Demons Run (8)
Roman's POV
After her question about my brother, Eve dozed off on my chest. She'd stopped shaking now, and was taking soft, deep breaths. I had my arms wrapped around her petite structure and she was curled into me comfortably.
Eve was so different from anyone I'd ever come in contact with- demons, faeries, and angels included. She always had this look in her eyes, like she knew the answer to all the questions in the universe, yet asked what you thought anyway. I was so used to people, even creatures, judging me for what I'd become. I have done very awful, horrible things, and I make no excuses for myself, but Eve saw past that. She didn't pay attention to the bad parts. She looked at the whole picture.
Deciding I'd over-stepped my boundaries by still holding her while she slept, I got up to move back to my recliner. As the weight of the mattress caved under my arms, I felt her grab a fistful of my shirt and tug me back down.
I gave her a look of slight, pleasant shock, but her eyes were closed, so she didn't see me.
"Stay." Her tired voice croaked.
"Okay, angel."
Her mouth tipped into a smile at the pet name and she buried her face into my chest. I stroked her hair.
I'd never felt so at peace, so... happy. It was a simple sort of happy. I was content. And as much as I had lusted for Eve, watching her curled up next to me, happy to be there, I wanted her in the most innocent sense. I wanted the most cliché sort of thing I could offer her. I wanted to hold her like this... to kiss her... I wanted more than just a mark to show that she was mine.
She muttered my name in her sleep and gripped the fabric of my shirt tightly.
I brushed a fallen strand of the beautiful chocolate hair out of her face and smiled as she responded to my touch with a soft sigh. How could I ever leave her once this was over? In our short amount of time together, she had managed to completely draw me in. She had become... well, my whole world.
*
I woke up the next morning feeling a lot more rested than I ever had. Since when did I need sleep? As a demon, I don't even have to sleep, and usually I didn't, to keep an eye out for any signs of dangers, but last night I guess it just sort of happened.
I glanced over to the clock which told me it was very early in the day.
I looked at my sleeping position, finding that I had sunk down into the mattress next to Eve; her back was to me and my arm was around her. She looked as peaceful as the night before and I couldn't help the smile that found its way onto my face.
I shifted and looked to the other side of the room where the twins were still passed out in awkward positions. I'd never seen a faerie as intoxicated as they had been the night before, and it made me curious to see how their hangovers would go.
I was careful getting out of bed as not to wake Eve. When I got out from under the comforter, she stirred but didn't wake. I slipped on my boots and gave the three of my companions one last look before leaving the room.
On the way in to the hotel last night, I'd noticed a little drug store on the corner of the strip of road. Since Mulligans probably wasn't open, nor serving breakfast, the drug store was my only option.
I slipped from the room and inhaled the cool air deeply as I closed the door behind me. I loved fall and winter time. The weather was always just so much nicer to me. I walked down the path that led through the concrete flat and to the stairs. Once I was in the parking lot, I decided to walk to the drug store rather than drive my truck. I'd be in it soon again anyway, so I might as well enjoy the chance to stretch my legs while I still had it.
As I walked further and turned the corner, I felt a cold chill sweep up my spine. Standing in front of me was Gabriel the Archangel.
Gabriel looked like the stereotypical angel. The difference, however, was that he had a halo of dark hair, rather than blond, and an innocent smile. His eyes were a vivid electric blue, just like Eve's, and he stood with a straight posture. He was dressed to look normal among normal people; he wore dark jeans and a button up shirt.
When Gabriel saw me, his polite smile grew, "Hello, Roman. It is nice to see you again." His dialect was always so formal.
"Hi, Gabriel." I said familiarly, eyeing him. I had no problems with him in particular, but he's an angel, I'm a demon, and I'm sure you get the idea. "You aren't supposed to be here."
Gabriel frowned a bit, "I'm well aware. I needed to know how she was doing, though. Her soul is attached to yours now, so I can no longer see her."
I let out a sigh and continued walking, "Everything is going fine. We had a run-in with Azela, but that's it. Smooth sailing, Gabe."
I walked past him and he stood there for a moment, but then he turned and began following. After a few seconds he caught up and stayed in stride with me as I walked to the store.
"So you're protecting her very well?"
"Yes." I said, glancing over at him, "Of course I am."
"I hear you have two faeries with you. Is this true?"
