My Constant Companion

I was walking back from my favorite chilli place, bags in hand for myself and my co-workers, when an arm slipped around my waist. I didn't stop walking, I just smiled and breathed in the sweet honey and rainwater scent of my Dark Angel.

“Hello.” I said.

“Hello.” he repeated back to me, and took the bags from my left hand and pulled me closer. He felt warm, and all I wanted to do was nuzzled his neck and feel his prickly beard against my skin.

“Mmm.” I murmured softly.

Sensing the direction of my thoughts, Shannon kissed my cheek, then quickly bit my earlobe.

“What time do you get off?” he whispered into my ear, his breath tickling my skin.

A delicious shiver ran down my spine, and I had to steady my breathing before I answered. “Seven-ish.”

“Good. There's some place I need take you.”

I moved my head so that I could see his face, his eyes looked green now, on his face a small smile was forming. “Oh.”

“But it's a secret.”

We crossed a street. “Tell me.”

“Nope. You'll see.”

Something told me it wasn't going to be what I thought it was.

We made it to the shoppe. “This is where we part, my lady.” Shan let me go, his warmth going with him. He kissed my lips softly. “I'll pick you up later.” He handed me the bags in his hand and walked off.

“Was that Shannon?” Melissa asked after I came through the door.

I smirked. “Yes it was.”

I headed to the back, and having given every one their food I sat down and dug in. I hadn't had breakfast, I had woken up a bit late, thanks to Shannon. Not that I was complaining.

I was between a bite of chilli when Ivy plopped down in the seat next to me. Something was wrong.

“Vee? What's up?”

“Nothing?” She said in a way that I knew she wanted me to pry despite having told me it was nothing.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

“Jack's been coming around again.” I wasn't expecting that. “He's been begging me to get back with him. I told him I was taken, but he won't take no for an answer. What should I do?”

Oh boy.

“Um...” I wasn't good at giving relationship advice. Especially in regard to exes. “You told him you were taken?” She nodded. “We're you using that sickly sweet voice you sometimes use?”

“What voice?” she asked innocently, her voice an octave higher than before.

“The voice you use to get your way.”

She looked away. “Maybe.” she sighed. “I was thinking about telling Jared.”

I nearly yelled no. “I don't think you should get him involved. It's between you and Jack. The ex and the new boyfriend talking really wouldn't go well.”

She seemed to think that over. “You're right. I'll just tell him firmly that I have no interest in him. And he should move on.”

“That's right.”

“So, how are you and Shannon?”

“Good.” I didn't want to go into any big details about my love life, not if Jared was in her head.

“Do you think they would be up for another double date?” Jared's idea, no doubt.

I shook my head. “When hell freezes over, and maybe not even then.”

“Maybe we can help them. Sort out what ever it was that created this rift between them.”

“I don't think so. What ever their problems are, it isn't our place to fix it. We need to stay out of it.”

“Yeah. Maybe. I tried to ask Jay about it.” Jay? “But he said he doesn't like talking about it. What do you think happened?”

“No idea.” I said, not looking at her and taking a hot spoonful of chilli into my mouth, chewing it slowly before saying, “And to answer your next question, no, Shannon wasn't told me anything about it either. What ever it is, it's between them. Let's not push our boys.” Had I just said our boys?

She seemed to think about that for a moment. “You're right.”

Melissa stuck her head in the door and asked for Ivy. With a huge push and a sigh she stood up and left the room. Leaving me alone with my thoughts. I let out a huge breath. “Well, that was something.” I muttered then finished my bowl of chilli, thinking of what Shan had in store for this evening.



Shannon's SUV sped down the street. We drove over a pothole, causing us to bounce a little in our seats and for me to nearly spill the bag of chips I was munching on. It was nearly eight, and a little sunlight still hung in the sky.

“Couldn't you slow down a little?” I asked, ignoring the little smirk he had on his lips.

“I do everything fast.” he said seductively, glanced at me, “You know that.”

