Hold Still, You Might Like It

Chapter 1
This has to be a dream. Elli looked at the familiar city around her. The buildings and streets were the same, but darker somehow. Streetlights burned over head as usual, but their light was swallowed by the darkness just a few inches from the bulbs. There was no traffic. No people. Elli had an eerie feeling, like she was the last survivor after the apocalypse. She wandered the streets, her anxiety growing as she turned the corner she almost ran right into a strange man. He didn’t look familiar and as she stared at him with wide eyes, he grinned at her, showing two rows of sharp gleaming teeth. His grin was predatory and his black eyes shined down at her. She took a hasty step backwards and his grin widened.
“How did you get here, my pretty little thing?” He said, his words slurring together, making him sound as if he had a snake tongue.
Unable to speak, Elli turned her back to him and ran. She spared a glance behind her. The street was empty.
She turned her terrified gaze back to the street in front of her and there he was. His teeth had grown longer and sharper and he was walking slowly towards her, as if he was stalking prey.
Elli squeezed her eyes shut and told herself to WAKE UP! Usually, if she knew she was having a nightmare, she could bring herself out of it. It didn’t work this time. She opened her eyes to see that he was only a few feet from her now.
The strange mans skin was slowly melting off his bones, and she could see that instead of two rows of teeth, like normal people, he had rows upon rows, stretching into the back of his mouth. His hair came off in clumps and the skin around his eyes drooped grotesquely, showing grey flesh underneath.
Elli couldn’t figure out where her subconscious would have come up with a creature such as this. Must have been that monster movie a-thon she did with Keith the other night. No more horror flicks, Elli swore.
The man had stopped right in front of her, with in arms reach, skin piling up around his feet. He was completely bald now, grey and slimy; mouth open massively wide, showing rows upon rows of sharp gleaming teeth. He had drool dripping from his distorted lips; dribbling a thick yellowish substance that hissed when it hit the concrete at his feet.
Elli’s heart was pounding and she wanted to try to run again, but she was frozen to that spot, unable to look away from his black eyes. He reached out towards her with his large clawed hands, and she screamed NO as she threw up her arms to protect herself.
The thing flew away from her as if he had been hit with large hammer and slammed into one of the buildings across the street. Elli’s legs finally decided they wanted to work again. She turned and ran. She heard him snarl behind her and she risked another glance back at him.
He pulled himself off of the ground where he had landed and started chasing her, moving in unnatural jerks as if he was leaping through the space between them. He caught up to her quickly, his clawed hands reaching out for her.
She turned right at the next corner but he was directly behind her. His claws scrapped against her left arm, cutting it open. She cried out in pain and fell hard against the building. He was on top of her with blinding speed, snarling and drooling. He held her arms tightly to her sides, nails digging into the wound he already inflicted, and putting punctures in her right arm as he pulled her towards his mouth. She screamed again and woke up.

With a gasp, Elli sat up in her bed, wide awake. She was breathing hard, as if she really had been running, instead of just sleeping in her bed. She was trembling from head to toe as she tried to forget the man and his sharp teeth. She glanced over to her clock to find that she still had five minutes before the alarm went off. Sighing, she flopped back down onto her pillows. Five minutes wasn’t really enough to go back to sleep, and besides, whenever she closed her eyes, she could still see the strange dream. With another sigh, she threw off her blankets, got up to take a shower and get ready for work. When she moved she felt a tight burning sensation on her arm. She looked down and noticed three small scratches on her left arm and a couple of small puncture wounds in her right. They weren’t deep, but they burned like cat scratches.
“Nixsa, you’re a bad cat. What, a queen sized bed isn’t big enough for the both if us?” Elli said to the grey cat who was still semi curled up on her comforter. Nixsa blinked her big yellow eyes at Elli and released a big tongue curling yawn. “You’ve really got to stop beating me up at night. It’s starting to creep into my dreams.”
After her shower, she dried her long reddish brown hair, pulling it back into a pony tail. She got dressed in her favorite pair of kaki pants, and a small, dark green Tinkerbelle shirt. She pulled on her favorite black ‘Frankenstein’ boots-as she liked to call them. They were clunky, had a tall sole on them and they were extremely comfortable. Her cell phone rang where it was sitting next to her on her bed and she picked it up with out looking at the caller id.
“Hello” She said, still tying her boots.
“Happy Birthday!” said a very cheerful voice on the other end.
“Thanks, Mom.” Elli had forgotten it was her birthday. That was some dream, Elli thought wryly.
“Do you have plans? You’re officially a quarter century old today!”
Elli groaned internally. She didn’t feel like she was aging well. Every year, she felt a little more lost, like she should be doing something more with her life. Each birthday was a reminder that she had wasted another year. The problem was Elli wasn’t sure what it was that she was supposed to be doing. It was a wretched feeling that she could usually push down, but birthdays were especially hard.
“No plans really” Elli said. “I’ve got to work and then Keith and I will probably grab some pizza and beer and just hang out.”
“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to visit this weekend. Your sister will be in town from college, and I thought we could all have dinner together.” Mom didn’t sound too hopeful.
“Shoot, I would, mom, but I’m covering for someone at work this weekend, and I kinda need the overtime. “ Elli lied.
She loved her family, but she never really felt like she belonged. Phil and Mary Penwick were nice people. They lived in the suburbs, had the perfect lawn, white picket fence, the whole deal.
Her dad worked for a reputable brokerage firm in the city and her mom was a house wife. Mom would always have dinner ready when dad got home from the office, the house was always spotless. It was like living in a Norman Rockwell painting.
Her sister, Ashley, was studying to be a doctor at one of the Ivy League schools, the top in her class, according to mom. Elli knew part of the reason why she never felt like she fit in was because she was adopted though her parents had always loved her as if she was their flesh and blood.
Phil and Mary had adopted Eleanor when she was baby, back when the doctors had told Mary that she would never be able to have children of her own. They were certainly surprised when she turned up pregnant with Ashley just two short years later.
They had never shown any preference to either of the girls, always trying to treat them both equally. Even still, Elli always felt out of place, and as soon as she turned eighteen, she moved to the city. It was only a thirty minute drive from Elli’s apartment to her parents house, but she rarely made the trip, and usually only on the major holiday’s.
“Oh. Well, that’s okay, honey. Will you be home for Christmas at least?” Hope did fill her mom’s voice now.
“I’ll try. It will really depend on the scheduling at that call center. I have enough seniority now that I should be able to swing it.” Elli said, hoping to appease her mother. She had no intentions of asking for the holiday off, although she should probably drive out there for a few hours. Elli felt guilty lying to her mom, but the thought of spending the holidays in a Leave it to Beaver episode made her stomach turn. She really did love her family, but loved them better from a distance.
“Good. We really miss you. Do need anything? How are you doing on money?” Her mom asked, in full on protection mode now.
“I’m good, Mom. Actually, I really need to get going or I’m going to be late for work”
“Ok. Well, have a happy birthday, sweetheart. We love you. “
“Thanks, mom. Love you too.” Elli said and snapped her phone shut. She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about her family. Her phone rang again, and this time she looked at the caller id.
It was her sister, probably calling to wish her a happy birthday as well. Elli hit the ignore button, and grabbed a couple of burrito’s out of the freezer. She cooked them in the microwave for a few minutes while she made herself a cup of instant coffee. It tasted horrible, but Elli couldn’t justify making a whole pot when she would only have time for a cup before she left. Plus, it had plenty of caffeine in it which is what Elli was truly after anyways. She needed a little boost in the mornings, especially this morning. She shivered, remembering its gleaming teeth and sharp claws.
When the burritos were done, she put them in a paper bag, dumped out the rest of her coffee in the sink, and grabbed her wallet, putting it onto one of the spacious pockets of her camos. She locked up her apartment, clipping her keys to one her belt loops. She walked down the three short steps to the sidewalk, paper bag in hand. She paused by the sleeping bum at the foot of her steps. The scraggly brown dog that was lying beside him raised her head and thumped her tail as Elli approached them.
“Good morning, Sweety. Brought you guys a couple of burritos, but you have to save one for Sarge when he wakes up.” Elli said, as she patted the dog’s head. She took out one of the burritos and fed it to the dog whose tail began to wag furiously. Sarge stirred in his sleep, mumbling something that sounded like “Charlie”. Elli noticed an empty liquor bottle just below Sarge’s relaxed hand.
Shaking her head, she gave one more pat to Sweety, and put the other burrito, still in the bag, in the nook of Sarge’s arm. He had taken up permanent residence in front of Elli’s one story apartment. She lived near the downtown area, so she imagined it was a good spot for him to live, only having to walk a few minutes to prime pan handling.
It started out with just Sarge, but soon he had found Sweety wandering the streets, half starved, so he had fed her and they had become constant companions. Elli was happy they had found each other. Sarge was Vietnam vet, with no family and plenty of mental scars from the war. He needed all the friends he could get. Sweety also offered protection from the meaner people, looking to roll a bum just for the fun of it.
Sweety was fiercely loyal to Sarge, but could put on the charm when she wanted. Elli suspected the reason why Sarge did so well these days is because of her. People might be able to say no to a dirty bum, but when that sweet little dog looked up at them with her big brown eyes and wagged her tail, it turned most people to mush.
Elli got into her 77 Volkswagen bug and started it up, silently praying it would turn over. It didn’t really like to start on these cold mornings, and sometimes in winter, she would have to sit in it feathering the throttle just to keep it running to warm it up. Thankfully, today it started up after just two attempts and with a putt putt putt, she pulled away from the curb and onto her quiet street.
Elli’s apartment was a one story complex that probably used to be a large house. Someone had put up a wall and turned it into two rentable units over a decade ago. The apartment next to hers was currently unoccupied, the last residents having moved out about a month ago.
The units were small, one bedroom and the outside had peeling, faded white paint. The landlords were good people, but they were busy with their own lives and tended to not spend a lot of time there, unless there was a problem or someone hadn’t paid their rent. Elli made good money working for a call center, taking technical calls from people who were having problems with their cell phones.
When she got to work, she noticed Keith’s old dirty Ford Ranger in the parking lot and took a spot right next to it. She grabbed her employee id out of her glove box and hung it round her neck. The red lanyard clashed with the dark green of her shirt, reminding her of Christmas colors, and she frowned, remembering lying to her mom just a little while earlier.
She locked up the bug, although it was unlikely to be stolen. It was a faded orange color with a few rust spots, but she got great gas mileage, and although Elli could afford a better car, she loved it and would probably drive it until the wheels feel off.
Elli scanned her id on the pad at the entry way, nodding at the security guard on duty just inside the door. She walked to the call center floor and marveled at the sheer size of it. It had a huge open floor plan, with cubies set up with three or four grouped together. She spotted Keith, his dark hair messy, like he hadn’t bothered to comb it when he got up this morning.
He looked up at her and smiled. Elli took the open station next to him, plugged in her head piece and signed into the computer. She was now officially on the clock. She looked down at the queue window to see how many people were waiting for help, only to see that it was empty. So, it was going to be one of those days. Not a problem, she always had a book stashed in her locker for the slow days. Plus, there might be a chance of getting off early, if the center stayed especially slow.
“Happy Birthday” Keith said, his eyes twinkling. He reached into the bag next to him on the floor and brought out a cupcake with a single candle in it. “I’m not allowed to light this in here, but you get the point.”
“Thanks, Keith.” Elli said taking the cupcake. She made to tear it in half to share, but Keith shook his head.
“I figured you would be hungry, so I brought a half a dozen.” He said, grinning as he pulled out another for himself. Elli took a big bite of her cupcake. He had gotten her favorite; chocolate with the whipped cream frosting.
They ate in silence for a moment, Elli staring around her. Most of the collections department was busy taking calls, while the rest of the people were just sitting around talking quietly, or reading books. They weren’t supposed to read anything but company related material while on company time, but the rules were pretty relaxed. There were only so many times a person could read about the newest phone or the CEO’s overly cheerful update memos. Elli had already read all the technical manuals for the available phones and felt pretty confident she could help with any problem.
She finished her cupcake, and Keith handed her another. “So, what are we doing tonight?” He asked, dusting the crumbs off of his black Jedi Academy shirt.
“I was thinking pizza, beer and maybe some video games. I rented that new zombie killing game.” She said. “You know the one that’s really gory when blow the zombies up.”
“Sweet! I’ve wanted to try that one. I heard when you kill one, brain matter splatters on your screen for a few seconds.” Keith said, excited.
Elli laughed, “Yeah I might have to ease up on those freaky games for a while. I had a horrible dream last night that bout scared the shit out of me.” She shivered.
“What was it about?” Keith asked, curious.
“I don’t really want to talk about it.” Elli said suppressing another shudder.
“That’s fine. If you want, we could go out. Like dinner or something.” Keith said, shyly. “Like a date or something…” he trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
Elli stared at him for a moment wondering what he had meant by that. “Video games sound good to me. Maybe I need to desensitize myself, so I can prevent myself from having stupid nightmares.” Elli said with a smile.
At that moment, a chime sounded in her ear, letting her know there was a caller waiting to be helped. She turned back to her computer, moved her mouse so the screen saver would turn off, and clicked on the receive call button.
“Thanks for calling Cellular Warehouse, how can I help you.” She said the predetermined opening with such familiarity that the callers usually thought she was a recording. “Sure I can help you with that, “she went on with the script. The call center might be relaxed on certain things like slow periods and dress code, but they listen in and want to hear the proper script.
The rest of the day went by quickly. After that initial slow period in the morning, there was a steady stream of calls all afternoon. Keith and Elli took a quick break to grab some food from the cafeteria and came back to answer a whole new slew of calls. People called in with questions ranging from how to check their voice mail to how to reset passwords. Nothing too challenging, but by the end of the day, Elli was exhausted. She finally shut down her computer and turned to see Keith doing the same. She stood up and stretched, her shirt riding up a little and exposing some of her flat stomach.
“Are you ready to go?” Keith asked seemingly very interested in carefully packing up the two left over cupcakes.
“Sure,” Elli said, wiping down her key board, another thing the call center asked their employees to do every time. Since no one is assigned a specific station, someone in the next shift could sit here and the center wanted to avoid spreading germs as much as possible. Each station was equipped with a box of disposable tissues and sanitizing wipes, even though cold and flu season was still a few months away. It was still the middle of August, the heat of the summer just barely beginning to ease. Mornings were crisp, but the middle of day was still scorching.
Keith wiped his station down as well and turned his computer off. They walked out together and stood between their vehicles while Keith called in pizza for pick up. He ordered the usual; supreme, extra cheese and extra black olives, Elli’s favorite.
“I’ll stop and pick up the beer.” Elli said when he had hung up. “We’ll just meet back at my place.” That was the usual routine.
Keith frowned. “I’ll get beer on my way over. It’s your birthday, so you don’t get to pay for anything.” He gave her a lopsided grin and winked at her.
“Fine.” She said, shaking her head and laughing. He was taking the whole birthday thing a little too far in her opinion, but she knew better than to argue with him when he was in a chivalrous mood like this. She got into her bug and fired it up. Keith started his noisy truck and she followed him out of the parking lot.
When Elli got home, Sarge was gone, but he would be back. Elli made a mental note to bring out any left over pizza before she and Keith got too entrenched in zombie killing. A few minutes after she had unlocked the door and fed Nixsa, Keith showed up with the pizza and beer.
“I figured we still had a couple of cup cakes left over for desert.” He said placing the pizza on her small wooden table.
“That works for me. “ Elli opened the top of the pizza box inhaling the delicious pizza vapors. She looked up to see Keith staring at her, a small smile on his face. “What?” She asked suspicious.
“Nothing.” Keith said, still smiling. “I’ve just never know a girl to appreciate the smell of a pizza.”
“I think of it as being like a fine wine. First, you have to enjoy the aroma,” She inhaled again, “and then you enjoy the flavor.” She grabbed two slices and put them on a paper plate. She passed a plate to Keith who laughed.
“A fine wine. Nice. I see we’re using the fine china as well this evening.” He said grinning as took the plate and added another piece to it. He grabbed the ranch dressing out of the fridge, pushing the door shut with his foot.
“Are you going to do the dishes later?” She asked pointedly getting two slices for herself and grabbed a couple of beers. Keith just laughed again.
They made their way to her living room. Elli turned on the TV and loaded the game in her Xbox while chewing a piece of pizza. They settled down on the couch with their controllers set in front of them on her cluttered coffee table.
“Geeze, El. How about picking up every now and then.” Keith teased as he pushed some papers and books out of the way to make a spot to put down his beer.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get right on that.” Elli grumbled and cued up the game. They ate silently again, watching the opening movie to the game. When Elli had finished her two pieces and Keith had helped himself to another couple of pieces, Elli asked if he was finished. Keith patted his belly and declared that five slices was his limit. After all, he was trying to watch his figure, he said with a grin.
Elli took the remaining slices outside to Sarge, who had returned for the evening, and was working his way through a bottle of Wild Turkey. Sarge took the pizza thankfully, telling Elli what a beauty she was and if he was only a few years younger, he would ask her out on a date. Elli smiled at him and gave Sweety a couple of scratches behind her ears.
Elli and Keith played long into the night, killing zombies and splattering zombie brain matter at every opportunity. There was a lot of smack talking, as there usually was when they played games together, but it was all in good fun. Nixsa came and curled up on Keith’s lap for a time, until he got too excited and jumped up, causing the grey cat to jump down and give an irate yowl.
At about midnight, Keith finally stood up, stretched and said it was time for him to get going. Elli saved and shut down the game, then walked him to the door.
“Thanks for a great evening, Keith.“ She said, leaning on the door frame. “I can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday. “
“You’re welcome, anytime.” He said, looking into her eyes. She never noticed before, but under the light above her door, his eyes had a golden tint to them. They were usually brown in any other light. He reached for her then and enveloped her in a big hug. “Happy Birthday, Elli.” He gave her a quick peck on her cheek, released her, and walked down the steps to his truck.
Elli picked up the pizza box and tossed it in the trash and put the ranch back in the fridge. Most of the six pack of beer Keith had brought was still in there as well.
She put on her usual flannel pajama pants and a tattered old tank top that had faded letters on it which read ‘Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff’. Elli had picked it up at a thrift store, it was one of her favorites. Not so much for the clever wording, but because it was comfortable. She slipped into the covers, Nixsa following right after, making herself a comfy little spot in the small of Elli’s back. “Try not to beat me up tonight, alright?” Elli murmured to the purring cat and snuggled down deeper under her quilt. She fell asleep almost immediately.

Chapter 2
She looked around at the tall familiar buildings around her. Again, everything looked darker, shadowy. Elli wandered the streets, wondering what she was doing here again. She stopped at a familiar intersection; a large group of people were standing in a circle in the middle of the street, with their backs to her. She couldn’t see what was in the middle of the circle at first but, as she approached them, she could hear snarling and fleshy tearing noises coming from them. Elli began to shake with fear, but she couldn’t will her feet to take her in another direction.
Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the people were not people at all. They had a distinct animal look to them with wild eyes, yellowed teeth, and large claws where their hands should be. Their clothing was ripped and torn, revealing dark coarse hair covering their bodies. In the middle of the group, Elli could just make out a lifeless body and as she stood there and watched, one of the creatures took a large bite out of the corpse's torso.
The creature raised its head, blood dripping from its mouth, and gave a guttural yell. The others responded by yelling back and tearing more flesh with their razor sharp teeth. Elli shuddered and began to back away. One of the creatures that could have been a woman jerked her head up and looked directly at Elli. Her eyes were completely black, and she let out a howl that sent a shiver down Elli’s spine.
The others looked up from the kill and began to rise to their feet when they saw Elli. They moved in quick jerky motions, their black eyes never blinking. Elli turned and ran, trying to escape the same fate as the now abandoned body lying in the street.
She ran as fast as she could, but it seemed the group was always gaining on her. She began to whimper when she looked behind her to see that they were only a few feet away now. She let out a scream when one of them reached out, grabbing her arm, its claws digging into her skin. She tore herself away and pushed herself to run faster.
She could feel the blood dripping down her arm as her heart pounded. Wake up, Elli. Wake up, Elli, she repeated over and over, though it didn’t work. Elli felt a sense of deja vu that she didn’t understand and didn’t have time to think about. She turned down an alley way, hoping to escape, not noticing until she was half way down that it dead ended with a brick wall. She was trapped.
She ran to the wall anyways, hoping there was a chance to climb over. With a sob, she realized the wall was too high to climb. She turned and faced the oncoming horde, their pace slowed now that they knew they had her cornered.
God help me! Elli thought desperately. She could see their yellow teeth still dripping with blood, their black eyes focused on her. They reached for her, their claws tearing her clothed and her flesh. She screamed and woke; panting and drenched in sweat. Scratches ran the length of her arm and her body where the creatures had gotten a hold of her. She curled up into a little ball and trembled, afraid to go back to sleep.
Elli blinked blearily at the sun that was beginning to rise over the horizon. She was stiff from laying tense and curled up all night. Stretching, she shuddered again, thinking of the corpse lying in the road.
She had nightmares every night for weeks. Each time she would be chased by horrible creatures, each time she would scream and wake, shaking. More disturbing was that when she woke, she would always have marks on her body where the creatures had gotten too close and been able to touch her.
Elli didn’t want to go to sleep anymore, afraid of what she would run into in her dreams. She started drinking coffee at night in attempts to prevent herself from falling asleep, but she would always eventually doze off only to face the horrible nightmare creatures once more.
Keith noticed the change. He finally demanded an answer one night while at Elli’s apartment. Too tired to lie, she told him about the dreams and the wounds in the morning. He wasn’t convinced the two events were related.
“El, you’ve told me for years how you have no idea where all your bumps and bruises come from.” He said, patting her hand.
Elli shook her head. “The dreams themselves are horrible, Keith. I’m terrified to go to sleep.”
Keith frowned. “Maybe you’re not sleeping hard enough. Most people don’t even remember their dreams.”
Elli shrugged. “Maybe. Right now, I don’t want to sleep ever again.”
“You’re looking at this the wrong way. You need to sleep deeper. Serious REM. For whatever reason your subconscious is pulling up all of our exploits into zombie killing. We’ll ease off those games for a while. That should help.” He looked around the room. “I know!” He jumped up from the couch and went to the kitchen.
He returned with the six pack he had brought over, two small glass tumblers and a bottle of vodka Elli had sneaked away from Sarge after he had passed out. She had meant to dump it out, but she had gotten distracted and it had sat in her cupboard untouched for the last 6 months. It was dusty and the cap was stuck. Keith managed to get the cap off and poured two small shots.
“What are you doing?” Elli asked eyeing the vodka.
“I’m going to help you sleep better.” Keith said.
Elli made a disgusted face. “I don’t see how alcohol poising is going to help me sleep better.”
Keith laughed. “There isn’t that much vodka left.” He picke dup a tumbler and handed it to Elli. “I think you’re too tensed up to sleep because you’re worried about the nightmares. I’m going to get you just drunk enough that you’ll sleep like a baby.” He picked up his glass and clinked it against hers. “Here’s to a night of restful sleep with out nightmares.”
Elli swallowed her shot all in one gulp, crinkling up her nose at the taste. “Ugh. People actually drink this stuff all the time?!”
Keith chuckled as he poured another. “Don’t be a wuss.”
“Keith, “ Elli began to whine, “I can’t drink another one. I almost puked just now.”
“C’mon. It gets easier after the first one.” He quickly drained his cup. Sighing, Elli followed suite.
“Hey, that one wasn’t too bad.” She said, surprise coloring her voice.
“Told ya.” Keith smiled smugly as he poured yet another.
They finished the remainder of the bottle together talking and laughing. After a while, Elli tried to stand up but her legs were too wobbly. “Whoa” she said then broke into a fit of giggles. Keith caught her as she fell back towards the couch. Still giggling Elli looked up into his eyes. They were intense staring down at her face.
“What?” She asked.
He leaned down and kissed her. At that exact moment, Elli’s stomach decided that it had too much vodka. She pulled away from Keith and clamped her hand over her mouth. She bolted from the couch to the bathroom where she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and deposited the undigested vodka.
Keith appeared at the doorway a few minutes later with a glass of water. “I hope it was the vodka and not my kiss that sent you running for the bathroom.” His tone was joking, but there was a seriousness in his eyes.
Elli moaned. “Not funny, Keith. I want to die.”
He chuckled. “You’ll be fine. Drink some of this water and I’ll help you get into bed.”
She took the glass of water hesitantly. She took small sips trying to keep her stomach from rejecting it.
“Better?”
Elli nodded.
“Can you walk?” Keith asked.
“Yes.” Elli croaked.
He slung an arm around her waist and helped her to get off the floor. Elli leaned on him heavily on the way to her bedroom. He laid her gently down on her bed, pulling her shoes off.
“Are there some pajams or anything I can get for you?” He asked.
“No, I’m fine for tonight. I don’t think I could manage to get them on by myself anyways.” Elli said, laying an arm over her eyes. She sat up suddenly causing the room to spin wildly. “You’re not leaving, are you? You’ve had as much to drink as I have.” She asked, swallowing back the bile that rose in her throat as a result of her sudden movement.
“I was hoping you would let me crash out on the couch.” Keith said.
“Of course you can stay.” Elli laid her head slowly back down on her pillow. “You know where everything is.” She closed her eyes and put one foot on the floor in attempt to make the room stay still. “I’m sorry I’m not more helpful.”
Kieth chuckled again. “No worries, El. I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep deep and well.” He clicked off the light in her room as he left.
Elli heard him grab the spare pillow and blankets out of the hall closet, but that was the last thing she was aware of before she slipped into unconsciousness.
She arrived in the same dream. The bleak dark landscape of the city stretching out before her. Elli no longer felt drunk. She wondered if that was because this was a dream or if it was because she knew what she would find here. The thought of the monsters she had encountered before had the same sobering effect as an ice cold shower.
She started wandering again, not knowing what else to do. It was walking down one of the deserted streets when she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. When she turned her head to see what had caught her attention, the street was still empty. It happened several times; Elli would get a glimpse of something just on the peripherals of her vision, but whenever she looked, there was nothing there. She couldn’t understand why she thought it was a tall blond man.
Elli continued to walk for what felt like a long time. This dream was eerily devoid of anything but the empty abandoned buildings. The more she walked and didn’t see anything, the more worried she became. She closed her eyes and concentrated on waking up in her bed. When she opened her eyes, she was there. Light streaming in through the window.
She felt terrible. Her head was pounding and her stomach felt like it was trying to crawl out of her body. She groaned and rolled over pulling her quilt up over her head. She thought about last nights dream. The vodka didn’t keep her from dreaming the same dream, though it had lacked the creatures. Elli decided she would rather deal with nightmares than feeling like this every morning.
She heard a muffled groan from the living room. She peeked her head out from under the covers and looked at the clock. “Are you alive in there?” She called out in a scratchy voice.
“Ugh. Yes, but I wish that wasn’t the case.” Keith said just barely loud enough for Elli to hear. “How are you feeling?”
“Terrible.” Elli said.
Keith appeared in her doorway. “Did it work? How were your dreams?”
Elli slowly sat up in bed. “They were the same, but different. The dream was empty.”
Keith looked triumphant. “See? You’re just not sleeping deep enough.”
Elli shook her head. I don’t think the vodka made any difference. Even if it had, I don’t think I could go through this every night.”
Keith shrugged. “It was worth a try anyways.” He glanced at the clock beside Elli’s bed. “You want to ride to work together?”
“I better take my car. I’m not sure how long I’m going to last at work today.”
“Cool. Well, I’m going to try to get a shower in before our shift starts. I’ll see you at the center.”
Elli waved bye to him from her bed. She laid there for a few more minutes trying to decide if she just wanted to call in sick. She willed herself to get up and get in the shower. After she was done, she felt a lot more human. She took two asprin to ease her headache and fixed a cup of instant coffee to settle her stomach.
She met Keith at work and somehow made it through her entire shift with out getting sick again. After she got home, she fed Nixsa, and crawled into bed. Exhausted from drinking and then being sick from it, Elli fell asleep almost immediately.

