Her Accidental Angel (6 page)

 
 
  She wore a size four now, not the easiest size to find at Wal-Mart. Still, she was able to buy several pairs of shorts and jeans, tank tops, knit tops, new bras and panties, socks, shoes and sandals. She also bought a modest pajama set made of soft mint knit.

 
 
  Amber joined her in the spending frenzy and bought some summer clothes for herself. “Well. I sure haven’t lost any weight,” she grumbled in the three way mirror, but Kari assured her she looked adorable in the lilac capris with a white tank top and lilac checked camp shirt.

 
 
  “That color is perfect for you. And you’re so pretty. Guys don’t even care that you’re a little chubby.”

 
 
  Amber wrinkled her nose at that, but smiled at her reflection.

 
 
  It was true. With her wavy black hair, creamy skin, huge brown eyes and dimpled smile, Amber always had guys around. She was just so shy she tended to run off and hide instead of getting to know any of them. Kari had given her dozens of pep talks over the years, but Amber remained shy.

 
 
  “Remember my Aunt Tressa?”

 
 
  “Sure. How is she doing?” A car accident had tragically claimed the life of Tressa’s husband about a year earlier. Tressa was only about seven years older than she and Amber, so it had been really sad. They hadn’t even gotten around to starting a family yet.

 
 
  “Well, she got all the money from the life insurance and stuff. Then my great Aunt Mary had to go into a nursing home, because she had like three strokes, you know? So Tressa decided to buy Aunt Mary’s place. It’s in a little town in Kansas. Why don’t I call her and we go there? I’m sure she would like the company. She always emails me, and sounds lonely.”

 
 
  “That would be great. I was worried about putting a lot of money on Mom’s credit card. Especially since I’m between jobs.”

 
 
  “Yeah. Let me call her.”

 
 
  Tressa was thrilled with the idea of having company for a few days, Amber announced a few minutes later. They added bottled water, diet cola, a cheap cooler plus some fat free snacks to their cart, along with a few toiletries for Kari.

 
 
  They headed out of town and the conversation returned to the demon.

 
 
  “Tell me more now. I’m ready to hear all the freaky stuff,” Amber said as they set out down the highway.

 
 
  Kari nodded. “Well, it is a five-hour drive. We aren’t going to get there until about two in the morning. I guess now is a good time. But, you’re going to be even more freaked out when I tell you what happened. It’s all my fault, the Dieter’s Delight.” Kari rubbed a tear off her cheek and took a shaky breath. “I found this book at a second hand store. It had a spell in it—a spell for getting thin. I know it sounds crazy, but I thought

 
 
  —why not try it? It had to be better than that cabbage soup diet, right?”

 
 
  “Well, you’ve got a point, there. And you look great,” Amber said. “Not flabby or saggy. Though your eyes look a little puffy from crying.”

 
 
  “Yeah.” Kari began to tear up again and blinked hard.

 
 
  “Well, I started the spell last night at sunset. But it was a trick spell. Instead of making me thin, it summoned this skeleton monster. A demon that causes famines, I learned later. It was huge, and it shoved its hand right through my body.” Kari lifted her shirt and pulled down the leggings to show the small scratches on her belly. “It was horrible. And it hurt so bad I started to pass out. But then there was someone fighting it.

 
 
  I passed out and woke up thin. No wounds, either. Just these little scratches. I figured it was just a bad dream and went to the bathroom to weigh myself, but this Angel came into the bathroom. He’d chased the demon away and told me it was a famine demon that could kill thousands, and he was here to stop it.”

 
 
  “And you weren’t dreaming?” Amber’s warm brown eyes were huge.

 
 
  “No. He—Rahmiel is his name—is a real Angel. Anyway, he said the demon needed food to get strong after all these years. He would use my knowledge to find the easiest prey. So I thought of people I knew who were overweight, and I knew it was the Dieter’s Delight meeting night. The demon found the Dieter’s Delight group and killed them all. Rahmiel and I got to the meeting right after it happened. It was so awful. They were like skin-covered skeletons.”

 
 
  “I heard something about that from Lisbet’s roommate Joanie,” Amber said softly.

 
 
  “She mentioned something about Lisbet being so thin…it was weird. But it backs up your story.”

 
 
  “Yeah.”

 
 
  “What happened next?” Amber asked after awhile.

 
 
  “I had sex with the Angel.” Kari was glad the sun was down, so Amber couldn’t see her face turn red.

 
 
  Amber stared at her wide-eyed. “You did what?”

 
 
  Kari put her head back against the head rest. “He was really good looking and he seemed so nice. I felt…I don’t know…close to him, because he saved me. And did I mention that he is really good looking? Like you’d expect an Angel to be, I guess. He said he could do this binding to keep me safe, but it would require sex.”

 
 
  “That sounds like a line.” Amber wrinkled her short nose.

 
 
  “I know. But last night it didn’t. Plus, a tropical island. Did I mention he took me to a tropical island, with stars shining on the ocean? So we had sex, and he did the binding thingy, which I don’t remember very well. But then I woke up this morning. I was so sore—I still am. He said he would be gentle, but he wasn’t. I didn’t mind last night, though. I think he did some type of magic on me. It didn’t really hurt until I woke up today.”

 
 
  “So it wasn’t good? Having sex with him?”

 
 
  Kari’s face turned hot. “Yes, it was good. But this morning was awful. All these Angels showed up, and I was so tired and they all fought.”

 
 
  “They showed up at your house?” Amber cried.

