Human (8 page)

"Sure, sit down." She patted the couch, looking concerned. I sat down next to her, wondering how to say what was on my mind without making it sound insane.

"I have to write a composition about my favorite childhood story, but I don't know how it ends." The perfect lie was out of my mouth before I could even think about it. I felt a pang of guilt because I didn't like to lie to my mom, but telling her the truth was not an option. At least not while I wasn't sure what the whole truth was.

"You said it. The girl defeats the demons."

"Yeah, but how? It's an important part." I frowned.

"She found her grandmother's crucifix and the sacred knife," my mom said, her eyes unfocused as she tried to remember it. "The demon got burned when the crucifix touched his skin, and the girl used the opportunity to stab him in the heart."

"What kind of stories were you telling me, Mom?" I said incredulously.

"Oh, I left the gory details out, don't worry," she said. "I loved to read creepy stories and then retell the parts of them to you kids. I kind of miss that."

"Right," I said, getting up before she could start talking about another story she had read. I didn't have time for that. "I better go type up my composition."

"If you have more questions, you just come to me," she said. I gave her a big smile and ran upstairs. The crucifix was easy to get, but a sacred knife? Unless someone was selling it on eBay, I had no idea where to find one. It was the perfect time to call for help.

Amadeo was already waiting for me in the park when I got there. He just stood near one tree with his hands in the pockets of his long black coat, a black wool shawl around his neck. His brown hair was flying around his beautiful face like a lion's mane. The cold air didn't seem to bother him at all.

"Nice to see you again." He gave me his most charming smile. The temperature seemed to jump up immediately, and my teeth stopped chattering. I could feel the heat in my cheeks and, once again, I was glad winter was covering up the real reason why I was blushing.

"Hi, I hope I didn't inconvenience you," I said, wondering would he drop whatever he was doing just to come to see me. Who was I trying to fool? He was an angel, a really gorgeous one, who could get any girl he wanted. He was probably seeing me as a way to get to my sister and do whatever angel business he had to do.

"Not at all." He scanned our surroundings quickly and stepped so close to me that I could smell the ocean and summer on his skin. "We're safe. No one can overhear us."

"I'm going to kill that demon," I said, and Amadeo's dark brown eyes widened in surprise.

"It's not that simple," he said, but seemed pleased with the idea. "I would do it myself, but that would start a war between demons and angels."

"Can I do it then?" I asked hopefully.

"Maybe." He eyed me carefully like he was trying to estimate whether I was capable of doing it or not. "Are you sure you can do it?"

Actually, I hadn't really thought about that. It sounded good to become a heroine and save the world from evil like some of my favorite book characters had done. But this was reality, and Devin wouldn't just stand there and wait for me to plunge a knife into his heart. And I wasn't a trained ninja or anything to stab him in some epic fight.

"I don't know. But I can't let him have my sister," I said determinedly. "I have to try something."

"I'd suggest you to take your sister and get out of here, but the demons would be able to track you down too fast. Maybe you could hide her with me because I don't think the demons would dare to touch me too, but you don't trust me so..." his voice trailed off, clearly hinting that there were better options if I decided to trust him.

"That would mean you would have to be with her all time, and that's just impossible." I was chewing on my lip, tasting the sweet flavor of my cherry lip gloss. "Wait, doesn't the angel snatching count as a war starter?"

"Yes, but only for the angels of Heaven," he said. "Your sister is not officially confirmed as one of us since her parents didn't acknowledge her."

"What? But if it's evident she's an angel why make it so complicated?"

"Her parents need to acknowledge her, or she needs to come to Heaven, and if her parents are dead, the angels need to prove that is the case." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Angels don't like secrets, and someone tried really hard to keep your sister's existence a secret. Just because the child resembles its parent doesn't mean you can say for sure that person is truly its parent without any tests. Isn't it like that in your world too?"

"Yeah, but if angels can feel other angels, why even try hiding?" The angels' logic was lost to me.

"Well, it gives them at least 15-16 years to do who knows what, and sometimes we can't really tell if we don't come near or if there are more angels in the same city." He shrugged. "Either way, her parents bought some time. Wish I knew the reason."

"So the demons want my sister because she's an illegitimate angel child, and there's nothing we can do to stop them from finding her," I said, staring at my brown boots. "If I kill this demon, won't the others come too? It will be an infinite fight then, and sooner or later someone will get to her."

"No, not every demon can cross from Hell to the human world. Just like not every angel can do it. But with us it depends on how much time we spend in the human world or how much power we have. I spend most of my time here, so it's easy for me to enter. Those who have spent most of their time in Heaven or don't have enough magic in them have difficulties to do it," he said. "It might be the same with demons, but it's not for sure. We don't see it often enough to do a research."

"So if we get rid of this demon, it might take the others some time to come?" I didn't even dare to hope for fear I would jinx it.

"Yes, but that depends on who sent him. There are many kings in Hell, and we can only guess what kind of resources they have." He put his arm around my waist as some woman passed not far from us, carrying a whole load of shopping bags and talking loudly on her cell phone. She didn't spare us a second glance, but Amadeo was extra cautious.

"I thought there was only one king of Hell." I felt a little bit sad as the warmth of his body left mine, and his arm was no longer touching me.

"No, they could never agree on one ruler." He rolled his eyes. "All of the most powerful demons wanted to be kings, so they finally decided to divide Hell between them. Idiots."