Chapter 3
“Eleanor” a soft, musical voice called to her. Elli looked around and saw nothing but white. She couldn’t determine which direction was up or down, right or left. She couldn’t even tell if she was standing on something or just floating. She felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Not a nightmare tonight. Finally, a reprieve.
“Eleanor” the voice came again, and Elli turned to the direction it seemed to be coming from. There was a warm yellow glow in the distance and Elli willed herself towards it. “I’m here.” She called out, although she was unsure who she was calling to. She felt safe, warm, and peaceful, unlike she had ever felt before. The glow drifted towards her, or she drifted towards it, she couldn’t tell, but the distance between then was getting smaller. Little by little, she started making out details. There was a person in that light. It seemed to be a man, although his features were delicate like a woman’s. His hair had the rich coppery tones of a sunset in the southwest and he was dressed in dark blue, shimmering robes. Elli gasped as she saw gigantic pure white wings unfold behind him as he stopped right in front of her. His clear blue eyes stared down at her, seemingly filled with eons of wisdom. He wasn’t any taller than she was, but he seemed to tower over her and she could feel an awesome power radiating from him. Elli was speechless. Her thoughts were consumed with the magnificent creature before her.
“Eleanor Penwick, there is a battle waging between Heaven and Hell, and you have been chosen to be a solider for God.” He said, his voice sounding like a symphony. Elli, still stunned, managed to stammer “W-what? Me? Why me?”
“It’s in your blood” He said.
“M-my blood?” Elli said, feeling as if she was unworthy to even be in the presence of such a being. He nodded sagely at her.
“You have the blood of generations of God’s soldiers pumping through your veins, and now we are calling on you to serve in His army.”
“Is this a dream?” Elli asked.
“It is and it isn’t.”
“What does that mean? Who are you?” Elli said, starting feel confused and worried. They were still surrounded by nothing but whiteness and it was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable.
“I am the Archangel Gabriel and this is the place between dreams.” He gestured around him. “This place is the veil that separates the waking world from the world where demons roam. They cannot walk the Earth. Yet. The veil is weakening and soon demons will be able to break through. “ With that, the angel leaned forward and embraced Elli. She felt a slow burning sensation along her back where the angel’s hands moved over her. “You will not be left unarmed. I give to you the staff of the Angels.” In his hand appeared a long white staff, intricately carved with strange runes. It glowed softly with the same warm yellow light that surrounded Gabriel, the runes shimmering. He handed it to her and it was warm in her hand.
“But, Gabriel, I don’t know how to use this. I’ve never fought in a battle before. Maybe you have the wrong person.” Elli said, looking down at the staff. She was afraid to meet his clear blue eyes, ashamed that she would disappoint him.
“You are the one, Elli. I remember giving this staff to your great, great grandmother, centuries ago. She stood, looking very much like you, and said very similar words. But she was one of the greatest warriors Heaven has known. You will find your way. I will be with you always, protecting you. Now wake, drear Eleanor.”
With those last words, Gabriel faded. Elli could hear a steady beep beep noise, loud and annoying after listening to Gabriel’s musical voice. She slowly woke up to find the beeping coming from her alarm clock. She felt rested, although a little disorientated. It seemed like her conversation with Gabriel hadn’t lasted very long, yet she had been asleep for a long while. She turned off her alarm and laid there thinking about the Angel. He said it was real, but it wasn’t. Was her imagination going wildly out of control? Elli shook her head and threw back her quilt. Nixsa was still curled up tight at the foot of her bed. Elli absentmindedly stroked her soft grey fur as she walked by to the shower, not noticing the tall white staff propped up in the corner of her bedroom.
While she let the warm water pour over her, Elli thought about what Gabriel said about her great great grandmother. She knew he didn’t mean her adopted family. She wondered often about her birth mother, and when she was eighteen she had looked up the records, only to find her mother had died while giving birth to her. Elli’s father wasn’t listed at all. After suffering the disappointment of discovering her mother long dead, Elli hadn’t had the will to look for other relatives. She didn’t want to discover that she was all alone in this world. Besides, even if any of her blood relatives still lived, what would she say to them? Elli had given up the search, knowing that her only family would ever be her adopted one, and now Keith. But Gabriel had filled her with a sense of hope, that maybe she belonged somewhere. If that was more than just a dream. She shook her head. You’re loosing it kid, she told herself.
She turned off the water and dried off quickly. While toweling off her back she felt bumps on her usually smooth skin. What the..? She thought. Naked, she stood with her back to her full length mirror and twisted to try to see what the bumps were. Her heart skipped a beat. Where Gabriel had run his hands over her back, she now had wings etched onto her skin. They looked very much like tattoos although, instead of black ink, it looked like the artist had used white ink. They started at her shoulder blades, curling up and around, and then stretching down the length of her back. They weren’t the light feathery wings she would usually associate with angels, but strong, bold lines. They were slightly raised, almost like scars. She ran her fingers wonderingly along the parts she could reach. A dream, but not a dream, Gabriel had said. What the fuck is going on here? Elli wondered, worried.
Still troubled, Elli finished drying off and got dressed quickly in a pair of tan cargo pants, a small black tee shirt that read ‘DON’T PANIC’ on the front and her favorite boots. She went through her usual morning routine with her mind still on the strange occurrences of her dream.
Elli was still really bothered. How can dreams be real? If they were, wouldn’t everyone bear the marks of their nightmares? Some dreams felt more real than others, so did that mean they were more real? The more Elli thought about it, the more disturbed she became. Sure, she had scratches on her skin after all the nightmares she’s had lately, but she attributed that to Nixsa and her own natural tendency to run into things. Especially now that she had been trying to avoid falling asleep.
Remembering she left her cell on the night stand next to her bed, she went to retrieve it and stopped short when she saw the staff leaning in the corner of her room. Slowly, she walked towards it, trembling, afraid she was loosing her mind. She reached out, hesitantly, and touched it, her fingers shaking as she traced some of the strange runes. It didn’t glow like it had in her dream, but it was still warm to the touch, although the air in her apartment was chilly. She shivered and pulled her hand back.
So, it had been real. All of it. She couldn’t deny that anymore, although, deep down, Elli was surprised that she really never had any doubts. In all her life, in all her experiences, this felt more real, more….right, than anything before. Elli reached out and stroked the staff and promised it and herself that she would learn to wield it and make Gabriel proud of her. She felt uplifted, no longer afraid. Having decided that she believed, she was resolved. She had found her purpose in life.

“Good morning Sarge. Good morning Sweety.” Elli said cheerfully as she offered the brown bagged burritos. Sarge blinked at her in the morning light, eyes still blood shot from the night before.
“You’re awfully chipper this morning.” Sarge noted as he unwrapped one of the burrito’s and fed it to Sweety. “Any particular reason why?”
“Nothing specific. Just…glad to be alive today.” Elli said, smiling. Sarge gave her a concerned look as he chewed his own burrito. She laughed and reached out to touch his arm.
“Really, I’m okay. I’m not on drugs. I am running late though, Sarge, so I’ll catch you later.” She waved at him and started up her bug.
She made it to work in record time, beating Keith to the parking lot by a few minutes. She stood outside her bug while she waited for him, a sense of peace filling her. Elli wasn’t usually an overly happy person, but today, she felt light as a feather. When Keith pulled into the parking lot, his old truck rumbling to stop next to her, she was bouncing on her toes. Keith eyed her suspiciously. He was wearing dark blue jeans today and a bright orange Sunkist tee.
“What’s up?” he asked as he locked his truck.
“Something strange happened last night.” Elli said, grinning at him. They fell into step together as they walked towards the call center building.
“Oh yeah. Did you figure out how to pass that level with out me?” Keith teased, a smile playing on his lips.
“No,” Elli said, laughing. “I had a strange dream, but it wasn’t a dream, it was real.”
Keith frowned at her. “What do you mean? Like the nightmare’s you’ve been having are real?”
“No, finally I had a good dream. Check this out.” Elli said, stopping and pulling up the back of her shirt, to show Keith her back.
“Whoa, El. What happened?”
“I was visited by the Archangel Gabriel. He told me I was a warrior for God, and he gave me wings.” She turned back around to face him, pulling her shirt back down.
“What?!? Those look more like Nixsa has been scratching the hell out of your back. Doesn’t it hurt when she does that? I know she’s been getting you a lot lately.”
“These weren’t there yesterday,” Elli pointed out.
Keith just shrugged. “An angel, huh? Did he say why you were chosen?”
“He said it runs in my bloodline. He said he marked my great great grandmother the same way when she fought for Heaven.”
“Elli,“ Keith said, his voice patient. “I think it was just a wickedly real dream. You’ve been having those a lot lately.”
“It wasn’t just a dream, Keith. Maybe you can’t tell their wings while I have my shirt on. “Besides, “ She said holding up her hands to forestall whatever he was about to say “that’s not the only thing I have as evidence the dream was real. Gabriel gave me the Staff of the Angels, and this morning, it was in my bedroom.”
Keith looked down at her, raising one eyebrow. “How did it get from your dream into your bedroom?”
“I’m not sure. But this morning, I feel like just about anything is possible.” She said shaking her head, the grin never slipping from her face.
“Are you sure it was there? Maybe this morning you were still asleep and only thought you saw a staff in your room.” He said, always the voice of logic.
Elli shook her head. “I touched it this morning, Keith.”
They entered the building together, Elli giving the guard a friendly wave. The startled look on his face was enough to make Elli laugh out loud.
“Okay, so say it’s real. You’re a part of Gods Army. I thought that’s what Angel’s did. Why would they need people?” Keith asked, his voice low now that other people were around.
Elli frowned, “I’m not sure. He didn’t really explain that part.”
“Alright, so what are you supposed to be fighting? Do you get called up by Gabriel or whatever when it’s time for battle?”
“I don’t know.” She hissed, her euphoric mood fading. Under the harsh lights of the call center floor, her dream was starting to feel less real.
“Well, how about I save my wonder until we find out a little more about the situation, okay?” Keith said, signing onto his computer.
Elli sighed.
“I’m sorry to be such a downer, El, but I don’t believe in Angels, Heaven, Hell, or any of that stuff.” He placed a hand on her arm and looked into her eyes. “But if you believe it’s real, then I believe you. You are one of the most down to earth people I know. If something has made this much of a change in you, then something had to have happened.”
Elli just nodded, but she wasn’t so sure of herself anymore. She logged into her computer and saw there were a hundred people waiting to be helped. She sighed again and clicked on the receive call button.
Elli glanced down at the clock on her computer. She heaved a huge sigh of relief. The day had seemed incredibly long and Elli was thankful to see it was finally quitting time. She stole a glance at Keith. He was still handling a difficult caller, scowling and looking frustrated, but his voice was calm and collected.
“That should fix the problem. Let me know when it’s done loading, okay?” He looked over at Elli and rolled his eyes. She grinned at him and logged off her system.
“Great! Is there anything else I can help you with today?” Keith said cheerfully, although Elli could tell by his body posture he was just as ready to go home as she was. His cursor was hovered over the end call button. “Alright, then, you have a good evening too. Thanks for calling.” He clicked the button and let out a low groan.
“Man, I thought I was never going to get off that call.” He watched as Elli cleaned her station. “What do you want to do tonight?”
Elli shrugged. “I’m pretty beat. I was thinking of just grabbing a burger on the way home and just calling it a night.”
“That’s cool.” Keith said, shutting down his own computer. “El, look, I’m sorry about this morning. You just didn’t seem like you, and well, it freaked me out.”
“It’s alright, Keith. I was freaked at first too. Even now it gives me the heebie jeebies to think about. Elli smiled wanly. “It was just such a relief to dream of something other than nasty things trying to kill me.”
“No doubt.” Keith paused. “Have you considered what I said about seeing a doctor? I’m sure you could get something to make you sleep harder. You wouldn’t even remember your dreams when you woke up.”
“I’ve thought about it, but I’d rather not.” She shrugged. “I hate taking aspirin when I have a headache. I can’t imagine trying to swallow a pill every night before bed.”
“I know, I just……it doesn’t matter.” He looked away and scrubbed a particular spot on his station with much more vigor than necessary.
“What?” Elli asked, curious.
“I just worry about you.” He said, looking at her. His brown eyes were warm and soft. “I know you haven’t been sleeping very well, and frankly you’ve been less animated than those zombies on the game.”
“I’m sorry Keith. I don’t know what’s been causing them, but this morning I’ve felt more rested than I have in what feels like months. You’re right, though, I’ve been worse than a zombie. I’m hoping that since last night was different, the bad dreams are over now and I can go back to my normal, sarcastic self. “
“Good. I’ve missed the sarcasm.” He smiled at her, reaching out to touch her hand. “So we’re off tomorrow. How bout you sleep in and call me when you get up. We’ll go grab a coffee together.”
Elli snorted. “Even if I sleep till noon, I’ll still be up before you.”
‘“Hey. When you’re up until the break of dawn fighting the Nazi’s, you’ve got to get your sleep in when you can.”
“Nazis?” Elli asked, confused.
“Yeah, one of the new war games that’s out. I play on line with a couple of guys in England. The 12 hour time difference really kicks my ass sometimes.”
Elli just shook her head. Keith was always up on the newest games. She enjoyed playing, mostly just with him, but he was a hard core gamer. Even still, before killing Nazis with Englishmen, Keith would sleep all day. Elli always envied that about him. She couldn’t usually sleep during the day at all.
They walked out together and said their good byes. The restful feeling Elli had this morning was completely gone. She was exhausted and worried. She was afraid to go to sleep, afraid of the nightmares, but she was already running on less rest than she was used to. She did go to the drive through and grabbed a couple of burger meals. She gave one full meal and the extra fries to Sarge and Sweety, wishing them a good night. It was turning colder now that it was autumn already. She’d have to remember to bring out a blanket for them. There were a few nights last winter where she had invited Sarge into her home. He never took her up on the invite, though, claiming he couldn’t sleep with out being able to see the stars.

Chapter 4
Elli unlocked her apartment and threw her keys on the coffee table in the living room. Nixsa wound her way through Elli’s legs and feet, making it as clear as possible that she was ready for dinner. Elli poured her some dry cat food in her porcelain food dish which read “Cats Rule, Dogs Drool” and then settled down in front of the TV to eat her own dinner. She kept glancing towards her bedroom. She wondered if the staff was still in there, or if she realy had only dreamed about it. She wanted to go look, but was afraid. She was worried that it wouldn’t be in there, proving Keith right. She was also scared it would be in there, and what that would mean. She shivered and tried to concentrate on the show on TV, but her eyes would occasionally wander back towards her bedroom door.
Eventually, Elli could take it no longer. She stood up and walked slowly to her bedroom. She took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway. If someone had been watching her, they would have thought she had a dangerous snake in her room. Her eyes went right to the corner where the Staff had set this morning and sure enough, it was still there. Elli let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. She just stood there for a long while staring at it, not knowing how she should feel or what she should think. A part of her told her that dreams are not real, but she could not deny the hard evidence in front of her. She took a few steps towards it, reaching out to brush her fingers against its carved surface. Again, it was warm to her touch. Elli shook her head in wonder. When she picked it up, it was light in her hands, like it weighed no more than a feather. It felt well balanced and solid. Elli got the distinct feeling that there was more to the staff than just wood and runes. She set it down delicately against the wall and stood staring at it for the longest while. Finally, she broke out of her reverie and wandered into the bathroom.
Elli took another long, hot shower, allowing the water to help loosen some of the tight muscles in her shoulders and back. She wasn’t as euphoric as she had been this morning. Now, Elli was worried. If Gabriel was real and her dreams were real, then that meant she was actually a warrior for Heaven. She had never even gotten into a school yard fight. Her stomach felt uneasy as she thought about the war games she had watched Keith play. She was no fool. She knew that battles were bloody, horrible, and not at all glorious. Again, Elli had doubts that Gabriel had the right person. When the water had started going cold on her, she got out of the shower and toweled off, shivering, but not because she was cold.
Elli felt anxious when she lay down in her bed. She had no idea what she was going to dream of tonight and that worried her. She snuggled down under her quilt, Nixsa quickly claiming her spot on the bed, and closed her eyes. Elli didn’t think she would be able to fall asleep at all, feeling as nervous as she did, but soon her breathing began to even out and she finally relaxed, falling into a deep sleep.
She knew right away that it was another nightmare. It was the same shadowy copy of her city, same creepy feeling. Elli felt something in her hand and looked down with surprise. She was holding her staff; it glowing warmly like it did when Gabriel had given it to her. She gave it a squeeze, relief flooding into her. At least when she was faced with the horrible creatures, this time she had a way to defend herself. She had the feeling that she had barely escaped the last times she had been here and now the playing field would be a little more even.
She wandered the streets as usual, more of a bounce in her step. When she rounded a corner, she noticed another person ahead, with their back to her. She slowed her step and hefted her staff to get a better grip on it. She was almost with in reach of the creature when it turned around. It was her adopted mother!
Elli stopped short, her heart pounding.
“Mom?” Elli asked, confused. Her mother gave her a warm smile, but there was something off in her eyes. Usually her eyes were a clear blue; here they are black and flat. It was hard to tell in the darkness of the dream world, but Elli was pretty sure this was not her mother. She took a step backwards and the not-mom frowned and reached out for her. Elli, panicked and struck out at her with the staff. There was a horrible bone crunching sound as it made contact with her, and left runes burned into her skin. The woman threw her head back and screamed. She collapsed onto the ground, unmoving, her arm smoking. Elli was trembling from head to toe, but couldn’t move.
She tried to steady her breathing. She leaned in to see if the woman was dead. Elli was inches from her when the woman reached out and grabbed her face. The woman’s nails dug into Elli’s cheeks, making her cry out in pain. She struggled to get the staff around to hit the woman again, but her grip was too hard on Elli’s face. Elli dropped the staff and kicked the woman as hard as she could in the gut. She felt her foot connect with the woman’s ribs and heard the crunch of her bones. Her breath whooshed out of her and she let go of Elli’s face.
Elli stumbled backwards, tripping over her staff. She fell hard on her backside, sending a shot of pain up her spine. She untangled her legs from the staff and got to her feet as quickly as she could. The woman had gotten to her feet as well, but she was changing form. Like the first creature Elli had ran into in this world, the woman’s skin began to melt off of her. Elli wanted to gag as the woman’s hair fell out in big clumps and her skin came of in big dripping piles. She no longer resembled Elli’s adopted mother.
The woman was grey and slimy and as she moved towards Elli, her feet made suction noises on the ground. Both of her arms stretched, elongating grotesquely, turning into tentacles with one sharp, pointy claw at the end of them. Suckers appeared along the length of her arms and inside each sucker was a short, forked tongue that seemed to be dripping green slime. Her entire body was fluid looking and Elli briefly wondered how the woman could stay upright.
The woman half walked, half oozed her way towards Elli. She was making slurping noises and Elli noticed the woman’s teeth had all fallen out, leaving a soft gummy hole where her mouth had been. Elli swung her staff around hitting the woman square in the jaw. She screeched and darted backwards, just out of reach. Then something grabbed Elli from behind.
Big hairy arms wrapped around her tightly, squeezing her arms to her sides, making her drop her staff. It clattered to the ground noisily. She screamed and struggled against the iron grip that held her. She felt hot breath against her cheek and something growled low in her ear. Her heart pounded so hard, Elli thought she might be having a heart attack. The woman formed her mouth into a horrible smile and came forward towards her again. Elli squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the advancing creatures attack.
But the attack never came. Elli felt the grip on her suddenly loosen. She opened her eyes to see the woman frozen in the same spot, a glowing disc with a sharp serrated edge sticking out of her chest. She oozed black blood. She fell slowly to the ground, gurgling and landing face down, her blood making a thick oily puddle around her. Elli turned to see what had been holding her, but it wasn’t there. A few feet away she saw what looked like a large wolf, only it was standing upright, and twice the size of a normal man. It was fighting with a man with a glowing sword. The man was tall, blond, and just above the neck line of his shirt, Elli could see what looked like a black tattoo peeking out.
Terrified, Elli took a step backwards to try to run away and tripped over her staff. She picked it up and looked back to the man fighting the wolf beast. The man wasn’t alone now. Fighting with him was a shorter man with red hair and a tall blond girl. The red haired man would dart in and distract the wolf man while the blond man and girl would each rush at him, stabbing and slicing at him. The wolf man howled loudly and swung out his huge muscled arms and sharp clawed hands, cutting the blond man across his chest.
The blond man swore while blood stained his white shirt. The red head jumped on the back of the wolf man and gave a sharp twist to his head. Elli heard a loud pop and the wolf man fell to the ground. The red head fell on with him, but rolled spryly to his feet as soon as it was clear his foe was dead.
The three of them were panting. The blond wiped his sword on the torn clothes of the now still wolf man and looked up at Elli. She was still standing there, holding her staff. The blond girl also looked up from wiping off her short blade. The red head smiled at Elli and walked slowly towards her.
“It’s okay now.” He said, holding his hands up in a submissive gesture. “I’m just going to retrieve my disc, alright? We’re not going to hurt you.”
Elli just stared at him while he slowly walked passed her and knelt down to the dead woman’s body. He jerked out the disc that was buried in her chest with a grunt and wiped its sharp edges on her clothing.
“Yuk. These demons really smell nasty.” He said straitening up next to her. “You smell it?”
Elli inhaled and noticed there was a salty sulfur smell in the air. She wrinkled up her nose.
“I’m Abe.” He said, sticking out his hand.
Elli hesitated staring at him. He laughed.
“I understand, honey. It’s okay. I know you’re new.” He smiled warmly at her. His green eyes had a friendly sparkle to them. Elli felt herself relax a little. He was the first person she’d seen here that didn’t have black eyes.
“I’m, uh. Elli.” She said. Her eyes danced nervously around as the other two approached her and Abe.
“Elli. Pleasure to meet you. This is Jessica, and Jacen.” He said nodding towards the others. Jessica was tall, blond and beautiful. She had wonderful curves and the skin tight black outfit she wore made her look like a cross between a super model and Trinity from the Matrix. Elli felt a flash of jealousy and regret that she would never look that good in something so tight. The back of her shirt was cut open and Elli could make out a set of black wings tattooed on her back. They looked almost like the solid bold lines that Elli had noticed on her back. Jacen stood a little off to the side, staring curiously at Elli. She noticed that his eyes were a blue grey color and seemed to be as deep as the darkest parts of the oceans. His blond hair hung curly just below his ears and his features were strong. His shirt was soaked in blood where the wolf man had cut him.
“Good thing we happened on you when we did.” He said, coming to stand beside Abe. “You’d be demon meat right now.”
“Jacen, be easy on the girl. This is her first time seeing one of these things.” Abe said, laying a hand on Jacen.
“She could have helped.” Jessica said, her voice beautiful too, much to Elli’s dismay.
“Have you guys forgotten your first time here? Were you not scared stiff?” Abe said, looking them both square in the eyes.
“This isn’t my first time here.” Elli said quietly. They all three turned to stare at her.
“What do you mean, not your first time?” Jess said, frowning at her.
“I’ve been here before. Lots of times, although this is the first I’ve seen any people like you. Just usually…demons, I guess. Horrible monsters, always chasing me. I thought it would be different this time, though because I have my staff.”
“You remember being here before?” Jacen asked her, incredulous.
“Yes.” Elli looked at him with wide eyes. “Why?”
Abe looked troubled. “We need to get back to base and talk, I think.”
They led Elli to an abandoned looking warehouse a few blocks away. Most of the windows were broken out and it had a large, heavy steel door in the front. There was a dark alley on each side of it and Elli could just make out a delivery ramp in the back. Inside was empty except for a long metal bench along one of the walls. The cement floor was stained black in places. Jess turned on the rows upon rows of lights that shined brightly. Once Elli’s eyes adjusted she saw the ceiling was extremely high with catwalks crisscrossing up near the roof. She shivered although it wasn’t cold. They laid their weapons out on the table, examining them.
“So,” Jacen said casually, turning towards Elli. His face was calm and smooth, but he some how managed to look cocky when he leaned back against the table. “You remember being here before tonight?”
“Yeah,” Elli said, feeling a little defensive. She couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal. “Don’t you?”
“Elli, when were you visited by the Angel?” Abe asked. Jess leaned against the counter beside Jacen and folded her arms across her chest. She looked bored.
“Just last night. He gave me this staff” Elli held it up for Abe to examine.
He took and looked it over before handing it back. “Did he give you anything else?” He asked gently. Elli nodded. “Marks on my back”. She turned and lifted up her shirt. She turned her head and gasped as she caught sight of herself in the reflection of one of the windows. Where the marks were white this morning, here they were as black as ink. They stood out against her light skin, stretching and waving down her back, following her natural contours. They looked like a natural part of her skin. She pulled her shirt down turning back around to face them.
Jess was looking away, still emanating a feeling of boredom. Jacen was staring at her, his face unreadable. Abe turned around and pulled up his own shirt. His wings were shorter, only going down about half way down his back. The top parts were centered on his shoulder blades, bold black lines curling up around and then straitening down to four long points. They were beautiful, contrasting against his pale skin. He dropped his shirt and faced her again. Abe was wirery looking, his muscles clinging to him like bands along his arms and back. He seemed to be about Elli’s age, but his eyes looked older. They twinkled and sparkled like polished emeralds but they seemed to hold wisdom that usually only comes with life’s many experiences.
“We’ve all got them, although they are all different. The wings are the mark of protection from your particular angel.” He said. “You’re not supposed to be able to be here until you have those. Very few people wander into this world and survive to remember.”
“What is this world? I thought it was a dream, but...” Elli said confused and not sure of anything.
“It is and it isn’t,” Abe started
“Yeah Gabriel said that too. And it doesn’t make any more sense coming out of your mouth.” Elli interrupted.
“Think of it as the place between dreams and real life,“ Abe said patiently. “Most people have a mental block that doesn’t allow them to fall too far into their dreams. Usually people sleep light enough that they only barely touch the dream world. Some people do make it here and usually die quickly. If not from demons, then from their own stupidity. They think they are still just dreaming and try something brainless, like flying or jumping off a building, and when they hit the ground, they don’t wake up. “ He looked sad.
“But, she’s been here before. How is that possible?” Jacen asked.
Abe looked at Elli, thoughtfully. “You only saw Gabriel last night?” he asked her.
“Yes.” Elli said frustrated.
“And you saw the demons before tonight?”
“Yes! And every time I woke up with bruises and scratches.”
Abe pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Do you remember the dreams after you wake?”
Elli shuddered. “Yes.” She said quietly.
Jacen glanced over to Abe. “I told you something was going on.”
“What does that mean?” Elli asked.
“I don’t know. You shouldn’t have been here before you were visited by Gabriel. It’s a miracle you had managed to wander into this world before you were under his protection and still servived.There has been more demon movement than usual lately. I haven’t seen this much activity in quite a few decades. “
“Decades?” Elli asked, surprised. “How old are you?” she burst out, and then felt bad for being so rude. Abe just laughed.
“I’m 96 years young.” He said and grinned at her.
“But...how can that be? You look…”she trailed off.
“Here in this world, you’re whatever image you know as yourself. I know my self at around 25. I think it’s just the mirror that’s wrong. “ He chuckled. “Wouldn’t you if you were really 96?” He smiled. “For most people, it’s not something that they choose, it just happens. I’ve been in here so long that I’ve just never changed.”
“Where do you live?” She wondered, fascinated.
“I live at Crest View nursing home.”
“Oh.,” Elli said quietly.
“It’s actually a decent place. They have edible food, comfortable beds and friendly nurses. Besides, I don’t have any family to stay with and I’d much rather be around people at my age and with my, uh, profession… “He shuddered. “I would hate to die in my sleep and not be found; no one wondering about me, no one to care. I would just lay there and rot away in my bed.”
Elli reached out and touched his arm. The sad expression looked out of place on his face. He looked up a grinned at her. “I do love this though.” He waved a hand over his body. “Young forever, eh?”
Elli thought about it for a second. She looked over at Jacen, who was now watching her with an amused expression. As soon as Elli looked at him, his face went carefully back into a smooth mask.
“So are you going to tell me you’re like, 105 or something?” She asked him.
“Nope, I’m 26 here and there.” He said, looking into her eyes. His eyes were a clear blue/grey, like two bottomless ocean pools reflecting the stormy clouds above.
Elli’s heart skipped a beat. She’d never seen eyes like his. The expression ‘eyes are the windows into the soul’ ran through her head. Elli felt like if she stared long enough, she would fall into their depths, never to resurface. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. A guy had never affected her that way before. She had dated, sure, but nothing ever serious. Guys were a mystery to her for the most part. Jacen’s soul seemed to be on display there in his eyes and it looked like it was hurting. Elli wanted to put her arms around him, comfort him, but didn’t understand where the feeling was coming from.
“What do you do in real life?” She asked, trying not to stare at him. He was beautiful, with his curly blond hair and wide shoulders. He was well built, with strong muscles bulging under his white shirt. He radiated gracefulness just standing there. His sword rested in a scabbard on his hip, its hilt wrapped in gold wire.
“I work in IT.” He said looking away from her. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to volunteer anymore information than that.
“Oh.” Elli said. “And you Jess?” She asked, trying to be friendly to the pretty girl.
Jess rolled her eyes. “I feel like I’m in school all over again. Stand up, tell us your name and what your favorite animal is.” She said, her voice dripping with distain. “I’m a model for one of the big department stores.” She stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “What is it that you do?” She asked in a dry tone.
Elli felt like lying and telling Jess that she also modeled, but she figured she’d never be able to pull of the lie. She went for the truth instead.
“I work at a call center.” Ellie said, shrugging casually.
She flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder and went back to studying her nails.
Figures, Elli thought to herself and tried to suppress a scowl. She hadn’t ever had a lot of girl friends. Most girls, in Elli’s experience, were all about the drama and gossip. They were always more worried about their hair, clothes, or boys. Elli was more into reading, hiking, video games. She enjoyed some classic books, some science fiction like Robert Heinlein or Timothy Zhan, and the occasional epic fantasy. She hadn’t had anyone in her life that shared these interests, until she had met Keith. She stopped short when she thought of his name. What was she going to tell him?
“So are we going to go out hunting or not?” Jessica said looking up with a scowl on her face. Abe frowned at her and then looked at Elli. “Have you tried out your staff yet?”
“Um. Not really.”She said with a shrug. “I hit that octopus demon with it and it seemed to hurt her, but it’s not like I’ve had any training.”
“We can fix that.” Abe said. He held up a hand to stall Jessica’s objection. “I know what you’re going to say, but it won’t hurt anything to show the girl a few moves before we go looking for a fight. “
“Fine.” Jess said and sat down with a thump on the bench.
“Okay, Abe said turning towards Elli. “ Grab your staff with both hands, like this” He placed her hands just so on the staff. “Now, give it swing.” He took a couple of steppes back.
Elli swung her staff liked she’d seen people do in all those ninja movies Keith made her watch. To her utter surprise, it remained in her control as it made a beautiful sweeping arch through the air. She heard a low whistle as it passed just millimeters from Abe’s face.
“Whoa.” Elli said impressed with herself. Abe smiled at her, his green eyes twinkling. Elli looked over at Jacen who was looking at her with one eye brow raised. Jess stood, gaping and then quickly turned pouty again.
“That was good, Elli.” Abe said encouragingly. “Do you want to take a couple more practice swings, or are you ready to try to face someone?”
“Um, “ Elli hesitated and then took a deep breath. “I might as well jump in with both feet.” She took an aggressive stance facing Abe. “I’m ready when you are, old timer.” She grinned at him.
He let out a loud laugh. “Not me, young padawan.” He gestured towards Jacen. “His sword and your staff should be a more equal fight.” Jacen pushed away from the bench and stood close to Elli. Her heart started pounding. She took a deep breath to try to settle down. She felt nervous with him so close, but it was a good kind of nervous. It felt like the feeling she had when she rode that super rollercoaster last summer when she had finally caved and went on a family vacation.
“My disc wouldn’t be fair, you see.” Abe whipped out the disc and gave it a twist. The serrated edge appeared. Abe turned around and flung it in a move so fast, Elli barely saw it. She heard a loud ka-thunk as the disc embedded itself into one of the far walls. Little bits of dust were floating in the air around it. “Jess has a dagger and eventually, I’d like to give you some close combat training, but for now, I want you to just concentrate on learning to defend yourself with that. There is more, much more to this world, none of which I really have time to teach you about right now. Normal rules of life don’t really apply. This is a sort of dream world after all, and being marked by an Angel gives you more powers than most; quicker speed, harder hits, the ability to heal quickly. You will bear the marks of any serious injury that you get here, even into your waking life, although they’ll be smaller, more superficial. You can die here, just like those people I mentioned before. So you must be careful, but don’t let your preconceived notions rule your actions. If you think you can do it, you might be able to.”
“Our weapons are not ordinary.” He went on, explaining. He reached out and touched Elli’s staff. “They are Angel wrought in Heaven and are indestructible. Jacen cannot harm your staff any more than you can harm his sword. Elli, I want you to do everything you can to fight off Jacen. Don’t think about it too much. Just relax and do what feels right. “Abe looked at Jacen.”Don’t be too hard on her, but don’t take it too easy either. The point of this is to train her.”
Jacen rolled his eyes and then nodded. “Are you ready?” He asked Elli, meeting her eyes. Again, her heart fluttered, but she pushed those feelings down. She wanted to concentrate so she didn’t make a fool of herself. Jessica was watching them with interest, now and Abe looked just like a teacher standing over his students. Elli swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She nodded at him once, her eyes never leaving his.
Jacen drew his sword and began circling her, crouched low and moving as graceful as a cat. Elli hefted her staff; wary for the strike she knew was coming. With a flash, Jacen’s sword shot out towards Elli’s midsection, and she jumped backwards, barely escaping the swipe. His sword shot out again towards her, but this time she was ready. With out thinking, she moved her staff up to block him. Jacen’s sword sent out a shower of sparks as it bounced off of the pale wood. His face was a mask of surprise and he took a step back to reassess the situation. Elli stood ready, eyeing him. He attacked her again, this time rushing towards her. Each move of his sword was met with her staff, sparks flying everywhere. They seemed to be dancing as they moved around the space of the empty warehouse. Elli had sweat pouring from her as she defended herself against Jacen’s relentless attacks. She noticed he was sweating too, his pale blond hair matted to his head. She never gave way, though, neither did he.
They went on for what seemed to Elli like hours and she was panting when Abe finally called for them to stop. Jacen was breathing heavy too as he sheathed his sword. He looked at her with appreciation.
“Very Good, Elli!” Abe said beaming at her and clapping her on the back. She smiled up at him and looked over to Jacen. He was staring at her again, his expression somewhere between wonder and grudging approval. Jess was frowning. She didn’t look very pleased.
“That was better than I had imagined.” Abe said proudly. “You’re a natural with that staff.”
“We are all good with our weapons, isn’t that part of all this, Abe?” Jessica said, her beautiful voice was annoyed. She looked Elli directly in her eyes. “We also gain the Angel’s super speed and skills when they mark us. So you’re nothing special.” She flipped her hair again. “I would like to see how good you are when you don’t have the room to swing that big stick.”
Elli prepared a nasty retort, but was cut off by a loud screeching noise behind her. The warehouse door blew open abruptly, sending the debris flying into the empty space. Elli ducked as a piece of the door flew right over her head and slammed noisily into the wall across the way. Jacen yelled out and ran towards her, pushing her down onto the floor. She hit the floor hard, Jace landing on top of her, knocking her air out.
Abe ran and grabbed his disc out of the wall, flinging it with a quickness that was surprising. Demons were pouring through the busted door, some lurching, and some slithering. Abe’s disc buried itself in the chest of the first demon, a corpse looking man. His skin was hanging off of him and he appeared to be all bone underneath. Even still, black blood oozed out around the wound and dripped onto the floor.
Jacen got to his feet and drew his sword. He cried out as he met the next demon, slicing through it like hot butter. It fell to the floor in a mass of blood. Jess’s dagger flew past Elli’s ear and landed square in the middle of a demons forehead. Its black eyes rolled back and it fell to the ground in a heap.
Abe went to retrieve his disc from the first demon. Jacen was battling with a large demon that has long blades for hands. Elli could hear the clang of metal meeting metal and the grunts from Jacen as he tried to beat the demon back. While Abe was yanking his weapon free from the demon disc corpse, more demons poured through the doors. He had his back to them and didn’t see them approaching. Elli called out a warning, but the demons were right on him. He cried out in pain as the demon sunk its sharp teeth into his back. Elli rushed forward with her staff, swinging it perfectly and making contact with the demon that was on Abe. The demon screamed in pain as the staff burned into its soft flesh. It snarled and snapped at Elli, but she was already swinging again. This time she connected with its head, turning it around almost one hundred and eighty degrees. She heard its neck snap and where the staff had touched it; its skin was black and charred. The force of blow knocked her off her feet and she landed with a hard thud on the concrete floor.
As she lay there, trying to find her breath, she heard a sickening thunk right behind her. As she turned with wide eyes, a smoky shapeless demon was hovering a few inches away, its black mouth open wide revealing long rows of yellow teeth. Sticking through its chest was the tip of Jacen’s sword, glowing a warm yellow. He pulled the sword back out and the demon sank to a puddle at Elli’s feet. She looked up into Jacen’s eyes. They were almost grey now, like stormy skies, and full of concern.
“Are you ok?” He asked, offering his hand to help her up. She took it and was jolted with what felt like an electrical spark. His hand was warm, but rough like he was used to hard labor. She nodded, unable to form words. “Good, because we’re not done yet.” He set his mouth in a firm line and faced towards the onslaught of Demons.
The four of them battled on as demons kept pouring through the door. Elli took a few scratches when she was slow making contact. Where she did connect, demons fell at her feet, charred and screaming. Abe used his disc and also, to Elli’s surprise, brute strength, occasionally taking down a smaller demon with his bare hands. Jess darted in between demons, quicker and more lightly than a hummingbird, making killing slashes with her dagger. A small part of Elli’s mind noticed how each of their weapons glowed yellow, much like the light that had surrounded Gabriel.
It couldn’t have been longer than a few minutes, but when the last demon fell, they were all panting. Jacen had another slash, this one across his arm. Abe was bleeding from his head, although it appeared to be slowing. Jessica seemed to be the only one who was untouched. She barely had a hair out of place.
Elli stood a part from them, trying to catch her breath. Her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest and she was shaking from head to toe. This had been her first battle, and it all came crashing down on her at once. She dropped to her knees hard, putting her hands on the cool concrete floor to catch herself from falling further.
“Elli?” Jacen asked, taking a step forward. Elli just shook her head, unable to lift it to look at him.
“Elli, girl. Look at me.” Abe ordered. Elli forced her eyes upward to Abe’s face. He placed his cool hands on either side of her face. He looked into her eyes for a moment and then slid one of his hands down to her neck. His fingers rested lightly on a vein in her neck and she could see him silently taking her pulse.
“I’m fine,” She croaked. Elli cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m okay.” She said in a much clearer voice, if not stronger.
Abe pulled a little away from her and looked her over with a serious expression. “You look a little pale, but your heart is slowing down to a more normal rhythm. Are you seriously hurt anywhere?”
Again, Elli shook her head. “No more than you. It’s just that was my…first…” She trailed off with a shudder.
Abe patted her on the top of her head and stood up back on his feet. “You’ve had a pretty eventful first night, that’s for sure.” He frowned, looking over at Jacen who had come to stand them.
“I’ve not ever seen that many at once.” He said, obviously worried.
Jacen scowled. “You’ve been saying for weeks now that there’s been more activity lately. What does that mean, Abe?”
“I’m not sure what it means.” Abe looked down at Elli. She was regaining some of her color now and her breathing had calmed. “I’m worried, though. It doesn’t seem normal. “ He didn’t want to worry the girl further, but there wasn’t any sense in sugar coating the situation. “I think we’re done for tonight. We need to figure out what is going on, and I think I know where to start looking for answers.”
Jacen shot a confused look to Abe. “Where?”
“Tomorrow.” Abe waved a hand at him. “We’ll do it tomorrow when we’re fresh and healed.”
“Fine, so we’re done here tonight?” Jessica asked in a huff.
Jacen looked at her with narrowed eyes and Abe just nodded in her direction, lost in his own thoughts.
Jessica turned and stalked out of the warehouse, disappearing into the dark.
“So, um.” Elli started, getting unsteadily to her feet. “How do I get back?”
“What?” Abe said coming out of his reverie. “Oh, you just wake up.”
“Just wake up? That’s it?” Elli asked, incredulous.
Jacen chuckled, the first sound like that Elli had heard from him. “It is a bit more complicated than that. Abe, as our leader, has a hold on us here, so we can’t go until he tells we can.” He turned his blue/grey eyes on her again. “Then you have to concentrate on waking up.”
“Sounds a little too easy, after the night I’ve had.” Elli muttered.
Jacen smiled at her. “Close your eyes.”
Elli looked at him doubtfully.
A smile twitched on his lips. “It’s okay. I’m trying to help you relax.”
She shook her head at him and slowly closed her eyes.
“Now,” He said, his voice close now, “take a deep breath.”
Elli felt herself relaxing as she inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly. She could almost feel Jacen in front of her. Her hands twitched, wanting to reach out to him.
“Think of lying in your bed.” His calm voice continued. Elli blushed at the thought of Jacen thinking of her bed. “Sleeping peacefully,” He continued, a smile in his voice now, “and its time to wake up. Wake up, Elli.”

