Shadow of the Sun

CHAPTER 4: NECKLACE

  An alluring, statuesque woman with long, brown hair positioned herself on the other side of the box, which encompassed the marvelous male angel. She was perfectly fitted in a black suit that showed her every curve, but I could tell she had no clue she was in the presence of an angel. Unless it had all just been in my imagination: the angels and the dark creature, all things I had just invented. Maybe I had eaten some hallucinogenic mushrooms. Maybe I wasn’t even really at work.

  “Hi. I’m Agent Austin, but you can call me Karen,” the woman said with a companionable inflection. “I’m with the FBI.” She held out her hand. She had a charisma about her I was sure made every woman envious. Even I felt a pang of jealousy at her outstanding perfection and breathtaking beauty.

  “Dr. Moretti.” I shook her hand. “You can call me Gabriella.” I tried to smile at her convincingly. There was something compassionate and fascinating about this woman, and I immediately liked her, jealousy be damned.

  “Gabriella.” She tested my name on her tongue. “That’s a striking name.” She returned my smile. Even her teeth were white and straight. Maybe she was an angel too. Why not? If I really was on some mushroom-induced trip, she could be whoever I wanted her to be.

  “Thank you.” I stared down at the angel. I was afraid if I ripped my eyes away from him, he would vanish. I wondered why I had been so anxious to get away earlier when I felt so peaceful in their presence now. Every second I spent next to this box the more I wanted to touch the man inside.

  “Are you the one who specializes in supernatural beings?” Karen questioned, clearly intrigued by my profession. I didn’t hold it against her; many people were curious, though most just looked at me as if I had lost all my marbles, which might be the case.

  “I guess you could put it that way,” I said and pursed my lips. “Really, though, this is the most mysterious thing to happen here. One time there was an uproar about vampire bones, but you know, it was just in everyone’s head.” Normally I wouldn’t talk this much to anyone about my profession. I was practically babbling. Keeping so many secrets could be difficult, but I didn’t have to here.

  Karen looked at me, eager and delighted. “So that myth is squashed?” She sighed, as if she wished the stories were all true. Maybe she was one of those people who dreamed a vampire would bite her.

  Someone in her earpiece caught her attention. She looked up from the angel and pressed a finger to her ear. I followed her gaze. My eyes met with none other than Jeff’s, who stood at the far side of the Fishbowl. When Jeff realized I was looking his direction, his eyes burned into mine. Behind the sunglasses was that familiar blaze. Sinister somehow.

  “Dammit,” Karen muttered. “I’ll be right back.” She circled around the box gracefully, like a swan in water, toward Jeff.

  My gaze turned back to the angel. He looked peaceful, blind to all the fuss going on around him. A lab worker waltzed up and stared at me expectantly without saying a word.

  “Yes?” I finally asked after several long, silent seconds.

  “Director Halistor told me to prepare the bodies for shipping,” the boy said timidly. He continued to look at me and finally raised his eyebrows. His eyes roamed down my arm to where my fingers were curled around the box.

  “Right,” I said, my mind somewhere far, far away. “Darren is the boss.”

  “Huh?”

  “Sorry. Director Halistor,” I corrected. Darren absolutely hated his last name. There was a story behind it that he’d never told me. Only his lower subordinates called him Director Halistor. Sometimes it even took me a second or two to register whom my employees were talking about when they called him that. Secretly, I knew they also called him Hook Foot. It had something to do with fishing.

  Backing away from the angel, my heart ached slightly. It was hard to move away now that I had gotten so close. I scrutinized the room while the box was nailed shut. Karen and Special Agent you can call me Jeff were still talking rapidly to each other. Their whispered discussion was intense, and several times Jeff shot a glare my direction, targeting my forehead as if he were shooting laser beams through my skull. I had to resist the urge to recoil from the glower. We were on “friendly” terms only moments before, right? My eyes kept darting in their direction, stealing glances, unable to suppress paranoia. Karen incessantly rubbed her mouth and neck in noticeable exasperation; she even seemed a little indignant.

  Weird. I shrugged off the odd feeling. I wondered briefly what they were talking about, and then decided it wasn’t worth the additional thought. My mind was too busy dealing with the situation at hand: the angels. I wanted to revive them, but I didn’t know how. It would be a travesty if they never awoke, I thought out of nowhere.

  The lab employee carted the first box away on a steel table with wheels. The other two boxes were still open. This time I loomed over the box that held the woman.