I refused to blush at that comment. “So. Where are we headed, darling?”

He chuckled at the nickname. “We're going to meet Tomo.”

See, told you it wasn't what I had been expecting. So much for a romantic evening.

“Shouldn't he be watching Ivy?” I asked, a little worried.

“We've got it covered. Don't worry.” I looked at Shannon. He nodded reassuringly. I knew he wouldn't leave Ivy alone, unguarded, not with his insane brother still in her life. Still, I felt a little apprehensive about this.

“Okay. I get why you would be meeting him, but why am I tagging along? And why did it have to be a secret?”

“We need to discuss some things with you.”

I narrowed my eyes, not liking the sound of that. “Like what?”

He didn't answer, just gave me a knowing look.

“Is this the top secret stuff? I'm finally in?” I giggled happily.

He chuckled. “Sure. You could say that.”

We pulled up to the same street we had been on last Saturday. But this time Shannon drove down to a warehouse up ahead, pressed a button on his cell to open and shut the garage door once we had entered. Once the door was closed we were in pitch blackness. A bright light switched on overhead about five seconds later, switched on by the phone as well. I blinked several times as my eyes adjusted.

“Come on.”

I followed him out of the car and to a door on the left side of the room. He punched in a code and the door clicked open. We went down a hall, then into an elevator and descended.

I felt nervous suddenly. Shannon squeezed my hand reassuringly. The doors of the elevator opened to a large warehouse like room, which made sense considering we were in a warehouse. The ceiling was high, despite us being underground, there were several huge lights fixtures hanging above, storage boxes stacked against the wall to my right, several bookshelves were on the wall in front of us, but the middle of the room was bare of anything at all, just a few dark area rugs on the concrete floor. To my left there was a small table that seated four, a laptop and a stack of folders sat upon it, and there sat Tomo.

“About damn time.”

Shannon said, “Stop your complaining, we're here, aren't we?”

He frowned. “Come have a seat.”

We went over to join him. Tomo had cleared the table, both he and Shannon sat facing me. I felt like I was in kind of strange job interview.

“So this is the top secret headquarters.” I said. The demon nodded. “Nice. I expected it to be gritter.”
Tomo placed his elbows on the table and folded his hands. “It's nice to see you again.”

I only nodded, at a lost for words. I didn't know him well, and something about him didn't sit well with me. Maybe it was the him being a demon thing.

“As you know there is a war brewing in our homeland. There have already been many casualties. It's a mess. And as in any war both sides want to come out on top. So, they'll use any means necessary.” he paused and looked pointedly at me. “We're still not sure what Jared wants out of this. But we have some ideas.”

“Like what?”

“Well, why he might want me for a start.” Shannon said.

“Because he's a sadistic bastard?”

“That, and because I'm a warrior. And the Fallen are a hot commodity now. Both Angels and Demons.”

“They must be really desperate, then.”

“Yeah.”

“But that's not it, is it?”

He paused, as if considering his words carefully. “I think that Jared might be after something more than just his brother.”

I swallowed. “Me?”

“Yes.”

“But why? Why would he want me? What could I do for him?”

“Everything. Nothing.” Shannon said, his voice strangely detached.

I met Shannon's eye and something hit me. My eyes grew wider, a bit of fear slipped into my body, fear I was unwilling to show. I couldn't let Shannon see I was afraid. But I couldn't help it once a line of thought entered my mind.

“No. He wants to make a slave out of you. He'll take me so that you'll do what he wants. He knows you care about me. He knows you wouldn't go home for anything. Unless you were forced to.” I said, reaching my own conclusion.

“Maybe.” The angel muttered.

“Maybe? Not maybe. Yes. We know he doesn't care about who he hurts. What other reason could he have for wanting me, if not to torture you?”

And to torture me? Suddenly horrible images of Jared doing unthinkable things to me and my Angel to get his way flooded my mind. I shuddered.

