Ever This Day (To Light and Guard Prequel), Page 2

Venice Beach, California

  I landed on the beach in a crouch, and my wings retracted behind me.  In the distance, I saw the witch.  It was dark, and the moon was hidden behind the clouds, but I still saw her.  She was very hard to miss.  She was standing alone on the long stretch of sand wearing a long white dress, her long black hair whipping in the wind as she called forth her magic.  The witch was facing the ocean wearing a serene gaze on her face. Her eyes were closed, and she was humming a haunting tune that I knew belonged to the ocean.  She lifted her arms, her palms facing the sky.

  Right behind her, a portal opened. It was the door to Hell, and it tempted all of Hell’s beasts to fly out.  The portal was circular in shape, and it was aflame; its fire almost reached the tips of the witch's white dress.

  My eyes narrowed in anger and a growl escaped me.  This was her doing, calling forth Hell’s beasts to this planet.  This is why I had been summoned to come to this place.

  I got up and ran towards the witch.  During my approach, I made myself visible to her.  She was a witch.  She already knew of my existence.  There was no reason to hide.

  I yelled out a cry that I used only in battle as I ran towards her; my feet barely grazed the sand in my speed.  From behind her, I saw a winged beast fly out.  It was massive, at least ten feet high and fifteen feet in length.  It looked like a large black cat with wings. It was covered in scales, and its tail was shaped like a whip.  It hissed as it flew passed the witch, and it hastily made its way towards the sea.

  The witch was oblivious to the beast.  By her lack of reaction, I could tell that she didn’t see it, didn’t sense it.  The witch had no problems seeing or hearing me, however.  Her eyes popped open.  She took a couple of steps back when she saw me, her eyes wide with fright.  I was an archangel, and she was a witch.  I can strike her down, and she should be afraid.

  Closer to her now, I slowed my pace and walked towards her.  I opened my palm up as I approached her, and my sword appeared in my right hand.  I gripped the hilt, my hand tightening automatically.  My sword is an extension of me. It was a part of me, and it always appeared in my hand when I needed it.

  Was I going to kill the witch?  No. She was still human, after all.  I wasn’t allowed to kill humans... unfortunately.

  I was sent here to close Hell’s door,  not to kill the witch who opened it.  Besides, I will need her to close the portal.  She opened it.  Thus, she should know how to close it.

  Right before her now, she looked at me with fear. She was holding her breath.  “You… opened… the portal,” I hissed as I glared down at her, “and you… let the beast out!”

  “What…what portal?  What... what beast?” she stuttered, her voice trembling.  “I didn’t see anything.”

  She caused all of this to happen, and she didn’t even know.

  “Are you stupid?” I asked.  Her jaw dropped and a mouse-like squeak escaped her lips.

  Her eyes flashed, and her lips tightened. Her fear was quickly subsiding.

  “You better watch it, buddy, or I will turn you into… into a toad.”

  “I want to see you try.”  I wasn't scared.  A witch had no powers over me. I am more powerful than any human who has ever walked the earth... even witches.

  The witch said nothing.  She looked away; then, she looked behind her several times.

  “I don’t see a portal,” she whispered.

  She was younger than I first thought her to be.  My best guess was that she was eighteen or nineteen years of age.  She should be too young and inexperienced to be able to open Hell’s door, and yet, here we are.  I pointed my sword at Hell's door, which was directly behind her.

  "Portal,” I hissed.  You have to be very specific when dealing with humans or they get confused. They can’t help it.  Their minds are limited, and they get distracted easily.  I lowered my sword down and sighed.

  The witch quickly glanced behind her, and the strands of her black hair struck my chest. The witch shrugged. “I don’t see anything,” she said.

  Typical.  Humans are also often clueless.

  “I’m sorry,” she explained, frowning.  “I was just practicing my magic.  I just got this new Book of Spells, and I wasn’t even trying to open up a portal or anything like that.”

  I looked down by her feet and saw the book that she had just referred to.  I picked it up and threw it towards the sea.  I tossed it about a hundred feet away, and it landed in the water somewhere. I heard a splash in the distance. I was sure that only I heard it, though.

  “Hey!  Why did you do that?  That book was irreplaceable!”  The witch looked mad… really mad.

  “Good,” I said.  “You shouldn’t be playing with magic.  It’s too dangerous, and I am tired of constantly fixing the damage you humans cause.”