  If I thought Karen was stunning, this angel blew her out of the water. She had hair down to her chest; it was a dark auburn I thought only women who dyed their hair could achieve. Her skin was dark and covered in tattoos—symbols I was dying to understand. I gazed down at the angel in heavy concentration, as if by will alone I could mend her. She also wore a necklace. It was small and simple, a hollow circle with a shield outlined in the middle. It rested above her disintegrated clothes and was small, delicate, and, for its age, appeared shiny and new. It was identical to the one the male angel wore. I wondered what their meaning was and whether I would ever get the chance to find out.

  Mind transfixed, I reached for the necklace as if compelled. I was determined to seize it. My muscles writhed with the urgency, the desire, the necessity of it. My heart raced the closer I came to touching it. There was a funny prickling on the back of my neck. I ignored it. My fingers were only inches away when a flash of steely fingers reached out and stopped me. The force of the grip was painful, and I let out a howl of distress. I looked up to see Jeff glaring down at me, his face disapproving. Through his dark glasses was gleaming red. A vivid image flashed across my mind: the dark creature and his blazing eyes. I shuddered.

  His fingers tightened around my wrist when I tried to recoil, and he forcefully yanked my hand down to my side. Karen was behind him, a look of utter disgust on her face. It wasn’t aimed towards me, though. It was addressed right at Jeff, as if she were bursting with unpleasant retorts. What had their conversation been about? Tension rolled off them in waves.

  “Let go of me,” I said in stunned disbelief, each word punctuated. I might be female and thin, but I had made sure to take plenty of self-defense classes. On the weekends, I used to box with my cousin Nicole. Our furious wrestling matches were legendary in our family.

  “You were going to steal that necklace,” Jeff accused, nostrils flaring. The malice in his voice was unmistakable. He was more enraged than one should be about the whole incident. It immediately made me suspicious of his anger.

  He redoubled his grip, his fingers like an iron band tightening around my bones. Was he generating waves of hate that everyone else could feel too?

  “I wasn’t going to steal anything,” I shouted back, provoked.

  The noise in the lab died down as everyone took notice of what was happening.

  “If touching it’s considered stealing, then yes, I was about to do that,” I said tartly. “Now let go.”

  His fingers tightened on my wrist until it was so excruciating moisture began to build in my eyes. Stupid tears, I thought bitterly. My heart thundered, unheard.

  “Let her go,” a booming voice echoed from behind me. The tone was astute and domineering, and I felt a little relieved, though I hated being rescued by a man.

  Instead of waiting for assistance, I decided to fix this situation myself. With my left hand free, I pulled it back and let it snap around, hitting Jeff with all my might right into his kidney. The pressure disappeared from around my wrist and was followed by a roar of displeasure. Jeff looked taken aback as he bent over. He straightene
d, expression irritated. He cleared his face, as if someone had wiped away the anger.

  Blood rushed back into my fingers so quickly it was as if tiny needles poked every inch of the skin there. Karen showed a fleeting expression of satisfaction before Darren ran forward, a look of deepest loathing in his eyes.

  “How dare you accuse her of stealing,” he snapped, pointing a threatening finger at Jeff. “If she wanted—” He stared at me for a second, not sure what Jeff thought I was stealing.

  “That necklace.” I pointed to it and shot Jeff an insolent stare.

  “The necklace, she could have stolen it at any time. Why would she wait until the place is teeming with people?” His teeth were mashed together tightly. I’d never seen Darren this upset before. “FBI,” he muttered angrily.

  Jeff, realizing the battle was lost, backed away. An FBI agent appeared out of nowhere and put his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “I told you to treat Dr. Moretti with nothing but respect. She’s not a thief.” The man’s voice was deep and authoritative. He looked at me and said, “I’m very sorry, Dr. Moretti, Agent Vittorio will not bother you again, I can promise you that.”

  They both walked away, the FBI agent roughly pushing Jeff Vittorio out the door. Karen stared after them, a look that only spelled out “good riddance.” I wanted to scream “amen.”

  Darren leaned down to look at my wrist. “Oh, my. I’m so very sorry, Ella. I should have gotten here quicker.” It surprised me when he used my nickname, one only few—very few—have ever called me, and usually only those close to me. Intimately close. I was going to have a talk with Sally later. His fingers lightly traced the horrible red marks left on my wrist. They would be bruises by tomorrow.

