Page 11 of Heart Shaped Wreckage (standalone)

HEATH

“Stupid fucking cat saved us,” I muttered as I brushed the dust off my clothes. “But where did he send us?”

I picked up Kevin and cradled him in my arms. There were things that a human should not see, and an angelic sword was one of them.

I had known the voice even if I hadn’t heard it in millennia.

Aurelius had come to find me for some reason.

Why now? The angels had left this plane many, many years ago.

They no longer hunted us and stayed in their heavenly lair.

I placed Kevin down on a soft patch of ground away from the flaming sword that now only simmered as its source of power was no longer connected to it.

Why now? What had I done? I hadn’t shown my true form for almost two thousand years. It made no sense. But if they had come for me, they would come for the others, wouldn’t they?

I needed to call Lamass.

I pulled my very broken phone from my pocket and hurled it against a rock. “FUCK!” What could I do? Nothing. I could do nothing. I didn’t even know where the fuck I was.

Relax, dude.

“Cat? Where are you? Show yourself?”

A glimmer in the air, and his silky, lean body jumped through. He landed on the ground easily and sat on his haunches.

“I need you to send us to Lamass. I have to warn her that…”

No. Lamass is safe.

“You saved her, too?”

No. Aurelius was only here for you. They care not for the others.

“How did you know? I…”

You could just thank me.

“I could, huh? You’ve always been a troublemaker. Thank you, Denzu.”

“What happened?” Kevin whimpered. “God, my head hurts.” He slowly sat up and looked at Moon Cat quizzically. “Is that really a cat, or am I hallucinating again. I was hallucinating, wasn’t I?”

The kid can’t take it. This is gonna be a very long day for you.

“Denzu, be nice.”

“You can talk to cats? No, I’m hallucinating.” Kevin rubbed his head.

“You’re not hallucinating. There really is a cat.”

“And you can talk to it?” He looked at me as if I were the crazy one.

“Anyone could talk to him if they knew how. Humans, even witches, don’t know the secret.”

Humans really are dumb. Even witches. It’s not that hard.

“Why did you save us?”

I like my secrets. You’re safe for now, but I do have other places I need to be.

From here on out, the quest is yours. I won’t be able to do that again.

He turned and slinked over to a rock, where he jumped up on it.

Well, maybe. We’ll see if I’m awake. With a wink, he leapt in the air, and it shimmered around him. With a small pop, he disappeared.

“Maybe I did hit my head.” Kevin looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“No, sadly, it’s real. Moon Cat is… Well, he’s a very old being who likes to meddle.”

“He’s a cat. Is he a… familiar. I feel like I have a familiar. Even the word makes me feel like a part of me is missing.”

“No. Denzu is no one’s familiar and owes allegiance to no one but himself. As far as I know, anyway. He’s a bit of a trickster sometimes, and other times he’s right where you need him to be.”

“Moon Cat… Denzu? Is that his real name?”

I frowned. Denzu had been around since I could remember in one guise or another. “It’s what the Sumerians called him. But he was old even then. What his real name is, I don’t know.”

“He had the pretty crescent on his brow. I’ve always liked cats.” Kevin stood up and started brushing himself off. His pants were even filthier than they had been. We should have stopped and gotten him new clothes. He was a disaster.

“Come on. I have no idea where we are, and it looks like it's going to be dark soon.” I turned to start the trek through this fairly barren landscape. “I think the little shit dropped us in the desert. Fuck…”

“Why was… Wait! What the fuck was that?” He pointed to the sword, which was now blackened and still lying in the dirt. “What is that?” His face went even whiter than it normally was.

“That is a sword that has long since been unused,” I growled with distaste. Many of my brethren fell with the slice of that sword. I wasn’t ready to talk about that.

“Yeah… Alright. It was on fire and I can’t… Who was that?” He staggered.

“I suppose I should tell you the truth, since… I have no idea if we’re going to run into him again, but that was an angel named Aurelius.

He’s a dick.” I didn’t really want to say much more.

I couldn’t tell him about myself. It would scare him to know that I was what he’d consider a demon or a skinwalker.

