Aerie

Dakota is brought to the safe place of fallen angels and Nephilim to be kept safe.

   “Oh my God.  This isn’t real. You - you can’t be an angel. No.”  Dakota said frantically.  “Not with all the pain you’ve caused me.”

   “What pain have I caused you?  I’m saving you from the pain you are causing yourself.”  Sumaria replied, sitting beside her, his wings closed tightly against his back.  

   “You took away the thing I’ve lived off of for nearly a year!  Do you even know what it’s like to live with this pain?”  Dakota snapped.

   “Yes.  I’ve had thousands of years’ worth of pain like this.  I know very well what you’re going through.  But, I’ve gotten past them and lived on.  My own brothers have died.  Many of them.  More than five, more than ten, more than a hundred.  Many of them I was close to but, you learn to accept it.”  He said quietly.

   

   He looked at her steadily, his purple eyes slightly unnerving to Dakota especially, when they were locked on her like she was the most important person in the world to him.  Maybe I am the most important person in the world to him if he’s my Guardian Angel, Dakota thought.  

 

   “That’s you.  You have all the time in the world to heal from the loss.” Dakota whispered, prying her eyes away from his and down to her shredded hand.  

   He took her hand and her fingers glowed with a soft gold light. The light spread up her thin arm and gentle warmth spread through her.  She watched with unmasked awe as the cuts in her fingers closed.  The blood dissolved back into her skin and her sleeve detached from her arm.  It was as if none of the cutting had happened despite the silver scars on her fingers.  He let go of her hand.  

 

   She didn’t look at him, purely amazed at what he’d just done.  She looked over her hand and pulled off her jacket to see that there really was no dried blood left on her arm or hand, no real evidence at all.  You just had to squint to see the tiny scars from the gashes. She at least still had the scars covering her arms from past times of cutting.  

 

   “Maybe now’s your time to heal.” Sumaria whispered in her ear.

   “What?” Dakota looked at him just as he gently pushed her down on the bed and the calming sense washed over her.  His foreign whispers began again and her eyes drifted shut.

 

   Sumaria watched Dakota sleeping for a while.  He loved watching her sleep.  It was the only time she was really at peace.  Her face wasn’t contorted by pain or stained with tears.  She wasn’t drawing blood from her tormented body.  She was simply at peace.  

 

   He noticed the shimmering immediately and rolled his eyes.  He knew who it was before he saw the black wings and the wings parted like the red sea to show the feathery mohawk of red and black hair.  

   “What do you want?” Sumaria growled.  “Can’t you see I’m working?”

   “You’re not doing a good job.  Do you know how much more difficult it will be to protect her now that she knows about us?” the angel folded his arms across his chest.

   Sumaria pressed his lips into a thin line and sighed inwardly.  “Yes, I know, Kassiel.” he replied quietly.

   “Then, why would you do that to yourself?  To her?” Kassiel looked at him.

   “She already knew what I am.  She knew it was me stopping her from cutting.” Sumaria replied.  “She heard me, she could feel me when I touched her or looked at her.”

   He turned his purple-eyed gaze to Kassiel.  Kassiel knew what he was thinking.

   “She’s one of the rarities.” Sumaria whispered.

 

   Kassiel looked at Dakota for a moment, his muscles tensed, veins standing out on his arms and neck.  “You’re sure?” he mumbled.

   “Yes.” Sumaria replied.

   Kassiel pressed his lips together.  “Take her to Lazerous. Tomorrow.  You know where to go.  I’ll tell him you’re coming.”

   Kassiel’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Sumaria.

   “Not tomorrow.” Sumaria shook his head.

   “The sooner the better.” Kassiel growled.  “You can’t just sit around and wait for... something to pose a threat to her.  Don’t let them draw blood before you decide to do the best thing you can.  It’s better for her to have to absorb the truth and live among the Nephilim than to give them the chance to hurt her more.”

   “What about the other human?  Her stepfather?” Sumaria asked.

   “Erase her from his memory.  He doesn’t need to know about us too.  He needs to move on.” Kassiel replied.  Then, the wall he’d come through began to shimmer like a pristine pond and he stepped through it, vanishing.

