I looked down and discovered he spoke the truth. How could I not have noticed that I was no longer on the concrete? Instead, I found myself encased in a purple sphere, suspended about three inches above the floor. I raised the better of my two arms to see if I could puncture my enclosure, but it flexed outward, avoiding my touch. I tried with my foot, and the same thing happened. No matter what I did, I couldn't seem to touch its surface. I finally managed to kneel, which wasn't easy with unsteady legs and what I presumed was one broken arm and the other sporting a huge gash. I glared at Kieran.
"What is going on?" I demanded, panicking. "What is this thing? And how do I get out?"
"We need to—," Kieran insisted.
"First." Shay frowned at my predicament. "We have to figure out how to get Zoe out of the orb."
I nodded, and just like that, the bubble disappeared, dumping me onto the cold cement floor. Wait, how does he know my name? "I hope I didn't break anything else," I grumbled, rubbing my backside to ease the pain.
Shay and Kieran exchanged a glance. "Did you do that?" Kieran asked him.
"No," Shay replied.
They both looked at me. "What did you do?" they asked in unison.
"Nothing! I didn't do anything." I didn't like the way they gawked at me, like a science experiment, so I rose to my feet and suggested we go to my house, hugging my arms against me. I tried to wipe off the drying blood running down my arm with my hem. Sharp pain in my wrist focused my attention as I ran my fingers through my tangled hair. I could imagine what an awful site stood in front of them.
Kieran shook his head and walked toward me. "We're going to my house. It's safer."
I flinched when he placed his hands on my arm. "Don't. It's brok—"
"Shh."
"What are you going to do?"
"Trust me." He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "This arm's cut pretty badly, your wrist is sprained, and your eye ... well, I'm going to fix everything. Your blistered foot, too."
I glared at him, totally confused. How on earth did he know about my blister? This was getting weirder by the minute. "You're not a doctor. We should go to the ER." I pulled my hand away. "You might know a thing or two about kung-foo or whatever that was, but I'm not letting you mess with my arm."
He held his hand out. I slowly gave him my arm. Under the heat of his hand, my face and arms tingled—and so did my foot. I watched as the cuts on my forearm melted together. I flexed the muscle of my arm a few times and made small circles with my shoulder, skeptical. Feeling no more pain, I took deep calming breaths.
Kieran didn't even look at me. It was as if this were all perfectly normal to him. "You should be fine now," he said. He stepped back and scanned the warehouse, then turned toward the exit again.
Incredible.
Shay grinned, looking between Kieran and me. "I think it's time to tell her about what's going on."
"Ya think?" Kieran snapped.
Oh, he was mad?
"Quit being so bossy," Shay said. "You're the one who got cut by a low-level demon."
"I did that on purpose." Kieran gritted his teeth.
"Wait a second. Time out here!" I shouted. "Who are you? Or maybe the better question is: What are you?"
"And why would you do that, Kieran?" Shay asked, clenching his hands.
"I didn't think the two demons would be dumb enough to split up before they took care of me, but when I heard Zoe cry out, I knew it might take too long to fight my way to her." Kieran walked down the aisle looking at the row of windows that lined the ceiling. "So I let the knight stab me. And sure enough, he ran off as soon as I dropped to the floor."
"Are you okay?" I asked. "Did it hurt having a sword go through you?"
"Yes, but don't worry about me. I'm already healed," he called, then headed back to me. "Come on and I'll tell you as much as I can while we go someplace safer. Let's start with the fact that I met you in kindergarten, but I knew who you were before then. I was assigned to watch over you, and I was instructed not to reveal my true identity."
I stared at him. He'd manufactured our relationship.
"But now that Devin and Blane have found you ..." He stepped a few paces closer.
"Who—" I stopped, remembering how Blane had disappeared. I glanced over and noticed Devin's body was gone, too. "What were they?"
Shay glared at Kieran then looked at the ground. I could have sworn something passed between them in that moment, some kind of unspoken communication. After this whole episode, I wouldn't put it past either of them. Then I felt the full force of Shay staring at me, and I blinked helplessly. He was a magnificent spectacle of man, standing over six feet tall. On top of everything else, his eyes were a calming, almost magnetic aqua color. I bet that's the color of water in Hawaii.
It struck me how similar he looked to Kieran. Both were tall, blond, and incredibly handsome. On the other hand, Kieran was model thin, whereas Shay had the muscular build, like an athlete.
My body's temperature grew to a smoldering level as a result of the look in Shay's eyes. Who was this guy, and how did he know my name? I felt an instant connection with him, as if I'd known him all my life. There was something familiar about him. My body started to tingle, and I wasn't sure if it was just nerves or something else.
He bowed. "Let me formally introduce myself. Name's Shay. Shay Curator." He tilted his head toward Kieran. "He may not tell you what he is, but I'm a nephilim."
"A neffa-what?" I managed.
He gave me a small smile. "A nephilim is someone who is half-human and half-angel."