“Shannon, no. We can't let him. Don't you even dare think about giving in.” I said fiercely. “I'd rather die than have you fight by his side.”

“Nikka, relax. I'm not that crazy.” he chuckle a little, but I knew underneath that was fear... And something else. There was something they weren't telling me.

“What is it?”

Tomo spoke first. “Nikka. Do you know what a Seer is?”

“No clue, unless you're talking about prophets. Which I'm sure you're not. So what is it? It had to be important, otherwise you wouldn't mention it.” I rushed out.

He looked over to Shannon. “Dude, you could have prepped her a bit. I thought you said you were going to-”
Shannon shrugged, and cut him off. “No time. Besides, I know how much you do love to share your knowledge with a worthy audience. And who am I to deprive you of that.”

The Fallen Demon smiled. “You know me well.”

I was really confused. “Someone care to explain what you're talking about?”

“A Seer is someone who can see beyond the veil. Someone with the ability to manipulate minds, make themselves invisible, and a host of other things.”

“In war, they're very valuable.” Shannon told me, looking me in my eyes. “And rare. There aren't many in your world now, or ours fr that matter, and they can make themselves hard to find.”

They were both looking at me now. I mean, really looking at me. It was rather unnerving.

“We believe Jared's looking for a Seer. And he may have found one.”

I gulped. “And I'm assuming that can't be good.”

No one said a word.

“We said he wanted you for a reason., Nikka.” Tomo said.

My head began to pound as the realization hit me. “I'm the Seer.”

They nodded solemnly. Oh. My. God.

I stood up, not knowing what else to do. My chair fell over, making a loud sound in the silence.

“You're a Seer, Nikka.” The demon said, giving me a toothy grin. “It's something to be proud of, not feared.”

“I don't even... I don't know what to say. What does that even mean?” I just stood there like an idiot. Shannon gave me a half smile, but there was pain and rage in his now darker eyes. “What am I going to do?” I felt sick.

“I won't let him harm you.” he said.

“Wait. How do you know I'm this... this Seer thing?” I didn't even know what it meant. “Maybe you've got it wrong.”

“It took a while to figure out. But it's was what your mother said. You know about seeing the Angel that pieced it together.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a heavy breath. “But my mom is crazy, Shannon.”

“Maybe. Or maybe not. But either way it goes she's not dumb. She knew what she saw that day. You've always been able to see our kind clearer than any mere human can. There was always the possibility that you might be, we just needed more proof.”

I felt anger surge inside of me. “You said you didn't know why I could see you. When I asked you before, why I could see the angels and demons you said you didn't know why. Just that I was special. You never gave it a name. You lied to me.” I accused.

“I didn't lie. I honestly didn't know at the time, Nikka. I assure you, had I known I would have told you. But we've been doing some research. Like we said, Seers are rare. And some humans only have a trace of the Sight anyway.”

“The Sight?”

“What makes you able to see us through the veils we hide behind. The more you learn about our world, the stronger your senses become.”

“Is that why I can see you all the time?”

“Partially.”

“This doesn't make sense.”

“Nikka, sit down. Please.”

I didn't want to sit, I wanted answers. But I counted to ten, and sat anyway.

“You said Seers were valuable in war. How does seeing beyond your veils make them valuable?”

Tomo answered, “You can manipulate minds. Twist them to your will. Plant a thought that can grow and grow. Can control other beings.”

I shuddered again. “You guys can do that too.”

“Not quite.” Shannon said, “We can get into someones mind, plant and idea, yes, but not control them. What we do is child's play by comparison. You could make someone do something against their will. If you're strong enough, that is. We can only fool one minds at a time, but you, doll, could, once your mind is stronger, be a force to be reckoned with. And if there are other Seer's to work with, whom can link their mind and wills with your own, you could rule an army, if it were your wish.”

