FORBIDDEN: THE SOULKEEPERS

Chapter Two

                                                                     Chapter 2

                                                                      Michael

   Just outside of Haven Hurst, the warm evening air above a Victorian farmhouse moved in a gentle clockwise swirl and hummed with an aquamarine heartbeat. Hovering inside the energy force was the spirit form of Michael Patronus, guardian angel, first class. He was clad in faded jeans and a white T-shirt. With his arms out to his sides, razor-sharp fetching angled up and out of Michael’s forearms and kept him aloft. This set of wings was his defensive pair, great for short distances, not to mention decapitating demons, reapers, or soul seekers in a single swipe. The larger gossamer wings seen in religious paintings or on statues were cumbersome and noisy. They were used for long hauls or formal ceremonies like graduation and stuff. Since guardians were designated to watch over smaller regions these days, Michael rarely used his gossamer wings. Besides, he preferred the new and improved fetching, like most young guardians. The elders could keep their gossamer. Fetching was faster and more precise. Deadlier.

   They could also slice open your thighs if you weren’t paying attention. It wouldn’t be deadly to an angel but the clean up was a hassle.

   Michael took care alighting on the lawn. He waited for the faint clicking sound as the wings retracted and disappeared before lowering his arms. His kaleidoscope eyes powered down until they eventually settled into their normal human color of pale blue. The transformation from spirit form back to human form was complete, yet Michael was anything but relieved.

   He scrubbed a hand through his blond hair, exasperated. He couldn’t believe what happened tonight. It went beyond his imagination, which could go pretty far. It was saying something.

   Who was that girl? How did she see him in spirit form? And why didn’t she say anything to the others?

   This wasn’t exactly something he was trained to deal with. No one ever warned him about hot human girls who could see him in spirit form. No, not just hot but sexy as hell and— Wait, what?

   Sexy? Where in the hell did that come from?

   Michael shook his head and scoffed. It was the first time he’d ever described a human in those terms. He wasn’t even supposed to think in those terms. Something strange was going on and he decided to choose his words carefully when explaining to his family.

   They were all angels of one variety or another, living and working in Haven Hurst as normal humans. Hiding this from them was not an option. But how much he should tell them was debatable.

   Michael mounted the porch steps, flung open the front door, and marched down the hall to the kitchen. His two younger brothers, Raph and Gabe, were as he’d left them when he received the “call” for help, sitting around the large butcher-block island. As pure angels, they were Born of Light, not blood. To appear as a real human family, they were originated in Estonia, where they shared a Nordic influence of blond hair and blue eyes. But they were graced with distinctly different personalities.

   Gabe, the youngest at sixteen, had his nose buried in an 1893 first edition of Spiritual Philosophy by Allan Kardec. It was not homework, although the boys attended Haven Hurst High as a formality to blend in with humans. Gabe was the brainiac bent on reading every book written by prominent humans. He was nearly finished with the 1800s.

   Seventeen-year-old Raph was shoveling blueberry pie into his face with one hand and levitating a glass of milk with the other. He rotated his finger like a wand and stirred the milk until the chocolate was mixed to his liking. Eating and levitating objects, preferably at the same time, were his favorite hobbies.