I Hold The Light Of Heaven In My Hands

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.”
Cicero

There is a War going on. It has been going on since the very beginning of Man. This fight has nothing to do with God or Satan. But it has everything to do with their minions.

Demons battle for supremacy on Earth, unseen and unknown by most humans. The only thing that stands in their way are the Warriors of the Bloodline, Humans gifted with special fighting skills and partnered with angels bound to our physical plane in the form of swords.

A neutral party in all this are the Wizards, those who have gained power by Nature rather than Heavenly means. Wizards are born rather than made, and will fight for either side. They are the mercenaries in this cosmic war.

At first, it seemed like the Humans were winning the War. But the Demons changed their targets and began slaughtering Warriors and their untrained children rather than Humans. The Warriors found their population greatly diminished. They had to breed with ordinary Humans in order to keep their numbers up. And the Bloodline began to weaken. Now, the Warriors are losing the War. Few Warriors are of pure descent, and some who are able to fight are unwilling to do so, feeling that if they ignore the problem it will be handled for them. The situation seems almost hopeless...

—..—

Max huddled beside the dumpster, trying to ignore the rumbling of his stomach, the way he could see his breath in the freezing air, how cold it was in the early fall. Shadowbane hadn’t bothered to try and keep him company. Or to help him find some way to eat. Living on one’s own was hard. Especially when one had practically no education to speak of. Or drivers licence. Had to have a state issued id if you wanted to get paid minimum wage. And forget about those places where you could supposedly work for three bucks an hour and get paid in cash at the end of every day. Everywhere he looked, it was social security number this and bank account number that.

If ever Max stumbled upon a time machine, he was going to severely beat the man who invented the concept of direct depositing.

The really sad thing was that he’d never gone more than a day’s walk from the Barinian household the entire time. He’d stayed close, torturing himself by denying their company, their comfort, their... love.

His stomach rumbled once more, insistently, and he blew a strand of hair out of his face, irritated. Just one little visit wouldn’t hurt, right? Get a nice meal, a bath, a warm bed and maybe pass the worst of the winter weather there. Never mind that Kaitlin was there and had probably exceeded the beauty her body had promised just over three years ago. Nevermind that she was finally legal.

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” he muttered, banging his head against the dumpster. Yeah, so Kaitlin had been hot. He hadn’t touched her then, and he wasn’t going to touch her now, goddammit. He stood, stomping his feet to get the blood rushing back to them and blowing on his hands. This was just for a warm meal. Maybe some nice warm clothes, too.

Unaware of the grin on his face, he started off for home.

—..—

“Max, what a surprise! Welcome, welcome, come in.”

Kaitlin jerked her head towards her mother, who was ushering Max inside. “Max!” She jumped up and tackled him, enveloping him in a huge hug. Because of the weight lost during his sojourn, he no longer could catch her as easily as he had before. The pair went tumbling down, Max landing with a muffled groan of pain. “Oh shit, did I hurt you? Whoa, you smell awful. Have you been rolling around in manure or something?”

“Katy.” Lisa shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Get off of him. Max, are you here on urgent matters?” Slightly winded, Max shook his head. “Good. You can use the guest bedroom, it’s much too late to go anywhere tonight. Dinner will be ready in an hour, if you’d like to get settled.” She eyed his lack of luggage and scuzzy appearance with meaning.

“Yes, ma’am. ‘Lo, Katy.” Max pushed himself to his feet and limped straight into the guest bathroom.

Kaitlin watched him, then her eyes widened. “Mom, you didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” Puzzled, Lisa shook her head at her daughter.

“Give him the guest room! That’s where all my paintings are!” She ran for the room, throwing the door open. “Oh, now they’ll get all smudged when I move them.”

“It’s abstract art. I don’t think a little smudging will matter.”

In return Kaitlin gave her mother a quelling look inherited directly from her father. It was a look reserved especially for the topic of art and when said artist was feeling especially underappreciated. Lisa shook her head once more, heading towards the kitchen to finish preparing dinner.

—..—

Max peeked down the hallway, checking to make sure no one was there. He may have lived with the Barinians for five years, but that didn’t mean he could just waltz around bare(well, practically) assed. After careful consideration, he made a run for the door to the guest bedroom, shutting in behind him firmly and heaving a sigh of relief and throwing his dirty clothes into the corner. He could just feel the past two years of strife draining out of him

“eep.”

