Emily's Protectors

Chapter 23: The Truth ✔

Alistar took Emily's hand and led her to the deck where Angelo and Michael were sitting. "Emily is back," Angelo greeted, standing up and giving Emily a hug ignoring Alistar's dark look. "Hi guys, Michael, are you ok?" 

"He will have to do better than that to knock me out," Michael laughed, rubbing his head.

"Where are Gregory and Nicole?" Emily asked, sitting down next to Alistar. Not that she really wanted to know where Nicole was, but she truly wanted to ask about Gregory. "Nicole moved out late this afternoon and Gregory is in the garden." Emily looked at Alistar with big eyes wondering what happened to Nicole but decided she would rather ask him when they were alone, sensing Alistar's irritation with Nicole. 

Frowning, Emily looked at the dark garden in front of her, waiting for her eyes to get used to the dark. After a moment, Emily stood up, grabbing Alistar's arm, panicking, "There is something in the garden."

"Relax, Ems. Everything will be fine," Alistar said, amused.

"Damn it, Alistar, there is a huge dog or wolf or something in the garden. What if it attacks?"

Standing up, Alistar asked, "Do you trust me?" When Emily nodded, Alistar took her hand. "Then follow me."

Emily followed Alistar down the stairs looking nervously at the big canine, which was slowly walking towards the couple. "Is it yours?" Emily whispered, looking concerned around Alistar's shoulder. Emily knew without a doubt that it was the same wolf from the night of the attack. The same wolf she had convinced herself was either an illusion or a result of the drugs Paul injected into her. "No, but don't be concerned" Turning around, Alistar placed his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. "We are going to share something with you tonight that we have never shared with any human. If at any point you feel you can not handle it or you want to leave, you must please tell me. Promise?"

Searching Alistar's eyes, Emily could tell he was concerned. Swallowing, she whispered, "Promise."

Alistar turned Emily around that she stood with her back to his chest, his arms around her waist. Nodding at the wolf, he began to change before Emily's eyes, turning into Gregory. For a moment it felt like Emily's knees would give in, glad for Alistar's arm holding her up. 

"Hello, Emily," Gregory smiled, walking towards them. 

Emily wondered for a moment if she was dreaming or if her mind had finally given in from all the stress. Starting at Gregory, she blushed and turned her head away. "Hello, Gregory," Emily answered, not knowing where to look, sensing Emily's discomfort in his arms. Alistar frowned, wondering if she was maybe not ready for the truth, looking at Gregory when Alistar realized what was going on and he burst out laughing. "Gregory, please put on some clothes. Sorry Emily, we are so used to Gregory chancing that we sometimes forget."

Leading her back to her seat, Alistar asked "Any questions?" 

"Yes," Emily said with big eyes. "What did I just see?" 

"I am a werewolf," Gregory said, joining them. Emily was very glad to see he was fully dressed, looking at the rest of the group, standing up and walking a few steps away, Emily turned, biting her lip. "Are all four of you werewolves?" 

"No," Angelo said, sitting back looking at Alistar, waiting for confirmation before he continued, "I myself am a fallen Angel." 

"An angel, like such a sweet guy or angel, like real heaven above angel?" Emily asked, moving closer to Alistar. This night was getting weirder and weirder. Looking up at Emily, Alister took her hand, pulling her onto his lap. "I think you need to tell Emily the whole story of how you came to earth."

"From the beginning of time, we, the Angels, were there we saw the beginning of everything, we saw how people evolved, we marveled at how civilization developed. I was fascinated by the Greek civilization. For me, there was not a race on earth more beautiful than the Greeks. This was in the year 427B.C. I would spend hours watching them, then one day I saw her. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen, my sweet Amara." Angelo looked up smiling not looking at anyone, he continued.

"After weeks of watching her, I must admit I was becoming obsessed with her. One day Amara was walking with her friends to the market, and a horse got spooked and rushed towards her. I could remember how afraid I was thinking she would die. I can honestly not say how I got to her in time. But I did. I grabbed her just before the horse would have hit, holding her in my arms against the wall for the longest time. I just stared into her eyes. I felt complete and I knew for the first time I was in love. From that day on, I would go down to earth every day and spend time with her. I could not function without her and I declared my love for her. The only option we had for us to be together was that I would leave heaven to become mortal. My decision to leave heaven was not well received by my friends but I didn't want to listen to reason. I was a fool in love."

Angelo took a sip of the water before him, contemplating how to continue. "What I didn't know about my dear Amara was that she was being bribed by a demon, who offered her riches and long life if she could get me to fall from heaven and join the demon in Hades. The day I fell was the worst day of my life. It was the first day I got to feel physical pain. Falling from heaven was no walk in the park, it hurt like I could not describe my wings were ripped off. I was bloodied and dirty. But even in my pain, my heart still rejoiced I would be with my love. Once I got to the field where we met every day, she was not there, I waited and waited at the end I decided to go to her house only to find her crying in her garden."

"Amara admitted that she was in the field when she saw me and realized what she had done. It turned out she didn't really love me she just wanted the money and long life but seeing me bloodied and broken her and her conscience was killing her. That night she called the demon to try and break the deal. He didn't take well to her demanding the deal was off. She thought if she gave back the money, he would leave me alone. The demon still demanded a life and was happy to take hers instead of mine. The next morning I went back to her house hoping that she had time to think and realize she did love me. Finding her body almost broke me. I held her in my arms and cried and cried when the demon showed up, he was laughing and taunting me. I am not sure where the sword came from but I think one of my angel friends must have left it for me but I remember the look on his face when I drove the sword through its chest. That was the first demon I killed."

"The first of many," Michael said, raising the beer in front of him in a salute before taking a sip. "The first of many," Angelo confirmed, "So I was stuck on earth not being able to go home and defiantly not wanting to go to hell."

"Are there other angels on earth? Emily asked.

"Yes, there are a few that fell in love with mortal women and decided to become human."

"And they don't die? Will they stay on earth forever?"

"No, normally when an angel decides to come to earth, they become 100% human with a normal human life span. After I killed the demon, I swore to send as many of them back to hell as possible. And from that day on, I have kept my promise. I have no idea for how long I will stay on earth but I hope that the good I do here will allow me back to my home one day." 

"Wow, that is so sad. I am sorry you had to go through that," Emily said with tears in her eyes. "Thanks, Em. Luckily, I met Alistar and Gregory, and later we picked up this one," Alistar said, pointing at Michael, who just smiled at his friend. "Michael?" Emily asked.

"Oh, it's probably my turn to share. I am proudly human, cursed human but human," Michael answered and continued to tell Emily about his life, the gypsy king's daughter, and the curse. 

After Michael's story, Emily looked at the three in front of her. The stories they told her were almost unbelievable, but she believed them without a doubt. "Ok, so we have a werewolf, an angel, and a cursed human," looking over her shoulder at Alistar, her eyes searching his face for any clues. "What are you?"