"Well," Brandy said the second Hadraniel and I got back to school, "if it isn't the Limey and Little Miss Daniel."
I rolled my eyes. "Danielle. How many times do I need to tell you that?"
She glared. "I don't really care. But, the school paper would probably like to know what you and Brit Boy were doing outside school this morning. Care to tell me?"
Hadraniel responded, "You don't even work for the sodding paper."
She smirked at him. "Doesn't matter, Ringo, I know people. And if you and Yoko Ono here are seeing each other on the side while she's fucking Kevin, I'm pretty sure those people I know would like to… Know…"
I pushed past her. "Beat it, Brandy. It's bad enough your hair color is brighter than your personality, but your IQ must be lower than your bra size if you think Ronny and I are fucking each other on the side."
The look on her face was one of someone monumentally pissed. If I had to guess, I'd say she wanted to beat the shit out of me. Instead of getting physical, however, she merely said, "I don't care anymore. You're not worth my effort." With that, she turned on her heel and started to walk away.
I whispered to Hadraniel, "If that was effort, I'd hate to see her being lazy." That joke must've been good enough, because he chuckled at it.
She stopped at the sound of the chuckles and turned back toward us. She stomped back over to us and stood there with her hands on her hips. "Y'know, I saw you go the dyke's house after she died."
I blinked. "Uh… What?"
She nodded. "Six months ago, you went to that lesbo's house after she jumped."
"Her name was Ginny. And so what? Her parents wanted to talk to me."
She glared at me. "They died less than a week later.”
I didn’t know that, but I didn’t exactly understand what the hell she was implying, either. "Are you trying to say something I'm not getting?"
She didn't change her expression. "What did they want to talk with you about?"
I shrugged. "I dunno. We never got to it, I left before then because Ginny's dad was an asshole." I stepped around her to head for class. "All he did was insult Ginny and ask me creepy questions."
"They were friends of my family, basically my aunt and uncle." She grabbed me by the arm, which kinda pissed me off. "They were good people who never hurt anyone."
I broke her grip on my arm. "What are you implying? I didn't even know they died, and either way, it was six fucking months ago! And 'they didn't hurt anyone', my ass! They psychologically abused their daughter just because she was gay. That's. Not. Right!" Hadraniel tapped on my shoulder and motioned for me to calm down. I took a deep breath and a tiny bit more calmly said, "I'm going to go to class and forget this crap happened."
The look on Brandy's face was one of confusion and horror. She just kinda backed away slowly, then turned and broke into a run. It was weird, but I was still more than a little miffed about the implication that I killed Ginny's parents. Yeah, I threatened to, but there was no way she could know that, and I never ended up doing anything other than scaring the bejesus out of them.
Once she was out of sight and I felt my blood pressure coming down a bit, I turned to Hadraniel, who had taken more than a few steps back.
"What?" I asked.
"Do you not see it?"
I shook my head. "I don't think I'd be asking the question."
"Look at your arm."
I indulged him, looked down at my arm and saw a weird ass glow covering my arm from my elbow to my hand. It started to fade almost instantly, and my arm returned to its natural color. I felt a chill run through my entire body, then it subsided.
"What was that?!" I squealed.
"I'm asking you the same bloody question."
"I… Didn't… I'm not supposed to be able to do that anymore!"
He clamped a hand over my mouth. "Calm your tits, you fucking knobhead! We'll… Oh, for fuck's sake, we'll need to talk to Sam…"
Sam was chowing down on three separate burgers at one time when we found him in the cafeteria. He was going back and forth between the burgers, taking a bite out of each one in sequence as if he were taste testing. It was, honestly, disgusting, but I didn't say anything about it.
Hadraniel looked furious. This was probably the first time in years that he wasn't angry that Sam was there, but he was still angry that Sam was being… Well… Sam. I wasn't really sure what Sam's normal eating habits were, as I'd never had a meal with him, so for all I knew, this actually wasn't normal, but I had no way of discerning that.
