Praefatio: A Novel Read online

  The roar of Remi’s laugh shook the room. Nothing new, as he always enjoyed a hearty chuckle at my expense. He cleared the distance between us with little effort, extended his hand and pulled me up into his arms, steadied me, then sat me on the bed. I barely avoided an instant replay.

  I flapped my new wings proudly—a sound I will always equate with shaking the wrinkles out of freshly laundered clothes. A few feathers fell to the floor as I sat. I grabbed Remi and pulled him down to sit with me. I was excited and terrified. I hugged him as hard as I could. Our wings intertwined and covered us so only our heads could be seen.

  “Dork,” he whispered as he hugged me back.

  “I love you too,” I whispered with a huge grin on my face. It was the only thing I knew for sure at that moment.

  “Wait till you go through a molt!” Remi teased, extending his wings for me to see. For a moment, I became frightened.

  “What? You mean like a bird?” He had to be freaking kidding. I passed a hand along the top of his right wing. Soft, but definitely solid underneath.

  “Well, you do have wings. And wings are made out of what?” Reaching behind me, I tried to feel my own wings, but it felt more like soft pins than wings, and they were small. Miniscule compared to Remi’s.

  “Feathers?” I guessed out loud, hoping I was wrong. The thought of losing my feathers and having them replaced with new ones grossed me out.

  “And you’ll have to preen them too—only you’ll need to use a special comb. You’ll need to get someone to do the ones you can’t reach. It’s gonna be hard for you, I imagine.” Remi seemed pretty sincere as he snaked his neck around to inspect my wings. I felt weird and covered myself up in them. I didn’t like to be stared at like that.

  “I can’t believe your wings! Remi! You have wings!”

  “Uh, yeah. So do you, dork.”

  “Who can I get to help me preen my wings? I mean, it’s not like they have people who do that sort of thing,” I snapped at Remi.

  “Actually, there are wing shops all over the place. You simply need to know where to look. They can do dye jobs, trims, clipping, fluffing, preening, curling, piercing, wash and blow—whatever you need. Some even offer feather replacement and conditioning.” Remi smiled when he noticed how wide-open my mouth was. Then he placed a protective arm and wing around my shoulder, and I settled in.

  We sat like that for what seemed like hours. I could have drilled Remi about the angel lifestyle, wing shops, everything he knew that I wanted to, but didn’t. I preferred to spend my last minutes with him in silence, observing him, memorizing him as he was. But I knew it wouldn’t last. And almost as quickly as I thought it, he jumped, stood, and retracted his wings almost at the same time. I jumped too, but my change in position and wing retraction was not nearly as graceful. Horror hijacked his face, and it scared me, big time.

  “Grace, forgive me,” was all he said before he vanished into thin air, no warning, no puff of smoke, no Remi.

  I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and listened for him, trying to hear where he had gone. I don’t know what made me think I could follow, since I couldn’t see him, but I tried; after all, I had wings. I heard him, like before, his thoughts and his breathing. I could also smell him: sweet but a little metallic too. Weird.

  I locked in on his voice and scent, primal like an animal. When I opened my eyes, I saw him, heading straight in the direction of whatever he was after. I was getting the hang of thinking about where I wanted to be and getting there.

  Flying a little like a fledgling bird on crack, I followed Remi, determined to see what had torn him away from me. I managed to catch up to him as he was circling, like a vulture, high above its prey.

  He stopped abruptly and hovered in the air like Superman, with one leg slightly bent. Behind him, his wings looked like simmering hot coals. He had obviously done this before.

  We were over by the parking lot of the arena where the Venus Unearthed concert had been earlier. I could smell Gavin. It was strange to smell a person from high in the air. It was hard to believe Remi had lived like this for so long and kept it from me.

  Remi turned his head sideways then pointed his right ear up toward the sky before starting off again. He headed into the woods behind the lot. And then I became aware of something I wished I hadn’t. The vision I’d had, about Jenny and Gavin in the dark place, was happening right then!

