Elementals: Hades' Corruption

Chapter 3: Rest Your Head

  Outside, the moon was already in the middle of the sky with stars hovering around it to keep it company. The car was parked in an open spot which was everyone’s cue to hop out of the vehicle. After slipping the key from the ignition, Faye stepped out from the car. She noticed her mom’s green convertible parked a few spots away. Sneaking the angels inside was going to be a lot more complicated than she calculated. Although, Faye knew that she owed these guys - or at least the hothead - her life. So she was willing to take the risk.

  As she figured out what the best course of action was, Faye took the lead toward the row of apartments in front of them. Her mother had lived there for years ever since she had divorced her husband so Faye knew exactly what apartment to go to even in the darkening night. To anyone else, all of the buildings and doors looked the same but for Faye it was a habit.

  Trusting her, the four angels followed behind Faye’s heels. They were attentive on their feet as they scanned the horizon on high alert for any threat. The angels were hardly focused on walking but were instead more interested in any movement or shadow that seemed out of place. It made Faye uneasy with how paranoid the angels were; it made the situation become more real for her.

  Finally, she was able to ignore the four’s bizarre behavior when they reached the apartment door. Faye peered down at her keychain that jangled with the noise of metal clanking together. Keys and even a mini mace sprayer decorated her keychain so Faye flipped through her keys until she grabbed the right one for the apartment. After shimmying the key into the lock, it gave a sharp click before swinging open.

  “It’s the first door on the right,” Faye murmured softly so if anyone was inside then they couldn’t hear. After informing the angels, Faye carefully pushed open the door and peeked into the living room of the apartment. When she didn’t see anyone, she pressed her whole body through the doorframe and scanned the home before realizing she didn’t see her mom. “Go ahead and get settled, I’ll meet you guys in there.”

  The four angels were great at following Faye’s instructions as they entered the apartment after she motioned them to come inside. The coast was clear so far which allowed the guests of the home to make their way to the first room on the right as Faye had described. While they were checking out the room - that was rather small - Faye had aimlessly wandered around the home. She explored each room and each open area to look for her mother. Even though the young adult had seen her mother’s car parked outside, she couldn’t seem to find her. That is, until Faye could hear a low hum of noise coming from her mom’s bedroom.

  Now having a specific task at hand, Faye made her way down the familiar hallway until her mom’s door was standing in front of her. Faye leaned forward to place her ear against the cold, white door before raising her hand and giving the wood three firm knocks.

  It took a minute, but soon the door swung open to reveal her mom. She was wearing a bathrobe as she shook a towel against her head to dry her hair off. This made it clear that she had just gotten out of the shower and was probably about to get ready for bed. Taking a shower before bed was always a routine that Faye’s mother completed at nighttime. The warm water would put her in a calm state of relaxation so she could rest while watching tv until she fell asleep.

  Surprised about seeing her daughter in front of her, a smile made her face wrinkle where her skin was tight with age, “Faye! What are you doing here?” her mother questioned while continuing to dry out her hair with her white towel.

  This meant that Faye had to come up with a reason to give her mom for wanting to stay at her apartment. Faye figured that giving her most of the truth would leave little room for mistakes so she explained, “Well, I was attacked-”

  Except she didn’t let her daughter finish her sentence before becoming exceptionally worried. Her mouth opened with surprise while her eyebrows narrowed in concern as she parrotted, “Attacked?!”

  Faye could easily guess where her mom’s head was at because she was an attractive woman walking alone at night on campus. So she quickly shook her head to disregard the idea and corrected, “No, not like that. There was this-... dog. It was mean and got a good scare out of me so I was just wondering if I could stay here for a little bit until I know that the dog is gone?”

  Immediately, her mother’s eyes softened and gleamed with a caring expression while a soothing coo reassured her daughter, “Of course, sweetie. But what about class? It’s a long drive back.”

  “I have a few days grace period before anything is due. Besides, I haven’t visited for a while so I’m gracing you with my presence,” Faye stated with a confident and teasing smirk.

  A laugh erupted from the mother’s lip before agreeing, “Alright, that’s fair enough. You can stay. Only for a few days until class requires you to come back!”

  This got a joyful grin from Faye as she exclaimed, “Thanks, mom!” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her mother’s waist. As her mom hugged her back, some of her damp hair brushed again Faye but she ignored it to focus on the embrace. Faye was grateful for her mom and knew she could always count on her. Although, as Faye pulled out of the hug, she figured that it was best to leave out telling her about the angels and just hide their presence. They’d probably be gone tomorrow anyway.

