“Nicholas,” Austin repeated. “I should have killed him when I got…”
Austin didn’t get to finish his sentence. About twenty of the ghost-like figures appeared with Nicholas in front of them. Poor Mr. Cain. He had no control over his body and mind, but he was in there somewhere.
“Austin!” Nicholas shouted. “Move out of my way.”
“You’re kind of attractive this time, not like the last time when you possessed the hideous-looking person,” Austin teased.
Why does he find humor in everything? Then I thought, Last time? Austin spoke like he’d encountered Nicholas before, but then again, he did tell me he’d encountered and fought many supernaturals in his lifetime.
“Are you in Mr. Cain’s body?” Austin asked, feeling disgusted.
“Why don’t you come closer and take a look?”
“I like Mr. Cain. Did it have to be a teacher for crying out loud? Now, who’s going to teach English literature? At least your taste has improved,” Austin mocked.
“Your mouth will get you in trouble.”
“It already has,” Austin smirked. “Why don’t you go back to Hell? Take your stretched out marshmallows with you and fire up some s’mores. I’ll provide you with the Graham crackers and the chocolates.”
“That’s kind of funny. I only make burnt ones. Now eat this!” Nicholas yelled in anger and burst into a huge ball of flame that shot out what looked like fire balls.
“Ahhh!” I screamed, as they came toward us. Austin held me tightly, dodging the searing flames, moving from left to right. He raised his hand, using his angelic power to obstruct them. Holly and Patrick sped around the room, shooting silver flames, preventing the fireballs from hitting us. The walls behind us caught on fire, and as the scorching flames blistered toward the ceiling, they flared up the banners and spread quickly. Smoke started to fill the room, making angry, loud, crackling sounds. It got hot and extremely uncomfortable, but it didn’t seem to bother anyone but me. It was getting difficult to breathe even though I was shielded by Austin’s wings.
Just when I wished that Michael and the alkins were there, Davin, Vivian, and Caleb appeared right in front of us, but where was Michael?
“What took you so long?” Austin said.
“You said after school. So we waited. When none of you showed up in Claudia’s room, we came here,” Vivian sneered, blocking the flames with her sword as Nicholas continued to throw them at us. The flames ricocheted off their swords and returned back to Nicholas. Startled by the alkin appearance and by getting hit by his own flames, he yelled with fury, “Get them!”
“What in the heavens are those ugly things?” Caleb asked in shock as the white spirits unfurled. They looked like smoke at first. Then they took on a physical white form. It was the first time the alkins had laid eyes on these creatures.
“Albus daemonis, white demons. Your girlfriends from the past; love is definitely blind for you. Got any dirty secrets you want to share?” Austin replied.
“At least I had girlfriends. They’re much better looking than the ones you fooled around with,” Caleb said, swinging his sword in a complete circle, ready for their advances. I was shocked. Caleb was usually quiet. He hardly spoke a word, but I was glad he had this time.
Holly stepped in front and held her bow steady to shoot. “Come to me and I’ll dress you up with some silver,” she sneered.
The white spirits soared straight toward us, and for the first time, I saw their weapons. Though they had no hands, razor-sharp claws pulled out from where their hands should be, making all too eager clanking sounds.
“What the heck?” Davin said in surprise. “They have claws? Looks like Caleb’s girlfriends forget to cut their nails.”
Davin leaped off the ground, surprising one as it came closer, and drove his sword right through its gut, but it had no effect. Stunned, he did it again, but nothing. Davin swung again, but this time, it gripped Davin’s sword. “So you want to dance? Sorry twinkle toes, you’re not my type.” It obviously didn’t like what Davin said; it responded with a loud, ugly hiss as they tangoed across the floor.
Vivian gracefully pivoted to the right, flipped over several demons and sliced through their hands. Squealing in pain, they vanished into the ground, leaving behind white ashes. “Cut off their hands!” Vivian yelled.
