Finally, he succumbs to reality. This is his life now, whether he likes it or not. Time to get to work before he's even further demoted-if that were possible. However, if he's learned anything in this life-it's that anything is possible. With one last deep breath, his long, plush wings extend from his back with one swift movement. They sprout out past his arms in a glorious, pure white not visible on the secular plane. With one gust, they make him airborne and with a few more, his feet land on the roof. The shades in the room below him are drawn, but a dim light emanates from behind them. A sigh escapes his lips as he closes his eyes and swings down from the roof. He takes a step into the exterior wall. His body goes rigid, the blue siding of the house shimmers as he enters. The vortex pulls him completely through, the smell of wood lingers on his nose as he opens his eyes on the other side.
Whoa. It's apparent he's not in Heaven any longer. This Sec confines herself to a small room-like a prison. It's crowded with pictures, books, and piles of clothes that make it feel even smaller. Looking at all the clothes this Sec has, he stands there, wondering why anyone would need so much clothing. Angels only ever wear robes. Nathanael continues to wander around the room before making himself comfortable at a desk in the corner. Propping his feet up on the top, he tosses an arm over his eyes to block out the light and begins to mentally prepare for the mundane earthly life he's just tumbled into.
The door opens. He doesn't even bother to lift his arm off his forehead. The rules state all he has to do is protect the subject. That is all. He doesn't have to get involved past that. A thump causes his arm to drop. Her purse now sits on the floor, its contents strewn all over the ground, but she doesn't appear to care. His attention gravitates to her bright auburn hair. It's so vibrant. Not even the Angels of Heaven could compete.
"Like, are you kidding me?" she mumbles into something at her ear while pacing across the floor. "We both know I deserved that raise!" She whips around to face him, her hazel eyes alive with anger. He's certainly happy he's invisible to human eyes. He can't imagine her giving him that look.
She continues, "I know, my time will come, but Amanda, it's a promotion to Florida. I just wanted a change of scenery; I thought this might be it."
The other end of the thing begins erupting in muffled voices. The Sec continues, "I know, I'll miss you, too. However, some things you have to do for yourself." She pauses. "All right, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."
She hits a button on the small rectangular object in her hand. Her legs still pace until she collapses onto the edge of her bed, a sigh escaping her lips.
Another thing Nathanael hates about Secs, they have a flair for the dramatic-always whining and crying when things don't go their way. Instead of working for something, they attempt to pray it into existence. He's witnessed the power of prayer first hand, but he harbors no sympathy for those that don't fight for what they want. This one seems to be in the latter category. Throwing his arm back over his eyes, he zones out while this new charge of his rummages around her room.
It only takes her a few hours before she turns all the lights out and climbs into bed. The next couple of hours should be a breeze. He was always semi-fascinated with the idea of a secular body that needs periods of rest to recharge. The idea of wasting hours upon hours of the day sleeping just seems strange for a being the Lord created an entire planet for. Watching the girl sleep, he realizes that he has all the time in the world to study it now. The Almighty has a sick sense of humor sometimes.
Nathanael remains in the shadows of the room for most of the night. He picks up nothing but the sounds of the girl's shallow breathing in this small room. The night outside is quiet as well. It's strange not to constantly hear a background chorus of worshipping music. The quiet is almost eerie. That's why, when the Secular girl turns her head and mutters something, he hears it. A strange word that shouldn't even be on her lips-a word that makes Nathanael furious and energized all at once. One word that will wake him up and put him on high alert. The only name that is dreaded above all others in the clouds of Heaven.
Lucifer.
