Accidental Demon Slayers: Melody of Light pt. 10

Ashtyn made her way off the plane, doing her best not to get pushed over in the sudden rush of people moving through the narrow aisle.  She felt a sudden push on her shoulder, and her feet gave out from beneath her.  She was falling forward, her face aiming right for the corner of an armrest.  Great, she thought, just what I need to start my trip off on the right foot, a split skull.   

Two strong hands suddenly wrapped around her waist, and pulled her upright. 

“People should be more careful.”  A deep, male voice floated into her ear.  She couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like it had a hint of an Italian accent. 

Ashtyn turned her head.  “Thanks…” Her words caught in her throat. 

Her hero was about six feet tall, with bronze skin, deep brown eyes, and shaggy black hair.  His face looked like it was chiseled out of stone, with perfect cheek bones, and lips that could only be described as kissable. 

He smiled, revealing a set of perfectly angelic dimples. 

“Are you okay?”  He let her go, and instantly Ashtyn missed the feel of his hands. 

“Yeah…” She was still dumb struck by him.  She had never seen a guy this… beautiful.  He wasn’t just handsome.  He was beautiful. 

“I’m Q.”  He held out his hand, which Ashtyn took quickly. 

“Ashtyn.” 

“First time to Heartsong Island?” He stepped in front of her, and started to make his way towards the front of the plane, making sure the keep the way open for her so that no other over eager tourists could try and knock her off her feet. 

“First time anywhere outside of Chicago.”  She could feel her words coming back to her slowly.  Her brain was still processing the perfection before her that was named Q.  “You?” 

“I guess you could say I’m a native.” He glanced at her over his shoulder.  “Born in Rome, but my family moved here when I was six. I’m actually going to be working at one of the hotels around here.  The Hideaway.” 

Ashtyn nearly giggled with glee.  “And I’m actually going to be staying there.” 

As they stepped off the plane, and onto the small set of steps leading down to the tarmac, Ashtyn glanced at Q’s hand as he grasped the railing.  There was no ring.  That didn’t mean much, but it gave her a little hope. 

“So, what are you doing at the hotel?”  Ashtyn tried her best to sound natural, and was pleased that she didn’t stutter any of the words as she spoke. 

“I guess you could say I manage their star attraction.”  He gave her a sly smile, then stepped onto the tarmac. 

“Ashtyn, over here!”  Rita’s voice broke through the noise of the tourists. 

Ashtyn turned, and saw her friends standing on the tarmac, Rita with her arm raised, flagging her down. 

“Looks like your friends are looking for you.”  Q held out his head again.  “I’ll see you around?” 

“I hope so.”  Ashtyn instantly regretted the words as they hit the air.  I hope so?  It sounded so sleazy. 

With one final smile, Q was off, and Ashtyn was starting towards her friends. 

The group was huddled together, everyone in their beach wear.  They all looked so… different to her.  Seeing all the guys in shorts was something she wasn’t use to, especially Max, who usually stuck to his dark suits and vibrantly colored dress shirts.  Today he was wearing a white linen button up, and a pair of board shorts that hung just below his knees.  Kurt and Bobby were dressed similar, with Bobby sporting a black T-shirt with the words “I Heart Showgirls” written on the front.  Clare wore a large, straw hat and a pale blue summer dress that showed the silhouette of her body when the sunlight shown through the fabric. 

Rita was the one who stood out.  She wore denim short shorts and a gray tank top, her large breasts bobbling around freely as she jumped and waved for Ashtyn to join them.  The last time she had see her, the girl had been strapped to an altar, half naked and ready to be ritualistically de-flowered by her own, skinless father.  Today she was bubbly, and bouncy. Very bouncy. 

Ashtyn had to admit; something about the way Rita looked excited her.  She had always been attracted to women.  She never hid the fact from anyone.  It was just that it had been awhile since she had seen a woman that had actually excited her.  Rita, with her hair pulled back and hidden under a baseball cap, and with that big smile and sparkling eyes, just seemed so beautiful. 

Ashtyn laughed to herself.  That was the second time that day she had described someone using the word ‘beautiful’.  Most likely her hormones were running wild due to all the fresh air and sunshine. 

How long had it been since she had been with someone?  She didn’t want to know the answer.  It would probably just depress her.  Instead she focused on the fact that she was a free agent.  She had options, and every option was just as enticing as the last.

Pom Pom Angel: Love Rescue pt. 5

As Missy’s body lay passed out on the floor of Gus and Nando’s apartment, her mind wandered.  It wandered out of her body, and back towards the world in which he had come. 

