I blinked and took a step back, sure I'd misheard. There was no way he had just confessed to me that he was an Angel. Especially not my guardian angel. It was unthinkable. Either my hearing was going or he truly was crazy.
"Huh?" I questioned stupidly and meshed my eyebrows together in confusion. He just grinned good-humoredly though and pulled me a bit closer to him.
"I told you before how angels and demons exist...I'm a purposeful Angel. I have the purpose of being a guardian...your guardian...I've dedicated my entire existence to preparing myself for you and your specific needs. I only exist, literally, to serve and protect you and those who hold meaning to you."
I was very still and silent. I didn't know how I should react. Something inside me was trying to process what was going on but another side of me, a side that insisted I knew what was happening, was unbelievably thrilled by such news. I had known something about Duncan was familiar from the first time our eyes met and for some reason that I couldn't admit I had quickly fell for him and felt like he was the only person I could see entrusting my life to if it ever came to such a decision.
It made sense in a way but there were also still so many questions I had.
I was glad to know why my emotions felt so connected to his but at the same time I wasn't sure I could handle such chaos right now.
"I don't...understand...why me?" I muttered and sat down on the bed, looking at my floor. I was trying my best to give my thoughts time to process everything.
Duncan sat down beside me and I could feel his beautiful gaze on the side of my face, staring, analyzing, watching.
"Because you're...different Naomi."
I turned and looked into his eyes. I suddenly realized rain was pelting against my window hard. So hard that a puddle was forming under the window. I quickly stood and went to my window, slamming it shut.
I turned to go back to the bed but suddenly I slipped and in the same instant where my butt should've landed in the water and smacked onto my hardwood, I was in Duncan's arms again. I had lost my breath for a moment and looked up at him. He had a smug one of a kind Duncan-smile on his face.
"We've got to stop meeting like this girl."
I wanted to grin and swat at him but I could only attempt a half smile thanks to my combination of surprise, marinating my feelings over my new information and trying to analyze what I would learn next.
He helped me upright and I stumbled towards the bed.
I mulled over the last thing he said.
Because you're different
"How am I different?" I whispered and drew my legs up to my chest, burying my chin between my knee-caps. I felt Duncan gently place his hand on the small of my back comfortingly. I didn't shy away from the touch. In fact, I actually felt a sort of burning warmth flow through my entire body from the one muscle he'd touched.
"You're the only one of your kind...you're known as 'The Virtuous'. You're three quarter divine; one quarter mortal...You have powers Naomi, that even I can't match...you're as strong as an arch angel because they created you."
I blinked and whipped my head around to look at him.
"I thought god created humans."
"But that's just the point doll, you're not human."
I bit my lip thoughtfully for a minute and tried to find more questions.
"Why do I exist?"
Duncan thought for a moment and looked at the ceiling; finally he closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the floor in concentration.
"Angels fall into rankings...Arch angels are the highest and most powerful. Then there are earth bound angels, mortals usually refer to them as ghosts. After that there are the purposeful angels which branch off into their own categories. Guardian Angels, Chaos Angels, Warrior Angels, and Guidance warriors. Chaos Angels worked as investigators and messengers between the divine, mortal and hell realms. They worked at containing the chaos that Lucifer unleashes in the mortal realm, which includes natural destruction and disasters. They also sent messages back to god about when Lucifer was becoming too out of hand. Chaos Angels had to work to contain the overabundance of Lucifer's evil before the Warrior angels had to step in. They were truly one of our strongest angels because of the powers they controlled. Since they controlled contact between heaven and hell, they had the powers of light and darkness. A lot of elemental powers but also a lot of intuition and spiritual power.
"If you can recall the black plague in the 1300's, that was an evil of Lucifer's doing. We lost a lot of Chaos angels to the disaster of trying to contain all the illness and death they were surrounded by. Not long ago we lost even more to world war two with the disasters in Germany. We lost them because they existed to contain Lucifer's evil. When it got past the point of containment they weakened and fell too weak to kill off his followers. The arch angels, having no other choice, knew they had to create something that would give them an advantage over Lucifer's armies."
He turned and his eyes pierced me.
"So they created you...you have the most important powers of an arch angel; healing, mentality, endless emotional love and devotion, while also possessing the extra abilities that all Chaos Angels had before they were wiped out. I know of only two powers you've inherited from the Chaos angels and that's elemental manipulation and immortality to an extent...however; there are other things that I don't know."
I blinked and swallowed hard. I felt sick and stuck my head in my hands.
I was wrong, I couldn't handle this; it was just too much.
"I think...uhm..."
Suddenly though, before I could explain, I ran to my bathroom and felt my stomach finally turn on me like how it had been threatening to for the last week. I vomited into the toilet of my bathroom for a full five minutes. Duncan came in unexpectedly and held my hair back for me. I finally finished and tried waving him off.
"Go...I don't want you seeing me like this." I blubbered and went to my sink to wash off my face and brush my teeth.
He went into the bedroom, waiting patiently for me to finish and collect myself.
I allowed myself about five minutes where I shut the door and screamed into a towel to muffle the sound. It helped more than I thought it would. Just releasing what was slinking around in my nerves made me feel so much better. It didn't help my comprehension skills any but at least my stomach wasn't in knots anymore.
