Bluffing the Devil(27)

"Why don't you like it?" Rey was acting like Jamison was going to hurt me.

"For him to show himself means you are in danger. Am I right?" Rey asked Jamison with the most sincere look on his face. "Something is up with you, and all anyone is going to see when they see me is a Demon."

"Yes, she is in danger, but we all know you are no longer a Demon and that Alexia is part of the reason you are saved. To hurt you would be an insult to her and none of us are prepared to do that. We are at peace with you."

"But, wait. Why haven't you let me see in you all of this time? All of our life together and now you choose to be sneaky? I don't get it. You should know that I would have loved to know you were close. Why couldn’t you tell me?"

"There are many times I am sure you would not want to think I am close," he gave me a knowing smile and I blushed and looked down at the ground. "You don't have to see me to have my protection, princess. I was there all the time."

"Oh, well, I guess there are times that you shouldn't see. I'm sorry." I wasn't sure why I was apologizing to him. I hadn't done anything wrong, but I guess for a moment I felt ashamed that I had been physical with Devin. Even though, when I was physical with him, I had thought it was in my dreams. That part was of no consequence either way.

"There is nothing to be sorry for. I have looked after you all of my life and will continue to do so. I have been appointed as your guardian," he said proudly.

"Whoa! There is such thing as a guardian angel? Awesome! I knew I saw someone or something outside of my window a few times. I could have sworn it was a really big bird though. Super glad it was you though; a bird that size might try to carry me off in the night!" I joked but smiled thinking of how often I saw something like that. Jamison had truly been watching over me this whole time, for nearly a year. "But, don't you have more important angel stuff to do?"

"Well, there is much to be done, but people like you need protection."

"What does that mean "people like" her?" Rey interjected while still staying a safe distance behind me. "In order for harming me to be an insult to her, that means she really is powerful. Can we know what is going on here? It will help me protect her better."

A flash ignited and burned out to the left of us and there she stood. "You still don't know what you are, Alexia? I would think surely the nuhra would know her place in the world." Her cocky attitude was accentuated by her sexy shoes and the way she walked in them. Floors everywhere were jealous that she had never walked across them, surely.

"The what-now?" I asked with what had to be the squeakiest voice ever. That octave might have been something only dogs could hear. If not, it was pretty close. "I’m nobody. You guys are truly freaks if you think I am something else," I spouted. I was getting more and more annoyed. That was like telling a kid they were going to invent something to save humanity or telling a baby that he was Jesus. What can that person do with that information?

Rey took my wrist and shoved me behind him at that point. "I had no idea, Alexia. I vow to protect you." Well, at least Rey know what was going on now. That makes one of us!

"Rey, don't be silly "I said as I moved around and stood at his side." We are better fighters together, right? I am not some waif who doesn't know how to hold her own."

"Her father taught her better than that. Since she was a kid, her dad has always taught her hand-to-hand and other ways to protect herself. She's pretty badass if you give her the chance."

"I have seen her sharp wit and am more nervous of whoever comes to the end of her fury, but that is not of my concern right now. I gave my heart to God even before she," he spat, "stole my soul and forced me into servitude. I know all about the nuhra, I just didn't know it was Alexia."

"Excuse me, but everyone is all nodding in agreement and knowing what the deal is, can this noo-something be told what that means, please?" My rage and annoyance was just barely simmering beneath my skin. I was ready to break.

"The nuhra, for lack of a better term is "the light", princess. You are the light."

"What does it mean that I am the light?"

"Haven't you heard that saying that darkness can only be defeated by the light? Usually there will be pictures of a hallway illuminated by a candle or a cave lit up with a flashlight. That is you. You are the one that is here to guide the way and defeat the darkness."

"Whoa, what?!"

"You are the light for God, here on Earth. You give illumination to what is unknown. It is like you are His breath." Jamison's explanation made me sound so beautiful and useful to humanity.

"How can that be? I am no different from anyone else."

"Do you ever want or feel that you need something and then are guided toward it?"

"Like what? I suddenly think how delicious a cup of tea sounds and then someone makes me one, or I get off of my lazy butt and make it? Yeah, happens all the time." I rolled my eyes and looked over at her. "See? While you're all stalking me and wanting my soul and whatnot, you see this superhero gig is totally not what's it’s cracked up to be I tell ya."

"No, woman. Pay attention," Rey said and turned a bit toward me while never letting his eyes leave her face or Jamison's position. "You can see what He cannot. She has been manipulating so long and steering the darkness, and organizing so much without His knowledge. You can see those things and fix them. It’s how you guided me to truly be released and how you saved Devin also."

Suddenly my heart burned in my chest. If I was some special "light", why couldn't I even save one person from her wrath. Because of the hold she had on Carly, Devin was gone now.

"So, what is my job then?" I asked Jamison. I figured he would know the most since he was an angel. "If I'm some big nuhra, do I have a specific job or do I just sort of roll with the punches until I am needed? I don't understand. Sorry for sounding so ignorant, but it's not every day a girl is told she's important in the world and sees things for God."

"Your heart is pure. You will see the world for what it truly is, and do what you can to fix it. This is why you are involved with charities and volunteer everywhere, and do all of the things you feel are "no big deal" all the time. It's in your nature to give and take care of things and people. When you see something is wrong, you fix it. When you can tell someone is hurting, you step in and try to make it better. Talking to you is like having a conversation with God's little sister. You help others see what they were missing in life, and have them chase their dreams or you help God see where there is darkness that was cleverly being hidden. In the case of Devin and Rey, God had no idea she had gotten strong enough to have slaves to do her bidding. Of course, turnabout is fair play and if he has minions, why shouldn’t she, right? The world is on a check and balances system. You are part of that." Jamison was trying to explain this complex thing to me in laments terms but my head was reeling from craziness overload.

"I might need some more explanation another day, but now my point is, what do you want with me?" I aimed my question at her this time.

"To punish God of course, losing you would cripple Him and using you against Him would be the ultimate way of revenge for all the years He has tried to stop me. He should just realize the world is full of evil at this point and it will spread like wildfire once I rule you."

"You mean like a fungus," Rey interjected. "Your filth, rot, and lies are nothing more than ways to hurt people and keep them angry, hurt, and sad. Just like you."

"Very good, Rey, now you're catching on!" Her praise made him flinch.

"For her to get control of you would be giving her a view into how God runs things. She could use you to find where true goodness, beauty, and truth were and corrupt it until the entire planet is over-run with the detestable lifestyle that she wants others to suffer with." The smile that crossed her face showed me that was her precise plan.

"She threatened to harm everyone I love until I surrender to her," I told Jamison. My heart was forever going to ache for the loss of Devin and Carly.

"Yes well, here's the thing about that. She can threaten all she wants and she can send people to hurt those that you love, but you have proven many times that you can bring back those that are pure of heart. If your friends are pure of heart, you just have to seek them and bring them back with you. She is bored and just wants to play a game with you. Once she realizes how strong you truly are, she will find something else to do for a while then come back. After all of these centuries, she tends to get bored a lot."

"I'm sure!"

"You should see the library in Heaven! You would freak out. There is an entire section dedication to her shenanigans and mishaps. It's truly some of the most comical reading you could ever have. She's a ticking time bomb waiting to happen."