Chaser of Faith

It was dark and quiet in the house- something that I wasn’t used to yet.

I turned off all the lights in the kitchen and checked the locks on the door before heading to bed. It was a pretty early night, but I was exhausted. I had to work overtime at the diner where I waited tables ten hours a day, trying to cover all the bills that seemed to pile up more and more every day. I knew that I wouldn't be able to continue my online college classes or even keep the house if my mother didn't come back home.

It had been over a month since my mother's disappearance, but being all on my own was still a completely foreign concept. I had always had a strong bond with my mother. It had always just been the two of us since my father's death when I was a baby. He was shot, trying to defend our home from an intruder.

There was always a part of me that missed having a dad, but this was the only life I knew, and the only life I could have. Why linger on changing the past? My mother told me stories of him often, so I had pieces of him to hold on to. It was the only way I could feel some sort of connection to him. I had painted a wonderfully heroic picture of my dad, and that suited me just fine.

I went up to my bedroom and got changed into some thin grey shorts and an old oversized T-shirt. It was a hot night in May, and even with the fans going my body felt hot. My long black hair and bangs stuck to my sweating skin. I layed in bed, not being able to keep my anxiety at bay. My body was tired, but my mind was racing.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash outside. I sat up in bed in surprise. I raced to the window and looked out into the backyard. I had to strain my eyes, but I was able to make out a lifeless form laying in the grass, a few feet from the shed where old flower pots and planks of wood were strewn. I gasped in horror, feeling my heart pick up speed, beating heavily. I saw arms and legs, and something that glowed bright white in the moonlight spread out underneath his back.

I raced downstairs, forgoing shoes but quickly grabbing a knife from the kitchen. I ran out into the backyard. I stayed a few feet from the body, and crouched down, looking from a distance. My heart raced when I saw white feathers strewn across the dark grass. The man had huge white wings on his back. They were sprawled out in what looked like a pretty uncomfortable position.

“What…” I held onto the knife tightly, adjusting it in my sweaty hand.

I crawled closer to him, taking in more of his features. He had light brown hair and glowing skin.

"Hello?" The man didn't stir, and I was worried that he might be dead. I crawled right up to him and checked his pulse. It was racing. My heart jumped with nervousness. Did he need CPR? Should I call an ambulance? What the hell was up with those wings? Were they even real? I tried to lift him up. "Please wake up-"

His eyes suddenly shot open, and he took me down to the ground in the blink of an eye, knocking the knife out of my hand and sending it flying a few feet away from us. I let out a gasp and a squeak of a scream, closing my eyes tightly and moving my head to the side as I brought my hands up to protect my face.

He didn't hurt me. His breathing was heavy, and his fingers loosened around my lower arms. I turned my head back to him and opened my eyes slowly. In the light of the moon I could barely make out that his eyes were a deep, beautiful blue. He had messy hair that framed his face.

"What are you doing?" I asked cautiously. He started to stand up, his wings moving awkwardly. He grunted and winced in pain, stumbling back. I shot up off the ground and went towards him, steadying him. "Hey, buddy, are you okay?" I put his arm around my shoulder, and guided him inside. “Come sit down so I can call you an ambulance.” He was heavy and slow, so it took a little time, but I guided him straight into the house, setting him on the couch. He blinked, his eyelids heavy and sleepy. I heard his wings crack, even though he wasn't laying on them. The sudden loud noise made me jump. He grunted, and I started to panic. "What's happening?"

"Healing," he said slowly. I raised my eyebrows.

"What?" I heard another loud crack and I saw him grind his teeth together. I noticed that some of the gashes on his face were coming together, the skin and muscle growing back slowly. His back twisted with every crack and snap of bone I heard. I widened my eyes, opening my mouth in shock, not knowing what to do or say. He really was healing. In a matter of minutes he was completely healed. "Holy shit," I muttered in awe. He sat up on the couch, stretching a bit, cracking his back and his knuckles. I just stared at him. He looked right back at me with a small mischievous smile.

"What's your name?" I took in a small breath before answering.

"Claire," I said, still in shock. "What's your name?" He chuckled.

"Rahmiel." He didn't take his eyes away from my own. "Thank you for your help, Claire"

"What.... I mean, well… What are you?" He tilted his head.

"Do you really want to know?" I thought for a moment, biting my lip. I nodded slowly. His face seemed a bit closer than it was before. "I am an angel. What are you?" I couldn't seem to find my voice. An angel? Was he screwing with me? He had to be.

