Halos and Battle Scars

Chapter Five
Denial
~Damian~

“No way, no way, no way! There is just no way!”
Kellan panicked as she looked like she was ready to hyperventilate. I moved to put my arms around her and calm her down. Somehow I expected her to react this way. She always reacted this way. I had no idea how I knew that, but I knew deep inside myself I knew her better than anyone. I put my arm around her shoulders and urged her to take deep breaths. I was worried because she was getting pail and still had a concussion from getting hit over the head with that rock. Maybe I should have waited for her to heal from her injury completely before unloading everything on her. Kellan took deep breaths looking up at me.

“You smell really good”.
She said blushing scarlet turning more red then her hair as she gaped at me realizing what she said. I cracked a smile and in that moment I laughed feeling more real. More alive than I’d felt since waking up in that strange place.
“Thank you”.
I smiled at her, Kellan smiled back at me looking down as she started to gather herself again. Her rich honey brown eyes were bright with the light from her soul. Once we arrived back at the estate, Kellan explained that I would be staying with them as a guardian. I looked at her as the staff cleared out.
“We still need to talk”.

Kellan nodded to me.
“Yes we do, but it will have to wait. My room is at the far end of the hall on the sixth floor. Meet me there and maybe I can get a grip on things”.
She said looking distressed still not willing to accept what she was. Who she was. The butler a kindly man called Edgar led me to a room on the fourth level of the home. This place was unlike any I had seen before. He looked back at me and smiled.
“This room was meant for a dear friend of Lord Kentwood. He passed at a young age sadly. It was a tragic death. But the room has been maintained and we can redecorate it for you this weekend to fit your tastes”.

I looked around the room that looked like it had been meant for a child. Probably about ten years of age. The bed was large king sized and made up with midnight blue bedding. There was photographs of baseball teams and players on the walls. They were all autographed to the boy the room was meant for I assumed. “Michael” was his name and while it rang a bell to me I turned away from them walking over to the bed and sitting down. I laid back waiting for the right time to go to meet with Kellan.

When the feeling of knowing that Kellan was ready for me washed over me, I stood up and climbed to the sixth floor of the estate and walked to the large double doors at the end of the hall. I knocked lightly before peeking into the room. Kellan sat at a large table looking like she was ready to pass out. The light that had been in her eyes when we were in the limo was gone. There was nothing but a black phone sitting in front of her. I walked into the room frowning at her.
“You look exhausted if you want to wait to talk more about this”.

Kellan shook her head.
“You were right”.
Her voice was weak in a whisper but I still managed to hear her. I walked towards her and helped her to stand, she slumped into me her face buried in my chest as she closed her eyes.
“Can we just stand here for a minute, I think I’m gunna be sick. But I won’t throw up on you I promise”.
She said in that same weak tone. I kept my arms around her shoulders trying to think of something to take her mind off of things.

“Tattoos, you have a lot of tattoos”.
I noted looking down at the marks on her arms. A precession of stars lined her arms matched with elegant red ribbon tattoos. On her other arm she had half-moons and purple ribbons. A choker style tattoo around her neck with a strange marking in its center. And along her knuckles she had the words “True” “Love”.
“Milestones”.
Kellan said lightly as she looked up at me still looking weak. It was probably because of the head trauma of her concussion. I scooped her up wedding style in my arms carrying her towards the bed and setting her down carefully. She kept hold of my hand.

“Each year we pass successfully from the school we are given a tattoo to commemorate that year, at least that’s how elder bloods do things. Celestial bloods have tattoos for commemorating people or animals that have touched their lives. Dark bloods use tattoos as symbols of power. The more beautiful that marks the more powerful the dark blood. That’s why she has roses across her chest. No other Dark blood is permitted to use roses. Someday she’ll have full sleeves of roses down her arms. After her coordination I believe”.
I smiled at her as she went on talking. Glad I was able to calm her down. Sitting up slowly Kellan looked up at me.

“Are you ok? Are you comfortable? What room did they give you?”
I sat on the edge of the room.
“Fourth floor, I think it was meant for someone named Michael”.
Kellan’s eyes widened filling with tears she looked away from me quickly.
“Oh, well, I guess it’s about time someone used it”.
She sniffed. I frowned at her placing my hand over hers.
“I can take another room Kellan, you seem to have a lot of them”.
She looked up at me blinking back tears.
“You’d be ok with that? It’s just, Michael was a dear family friend around my age, he was gunna be dad’s apprentice. He was my soul mate”.

She dried her eyes getting to her feet and I realized just how much she lost. Her parents and someone she considered her soul mate. I stood crossing the room to the door.
“I’ll find another room”.
Kellan looked back at me.
“Don’t take this the wrong way”.
I paused looking back at her.
“I’m scared out of my damn mind right now and with all these emotions running in me I don’t want to be alone. I promise to get you a much better room tomorrow but would you mind spending the night in here with me? You can sleep on the couch it’s really comfy and I’ll get you some pillows and blankets”.

I turned to her stopping her before she could continue.
“It’s alright. I’ll stay if you want”.
She had some blankets and pillows brought in for me and the crouch was made to look like a comfortable bed. I sat with Kellan on the edge of her bed holding her hand in mine.
“So, before I came in here, you looked like someone sucked the life out of you”.

Kellan sighed closing her eyes.
“My court heard what happened. They looked into things, while there is no real records of an immortal race of soul eating monsters. There is a prophecy about me stopping an unknown breed of monster. Mom and dad were going to tell me on my sixteenth birthday. But they were killed, seems like someone wanted to shut them up. I guess I really am I blame for their death”.

I shook my head tucking strains of her hair behind her ears.
“Kellan, you had nothing to do with your parents deaths. Or Michaels”
The words left me before I realized what I was saying. Kellan looked away from me pressing her lips together as her eyes fixed on the full moon.

“I’ll see you in the morning. Thanks for staying with me”.
I stood walking back to the couch and laid back on it. But I never took my eyes away from her. My heart ached for her and all she had lost and suffered through before I was able to reach her. As much as she wanted to deny what she was, reality was closing in around her.