His eyes shot open, pinning Kaitlin with a blue-green gaze. “What are you doing in here?” Was that hope in his voice? He was a pervert, he really was. He squeezed his eyes closed for a brief moment, searching for control.

She fumbled nervously with the covered canvas in her hands for a long moment, then grinned up at him sheepishly. “I was using this room as, um, as a studio. ‘Cause the lighting’s, you know, so good and all...” Her gaze dipped lower for a brief moment, then she gasped. “What happened? You’re so skinny!” Before he could move, she had set the canvas down on the bed and was running her fingertips lightly over the skin stretched taut over his ribs.

A quick breath of surprise and his control was just that much further away. Goddammit. Grabbing her wrists, he gave her his fiercest scowl. “Llook, brat, just get out of my room!”

The look on her face was one similar to a kitten that had just been sucker-punched. She looked about to cry for a moment, then, furious, she threw the canvas in her hands down on the bed, storming towards him and jabbing him in the chest with her finger. “Don’t give me any of that ‘brat’ business, you bastard! I am a fully grown adult by society’s standards, and I’ve been one for years. So don’t try and boss me around any more. I’m not a child and I won’t take it, especially from you!”

Max stared at her finger, then at her. “How am I supposed to treat you like an adult when you don’t respect personal boundaries? You’re in my room, invading my personal space with that finger of yours.” Every word a struggle to say when desire was pushing at him, throbbing- bad word to use. “Would you just leave already so I can get dressed?”

“Fine.” She picked up her canvas. “If you would be so kind?”

He raised an eyebrow at her haughty attitude, moving out of her way. Because he knew it would make her mad, and therefore hopefully keep her distance, he added a mocking bow. She glared at him for a long moment before grabbing the doorknob and viciously slamming the door.

She had barely walked two steps when she heard a slow clapping from the living room. There sat Shadowbane, a smirk on his face. “What?” She snapped, clutching the canvas closer to her.

“Very nice exit. So grand, so eloquent, so pissed off shrew.” He said in his usual dour tone.

“Bite me.” She retorted, glowering at him before storming up the stairs to her own room.

“Oh yeah,” Shadowbane’s smirk grew wider as he took up his channel surfing once more. “Real adult of you, Kaitlin Barinian.”

Max leaned against the closed door, breathing hard as he tried to get his emotions under control again. He rubbed at the stumps of his fingers in a vain attempt to calm himself down.

A knock sounded on the door a few minutes later. He cautiously peeked around the corner to see Kyle standing there, holding a fresh change of clothes.

“I thought you might need this. And by ‘I’, I mean ‘Lisa’.” He glanced at the sliver of Max showing through the door. “Boy, you need a good hearty meal or three.”

“Yeah.” Max smiled somewhat sheepishly, reaching for the clothes.

The older man held them out of arms reach for a moment, his gaze searching the younger man’s. “You’ve caught on to how hard it is, haven’t you?”

“Huh?” His confused expression earned a short laugh from Kyle.

“Becoming an adult. It’s not as easy as it seems, is it?”

Max shrugged, reaching out once more for the clothes in Kyle’s hands. “‘S not like life’s been giving me stuff on a silver platter, anyway.” He couldn’t quite keep the resentment out of his tone. His mentor’s eyes narrowed, but he chose not to comment on it right now, choosing instead to say, “Dinner’s almost ready.”

As Kyle passed through the living room to the kitchen, he saw Lisa leaning over the back of the couch, her mouth close to Shadowbane’s ear. The sword was scowling at the television, upon which QVC was playing.

He heard a quiet “do we have an understanding?” from Lisa in that firm quiet voice she usually used when Kaitlin was being particularly obstinate.

“Yes.” Shadowbane bit out harshly, glaring at the television with even more force than before.

“Good.” Kyle’s wife smiled with genuine pleasure and patted the sword on the shoulder. “Are you joining us for dinner?”

A snort of disdain was her only answer. She scowled and discretely mimed slapping the back of his head. Kyle laughed, grabbing her shoulder and drawing her close. “Let’s go, dear. I’m starving.”

