Broken Butterflies (8 page)

“You’re beautiful,” Ilisha said.

“Broken, but still beautiful?”

“Not broken.” She smiled gently.

As he picked up his clothes she continued to stare. This time she didn’t turn her back or look away, that was until she heard him chuckle. She felt her cheeks go red. “Sorry.”

Bram blew it off and continued. “This is the angel way of re-juicing, if you will. We transform into something small. The light is our energy.”

“Why butterflies?”

“That’s just always the way it’s been. Demons transform into moths. They don’t have any color or light though.” He stopped to think. “I guess because they have lost the light, so to speak.”

“Great, so now I need to be scared of moths?”

Bram chuckled. “No, you’ll know a demon moth. They’re pitch black and look unnatural.”

Ilisha shivered just thinking about it.

“I brought you out here to warn you,” Bram said, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“What now?”

“Damon visited my dreams. His plans for you aren’t pleasant.”

“I hate when you do that, just spit it out.”

“Whatever you’re most scared of, he’ll torture you with.”

“Why would he tell you this?”

“He’s just taunting me. There were no specifics given. I do know he plans to drag this out as long as possible. It’s his way of having fun. It will give him great pleasure if he can make you look over your shoulder all the time and be afraid of any sound.”

“I have no idea what I’m most scared of, so that could be a problem.” She paused. “This is never going to stop, is it?”

“It will when I kill him.”

Ilisha’s mind raced. “How do you kill something that isn’t living to begin with?”

“Just because he isn’t human, doesn’t mean he isn’t alive. Demons are clever, and so far, he’s escaped.”

“Bram, I’m not ready to die.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let it happen.” Bram leaned in and kissed her cheek. Ilisha wished his lips had met her mouth.

Ilisha drove out to the barn and found Bram sound asleep in the middle of the day. She stood motionless on the stairs as her eyes scanned his bare, snoring form. The sun shone on his cloud-white wings, revealing the iridescent sparkles. They reflected on the wall in prisms that moved as he breathed. His perfectly, chiseled body looked peaceful and sturdy. She contemplated creeping back down and leaving him to rest, but the first step she took creaked, and she froze as he shifted.
Okay, I can’t let him know I was staring. Oh my gosh, he’s gorgeous.
Her leg bounced nervously. Balling her fist up, she knocked on the railing.

Bram rolled over squinting against the light. Looking around, he spotted her and slid the sheet up, but not before she saw everything.
Great, that plan didn’t work.
She bit her lip and entered the room like she didn’t see a thing. Holding up her keys for a distraction, she dangled them. “I think it’s time you learn to drive.”

He sat up making sure to keep himself covered. “You want to teach me to drive?” he asked, his forehead furrowing in confusion.

“You’re part of the human world now. Better start learning our ways.”

He chuckled and ran his hands through his thick black hair, causing it stand up in every direction. “I’ll get ready.”

“I’ll just wait outside,” Ilisha replied with nervous laughter.

As she walked down the stairs, she turned and glanced over her shoulder in time to see him stand up. She gasp as his wings retracted. They sunk into his skin as if they were never there.

Bram bounded to her, a smile on his face, ten minutes later. “Sure you want to do this? I may destroy your car.”

“It’s a rental.”

“Oh, okay then.”

She tossed him the keys. He eyed them and swallowed hard. “You’ll do fine.”

He looked at the steering wheel like a mythical creature he was afraid to touch.

“Stick the key in here,” she said, pointing to the ignition. “Push in the pedal on your far left, then turn the key.”

Bram looked at her with a satisfied smile as the engine purred.

“This is the gearshift. See the letters down the side?” Her finger traced them. “You start out in park. So move it down to the D when you want to go forward and the R when you need to back up.”

Bram slid it into the D spot, and his head crinkled. “Why aren’t we moving?”

Ilisha giggled. “Sorry, I forget how foreign this is to you. You need to take your foot off the brake, that’s the pedal you’re pushing down on.”

His foot came off, and the car rolled forward. Bram’s hands left the wheel, and he looked frightened. “What did I do?”

“New plan, switch me seats for sec. Put the car back in Park.” She climbed out of the car and ran around to the other side.

Bram leaned over to watch her feet as she put the car in drive and pushed on the gas, then reversed and parked again.

“Got that?” she asked as he sat up.

“Sure, easy.”

“I’ll take us for a little drive so you can get the hang of it.”

His eyes took in every movement, like she was a father teaching him how to ride a bike. “Does it make more sense now?” she asked.

“Got it.”

“Is picking up on things easy for an angel?”

“Compared to a human, I guess so. I have the ability to perceive more than you.”

“Like what?”

“I can smell things you can’t, see things at further distances, and sense presences.”

“So what did you pick up from watching me drive that I couldn’t get if it was reversed?”

“I could tell how much pressure you put on the brake and gas, how fast you took off, and how much you turned the wheel.”

“I wish I could’ve picked up my college courses that easily.”

Bram drove them back to the barn as smoothly as if the car was part of him. “Hungry?” he asked, getting out.

