As she drifted deeper into her thoughts, Ember looked down at the clear water below her. I keep getting this feeling that there is something, the perplexed angel looked up from her gaze and drew a long, concentrated breath,  something more for me out there.  She thought some more and then decided that she should probably fly back to the mainland. She spread out her huge, majestic wings and flew back to her home. 

                                                        *******

            Kai looked down at the man in front of him with an evil grin. 

“Please! I beg you!” the troubled soul cried while staring at the demon in front of him with wide eyes filled with fear. Kai thought for a moment. He pulled out a book and began to read to himself the horrible things this man had done in his lifetime. First, he chuckled to himself. That turned into a laugh that could have made the devil himself get goosebumps and cower in fear. “What’s so funny!?!”  the man spat at him.

Kai looked at him with his left eyebrow raised. “Do you really think I would just let you pass on into the great Heavens above after all of the horrible things you have done?”  he growled back with disgust.

“If they were so great, why aren’t you there?”   the man challenged. “Because they needed someone like me to deal with hobos like you.” Then, Kai grabs the man by the collar of his shirt and winked at him. “Have fun being a demon.” He placed his index finger on the exposed portion of the man’s neck and the horrible man disappeared. He sent the terrible human being down to the underworlds.  He rolled his eyes. “Why couldn’t I have been put on torturing or something? This job agitates me.” he scoffed under his breath. But don’t worry, he’ll get what he deserves. He said to himself with a malicious smirk. He then thought of the scolding he would get for antagonizing  the “newcomers” and  groaned.  He quickly teleported himself to his home to begin the lecture.

                                                         *******

  Ember’s parents spoke to her in a slow, soft tone, “Ember, you need to go to the Mystical Forest and meet someone there.” Her mother instructed. Her father fidgeted with the hem of his shirt while he listened to his wife speak.

  “You need to be careful when speaking to him, for he is a demon.” As the words spilled out of his mouth, Ember gasped.

 “Why me?” She cried out. “Did I do something wrong!?!” she sobbed into her hands. She watched her mother shake her head no. “So, why am I going there then?” She asked. She tilted her head to one side. Her mother took a deep breath and looked at her husband for approval and he nodded.

                                                                     *******

 “Hear me out, Kai.” his father said exhaustively as he followed his son through the house. Kai huffed, paused, looked at his dad, and laughed. 

“No, I’m not going!” Kai finally said. “ I have a job to do, and I am not going into the forest to meet some dumb angel.” his father took a deep breath and looked at Kai with his head hung low.

“Please, just listen to me and go?” he asked. Kai thought for a second.

“Fine, I’ll go.” He responded. He didn’t even look back at his father before he angrily teleported to the Mystical Forest. But little did Kai know, his life was getting ready to be changed. Forever.

                                                         *******

             Ember paced anxiously while she waited for this mysterious demon to show up. I wonder if it will try to hurt me, she thought to herself. The thought made her stomach turn. Images of “demons” played through her mind. Hideous, bloodthirsty creatures. She shuddered at the thoughts.

She looked around with her bright blue eyes. She looked at the sky and could see the pale pink sky filled with little fluffy clouds that resemble cotton candy through the dark pine trees. She inhaled the sweet wood smell around her and attempted to calm herself with the naturally relaxing scent. She walked over to a tree that had fallen down years ago and traced it’s uniquely patterned bark with her careful fingers. She was almost calm when: Suddenly a stick broke loudly and she is jostled back into reality and jumps at the sound. “He-hello?” She stammered out. Nothing. Her breathing increased, and her wings twitched in effort to carry her away from the danger. The only thing that stopped them was the sight of Kai, who emerged from the trees. She immediately got butterflies in her stomach. 

          “Hey, are you the angel I am suppo….” Kai stopped. He looked at the “dumb” angel in front of him. An instant wave of guilt washed over him. He thought of what he had said back at home. This angel was beautiful, and he had insulted her. She tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. He snapped out of his thoughts and quickly responded to her. “Sorry, my name is Kai. I was supposed to meet someone here,” he said. “ I assume that is you?” She nodded.

