The next day, things were a little slow. Taylor and Aliona spent the morning bonding, while I decided to try and get my old job back. It didn’t go over well. Apparently being sucked into a alternate world wasn’t an excuse for not showing up for work. Then when I was sitting at a red light, some of the human teenagers decided to make sarcastic cat calls to me, only to flip me off. I guess that there were still those who resented people like me. If only they had known the things I had done. 

Although I enjoyed living in in Kansas City, I couldn’t help but think of my time spent in that other world. Things were so much simpler there. Sure you still had to worry about people judging you and trying to make you their prey or trophy, but most people were more accepting of those who were different. Bach here, it felt like nothing had changed from when I left. Even with emergents getting protection, they weren’t truly safe. There were still secret organizations that wanted to see our kind eradicated. This included those overly religious nuts who thought that we were demons sent by the devil. Anything that couldn’t be explained by the bible had to be something evil. 

By noon I was hungry, so I stopped by the McDonalds. I was surprised when I walked in and saw Arron working the counter. I walked up, my tail swaying from side to side with my excitement.

“When did you start working here,” I asked. He looked at me and smiled. I almost didn’t think he could smile after the last few times I saw him. But then again, one was when he was under orders of that doctor and the other was when him and the others were giving Taylor and me the bad news. Who would be happy during those circumstances? 

“About a month ago. It’s good to see you, Angel. How are the others?” he asked. I started explaining about how we had had to teach Aliona everything about living in a house. As I explained it all to him, Arron did his best not to laugh, though I could tell that it wouldn’t last much longer. When I finished reliving the events, he shook his head and sighed. 

“You are one amazing person. I don’t know why Taylor is so worried though. Everyone can see just how madly in love with her you are. It reminds me of my old boyfriend and me. We were inseparable,” Arron finished. I looked at him in shock. I would never have guessed that he was gay. Everything about him screamed masculinity, but then again who was I to judge. I wasn’t exactly screaming trans when I was a guy. If there was one thing that I have learned since the emergence, it’s not to judge someone by their outward appearance. Well, except Taylors’s cousin. She is exactly as she looks, a snobby bitch who was glad to take over Taylor and Ashley’s role as daughter. 

After getting my order and saying goodbye to Arron, I headed back to my car. I was getting my keys out when my phone range. Sighing, I put my food on the hood of my car and looked at my phone. It was Mr. Carver. I wondered why he was calling me out of the blue. Aside from letting us know that he had kept our house up while we were gone, he hadn’t really said much to us. 

“Hey, Mr. Carver, what’s up? I asked. There was a bit of static on the line. It was as if he was almost out of signal range. 

“Ah, Angel. I am glad I was finally able to get ahold of you. Listen, when you have a chance, I need you to meet me at the training grounds. I don’t really have time to explain it, but its very important,” Mr. Carver said. The tone of his voice suggested that it was really important. Without much thought, I agreed to meet him. I got in my car and started the engine. I was just about to pull out of the parking lot when I realized that I had left my food on the hood of the car. Shaking my head, I got out and grabbed my food. The last thing I needed was to go all day without eating. 

It took about twenty minutes to get to the training grounds. Stoneskin was standing just at the edge of the circle. Mr. Carver and my dad were both standing in the center of the circle. Great, I wondered what those two were talking about. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. I wasn’t ready to fight the one person other than Taylor that I had felt close to. Placing my food in the passenger seat while groaning because I wasn’t going to eat in front of them, I got out of the car and headed towards the field. As I passed Stoneskin, he nodded and smiled. I liked him. Although he was very thorough during training, you could tell that he was gentle at heart.

“Hey dad, hey Mr. Carver. What are you two doing here?” I asked. I watched as they both exchanged looks at one another. This couldn’t be good. I could see it in their eyes. Whatever they wanted to talk to me about, it wasn’t good.

“Angel dear, we have some news that we felt was important for you to know. The god who took Maddison, who was trying to stop your goddess from getting the keys, he has decided that if he can’t keep the keys out of her hands, then he is going to exterminate the keys. This will cause them to disappear until two more candidates are born,” Dad said. I felt a twinge of fear run down my spine. The last thing I needed was for that guy to come looking for me. Even if I wanted to get revenge on him for what he did to mom, there was no way I was prepared to fight him. 