The table was set for ten, even though only five would be eating. It was the custom of the Barinian family to have their swords (both partnered and unpartnered) join them for meals and special occasions.

It was a noisy affair as usual. Kaitlin didn’t get the chance to find out what Max had been up to the past two years- no one did. He refused to say anything about it, just that he’d been ‘kinda busy.’

The doorbell rang just as cleanup started. Kaitlin bounded for the door, pushing past (or through) various people and swords on her way. She threw it open and grinned at the small triad standing there. “Hey, guys!”

‘Guys’ in this case referred to two young men and one woman about her age. One of the men wore a worn button up shirt and jeans with sneakers, a battered black felt cowboy hat on his head with curly black hair underneath. He stood about a head taller than the other man, who was wearing the local high school football team’s jersey over a long sleeved white shirt. He, too, wore jeans, but his shoes were a well known pricey brand of pseudo boot. He had dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The girl wore a bright green halter top (the cold night air making it obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra) and khaki colored capri pants slung low on her hips. Her hair was cut fashionably short and spiked. It was also an obscenely bright orange color.

“You ready, Kaitlin?” The young woman asked while chomping loudly on a piece of gum.

Kaitlin shot a quick glance at her watch, then looked over to her shoulder at her parents. “I’m gonna go to that party I told you about, ‘kay?”

“Party?”

“Who’s he?” The blonde guy jerked his chin towards Max, who stood a few feet behind Kaitlin, hands in his pockets as he eyed the crowd at the door.

She followed his gesture, then grinned. “That’s my friend Max from out of town.” Her eyes lit up as a thought struck her. “Hey, how about we take him with us?”

“Katy, I don’t think that’s such a good id “

”See, Kait-lin, he doesn’t want to go.”

After a slight pause, Max raised an eyebrow at the obnoxious blonde who had corrected him, smirking. “I changed my mind. A night out sounds like just the thing.” He turned and waved to the assembled swords and Warriors. “Wish I could stay and chat, but looks like I’ve got plans.” He told them as he ushered Kaitlin out the door. and shut it behind them.

“All I got’s a Mustang, so y’all are gonna have to squeeze in,” the man who’d been quiet until now told them. His voice carried a thick southern drawl, most likely Texan. The choice of a Mustang suited him entirely.

Max, Kaitlin, and the blonde guy (whose name he found out was ‘Ted’) shuffled into the back, Kaitlin in the middle, while Jacob and Sarah jumped into the front.

“So Max, how long you known Kaitlin?” Sarah asked after introductions had been made. “She doesn’t mention you that often.”

“I lived with her family for a while about six or seven years ago, but I moved out of town two years ago. This is my first visit back since.”

“Why the long wait?” The natural query and he cursed himself for being so outgoing.

“Dunno. Just forgot, I guess.”

Kaitlin’s quickly muttered curse word eloquently expressed her displeasure. Ted leaned past her to look at Max.

“You look kinda familiar.”

Max glanced at him, startled. “What?”

“Sorta like this old hobo who used to wander around my dad’s office.”

Both Kaitlin and Max stared at Ted.

“Yeah, except he was way older, like old enough to be your grandpa or something.”

Kaitlin’s gaze turned to Max, who shrugged at her, the same puzzled look on his face, although it took effort to keep it there. Damn, but he’d never guessed that any of Katy’s friends would hang around that upscale neighborhood. Or that they’d pay attention to any old sort that was hanging around.

“Whatever, man.” Was his chosen reply and Kaitlin scowled at Ted.

“That was rude.”

Ted shrugged, leaning back in his seat. “Sorry. I just said he looked familiar.

That set the tone for the rest of the ride to the party. Max would occasionally sneak glances at Kaitlin out of the corner of his eye(she was just too pretty not to look at). Thankfully she was always staring out the front windshield.

Well, he’d thought she was, anyway. When the car parked and the others were headed for the huge house that was hosting the party, she pulled him back and leaned in close.

“Do I have something on my face?”

Max blinked at her. “What?”

An exasperated huff. “You were staring at me the whole ride here. Do I have a booger on my face or something?”

“Ah,” Max reached up, carefully brushing away an eyelash off her cheek. “Yeah. It’s gone now.”

