Wingless (25 page)

"Why did you do it?" she asks me.

"Do what?" I ask back.

"Give it all up."

"For you," I answer, meeting her gaze with seriousness.
 

"But why?"

"I couldn't imagine living in a universe that doesn't have you in it." This time I lean forward and grab her. I pull her into my arms and try to memorize the way she feels against me. I try to memorize her smell and body and everything about this simple girl.

"I have such a good idea for us today!" She pulls back and stares down at me. "I know you're all sad, and I feel awful with my bruised body and all, but I've been wanting to do this for a while, and there's no one I'd rather do it with. I think it'll make us both feel better."

"Okay…" I say hesitantly.

"Be ready in five," she says and then jumps up from the bed. She runs through the house, and I hear her talking to Hare, but can't make out what she's saying. I drop my head into my hands, sigh, and then get up. Annie is trying to convince Hare of something when I find them in the kitchen.

"Are you crazy?" he asks her. "I'm not doing that! You have officially gone mad."

"Tons of people do it. It means something to me. Please!" she whines.
 

"What exactly are we doing?" I ask, leaning up against the counter.

"Secret!" Annie says, glaring at Hare to shut up. She puts her finger to her lips and shushes him. He just smiles at her, shaking his head. "Let's go. All of us."

Annie moves towards the door and starts down the stairs, knowing that we'll follow her. But before we step into the stairwell, I grab Hare's forearm. He looks at me with questioning eyes.

"I just want to you know I'm really sorry about your sister," I tell him.

"I know. It's okay," he answers.

"And I'm sorry I left you here."

"Now you'll have to work for that apology," he laughs. I must look worried because he pulls me into a one armed hug. "Just kidding. You can buy dinner, though." He laughs again and then starts running down the stairs towards Annie.

"What's taking you so long, Micha?" she yells up.

"Coming," I answer.

"Can someone tell me again why she's doing this?" I ask as I watch Annie shirtless lie on a black, padded table. She's face down, so there's nothing revealed, but still.
 

"Once I do this, I can move on. I'm human, but I still dwell on all this Angel drama. When I accept what could have been, I can move on from it and have my own life."

"Well, when you say it like that," I mutter. "Maybe I'll get some, too."

"Really?" She looks up from the table and smiles at me. I realize that I'd do anything to get that smile again. So, I tell the guy that I want something similar to her, but a bit manlier. He chuckles, despite the fact that I'm dead serious.

"I might as well get something then," Hare says. He steps towards the bookcase and grabs a picture book. He flips through the pages until he sees something he likes. He points to it and talks in hushed whispers to the girl behind the counter.
 

I head into one room, leaving Annie with the guy who's doing hers. I get a dark haired man, with a nose ring and spiked up hair. I explain exactly what I want and he nods along while drawing on a sketchpad. I hear Hare doing the same in the room next to me with the woman who's doing his.

When the guy shows me the picture, I'm stunned. They're perfectly mine, and I nod a hundred times, praying it comes out exactly as he's outlined. Annie was right. This is therapeutic. Once I do this, I can move forward, forget everything that's happened in the past and live in the now.

The first prick is shocking. I try not to move, because I don't want the guy to screw up, but the needle digs into my skin and then out, over and over. After the initial alarm, it actually starts to feel good. Well, not good, more like numb.
 

The buzzing is constant; the vibrations up and down my back soothing in a twisted way. As he moves around behind me, I try to feel the outline and what he's doing, but it's hard to keep track. Time goes way too fast and before I know it, the guy is holding up a mirror so I can see the tattoo on my back.
 

It's amazing what this man has done for me. The wings on my back look real, despite the fact that they were drawn on. They take up most of my back, extending to my shoulders and ending just above my pant line. With each stroke, you can see the intricate detailing to each feather.
 

"How long was that?" I ask the guy. I finally take a look at him, and he's covered in sweat. His face is glistening and red. He put everything he had onto my back and no sum of money can compensate him.

"About six hours," he answers.

"Are you kidding me?" I ask back, wondering where the time went.

"You were a great canvas. Never budged. I figured you'd want it finished today. Seemed like you needed it," he says, shrugging his shoulders.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," I tell him, glancing back at the mirror.
 

"Your friends are outside," the guy says.

"I never got your name," I tell him.

"Sam," he says, and I nod. I reach into my pocket and find a wad of cash. I don't know whose it is. But this man deserves it all. I hand it over to him, but as he counts, he starts to shake his head. "I can't take all of this. It's like a thousand dollars."

"You deserve it. Please, keep it. You've saved me," I tell him.

"Are you sure?" he asks back, looking between the money and me.

"Positive," I answer. I walk out of the room after he wraps me in plastic. I'm not supposed to take it off for at least two hours. When I step into the waiting room, Hare and Annie are there, waiting anxiously from their expressions.

"Let me see!" Annie says, looking at my arms and legs.

"Two hours," I tell her, wrinkling my nose as I tease her.

"Come on, a peek?" she asks back.

"Nope." I stick out my tongue. "So, what's next on your quest away from everything Angel?"

