Dark One: One for Sorrow... (The Khiara Banning Series Book 1) (12 page)

Tying my hair up with an elastic band I usually keep on my wrist as the wind picks up, I smile brightly at him. “Thanks,” I say. “You didn’t have to do that. What if you get cold?”

Cael shrugs, and runs his fingers through his black locks. “I don’t get cold very easily. I have a high tolerance to it. It takes a lot for me to feel cold.”

I smile and nod my head a little too enthusiastically, “Yeah, Cara is the same way. She could run around bare naked in the snow, and not even have one goose bump.”

His face grows thoughtful, but he still has a small smile on his face. “That’s pretty interesting. I don’t know if I could do that. Maybe she’s not human.”

Laughing, I smack his arm playfully, “I’ve said the same thing to her before. That she’s not human. She finds it hilarious, and always declares that she’s a werecat, you know, like a werewolf but only a cat. They’re her favourite animal, and she has one- I’m sure you saw him at the party, he’s hard to miss. His name is Missus Pussy pants? He’s this big ball of white fur.” Aaand, I’m rambling.

He stops walking, “Are you nervous about something?”
Crap.

“No?” I say, making my answer sound more like a question than anything. And the truth is I’m not sure why I’m nervous. I guess today has been a really hard day, and in light of a creepy visit from Damien, and my morbid thoughts about falling off the bridge, I’m just… anxious. But I can’t really explain all of that to him, so I smile and hope he’ll brush it off. He doesn’t.

A stubborn piece of hair falls into his eyes, and he runs his fingers through his messy locks, and frowns. “Did I do something wrong?” Of course he’d think he did something wrong!

I stop in my tracks, turn around to face him and put both hands on his shoulders. “No, no. You’ve been perfect, Cael. It’s just-” here we go, “it’s just that today has been a very tough day for me. I actually just found out that I was adopted this morning, which is why my mother was acting so weird by introducing herself as my
adoptive
mother, and why I didn’t go to class today.”

His eyes grow wide, “I am so sorry, I-” but I cut him off with a quick kiss on the cheek which instantly turns his face bright red. “Don’t be. Now let’s go before the day ends.”

Once we reach the end of the bridge, I’m grinning like an idiot because we’re holding hands, talking and laughing about simple things. We walk past the gate (there’s a wrought iron gate at this end of the bridge, because you’re only supposed to be there during the day, but it’s never locked after hours) and towards my favourite spot. It’s a small man made waterfall with a rock ledge over it to sit on and dangle your feet into the water, above a pond where there’s always geese and ducks to feed. I assume the waterfall is fed by a pump somewhere underground that takes water from the river to the pond and back to the river through another pump. It’s man made, but beautiful. Apple trees and intricately carved wooden benches surround the area of the pond, and the little waterfall is surrounded by rosebushes.

When we get to the waterfall, Cael reaches into his picnic basket and produces a soft looking blue blanket, then proceeds to place it on the rock ledge so we can sit. I used to think that water would splash up onto the rock, but I Cara pointed out to me that it was designed to avoid that. It’s a beautiful design, really, and I can tell Cael thinks the same as his eyes roam over the area appreciatively.

Once we sit down, he hands me the basket, grinning a lazy smile. “It’s nothing fancy, I have to warn you. Cakes are my specialty, not sandwiches, but I tried.”

I reach in and pull out a brown bag, which I assume holds the sandwiches. I open it up, and the enticing scent of roast beef wafts out. I reach for a sandwich, which is made with big egg-bread buns, and take off the top piece of bread. Inside, it’s stuffed with roast beef, lettuce, Swiss cheese and tomatoes. Upon closer inspection, I see mustard on the piece of bread I’m holding, and grin. I love mustard.

“I think you’re going to have to add sandwiches to your menu, Cael, because this is absolutely to die for!” I exclaim, taking a monster bite and revelling in the amazing taste. As I chew, Cael laughs.