“We know how you must feel with this knowledge, but we must ask that you do not go seeking him out. At your current state, you do not stand a chance against him. However, your father tells me that you have some unique abilities that could help you contain both of them. Then we could find a way to remove them from our world,” said Mr. Carver. I didn’t understand what he was saying. How could I contain a god and a goddess? What power could I possess that would help me accomplish such a feat?”

“I don’t understand. How could I contain them?” I asked. I wanted a real answer. I hopped that they weren’t going to decide to try and sugar coat it like parent’s do when they are trying to divert away from answering a child’s question.

“Well, Angel. To put it simple, you have the ability to summon magical devices known as Areon Anchors. With them, you are able to seal an enemy in an impenetrable spellbound sphere. But it takes a lot of energy to forge them, which means that you would have to get energy from others. This is where your energy absorption ability comes into play,” dad said. It was hard to believe the words that were coming out of his mouth, but after everything else I had been through. I guess it wasn’t really a stretch, so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Plus, he was my dad, and if I couldn’t trust my dad who could I trust?

“Also, I can no longer bear to see you pulling your feathers out to use as weapons,” Stoneskin chimed in from behind me, causing me to jump. Turning around, he was grinning from ear to ear. I wondered why he was so happy, but I felt it would be in poor taste to ask him such a question.

“It’s not like I have a sword laying around my house that I could use as a weapon,” I said. This caused him to grin even wider. This couldn’t be good. What was he smiling about? Without a word, Stoneskin slapped his hands together before placing his right hand over the ground like he did during our training. A small black hole appeared in the ground. As he lifted his hand, a sword started to emerge from it. It wasn’t like the one he had used against me during our training. This one was embedded with jewels and looked like something out of a fairytale. 

“This is Tolfang. It is a mystic weapon much like the fabled Excalibur. It was used by a night long ago to slay the last dragon. It was forged from the fangs of a dragon and is one of the most powerful weapons in the world. With your Seraph powers and its hunger for beasts, it should prove useful to you. “Stoneskin said proudly. I looked at the sword in awe as he reached for it and handed it to me. I could practically feel the power radiating off of it. It was light enough that I could hold it, but I could tell that it’s blade would not break easily. 

“Now, with that out of the way, there is more that we need to discuss,” dad said. I stood there and waited for him to continue, all the while feeling a tugging sensation in my mind. I wondered briefly what it was. It felt so familiar, yet so alien. I did my best to block it out, but the more than I did, the more it pulled at me. Then, just as I was about to try and block it out again, I heard a voice. 

‘So, you have returned. I thought I had lost you,' the voice said. I had a sudden urge to vomit as I recognized the voice. It was the goddess. How she found me was beyond me.

‘It was quite easy since I have lived in your mind for months. Even then I couldn’t imagine that you were one of the people I was looking for’ she taunted. The irritation built as I listened to her words. The arrogance she was showing was utterly frustrating. The thought that she could just pop up in my mind whenever she wanted pissed me off. 

‘You lied to me and betrayed me. You fed me lies all so you could get your hands on these keys. Is this quest of yours really that important?’ I asked. I could feel her smugness though I couldn’t physically see her. She had where she wanted me, I could feel it. 

“Angel, hunny. Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” my dad asked. I was about to answer when a sharp pain shot through my head.

‘Be careful what you say. Though I am not longer in your body, I could still cause you great pain,’ the goddess said. Instead of answering, I nodded. The. I felt some pressure and the feeling of the goddess was gone. Looking around, I saw Mr. Carver looking at me, his hand raised as smoke slowly slithered back to him. 

“I suspected that you weren’t alone. You had that look as if you were in some distant land. I assume that the goddess contacted you?” Mr. Carver asked. I nodded, unsure whether it was wise to speak the words out loud. 

“She knows now that I am a key. I am sure that she will be coming for me now,” I finally said. The look on my dad’s face was enough to confirm my suspicion. Just what I needed, a crazed goddess who spent time in my head coming after me. What made it worse is I was sure that she wouldn’t just stop at me. Everyone I cared about was now in danger. I knew what I needed to do. I just didn’t know if I had the mental strength to go through with it. Not to mention, I needed to get that God who had my mom killed in the same area. I had to make them both pay for what they took from me.

“Dad, I know that I just got back and we haven’t had a lot of time to catch up, but we need to start training. She is coming l, I can feel it. She’s not in my head right now, but there is still a connection,” I told my dad. He nodded. I needed to end this once and for all. If that meant that I lost my life, it would be a small price to pay to protect the people I loved.