Page 9 of The Fallen

?Since they were not considered full angel or full human, they had no place. Many of them believed if they could make up for the mistakes of their ancestors, do the job the original angels were sent to do, they would be redeemed and allowed a place in Heaven. That was the one thing that kept them in line.

?Most of the Elyos adapted the human way of life and had no interest in searching for redemption. But there were still some who helped where they could; doing small acts of kindness, encouraging people with just a whisper of a word or pushing them in the right direction to avoid danger.

?Marie's cellphone rang and interrupted Brenton, mid speech. She didn't want to answer it, but when she saw it was her mom, she knew she had to. It was getting dark and they were on high alert since the incident. This angel lesson would have to be put on hold. She told her mom she was on the way home and hung up.

?“I gotta go. My mom is really worried since I passed out the other day,” she said getting up from the bleacher.

?Brenton winced. “I've been meaning to apologize for that. If I would've known.... I wouldn't have left you alone.”

?“What happened that day?”

?They started making their way back toward her house and she could tell he didn't want to share, but he wasn't getting off that easily.

?“While we were in the woods, I got a message from another angel telling me to back off. My mentor ordered me back and I had to go.”

?“But, couldn't you see or feel that I blacked out?” she asked.

?He rubbed the back of his neck before he began to speak. He rolled out another story instead of giving her a straight forward answer.

?He said that, as grand as history made angels out to be, they had limitations. Angels are stronger than man, but they aren't omnipotent. We have greater knowledge, but we are not all-knowing. Lastly, some angels can appear where they are needed, but they cannot be present everywhere.

?Bottom line, his thoughts were directed elsewhere. When she was passing out, his mind was focused on something else and he wasn't aware of her. She didn't reach out to him, so he couldn't sense her.

?“So what changed? Why were you able to tell me about it now?” she asked.

?“Michael knew I wasn't gonna stay away for long. Finding you was way too important to me. They said you were probably neutral, but I didn't want to believe it. Then when you reached out to me yesterday and again today, I figured maybe they were wrong. But like I said, I'm never that lucky.”

?“Oh,” was all she could think to say.

?They walked together silently until she was a block away from her street. She turned to leave without saying a word. There wasn't anything she could say that would express the magnitude of how she felt.

?She was almost to her front porch when she felt a chill go down her spine. Pressure started to build up in her head and she instinctively touched the birthmark on her head. She turned back around and Brenton was there as if she hadn't walked anywhere.

?“Did you just do that?” she questioned.

?“Nope, it wasn't me,” he laughed. “It's probably those pesky memories trying to break free. You have a headache?”

?“How did you know?”

?“If you hadn't been shielded, we would have shared most of each others' lives without having to be near one another. I couldn't see you as much as the others could see their other half. I had to concentrate very hard to get the glimpses I did get. I guess me being around is stirring up something, making those memories surface.”

?“What do you mean other half?”

?He winked and flashed his sparkling, white smile before answering, “Slow down there tiger, not now. You have to get home or your mom will send out a search party. We will talk more later.”

? He left in the opposite direction and said over his shoulder, “I'm only a thought away.” Then right before her eyes, he vanished.

Chapter Seven

Brenton

Brenton loved the dramatics. He was a bit of a show off, but he couldn't help it. He surely wished he could have seen the look on Marie's face when he vanished into thin air. Though that wasn't really the case, he could just run that fast; but he loved making people believe he could disappear.

?He laughed again when he thought about being in the woods, the winds picking up and circling them, him staring in the distance. The truth was, it was a fellow angel, Micheal, doing some wind tricks. Brenton was trying extra hard to show off for Marie and even though Micheal didn't want him talking to her, he was inadvertently helping him show off even more.

?He was such an idiot though. She had been shielded since birth and now he would have to start from scratch. This was going to be much harder than he expected.

?He wondered who would risk blocking her powers, in a time where they needed them most. He felt an aura from her mom, but he couldn't be sure. It could be Marie's powers growing and clouding the house. But for some reason he knew better. Her mom had the blood, he could sense it, almost smell it. He had to figure out if she was aware of him as well.

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