“All I did was stick some stuff into a bun and hoped for the best. I guess I have a lot of free time to perfect my culinary skills, but for now I think I’ll stick to cakes and pastries.” He says, watching me take another bite, or rather, stuffing as much as I possibly can into my mouth, with an amused expression. This makes me suddenly very aware of how I must look.

I swallow, wipe my mouth, and accidentally burp a little too loud for it to be considered lady like. “Oh…excuse me…I, uhh, I’m not usually this disgusting when I eat.”
Yes you are…

Cael shrugs it off with a wave of his hand, but I can tell he’s fighting laughter. “No, that’s okay. I find it kind of nice, considering I made that sandwich with the hopes that it would at least be edible. You’re enjoying it, and I’m glad.” He runs his fingers through his hair, and a small part of me recognizes that gesture as so, completely
Cael.

I realize that he’s not eating his own sandwich, and I ask him, not wanting to be rude, but feeling supremely awkward to be the only one eating, like a pig I might add. “I’m not very hungry. I eat at odd hours. I hope you don’t mind. But, that being said I will have something to drink.” He pulls out a thermos from the basket, and I wonder what’s inside.

“This,” he says as he unscrews the lid of the thermos, “is my victory coffee. You didn’t even have to treat me to it. Simply being with you here in your special place is enough. Want some?” I do. Put that way, coffee sounds very enticing. I nod my head, and gladly accept the cup he hands me from the basket, and watch as he pours the hot liquid into it.

I take a small sip, and then a bigger one. After I swallow my third sip, “Mmm, this is good!” I marvel.

He nods and sips his own coffee, content to stay quiet. As we sip our steaming cups, the sun slowly begins to go down and the lamps in the park turn on, one by one. After a while the stars are visible, and we’re sitting on the rock, looking up at the sky. As I finish my second cup of coffee, I put the cup down beside me and lay down on my back.

“Come, lay down with me. Let’s look at the stars the proper star-gazer way. All of the pros recommend it.” I say, with the hint of a yawn at the end of my sentence. I’m fighting it though.
I will not be tired! I will not give in!

Cael lies down next to me, abandoning his coffee, and sighs as he looks up into the night sky. “It reminds me of home. You can see the stars perfectly where I’m from.”

“Ireland?”

He takes a long time to answer me, but when he does, it’s very quiet, and I almost miss it. “Yeah, Ireland.”

My hand finds its way to his, and I’m glad when he accepts it. His hand is warm, and his grip isn’t strong, but it’s comforting. I can tell that it could be strong, if I needed it to be. But he’s being careful. I squeeze his hand and turn to him, and he squeezes back, and turns to face me. We stare at each other for what feels like forever, and it’s nice.

Cael finally breaks the silence when he asks, so very quietly, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Blushing, I answer him. “Sometimes, why?” This is deep territory, and even though I really like him, we just met and are already moving so fast.

“I know a story,” he says. “It’s about an angel who fell in love with a human. Would you like to hear it?”

I nod, and a rush of relief flows through me as I realize he was just prefacing his story.

“His name was Camael, his calling was divine justice and love, and he was a very powerful Archangel. One day, as he was watching upon Earth, he came across a small village of farmers where a little girl had just been born. This little girl’s soul was the brightest, most pure soul that had ever graced the earth and he found her so very beautiful.” Cael’s eyes have taken on this faraway look, almost as if he were living the story and not just telling it.

“You see, after Lucifer Fell from Heaven, there was a prophesy that the purest soul on Earth would be the one to bring the Great Battle between the sides of good and evil, and all of the angels who’d fallen and were repentant would be able to go home to Heaven if they so choose, and the un-repentant would be forced to reside in Hell, having no choice to remain on earth at all.”

“Camael fell in love with the girl as she grew older, because as an angel he could see everything she could be, everything she could do, and it was
magnificent
. But God grew angry with him, for he was not supposed to love any human in that way. He was just supposed to do his duties.”

