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Picture 2
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Born out of the night sky, the damned offspring of a human and a demon, she was doomed to the fate of what the angels did to her kind. Destroy them. You couldn’t run or hide and you sure as hell couldn’t fight. At eighteen, all were given a choice by the demons. Join them or risk dying. Of course all of them took the demons offer of eternal damnation. Cyleste’s father didn’t abandon her like most demons did. He showed up every birthday with an offer. “Come live with me on your 18th birthday.” Of course her mom always refused to let him take her for reasons Cyleste didn’t know. She had no idea about her heritage or the decision awaiting her.
Cyleste had naturally white hair that everyone would compliment, saying she looked like an angel. Her eyes were a dark blue that looked like the night sky, which was where she got her name. She had an unnatural beauty that guys just fell over. By seventh grade her mom took her out of public school because she didn’t want Cyleste subjected to hormonal boys. Cyleste hated her for it, but she could never defy her mom’s wishes. At least until the right boy came along…
“Cyleste, what do you want for your birthday cake?” Her mom asked thoughtfully as she went over the grocery list.
“Angel food cake,” Cyleste smirked.
Her mom sighed and gave her a worn out look of years of stress. “Baby, please.” Her mom always had a thing against angels so Cyleste loved to push her buttons.
“I’m serious. I love Angel food cake. It’s so pure and light and sweet.”
“Unlike you,” Cory, her adopted brother, laughed from behind his Gameboy.
“Shut up, dweeb.” Cyleste glared, throwing a pillow at him.
“Guys!” Her mom snapped. “I’m not in the mood for your bickering.”
The two stuck their tongues out at each other and went back to what they were doing, Cyleste continuing to flip through her magazine mindlessly.
“You know what I want for my birthday?” she asked innocently.
Her mom had a look that said she was waiting for the punch line.
“I want a guy to kiss me,” Cyleste sighed, gripping the magazine to her chest. “I wish a guy would just kiss me!”
“Yuck!” Cory gagged in disgust as he ran out of the room.
Cyleste rolled her eyes as she went back to her dreamy thoughts. “I mean come on, I’m turning eighteen and still haven’t had my first kiss? Where’s the justice in that?”
Her mom sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Sweetie, you know how I feel about boyfriends.”
“Yeah, you don’t trust them,” She glared.
“You shouldn’t either. I don’t trust men because they all have a secret. Even your father had one, and some secrets are worse than others,” her eyes were dark with anger.
“Is that why he only comes once a year?” Cyleste asked.
Her mom smiled softly. “Yeah and I think this is the last year he’ll come.”
She cocked her head sideways and started to ask, but her mom shook her head and gave her that look of conversation over. Cyleste had seen that look most of her life when she’d ask about her dad. The older she got, the more curious she was about him. She was looking forward to seeing him in two days. She wanted to ask him all about his life. She was finally going to go live with him. Cyleste hadn’t told her mom yet, but once she packed her bags, she would let her know. She even debated on leaving a note, but that seemed too harsh.
“Can you run to the store for me, babe?”
Cyleste jumped up, eager to get out of the house. “Yeah, just give me the list.”
Her mom handed her a grocery list and the car keys. “Don’t talk to strangers.”
Cyleste rolled her eyes as she shoved the list in her back pocket. “Yeah, yeah, and don’t take candy from strangers. I’m not five, Mom.”
“No, you’re not….” Her mom seemed sad to be reminded of this.
“I’ll be home later. I might stop by Starbucks on the way.” Cyleste ran out, grabbing her bag and jacket.
At the store, Cyleste browsed the magazine selection while checking out. She heard a voice. “Can you believe Prince William is getting married?”
Quickly she looked up and saw a boy with dark black hair and black eyes to match with a cocky smile. She smiled back, flirtatiously. “Just think about all those girls crying over him.”
He chuckled, moving his hair out of his eyes. “I think there are more boys crying over him than girls.”
She laughed. “That’s probably true.”
“Your total is $36.66, ma’am,” the cashier said.
