sword of heaven and hell

of Heaven and Hell-
The sun shining through a crack in the blinds, woke Logan out of a sound sleep. The soft whir of the air conditioner, was the only thing that broke the silence. It was summer and he'd done his best to be able to sleep in. He even stapeled the curtains shut. Every morning it found a way through. He suspected that his mom had somthing to do with it, because there was always a list of chores waiting for him. Today, he already knew what she wanted, which meant it was time to get up.
When he sat up and looked around, he realized that he wasn't alone in the bed. He couldn't see anything of the girl curled up next to him, except, a bit of silver hair. He slowly remembered the night before; Collin's party, the bottle of vodka that he'd lifted from his brother's stash, and meeting Kirby.
She'd been cute in a goth sort of way. Dressed all in black velvet and combat boots. She wasn't his usual type, but, they'd both been wasted and she'd come on to him. So he'd snuck her home.
His phone rang somewhere on the floor, he scrambled to grab it."What?", He mumbled.
The excited voice, that rang through his hungover head, belonged to his cousin.
Logan sighed, he'd made a deal with his mom after the last time, he'd missed curfew. He'd promised to hang out with Xavier for the day. His family was worried that he was becoming antisocial. Logan wasn't sure about antisocial, but he was pretty sure his cousin was crazy.
Xavier had always been jumping from one obsession to another. For the last few years, he wask into all things supernatural. Last summer he'd gone around "ghost hunting". Dragging Logan to a few supossedly haunted places, they didn't find any. Who knew what it was this time.
Logan ignored what his cousin was saying, instead he said, "Dude, I'm not feeling well. Can we do this tommorow?"
Again, Logan didn't pay much attention to what his cousin was saying. He just registered it was louder and faster. Finally, he hung up and laid back down. The small female form snuggled contently up against him almost immediatly.
Logan closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep. He wasn't sure how much time had past, when his bedroom door slammed open and someone turned the lights on.
Logan tried to pull the covers over his head, but Kirby sat up groaning. Her long silver hair stuck out in every direction and she blinked a few times, as if she wasn't sure where she was.
"What the hell?" Logan exclaimed.
Xavier stood in the doorway uncomfortably, looking between them. It was obvious from the look on his face that he wasn't expecting Logan to have company.
"Who's that." He asked suspiciously.
Logan yawned, ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair, and said,"Kirby. Kirby this is Xavier, my cousin."
"Bathroom!" Kirby responded and leapt from the bed. She picked her clothes up off the floor and went for the door. They both watched as she ran from the room.
Xavier sighed,"A girl? You're ditching me for a girl?"
Logan looked at his cousin. They shared the same dark brown hair, but Logan's was long and thick and Xavier kept his short at a mom approved length. They also had the same mahogney colored eyes. Logan however, was almost a foot taller. The physical differences aside, they had almost opposite personalities. Logan wa laid back, where Xavier was a bit intense. Somehow, they usually mamged to get along.
"I'm not ditching you. I met her at a party last night, thats all. But, you do know, the only reason I'm doing this at all is, because, its better than being grounded.", Logan explained as he looked for some pants.
"I know that. My mom is making me hang out with you too.", He snapped,"Apparently, I'm not social enough."
"Yeah, well, if you weren't such a weirdo maybe you'd have more friends.", Logan replied as he slid his long legs into a pair of cleanish jeans.
The door pushed open and Kirby stepped back in. She really was petite, even a bit shorter than Xavier. She'd slipped her dress back on in the bathroom and gotten most of last night's make up off. Still, she looked pale, with impossibly blue eyes that peeked out from under long bangs. She stopped just in the doorway as both cousins looked her way.
"Morning boys.",She said with a mischievious smile, "What are you guys up to?"
"None of your business.", Xavier responded.
Logan glared at him before saying,"Not sure yet."
"Good", She said,"Would you mind driving me to my car?"
"Why can't you find your own way home or just call someone to pick you up here?", Xavier asked.
She started to explain, Xavier, is it? First of all Xavier, I don't even know where here is...."
Logan interupted,"Of course we'll give you a ride. Where is your car?"
"My friend Layla's house. We went to the party together, but when I met you, I told her to drive herself home." She said, looking under the bed for her thigh highs.
"Ok. That shouldn't be a problem.", Logan said slipping a t-shirt over his head and grabbing his shoes,"Lets go."
Kirby had got her tights and boots on, so she headed out the door first.
"Hey wait a minute.", Xavier said," I'm on a timetable. I don't have time for you to be carting some girl around. And this is kind of a secret mission."
"Well its my car and I want to help her. The more you bitch, the longer its gonna take." Logan returned, then relented, "We'll swear her to secrecy. If it makes you feel better."
"Fine", He sighed,"Lets just go."
Kirby had already made her way out to the driveway, where Logan's car was. The station wagon had been through his two older brothers and before that, his mom. At some point it had been painted black and was covered in stickers, but underneath, it was still a station wagon. Still, a car was a car, and it'd been free.
Logan unlocked the doors and they got in.
"Alright, Xavier. Where to first?"
