The Book of the Watchers

Chapter Ten

After breakfast, we made our way to the backyard, which just so happened to be a dozen or so acres, bordered by thick evergreen trees. The first thing I noticed was the almost military-style obstacle course, with high walls, targets, dummies, bars, and dozens of other structures that seemed to be purpose-built to hurt you. Danny grinned when he saw the look of horror on my face.

“Don’t worry, Tasia. This is our training. You don’t have to do it unless you really want to.” He chuckled, and then took off at a run towards the first obstacle, a ten-foot wall that was completely smooth, not a handhold to be seen. This didn’t seem to deter Danny, he simply leapt into the air, and landed perfectly atop the wall. My jaw dropped. From there, he pounced down on the first dummy, pushing it to the ground and using the momentum to hop back onto his feet. He then took off at a sprint, heading for a low bar, no more than a foot-and-a-half off the ground. Expecting him to easily step over it, I gasped as he slid to the ground, his speed pushing him under the bar, and then he was running again.

Jaime grinned down at me. “My turn.” And then he was off and running, following Danny around the course with incredible speed and agility. I noticed that they could both easily manage twelve-foot jumps at a run, and six-feet from a stand-still. They moved as fast as lightning, even though they were obviously slowing down so that I could see what they were doing.

After completing the course several times each, within the space of ten minutes, they jogged back over to me, laughing and covered with dirt and grass; Danny with his dark hair, dark eyes and tan skin next to Jaime with his light brown hair and sky-coloured eyes. I noticed that Danny was the taller of the two, but not by much, and had broader shoulders, whereas Jaime was built more for agility.

“Warm up’s done,” Danny grinned, dusting himself off.

“Warm up,” I muttered, shaking my head as I gazed around the enormous arena. “Of course.”

“Now we get into the fun stuff." Danny took off back towards the house, and returned moments later with two swords. Not fencing foils, but actual swords. My stomach clenched.

"You...fight with swords?" I chewed my bottom lip, watching anxiously as Danny tossed one of the blades through the air, and Jaime caught it effortlessly.

"We angels are an honorable bunch. We don't believe in fighting with guns unless we really have to. Our fights are a test of prowess in battle, and guns are just too...easy." Jaime tossed his sword from hand-to-hand, testing the balance.

"Oh." I murmured, watching as the boys sprung into action. Steel clashed against steel, sending sparks flying. The sounds hurt my ears, but I was awestruck watching them move as though they were part of the same person, the ebbs and flows of the battle were mesmerising.

Danny was far more vicious, putting much more strength into his blows, while Jaime seemed fluid-like, moving and shifting around Danny as though he were a shadow. It was beautiful and terrifying to watch. 

The battle continued for a long time, but I never felt bored. They were a shifting life-force, like something I'd never seen before. They were so evenly matched that neither landed a blow on the other, and eventually they called a tie, sweating and panting.

"Holy moley." I breathed, crossing my arms over my chest. "What are you guys, like medieval knights or something?"

"Jaime was, for a while." Danny smirked. "He was the Guardian of a young squire who was supposed to participate in a tourney, but Jaime knew he'd get himself killed, so he knocked the kid out and won the tourney dressed in the squire's armour. That kid was knighted that afternoon, at the age of thirteen, with no idea what had happened. He became one of the most famous knights in history, little Henry Percy. All thanks to this guy." Danny thumped Jaime on the back.

"Whoa." I muttered. "How old are you guys?"

"Time doesn't exist up there." Jaime told me, wiping the sweat off his brow. "We could have been alive forever, or for ten minutes, and we wouldn't feel any different. My earliest memory of earth, however, was the Treaty of Paris in 1259. Danny was around a few centuries before me, though."

My jaw dropped. I turned to Danny. "You've been alive for over a thousand years?"

"No. We aren't 'alive' in Heaven, we're entities. We are only alive while we're on earth. All we have from our time up there are memories." Danny leant his sword against the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Up there, we're nothing but ghosts."