Chapter 5
Elli opened her eyes to find herself in her bed. All alone, much to her dismay. Nixsa stretched and yawned in her direction. The sun was pouring through her bedroom window, which meant it was pretty late in the morning. Elli shot a panicked look towards her alarm clock before she remembered it was her day off. Which a sigh, she flopped back down onto her pillows. She shut her eyes tight, trying to find her way back. Sleep eluded her, though, and she finally gave up.
“What should we do for breakfast, Nixsa?” Elli asked the grey cat. Nixsa yowled at her and weaved her way in and out of Elli’s legs.
Elli got Nixsa’s breakfast and then decided to go all out and make a pot of coffee. While it was brewing, Elli took a quick shower and dressed in her baggy cargo pants and a ‘I Heart Rebel Scum’ tee shirt. She quickly dried her long hair, pulling it back again into a pony tail. She poured two cups of coffee, adding cream and sugar to one and was balancing them precariously with three big cinnamon rolls in a bag when her phone buzzed in her pocket. A short swear word later, Elli had the cups and rolls set down with out too much mess and had her phone open.
“Hello?” She said a little breathless.
“Elli?” Keith’s voice sounded worried through the phone.
“Yeah. Hi Keith.” It had seemed like a lifetime ago when she had last spoken to him. She felt guilty that she was a little disappointed it was Keith. Jacen’s blue eyes appeared in her mind and she shook her head. He wasn’t interested in her, and besides, he had no way of knowing her number.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure. You just caught me off guard.” She said, trying to be casual. “I was about to take some coffee out to Sarge.”
“Cool. I was wondering what you were going to do to today.”
“No plans really. Did you want to do the normal?” She asked grinning.
“Normal sounds good to me. Mind if I come over early and have coffee with you and Sarge?” Keith asked offhandedly.
“Don’t mind at all. Actually, that sounds good cause I’m low on cinnamon rolls. Plus, I know Sweety has been missing you.” She teased. It was no secrete that Sweety loved Keith. She would lean against him when ever he sat outside with Elli and Sarge, Try to lick his face, or lay down right on his feet. She seemed to like Elli, but she wouldn’t ever leave Sarge’s side unless Keith was there. She wasn’t even that affectionate with Sarge, though Elli suspected that a small part of that was the smell. Sarge didn’t get much opportunity to shower, and Elli figured that even animals have standards.
Keith laughed, “I’ll grab some on the way over. And maybe some treats just for Sweety.” He loved that dog as much as she loved him. If Sarge hadn’t needed her so much, Sweety probably would have run away to Keith.
“Awesome, thanks man. See you in a bit.” Elli said, giggling. She dropped her phone back in her pocket and grabbed the coffee and rolls once more. She vowed to herself that she wouldn’t jump like that to answer her phone again. That’s what voice mail is for.
She pushed open her door with her butt and sort of roll turned out of the door jam. The coffee was already starting to cool, as were the cinnamon rolls, but they would still be tasty none the less. Sweety picked up her head when she heard Elli’s door open. Her long brown tail thumped against the steps and her nose sniffed the air.
“Good Morning Sweety. Yes, I’ve got one for you, pretty girl.” Elli bent over and fed one of the rolls to Sweety. “Good Morning Sarge.” Elli said looking over to the old bum. He had a long, tangled grey beard that reached down to his chest. His eyes were the brightest blue/green Elli had ever seen. They were like pictures of the Caribbean ocean Elli had seen; clear and bottomless. They shined out from under a mass of grey eyebrows and frizzy grey hair. His clothes were decent second hand items that Elli had picked up for him the first winter he had stayed in front of her house. Since he refused to come in, she had tried to protect him as much as possible from the harsh winter. His coat was getting thin and his pants were torn in places. Elli made a mental note to go to the thrift store again.
Sarge harrumphed into conscienceness, blinking his blue/green eyes, though red rimmed, at her and struggled to sit up. “I brought you a cinnamon roll and some coffee” She handed him the coffee with the cream and sugar and a roll. “Keith is on his way over with more.”
Sarge took a sip of his coffee, leaned back and sighed. “That is one of life’s simplest pleasures. Good coffee, cream and sugar all perfectly balanced. Elli, will you marry me?” He looked at her and a corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. “My mother always preached the virtues of knowing how a man takes his drink. “ He sipped his coffee again. “She would have loved you.” His eyes twinkled at her from under a mass of shaggy grey hair.
Elli just smiled and shook her head. That was about the hundredth time Sarge had proposed. Always with that almost smile and his blue/green eyes sparkling.
“You know, Sarge, “Elli said taking a small bite of her roll, “One of these days, I’m going to take you up on your offer of marriage and then you’ll be stuck with me.” She smirked at him.
He roared with laughter and then took a huge bite out of his roll. He eyed her thoughtfully while he chewed, and then when he was finally able to swallow, he said “What’s up with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem different today.”
Elli sat, silent for a moment. She took a deep breath and hesitated. “I’ve been having……..weird dreams lately.” She looked down at her partially uneaten roll unsure what to say.
“Dreams. Hm.” Sarge chewed thoughtfully. “They can be pretty powerful things. You can have the power to do almost anything you want, but sometimes you don’t even have the power to do what you have to.”
Elli frowned at him.
“How are things between you and Keith?”
“Fine.” Elli said startled at the change in conversation. “Why would you think there was something wrong?”
Sarge stared at her for a long moment and then shook his head. “It’s nothing, honey. That was just my way of asking after him.” He finished off his roll and took a long swig of his coffee. “Isn’t he due here soon?”
As soon as the words were out of Sarge’s mouth, Elli heard Keith’s beat up truck rumbling down the road. She leaned back on her elbows as she watched him park in front of her apartment. He clambered out of it, holding a large flat box and a plastic bag. Elli quickly discovered the box held a bakers dozen worth of cinnamon rolls and the plastic bag held dog treats for Sweety. Elli and Sarge quickly dove into the rolls while Keith sat on the steps next to them, feeding Sweety treats and talking softly to her.
“Do you want some coffee, Keith?” Elli asked after her second roll out of the box. Sarge’s cup was empty and Elli was about due for a refill. She felt plenty rested, even after what happened last night, but she usually liked to ride a little bit of a caffeine buzz on her days off. It was the only time Elli would have more than one cup.
“Sounds good.” He looked up from petting Sweety’s head. ”You want some help?”
“Nope, I got it.” Elli gathered up Sarge’s cup and her own and went inside.
“She still doesn’t know, does she?” Sarge asked quietly.
Keith’s brown eyes shot up with surprise.
“What do you mean?” He spluttered.
“You know what I mean. She’s a good girl, but I don’t think she’s had much experience in the ways of love.”
Keith was quiet and still had not said anything until Elli arrived back, with her finger looped through two cups on one hand and holding firmly to the last cup with her other hand.
“Everyone behaving while I was gone?” She asked, teasingly, but Keith blushed slightly.
“Just talking man talk. You know; guns, explosions, hot chicks.” He said not quite sounding as casual as he had hoped.
“Ah. So I didn’t miss anything good.”
They all laughed and talked while they polished off the rest of the cinnamon rolls; the conversation coming easy between them like they were old friends. Usually Keith slept in, so it was a nice change to have him over so early. Elli noticed that his dark hair actually had some red in it when the sun hit it just right. He caught her staring at him and one corner of his mouth turned up into a half smile. She grinned at him caught up how goofy and sweet he looked. His face split into a grin matching hers.
Groaning, Sarge got to his feet and stretched. “Well, Kiddo’s. I need to go walk around for a while.” He tipped an imaginary hat to them and then patted his leg. Sweety gave one last lick to Keith and then trotted down the street after Sarge.
“He really is a good guy, isn’t he?” Keith said staring after them.
“Yeah.” Elli said, sad. She wondered how many winters Sarge would make it though. There were a few nights in the previous year when Elli was afraid to come out to find a frozen Sarge. She shivered now at the thought. She would do all she could to make sure he would make it though this winter as well.
“I brought over some cheesy eighties movies.” Keith opened the door for her. “I thought we could start off with some Weird Science then move onto Revenge of the Nerds.“ It was their normal routine to spend their first day off together just sitting around, watching movies and snacking. Of course, they usually started later in the day, but Elli really hadn’t had anything planned out for the morning. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Jacen.
She took her usual spot on the couch next to Keith as he used the remote to play the movie. Elli wondered what Jacen was doing right now. She wasn’t sure about the whole dream world, but she assumed that if they were there at the same time, then they must at least live in the same time zone. He said he worked in IT, but that could be anything, pretty much anywhere. She thought about his eyes; blue grey like a storm over a deep ocean. The way his muscles moved under his shirt. How his hair clung to his neck when he was sweaty.
“El?” Keith cut into her thoughts.
“Mm?” Elli said, looking over at him.
“I asked you a question, but apparently you didn’t hear me. Where were you?”
“Um. No where. It was nothing. I was just spaced out there for a sec. My coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.” She took a deep breath.
Keith looked at her suspiciously.”How were your dreams last night?”
“Fine.” Elli said too quickly.
“Fine?” Keith asked dryly. “Really. No more nightmare creatures trying to eat you. No more tattooing Angels handing out staffs?”
Elli scowled at him for minute. “So you’re going to make fun of me? I thought you said you believed me?”
“I did. I do. I’m sorry El. You’ve just been so…different lately.” He paused. “I’ve never known you to day dream, but I swear that’s what it looked like you were doing.” He looked down at his hands folded in his lap.
Elli flushed. She had no idea what to say. She had planned on telling Keith everything, but she was hesitant to mention Jacen.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything.” He sat stiffly. It was uncanny how he was usually able to read her thoughts. He said once that her face gave her away. He had laughed and told her never to play poker.
“Keith,” Elli started.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay.” He interrupted her.
She sighed. “I wasn’t sure if you would want to hear about it. I know I must sound like a crazy person.” She snorted. “Maybe I am crazy.”
Keith loosened up and turned to face her on the couch. He reached out and took her hand. “You’re not crazy.” He raised one eye brow and smiled at her. ”I don’t think so, anyways. So what happened last night?”
She took a deep breath. She suddenly felt nervous. What if she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone? Surely Abe would have mentioned that.
“I met others.” She blurted out.
Keith scowled. “Others? Like you?”
“Yeah, three other people. Two guys, Abe and Jacen,” she tried to say his name casually. “And one chick, Jessica.” Elli said that name with distain.
Keith shot her a look when she said Jess’s name. “I can tell you and her are going to be bff’s.”
Elli snorted again. “Oh yeah. Can’t wait to have her over for a slumber party.”
Keith’s eyes got big. “You mind if I come over to watch?” He held his innocent stare for a moment longer before his face collapsed into a grin.
Elli smacked him in his arm, but had to grin back at him.
“So what were they like? Was it just a meet and greet, or what?” Keith asked, seemly very interested.
“Abe is cool. He told me he’s in his nineties, but I swear he doesn’t look a day older that you or I. Jess, well…”
“Wait, Abe said he was in nineties, but he didn’t look…old?” Keith asked incredulous.
Elli nodded. “If I live to be that old, when I’m there,”
“In the dreams” Keith interrupted
“Yeah, if I live that long I’ll always look like this while I’m there.” She gestured down at herself. “Let me tell you, he doesn’t fight like an old man, either.” Elli shook her head remembering how quick and spry he was.
“Fight? Did you have to fight him?” Keith asked his voice raising.
“No, no. Calm down.” She paused. “We were fighting demons.”
Keith was quiet. It scared Elli because she was expecting the complete opposite reaction.
“These are just dreams” He said quietly, almost as if to himself.
“They are real, too.” Elli said just as quietly.
Keith looked at her, his brown eyes blazing. “What do you mean, “real too”?” He demanded. “Can you die there?”
Elli met his eyes hesitantly. “Yes” She whispered and looked back down.
“El,” He cupped her jaw with his hand and gently forced her to look up at him. “If you tell me right now that this is all real, then I’ll believe you.”
“It’s real, Keith.” She said quietly. “I can show you my staff, if you want physical proof.” Elli gestured towards her bedroom.
Keith looked thoughtful for a moment. “Alright. Lets see it.” He and Elli got up off of the couch and walked rather unceremoniously to her bedroom. Her staff sat leaning up against the wall, just where she had left it yesterday.
“Wow, El. It’s beautiful.” Keith reached out and touched it, his fingers tracing the patterns of the runes. “And it appears in your dreams now too?”
Elli nodded. “Turns out, I’m actually half way decent with it too.”
He looked at her seriously. “That’s right; you said you fought demons last night. Was that the first time you tried using this?” He gestured to her staff.
“Well,” Elli hesitated. So far she had been able to avoid talking about Jacen, but she didn’t want to out right lie to Keith. “I had a practice session before we were attacked.”
“A practice session?” Keith asked, sitting down on her bed. The movie still played out in the living room, forgotten.
“Yeah, Abe wanted me to get some practice in so that I could defend myself if needed.”
“And you practiced with him? Does he have a staff too?” Keith asked, curious.
“No, he has a disc. It’s wicked looking, with a nasty edge to it. Plus, he flings that thing so fast it’s almost invisible.”
“So, who did you spar against?”
“Jacen. His weapon is a sword, so Abe thought we would be more evenly matched.” Elli was careful with how much she said about Jacen. Even the thought of him sent her heart racing. She could only imagine the way her voice caressed his name, and she really didn’t want to have that conversation with Keith.
But he just nodded thoughtfully. “What’s Jessica’s weapon of choice?”
“She has a dagger.”
Keith frowned. “That’s kind of a close range weapon. I’m surprised that someone would want to get that close to a demon”
“I don’t know that she had a choice.” Elli shrugged. “It’s not like I did. I probably would have picked a double barreled shot gun or a flame thrower.”
Keith laughed. “You’ve been playing too many shooter games with me.” He looked over to her and grinned. “When in doubt, grab a flame thrower.” They chuckled over that for a moment.
Elli sighed and sat down next to Keith on her bed. “Keith, I know this is all hard to take in. Especially since you can’t witness it.” She paused. “I guess I just want to tell you thanks for believing me. You really are the only one in my life that I feel comfortable talking to about all this.”
“So you’re not going to tell your family?”
Elli rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me? I know how to break this to them with out coming off as a nut job. Plus, they are all happy with Ashley being in college and doing so well. Why rock the boat, you know? ”
Keith shrugged. “They love you, too, you know. I don’t think they would mind knowing, but” he put up his hands to stall her “I understand why you wouldn’t want to talk about it with them.”
“It’s a relief just to be able to talk to you about everything. That’s enough for me.”
Keith reached out and patted Elli’s leg. “That’s what I’m here for.”
She smiled at him and reached down to squeeze his hand that was still resting on her leg. “Should we get back to Weird Science? I bet Kelly LeBrock is about to show up.” Elli knew Keith had a crush on Kelly since he was a kid, and usually wouldn’t miss a moment she was on the screen.
They watched movies the rest of the day, breaking briefly to go grab some burgers and the second Revenge of the Nerds movie; Nerds In Paradise. Sarge had still not returned by time Keith said good bye later that evening, but Elli wasn’t worried. Sweety would look after him and besides, he would be back by the morning. He always was.
Elli walked Keith to the door and gave him a big hug. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her hair, giving her a light kiss on the top of her head. “Don’t worry, sweet Elli. I don’t know what’s going on with your dreams, but you are a strong person and I feel bad for any demons that cross your path.” He leaned away from her, his hands still on her waist and looked her square in the eyes. “Promise me one thing”
“What?” Elli asked, raising her eyebrows. Keith very rarely asked for promises of any kind.
“Promise me you won’t get hurt while you’re off being a bad ass battle chick.” He smiled, but his brown eyes were sad.
“I can’t promise that I won’t get hurt, Keith, and I won’t make a promise to you if I’m not sure I can keep it.” She said, shaking her head.
“Okay, then. Promise me that you’ll be careful. Can you swing that one?”
Elli swallowed hard. Keith’s concern for her was touching. “I can promise you that.”
He nodded once “Then say it.”
Elli rolled her eyes. “I promise to be careful while I’m hunting down and killing demons in my sleep. Happy now?” She smiled at him to let him know she was just joking around. The mood had gotten entirely too serious and Elli wasn’t comfortable unless they could joke around.
“Happy enough.” Keith said smiling back at her. “Night, El.” He looked confused for a moment. “Should I tell you sweet dreams, or break a leg or something?”
Elli laughed, “How about happy hunting.”
“That works. Happy hunting, El. Have fun kicking demon ass!”
She laughed again. Trust Keith to take something like this in stride. Not for the first time, Elli was thankful they had become such good friends. Her life had been empty and lonely before meeting Keith.

