A Love Like No Other

Five: Illuminating Revelations

Selene

We were in a dark forest in the middle of the night, and I could see my dark companion stand beside me, but I saw that he had beautiful black wings, and he looked even more powerful with them. But my eyes weren't doing that same blurring and focusing thing again, I noticed.

I saw two teenagers dance in a circle around a bon fire, and the girl was heavily pregnant underneath her fall clothing. They looked like biker people, if I'm being honest here, not the type of people I usually associate with.

But then I saw the same features in my face to theirs. My parents! This young couple were my parents! My dad had a good singing voice as he summoned Sariel.

"Aren't you going to go to them?" I asked, genuinely curious.

Sariel shook his head, his wavy black hair framing his handsome face. "Just watch. You'll understand why you were tossed into the foster care system soon enough."

I then saw my companion speak to the spiky haired guy who was my dad, and I had to admit that Sariel looked both scary, and intimidating to them, and didn't seem the least bit impressed that they were summoning him.

I couldn't hear what was being said. "Um, can we get closer?" I asked. "I can't hear what my dad is saying."

Sariel nodded, and took my hand in his. A tingle passed from my hand to his, but I ignored it. We crept closer, and then I heard it: my parents literally offered my soul up to this dark angel...this demon! All because they felt too inconvenienced by a child on the way.

I felt sadness such as I had never felt before course through me. I knew that they were drug addicted dead beats, but I had no idea, none whatsoever that they literally gave me up to this fallen angel by my side. Tears stung my eyes, and I sobbed.

"Why? Why? Why??" I demanded over and over. I felt Sariel take me in his arms. I beat at his chest with my fists, but he didn't stop me. I eventually gave up trying to punch out my guardian, and sobbed harder than I ever have in my entire life.

I felt his lips kiss my forehead, and I calmed down. His eyes were a starry black now, instead of merely black, and when he smiled, I saw that he had elegant vampire fangs. God, he was...well, there was no word for it, but beautiful.

"But this ability to see angels, auras, all of that...where does that come from?" I asked, sniffing.

Sariel sighed, "It comes from us being together in the past. You and I, there is something that has always drawn us together, a bond drawn from love."

I pulled away from him to pace restlessly. I saw that we were back in the quiet, cozy auditorium where we began this strange meeting.

"I barely know you," I finally said. "How in the world can you possibly say that we're, you know, a couple?"

Sariel grinned. "Oh, we're not a couple...yet. But let's just say that it's a destined thing. Unfortunately, my Overlord wants you as well, and it's for the purpose of destroying me."

I sat down at the small dinner table, and tried to digest Sariel's words. It really was a lot to take in, honestly, this whole concept of angels and demons.

"And who is your Overlord?"

"The true ruler of this world."

"Satan."

Sariel rolled his eyes. "He prefers the name Samael these days. But he has so many of them, it's hard to keep track of them all. Now, he will try to contact you. Did you, by chance receive a phone number before arriving here?"

I thought of the cute barista guy, and my heart sank. I found my backpack, and pulled out my Starbucks receipt with Sam's number on it. I handed it to him, and Sariel looked at it. A coldness moved in his black eyes, and he burned it.

"It's just as I thought," He murmured. "Well, it will save you the danger of calling him."

"Wait, what?! That was the devil's cell number?!" I exclaimed. "You mean to tell me that he works at that particular Starbucks?!"

Sariel sighed, and nodded. "He needed a body, Selene. If you saw his true form, well, let us just say that I look far less frightening. I already showed you what I looked like somewhat."

"You look like a vampire."

Sariel smiled. "Ah, yes. But other lesser demons are more deformed. My Overlord is more...bestial looking, shall we say? A defect of being cursed to this realm."

"Soo, why does he want me?"

"Because you are to be my Queen," Sariel declared. "And he is jealous that I can still feel love. He wants you destroyed utterly. Fortunately, your idiotic parents did save you inadvertently by binding you to me. But we have always belonged to one another, Selene. Always. Shall I show you more?"

He rose, and held out his hand. I took it, not feeling like I had much choice in the matter, and I was shown multiple timelines, and lives where we eventually did become intimate. When we did return, I felt a strange tidal pull to him, and I shook my head.

"I...I shouldn't be with an angel," I stammered. "It's...isn't it like wrong somehow?"

Sariel held me in his arms, and kissed my hands softly, his soft lips making my heart beat fast. "Since when have you ever truly believed in the Father's plan, Angelique?" He asked softly. "You belong with me, dearest. You saw our lives together, the children we had. You will remember, and then we will be together, and this time, nothing will keep me from you."

I caressed his cheek, and ran my fingers through his soft black hair. "But I died so violently every time. Why is this time any different?"

Sariel kissed me lightly. "Because you were given to me, and with time, your powers will grow."

"But the dreams--"

"Are your memories. Now, I want you to go to school, and think of what you learned. I will always guard you, darling," He said, and as he faded before my eyes, I could still feel his presence beside me.

I gathered my things, and my vision apparently included seeing angels in plain sight, because Castor and Pollux, the twin demons, asked if I needed them around.

"That won't be necessary," Sariel answered. "Just make sure that Uriel and the others are informed of his presence."

"Yes, Sire," The twins chorused.

Sariel turned to me, and he said, "I have business to attend to in the ice realm, my kingdom. But I will come to you whenever summoned. Do you understand?"

I nodded, only understanding that my life had just become soo weird. "Yeah. I'll see you later, though, right?" I asked.

A glimmer of hope flared in Sariel's starry black eyes. "Of course."

He disappeared, and I had no choice but to go downstairs, and I was just in time for a long, boring orientation at St. Catherine's High School. Della and Margery saved me a seat towards the back, and we played silent Candy Crush on our phones while the teachers droned on and on about the merits of the school.

We finally got our school uniforms, and my two besties looked at the uniform and said, "We're totally gonna amp this outfit up. You game, Sel?" Dells asked over lunch at Panera Bread.

I chuckled, "Yep, sure, you bet."

"Uh oh, someone is in a blue study," Margery quipped. "Josh still calling you?"

I groaned, throwing away my bagel wrapper in the trash. "Yep. He's such a prick. I can't believe I dated him all last year."

Marge shrugged her shoulders. "So block him. I did try to warn you to look past his perfect ass and Bruce Lee hotness."

I laughed, "Uh huh. Like you haven't been checking out every black dude that's been coming in and out of here."

"I have jungle fever, so sue me," Margery pouted. "Besides, I'm kinda moving on from that phase after that prick Orlando had that disgusting orgy at Vanessa's home in The Valley last fourth of July, and she totally caught him in the act."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well. To each their own. I'll tell her you said hi when I see her later."

We threw out our lunch stuff before leaving Panera's, because I have a strict no eating or drinking policy in my car, unless it's me. I dropped my friends off at the school parking lot, and drove home.

Uriel, the guard at the gate, which I could clearly see was the Uriel, waved me through, and I went home. I took a shower, had dinner, and Vanessa popped by at seven so we could dress shop at the mall. My mom reminded me to be home by ten since it was a school night, and we took off, and for the first time that day, I didn't think of this whole weird paranormal world that I had stumbled into just by being born...