"How do you guys leave the building with food this good waiting for someone to eat it?" Sam asked as he finished a burger and licked his lips. He stuffed another one in his mouth. “So what’s the matter?”
Hadraniel faceplanted the table. “I just told you that Dani’s manifesting some of Death’s power and this isn’t a bloody problem to you?!”
Sam shrugged. “I’m honestly just happy you’re talking to me again without getting your panties in a bunch.”
“Is that really how I seem to you right now?!”
He wolfed down his third burger. “In a nutshell, yeah.” He took a gulp of his milk carton. “How much of it did it look like you were about to use?” he asked me.
I shrugged. “I dunno. I didn’t even realize I was doing it until Hadraniel made me look at my arm.”
He nodded. “Okay, that’s good.”
“That’s good? I’m not supposed to be able to do that at all, but my arm going glow stick is good?”
“Well, not that part, but just that it was a contained thing.”
“Assuming Brandy the Bitch just forgets about it.”
He dumped a few fries in his mouth. “Don’t worry about her. I’ll have somebody in records replace that memory. I did the same with those two you almost killed six months ago.”
I was about to say something about that when Hadraniel motioned for me to keep my mouth shut. That didn’t seem right, though. Sam deserved to know that Ginny’s parents did die, somehow. And that Brandy the Bitch accused me of doing it. But I decided I’d talk to him about that later and instead asked, “So what do we do about me tapping into my power when I’m not supposed to have it?”
Sam gulped down a second carton of milk that I hadn’t seen him grab. A look around the table revealed it was Hadraniel’s, who I wasn’t sure knew about it. “I’ll head back upstairs after school today and see what Wendi says about it. She’s spent the last few months reading every record and report about Death to see what happened, see if it ever happened at any point in history.”
“Has she found anything useful?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Closest thing to it was that a Death centuries ago was responsible for Dracula, but everybody already knew about him.”
I nearly spit my milk out. “Dracula exists?”
“Your best girlfriend is Thanatos,” Hadraniel said dismissively, “and you’re a bloody angel on probation, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.”
He wasn’t wrong, but he shouldn’t have been such a dick about it. I was pretty sure learning about things like that would always surprise me. I briefly wondered if werewolves were real, too.
Sam finished the food on his tray and swapped it with Hadraniel's. Why that was funny to me, I would never be able to figure out, but I had to stop myself from breaking into laughter. Especially because I didn't think Hadraniel actually knew that his food was being stolen. He hadn't eaten one thing off of the tray.
"Once I talk to Wendi, I'll let you two know. Until then, try to keep any more little… Outbursts... From happening. I don't wanna havta have records futz with everybody's memories, ya feel me?"
I nodded. "Trust me, I don't wanna do that again and screw up my chances of getting my job back."
He shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
Hadraniel coughed out a laugh. "At least this one good thing is happening today: You doing your bloody job." He went to pick up his cheeseburger. "Where the fuck did my food go?"
Sam just smiled.
I sat down on the bleachers and watched the football team do their thing. Coach Brandt was standing on one end of the field, shouting obscenities at them like he was yelling at his TV. I had never been interested in football even when I was a boy, and just because I was watching very nice looking, athletic male figures run around in tight-fitting attire didn’t exactly get my heart racing even now. I was mainly there to wait for Kevin, since he was going to be coming along on my latest driving practice trip.
One of the Johnson twins was also sitting on the bleachers, but she was a ways away from me. I didn’t know either of them that well, and something seemed different about them ever since the start of the school year. I remembered the male twin, a football player, also being the one on the school paper, but it seemed his sister was the teenage journalist now, and I definitely remembered her being vocal about her hate for cheerleaders, but there she was, sitting in a cheerleading uniform, writing something down in a notebook. Hell, for all I knew, she’d gone through some major self discovery and decided she had no problem being a cheer bunny.