Chapter 6
Elli felt nervous as she got ready for bed. She was desperate to see Jacen again, if only to see if he really was the way she remembered. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had made him up entirely. She dressed in her usual comfortable pajamas and crawled under her warm quilt. Nixsa was off doing kitty things, running through the house at over a hundred miles per hour. “Crack baby.” Elli muttered to herself. Nixsa had her moments where she was like a kitten again, with boundless energy. This usually only happened at night, so there had been a time or two where Elli had been woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of breaking glass, or something falling on the floor. Nixsa might be fast, but she was less than graceful.
Elli closed her eyes and concentrated on calming herself. She took long, deep breaths, concentrating on relaxing every part of her body. Jacen appeared in her mind and her heart picked up its rate. Taking another deep breath, Elli forced herself to stop thinking of him and tried to concentrate harder on relaxing. About the time she got to relaxing her knees, she started drifting off to sleep.
She opened her eyes to the now familiar dark landscape. She had her staff in hand, its runes glowing in the darkness. Standing across the street from where she stood was Jacen, leaning against a building, looking graceful even standing still. His wounds were gone, and although he wore the same white tee-shirt from last night, it was no longer blood stained and torn. Elli’s breath caught when she saw him.
Jacen spotted her and pushed off of the wall and walked towards her. She started towards him as well, meeting him in the middle of the street.
“Hi” Elli said, feeling buoyant at seeing him again.
“Hi” He said, a smile playing on his lips.
“Um. What’s up?” She asked, smiling back at him. His eyes were more blue than grey as they looked down at her.
“Abe sent me to find you.” He trailed off and then shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “In case you couldn’t find us.” He flashed a quick smile and started walking.
“Where are we going?” She asked as she fell into step next to him.
“Our new base. Since the demons know where our last one was, we had to find a new one. Abe and I’ve been here for a little while looking for something suitable. Don’t worry,” he looked down at her, a mischievous look in his eyes, “it’s not far.”
Elli narrowed her eyes at him. “I almost whooped your ass last time we met; you want to see if I can really do it?”
He laughed loud, the noise sounding out of place in the quiet, dark city. “I’m looking forward to our re-match.” He reached out and tousled her hair.
She jerked her head out from under his hand, annoyed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his lips almost twitch into a smile. She flushed slightly; embarrassed that she was so amusing to him.
“Do I bug you?” He asked casually.
“Sometimes,” She answered shortly. “But I haven’t known you long enough to know if it’s just me that you enjoy bugging, or if that’s just your natural personality.”
He laughed loudly again. “It’s just my natural personality.” He smiled and looked down at her. Elli scowled at him and he winked at her. Elli rolled her eyes. Sure, Jacen was cute, but sometimes he was so annoying. She kicked a pebble in the road, sending it flying across the street. It clattered noisily against the curb.
“Is it always this quiet here?” She asked, wanting to change the subject
“Pretty much. Unless we’re getting attacked by a bunch of Demons. Or attacking them.” He said as an after thought.
“How long have you been doing this? Fighting demons, I mean.”
He shrugged. “A few years now.”
“And…do you enjoy it?” She asked, unable to stop the flow of curiosity she felt inside.
He looked down at her, his eyes clear blue, “Sometimes I don’t. But every now and then I find a reason to keep going.”
“Do we have a choice? If we didn’t want to fight in this war, could we just not do it?” She wondered.
“We do, but we don’t. If there is someone else to take our place, then we can give it up, but if there is no one…” He shrugged again. “We have the chance to make a difference in the world. A chance that many people will never have. Besides, there is no greater honor than being hand chosen by an Angel to do the good work of God.”
“What do you mean, if there is someone to take our place? I thought we were chosen because of our ancestors.”
Jace deliberated for a moment. “How to explain? Okay. Say you didn’t want to fight in this battle. If there was another person in your family, over the age of eighteen, then you could decline the Angels offer and it would be passed to the next available person.”
“And if there is no one else?” She asked
“Then you wouldn’t have much of a choice, I suppose. Why someone would want to give this up is beyond my understanding anyways.” He scowled down the road, though Elli could not see what would have offended him so.
“What if there was no one else in the line and the last person dies? Or what if no one in that family wanted to be a warrior for Heaven?” She inquired.
“If the last person in that family line dies, then that Angel has to find a new family. And in answer to your last question, I don’t think that’s been an issue, yet. Like I said, who would say no to an Angel?” He was thoughtful for a moment. “I suppose the Angel would have to find a new family, in that case. But, no. I don’t see anyone turning down a chance like this.”
“You really believe that this is the right thing to do.” She stated.
He nodded sagely. “I really do. We are the last line of defense against the demons. If they break through us, then they will walk the Earth. That’s why we sometimes refer to ourselves as The Armor of God.” He chuckled. ”Frankly, I feel better knowing that I’m out here, helping to hold back that tide.”
Elli stared at him for a minute as they walked silently along. So, Jacen was one of those ‘If you want something done, do it yourself’ type of guys. She bit her lip hesitantly. She wanted to ask him more questions about himself, but she didn’t know where the line was. She liked him when they could just talk like they were and didn’t want him to turn back into stand offish Jacen.
“So, do you live alone?” She asked, thinking that was a safe question.
Jacen’s face turned hard. “No. I live with my mother.” He said, gritting his teeth.
“Oh.” Elli said, taken aback at his reaction. “That’s nice you get along with her well enough to live with her.”
He looked down at her with astonishment. “She is a great lady.” He paused. “She’s really sick, though, so I live with her to help take care of her and the house.”
Elli felt surprised he shared so much with her. She just nodded, not knowing what to say. They walked along in silence for a bit, both lost in their own thoughts.
“Do you get along with your mother?” Jacen asked, seemingly out of no where.
“I never knew my real mother,” She took in the confused look on his face and laughed. “I’m adopted. My mother died giving birth to me, so I never even had the chance to miss her. My adopted mother, well, she’s a great woman and very loving, but I never really felt close to her. I’ve never been real close to any of my adopted family.”
Jacen looked at her with sympathy. “That must have been hard growing up.”
“Not really,” Elli replied. “I read a lot and once the internet took off, I had plenty of computer games to keep me busy; on top of homework and all that fun stuff.”
“Is there anyone you’re close to now?” He asked. Elli thought he looked more than just casually interested in her answer, although she wondered if that was just wishful thinking on her part.
“I’m probably the closest to Keith.” She said, watching his face carefully. Jacen kept his face very still, unreadable.
“Is he your boyfriend?” He asked, his voice turning hard.
“No. He’s my best friend.” Elli said, not understanding the tone of his voice. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Elli had assumed with how beautiful and graceful he was that he would be taken.
“No.” He said, his voice softening a little. “I don’t really have time. Between taking care of mom, the house and work...” He trailed off shrugging. “This is it” he said, cutting off any more questions.
He led her into an old two story hotel. Elli couldn’t tell if it had been abandoned or just everything here looked dusty and old. A tear-drop chandelier hung from the ceiling and the carpet under their feet was a muted burgundy color. Wood adorned everything, from the large reception counter to the walls. In front of the large wooden counter sat a grouping of over stuffed arm chairs and large brown leather couches. The two couches sat on opposite sides of a large area rug, facing each other. The chairs were also positioned across from each other, making it look like it would be a good place for conversation. In the center was a square wooden table completely empty except for a glowing yellow metal disc. Abe was sitting in one of the comfortable looking chairs when Elli and Jacen walked in together.
“There you two are! Did you find Jess along the way?” He asked, standing up.
Elli groaned internally. She had forgotten about Jessica.
“Didn’t see her. “ Jacen answered.
Abe frowned. “I thought I felt her here.” He wore a confused and worried look on his face as he looked towards the door.
“You can feel when we’re here?” Elli asked, not really caring where Jessica was. Jacen plopped down on one of the large over stuffed couches.
Abe nodded. “I know when you’re here and I know when you leave. I know I felt Jess, but maybe I’m just finally getting old.” As he said it, his image shimmered for a moment, revealing a withered old man. Instantly he was back to his usual, young red headed self, standing strait and proud. He cleared his throat. “We’ll just have to start with out her. I’m sure she’ll show eventually and she can find her way.”
“Jessica can feel you too? “ Elli asked, curious.
“We’re all connected somehow. You should be able to feel my presence too. Why don’t you try it?” He walked over to her and led her to the middle of the lobby where it was nice and open. Elli glanced over at Jacen. Though he looked relaxed while watching her and Abe with mild interest, his eyes would dart to the door every now and then.
“Close your eyes. I’m going to walk away and after a count of 10, point to where I am with out opening your eyes. Ready?” Abe asked.
Elli nodded and closed her eyes. She counted silently in her head to ten. At first, she didn’t feel anything, and then slowly awareness came upon her. There was a soft thumping, like a faint heartbeat. She held out her arm and pointed. When she opened her eyes, she was pointing right at Abe who was standing on the grand stair case, about a dozen steps from the bottom. “Good Elli!” He exclaimed and hopped down the stairs.
Now that Elli knew what she was feeling, she realized that she could tell where Jacen was as well. Any time he moved she would feel a shift inside her, like her body was orientating itself around him. She could feel Abe move too, as he walked the rest of the way down the stairs. It was a disturbing feeling, as if part of herself was moving on its own accord. The thumping never grew any louder, but she could feel them in her heart, like they were beating in time with hers.
“That was just one of the things I wanted to go over with you tonight.” Abe said, coming to a stand still next to her again. “Remember how I told you this place is like dreams, but its not?” Elli nodded. That was only last night, but it felt like ages ago.
“Well, tonight, I want to focus on the dream aspect of it.” He swept the whole room with his hand in a grand gesture. “Here you have the power to allow your imagination dictate some things, like how fast you move or how strong you are. It has no bearing on your actual physical abilities. “
Elli looked at him, dubiously. “I’ve seen you all move quicker than my eyes can even keep up.”
“Exactly. In real life, I’m practically bedridden. Here, though, my only limits are the ones I place on myself.” He explained. “You have to think outside your conscience self. You’ll do better to go on instinct alone. Like I told you last night, if you think you can do it, you can.” He shot another worried glance towards the door and then towards Jacen.
“I know.” Jacen said, his face hard as stone.
“What?” Elli growled, confused again. She was really tired of not knowing everything.
“Jess is out there somewhere.”Abe said quietly, staring towards the door. “Can’t you feel her?”
Elli stood still for a moment and closed her eyes. She could feel Abe next to her and Jacen a ways off where he reclined on the couch. She took a deep breath, and tried to relax. She stood very still, feeling. And there it was. A very light thumping, though it seemed to be getting stronger.
Elli’s opened her eyes. “She’s coming.”
Abe nodded in approval. “Good. Yup, she should be here any minute.” He still looked troubled. He looked over to Jacen, who just shrugged.
The door opened then and Jess walked in with all of her skin tight black out fit glory. Elli felt very small. She straitened self-consciously. Jacen sat up on the couch, sitting stiffly and looking angry.
“Where have you been, Jess?” Abe asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
“I couldn’t find this damn place.” Jessica snapped. “Do you think you could have picked a further base from my part of the city?”
“We thought it would be best to be close for when Elli came in. It’s only her second time here and she’s got a lot to learn.” Abe said still quiet. Jacen openly glared at Jessica.
She flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder. “Whatever.” She sneered at Elli, “Can’t have the newbie all lost and wandering around by her wittle bitty self.”
“That’s enough Jessica.” Jacen growled from the couch.
“I still don’t understand why it took you so long to get here.” Abe interjected. “It was too far and you had a hard time finding us?”
“Yes.” Jessica said haughtily.
“You couldn’t feel us?”
“Just barely.” She let out a big sigh. “Am I being interrogated here or what?”
“I’m just curious as to what kept you.” Abe looked like he wanted to say more, but he held it back. “I was just showing Elli how we track each other.”
“Fun.” Jessica said and then stomped over to the other couch. She flopped back on it with a huff.
“Actually, I think she got the gist of it.” Abe’s face was serious as he looked to Elli. “Now that’s not just a neat parlor trick. If you get lost, or find yourself in a bad situation, you run as hard and fast as you can til that thumping gets harder. You got that?”
Elli gulped and nodded. “That’s my girl.” Abe said taking a deep breath. “Tonight, I want to work on a little close combat.” He paused. Jacen was scowling again, but not at Jessica. He was scowling at Abe. “Then we should go hunting.” Abe finished.
Jacen stood up fast. “Do you think she’s ready for that?” he asked forcefully.
Elli’s jaw dropped. She started to say of course she was ready when Abe interrupted her. “She has to be, Jace.” His green eyes were sad as he looked to Elli. “I wish I could give you more time to train, Elli girl. Usually we have at least a year to learn everything. There wasn’t ever a whole lot of demon activity. But they’re up to something and there are more of them than ever. Jacen and I fought through a pack of them on the way here and then had to loose another few before we could take over this place.”
It was only then when Elli noticed Jacen did have a small cut on his right bicep. It was already scabbing and it didn’t look like it was very deep. But still, she felt an ache that he had gotten hurt.
“Why don’t we ask her what she thinks?” Jacen came to stand beside her. Elli could feel him thumping so very close to her. It pounded thru her chest and almost vibrated her bones. He looked down at her, his eyes stormy grey and swirling with emotions. Elli thought she saw fear, though she doubted he feared for himself.
She swallowed hard. “Like I said last night, it’s better to jump in with both feet.” Jacen groaned and he tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling, obviously frustrated.
Elli looked at him for a moment. He sighed and looked back down at her, his eyes pleading. “You had better learn fast.”
She nodded feeling tongue tied when he looked at her with his emotions blazing in his eyes. She looked away. “I’m ready Abe.”
“Alright. Jess?” Abe said, clearing his throat. Jessica was lying on her couch, appearing asleep. She opened her beautiful blue eyes at her name though. “I need your help tonight.” Abe continued.
A wide smirk appeared on Jess’s face. “Am I to fight the noob tonight?”
“Sparring only.”Abe warned. “You aren’t to actually hurt each other, understand?” He looked to Elli, who nodded quickly and then to Jessica who hesitated only a moment before she nodded too.
Elli brought up her staff into a defensive position that Abe had showed her last night. Jessica pulled her dagger from a sheath on a black belt wound around her waist. She smiled wickedly and lunged towards Elli.
Elli twisted out of the way, but not quick enough. She looked down at her arm and noticed a small cut where Jess had nicked her. Jacen’s face was hard and still as he watched them, his eyes never leaving Elli. Abe was wary, watching both of them.
Jessica was smirking at her. “I thought you said you were ready?” she sneered.
Elli just smiled at her, knowing that would piss off Jess more than sinking to her level. “I am. Let’s do that again.”
Jessica shrugged at her. “It’s your skin.” She dived at Elli again. This time Elli was prepared. Before Jessica had a chance to get to close, Elli swung her staff around and smacked Jessica on her head. It made it a hard knock as it connected with her skull. Jess was knocked down and sat there on the burgundy carpet, dazed for a moment. A grin split Jacen’s face. Jessica caught him grinning at her. She glared daggers back at him.
Abe walked over to her and examined her head. “You’ll be fine in a minute.” He told her. “I would suggest that you both keep your hits lighter. Remember, this is just a training session, not an actual battle.”
Elli felt a little guilty. She hadn’t meant to hit Jessica that hard. “Elli,” Abe said. “I want you to put your staff aside.”
“I didn’t mean to, “She started, but Abe cut her off. “I know. But you’re too good with it. I want to show you what you can do with out it. If, for some reason, you find yourself with out your weapon, I don’t want you to think you’re defenseless.”
“Does Jessica get to keep her knife?” Elli asked
“It’s a dagger.” Jessica spat. Elli only smiled a sweet smile at her.
“Yes. It will give you motivation to learn quickly, I think.” Abe said eyeing Jess as she got unsteadily to her feet.
“Jess, again, remember we are only training. Don’t cut the poor girl to pieces.”
Jessica rolled her eyes at him, but nodded.
Elli laid her staff down, out of the way. She was really nervous now, her stomach all a flutter.
Abe cleared his throat. “Okay Elli. Now, do what feels natural to you.”
“What feels natural right now would be turning tail and running.” Elli mumbled. Jacen roared with laughter. “Not so brave now are you?” He asked, but there was a teasing in his eyes. Elli stuck her tongue out at him. Not the most mature response from a 25-year-old, but she felt it was appropriate.
Jessica was standing ready now, her dagger in hand. She smiled, but it never reached her eyes. It was more showing of teeth than it was a facial expression. She is really ugly when she does that, Elli thought.
Elli relaxed and tried to concentrate. She imagined herself dodging Jessica’s quick flashing blade. Soon, Elli saw it shoot out towards her, but this time it was like it was in slow motion. Elli easily missed Jessica’s dagger and then had the time to slip around Jess and give her a little push from behind. Jessica stumbled forward, barely catching herself before falling flat on her face.
“Excellent Elli girl!” Abe said clapping. “Keep going!” Jacen was standing by the couch with his arms across his chest, watching the two girls with interest, a small smile on his face.
Jessica growled and attacked Elli again. And again, Elli dodged her. Jessica darted and slashed, moving as quickly as Elli had witnessed before. But every time Elli was able to just barely miss getting cut. She was getting used to Jessica’s moves. She could almost anticipate what the other girl was going to do.
Jessica was right handed, and would attack the right side first. Elli came to expect it and would dance out of the way, just as Jess’s dagger blade would whistle through the air. Elli knew she was moving faster than she ever had in her life. It wasn’t like walking or moving, though. It was almost like she was in one spot, then in a flash; she would be in another, just out of reach for Jessica. She tried not to think about it as she gracefully swirled out of the way of another slash from Jess.
Jess snarled in frustration again as she dove towards Elli. Her blue eyes were blazing with anger. She made one final slash and got Elli again, right across her stomach. Elli cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, shocked. She landed hard on the floor, but her fall was broke somewhat by the soft, burgundy carpet.
Jacen was over to her in a flash. “Let me see.” He said as he gently pulled up Elli’s shirt a little ways to expose the wound. It was bleeding although the cut wasn’t too deep.
“It’s not bad.” Elli gasped. His hands were cold as he touched her belly.
Jacen nodded. “You’re right. Not bad at all.” His hands lingered on her exposed skin, touching her lightly around the edge of her scratch. He looked into her eyes, and Elli felt her heart skip a beat.
“You did really well, El!” Abe said coming to stand beside her. Jacen stood and offered her his hand to help her stand. Taking it, she noticed how rough his hands were again. They just didn’t seem to fit his personality, despite the fact that she knew he probably did manual labor around his mom’s house.
He released her hand as soon as she was on her feet, but he quickly grabbed her around her waist to make sure she was steady. Elli flushed under his touch, feeling as if her whole body was on fire. When he finally released her, Elli felt naked; exposed. He took a careful step away from her. Elli looked down at herself. Her shirt was cut open where Jess’s dagger had hit its mark and a small amount of blood had soaked through, though she hadn’t bled very long. “Damn. I really liked this shirt. ” She said sounding disgusted with herself.
Jacen barked a laugh at her. “Don’t worry; it’ll be fixed by tomorrow.” He tapped his temple with his index finger. “Your appearance is all in your head, remember?”
Elli thought about that a moment. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her shirt being rip free. When she opened her eyes and looked down, her shirt was fixed. She turned a smirking smile towards Jacen. “Who has to wait for tomorrow?”
Both Abe and Jacen stared at her with surprise. “How did you do that?” Abe asked her, incredulous.
Elli looked at him confused. “I just concentrated on my shirt being whole, like I remember it. Was that wrong?”
“No, no, that was exactly right. It’s just that usually, it takes a person much longer to learn to control that.”
“She is a quick learner.” Jacen said tenderly, looking at her, his expression soft. The blue out weighed the grey in his eyes as they stared deep into her. Elli blushed, thinking just for a moment Jacen could read her soul. She looked away from his gaze, over to Jessica, who appeared to be pouting.
“So, is she some kind of prodigy?” Jessica asked, her beautiful voice distorted by the hate she obviously felt towards Elli.
“Hm.” Abe said thoughtfully. “Maybe. She does seem to pick up on things quickly here.” He looked over to Jacen. “I think she’s ready enough to go out hunting.” Jacen scowled but said nothing.
“Elli, are you sure you feel ready? We are going to depend on you to do your part and we need to know that you’ll be able to come through.”
“I won’t let you down, Abe.” Elli said.
He just nodded once at her. “Jessica, I suppose I should ask you. Are you alright with Elli coming out with us?”
Jessica shrugged. “Doesn’t sound like I have a choice, so what does it matter what I think?”
“You’re a part of this team too and we need to work together. If you’re not comfortable with Elli watching your back, well, that matters a whole lot.”
Jessica snorted. “I don’t think she’s ready, but as long as she stays out of my way, I guess I don’t have a problem with her tagging along.”
Abe shook his head but refrained from saying anything in response to that. “Let’s go then. Elli, if we get separated, you know how to find us. Most likely, we’ll head back to base right away if there is a problem. Just be sure you aren’t being followed, okay? “
“Okay.” Elli said, feeling nervous again. She walked to where she had laid her staff and took a deep breath to calm down.
“Don’t worry. You’re going to do great.”Jacen whispered into her ear, making her jump. Surprisingly, she hadn’t felt him approach her. She could feel him now, his thumping so hard that her ribs and heart ached. It wasn’t painful. More like missing a piece of herself. He smiled at her gently, “I’ll be keeping an eye out for you too.”
She gulped. He was so beautiful when he smiled. He should do that more often, Elli thought. She didn’t want to be a liability in this fight, though. “You just make sure to save me some demons to whack.” He chuckled at that.
“You guys ready?” Abe called. Jacen took one last long look into Elli’s eyes and then joined Abe. Elli was a step behind, trying desperately to appear as calm as they all looked to be. Jessica almost looked bored. There was a small bump forming on the side of her forehead where Elli had hit her earlier. Elli allowed herself a small, satisfied smile for that. Jessica needed to be taken down a peg or two, in Elli’s humble opinion.
Abe took a deep breath and looked at Elli. “Okay, Elli girl. Show time. Let’s go kill some demons.”
“Yay” Elli said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Its not that she didn’t want to go hunting, she was just terrified that she wouldn’t be able to handle herself very well. Abe must have noticed because he said “You’ll do fine. Remember to trust your feelings and instincts.”
Elli nodded and tried to calm the fluttering in her stomach. Jacen reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze for reassurance. “Let’s do this.” She said, happy that her voice was at least steadier than her nerves seemed to be.
They left the hotel and wandered the dark streets. “How do you find them?” Elli asked curious.
“They find us, Elli girl. They can smell us. Real flesh and blood in their world of dreams. That’s why we find a base. It’s a good meeting point for when we get here, and it masks our smell somewhat.”
“How did they find us at the old warehouse? Elli asked looking at Abe.
“I don’t know.” He said quietly. He shot a quick look towards Jessica, though it was so fast, Elli wondered if she saw it at all. “Demons aren’t typically very smart. As long as we stay inside any given building, they don’t seem to be able to find us. When we bring ourselves out in the open, they find us.”
As if on cue, a big lumbering demon stumbled around a building in front of them. He was a huge hairy beast. Ten times bigger than the wolf man and his skin was baggy on him, like he had recently lost a lot of weight. His hands had elongated fingers with yellowed claws. Elli was relieved to see that he was alone, but the relief didn’t last long. Behind the hairy demon was a whole pack of demons that looked just like him. There were maybe a dozen or so of them. None were as large as the first, but they all were covered in course hair like his and when they spotted the group of humans they all broke out with huge, toothy grins. Elli shuddered at the site of those teeth. They looked like razors, all shiny in the demons mouths. Elli swallowed hard. Jacen looked down at her and grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze.
The hairy demons charged at Elli, Abe, Jacen and Jessica, looking as if they were hungry. Indeed, a couple of them were drooling, a sick looking green slime. Jacen released Elli’s hand and drew his sword from its scabbard. Abe flung his disc out towards the lead hairy demon. It landed with a thunk in its forehead and it dropped to the ground. The other demons paused, looking first at their downed comrade, and then back up at the four humans. One of the demons let out a howl that sent shivers down Elli’s spine. She readied her staff as the demons broke into a run towards them.
Jacen met them first, his sword flashing and shimmering through the air. He made contact more times then not and his shirt was quickly splattered with demon blood. Jess jumped into the fray, moving gracefully as ever, a beautiful scowl on her face. Elli took another deep breath and ran to join them.
She met one of the smaller hairy demons as he tried to attack Jacen from behind. Elli smacked him with her staff hard against his head, leaving burn marks where the runes touched him. He yowled in pain and then drop to the ground, holding his head and twitching. Elli turned back to the fight.
She caught another one in its arm, making it scream. She turned around and put all of her force behind a shot to its stomach. Her staff actually pierced its skin burning a hole right into its stomach. It fell, gurgling to the ground and then laid there motionless.
She put a few more down, twirling her staff like she had trained with it her whole life. It felt like an extension of her body and she used it with out thinking. Before long, all the demons were on the ground, most not moving at all. One was still alive; the one Elli had only smacked across its head. Jacen stood over it, his gleaming sword pointed directly at its throat.
Abe walked slowly over to it, after retrieving his disc from a demon corpse. The still alive hairy demon looked up at them from where he was still laying on the ground, hate filling his black eyes.
Abe looked down at it. “I want to ask you some questions.”
The demon laughed a deep guttural sound. Part of the skin on his face was burned off where Elli’s staff had connected. Underneath, Elli noticed that its flesh was grey and she remembered back to her very first time here, where she had barely escaped.
“Why has there been more demon activity lately?” Abe asked.
“What do you mean?” The demon said in mock innocence.
“Don’t jerk us around.”Jacen said in a hard voice, pushing the tip of his sword into the demons skin a little deeper. A bead of black blood appeared at its throat. “We’ve been killing a lot more of you bastards lately.”
The demon laughed again. “Doesn’t matter. You can’t stop us.”
“Stop you from what?”
“Now, now, old man. I can’t tell you that.” The demon chortled.
“You will tell us, or I’ll turn Elli and her staff loose on you again.” Abe threatened.
The demon glanced over to Elli, fear in its eyes. She stood it upright next to her, holding it lightly.
“We could burn that flesh off of you for hours, but frankly, I’m ready for breakfast. Why don’t you just tell us what is going on.” Abe said casually.
The demon looked at Elli again, and then back to Abe.
“We’re going to break free.”
“Break free?” Abe asked confused.
“From here. We will walk the Earth once more.” The demon said proudly.
“You can’t. There are barriers that prevent you. I’m not going to take lying.” Abe motioned for Elli to come forward. She took one step before the demon interjected.
“There is something that can tear the barrier down.” It said quickly.
“Nothing can do that. God himself built it.” Abe said looking down at the demon with narrowed eyes. “I’m not going to waste my time with a liar.”
“Micheal’s Sword” was all the demon said.
The color drained out of Abe’s face making his red hair seem brighter. “No one knows where it is.” He said quietly.
The demon chuckled, “You’ve got that right old man. But we will find it. And when we do, all Hell is going to break loose.”
Abe whipped out his disc and planted it hard in the middle of the demons head, effectively ending the conversation.
“Micheal’s sword? What does that mean?” Jacen asked as he toed the demons body to make sure it was dead. Elli didn’t really feel that was necessary, considering the huge disc of metal sticking right out of its brain.
“The flaming sword the Archangel Micheal used to keep Adam and Eve out of Eden after they had eaten from the forbidden tree. It’s been lost for ages. I don’t think even the Angels know where it is.” Abe said, sounding shaken.
“Do you think it would work?” Elli asked and shivered at the thought of demons walking around in the normal word.
Abe was thoughtful for a moment. “Possibly. It was one of the most powerful weapons in the Angels arsenal.”
“How can we trust what it says, though?” Jacen demanded.
“I don’t think it was lying, I think it was gloating. They don’t think we can stop them.”
“Can we?” Elli asked, her fear leaking through.
“Of course we can, Elli girl!” Abe said, flashing her a quick smile. “It’s called faith.”
“Faith” Jessica snorted with distain. “We are going to be royally fucked if they break through to the waking world. Who knows if we’re even any good there like we are here?” She took turns looking them each in the eye. “I’ll bet demons will be just as powerful.” She shivered. “Personally, I think we should be looking for a way out.
“A way out?” Elli asked incredulous. She was under the impression the only way completely out was to die and Elli wasn’t quite ready to consider that option yet.
“They can’t expect us to fight this on our own.” Jessica whined, looking to Abe.
He shook his head at her. “You know the only way out. Until then, we fight on whatever battlefield they put us on.” He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “The Angels know what they’re doing. Have a little faith.”
Jessica shook him off and took a step back. “I don’t know that I have that much faith in someone I never see.” She looked away angry. “He just showed up one night in my dreams, put these things on me and then disappeared.” Her voice turned bitter. “Why don’t they give us some direction? All we do is show up here every night, against our will, and hunt demons. What’s the point?”
Abe looked at her sadly. “The point is, Jess, that we do something good for this world. Not for us but for everyone.”
When she looked at him her eyes were full of scorn. “Everyone.” She said dryly. “And what thanks do we get? We can’t tell anyone who we are or what we do or else we’d be shipped off to the loony bin.”
“How can you ask for payment when completing the task is a reward within itself?” Abe asked, astonished.
“And what’s our task, Abe?” She asked sardonically.
“To be last line of protection, the last barrier that keeps Hell at bay. We are the Armor of God.”
She snorted again. “Are we done for tonight?”
“Yes. You may go.” Abe said softly, looking at her apprehensively.
Jessica turned on her heel and stomped off, her thumping growing softer until it faded completely.
“Is she too far for us to feel her?” Elli asked, looking at Abe.
“No, she’s left.” He said quietly, scowling in the direction where Jessica disappeared.
“Something‘s up with her, Abe.” Jacen said, sounding angry and worried.
Abe looked down and was quiet for a moment. “Jess has never taken to this battle like the rest of us have. She fights it. She’s always fought it.”
“Why doesn’t she want to be here?” Elli asked.
Jacen shrugged. “Selfishness, I’m guessing.”
Abe shook his head. “I don’t think even Jessica is that selfish.”
“Then what, Abe?” Jacen demanded.
“I don’t know, Jace. But until we have solid proof of anything, we should not doubt her. We need to work together as a team and trust each other as a team. I don’t think Jessica is bad and I don’t think she would betray us. Sometimes the thing we need to have faith in is our fellow man.” He clapped a hand on Jacen’s shoulder. “Everything works out in the end. You’ll see.” He smiled warmly at the younger man. “Now, are you two ready to start planning out where to find Micheal’s sword?”
Jacen smiled at him. “I’m in.”
“Me too.” Elli said coming to stand next to Abe.
“That’s my Elli girl! Let’s get back to base.” Abe said grinning.