  “Well, mom, I should head to bed,” Faye mumbled, feigning sleep.

  “Goodnight, sweetheart. Sleep well,” her mother leaned down to kiss her forehead before sending her off to bed.

  When the door of her mother’s room closed, Faye shuffled quietly to the spare room to consult with the angels. Fortunately, the guest bedroom was two rooms away from her mom’s so there was more of a chance that she wouldn’t be able to hear them. Even still, Faye didn’t want everybody getting loud.

  So she kept her voice to a murmur as she began, “There’s a cot in the closet. I’m sure that two people can fit on the bed; I think Sachael and Nathaniel would enjoy that.”

  The only one to enjoy the comment was Adriel who got a hearty chuckle from the joke while he exclaimed, “Ha! That’s a great idea.”

  Nathaniel’s eyes lit up with that same familiar glow of fire as he grumbled, “I’ll just sleep on the floor. Feel free to take the bed, Adriel. As long as your oversized body doesn’t crush it.”

  This hint of an insult made Adriel’s eyes puff up in sadness as he whined, “Nathaniel called me fat.”

  At first, Faye stared at the larger angel, dumbfounded by the idea that this giant could be hurt by such a juvenile comment. Then Adriel grinned and winked at her, and realization swept over her. Her shoulders bounced as she snickered. She was glad that one of the angels had a sense of humor. Then she continued with her sleeping arrangements, “Well Terra, instead of sleeping with a bunch of boys, you are welcome to my bedroom.”

  “What? Not going to offer me to sleep in your bed too?” with a cocky and an uncharacteristic smirk, Nathaniel teased.

  Faye rolled her eyes but only to hide the blush that heated her cheeks and neck. She quickly turned away from the angel that got under her skin to look at Terra, “And that’s our cue.”

  The two women trekked from the spare bedroom out into the hall. Faye led the way to her own bedroom before closing the door behind them. Her room looked smaller than the guest room but that was only because her bed was queen-sized so it took up the most space. The bed was nicely made as a tan duvet decorated with gray zig-zags was neatly tucked around the mattress. The sheets matched the fluffed up pillows that sat on the bed while leaning against the white wall behind it. While the bed seemed like a perfect set, a bright pink donut-shaped pillow also decorated her bed. There was even a hole in the center.

  It had been a hot minute since Faye had last seen her room. Her sky blue, wooden desk was still standing in the far corner with papers, books, pencils, pens, and other utensils scattered neatly around. She would stay up late, sitting in her cushioned - but still uncomfortable - chair with nothing but her nearby table-lamp to illuminate her desk so she could see her work in front of her. Faye spent hours at that same desk to explore her mind by drawing it out on paper. Sketches and artwork would consume her nights. She even liked to explore different techniques with things like charcoal, oil paints, paper mache, and other creative outlets.

  From an outside perspective, her room was very simplistic. The only other thing to give it character was a tall, looming lamp beside her bed which gave her enough light if she wanted to read in the middle of the night. Something she would find herself doing if she couldn’t sleep. A fuzzy bean bag in one of her corners. And an antique, wooden dresser.

  After reminiscing about her old room, Faye stepped forward until she heaved herself up onto her bed. Then she turned to Terra with a smile, “Feel free to join me over here.”

  She caught Terra peering around at the simple but delightful room in fascination. The angel seemed intrigued by the girl’s decorated room but she soon moved on to focus on joining Faye on the bed.

  “So…” Faye started awkwardly and unsure. “I’m sorry about the whole Hades thing.”

  With a soft, sweet smile, Terra shot back, “As I am sorry about the hellhound.”

  This got a scoff from Faye as she nodded, “Yeah, that sucked.”

  “We won’t allow you to be dragged into the middle of it again,” the angel reassured her.

  “Not like I could help much anyway,” Faye pointed out that she would be useless compared to the powerful angels with her. When a yawn was brought to her lips, it made her question out loud, “Do angels sleep?”

  Even discussing it, Faye noticed the angel’s eyes straining to stay open, “Not usually. But since our wings were taken away, we’re not as strong and we get drained much more easily now.”

  “Well, I guess it’s settled then. Let’s get some shuteye so you guys and take care of everything tomorrow,” Faye suggested.

  In agreement, Terra dipped her head in a single nod and the two relaxed on the bed. Even though there was a lot going on in both of their minds and it wouldn’t seem to settle, they were also exhausted. It had been a long day for the two girls so they were both drained. Within moments, the rest assuaged them until they were able to slip into a dreamless sleep.