“Or if I was forced to.” I muttered bitterly, then shuddered. “Jared wants us both. He knows we'll do anything to keep the other out of harms way. That's what he's hoping. That he can force us both to do his bidding. And I'm this Seer thing. And now Jared knows.”

“He only suspects. He doesn't know for sure.”

I put my head in my hands. I felt like crying, I was so overwhelmed.

“So he think he can win the war by using us.” I laughed bitterly.

“Yes.” Tomo said softly.

“And I'm supposed to do what?”

“Fight back.” Shannon said with fire in his eyes.

“This... is... insane. Fight how? Why even tell me this now?”

“Because the game had changed. Because I need you to understand. It was better to keep you in the dark before. To protect you from my world. But now, you have to know. It'll keep you safer, more alert. I don't trust my brother, and I don't want there to come a time when I'm not around, and you can't defend yourself. It already happened once before.” He bit back his anger. “You need to know about my world, about who you are. It'll make you stronger.” he paused. “We know this is a lot to take in.”

“You don't say?”

Shannon was once again trying to protect me. And although he wasn't saying it aloud I knew he talking about my nightmares. If I could somehow make my mind stronger, maybe I could fight them off. Or maybe I was asking for too much.

“You said I needed training.”

“That's right,” said Tomo, “And I'm the man to give it to you. You'll need both physical and mental training.”

“Why would I need physical training? Am I going to have to be in combat?”

“Possibly. We don't know a lot about Jared's plans, but it's best if you learn how to take care of yourself in any situation.”

This truly wasn't how I planned on spending my night.

“What kind of things will I have to do to prepare my mind?”

“We'll get to all of that soon.” Shannon interjected before the Demon could answer. “What are you feeling right now?” he asked me.

“A little detached, honestly. I don't know. This is a lot to have sprung upon you.” I paused. “What if you're wrong? What if I'm not a Seer? What if you're just hoping I am one? How can you prove I am?”

“Nikka, we're both veiled right now.” Shannon said softly. His hands folded and resting on the table. “With no effort at all, you see us. Clear as day. Am I right?”

Now that he mentions it I could feel that something was off. Like some sort of magic had suddenly stirred up in the room. My eyes grew a degree wider.

“Only someone with the gift of Sight could do what you just did. You see us. There's your answer.”

I only stared at Shannon, not quite sure what to say about that.

“Plus there's a gene, too.” Tomo said quietly, almost to himself.

“A gene? What gene?” I asked, my eye still focused on the angel. I barely heard the words as they were spoken in my mind but his eyes told me more that words could.

I'm sorry, doll. I never wanted any of this for you.

Not your fault. I spoke back, truthfully.

“You're kind of descendent from our kinds.” Tomo continued, unaware of the exchange.

“Whoa, wait.” I put up a hand. “Now you're telling me I'm one of you.”

“No. Not quite.” With a quick nod from Shannon he went on. “If you really must know, hundreds or thousands of years ago our kind, mostly the Fallen, mated with humans. Those children born were half-breeds, or hybrids if you will. Most of them were hunted down, killed or captured. But a good fraction of them were hidden. And those half breeds mated with humans, passing the Angel and Demon genes on through generations and generations of children.”

“Hybrid... children?” This... this is a real eye opener. “So you're telling me this gene is still inside of my bloodline. After all this time? That in some way I'm like all of you. I'm sort of a descendent of all of you. So that means my mother's a Seer too.”

“No.” Shannon said. “She has the gene, but it takes two people, both with this gene, this blood in them to make a Seer.”

My mouth suddenly went dry. “So you're saying the uh... my father, has this gene too?”

He nodded. I looked at Shannon.

“Why were the hybrids hunted down?”

“They were dangerous. Just as much as you could be.”

“Does this mean I'm not human?”

“You're human-plus. Or human 2.0, if you prefer. You have only a small portion of... us in you. You're still human ”

I felt tears prick my eyes. Shannon's eyes flicked to Tomo. “Will you excuse us.” he stood and I followed him as he walked to the other side of the room.