         “I’m Ember.” she held in a giggle. She realized she hadn't felt this giddy in a long time. They just sat there and stared at each other. I should probably say something, Ember thought to herself. “You look nothing like I would imagine a demon to look like.” she said, making Kai laugh. It was the realest laugh he had laughed in decades.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” he responded. Ember blushed. “What were we sent here to talk about again?” He asked. 

            “Whoever has been working at the gates is sending too many people to the underworlds, and we aren’t getting enough people on our end.” she explained. He awkwardly smiled at her. “What?” She tilted her head to the side. 

 “I kinda work in that area.” he scratched the back of his neck while Ember chewed on the inside of her cheek. 

  “Can you leave some for us, please?” she asked in a soft voice.

   “If it’s for you, I’d do anything .”  he said in a serious voice. Ember felt her face turn red, and she giggled. “I’m being serious, you are beautiful.” he continued confidently. 

“You are aware of the fact of us being enemies, correct?” she questioned.

“Ember, I don’t really care.” he retorted. She turned away. “I actually think I am in love with you.” he added quickly. She spun around on her heel.

“W-what?” she stammered out. He walked up to her and grabbed her hands. She looked down at them. Their hands fit perfectly into each other, as if they were made for the other.

“I’ve never felt like this for another person. I want to keep feeling this. I’ve lost too many good things, and I don’t want you to slip away from me, too.” He moved closer to her. His powerful body towered over her delicate frame by a foot and she was intimidated by this. She began to feel anxious. “I’m sorry, but I can’t break the rules.” She tried to pull her hands away but Kai had a tight grip on them. 

He looked down at her with a wicked smile and said;  “It’s only breaking the rules if they find out.” Ember’s jaw dropped. This demon was willing to break the biggest rule in Heaven and Hell combined just to be with her. “You can’t just stand here and tell me that you haven’t felt something between us.” Kai questioned her, sarcastically. She thought for a bit.

“I have felt something I am not going to lie to you. But, we can’t. I’m sorry, Kai,” Ember said, saddened. Kai kicked the soft dirt beneath him and sighed. Ember thought for a moment. “How am I supposed to know you aren’t lying about wanting to be with me?” she asked. “After all, you’re just a demon.” Ember’s words cut through Kai like a knife through butter. She saw the hurt on his face. 

      “You know, for an angel, that was pretty damn harsh." Kai said. Ember realized that he wasn’t lying and that he wasn’t like the other demons. Kai was different, and she liked that.

     “Kai, I’m sorry.” She tightened her grip on his large, masculine hand and pulled herself closer to him, moving her hands to his face. She studied his angelic features with her fingers. His jawline looked as if it was sculpted by God’s careful hands. He had a lip ring that complemented his lightly tattooed body. His horns were an ombre red fading to black and poked out of his dark curly hair.  He clenched his jaw at her touch.

“Not all of us are completely emotionless, angel,” Kai spoke softly as he tucked Ember’s hair behind her ear. “I still have some of my emotions.” He winked at her. He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. “I should probably get home,” he started, “Will I see you here tomorrow?” Ember thought for a moment. Her mind said no, but her heart screamed yes. If she goes through with this, there will be no going back. If they get caught, the consequences will be devastating. 

“Yes, yes you will.” She said, ignoring the sirens going off in her head about her decision. Kai smirked at her response. 

“Alright, I’ll see you then. At the same time as today.” He winked at her and disappeared into the night. Ember sighed and spread her wings and took off towards her home.

                                                                   *******

Kai appeared in his living room to his father reading the daily “news”, as the demons call them. 

“How’d the meeting go?” He asked Kai, without looking up. 

Kai held back a smile and said, “Good.” before heading upstairs to his bedroom. His father looked up from reading. Kai was acting very odd to him. He shook his head and continued to read the article about the sudden increase in deaths.