"I'm... I'm a human?" I said, squinting my pale blue eyes at him, confused by his question. I mean, wasn't it obvious? He tilted his head again, to the other side.

"No you’re not." I frowned.

"What do you mean I'm not human?" He chuckled again, leaning into my neck. I blushed and tried to move away as he drew in a deep breath through his nose.

"I mean, you’re not human." He said pointedly. I swallowed hard, fighting my blush.

"Well then you're not an angel." He moved back, laughing once again at me.

"No, it doesn't work like that."

"Well, how can I not be-"

There was another loud crash outside, and I squeaked again, jumping in surprise. I stood up from my kneeling position in front of Rahmiel and ran to the door again.

"Wait," he called after me. I felt his hands on my shoulders, pulling me away just as the door slammed open. I screamed, jumping back into him. A very messy man limped through the doorway, huge black wings spread behind him, shirt covered with mud and grass stains, jeans torn, exposing his bloodied knees. He had jet black hair and glowing green eyes. His lips were curled into a snarl and he lifted a finger to point at me.

"You!" he growled.

"Me?" I squeaked out. Rahmiel moved me behind him.

"No, me," he whispered.

"You piece of shit! I'm not done with you!" the angry man yelled.

"Calm down, Adriel," Rahmiel said patronizingly.

"I will not calm down! I'm sick of you selling me out to the Magistrate!" Rahmiel sighed, moving towards him.

"Look, can we discuss this like civilized individuals? You just ruined this poor girl's door." Adriel looked at I with a raised eyebrow. He sniffed the air with a frown.

"What is she?" Rahmiel shrugged.

"Dunno." I scoffed.

"Stop that! For fuck's sake. Both of you get the hell out of my house." Adriel smirked.

"I like her." He started towards me, but Rahmiel stood in his way.

"This does not concern her. We have involved her enough." Adriel pouted.

"Aw, but Rahmiel, can’t I keep her? Please! You never let me have pets!" I widened my eyes, shocked at the man's change in tone, hiding behind Rahmiel more.

"No. We can fight this out when we get back home. You are guilty and you deserve every sentence coming your way."

"But, Rahmiel... you know we can't let her... you know." Rahmiel looked back at me with worry etched into his face.

"What the Magistrate doesn't know-"

"Bullshit," Adriel said with a straight face. I gulped, keeping my wide eyes. I backed up. Rahmiel looked thoughtful. "Who else lives with you?" he asked finally. I almost told him about my mother, but decided not to.

"I live alone."

"There we go! Can I keep her? Please!" Rahmiel looked thoughtful again.

"Claire, do you understand what we have to do?" I ground my teeth together.

"You can’t kill me," I said, trying not to let my anger bubble over. “I’m going to scream, and everyone will see you.” Rahmiel frowned, bringing his hand up to meet my forehead. I batted his hand away violently and started to scream.

“No, stop,” He silenced me, putting a hand over my mouth. “It’s not what you think.” He took his hand away from my mouth carefully and held onto my arms, staring into my eyes. The dim lights in my home shone in his eyes, lightening the blue color. “I’m going to wipe your memory,” he said calmly. I glared and pursed my lips, trying to push his arms off me. “You showed me kindness, and I would feel sad to kill you.” I noticed Adriel walking closer and before I knew it he was holding onto my arms tightly. I tried to fight him off, but it was no use. Rahmiel lifted his hand again, making me wince and shut my eyes tightly as he touched his finger to my forehead.

I expected to feel my blood boil, or my throat to collapse. I expected to black out, at the very least. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes cautiously. Rahmiel was frowning. “That’s odd.”

“Your angel mojo not working tonight, Rahmiel?” Adriel asked with a snicker. Rahmiel’s frown deepened.

“That is very curious.” I wrestled my arms away from Adriel forcefully. He laughed again and sauntered over to Rahmiel, who seemed to study me. I glowered at him.

“I still remember you, jackass.” Adriel laughed again.

“Please, can we keep her?” Adriel asked, putting his fists together close to his face. I scoffed. What was wrong with these two?

“So now what?” I asked, crossing my arms defensively. “What do you think you’re going to do?” I accused harshly.

"I do not want to kill you, but my options are limited now that we cannot alter your memory... Would you like to come with us?" Rahmiel asked. I sneered.