“Good,” she smiled at him, then after a moment her smile took on a more smug quality. “That was the side that was facing Ted.”
“Ah, yeah...” Heaven help him from smart-ass women. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned in closer. “I didn’t want to tell you this,” he said in a low whisper, struggling not to laugh, “but it almost looks like there’s a small hand growing out of your cheek.”

Shocked, her hands flew to her face, feeling along her cheeks. His gaze remained serious as he watched her.

“What is it, like a whole patch of zits or something? Ohmigod, I can’t go out there with a face all covered in pus!” She turned back to the car and leaned down to check her face out in the side view mirror.

Max couldn’t help himself then, he started to laugh loud and hard. “Whoa boy, Katy, the look on your face!”

She straightened, glaring furiously at him. “I’ll show you a look, buddy.” Stalking up to him, she socked him in the stomach.

He was familiar with her moves, having lived with her for so long, and so was expecting it. He doubled over with “pain” and wheezed, grinning “Damn, Katy, it was just a joke.”

“Next time make it funny. Then I’ll know.” There was still a slight smile on her face as she strode past him, head held high. He let his grin show full force as he followed her in to the house.

The music was loud, the people were pressed in like sardines, and Max was nervous. He hated crowds and was beginning to wish he hadn’t come. If that punk Ted hadn’t tried to correct him on Kaitlin’s name-

He spotted her sitting on the couch, leaning on- hell, hanging all over that Ted guy. Sighing, he was about to turn away and get another beer(ten to one he was the only legal drinker in that place) when he noticed Ted picking Katy up and taking her upstairs, a couple of other guys whom he hadn’t met following.

The whole situation just reeked of perversion. Setting his cup aside, he pushed his way through the crowd to follow them. The group went up the stairs, checking a couple of doors before they found a room that suited their needs (i.e., was empty) and entered it.

He opened the door Ted’s buddies had so recently closed and hesitantly stuck his head in. “Katy?”

Ted appeared, blocking all the happenings of the room from him. “She’s sleeping, dude. I’ll watch her and you go back down and join the party.”
“Then I’ll sit with her and you can all go dow “

Then the most unexpected thing happened. Ted’s eyes narrowed and started to glow a bright red. “Leave.” He said in a suddenly gravelly voice with definite demonic undertones.

Max grinned, perhaps the first real grin he’d shown all night. “I think if I leave the lady with you, she’ll need an avenging angel in the morning.” He met Ted’s demonic gaze without flinching, letting the other man know that he knew exactly what he was.

Ted’s glowing eyes widened at the word ‘angel’ and he backed away from the door. “Oh, shit! Guys, we got a situation!”

Max concentrated, reaching out to his sword with a wordless query as his hands glowed with a soft blue green hue.

:: ...This better be good.:: Shadowbane grumbled, his sword form taking shape between his hands.

Max quickly summoned his blue green light, the vortex it contained bursting out as soon as Shadowbane and Max’s wings were fully summoned. The three men, with the builds of football stars and the looks of traditional golden boys, also all had red glowing eyes. They were possessed. Most likely had been after some initiation rite of some sort. That could mean a whole frat house of demons... Max shuddered at the thought, lifting his sword high. There was a way to exorcize them, Katy probably knew it, but she was flying high as a kite right now and he had to deal with it his way. Not that he’d mind...

The bedroom was enormous, a sign that proudly advertised how rich the homeowners were. Unfortunately, it was about to get trashed. The three possessees rushed him at once. Max swung and sliced at one of the guys, laying the arm he raised for protection bare to the bone. He gave a cry of pain and fell away to the side, demon rage easily overcome. Apparently he wasn’t as gung ho about the date rape as the other two were.

The slice continued, carving into Ted’s chest and the thigh of the guy beside him. Blood ran in dark rivers down their bodies and was absorbed by the plush carpet. They ignored their wounds, grabbing Max and restraining him.

“You’re not so tough,” Ted sneered, blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth from his punctured lungs as the demon inside propelled him through even to the death. Real determined to get his way, this one. “Mr. Avenging Angel.” He spat on Max, splattering the borrowed clothes with blood.

