Feathers, page 22
As we watched though, the two of us became aware of other presences. Looking across, we saw that Michael and Raphael had come there as well. I had the feeling they were more then happy to see us too. “Thank God you two are safe.” Michael said as he hugged me.
“How’d you find this? I’m taking it you didn’t get a chance to follow Sean.” Raziel said. Leave it to him to notice such a thing.
“Let’s just say we ended up with a bit of help. But it looks like the real fight’s just beginning between those two.” Raphael noted, looking back down at the two foxes.
“Do you really think he stands any chance against a full blood?” Michael asked him.
“I couldn’t say. I’ve only heard the stories of these foxes fighting for various reasons. And never a full and a half breed. However, if beating a Mantis is any indication, there might be a slight chance for him.” Raphael admitted.
“Isn’t there anything we can do? We can’t just let him kill him.” I whispered.
“It’s your choice Michael. You could go after him yourself now.” Raphael said.
“Not yet. I don’t intend on that unless I have to. I’d like to see Sean prove himself now by getting rid of him.” Michael said.
At that time, I didn’t quite understand why he’d say such a thing. But now, I do. Michael wanted to see just what Sean was made of. And if he really wanted to be part of our family, he had to prove he could protect me. And that included killing the one who had tried to harm me.
“Enough games. I’m done playing with a half breed.” Flint suddenly said.
As we watched, he transformed himself into a full fox once again. And once again, he seemed very intimidating. The size of a large man, he looked at Sean with his hackles raised. But Sean wasn’t backing down either. Instead, he transformed as well. He was a bit smaller then Flint, but no less intimidating either. Both growled for a moment before going after each other. I really didn’t want to watch this, but found that I had to. I just couldn’t bare to think if anything happened that I’d missed it.
To my surprise though, it looked like Sean had more of the upper hand. Throwing Flint back against one of the den walls, he stood there for a moment before speaking. “I don’t want to kill anymore Flint. So just leave now and crawl back to your hole in the Realms.” He ordered.
“What the hell are you doing? You can’t just let him go!” Raziel yelled.
“Should we be willing to accept that much?” Raphael mused.
“As much as I’d love seeing that fox dead right now, I could honor it. If he came back, then it would be another story.” Michael admitted.
I found myself agreeing. Enough blood had been spilled over this. If Flint limped away with his wounded pride, that would be enough for me. Even if he was a monster, I just couldn’t make myself want to kill another living thing.
Flint just chuckled though as he pulled himself up. He was limping a little, but certainly not willing to give up. “You’ve been tamed. I can feel it in your bite. You allowed that little Nephilim to break you, to make you a servant. And it made you soft.” He told him.
“You make it sound like it was a bad thing.” Sean noted in an almost matter of fact tone.
“A tame fox is worth nothing. Allow me to prove this fact to you.” Flint said.
To my surprise, several spikes suddenly came up from the ground. Sean let out a loud whimper and fell to the ground where one ran through his leg. “Sean?!” I heard myself say.
Flint chuckled as he limped over to him. As he moved, he seemed to be getting more steady though. Not good at all. “You still have instincts and your tough fox ways, however, you aren’t a match for an elder.” He told him.
“Enough is enough.” I heard my dad say.
But before he could really move, Raphael stopped him. “Wait. Listen.” He said quietly.
Indeed, there were now sounds of something coming. Two very large somethings. As we watched, Flint looked up as well. Sean turned his head and followed his gaze to the far entrance. In it, two more large foxes came out. One I recognized right away as Manake. Completely black with many tails. The other was very large, even larger then Flint and Sean, and silver in color. Like Manake, he also had quite a few tails. Counting them, I realized that there were nine. This was another very old fox.
“Is that Musket?” Michael whispered.
“Looks like Manake managed to find him. This could get very interesting now. Let’s just hope he’s on our side.” Raphael said.
“Who is he?” Raziel asked.
“Sage’s brother. Sean’s uncle.” I whispered.
“You’ve got to be kidding. A fox that old showing up?” Raziel said in quiet disbelief.
Flint backed up a step or two as they moved closer. “So, you actually decided to come this time.” He said. He didn’t sound too happy over seeing either of them.
“Flint, you realize this grudge match has always been your doing. But you’re foolish as well to think that I would not look for you now, after what you’ve done before.” The silver fox, Musket, said. He had a very deep, commanding voice. It definitely felt like it showed his age.
“And you were all too willing to bring him, weren’t you Manake? You’ve always been good at being a second to this den of foxes.” Flint said.
“Actually, this was not exactly my doing this time, though I did set out to find him.” Manake admitted. He didn’t sound too worried about any of it though.
Musket moved forward a little, standing by Sean. “Actually, he did not at first. It seems that there are much higher things that are against you now. You’ve been foolish to think you’d avoid retribution forever Flint. You and Sean are the only two remaining, and the legacy was not left to you.” He said.
“I think we should go now. This fight is no longer ours for the taking.” Michael said.
“That’s true. Let’s move.” Raphael agreed.