Chapter 7
They walked back to the hotel with Abe leading. Jacen and Elli trailed behind a few steps. “Has Jessica always been like this?” Elli asked, looking at the ground. She didn’t really want to talk about Jessica, but she couldn’t handle the oppressive silence of the city.
“Yes and no.” Jacen said. “She’s usually the last to arrive and the first to leave. She’s even tried not sleeping to avoid coming here.”
“Not sleeping? How did she manage that?” Elli asked incredulous.
“She didn’t. I guess she tried all kinds of things from energy drinks to serious drugs, but nothing worked.” Jacen looked down at Elli. “When we were marked, our bodies were purified. Now, nothing can soil them. Do you drink coffee?”
“Yeah, I have to have at least one cup to function in the morning before I go to work.” Elli responded, “Why?”
“Haven’t you noticed you don’t get the caffeine rush anymore?”
Elli thought about it for a moment. The only time she had noticed was this morning on her day off. She had several cups with Sarge and Keith, but she never got jittery or wound up. She hadn’t put much thought into it at the time. Elli blushed a little when she remembered what it was she had been thinking about all day. “I guess I hadn’t noticed. “ She said and looked up at Jacen. He was staring at her with one eyebrow raised. “What?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“It’s nothing. I’m just wondering what made you blush all of a sudden. It was an innocent enough question.” He looked at her with a hopeful expression. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me.?”
“Nope.” Elli said, turning bright red again. There was no way she was going to tell him she had been fantasizing about him.
“If you don’t tell me what made you blush just then, how am I ever going to figure out how to make you blush on purpose?” He teased, his blue eyes sparking.
Elli just shook her head. “Guess you’ll have to figure it out on your own. I’m not about to give you an instruction manual.”
He laughed loud and clear. “Aren’t you worried about more demons finding us with all that noise you’re making?” She asked looking around.
“Nope. If there were any around, they would have tracked us by scent. Besides, “he gestured around them, “sound doesn’t carry all that well here.”
They were at the front of the hotel now. It really was a beautiful building; all old red brick and only standing 3 or 4 stories tall. Abe led them inside, firmly closing the door behind them.
They all settled on the comfortable furniture. Jacen lounged on the couch he had occupied before, while Elli and Abe took the two chairs.
“So, what do you know about the sword, Abe?” Jacen asked, putting his hands behind his head and appearing perfectly relaxed.
“Only that Michael had it last on the edge of Eden. After Adam and Eve were expelled, they repented and had three children, Cain, Able and Seth. If I remember correctly, they never attempt to return to the Garden.” Abe tapped hi hairless chin thoughtfully. “I think we need to talk to the Angels.”
“How, though? It’s not like we can just send them a text message.” Jacen asked, closing his eyes.
“I might have a way.” Abe said hesitantly. He sighed deeply. “I don’t know if it will work though.”
“What?” Elli asked.
“There are Elementals that work with the Angels to run the everyday workings of Earth. There is one for each of the four elements; Fire, Air, Earth and Water. Each is associated with a specific Archangel.” He paused and his eyes looked like he was lost in a memory. “I met the leader of the Earth Elementals once. I found him by accident while hiking in the woods.” He leaned back in his chair as he began his tale.
“It was a few years after I met my Angel and he gave me my wings. I was out hiking with my wife at in the mountains. We had gone up there camping for the weekend. Minnie so enjoyed the outdoors.”
“We followed this path that was twisting and winding through the leafy green forest. We walked for several hours, just talking and enjoying the beautiful foliage. After a while we could hear a roaring sound. The path eventually led to a crystal clear blue pool that was fed by a tall waterfall. It was beautiful and Minnie sat there by the edge of the pool for a long while watching the water. I sat watching her.” Abe smiled sadly.
“We never talked while we were sitting. There weren’t words. Neither of us wanted to break the spell the place had put on us.”
The sun began setting, and I leaned over to ask Minnie if she was ready to go. Before the words to leave my mouth, I saw a bolder move. It…unfolded itself and stood upright. I was so surprised, I couldn’t speak. The bolder walked over to the pool of water and knelt down bedside it. It rumbled something, then the water in front of him sprayed up and formed into the shape of a woman, yet she was translucent. She stood before him on the water. They briefly talked in a strange musical language; the woman’s voice sounded like a bubbling brook, the stone mans like gravel tumbling down a hill. Then she disappeared, flowing back down into the pool.”
“The stone man looked up and saw us then, sitting frozen besides the water. “Ho, Abe!” He called out to me. You can’t imagine how shocked I was.
“I am Joben, leader of the Earth elementals. How may I serve the agent of Uriel?” he said as he bowed low to me.
I did the only thing I could think of. I bowed low in return.” Abe smiled to himself. “And I said, ‘It is an honor to meet you, Joben.’ From what I remember of fairy tales, it always pays to be respectful and formal when dealing with unknown Elementals.” He chuckled and looked at Elli and Jacen, both of their mouths hung open. “Don’t look so shocked, you two. You can believe in Angels, demons, Heaven and Hell, but you can’t believe in Elementals?”
“I just never gave it a lot of thought, I guess.” Elli said, shrugging. “I’ve never seen one.”
“That’s the point isn’t it? They help keep the earth balanced, growing and evolving. We’re not meant to notice them, or any of the other Elementals.”
“But you did.”Jacen pointed out.
Abe nodded, “That I did. And he knew me as the agent of Uriel. Uriel was the one that visited me. So that must mean the he is also the Angel that over sees the Earth Elementals.” He took a deep breath. “Finding one again is going to be tricky.”
“Couldn’t we just go find Joben?” Elli asked.
Abe shook his head. “That was many years ago and I’m not sure if he’s still there. Besides, I’m in no condition to go hiking anywhere anymore.” His face turned sad. Elli got up and stood beside him.
She put a hand on his shoulder.”How about Jacen and I go? You could draw us a map and we’ll come get it from you at your place.”
Abe looked at her in amazement, his green eyes wide. “You’d come visit me in the home?”
“Sure! I’m off again tomorrow. How about you, Jacen, are you up for a road trip?” She turned to look at him. He was staring at her with a thoughtful look and a small smile.
“Actually, I am free tomorrow.”He smiled at her. “How bout it, Abe? Are you up for a visit in the real world?”
“It’s going to be...different” Abe trailed off lamely. He looked at the floor.
“Abe,” Elli squatted down next to him. She leaned her chin on his arm. “did I ever tell you I’m adopted?” He shook his head. “My adopted family is awesome, but I never belonged with them, you know what I mean?” Abe turned his green eyes on her. They were shining with unshed tears. “I belong here. You’re my family. I don’t care what you look like, Abe. You’re still the same wonderful red haired boy underneath.”
A small smile broke out on his face. “Right you are, Elli girl.” He patted her head. “Alright, come see me tomorrow and I’ll have a map for you.”
Elli scowled. “So what happened after you bowed to Joben?”
“Ah! We talked for a little while. I was very curious about him and he patiently answered my barrage of questions. My wife eventually came over to talk with us as well.” He smiled and looked down. “I hadn’t told her about the dreams. She was, “he cleared his throat, “a little mad that I had kept that from her.” He looked up at Elli and winked. “But she forgave me.” He laughed.
“Let’s get out of here for the night, eh?” He grinned as he stood up and told them the address of his rest home. Elli wasn’t sure exactly where it was, but she could always pull up a map. “I’ll see you kids tomorrow.” He walked out of the hotel and his thumping faded.
“I wonder what he and Jobe talked about?” Elli said. “And what did his wife think?”
Jacen got up from the couch he was on and stretched, closing his eyes. Elli stared as his shirt was pulled tight against his muscular chest. When Jacen put his arms up and out, his shirt rode up a little on his flat stomach. He opened his eyes and she looked away quickly, hoping he hadn’t caught her.
“Whatever it was, I’d bet it was an interesting conversation.” He said, walking over to her. “We should exchange phone numbers. I’ll call you when I get showered and dressed.” He looked nonchalant and calm, but Elli felt a flutter in her stomach at the thought of spending the whole waking day with him.
“We could ride together to Abe’s place.” He said and looked down at her. “Unless you want to take your car and just meet there?” His voice was anxious.
Elli hesitated while she thought about her bug making any kind of road trip up into the mountains. Of course, she had no idea what kind of vehicle Jacen drove. “What kind of car do you have?” She asked curious.
“I drive a Jeep Cherokee. All leather interior, power everything and its four wheel drive.”
She shook her head. “I’ll ride with you, then, if you don’t mind.”
He flashed a lopsided grin at her. “What do you drive?”
“A classic bug.” Elli said a little stiffly. Jacen snickered. “Hey! My bug is great, okay? It might not have ‘power everything’ “she quoted “but I love it and she’s been good to me.” Elli turned and stalked to the hotel doors.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Jacen said, catching up to her. “The bugs were a testament to German engineering.”
Elli shot him a dirty glare and continued stalking down the street.
“I won’t mock the bug. I promise.” Jacen made a show of crossing his heart. Elli shook her head at him. “I didn’t realize that you were so attached to it.” He commented.
Elli narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not attached to it. It’s just been a good car for me. I bought her myself and she’s got personality.”
Jacen chuckled. “I’ll bet she does. Does she have a name?”
Elli hesitated. You couldn’t be a bug owner and not name your ride. She sighed. “Yes. And before you ask, No I’m not going to tell you what it is.”
Jacen stopped walking. “Where are you going, Elli?”
Elli stopped too and looked around. She was already a block away from the hotel. “I was heading home, I guess.” She scowled at him. “What are you doing, following me?” she raised an eye brow.
“I’m trying to get your phone number, remember?” He smiled at her with a gleam in his eye. “Do you always make it this hard?”
“Make what hard?” she asked, exasperated.
“Do you always make it this hard for a guy to get your number?” He grinned at her and winked. Elli’s stomach fluttered again. He was so beautiful it made her loose her thoughts.
“Not a lot of problem with that.” She muttered and looked away. She couldn’t believe she had just said that. It was his eyes. She lost all rational thought when she looked into them. She vowed to herself that she wouldn’t look anymore.
“I have a hard time believing that.” Jacen said quietly. Elli felt a little shiver run through her. Too late, she looked up into his eyes. They were wide and blue, looking down at her, reading her soul. He reached out and stroked her cheek with the tips of his fingers. “Your number, please, Elli?” He said softly.
She rambled off the numbers and prayed they were right. She couldn’t think when he was this close. First off, the thumping was intense. It pounded in her chest, in time with her heart beat. He took a step closer to her, so they were almost touching. It felt to Elli as if there was an electrical current between them. Her heart pounded. She could smell him now. He had a clean smell, like soap, fresh and light. Elli wanted desperately to reach out to him and run her fingers over his chest, arms and face. Instead, she settled for taking his hand that rested on her cheek. She closed her eyes and held it to her face for a moment, breathing in the smell of him, and enjoying the feel of his rough skin against her cheek. She released his hand and he let it fall to his side.
“I’ll see you soon.” She said as lightly as she could.
He took a step back. “Yep, see ya soon.” He closed his eyes and disappeared.
Elli stood looking at the spot where he had stood, touching her fingers to the cheek his hand had touched. Then she too closed her eyes and willed herself to wake up.
When she opened them again, she was in her room once more. She felt rested and energetic. She was also anxious. Elli couldn’t wait to see Jacen again. She shook her head at herself. She hadn’t ever felt this excited to see anyone in her life. She didn’t think it was normal to feel so strongly about someone she’d only met a couple of times. She took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. She closed her eyes and remembered his hand touching her and shivered.
Elli she sighed and moved to get out of bed. She jumped when her phone rang on her nightstand. She gulped, suddenly nervous.
“Hello?” She answered, her heart thumping in her chest.
“Morning, El!” Keith’s cheerful voice answered her. “How you doing?”
Elli exhaled sharply. “Hi Keith!” She said struggling to hide the disappointment in her voice. “I’m good. Just woke up, really. How’re you doing this morning?”
“Good. I’ve actually been up a couple of hours already.” He bragged.
Elli snorted. “Yeah, right. More like haven’t gone to bed yet.”
Keith laughed. “You got me. I’m still not tired though, so I was wondering what you had going on this morning.”
Elli hesitated. She didn’t really want to tell Keith about Jacen. “I’ve got some errands to run and I’ll probably be out all day. Besides, unless you’ve picked up a crack habit I wasn’t aware of, you’re going to need a nap here soon.” She chuckled.
Keith laughed with her. “No, not crack. Just a four pack of red bull.”
“Ah, the legal crack in a can.” Elli said, grinning. “Well, you’ll be crashing soon enough, so I think you probably shouldn’t be driving any where.”
Keith was silent. “Do you not want to see me today?” He asked, his voice quiet.
“Of course I do! Maybe later tonight, after you’ve rested and I’ve got my running around done, okay?” She said hoping to appease him.
“Okay” he said uncertainly. “Call me later, when you get home?”
“Sure,” she relieved. She hadn’t ever lied to Keith and she was thankful she didn’t have to now. “you get some rest, okay? Dream of killing Evil Zombie Nazi Scientist.”
He chuckled, “Oh yes. My favorite kind of dreams. Speaking of, how were yours last night?”
“I’ll have to tell you about it later. I was hoping to get an early start today and I still need to take a shower.” Elli said quickly.
“Alright, later then.” Keith said, sounding a little hurt. “Bye El.”
“Bye, Keith!” Elli said and flipped her phone closed. She laid it down beside her on the bed and rubbed her temples. She didn’t want to hurt Keith. He was her best friend; the only person in this world who had ever understood her. She sighed deeply and got out of bed. She wandered to the kitchen to feed Nixsa and start the coffee before she got into the shower.
She washed her hair and body, and then as an after thought, she quickly shaved her legs. She toweled off, rushing and ran to her bedroom to check her phone for missed calls. No one had called while she was in the shower, so she got dressed in her favorite camos and a dark green shirt that had a silhouette of a storm trooper on the front. She went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee, savoring the flavor. She peeked out her front window to see if she needed to bring Sarge a cup too, but he was already gone this morning. Elli was a little surprised by that; Sarge rarely left early in the morning, but sometimes, if he hadn’t had much to drink the night before, he would meander down town early in hopes of catching some of the morning commuters.
Elli blew her hair dry, and left it down. Her bangs were getting long and were starting the hang in her eyes. So she tucked them behind one ear and hoped they would stay there. She was pleased to see the bags under her eyes had almost disappeared.
Her phone rang again and she scrambled to get it out of her pocket. She checked the caller id and saw that it came up with out a name. She took a deep breath and flipped it open.
“Hello?” She said as calmly as she could manage.
“Elli?” a familiar deep voice said on the other end.
“Jacen?” She asked her pulse racing.
“Yup. Are you ready to go?” He asked, his voice sounding pleasantly warm over the phone.
“Yeah, sure. Where are you coming from so I can give you directions?”
He gave her the general directions of where his house was and she quickly thought of the best rout to her apartment. It was easier to speak to him when she didn’t have to look into his eyes. Her heart fluttered at the thought of them, even now.
“That’s not far from me at all.” He said surprised. “I’ll see you in about 10 or 15 minutes.”
“Great!” Elli said not quite as enthused as she sounded. She was nervous about spending all day with him. She wondered if he would look the same, be the same in real life. Would she? Elli fretted the whole ten minutes it took Jacen to get to her apartment. By time his red Cherokee pulled up behind her bug, Elli had almost convinced herself to pretend to be sick and just stay home.
Jacen knocked on her door and she walked slowly over to it, still debating. She opened it and there he stood in all his beautiful glory. The sun shined through his blond hair, his curls looking like spun gold. He wore a warm smile on his face and his blue/grey eyes were the deep pools Elli remembered from her dreams. He wore dark brown cargo pants and an off white, long sleeve thermal shirt. It fitted him well, stretching across his muscles. His smile turned to a grin as Elli stood there staring at him.
“Are you going to invite me in?” He asked, winking at her. She hated when he did that. It made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.
“C’mon in.” She gestured, annoyed with herself. She realized, belatedly, that she should have picked up. “Erm. Sorry, it’s such a mess.” She mumbled as he walked past her. There were dishes to do in the sink, a left over pizza box on the table, and of course her living room was a mess of papers, and mail she needed to go through. Books were stacked haphazardly around the room.
He looked around, “I’ve seen worse.”
“Thanks,” Elli said dryly. “So, I’m ready if you are.”
Jacen was leaning over, examining a stack of her books on the coffee table. “Interesting collection here.”
Elli tried to think of what she had stacked there. She couldn’t remember exactly, but thought it was Dickens Great Expectations and a few other classics.
“Heinlein?” He looked up at her surprised.
“Yeah, why?” She wrinkled her brow.
“Just surprised to find a science fiction stashed in the midst of all these classics. Who knew Elli was a sci fi nerd?” He teased.
Elli scowled at him. “As if my wardrobe wasn’t enough warning.” She pointed to the storm trooper on her chest.
He grinned as he looked to were her finger was pointed and Elli blushed from head to toe. She felt like that even her hair had turned a fiery red. Jacen laughed, delighted to have made her blush again.
She cleared her throat. “You ready?” She asked, pointedly looking at the door.
“Sure.” He said still chuckling.
Elli made sure she had her phone, keys and wallet. Once again, she said a silent thanks to the military for coming up with camo pants and their spacious pockets. Cargos were nice, but the tough, canvas fabric of camouflage pants were warm, comfortable, and water resistant. It was late in autumn and there might be snow up in the mountains. She wore her good hiking boots that she had bought before taking a disastrous camping trip with her ‘leave it to beaver’ family. She hadn’t had much opportunity to wear those boots since so they still felt brand new.
She followed him out, thankful Sarge was gone. She really didn’t want to have to introduce Jacen to him. Jacen unlocked the passenger side of his jeep and opened the door for her. Elli had to climb in, feeling odd, sitting so high off of the ground. She hadn’t ever realized how low her bug sat. She closed the door as Jacen slid into his seat.
“Buckle up.” He said and fired up the engine. It roared to life with one try, Elli noticed with a slight pang of jealousy. She clicked the seat belt shut and sat back on the soft leather seats. The entire inside of the jeep smelled like him; a fresh, clean scent. He pulled away from the curb and she looked over at his profile. She could just see the curves of his wings poking out of the top of his shirt. They were white against his already pale skin, curving up onto his lower neck where it met his shoulder muscles. Elli could just make them out under the curls of his blond hair.
“I pulled up a map to Abe’s home.” He said glancing over at her. She quickly diverted her eyes to his face. “It should take us about forty five minutes to get there, if traffic stays light.”
“Cool. Then how long up to the mountains?” She asked.
“Are you ready to get rid of me already?” He asked her back, smiling, but his eyes looked worried.
“Just trying to make conversation.” She grumbled. He smiled and reached over to give her hand a squeeze. As usual, Elli’s heart started beating double time at his touch. The thumping from the dream world was missing, but everything else was the same. Her thoughts were scrambled as soon as she looked into his eyes and she couldn’t seem to calm down her pulse. She looked out the window, watching the scenery of the city pass by as they got onto the highway.
“So, lets converse.” He said playfully.
“What do you want to talk about?” Elli asked cautiously.
“How about you?”
“Me?” Elli asked her eyes going wide as she looked at him.
“I don’t know that much about you. For instance, is Elli your full name or is it short for something?”
Elli hesitated, “My full name is Eleanor.” She thought it was old fashioned, but it was the name her mother had picked out for her before she born. It was on her birth certificate and her adopted parents had had the option to change it, but they both liked it so much that they kept it.
“Eleanor.” Jacen repeated softly. Elli felt a shiver of pleasure from hearing him say her name like that. He turned to her and gave her a lopsided grin. “It’s pretty.”
Elli swallowed hard. “Thanks.” She turned her face back towards the window to hide yet another blush. She couldn’t believe how much time she spent red faced around him. It wasn’t fair. He seemed so calm, so cool, so collected. Elli felt like she had a swarm of hummingbirds doing a battle royal inside of her.
Soon the city began to thin out and was replaced by farm lands. Jacen seemed to be an endless fountain of questions. Elli felt like he wanted to know everything about her. His questions ranged from the lame-her favorite color- to the hard- what would she do if she met one of her blood relatives. Elli pointed out that if she had any other relatives, they probably would have been chosen instead of her.
“They could have refused,” Jacen countered. “leaving you next in line.”
“True,” Elli said thoughtfully. “But what kind of person turns down an Angel?”
Jacen just shrugged and continued on with his questions. “What is your relationship like with Keith?”
That question threw her off a little. It seemed to have come from no where. “I told you, he’s my best friend.” She said guardedly.
He nodded thoughtfully. “Do you spend a lot of time together?”
“We work together and we sometimes hang out on our days off. Why?” She asked suspiciously.
“Just making conversation.” He answered casually. He looked over at her a serious expression on his face. “Have you guys ever dated?”
Elli narrowed her eyes. “No, our relationship was never like that.”
“Hm. Maybe for you.” Jacen said off handedly.
“What does that mean?” Elli demanded.
Jacen looked at her. “I just find it hard it hard to believe that a guy would want to be just friends with you.” He turned his gaze back to the road. “Is he gay?”
“No!” Elli exclaimed, embarrassed. “What, you can’t have just a friendly relationship with a girl so anyone else who might be able to do it is automatically gay?” She fumed.
Jacen looked surprised at her outburst. “I don’t have many friends, male or female.” He said, his voice turning hard.
Elli softened her voice. “Because of your mother?”
Jason nodded once. “After taking care of her and the house plus working a full time job, I don’t get much time to socialize.”
Elli smiled sympathetically but didn’t know what to say. She imagined that Jacen attracted more attention from the opposite sex than he had noticed.
“It’s really not so bad.” He looked at her again, his eyes turning from mostly grey back to mostly blue. “I love Abe like he’s my father.” He laughed a little. “Kinda weird, I know, considering that the only times I’ve seen him, he looks to be around my age.”
Elli laughed with him. “I bet you wish Jessica wasn’t such a bitch.” She blurted out and then felt embarrassed.
Jacen laughed at that too. “I do, only because we would be a more efficient team.” He paused. “Jess is beautiful,”
Elli made her face go very smooth. She didn’t want to show the despair she felt inside. Of course he had noticed she was gorgeous. What red blooded male wouldn’t have? She sighed internally. She knew she wouldn’t ever be beautiful like that and it made her feel sad to her core
“But,” Jacen continued “she’s always had this shallow, haughty attitude, which is a huge turn off. Mostly I just think of her as an annoying little sister.”
Elli relaxed a little and smiled at that. A sister was good. Annoying was better.
Jacen turned off of the four lane highway onto a smaller two way road. The city landscape had been replaced by rolling brown hills. The trees had lost most of their leaves, and the few that still clung to the branches had turned brown. They passed a few cows, lazily chewing brown grass in a huge field. Jacen pulled out a printed map from his console and gave it a glance. “Keep an eye out for County Road two eighty.”
Elli squinted at the road signs as they zipped past. “You could slow down a little. I don’t read well at warp speed.”
Jacen chuckled and eased off the accelerator.
“I think I just saw county road two seventy. They should be in sequential order, right?” Elli asked craning her neck to see if she could spot the next sign.
“In theory.” Jacen said giving her a mischievous look.
“What?” Elli asked feeling suddenly nervous.
Jacen laughed at her. “I’m just toying with you. Look, there it is.” He slowed to take a smooth dirt road that winded down through the hills. Crops of trees dotted the landscape here and there, all evergreens and still holding their needles. Soon, a large manner house appeared before them. The dirt turned to gravel near the house and it ended in a long circular drive. In the center of the circle was a statue of a serious looking man with a monocle. Elli and Jacen exchanged looks. It struck Elli as a man pretending to be Mr. Peanut, and she giggled.
There was a gravel parking area off to the side of the circle drive where a few other cars had been parked haphazardly. Jacen picked a spot away from the others commenting that he didn’t want to worry about door dings. Elli really couldn’t blame him. He grabbed a brown coat from the back seat and handed it to her. “I noticed you forgot yours. It’s going to be a little colder up here than in the city.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Aren’t you going to get cold, Mr. Chivalrous?” He shot her a sarcastic smile and pulled another coat from the back seat. He looked over to the imposing house. “You ready?”
Elli took a deep breath. “Yup.” She said and opened the door, then gasped as the cold air hit her. It was a hell of a lot colder here than in the city. An icy wind cut through her, stealing her breath. Once she could breathe again, she grumbled as she tugged on Jacen’s coat, her hair whipping around her face. She gathered it up as quickly as she could and tied it into a knot at the nape of her neck. Her bangs still lashed at her eyes, but there was nothing she could do about that.
He locked up the jeep and joined her as they walked up to the house. They walked up ten or more steps, just to reach the front door. There was a wheelchair ramp that wound off to the side of the stairs, and the whole front of the house was wrapped with a giant, wide porch. It was the kind of house you saw on plantations. This place had obviously been converted for modern living. As they walked through the double doors they saw the first floor was open, the designers of the hospital taking several of the interior walls out to make it into one big room. They could see off to the left a large gathering area, full of tables, chairs, and a couch with a small TV on a stand across from it. Several older people were gathered around one of the table’s playing cards. They looked up when Jacen and Elli entered, but, having not recognized them, returned to their game.
Elli and Jacen headed towards a reception area off to the right of the entry way. A friendly looking older woman sat behind the counter. “Can I help you?” She asked in a helpful voice.
Elli suddenly panicked. All she knew was his name was Abe.
“We’re here to see Abraham Bennet.” Jacen said smoothly, leaning on the counter.
“Of course! You must be the grandchildren he told me about this morning. He’s expecting you. Quiet anxious actually.” She smiled. “It’s so nice to see him have visitors. I didn’t think he had any living relatives.”
“Our families have been estranged and only recently have we found each other again.” Jacen lied effortlessly. Elli tried not to stand there agape.
“How nice. Well, loves, he’s in room four oh seven. No getting him worked up now, okay?” She looked at them each sternly in their eyes.
“Yes ma’am” Jacen said, giving her a warm smile.
She smiled in return. “Just take that elevator down the hall to the fourth floor. His will be at the end of the hall on the right.”
“Thank you, Miss?” Jacen trailed off questioningly, smiling and raising an eye brow at her.
The woman giggled. “Mrs. Wagner. I can see you’re going to be just like your grandfather.” She smiled warmly again and shook her head. “Off with you, you little flirt.”
Elli snickered when they got out of ear shot. “Flirting with the receptionist.”
He shrugged. “You catch more flies with honey, right? It doesn’t hurt to be nice. Now we’ll have free run of the place.”
“Oh yeah, I could see that getting past security was going to be a huge problem.” Elli snickered again.
He laughed and reached out, ruffling her hair, which had conveniently fallen out of its knot as soon as she walked inside the building. She glared at him and tried to smooth her already wild tresses. She combed her fingers through it as best as she could, but it was too tangled to make much progress. She gave up with the elevator dinged its arrival.
They rode it up not talking. Elli was lost in thoughts about Abe. She wondered where he had come from, how he met his wife. She thought his life must have been fascinating. Too soon, the elevator dinged and opened up to the fourth floor. Jacen motioned for her to go first and then fell in step beside her as they walked down the hall to meet Abe.
They looked nervously to each other and stood hesitantly before his door. Jacen squared his jaw and rapped on the wood.
“Coming” shouted a deep grating voice. They could hear movement inside the room and an irregular thumping noise. Jacen and Elli looked at each other with surprise.
The door opened and there stood an old man. His hair was still fire red-if thinned out quite a bit- and his eyes were the same sparkling green, but his face was withered and he stood hunched over on a cane. He was wearing a pair of faded brown polyester pants and a green button down shirt. He looked at Jacen then down at Elli. “Hi Elli girl!” He said cheerfully, his voice sounded old and tired. He seemed to have gotten a little winded just getting the door.
“Hi Abe! How are ya this morning?” Elli said as cheerfully as she could. He looked so fragile.
“Ah, I’m good. I’m good.” He said, giving her a wrinkled grin. “Hi Jace, c’mon in.”
“Hey, Abe. Nice digs.” Jacen said looking around. The room was large and open. A full sized bed sat in one corner, made up with a home made patch quilt. A large window faced to the east, allowing the morning sun to drape in and warm the room. A dark, three drawer dresser stood about waist high beside the bed and there was a book shelf along one wall, mostly full of pictures and mementos, rather than books. Elli wandered over to the shelves, curious.