  She sputtered for a few seconds, at a loss for words, and I almost smiled.  She was entertaining, I will give her that.  Because I wanted to see her sputter some more, I reminded her of the damage her magic just caused. I pointed my sword towards the giant cat that was still flying high above the sea.  “Beast,” I said.  Not that she would have been able to see it. Even as a witch, her human eyes were very much limited.  “And now, I have to catch it and send it back to Hell.”  I walked closer to her until I was standing right in front of her, our bodies almost touching.  She was much shorter than me, which allowed me to look down at her.  “Because... of... you,” I said, dragging each word slowly.

  She started sputtering again. My lips quirked up into a smile.  I couldn't help it.

  She leaned away from me, and her hands crossed over her chest. “Are you always this charming?” she asked.

  “Charming?  You think I’m charming?”

  “Well, no.  I was trying to be sarcastic.”

  “Ahhh.”  Here is another thing about humans.  They often say things that they really don’t mean.  It's no wonder why  angels find them confusing… and very distracting.

  “I have a job to do here,” I said, “and you are distracting me.”

  “Whatever," she said. When I did nothing else but stare at her, she said, "Well, go then." She made a waving gesture with both of her hands, shooing me away from her.  “Get the beast.  Do your job.”

  I grunted.  Not that I was following the witch’s instructions, but she was right.  I needed to get the beast before it caused any damage.  “Stay right here,” I said, pointing my sword down at the sand beneath her feet, “and keep the portal open.  I need to send the beast back to Hell.”

  Without waiting for her response, I turned away from her.  I jumped up.  My wings flared, and I flew towards the beast, which was now miles away from shore.

  The beast’s tail whipped as it dunked its head in the water; its black wings kept beating, keeping its large cat-like body suspended in the air.  When its head resurfaced, it had a large shark in its mouth.  The beast chomped twice.  Then, it swallowed the shark whole.

  I gave a shrill whistle, and the beast turned its head towards me.  When it saw me, it gave a piercing shriek, and a stream of fire escaped its mouth. The beast and I were designed to be enemies since the moment of our creation. Its reaction to seeing me here was expected.

  The beast's body turned in my direction, and it flew towards me in a frantic pace.  When it got close, it blew another stream of fire.  I flew faster towards it, my sword ready in my right hand.  The beast's mouth opened wide as it prepared to bite me.  Before we slammed against each other, I twisted out of its way.  The beast’s scaly body scraped my arm, and I pushed away from it. I struck my sword on its side and quickly pulled it out.  The beast let out another shriek.  It turned to face me, and it leaned towards one side; its wings were slightly unsynchronized as they flapped in the air.

  I could end it here now, but then, I realized that I needed to strike the beast on land.  If I let it drop in the water, I would have to be the one to retrieve it.  Just like angels, Hell’s beasts were immortal, and I couldn�
�t take the chance of losing it in the water.  It would eventually heal, and if I am unable to find it, then it would mean chaos for the humans.

  I flew towards the beach and towards the portal.  If I flew into the portal, would the beast follow me inside?  I snorted when I saw that the witch was still standing where I left her - right in front of the portal, blocking it.  The beast may attack her if I flew in her direction. Why this bothered me, I wasn't certain.  Without a second thought, I drew the beast further down the beach and away from the witch.

  I landed on the sand about a mile away from her.  My sword was ready in my hand as I waited for the beast; it was injured, and it was flying slowly.  I didn’t have much to do here tonight.

  The beast tried to land on top of me when it finally reached me.  I jumped out of the way quickly as its giant front paws slammed on the sand.  I sliced one of its legs with my sword.  I pulled my sword back to strike again when its claws came out and sliced my left shoulder.  I felt my blood as it trickled down on my left arm.  I jumped up and struck upwards, piercing its neck with my sword.  The beast gave a long, tortured shriek. Then, it wobbled.  I walked out of its way and watched it as it toppled next to me with a loud thud.  The ground shook slightly and sand scattered all around us.  It was dead for now.

  I threw my sword on the ground, and it quickly disappeared.  I picked up the beast's front paws, and placed them over my shoulders.  Then, I dragged it towards the portal.  All angels have the power to heal; it happens automatically.  However, the cut on my shoulder kept opening up as my injured shoulder attempted to heal because the beast weighed at least ten tons; its weight pulled my shoulders back as I dragged it forward.  I didn’t feel much pain, however, and I knew that I would heal completely once I stood still. I can do that later when my work here was done.