“Hey, we’re not just leaving Sean here, are we?” Raziel said. I was surprised that he’d managed to speak up before me.
“Don’t worry too much. They’re going to make sure he’s taken care of.” Raphael assured us.
I couldn’t say I liked leaving that den like that. But I knew my dad and Raphael were probably right. We could already hear the growling as we got ourselves out through another entrance towards the ceiling. No doubt Musket was ready to be done with all of this. Apparently, he’d been after Flint himself for a while by the way he was talking. But what kind of help had Manake gotten before he found Musket? That one puzzled me. And I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, we had more watching over us then we thought.
Twenty One
Coming back home was a little hard in the end. And a lot of that was having to face the cold realities. Of course, Sara had been waiting for us when we got there. She didn’t seem too worried about Sean now though. Apparently, Musket had already been there before he made his way to the den, and had promised to bring Sean back safe and sound. She claimed that she didn’t doubt his promises. Musket didn’t believe in telling lies.
Of course, there was also the looming issue of Mom’s death. By that evening, we were hearing about it. The police had actually shown up because they had found her body. It was an obvious homicide investigation. Somehow, Raphael convinced them to do things through him though. I was beginning to think that perhaps this was one of his abilities. He could convince anyone of just about anything. Mind Manipulation was what Gabrielle would later refer to it as. Sometimes I wished I had that power as I’ve gone through my life as well. It would’ve come in handy.
Sitting in the den, I couldn’t help but reflect on all of the events though. It had been a hard evening. Perhaps the only good point of it was seeing Sean return an hour earlier. But it was subdued for both Michael and me. I couldn’t help but feel like I should’ve been able to do more for my mother. I’d managed to bring her back, and she died for it. Had I made the right choice in listening to that voice? I wasn’t too sure anymore. After all, what did we really know about where we came from? If that was our angel, how did we know for sure that he had the best intentions for us?
I’ll admit that I was grateful that Sara was there now too. Not only for me getting the chance to have some alone time, but because she was the one who seemed to be a comfort to my father as well in everything. I wasn’t stupid. I knew he blamed himself too. If he’d only been able to find that den sooner, he might have been able to save her. But Sara put things into perspective for him too. She was honest about what had happened there. Even if he’d been there, he probably couldn’t have stopped what Flint did for Flint’s speed. Sara really became a comfort for my father. And I was grateful for that. I just wished I could find a bit of comfort in myself now.
The sound of someone knocking lightly by the entrance made me look up again. It was funny, but I hadn’t even heard Sean there before then, even though there were a few area of the floor that tended to creak when we walked on them. His right arm was in a sling, and had been since Manake had brought him back. He’s claimed that it would heal within a few days though. Apparently, foxes had herbal medicines that humans only wished they could have.
“Would you mind having some company?” he asked. It was funny, but I kind of knew that look in his eyes. He’d been worrying about me. It’s amazing how you can learn to read someone once you’ve been around them enough. Not to mention the connection we’d forged just a few nights before. Being a mate to a fox had its privliages.
“No. Come in.” I managed. I had to shake myself out of my deep thoughts at first though.
Sean smiled, walking over and taking a seat beside me on the couch. For a moment, we were quiet. Then he decided to speak again. “I overheard your father speaking to Raphael about half an hour ago. It seems like the police are making their own assumptions on everything.”
“Really? What are they saying?” I asked, feeling curious.
“Well, I can’t say it’s exactly that great in the end. Obviously, they don’t know what really happened. But all the evidence has them placing the blame now on Ben Smith.” Sean admitted.
I felt my heart ache at that one. So they were getting ready to claim that Anna’s father had killed my mother. “Is he dead too?” I asked softly.
“Yes. He was actually killed when he rammed his truck into Raziel’s Lexus. But now, they think that he killed Missy Renaldi right before that. Everything seems to be coming together as to that he was trying to get away because he got spooked and ended up slamming into the parked car.” Sean explained.
“So what about us being in there? There had to be evidence of that.” I reasoned.
Sean shrugged. “Things were taken care of, so I’d imagine that somehow one of your parents made sure it wasn’t able to be known. Honestly, I’m not sure how Raphael covers tracks so well. It must be a talent of his.” He told me.
So it all was covered up. I supposed there was no choice in the end. We couldn’t have anyone suspecting the frightening truth of it all. “So, what does Anna think of all of this? Do you know?” I dared ask.
“I did manage to speak to Raziel about ten minutes ago, and he basically said that she’s mixed about it all. She’s upset over her father and him being blamed, but she knows the truth too. Honestly, I don’t think we give her enough credit at times. Anna’s not the type to blame us because of what we are. She’s blaming the one who did it all.” Sean replied.
“Sounds like Anna.” I agreed. “I was a little worried. I don’t think Raziel would take it well if she decided to leave him for this anyways. He was saying something in the car about how he worried about her anyways because he’ll never be normal.”
