A Veil of Love

I know, I know, what on EARTH am I doing starting ANOTHER story when I should be working on my other ones? I can't help it, I honestly can't. I got this idea the other day and before I could grab it and lock it in my already bursting at the seams mental closet, it got away from me and became a full-fledged plot idea. Oh well, just something else to add to my to do list. Hope you all enjoy, and don't forget to vote and leave feedback!

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Sometimes I see things.

Not psycho killer things, just... things. You know. When you're looking at something, and it feels like a third eye opens up and you see past what you're looking at, and there's something beyond. You can never quite make out what it is though. At least I know I can't. Its quite possible there are people out there who can turn that third eye, or sixth sense, on and off at their leisure, but as far as I go... its a rare, and somewhat foggy occurrence.

Take tonight for example. There I stood, the calm onyx night wrapping its sensual tendrils around me. I'd gotten thirsty, so I'd taken a chance and run down to the complex pool to get a coke. It was a risk because the vending machine was inside the gated pool, and the pool was locked. I'd never asked anyone what would happen if I got caught vaulting the fence to use the vending machine. I figured I'd rather just not find out, so I kept my wildly daring dashes to the pool and back to the late evening and wee hours of the morning, when there was never anyone around to see me. Coke in hand, I had vaulted back over the fence that was just tall enough for toddlers, and paused. A large tree, possibly a fir, was outlined magnificently against the sky. The few stars that the development lights allowed to seep through sparkled in an almost halo around it, and its sheer height caught a breath in my throat. For an instant, that third eye snapped on and I could have sworn I saw a whole other line of trees behind that one, suspended in the night sky. I moved my eyes in a vain attempt to make the outlines out clearer, but it was gone. So there I stood, staring at the night sky. Trees in Heaven. That's a new one. Did they have trees in heaven?

"Actually." A man's voice began behind me. I whirled to see a rather short young man, about my height, which wasn't much, leaning against the pool fence with a lazy grin on his face. One of those grins that instantly gets you mad because you know the wearer is going to be difficult, if not moody.

"Actually." The young man said again. "They only have fruit trees. Economizes space, you know. Trees are pretty, granted, but there's always a need for food. Not that we'd ever go short. I'm sure someone could whip up some sort of food out of anything if they wanted too." My mind, practical as always, began dissecting the facts of this entirely absurd encounter.

"Who exactly are you?" I said in my usual pompous matter. Never mind I was standing there in my bare feet with raggedy shorts and a T shirt that was far too big for me. Never mind that I had a frosty coke in my hand that was clearly from the vending machine in the forbidden territory of the pool. Never mind I looked like an escaped convict caught red handed. I tossed my quite tangled hair, and glared. I was good at glaring. Its an underrated talent, really it is.

"My name is Lazumir... you can call me Laz." The friendly looking young man grinned, and I noticed he had unusually white teeth.

"Laz as in Spaz?" I said rudely. I wanted to stop being rude, but the words just kept coming out of my mouth. The young man's smile never wavered.

"Something like that, I guess." His smile was almost beginning to creep me out. What the hell? Why was he out this late, why was he talking to me, and why was he constantly smiling? I was more than creeped out, I was... 'creepified'. I turned, and began walking away without saying another word.

"Wait!" He called out. Have you ever noticed how your brain becomes about twice as scare able at night? How for some reason everything seems clearer and you're terrified of everything, even if you try not to be? Him calling out after me was trivial, but I was scared, and immediately broke into a run, hoping to get back up to my apartment. I rounded the corner in a skid, and shrieked as I ran straight into someone standing at the foot of the stares. I groaned from my now prostrate position on the cold cement and lifted myself up on my elbows.

"I asked you to wait." A mildly unamused voice said. My eyes shot up. There he was, still a smile on his face. I gasped and scrambled to my feet, dashing to the back stairs, only to skid to a halt when he appeared in front of me as well.

"Please, you're making this very difficult..."

"What the hell do you want?" I said, panting and trying to catch my breath. If he moved towards me, I was going to scream, and considering I was right in front of my neighbors door, there would be some serious response to that.

"Please, don't scream, it wouldn't wake your neighbors, they are sleeping soundly... and would serve no purpose. I am not going to hurt you. Trust me."