I find myself gasping at how unjust that seems. Cael continues. “So he was banished from Heaven, and down to Earth. By the time he got there, nine days had passed since he’d last seen the child. He woke up weak, in a crater his body had created upon impact just outside of the girl’s village, and though he was bloody and naked as a new born baby he walked until he reached the village. It was the dead of night when he was found by the town’s priest, who took him in. There he was cared for until he was strong enough to walk around town. The first two days he walked around, he didn’t see the girl and her family, but on the third day – on the third day, what he saw was terrible. From a little house, her mother, father and older sister emerged, their faces stricken.”

“What happened?” I ask my heart racing.

“She’d died. The girl’s young soul had been reclaimed, and it was Camael’s fault. He staggered back to his room in the priest’s house only to find
Naarai, the angel of children, waiting for him, holding the child’s beautiful soul in her arms. It looked just like her, for the body is only a shell which carries our true essence. ‘You should not be here,’ he whispered to her.”

“‘I thought you might want to say goodbye. I know how you loved her.’ Naarai responded.” Cael squeezes my hand, and I realize his words have moved me to tears.

“He began to cry and was confused at what this feeling was, but when Naarai handed him the girl, he stopped. Her soul was sleeping peacefully, nestled in his arms. ‘She will be brought back to His folds, Camael. God will not punish her any more for your mistake. The world is simply not ready for the Battle, and I suspect Father has other, hidden reasons as to the timing of her departure from the living realm just as you seem to have entered into it.’”

“Camael nodded. ‘Why do I feel such despair? Is that what it is, to be human? To have water leak from my eyes, and to feel…what is this?’ he asked, his hand going to his heart as he handed the child back to her. Naarai smiled kindly, just as the priest walked into the room, unsurprised at the sight of the angel holding the baby.”

“‘It is heartbreak,’ he said to Camael, ‘it is human.’ And then Camael finally understood. He was one of the Fallen. Cursed with a human-like body, he would live forever, and he would not age. If he was wounded, he would heal almost right away, the only thing left would be the blood that was shed. He could not die a
mortal
death.”

“Naarai looked upon Camael one last time before taking the girl who had awakened and was staring up at him in wonder, and disappearing back into the folds of God, leaving him alone with the priest. ‘You are repentant,’ the priest said, patting him on the arm, ‘I see that in you. Come let us pray for your forgiveness together.’ Years passed, and still, Camael thought of the girl. He truly loved her, because he could see her for who she was before even truly
knowing
her. He had truly looked upon her that one time, and had fallen in love forever.”

“Cael,” I whisper. “That was beautiful. Where did you hear that?”

He smiles his sad smile, and squeezes my hand. “It’s an old story and I…can’t remember where I heard it.” There was something hidden in those words, but I don’t want to question him about it. It feels invasive, somehow.

We sit there in the dark, holding hands and reflecting. Suddenly, I ache to know why he told me that story and asked if I believe in love at first sight. So I ask him. At first, he seems hesitant to tell me the answer, but them his signature smile dances across his lips, and I can tell that he’s going to elaborate. “I was just wondering, Khiara, if you would think it was worth it.”

“I do,” I whisper, looking into his eyes, trying to find something in them. “I feel like if I loved someone enough, I’d risk everything I had to be with them, absolutely.”

“Me too,” he says. For just a second, I can see something there, behind his eyes; something too deep, sad and ancient to belong to anybody our age. But just as quickly as I glimpse it, it’s gone, replaced by an emotion I can’t quite place.

Cael sits up abruptly, letting go of my hand to run both of his own through his hair in a nervous gesture. “Damn,” he says. My spine begins to tingle, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. I get that familiar feeling, the one that brings dread into the pit of my stomach every time. The feeling of being watched by… something. Cael almost growls, low under his breath, surprising me with the sound.

Alarmed, I ask, “What? Is everything okay?”
I know damn well it’s not okay!

He stands up, and reaches down to pull me up as well, bringing our faces quite close. I stand there, a little stunned by the sudden close proximity of our lips, and I can tell that it’s distracting him as well, because he licks his lips a little and shuffles back nervously. “We should go. It’s getting late, and uhh, tomorrow’s still a week day. Don’t want to be late for school because you slept in, do you? Also, your first shift at the café starts tomorrow.”