Angel Gifts

The falling of rumble blended in with shrieks of terror that were emitted from inside the crumbling house. A man had run in a couple minutes before, but he never returned. Smoke blacked out the sky making the stars and the moon become nothing but a distant memory to the young girl who stared at her burning home.

"Mom," Scarlett snapped out of her daze as she ran inside the breaking house. Her pale blue eyes were tearing up as she ran down a dark hallway, her short caramel hair flying behind her. Her hand hastily swept her bangs from her face that were drenched in sweat. Her breaths were labored and hoarse but she sprinted through the house, fueled by adrenaline and fear. "Dad!"

"Scarlett, you have to go, it's not safe!" Her mother called faintly from a room Scarlett couldn't find and began to cough as the smoke filled her lungs.

"Where are you?" Scarlett was close to tears now, the fire tinting her cheeks a rosy red and the fire licking at her bare legs. Her voice rising above the cackling of the fires. People outside were beginning to call for help, but she knew they couldn't make it fast enough. Even if they could, water was scarce, the royals and lords only let so much water through the new plumbing system. They would never be able to put this fire out. The house could crumble to dust and rumble before they even rally enough people willing to help.

"Scarlett, find Ash. Go!"

"Mom!" Scarlett shoved open a door with her shoulder and saw her mother's pale skin and her blonde hair. There was a gaping hole in the side of the wall, gradually getting bigger as fresh air rushed inside, fueling the already roaring fires and sweeping dust and cinders out into the crisp breeze and toward the ocean surrounding the island. She ran to her mother's side and pulled her mother’s hand, but a piece of rock was pinning her body to the ground. She turned just in time to see a shadow in the darkness coming right toward her.

"Come on," Scarlett gritted her teeth as she pushed the rock but her mother grabbed her wrist. Her mother pushed her toward the door with as much force as she had left and Scarlett stumbled out the doorway, just as a piece of the ceiling fell between them. She pressed all her weight against it, but it wouldn't budge. “No!”

There was a loud crack and a force knocked her to the ground. She covered her face with her arms as she tumbled into the wall and the force was threatening to crack her body in half-

Then it was gone.

The pressure on her chest retreated and continued to ripple through everything it touched. It pulsed and left trails of heat like there was something alive drifting, unknown to everyone else.
Scarlett looked up and she cursed. She was surrounded by a membrane of rocks bathed with silver light as the dust settled. It beat and pulsed with her heartbeat that she heard roaring in her ears. She lowered her hands and the light faded away, the rocks crumbling and disintegrating and then settling on her face and her hair. She caught a glimpse of the royal seal flashing on the side of a horse that was galloping away like it’s life depended on it. In this case, it probably did.

She backed up and ran toward the bridge connecting Sratington to the rest of the islands. She had a job to do, and she wasn't going to let her parents down when they died so tragically. She didn't even look back to see the ruined house she left behind forever.

OoOoO

"Scarlett, you say your parents sent you here?" Ash asked whilst tapping his foot on the floor making tapping sounds fill the tension in the air. "Where are they?"

"They're gone," Scarlett whispered. Dirt mixed with her dried blood stained her cheeks and her hair was dry and brittle, framing her face in stiff strands and knotted at the nape of her neck. "The royals bombed our home. I escaped."

"Do you know what happened?" Ash looked her in the eye. He was looking for any sign of emotion in those icy eyes, but now they were as lifeless and cold as his.

"I can show you," Scarlett held out her hand and her memory unfolded in front of his eyes in silver tendrils. She didn't know how she did it, she just knew that it was emitted from a pull deep within her gut from somewhere she didn't know she had.

"You're an Angel," Ash simply stated while his eyes were wide. "You said you saw the royals?"

"Yes," Scarlett replied, a single tear slipping down her cheek and falling to the floor, leaving a streak of clear skin in its wake. Her bottom lip began to tremble and she knew that if she broke now, she would never be able to put herself back together.

"They’ll expect you to be dead," Ash took out an intricate dagger from his belt. It's blade was polished and sharp with designs starting at the hilt, which was round and smooth, and branching out along the blade. It was plain and exquisite, but deadly, and it was aimed for her heart. Scarlett’s breath stopped for a second while her heart skipped a beat. He was going to kill her.

She closed her eyes, mouth reciting the names of her dead and as she added her parents names to the list, she opened her eyes. Ash was holding the sparkling weapon out to her, the blade pointing toward the ground. Scarlett took the blade in her trembling hands and it almost slipped from her grasp. The hilt was warm and it molded into her palm perfectly. The metal hummed and sang when Ash placed the sheath on top.

“No one knows the Hurik’s have a daughter, your parents made sure of that,” Ash said. “I would like to keep it that way.”
She nodded and she looked at the slowly rising sun, the slowly thinning smoke looked like storm clouds along the horizon. "Do you know where I go now?"

"I’ll send someone at sunset to pick you up," Ash said and took her hands in his. "You can live there with some other people, they're mostly your age."

Scarlett nodded her head, and let the tears fall. Near silent hiccups came from her lips as she embraced him tightly, needing something to anchor her the the world to keep her from slipping into her grief. Ash wrapped his tense arms around her, letting her cry for hours. Never once letting go.

OoOoO

"Lady Alyssa?" Scarlett called as she stepped tentatively through the door she had previously knocked at, the sound of her steps echoing through the small shelter.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is that really Scarlett?" A soft melodic voice floated through the air and Scarlett slipped through the tight shelves, waving at the dust clouds that settled on the books and flew into her face. She followed the voice and turned the corner to see Alyssa kneeling on the floor with her dark brown hair pulled into a braid. Her creamy brown eyes were gazing somewhere far away. "Have a seat, Scarlett."