"Trust you?! Get the hell away from me!" I turned and raced behind my apartment building and into the small stand of trees behind it. A few seconds later I burst onto the wide open, neatly trimmed and moonlit Golf course that lay behind my building. My bare feet made no sound on the sparsely trimmed grass and I put all of my energy into running across that seemingly endless field. I got halfway across before my lungs gave out and mid stride, I collapsed onto the turf, rolling with my own momentum until I stopped, laying on my back with a full moon shining down on me. How cliché. A full moon. Of course. I coughed and wheezed, trying to regain some of my breath back, and I rolled over onto my stomach, then slowly got to my feet. I rested my hands on my knees for a moment as I breathed deeply, then straightened... only to have my eyes meet a stunning pair of blue eyes. I shrieked again, as I seemed to be doing quite a bit this night, and got all ready to run again.

"Please." He said, a note of desperation in his voice. "Just hear me out. If you don't like what I have to say, you can run and I won't chase you, I promise." I warily backed up a few more paces until I was well out of reach.

"Fine... but make it quick, I need to go call the police about you." Oh my. How scary. Call the police. This guy could probably smile his way out of it.

"My name you know. I'm from a long ways away, I was sent to find you."

"Hey buddy, if you're from one of those weird ass Internet cults, all your emails go right to the Spam bins and I'm inclined to toss you there too." Well didn't I sound tough. I half smirked, gaining some of my confidence back now that I was in the bright light provided by the moon.

"Please, let me finish." His tone was beginning to have a desperate tone to it, and I shut my hole and listened... which is more than any man had done in quite awhile.

"I was sent to find you, because you have been Chosen." Even when he spoke it, that word was capitalized, no doubt about it. It had a certain ring to it when he said it, that let me know, I was in a heap of shit.

"Chosen? What, like for one of those contests? I don't remember entering any, but maybe..." I said hopefully.... Oh please let this be for some stupid contest. Then I could go home and laugh about how I was scared by a contest administrator giving me a prize.

"No... you have been Chosen... to see beyond the Veil." He said solemnly. A light came on behind that smile, he was clearly infatuated with whatever this veil was or stood for.

"You're creeping me out again. What the hell are you talking about? What Veil? What ARE you?"

"Have you heard of guardian angels? I'm yours." With that statement, I was running again. This freak thought he was an angel, who knows what he might do to "redeem" me. I was heading back towards my complex when I was thrown to the ground rather abruptly by a large body hitting mine. I hit the ground with a most undignified 'oof' and gasped for breath as the wind got knocked out of my lungs. I was unceremoniously rolled over and my eyes once again met Laz's blue ones.

"Let me UP!" I screamed, using up the little breath I'd recovered and in doing so, forfeiting all my strength in my limbs. Laz sighed.

"Honestly, you're being VERY difficult. We'll have to do this the hard way." His hand landed on my forehead and that smooth voice started saying some sort of chant in a language I didn't understand... hell some days I had a hard time forming coherent sentences out of the English Language. My for some reason foggy brain thought "That sounds like Latin!" Before I completely blacked out.

He hated it when they had to do it the hard way. Honestly, he did. But sometimes they were just too stubborn. He sat down next to her limp form and sighed for a moment. She's been especially difficult... the redheads always were. He reached over and smoothed her hair back, tracing his fingers along the small white line of the scar where she'd banged her head so hard on that kitchen cabinet back in kindergarten. He'd been there for her then, her invisible savior, pulling her back at the last minute so she just banged her head hard, not the gushing hole in her skull that could have happened without him. His hand swept lower along her cheek, smoothing along her freckles... how she hated them... he'd watched her use so many creams on her cheeks and nose, and how he'd wanted to tell her that it wasn't going to do a lick of good, she was going to have freckles until the end of time. He smiled down at her form and let his hand trail lightly along her collarbone... he'd missed her. He hadn't really been around her lately and he knew that her life had been hard because of that... there were probably a million more scars under her clothes that he didn't know about... at the thought of what lay under her clothes, he took a large gulp. He'd get in trouble if They found out what he was thinking about. He shook his head, smiled once more to himself, and stood, scooping her up and into his arms. He chanted a few words in Latin, and the usual swirling blue light appeared around him, and whisked him upwards. The trees shot past him, then the stars, then the usual long pause of blackness, and then... he was back. He stepped out of the swirling portal, and looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms.

"Wake up Ginger... we're home."

To be continued...