  Karen was speechless for several painful seconds before she spoke. “I’m sorry. He’s got a temper,” she said sweetly. That was an understatement.

  Darren looked up from my wrist at Karen who was only a few feet away. It was funny what happened next. They both froze as they stared directly into each other’s eyes. It was as if they had been searching for each other their whole lives. If it weren’t for the fact Darren had just called me Ella, I would have given them a nauseating expression. Instead I smirked, secretly pleased he was interested in her. I’d prefer never to hear him call me Ella again.

  Darren cleared his throat loudly.

  “Oh. Sorry,” I said. “Darren, this is Karen. Karen, Darren.”

  They both smiled and shook hands. They appeared as if they were in a daze-like trance. Of all the strange things I expected to happen, this was not one of them. I shrugged at the thought. Matchmaking: accomplished. Rhyming: accomplished. I giggled under my breath at my thoughts. When had I become so delirious? Sleep. I needed sleep. That was it.

  I walked away, ignoring the sting in my wrist and the strange looks. Inside the other box, my eyes fell immediately upon the angel. My curiosity was like an ache, a need, like one would thirst for water. The lab tech, who had marched off with the male angel, was still gone, so I had some time before the other two angels would be taken away. It seemed like I was the only one who wanted to be near them. Could it be possible that I was the only one who felt the forceful push in their direction? The innate power begging me to protect them? Protect them. Hah. They were dead.

  This second male was tall. He had long blonde hair, and his skin was very light, the opposite of the first two specimens. Angels. Whatever. I felt weird around them, as if they were suffused with some indescribable sense of power. This male angel also had the same circle and shield necklace. Just like before I wanted to take it off him so desperately that it ached deep within me. The clasp was close to the pendant, so it was doubly tempting to remove it.

  Karen held out a box of latex gloves. One of her lips twitched up, curious to see what I would do.

  “No one will think you’re stealing if you’re wearing these,” she whispered conspiratorially. Her face was set in lines of amused skepticism.

  Darren must have run off to do something. It was funny how I already thought of them as a couple, though they had only said a few words to each other. It was funny how that worked sometimes.

  “True.” I laughed nervously.

  There was something about Karen that made me think we were best friends in another life. It was rare for me to have that kind of connection with someone. I grabbed the violet gloves out of the box and slipped them on, avoiding my sore right wrist. I reached to unclasp the necklace. My heart raced, my blood sped through my veins, and I was robbed temporarily of breath. Hello excitement, you sassy sensation.

  I held up the necklace to catch a better look at it, and my heart beat even faster. Warmth spread from the tips of my fingers down to the tips of my toes. The golden glow the necklace had when it was on the angel’s chest faded, as if it lost its supernatural luster. A heavy weight disappeared from my shoulders; one I never realized was there. I felt free, and a strong desire to laugh bubbled to the surface. It was as if the life had drained from the gold and into my body. Thoughts and questions exploded in my head like tiny nuclear bombs.

  Karen held out a plastic bag for the necklace and handed me a label so I could tag it for shipping. I couldn’t decipher the look on her face. Her eyes were wide. With astonishment? Amazement? But why?

  “Thanks,” I said, eyeing her carefully.

  “It’s the least I could do after Agent Vittorio.”

  What was with this Jeff Vittorio? And what was his problem? She looked anxiously over her shoulder.

  “He’s not there. I guarantee Darren helped escort him out just for the pleasure of it,” I said. We both had a good chuckle at the image, a sort of camaraderie building between us.

  “Do you want to take the necklace off the woman, too?” Karen’s eyes went oddly bright.

  I nodded, but when we looked up from the male angel, the lab tech was back, already screwing the lid shut. Karen’s face fell, highly disappointed.

  I shrugged. “I’ll do it in D.C.”

  Karen glanced around the room. “Well, is there anything else we need to take with us?” she asked in an offhand sort of way.

  I suddenly remembered the box on my desk upstairs. Surely it had something to do with the shipment from Italy. I shuddered at the thought of the dark creature, but now that I was down here, away from the horrid chest, I was beginning to think the whole incident was just a dream. Deep down I knew that was wrong—I hadn’t been dreaming. Those bodies were angels. I had no doubts in my mind, even though I wished I did. Being sure seemed worse than uncertainty.

  Was this just some cruel joke the universe was playing on me? Or was I really barking mad?

  “Maybe,” I said thoughtfully.

  She only raised an eyebrow, and I beckoned her to follow me to my office.