There was a bright light that seemed to surround her, and there, standing before her, was the woman from the council. 

“Did I die?” Missy wasn’t even sure if angels could die.  Like, if they could really, truly die.  She had already died once, but could she do it a second time? 

“No.  You’re just passed out.”  The woman smiled at her. 

“That’s good.”  Missy felt kind of funny.  It was like her brain was floating.  “Am I stoned?  Can angels get stoned?” 

“Maybe a little.  You did absorb a whole lot of chemicals.”  The woman never lost her peaceful, angelic smile. 

“I never asked your name.”  Missy’s mind was wandering.  “I should have, but there really wasn’t that much time.” 

“Just call me Mama.” The woman stepped towards her.  “Missy, you need to focus.  I know things are going… poorly, but you have a job to do.  Don’t forget that.” 

“So I can’t kill him?” 

“No.”  The woman laughed, shaking her head.  “You can’t even beat him horribly.  You need to help him understand.” 

Easier said than done, Missy thought to herself.  She had never expected her first guardian angel gig to be so difficult.  It had always struck her as an easy job.  Just be there, and help out without them noticing.  But Gus had noticed her.  He had seen her!  So had his roommate.  She wasn’t really sure how that was possible, but it had happened, and now she was here, floating in the Angelic Realm, and talking to Mama because two humans had gassed her with a can of Roach-Be-Gone.

As angry as she was at Gus, she was even angrier at herself.  That didn’t let Gus or his roommate off the hook, but it still made her question if she was really ready for this job. 

“I know things are not going as planned.  You can do this Missy.  I know you can.  We wouldn’t have chosen you for this job if we didn’t think you could handle it.”  Mama was standing in front of her now.  “Just trust in yourself, and in the power of love, and you can succeed.” 

Missy looked at her, the haziness in her brain growing stronger.  She really was stoned.  “You got that off of a greeting card, didn’t you?”

“Who do you think writes those things?  Only an angel could be that sappy.”  Mama laughed, placing a hand on Missy’s shoulder.  “It’s time to go back now, sweetie.  Do your Mama proud, okay?” 

“I’ll try.” 

“There is no try, only…” 

Missy gave her an odd look.  “Please don’t send me away with a line ripped out of Star Wars.” 

“Just go down there and kick some ass. “  Mama gave her shoulder a pat.  “Figuratively, of course.”

And suddenly Missy was floating away, the light fading out of her view.  Quickly Mama was nothing more than a small black dot, and then… nothing.  

Accidental Demon Slayers: Melody of Light pt. 9

I was finally able to fall asleep when we loaded onto the small puddle jumper that would finally take us to Heartsong Island. I had never much liked flying, and had actively avoided it for years, but this time it was worth the hassle.  Life back home was getting so stressful.  I was lucky to have Kurt, and have my friends, but everything; every single close call with some big demonic entity or whacked out, perverted god was starting to wear me down.  A guy could only take so much.

Kurt had spent most of the initial flight sleeping, his head resting on my shoulder.  I was pretty sure he hadn’t been fully awake as we rushed to our connecting flight.  He was back at it, soft little snores gurgling out of his open mouth as he dozed away. 

It took me longer to finally fall asleep.  Much longer. 

When it finally happened, I hardly even noticed.  The dreams seemed to come at once, almost seamless in the way it managed to replace my reality. 

I was still sitting in my seat.  Nothing about the plane had changed at all, actually.  The only thing that was off was the young woman, standing in the aisle watching me.  She had long, flowing red hair, and large, sparkling green eyes.  She wore a black, sleeveless midriff that synched around her neck in a thick, black band.  She had on black, high cut bikini bottoms, and silver and gray leg warmers.  She looked like a 1980’s pop star, untouched by time. 

She looked familiar. 

I reached into my backpack, and pulled out the pamphlet for the Hideaway, flipping it open.  Sure enough, there she was.  Aria had managed to invade my dreams. 

“There was an old woman who lived down the lane.”  Her voice was high pitched, but smooth.  It lacked that annoying squeak.  “She stood with a hunch, and walked with a cane.” 

Aria showed no expression as she spoke, her pretty face a blank slate. 

“I’ve never heard this one.”  I spoke, but didn’t mean to.  I was not in control of this dream. 

“It’s a good one.”  Aria smiled.  “Very scary.” 

Her smile sent a chill down my spine. 