"Yes, it is." I said. Gabriel stiffened and his face became stern but I shook my head, "They're of the Seelie Court. Pain and Panic. The faeries of Fall and Summer."
Gabriel relaxed at this, and I watched as he released a relieved breath. Not all faeries were good, and I knew that must have worried him to death.
"Thank you for doing this, Roman. For saving her." He said. I glanced over at the baby-faced angel who was giving me an appreciative look. I gave him a small smile and nod.
"No need to thank me. She's not so bad." I laughed, thinking back to the sleeping girl in the hotel room. "We're gonna make it. To Babylon and back."
Gabriel's blue eyes flickered with curiosity and something else I couldn't quite place. He smiled slightly, "Do you have feelings for my Evangelina?"
I choked a little on my own spit and coughed, giving Gabriel an incredulous look. Why would he ask me something like that? I mean, sure, Eve made me happy, but... that couldn't happen. Those sort of things just don't happen. Do they? The way she looks at me, her eyes, the way she smells, her voice, her hair, everything... what she did to me.
"No." I said sternly, despite my racing thoughts, "I'm a demon, Gabriel. We don't have feelings."
Gabriel's face dropped in shock and he balked at my statement. We continued walking. I could see the drug store now, but we still had a little ways to walk.
"Do you know how wrong you are?" Gabriel was probably one of the sassiest angels I'd ever met, "You only say it's impossible because of what you've been told. But how do you feel?"
I hadn't been expecting him to ask me what I felt. Nobody ever did.
"Like I..." I trailed off, unable to say for sure.
"Love her?" He finished, smiling broadly at me.
I gritted my teeth at the word and threw him a nasty look, "Need to protect her."
Gabriel smiled knowingly at me. Smug little winged bastard. "Roman, do you know what a Fortis Cor is?"
"No." I said. I could tell the phrase was Latin, because I had once spoke Latin. In English it roughly translated to 'strong heart'.
"A Fortis Cor is a once human who was forced into being a demon. In human life, they were very strong in mind and body, had a high morality, and sense of what was right and wrong." Gabriel said. Through his explanation, I could feel a small anxiousness build within me. "Although the demon blood corrupted the rest of their bloodwork, they were all able to hang on to just enough humanity that would allow them to be saved. Even as a demon, a Fortis Cor can separate right from wrong, and in special cases with the right circumstances, can have human feelings."
I was quiet for a minute, and stopped walking. Gabriel stopped too and I turned so I could face him. "What are you saying?"
"To take a good long look at your situation, and what's happening, the things you're feeling." He gave me a soulful look, "This is not random coincidence, Roman."
"Are you saying I'm a... what is it, Fortis Cor?" I repeated.
"I'm giving you facts." said Gabriel, "Why else do you think you want to be saved so badly? The small piece of your humanity is suffering greatly and wants to resurface in all its glory."
I nodded at him and looked down, trailing back to my earlier train of thought; I wondered if Eve had awoken yet. "And the feelings, that's only in special cases?"
"What more special a case than a woman like Eve being completely enamoured by you? I've watched her. She is very kind, and she speaks to the once-human side of you. She evokes that raw emotion from the little strip of your humanity."
"They're real?" I asked. My voice was quiet, and to my surprise, even a bit hoarse. "My feelings, are they real?"
"Of course they are. Eve has a very forgiving spirit. She doesn't see any evil in you, she only sees the good, the part of you that protects her and dotes on her. It's why she likes you so much. And the fact that she sees you as Roman the person and not Roman the Demon is specifically what evokes feeling in you. You know that every time she looks at you, she's seeing you, not your curse."
He'd confirmed my suspicions by this point. It wasn't my connection to Eve that made me feel the way I did, I was just genuinely starting to care about her more and more. Babylon was only a small piece of what I had on my mind by this point.
"Gabriel..." The question was stuck painfully to the end of my tongue with a thumbtack. He cocked his head to the side, waiting. "If I actually do this, and I mean do it right, and become a human... do you think I could actually be with her?"
"Yes." Gabriel said, without hesitation. "You are a good man, Roman."
"Are we going to be kept apart?"
"It won't come without difficulty, but in the end, the only final say-so that counts is mine." He said, giving me a fleeting grin, "You have my blessing."
Before I could respond, huge white wings unfurled from his back, and with a flapping sound and a rush of wind, Gabriel had disappeared.