“I know this is crazy. Trust me when I figured it out I didn't believe it either.”

“I'm a Seer. Because my mother and the man who,” I swallowed. “The man who raped her had the same gene, a gene that makes it easier to see you lot.” I laughed bitterly. “This is... it's more than a coincidence, this is bullshit.”

Yes. I was the product of a rape. When my mom was nineteen a man had attacked her while she was on the way home from hanging out with some college friends, one February night, twenty plus years ago. He raped her, and beat her and left her lying in an alleyway. My mother was never the same again.

She had had a promising future. She was an art major in college, had friends, was smart, beautiful, funny and perfectly sane. Then something snapped after that. She found out she was pregnant, but instead of terminating the pregnancy, like nearly everyone around her had wanted her to, she kept me. The constant reminder of her rape.

But I grew up not knowing any of that. And my mom, when on her medication, was lucid and sweet and until the time she tried to kill me I had no clue of her mental illness. My grandmother made sure I had as normal a childhood as possible. But even so I was sort of the black sheep of the family. No one would tell me anything about my father, so until I was thirteen I assumed he was either a deadbeat or just dead, not a rapist who was never found.

Then I could understand the resentment I sometimes felt with my mother, and some of my family members, the hostility they harbored. I overheard one of my aunts saying once that it was a good thing I looked like my mother, she didn't know how my mother would feel if I took after him. That's why there were no pictures of her pregnant, why no one mentioned my father and why most of family wanted to have me sent to a foster home after my mother was institutionalized when I was seven. It all made sense once I figure it all out.

And now this.

“So I assume that if you figure all of this out, then you found him.”

Shannon nodded sadly. “He's dead, Nikka. Has been for years.”

I should have felt something, but I just couldn't, not for him. “How long?” My voice was strange, and cold. Not my voice at all.

“Since you were about five years old.”

“So how did you find him, then?”

“I did my own investigation into your mother's attack, a few years back. I wanted to give you and her some closure.”

“But you never told me.” I said accusingly.

“You were finally so happy, no need to bring it up... 'til now. A few months ago when you saw me for the first time, I told Tomo, that's when he started talking about Seers. You are of the right age now for things to really begin to develop. But I hadn't even considered it because we don't hear much about them, a few stories every few decades or so. They've always found ways of hiding, most of them think what they're seeing are delusion, because no one else sees them. And unless they have guidance, they let their gift fade away, something most of them welcome.

“Plus, the chances of two people with that same gene meeting and having a child together are low. That's why there are so few of you. And why you're so hard to find. A dozen people in seven billion . But not impossible. And I know Jared is just praying you have this gift. Take you to our world and use you as a weapon.”

“Has that ever happen before?”

“Not in a war, we haven't had a war since I was young.” Which for him could have been anywhere between twenty and five hundred years ago. “But yes, I've seen people exploit that gift. Hell, I've known of Seers who use it to get what they want. There is a lot of power that comes with controlling someones mind.”

“That's why you felt I might be in danger all these years. The possibility had been there, right.”

He nodded. We we standing so close, I could feel his anger. And he somehow smelled like a thunderstorm. Lightening and wind and rain. Strange. I had never smelled that on him before.

“What was his name?” I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “The man who raped her?”

“Derek Andrew Smith. He was a criminal.”

“And how did he die?”

“Murdered. Stabbed to death while trying to rob some woman.”

“He got what he deserved then.”

“Nikka, I'm sorry.”

“I'm glad he's dead. I hope he's in hell, burning for all eternity.”

I walked away from him and went back to the table. I didn't want to talk about it anymore.

“So, Seers,” I said to Tomo, “tell me more.” Shannon walked up slowly behind me. “I want to know everything. About Seers, about your kinds, about this whole bloody war. Everything. I'm done with the secrets. I've dealt with secrets all my life. I'm tired of it. So if you want me on your side, it's time for some honesty boys. Tell me everything I need to know.”