“Sure.”

As Bram made sandwiches Ilisha said, “Just to let you know, I’m going back to Columbus to pack my stuff in couple days.”

“I know.” He handed her a sandwich.

“Of course you do.” She smiled taking a bite.

He motioned for her to follow him, opening the door to the balcony. They sat on the deck that jutted from the upper floor and looked out on the forest.

“Why do you always extend your wings when people aren’t around?”

“They cramp up on me when I have them curled up inside me all day.”

“Like sitting on your legs too long?”

He chuckled. “More like having a charlie horse.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, not a great feeling. They occasionally need to be stretched.”

“You never told me what happened at the park. I waited patiently, but now I’m insisting.”

“I’m sure you know the answer. Damon tried to attack you that night, and we battled.”

“What was all the black and white powder?”

“From our wings. It’s a part of us, kind of like an organism. That’s why I was so anxious for you to get those pants off. He could have killed you.”

“That’s alarming.”

Silence filled them and both stared out into the trees. For the first time, Ilisha realized that it would only take a small amount of powder from Damon’s wings to kill her and it made her feel truly uncomfortable. Finally she broke the silence. “You’re driving me home, come on,” Ilisha said, tugging on his shirt.

“Thanks for the driving lesson. It was fun.” Bram walked her to the door.

“It may come in handy. You really can’t live a human life and not drive.”

Bram didn’t make a move to come inside.

“Are you coming?” Ilisha motioned with her arm toward the door.

Bram stared into her eyes. He lingered and she thought he may actually kiss her, instead he cleared his throat. “I’ll be watching you. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe.” He smiled at Ilisha as he walked away.

Ilisha packed her bags and then drove over to get Bram, who had volunteered to help her move. She had protested by saying she was sure there were better things he could be doing. He had countered by saying, “My life has and always will be dedicated to you.”

As she drove down the small dirt lane her mind filled with images of Bram, naked.
What would it be like to be with Bram?
Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought. He stood waiting on the steps with a duffel bag at his feet. “Ready?” he asked, smiling.

“Yep.”

From the time they left, Bram was quiet.

“Okay, what’s with you? I’m not going to drive for four days with the silent treatment.”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Oh, don’t pull that crap. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.”

“I don’t see this trip being easy. We’re going to have problems. I can only see your future, not Damon’s thoughts, so I don’t know what will happen until he plans it.”

“Great,” she sighed.

“We’ll just have to be extra careful.”

“When you said that a death maker is contracted—who would do that?” She knew the topic had come up before, but she never got an answer.

“Maybe someone needs you to come back to the other side early. There could be any number of reasons.”

“Yeah, but you’re my guardian angel. Wouldn’t you know who had the contract?”

He looked away. “I tried to find out, but no luck.”

She knew he was lying, but wasn’t sure why. Bram had no reason to lie to her. After her mind ran through scenarios she dismissed it as an over active imagination, but decided to innocently question it anyway.

“That’s a half truth,” she said, still smiling.

“Maybe so, but that’s all you’re going to get.”

She studied his face. His eyes were tender, but serious. That really was all she was going to get.

“I’ll assume you are going to tell me in good time. Can we talk now, instead of having silence?”

Bram chuckled. “Yes.”

They drove ten hours to Kansas City. Ilisha stopped at a hotel and got them rooms. “Well, we’re back in Kansas where this all started.” She handed him his key card.

Holding it up between his index finger and thumb, he said, “What exactly am I supposed to do with this?”

“It’s your room key.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

At that moment, a dark shadow passed across the afternoon sun. A cloud, black as coal, blocked out the light.

Bram wrapped his arms around her and brought Ilisha to the ground behind the car. His hands covered her head.

“What is it?” she asked panicked.

“Damon.”

Turning her face just enough to look to the sky, her eyes bulged as the cloud separated into thousands of black moths. Ilisha screamed and turned her head just as the moths hit them.

The powdery feeling of wings brushed up against her as they relentlessly pounded them. She could feel parts of her long hair lift up as the moths got tangled.

“Make it stop!” she cried.

“I can’t, there’s people looking.”

Ilisha trembled. The sounds of gawking people carried through the parking lot.

“Oh my gosh, help them,” one lady yelled in a twang.

“Ilisha, you need to calm down,” Bram said trying to sooth her.

She whimpered like a child afraid of the dark.

“I told you he’d use your worst fears,” Bram whispered in her ear.

“That doesn’t help. I can’t help it. I can’t do swarming bugs.” Tears streamed down her face.

The mass of moths surrounded and engulfed them. Black wings forming an impenetrable dome. Ilisha hyperventilated, and her body stiffened with fear. Bram picked her up and held her face to his chest. She could feel his legs start to run. Seconds later, spectators screamed, and she popped her head up to see them scatter like rats from a flood, as Bram ran through the crowd toward the hotel entrance. As the doors slid closed behind them, moths pounded against the glass scaring the girl at the front desk. She squealed and ducked behind the counter, blonde hair flying over her head.