As the team practiced under the shouting coach, I sat there, waiting for Sam to text me when he found anything out. I didn't remember ever giving him my phone number, but odds were good somebody up in Heaven knew it and could give it to him. Then again, knowing him, he'd probably rooted through my purse and just called himself from my phone. I'd lock my door at night if I thought it could stop him.
I switched from Candy Crush to Train Taxi and suddenly my screen seemed brighter than it had been. It took me a second to realize there was someone standing behind me, casting a shadow over me. I turned around and saw a guy maybe Sam's age standing there, his hands in his pockets. He had chin length light brown hair and blonde stubble. He was pretty intently watching the practice down below.
"Hey," I said, catching his attention, "I know the prospects don't look good, but you could always find a seat somewhere." A joke, of course, as except for me and that Johnson girl, the bleachers were empty.
He smirked. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized, in a slight southern drawl, "just admirin' the view."
I laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, pardon me for being more than a little nervous that the view is down my shirt."
He seemed to understand and stepped around me, dropping into a seat beside me. "You doin' the same?"
I felt… Uneasy about this guy. Something was off about him. Something was off and something was familiar, and I couldn't quite place what it was. I didn't know as I wanted him near me, but I also didn't want to make a scene of any kind. That could either A) draw the attention of the football team or B) exacerbate my angel power problem. I was more concerned about B than A, obviously.
I just let an anxious smile find its way to my lips. "Just… Watching my boyfriend, is all." I looked back down at the team and saw Aiden patting Kevin on the shoulder. He said something to Kevin, but I was much too far away to hear it. A second later, he pointed in my direction, and I wondered if he was trying to point out that I was being talked to by this creepy guy. Having Kevin near me would be a really good thing right about now.
"I think I see him," the guy said. He whistled. "Sure managed to bag himself a looker." He laughed. "I think I'm a little jealous."
Before I said anything, Coach Brandt blew his whistle. "All right, ya buncha limp dick faggots! Hit the showers, we're done for the day!"
I grabbed my bag and stood up, ready to bolt and wait outside the locker room. The Johnson girl had also stood up and collected her stuff and was halfway across the bleachers. I just wanted to get away from this weird ass guy, who was just making me feel… Icky seemed like such a girly word to use, but I honestly couldn’t think of anything better.
I stopped almost too suddenly, nearly stumbling over my own feet. The guy was on the other set of bleachers now, the set that butted up against the one I was on, done to make it look as though we had a stadium when we only had a pitiful little grandstand. His hands were in his pockets again, that creepy grin on his face, his eyes squarely on me. He didn't even move anything but his eyes as I made my way down from the bleachers.
I paced in the hallway outside the locker room, nervous as hell. I was starting to feel scared, honestly. That guy actually scared me, and I wasn't sure what to do. This would be a really good time for me to have my power back, but something told me even that wouldn't help me.
A minute or two later, Kevin came through the door to the locker room, a concerned look on his face. He had his duffel bag slung over one shoulder, but let it hit the floor when he saw me. "What's going on?" he asked.
I shook my head. "I don't know, babe, I just… That guy…"
He looked confused. "No, I meant about Aiden being able to spot magic people. He said the guy that was sitting beside you was like Hadraniel or Sam."
I felt my eyes widen. "What? Like… Like an angel, or something?"
Naturally, Aiden had to be the next one to practically burst through the door. "Angels? What the hell? The limey and his brother are angels?"
I facepalmed. "Goddamn it…" I sighed. "Alright, Aiden, I guess I'll let you in on the secret. Yes Ronny and Sam are angels. I am, technically, but I'm not supposed to be right now."
He pointed at me. "Is that why your magic is all weird?"
"The limey and his brother are supposed to be figuring that out."
Kevin said, “You can’t let anybody know about this.”
Aiden gently punched him in the shoulder. “Dude, I’ve been keeping your secret from all y’all for months now. I only told Dani yesterday.”
“Seriously? And you didn’t even tell Brandy?”