“An angel? Ok… I might pass out again.” He started to sit down, and I quickly grabbed onto his arm and held him upright.

“Nope. Stay on your feet. We need to find shelter. It’s gonna get pretty cold out here, and I’ll be fine, but you're human.”

“No way can you just scoot by that statement. That was a fucking angel?” He pulled his arm free. “You have to explain that.”

“Angels are real, but not quite what religion wants you to believe. But do they exist – yeah. Trust me, most of them are assholes.” But there was a time when I called him brother and we shared the secrets of the universe together.

“Why was an angel… Is he after me?” he gulped.

“No. I don’t think so. But I don’t know for sure. It felt like he was after me, and it was personal.”

“You then?”

“Maybe… probably… Yeah, no, definitely. I think?” I was still trying to wrap my head around why Aurelius would be coming after me. I had lived down here for a long time, and it didn’t make sense. Why now?

“So that Aury person… the angel was after you? I’m just trying to be clear here.” His face started turning red. “That is totally freaking me the fuck out.”

“You look like you’re about to…”

“NO! Seriously, I am not built for this. I mean, look at me! I weigh one-twenty after a huge meal, I’m…”

“I think you should sit down.” I walked towards him.

“DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO,” he screamed and pointed a finger at me. His hand glowed, and I ducked right before a blast of fire flew from his outstretched hand.

“CALM DOWN!” I ordered. An angry witch with no memory could apparently be dangerous.

“Oh, my God!” His face flushed in a normal blush, not in a I’m gonna shoot fire at you and try to fry you kind of way. He put his hands at his sides as if they might harm him. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“I think the question of whether you are magical or not has been answered. You are definitely a witch.”

“Apparently a crappy one.”

“Not all witches can create fire, so… Maybe a good one.”

“I would never try to hurt you,” he said, looking at me shamefully. “You’re my only friend.”

“You don’t know that. You probably have tons of friends.”

“Why is that angel after you? I think I deserve the truth since we’re stuck out here together.” He sulked, and I took a deep breath and thought about how to answer him.

I couldn’t tell him about me being a demon or a fallen angel. Human minds were not meant to have that kind of knowledge. Besides, there was a lot of demon-hate in the magical community. They didn’t really understand that we were not a one-size-fits-all community.

“Truthfully, I don’t know.” I didn’t lie. I really had no clue why that asshole had decided to smite me now.

“If he finds us, are we toast?” His eyes widened at the thought of being barbecued.

“Not necessarily. I can take care of myself. I was just surprised… that's all. I haven’t seen an angel on Earth in a very long time.”

“How long is long for you?” He bit his bottom lip. “I’m just thinking that there must be more to you than meets the eye, you know. I know you said you’re a shifter, but… to stand up to an angel would be… I assume you have to be more than that. Right?”

“I am. But that’s my secret for now. I mean you no harm, Kevin.”

“I know that. I just want to understand our chances if we run into him again with his sword all flamey and shit.”

“All I can tell you is that I am more than what I appear, ok? I am not evil or in league with the devil. I’m just me, now.”

“Now?”

“Yes.” I crossed my arms and hoped that would be the end of it.

“Boy, do I have questions.” He threw his hands up in the air and giggled. It was beautifully musical and made me smile. “But I will let it rest for now.” He wrapped his hands around his bare arms. “You’re right. It’s getting cold.”

“Keep those fire fingers handy. We might need them,” I chuckled, trying to make light of our very bad situation. I would be fine. I could shift if I needed to, and shifters always ran hot, anyway. But he would not.

“I think we’re going to be just fine.” He smiled wanly. “So, where are we going?”

I peered around and saw what looked like a cave in the distance. “Over there. Get that fire finger ready. I’ll try to collect anything we can burn along the way.”

It was further away than it looked. Aren’t most things in the desert – fucking mirages, but as I walked, I thought about all the reasons that Aurelius might be trying to kill me. There were too many to count. All of the broken promises between us, as I chose the other side.

Why did the angels have to hold grudges for so long?