Wings that Guard Me

Chapter 24 Seraph

I'm stunned as I see him touch my halo ring and not even flinch. My ring warms at his touch but not in an unfriendly or warning kind of way. It's almost pleasant. But if he truly is what I suspect than he should not be able to touch my ring at all. It would be similar to a Righteous angel touching cursed coal from Hell. If he truly is a Fallen then there's something wrong with this picture. I have no proof, actually all that I have is proof that he isn't a Fallen, but I know what he is. He has to be.

All of this information is confusing me. But I need to know for sure. I need to find out if I'm right. Maybe I should talk to Grey about it. I honestly don't know what to do with this information.

I numbly go through the rest of out sight seeing trip without paying attention to what is going on around me. My brain is so consumed with its problem solving that I'm distracted. Probably not a good thing because I'm technically on duty. The fact remains though that I know what he is, well I'm fairly certain of what he is, and he knows what I am, that much is clear. But why hasn't he tried to get rid of me yet?

Isn't the whole point of this war for each side to gain as many followers or souls as possible and eliminate the competition? Then why isn't he doing that? Why am I not doing anything? Oh wait, I have no proof. I don't have the authority to just get rid of someone I suspect. The agency has different angels for that. The Rescue squads I think is what they are calling them now. It's technically more dangerous work.

I make up my mind when we end up back at Tony's house. Raphael gives his good byes, no matter how tauntingly he says so to me. Tony offers to walk me home even though it's basically across the street. I let him, why not? I'm instantly able to breathe better once Raphael is out of sight. I get to the front door of the house Grey and I are staying in. I unlock it and say good bye to Tony. I have a feeling he might want to stay a little longer but I can't exactly deal with that right now.

Once I'm alone I open the door and enter. "Grey?!" I call into the empty space. He might be out watching the house right now.

I sigh and drop onto the couch in the living room. Our house is sparsely furnished but we figured we should have something in case people decide to go snooping or come over. We're new to the neighborhood, not isolated from society.
I must have fallen asleep in because the next thing I know Grey is standing over me with a scowl. "Can I help you?" I ask, irritated.

"You haven't been watching the house. And I come home to find you sleeping. Are you really that sleep deprived that you need to sleep in the middle of the day?" Though Grey seems upset I know that's not his real reason for being upset.
"You're getting crankier in your old age." I comment dryly, ignoring his temper and questions.

He bristles at this comment. And I do mean that literally. I look at him for a moment as he steams in anger before I bring up my actual topic of discussion.

"Something happened today." I tell him in a calm voice, ignoring his anger. This gets his attention, though I notice that his anger is not completely gone. He doesn't say anything so I take that as a sign to continue. "There's this guy-"
"Is that what this is about? You met a guy? This better not be what you were going to say." Grey so rudely interrupts me.

I glare at him as he flies off the handle and wait for him to finish, because I'm not so rude to interrupt him.
When he finishes I shoot him an irritated glare before asking, "Are you finished?" He takes a breath to continue in his rant, or lecture honestly it's hard to tell the difference. I cut him off before he can get out the rest it. "I wasn't finished."
He huffs and crosses his arms, waiting impatiently. I adjust my sitting position so he isn't leaning over me anymore, just towering now. "As I was saying, there's this guy, Raphael, and I'm nearly certain he's a Fallen. I say nearly certain because there's some inconsistencies with the usual tell tale signs. But he knows what I am. And I just know he's not human."

"Inconsistencies?" Finally he's paying attention.

"He touched my halo ring. He didn't get burned. If he has a brand its either not obvious or he's really good at covering it up. He has the scars and the eyes, his are mismatched though. And he's short, like my height. That's a little unusual, aren't they supposed to be these big and powerful beings?"

For some reason Grey laughs, I didn't realize anything I said was funny. When he notices my slightly irritated expression he quickly composes himself. "Don't believe everything in the myths, kid. Those same myths say that Righteous angels are genderless and perfect. We both know that's the farthest thing from the truth."

"I've only ever heard of the ring thing once before and I didn't believe it to be honest. If there's already significant scarring you might not notice the brand right away. That doesn't mean that he wouldn't be able to cover it up if he's experienced enough. Mismatched eyes might go hand in hand with the ring thing, if the stories are true anyway. You said he knows what you are?" I listen to Grey intently and nod in answer to his question. "What makes you think that?"

"Well he knows that my wings are real. He knows what my ring is. He knows what my name means. And those are the only things he's commented on so there could be more for all I know. He keeps calling me "Angel" though." I think about all the times he's hinted at what I am. Try as I might I can't think of anything else that he might has mentioned to get under my skin. And though I hate to admit it, it does get to me.

"Well," Grey says, snapping me out of my thoughts, "it sounds like he could be a Fallen. But he isn't doing anything that would confirm it. His behavior is harmless to say the least. Exactly the opposite of what a Fallen would be doing. Maybe he's just very superstitious and thinks he knows what you are. Keep an eyes on him, we can't do anything until we are sure."

With that said, Grey walks away. Officially ending all discussion. I sigh and flop back down on the couch.