“Ooh, 666 are unlucky numbers,” the boy grinned.
Cyleste rolled her eyes as she handed the cashier a Milky Way to fix the number. “Happy?”
“Increasingly so.” He smirked.
She handed him the candy bar and hid her smile. He unwrapped it and took a bite. “So you don’t believe in all that superstition?”
“Never have. Although my mom is a little eccentric,” she grabbed her bags and started to walk out.
He followed without missing a beat. “You want a bite?”
She laughed. “I’m not supposed to take candy from strangers.”
He stopped chewing and swallowed before answering. “Technically it’s your candy, and it’s not like I could have poisoned it in the time you handed it to me and now.”
She shifted the bags to her other hand and took the candy from him, taking a small bite of it. He grinned wider. “See? Not poisoned.”
Cyleste chuckled as she chewed. “Well I haven’t died yet, but we’ll see.”
“I’m Leo, by the way.”
“I’m Cyleste,” she handed him the candy back.
“Celeste as in celestial?” he asked curiously.
“As in ‘divine heavenly being,’” she flirted.
He nodded in agreement. “Your parents named you well.”
She chuckled, starting to walk again. “I’m not sure it was my dad’s doing, but for my mom, it’s definitely plausible.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
She shrugged, starting to think she shouldn’t have said anything. “I wouldn’t know about my dad, but my mom really likes getting into that stuff.”
Leo laughed. “Well, I believe in that stuff. The good side verses the evil, demons and angels, and all that.”
Cyleste opened the trunk of her car and put the bags in. “So what side would you be on? The dark side?”
Leo hesitated on his answer. “Is it the hair that gives it away?” he finally responded.
She laughed. “Possibly.”
He smirked again. “So I guess you’re leaving now?”
She looked at her car and frowned. “Yeah, my mom’s expecting me home with the cake and ice cream.”
“Birthday?” He didn’t want her to leave yet.
She smiled, not wanting to leave either. “Mine. It’s in two days. I finally turn eighteen.”
He smiled. “Can I see you before then?”
Cyleste hesitated, warring with herself. “My mom doesn’t like boys…”
“How about tonight? Let’s say, seven?” He asked with a cocky grin, completely ignoring her.
She knew she should just walk away from him, but she was almost eighteen; it was ridiculous and about time she had some fun. “How about midnight?” she asked in return.
“Ah, sneaking out?” He smirked.
She squared her jaw in defense. “Maybe.”
Leo chuckled. “I’ll be quiet then.”
A devious smile crossed her face as she wrote her address on a piece of paper and handed it to him. Adventure was finally in reach and it was in the hands of the amazingly hot guy in front of her.
She waved as she backed out of the parking lot. He stood in the middle of the lane watching her leave till she was out of site. As expected, her mom was standing in the hallway waiting for her. “There weren’t that many things on the list.”
Cyleste rolled her eyes, in too good a mood to fight. “Yeah, I had trouble finding a good flavor of ice cream.”
“What’d you decide on?”
“Um…” Cyleste froze trying to remember. “I couldn’t decide so I went without.”
Her mom dropped her arms to her side after being placed angrily on her hips. “Well, you at least got the cake right? It’s not every day my daughter turns eighteen!” She squeezed Cyleste in a big hug before taken the groceries to the kitchen.
The clock flashed 11:59pm as Cyleste watched it nervously. Her mom had gone to bed over an hour ago and Cyleste prayed she was a heavy sleeper.
12:00am and her clock beeped to signal the hour change. Slowly she pulled the covers off her body, exposing the outfit she had on underneath. She grabbed her shoes and slid her window open silently. A beat-up black muscle car waited in the shadows of the big oak tree in the front yard. Cyleste’s heart jumped as adrenaline pumped through her veins. She stepped onto the roof and scaled the house till she got to the tree branches where it was an easy climb down. She tried not to focus on the sexy dark figure leaning against the hood of the car, watching her humorously.
