Angelic Read online

  He didn’t seem to notice me studying him intensely. He was focused on the doors before us. His hand reached for the next door. “Perhaps I did not understand correctly,” he murmured softly to himself. But the second door remained firmly shut.

  He took a step back in confusion, his bright white robes swishing gently against the ground as he did. A tip of it touched my booted foot. When it did, I felt a tingling sensation on the tips of my toes. Like we were two completely different creations, not designed to touch.

  “This is extraordinary,” he said, amazement evident on his golden face. “Never have I witnessed such an event as this.”

  Despite being captivated by his appearance, I had a fairly good idea of what “event” he was referring to.

  Apparently, neither heaven nor hell would allow me in.

  Suddenly a voice clanged like thunder from above. I found myself knocked to my knees. The voice was too powerful, too great to stand in the presence of. I pressed my hands to my ears. The voice… how could something be so loud? To my sensitive human ears, it sounded like a raging sea.

  My guide or whatever and whoever he was, didn’t have the same problem as me. Protecting his eardrums was not of any concern to him. He didn’t flinch at the strength of the extreme decibels of the voice. Maybe he was used to such a powerful voice speaking to him. I noticed something else as I crouched on the ground: his stature never changed as we listened to the voice. He remained looking upward towards the sky, his eyes unwavering.

  Even with my palms pressed tightly against my ears I heard the two voices exchange words. At first I couldn’t understand what was being said. It sounded harmonic, like singing but the words and sounds were completely foreign to me. Orchestrated music paled in comparison to the sound coming from the clouds and the lips of the being beside me. Then from my side, the being began speaking in words that made my ears perk.

  “Alpha, Omega, Beginning and End,” the creature said, dipping his head as if bowing. “What is it you would have me do with this transitional soul?”

  The booming voice, full of definite authority, burst through the clouds “I am not finished with her. She is still destined to do great things for the glory of My kingdom.”

  The angelic one beside me rose to his full height again. At least two heads above my own standing height. “I understand All Mighty One. I will send for one to escort her back to earth.”

  A soft chuckle cascaded from above, enveloping me with its pleasant feel. “I am afraid you do not understand, Sebastian.”

  I stole a look to my right. So he had a name. Sebastian…

  From the heavens above the voice continued, “I want you, My intricate creation, to take her back to earth and watch over her.”

  No questions arose from Sebastian’s lips, simply another bowing of his head and a whispered “Yes, Lord.” It didn’t seem to matter what he was doing. Or that he was being asked to surrender his current job abruptly for another. If his master asked it of him he was more than willing to serve His wishes. To serve Him. The adoration in his eyes spoke of his undying devotion to the voice. Pleasing his master and bringing about His will was exactly what the warm body next to me lived to do.

  Sebastian took my hand, the warmth of his skin a strong contrast against my own coolness. I let myself be led away from the doors. My thoughts were running wild. Was this really heaven?

  No, I reasoned with myself, heaven is beyond one of those doors.

  So then what was this? The in-between stage of earth and eternity? Before I could linger on the phenomena of it all, the loud voice spoke again. This time with a warning.

  “Sebastian,” it called out loudly making both of us turn, “be on your guard.” The voice, I assumed it was safe to say was God’s, grew louder, more urgent. “You won’t be the only one looking to take care of My precious child, Celeste.”

  Sebastian nodded in understanding. “I am all too aware of the Evil One working against us and amongst those on earth.” He squeezed my hand as he gave God his word. Gave me his word. “I promise to protect her, whatever that should call me to do.”

  Then he jumped from the edge of the clouds, pulling me with him. Down, down, down we fell, falling from the end of the hallway. Air blew my hair away from me. Cool air rushed through my body. But then warmth washed over me. Sebastian was suddenly next to me, cradling me in the nook of his arm as we fell through the starry night. I looked up and he smiled, his face becoming even more wondrous when he did so.

  “This might hurt a bit,” he warned me gently, squeezing my hand. “But do not worry, I shall be nearby the entire time.”