  I tried to catch up to Remi, but it was like one of those dreams where someone’s chasing you and you’re trying to outrun them, but your legs won’t carry you fast enough. Only this time, I was the one doing the chasing, and it was my wings that wouldn’t carry me fast enough.

  It was dark—really dark, almost pitch black except for a light coming from Jenny’s cell phone. “Remi, pick up, please be there. Shoot. Voicemail.” She was pacing an area no more than two feet by four feet in a small clearing surrounded by very tall trees. “Remi, it’s me. Sean hooked up with some girl at the show. I got tired of waiting for him to come back for me and decided I’d try to find the car. And now, I’m … I’m lost.” Her voice trailed off as she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

  I saw it too. Two eyes, piercing out from the blackness. It was low to the ground, like an animal. There was something oddly familiar about it.

  With shaky hands, and tears running down her face, Jenny tried dialing another number. Then she dropped the cell phone, stomped her foot, and kneeled down to find it. Its light went out.

  I was trying to recall the vision I’d had, to remember what happened next, but it wouldn’t come to me.

  Jenny, run.

  She froze as huge dogs came up behind her, snarling menacingly. She practiced the “stand still and it won’t bite” rule before frantically gathering her cell phone and stuffing it into her already full purse. I told her she carried too much junk in that tiny bag!

  The dogs sniffed her, inhaling deeply, then howled as she screamed. They began circling and drooling, seemingly savoring the fear that dripped from her body in beads of sweat despite the coolness in the air.

  I had to get closer, and wished I could be invisible so I could get down there without them noticing me. I had no desire to fight off wild dogs, but I wanted to save Jenny. And so I lowered myself in their midst next to Jenny and waited for what was to come.

  On the ground, I saw things more clearly. Giants at least twenty feet tall with bulging muscles on every limb, and grim expressions, as if it pained them to move too quickly, came charging out from the woods, motioning with their hands to the dogs. The pounding of huge feet shook us; the roar of their grunts was thunderous in the air. Oh crap. The largest one charged me and extended its fangs. It was unnecessary, since I was already terrified. The dogs continued to bark and snarl, but had retreated a bit, giving the giants room.

  Adrenaline raced through me like shards of sharp glass under my skin. I pulled my arms into my chest, pivoted my hip, extended my leg out to the side with force, and kicked him in the knee. The evil thing stumbled, bewildered. His huge arm swung in my direction and knocked me to the ground. Another giant came out of nowhere and was about to stomp on my stomach. His foot was the length of my leg. Remi appeared in a ring of fire. I rolled on my side, then stood, wings involuntarily extended. While Remi and the giant fought, encircled by Remi’s fire, I flew to the head height of the other one. I was like a mosquito compared to him, flitting around his face. He made an unsuccessful grab at me, first with one hand and then the other. I managed to fly fast enough to avoid his clumsy grasp.

  The other giant fell to the ground in a loud crash, defeated by Remi and smoking from the flames. He landed on one of the dogs, who whimpered beneath the enormous creature.

  Between stomps, I heard Jenny’s screams and cries. I continued flying around the giant’s head, making him spin around faster and faster. He faltered, his eyes, head, and body all moving in different directions. He was dizzy. Oldest trick in the book, and it worked.

  The giant hit the gro
und with a thump, then Remi, sword in hand, sliced its head off. The other dog ran to the head and licked at the pool of blood. Gross.

  Remi looked completely different, but still like Remi, only he was shrouded in light; his skin looked like it was glowing from the inside. It was then I realized Jenny couldn’t see him. I didn’t even know if she could see me.

  “See me, Jenny,” I whispered as I retracted my wings and walked toward her.

  “Oh God, Grace!” she screamed as she ran toward me with arms outstretched in this crazy, frantic jog. She hugged my neck.

  I embraced her quickly, then turned her around and placed her behind me to shield her from an approaching group of … snakes. They fell out of the trees and onto the ground in waves. Immediately, they lunged and hissed, spewing venom.

  I jumped back, grabbed Jenny, expanded my wings, and flew into the air. But not before nine snakes bit into my feet and tried slithering up our legs. Not again!

