When Nora woke, she wasn’t expecting to be alone, and so, when faced with an empty bedroom – except for herself, she didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, her intimate moment with Luke had made her believe that he might have felt something for her, but on the other hand, she knew better than to assume such a thing.
Luke had been the one to say that he wasn’t acting himself when Nora shifted, that he was being unnaturally kind, and it would wear off soon enough. But she thought that he would’ve at least stayed with her. Instead, her eyes fluttered open to find herself in the same clothes she had worn yesterday, and the other side of her bed completely undisturbed.
It was unavoidable, the small pang of hurt that she felt, for that had been her first time doing anything like what Luke had done to her, and she couldn’t help but feel like she’d been taken advantage of. Nora remembered the way he’d made her feel, the words he’d spoken and the way he looked, but she couldn’t remember him giving off any signs that he cared. And it was soon that she realised that it was because he hadn’t.
For the first time in her life, Nora felt as if she’d done something completely wrong, and she wondered what her parents would think of her, and when she expected the waves of sadness she’d been feeling ever since she found out about their deaths, it didn’t come. Instead, there was a small pain in her head, and then nothing. It was like she didn’t know how to grieve her parents…like she didn’t really know them.
That was when she looked in the mirror on her bedside table, and saw the halo on top of her head, and she remembered why she couldn’t feel anything. Nora had shifted into her angelic form, and she couldn’t be more thankful for the numbness it provided. Now, all she could allow herself to worry about, was what was going to happen between her and Luke.
After a couple more minutes, Nora noticed that there was a lingering aroma of something burning, flooding into her nostrils, and, without a second thought, she dashed out of her bed, fished out a summer dress from her wardrobe, and pulled it over her head after removing her dirty clothes from yesterday, then she walked out of her bedroom and stormed, quickly, to the kitchen.
What she saw had her stifling a giggle; Michael was desperately banging a spatula over the back of a pan. In which, Nora could see a very black pancake, and the smell of it was overwhelming – she was surprised that the smoke alarms hadn’t gone off yet. That was if the house even had those…Nora supposed that demons weren’t really afraid of fire.
“Are you alright there Michael?”
“Jesus fucking ch-Nora!” The man exclaimed, chucking the pan back onto the hob and bringing the spatula around to his back, as if he was trying to hide the fact that he had failed miserably, even though the evidence sat in the pan that he was just brawling with.
“Yes Michael?” She cocked her head, blinking innocently as she took small steps into the kitchen, a mask of curiosity on her face as she approached the hob and picked up the frying pan, “what’ya cooking?” She giggled and then her laughter grew when she saw Michael’s phone open on an internet page that was headlined ‘Pancakes for Beginners.’
“Nothing!” Michael shouted nervously, grabbing the pan back off of her and shoving it into the nearby bin, the spatula following shortly after.
“Michael!” Nora scolded, going back into the bin and fishing the items back out, before placing them in the sink and turning back to the man with an amused grin, “why were you cooking pancakes?”
“I wasn’t,” he was quick to deny with a small shake of his head, and Nora frowned and parted her lips, continuing to mock him as he tried to, subtly, slide his phone off of the counter and into his pocket. He managed, but it was not subtle in the slightest.
“Alright,” Nora nodded, licking her lips before rephrasing, “why were you trying to cook pancakes?”
Michael pouted then and sighed in defeat before he turned to switch the hob off, “thought you might want some breakfast,” he breathed.
Nora softened immediately, cooing at the blushing boy who, from the outside, you would not think he was a creature from hell. Right then, he looked like a schoolboy who’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing.
“Cute,” she chimed and Michael scoffed, grabbing a tea towel and throwing it at her, it hit her in the face and she caught it with a giggle, before folding it neatly and placing it back where it belonged, then she opened a cupboard and pulled out a box of Coco Pops, pouring it into a bowl that she obtained from another cabinet.
“Yeah, well, it’s only because I was bored, and because you can’t keep eating those…things every day.”
“I ‘an,” she argued with a mouth full of the food, and then she swallowed before continuing, “and I will.”
“I’m just saying,” Michael shrugged, “you should watch out for your health,” and then he tried to snatch the bowl from her, lunging forwards, but Nora was quick to turn from him and shovel another spoonful past her lips, gulping it down a little too quickly.
“And what would you know about human health, hell boy?”
“Careful, angel, it wouldn’t take much to rip that halo off of your head.”
