"You have amazing hair!" She breathes out, standing behind me, a head taller, and runs her hand over the curls.

"Thanks!" I say beaming up at her image, "But it is so unruly." I complain untangling a small knot that has formed.

"Unruly is hot!" She declares as a matter of fact, and I giggle at her serious note. We then hear Mikkel's unmistakable voice singing along, out of tune, to Rihanna's Diamonds blaring just barely audibly from the auditorium. I immediately turn to A.M. with an idea, and from the sharp raise of her eyebrows and the tell-tale quirk at the corner of her mouth, I know she is thinking the same thing.

She walks to the door, and just as his voice sounds to be coming from right outside the girls' toilet, she opens the door suddenly and waves him inside, wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him confidently. He looks pleasantly surprised, before he too locks his arms around her and returns her deep kiss.

I barely just manage to squeeze myself around them, and walk out the door, shutting it quietly behind me. I lean against it and smile happily to myself. She really likes him a lot. I hope that they don't spend the whole time kissing, and instead get to talking about what they want from each other.

I immediately pry my eyes open when I feel the warmth begin to creep up around me. Before me are the two brothers, dressed casually in rolled up shirts and the currently trending pants. Raphael's are black, while Ariel's are a light shade of brown.

Do they shop together, and have an agreement of what to wear everyday? I chuckle to myself.

"I did not pen you for a peeping Tom, Caroline," Ariel starts up jokingly, and I smile back at him.

"You know nothing about me, Ariel," I counter back at him. "How are you guys? I was beginning to hope you'd left town," I say to them, my confidence magnified now that I am buzzed.

"No we haven't. Not yet anyway." Raphael says quietly with his blank face. I am disappointed that he answers me, I want Ariel instead to talk to me, being that he is much warmer.

"I see you are a ray of sunshine as always, Raphael!" I drawl out slowly, and Ariel joins me in quietly laughing at his brother. When we finally stop, he looks at me, his face getting serious again.

"We need to talk. Your friend will be in there for a while, so let us talk in that cla.s.sroom," he says pointing at a door to the far right.

"Ummh... Ariel... I am definitely not willingly getting into an empty room with two strange men." I laugh. "That is the first thing my mother taught me, I think. One of the first, anyway."

"Relax, we won't harm you," he says with a smile, "and I'd rather not force you to follow us there," he adds, his voice having dropped from the warm hearty one that I know and like, to a cold one. The difference is so unexpected that the hairs at the back of my neck stand at their ends, and my hands begin to shake involuntarily again.

He scares me most of the two, because he can in a split second change from a loving warm friend, to a cold-hearted killer. I, weirdly enough, prefer Raphael because at least with him I am always prepared for the worst. I follow them quietly, shuffling my steps to a jog, as I struggle to keep up with their long quick strides.

Once in the room, Raphael shuts the door behind us. My breath comes out in irregular gasps now.

"Relax," Ariel says to me, smiling warmly again while lifting his hand to trace my face. I am frozen in place, my heart still hammering against my ribs, because at this moment, I am very terrified of him. He is a master manipulator.

"Do you know how hard it is to get you alone? You are probably the most social human in the world," he laughs, trying to pull me in to joke with him again as I had done before.

But the damage is already done. I have already seen his other side, and I do not want to let my guard down again around him. He seems to give up on trying to coerce me to smile, and instead takes a step back away from me.

I watch from the corner of my eye as Raphael flicks his hand, and immediately shapeless ghostlike blobs seep into the room from the external wall. It is with every inch of my being, that I force myself to remain standing in place, as the room is filled with the five blobs floating right before me. I look at them, but unlike what happened with Ariel, where I just stared at him and he got a body, nothing happens.

Ariel reaches out his hand to cup my face again, forcing me to keep staring ahead at the creatures. I watch as the foremost of these creatures opens a dark gaping hole that could only be its mouth.

Scared, I flinch from Ariel's touch, but not strong enough I guess, for his hand continues cupping my chin, holding it tightly in his hand, but not nearly as painfully as Raphael had held me that first time we met.

"..Isn't it working?" A melodic female voice asks in frustration in their strange language, as the gaping hole of the shadowy figure moves nightmarishly before me. I know I only understand her due to Ariel's touch.

"Try touching her, that is how she transfigured Raphael," Ariel answers it.

I try to inch away, as the blob-like matter floats over to me, but I am immobilized by Ariel's grip on my chin. I feel the creatures searing heat, as its spirit floats into contact with my skin. Unlike with Raphael though, her energy floats right through me. Ariel now looks puzzled back at me, even Raphael's eyes almost look confused, if the slight shadowy flicker I think I detect is anything to go by.

"Do it," Raphael impatiently orders in their language.

"Do what?" I ask, just as confused, if not more.

"Transfigure them, as you transfigured us." Ariel says, as though he has just given a full explanation to what is going on.

"I don't know how I did it!" I say, fearing for my life if I cannot grant them what they want.