In retaliation, Max leaned back on the demon holding his arms, just far enough to get a good shot at the huge wound in Ted’s chest with his booted foot. Bones crunched as his heel sunk in, crushing Ted’s heart into his spine and the possessed boy’s glowing eyes widened. He gave a gargled choke as more blood frothed out of his mouth, running down his neck to join the mess on his chest. He stepped away, pushing Max’s foot to the ground. He came forward, his steps weakening the closer he came, and raised a fist. He had just enough strength left to smash the bridge of Max’s nose, then he collapsed against Max, demon glowing eyes dulling with the passing of life.

“You wanna keep going?” Max asked the demon holding his arms in an amicable tone. “My sword is more than willing to call for some backup. All of whom will be happy to see how welcome you’ve made us feel, I’m sure.” Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kaitlin stirring on the couch. There was a brief hesitation, then the hands holding him loosened. He pulled himself free, a ribbon of light bursting from his hand to connect with Shadowbane’s hilt, pulling the sword to him as he strode towards Katy. The other demon might be intimidated, however it also might be calling for backup of its own. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw that both the guys had left. It was too late to do anything now about it, so he sent Shadowbane away, banishing his wings as well.

“Boy, but you’re heavy,” he muttered as he picked Kaitlin up and headed back downstairs. Thankfully Jacob and Sarah easy to find, and after seeing Max and Kaitlin’s state he easily agreed to take them back home. Sarah performed some minor first aid for Max and the bleeding stopped fairly quickly. An advantage of being a Warrior was a quickly healing body. Too bad the scars remained forever.

“Sorry it had to be like that,” Jacob waved as he drove off. Max shrugged, heading up the walkway for the front door.

Shadowbane opened it for them.. “You’d better take her into the guest room. You wouldn’t want to wake Kyle and Lisa up just so they can see her like that.”

“Yeah,” Max nodded. He followed Shadowbane into his room, where the sword turned down the blankets for Max to lay her down. Max stared at him, startled by this unexpected kindness. Shadowbane scowled.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re the one who’s going to have to stay with her to make sure she doesn’t stop breathing.”

“Christ.” Max rubbed the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. It was just that... Could he handle the temptation?

Shadowbane, of course, didn’t say anything. With a sigh, Max dragged a chair closer to Kaitlin’s side of the bed. After a moment of watching her, he rested a hand on the middle of her chest to make sure she was still breathing.

“Christ, Katy, the things you get yourself into.” He muttered, stripping off his bloodstained shirt and pants. Someone, Lisa most likely, had thoughtfully left out a clean pair of sleep wear and he changed into these, keeping an eye on Kaitlin the whole while. It was unlikely she would wake up before morning, but still...

Near dawn, color was returning to her cheeks, and she moved about in the restless way he associated with her normal sleep patterns. (Not that he watched her or anything, he just used to walk in on her sleep overs when all those girls were draped about the living room and... ah, hell. he did watch her.)

Satisfied that she would make it through the night, he crawled into the other side of the bed, curling up in his now habitual fetal position.

—..—

Pain. Anger. Anguish. Suffering. Hurt. Her parents. Her grandfather. Herself. A shadowy form with eyes that glowed red like a dying sun.

Kaitlin awoke to find herself standing in front of a canvas half covered in paint. (and not in bed with Max as everyone assumes!). The colors she usually associated with the emotions running through her head as she’d drifted through sleep where slapped on the canvas in what seemed to be a haphazard fashion but was clear as day to her.
Something bad was going to happen. Soon.
She squinted at the painting in progress, trying to judge exactly how long it would take before it was completed. By her estimation, she had roughly two months until the shit hit the fan.

“Crap.”

A stirring from the bed drew her eye to it and the contents within. A small sigh escaped her lips and she welcomed the diversion of Max’s sexy body. For even when he was half starving and reduced to just the barest of muscle mass, Max was still sexy. Damn sexy.

After a brief hesitation, she drew the curtains to shut away the morning light and slipped back under the covers, curling up against Max’s side, purring contentedly. He muttered something in his sleep and put his arm around her, pulling her closer. After only a moment’s hesitation, she threw an arm and a leg across his body, burrowing her face into his shoulder. It felt good. Almost good enough to make her forget about the painting sitting a few feet away.