"Ok, so how do I kill a demon?" If I said the demon's name, I'd think of him as human and that would be wrong. It would make me hesitate, and then I wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Well, I'd tell you to use your powers, but since you seem to be a half-breed, you might not have any," he said, and I didn't feel like telling him that I had a completely different opinion on the topic of me being anything other than human.

"Ah, so I, like another illegitimate half-angel child, could kill a demon without causing a war? And how exactly could demons tell I was illegitimate, and how would demons and angels even fight each other if they weren't strong enough to cross into another world? It would be a lame war if you ask me," I pointed out, reminding myself that Amadeo could as well be lying to me. Not that he had a reason to lie, but still...

"It's a magic thing. When children are acknowledged, their names are written in magic in our book. The deal demons and angels made to ensure peace is also signed in magic and if someone breaches it, everyone will be alerted. Besides, the war wouldn't be just in the human world; it would be in Heaven and Hell too." He stared at the tree in front of us like it was the most amazing thing in the world, his voice betraying a hint of sadness. "Many years ago, angels could actually go to Hell and demons to Heaven. It wasn't common, but it happened from time to time. They were curious about each other... until the war broke out."

"Wow, that sounds... unusual," I said impatiently. Today everyone seemed to be dragging out the part I wanted to hear the most. "How do I kill him without any special powers?"

"Set him on fire and throw the ashes into the running water." He looked at me and smiled, leaving me dumbfounded. Set him on fire? What kind of an advice was that?

"But that means I have to bind him to something and make sure he doesn't escape or puts out the flames!" I raised my voice, which made Amadeo uncomfortable.

"Hey, I'm not an expert on killing demons, especially not without my powers," he said, irritated. "If you would just let me take your sister to Heaven..."

"What?" I felt anger swell up inside of me. "No one is taking my sister anywhere!"

"But she'd be safe there and with her own people." He made it sound so simple and reasonable that I wanted to explode.

"If Heaven is so awesome, why are you here all the time?" I glared at him. It was a bit difficult to be angry with him when he was looking so pretty and innocent, but I had to stand my ground. My sister's place was here with her friends and me, not in some world she knew nothing about.

"I have to be. It's my purpose to take care of situations like this one," he said proudly. "My presence here is of great importance for angels."

I sighed; all of my anger seemed to have disappeared almost as fast as it had come. "I guess I have to do everything by myself."

"If you change your mind, you know how to find me." He started walking away from me, his black boots leaving large footprints in the snow. If looks were daggers, his back would be full of holes. Why had I even thought he'd be willing to help me? Maybe angels weren't exactly how I pictured them, or Amadeo had spent too much time with humans. It didn't really matter because I was going to save my sister no matter what.

My cell phone vibrated in the pocket of my tweed coat, making me jump. I froze when I saw an unknown number for which I was sure was Devin's. My hand was shaking a bit when I brought the cell phone to my ear.

"Yes?" I said, trying to sound calm. There was a good chance it was a wrong number. Or maybe not.

"Ariel?" Devin said softly, almost like a whisper. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Could he have found out about my little meeting with Amadeo?

"Yeah, it's me. What do you want?" For some reason, I was glad he couldn't see the sneer on my face. He really knew how to pick the wrong moment to call. How dare he call me while I was plotting his murder? Now I was being rude.

"Can you come to see me?" I had a feeling he was holding the cell phone somewhere in front of him because his voice sounded far away. Then I realized something. He hadn't just barked and yelled at me to come immediately; he'd actually asked me.

"Why?" Just because he was being polite didn't mean he didn't want to send me to his homeland.

"I need to... talk to you."

"About what?" I stopped only a few steps from my street. There was no point in going home if I had to meet Devin somewhere. The only thing that worried me was that it was getting dark.

"It's important," he said, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Please."

"Umm, ok. Where are you?"

"I'm near your house," he said, and I nearly dropped my cell phone. I looked around in panic, but couldn't see him anywhere. If my sister came out, would he recognize her for what she was? I needed to get him away from here and fast.

"I didn't. I simply asked her and she told me." He sounded honest, but that did nothing to calm me. Would Italia give him my address just like that? But then again, she believed we knew him.

"Ok, wait for me near the supermarket," I said, hoping that would keep him away from Christina. The supermarket was on the other end of my street and there were always many people, so I didn't have to worry about being alone with a demon.

"Ok," he said and I ended the call. Just at that moment my cell phone vibrated again and a message symbol appeared on the screen. It was my mom asking me if I was going to come to dinner because Christina was studying with her friend at her house. I felt instantly relieved, the tension draining out of my shoulders. Texting my mom to tell her I was planning to come to dinner, I hurried to get as fast as possible to the supermarket.

Devin stood in the shadows, watching people scurrying around like ants and carrying loads of bags with groceries. As I neared him, I realized he was wearing only his black sweater, blue jeans and black boots. Wasn't he cold without a coat and gloves? I felt even colder just by looking at him.

"Hey," I said, stopping not far from him, in the dim light of a street lamp. His obsidian black eyes bled to blue as he stepped forward, his messy black hair shining like it was covered with tiny diamonds. If he weren't a demon, he'd be absolutely breathtaking.

"You..." he started saying and then frowned."Something's different about you."

I didn't know what to say to that. Could he somehow sense I'd been with an angel not long ago? But that would mean he could sense my sister too, unless her angel powers were still too weak.

"Different? Really?" I gave him a quizzical look, trying to hide my real thoughts. Damn, I'd forgotten to ask Amadeo could demons read my thoughts, but since he hadn't said anything when I'd said what I was planning to do, then Devin probably couldn't do that.

"I... Never mind," he said, and we started aimlessly circling the supermarket.