"I need to get some stuff out of my garage. Run by my house.",Xavier said.
Logan looked back at Kirby who'd climbed into the backseat.
"Are you ok with that? Do you have to be anywhere?",He asked her.
"No",She said,"I'm good."
Xavier and his mom lived just a few blocks from Logan, so they were there in just a few minutes. While he ran into the house for whatever it was he needed, Logan chatted with Kirby. Really, it was the first time they'd actually talked.
With what little of the night he remembered, he'd actually liked her from the minute he saw her. She had this easy going way about her.
"So you don't go to Charmicheal do you?" He asked.
"No", I actually go to a private school, Emery.", She answered. A small chirp came from her bag. She reached in and pulled out a phone. Imediatly, she began texting.
"Great. Layla took my car to visit her boyfriend.", She said.
"Look. Just spend the day with us." He offered.
"You don't have to be nice to me. I mean last night was great, but, you don't owe me anything.", She said.
Embarassed, he shly replied, "I know I don't. Last night WAS great, but I'm being nice because I want to. Besides, you can keep me from killing Xavier, when he starts getting really obnoxious."
She giggled ans asked,"You mean it gets worse?"
"Oh yeah. You haven't seen anything yet."
Xavier came down the driveway lugging a big cardboard box. Logan hurried to the back of the car and lowered the gate. He heard glass bottles rattle as Xavier slid the box in. He tried to peek, but the other boy leaned over it.
They all climbed back into the car and Logan asked,"Where to next?"
Xavier answered,"Well where are we dropping the girl off?"
"Um she's actually comming with, and her name is Kirby", Logan replied.
"Seriously! Come on Logan, I have things to do, that I don't need an audience for.",Xavier pouted.
"I don't want to say again; my car, my rules."Logan said,"Kirby, any requests?
"Coffee would be awesome.", She said, glancing up from her phone.
"Coffee it is." Logan said, completly ignoring his cousin.
"So", Kirby started,"Xavier, whats the big deal about today?"
"Why are you asking?", He responded suspiciously.
Logan butted in,"Its called conversation. She's trying to be friendly. You should try it sometime."
They pulled up to the coffeehouse, only Logan and Kirby got out. He took Kirby's hand as they walked across the parking lot. She held his hand, kind of swinging it a bit. He'd grabbed it just to piss Xavier off, and she seemed to know. This made him smile a bit.
They ordred the same thing, large latte with white mocha and extra whipped cream. It was Logan's usual coffee and from the looks of it, it was Kirby's too. Who knew buying a cup of coffee could turn into a romantic moment.
Xavier was still pouting when they got back to the car. It seemed that he'd decided to just pretend Kirby wasn't in the car.
Speaking to Logan, he said,"We need to go to the hobby store. I need to get some chalk."
"No problem.",He said.
Kirby sat in back drinking her coffee. Not one to be ignored, she asked, "So seriously, what are we doing?"
Xavier sighed, but relented."Ok. See, last year I was hunting ghosts, so I started researching stories. I was trying to find places that might be haunted. Well I found a book on demomology. So I had to try it."
"Try what?"
"There were istructions on how to raise a demon.", He said.
"A demon? Seriously? Even if that were possible, why would you want to do it?", She asked.
"To prove it can be done.",He explained.
"So you're one of those, theres something out there guys?", she asked.
"Definatly." He said.
"What are you going to do with the demon after you get it here?",she asked.
"Um keep it! If I have a real demon, I'd be famous.", he said.
They pulled into the parking lot of the big craft supply store. They all piled out of the car and went in. Xavier led the way to the art section. He huffed when he saw the chalk selection.
"Its all gone!", he whined,"How do they run out of chalk?"
He went off to find a sales clerk.
"I think he likes you.", Logan said.
"Really? How can you tell?", She asked, looking up from her phone.
"That was the longest I've ever seen him talk to someone who wasn't family."
Xavier came back, carrying a clear plastic bag. He held it up. It was shaped like a lady's purse. Inside was a jump rope, a set of jacks, and some pink chalk.
"Its pink.", he lamented.
"What are you doing with it, anyway?",she asked.
He sighed," I probaly won't even use it, but I may need it to write some symbols on the floor. Pink will work, but its not what I was picturing."
Back in the car, Xavier directed them to the state park, just out of town. Kirby had taken command of the backseat again. Suddenly she looked up from her insessant texting and said," Logan turn up the radio. I love this song."
When Logan heard the song, he replied,"I really like this one too. Have you heard the whole album?"
"Yes. Hey they'll be here next month. We should go.", She said,"If you want to, I mean."
"Yeah, sure. That sounds great.", He said.
Xavier inturupted,"You two are cute. Why don't you get a room?"
"We had one", Logan responded testily,"You made us leave it, to help you with your insanity."
Logan pulled in the turn off to the park. When he saw the banner over the entrance, he chuckled. Xavier was not as amused.
"Girl Scout jamboree?! There's 10,000 girl scouts on my sacred space!", he yelled.
"So does this mean we can just go home?", Kirby asked.
"No, I had a second site in mind. Thats what the chalk is for."
