Chapter 16: The Veil

I dried my hair and wrapped myself in the towel before I tested my legs again. They were completely cramped. I tumbled and caught myself on the toilet before I went down all the way.

"Umm... Hey... Mister?" I called through the closed door.

A moment of panic struck me. He was a complete stranger. He could do anything to me because I couldn't run away. I was in the worst position possible. I had to at least look like I could defend myself.

"Kira? Is everything okay?"

I sat up straight. I hoped I at least looked tough enough to fight him. Well, that was complete bunk. If he was going to do something to me, there wasn't a damn thing I would be able to do about it.

The door cracked open. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'm done."

"Okay, one second." He disappeared. A moment later he set a pair of sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt on the edge of the counter. "They won't fit you, but at least it's something." He said then closed the door.

"Th... thank you." I called through the door.

I leaned across the counter and pulled the clothes on. No underwear but the sweatshirt at least covered anything that might peek through the thin T-shirt. I tested my legs again, but still couldn't stand. Damn it. What had I done to myself? How was I this pathetic? Tears threatened me again, but I swallowed them back.

"Mister?" I called.

The man cracked the door. "Are you decent?"

"Yes."

He swung the door open. His leather jacket was gone. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt tight against his muscular frame. I knew I shouldn't stare, but I couldn't help it.

"Are you okay?"

My eyes jerked up to his. "Yea... yes. I just still can't stand."

He nodded and scooped me up again. His tight muscles pressed against me as he walked us to the table. My heart thumped so loudly, I was afraid he could hear it. If he did, he didn't say anything.

He opened the bathroom door to the rest of the cabin. The house was small. It seemed made up of a small kitchen with attached dining room that held a table and two chairs. The living room held a small fireplace and a huge TV. A door on the other side lay open to what looked to be the bedroom with black sheets. Why did that look familiar? There were numerous windows all dark with the night sky.

He set me at the table. The thick stew smelled exquisite. I hadn't eaten such food since I had left home three years ago.

He sat across from me and waited. "Please, go ahead." He set his chin in his hand as he watched me.

I looked at him sheepishly before taking a small bite of the stew. The meat was grand. I had no other words. It was just grand. He was watching me and whatever he saw in my expression he liked because he gave a wide grin. He nodded approval of my expression and then began eating. I continued with bigger bites. My stomach protested, but my tongue wouldn't stop. I finished every drop.

"Quite the appetite," he said as he leaned over the table and dished out more of the delicious stew into my bowl.

My mind flickered to safety again. He could have poisoned this and in moments I would be out on the floor. He could do anything he wanted to me. I eyed him as he ate his stew. Again something familiar in his movements bothered me. Why did I feel like I knew him?

I pushed a few more mouthfuls on to my demanding tongue before I set my spoon down. "Who are you?" I blurted.

The man stopped mid-bite and set his spoon back down. He cocked his head to the side watching me again. "Guess."

"What?"

"If you want to know, you have to guess. That's how the Veil works."

My eyes narrowed. He was just making me ask more questions. Maybe he was biding his time before the poison kicked in. I looked down at the soup. But, it was just so damn delicious. If I was going to die, then this stew was my choice of death.

"Just guess the first thing that pops into your head."

"I've never been good at games."

"Well, that's because you have all the bad Karma, but that's another story."

"What?" My head pounded. Oh my god, why couldn't he just be straight with me?

"Come on, just guess a letter. This isn't luck this time. You know this."

"What!"

"Do it. Just guess a random letter. Whatever pops into your mind."

I rolled my eyes. How absurd. "R."

"Right."

My eyes bugged a little.

"Now guess my name."

All the R names I could think of popped into my head. None of them felt right. Roger, Rickie, Remus... Rem... I stared at his face. "Remi."

"Very good."

"How did I know that?" I stared at him, then down at the bowl of soup. Maybe this was magic stew.

"We've met before, many times actually. But, the Veil keeps you from remembering. It won't stick unless you come up with it."

My headache was slowly creeping up the back of my neck. I shook my head. "What?"

He sighed. "Look, I would explain it all to you, but you won't remember it. So, here's the short version. I'm your guardian demon. I've always been a part of your life. When I tell you my name you always forget me the moment I leave your sight."

I squinted at him. My hands came up and covered my eyes. I removed them. "Remi?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't I forget just now? Because I came up with your name or because you are speaking utter nonsense?"