Chapter 8
The first picture she saw was what must have been Abe and Minnie on their wedding day. It was faded and brown, but that was the Abe Elli knew, standing proud and tall next to a petite woman who was looking up at him adoringly. Her hair style and dress were old fashioned, from the 1920’s or 30’s. Abe wore a military dress and Elli noticed a case with medals next to the wedding picture. She continued look at the shelves amazed at the different pictures of Abe and Minnie and the little trinkets that represented a lifetime worth of memories; a conch shell, a small plastic bowling trophy, a little figure of a man and a woman embracing. Elli noticed with sadness there weren’t any pictures of children.
There was a recliner sat in front of a medium sized TV. The entertainment center the TV sat on was large, with multiple cubbies for all the special electronics. There was a DVD player below the television and a small home stereo next to that, but the rest of the cubby holes were stuffed with movies. He had all kinds, ranging from old westerns to slapstick comedies.
“I think it’s funny” Abe said, sounding hurt and replacing a movie back on its shelf. Elli joined them and noticed before Abe got it back all the way that it was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. She chuckled.
Jacen shook his head sadly. “That is not funny. I will bring you some funny movies.” He narrowed his eyes. “Or maybe I shouldn’t, I don’t know how well that ticker of yours could handle it.” His lips twitched, trying not to smile.
Abe grinned. “Oh, don’t you worry about my ticker boy. This old dog still has some tricks in him yet.” He laughed which turned into a coughing fit.
“Are you okay?” Elli put a hand on his arm, concerned.
“Yes, yes.” He waved her off. “I’ve got that map for you.” He cleared his throat and hobbled over to the dresser by his bed. He opened the top drawer and handed Elli thick piece of drawing paper. He had hand drawn them a map and surprisingly it was rather good; easy to read, well marked, and the roads and trails were clearly labeled. “It’s not hard to find. Just get back on that two lane highway and follow it up to the National Park. From there, you take the trail I marked for you.” He looked at Jacen. “You did bring a compass, I assume?” He asked sharply.
Jacen gave him a mock salute. “Yes, sir.” He took the map from Elli and looked it over. “This isn’t far; only about an hour drive or so. How long did you say you followed the trail until you reached the waterfall?”
“A few hours, at least. I wasn’t keeping track of time.” Abe smiled his twinkling eyes sad.
“I’m sure we can find it.” Jacen said, always confident. Elli wondered idly, if he was ever not confident or comfortable.
“Alright, it looks like you guys have dressed warm, that’s good. Okay. Now, remember, if you see Joben or any Elemental, be respectful. Be polite.” Abe looked back and forth at them, looking them both in the eyes. “You two be real careful up there, you understand?” Elli nodded and she fought back against the lump in her throat. She had never felt this choked up with her parents when they voiced their care. She wrapped her arms around Abe and gave him a big hug. “We will.” She promised her voice thick with emotion.
Abe looked down at her, surprised. “There’s no need to be like that Elli, girl. I’ll see you guys tonight.” She just nodded. Elli knew she was being ridiculous. Just because Abe looked fragile, didn’t mean he was. She tried to imagine the strong, wirery young man she knew from her dream, but couldn’t get past the image of the old man standing before here.
“You got it, Abe. We’ll meet you at base with a full report.” Jacen said smiling. He clapped Abe on the back lightly. “Tell Mrs. Wagner I said hello.”
Abe laughed. “She is a pretty one, but unfortunately, she’s also happily married. Not that I haven’t tried.” He winked at Elli. She shook her head at him, glad for their banter to distract her.
“Alright, enough with singing the virtues of the glorious Mrs. Wagner, we better get going if we want to get up there before dark.” Elli said in mock sarcasm. Jacen flashed her a grin.
“See ya, Abe!” Jacen called over his shoulder as he walked towards the door. Elli gave Abe one last smile and followed Jacen out and down the hall. He punched the button and looked down at her. “Are you okay? You seemed to get kind of emotional there.”
Elli frowned. “He just looked so...breakable.”
“Abe is a tough old coot. He’ll be alright.” Jacen sounded unshaken.
The elevator doors opened and they got in. “You know, “Jacen said as he hit the first floor button, “you were kind of making me wish I was a 96 year old man back there.”
Elli looked up at him, astonished. “What do you mean?”
“That hug you gave Abe.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye.
“Oh. Well,” she thought furiously and then said the first thing that came to her mind. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”
Jacen chuckled. “I never pegged you as a hugger.”
“I’m not.” She said irritated. “You said it yourself, Abe is like a father. Don’t kids normally hug their parents?”
Jacen was thoughtful. “Probably.” he conceded. The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival on the first floor and lurched to a stop.
Elli remembered it had been windy outside, so she quickly tied her hair back up as she and Jacen walked back past the reception desk. Thankfully, Mrs. Wagner was no where to be found. The desk area was empty. The old men at the table were still engrossed in their game and Elli and Jacen slipped by unnoticed.
Back in the jeep, Jacen let it run for a few minutes to warm it up. He turned on the heater and Elli quickly pointed the vents towards her so she could warm her hands. The wind had died down, but the air was still crisp from the morning.
The jeep was toasty warm before Jacen turned back onto the black top, two lane high way. Elli shrugged out of Jacen’s heavy jacket as best she could with her seat belt still on. She shook out her hair, brushing her bangs out of her face. She looked over at Jacen to find him staring at her. He caught her looking at him and grinned. His blue grey eyes sparkled at her. “You look good with your hair down.” He said nonchalantly. “It’s usually pulled back in the dreams.”
Elli blushed. “Hm,” was all she could say. She looked out the window again and smiled. She hadn’t ever gotten many complements from boys and to get one from Jacen sent her pulse racing.
“So, you got to grill me with questions about myself on the way to Abe’s home,” Elli said, slyly. “Is it my turn now?”
Jacen got an amused expression on his face. “What do you want to know?”
Elli screwed up her face like she was thinking really hard. “Favorite color?” She asked seriously, as if life or death depended on his answer.
He laughed loudly. “Surely you have a better question than that?” He teased.
“Oh, I do, but I’m working my way up to them. Easy questions and then I’ll get to the harder ones.” She said, smiling sweetly at him. He turned and looked into her eyes. He heart felt like it was skipping around in her chest.
“It’s a toss up between green and brown.” He said still holding her gaze. He gave her a little smile and turned back to the road.
“Earth tones. Nice.” She said lamely and shook her head. She felt like such a moron when she talked to him. She planned on ending the questions there to prevent further embarrassment, but Jacen said “Next question?”
“Um.” Elli stalled. “Favorite food?”
“Italian.”
“Video games?”
Jacen shrugged. “Never had an interest. ”
“Favorite movie?” She cocked her head.
“Entirely too many to choose from.” He said. Elli opened her mouth to make him pick one and he held up a hand to stall her.
“If I have to pick one, then it would probably be,” he thought it over, “The Godfather.”
“Which one?” Elli asked.
“All three of them. The only way the story is complete.” He smiled at her.
She nodded appreciatively. The Godfather trilogy was also one of her favorites.
“Where did you grow up?”
“Here, pretty much. I went to college on the west coast for a while and was close to graduating, but when mom started getting really sick, I had to move home.”
“You don’t sound sad about it.” She noted.
Jacen shrugged. “It was the least I could do for my mom.” He looked over at Elli again. “I didn’t even have to think about it. I knew what the right choice was.”
Elli reached out and touched his arm. A shock of electricity passed through her, leaving goose bumps in its wake. She swallowed hard. “It must have been hard to leave when you were so close to getting a degree.” She cleared her throat. “Ever think about going back? To college, I mean. Some community colleges will transfer earned credits. ”
He shrugged again. “I don’t have much time for studying. Maybe someday I’ll go back, but for now I do pretty well for myself with out a degree.” He flashed a quick grin at her.
They chatted effortlessly for the remaining ride up to the mountains. Elli was surprised how easy he was to talk with when he let down the arrogant mask. He was actually quite charming and although Elli would still blush every now and then, she felt more comfortable around him.
She noticed the brown National Park sign and pulled Abe’s map out of the console. “The turn off for the trail should be in about 2.3 miles.” She shook her head. “Men and their ‘point threes’. What’s wrong with ‘about 2 and a half miles’???” She grumbled.
Jacen chuckled and set his odometer. “A half would be point five miles, and that would put us past our turn off.”
“Whatever.” Elli rolled her eyes and smiled. Exactly 2.3 miles later, (Jacen pointed out the odometer and where the ‘point three’ came from. Elli pretended to be impressed.) there was a small road off to the right. Jacen pulled down it with care as it was more of a wide trail than it was a road, with the branches of the trees brushing along the side of the Jeep.
“This should only last a few more feet.” Elli said, consulting the map. “Abe’s written ‘point 6’.”
Jacen looked unconcerned as he maneuvered over some of the larger ruts and dips in the dirt road. Soon, it dead ended in a clearing. The wide area was mostly dirt and it was free of trees. Elli unbuckled her seat belt as soon as Jacen cut the engine. She put his coat back on, and took a deep breath to prepare herself for the cold that was to come.
She opened her door and was surprised at the warmth. It wasn’t as warm as the inside of the jeep had been, but it wasn’t as chilly as it had been when they got out at Abe’s. The sun shone down on her, directly over head, warming her face and hair. Still, she zipped up the jacket to keep the slight breeze from cutting through her shirt. Jacen grabbed a back pack from the back seat and made sure the jeep was locked.
They walked across the clearing to the edge of the trees where there were several paths that led off in all different directions.
Elli frowned. “Which one?”
Jacen pulled a compass out of his bag and consulted the map. He looked up and pointed. “I believe it’s that one.”
“You believe?” Elli asked raising her eyebrow.
He flashed a mischievous grin at her. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Not when you smile at me like that.” She answered.
He started towards the path he pointed out, slinging his back pack over his shoulder. “Is Elli girl not up for an adventure today?” He walked backwards, taunting her.
Elli started forward, “Oh, I’m up for an adventure. As long as that adventure doesn’t include sleeping outside, in the forest, when it’s damn near winter.”
Jacen chuckled and turned to walk forward beside Elli when she reached him.
The path was narrow, only allowing the minimum space for Elli and Jacen to walk side by side. Occasionally, they would lightly bump into each other, every time the contact making Ellis heart race.
Once or twice the path was too narrow that they had to go single file, Jacen always going through first. They walked in silence, enjoying the beautiful forest around them. It was quiet. The only sounds Elli heard for a long while were the occasional chatter of a squirrel or chirp of a bird and her own breathing. Elli and Jacen’s boots barely made any sound on the soft earth.
Elli lost track of time staring at the forest around her. It was almost winter, yet it still teemed with life. She enjoyed the fresh smell of the pines and the musty earthy smell of the forest floor. She slowly became of a roar in the distance. She strained her ears listening. Jacen gave her a lopsided smile. “I think we’re getting close.”
He took her hand and held it the last few paces. Elli felt a thrill go through her when Jacen wove his fingers through hers. He pulled back a branch and there was the waterfall. It was beautiful; falling about 13 feet from a deep grey rocky out cove down into a crystal clear blue pool. Even in the cold weather, Elli wanted to touch the water.
She stood, breathless, just taking it all in. It had to be the most beautiful, peaceful place she had ever found. Jacen gave her a hand a tug and she looked over to him. He smiled and motioned forward with his head. They walked, hand in hand, to the edge of the pool.
Elli found a dry rock and sat down, lost in thoughts of the beauty of nature. Jacen sat behind her and leaned back to back against her. They were quiet and Elli suddenly understood why Abe and Minnie were silent here as well. This place felt other worldly, and if you talked and broke the spell, it would disappear forever. They sat, leaning against each other, motionless for a long time.
Elli felt Jacen shift behind her, but she was still caught up in watching the water falling and turning to a frothy white when it hit the pool.
He cleared his throat quietly. “Elli?” he whispered.
“Yes?” She whispered back.
“I think we found Joben.”
Elli was about to ask him where when the rock she was sitting on began to move on its own.
“Oh!” Elli exclaimed and jumped off.
With a sound like stones being drug across each other, the boulder Jacen and Elli had been sitting on unfolded itself and became a large stone man. He stood a full head taller than Jacen and he had huge stone muscles. Elli stood next to Jacen with her mouth hanging open.
“Ho, Jacen! Ho, Eleanor!” The stone man said with his deep gravelly voice. “I am Joben.”
“Ho, Joben!” Jacen answered and bowed low.
“Ho, Joben.” Elli answered her voice shaking slightly and bowing as well.
“How may I help the agents of Michael and Gabriel?”
“We are sorry to disturb you, Joben, but we have desperate need.” Jacen said formally. “Demons are trying to break free from the dream world.”
Joben rumbled a deep throated growl. “They are trying to walk the Earth?”
Jacen nodded sagely. “They seek Michael’s flaming sword to tear the veil between this world and the next. We also seek the sword to stop them.”
Joben was thoughtful. “I am not sure where it is.” He rumbled. “But perhaps another Elemental knows. I will talk to them.”
Jacen bowed low again. “Thank you, Joben.” He looked towards the sun which was starting to get closer to the horizon. “May we come visit you again in a few days to see if you were able to find out anything?”
“There is no need, Jacen. I will send an Elemental to find you. We are more than happy to assist the agents of Angels.” Joben bowed lowed first to Jacen and then to Elli. He turned then and wandered into the forest, his movements sounding like a slow avalanche of rocks.
Elli blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She looked over at Jacen who was looking at her with an amused expression. “You were awfully talkative.” He said to her, a teasing twinkle in his blue eyes.
“You seemed to be handling it well enough.” She said dismissively. She glanced towards the sun as well. “Should we start our hike back down before the sun sets or do you have enough gear in that back pack to camp out all night?”
Jacen chuckled. “I suppose we could hike back down the mountain, unless you had your heart set on spending the night with me out here in the great wilderness.” He gestured grandly around him.
“You know, I’m not against camping. I’m just not all for it when it’s almost winter out already.” She said starting towards the path. “I‘m a summer camper; I want the lake, fishing, swimming, barbeques, the whole nine yards.”
He fell into step beside her. “I’ll have to take you up on that offer this next summer.”
Elli looked up at him surprised. She had a hard time imagining Jacen actually roughing it out in the woods.
“What?” He asked.
“Nothing. Just thinking about what it would be like camping with you.”
He smiled with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “So, you’re thinking about me. I like that.”
Elli blushed furiously but had no retort. It was hard to keep her wits when looking at him. They walked in silence for a while, the whole time Jacen was smirking. The sun started setting in earnest, and twilight fell upon the woods. It became quiet as the birds and squirrels settled down for the evening. It started to get harder to see the path and once or twice Elli stumbled, just barely catching herself in time. After the second time, Jacen took her hand and held it to help keep her steady. At one of the narrow points of the path where they couldn’t walk side by side, Jacen went ahead of Elli, still holding on to her hand.
She tripped on a root as he pulled her through and literally fell into Jacen’s arms. He caught her and wrapped his arms tight around her. She looked up at him to tell him thanks, but her breath was stolen by the intense stare coming from his blue grey eyes. Her heart pounded so loudly in her chest she thought he would be able to hear it. He should be able to feel it with how close he held her against his chest. He leaned down and ever so gently, ever so hesitantly brushed his lips with hers in an almost kiss.
Elli trembled and wrapped her arms tight around him, pulling him closer for a real kiss. It was slow and smoldering; starting soft and tender, but soon his lips were pressing firm against hers. His hands ran down her back side, pulling her tight against him. She ran her hands up his strong arms, to his neck, up to his head and she twisted her fingers through his blond hair. He parted her lips with his tongue, sending a shiver of pleasure through her.
Jacen broke away to kiss her jaw line and down her neck. Elli’s breath came raggedly, and she felt hot underneath her borrowed coat. He kissed his way down her collar bone, tugging at her coat to expose her flesh. He kissed his way across and back up her neck line, to her jaw. Her lips were eager to find his again. She unzipped his jacket, and ran her hands across his chest. He was burning up too and she ached to touch his flesh. She started to yank up his shirt when he chuckled.
Jacen leaned away slightly, still holding her close with his arms wrapped around her waist. “Easy my Elli girl.” He looked away from her. “Do you hear that?”
Elli cocked her head, listening. Now that she wasn’t distracted, she could hear voices off in the distance. She looked questioningly at Jacen. He ran his fingers along her jaw, lightly brushing her cheek with his thumb. His hands had a rough texture, but they were gentle as they stroked her skin. He looked deep into her eyes and then softly kissed her. It was short and sweet and it left Elli wanting more.
There was still just a little light left, enough for Elli to see Jacen’s face clearly. He wanted more too, but just at that moment, a group of campers came around the bend in the path. They had huge back packs, stuffed full of gear. They had pots dangling off the edges of the packs and all four men were dressed in warm snow jackets and thick snow pants.
“Hi!” One of the men said as they clanged by.
“Hey guys, how’s it going?” Jacen returned.
“Great, so far! Hey,” one of the men stopped. “We heard there’s a water fall up here some where. Have you guys seen it?”
“Yeah, just up this path. I don’t think you’ll make it before dark, though. You may have to camp out along the way.”
“Not a problem. We’re prepared for just about anything.”
Elli snorted softly, thinking of Joben, the giant, comfortable boulder.
“There are a few good camp spots between here and there. Trust me; it would be worth the wait to hit up the water fall in the morning.” Jacen said, taking Elli’s hand.
“Cool. We’ll do that. Thanks, man.”
“No problem.”
“Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Elli asked the man.
“Sure, sweetie. Go ahead.”
“Well,” Elli hesitated. “Isn’t it a little cold to be camping out here at night?”
The man just laughed. “We’re extreme campers. You wouldn’t believe the places I’ve slept, darling. This is a cake walk.” He shook his head and walked off to join his friends.
“Extreme camping.” Elli said in disbelief. “I hope they don’t freeze their asses off.”
Jacen laughed loudly and started walking back down the path with her, still holding her hand tightly. “Oh, they will, but I think that’s the point.”
Elli rolled her eyes. “Oh yes. That sounds wonderful. No wonder they didn’t have any chicks with them.”
Jacen chuckled. “You never know. Maybe they didn’t want any girls with them. They wanted to have a manly weekend and all that.”
Elli smiled at him. “Makes me glad I’m not a man.”
“I’m glad for that too.” Jacen said so quietly Elli wasn’t sure she heard him right. They walked the rest of the way down to Jacen’s jeep in silence, hand in hand, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Elli’s mind kept wandering back to the forest; to feeling his arms around her, his lips pressing urgently against hers. She flushed thinking back to his tongue. He opened the door for her wordlessly, but caught her around her waist before she jumped in. He stroked her hair and then held her close. He kissed her softly before releasing her and walking to the driver’s side.
Elli stood there breathlessly for a moment before she regained control of her body and made it crawl into the jeep and buckle her seat belt. He mind was still spinning from Jacen’s kiss.
He buckled his seat belt and started the jeep, the engine seeming loud after the quiet of the forest. As soon as he had it in drive and they were on the winding path back to the park road, he reached over and took Elli’s hand again.
“What do you have planned for the rest of the evening?” He asked casually.
“Um.” Elli said, “well, I’m supposed to call Keith when I get home.” She watched Jacen’s face closely by the lights on his dash.
He went very still. “He doesn’t trust me with you?” was all he asked.
“No, I just told him I had errands to run all day. I didn’t tell him I was going to be with you.”
Jacen scowled. “Why didn’t you tell him you were going with me? I thought you said you guys didn’t have a serious relationship.”
“We don’t. I just...” Elli trailed off. She didn’t know how to explain her reluctance to talk about Jacen to Keith.
“You just what?” He sounded angry, but his face was still.
“He’s my best friend. He’s also been the only man in my life for a very long time. It is a little hard to bring in another guy with out some kind of conflict.” Elli took her hand out from under his and crossed her arms. “Even if he doesn’t love me like a girlfriend, he still loves me in some way and will probably be over protective at the very least. I would be, if our roles were reversed.”
Jacen scowled out the windshield. “I want to meet him.”
“No way.” Elli retorted.
“What are you afraid of?” He asked
“I’m not afraid of anything.” She mumbled.
“Then why can’t I meet him?” He shot a glance at her. His eyes looked stormy grey in the dash light.
“Because,” she sighed. “The time isn’t right yet. I want a chance to talk about you before I just drop all of this on him.”
“You haven’t even mentioned me to him?” Jacen frowned.
Elli sighed, exasperated. “We’ve only known each other a few days, remember?”
“You’re right,” he said, trying to make peace. “That’s hard to keep in mind because it feels like I’ve always known you.”
He reached out and stroked her arm. “If you don’t want me to meet Keith yet, that’s fine. I can be patient.” He looked away and his face grew sad. “If you guys don’t end up doing anything, will you call me?”
He sounded so lost and lonely that Elli almost said she would cancel on Keith all together, but she held her tongue. It wouldn’t be right to ditch Keith. “I will.” She said unfolding her arms and taking his hand.
He smiled at her though the smile never reached his eyes. He watched the road carefully and would only answer with short one word sentences whenever Elli tried to get him talking again. He claimed that he didn’t like to drive at night and that he needed to concentrate so Elli eventually fell silent. He pulled up in front of her house and parked behind her bug. It was well after dark, but still no Sarge. Elli scowled at his empty spot next to her steps. She tried not to worry, telling herself that he would be back by the morning.
“Is that Keith?” Jacen asked as he cut the engine off. Elli’s eyes flashed up a couple of steps to see Keith sitting there. He had his elbows on his knees and his head resting on his chin. He was dressed warmly and since he was sitting under her porch light, she could see clearly the hurt come over his face when he recognized her. Too late, she spotted his beaten up truck parked across the street.
She closed her eyes tightly, hoping that this wasn’t really happening. When she opened them again, Keith looked angry as he stalked over to the jeep. Elli scrambled to get out of her seat belt and open the door.
“Hi Keith!” She said brightly.
His brown eyes were blazing as he looked down at her. “Hello Elli.” He shot a dirty glare over to Jacen who had gotten out and walked around to the front of the jeep. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
Elli gulped. “Keith, this is Jacen. From the dreams, Jacen.” She looked over at Jacen, his face was carefully blank. “Jacen, this is Keith.”
“Her best friend Keith.” Keith interjected.
Jacen took a couple of steps forward to shake Keith’s out stretched hand. It seemed to Elli that their handshake had gone on longer than was necessary, each guy staring into the others eyes with an unspoken challenge.
“What are you doing here, Keith?” Elli asked, hoping to distract them from each other.
“Waiting for you.” Keith answered, finally releasing Jacen’s hand. “You said you would call when you got home.” He sounded hurt.
“I just got home. I didn’t get a chance to call you yet.” She frowned, “Besides, why didn’t you call me before coming over to make sure I was here?”
“I tried.” He snapped. “It kept going strait to your voice mail.”
Elli scowled and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Sure enough, she had several messages waiting. “I was probably out of service range.” She said lamely. “Sorry Keith. I didn’t know it was going to take all day.”
“Running errands, huh? With him?” He asked snidely. Out of the corner of her eye, Elli saw Jacen tense. His jaw tightened and he looked like he wanted to say something.
“That’s right. It was important.” Elli said narrowing her eyes. “What’s the big deal anyways, Keith?”
“It’s nothing. Forget about it.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over to his truck.
“Keith, wait.” Elli called after him and walked towards his truck. He had a little trouble getting it started, so it didn’t turn over until she got to his window. She tapped on the glass and he rolled it down half way. “Please Keith, don’t be mad. I’m sorry.”
He looked over at her and his face softened. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay, El?”
“Okay.”She said quietly. He rolled his window up and pulled away from the curb. Elli hugged herself tightly and walked back over to Jacen. He was watching her, his face unreadable. She stood in front of him and hung her head. He cupped her jaw and tilted her head up to look at him.
His eyes looked dark in the limited light outside her apartment. “He shouldn’t talk to you that way. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I should have told him I was going with you.” She said quietly.
“Is he your husband?” Jacen asked in a demanding tone. His face serious.
“Well, no, but...” Elli started.
“Are you two dating and or sleeping with each other?”
“I already told you no, why...”
“Then you don’t have to clear every small detail of your day with him.” Jacen smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “If he’s any good kind of friend, he’ll forgive you for shocking him so badly.” He kissed the top of her head. “It’ll be okay.” For that moment Elli believed him. It was hard to feel that there was anything wrong with the world when he held her like that.
Elli swallowed hard. “Do you want to come inside for a while?”
Jacen smiled sweetly. “Actually, I had better get home and check on mom.” He caressed her cheek. “I’ll see you tonight, though.” He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. It felt like a teasing kind of kiss, especially since Elli knew the passion he could put into his kisses. She wanted to pull him into her house and start ripping his clothes off, but she suppressed the urge as best as she could.
“See you tonight, then.” She said as calmly as she could manage.
He gave her another smile and stroked her hair. He turned then and walked back to his jeep. She stood by her steps and watched him drive down the street. She wrapped her coat around her and realized that it was actually his coat. She inhaled deeply, taking pleasure in his scent left on it. She felt goose bumps pop up all over her body that had nothing to do with the cold.
She unlocked her door went inside, turning on some lights. Nixsa was at her feet immediately, looking for her dinner. “Sorry Nixsa,” Elli said bending down to pick up the purring cat. “Let’s get you some food.” Elli fed her, still wearing Jacen’s coat, and then flopped down on the couch, going through all the events of the day. Abe, Jacen, the waterfall, the short conversation with Joben, kissing Jacen. He heart began to race at that last thought. Her stomach rumbled and she remembered she hadn’t really eaten anything all day.
She got up to raid the fridge, only to find it empty. Sighing, she picked up her phone to call for pizza. At least they delivered. She had no desire to go out and try to start her bug for a cheap burger. While she waited for the pizza to arrive, she took a short quick shower. She toweled off quickly and put on an oversized tees shirt and a pair of sweats just in time to catch the pizza delivery guy at the door. Still no Sarge on her steps, but Elli held her worries at bay.
She ate slowly in her living room mindlessly watching a sitcom on TV. Her thoughts weren’t on the show and her eyes would flick to the clock on her VCR to see if it was a reasonable time for bed yet. She thought a lot about Jacen and about Keith. She didn’t want to hurt Keith, but after his reaction tonight, maybe he did want to be more than friends and she had just missed the signs.
Keith had never expressed any physical interest in her that she had noticed While Jacen constantly flirted with her, when he wasn’t annoying the hell out of her. Elli felt terrible that she may have led Keith on all these years. The thought twisted her stomach up into a horrible knot. She loved him, but not in the same way she felt she was falling for Jacen. Even the thought of Jacen sent shivers through her and her mind would immediately go back to when he was holding her. Elli took a deep breath and shook her head. She wanted to focus on Keith; making things better with Keith. Jacen’s blue grey eyes twinkled at her from behind her eye lids every time she blinked.
She was in the middle of remembering every detail of his beautiful face and body when there came a hard knock at the door. Elli sat up strait, and called out nervously “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Sarge. Can you open up?”