He led them back to the car. He gave Logan directions to a dirt road and an old barn. The barn was covered in no tresspassing signs and the doors were chained shut.
They followed Xavier around the back and watched him pull up several loose boards. He slipped in through the opening. Logan and Kirby slid in right behind him.
Inside, the building seemed solid enough. It was warm but not hot and the air was very still.
"Give me your keys.",he said to Logan,"I need to get my supplies."
He handed the keys and started exploring.
The barn hadn't been used in a while. It looked like it was now being used for storage. There were, what looked like bits of farm equipment covered in tarps. A long work table ran along one wall. Kirby had hopped up on the work table and smiled slyly at him, before, giving all of her attention to her phone.
Xavier's rattling box pushed through the missing boards just before the boy himself eased in. He picked up the box and carried it over to the table. He started rumaging through it, pulling items out and setting them on the table.
He paused a minute and then began to moved things in the box around frantically.
"Its not here! I know it was here, when I left the house.".He said.
"Whats not here?", Logan asked.
"My book. It had the instructions in it.",Xavier replied.
"Soooo, we're done here?"Kirby asked.
"No, the moon and sun are in a special alignment with Pluto. This has to be done today. I pretty much have it memorized.", Xavier said.
He opened the box of chalk and pulled a piece out. He started drawing a big circle surrounded by strange symbols on the wood floor. Logan sat next to Kirby and watched.
Xavier got, what looked like sand, out if a jar and began sprinkling it onto the symbols. He chanted in a wierd language as he did it.
Slowly, in the center of circle a brightp light appeared. It was small, about the size of a bumblebee. But as Logan watched, it grew. He heard Kirby sigh next him. She slid off the table and set her phone down.
Logan didn't know which way to turn.
The bright light in front of Xavier was getting bigger. Then Kirby started to emit a soft glow of her own. He stared at her as the glow grew. It was almost like she was coated in it. Xavier glanced over and his eyes got wide.
The glow gathered and narowed to a point in the middle of her back. It became fierce and too bright to see. Both boys looked away. When the light subsided, Logan turned back around.
Kirby had wings! They looked like costume angel wings, but so much softer. And they weren't white or black, but a really pale grey.
Xavier whispered,"Oh my god. I was right."
"Yeah you were right, unfortunatly. Now all I can do is see it through.",She said.
The light had grown to the size of a door. Xavier was standing directly in front of it. Kirby stepped foreward and shoved him. He fell backwards and disappeared into the swirling light.
Once he was through, the door started to shrink down. Logan watched, frozen, as the light faded into nothing.
Everything went very still and quiet. Logan turned to Kirby, who was back on her phone, but still sported those amazing wings. She sat back on the table, but instead of hopping she floated a bit.
With her sitting on the table, they were almost eye to eye.
He started,"What the hell..."
Kirby looked up and shrugged,"He's going to find all the answers he wants now."
"But you....",He stuttered,"What are you."
" I'm an angel.",She said.
Logan only tried to process it for a minute,"But last night...I mean aren't you supposed to be pure?"
She laughed,"I'm not that kind of angel."
"So you're evil?"
"Nope. I work for both sides. There are things that need to be done, especially in the mortal world, that neither angels nor demons want to do. So they send out the swords. Thats us."
"And sending people into the underworld!? How am I supposed to explain this to my family?", He asked.
She smiled at him and slid her hands to either side of his face,"Don't worry. He's just going to be shown the error of his ways. He'll be returned right after. By morning, he should be soundly at home."
"Then what?",He said suspiciuosly.
"Then he either moves on to a more productive hobby or he winds up going away forever.",She explained.
A car honked outside and Kirby slid to her feet,"Well, thats my ride."
"You're leaving?"
"Afraid so",She said,"I have some place to be."
"But..."
"I did have a nice time last night. And, today too.", she stepped up and braced herself against his chest as she rose on tiptoe. She leaned up to kiss him and. Dispite his confusion, he kissed her back. He slid his hands around her waist and they brushed the base of her wings. He discovered that they were as soft as they looked.
The car honked again and she stepped back. As he watched her turn and go, the wings faded from sight. Logan stood in the dusty room and tried to make sense of his day. When he realized it wasn't happening, he turned and went out to his car.
Later that night, Logan thought about the events of the day. He'd been able to cover Xavier's absence. Fortunatly, his mom was working the night shift so she wouldn't know that he wasn't really staying over.
It was Kirby that his mind kept wandering to. Part of him was mad that she'd lied. And what did it mean that she was an angel? But, in all that, he realized that he really liked her.
As he was thinking, a figure appeared at the end of his bed. He'd now know that small shape anywhere.
"What? Did you forget, you had to flush my goldfish down the toilet?" He quipped.
"I don't know. Did he try to raise a demon capable of plunging the world into a thousand years of darkness?" She asked as she slipped her shoes off. She crawled into to bed and snuggled up against him.
Logan smiled, "No, but maybe you should stick around and keep an eye on my sister's hampster. Its been looking a bit evil lately."
With that, he leaned down and kissed her.