The last branch was seven or eight feet above the ground and she jumped. A small thud echoed and she feared her mom would wake up. A few seconds of silence passed—not even a dog barked—and she finally smiled triumphantly.
Leo’s face was hard to see, but a smirk showed. “I didn’t think you’d actually sneak out. I was prepared to throw pebbles.”
Cyleste smiled, getting in the car. “I didn’t think I’d do it either so let’s go before I change my mind!”
Leo quietly shut her door and got in the driver’s seat, pulling away from her house.
“So what are your plans? It’s midnight, nothing will be open.”
“Nothing has to be open where we’re going.” He winked.
“Where are we go-“
“Shh,” he interrupted.
Cyleste laughed. “Okay fine. I mean I can’t believe I’m even in this car with a complete stranger I only met today…”
“You obviously found something you trust in me,” he commented with a grin.
“Or maybe it’s just the dark mysterious charm you used on me.”
“I’m not mysterious. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
She eyed his before thinking of her questions. “Where did you come from?”
“Dunno.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Don’t have any.”
“Why are you here?”
“For you.”
“I mean why are you in this town? I haven’t ever seen you before.”
He smirked and repeated, “For you.”
She thought harder. “What do you have planned for me?”
He hesitated. “The truth?”
She gave him a playful glare and he nodded, looking back at the road. “I’m here to destroy you.” He smirked.
She rolled her eyes. “Is your name even Leo?”
He stopped the car and turned it off as he chuckled. “I don’t know. People call me Leo. They nicknamed me after the stars.”
“Ironic, both our names are heaven-related,” she smiled.
He pulled her out of the car and she waited for her eyes to adjust to the lighting. They were in the desert outside her town; the craggy rocks were everywhere. Leo laid a blanket on the ground and held his hand out for her. She giggled taking it.
“Cyleste, might I say you look heavenly?”
“Only if you want me to laugh,” she chuckled.
“I love your laugh.” Leo smiled as he gently wiped her hair out of her face. “And you do look…” He didn’t finish his sentence before he kissed her. Cyleste wrapped her fingers into his hair as she kissed him back. “Beautiful,” he breathed.
She opened her eyes and looked into his dark gaze. Cyleste couldn’t see her reflection in his eyes, she tried to look harder but they seemed to go on forever. He blinked and looked up at the sky. A star shot across the sky and Leo sighed.
“You know what they say about shooting stars?”
Cyleste shook her head. “That they’re magical?”
He chuckled. “Shooting stars are fallen angels. Angels that turned bad.”
“So why do people make wishes on them?” She asked.
“The fallen angles can redeem themselves if they want to.” He chuckled, “they hear a wish and if they can make that wish come true, they’re given a chance back into heaven.”
“What fallen angel wouldn’t want to go back to heaven?” Cyleste scoffed.
Leo looked deep into her eyes again as if his gaze could pierce her very soul. “You have to think about why they fell in the first place. A lot of them fell in love with humans while others were tempted by demons to join the dark side.”
Cyleste leaned back to watch the stars. “What’s your excuse?”
He laughed. “What?”
She propped her head up on her hands and smiled. “What’s your excuse for falling?”
Leo didn’t correct her or laugh at her for saying it. “I suppose both… I fell in love with a demon’s daughter once.”
She didn’t show any emotion as she thought about it.
“Can I ask a question now?” he asked in all manner of seriousness. “What makes you think I’m a fallen angel? I thought you didn’t believe in that stuff.”
Cyleste smiled, looking back at the stars. “You didn’t deny it.”
He chuckled, realizing she’d tricked him.
“So tell me about the demon’s daughter.” She felt a pang of jealousy for her having Leo’s heart.
Leo sighed, placing his hands behind his head as he went back to stargazing. “It’s kind of an ancient story that starts way back when demons discovered they could create strong offspring by sleeping with humans. It’s the Angel of Death’s job to destroy the offspring before their eighteenth birthday. Billions of years this went on, but never once have I had a problem with it.”
