Eli Fletcher: The Mark Of The King

Chapter Eight: I Meet My New Family

Chapter Eight

I Meet My New Family

"Who are you?" I ask the kid sitting across the "bowl" from me. He looks a little older than me, maybe fifteen or sixteen.

"My name is Torrey," he says. He skates down into the bowl he'd been sitting on the edge of then pops up on the side I'm on flipping his board once before landing on it again. Popping the skateboard up into his hand, he takes a seat next to me on the bench.

"How are you able to see me?" I ask, thinking I'm still invisible because of the stone.

Torrey laughs a little. "It only hides you from whoever you're hiding from. Others can still see you, because they're not looking for you."

I look down at the stone in my hand. This thing can be of good use for me.

"Of course, it only works on people," Torrey says, reading my thoughts.

I look at him suspiciously out of the corner of my eye.

"So, you won't be able to hide from me," he clarifies.

"Angel or demon?" I ask.

"Angel," he says, matter-of-factly and then stands up again with his skateboard in hand.

"Good, because I know one of each right now, and I prefer your kind. Except the one angel I do know, I'm not sure how I feel about."

"Coquo," Torrey laughs. "Yeah, he's interesting. Sometimes he lacks a little bit of personality, but he's your trainer, or preparer, which is exactly what his name means. You'll learn that names are important, they will tell you whether they are someone you can trust or not."

"And what does your name mean?" I ask, watching him walk towards the edge of the bowl.

"Watchtower," he answers, turning back towards me. He then drops into the bowl again, does a couple board-flipping tricks and then rejoins me at the picnic table.

"So, you watch over me then?"

"That's right; you may know me as a guardian angel. But that's not our official title. Watcher is more like it, kinda like your teacher, Miss O. We watch, try to encourage you to go in one direction, and protect you when God says to."

"Why not all the time?"

"Because, sometimes, dude, He wants you to learn things for yourself; to learn from your mistakes."

I look at the rock, then at my bag of stuff. Am I making a mistake?

"So, what do I do now?" I ask the skater-angel.

He gives me a pained look for a second, sucking wind in between his teeth. "This is one of those, life-lesson times, bro. All I can say right now is, do what you think is right."

I turn my eyes away from Torrey and look down the street to where I know the orphanage is, debating with myself over what I should do. If I go back, I'll be sent to live with some foster family and unable to protect the orphanage. Of course, if the demons are after me, the foster family will be in danger rather than the orphanage. Part of me preferred that, but at the same time, how could I justify putting complete strangers in danger?

A bright, red star suddenly fell out of the sky, landing on what had to be the orphanage campus. I stand up in a hurry, Torrey immediately next to me.

"Tentatio," we both whisper together.

I turn to Torrey in a spin. "Can you get me there quicker?"

"Climb on," he says, dropping his skateboard to the ground. It suddenly stretches into a longboard, so I step on the front and he grabs my shoulder as he steps on. The board takes off and Torrey has to hold me in place to keep me on the board. We shoot across the grass field down to the street, the hard wheels of the skateboard roaring over the pavement and asphalt. Wind blows my wiry hair back; I'd somehow forgotten my hat at the orphanage. Good thing I'm going back.