Angel's Kiss (9 page)

I enjoyed the garden, though my head throbbed incessantly. It was as if Danny had sifted through my memories for every flower or berry I liked. It was then I remembered that I had no secrets from him. He knew everything about me, so it was little wonder he knew what would please me, and what would not.

I sat in a small bed of wild daisies and made a daisy chain, something I hadn’t done since I was a child, in more innocent times. I chose daisies with good thick stems that were reasonably long and carefully pried a hole, just big enough to thread another daisy stem through, about halfway down. To complete the chain I threaded the stem of the final flower through a hole at the top of the stem of the first flower. I rested it on my head and started on a second chain.

By the time Danny returned — to find me sitting in the garden — I’d completed the second chain. I stood to greet him, laid the second chain on his head and gently kissed him on the cheek.

He looked at me with surprise and lightly touched his cheek — where I had kissed him — then felt the daisy chain on his head. His eyes sparkled and he smiled. I hadn’t realised before how striking his features were when he smiled — rugged, yet
truly
angelic.

“Thank you,” he said, “for both the kiss and the crown. I’ve never been given such gifts before.”

I laughed, then winced as my head throbbed. “You mean you’ve never been given gifts by someone like
me
before. And it’s no crown, only a simple daisy chain.”

“No, truly, I have
never
received such gifts.”

“You’re telling me you’ve never been kissed, even on the cheek?” I whispered in disbelief.

Danny nodded. “What need do angels have of mortal trappings and desires? We do not procreate and we have but to think of something and it is ours.”

My heart ached to match my head. My life to date had not been
Pleasantville,
but at least I had
experienced
life. To be a soldier, a drone and not know or long for anything else seemed a horrific way to live.

“Come with me,” I said, offering him my hand.

The front door of the cottage didn’t open automatically. Danny wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or where we were going. I opened the door and led him to the bathroom. It was the only room in the cottage that had a mirror. I stood him in front of the mirror and saw the look of delight on his face as he adjusted the daisy chain to sit properly on his head.

“Sure beats a crown of thorns, don’t you think?” I said, smiling at his reflection.

“You shouldn’t talk like that,” he lectured me, “but yes, it does. Who would’ve thought something as simple as this could make an angel smile?”

He took the chain off his head and set it down in the hand basin. He leaned closer and breathed on each of the flowers in turn.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

When he’d finished breathing on the last flower he picked up the chain and held it out for me to inspect. The entire chain had been crystallised. Talk about cold breath!

“Go on, touch it,” he encouraged me. “It’s hard as rock and won’t break.”

I tapped a fingernail on the white petals and they chimed like a crystal glass being rapped with a fork or knife to call people to attention.

“It’s
beautiful
.”

He inclined his head slightly and pushed the crystal chain towards me.

“For you mademoiselle.”

“But it’s yours,” I whispered. “I made it for you.”

“A trade,” he said and took the chain from my head, turning it into crystal as well. “I shall keep yours as a memento of our
friendship
.”

I could live with that.

Danny took my hand and pulled me to the bedroom. My heart sank. For all his talk of being my friend and not having mortal desires it had now come to this — payment was due.

“I want to try something.”

I cringed at his words.

“The normal rules don’t seem to apply to you, and from what I’ve been able to piece together angel’s blood shouldn’t be lethal to you. Do you
trust
me?”

I was a big girl now. I knew nothing was given freely. I could live through whatever was demanded of me, although once it was over I would leave, never to see
this
angel again. He was just like the rest — mortal or angel, men were all the same.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Lay down,” he said.

I lay on my back and clasped my hands on my abdomen. When Danny removed the bandage from my head I wondered what he was doing. Did he get off on seeing me wounded? Did it make me seem more helpless?
Is
that
it — he wants me helpless?
I shivered.

“It’s okay. I’ll try my best not to hurt you, but I can’t guarantee what will happen. As far as I know this has never been attempted before.”

Are all angels virgins?
I thought, and shivered again.

When I saw the glint of steel in his hand I attempted to sit up and scramble away. Danny placed one hand on my shoulder, in an effort to stop me from running away.

“You
said
you trusted me,” he reminded me.

I’d been trapped by my own stupidity.

“Go ahead and get it over and done with,” I said through gritted teeth.

The blade flashed above me and I saw Danny slice his left palm. I could smell his blood as soon as the knife pierced his skin. It was sweet, like nectar, and I found my mouth salivating, part of me craving for a taste.

Control yourself,
I thought.
He’s not food
.

Danny let the blood from his palm drip onto the gash in my forehead. It burned,
oh how it burned!

I clenched my jaw and could feel the veins in my neck standing out from the effort. I would not scream. I was stronger than that.

Danny’s palm had healed before the burning sensation in my forehead faded away. Perspiration had formed on my brow and Danny wiped it away with a towel he produced from thin air.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

When the burning stopped I noticed my head was no longer throbbing.

“Pretty good, actually,” I replied, touching my forehead gingerly.

“No other pain or nausea?”

“No, none.”

“Incredible,” Danny said, shaking his head. “You truly are an enigma. Angel’s blood is a very potent poison, yet your body reacted as though it were a healing elixir … just as I’d hoped.”