Glancing at the clock, she has two hours—what the hell could keep her busy until then. A nice relaxing bath should be just the ticket to get her in the mood for a girl's night. It's been a while since they've gone out. Usually, Netflix and wine are the kind of nights they have together. Sera has learned the hard way that going out with Amanda is an adventure in itself. Especially, when there's liquor and boys involved. For some reason, deep down, Sera has a feeling tonight is going to be a good night.After digging through her drawers, she finds a bath set she received from a crazy Aunt one Christmas. Perfect. Ripping open the packaging, she treks her way into the bathroom. Her nimble hands draw a bath in the cast iron tub, turning the nozzle to the hottest temperature it will go before tossing in the lavender bath soap. The bubbles ripple out automatically, filling the small bathroom with the relaxing scent. Sera slips out of her clothes with not even an ounce of sweat
Pushing herself to her feet again, she notices a stir in the woods across the street. Her eyes study the bushes with her new sense of sight, but it turns out she doesn't happen to have x-ray vision. After a few more moments of staring at a bush, she finally decides there is nothing there and turns to head inside.Sera makes her way through the hall, her stomach growling like it never has before. Bianca Cross's humming makes it's way to her from deeper inside the house.“Mom?" Sera calls.“In the kitchen, dear."She walks in the kitchen and finds her mother is behind the newly renovated island. The house is old, old enough to have been in the family for centuries. When Sera's parents agreed to keep it, her mom had one condition—an updated kitchen. She can survive without air conditioning in the summer, the creaky floorboards, and a leaky roof, but an outdated kitchen was not going to cut it. It only took one month to get it Bianca-Cross-p
Sera sits straight up in bed, gasping for air like it's the first breath her body has ever taken. Her blinds are open so that the sun, high in the sky, is shining directly in her face. That's when she realizes she's tucked into her own bed. Huh? Instinctively, she frantically runs her hands all over her body. Counting every rib, poking every muscle for pain, broken bones, any reason for the agony she remembers from the night before. She's still wearing the same outfit from last night. Her fingers pick out a tiny shard of glass from her light pink sweater. Ripping the covers off, she reveals the rest of her body. Her eyes widen as a gasp escapes her lips—there's dried blood all over her. The dress pants and sweater she was wearing look like they soaked through before they dried to a crusty red color. Yet, Sera finds no wounds. Not one ounce of pain on any part of her body; not even an ache from the running she attempted. Is it crazy that I actually feel... good?Sera sli
They finally reached Sera's car, and she tries to dig into her pocket for the car keys. The nervous anxiety is building inside her once more. Before her fingers can grasp the key ring, he pulls her into an extra tight hug. Her fingers slip from her pocket, eyes wide with surprise. When he finally pulls away from their embrace, both his hands are on her shoulders.Looking up into his face, his eyes are on her lips. She's frozen as his hands slowly trace their way up to her neck, then her face, until he finally brings her chin to his and plants a soft kiss against Sera's lips. Her limbs grow cold, ice cold in an instant. Her eyes immediately shut and her mind floods with every daydream she has ever had about Jack. Like some corny movie trailer, Sera sees the months of flirting, the way she smiled in the candlelight, and the first kiss just now.Abruptly, Sera hands push him against her sedan, deepening their kiss. Her mind is numb, her fingers don't feel like hers as the
Sera could feel Amanda approaching before seeing her short, quaffed hair over the edge of her cubicle. She doesn’t feel the need to lower her search window, even though she knew she would have to explain herself. Instead, she continues searching until Amanda catches her.“Job searches?” She snickers low, knowing Mrs. Valentine has a way of popping up at the worst times. “What the hell are you looking at Sera? We both know you’re not going to leave me,” she jokes, but her smile falters.With a sigh, Sera turns her chair to face her best friend. “Don’t you ever just get tired of things,A? Don’t you just want a change? Do you ever feel like you have a destiny bigger than this?” She gestures to the space around her.“More thana simple job, 401K, weekends and holidays off, and a team of doctors at your beck and call? No, I think we have it pretty stinking good here, girl. What more do you want?”
SeraphinaSera pulls her feet up onto the comfy green chair, her hand still clutched around her necklace. She could have sworn it just jumped. That's absurd. The necklace is just a vial filled with powder. As much as she reiterates that detail to herself, she can't keep explaining away the fact that it's... it's been feeling weird lately. Things appear to happen when she wears it—like glimmering slightly when she looks at it sometimes, and she can swear occasionally it fills her with this sense of security, like that blanket she carried around as a baby.Climbing to her feet, her hand still holding the vial, she picks up her purse and heads for the door."See ya, Jack!" She waves and slips out before he has a chance to reply.All she can recall is the necklace was among her presents on her eighteenth birthday. A little box, settled on the top of the pile—the only one without a card. She's on a self-imposed mission to