed.
“
Good God.” Sally put her hand above her heart as if trying to restart it. “You scared the hell out of me.”
I scared the hell out of her? “What are you doing in my office?” I snapped, getting to my feet and straightening my suit.
“
I—well . . . I was just . . .” she trailed off feebly.
“
Out,” I ordered, pointing furiously at the door.
Sally sprinted for the door, humiliated at being caught. And that was exactly why I kept my office door locked. Security was excellent from the outside, but once in the depths of the building, things were easily accessible. Maybe firing Sally should be on my to-do list, I thought angrily. I’d considered firing her in the past but hadn’t gone through with it because of the time it would take to find someone else. And, to be honest, she wasn’t always a pain; she could be good at her job when she wanted to be.
As the door clicked shut behind Sally, I turned around to see Karen eyeing the chest. The sun was hidden behind rain clouds, and the dark indigo sky dulled the room’s brightness.
“
The craftsmanship is remarkable,” Karen said, delicately holding the chest away from her body. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Is it old?”
“
Um,” I mumbled, walking towards her. My hands reached out to take it from her. They trembled like I drank twenty cups of coffee. But it wasn’t the coffee that made me so nervous to touch the chest, it was the images burned into my eyes. Blazing eyes, darkness, a black creature warning me.
Karen didn’t notice my shaky fingers. Actually, she didn’t seem to notice me at all. “Very old,” she mumbled to herself, frowning as if she had seen something she found very disturbing. “
Tenebre, io scaccio fuori
,” she whispered.
“
Italian?” I asked, a little worried. That’s it. I’m crazy. Now I think I’m hearing people in a foreign language.
Her eyes shot up from the chest. They were blue, like the ocean, but they burned into mine like fire. “Yes, Italian.” Her fingers roamed over the symbol on the chest. It was the exact same symbol I had seen downstairs on the necklaces: the circle with a shield in the middle. The aged wood, a rich brown color, was worn on the edges. “Shadow of the Sun,” she whispered.