I’ve been working on this piece as I wanted to share again with a pic I found on the internet that reminds me of Lux. The garb in Glow is different, but the feel of this photo is wonderful. This piece is raw, unedited, and not formatted, however, I feel it’s important to share how first drafts start as when you see it again, it’ll be book bound and ready to hold in your hands. Glow is two character’s point of view woven together. This part takes place in the Angelic Realm and is told from Noxiel’s perspective. Happy Reading!
Glow: First Fight
“Not all angels lounge in the clouds strumming harps and singing love into the world. Some of us have to fight to protect. Some of us get in the blood and the guts and the dust. Our wings singed-embers compared to the pure white you so innocently wield. We’re the left hand of the Creator. I don’t glow, Lux, I burn.” My voice sounded harsher than I felt. But she needed to wake-up. It’s time to fight.
“Okay, fair enough.” She sighed, closed her eyes and turned her palms upward. Her breathing slowed as her chest rose and fell into a rhythm in direct contrast to the antsy spectators milling about. She smiled, her eyes still closed, as a stream of light arced between her hands. It sputtered and sparked then faded out. The breeze from angels’ wings carried the scent of wildflowers, grass and the metallic whiff of heat. The angelics’ conversations filled the air but receded in Luxiel’s presence as if she had a protective bubble of energy around her. Her thumbs traced the pattern of a weapon not manifested yet. She smiled again, but this time opened her eyes just as a two golden knives appeared in each hand. The blades long and tapered, they glinted and flickered in the sunlight.
“Eleven fighting knives, that I did not expect. The blades blur into a fiery tip as if not fully formed,” I reached forward to touch them. The handles covered in thin delicate scroll marks carved into each side. Each knife an exact replica of its match. Twins. The metal must be the same alloy used in the mesh woven into our combat garb as it had the same burnished tone only seen in the metals products by the Tri-Galaxy smiths.
“Yes, that’s because I don’t want to spill blood, I’d rather use my energy to fight. Now stop stalling, show me your weapon of choice. Unless you’ve decided to concede?” she said, throwing a bit of arrogance my way.
“Ouch, too late,” I said as one crimson drop of blood fell from my fingertip to the ground. The plants below withered and wilted. “How noble of you.” My eyes transfixed with the vibrant green turf that faded gray from one mere drop of my blood. Life receded in my presence. Luxiel stared at the desolate ground, her mouth opened as if to say something, but instead it’s caught within her throat.
“If you have something to say, please say it,” I said. I raised an eyebrow as if to double dare. “And why would I concede? This is a battle that both sides have been anticipating for a millennium.” I closed my eyes before she saw the pain that clouded them like a stormy sky. I don’t know why, but it bothers me that life ceased to exist in my presence. Despite being a Dark Angel, I felt the loss with every fiber of my being. I let it roll off me, the energy thick and dark, as best I could. The other of my brethren didn’t seem to be bothered by their affect on life. Luxiel focused on the spot, but I saw my dim waves, like dust swirling in the air, as it disappeared into her light. The more she absorbed, the brighter she shone. She transmuted my energy to light!
“Let’s do this already.” I said, wanting to divert from what I just saw. How could she do that? How could she turn pain into light? I felt my weapon’s energy surge before it showed up in my hands. The long smooth feel of the bamboo staff felt familiar and comforted my rising questions.
“A stick? Really?” She said. “I’m really not sure how that would be helpful.” She tilted her head to the right, and stared, waiting for me to answer.
“It’s called a Bo staff.” I raised my hand above my head and rotated the staff on the center of my palm where it perfectly spun above my head like a pinwheel. I didn’t know where the need to show my skills off came from, but I found myself switching the staff from my left to right hand, not skipping a beat with each rotation. “When you use it correctly it’s quite the weapon of choice for those trained in martial arts.”
“If you say so. You badger me to choose my weapons and you bring an overgrown chopstick,” She said. She placed her knives on her back, cris-crossed and snug in a leather harness that wrapped around her shoulders onto her back, the blades snug against her body. She may be a love and lighter, but her muscles were lithe and taught like a ballet dancer. She may not have me matched for size, but I couldn’t count her out yet.
“I’ll let that dig go, since you’re not familiar with training or weapons, but are you really going to come at me without your weapons out?” I said, exasperated. She brought forth weapons clearly intended to be used then puts them away. “The thing with you love and lighters is you have your heads stuck in the clouds while I am firm-footed on the ground. I plan and calculate my next move. I am pre-emptive, while you are reactionary.”
“Why don’t we just begin and then you can see why I choose as I do.” Her scroll lines activated and lit up. Two spirals on the top of each hand swirl flowed beginning a path of light, each one seemingly to ignite the next up her arm. One-by-one, the luminescent lines traveled up to her shoulders connecting spirals and symbols of our Angelic language. They continued then swooped over her clavicle, down her chest, and spanned the full length of her torso and legs finally ending at her feet.
“You’re covered, Lux.” I said as I admired her extensive skills and abilities showing up like gilded tattoos only these weren’t from the outside in. They came only when you drew on your Angelic blood line and shone from the inside out to help guide you at the slightest need. I kept spinning my Bo so that she didn’t realize how much I was drawn to her. Especially now, all lit up and ready to fight. She was a well marked warrior, her scroll lines proved it. But could she fight?
“Thank you, Nox.” She said, clearly not understanding the significance of what was just revealed. She watched me with my Bo for a bit then lunged, her knives out in a flash stopping my Bo staff mid-spin as she kicked directly into my chest. With a thud it knocked the breath from my lungs. I staggered back. My wings unfurled to their full wingspan and stopped me from toppling backward. Damn. She could fight.
“My head may be in the clouds, and I see nothing wrong with that, and sure, think of me as reactionary, a love and lighter as you so affectionately say. However, my actions are fueled by my passion and with the intuition I have I will deflect your pre-emptedness and spring back to my original shape. Marveling at you and your sure footedness, here, in the same place.” She flipped backward, narrowly missing my staff sweeping out to bring her down, and landed perfectly, in the same spot.
“You know; it’s not fair making me smile when I’m trying to fight…” The tender resonance in my voice surprised me. But I knew how to get to her.
“What?” She stood up straight and looked me in the eye. Her ponytail bobbed behind her confused face. I swept my Bo staff under her legs and she fell to the ground. That had to have hurt, but she needed to learn.
“Lesson one, don’t let your guard down. Ever. Even if someone is sweet talking you. Actually, especially if someone is sweet talking you,” I said. It felt like a cheap blow, but she needed to learn to keep her head in the fight. “The battlefield is no place for heart and love.”
“That was sweet talking? Thanks for the lesson. I’ll remember that one. Always.” She brushed off the dust on her legs and stood back up. Her face determined.
“I don’t fault you for it, it’s my job to help you hone your skills. Now, I’m not going to fight you weaponless.” I tossed my Bo to the ground. My wings stretched and pulsed pulling me up from the ground. Dirt swirled below like little dust devils. I looked down at her and said, “catch me, Lux.” I lifted off, using all my strength to pump myself high into the sky. It’s easy to land a blow on solid ground. I wanted to see how she’d do mid-flight.
To Be Continued…