“Actually, it probably would.”
“Nice comeback, Clifford,” Nora scoffed, putting her bowl down for a second so she could grab herself a glass of water, filling it from the tap before raising it to her lips. It was that moment that Michael flicked his hand upwards, and her own hand jolted, causing the water to spill down her front. She squealed in shock, putting the glass back on the counter before holding her hand under her dripping chin and glaring narrowly at the chuckling man before her.
“You dribbled a bit, sweetcheeks.”
With a quick glance down before, Nora’s scowl deepened as she grabbed the same tea towel and wiped herself down with it, then folded it again and put it back. She was just about to come up with a witty remark, when a deep voice cut her off, one that boomed into the kitchen.
“Nora,” Luke snapped from the lounge, and when she stared over the bar, she froze at the sight of the man. The same one who had made her feel so good yesterday, “stop fucking about and get ready, we’ve got shit to do.” And then he disappeared down the hallway leading to the bedrooms, and Nora stared after him, completely bewildered and cheeks flushing with her flusterment.
The sudden tension in the air did not go unnoticed by Michael, who had gathered a relatively firm idea on what had just occurred between the two of them yesterday, and he cleared his throat to ease it, but Nora still stared after Luke and she felt her eyes beginning to water, because her suspicions were being confirmed.
Now, she just felt used. And angry, but more hurt, and suddenly, she didn’t want to see him at all. But Nora knew Luke well enough by now to understand that the longer he was kept waiting, the more unpleasant he became. So, leaving her barely touched cereal behind, she trudged after Luke and went back into her bedroom
Minutes later, she emerged again, dressed in a pair of spandex shorts and a lose green t-shirt. She didn’t know if Luke had left already, but she didn’t really care anymore, and decided to just go to the clearing, and wait for him if he wasn’t there already. When she left the house, Nora immediately thanked herself for choosing to wear shorts this time, because the weather had been heating up and now it was at the point where leggings just did not seem appropriate.
Especially because now she knew her training was to intensify, what with her new ability to shift. Speaking of which, Nora would have to ask Luke how to shift back, and the thought of actually talking to him, had a nervous shudder running through her. The situation was uncomfortable indeed, and she cursed her moment of weakness yesterday, but that was what she kept telling herself. That it was a moment of weakness, that Nora was vulnerable in her new form, and Luke had been victim to it as well.
God, I wish we could both forget that it happened.
Her thoughts ran as her feet carried her over the broken branches and jagged rocks of the floor of the woods, she looked down the whole way (autopilot kicking in having done the same journey many times now) and kept wincing as she thought of all of the embarrassment she was soon to face, and she thanked God that there would be time in the clearing for her to think about what to say to Luke, before he got there.
But all of that was lost in the wind when Nora pulled back an obstructing branch and stumbled into the grass plain, where Luke was stood in the middle, a vast arsenal lying at his feet. The shine of daggers gleamed in the sunlight, and Nora could see a couple of targets lying flat, and she huffed, as she approached Luke. With his back facing her, he was unable to see Nora’s apprehension that was clear in her submissive gaze and rigid frame.
When just a couple of steps behind him, Nora stopped and prepared to clear her throat, before Luke stopped her with an authoritative demand, “what on Earth took you so long?” His head was turned, so Nora was just in his peripheral, but his eyes were downcast and Nora almost scoffed.
He can’t even look at me.
“Well,” she coughed, her voice slightly croaky, “a bit of a head’s up next time might help.”
“Attitude, little girl,” Luke grumbled, adjusting the string to what Nora could recognise, due to watching many action films, as a crossbow, and then he put the scope up to his eyes and paused for a second, and then suddenly an arrow short forth and impaled a tree standing on the perimeter of the clearing, and then he placed the weapon down and gave a slight nod of approval, to himself, and that was when Nora responded. After she got over the sight of him shooting a crossbow with ease.
“What about it?” she sulked, taking a couple more steps so that she was at his side, but at least a metre apart, and her eyes scanned the weapons with her hands placed on her hips.
Luke still didn’t look at her when he replied, “watch it.” The way he had hissed, just proved to Nora that nothing had changed, whilst, simultaneously, everything was different. Now, the girl couldn’t help but see the demon in a new light, one that reminded her of the way she’d been touched by his fingers, and pleasured by his mouth, then she thought about how nothing like that had ever happened to her, and Nora wondered if maybe she should’ve done more. More to resist him, that is, because now he seemed to be unbothered that he’s the first person to ever get to see her that way.