The painting. Her eyes popped open and she stared at the far wall. What was it trying to say to her? How could she stop what was about to happen when she didn’t know what it even was. Why couldn’t she ever predict anything good with her paintings? It seemed she was only warned about the bad things, and those usually when it was too late to do anything about it. Maybe this time would be different.

In later years, Kaitlin would make money off her dream paintings. Critics called them ‘edgy’ and ‘unsatisfying’ but they seemed to appeal to the populous, the seemingly random assortment of colors and shapes easily identified with. Especially when one was in pain.

The work that Kaitlin was creating right now would never be sold, nor would Kaitlin ever admit she had painted it. After it was through, she would stick it in the attic and do her best to forget about it. Sometimes she would succeed.

Now, however, it was keeping her from going back to sleep and giving her a tremendous headache (actually the headache was a result of the rufie-colada she’d consumed last night, but she didn’t know about that yet).

She spent a few more minutes wrapped around Max, then with a heavy sigh she crept out of his room and back to her own. It wouldn’t do to have her parents see her see her walking out of his room at such an early hour. They’d jump to all sorts of conclusions and no matter how much Kaitlin might desire those conclusions herself, her parents had made their views on her relationships with men crystal clear. No serious affairs until she turned forty.

A small smile on her face, she snuck into her own room and burrowed under the covers, quickly falling asleep only to be awakened a couple of hours later by a pounding on her door.

“Katy, breakfast is ready!”

After a quick shower and a handful of aspirin, she rushed down the stairs, just in time for her grandfather to slid a freshly cooked omelet on her plate. She smiled gratefully up at him before dishing herself up some of the other delicious food that sat on the table. Lisa patiently waited for her daughter to finish, then led the table in a short prayer.

“Christian called me the other day,” Kyle mentioned casually.

“The Reise boy?” Lisa looked up from her food to her husband. “That’s unusual. What did he have to say?”

“He was telling me that Zoe’s having a tough time with her mom,” He replied in between bites.

Kaitlin jerked her head up, then winced as a sudden pain shot through her temples. “Do you want me to go see her?” She asked, breakfast forgotten at the chance of seeing her friend again.

Kyle considered it a moment, then shook his head. “Actually, I was thinking Max should go.”

The young man paused, fork halfway to his mouth. “Why’s that?” He asked, slowly putting his fork back down on his plate.

“Well, I was thinking that it must have been hard for you to find jobs while you were out running about. So why don’t you go and help out those families that need an extra hand or two around the house?” He glanced to Michael and Lisa, both of whom nodded their approval of his idea.

Max pushed his food around on his plate as he thought about it. Leave this place, so soon after he’d finally gotten the courage to come back? But then, he would be helping out people in need. He could ask for food and board in exchange for his help, and maybe a small bit of cash, too. After debating it with himself a bit more, he gave a small nod of agreement. “I guess that sounds good.” He mumbled half heartedly.

“Good.” Kyle smiled at him. “I’ll call Christian tomorrow and tell him the good news. When do you want to leave?”

“Whenever’s fine,” he said, his voice barely audible. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Excuse me,” Kaitlin said a sudden feeling of nausea overwhelmed her. “Please,” she added belatedly, rushing to her room, slamming the doors behind her and crawling under her covers.

Whenever’s fine? It doesn’t matter? “What an asshole,” she grumbled into her pillow.

A knock sounded on her door, and she tossed the covers from her head. “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” came Stormchaser’s quiet voice. “I came to make sure you were all right.”

“I’m fine.” The door opened and closed behind her sword as he entered her room. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he took in Kaitlin’s rumpled and grumpy appearance.

“Of course. You look absolutely peaches.”

“It’s ‘peachy,’ SC.” She settled her head back down on the pillow, a sigh escaping from her lips. “Why does he want to leave already? He just got here.” A frustrated growl. “He always leaves!” She turned her head into the pillow so Stormchaser wouldn’t see her crying. A weight settled on the bed, the creaking of the springs barely audible to her over her sobs. A hand settled on her head. She looked up to see her sword, her friend smiling down at her. His hand drifted from the top of her head to her chin and he leaned in to press his lips to her tear-stained cheek.

“It will be all right.”