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Zoe
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Everything I’d just learned threatened to explode in my head. It was too much. I ran out of the den and down the hallway.
“Zoe ...” Shay yelled.
“Let her go. She needs time by herself.”
I grabbed my shoes on the way out of the mudroom and flung open the back door, trying to put on my shoes as I ran. The coordination required was far beyond me, so I dropped them. My socks were officially ruined as soon as I hit my first puddle, but who cared?
When I reached the old tire swing, I climbed aboard then kicked off the ground and spun. The world blurred around me and I hung my head back, remembering the days and nights I’d swing with Kieran on one side, me on the other, and our feet in the middle. We’d spent hours talking about our families, school, other kids, or we’d just gaze up at the stars and not say anything at all.
But I didn’t know Kieran anymore. He was a stranger to me.
I suddenly felt very small with the weight of this new responsibility. As the tire spun, I dropped my head to my chest, closed my eyes, and visualized a jumbled mess of wings, claws, and demon horns.
“Hey, Z,” Kieran said, coming up behind me. “You doing okay?”
I shrugged.
He climbed onto the swing opposite me. He tapped the tip of my nose and my shoulders slouched.
“Talk to me, Zoe. You okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” I lied. “I’m just fine. You’re an angel, I’m an angel, we get to go fight demons ... just another day, right?”
He didn’t speak for a moment, just swung gently, letting the swing’s chains chime.
I didn’t want to look at him. “Tell me about the ones at the warehouse.”
He scratched his head, and I wondered if he had any idea how insane all this sounded. “Those were Knights, the lowest level of demons. Sam uses them because they can blend in with Ordinaries. They have the most human traits and can be killed like a human can—at least until they regenerate. They must be beheaded before they vanish so when they come back to life, they won’t remember what happened right before they die. They’re not bright, but they adapt quickly to their surroundings. Knights are responsible for causing just about all the so-called ‘man-made’ destruction in the world, like highway pile-ups, cult suicides, acts of terrorism ...”
I shook my head, afraid to believe any of it. “So tell me, am I safe here?”
“Yes. You’re safe here with me. And your house has some protection wards. It’s how you can stay in the same house without fear of discovery.”
“Do my parents know what I am?”
“No ... at least, I don’t think so.”
“How could they not?”
“An angel would’ve had to tell them. And it’s better if they didn’t know.”
I dug in the deep pocket of my skirt and pulled out my cell phone, checking the time again. “I gotta go home.” I slipped it back in my pocket. It felt strange to think about regular, human events. “It’ll be dinner soon, and it’s a school night.” I slid off the tire and walked toward the house. Halfway there, I picked up my Converses, crammed my mud-covered socks into them, and walked the rest of the way barefoot.
“Maybe you should call your parents and stay here, for a while longer,” Kieran called out.
“I can’t just fight demons, you know. I have chores and homework to do, too.”
“Want me to walk you home?” He still sat on the swing.
I turned back and shook my head. “No, I need to be alone for a while. But thanks.”
“At least have Shay walk you home.”
I didn’t respond. His whole life and everything in it had been a lie. His life with me, anyway.
The truth was I wasn’t mad at him, exactly. It was just a lot to take in. He had kept details from me for all these years, and pretty major details, apparently. How could I trust him now? Okay, I figured he might have thought I would freak out or maybe not understand, but the fact remained this was the biggest part of his life, and he’d kept it entirely hidden. The memories I had of him growing up with me were a sham.
Kieran was not the person I’d thought he was. He wasn’t even a person. In a way, I guess I was more upset about Kieran’s cover up than I was about the existence of Enlightens.
What did that say about me as a person?
When I reached the back door, Shay blocked the whole frame, his arms folded across his chest. There was no way for me to get past him, not unless he moved.
“You can’t leave. We need to continue—” he said.
“I’m not doing this now.” I held up my hand and shook my head.
He moved to let me pass and followed, then stopped at the front door. I felt his eyes on me the whole time I walked toward my own house.
By the time I opened my front door, I was in shock. I couldn’t even recall the walk from Kieran’s house to mine. My body moved like I was a robot, and I shuffled to the kitchen, automatically starting to set the table. In a daze, I opened the cupboard, removed four plates and glasses, then turned as my younger sister bounded into the room.