And she wondered why, of all of the people in the world, did she let Luke be her first? Truly, he hadn’t deserved it, but at the time, Nora couldn’t stop herself and now she feared that she’d given away a part of herself to somebody who’d never give it back.
The elephant in the room was obvious. To Nora, at least, and every breath of hers was as silent as possible, not wanting to be the one to break the thick tension lingering in the air. She fiddled with the bottom of her shorts, snapping the spandex against her skin. Even after a few minutes like this, Luke was silent, and so was she, but neither made a move to break the spell.
But Nora couldn’t keep her mouth shut any longer, else she’d go crazy with listening to the thoughts running marathons in her mind, “what’s all this?” she rushed out in a long breath, bending over to bend up a small dagger, one that had a frosted silver spine and a hooked handle.
“Weapons,” Luke deadpanned, turning to Nora for the first time since she’d arrived, only to take the dagger from her hands and place it back onto the floor.
“I-I know,” she stammered, then internally cursed when she heard how pathetic her voice sounded, so Nora cleared it with a small, quiet cough, “but what are they for.”
“You,” Luke stated, clearly and with no uncertainty, he was confident with his answer, and yet, Nora seemed all the more wary.
“Me? Why on Earth would I need an arsenal like this?” Her eyes widened as she considered all of the answers to her questions, but then her cheeks flushed as Luke let out an irritated huff of air, and Nora turned to him just in time to see his eyes roll, and her head sunk downwards in embarrassment.
He always found a way to make her feel so small, and she didn’t know if she should fear it or not.
“You’re not having all of it, angel, you’re to choose one.”
“Fucking hell,” Luke groaned, as if in pain. Which he was, but a kind that he couldn’t really deal with when Nora was around, even if she was the one causing it. Unbeknownst to her, Luke had been on edge ever since the events of yesterday happened, simply because he could not get it out of his head.
He wasn’t alone, the memories were maddening the both of them.
“I can’t choose for you; you have to do that yourself.” The way he spoke was as if the answer was obvious, yet it only confused Nora more, because she had no idea how to use any of the items before her, so how was she supposed to know?
“Right…” she hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip in contemplation as her eyes scanned over the collection once more, before she shot a defeated look to an agitated Luke and rushed out, “how do I do that?”
Luke tiredly rubbed at his forehead, an irritated, heavy exhale slipping from his lips, before he reached around to his back and he pulled out a pair of daggers from a scabbard tied to his waist. The two knifes were attached by a metal chain, and Luke held them in both of his hands, letting the chain dangle between them. Then, he showed them to Nora, and she got a good look at their design.
The handles were matte black and ribbed with a 3D chevron-type pattern. At the base of the dagger, was a silver demon skull, and horns protruded from it, matching in colour, with a curve that pointed to the tip of the knife. The bottom of the blades themselves, had spiking spines, and they ran a coupe of centimetres up the knife, until the blade curved to reach a fine, precise point, one that was incredibly sharp and lethal looking.
Nora frowned, wondering why Luke was showing these to her, and then she gasped when he started flying them around, like a nunchaku. He sliced at thin air, grunting with every effort he made as he whirled the daggers around. Had anybody been standing near, they would’ve been cut to pieces, and when Luke edged closer to Nora, she squealed and staggered backwards. Luke stopped moving, grasping both of the hilts in his hand once more, and then he stared coldly at Nora, chest heaving slightly.
“You don’t choose the weapon, it choses you. Listen to your gut, Nora, it’s the only thing you can trust.”
“Was that really necessary?” She panted, overwhelmed from the fact that Luke nearly chopped her to pieces. Even though, deep down, Nora knew that he wouldn’t have. She could trust him that much.
But no further. Not since his coldness after yesterday.
“Yes, to show you the importance of getting this right. Using the wrong weapon will throw you off your balance. I would’ve killed you, just then, had I been using something other than my daggers. Now, choose your god damn weapon, Nora,” he hissed, and Nora bit back the lump in her throat that bubbled when Luke snapped at her, because she really didn’t know why he was being so mean, and, instead, she cocked her head with a cheeky smile.
“But I thought the weapon picks me?”
“Nora,” Luke growled, “don’t fucking test me, I haven’t the patience.”