As soon as Davin heard Vivian, he backflipped, surprised his demon partner and sliced both hands. “Boo yah!” Davin exclaimed. The spirit made an ear-piercing, screeching sound. The claws melted on the ground leaving a puddle of silver liquid, and it vanished.
Caleb jumped over Vivian and swung his sword, but the spirits escaped his blow. One surprised Caleb from behind, and its claws penetrated into his arms.
“Caleb!” Vivian yelled, throwing a dagger straight for the claw. But a silver flame got there from Holly, who was floating in mid-air. She gave a quick smile then turned to attack another.
Davin and Patrick had their backs against each other. Several of the white spirits were circling around them. “Why don’t you put the glowing hand cuffs on them?” Davin shouted. “It would solve our problem.”
“It only works on angels,” Patrick replied, lunging forward and missing.
“What? You found a way to capture your friends and not your enemies? That’s so clever. Why didn’t I think of that?” Davin said sarcastically, successfully severing a white demon’s claws.
“It was created when God’s first angels rebelled against Him,” Patrick replied, dodging and sending silver flames that cut off the claws. Patrick opened up his wings to go after the ones that had escaped.
“That’s just great. Lucky demons,” Davin huffed and ducked.
Patrick and Holly floated in mid air, bolting out silver flames, but the white spirits maneuvered too quickly. A few went right through the flames, but one hit precisely on the claw. It squealed in pain and disappeared.
“Stay back, Caleb!” Vivian yelled, seeing Caleb trying to defend himself. “Stand next to Claudia and Austin! Why aren’t you healing?”
Caleb was hesitant, but he knew it would be difficult to fight with his injured arm, plus Vivian would worry about him too much. She would only be trying to protect him, so he stood next to me with his sword held up. “I don’t know why I’m not healing,” he said wearily.
There were only a few left, but the white spirits were so fast that it seemed like my angels were trying to hit a piñata with blind folds on. After Davin and Vivian killed a couple more, there were only two left.
“Watch it! Don’t mess with my hair!” Davin yelled at Patrick as a silver flame nicked his hair. Patrick almost struck him while trying to strike at one nearby.
“Sorry!” Patrick yelled from across the gym.
Holly and Patrick were now drifting with their backs against each other, shooting at the ones whirling around them. They looked like two trapped, fluttering butterflies.
“Don’t shoot us,” Davin said standing several feet below them.
Vivian and Davin leaped and their swords collided with the claws with such precision that with one strike, they severed both claws at the same time. The metals impacting the way they did made a loud piercing sound; it was like running one’s fingernails down a chalkboard.
All the white spirits were eliminated, but Nicholas staggered back and pointed to the bleachers. One by one, they shot out. There were many pieces, and the angels dodged and blocked the incoming ones. Some impacted on the wall, shattering to pieces. That fed the hungry fire, causing it to spread even more. This caused the emergency water sprinklers, located on the ceiling, to turn on, and water poured like rain, leaving everyone soaked.
Then Nicholas touched the floor and made the flames head straight for us. They surrounded us in a circle, and the orange and red flames rose higher as the smoke clouded our vision.
There was something mesmerizing about the burning flame, the way it moved up and down with a rhythm of its own. I used both of my hands to cover my nose and mouth from
inhaling the smoke that was filling my lungs. My coughing got worse, and the sweltering heat was excruciating—too hot to bear. I felt like a meatloaf burning in an oven.
“That’s it,” Austin said. “Cover her and him,” Austin said to the alkins, referring to me and Caleb. Caleb looked frail as he stood his ground bravely. His left arm was closely tucked to his chest while the other one steadily held his sword in defense.
Austin glided across to the middle of the gym, fanned his wings open, and spun in circles, creating a tunnel of wind, like a tornado, creating a massive heavy air. The air forced the bleachers to splinter into countless pieces, never reaching us. The flames died down and black ashes floated all around us the way leaves glide with the wind. Austin landed on the ground, looking tired and weak,
and Nicholas was gone.
