The only thing missing now…. "Do you think you can find them?" Lys wondered as my thoughts turned to my parents.
"I’m not sure. If I’d gone with them, if I—"
"Hey, none of that.” He pulled me closer to him and kissed my forehead. “They wanted you to be safe, no matter what. They loved you."
“Yeah.” That much I knew. “They thought I’d be safe here. I don’t even know why they picked here of all places.” Sure, this was an unexpected spot for an angel to reside, but it was also risky and close to Heaven.
“Hmm. Maybe you should ask him.”
Lys nodded to Frost, who’d separated himself from us and stood near the old restaurant, examining some of the markings created by vandals over the years. He stared intently at the graffiti on the wall, like the words there meant something to him.
~
Max
I joined Frost near the side of the old seafood restaurant. We stood in silence for a few moments, staring at the graffiti. The colors varied, but each message was about the same. Different tags belonging to various artists who all wished to leave their mark and say they were here.
"Do you have parents?" I wondered.
He thought about the question for several moments. “I have a mother.” He kept talking before I could comment or ask anything else. “Have you remembered more about your parents?”
"Yeah. I doubt it will be easy to find them though. I’m not sure they’re even…” Nope, could not go on. “What are you looking at?”
Frost stared at one of the tags on the wall, a stylized ‘R.’
"I come from an… influential family in Heaven. Out in the cosmos, there’s said to be more individuality, farther away from our kind and the ties that unite us always, but on Heaven someone who disagrees is nearly unheard of."
"But you did?"
"As I said,nearlyunheard of. When I left, I was desperate. This was the last place my family would look. I’d always need to keep running, but If I could get here, I’d figure out what to do next. A sentry caught me before entering Earth’s atmosphere. I failed and faced eternal punishment, but he showed me how to hide.” Frost touched his chest again. Did he have a scar there, a place where he separated out his angelic connections? “This secret is one all those hidden protect dearly and never share with a stranger like me. The wrong angel finding out would be the end of them all. To this day I never knew why he helped me, not until now.”
"Now?"
“I believe he harbored disloyal ideas, some of the same ideas as me. One day he might need the favor, and he did.” Frost pointed out the graffiti, an R with flourishes at the top that resembled… wings. It fit with my father, Raz. “He knew I’d find you eventually and look after you. That’s why you were sent here."
“A-about them,” I said, steeling myself to spit out. “A demon came after them. He has pure white wings and red teeth.” My parents attempted to shield me completely from him, but I’d seen him for a second and might be able to recall his name eventually.
Frost nodded gravely. “That gives us a place to start.”
"There areplentyof places to start. I’d like to know more about being an angel and Heaven."
"Max, it’s dangerous. If they ever found out we were here…"
“Please, I need to know more. I have to find my parents.”
Frost glanced at the graffiti again. “Alright. We’ll try.”
I didn’t know what happened to my parents, not yet. But Frost and I would try to locate them. We’d keep searching. One day, we might even succeed.
25.Temple and Temple
Max
Standing outside a closed door, I inhaled one deep breath after another, slowly releasing each one as I prepared. I arrived about 10 minutes early for this meeting. Yeah, that should give me enough time to—
"Fancy meeting you here." A very familiar voice spoke the words.
Turning my head, I saw Lys watching me in the hallway. He played innocent, like we casually ran into each other. I knew better. This appointment was going to be intense as hell. My friendly neighborhood therapist called for backup.