 
 
  “No, at the island. We slept on the sand.” Kari sighed. “His wings are like pure down.”

 
 
  “Why did the Angels fight?”

 
 
  “I’m not sure. They put Rahmiel in some Angel prison, but he got out to fight that demon. Somehow, doing the binding sex thing on me makes it so they can’t send him back to prison. Then, when I woke up at my house, he was gone.”

 
 
  “Creep.”

 
 
  “Yeah. That’s what I thought. I finally give it away and it’s to a user loser.” She sniffed.

 
 
  Amber reached across the car and gave her a hug. “Well, it’s a bizarre story, but I have to believe you because I saw you just a week ago and you were lots heavier. I’ll bet you’re like a hundred pounds now. But last weekend, you were much heavier. Like a size eighteen.”

 
 
  “I am 103 pounds.” Kari turned in the seat to stare at Amber. “But I didn’t tell you the worst part. Somehow, when I was on the demon’s hand, it learned all about my life.

 
 
  My friends, places I go… That’s why it went to the Dieter’s Delight meeting. Rahmiel said it was looking for easy kills to regain its strength. I think it would come after you, because it knows where you live.”

 
 
  “Yeah, because I’m fat. Don’t run very fast. Easy to kill.” Amber wrinkled her nose.

 
 
  They were both talked out and had shed more than a few tears by the time they pulled up in front of the tidy two-story house Tressa called home.

 
 
  Kari climbed out into the night air, miles from the nearest town. The sky was clear and star-filled, and the sound of crickets chirping reminded Kari of her childhood summers at Grandma’s country home. “This is nice, so quiet. I think it will be just what I need to get over Rahmiel and all this crazy stuff.”

 
 
  Tressa came bounding through the front door. She was just a little over thirty years old, a pretty woman with curly dark hair like Amber’s, but with bright blue eyes. She had the thin wiry build of a dancer or runner and moved with a graceful quickness that made Kari think of a fairy.

 
 
  Tressa hurried them inside like a mother hen watching over her young. She pointed them to two small bedrooms, both with full size beds covered in bright floral comforters.

 
 
  “You girls get some sleep and don’t worry about getting up early. Sleep in. I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee whenever you surface.”

 
 
  Kari crawled into the sweet smelling sheets with a sigh. She felt safe here, so far from home. It had been good to tell Amber all the details of her relationship with Rahmiel. Amber had assured her that any girl would fall for a guy like that, especially after all the trauma.

 
 
  “He completely took advantage of you,” Amber told her. “You were confused and traumatized from being attacked by that demon, and seeing all those people dead. Then he takes you to some tropical paradise and seduced you.”

 
 
  “Yeah. I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

 
 
  “Well, he sounds heroic enough but he sure manipulated you.”

 
 
  “And he got what he wanted.” Kari wrinkled her nose, remembering how easily she’d met his passion.
Twenty-two years of hanging on to her virginity, all gone in a night.

 
 
 
Oh well
.

 
 
  “They can’t send him back to that ice prison,” Kari whispered to herself in the dark room. “I’m glad he’s not going back there. I think he will get rid of this demon.”

 
 
  She pulled the comforter up to her chin and turned over onto her side. Everything was going to be all right.

 
Chapter Five

 
  It was good, Rahmiel thought as they winged their way to Earth. He had companions to help fight Kaphawn. And he was returning to Kari’s house, where she would just be waking up, sweet and deliciously warm from her bed. He shivered in anticipation, remembering how her tongue had licked against his, how her small hands had smoothed him with gentle caresses, how her arms and legs had gripped him so tightly.

 
 
  Yes, it would be a sweet awakening.

 
 
  They landed on the grass in front of Kari’s house. Tehmuel and Auriel looked around with interest.

 
 
  Auriel wrinkled his nose. “Smells odd.”

 
 
  “They burn fossil fuels in their machinery,” Rahmiel explained. “It leaves a stench.

 
 
  And here comes a car now. Phase your wings. ” All three made their wings disappear.

 
 
  A car drove down the street and both Tehmuel and Auriel watched every turn of the wheels as it went down the street and turned a corner.

 
 
  “That is all mechanical, no other power?” Auriel asked, not taking his eyes from the car.

 
 
  Rahmiel shrugged. “Mostly, but I think there is electricity involved also.”

 
 
  “Really?” Auriel’s eyes were huge. “Humans have harnessed lightning?”

 
 
  Rahmiel nodded. “I know they have electricity.”

 
 
  Tehmuel walked over to the street and tapped a sandal on the blacktop. “It is so ugly it’s refreshing,” he said. “All I’ve seen in years has been white, pastel or gleaming.”

 
 
  “Don’t forget sparkling,” Auriel said.

 
 
  They entered the house and Rahmiel rushed to Kari’s bedroom, anxious to take her into his arms.

 
 
  She wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere. The house was empty.

 
 
  “You’d better use the bond to find her,” Tehmuel said. “You don’t want her unprotected when night falls.”

 
 
  Rahmiel nodded. He was in shock. Why wasn’t she here? She should barely be awake. Yet she was gone. So was her car.

 
 
  “I don’t know how to use the bond,” he confessed to Tehmuel. “I’ve never had a bond before.”

 
 
  Tehmuel raised his eyebrows, but gently explained how to concentrate and find her. ”You need to close your eyes and get quiet inside. Then move slowly around until you feel a spark. That spark tells you the direction. Concentrate on it, and it will get stronger.”

 
 
  Rahmiel concentrated. Kari was heading south. She was out of harm’s way, as long as she didn’t call the demon by name.