Sean sighed, sitting back a little. “Well, he does have a point. It’s difficult when you care so deeply for someone who’s human when you’re really not. I’ve felt that way with my mother for years. It’s been a burden on her to have me in the end, especially after my father died. But I think I’ve finally been beginning to understand now that perhaps there is a reason I was born as well. I think there’s a reason for everything in the end, even if some of those things are painful. Each takes up a step closer to what we’re meant to live for.” He admitted.
“You sound like a poet or something.” I joked.
Sean smiled. “Maybe a little. But a bit of a philosophical outlook doesn’t hurt either. I’ve had a lot of time to think about many things since the day we met and with all that’s happened between us. And I believe with everything I have that nothing with us has ever been coincidence. I feel like we were meant to find each other. And that was why I wanted to apologize to you myself.” He said.
“For what?” I asked, feeling a little confused.
For a moment, Sean was quiet. I had the feeling he was thinking his words over very carefully before he spoke. “About your mother. I do feel like some of that was my own fault in the end. I hesitated on trying to stop Flint when he killed her because I thought perhaps I could find you first and get you out. I know she saw me as she was dying. And I know what she was thinking too. That I’d better save you. I didn’t really need to be told such, but I understood as well. It doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty every time I think of it though.” He explained softly.
So Sean had gotten to see Mom die. I guessed I should’ve felt at least a little angry over his really doing nothing, but instead, I only felt sad. It had hurt him that he’d allowed that. It was way too obvious. I took a deep breath before speaking again. “Sean, I’m not going to blame you for that. Maybe I shouldn’t have listened to that voice and broke her in the first place. Maybe Flint wouldn’t have killed her then.”
“A voice? What do you mean?” Sean asked. It looked like he’d perked up a little at that one.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. While we were in there, I suddenly heard this guy’s voice telling me to break her and that she would try to help us. And then, it felt so warm. But I feel like I shouldn’t have listened to it now.” I admitted. I decided not to mention the times before with all of it. I didn’t even know how I’d be able to handle talking about that angel so much right then.
“Is that so?” Sean mused. “Maybe he was right.”
“Huh?” I said, looking back at him. Really, I was beginning to wonder if maybe he was playing around with me.
“Sorry. I guess Manake decided not to mention what Musket told him. It wasn’t a coincidence that he found us like he did. Apparently, something told Musket where to find Flint and what was going on. He claimed it was a Pure angel.” Sean explained.
An angel had told Musket to help us? I almost couldn’t believe it. I almost had no doubt that it must have been the same one that had helped us and appeared to me in the airport. “But why? Who were they?” I asked.
“We don’t know. But they must have been watching to know what they did. It’s interesting though, because he claimed when he’d gotten a look at your father and uncle that this angel had a striking resemblance to them. Maybe this family wasn’t just left to its own accord after all.” Sean said.
I’ll admit that it was an interesting thought. We knew that we came from a powerful angel, and of a little bit of clues he’d left. Maybe he was keeping an eye on us after all, and trying to help where he could. And this time, he’d been trying to save me and Raziel. Maybe he had known all along that he couldn’t save Mom in the end. It at least gave me a little bit of closure by thinking that. That angel wasn’t really bad. He just apparently had his priorities.
I quietly leaned back against his shoulder. “Hey, you’re not thinking of leaving me now, are you?” I whispered. Now I was really starting to feel comfortable.
“No. I never want to leave your side again now. But could you really accept a half fox into your life?” Sean asked, putting an arm around me.
I had to smile. “Maybe, if he could accept a half angel. It is a strange combination, huh?” I commented.
“Yes.” Sean chuckled. “Perhaps it is. But we’ll be fine.”
“Besides, didn’t I make that promise with you the other night anyways? Or were you just trying to lure me in?” I continued. For some odd reason, I suddenly felt a lot lighter. But then again, Sean always had a way before of helping my moods.
I felt him chuckle again. “Yes, that is true. We’ll have to do that again once everything gets back to normal.” He replied.
I really didn’t feel too embarrassed thinking about that one. Instead, I only felt myself smile. It felt good to have at least a small sense of normalcy. I just hoped I could keep that in the coming days.
But as the night fell, I found myself still thinking about everything that had happened with that angel. It was kind of puzzling to me that I’d had so many brushes with him, so to speak. Sitting up in my room, I found myself trying to sketch him out on a pad as I remembered him from the airport. But the picture just wouldn’t come out right. Sighing to myself, I sat it aside and put my head down.
It was funny, but if I really thought about it, that man had looked like someone from our family. He had the same blue eyes that seemed to run in the Renaldi family, and the same blond hair. And the comfort I’d felt with him being there was so similar to what I felt around my father. I wonder who he really is, I found myself thinking. And why he’s coming back now.
The sound of my door opening brought me back to reality. I looked up as Michael came in. “Hey, I just thought I’d check on you before calling it a night.” He said as he walked over to sit beside me.
“I’m okay. It’s just been a long day.” I admitted.
“No kidding. I’m rather glad it’s all over now. Although I admit that more could eventually be coming in the future. With us, nothing’s ever certain it seems.” Michael sighed.
