Saving Me, Saving You: Three
There was a bit of forestry between the dorms and the parking lot, and it almost seemed unanimous to hide within the trees to start revealing to this human other-worldly trade secrets.
There was a single-file path they followed, and just as they got a certain distance within, following Levi, they stopped. All over the path there were cheap, flimsy benches, as if they were carved from the trees surrounding them.
"I'd suggest you have a seat," Levi told Rosemary, who hadn't taken her eyes off of him the entire time they'd been walking.
She did as she was bid, however, pressing her hands on her knees, still staring at Levi with those large, blue eyes. He wished he could read her mind; just what could be going through her head right now?
"I guess you're wondering how I did that trick back there," he said, gesturing with a thumb behind him.
"No," she replied simply, shaking her head slowly. "I've been trying… to find a way to… to…thankyou."
A swift breeze rustled the leaves of the many trees around them, the only noise amongst them. That definitely wasn't what was expected to leave her mouth.
"What?" Levi said, a bit exasperated. "Are you dumb?"
"Probably – but you did save my life, didn't you?" Then she finally tore her gaze from Levi to look between the rest of them. "Can… the rest of you do that? What he did?"
The angels fidgeted a bit at the question, but Eld spoke up for all of them when he said, "We can, but we're not supposed to. We're not supposed to mess with the fate of humans."
"A complete waste of a power on a waste of a species, if you ask me," Jake muttered, arms crossed as he glared at them.
"Like you don't have your rules,demon," Oluo snarled, stepping forward. Petra placed a hand to his chest, even though she knew full-well that he was an older and more powerful angel than herself, and could tear through her if he so chose to. However, her touch seemed to calm her down, and his shoulders slumped in response.
"Wait, what did he call you?" Rosemary quickly asked Jake, leaning toward him. "You're a – "
Jake raised his hands, as if in surrender. "It's not such negative word; some of us are useful tools to society."
"Yeah, rich useful tools," Gunther countered with a grunt.
"We're veering off topic," Levi interrupted, glare fixed first on his team as if to silently chastise them then to the underworld creatures, who seemed unphased by his look. "Look: fact of the matter is – there's more than just humans out there. And I'll start with me." With a heavy breath, he knelt before her, not touching her, though. He expected her to move away from him, show some type of fear – still nothing but gratitude and curiosity behind those eyes. "I'm… your guardian angel, Rosemary. I was sent to Earth to protect you." His icy gaze fixed on her knees, unable to look at her as he said this next part. "Not that I've clearly done a good job."
"Huh?" She sounded genuinely confused by his statement. "That's not true – if you hadn't shown me where the treatment center was, I wouldn't be able to take my medication at school." Then another thought came to her mind. "So we didn't mean by accident, huh? You were looking for me?"
"Kind of had to." Though, to Levi, something about Rosemary really stuck out and she was really easy to find. He would never admit such a thing out loud, though.
"What about the rest of you?" She looked to her friends then, her expression turning accusatory. "Didyouall meet me on purpose?"
"No, Rosie, it really is a coincidence – well…" A finger to her cheek, eyes looking up in thought, Bunni continued with, "You and me meeting was an accident. I just so happen to be friends with those of the underworld."
"Underworld?" Her brows knit together. "What does that mean?"
"It means exactly as it sounds, kid," Oluo answered with a gruff voice. "All those stories you hear about vampires and werewolves andwitches– " At the last word, he pointed right at Bunni, "are all true. And it's the job of the angels to keep humans and the underworld from co-mingling in nightmarish ways."
"That's enough, Oluo," commanded Levi, looking to his comrade before returning his eyes to Rosemary. "Look, it's getting dark, so there's only so much more that I can explain. I can… explain more tomorrow." That was when he stood up then, seeming to head back the way they'd come.
"Will you?" she asked in anticipation, not moving from her spot.
"Yes, yes, now let'sgo. Creatures of the underworld like to hunt in the dark – group of angels be damned." What an ironic set of words.
Reluctantly, Rosemary stood up and followed after them, coincidentally being placed between the angels and the creatures.
But Rosemary had one more question.
Rosemary glanced back at Lillian, who was just a couple steps behind her. "Lily – you seem to know all about this. What are you?"
Lily, who kept her eyes forward and beyond the other blonde, simply answered, "A fallen angel."
Awhat? How did one become one of those? Rosemary wanted to ask, but it seemed like Lily didn't want to talk about it.
Once back at her car, the scene of the accident, the place that started it all, Rosemary pulled out her car keys and went to unlock her car door.
"Wait – how do the rest of you get home?" Rosemary had to know. There were barely any cars in the parking lot, and none of them in their group were headed in the direction of any of them.
"I… kind of use a portal like a gate between place to place," answered Bunni, demonstrating by holding out her hands and, like true magic, a bright purple portal appeared. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she disappeared into the portal and the rectangular space vanished along with her.
"The rest of us just…fly, Rosie," Jake said with a shrug. Suddenly, a pair of small red horns appeared on his forehead, and matching wings that looked like bat wings appeared on his back. Before she knew it, he was gone too, with just a single wave.
"Well, Captain, it appears you got it from here – " Eld began, his own bright, white wings branching from his back. The others mimicked his action and soon they were off in the air and out of sight.
Lily's wings were black, it seemed, and a little smaller than the angels' wings Rosemary had just witnessed. She didn't utter a good-bye, didn't lift her hand in a wave, just fluttered off.
Leaving her and Levi alone.
"Why haven't you gone yet?" Rosemary asked, having finally unlocked her car and opened it, throwing her bag within but not stepping inside.
"Because, as I said, you're my number one priority right now. I'm waiting on you,dummy." He said this as if this should have had been obvious.
"Oh – I'm sorry." She got in her car then, starting it and observing around her before she was about to put her car in reverse. That was when she saw him – Levi with his wings out.
The others looked pretty, undoubtedly. But something about Levi's demeanor, the expression on his face, the way he stood with his hands in his pockets waiting on her, made something inside her lurch – but she had to focus.
He was waiting on her, remember?
She reversed her car, and as soon as she did, he was up in the air. She wanted to stop and look for him, but something told her she didn't need to do that. He was close by – he had to be, right?
He was her guardian angel, after all.