SciFi and Fantasy Stories: Accidental Angel: Part 2

Erela shoved open her door, groaning as she fought the lock for her keys. “Ow!” She grabbed her chin as she tasted blood from where her hand flew back to strike her mouth when the lock finally released. Was the whole world out to get her? Did she build up some unbelievable level of bad karma in a past life or something?

She smiled as her frustration melted away. Her guest peeked his head out of the kitchen. The small humming noise he seemed to use instead of speech reached her ears, and she shook her head.

“Hello,” she called as she shrugged out of her backpack. She shook her hands in an attempt to get rid of the burning itch that the cold always brought on. “I see you didn’t get into too much trouble today.

The word ‘No’ flashed across the television set that only ever bothered to show her static prior to his arrival. She was glad that her cell had stopped beeping every two seconds. It was killer on its already weak battery.

“What’d you do?”

‘Watched clouds… Sang’

“We need to find you a name, my friend,” she sighed as she hung her wet coat on the tepid radiator. She wished that the banging noises it always made meant that heat was flowing, but somehow it never did. She glanced to the TV.

‘Friend?’

Erela turned back to him and offered a sad smile. The look of disbelief in his wide eyes broke her heart. “Yes. What else would you be?”

He shrugged and looked away. An idle hand reached up to rub the back of his neck, blocking his numbered tattoo as he did so.

The woman smiled and approached him. She reached up to turn his face so he’d look at her. “How about ‘Kasril’? or maybe ‘Damien’?”

She glanced away from his flushing face and to the TV. A smile crept over her lips. “Damien it is then.”

His smile widened, and the humming intensified as he turned. Erela lost herself in the sight of the massive wings that hung behind him like a majestic black cape. Whatever he was, he was amazing. The ability to have such things just appear and disappear defied reason—so did the amazing recovery he’d made. Normal people didn’t heal from wounds like that in three days time.

“So, Damien,” she called, forcing her attention away from his entrancing feathers. “Any more memories?”

His head shook as he looked down into the sink that had been clogged for months. Damien raised his hands and turned on the faucet.

Erela rushed forward. “What are y…?” She didn’t want to deal with the rotting smell that came from her disgusting drain when the water she couldn’t bail out turned stagnant. If only the building management would fix it…

Her mouth dropped as she realized the water was still flowing, unimpeded, down the drain. She turned her gaze up to Damien and furrowed her brows in surprise.

His simple smile answered her as a soft, red tint colored his cheeks. He shrugged and turned away to seat himself at the table where his finger trailed along the rough grain in the even more rough surface.

“Did you do that, Damien?”

The man’s mouth turned up slightly when she used his name. He nodded a little.

She scratched her head and smiled. “Thank you. It’s going to be nice not to have to wash the dishes in the tub anymore.”

“Hhh… hhhaa…”

Erela furrowed her brow and reached out to rest her hand over his. He lifted his frustrated eyes, and his face relaxed a little. She smiled and shook her head.

“I know you’re trying,” she offered. “It’s not important that you start speaking tomorrow.”

He smiled and lowered his eyes again.

She pulled out her phone and read the text. “No. I’ve never heard of a blood-bound. I’ll look it up at on the school’s computers tomorrow though. Okay?”

Damien nodded.

Blood-bound – (n) ¹a theoretical being created for the specific purpose of serving ²one who is bound by blood to serve another; (v-present tense) the act of creating a blood-bound

Erela rolled her eyes. Well that was not helpful. She had to wonder though… who would be talking about it around Damien and why? A dark feeling wrapped her stomach in a tight knot. Something wasn’t right, and she needed to know more.

“Find whatcha looking for?”

She reached up to grasp her shirt over her chest as the sudden voice startled her. “That wasn’t nice!” she reprimanded as she turned to frown at her hospital administration project partner.

“Sorry, Erela,” he laughed as he plopped down into the seat beside her. “I think you’re work’n too hard.” His finger reached out to point just below her eyes. “You’re gonna have a whole travel set soon.”

“Stop it, Bradley,” she sighed as she turned back to the computer screen. “I don’t need encouragement to want to quit my job. And that’s the only thing keeping me in school.”

“Ya really could get a better job, ya know.”

“I know… but Ms. Grant wouldn’t be able to find a replacement.”

“Then she should pay ya more.”

“I can’t…”

“Anyway, ya interested in the blood-bound?” Bradley cut her off.

Erela turned to look at the blond. She heard something beneath his casual tone, and it made that nagging weight in her gut intensify. “Yes.”

“I would’n be,” he commented as he stretched before planting his hands behind his head. “It’s all bad news.”

“What do you mean?”

Bradley pointed his stubbled chin at the computer screen. “ ‘At call’s ‘em theoretical’,” he scoffed. “S’only because the government don’t recognize they exist. Dun’ mean they don’t. Leave it Erela. It’s bad news.”

“You mentioned that,” she sighed as she glanced back at the screen.

“ ‘At’s ‘cause it’s true.”

