It had been practically silent since Xavier’s words, with only my ‘Oh’ to fill it shortly after. My mind was going over those words more times than I thought possible as I stared out the passenger’s window of Blake’s car. He kept glancing over at me as if trying to see if I was ok, but never said anything. And Xavier, well he was in the back, arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed and head down. What he was thinking was hard to tell, but I could guess a few. “Here we are,” said Blake.
Looking up I found myself staring at a rather nice house. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small, either. It seemed to be in a pretty nice neighborhood, gardening had to be a hobby for someone, closed garage door and a silver Eclipse sitting in the driveway. As black parked beside it, I opened the door and stepped out, looking around. Was it really safe to be out and about like this?
Seeing Blake start towards the front door I followed after him, glancing back at Xavier, who was following a little bit behind. No doubt with him being the devil’s son he wasn’t about to be welcomed by an angel. I found myself curious as to what kind of angel Lance was. A messenger? A guardian? A warrior?
Three knocks later I heard a voice call to come in. After a glance at Blake I went inside behind him, following him down a small hall and into the living room. I was met with sea green eyes staring at me from a guy with semi-long caramel hair. He was about to say something when Xavier stepped into view behind me and a small frown crossed his face. “I take it these are friends of yours, Blake? Though, I never saw you as someone to befriend someone like him,” said Lance, hate obvious in his voice.
The sound of it made me flinch a bit, but neither Blake or Xavier seemed effected by it. “She is, but he’s not exactly what I would call a friend. More like an acquaintance. I dislike being around him as much as the next, but sometimes we have to do things we don’t like,” replied Blake.
Lance nodded, his eyes looking at Xavier for a moment before falling to me. I watched as he walked towards me, stopping just a foot or two away. I had been nervous ever since we left, but now I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest and everyone could hear it. At this range he could do anything and no one would be able to react in time to stop him. Though, what he did was far from what I was expecting.
His hand took my and lifted it a bit as he leaned down and placed a kiss upon it. My eyes were fixed on him for a moment, then darted to Blake and Xavier before falling back on him. “It’s an honor to be in the presence of a warrior, especially one as beautiful as yourself,” he spoke, letting my hand drop back down as he stood straight again.
Well, I guess that answered that question, but it also raised another. If I was a warrior, then what kind was I? Blake had said they were elemental, though whether all or just some were was unclear. Still, that meant I could be, or at least I had to have some sort of ability. “So, she’s a warrior angel?” said Blake.
Lance gave him a look as if he was surprised Blake had to asked such a thing, then simply nodded. “Yes, she is. Did you not know that?”
“No, we didn’t. It’s kind of hard to explain, but Riley just found out she was an angel today.”
The surprised look on Lance’s face was to be expected, I guessed. How many angels didn’t know they were one until their seventeenth birthday? And why was it today of all days? Was turning seventeen a big thing in an angel’s life, or was it simply a coincidence? “I see. That does explain a lot, and I’ll keep the questions as to how it happened at bay for now. My guess is that since he is here, then something must be wrong.”
Blake nodded. “You’d be right, and it has everything to do with why she didn’t know until today. To put it briefly, she was raised by humans, who we figure are on the devil’s side. He had some plan that one of his son’s was to marry her, for whatever reason that might be. He almost succeeded, but we managed to get her away before anything really happened.”
“I take it the son isn’t him? Who is it, then?”
“Jacobus.”
The voice made me jump a bit. I had been so into Blake and Lance’s conversation I had forgotten Xavier was even there. And by the looks on both their faces they hadn’t been expecting him to speak at all. “I’ve heard of him. Tell me something, why is it you’re helping out an angel if your brother is to wed her?” questioned Xavier.
All eyes were now turned on him, and I found myself more curious than ever about the answer. Why was the devil’s son, Jake’s brother, helping me? Shouldn’t he be trying to drag me back so his brother could marry me? It was all so confusing, and I couldn’t help but hope it was a good reason. One I could actually believe. I had enough lies in my life to last me an eternity, I didn’t need another one. Especially from Xavier. “My reasons are my own, and I have no intention of telling either of you them. I don’t like working with you, either, so at least we agree on two things. I don’t care what happens or who stands in my way. No one, and I mean no one, is going to lay a hand on Riley,” he said coldly.
His answer both made me happy and uneasy. Why couldn’t he tell us his reasons? Though, when I thought about it I understood more. They were polar opposites, two kinds that should be tearing at the other’s throat right now. Instead, they were all helping me, an angel. Even if Blake or Lance didn’t believe him, I did. I always had, whether I realized it then or not.
Before anyone else could say anything, I smiled. “I’m sorry I’m causing so much trouble and everything for you, but I’m glad you’re here for me. Thanks.”
“It’s really no big deal. Whether it was now or later, something would have come up to ruin the peace here. I’m just glad you’re ok,” said Blake as he returned my smile and took my hand, holding it a bit tighter than needed.
I could feel the annoyance coming from Xavier and looked back at him. Before I had time to think I reached out and took his hand, my eyes falling into his. “I know you’re not fond of working with angels, and they’re not fond of working with you. I doubt you’ll ever see the other as a friend in any way, but it doesn’t really matter to me, Xavier. No matter what happens, I’ll always see you as a friend, one I hold quite dearly. And I hope you feel the same way. I might have just found all this out and it’s a lot to take in, but I’m not going to sit back and do nothing while you fight for me. I’m not going to be standing in the background watching. Instead, I’ll be standing right beside you, fighting along with you. So don’t feel like you’re alone, ok? Because you’re not, and you never will be,” I said, then looked at the other two. “And that goes for all of you.”