“Where have you been? Out with Kieran?” she taunted.
Stella was incredibly annoying. I shuddered to think I might have been like that when I’d been thirteen. With everything else going on, I couldn’t deal with her right now.
“I’m going to my room. Tell Mom I’m home.”
“Wait!” she yelled. “You’re not done setting the table! You’re going to get in trouble!”
I didn’t care. I climbed the stairs and headed down the hallway to my room. I stood in the doorway and looked around at my lavender walls, taking in my simple white furniture and the sleigh-styled queen bed with purple flowered bedding, the one I had begged for on my tenth birthday. Everything in here was familiar to me.
Unlike Kieran.
I shut the door and plopped face down on my bed. After a while, during which I tried in vain to forget what I’d just learned, I lifted my head and started doing my AP English assignment, preparing for a discussion of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But the words blurred on the page behind my tears. I grabbed the edge of the comforter, climbed under the covers, and closed my eyes, shutting out the world.
Someone knocked gently on the door. “Zoe? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine, Mom,” I replied, trying to sound cheerful. I did not want to have a discussion with her right now.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
“That’s not an answer. Did something happen at school?”
“No. I just have a lot going on right now,” I mumbled. People suck. Lying people suck. We’d never fought before. Was I fighting with Kieran?
“Well, okay. Come down for dinner. I made Chicken Parmesan.”
After a few more seconds, I dragged my body out of bed and shuffled downstairs, joining my family around the table. I plastered on a smile so my parents wouldn’t grill me about my day, and tuned out everything said. I moved food around my plate, unable to keep up the appearance nothing was wrong.
“Honey, are you feeling okay?” Dad asked, apparently noticing my tactic. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I couldn’t tell him the truth.
“Yeah. I’m just not hungry tonight. Lots going on in my head that I have to sort through, um, with school. May I be excused?”
“Sure thing.”
I carried my plate to the sink and stared out the kitchen’s bay window. The sun had just set, casting a brilliant array of blues and purples across the sky. The image of wings flashed in my mind, making me drop my plate into the sink. Can’t I get away from the angel thing for just a few minutes?
As I passed the living room window, I stopped and peered outside again, suddenly alert. Something had moved in the tree line in the backyard. I scooted closer to the window, focusing on the spot, but saw nothing. My heart beat faster, and I thought back to the warehouse. Demons! Two had already found me today, and Devin had warned there would be more.
I ran up the stairs, shut the door, and dove onto the bed. As I bundled my comforter into a security blanket around me, I reached for my cell phone. I needed my best friend.
Me: Hey K. Sorry I ran out. It’s just a lot to take in, ya know
It only took a second before he replied.
Kieran: Understand
Me: I think there’s someone or something in the backyard
Kieran: You are safe inside your house
Me: Really?
Kieran: Trust me, you are protected with us around
I wondered if he’d ever know how good that made me feel. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to get my heartbeat to slow as I typed.
Me: Got homework to do. I’ll see you tomorrow. Usual spot
Kieran: Sleep well
I slid the phone to the side and pulled my textbook closer, trying to focus. When my cell beeped after only a second, I grabbed it and smiled at his text.
Kieran: Are we good?
Me: Yeah. We are
After AP English was done, I grabbed my astronomy book and opened to chapter seventeen. I suppose it didn’t help that I was working on an assignment about the solar system and neighboring planetary systems, because my mind quickly shifted to thinking about the Enlightens. I slammed the book closed and tossed it into my backpack. If the teacher called on me tomorrow, I’d have to wing it.
Wing it.
I grabbed a tank top and boy shorts from the dresser and headed to my bathroom, where I brushed my teeth and washed my face. Finally, I stretched onto the bed, relishing the quiet time.
The prophecy foretold my birth. It seemed impossible ... and slightly ridiculous, if I was being honest with myself. How was I supposed to become a great savior of the world? I couldn’t kill people. I wasn’t a leader at all. I wasn’t ... anything.
But I had Kieran. He would help me. Shay, too. Maybe.
I dropped off to sleep, dreaming of his aqua eyes and blocking out everything else.