Upstairs, Kai threw his shoes at the wall across from him. His breathing quickened as he thought about the predicament he was in. “What in the hell was I thinking!?!” He yelled. He ran his hands anxiously through his fluffy hair. He created a fireball in his hands and threw it into his trash can in the corner of his room and waited for the smoke alarms to go off. Yes, smoke alarms are in the households of all the demons living in the underworlds. 

“Kai! What are you doing up there!?!” His father yelled. Kai laughed and slowly started to make his way to the fire extinguisher on his wall. When he grabbed it, his father had already made his way up the staircase. Kai put out the fire before his father swung his door open. “We have moved five times because of your little emotional breakdowns, Kai!” His father expressed as he caught his breath from the long run up the stairs. Kai rolled his eyes as he turned to put the extinguisher back on the wall. 

"It was a small one so you can get your panties out of a knot, Ray." Kai laughed. Ray crossed his arms, and his childish son mimicked him. 

"I'm so sorry I ruined you, Kai." Ray started. Kai tried his best to ignore him as his father went on another rant on how he ruined him as humans. 

“Dad, I chose to kill all of those people.” He finally said. Ray looked up from his gaze and was stunned. Kai never engages in conversation when his father is talking about their past. 

“But I brought you into that world. I could’ve left you out of it, like I did with Jai and your mother.” He said, saddened. He saw that the fire was out and turned to go down stairs. He said nothing as he closed the door behind him. Kai stood staring at the door, questioning if he should go comfort his father, but he decided not to. Then, without changing his clothes, he flopped down on his bed and fell into a deep sleep.

                                                           *******

 Ember opened her front door and skipped into her living room. Her parents were talking in the kitchen so she went down the hall to her room. “The meeting was great!” She yelled to her parents, blushing. She softly closed the door behind her. She flopped on her bed face first onto her pillow. She grabbed a hold of the stuffed animal beside her and rolled over. She squeezed the stuffed unicorn to her chest as she stared at the ceiling. “What am I going to do!?!” She cried. “I can’t meet him tomorrow!” She covered her face with her hands. She thought about what could happen. She would get thrown in Hell for all eternity and Kai would get thrown in chambers, receiving consequences forbidden to be spoken of. “I’ll meet him tomorrow, then tell him that we need to figure something out or we can’t ever see each other again.” She said, disappointed. She wrapped herself in her silk like wings and went to sleep.

As the artificial lights began to shine through her window, Ember thought for a moment and figured that she would go ask Marie what to do. She put on her jacket and flew out her window towards the gate.

“Where are you wishing to go, Miss Winslow?” The guard asked Ember. 

“I wish to visit my brother’s daughter in New York, please.” She replied, shyly. The guard read a list and looked down at her. 

“Remember, only four hours.” He reminded her as he opened the gates.

“Yes, I remember, Hank. Thank you, love.” She said as she walked through the exit. She inhaled as she felt the hot air of earth hit her pale face. She looked at her wrist which had a map and a timer laid out on it. She began to make her way towards the little speck that represented her niece. 

By the time she found Marie, Ember only had two hours left on Earth before she would be teleported back to Heaven. She skipped happily to the door and knocked lightly. Marie opened the door and gasped aloud. 

“Ember, is that really you?” She asked as she scratched her head. A little girl’s head poked out from between her legs.

“Who are you, lady?” The small child questioned. She has to be around the age of four now. Ember thought. She giggled and she squatted to be at eye level with the girl.

“I am your mommy’s friend from high school. I haven’t seen her for a while so I decided to stop by. Is that alright, Ember?” She asked the little girl. She widened her eyes at her.

“How do you know my name?” The girl came around in front of her mother as she interrogated Ember. 

“Because my name is also Ember.” Little Ember screamed and jumped up and down, clapping her small hands.  She grabbed Ember by the hand and led her down the hall to her bedroom. The confused angel looked back at Marie with a helpless look. 

“Honey, I need to talk to her before you girls can play.” Marie said to her child. The little girl furrowed her brow at her and released her grip on Ember’s hand. She waddled over to her bed and sat down, patiently waiting as the two women left the room. “Is everything alright?” She asked her the moment the door was shut. Ember shook her head no. 