“No I don’t want to come with you.” I frowned and looked around at my house. I thought of all the fond memories I had of this house. Of my mother. My mother who was gone and probably never coming back. My tone softened without thinking. "I mean, isn't there some other..." I stopped, feeling the anger coming up again to replace the sadness. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. I sighed at the solid look on Rahmiel's face. "But, I can't just up and leave," I fought angrily. I bit my lip, staring at the floor. "This is all your fault." I noticed Rahmiel's face soften out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm sorry. But, we have no way to wipe your mind, and people of Earth are not allowed to know of our existence."

"We'll take good care of you!" I sighed again with Adriel's somewhat empty promise.

"Not like there's much for me here anyway." I felt like I had finally killed myself; my heart dropped and I felt numb.

I saw Adriel coming towards me. He raced around behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Rahmiel put up a hand to try to stop him, but was too slow. I flinched and widened my eyes again as his hot hands touched my warm skin.

"We are going to have so much fun, little non-human."

"Stop saying that I'm not human! How could you possibly know whether I'm human or not?"

"You smell different than a human," Adriel stated as if it was obvious.

"I smell different?" I spat.

"Yeah. Your blood smells different. Kind of what the sun smells like. Like fire." Adriel had draped his arm across my shoulders, and was guiding me to the door. I frowned.

“Are you saying I smell like a candle?” He grinned at me and I sneered. My feet hit the pavement on the steps outside my home and my heart skipped with fear."Wait! I'm not wearing any shoes! What about my clothes? What about all my stuff?" Adriel waved his hand dismissively.

"We'll get you all new stuff at home. You'll need to blend in. People back home don't take too kindly to Sintragoniat. Or, uh, humans, rather. Humans have been known to be very closed-minded beings. But, you'll be fine if you dress like our people. No one will think you're from Earth. You certainly don’t smell like Sintragoniat." I stared blankly at Adriel.

"So where is your home?" Adriel grinned.

"Our home," he corrected as I both stopped at the fallen door. I rolled my eyes.

"Aksanimur is another dimension," Rahmiel said from behind us. "Technically another solar system, but we'll be taking a portal to get there." Rahmiel put a hand on each of our backs, pushing the two of us out of the house. "Adriel, take her to the Beythas portal. I'll finish up here." My heart jumped nervously. “I can trust you, can’t I?”

“Don’t be silly, Rahmiel, leave it to me. I’m not letting her out of my sight,” Adriel said, squeezing my hips. I batted his hands away, and looked back to Rahmiel.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" I asked in horror.

"Don't worry. Just go with Adriel." Adriel took my hand, leading me away. I couldn't take my eyes off the house that I'd grown up in. Was this the last time I'd ever see it?

"Ready?" I blinked, staring longingly at my home.

"For what-" Adriel swept me up into his arms and I clung to his neck, gasping in surprise. His wings started flapping, and we were both lifted off the ground. He hovered for a second and I stared in amazement at his beautiful black feathered wings. Suddenly the two of us shot up into the sky. I gasped again, squeezing my arms tighter around him. "Oh my god, oh my god." Adriel laughed. Wind whipped my hair around and hit my skin, giving me a sharp chill and making me shiver. Adriel drew me closer.

"We're almost to the portal, not to worry." We were high up in the sky now, weaving through freezing clouds. My stomach was doing flips as we raced through the air. I could no longer see my house. All of my family photos and old memories were gone. I grit my teeth.

"Do you know what Rahmiel is going to do to my house?" I shouted to Adriel. I felt him shrug under my arms.

"Dunno. Try not to worry too much." I worried even more then. "There it is," he said, nodding forward. I squinted in the dark but couldn't see anything.

"There's what?"

"The portal."

"What do you mean? I don't see anything." He chuckled lowly.

"You will in a second." I frowned. “Li vitona.”

"What-" I felt as though I were falling and being pulled by a vacuum. My stomach flip-flopped like I was on a roller coaster and bright flashes of light pulsed around me, forcing me to close my eyes. It all lasted about five seconds, and we were suddenly greeted with a bright orange light. I gasped, opening my eyes, trying to steady my breathing again. I felt sick. "Ugh, what the hell." I leaned my head into his shoulder, feeling a headache coming on. His shoulders shook as he laughed at me again.

"Ah, you're funny. Don't worry, the first time is always a little jarring, but you'll get used to it." I groaned, lifting my head back up to look at the bright world around us. It was a beautiful city. It looked as though the orange sun was just beginning to rise. And, there was a translucent moon above us and opposite the sun.

"Wow," I whispered.

"I know." There were tall buildings and small shops lining the streets. I could see the streets flooded with people, but no cars or buses. Just animals and people. I could see other beings flying through the air around me. It was absolutely incredible. "Welcome to Aksan. Your new home."