Chapter Fourteen
The gym was a complete disaster, like it always is after a battle. Drenched from the sprinklers, I was panting and coughing, releasing fear and smoke out of my lungs. It was too painful to breathe. My lungs felt like they were being squeezed. I didn’t realize how terrified I was until it was over. My muscles felt tight, unable to move as ashes fell on me. Austin positioned himself on bended knee, shoulders slumped with his head down. It was the first time I’d seen him vulnerable, so weak and speechless. My heart went out to him. He did it for all of us, to keep us safe. I wanted to run to him, to thank him; it was the least I could do. But when I saw his friends already gathered there, I became hesitant and shy at the thought. Just when I thought my legs would give out on me, Davin reached for me and pulled me into a warm hug.
“Good to see you too, Davin,” I said in hoarse whispers. His hug heated through my body, as if he knew what I needed. Light radiated around us and just like before, the hug released the shock of all that I had witnessed and the adrenaline that was bottled inside. It was the hug that Michael would have given me to make me feel safe and secure.
“Thanks, Davin. I needed that.”
“I know. It’s what Michael would have done.” Then our attention turned to Caleb.
“Caleb, how badly are you hurt?” Vivian asked.
“I’m fine,” he replied.
“We better get you back and heal that wound.”
“Okay, but look at this mess.”
“It can wait,” Vivian said.
“I can do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Michael would want me to.”
“Speaking of which,” Austin interrupted, “where is he?” Austin stood up, unsteady, standing in between Holly and Patrick.
“We don’t know,” Davin said worriedly.
“You don’t know? Or you won’t say. Maybe he’s having too much fun with Trinity?” Austin gloated.
I cringed at the thought of the two of them together. And Austin had to rub it in my face.
“It’s not like that,” Davin sneered. “You should really watch what you say in front of Claudia, putting ugly thoughts in her mind. And don’t say anything bad about Michael. He’s not here to defend himself, and he’s not doing anything bad.”
“I say what I think.”
“That’s the problem with angels on Earth. You are all self-absorbed and have too many human emotions,” Davin rebutted. I was surprised he said those words.
Vivian and Caleb smiled. They were amused by Davin’s remark. Holly and Patrick looked upset, but Austin placed his hands out to prevent them from saying or doing anything they would regret.
“Davin, I’m taking Caleb back,” Vivian said, breaking the tension. “He needs to heal and rest. I’ll be back when I can, but I’m going to try to find out what Michael is up to. He wouldn’t just disappear. He would have been here, protecting Claudia,” Vivian said, smiling, reassuring Michael’s feelings for me. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s trying to find out something important.”
I smiled and nodded. I wanted to believe her, but my gut feeling told me that something wasn’t right because Vivian was right; Michael would have been here.
“Are you guys always this positive?” Patrick smiled, looking amused.
“Positive anything is better than negative nothing,” Davin replied.
Vivian and Caleb gazed at him with confusion, wondering what he was talking about. Davin saw the puzzled expressions on their faces. He turned to them. “I read it somewhere.” Then he turned to me. “Let’s go, Claudia. We need to get you out of the wet clothes before you get sick or else I won’t hear the end of it from Michael. Sorry, no car this time—just one hundred percent pure Davin horsepower.”
“I’m going with you,” Austin said.
“A deal is a deal. It’s after school now. We’re on duty,” Davin reminded.
“You’re gonna watch her by yourself? You saw what these demon spirits can do.”
“I don’t think they’ll come just yet. I’ll let you know if I need you…or not.”
With that, Davin and I transported. Caleb and Vivian stayed behind to clean up, putting the gym back the way it was.
There was still no sign of Michael. Everyone told me not to worry, but that was easier said than done. The thought of him being in danger or hurt gave me such anxiety that I had to put the thought out of my head. It was difficult to concentrate on anything when my mind was consumed with thoughts of Michael.
