Genesis

CHAPTER 24 Two Princes

I was in heaven. School was going well, except for Statistics; I had a fun job; Georgia turned out to be great; my family seemed happy; and I had a gorgeous, rich boyfriend with super powers. Life was, as they say, good.

It was autumn in Georgia and the nursery was now open only on weekends. That gave me time to take Michael up on his offer to tutor me in Statistics. I had put it off initially to placate Ty, although he hadn't asked me to. But after he had completely opened up to me, I didn't want to jeopardize our new-found closeness. However, the "C" I made on my first quarter report card now made tutoring unavoidable. Michael and I rendezvoused every day on my back porch about fifteen minutes after Ty dropped me off. He knew that we were studying together but preferred not to talk about it. I was only too happy to comply.

My grasp of data analysis was improving and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Michael. He wasn't a "man of few words"; no, he could hold his end of a conversation, but his words were always well chosen and kind. He saw the good in everything and never seemed to get rattled.

"Essie, have you had a chance to do any more research on demons?" he asked out of the blue one day. So much for well chosen words. I didn't like this question.

"I haven't bothered. Why do you ask?"

"Why haven't you bothered? Don't you want to get to the truth?" he asked in a tone that affirmed his concern.

"And what truth is that, Michael?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"That there are angels and demons in this world ― good and evil. Demons steal, kill and destroy. They masquerade as beings of light but they are tempters and deceivers whose only purpose is to keep humans from understanding the truth. Everything that Ty says and does is contrived to captivate and there's not much you can do about it. I'm concerned that your feelings for him are blinding you to that."

"The truth is that more research isn't going to accomplish anything. I've verified everything that each of you has said. As far as I can tell, you're both telling the truth, but that truth is up for interpretation. Ty and Mara are not evil and neither are their parents. It looks to me like you're all part of the same league, just playing on different teams. And until I see something evil with my own eyes, this discussion is closed."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"What?"

"That you'll become embroiled in something evil some day and it will be too late."

"You don't need to worry about me, Michael. I can take care of myself."

"Just promise me one thing then."

"What's that?"

"Promise me that you'll think of me if you're ever in danger. I told you that I'm tuned in to you and that I can teleport. All you have to do is want for me to be there and I will be. And I promise you right now," he said unequivocally as he took my hands in his and stared into my eyes, "that I will never let anything happen to you."

"Thank..."

My thank you was unexpectedly interrupted as Ty burst through the back door.

"What the...?" he spewed as he pushed Michael aside and almost knocked him over in his chair.

I jumped up, startled. "Ty," I yelled. "Knock it off. He wasn't doing anything wrong."

"He doesn't get to hold your hands and be your protector. That's my job," he yelled back at me.