An Angel and a Demon

Chapter 3

The cool air of the night brought with it a chilly draught that snuck its way up Marilyn’s shirt. She shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around her, waiting for her mother to begin her explantation. They were seated on sofa on the front porch, with a faded journal lying on the bench between them. Lydia took a deep breath and began.

“Do you remember that bedtime story I used to tell you? The one about the war between the fairies and the centaurs?” she asked.

Marilyn nodded.

“Well, there’s actually truth in it.

So, centuries ago, in ancient times, humans discovered a new breed of...well, humans. Two new breeds, technically. They were found in hiding, all by themselves. These were the supposed ‘angels’ and ‘demons’. They looked exactly like humans, spoke like humans and even  learnt what humans taught. The only difference was that they had either wings or horns and fangs.”

She paused when she saw the look on Marilyn’s face.

“I know it sounds cliché and probably unrealistic, but all clichés have to start somewhere, pumpkin. How else do you think they were born? Just bear with me.

Ok, so back to my story. After they were discovered, society became fascinated by their existence. They allowed themselves to be studied by scholars and prodded and pricked by scientists, because they too wanted to learn about themselves, since they hadn’t had the same technology as humans. The demons had enhanced strength, speed and agility, whereas the angels could, obviously, fly. However, they had one thing in common that no human could explain scientifically. They had magic. And when I say magic, no, I don’t mean the magic you hear about in stories and fairytales. I use the term pretty lightly.

Both races had the ability to manipulate matter. They could literally re-arrange the atoms in a person’s body, or other objects. Now, when it was first discovered, people didn’t understand the concept of matter and materials, so naturally they assumed it was plain old magic.

Obviously, people are people, and there was a handful of them who didn’t approve of living amongst another race which was somewhat superior to them. As time went on, more and more people started to believe that they were a threat to the existence of humans and that they should all be banished. Riots started, and that turned more violent which eventually ended up into a fully waged war. No, I am not exaggerating.”

Marilyn held her hand up to interrupt with a frown.

“Wait, so the angels and demons were on the same side?”

“Yes, and no. You see, during the war, the angels started to think that the demons were the reason that the humans were against both races. They started to believe that the demons were the ones who messed things up. And so, the angels left the demons in the middle of the war and formed an alliance with the humans.”

“Wait, but why? That was so random. Why did they just come up with the theory out of the blue and then just-” she paused, an idea coming to her. She looked back at her mother. “Wait, did the angels just look for an excuse to go against the demons?”

Her mother smiled and nodded.

“You can see that you’re my daughter.

The angels were cunning folk that made themselves look like saints to the humans. They realised that they weren’t going to win the war against humans, purely because they were outnumbered, so they turned the humans against the demons. And then, they left the demons, who were banished or enslaved soon after, and the angels treated like heroes. Hence, their names. I actually used to be ashamed to be one, but then I kind of realised that you can’t change it, no matter how hard you try. You can only accept it.”

Marilyn processed the information and adjusted her seated position to get comfy once again.

“Ok, so then if all of this is true, why isn’t this whole thing in every single history book ever written? Did they erase everyone’s memory or something?”

“Actually, yeah.”

Marilyn raised an eyebrow. Her mother shrugged.

“They could manipulate matter. It makes sense that they found a way to hide everything, purely because of guilt and an evolving world.”

There was silence for a few minutes as Lydia waited for her daughter to process the massive influx of information. Eventually, Marilyn asked another question.

“So, like, are we descendants from the angels?”

Her mother nodded.

“And there are also people living among us who might be demons?” she asked slowly, thinking of Zayn.

Lydia thought about it.

“It’s unlikely, but it’s not impossible. There are very few of us left, especially demons, so I don’t know-” she caught the look on Marilyn’s face and she stared at her.

“Wait. Marilyn, what happened?” she asked.

Marilyn bit her lip and smiled guiltily.

“I may or may not know for a fact that Zayn is a demon,” she said innocently.

Lydia stared at her for a moment and then sat back and looked to the front.

“Huh. What’s the chances, am I right?” she said and smiled at Marilyn.

A thought hit her and she beamed at her mother.

“Wait, do you have wings?”

She grinned.

“Of course I do. And so did your grandmother. I may not have the time to teach you, but this journal will help. It’s your grandmother’s,” she said as she picked it up and handed it to Marilyn. It smelled like the attic. “She made me swear never to read it and told me to give it to you when you discover your wings.”

Marilyn dusted off the cover and flipped through some of the pages. It was a beautifully thick thing, filled with newspaper snippets, paperclips and passages of beautiful, clear handwriting. The ink stains were on every page, and somehow they made the journal look so much prettier.

“One last question,” said Marilyn, looking up from the book. “Do you think Zayn’s dad will tell him about the war and stuff?”

“He’s supposed to. I doubt he’ll paint us angels in a good light, though. Not everyone tells their children the story in a neutral way, like I did. The demons hate us. Just be careful you don’t lose Zayn in this whole thing, okay?”

Marilyn smiled and promised. She couldn’t imagine a life without him.

After talking for a while about nothing but nonsense, she and her mother went inside and to bed. She had enjoyed just spending time with her mother. They didn’t do it nearly enough as they used to. But Marilyn was too caught up in her thoughts to go to sleep. She wondered how life would be different from now on. She wondered if she would still be friends with Zayn. Then she thought about it and realised that she hadn’t really made any other good friends. It had always been just Zayn and her, the pair who understood each other perfectly. She didn’t plan on changing that anytime soon.

She sighed and picked up her grandmother’s journal, reading through the pages. However, she didn't get far. The sixth page echoed away in her head as she dozed off into a deep sleep.