He shook his head. “I would no longer be your Guardian. I’d be earthbound.”
“But we’d be together.” My voice was getting that excited twinge to it.
“Teagan, I wouldn’t have the power to protect you, not like I’ve done in the past. After all this time, I’m just supposed to stop? And now, facing Hadrian is an absolute certainty.”
Why was he arguing with me on this?
“Then we face him together, like you said.”
“And what if I fail?”
I swallowed hard at his words. That just couldn’t be possible. “You said I might be stronger than you against Hadrian. You need me.”
“You’re my responsibility. Not the other way around.”
Archangel’s blood or not, Garreth wasn’t going to relinquish his day job anytime soon.
“Teagan, Hadrian is after you more than he is after me.
I’m the obstacle in this game.”
“Then why give me your light?”
“Because I’m your Guardian. Every time I can prolong your life on this earth is worth it to me. It’s worth giving up mine for yours.”
What could I possibly say to that?
Garreth looked past my shoulder into the darkness that surrounded the porch. I took a tiny step closer to him.
My heart was having trouble finding the good-bye I knew I had to acknowledge.
“But what will you…”
“Shhh. I’ll come back tonight. I promise.”
I was still afraid, but the newfound courage surging within me was so much stronger than giving in to my fear. Our fingers touched then slipped away, and I watched him walk around his car, open the door, and get in.
I watched the clouds stretch across the fading light of the day like elegant fingers, curling and crushing the glow from existence. Above the trees the sky was already darkening, as though an ink spill was spreading across the heavens, darker than any night I had ever seen. I took one last look at the blackness that was quickly threading itself into a deep cloud, a blackness that was alive, hovering, waiting. I ran inside and slammed the door.
I shot a quick glance at the clock as I passed the kitchen, ran up the stairs two at a time to the bathroom, and stared at the face looking back at me. Nothing unusual, just a bit flushed, perhaps. My eyes looked a little wild, but beneath the frantic glimmer in them was something I could only detect as calm. My skin still felt warm from the pure protective light it had just absorbed.
I went to my room and sat down at my computer. It took a few seconds for it to start up and load. I impatiently bit my cuticles as I stared at the screen, waiting for the tiny icons to appear. The arrow of my mouse finally replaced the poky hourglass and I hurriedly Googled the word “angels.” Thousands of references came up for me to sift through. I didn’t have time for that. I typed in “Hadrian.” Nothing. Finally I typed the word “octagram” and at last it seemed I was getting somewhere.
The first listing had mathematical configurations involving the shape but it was the second that proved more promising. The website glowing on my computer screen was one containing information about magical symbols and their meanings. I scrolled down, perusing the contents until at last I found the word “octagram” and clicked on it. It took only seconds for the beautiful star to appear and take my breath away. There it was, a perfect likeness to what was engraved into the skin of Garreth’s right palm and I found myself missing him tremendously. I tore my eyes from the picture and scrolled down to read about it.
The eight-pointed star, or octagram, represents the cycle of time and the power of regeneration and return. It corresponds with the Wheel of the Year, therefore, representing the circle of seasons…
I read further, skimming over the parts pertaining to Wiccan and Pagan traditions. …the unbroken cycle of life-death-rebirth…Gnostic meaning creation…Nordic meaning protection…two forms of the octagram.
UNICURSAL is one continuous line forming the star, meaning harmony, knowledge, the future. BICURSAL is made up of two overlapping squares, representing conflict and separation.
I compared the two and without a doubt it was the unicursal star that was on Garreth’s hand. Still intrigued by the beauty of the eight-pointed star, I scrolled down, almost reaching the bottom of the web page.
The number eight is the number of the harvest, metaphorically allowing one to reap the seeds sown in the past. It is the number of fate, destiny, and justice and is long believed to symbolize completion.
Garreth had said my star was almost complete. What happens after that? I took a deep breath and pushed the thought to the back of my mind where I knew it wouldn’t stay for long. What good was anything if our time was almost up? Not just a few more days, but eternal time? I couldn’t help but feel his time to be my angel was swiftly coming to an end. I was scared of the unknown. Something, lingering in the not-so-distant future, would separate us for eternity, I was sure of it.
I scrolled back up to the top of the page to let myself study the two stars. Where had I seen the other one before? I touched the screen, tracing my finger over the squares that poked in and out of each other and a sudden chill traveled up my spine. I placed the website into my Favorites file for safekeeping just as I heard the door open downstairs, bringing with it the sound of my mother’s voice and a mouthwatering aroma wafting through the entire house.
From the moment I strolled into the kitchen, it was clear I was at the mercy of the white cardboard box with red lettering lying on the table. My stomach growled and my mother turned to look at me with a crooked grin.
“Did you skip lunch again?” She turned to the sink, focusing on the suds and the running water. “And I see you forgot about the dishes too.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
I was still in a state of disbelief from this afternoon with Garreth and I was struggling to cover it up with what I thought was supposed to be normal. I wondered if I looked different, because I certainly felt different. I tried to shake the trancelike stupor I was in and grabbed a dishtowel, but my mother beat me to it, wiping dry the last of the dishes she intended for our pizza.
She still looked tired but she was looking at me with concern now.
“Are you feeling all right, honey? You look a bit flushed.”
She held my chin in her hand, turning my face to one side, examining it.
“Fine, Mom. Just hungry. Actually, I do have a headache now that you ask.” I sat down and opened the lid of the box, studying each delectable triangle.
“You need to remember to eat properly. This crazy work schedule of mine is going to require you to be a bit more independent and responsible for yourself.” She took a huge bite then proceeded to douse her slice with a hefty shake of Parmesan cheese.
I found her comment amusing. My mother had no idea.
She wasn’t aware of any invisible enemy sporting large, dark wings. I chewed my pizza slowly, utterly lost in my own thoughts. I counted again. Five more days.
Five more days to spend with Garreth. Five more days to defeat Hadrian.
Impossible.
I began to feel the weight of what was expected of me.
The shrill ring of the phone momentarily shook me from my thoughts, but it wasn’t enough to distract me for long. I slipped back into the black hole of my dilemma, chewing my pizza as I pondered.
“It’s Claire.” My mother held the phone out to me.
“Hello?” I swallowed the last bit of crust.
“Teagan? What are you eating?”
“Pizza.”