  And then, everything went black.

  In the dark recess of my mind, as unconsciousness weaved in and out, I spotted a foreign face. Radical feelings surged through my body. My toes tingled, my breath caught as our eyes locked. Like a train spiralling out of control, its loud whistles bursting through chilly air, this new face snatched my attention.

  “I’ll see you soon, Celeste,” the intoxicating face sneered, his dark eyes narrowing into thin slits. Glossy black hair shimmered in the darkness of my mind, his ghostly white features and alluring voice a lethal combination. The sharp point of his chin intensified with intimidation, the skin-crawling smirk on his face deepening.

  Soon, Celeste, soon . . .

  My stomach lurched, my fists clamped. With a moan, I shook my head, trying to escape. Merciful unconsciousness won, allowing me escape from the eerie image of the disturbing face.

  Two voices mingled together as one above me. One dark and dangerous and the other impossibly light and luscious. Both vaguely familiar. Both arguing. Both not bothering to whisper. Both talking about me.

  “So, she died?”

  “Yes.”

  “But she’s alive now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “It is of none of your concern, Kalan.”

  “Sheesh, Sebastian,” the deeper of the two voices drew out, clearly annoyed. “Can’t you just tell me what happened, why this one gets another chance?” The depth of his voice produced goose bumps along the lengths of my arms, even with my coat still on. It was him, the face from my unconsciousness. Fear in the form of acidic bile bubbled up in my throat.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  The light voice, the honey sweet voice I recognized as Sebastian’s replied. It was the longest he’d spoken since I’d started listening. Just hearing his voice, feeling the soothing balm it held, ceased my fears from consuming me. “Because I know your kind to be manipulative. You will scheme and plot and try to sway her towards you.” The voice, delicate, but full of great strength grew angry. “I won’t have it, Kalan.” I was surprised when Sebastian’s honey laced voice growled out his next words. “So leave. She’s my concern, my assignment. And you know firsthand how well I protect those God appoints upon me.”

  I noted the voice was fiercely protective. I instantly felt safe, even with two supernatural beings in my home.

  “Sebastian,” came Kalan’s smooth, tempting reply, “do you ever entertain thoughts of having come with the rest of us? God has so many commandments and regulations but with Luc, every day is whatever we want it to be. We have no limitations. We need not tame our desires.” Kalan let out a chilling laugh. “As a mortal would say, ‘life with him is a par-tay’.”

  “Yes, complete with ideal weather conditions all year long,” was Sebastian’s dry reply.

  Unannounced, an eagerness burned across my chest. My guardian angel, spirit guide, figment of my imagination or whatever he was, was here.

  In my apartment.

  So… it hadn’t been a dream. Those foggy pieces I’d awoken to were starting to develop themselves into a full-fledged picture of genuine reality.

  My eyes begged to feast upon his brilliance again. Th
e memory alone was making my pulse skyrocket. I opened one eye, anticipation crawling all over me. What I wasn’t prepared for was the beauty of the one next to Sebastian. Or the way his eyes seemed a million times more terrifying in my conscious state. Kalan’s eyes were dark like the night sky. They dragged my attention towards him. Unable to control myself, I forgot about Sebastian, fixating on the dangerous one instead. He wasn’t looking at me but I could still see the seductiveness in his eyes and could feel the temptation that went with it. Dizzyingly, I felt his presence threaten to pull me in. And his appearance was just as his voice: dangerous, like an alley you know better than to walk down, with darkness lingering in its shadows.

  Without warning, I sighed. Both creatures looked down at me. Their faces hovering over me like their voices had as I awoke. In a flash they were both kneeling on either side of me.

  “Celeste, are you all right?” Sebastian asked, his voice soothing, full of care.

  I blinked. This was Sebastian? The same Sebastian from the hallway? I’d been so absorbed in the one beside him I hadn’t truly looked at him until now.