“Her house was all dark, no light dared to enter.”  Aria continued her story.  “A gateway to hell can be found in the center. Lovers who dare to get to close will watch that love decompose.” 

I wanted to laugh.  The rhyme was weak, but something about it made me uncomfortable. I had learned over the years to never brush off a dream, and right now, glancing around the cabin of the plane, I felt myself looking forward to this trip less and less. 

“What does it mean?”  I leaned forward, my hand gripping the seat in front of me. 

“Stay away from the witch house.”  Aria smiled again.  “Some things are better left at rest.” 

Then, with a blink, she was gone.

I snapped awake in my chair, jerking forward as the small plane hit the runway.  I could feel a cold, clinging sweat on my forehead and neck. 

I glanced at Kurt, and he was watching me, smiling. 

“You’re so cute when you sleep.”  He laughed.  “Tossing and turning, and mumbling.”

“How long was I out?”  I used the back of my hand to brush the sweat from my forehead. 

“Not long, maybe half an hour.”  He leaned back in his seat, stretching.  “Once we get settled it’s just going to be sun, sand and a whole lot of private time.” 

I sighed, doing my best to push the dream from my mind.  “I can’t wait.”  No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t shake that feeling.  The feeling that something very wrong was waiting for us once we got off the plane.  

Accidental Demon Slayers: Melody of Light pt. 8

The day had finally arrived.  I hadn’t been entirely sure that it would have actually happened.  I kept expecting some giant, apocalyptic job to come up, and then we would be forced to cancel, or risk the whole world ending. 

So far, no apocalypse. 

Kurt and I sat in the back of the cab, our backpacks resting between us.  He actually looked giddy, which wasn’t all that common. 

“You realize that this is our first real vacation together?”  I leaned back in my seat. 

“Well, we did take that trip to Sumthak’s lair.”  Kurt gave me a slight smile.

“That doesn’t count.  Sumthak didn’t have room service and a beach view.”  I reached out, gently tapping the tip of his nose. 

“You booped me.” He pouted. 

“ A boop of pure love, sweetie.”  I laughed, leaning over our bags, and kissed him.  “I can’t wait to be curled up next to you, the sound of the ocean in the background.” 

‘That sounds perfect.”  He kissed me back.  “So, do we plan on ever leaving our hotel room?” 

“Well, there is one thing I wanted to check out.”  I opened up my backpack, and pulled out a pamphlet.  “Do you know what a vocaloid is?”

“Sounds like a disease.” He grimaced. 

“It’s a completely computer generated pop star.”  I handed him the pamphlet for the hotel we would be staying at.  ‘The Hideaway’ was written across the front of the pamphlet in gold script over the picture of a beach. 

He looked over the info written on the inside, his eyes scanning the small print.  “A singing, dancing hologram.  They perfect the art of holographs, and the first thing they do is turn it into a singing anime character.  Huh.” 

“I thought it sounded interesting.”  I pointed to a picture from one of the concerts that the hotel held.  “Her name is Aria.  Apparently she’s the company mascot.” 

“Is her music any good?”  He glanced at me. 

“It’s… chirpy, but can we really pass up the chance to see a bunch of adults swoon over a digital idol?”  It was my turn to pout.  “It’ll be fun.” 

The cab pulled to a stop. 

“We’ll see if we can fit it in.”  Kurt smiled, and opened his door, stepping onto the sidewalk in front of the terminal for Heartsong Airlines. 

“I can live with that.”  I grabbed our bags and got out of the cab, paying our driver in the process. 

I gave him an extra ten bucks for putting up with the display of stomach churning cuteness in his back seat. 

The second I was out of the car I spotted Ashtyn rushing at us, already in her beach wear.  She had a hot pink fishnet top over a white bikini top, and denim shorts on. 

“Sun and fun here we come!” She pulled a pair of sunglasses out the large bag she had thrown over her shoulder, and put them on.  “Come on, check your bags.  Everyone else is already at the terminal.” 

Again, I had to remind myself that this was actually happening.  We were getting a week away from demons, ghosts and all the paperwork that came with them.  I was going to get the chance to spend a whole week with my boyfriend, and all my friends, on some exotic island that, if Max hadn’t been footing the bill, none of us would probably have ever had the chance to go to. 

This almost seemed like it was too good to be true. A little nagging voice in the back of my head reminded me that it just might be. 

I brushed off the thought, and headed into the airport.  This whole trip was about getting away.  I couldn’t let my doubts cloud what was meant to be a once in a lifetime trip. 

I was going to have fun, no matter what.