“Sorry,” she sang, and lied, because she really wasn’t guilty in the slightest. In fact, Luke deserved to be tested, to be defied. Maybe then, he’d stop hurting feelings for his own personal gain. But that was the main reason why Nora was confused, because Luke hadn’t got anything out of yesterday, had he?
Maybe that’s why he’s upset.
Dismissing her thoughts as soon as they entered her mind, Nora crouched down, and her hands skimmed over many handles of long swords, short swords, daggers, crossbows. She felt nothing towards any of them, and she tried desperately to shut off her own mind so she could truly pick up the sense of her gut, but there was nothing there. In fact, Nora was growing worriedly tired just by looking at the assortment. It was like…she was resisting it…involuntarily.
The constant tapping of Luke’s foot, and his frequent, impatient sighs, weren’t helping, and Nora soon became so frustrated that she wanted to cry, so she stood up and staggered backwards a little, vulnerable eyes staring at the range of weapons that she just didn’t want a part of. Soon, Luke realised that something was very wrong, and he began to think that his suspicions were correct.
“Nora…” he drawled, voice low with caution as the girl shook her head, blue eyes practically bulging out of their sockets and Luke couldn’t help but notice that the small angel looked almost…scared. But then her halo began to flicker, and he rushed to her side before she could fall, and he caught her frail body, steadying her back onto her feet as she blinked once, then twice, then shook her head and looked up at Luke through her lashes, now seeming much more collected.
“What happened?” He asked softly, and Nora couldn’t help but remember the way he had spoken to her yesterday, like he knew she could break but he would never let her. For some reason, that idea didn’t settle very well with her. She was not fragile. Innocent? Yes, but weak? Never.
“I’m fine,” she stated defiantly, taking a step back to further their distance but, and she had no idea why, Nora couldn’t bring herself to shake his hands that had lingered on her elbows, especially with the way the stone in his eyes had now melted into fiery concern, his ocean eyes shifted between her matching pair, and Luke began to study her features for any sign of pain. There wasn’t any.
“I couldn’t…I couldn’t pick…it was like I was…resisting them all. Well not me, per say, but you told me to listen to my gut, but my gut didn’t want to listen to you, does that make sense?” Nora finished her rambling with a long inhalation, before she ran a hand over her forehead to smooth over her loose baby hairs, pressing them back into her ponytail.
“Yes, angel, it makes perfect sense. In fact, I saw it coming.”
That was when Nora’s puzzlement grew exponentially, and she shot a questioning glance at Luke, urging him to expand, and for once, he was going to do what she wanted him to do.
“Do you remember when you blacked out the other week?” Nora nodded, her face wincing as she remembered the pain she had dealt with, and how easily numb she’d became towards it. There wasn’t really a clear memory of what had happened, after Luke had told her about her parents, but when she woke up, Nora had felt extremely weird…it was like she had a burning ball of energy inside of her.
“Well, you started glowing, and then this searing heat shock through the house and then all of us were on the floor, and you were unconscious.” As Luke revealed, Nora gulped and her eyes doubled in size because, as if things couldn’t get any crazier, Luke had just told her that she’d knocked four, very strong, demons off of their feet. It just wasn’t possible, and yet…it happened.
“At first, we thought that we’d been attacked, but I soon realised that it was you, Nora…something about you…” Luke trailed off, staring thoughtfully into Nora’s golden blue eyes, as if searching deep for something invaluable, and whatever it was, he desperately wanted to find it, “something about you is alive. Alive and dangerous.”
“What?” Nora exclaimed, pulling away from him and watching as his hands fell limp at his sides. Luke sighed, taking a step closer to the frightened Nora who never seemed to be able to catch a break in the chaos that her life had become. Was everything ever going to go back to normal?
“It’s not something to be scared of Nora, but it is something to be cautious of…I’m not quite sure what is happening, yet, I’ll have to look into it, but one thing’s for sure; your angel won’t reject a weapon unless it already has one.”
“But…” she frowned with an obvious pout, “I don’t.”
“No,” Luke agreed, nodding. Then he smacked his lips, licking them before they parted to speak. But, before he did so, Luke was inches away from her again, and he couldn’t resist the urge to brush his thumb across her flushed cheeks, and when he saw her lean, ever so slightly, into his touch, Luke couldn’t help the tiny smile that prodded at the corners of his mouth.
“That’s because you are a weapon in yourself, little girl. And you’re going to prove quite powerful indeed.”
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