"Dinner?" Hare asks, rubbing his stomach like he's hungry.

"I could eat," she says, shrugging her shoulders.

"Dinner it is."

We drop Hare off on our walk back to Annie's apartment. He wants to stay at the sanctuary, despite the fact that nobody is there. He doesn't have a family anymore. So, there's nowhere else for him to go back to. When Annie offered to let him stay at the apartment, he agreed, but only after he went back to the sanctuary and got his and Hannah's things sorted through.

"Wait!" Annie says as Hare starts to head into the building. "Show me your tattoo now," she says. Hare reaches down and pulls his shirt up, revealing his tattoo, which is placed right over his heart on the left side of his chest.

In a beautifully masculine, but curly, script is his sister's name: Hannah. There's a heart wrapped up in the two h's. It's black, but not hard. It's a perfect way to remember his sister but to also move on.
 

"I love it," Annie says. She runs to him and hugs him. Then she leans back and kisses his cheek. He smiles down at her, goofy as always, and then enters the sanctuary alone. Annie and I move together as we head to her apartment.
 

It's chilly as summer starts to end here on Earth. I pick up Annie's hand and lace our fingers together. A spark ignites where our skin meets and takes my body on a wild ride. I look over at Annie, and her smile is so wide, I picture her taking the journey with me.
 

"So are you going to stay with me at the apartment?" she asks, breaking through the dark, silent night.

"Do you want me to?" I counter.

"Well, it would give us a chance to rebuild our friendship," she says, wiggling her eyebrows.

"You've convinced me," I say, squeezing her little hand.
 

We step into her apartment building and make quick work of the steps. I don't know how she does this every day, because it kills me. I hate having to walk. She unlocks the door and steps in, holding it open so I can squeeze through.

"It's been two hours," she says, stepping towards me.

"You show me yours, I'll show you mine," I say, lifting my shirt up and over my head by the hem. I reach backwards and pull the wrap off of me. There's a jelly liquid that sticks to the plastic and me, but the guy said it would soak into my skin.
 

She faces me in just her bra before I can turn around first. I can't stand looking at her when she's barely dressed and so confident and beautiful. I may be an Angel but right now, I don't feel like one. She gasps from behind me and I can feel her move closer to me.

"It's beautiful," she whispers. Her fingers lightly graze over the outline and shivers erupt across my skin.
 

"Let me see yours," I say, still facing away from her.

"Okay," she answers. I peek over my shoulder and see her turned around. Then I see the tattoo on her back. The wings are much more delicate than mine. They're shaded, too. Where mine are dark with black lining, hers are more feminine with little bursts of white and blue melted together.
 

Her tattoo is actually a lot bigger than I thought it would be. The tips of her wings go over her shoulder and a little bit down her arm. Then the bottom hits right where she has these two dimples at the base of her back. The feathers reach around her ribs, seemingly hugging her.
 

"It's perfect," I tell her. I take her shirt and put it over her head before something wrong happens between us. I don't want to force anything or push her to do something she doesn't want. I also don't know my fate, so I don't want to make things more complicated than they already are.

"I'll take the guest bedroom. Tomorrow we can shop and get everything we need," I tell her. I start to walk back to the bedroom, but before I can get far, she grabs me and spins me around.
 

"I never really got a chance to thank you for everything. You saved my life, Micha."
 

"You don't have to keep apologizing. I'd do anything to keep you safe," I tell her honestly.

"Well, thanks," she says. She pushes onto her tiptoes and before I can do a thing, she presses her lips against mine. I'm shocked at her forwardness. I don't move. I don't breathe. This can't be real. I've dreamt of kissing this girl for as long as I've known her. And now it's coming true.

At the realization that this is real, I kiss her back. I don't go crazy or anything. I just move with her, letting our lips explore each other. She's shy, yet at the same time, she knows what she wants. When I lean back and break the kiss, I wish that I could have just one more second.

"See you in the morning," she says and retreats to her bedroom. I'm left standing alone in the hallway, thinking about that kiss.
 

EPILOGUE

I've waited forever for this moment. I fly alongside my favorite six wives, the Demons that we've raised trailing just behind us. We ride with their complete and utter devotion. We rule them, and they obey us without a single thought.
 

The portal I've created should only last about six hours. Last time I created a portal, I was forced to do it in a city setting where tons of humans could observe and question it.

I'm not forced to do that now.
 

I deliver my Demons to Earth in a remote area, so that nobody will even know they're here until it's too late. I am the last to leave my Kingdom, and I turn back to take it all in.

If everything goes smoothly, this will be the last time that I have to live down here. This will be the last time this is called my kingdom. I will soon rule all of earth and it shall be mine.

Humans will cease to exist. Humans will be eradicated from earth. Soon, they will be just an ancient civilization that was too stupid to survive. My Demons outnumber them. My Demons over power them.
 

Rem can't touch me anymore. I'm Earth-bound. The worst that he can do is send down his little disciples of Archers and whatever else they're called. I'll be forced to kill Angels, but that's the least of my worries.