“I am in a horrible situation and I came here for help.” Marie picked at her nails. “I have feelings for a demon, which is illegal.” Ember chewed on the inside of her cheek. She bit the same spot as she did earlier when talking to Kai, and she began to taste the warm familiar flavor of iron.

“Just tell your parents and they will help you.” Marie suggested. Ember looked at her with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised. 

“Yeah, that wouldn’t work. Any other ideas that wouldn’t result in me becoming a fallen angel?” Marie took a deep breath and looked at her aunt with empathy.

“Ember, I don’t know how to help you. I don’t know the severity of the situation to be able to help you to any extent. Plus your visit is such a surprise.” Ember sighed. She looked at the pictures along the walls. Family pictures were a regular tradition Ember’s family had. She smiled as tears welled up in her eyes. 

“If I tell my parents, they will be forced to tell God that I committed treason and I will be thrown in Hell for all eternity and Kai will become a tortured soul.” A small tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away to conceal it from her niece. 

“Is Kai your lover boy?” Marie said as she smiled at Ember. Ember blushes and looks away. Marie has a beautiful family and she envies that. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about the family you have. I never got to create a family of my own, let alone fall in love as a human. And when I do find love, it’s treason!” Ember started to sob. Marie took a deep breath and thought for a moment.

“Why don’t you just meet up secretly and just never tell anyone?” Ember stopped crying and looked at Marie with a dirty look. “What? It’s just a suggestion.” Ember looked at her wrist. She had an hour and thirty minutes left.

“Marie, I have an hour and thirty minutes left here, I will come back next month. If I don’t return, I got caught.” She turned to go into Ember’s bedroom.

“Ember, we can’t wait that long. What if you need my help but you can’t get to me and get caught?” Marie said as she grabbed Ember’s arm, pulling her back into the conversation she was attempting to run away from.

“I’m not your responsibility, Marie. If I get caught, you just continue your life like nothing happened.” Marie looked at her with a disgusted look. 

“You did not just say that.” She scoffed and shook her head as she looked away from her.

“Look, I shouldn’t have even asked for your help. You can’t help me and you will never understand.” Ember turned to leave again, but Marie grabbed her wrist, this time wasn’t so nice.

“Ember, my own dad doesn’t even know who I am anymore and my mom died. I can’t lose you too.” She started to cry and Ember pulled her into a hug. Marie rested her head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I said that. It was uncalled for.” Marie looked up at her and smiled weakly. 

“I do understand. My mother hated my husband and forbade me from seeing him. I did it anyway and now look!”  Ember opened her mouth to object but Marie shook her head and waved her hands.“Just see Kai privately and see if there is any way you can get him turned into an angel, I don't know how Heaven works but there's an idea.”

“Ok, I’ll try that, just for you. Thank you, Marie.” Ember hugged Marie. 

 “Oh stop…. you’re welcome.” She paused and ran her fingers down the white wall behind her. “You should probably go play with Ember with your remaining time so she doesn’t hate me for the next 4 hours.” They both laughed and turned into the four year old’s room.

                                                                    *******

“I don’t feel like doing anything today, but I have a problem to fix.” Kai said to himself through a forced smile as he waved to Ray, who was leaving the driveway. As soon as he saw he was gone, he ran up to his library and pulled book after book off of his bookshelf.

“Come on, there has to be at least one book on how to become an angel!” He said as he threw more and more books on the heaping pile of useless books he had already rapidly scanned. After he looked for what seemed like hours, but was only five minutes, he pulled down a whole bookshelf and screamed as he slammed his strong fist on the fallen shelf. He took a deep breath and shook his head while he started laughing. “It’s pointless. Why would I even look? She’s going to get over me anyway.” He sat down on the floor and looked at the mess he had created. He layed back and looked at the mural on the ceiling. He squinted his eyes and stood up, keeping his eyes locked on the painting. There was some type of object out of place in the middle of the artwork. He scrambled up the spiral staircase to the second level of the library. Still focusing on the mysterious object, he pulled a ladder over and carefully climbed up to it.  Once he got to it, he grabbed onto it and pulled it away from its place.