Cyleste giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Leo was telling her all his secrets and she laughed as if it’s completely normal.
“You’re the Angel of Death?”
“I’m one of many. At least I was,” he faded. “Then I got assigned to a demon’s offspring to get rid of her before her eighteenth birthday, nothing out of the ordinary…but I saw her and,” he exhaled.
Cyleste sat up and watched him.
“She didn’t even know I existed, but I was in love with her. I was supposed to kill her before she turned eighteen, but her birthday drew closer and closer and they found out about my feelings for her.”
“So you became a shooting star,” Cyleste whispered.
He nodded.
“And what happened to the girl you fell for?”
He looked over at her. “I got to talk to her for the first time in the grocery store,” he smiled, wiping her hair out of her eyes. “And she gave me a Milky Way.”
Cyleste was frozen with pure shock. “I don’t think I like this story anymore,” her voice trembled.
Leo sat up. “Cyleste,” he tried to touch her but she recoiled.
“What happens to the demon’s daughter?” She stood up, stumbling backwards away from Leo. “What happens? Do they—do they send another Angel of Death to destroy her?”
Leo stood up and caught her. “Cyleste, you gotta believe me, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
She pulled away. “What can you do? You’re a fucking fallen angel!”
He wrapped his arms tightly around her so she couldn’t break free. “Not anymore! I granted a girl’s wish, I have a chance back into heaven.”
“Oh and what wish is that?” She was struggling.
“You wished a guy would kiss you,” he breathed in her ear.
Cyleste pushed with all her strength and he released her. She had tears streaming down her face and fire in her eyes. “Now I wish I never had.” She wiped her eyes and took off running, Leo didn’t follow her.
After an hour of wandering through the dark, Cyleste heard footsteps. Quickly she turned around and started to walk backwards, searching in the dark for the person making the noise. She couldn’t see anything; the moon had gone behind the clouds.
“Cyleste” She heard a whisper in the wind.
Panic started to bubble in her chest as she strained to see in the dark. Finally a dark figure came out of the shadows and she recognized him.
“Dad!” She ran into his arms immediately, gripping tightly to his shirt.
He wrapped his arms protectively around her, hugging her back. “My darling Cyleste, I was afraid I’d be too late.”
She wiped her eyes and looked up at his face. His brow was creased with worry, but he hadn’t aged in the entire time she had known him. Now she knew why. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I want to go with him.”
He lifted her face, holding onto her chin with his gloved hand. “Do you know what you’re saying? I didn’t think your mother would tell you…”
Cyleste bit her lip to stop her crying. “No, the Angel of Death that came to destroy me told me.”
His brow knitted together in confusion, but he didn’t have time to think. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice to keep the secret of how scared she was. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and she felt herself evaporated into the night with her father. Cyleste didn’t want to look back at Earth. Her mom was right. Boys had secrets, some worse than others, but she fell for one anyway.
Cyleste had now joined the dark side. That sounded so ominous and awesome to her, but she knew the level of seriousness of the matter. She was still young though, merely eighteen. Most demons had been alive for more than she could wrap her head around. They didn’t expect her to get the hang of the new life just yet. She definitely knew what her favorite part of the whole thing was. Her large black feathery wings. Even she had to admit, she looked damn good.
“Cyleste?” Her father walked into the room with a boy behind him. “Someone came a long way to see you…” He had a smile on his face as he walked away, leaving them alone.
Her eyes grew wide as she took him in. His black hair, his dark black eyes, his cocky grin, and his new black wings. “Leo? I don’t…understand.”
“I told you I loved the demon’s daughter. I’d do anything to be with her…”
“But I thought you were an angel again. Wish granted and all that.” She couldn’t ignore the emotion swelling in her chest.
He grinned wider. “I honestly think I’m the first angel to have fallen twice in the history of ever.”
Cyleste wanted to run into his arms and never let him go, but she tried to hold onto her dignity. “Let’s start over. I’m Cyleste.”
He nodded happily at being given a second chance. “I’m Leo.”
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