Remi shrugged. "I'm just telling you how it seems to work. It's your choice what you believe."

I pushed some of the meat around in the stew with the spoon. "Guardian demon.... like a guardian angel?"

Remi scoffed. "Do not put me in the same category as those good-for-nothing bag of feathered brained...." The last bit trailed off a little as if he had more names for them, but cared not to share all of it.

"So, shouldn't guardian demons, do like, bad stuff. Not like a guardian though...."

"Keep working through it. If I tell you, then you won't remember."

I scrunched my nose. How was I supposed to know something I didn't know?

"Think about the point of a guardian angel. He's supposed to save you, right? But why?"

I shrugged. "To keep me from dying."

"But if your soul is going to heaven, then why would he save you?"

I stopped pushing the stew around with my spoon. "Why would he save me? Well, I guess if my soul wasn't going to heaven he would save me until he thought I was good enough."

"And so.... guardian demon...." He gestured with his spoon to go on.

Mine splashed in the soup as I dropped it. "A guardian demon would save me until he thought my soul was bad enough to go to hell."

"Bingo!" Remi said and scooped another bite into his mouth.

"And I know all this, I just don't remember this."

Remi nodded.

"Because of the Veil. It erases everything.... everything weird, so I don't remember it. Because.... magic isn't supposed to exist." I was starting to connect strands of thoughts together. It felt so weird, like I knew it but at the same time I just never thought of it before.

"For humans," he added. He pushed away from the table and stood.

"How many times have we had this conversation?"

Remi shook his head. "We've never spent this much time together. But I have explained it to you a few times over the years."

"How many years?"

"Your whole life." The walked over to me and stooped next to my chair. The way he looked at me made me a little uncomfortable. It was almost like adoration.

I stared at him.

"Pony cart accident, age 5. Bicycling accident, age 6. Near miss car accident, age 12. Tractor accident, age 15, almost lost your fingers in that one. Yesterday, you jumped off a bridge."

"I did?" How come I didn't remember yesterday? I remembered... the bruises. "Did you do this to me?" I pulled the sweatshirt away from my neck.

He chuckled, but didn't answer.

I thought back to each other item. Each time I had been miraculously saved somehow. Each time, he had been the one to save me. "How...?" No, I knew. He was telling the truth. "Wait, so my soul is good? You're just keeping me alive until I'm bad? That's terrible."

"That's my job. I don't really have a choice." He took up my hand in his. "But, I really don't want you to die. Can you please stop trying to kill yourself? You're not crazy."

Weird images of the bridge and sensations of cold water flashed through my mind. They felt like memories, but I didn't feel like I could trust them. Besides, Remi's warm hand around mine was distracting me. I fought the sudden urge to throw myself at him.

The longer I held his hand, the more thoughts that bubbled up. I didn't even think these things were real. I remembered being in a bank and sneaking around with him. I remembered holding his hand in a truck. I remembered the feel of his soft lips as they brush mine.

I squeezed my eyes shut. There was no way any of that was possible. My mind really was out of whack. I focused on his last words. I wasn't crazy. I wasn't crazy.

"I'm not crazy," I whispered.

His hand squeezed mine. He began drawing small circles on my hand with his thumb. Why did I find that so soothing.

I ventured a peek at him. His lips twitched up in a smile at one side. I had the feeling he knew a lot that he wasn't telling me. He pulled on my hand just a little bit, as if inviting me down to him.

Before I gave my mind the command, my body was climbing into his lap on the floor. I straddled him. His hands moved up my thighs towards my hips. My body screamed for more, but my mind was freaking out. What the hell was I doing? Well, whatever it was, it felt fantastic and my body seemed to know what it wanted.

Remi pushed his fingers into the soft flesh of my hips. His body responded, hardening beneath mine. I blushed, but I couldn't stop myself. It's like my body knew his.

I leaned forward, my breasts pressed against his chest lightly. "Do we always do this?" I whispered in his ear. My lips trembled, I wanted so much to suck on it.

He didn't say anything. I could feel him breathing hard. His hands slipped from my hip to my sides.

My lips closed the distance, brushing his neck, then licking it.

I heard him murmur something low, almost like a growl. It sounded like he said, "Lanie."

At that moment, the door to the house flew open. I jumped out of Remi's lap, landing painfully on my ass.