She knelt down next to Alyssa. "The house got burned, and my parents are dead. I couldn't save them."

“It's okay to be afraid,” Alyssa took Scarlett’s shaking hands in her own and held them together. “Your parents were very well respected people, I assisted them with their interior decorations, I wasn't aware they had a daughter, I thought you were just their niece, but now I know.”

"I’m an Angel," Scarlett blurted as she met Alyssa's soft and comforting gaze. "And you’re the only one who has the knowledge about what I am capable of. Could you help me?"

"In the end, we all have to make a difficult decision. I chose to stay, and I am fortunate enough to have met you, so my experiences will not go to waste. But not every Angel gets a mentor, we got lucky our generations are very close." Alyssa said without any hint of remorse. "You will not hurt anyone. You are in control, Scarlett.”

“Why did you stay?” Scarlett turned to Alyssa with confusion clouding her eyes.

“I'm sure that when the time comes to choose between these people and our people, your decision is one you can live with," Alyssa said and dropped Scarlett’s hands and she stood up. "Come, I have something for you."

Scarlett followed her through the bookshelves and they stopped in front of an old chest. Alyssa opened it to reveal a small metal box. She handed it to Scarlett who looked at it for a second before opening it. Inside, there was a ring with a small pale blue gem. The band looked like two overlapping silver ropes and she glanced at Alyssa before she put it on, the ring fit perfect and flushed against her skin. "What is it?"

"This ring will help you control yourself so you don't hurt anybody. The stone will help filter the magic in your blood so it doesn't overwhelm you. The band is snowsilver. Melded with ice and is found at the bottom of the tallest glaciers. The stone is what makes it so valuable, it's given to every Angel if they decide to remain here. We are supposed to pass on our knowledge." Alyssa held out her hand to reveal a ring very similar to Scarlett’s, only hers had a fiery colored gem. “Come back soon, and visit. I do get very lonely sometimes.”

Scarlett nodded in response and in thanks as she slipped out of the small shelter and headed toward the rising sun.

OoOoO

“Scarlett?” A voice asked from behind her and Scarlett whirled, stepping back from the cloaked figure that stepped out of the shadows. “Follow me.”

“Where are we going?” Scarlett demanded, refusing to follow and planting her feet when the cloaked person grabbed her wrist.

“If we don't leave now, we are never going to get to where I need to take you without the royals finding us,” the figure said and Scarlett could hear the unspoken demand. “Ash hates waiting.”

“Fine,” Scarlett sighed. “Take me there.”

“Follow me,” the figure pulled her down the street and into an ally. They entered a building and went down a staircase and into a hidden room. The figure shed their cloak as fast as they could once the door closed behind them. It was a girl about Scarlett’s age and a tiny bit shorter. Her long brown hair in soft waves was a sign of status, merchant's daughter. Her light blue eyes were bright and clear, her lips formed a cheerful smile as she straightened her clothes. “I’m Jocelyn. As you might have noticed, we don't use last names. We prefer to keep a vibe of anonymity to keep everyone equal, despite what their status might suggest.”

“What do you do?” Scarlett asked, a small tremble made its way into her voice as she said it. “I mean, does everyone start at your age?”

“No, I’m just his… messenger for now. I’m turning thirteen on the first day of autumn. Then I will officially be able to be taught.” Jocelyn said, pride leaking into her voice and a perfect half-moon smile formed on her perfect white teeth. “How old are you?”

“Knowing Ash from what my parents told me, he would never send you in without information. I think you know how old I am, maybe even my birthday too,” Scarlett was grateful her voice was steadier this time. Jocelyn was clever to pretend to know nothing about her, and she played it off pretty well. She probably learned everything she needed to know about deceiving from her parents, these tricks could only be learned by people who barter.

“You're thirteen, born on the forty-seventh day of spring,” Jocelyn said with her eyes closed like she recited it off paper. Her face brightened and she opened her eyes. “Let's get you into something more presentable.”

Jocelyn opened a closet that she pulled down from the ceiling and filled a bowl with water from a faucet in a corner. She ran her fingers through Scarlett’s tangled hair and used a damp towel to wipe the dirt from Scarlett’s face, arms and legs. She slipped a midnight blue cloak over her shoulders and placed black boots on her feet.

Once Jocelyn was satisfied, she opened another door which Scarlett couldn't even tell was there and it closed behind her. Jocelyn was next to an archway and there were sounds of yelling and stomping from inside.

“This is your new home,” Jocelyn motioned past the archway and Scarlett walked through, slipping her hands into pockets inside her cloak to steady her shaking fingers. Inside, a whole group of teenagers were circled around two boys who were having a fight. One was obviously winning, but the other was just barely dodging their blows toward their head. “Don't mind them, they’re just having fun.”

“Will I be trained to do that?” Scarlett asked, she remembered her whole life was revolving around protection, she never was told to attack first. She glanced around and suddenly felt sick to her stomach. “This is what they call fun?”

“Relax, you look like you're going to be sick,” Jocelyn placed a hand over Scarlett’s forehead. “It’s a privilege, and you get used to it.”

“When you turn thirteen, what will you do?”

“I’ll specialize in distance, and knowledge accumulating,” Jocelyn looked at the ceiling. “Ash already told me, he’s having me do some research.”

“Do you live here?” Scarlett asked when they continued walking.

“I will when I turn thirteen.” Right, because thirteen was when a merchant’s daughter was able to leave their home to find a suitor, they also usually ended up taking all their parents money and never coming back. “And here is where I leave you.”

Scarlett turned to face a door that was just as heavy as it looked. She pushed it open and heard Jocelyn whisper, “good luck.” Then the merchant’s daughter was gone, like a shadow in the night.