“How do you know this?”

He chuckled. “Let’s just say I lived a different life ‘fore I came back to school. Trust me here. You don’t want nothing to do with the blood-bound or their psycho blood-lords.”

Erela swallowed hard, trying to decide if she thought he was just having her on or if he was serious. She’d caught glances of some of his scars… “I have a friend,” she started.

“Really?” he teased. “Good for you! See? If ya stay faithful to the program, someday you’ll fully integrate into society.”

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head with a sneer. “Bradley,” she hissed. “Please.”

He stifled his chuckled and raised his eyebrow for her to continue.

“My friend doesn’t have many memories… He asked me if I knew about the blood-bound. I have to figure something out… for him.”

Bradley raised an eyebrow and frowned. “Him?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Bradley, him. Is it so incomprehensible that I may be able to communicate with the male species beyond you?”

“Man, calm down.” He waved his hands. Bradley ran his hand over his chin. “Guess ‘at settles it. I gotta meet this guy. How ‘bout tonight?”

“What?” she asked as she raised her eyebrow.

“Good!” he nearly shouted as he leapt to his feet and clapped his hands together once. “Glad ‘at’s settled. I’ll go home with ya after class.” Bradley winked at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll buy dinner or something, so I’m not totally imposing.”

Erela watched him walk away, too surprised to call after him and too confused to even have anything to call out. What had gotten into Bradley? It didn’t matter. She had to get to class too before she was late.

It was a good thing class hadn’t run over again. She wasn’t sure she was anywhere near ready to walk home with Bradley. It was going to be embarrassing enough to take him to her apartment without having to walk the whole degrading route.

If he even noticed, the man didn’t make any indication. There was no raised eyebrow. No sneer. No wide-eyed terror. No surprise. He only followed her up the rickety stairs, commenting on the ridiculous graffiti on the walls. “This ‘Hooga’ sounds like a real genius. Hope ‘e does alright with that rash-thing.”

Erela stifled a giggle and shook her head. “Personally, I think that’s the landlady.”

“Tch. Lucky you,” he commented, switching the fast-food bags to his other hand.

Erela was surprised to find that her lock both turned with ease and released her key as soon as she tugged on it. “Wow,” she breathed.

“Impressed with locks, are ya?” Bradley laughed as he stepped in behind her. “You should see these new-fangled things they got now. They call ‘em ‘lamps’.”

The woman rolled her eyes and swung the door shut, tossing her backpack on the floor. She bolted the door and latched the chain as she shrugged out of her coat.

“Damien!” she called as she turned. “Da…”

She stopped when she realized that Damien stood in the doorway to her kitchen. His face had frozen in a mix of fear and anger—an emotion she’d yet to see on his face—as he stared at Bradley. He reached up and covered the tattoo on his neck as his other arm moved to grip the tattoo on his left arm. His sun-burst-scarred chest nearly collapsed with the frantic breathing that took him. Bradley likewise stood motionless, staring at the man. His expression held little that Erela could read. What was going on?

“Damien, this is Bradley,” she said, stepping forward as she tried to read more into his expression. “Bradley, this is Damien.”

Damien’s frantic eyes flicked to her, and he shook his head. Flashing at the TV caught her attention. A million words flickered over the screen—none of which she could catch for the speed that they appeared and disappeared.

“Damien… Are you okay?”

“Erela,” Bradley started.

She glanced to him, startled by his uncharacteristic, subdued tone. “What’s wrong, Bradley?”

“Erela, he’s a blood-bound.” Bradley crept forward, lifting his arm to reach for Erela.

“Don’t touch!”

Erela froze in surprise as she found Damien suddenly standing between her and Bradley. She stared at his back that now sported slick, black wings—unlike the soft, fluffy ones she’d seen before. More than that—did Damien just shout? The voice was both terrifying and filled with terror. She’d never imagined that anything like that could come from the quiet, gentle man she’d interacted with up to that point.

Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at Bradley over Damien’s shoulder. Bradley’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes had flown wide.

Damien grunted as his hand flew up to grip his head. Erela cried out and reached for him as he fell to his knees. “Damien!” The woman rushed around to face him. Her hand reached out to touch his anguished face as her voice dropped to a whisper. “What’s wrong?”

“Erela…”

She divided her attention to look back to Bradley. “What?”

“Is’e your blood-bound?” the man asked as he leveled betrayed, angry eyes on her.

“Of course not, stupid,” she growled before shaking her head and turning back to Damien. She would have to deal with Bradley later.

Confusion and fear flashed in his pale eyes as his head shook. “Rrrun,” he rasped. “Run… now.”

“Damien, tell me what’s wrong… Text me if you have to!” she cried as worry started to drive her wits from her.

She turned her attention to Bradley and frowned. “Why is he afraid of you?”

Bradley sighed and shook his head as his eyes dropped closed. “Look,” he started. “I told ya I lived a different life. I also told ya that ya don’t want nothing to do with the blood-bound. Given his reaction, I’d think you’d be inclined to listen.”