 

   Sumaria sighed and looked at Dakota again.  She lay on her side, breathing calmly, her hair a net of tangles over her face.  Then, Sumaria stepped through the wall, spreading his wings the moment he began to fall.  He flapped them hard so he rose into the air.  He tilted to the side, the cool wind like bliss against his sore wings, aching from being held tight to his body so long.  He rose higher into the air with another flap of his powerful wings and came up above the roof.  He righted himself, focusing his weight into his feet and allowed himself to drop slowly.  Standing on the roof, he breathed in all the scents of the demonic things within a hundred yard radius.  They smelled Dakota but, his scent was stronger.  He spread his wings as wide as he could, reveling in the release of the tension in his wings.  They’d get a better taste of him now, find out who he is and know that he would fight to his last breath to keep her safe; it was his job.  Their scent faded a little.  They were deciding when and how to attack.  Right now they were afraid.  Kassiel was right.  Dakota needed to get to Lazerous as soon as possible.

 

   Dakota woke the next morning spitting out pieces of her brown hair.  Sumaria was nowhere to be seen.  She called his name.  The window to the right of her bed shimmered and Sumaria appeared.  He wore a red tank and jeans now, his white hair windblown.  His wings were pulled tight to his back.

   “Get changed.  We need to go.  You’re in danger.” he mumbled.

 

   The door to Dakota’s room burst open.  In a second, Sumaria leaped over her bed and took the intruder down, gripping the intruder by the throat, his other hand clutching a hunting knife.  The intruder gasped for air, struggling to pull the angel’s hand from his throat.  Dakota climbed out of bed and peered over Sumaria’s shoulder to see David lying there.  Part of Dakota felt bad for him being at the mercy of Sumaria.  He hadn’t been that bad of a guy.  Sumaria let him go, seeing that he wasn’t a danger.  David coughed, touching his throat.  An angry red mark in the shape of Sumaria’s hand was printed across his neck.

   “Dakota, who’s this?” David rasped.

 

   Sumaria stood, bringing David with him by his shirt collar.  He pressed him to the doorjamb.  The hand that had been holding the hunting knife seconds ago was now empty as it came up to touch David’s temple.  Sumaria’s face was perfectly calm and angelic as he gazed upon David.  A tiny smile curled the angel’s lips.

   “Who...who are you?” David stammered.

 

   Sumaria hushed him, whispering fluent words in his foreign language.  David’s eyes fluttered shut.  Part of Dakota wondered if Sumaria was going to kill him or simply put him to sleep like he’d done for her so many times she’d nearly memorized the chant.

 

   A moment later, Dakota found that Sumaria hadn’t done either.  He let go of David and backed away.  David walked out of the room in a daze without another word to her or the angel.  

   “What’d you do to him?” Dakota asked.

   “I made him forget.  By the time we leave, he’ll have forgotten you too.” Sumaria replied, looking at her almost pitifully. “It’s for the best.”

   “Why make him forget and not me?” she asked.

   “I can’t.  You’ll still be able to sense my brothers and me.  That’s why I revealed myself.  You might as well know what your Guardian Angel looks like if you can feel him and know his name so you can summon him when he’s not there.”  The angel explained.

   “Why am I in danger?” Dakota looked at him, running her fingers through her hair.

   “I revealed myself.  They sense my presence.  I was up on the roof last night spreading my essence and scaring them off to buy us time.  My brother, Kassiel, recommends that I bring to Aerie for safety.  I agree that it’s best.”  Sumaria turned to the window.  “Pack light.  We leave in five minutes.”  His eyes flicked around the room and back to her.  “I mean it.”

 

   In five minutes, Dakota was dressed and packed for Aerie as Sumaria had told her to be so strictly.  Sumaria returned, not saying a word as he opened her window, scooped her up, jumping out the window.  Dakota covered her face as her stomach dropped, and the cool wind whipped at her face, turning suddenly ice cold.  He snapped open his wings, and they slowed the fall.  Sumaria began to flap his powerful white wings and they began to rise into the air.   Dakota took her hands away from her face, taking in the aerial view of the houses as the passed over them.  