  When I reached the portal, the witch stepped aside and got out of my way.  I picked up the beast over my head and threw it into the portal, sending it back to Hell where it belonged.  I rubbed my hands together, wiping the dirt and sand off of them.

  “You can close Hell’s door now," I said.

  The witch looked uncertain  "Go on. I said to close it now!"  Her lips tightened, but she closed her eyes and started humming.  She faced the waves and raised her arms, humming the ocean’s melody.  Behind her, the portal became smaller... and smaller.  A few seconds later, the portal was completely shut, and the flames were gone.

  “It’s closed,” I said. "You can stop now."

  The witch turned towards me. She opened her eyes and blinked several times.  “Oh, good.  I wasn’t sure that I could do it.”  She grinned. Unbelievable.  She actually looked proud of herself. “I guess my work here is done,” she said.

  So was mine, but I didn’t say that.  Surprisingly, I didn’t want to leave, yet.  I knew that I had more important things to do than stand around and stare at the witch, but she was… interesting.  She was a diversion that I didn’t mind, and I had to admit that she was quite pretty – for a human.  She had the blackest hair and eyes that I had ever seen, and it was very striking.

  "Well, thank you, I suppose. I’m not really sure what you did exactly, and I didn’t see what you threw into the portal, or Hell’s door, or whatever.  Anyway, thank you for fixing my mistake," she said.

  Mistake.  Yes, that was it.  Humans made a lot of mistakes, and the angels were here to fix them.  I am usually irritated by humans when they make these kinds of mistakes, but this girl - I can’t explain it - but there was something about her.  Now that I am standing still, I could almost feel it.

  Something.

  I should leave.

  “Oh.  You’re bleeding,” she said with distress.  A white towel suddenly materialized in her hand, and she started wiping the blood off of my shoulder.  She had a frown on her face as she concentrated on cleaning the blood.  I was deeply touched by her concern.  I didn’t tell her to stop, didn’t tell her that I had the power to heal and that the cut, along with the blood, would all disappear very soon.

  When my wound closed up on its own and right in front of her, she stepped back with a surprised look on her face.  I didn’t explain.  I was sure that she just figured it out.  The white towel disappeared  in her hand, and we stared at each other in silence.

  Finally, she said, “My name is Ashley.  What’s your name?”

  “Michael.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Michael.”  When I didn’t say anything else,  she sighed. "The standard response from you should be 'well it's nice to meet you too, Ashley.'  Then, I would respond back and say something like, 'well, Michael, this was an interesting evening.  Let's plan on not doing this ever again.’  Then, you would say something else… or not.  Whatever.”

  I grinned at her.  She was very amusing.

  "Well, it’s really late, and I have to go home.  My mom doesn’t even know that I’m out here.”  She made a face, her nose crinkling up.  “I kind of snuck out.  Well... Michael, this was an interesting evening.  Let's plan on not doing this ever again.”  She lifted one hand and wiggled her fingers.  “Buh-bye.”  Then, the witch walked away from me.

  I stood there, watching her walk away.  Why did I, all of a sudden, feel abandoned?

  “Can I walk you to your home?” I asked.

  “It’s okay,” she said, looking back.  “I only live two blocks away.  Just a short walk.  I didn’t even bring my car.  Trust me.  You don’t have to worry about me.”

  Worry?  I wasn’t worried about her.  She was a witch who can open a doorway to Hell.  I was certain that she can protect herself… but I was curious, and I wanted more amusing things to come out of her mouth.  Ashley, as the witch called herself, was very peculiar, and she was something else... something more. There. I just admitted it. I wanted to get to know her better.

  “I really should walk you home,” I insisted.

  She shrugged.  “You want to make sure I don’t cast any more spells tonight?  Don’t worry.  I think I learned my lesson.”

  Ashley started walking again, and I walked right next to her, matching her pace.  She talked non-stop.  Her nose crinkled each time she told a story, and every emotion she was feeling was visible in her pretty face.  I found myself staring at her as we walked together.  I listened to her every word, watching her face the entire time.  She was funny, and I found myself chuckling a few times.  This was rare for me. I never laughed with a human before.  Laughed at them - yes.  With them - sadly, no.