“A book?” He said, shocked. “Why couldn’t they just put the dumb thing where all the other books are and not make life so difficult? I think someone looking for this would appreciate that greatly. I know I would.” He wiped away the layer of built up dust and coughed as the bits fell into his face. “Maybe I should get off the ladder before I fall off and kill myself. Oh wait, I´m already dead. I crack myself up.” He laughed as he climbed down the ladder. He looked at the title of the book and dropped it as if it were a hot pan. He looked down at it in astonishment. “How is that even possible?” He bent down to pick up the mysterious thing he had discovered. He scratched his head with one hand and held the book in the other. He thought maybe he was hallucinating and then he took a deep breath. “ Ok, I’m not crazy, this is just something I came here for and I found it in an odd way. Perfectly normal.” He walked over to the only table that wasn’t completely destroyed from his temper tantrum and sat down to start reading the book. 

                                                                      *******

As Ember walked out of her niece’s home, she felt a wave of sadness hit her. She felt tears welling up in her bright, curious eyes as she slowly faded away, going back to her home. 

“Are you content with your visit, Miss Winslow?” Hank asked Ember when she appeared at the huge pearly gates. 

“Oh yes, Hank. I always am.” She said as she quickly wiped the escaped tears off her face. She walked up to the palm reader and entered the gates as they opened. She looked at the large bell tower and saw that it was getting close to the time she and Kai decided on meeting at. She decided she should make her way there to discuss what they were going to do about their forbidden love. So she spread her wings and flew to the Mystical Forest, to meet up with the sarcastic demon. 

Kai played with a flame in his hand as he leaned against the fallen tree that laid on its side beside him. He threw the streak of fire into the air right as Ember flew in. 

"Oh my goodness, Kai!" She yelled as she dodged the fiery blaze hurdling in her direction. Kai laughed as Ember gracefully lowered herself to the ground. "I don't appreciate being welcomed by being the target of a fireball." Kai rolled his eyes and walked over to her. He grabbed her by her small waist and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back. Kai lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his muscular torso and he leaned his head on her pale shoulder. He inhaled her sweet aroma and smiled to himself. Then he thought about their dilema and his smile melted into a saddened frown. Ember felt Kai’s mood change so she sunk back onto the ground and adjusted her dress. 

“So, I’ve done some searching…” Ember began to say.

“I have too.” He interrupted. He picked up the large book from the tree beside him.

“Um, Kai, what is that?” Ember looked at Kai with a look that was a combination of curiosity and fear. He laughed at her and gave her the book. He pointed at the bookmark he left in the book to mark the only page worth looking at. Ember tilted her head at the strange book and looked back up to look into Kai’s scintillating green eyes. 

"Just open it and read it, darling." Kai said, his tone sounded quite impatient so Ember decided it wasn't a good idea to continue questioning him. She opened the ancient tome and began to read the page he had reserved for her. Kai watched Ember’s facial expressions to try and guess what she was going to say about his discovery. He assumed she was going to hate the idea based off of the numerous dirty looks she was making as she read the pages. 

"Sounds like a great plan to me, actually." Ember casually said as she placed the bookmark carefully in the book and closed it. Kai raised his eyebrows and rubbed the back of his tattooed neck. 

"So should we approach them about this? I have a few friends of mine that would love this opportunity." Kai took the book out of her small hands. "Give me one second." He clapped, disappeared, and then reappeared within a span of four seconds. Ember laughed and stood patiently waiting for him to settle down. 

"I have a few people who need to be re-evaluated as well." Kai widened his eyes at her and she rolled hers. "Just because they are in Heaven, it doesn't always mean they are good people. Sometimes there are glitches in the system." The second she said that, Kai instantly knew they were talking about the same people. 

"Are you friends with Jack?" He hesitated before asking her his question. 

"Yes, I assume you're friends with Ethan and we're going to have a problem with that." She twisted a piece of her white hair between her fingers and looked up at Kai. 

"No, there won't be a problem because we both agree that Jack isn't who he says he is."