“Fine,” he exhaled, staring me down with his black eyes. “I’ll talk fast. It’s an Angel power. Well, not that exactly, I guess. It’s more like a…” he trailed off. “fallen angel power,” he said, completing his thought. His eyes were focused on something behind me.
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
“Angels can speak to your thoughts.”
I stared at him dubiously. I found no words to respond.
“Relax,” Demien responded. “That’s how we, I mean…” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “they keep you out of trouble and alive. People call it ‘conscience’, but really, it’s your guardian angel. Let’s say, for example, you are driving. You stop at a light, which turns green. You start to proceed, but a voice enters your thoughts, saying ‘stop;’ that’s your guardian angel. You stop and see another car blow through their red light. You realize your life has been saved.” He lightly kissed the point of my nose.
“Well, you don’t sound like a thought,” I pressed. “You actually sound like you are whispering in my ear.”
He began to fidget uncomfortably. “We can manipulate you physically and mentally, and take over dreams.”
I paused as his words truly registered. “Wait a minute. What do you mean by ‘take over dreams’ and manipulate?”
“Take, for instance, the dream you had after seeing me in the bar the first time.”
“Yes, that was frightening.”
“It wasn’t a dream.”
A lump of fear formed in my throat. “What do you mean?”
We intensely stared at each other as the space between us grew.
“Vanessa, you have never been so thick headed.” I said nothing as he babbled on. “You usually get it much quicker. I assume it’s because you have no religious ties so you don’t believe in fallen angels or angels at all.”
“It can’t be possible. I can’t believe this. I hear the words coming out of your mouth. How is it possible?” He said nothing as he listened to my audible disbelief. “How can you have these abilities?”
I waited for him to respond.
Finally he said, “I was stripped of my powers when I fell.” He wouldn’t look me in the eye. He mumbled, “I always hate having to explain this to you.” He frowned and hung his head.
“Well, how can you still do that?” I was getting a little agitated. It was like pulling teeth to get a complete answer out of him. If we had gone through this several times in the past, then why didn’t he just spill it all at once and save us both the trouble?
The irises in Demien’s eyes turned from light grey to black. “I'm a part of the demon brotherhood. We have, sort of…” he paused for a moment. Demien seemed different as darkness took over his composure. He was terrifying. I was determined not to let him know how much he scared me at that moment.
“You have?” I, somehow, was able to feign calm.
Looking up at me with solid black eyes, he said, “Makeshift powers. Stripping us of our powers is like trying to change a human’s habits. A person never truly changes.”
“Oh, I see.” I hadn’t thought about that. “Well, you still have wings--beautiful, elegant wings. According to religious testaments, fallen angels are stripped of their wings. Is that…” I gulped, “his doing, too?” I wasn’t sure I wanted an answer.
His laugh was dark and sinister. “No, wouldn’t it be frightening to see a person with wings?”
“Yes. I guess.”
“Our wings aren’t ripped out. They are made of spiritual matter, so humans can’t see them. The archangels had ordered me to fold them behind my back, never to use them. Our flying power was taken and wings deactivated, which is referred to as...”
He looked pensive as I interrupted, “Getting your wings ripped out.”
He laughed. “We never listen. Not flying is like being trapped in a cage for all eternity. That is supposed to be the point of our punishment, but what can I say.” He shrugged his shoulders sarcastically.
“I can see them in my dreams. I’ve even seen them when I’m awake, too,” I urged.
“Yes, but you are very special. Now, no more questions, I need you to wake up.” Unfortunately, I knew how he was able to fly. I didn’t want to acknowledge that side of him.
“Wake up? What do you mean? We are dreaming again?”
“Yes, we’ll go with that. Please wake up. We’re running out of time,” he venomously commanded.
“But, I like this dream. Maybe I’ll sleep for a little longer.” I smiled at him, flirtatiously.
His face was tense, distracted. He growled, “You can’t. You have to wake up. We are together now. You know as much as I can tell you, and we have used up enough time. Now, please wake up.” He sounded angry and anxious. His eyes were intense.
“What will happen if I don’t wake up? Will we get to be together forever then?” I asked, as a desperate attempt to stay with him.
“Our saga will be over for now.” His eyes met mine with frightening intensity. “I will try to resist the temptation to find you in your next life, but I will not be able to help myself. I will seek you out. It may take another hundred years, but I’ll never give up. I can’t give up, even if I wanted to. It is part of our curse.”
“Are you crying?” I asked. I couldn’t understand him.
Demien trapped my eyes with his dark expression. “Are you serious right now?” He put my hand in his and twirled me around to face the opposite side of the living room. “We don’t have much time. They are coming for you.” He said in a dry, emotionless voice.
My heart stopped at