  The snakes seemed heavier than they should have been. They pulled me closer to the ground. More snakes attached to my wings, entwining with the delicate feathers. All I could do was twist and try to shake them off. But it was Jenny who fell, right into the pit of hundreds of snakes that had now made their way into the clearing.

  Remi was on the ground, slashing and burning snakes that made whimpering sounds, as if human, upon meeting Remi’s blade. He sent a worried look in my direction before turning his sights on the others.

  I lowered myself into the midst of them as, one by one, arrows struck the snakes from all directions. I turned instinctively to my left to see an albino angel dressed in gold and white armor. He looked like he was about twelve years old. Where’d you come from?

  I was able to get to Jenny, thanks to Remi and the tiny angel. “Thanks, kid!” I nodded to the immaculately dressed angel, who returned my nod, then disappeared.

  Then Gavin emerged with his unmistakable saunter from that same wooded area, giant, fully-extended black wings behind him. The remaining snakes retreated into the woods. Tears formed in my eyes as I surveyed the burning snakes, dead giants, and poor Jenny. She’d been bitten several times and didn’t look like she would make it.

  Remi rushed him, grabbing Gavin by the neck as I covered Jenny, intending to put her to sleep as Remi had done me when we were attacked. I figured she wouldn’t remember much, and it was the least we owed her. I closed her fear-frozen eyes and laid her head to the side. “Sleep.”

  Gavin smiled at me, making me forget for a split second the horror of the immediate situation. No doubt, my world was stranger, but I did not have time to think about that. I had to save Gavin from Remi’s rage.

  “Leave her alone,” Remi ordered through gritted teeth.

  I looked behind myself at Jenny. She was shivering, slumped on the ground. Her skin looked yellow.

  Remi released Gavin’s neck, and I ran to put myself between them. I didn’t make it in time. Disgust shaded Remi’s face as he moved closer to me. He placed his wings at his sides, looked from me to Gavin, and said, “If I see you or any of those disgusting creatures anywhere near Jenny or her family, I will kill you.”

  The thought of Remi committing any act so intentionally violent brought tears to my eyes. The idea that Gavin was responsible for this attack pushed the tears down my face.

  Gavin took a protective step in front of me, dripping with confidence. He seemed like Goliath to Remi’s David.

  “So much affection for a … human. Careful, Remiel. You may be more like me than you think. To care for humans is death.” Gavin seemed to enjoy the use of the word “death.”

  “I’m nothing like you, and I never will be!” Remi spat back.

  “Ah,” Gavin said as calm as ever. “But you are, or at least you will be, brother. It’s only a matter of time. Look at you, falling all over yourself for that worthless nothing of a girl. You disgrace us all.”

  Gavin walked away, but Remi charged after him. I gasped. Remi would die if Gavin attacked him while he was in human form.

  Gavin turned sharply and grabbed Remi by the throat as Remi transitioned from human to angel. It was too late. Gavin’s enormous black wings partially obscured my view. Fear gripped me.

  “I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you right now, in front of Grace and your evil circus freaks. I swear I’ll take what little life you have left, and believe me, my sister will be better for it.” Remi forced the words out, even though he could hardly breathe. His inferior wings refused to fully expand behind him. He grabbed a dagger that Gavin must not have thought he’d be able to reach, and managed to get it up under Gavin’s chin. Gavin flapped his wings, the sound of which echoed into the open space.

  “Release him, let’s go. No one’s killing anyone tonight,” I ordered, not fully certain that was the case. I had become dizzy. My stomach cramped. How much longer I could remain on my feet I didn’t know.

  Jenny was shaking violently and frothing at the mouth. That was all it took for Remi to forget about Gavin. He lowered his dagger, and Gavin released him. Remi rushed past me and cradled Jenny in his arms, rocking back and forth, retracting his sagging wings.

  I watched as Remi stood and carried Jenny away. He left without saying a word to me. Then everything went blurry, my vision faltered, and I fell to the ground.

