At some point during the night Ariton laid down next to me on the soft mat. Our bodies lied curved together with his chest pressed to my back and his arm flung over me at the waist. I'm not sure if the placement of his arm was on purpose or if it just happened that way in his sleep. Either way it made me smile. It shouldn't. I should be mad at him for drugging me with tea. I should be afraid of the things I overheard last night. I should be embarrassed that he dressed me while I was unconcious. I should be all of those things, but I wasn't. What I was, was comfortable, and I could get used to sleeping next to him like this. Swaddled like a newborn in his encompassing warmth, my spirit was infused with calm. I felt safe with him, despite the short amount of time I had known him. And I couldn't ignore how our bodies fit together perfectly as if I were the yin to his yang. I was falling for this stranger. It wasn't like me at all to dive head first, all emotions in, into a relationship with anyone, let alone someone I'd just met and who wasn't even from Earth. What was I thinking? That was the problem. I wasn't thinking.
Ariton's soft snores were the only sound breaking the calm and quiet of the cave. A dull glow crept in the entrance indicating that day was on its way. I couldn't locate Cason anywhere and wondered where he was. While lying there, watching the sunlight creep closer and closer, I detected the sound of feet shuffling just beyond the mouth of the cave. That must be Cason I thought. My stomach gurgled with hunger and I hoped he had brought some food with him along with the supplies. The burger at the hospital was the last meal I had eaten and that was two days ago.
It was then that an unusual wind stirred sending a tide of cool air into the cave that would have been refreshing had it not carried with it an offensive sulfurous smell. I wrinkled my nose in response. Before I could nudge Ariton awake and ask him what he thought it was, his arm tightened around my waist and he pulled me into him while his other arm shot under my neck, palm landing firmly on my mouth. He pressed his lips to my ear and whispered almost inaudibly, "Don't say a word."
My heart began beating rapidly, like the thunderous hooves of one hundred horses racing through my chest. What was going on? Why did I need to keep quiet? It was only Cason. Maybe he wasn't the friend I'd come to believe he was. But it wasn't Cason moving around outside the cave. Cason's head peered up above a pile of rocks just a few feet in front of me. I hadn't seen him before because he was lying down in a low spot. Stress creased his forhead and his eyes had returned to their natural state. I was shocked how fear could darken already black eyes.
Ariton released his arm from my waist, pointed at Cason then pointed to a corner of the cave that daylight wasn't yet meeting. Cason nodded, silently rose, then stepped backward into the position that Ariton indicated allowing the darkness to absorb him.
Only moments later a large man shaped shadow stretched into the cave entrance blocking out the warm golden light of the morning. The sulfurous smell grew as he entered and it took everything I had to not gag beacuse of it. Ariton, sensing my struggle, tightened his hand over my mouth. My eyes widened when the figure stalked into full view. He wasn't merely a man; he was an...angel? A dark angel.
Massive black wings protruded from the back of his six and half foot-tall frame. Even with his wings in a resting position they stretched at least two feet above his head and came out around the sides of his body. There were certainly more pressing issues in that instant, but the first thought that came to my mind was that he must have a difficult time going through doorways.
He paced slowly, yet with intention, like an apex predator stalking his prey. Dressed like a Roman warrior, a black armored plate covered his chest and back and rested over a red tunic that left his muscular arms and legs bare. Covering his wrists, and his ankles to his shins, were protective leather pieces. On his feet he wore leather sandals, similar in style to what Ariton provided me. This dark angel was either not capable of magic or he didn't need contact with ground to perform it. He carried no weapon with him, but somehow, I didn't think he needed one.
YOU ARE READING
Changeling
Фэнтези"What, Calliope? You thought you wouldn't feel my hand, did you?" A timid smile pulled at the corners of his lovely mouth. "I don't know what I thought." I stared down at our hands resting together on the bed. A long concelaled and tightly w...