"How did you transfigure us? Do the same for them." Raphael says, losing patience with me. Tears well up in my eyes as I realize that I might probably have outlived my usefulness. Maybe the only reason they had kept me alive this long was because they had hoped I could 'transfigure' their friends too.

"I don't know," I whisper, my voice breaking and the tears pouring out. But they all just stand there looking at me with blank expressions, unmoved by my tears. I wipe angrily at the tears betraying my weakness with the sleeve of my jumper that I have pulled over my palm due to anxiety.

"What were you thinking? Feeling?" Ariel urges me, still staring at me impa.s.sively.

I long for his smile, his brown eyes to soften, comfort me, but only cruel reality stares back at me.

"I don't know. I don't remember." I whisper, chewing my bottom lip in frustration. "I was scared. Very scared..."

Moving faster than my eyes can follow, Ariel draws the sword whose hilt magically appears again behind his head and simultaneously wraps his long fingers around my neck, squeezing the air out of me. I claw at his fingers, my head getting hazy from lack of oxygen supply, but his fingers don't move. My vision begins to blur, and my chest rasps painfully for lack of air.

Chapter 11.

He finally lets me go, disappointment crossing his face, for his friends are still indeterminate floating ma.s.ses. He must have a.s.sumed scaring me would force me to transfigure them. I fold over myself, as I struggle to let air into my lungs.

"You must transfigure them." He says quietly, sheathing his sword again. He paces, no glides, to and fro across the room, his muscles tensed up with frustration. I look away from him, and turn to Raphael with my pleading eyes. Cold blue eyes stare right back at me. Unblinking.

"What else is missing, think hard!" Ariel grinds the words at me. My face must have betrayed something when a thought crosses my mind, for he narrows his eyes at me and asks gravely, "what?"

"I think... There was this... In the air... A richness of sorts..." I stutter, not making much sense to myself either.

"Divine Essence? Of course!" He exclaims abruptly, smiling triumphantly as his eyes once again warm up. "You could sense it?"

"Yes, yes I think so." I say, excited at my new lease of life.

Even before I can protest, Raphael walks up to me quickly, in one instance lifting me off my feet and holding me against his chest. I shut my eyes, antic.i.p.ating the worst, as I feel a slight tugging at my limbs, and cool air flowing smoothly along my skin, that isn't pressed against the hard warm body beside me.

Some minutes or so later, my feet land on unmistakably soft ground. I look around surprised as I take in the beautiful park, my new favorite spot in the whole world.

A gasp of delight escapes through my partly parted lips as I take in a deep intoxicating gulp of air, almost drowning myself in its sweet essence.

I barely notice, at first, the ghosts crowding before me. But when I raise my gaze to look at the one at the forefront, a tall lithe body forms before my eyes, transfiguring itself into my imagination of what a modern day Mulan would look like. Her long thick straight hair flows behind her, as she shakes it out against the gentle breeze. Her unmistakable almond shaped eyes form, her irises darkening into beautiful black opals. Her skin is flawless, and her features are perfection itself. She has on the same combat suit and boots that the brothers had on.

A gasp of surprise escapes me when powerful bronze wings spring out of her back with a loud flap. They are an exquisite pair, darkening to almost black at their tips. There is nothing feminine about those wings, all muscular, in every definition. She smiles at me warmly, throwing her long straight and luscious black hair over her shoulders.

"Thank you," she says to me in her melodic voice. I smile back at her. I cannot help it. "I love the body you have granted me," she goes on to say as she looks down at herself, before tapping at the sword between her wings.

"You can speak English?" I ask her bemused, for the last two I had transfigured couldn't speak world languages until I granted them the gift.

"And all world languages too," she says beaming. Another ghost steps up impatiently before me, making me take a step back in fear.

"It's ok, that's just Camael. She is not known for her patience," Mulan says warmly to me, and her attention to my feelings comforts me.

"I am Uriel," she adds, extending her hand towards me, which I shake warmly.

"Caroline," I say, just above a whisper.

The blob that is Camael impatiently brushes by my face to get my attention to it. I turn to look at it, and it immediately transfigures into a beautiful tall blonde woman. I am a little disappointed, for I had hoped to turn her into an ugly old hag or something. She extends her hand to shake mine briefly, and immediately places herself by Raphael, kissing his cheek warmly and possessively. Figures, I think to myself, birds of a feather and all.

The next two ghosts transfigure into tall well-built guys that introduce themselves as Ambriel and Ca.s.siel. They both smile at me heartily as they shake my hand profusely.

"For a second there, I thought we would remain imprisoned in that state," one of them says and the other echoes his words. I am already confused between the two, on who Ca.s.siel is again and who is Ambriel. They appear to be identical twins, the only difference between them is that one has slightly softer facial angles than the other.

The last blob before me is floating left and right as if impatient for his turn. I turn my attention towards him, watching him unravel into a tall Greek G.o.d before my eyes. His sunshine features, quirked flirty mouth and twinkling green eyes with yellow/orange speckles, making me instantaneously think of a very much younger, handsomer version of Zeus. I cannot help it but blush in his presence as he walks up to me. He takes my hand in his, and kisses the back of it.