  “I’m really sorry,” she said again, “about the portal.  I really didn't mean to open it and let the beast out.  I was just practicing, you know.  I just got my first Book of Spells on my birthday, and I couldn’t wait to use it.”

  I grunted as I walked beside her.  She kept on talking, and apologizing, then thanking me over and over again.

  “Okay.  Now it’s your turn,” she said.

  “My turn for what?” I asked. I truly didn't know what she wanted from me.

  “To apologize.”

  “Whatever for?”

  “Uhhh.  Hello.  For throwing away my book into the ocean.”

  She wanted me to apologize for that?  That book deserved to be in the ocean. It was dangerous. When I didn’t say anything, she took several deep breaths as if she were trying to calm herself down.

  “Whatever,” she said, but I knew she was a bit upset.  She wasn’t as conversational after that.

  During our short walk, she yawned a few times.  By the time we reached her small white house, she was already half asleep.  She walked up the three steps to her front door.

  “Here we are.  This is my house.  Well... buh-bye," she said.

  I didn’t say anything back.  I just stood there and stared at her, feeling abandoned all over again. I wanted to say something, anything, but my contact with humans was very limited. I wasn't even certain if I should be here - with her - right now.

  Ashley sighed.  “Or we could talk some
more. Would you like that?”

  I nodded, forcing myself not to smile.  She sat down on the porch steps, and I sat next to her.  The white towel appeared in her hand again.  “You really shouldn’t give your blood away to a witch,” she said with a small smile… and there it was.

  Trust. I trusted her.  I never trusted a human before.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, “for throwing away your book.”  I wasn’t sure why I even apologized, but when she gave me a big smile, I knew that I said the right thing.

  Through the night, I listened intently as Ashley talked some more; she talked about her family, her friends, her school, her magic.  We talked until the color of the sky changed to the orange color of sunrise.  I felt her head drop against my shoulder.  I smiled, realizing that she fell asleep as she was telling me the story of her pet dog that she accidentally turned into a fish when she was eight years-old.

  I placed my arm around her shoulders so that she wouldn’t tip backwards.  Then, I stayed very still so that she wouldn’t wake.  I closed my eyes and felt the sun rise.  I felt it deep inside of me.  It was bright and warm.  Its rays reached over and touched me.  Angels are creatures of light, and we are deeply connected to the sun.

  When I opened my eyes, I looked at Ashley’s face; her head was still resting on my shoulder.  She was smiling in her slumber. That was when something clicked inside of me. I wanted this.  This… being here… with Ashley.  It was nice.

  I continued to absorb the warmth of the sun.  Then, I prayed deeply. The message that came back surprised me.

  There are no mistakes.

  Earlier today, Ashley apologized for opening the portal.  She called it a ‘mistake,’ but this was how we met.  It became clear to me now.  There are no mistakes.  There are no coincidences.  Everything happens for a reason.  This is how my world has always worked.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.  It had been decided. I was going to take a day of rest - a vacation of sorts.  When Ashley woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

  “Good morning,” she said as she stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

  “Good morning.”

  Ashley stood up, and I watched her as she made it to her door.  A key magically materialized in her hand.

  She looked at me expectantly, but when I didn't move to leave or gave her any indication that I wanted to, she asked, “Would you like to have breakfast with me?  My mom makes the best pancakes in the world!”

  My lips quirked up in a smile.  I didn’t know how she could make such a claim because she would have had to try every pancake in the planet, but I didn’t correct her.  I didn’t even tell her that angels didn’t need to eat. I simply nodded.

  Ashley invited me inside her house.  She didn’t know that humans shouldn’t invite angels into their homes.  We are very curious creatures, especially regarding humans. I simply smiled at Ashley as I followed her inside her home.

  “I’m sure my mom would like you.  I don't think she’s ever met a real angel before.”

  “I’m an archangel,” I said, correcting her.  I was deeply offended that she could confuse me with a lower angel.

  Ashley just shrugged as if it were of no consequence.

  “Just don’t let my mom take any of your feathers, okay?”

  “Alright.”

  By inviting me into her home, Ashley had set the wheels in motion.  This day... it was our beginning, our genesis, and I hoped that this day would turn into something even more.