Chapter 9
“Sarge!” Elli exclaimed with relief. “Where have you been all day?” She threw open her door. Sarge stood under her porch light, looking as bedraggled as ever, but there was something different about him. He held himself strait, rather than hunched over. Sweety sat as his feet, tail wagging.
“Can I come in?” He asked
“Of course” Elli said surprised. “Sarge, what’s wrong?”
“We’ve got to talk and I think it would be better to do it inside.” He walked into her apartment and sat on her couch.
“Okay,” Elli said, still stunned. Sarge had never come into her home before, not even on the coldest nights in the winter. “Sweety? You coming too?” Elli patted her leg.
Sweety looked at Elli, then lay down and put her head on her front paws. “Alright, but it’s warmer in here.” Elli offered one last time. Sweety continued to just lay there, her tail wagging whenever Elli spoke.
Elli closed the door and joined Sarge on the couch. She offered him some pizza and got him something to drink while he downed his first piece. When he had drank half his glass of water, he picked up another slice and chewed it more slowly. Elli waited patiently.
Sarge dusted off the last bit of pizza crust from the corners of his mouth and turned towards Elli. “I know where Michael’s Flaming sword is.” He said with out any preamble.
Elli was shocked. She hadn’t mentioned anything to Sarge or Keith about the sword. She only found out about it herself last night. “How?” was all she got out.
Sarge smiled sadly at her. “I am,” he sighed “not as I appear.” He gave her a long thoughtful look and then started to deflate. That was the only way Elli could have described it. Sarge slowly lost air and began to fold in on himself and Elli could hear a whooshing sound like air being let out of a balloon. Elli sat, stunned and unable to move. When Sarge was nothing more than a pile of rubbery looking skin on her couch, Elli finally regained control of her legs and jumped up, backing up into a wall.
“Elli. Do not be afraid.” She heard Sarge’s voice say, but it wasn’t coming from the pile of him on her couch. It was coming from everywhere.
“Do not be afraid, Eleanor, Agent of Gabriel.” Sarge’s voice came again. “I am Camael, Air Elemental and friend of Joben.”
Elli began breathing again. “You’re an Elemental? Can you, um” she paused “get back into your body now? This whole voice all around me thing is kind of creepy.” She heard Sarge chuckle.
His body on the couch began to inflate again and slowly became the Sarge she knew. He shrugged and moved, appearing to adjust his skin. Elli watched in disbelief as he turned to face her again, looking as normal as he ever did.
“What the hell was that all about?” She demanded
“I did not mean to frighten you, Elli.” Sarge said gravely. “I wanted to show you my true form so that you know that the words I speak to you are true. I wear this…disguise so that I may walk amongst your people undetected.”
“What is that you do, Sarge? I mean, Camael?” Elli asked, curious.
He smiled. “You can still call me Sarge, if you like. I help control the movement of the air here; helping to keep the city clean and the air pure.” He said simply. “Tonight, though, I’m here to help you find Michael’s Sword. It is imperative that you and the other Agents prevent the demons from breaking through.”
“The sword is in-between this world and the dream world.” He continued. “You will need four Elementals to represent all of the four elements; Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These four Elementals will meet you and the other Agents in the dream world, where they will perform the summoning for the sword.”
“How will we know them? Will they be able to find us?” Elli worried.
“They will be able to find you, Eleanor, the same way you find each other. The Elementals will show you were the summoning must occur and then they will hand the sword over to you.” He stood up and looked around nervous. “If you will excuse me, I’m very uncomfortable in such an enclosed space.”
“Sure.” Elli said, still stunned.
Sarge smiled at her. “Do not worry, Elli. I am the same Sarge you’ve always known. Now, you just know what my occupation is.” He grinned at her and she couldn’t help but grin back.
“Sarge?” Elli asked as he made his way to her door. “Is there a reason you picked my steps to live on?”
Sarge gave her a long look. “I was asked to watch over you.” He finally said.
“By who?” Elli asked confused.
“Your Angel, of course. Gabriel knew you would be special and wanted to make sure nothing happened to you before you became officially under his protection. I suppose now that you have your wings, I’m not needed any longer.” He looked sad.
“Of course I still need you!” Elli said. “Who else am I going to have early am coffee with on my days off?” She smiled.
“What about Keith?” Sarge asked, looking at her sideways, his hand on her door knob.
“Keith isn’t a morning person.” Elli said quietly, remembering Keith’s angry face from earlier.
“I think he would be willing to become one, just to have coffee with you.” Sarge said with a wink and let him self out. Elli plopped back on her couch and shut her eyes tight. So, Sarge had noticed Keith was interested in her, but she had some how failed to notice it herself. She sighed deeply and checked the clock. It was late enough now, that Elli felt comfortable going to bed. She didn’t want to arrive too much before the others, incase she appeared too anxious, but now that she knew how to find the sword, she knew she had to get to the dream world as soon as she could to let the others know.
She lay down under her warm comforter. Nixsa hopped up and claimed her usual sleeping spot in the small of Elli’s back. Elli had put Jacen’s coat on a chair next to her bed, and every now and then she would reach out to touch it, making sure it was real. Her staff sat propped up in its usual corner and her apartment was dark. She closed her eyes and concentrated on relaxing every part of her body until she eventually fell asleep.
Elli opened her eyes to find herself in the dark dream world, standing outside of her apartment. Her staff was in her hand, glowing softly and slightly warm to the touch. She looked around and spotted Jacen waiting for her again. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on him. Since it wasn’t cold here, he wasn’t all bundled up in a heavy coat, allowing his muscular arms and body to be visible through his shirt. He had his sword strapped to his hip and he wore his usual attire. His face lit up with a smile when he saw her.
“I thought you were never going to show.” He said, walking over to her. He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. “Would it be wrong to say I missed you?”
Elli giggled, her the butterflies in her stomach doing flip flops. “We just saw each other a few hours ago!”
“I know, but it felt like ages.” He said smiling at her. “What took you so long anyways?” He took her hand as they walked towards the hotel that was their base.
“I was visiting with an Elemental.” Elli said, off handedly, like she was used to conversing with supernatural creatures.
Jacen raised his eye brows “Oh yeah? That was quick.”
“Yep. Is Abe here yet?” She asked
“You tell me.” Jacen said looking down at her. Elli stopped walking and closed her eyes. She could feel the thumping coming from Jacen, but she had been aware of that since she got here. She could just make out a faint thumping off in the distance. She stretched out with her feelings and noticed there were two additional thumpings. “Yes, he’s here. Jess is too, I think.” She said opening her eyes to look at Jacen. He smiled at her proudly and took her hand. They walked holding hands to the old hotel where they found Jessica and Abe waiting on them. Jessica was as gorgeous as ever, sitting primly on one of the couches. Abe was back to his young, spry self. Elli Smiled warmly at him when she and Jacen walked through the door.
Jessica looked directly at Elli and Jacen’s connected hands and then shot a dirty look to Elli. “I didn’t realize you still needed an escort to find your way, Elli.” Jessica said snidely. “I thought you were some kind of prodigy.”
Elli’s face burned red with anger. Jacen squeezed her hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear “Don’t let her get to you.” He gave her a lopsided grin. He released her hand and went to sit on the other couch. Elli followed and sat next to him; close but not quite touching him.
“You know, Jess” Elli said casually, “You would be a lot more pretty if you weren’t such a bitch.”
Jessica’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Obviously she wasn’t used to people being nasty back to her. She screwed up her pretty face with a retort ready when Abe stepped in between them.
“What did you guys find out today?” He asked.
“We found and spoke to Joben.” Jacen said and then went into the rest of the story. Elli was thankful that he left out the details from the trip back down the mountain. “Then Elli just told me an Elemental found her this evening and told her how to find the sword.” He looked over to her.
She cleared her throat. “I was told that four Elementals representing the four different elements would meet us here and lead us to the place where they will perform a summoning ritual.”
Abe looked thoughtful. “Did they say what they would look like?”
Elli shook her head. “Only that we would know them for what they are. And that they would be able to find us the same way we find each other.”
“Hm.” Abe said, looking towards the door. “Tonight?”
“I think so, although they weren’t specific about it.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “No hunting then tonight?” She looked to Abe. “Can I go?”
“No, I think we all need to be here in case there is a problem.” He answered giving her a stern look.
Jessica sat back with a huff. “So, we just wait and hope girl wonder over there got the message right?”
Elli gave Jessica a dirty glare and then jumped when someone or something pounded on the hotel door. Jacen and Abe exchanged looks and Jacen pulled his sword from the sheath at his hip. Abe walked cautiously to the door and threw it open, with Jacen right behind him, sword ready.
Standing at the threshold were four beings that had to be the Elementals Sarge spoke of. One was a man who appeared to be made of lava. His skin was dark and cracking and in-between the cracks, Elli could see glowing red magma. The woman standing next to him was made of water. She was blue in color and translucent. She had long flowing green hair and her clothes seemed to flow like a river even while she stood still. Behind them was a man who appeared to be made of dirt. He was short, squatty and was completely bald. He had green mold growing out of his ears and his clothes were made from autumn leaves; all red, yellow and orange colored. The last Elemental was harder to see than the others. It appeared to be a woman, but she was like a ghost, fading in and out of sight. It hurt Elli’s eyes when she tried to look at the woman too closely.
They walked into the hotel lobby, eyeing the four humans.
“Agents of the Angels.” The Lava man bowed slightly. “I am Jomei, of the Fire Elementals.”
“I am Aneko of the Water Elementals.” The water woman dipped in a low curtsey.
“I am Chryseis, an Earth Elemental.” The stout little dirt man said, bowing low.
“And I am Kamilyn, Air Elemental.” said a whispery voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere.
“I am Abraham,” Abe said, pointing at himself. “This is Jacen, Jessica and Elli.”
“Eleanor.” Elli interjected. Elementals seemed to be very formal. Abe gave her an amused look.
“If you would come with us, we will perform the ritual to summon Micheal’s Sword for you.” Jomei bowed again and motioned towards the door.
“Of course.” Abe said, standing up. Jessica, Jacen and Elli stood as well and followed the Elementals out of the hotel. It was dark as usual, but the Elementals seemed to have an inner glow that radiated from them. Jomei had a red tint to him, Aneko had a blue, Chryseis had a distinctively green tint and Kamilyn had a white glow outlining her shape. It was easier to see her out here in the dark.
They led the humans through the dark and deserted streets. Elli walked next to Jacen who occasionally would reach out and touch her arm, her back or her hair. Every time he touched her a thrill would go through her like it was the first time. They walked for what felt like hours until they reached a large, black lake.
The Elementals stood on the edge of the still water and faced each other, forming a square. They began chanting softly in a musical language Elli didn’t recognize, each with their eyes closed. The chanting became louder and more intense, breaking through the quietness of the dream world. Elli looked around nervously, worried about demons. She noticed that Jacen and Abe were also on alert, while Jess seemed to be bored, although she did keep looking back the way they had come like she was expecting someone.
Elli turned her attention back to the Elementals and noticed a red light appearing under the surface of the lake. It became brighter and brighter before it broke the surface of the water. It was Micheal’s Sword and it was aflame. It was huge, no mortal man could wield it and flames licked the entire thing, from hilt to blade. The light from its blaze reflected off of the surface of the lake, lighting up the whole area around them. It moved slowly, just inches above the surface, towards the shore.
It stopped in the center of the Elemental square. They all opened their eyes and the sword fell to their feet. They broke apart and turned to look at the humans. “It is done.” Jomei said somberly. “We trust this sword in your care. Use it wisely.” And with that they all faded to nothingness.
“Now what do we do?” Elli wondered out loud. She heard a snarling behind her and snapped her head around. “What the?” she started to say, before she was knocked off her feet by a demon that had been hiding in the brush next to the lake. They were surrounded by demons, all of them trying to get at the sword.
“Elli!” Jacen cried out as he fought his way towards her. He took a couple of slashes in his arms and torso as he clashed with the demons. Elli struggled to get back to her feet, her head pounding and using her staff to support herself. A one eyes demon approached her snarling and drooling, its teeth gleaming in the dark. She smacked it hard on its face, burning some of its flesh off and knocking it down. She swung her staff around in a blur fighting off all the demons that came close to her. She watched Jacen out of the corner of her eye work his way towards her while Abe fought off any demons that got close to Michaels sword.
Demons surrounded them in a sea of horrible, monstrous faces. Elli caught the demon that had knocked her down by its legs and put it on its back. She stabbed it in its throat, severing its head. Then she battled a spidery looking demon with 12 insect legs and billions of eyes and took a nasty cut on her back for the effort. Abe was flinging his disc and retrieving it as quickly as possible. Elli saw him flit between two dark black smoky demons then turning to cut them down with his disc using one flick of his wrist. Jacen moved with deadly gracefulness as he sliced and stabbed his way through the horde.
Elli fought on, taking as many demons down as she could. Sweat dripped down her back and stung in her wounds. Finally, one last demon fell at her feet, still writhing. Elli stabbed her staff down into its chest, setting it on fire and it laid there burning and screeching.
She looked around her at all the chaos. Abe was fighting hand to hand with a demon, Jacen was battling two at once, slicing them both gracefully in half with one move, and Jessica was…missing. Elli looked around in confusion to see if she missed her. Jess was very fast and could dart in and out of a fight with a quickness that was astounding. There was no sign of her and it was only then that Elli noticed that the sword was missing as well. She heard a loud crunching noise, like bones breaking and saw Abe fall to the ground. Jacen ran the demon through with his sword, yelling profanities at it.
Elli took a hard blow to the head from a demon she hadn’t seen and went down hard on the ground. She heard Jacen yell her name again. She tried to respond but was fading into the darkness. There was a sound like a limp body hitting the ground next to her, but she couldn’t see anything. She felt someone’s hands under head and could hear Jacen say her name over and over, though it seemed like he was a long ways away.
“Concentrate, Elli. Heal yourself. Concentrate, Elli.” He repeated his voice was desperate with worry. She really wanted to just go to sleep, but Jacen’s voice was persistent. For him, she thought and concentrated on where she hurt. She thought of fixing her torn shirt and imagined applying that to her head. Soon, the throbbing eased and the darkness faded. She opened her eyes to see Jacen sitting over her, unshed tears in his eyes. His face was lined with concern and he pushed her hair away from her forehead. “Thank God.” He said, holding her tight. He was covered in blood, some of it his, judging by the color. He had deep cuts across his chest and one shallower one across his cheek. His shirt and pants were torn and his sword lay abandoned beside him.
Elli struggled to sit up and looked around. The fight was over. Dead demons littered the ground, some of them with blood pooled around them. Another, familiar figure lay unmoving as well. “Abe!” Elli gasped.
Jacen helped her to her feet and they stumbled over to Abe. Elli dropped to her knees beside him. His chest was caved in and his breath was raspy and ragged. There was a small amount of blood on the corner of his mouth and his eyes were beginning to glaze over. He reached up weakly to touch Elli’s face.
“Oh Abe!” Elli half sobbed, taking his hand.
“Don’t worry, Elli girl. I get to be with my Minnie again.” He turned his eyes to Jacen. “You’re the most experienced now and that makes you the leader of Gods Armor. Lead them well, Jace. Take care of them and guide them.” He coughed and spat up some dark red blood. “I am the last of my line and we have served you well, Uriel. Deliver me home.” He fell slack against Elli.
Tears streamed down her face as she held onto Abe’s body. Abe who was so fragile looking in the real world, but had been so strong here. There had been a timelessness to him that had made her feel that he would always be around. Now that he wasn’t, the dream world felt empty and cold. She looked up at Jacen, who also had tears falling.
Elli hugged Abe one last time and whispered good bye. Jacen put a hand on her shoulder and pointed. She blinked away tears and saw a warm glowing light in the distance. It looked out of place in this dark dream world. As it got closer, it got larger and started taking a form. She could make out that it was human shaped, but larger than a human would be.
The light was almost blinding as it got nearer, but Elli could just make out huge wings that folded and unfolded as if it was agitated. It approached Abe’s body silently. At last the light faded some and Elli saw a beautiful Angel with thick brown hair that was topped with a crown of laurel leaved entwined with moss. His robe was appeared to be made from green and brown vines and he had earthy brown eyes that held wisdom and sadness. “Uriel.” Jason breathed. The Angel looked up from Abe and nodded. He bent down and put his hand to Abe’s still chest and with drew a shimmering yellow ball of light.
Uriel tenderly cupped the light in his huge hands and closed his eyes. He spread his wings wide and Elli was amazed with how massive they were. With out saying a word, Uriel faded from sight, leaving Elli and Jacen to comfort each other.
They sat silently holding each other for a long while. Elli felt so lost and even with Jacen’s arms around her, she felt alone. He pulled back to look at her, his beautiful eyes more grey than blue and red rimmed. He lightly touched her cheek where her tears had left tracks. “Let’s go home.” He said softly.
“What about Jess? Where is she? What happened to her?” Elli asked, shaking her head. “We should go look for her.”
Jacen scowled, but then nodded his agreement. Elli sat very still, trying to concentrate on finding Jess’s thumping. She thought she could just make out a faint thumping that was far, far off. “Can you feel if she’s still here?”
Jacen nodded his head. “You can’t feel her? “ Elli shook her head.
“I can.” He said scowling off in the distance. “It’s almost as strong as yours.” He looked over at Elli. “Let’s go find her.”
He stood up and offered his hand to Elli. She took it, leaning on him once she got to her feet. She felt comforted by his presence and desperately wanted to stay in his arms. He sheathed his sword and bent down to get Elli’s staff. He handed it to her and she inspected it. It hadn’t even got a scratch on it. After some searching, they gave up trying to finds Abe’s disc. They wondered if it had disappeared with Uriel. They followed the thumping signal for miles it seemed. Jacen would have to pause every now and then to get his bearings before pulling Elli down one street or another.
They walked through a dark alley way that dead ended at a building. There was a small metal door just off to the right. Jacen trued the handle to find it was unlocked. They went in together and found themselves on the first floor of a stair well. Wide metal steps spiraled upwards several floors and the stairs had pale grey laminate tiles.
“This looks like an apartment building.” Jacen said, his voice echoing. He looked up. “I think she’s on the second floor. Elli took his hand and together they started climbing the stairs. When they got to the second floor landing, Jacen opened the heavy metal door that led to a carpeted hallway. He walked past several of the wooden doors that lined the corridor. He stopped in front of one and Elli could feel Jessica in there. He opened the door slowly and drew his sword.
They walked into an empty apartment and found Jessica sitting with her back against one of the walls. She looked worn out and haggard. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were torn. When she looked up at Jacen her eyes were red rimmed. “I thought when Abe bit the dust; I’d be free to leave when I wanted.” She narrowed her eyes. “You have the power now.”
Jacen nodded. “Release me, then.” She demanded.
Jacen stared at her coldly. “What happened back there, Jess?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” She said angrily.
“Where did you go? I didn’t see you fighting at all.”
Jessica crossed her arms against her chest and looked away. Elli noticed that the outside of her hand had dried blood on it.
“What happened to your hand?” Elli asked.
Jacen frowned as he spotted what Elli had seen. Jessica moved her hand so it was covered. She licked her lips nervously. “Look, I never wanted this life. I was offered a way out so I took it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Jacen said quietly the corner of his eye twitching just slightly. Too quietly, Elli thought. His eyes were changing from a deep blue to a stormy grey and she knew there was a furious storm brewing with in him.
Jess looked him square in the eyes and lifted her chin. “I led the demons to the meeting by leaving a trail of my blood to follow. In turn, they said they would give me a way out of this fight. I would be left alone.”
Jacen moved lighting quick with his sword, putting its tip right at her throat. “I should kill you right now.”
“Go ahead. They lied anyways.” She laughed once humorlessly. “There is no way out of this.”
“There is a way out.” Jacen said, his voice hard. He pushed the tip of his sword into her skin just far enough to draw a bead of blood.
Jessica closed her eyes and swallowed hard.
Elli walked to Jacen and put her hand on his arm. “It’s not up to us to decide if she lives or dies, Jace.” He looked down into her eyes. She put a hand along his jaw line. “Please, let her go.”
His face softened some and but when he looked back to Jessica it was hard again. “You may go, but you’ll have to come back. We will know where you are and we will be watching you.”
Jessica shot him a dirty glare and then closed her eyes. She slowly faded out like an apparition.
He turned to Elli, letting the tip of his sword to drag on the floor. Elli wrapped her arms around his middle, laying her head against his chest. She sighed, knowing that when she woke up, she would be alone in her bed. Jacen cupped her chin and looked deep into her eyes. “I’ll see you soon.”
“How soon?” Elli asked quietly, not meeting his eyes.
“As soon as I can get dressed and over to your house. We probably need to go to Abe’s home.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t think there is anyone else to...” He swallowed hard “to make arraignments for his funeral.”
Elli choked back another sob and nodded. “Call me when you’re on your way over. I’ll be ready.”
Jacen leaned down and kissed her tenderly on her forehead. She closed her eyes. “Wake up, Eleanor.” He said softly, putting his head to hers.
Elli opened her eyes and found herself back in her room. Her head pounded a little and she had some scratches, but her biggest hurt was emanating from her soul. Abe, she thought and started crying all over again. She lay on her side and cried for the loss of him for a while, before she pulled herself together and got into the shower. She didn’t rush. She allowed the warm water to ease some of the tension out of her muscles. When she got out, she dried off and got dressed. She checked her phone and found a missed call from Jacen. He was on his way already. She fed Nixsa and checked outside for Sarge. He was already gone, though Elli no longer knew if he was out panhandling or if he was on official Elemental business. She sighed. Nothing was as simple as it used to be.
Elli dried her hair and left it down again, tucking her bangs behind her ear. When Jacen knocked on her door a few minutes later, she had everything gathered up and was ready like she said she would be. She was quiet when she opened the door, even the sight of Jacen and the accompanying butterflies in her stomach not able to lift her sad mood.
Jacen was dressed in dark blue jeans and a tan turtle neck. It set off the coloring of his hair and eyes making him more beautiful than Elli thought possible. He said nothing as he wrapped her in a big hug, holding her close to his heart. She could hear it through his chest. Its tempo picked up when she snuggled her face into him and breathed in his clean scent. She pulled away and went to grab his coat that she still had from yesterday and her own coat as well. Jacen looked disappointed when she handed it back to him and put on her own.
“Thanks.” He said folding it over his arm. He took a deep breath. “Are you ready?”
Elli nodded silently and pulled the door shut behind her. They rode in silence to Abe’s home and parked in the gravel parking lot like last time. It seemed like years ago they had first visited Abe here instead of just yesterday. Elli fought back tears as they walked up the wide steps of the home. Mrs. Wagner was at the reception desk when they walked in. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of them and she rushed around the counter to meet them.
“I’m so sorry to tell you this.” Her face was full of sympathy. “Your grandfather passed away last night.”
Elli bit her lip hard to keep from crying again. Her throat had a lump in it and was raw from the crying she had done already. She must have looked pathetic because Mrs. Wagner enveloped her in a big, warm hug. “I’m so sorry my dear.” She said, patting Elli on her back. “He went peacefully in his sleep just last night.” Mrs. Wagner reached out and touched Jacen’s arm. His face was stiff and cold, but his eyes held a deep sadness in them.
“May we see him?” He asked quietly.
“I’m sorry, dear, but the paramedics took his body this morning.” Mrs. Wagner said sadly.
“Who is doing the arraignments for the memorial?” He asked.
“Normally, if there is no family, we put together a small service. We can still take care of it, if you want us to.”
Jacen shook his head. “No, that’s okay. He was our family. We’ll take care of it.”
Mrs. Wagner looked at him as if she wasn’t sure he could handle the task of planning a funeral, but finally shrugged and gave him the number to the funeral home they usually used and the number to the morgue where Abe’s body was taken. “We will box up his things and when you’re ready, you can come pick them up, okay?” She patted Elli on her arm again, and gave Jacen a quick squeeze on his. “I’m so sorry, kids.” She said, wringing her hands and then walked back to the reception desk.
Elli and Jacen spent the rest of the day together, making appointments to see the funeral director and then writing an obituary to send out after they had set up everything. They weren’t sure Abe had any friends so they figured putting an obit in all the major news papers would let anyone know when and where his memorial service was. She called Keith to let him know she was going to be gone all day, and why. Although he didn’t sound happy about it, he at least sounded understanding. She promised to call him later when she got back home. Jacen scowled at that, but didn’t say anything.
Though neither of them felt hungry, Jacen drove them to a small cafe just down from the funeral home. He insisted that they get something in their stomachs, so they shared a large of chili cheese fries and couple of sodas. When the food arrived, Elli’s stomach growled at the smell of it. She hadn’t eaten anything all morning and now that the fires were in front of her, she felt ravenous. She ended up eating half the order, Jacen wolfing down the other half.
When they had finished eating they sat there for a while, waiting for the check. Jacen leaned back in his seat, stretching and then putting his hands behind his head. He stared at Elli, who felt her cheeks flush. His eyes twinkled at the sight and she had to sigh.
“I don’t understand why that seems to please you so much.” Elli said, scowling.
“What?” Jacen was the picture of innocence.
“You know what.” She sighed, exasperated. “Staring at me like that and making me blush.”
He leaned forward on the table and put his chin on his hands. “Stare at you how?” His eyes blue with just a tint of grey stared at her, seemingly trying to read her soul.
Elli gulped. “Like I’m some kind of delicious entree.” She looked away from him.
He chuckled. “I always wondered why you blushed when I look at you.”
Her eyes flashed back to his face, worried that she had read his stare wrong, but he was all smiles as the waitress finally showed up with their check. After paying, they sat in the jeep warming up with the heater vents.
“I guess I should get you home.” Jacen said quietly.
“I should get back. I need to spend some time with Keith.” She said just as quietly.
Jacen took her hand and squeezed it gently. “If you don’t want to go home, you don’t have to.”
“No, I need to. Keith is,” she paused. “special to me. I want to make things right with him.”
“You’re right.” Jacen nodded, but his eyes were tight around the edges. With one last squeeze he released her hand and started the jeep, driving her strait back her apartment. He seemed angry but he wasn’t directing it at her. His knuckles were white on his steering wheel and no matter how hard Elli tried to lighten the mood by touching him or talking he wouldn’t respond very much.
When he parked behind her bug she undid her seat belt quickly and leaned across the console and laid her head on his arm. He melted a little bit and leaned his head down on hers. “Call me later?” He asked.
“I will.” She said softly. She sighed and got out of the jeep. He got out too and came around to envelope her in a huge hug. He pulled away and ran his fingers along her forehead sweeping her bangs back behind her ear. She stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down for a kiss. Jacen pulled away after a moment, chuckling. He touched her face one more time and turned to walk back around the jeep.
Elli walked up the empty steps and let herself back into her apartment. She wondered where Sarge was. Maybe he wouldn’t be back now that she knew he was an Elemental. She felt sad for that. He had been such a permanent fixture in her life. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but they were all like a family. She sighed and took out her phone to dial Keith.
An hour or so later, Keith showed up with some pizza and beer. “Hey El. Where’s Sarge and Sweety? I got the large so it could feed us all.”
Elli shrugged. “He hasn’t been around much lately.” Sadness tinged her voice.
Keith looked up from the pizza box. “I’m sure he’s okay. He’s a tough old man and Sweety is a lot meaner than she looks.” He walked to Elli and put his arm around her. “He’ll be back, don’t worry.”
Elli took a deep breath and nodded. She thought about telling Keith about Sarge being Jobei the Air Elemental, but decided that wasn’t her secrete to share. “Thanks for the pizza.” She grabbed her plate and the six pack and went to sit by Keith on the couch.
“I’m sorry about yesterday.” Keith said, looking at his slice. “I was just caught off guard. I didn’t expect to see you with another guy. You’ve never even mentioned him.”
“I know.” she reached out and touched his arm. “I’m sorry Keith. I should have told you I was going with him to see Abe.”
Keith put down his pizza and took a big swig of beer. He looked over at Elli his brown eyes were big. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Elli paused. “I don’t know.” She hung her head. “I really don’t. It just felt...” she took a deep breath “wrong, I guess.”
“Wrong that you went with him” Keith asked confused.
“Wrong to tell you.” She said quietly. “I was afraid that you would be upset and I ended up upsetting you anyways.” She looked up at him. “I am sorry, Keith.”
He stared at her for a moment, not saying anything. Abruptly he said “It’s okay. You’re right; I wouldn’t have been happy to hear of you spending the day with another guy.”
Elli narrowed her eyes. “Why?” she demanded to know.
Keith ignored her question and took another bite. While chewing he asked casually “Do you love him?”
Elli looked away disgusted. “I asked you first.”
Keith swallowed. “Fine I’ll answer your question after you answer mine.”
“Fine. I’ve only known him a couple of days. How can I know if I love him or not?” She crossed her arms smugly against her chest. “Your turn.”
“I’ve seen the way you look at him, El. You go all breathless when you even say his name and your cheeks flush.” He looked down at his hands in his lap. “I’ve never seen you look that way over a guy.”
Elli paused. “I like him a lot.” She whispered. Even now, while she was with Keith, Jacen kept creeping into her thoughts. “More than I probably should.”
Keith nodded sadly. “To answer your question as to why I would be upset with you for being out with another man, it’s because” he looked like he was being tortured. “Because I love you.”
Elli smiled. “I know Keith, I love you too. We’re like family.” She put a hand on his.
He turned his hand over and twined his fingers through hers and stared at them. “No, I’m in love with you, Elli. I always have been, since the first time I met you.” He looked up at her.
Elli felt like her heart was breaking. “Keith, I...” she fumbled around in her head for the words.
He held his hands up. “It’s okay, I know that wasn’t something you expected to hear, but I needed to say it and you needed to hear it. I’m in love with you, El, and now that you know, I’m not going to let you forget it.”
“Keith,” Elli said gently. “I love you too, but not like that.” Jacen danced just on the edge of her mind and she felt her pulse quicken.
“You just found out that I love you, it’ll take some time before you realize you love me the same way.” He said confidently.
“And what if I do love Jacen?” she asked feeling wretched. She didn’t want to hurt Keith, but she didn’t want to lead him on either. And just because she didn’t want to have a heart to heart with Keith about her feelings for Jacen, which she barely understood herself, didn’t mean she should at least try to warn Keith that she felt something for the other man.
Keith shrugged. “You’ve only know him a few days and you said yourself that you didn’t know if you love him or not.” He looked at his watch and stood up. “I’ve got to take off, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow. You’ll be at work, right?”
“Should be. Abe’s funeral is going to be sometime this week, though.” She said sadly.
“Abe?” Keith asked.
“From the dreams. He..” Elli fought back tears “died.”
“What happened? Was it in a fight? Were you hurt at all?” Keith's eyes scanned Elli from head to toe.
“I’m fine.” She reassured him. “I don’t really want to talk about it right now, though, okay?”
Keith walked over to her, squatted down beside her and put his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry about Abe.” His brown eyes were full of sympathy. “You’ll have to tell me later what happened.”
Elli nodded numbly. She looked at the clock on her VCR, it was only mid afternoon. “Where are you off to?” She asked Keith curiously.
“The new Warfare Unleashed is coming out at midnight, so I’m meeting a bunch of guys to go stand in line for it.” He grinned at her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you later, El.”
“Have fun.” She said shaking her head.
When he was gone, she touched her lips where he had kissed her. It wasn’t fair. Yes she loved Keith, but he didn’t make her heart race like Jacen did. Keith was comfortable, safe, home. Jacen was the roller coaster that made her stomach do flip flops and her heart beat furiously. She felt an ache inside her when she thought of Jacen. She trembled at the memory of kissing him. She hadn’t ever felt that way with Keith. She wrapped her arms around herself. She was going to break Keith’s heart, no matter what she did and she hated even the though of it. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stared blankly ahead.