I blink astonished, a smile snaking up my lips at his charming antics.

"A true beauty you are, guardian," he says to me. I fight back a giggle, and shamelessly flirt back with my eyes.

"Caroline," he murmurs, pushing a curl behind my ear. The touch sends thrills through my body. I am surprised at my reaction to him.

I thought I was attracted to Ariel! I scream at myself inside. Or is it Raphael I am attracted to? I swallow back the giggle. What does it matter? I am a teenager. I like all good looking boys with great hair.

"I am Azrael," he whispers seductively into my hair, "the angel of death."

My heart literally stops. I am frozen in place at what he has just revealed, and my eyes quickly catch Ariel's and beg, implore him to help me. Ariel however just smiles back at me, amused.

How could I ever have thought him kind or caring? I should never have given him grandpa's eyes! I scold myself internally.

"I don't want to die," I whisper imploringly, my hand still hovering near his lips where he holds it. His head is still buried in my hair, his warm breath against my neck chilling me.

"No you don't, little princess. Do you?" The angel of death mocks me, using the name my father always calls me.

Has he been listening in? Spying on my family? I am in utter shock, frozen in place with fear, his face still touching my hair lightly. Is that a threat? Using the term my father calls me, letting me know he knows how close we are, that he can use that connection to hurt me? I could be accused of over thinking, but I am not a fool. That was a threat by every definition.

"Please, leave me alone. I won't tell anyone about you. I haven't told a soul. I am very good at keeping secrets..." I ramble on, but stop when he shushes me quietly.

"You shan't die today," he says as a matter of fact, whispering the threatening words seductively. "But you'll die when I decide, little princess."

All the hairs on my body stand on end at his words, chills of fear race in my veins at the unmistakable threat, and a sudden sense of vulnerability, deeper than I've ever felt before, encroaches my heart, takes over all my senses, and leaves me feeling weak and inconsequential, and most importantly, frightened beyond all measure.

He then steps back from me and shakes the hands of what I a.s.sume to be his siblings too, speaking in their weird tongue. When they seem engrossed in themselves, talking cheerfully among each other, I take a tentative step backwards. However, when my foot touches the ground, they, all seven of them, turn back to face me. I look at them with the most imploring eyes I can conjure.

"Can I please go?" I beg again.

"Where do you want to go, Caroline?" Ariel's voice shocks me, its soft edge having returned, and his warm smile inviting me in again.

"Home," I manage to say.

"Don't you want to go back to your friends at the school party?"

Oh no, I had completely forgotten! A.M. must be worried sick. I then notice my mobile still in my pocket. I check it to find three missed calls from my friend and a couple worried text messages asking where I am. I have been gone for over half an hour, I note. I call her back.

"Caroline! Where are you?" She screeches at me after the first ring.

"Sorry, I took a walk. I am fine."

"I got worried. Where did you disappear to?"

"I am so sorry. I just lost track of time. I wanted to give you and Mikkel enough time to 'hook up', you know, so I went for a walk." I say in faked lightness. It takes my all to keep the fear I am currently feeling at bay.

"You silly goose, where are you? We'll come get you..."

"No, it's alright. I will be there in a jiffy." I finish off, hanging up immediately so as not to give her any room to argue.

"To your friends it is," Ariel says, coming to my side. I fight the urge to smile up at him, not wanting to fool myself again into thinking he is my friend, or cares for my well-being.

It's all an act, he's as cold as the rest.

"We'll be in touch, princess," Azrael calls sweetly just as Ariel holds me against himself and we lift off, landing a few minutes later near some bushes by the school. He reaches out to steady me when we land but I turn away from his help, choosing instead to stumble on my own.

"Caroline!" A.M.'s voice calls when she sees me. She probably heard my stumble. I turn in panic to look at Ariel, but luckily his wings have already retracted and his sword is hidden from view. His soft brown eyes imprison my gaze, as I hear A.M.'s footsteps running towards me from behind.

Ariel surprises me by brushing his hand lightly over my cheek, before tipping my head slightly, and bending low to plant a quick warm kiss on my lips.

I am frozen on the spot in surprise, as he pulls away. A cheeky smile plays at his lips as he tucks a curly lock behind my ear and whispers in his language, "now you've had your first kiss, guardian." And with that he quickly walks away.

My feet remain planted solid on the spot where he left me. A.M.'s face dances before me as she peers into my eyes in shock and excitement.

"OMG! Caroline! Who was that?" She asks me, raising her hand to high five me. It takes me a moment to recover from my shock and lift my hand slowly to meet her high five.

"Way to go, New Yorker!" The realization of what just happened registers, and an involuntary girly thrill races up my veins.

"I just had my first kiss," I say giddily.

"You just did!"

"It was kinda hot, right?" I ask, my mouth still gaping open.