Mom had called several times to make sure I was fine. She decided to extend her stay with her friend and couldn’t tell me the exact date she would be returning. I was glad she’d decided to stay longer. With Aliah and the demons after me, who knew what would happen to those around me that I cared about? It would also have been difficult with my body guards twenty-four hours a day. The routine was always the same; venators watched over me when I went to school and the alkins after school. Weekends weren’t arranged yet, so I guessed it would be a surprise.
“Claudia,” Patty called. “Could you ring her up, please?”
“Huh?” I said, noticing the clothing items on the counter. “Sure, Patty.” I snapped out of my thoughts of where Michael could be and wondering if he was with Trinity. Then I couldn’t remember what Patty had asked me to do.
Clara had come back to shop some more, and of course, she asked for Patty’s help. Since I didn’t do as she asked, Patty placed her hands on my shoulders and carefully moved me over. “Here, I’ll ring her up,” she insisted, giving me the eye as if to ask if I was okay.
I pulled out the plastic bag and placed the clothing items inside after Patty rang them up. Clara walked out happy as she could be and as always, held her bag as if she had diamonds in it.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Patty asked. “You’ve been very quiet. I didn’t want to ask because I figured you would tell me before I asked. But since you didn’t, I’m beginning to think that you’re mad at me.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I’m with Andrew practically all the spare time I have. I’m sorry. Let’s do something together,” Patty said sincerely.
“I’m not mad at you. I’m happy you found someone really nice.”
“I’m your best friend. I know when something’s up. So if it’s not spending most of my spare time with Andrew, then what is it?” she asked with a concerned tone.
How could I tell her? I wanted to, but I knew she would never understand. She would think I was crazy. Sometimes I thought I was going crazy. So I just played it off like nothing was wrong when deep inside, I wanted to burst with all the mixed emotions that were scrambling inside my heart. There were so many that I couldn’t pinpoint which one I was feeling.
“I…I…” I rubbed my butterfly necklace. Maybe I could tell Patty without saying a word.
“Michael. What did he do?”
“Nothing. He didn’t do anything.” That was the problem. He was simply gone.
“Okay. Since you are still wearing the necklace he gave you, then that’s not it.” She paused, and I could tell her mind was wandering with thoughts. “It’s Austin, isn’t it?”
“What?” I questioned, wondering why she would say his name. I turned on my heel and walked over to a rack of clothes and started to fuss over the ones that needed fixing.
“I knew it. You like him too.”
“No, I didn’t say I liked him. And Austin is not the problem,” I said calmly.
“But you texted me and told me you went out with him. I waited for you to tell me, but since you didn’t bring it up, I thought I’d go first.” She gazed at me with a confused look on her face.
“I did what?” I asked flabbergasted.
“Yeah, didn’t you spend Thanksgiving weekend with him?”
“I did?”
“You texted me back and said you got the hots for him. You said his kisses drove you wild.” Patty giggled. “That’s okay. Austin is a hottie…I already told you that. Don’t get me wrong. I love my Andrew.”
Then it dawned on me. Austin had my cell phone during Thanksgiving weekend when I was trapped on his island. They were texting back and forth, only Patty had thought it was me! I remembered Austin giving me my cell phone back and telling me he’d texted everybody back, letting them know I was fine. Anger was fuming inside me. He had no right to do what he did! He was messing with Patty’s and my minds. Wait ’til I got my hands on him!
“Did someone call my name?” Austin appeared, walking into the store. At that moment, I knew he was on watch. He looked at me with a heartfelt smile, but I gave him a cold stare to let him know I was mad. Patty trotted over to give him a tight squeeze. Austin gave her a peck on her check, and I thought I saw her blush.
“What brings you here?” Patty asked excitedly.
“Claudia and I have a date,” he replied, matter-of-factly.
In shock from his words, I flicked my eyes at him and then at Patty. Patty’s smile gleamed brighter than the sun, if that was even possible.
“Where are you guys going?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise,” he winked at her. “Oh, by the way, Andrew said he’ll meet you at your house. I was just with him.”