 

   Sumaria held her tightly to him as he flew, despite the height, he radiated heat and it kept her warm for the hours they flew.  Dakota fell asleep sometime between one city with beautiful glittering skyscrapers and clogged traffic and another less tightly packed city.  Sumaria flew silently the whole time and didn’t bother her while she slept either.  

   

   Dakota continued to watch the landscape as it sped by hundreds of feet below them.  She didn’t want to do anything that might endanger their flight, even if Sumaria had flown for thousands of years, there was always such a thing as a first.  

 

   

   They slowed to land by an old building on the edge of another city.  It was a lot like the other ones they’d passed with its many tall glassy buildings among the old, gloomy brick ones that looked filthy in comparison.  This building however, was very different from the others.  As Dakota and Sumaria circled closer and closer, the old, filthy building.  Instead of being stone, spray-painted over here and there by graffiti, with crusty windows; the building was nearly new looking.  There were winged people like Sumaria flying around it engaged in combat.   A few looked over at Sumaria but, didn’t approach him as if it were a normal thing to see an angel carrying a human into Aerie.

 

   Sumaria landed carefully on the roof of the building where a pair of angels were apparently practicing facing more than one enemy at once.  

   “Eyes closed.” Sumaria whispered in Dakota’s ear.

   She jumped at the sudden sound of his voice among the clash of metal on metal, the rustling of wings as the angels work to stay in the air and avoid lunges, the laughs of friends joking around as they fought.

   “What?” she looked at him and he smirked.  

   “Eyes closed.”  He repeated.

   Dakota closed her eyes when he gave her a look that said, “No more questions.  Just do it.”

 

  She felt like her soul had been separated from her body and she was floating in space.  Whatever it was that Sumaria had told her to close her eyes for she didn’t understand.  Part of her almost knew that they were doing one of those things where they slip through walls.

   When she felt as if she were back in one piece again, she opened her eyes to find herself in what looked like an office.  It was plain with only a desk surrounded by a mini library of antique-looking books.  The spines of some were in languages she couldn’t read.  By the window on Dakota’s left, stood a tall man with spiky jet black hair in jeans and a T-shirt.  He too had the gold marks on his arms that Sumaria had and was of roughly the same build.  

 

   “Dakota, this is Lazerous, the leader of Aerie. He’ll keep you safe here.” Sumaria whispered.

  The man turned and looked at her and she could see that his eyes were like the backs of DVDs only; they were green and hurt her eyes when she looked at them.  Lazerous smiled at her and she almost felt like she could trust him with her life.  Almost.

 

Reviews

[Broken.]

Amazing job so far. I especially like Sumaria's attachment and devotion to Dakota. I understand exactly how this was the great escape for Dakota, and that this is probably a first for Sumaria. I love the description of these characters as well. Paints a really good picture. I can't wait to see what happens next.

[Tessa Melendez]

I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the story. I have more stories in Wattpad as well as updates on this one if you'd like to transfer over there. I believe my wattpad profile is linked t to my account here.

[Broken.]

I will have to check that out for sure!

[Inject Positivity]

Hmmmm... As I said in the first chapter your storytelling quite easily engages the reader... The brief and detailed way of describing is something amazing in these two chapters... Samaria is seems quite fond of Dakota, and that really makes him her guardian angel... The conversation with kassiel was very interesting and the revelation of lazerous at the end of this chapter I believe gives birth to another chapter... I loved how sumaria was quite affectionate towards Dakota and how he carefully took her to Aerie... A very gripping write that keeps the reader interested for the next chapter...

Sincerely
Dhiman

[Tessa Melendez]

Thank you. I tried to keep the understanding in readers that Sumaria has an attachment to Dakota. He's her Guardian Angel, the only being that understands her and sees her for who she is. He's the one that knows her inside and out. I can see how you find Kassiel's conversation with Sumaria interesting. It was one of those moments that I was just typing out what I had in my head. Don't really know what gave me the idea.
I'm glad you enjoyed another chapter. Can't wait to see your review for number three. :)