  Don’t get me wrong, he was still beautiful, glowing and radiant. But now there was no doubt of his form. He looked like a man now, not so supernatural as had appeared in the heavens. The other, Kalan, looked unearthly, like he was still in his supernatural original form. It was like he was trying to remain impressive, intimidating. But Sebastian had toned down his true image, choosing to wear the appearance of a regular man. But a very handsome man, more stunning than Hollywood heartthrobs. He looked to be around my own age, maybe a few years older at most. I don’t remember recalling how old I thought he was earlier in the hallway. I suppose I had more pressing matters on my mind then, like “Am I dead or am I not dead?”

  I snuck a look into Sebastian’s blue eyes peering down at me. Hints of grey, like in mine, looked back at me. But his eyes seemed to be lit from within with some sort of inextinguishable light. Golden specks danced around the sparkling light in his pupils.

  “Celeste?” he asked again, concern filling those incredible eyes.

  Still caught up in his eyes, I murmured, “Fine.” Why add an unnecessary “I’m” when I could happily spend the brain power on studying him? This beautiful creature with golden hair, short in the back with long side-swept bangs in the front.

  He said something but I wasn’t listening. I had much more important things to do, like observe this magnificent artwork in my midst. His faded jeans and a dark grey v neck t-shirt did nothing to disguise the chiselled muscles bulging down the length of his arms. And oh! When he moved they only intensified…

  Sebastian shook me gently. The tingling of his skin brushing against mine made me feel like I’d been electrocuted. Strangely, it didn’t hurt.

  “Celeste! I asked you a question.”

  “Oh,” I blinked. “What?”

  “I said, do you realize you have been handed a rare opportunity, one that few ever will?” Sebastian shook his head showing his frustration over having to repeat himself. “A second chance at having breath in your lungs is not something to take lightly, child.”

  Child. I wasn’t particularly fond of being called that. Especially when it came from his mouth.

  Kalan spoke, pulling my attention away from Sebastian’s intense gaze. He twirled his expensive looking aviator glasses with one finger and smiled wickedly. “Here,” Kalan reached up to the table and grabbed the Tylenol bottle. He ripped off the lid and held it out to me. “Don’t be a quitter now. Finish what you started, Celeste.”

  It’s not like I was going to take it from him. But Sebastian, obviously not being able to read minds, snatched it from Kalan.

  Kalan’s eyes flared with something. Annoyance? Fury? But then his piercing eyes calmed down and he shrugged. “Whatever. I guess we’ll just prolong the inevitable a little longer then.” Like his hair, his eyes were dark chocolate brown. I was sure they would appear black, if I wasn’t as close as I was right then.

  From where I was sprawled on the floor, courtesy of my little fainting episode, I had a good view of both men. And I hated to admit it, but Kalan was growing more ravishing with each passing minute. His ghoulish demon form was transforming into a heavenly looking human. His dark hair was short and spiked at the front. He wore a red and white plaid shirt, and dark wash jeans that showed off sturdy tree trunk like legs. His clothes looked expensive, like something from Abercrombie and Fitch or Guess.

  Kalan glanced at his watch, a silvery looking thing. A Rolex or Fossil for sure. “Best be going,” he said, slapping his knees before standing.

  “It would be the highlight of my day,” Sebastian replied, still kneeling beside me. He narrowed his eyes at Kalan.

  Kalan shook his head and smiled a chilling grin. “I’m not used to seeing you like this, Sebastian. You goody two-shoes angels are usually so kind. But only fifteen minutes in human form and already you’re mimicking their speech.” He laughed but his eyes still held an evil glint to them. “Let me know when you’re done with this God phase of yours. We could use someone strong like you on our side.” Kalan shrugged. “It pains me to say this, but you do well at what you do.”

  I guess the compliment hidden amongst the initial insult didn’t reach Sebastian. He rose to his feet, placing his hands angrily across his chest. When he spoke his voice was surprisingly calm.

