Avenging Cupids

Chapter 9: Heart-Shaped Bliss

“The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious.  And why shouldn't it be? - it is the same the angels breathe.”

 — Mark Twain, Roughing It

Elle nestled closer to Chandler. She buried her face in his neck and threw her sneakered feet over his lap. He smelled like sweat and cool water aftershave—a scent she associated with football players. Her heart was no longer in the movie; producers had no idea what “scary” was. Poltergeists, hillbilly serial killers armed with chainsaws, and diseased zombies were so overrated. 

The thing the world should fear the most was love and the demons that were opposed to it. So many humans believed in love but not the demons. That was a huge, disastrous mistake. Of course, it wasn’t their fault; humans weren’t allowed to know. They were just supposed to live, die, get their souls recycled, and live again.

Such a shame, she thought. Naivety and human nature are mankind's ultimate flaws—such trivial qualities that consequently lead to mankind's demise... 

Falling in love was a dangerous pursuit. And love was a fool's paradise. Most humans were lucky; they escaped encounters with their soul mates life after life, incarnation after incarnation. But some weren’t as fortunate. Willow and Alden were two of those poor, unfortunate souls.

Willow was no fool. She knew very well what she was getting herself into. She just didn't know the extent of what she was getting into and a little knowledge was a dangerous thing. To take Alden away from her now would be a fate worse than death. The die had already been cast. Just like Azaria had said, to deprive her of her true love was wholly inhuman.

Willow and Alden changed the game. Their love somehow destroyed the order of the universe and Elle didn‘t know how or why. She just felt the chaos that surrounded them. They thought their love made the world spin like a merry-go-round. But this was no merry situation. The circumstances have changed for the worst. They were different from other soul mates. They Dark Cupids were obsessed with them and Elle couldn’t figure out why. It was a riddle wrapped in an enigma.

Alden and Willow’s unsupervised date fertilized the seeds of worry in Elle’s chest. With every second without them in her range of vision, the seed sprouted more and more. By now, it was already a poisonous flower, its noxious petals prickling her heart. 

Elle knew Alden was capable and that he was a safe pair of hands but she was worried anyway. If anything happened to Willow, she would not be able to live with herself. Her job wasn’t about following the Halsteads’ rules anymore; it was about protecting Willow out of pure love and friendship.

The two lovebirds were risking everything just to be together. Elle’s job was in jeopardy; allowing a pair of soul mates to be together was against the Covenant. Azaria and Cassius were crazy for thinking that Elle would be able to breeze right through the job.

Sigh.

She was always worried about Willow, even before Alden arrived. Now that the two were finally reunited, Elle’s anxiety was multiplied. They were stupidly in love and that was what worried her. They were alone with no chaperone; they could easily get carried away beneath the twinkling stars.

Elle didn’t blame her best friend, or her brother for that matter. Willow was only fighting for the one thing she believed in and Elle and Alden were fighting alongside her. Still, why did she have to believe in something so damn treacherous?

The Dark Cupids were on Willow’s tail. They always were, but even more so now that she was so close to Alden. Elle saw their shadows hovering over Willow’s shoulder, listening intently for the Words. Her blood was their ultimate lust. They would never rest until Willow’s blood was shed.