I tossed the towel towards the sink and went into my bedroom.
Duncan was gone.
I blinked, taken aback. I looked around for any evidence that he could've just moved into the other room but I then noticed under the feather on my bookcase, was a small square of paper that hadn't been there earlier. I picked it up and read the clean script.
'I know this is a lot to handle and I think we've covered plenty for tonight. I'll find you sometime tomorrow and explain more. Goodnight Naomi, sweet dreams.'
Under the nice message, he'd scribbled a phone number so I could get ahold of him in case I needed him. Somehow I knew though, if I really needed him, he would know and wouldn't need a phone call to tell him so.
I slowly changed and curled into my bed, I tried pulling the covers up and going to sleep but my dreams were intruded on.
I opened my eyes to find myself in a field of golden grass. It stretched on for miles, much farther than I'd ever seen a field go on for. I looked around and saw a nearby farm fence. Sitting atop the fence was a young girl. She had long black hair and tiny feet. She was tan but not too noticeably thanks to the gray skies above us that might've suggested rain. Her eyes were carefully watching her hands as she twirled a delicate and innocent daisy between her forefinger and thumb.
Her eyes, which held a trace of every color in them, flickered in my direction for a millisecond before she grinned and looked back at her flower.
"Naomi...so now you know." She whispered in a voice that seemed to match her body but it also seemed to come from somewhere else too. Somewhere that had eon's worth of wisdom and knowledge.
I stepped closer slowly. I noticed she looked as I did when I was a child. It was unnerving to me; I felt as though I were looking into the past.
"I've only taken this form to try and make you more comfortable...I, myself, do not have a form as you do." She muttered and sniffed at her small flower appreciatively.
I blinked and felt my shaking legs relax the closer I got. A certain calm flooded through me as I took a seat beside her.
"Who're you?" I muttered and she set her flower between us.
"You can call me Elijah...I'm the archangel of innocence." She explained and swung her feet out, like a young child would do.
I watched her; she seemed so at ease, as if none of this bothered her or even fazed her for that matter.
I was struggling to figure out how she wanted me to react.
"React however you feel you need to Naomi; I understand all of this is very complex and very different than your normal life but you'll see soon enough, this change is for good." Elijah grinned and began plucking the petals from the daisy. I took a seat beside her and pondered some questions.
"Why me...Out of all the billions of people in the world, why did I get picked for this?"
Elijah smiled and turned to look at me with my eyes. It was strange; like looking in a mirror.
"Oh Naomi, you weren't chosen for this. This has always been who you are. You, your powers, and your destiny were mapped out for you before you were even born. It's as if your life has been mapped out in the stars for thousands of years."
I swallowed hard as I comprehended what she said.
"Thousands?"
"Yes...you're special Naomi. More so than you'll be able to comprehend for right now."
I was quiet and watched as she picked off the last petal and set her palms towards the sky. A slight breeze shifted and sent the petals fluttering through the breeze; I quietly watched the white particles dance across the gray skyline, just clearing over the tops of the long golden grass.
"So what am I supposed to do with my...powers?" I finished, wrinkling my nose up at the last part.
"You need to keep watch for natural disasters and foul play against mortals. It is usually Lucifer's doing. His followers are bent on destroying mortals and trying to bring angels to their servitude. You are the balance between this. In short, when you see a crime in progress you must use your powers to stop it. If you see a tornado coming for your dorm, you use your own powers to steer it clear of Penn state. Is that a clear enough answer?" Elijah grinned and blinked with sincerity.
"So I'm like some supernatural superhero, right?"
Elijah giggled and it sounded like a twinkling of bells.
"Yes, in a way I suppose."
I looked out towards the grass and in the distance saw a tree brush the skyline.
"So where does Duncan come into play with all this?"
Elijah nodded slowly and blinked thoughtfully; she seemed to be wondering where to start.
"Duncan is your guardian angel. He was created to protect and serve you for now until forever. He knows everything about you and see's you as predictable because you are truly all he knows."
I nodded, and squirmed, somehow feeling awkward at the mention of the last part.
"Is there anything else I should know about him?"
"It's not my place to share his story. In time he'll tell you that on his own."
I shrugged and looked away, hoping she was right.
"It's time for you to go Naomi."
"Already?" I questioned and whipped my head around but suddenly a beeping roared in my ears.
I jolted up in bed to hear not only my alarm but my cell phone.
I took a few cleansing breaths to soothe my tired head from pulling out of a sound sleep. Slowly I picked up my phone and lay back down.
"Hello?"
"Naomi?"
I blinked and groaned.
"Hi dad...what's up?"
"Are you okay? I've been calling all night. Janine and I have been worried sick; we thought something must've happened to you."
"Why's that?" I grumbled almost unintelligibly.
"Because you never showed up for dinner." He explained and it hit me like running face-first into a brick wall. I'd blown of my dad and step-mom to have a conversation about my mythical existence with Duncan last night.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry dad. I promise I'll make it up to you."
"How's about next time you just answer your phone instead, like I said, we were scared something happened to you." He stressed again and I sighed thoughtfully.
"I will dad, I'm sorry. Apologize to Janine too for me."
"Will do kiddo...now go back to sleep." I heard a grin in my father's voice.
I hung up the phone without any further persuasion and fell back to sleep in a mercifully dreamless black.