Chapter 10
He phone buzzed in her pocket. She took her time debating on answering it or not when it stopped. Then it started buzzing again. She dug it out of her pocket and flipped it open. “Hello? She choked out.
“Elli? What’s wrong?” Jacen’s voice sounded frantic.
Elli sat up and wiped her eyes. “Nothing.” She said, her voice clearer. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Jacen said relaxing. “Is Keith there with you?”
“No, he left already.” Elli said trying to keep the sadness from her voice.
“Oh.” Jacen paused. “How did it go?” He asked too casually.
“Fine. He forgave me.” Was all Elli said.
“I told you he would.” Jacen said not sounding all that happy. “So, I have an appointment to see the funeral director in about an hour, do you want to go with me?”
“Sure.” Elli said, feeling guilty about the rush of excitement she had when she thought of spending more time with him.
“I’ll be over in a few to pick you up.”
“Okay. See you in a few minutes.” Elli flipped her phone closed and tried to calm her racing heart.
He pulled up a little over ten minutes later and Elli rushed out her door and hopped in the jeep. Jacen looked deep into her eyes. “What did Keith say?”
“I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” Elli said looking away from his stare.
“He hurt you.” Jacen said angrily as he turned onto the street.
“No, I’m hurting him.” Elli said under her breath.
Jacen looked over at her, his eyes inquisitive. He didn’t push for more though as he reached out and took her hand. “I’m glad you came with me. I didn’t want to do this alone.”
“Of course.” Elli said, squeezing his hand glad for the change of subject.
The meeting with the funeral home director went quickly. He was a nice man who walked them through the process with care. Elli and Jacen were only doing a simple service and the director was very helpful. Elli and Jacen got the memorial set up for a few days away and arraigned for a plot in the local cemetery. They went together to a department store to pick out a suite to bury Abe in, and Elli wanted to cry during the whole thing, but she felt like her tears had dried up. Jacen handled everything with a cold and distant professionalism. Elli could tell, though, when she caught eyes with him that he was still hurting over the loss of Abe.
By the time he took her back home, the sun was setting. He kissed her softly under her porch light and then drove off into the night. Elli fed Nixsa and then took a book to the bath tub to try to escape reality for a while. She crawled into the tub with The Hobbit and tried to immerse herself in the tales of Bilbo Baggins. After a few chapters, she gave up and drained the tub. She put on some warm pajama’s and crawled into bed, letting her thoughts wander wherever they wanted.
She thought a lot of Keith and his warm brown eyes, his quick smile, and easy manner. Being with him was like being home. She felt comfortable with him, like her favorite pair of shoes or a familiar warm sweater. She thought more of Jacen and his eyes; his warm deep eyes that changed colors with his moods. She day dreamed of his arms around her, his lips pressed hard against hers, his heart pounding in his chest. She pictured the way his wings showed black against his light skin in the dream world and the way his hair curled just below his ears. . She wanted to be with him, even now. She closed her eyes and thought of him holding her. With that last thought, she drifted off to sleep.
She opened her eyes to find herself in the dream world. Jacen was waiting again and Elli wondered out loud how he always did that.
He chuckled. “It’s not hard when the house is quiet and everything is done for the day.” He ran his fingers along her cheek. “Also, lately, it seems that I can’t wait to get here.”
Elli blushed under his touch. Faintly, she could feel the thumping from Jessica. “Are we going to go find Jess again?”
Jacen shrugged. “We should, if nothing else just to interrogate her.”
“Do you think she would actually tell us anything?” she asked dubiously.
Jacen sighed. “I doubt she even knows anything to tell, but I haven’t seen one demon since I got here.” He glanced up and down the street.
Elli shivered and hugged herself tight.
“Let’s go see what we find.” He said, taking her hand.
They walked down deserted street after deserted street. Jessica’s thumping never grew any stronger and was always changing direction. So, she was avoiding them. Jacen worried that she was up to something, but her thumping would always change direction when they did, keeping a careful distance.
It was even more eerie that usual as they wandered. Neither Elli nor Jacen saw a single demon. The streets were dark and empty, the only sound came from their foot steps on the concrete and even that seemed duller than usual. After a while Jacen gave up and decided to call it a night. He held Elli in a tight hug before kissing her good night.
When Elli woke up, she still had a few minutes before her alarm went off. She sighed, turned off her alarm before the buzzing could sound and got up. She felt like she was in a daze as she got ready for work. Her thoughts were a tangled mess of Jacen and Keith and she hated the whole love triangle business. She decided that she was going to try to make it clearer to Keith that she had feelings for Jacen. It was stupid to drag this out any more than it already had been. Feeling better, and hoping that she could make Keith understand with out loosing him, she drank some instant coffee more out of habit than necessity.
She arrived at work before he did and decided to wait for him in the parking lot. Her phone buzzed and she flipped it open quickly. “Hello?”
“El,” A raspy voice came from the other end.
“Keith?” Elli asked worried.
“Yeah.” He wheezed.
“You sound terrible!” Elli exclaimed. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I just got a nasty cold from waiting in line for that game.” He fell into a coughing fit.
“No kidding. Damn. Well, you need me to bring you anything?” Elli asked disappointed she wouldn’t see him today.
“I think I’m alright.” He sniffed really hard and sounded stuffy. “My mother called last night and found I was sick.” He lowered his voice. “She’s been here all day.” He sounded disgusted and weary at the same time. “I’ve got soup, drugs, and lots of fluids. Nothing unhealthy. The woman can’t be stopped.”
“Maybe I’ll come over after work and sneak you in some doughnuts or something.” Elli chuckled.
“That would be fantastic.” Keith laughed. “Oh!” he said urgently “I got to go, she’s coming back to check my temp again.” He gave a big dramatic sigh. “I feel like I’m five years old.”
“Talk to you later.” Elli said chuckling. She had met Keith’s mother and she was a woman to be reckoned with.
“Yep.” He said coughing again. “I can’t wait to see you, El.” The line went dead.
She closed her phone. She felt a deep sadness in her. She wanted to make him happy, but she didn’t think she could love him in the way he wanted.
Her work day went by quickly and by the end of the day she was nervous about seeing Keith. She really wanted to go find Jacen and just be with him. She got into her bug and started it after a few attempts. It took a while to warm up and by time she pulled out of the parking lot, it was just barely beginning to blow warm air on her feet. When she got to Keith’s place, she was told by his mother that he was sleeping and shouldn’t be disturbed. Elli wondered if he really was sleeping or if his mom was just being over protective.
She walked dejectedly back to her car and drove home. Jacen hadn’t called by time she got there, and she contemplated calling him. With only Nixsa and her in the apartment, it felt empty and cold. Elli wished she knew where Sarge was. She fixed some macaroni and cheese, sharing it with Nixsa, and opened up her phone dial Jacen’s number, when it buzzed in her hand showing the number she was just about to type in.
“Hi.” She breathed into the phone.
“Hi Elli.” Jacen’s voice sounded buoyant. “How was your day?” He inquired.
Elli giggled. “It was fine, how was yours?”
“Good. Could have been better.” He said off handedly.
“How’s that?” Elli asked wondering what he had done all day.
“I could have been with you.” He said and she could hear the smile in his voice. Elli blushed, thankful he couldn’t see it.
She cleared her throat. “What did you do all day?” she asked, not knowing what else to say.
He rambled on about his day, telling her about some of his customers, making dinner for his mom, getting the yard raked. Elli didn’t care what he talked about; she just loved to hear his voice. She told him about her day too, and Keith being sick.
They talked for a long while on the phone, their conversation coming easy. Eventually, she had to start stifling her yawns. Jacen caught one and chuckled. “I’ll see you soon, my Eleanor. Good night.” And he hung up the phone. She got undressed as quickly as she could and crawled under her quilt. Even as excited as she was to see him, and maybe because she was so excited to see him, it took her a long time to drift off to sleep.
When she opened her eyes in the dream world, he wasn’t waiting yet. She frowned and stared down the street and saw him strolling gracefully up the sidewalk. She felt relief wash through her and a strong desire to run to him. She forced herself to take slowed steps towards him. He gave her a lopsided grin and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned down and kissed her long and deep. Pulling away he ran his fingers through her hair. “I missed you.”
Elli felt her heart start trying to beat out of her chest again. “I missed you too.” She breathed.
He looked at her with his sparkling blue eyes tinged with grey. “Do you think about me?” he asked cocking his head to one side.
“Yes.” Elli whispered looking down. She didn’t want to admit how much.
He put a finger under her chin and lifted it to look into her eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” He kissed her again, this time it had an urgency in it. Elli pulled away panting. She could feel Jessica now, where as she hadn’t noticed her before.
“I think Jess is here.” She said, looking up at Jacen.
He smiled. “To be continued then.” He took her hand and began to wander the dark streets.
“I’ve always wondard about something.” Elli said as they walked. The steady thumping Elli recongnized as Jessica was distant. She had a hard time telling if Jess was moving or not.
“Whats that?” Jacen asked.
“Well, Who came before me? I mean has it always been you, Abe and Jess?”
Jacen shrugged. “Pretty much. Before I turned 25, it was just Abe and Jess. She’s only three years older than I am, though I think she inherited her wings when her mother passed away. I don’t think she had been a part of this for very long before I arrived. ”
“So, before you and Jess it was just Abe and Jess’s mom?” Elli asked.
“I think so. Michael told me my line came from my father and he died when I was very young.Micheal had to wait for me to come of age. ”
“I wonder who came before them.”
“Abe once told me that his family has always served the Angels. He could trace his lineage all the way back to biblical times. We all should be able to trace our families back that far.” Jacen said.
“Wow. Even Jess probably comes from a long line of warriors.” Elli said.
“You have too, you know.” Jacen said looking down at her. “I know you’ve felt alone, but I’m sure your family has been a part of this as long as any of us.” Jacen wrapped an arm around her. “I think you should research your biological mother. Find out who she was. Maybe you wouldn’t feel so alone if you knew that you were now walking in her shoes.”
Elli smiled up at him. Jacens face was full of warmth as he smiled back at her. She walked in silence for a while, thinking about her mother and imagining her walking these very streets. Jacen peered down every alley way and was cautious at every corner, but they never saw any demons. Nor did they ever get close enough to Jessica to talk to her.
The next few days and nights were the same. Keith remained bed ridden and unreachable. His mother had caught him texting Elli and had confiscated his phone. The nights were either spent with Jacen curled up on her couch watching movies, or on the phone with him until falling asleep where they searched endlessly for Jessica.

The morning of Abe’s funeral was cloudy and cold. Elli thought the weather matched her mood and was glad it wasn’t sunny. It seemed that even the Heavens wanted to weep for Abe.
They had decided to ride together to the funeral and Jacen showed up an hour before the service was supposed to start wearing black slacks, a black button down shirt and a silver tie. Elli wore a simple two piece black dress and heels. It had been a while since she had worn that dress, the last time being when she had attended her adopted father’s mother funeral. Jacen wrapped her in a tight hug When she opened the door for him. His eyes were sad as he took her hand and led her to the jeep.
When they arrived at the funeral home, there were already people beginning to gather. They saw Mrs. Wagner and a few of the people from the home where Abe lived. There weren’t many people there, but Elli could tell that Abe had touched all of their lives in some way.
The minister gave a short eulogy and then allowed people to come up and say something about Abe. A few of the older gentlemen stood up and told funny tales about being in the military with Abe, or stories about how he had done something special for them. Abe had been a man with a big heart.
Jacen and Elli followed the funeral procession to the cemetery where Abe was to be laid to rest. As the minister said a prayer over Abe’s casket, Elli saw four Angels standing on the edge of the small crowd. Jacen saw them too and they both stared as the Angels bowed their glorious heads in silent prayer. No one else seemed to notice them, though many people wore peaceful looks upon their faces.
Elli expected Jacen to drive her back home after the services. Instead, he turned onto an unfamiliar residential street. She looked over at him questioningly.
He caught her eye and smiled. “I thought you might like to see where I live.” He explained and pulled up in front of a two story, southwestern style house. It had brown stucco on the outside and two large stucco pillars holding up the roof that covered a small front porch. The lawn was perfectly manicured, though it was turning brown because of the cold weather. The front door was beautiful; wooden with a large stained glass window. It looked warm and inviting.
“Are we going in?” She asked.
He looked at her with surprise. “Do you want to?”
“Sure.” She said, moving to get out of his jeep.
He raised his eyes, but said nothing as he locked up and walked side by side with her to the front door. He opened it and called out. “Mom? Are you up?” They walked through an entry way directly into an open, well lit kitchen. Saltillo tiles lined the floors and the counter tops were old looking granite. The cabinets were all a darkly stained wood and the kitchen was immaculately clean.
No one answered Jacen’s call. He turned to Elli. “She’s probably resting. I’ll go check on her and be right back. Feel free to look around.” He gestured towards the living room and went the other direction down a short hallway.
Elli wandered into the living room. It was decorated in warm earth tones; all greens, browns, dark orange and reds. Pictures lined the walls, most of them appearing to be Jacen at different stages of his life. Elli smiled at a picture of him when he was 9 or 10, grinning hugely with a few of his front teeth missing. She spotted another picture of him in his cap and gown for graduation standing with a woman who Elli thought was probably his mother.
Jacen walked up quietly behind Elli. “Is that your mother?” She asked, pointing at the woman in the picture.
“Yeah.” He said, smiling. “Beautiful, isn’t she?”
Elli smiled too. “She is. I can see where you get your good looks.”
Jacen grinned and took her hand. “Do you want to see the rest of the house?”
Elli felt a flutter go through her. “Um. Sure.” She said not understanding why her heart was suddenly pounding again. She wondered if she would ever get used to his touch.
He led her upstairs, pointing out the bathroom, spare room, and computer room. All were tastefully decorated with a southwest flair and Elli wondered if that was him or his mother. At the end of the hall on the second floor was his room. He opened the door and led her inside closing it again behind them. He had one large set of double glass doors that led out onto a balcony over looking their back yard. There was a full sized bed against one wall and the blankets gave the impression that it had been hastily made. It wasn’t a messy room, but there were books and cd’s piled everywhere. A small TV sat in the corner on a book shelf with a VCR and DVD player combo placed on the shelf underneath. Another book shelf took up one whole wall and had a mix of books and DVD’s, with a few small trophy’s taking up space. Elli wandered over to the shelves to see what kinds of books he liked. He seemed to have very eclectic reading tastes that were similar to her own. She reached out and ran her fingers over the books spines, reading the titles.
Jacen came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. “See anything you want to borrow?” He asked his eyes twinkling.
Elli shrugged. “Looks like I have most of these anyways.” She cocked her head as a specific author caught her eye. “Danielle Steele?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.
Jacen chuckled. “Those are my mom’s.”
“Sure they are.” Elli said grinning.
Jacen put his hands on her shoulders and spun her around to face him. He put his hands on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. They were more blue than grey again as they pulled her into their depths. Elli tried to keep her pulse from racing out of control. He half smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You know, this is the first time I’ve ever had a girl in my room with my mom sleeping just down the hall.”
Elli giggled and rested her arms on his broad shoulders. “Don’t tell me you’re a virgin.”
He shrugged. “Nope, but I haven’t had much of a social life since I came back from college.” He winked at her. “I feel like I’m breaking some kind of house rule.” He pulled her tight against him and kissed her playfully.

Chapter 11
They layed together, wrapped up in each other arms, watching the sun set through the glass doors in his bedroom. Elli didn’t want to leave, but she needed to get back home and make things right with Keith again. She nuzzled Jacen’s ear and planted little kisses along his neck and jaw line. He wrapped his arms tighter around her. “I know what you’re going to say” He said quietly, “but I want to let you know you’re welcome to spend the night here.”
Elli propped herself on one elbow. “You’re mom won’t mind?” She asked raising an eye brow at him.
He chuckled. “I doubt it. She worries sometimes that I don’t have many friends because of her.” He looked at Elli seriously. “Stay. Please?”
Her heart fluttered and she knew she didn’t want to go. She snuggled back into his arms and sighed. “Well, if you insist.” He chuckled at her and wrapped his arms tight around her.
They eventually fell asleep, wrapped in each other arms, and when Elli opened her eyes in the dream world, he was right beside her, looking at her with such adoration, Elli wondered if she was having a different kind of dream. Jacen kissed her softly. “I don’t want to look for Jess tonight.” He said running his lips across Elli’s forehead. “I want to go back to doing what we were doing before we fell asleep.” His hands ran down her back. Elli could feel Jessica’s thumping signal and it was getting closer. Jacen felt it get nearer at the same time, and he turned to the direction she would be coming from.
Elli took a deep breath and made sure she had a firm grip on her staff. Jessica appeared down the street, beautiful as ever with not a hair out of place.
She approached Elli and Jacen cautiously, her hands in the air. “I don’t want to fight, alright?” She called. “I just want to talk.” She stopped in front of them, just out of reach of either of their weapons.
“What do you want to talk about?” Jacen asked, his voice could have been made from ice.
Have you noticed no demons lately?” Jessica asked.
“Of course.” Jacen said. “What’s your point?”
“I know what they’re doing.” She said simply. Elli rolled her eyes and Jessica shot her a dirty look. “I do. I over heard them talking when I was making the deal about the sword. They not only plan to tear the veil, but to raise Satan himself.”
“How? And why didn’t you volunteer this information before?” He demanded.
Jessica glared at him. “I thought that if I kept my mouth shut, I could prove to them that I wasn’t going to tell you anything and they would still come through for me.” She twisted her mouth up into an ugly frown. “I know there is no way out, now.” She lifted her chin to look at Jacen, “So I want to stop the bastards and maybe if we get every single one of them, there won’t be any reason for us to return to this awful place.”
“Exactly how are they planning to raise Satan?” Jacen asked, still sounding doubtful.
“They are massing their forces in hell. A few demons will be sent through the veil to find the Holy Grail and the Spear that pierced the side of Jesus when he was on the cross.”
Jacen’s face went pale.
“What does that mean?” Elli asked confused.
“The reason Satan sends demons and other minions to do his work is because he can’t enter this world nor can he walk the Earth. With the Grail he could.” Jessica explained.
“And with the Spear, he could lead any army to a sure victory.” Jacen said mechanically.
Elli felt a shiver run through her. “We have to stop them.”
It was Jessica’s turn to roll her eyes. “Of course we do.”
“I don’t know how much to trust you.” Jacen said, pointing a finger at Jessica.
She just shrugged. “Trust me or not, I’m the only lead you got.” She looked from Elli to Jacen. “Do you guys feel that?”
Elli wrinkled her brow. Now that Jessica mentioned it, there was another thumping off in the distance. She looked over to Jacen who shrugged. “I guess Uriel found another solider for us.”
The three of them followed the new thumping signal, twisting and turning through the streets. The new person kept moving. It was hard for the other three to pin down their location. Jacen eventually led them down a series of alley ways, coming out on the other end of the industrial section of town. They saw the back of a tall man with dark hair walking away from them.
“Hey!” Jacen called out and started jogging towards the man. “Hey! Wait up!”
The man stopped and turned around. Jacen stopped dead in his tracks. “You?” Elli heard him say incredulously. Elli couldn’t make out the man’s face, but he seemed oddly familiar. She picked up her steps to close the distance. As she got closer, she gasped. A familiar pair of brown eyes looked over Jacen’s shoulder at her. “Hi El!” Keith said cheerfully.
Jacen’s face was carefully blank as he watched Elli’s reaction. A mix of emotions went through her, all of them making an appearance on her face. “Keith?” was all she could say.
He grinned widely at her and wrapped her in a big hug, smirking at Jacen.
“Yup, an Angel named Uriel visited me last night and told me everything.” He said releasing her. “I tried calling you, but all I got was your voice mail all day.”
Elli was still in shock. “Today was Abe’s funeral.” She said lamely. Jacen’s face looked like it was made of stone. Elli went and stood beside him and he put one of his arms around her waist. “Then we spent the rest of the day together,” Jacen said, emphasizing the word together.
Keith’s eyes shot up but he didn’t say anything.
“I’m Jessica.” Jess said, walking forward and joining the group.
Keith glanced over to her. “Hey.” He said, switching his gaze back to Elli and Jacen. Jessica scowled.
“So are we going to go fight some demons or what?” Keith said, flourishing Abe’s disc.
“You need training first.” Jacen said stiffly. “We all pretty much just got here, so we’ll head off to our hide out and teach you a few things before turning you loose on some demons.”
“What demons?” Jessica snorted. “I’ve not seen one in the past three days.”
Jacen had a nasty retort ready, but at that moment, the four Angels they saw at Abe’s funeral appeared. They were out lined with a bright, warm light, but Elli could make out their individual features. She knew Gabriel right away, and then Uriel from when he had taken Abe’s soul. The other two didn’t seem familiar to her, though Jacen gasped “Micheal.”
Jessica began to tremble. “Raphael.” She said with reverence in her voice.
“Jessica.” A big booming voice came from one of the Angels. “You have disgraced us.”
Big tears rolled down Jessica’s cheeks as she hung her head.
“The sword is in the hands of the demons because of you. They seek the Grail and the Spear to release Satan. Have you any words of defense?” Raphael’s voice held a terrible anger.
Jessica dropped to her knees. “I have nothing. I’m sorry I have betrayed you, Raphael.” She looked up, terrified.
“You have one chance to make it right, Jessica. If you fail us again, you will have no more chances.” His voice held the promise of a worst fate than battling demons in a dream world.
As for the rest of you,” Raphael said turning to the others. “The veil is not torn yet. There is still time. The items the demons seek can only be found here, in the world between worlds. They will not tear the veil fully until they have all they require to raise Satan. You must find the grail and the spear before they do.”
“How do we find them?” Jacen asked. “Where are all the demons?”
“The Elementals will help you find the grail and the spear, my brother.” Micheal said kindly. “As for the demons, Satan is only sending a few out at a time. They are hard to control if too many are loosed at once. He is sending only a select few to find the grail and spear. You will have to hunt for them. Be on your guard, they will be smarter and stronger than the one’s you have fought before.”
With that last warning, the Angels faded slowly into a bright yellow light. Elli looked to Jacen who was staring at the spot where the Angels stood.
Keith let out a long, low whistle. “That figures. I just get here and now the game changes.”
Elli shot him a dirty look. “This is serious.”
“I know, I’m just saying.” He smiled.
Jessica let out a sob. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t led them to the sword, Abe would be alive. He would know what to do.”
“You’re right.” Jacen said icily. “But it’s too late now. We’ve got to fight together, Jess.” He looked down at Elli and then over to Keith. “I guess we should show you how to use that.”
They spent the next few hours working with Keith, showing him how they saw Abe fling the disc. He seemed to pick it up quickly and was burying it in deep into wood several hundred meters away. He was lighting fast, just as Abe had been.
Jacen decided to teach Keith some hand to hand combat, so he had Jessica step up with her dagger. She didn’t have her heart in it, and Keith was able to get the upper hand on her a few times. Once he even had her in a choke hold and she just drooped into him. Jacen scowled and then scolded her. The talking down did a little to revive her spark and she fought Keith harder the next round.
When Keith was drenched in sweat and panting, Jacen called it a night. Jessica disappeared right before their eyes, leaving Keith Jacen and Elli. There was an awkward moment when Jacen told Keith how to leave, but Keith refused to go until Elli went too. Finally, she sighed, exasperated and closed her eyes.
When she woke again, she was in Jacen’s bed, still wrapped in his arms. She stared at his still sleeping figure, wondering what was taking him so long to wake up. He was beautiful in the morning sun. His blond hair was a mess of spun gold and he looked so peaceful. His bare muscular chest rose and fell with deep, even breaths and Elli felt as if her heart was going to burst right from her chest.
He woke, then, and turned his blue grey eyes on her. “I could get used to waking up like this.” He said pulling her tight against him.
“What took you so long?” She inquired, running her fingers along his belly.
Jacen hesitated. “Keith and I had to have a little heart to heart.”
Elli went still. “About what?”
“He loves you.” Jacen said quietly running his fingers up and down her spine. “He told me that he isn’t giving up on you with out a fight.”
Elli picked up her head to look at him. “What did you say?” She asked in a whisper.
Jacen stared at her, his eyes probing her soul. “I told him that I love you too and I don’t give up easily either.”
Elli stared at him for a long moment. “You don’t need to fight over me.” She said looking down. “I’m not worth it.”
Jacen sat up and put a hand on either side of her face, staring into her eyes. “You are more than worth it.”
Elli felt a tear slip from her eye. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
“So you love me too?” Jacen asked, raising his eyebrows.
Elli smiled sadly at him. “I’m not sure.”
“Do you think about me when we’re apart?” He asked, seriously.
Elli nodded. “Do you like kissing me?” He asked gently. She nodded again.
“And do you like me touching you?” He asked, running a finger down her bare arm, giving her goose bumps.
“Yes.” She whispered.
“Then you love me, Eleanor.” He said quietly, leaning in to kiss her softly. “Now, how about I make you breakfast and you can meet my mother.” He flashed her a quick smile. She smiled in return, though she was suddenly nervous. She wondered what his mom would think about her.
Jacen got out of his bed, still completely naked, and as he turned his back to her to pull on his pajama pants, she noticed his wings. It was the first time she had seen them in their entirety and they were beautiful the way they draped down his muscular back. Their strong bold lines stood out against his tan skin.
He caught her staring and turned to grin at her. Elli shook her self out of her day dream involving his naked body and looked him in his eyes. His grin widened As if he could read her thoughts. He leaned down to kiss her. “Later, I promise.”
“Take your time getting up. I’ll meet you down stairs.” He winked at her and pulled a shirt over his head as he left the room.

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