  “I assure you this is not a phase as you put it. I am a servant of God and forever will remain one. I was designed to protect, comfort and care for the people God appoints unto me. And I…”

  Kalan held up his hand looking bored. “Please, spare me.”

  I guess he’d heard that speech before. But I hadn’t and I desperately wished Kalan hadn’t interrupted Sebastian. I was hungry, no… famished to know what exactly Sebastian was and why he was here.

  With me.

  After a moment of thought, Kalan shook his head. “You do well at what you do but your devotion to that God of yours is your weakness.”

  “Not that God, the only God,” Sebastian declared angrily.

  Whenever one of them spoke it was like they were discussing another world, one I knew nothing about. I was fascinated by it. Come to think of it, everything fascinated me about these two. In one sentence their words would sound profound. But then in the next they would sound no different than me when I spoke. The transition from one persona to another was incredible. My amazement was so great my mouth hung open as I listened. From the look of things, I doubted either of them noticed. It appeared they had forgotten all about me for the moment.

  The angry faces glared at each other. They stood a few paces away from my feet, in the living room. Kalan shook with anger and Sebastian stood stony faced with sparks in his eyes. Both were obviously wholeheartedly devoted to the ones they served. As if to prove my observation, Kalan opened his mouth, defence for his master flowing from his lips. “One day you will wish that God of yours was not the one you looked to, Sebastian. The day when my side wins, when Lucifer turns around and bans God and all His followers to eternal damnation.”

  Sebastian’s anger suddenly left him. Shocked, I watched sadness weave its way across his beautiful face. It amazed me how fast he could switch from one extreme emotion to the next.

  “Have you ever read the end of Revelation, Kalan?” Sebastian didn’t wait for his reply. “Michael defeats the Dragon and his army. The Lord is Michael’s strength in that last battle and therefore we are destined to succeed. We win in the end.” Sebastian took a step towards a now seething Kalan. “Angels will always be stronger than you who have fallen. Fallen angels, demons, you are of no match for God and His angels.”

  I’m sure Kalan had a few choice words lined up in his mind. But his red face and clenched fists hanging at his sides told me his anger wouldn’t allow it.

  Sebastian kept talking, unafraid as I was of Kalan’s a
nger. “Read Revelation 20:3 if you refuse to believe, fallen one. It takes but one angel of God, descending down from heaven, to chain and bind the Serpent. And then the angel shall throw him into a pit and this world will be rid of him forever. He will be defeated, his power no longer his but stripped away for eternity.”

  I could feel the heat of anger radiating from Kalan. It wasn’t pleasantly warm as Sebastian’s heat was. It was lava hot, burning my skin painfully. And I wasn’t even that close to him.

  But again Sebastian seemed oblivious to the extremes like me. He didn’t back down. His speech wasn’t completed. “God created the one you demons serve, the Morning Sun, the Angel of Light. So would it not seem natural that the Creator would be stronger than he? That He would overcome the Evil One whenever He wished?”

  That was all Kalan could take. He lunged forward. “The writer of Revelations was mistaken,” he sneered, reaching out to strike Sebastian. But Sebastian was quicker. He caught Kalan’s arm before it reached him. Kalan stared at Sebastian’s grip on his arm then looked up and spit in Sebastian’s face.

  Sebastian didn’t flinch.

  Kalan’s beady eyes shifted towards me. The pools of darkness swarming in them made me shudder. The smile curling at the sides of his mouth made me feel exposed, like I had nowhere to hide from the evil plans he appeared to have for me. Without another word, he disappeared. No trace of him remained except a patch of grey dust hanging in the air where he’d stood.

  Sebastian’s arm dropped to his side, the one that had gripped Kalan only seconds ago. He turned to me once the dust settled. “I had hoped you would not have to meet him at all,” he sighed heavily, lifting his gaze to the white stuccoed ceiling. “Someone must have a reason for allowing it.”

  Up until now he’d been speaking to me but now it felt like it was more to himself. As if to convince himself of his own words. Now he looked directly at me, his blue-grey eyes as lovely as ever.