Erela looked back to Damien, who now had both hands tangled in his black hair. His pained whimpers twisted her heart. She shook her head as she reached to help him stand. “It’ll be okay,” she comforted. Erela tucked herself under his arm to guide him away. “I promise he won’t hurt you.” She turned to glare at Bradley. “Right?”

He raised his hands in defense. “Right.”

After Erela had Damien settled at the kitchen table with a cold cloth on his forehead, she turned to Bradley. “You said he’s a blood-bound. How do you know?”

He glanced down and shuffled his feet. “The tattoo on his neck.”

“Explain.”

“They all have one—all different numbers though. My best guess is it’s like an item number. ‘At’s about all I know of it.”

“That’s not enough to warrant me not wanting anything to do with them.”

He rolled his eyes and frowned at her. “I said that ‘cause they’re killers. Cold. Brutal. They’re like machines of death. They do their blood-lord’s dirty work, and they do it without a thought.”

“How do you know this?” she asked.

He shook his head as a flush covered his face. “S’not important. Trust me.”

Erela narrowed her eyes. “Why did he react to you like he did?”

Bradley had the courtesy to look sheepish as he rubbed at a spot in the carpet with his toe. “I have a cousin who looks a lot like me. And this psycho may or may not be very involved in the whole blood-bound mess.”

“I’m not sure I believe that,” she spat.

“No, really,” he looked up. “I don’t know what my cousin’s up to; but he is a world-class slime, and he does look like me. Regardless, I know what the blood-bound are like.”

“Damien’s not like that,” she snarled.

“You saw ‘im tonight,” Bradley pointed out.

Erela scoffed. “You just said that you have a twisted cousin that he may or may not have come in contact with. Didn’t you see how terrified of you he was? But Damien didn’t even touch you.”

Bradley pressed his lips together and raised and eyebrow. “I’ll admit that’s odd,” he answered. “Still… listen to reason…”

“No!” she snapped. “You’re wrong about him. I know you are.”

Bradley sighed and shook his head. “Did he say where he came from?”

“He doesn’t remember.”

“Who’s his blood-lord?”

“We didn’t even know he was blood-bound,” she reminded.

“Maybe you didn’t,” he growled.

“Bradley, just stop it,” she demanded. “You’ve had little to no interaction with him. I’m telling you he’s confused, and he’s lost. Nothing more.”

Bradley sighed and shook his head. “Erela, just be careful, okay?”

“I’m always careful,” she lied. “How do you think I’ve managed to survive this long in this neighborhood?”

“Dumb luck?”

“Don’t push it. I’m still irritated with you.”

The man’s blue eyes widen in disbelief at her words. “For what? Tell’n the truth?”

She raised an eyebrow and grinned a little at him. “No. For thinking I would have a blood-bound.”

“Oh…”

Erela looked down at the man who slept on the makeshift bed she’d fashioned for him. His stormy face told of nightmares she couldn’t help him fight. His hum morphed into short, strangled moans that tore at her heart. When she closed her eyes, all she could picture was a dying bird. What had he seen in Bradley that frightened him so badly?

“Shhh,” she tried to quiet as she reached out to run her hand along his cheek. “It’s okay, Damien…”

He gasped. Erela was almost frightened by the speed and intensity he exhibited when he darted to grab her hand. She forced her breathing to return and tried to calm her heart when he didn’t move further—just clutched her hand.

His eyes opened, but he didn’t turn them up to look at her. The grey orbs just stared straight ahead.

The blank look made shivers race up her spine. “Damien, are you okay?”

“Erela…” he moaned.

Her eyes widened in surprise at the ease it seemed he spoke with. Even when he’d shouted at Bradley it had sounded more like a bottled explosion than real speech. Her name had sounded almost normal… unstrained.

“Yes?”

“He’s dangerous…”

Erela tried not to wince, but it was difficult. Listening to his voice was almost painful. His low voice didn’t sound unpleasant—on the contrary; it was smooth and soft. Still, when he spoke, she felt like something was stabbing through her heart. “Who? Bradley?”

He nodded. “I know him,” Damien murmured as a shudder ran over his body. The frightened man pinched his tearing eyes shut and turned his face into the pillow. The TV flashed. ‘He’s a killer.’

Erela swallowed and reached out with her free hand to touch his shoulder. “How do you know him?”

‘I don’t know… Erela… I’m so frightened.’

“I know you are,” she tried to comfort. But what could she say? In all honesty, she didn’t know either man that well. How could they have such a bitter fear of the other? “Damien, listen to me,” she started.

He turned his face up to look at her.

“Bradley’s an okay guy. I trust him, just like I trust you. I don’t know what’s gone on between you two, but I know that neither of you wants to hurt the other. You’re both just afraid.”

Damien’s face showed doubt, but he didn’t say or write anything more on the subject. He only looked away and sighed. The man nodded once and released her hand.

Looking at him like that broke her heart.