Jennifer Murgia - Angel Star

Today, a door had somehow opened, allowing what was meant to stay myth or phenomenon to be more real than the world I knew, and now I was facing the impossible. If it were true, could I do the impossible?

Could I, me, an ordinary girl, defeat a dark angel? My hands were hot with sweat as I thought about how my father, an adult, failed at this. And now it was up to me.

“Can I ask a dumb question?”

“Sure, but I doubt it’s dumb.” He was rolling the windows up now against the evening chill that was descending, and once again I caught a whiff of that beautiful incense.

“Is it normal for an angel to have a last name?”

Garreth’s brow rose in stunned curiosity. “You go from talking about your father vs. darkness, to angels with last names?”

“I’m just trying to understand all this. It’s too much and this is how I deal with it, okay?”

“Let me explain. This hasn’t exactly been done before.

No Guardian, other than me, has been granted this type of request. For a Guardian to appear like a human is no easy task. We may look the part but we are not like you at all, and in order to create a human identity for myself, I had to adopt a name, for enrollment purposes. Carver High School frowns upon single names. It confuses their filing system. Unless you’ve reached celebrity status, which most of us haven’t yet.”

“Don’t tell Brynn Hanson that, she’ll freak,” I interrupted.

His laughter echoed within the space inside the car, erasing the tension.

“I simply chose a last name suitable for what I had been granted. Adam was the first man created by God.

”

“And you’re the first angel to become human on earth?”

“Not human in the true sense. Lineage within our race is nothing like a human’s. Guardians simply aren’t created the same.”

I noticed we were racing back to my house at a speed I never would have attempted. Trees and houses zipped past in a blur.

“Hey, I thought angels were all about safety and preventing accidents. Do you realize how fast we’re going?”

Garreth looked at me, the gleam returning to his eyes after all the seriousness of the last few hours. “I’m taking on the daunting task of appearing like a normal teenager. Might as well enjoy it.” He reached his arm over and pulled me into his side where I rested my head against his chest. I closed my eyes for a second, wishing later would never come.

We pulled up to my house and I was grateful my mother’s car wasn’t there. I climbed down out of the seat to the sidewalk, and Garreth was already there, waiting for me. He led me by the hand up the steps to my porch, away from prying eyes. It was dark, private, the moment utterly ours. He cradled my cheek in his hand and I felt a tingling sensation against my skin.

Puzzled, I pulled my face away, noticing the octagram in his skin glowing faintly. With a flash, it burst into a brilliant white light, much brighter than the night Garreth appeared to me in my room. He held it high over my head, the magical blue of his eyes sparkling silver in the glow as the light showered over me, protective and pure. It sank into me, its warmth running through me like white blood as it spread down my legs and into my feet. I watched it seep through me, watched it under my skin as it crept within me, encasing me brilliantly before it faded and dissipated under my flesh.

“Your name means light, and it’s almost as if you’re giving yourself to me.” I held my arms out in front of me, staring at them in wonder.

“I’m giving you all that I am, but it may not be enough.

Over the next few days the light that shines from me will grow faint. You need it more than I do right now.” He pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head, letting his lips linger in my hair while I let my arms weave around his waist and pressed myself into his chest.

“What do you mean your light will grow faint? I don’t understand.”

That look returned to his eyes. The look of deep longing, of finding and recognizing something that had been lost, but it was changed now. Different.

“Eight days was my given limit. It’s uncertain if that’s enough time for me to return.”

Why would that be bad?

“But then you could stay with me. That’s a good thing, right?”

He shook his head. “I would no longer be your Guardian. I’d be earthbound.”

“But we’d be together.” My voice was getting that excited twinge to it.

“Teagan, I wouldn’t have the power to protect you, not like I’ve done in the past. After all this time, I’m just supposed to stop? And now, facing Hadrian is an absolute certainty.”

Why was he arguing with me on this?

“Then we face him together, like you said.”

“And what if I fail?”

I swallowed hard at his words. That just couldn’t be possible. “You said I might be stronger than you against Hadrian. You need me.”

“You’re my responsibility. Not the other way around.”

Archangel’s blood or not, Garreth wasn’t going to relinquish his day job anytime soon.

“Teagan, Hadrian is after you more than he is after me.

I’m the obstacle in this game.”

“Then why give me your light?”

“Because I’m your Guardian. Every time I can prolong your life on this earth is worth it to me. It’s worth giving up mine for yours.”

What could I possibly say to that?

Garreth looked past my shoulder into the darkness that surrounded the porch. I took a tiny step closer to him.

My heart was having trouble finding the good-bye I knew I had to acknowledge.

“But what will you…”

“Shhh. I’ll come back tonight. I promise.”

I was still afraid, but the newfound courage surging within me was so much stronger than giving in to my fear. Our fingers touched then slipped away, and I watched him walk around his car, open the door, and get in.

I watched the clouds stretch across the fading light of the day like elegant fingers, curling and crushing the glow from existence. Above the trees the sky was already darkening, as though an ink spill was spreading across the heavens, darker than any night I had ever seen. I took one last look at the blackness that was quickly threading itself into a deep cloud, a blackness that was alive, hovering, waiting. I ran inside and slammed the door.

I shot a quick glance at the clock as I passed the kitchen, ran up the stairs two at a time to the bathroom, and stared at the face looking back at me. Nothing unusual, just a bit flushed, perhaps. My eyes looked a little wild, but beneath the frantic glimmer in them was something I could only detect as calm. My skin still felt warm from the pure protective light it had just absorbed.

I went to my room and sat down at my computer. It took a few seconds for it to start up and load. I impatiently bit my cuticles as I stared at the screen, waiting for the tiny icons to appear. The arrow of my mouse finally replaced the poky hourglass and I hurriedly Googled the word “angels.” Thousands of references came up for me to sift through. I didn’t have time for that. I typed in “Hadrian.” Nothing. Finally I typed the word “octagram” and at last it seemed I was getting somewhere.

The first listing had mathematical configurations involving the shape but it was the second that proved more promising. The website glowing on my computer screen was one containing information about magical symbols and their meanings. I scrolled down, perusing the contents until at last I found the word “octagram” and clicked on it. It took only seconds for the beautiful star to appear and take my breath away. There it was, a perfect likeness to what was engraved into the skin of Garreth’s right palm and I found myself missing him tremendously. I tore my eyes from the picture and scrolled down to read about it.