  Praefatio

  Book 3, Chapter 5

  Once the most cherished and adored Angel, Rosa, asked The Divine One for a daughter. Intending to show appreciation for her, He gave Rosa twin girls. And she was overwhelmed with joy. When the time came to fulfill a prophecy, The Divine One asked Rosa for one of her daughters to be born on Earth as a human, the one with the purest heart. The other would remain in the Heavens until such time a purpose could be found for her; or so it was believed.

  Praefatio

  Book 3, Chapter 6

  Awakened, she became alive, strong, and ready for battle. She was what the prophecy had foretold. And all of the Heavens rejoiced as the Angels were called forth to assist her. Archangels, Virtues, and Thrones prepared for her arrival and the difficulties that would befall her.

  The Archangel gave credence to Fear as she read. Betrayal, Denial, and Deceit followed. For the one who was changed was intentionally cruel. It was a vision of things to come, and she devised a plan to prevent it.

  In the Arms of the Angel

  His room was not at all like I expected. Three walls, painted a stark white, and an accent wall in blood-red framing an alcove, which housed an oversized custom-made king bed. Across from the door were floor-to-ceiling windows divided by French doors that led to an expansive garden with a private pool, hot tub, koi pond, and recording studio.

  Two intricate white stone carvings hung on the opposite wall, casting shadows and catching the light, which made them appear to have color. The carving on the left depicted a woman playing a mandolin while children danced at her feet. On the right, a male angel with giant wings caressed the neck of a woman while staring longingly into her eyes. It reminded me of Tyler from Praefatio.

  Then the one on the right changed, I swear. I blinked and then blinked again. The angel and the woman were walking. He was noticeably taller than she was, and she seemed to resemble me. A smile, then tears—angry tears—rained down her face and dripped to the wood floor. She turned toward me as if she knew I was there, watching. She kneeled and scooped up two babies. I started sobbing, uncontrollably. It hurt. My stomach wrenched. The angel took one of the babies, and blood spilled out of the carving and onto the floor. The woman fell to the ground. Oh God.

  “Please, help me,” I whispered. The room spun. I instinctively reached out and touched her. I wanted to hold her, to comfort her. I felt connected to her and cut off from her equally.

  “Rest. It’s OK. Everything will be OK,” Gavin said.

  I must have fallen asleep. I opened my eyes, and the woman, the man, and the babies were gone. I must have dreamed them. I inhaled deeply. The luxury that surrounded me was on the level of ridiculous, but I was too
far gone to appreciate it.

  Mother. The thought seeped into my head and died. I wasn’t able to bring it back to life. Not then.

  The ceiling was an exact replica of The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel. On the right side of the bed sat a glass nightstand with a white orchid on it. On the left, a white leather high-backed chair with overstuffed arms and a black cashmere throw slung over its back.

  Gavin smiled down at me as I took in the rest of the room. I may have stopped breathing when my eyes grazed his guitars.

  “I’ve been gathering pieces for a long time.” Gavin’s pride was clear in the way he made sure to place or hang each one for optimal viewing. He looked from me to the marvelous display of stringed instruments on the wall, then back at me. “That one there, that’s a lute.” He pointed and said, “The one next to it is called a pandura. It’s like a lute, but from ancient Greece. That’s a vihuela from Spain. You play it with a plectrum. And that one in the far corner is a sitar. It comes from India. I love to play that one especially. I can play something for you if you like.”

  “Um, maybe another time. I’m pretty beat,” was all I could manage.

  In the far left corner, a small alcove housed a harp and Gavin’s famous custom-made red Fender Strat, its clear fret board adorned with small black angel wings rumored to be made from the blood and wings of a real Fallen Angel. A rumor I suspected was actually true.

  I lay back into the overstuffed down pillows and let out a sigh. I didn’t know what to say or feel. Thousands of girls would kill to be in Gavin’s bed, and yet I was feeling something other than what I thought I would. Turning my back on my brother and Jenny was not something I’d counted on. I was irrationally in love with Gavin’s voice, and the person behind the voice was not at all what I’d imagined. I barely knew him. And the things I did know were unsettling at best.