If I hadn't just seen two guys disappear without even a puff of smoke, then seen Kieran emerge from a sword attack, I might not have been so easy to convince. As it was, his words seemed to make perfect sense. I must be dreaming.
"Okay." I shrugged. I can play along. "So what were those other guys?"
Kieran turned to face us, his cheeks pink with anger. "Shay, talk and walk," he said. "We need to keep moving just in case—"
Ignoring Kieran, Shay continued, "Those were demon knights. The Devil's minions. They were sent to kill you." He waved his hand, gesturing for me to pass.
"Of course they were." I flicked one eyebrow up and let the sarcasm bite as I bent down to pick up my backpack.
This close, my rescuer—Shay Curator, apparently—had long, powerful legs which fit nicely in his black jeans. He wore black combat boots, and a black T-shirt hugged his upper torso, the sleeves barely contained a set of rippling biceps. I imagined he was trying unsuccessfully to hide what would no doubt be an impressive six pack. In sharp contrast to his dark clothes, he had fair skin. Even though he was over six feet tall, he moved with catlike grace.
To be honest, sometimes I'm surprised by my own shallowness.
After taking one last look around the dark building, I scurried after them and caught up to Shay, who kept staring at me. It was like he was trying to figure something out or say something more, so I met his eyes. He smiled, giving me a brilliant half-angel grin, and I looked away, blushing. To distract myself, I scanned the area, then realized I didn't see any other building, only the warehouse behind us. Odd. Were we still in St. Joseph?
I tried to remember back, but everything was a little foggy. I recalled the coffee house and spilling my chai. I didn't, however, remember how we'd actually arrived at the warehouse. I missed something, hit my head and lost my short term memory. Or was something else going on?
"Guys, where are we?"
"In the Void," Kieran said.
I appreciated him fixing my arm and everything, but Kieran was starting to annoy me with this attitude. "And what's the Void?"
"It's a parallel place that lies between this world and another."
I stared at him, wondering what on earth had happened to my best friend. "What—"
"I'll answer all your questions when we get to my house. I promise."
You got that right. All my questions and then some, buddy!
After walking a block, a pleasant tingle passed through my body, like I walked through a waterfall. I took one more step and we were on Sandbar Lane, the street just before my and Kieran's neighborhood. I turned back to where I thought I'd felt the wall of shimmer, but didn't see anything unusual—rows of houses.
Shay reached for my hand, then stopped an inch away and pulled his back.
"Don't worry," he said.
His small movement of withdrawal made me surprisingly sad. I wanted to hear him talk.
"So ... I noticed you had a silver sword back there, and now, you don't. Where is it?"
He shrugged. "It's a special sword. It only appears when I need it."
Apparently I wasn't going to get any reasonable answers, but that wouldn't stop me from trying. "Why haven't I seen you at Trinity High School? Do you go to school there?"
"No."
"Where do you go then?"
He chuckled. "I haven't—"
"He hasn't attended school in decades," Kieran interrupted. "Lots has changed, Shay."
"Oh." My smile faded. Decades?
Kieran lived six houses away from me, so every morning we met at the end of his driveway and walked to school together. His home was a newer, three-story monstrosity. It reminded me of a museum with its shining walls of white, both inside and out. Between his mom and the gardener, they had included splashes of bright colors here and there. A triple garage set behind the main house, nestled in a meticulously groomed lawn. Despite its intimidating size, Kieran's house always felt cozy and welcoming to me.
Maybe that was because his parents never hovered or asked too many questions. I had always thought their lack of presence just meant they trusted Kieran. Now I had to wonder. Apparently I didn't know everything there was to know about my best friend.
On the other hand, every time I wanted to leave my own house I always received the twenty questions routine from my parents. They trusted Kieran. They questioned me less if they knew he was going. Fortunately, he went most places with me.
We arrived at his house, and I made myself at home. Leaving the boys behind, I kicked off my shoes in the mud room, turned down the hallway through the kitchen, and headed into the den. I plopped down on the couch near the windows overlooking the backyard and felt the tension ease from my body. Digging out my cell phone, I checked the time, but was startled by the numbers on its face. I figured it must have stopped somehow, so I turned it off then on again. Same numbers popped up: 3:00 p.m.
"How can only twenty minutes have passed since school let out?"
Shay came in the room behind me and squeezed my shoulder as he walked by. My body instantly grew warm. That had to mean something.
"Time moves differently in the Void," he explained.
That did not explain anything, in my opinion.
"Hey, does anyone want anything to drink?" Kieran called from the kitchen.
"A diet strawberry pop, please," I yelled. "And a serving of answers!"
I rose up and walked to thewindow, staring at the fountain in the large backyard. Now that Shay had toldme his crazy story about being a half-angel, the fountain seemed to make alittle more of a connection to the place. In its center stood a marble angel,her majestic wings extended and arms reaching toward the sky. Her stone eyesgazed into the heavens with an incredibly real expression. She looked as if shewere in the midst of a conversation, maybe speaking to God.