Aiden scoffed. “Please." He turned to me. "But that guy was an angel, then?"
I shrugged. "I dunno, he just gave me the creeps and I wanted as far away from him as possible. I guess if he was an angel, that would explain why he seemed familiar. Still doesn't explain how… Icky he was."
Kevin smirked. "Icky, huh?"
I glared. "Hey, you try coming up with a better word for when a guy is creepy around you!" I was acutely aware of how much I was acting like a girl.
Kevin put his arm around me and kissed my hair. He was a dork, sometimes. "Let's get outta here. Mom’s cooking that macaroni dish you like so much.”
Before the two of us got far enough away, Aiden asked, "So… We cool now, Dani?"
I sighed, then nodded. "Breathe a word of this to anybody that isn't us, my brother or the two angels and I swear to God I'll have one of them beat the crap out of you "
All he did was smile.
The room I found myself in was dark. Impossibly dark. And yet, I could see myself. I felt around and found objects, but couldn't see them. Despite this, I had the strange feeling I'd been in that room before and simply couldn't place it. Maybe if I found a light switch…
I stumbled around the room and heard something that sounded like voices. Where the hell was whoever was talking? Hopefully I could find them and ask them what was going on. Somehow, the idea that I was dreaming never entered into it. No, I was really wherever the hell I was, I just couldn't see it yet.
I followed the voices, quickly realizing that it was just one voice. A smooth sounding voice. A calm voice. A voice with a slight southern drawl.
That guy.
Where the hell was he? Why couldn't I see him? What was he doing there and why was I involved? If this guy really was an angel, why did he give me the creeps so much? How long would it take any of these questions to be answered?
"I finally talked to her," the guy said, but I didn't know who he was talking to. "Not much for conversation, but I definitely made an impression." Suddenly, he stepped out of the darkness and ran his hand along something I couldn't see. He sat down on something, like a kid hopping up on the kitchen counter. “It’s gonna be one helluva moment when she finds out the truth. I can’t wait.”
He leaned over and reached for something, and that’s when I finally saw who he was talking to: Ginny. She was strapped to a table, naked for some reason. He patted her on the cheek and I saw that her mouth was gagged. I wanted to undo those restraints and help her off that table, but all that happened was me passing through the table and landing against the wall on the other side. That was when I realized where I was: the Reaper office. He had her bound and gagged in my goddamn office.
He leaned over her and whispered in her ear, "I just wanted to thank you for offin' yourself when you had the chance. It only helped me along, and you never fuckin' knew."
He stood up and walked over to the door, which I could finally see. He then turned around and looked directly at me, which outright terrified me. "See ya soon, Danny Boy. Can't wait to get reacquainted."
I awoke and sat straight up. "Ginny!" I almost screamed. Beside me, Kevin didn't stir, and nothing else in the house made a sound. I rubbed at my forehead to clear out the headache I’d just given myself by sitting up too fast. I had to stop doing that.
But that didn’t change that the dream I’d just had didn’t feel like a dream, so what was it? Did angels feel disturbances in the Force or something? Then again, I wasn’t even supposed to have any angel power at all, so whatever that was, maybe it was… A projection? Could that be it? Was that asshole showing me what he was doing to Ginny? And why? What did Ginny ever do to him?
The door suddenly opened and Sam walked into the room, a look of defeat plastered over his face. "So, there's bad news and shitty news."
"What are you doing here?!" I practically shrieked.
He pointed to Kevin. "Don't worry, nobody'll wake up to hear us, I froze them." I didn't think he was getting my point, but I also didn't want to explain it to him. "Which do you wanna hear first?"
I sighed. "The bad news, I guess."
"Bad news is that your wendigo didn't find anything on reapers keeping a shred of their power after losing it or releasing it. She sends her apologies."
"And the shitty news?"
He reached into his pocket and took out a flask. Just like his brother would do if Mom let him keep alcohol in the house. After a long gulp, he finally said, "Heaven is gone."