“Does that mean I’m no vampire or monster, that I’m more angel than anything else?” I asked hopefully. I wanted to be an angel, though one who enjoyed life’s little pleasures.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.”

“Danny,” I said hesitantly. “I owe you an apology. I thought —”

He held up his hand. “Don’t say it. I know your thoughts as well as you do. I know how you feel about men. There’s no need to apologise for something that is intrinsic within your nature. It is so ingrained in you that it would take a miracle to wipe the slate clean. Those sorts of miracles I
cannot
perform. I’m sorry that I cannot ease your constant pain.”

I snorted. “I’m not in constant pain!”

“Please yourself,” Danny replied. “You may be able to fool yourself, but you can’t fool someone who has lived your life vicariously.”

“
Please!
” I rolled my eyes. “For someone who doesn’t have any mortal desires you sure seem to know a lot about them.”

Danny laughed. “You’re right, and once again I must apologise.”

“Well, at least we can be sure of one thing,” I said.

“Oh, and what’s that?”

“Your blood is worth bottling, literally. I mean how handy would it be for me to have angel’s blood on hand to heal myself whenever I split my head open?”

The look on Danny’s face was priceless. “I don’t plan on letting you get hurt again, and if you do, I’ll heal you, just as I did today. Bottling an angel’s blood is a
bad
idea.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Can you imagine if it fell into the wrong hands? A poison for which there is no cure?”

An angel blood bank was out of the question then.

7.
Out for Revenge

I yawned. It came from nowhere, out of the blue.

“Get some rest,” Danny said. “I heard a rumour that there was some demonic activity not far from here, and I’d like to take the time to check it out. Like monsters, demons prefer the cover of night — the terror it instils in mortals. It might seem more inconspicuous to slink through the night, but just like angels they can see perfectly well no matter the conditions.”

Danny left the room and I pulled the blankets over me, closing my eyes. Sleep found me quickly.

Tap, tap … tap, tap.

I sat up, pushing the blankets off me. I was sure I’d heard a noise. Someone or something tapping on the window. I tilted my head to the side and listened intently — nothing. I lay down again and pulled the blankets up to my chin, closing my eyes once more.

Tap, tap … tap, tap.

I knew I’d heard a noise! I slipped out of bed and walked over to the window, almost pressing my nose against the glass. A hand smashed through the window and seized me by the throat. With superhuman strength I was pulled through the broken window. I cried out as the glass razed my flesh, and clawed at the hand clutched around my neck. The man held me above the ground — once again grass — my feet dangling. I struggled to breathe.

He tilted his head from one side to the other, taking in everything about my face.

“If we can’t kill you the traditional way, we just have to get more creative,” he said, laughing.

His hand squeezed around my throat, ever tighter, and I could hear bones groaning from the pressure. I stopped clawing his hand and grasped his wrists. If this was the only way to kill him, so be it — it was him or me. I waited expectantly for the tingling and pain to start in my fingers, but
nothing
happened. I readjusted my grip — still nothing. Perhaps he needed to bite me for it to work. If I couldn’t encourage him to bite me I was a goner.

In a hoarse voice — barely a whisper — I said, rather insultingly, “
Bite me, jackass.
”

He laughed, “Tempting as it is, I know better. To kiss you is to sign my own death warrant.”

I dug my fingernails into his hands and he actually flinched. I pressed harder, piercing deeply into the skin, expecting to see blood flow freely from the wounds I’d created — nothing. It was as if this creature was bloodless. I realised then — I should have known — his heart was not pumping blood through his body. He was of the living dead and why would the living dead bleed?

“
Die bitch, die,
” he laughed.

Bones cracked and my windpipe was being crushed until I could no longer draw breath. I saw silver stars dancing in front of my eyes, then the world went black.

I woke with a start, my hands reaching for my throat to survey the damage. I could feel no broken bones, no pain at all. I walked to the window and stood a good arm’s length from the window pane — the window was intact — and peered into the pre-dawn gloom. I could see the flowers, trees and shrubs swaying gently in the breeze. The garden had not been returned to a grassy area. It had all been a dream, and yet it was so real.

Danny had been gone all night, unless he’d returned briefly while I’d been asleep.

The bath was ready and waiting for me —
how does he do that?
— and I enjoyed a good soak for almost an hour. When I was dried and dressed I headed to the living area. Danny appeared just as I sat down. If he’d had an encounter with a demon there was nothing to show for it, not a hair out of place, not a speck of dirt or blood on his clothes.

“Did you find your demonic activity?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“
And?
”

“And what?”

I rolled my eyes. “
What happened?
”

I was curious to find out what an angel
did
to a demon when they met.

Danny sat down on the chair opposite me, sighed and ran his hands through his hair. I licked my lips subconsciously before I realised what I was doing

For god’s sake,
I thought,
he’s an angel. Don’t be thinking about getting down and dirty with him. Why the hell would an angel want to sleep with a slut anyway?

“There was one demon and I destroyed him.”

I pressed on. “How did you do that?”

“Are you sure you want to hear? You might not think kindly of angels once you know.”

I tapped my finger against my lip. “Let me think … if I had to choose between angels and demons … that’s such a
tough
choice,” I said sarcastically. “Hmm, I’d choose angels. Duh!”