The Meeting

She bolted up in bed as she was awakened by the sound of glass breaking. Grabbing her bathrobe from the foot of the bed and wrapping it around her she reached for the baseball bat that leaned against the wall before heading downstairs where the noise came from. Halfway to the bottom she heard rustling coming from the kitchen; Gaylen and Nigier were both away trying to find out just what exactly Centos’ intentions were so she knew it could not be them; and spirits rarely were able to shatter things. Her heart was racing as she grew closer to the kitchen; she had no idea what she was about to find but as her hands gripped the bottom of the bat she was at least going to give it her all to defend herself.
With one last deep breath she shoved her shoulder against the swinging kitchen door as she raised the bat high above her head, fully intending to use her full force to knock out whatever it was. Just as she was about to bring the bat swinging down she came to a harsh halt as she noticed the familiar, yet intimidating, huge man standing before her. He looked lost as his hands held some of the broken glass from the vase he had knocked over.
They stood staring at each other for a moment before she said, “you scared me to death! I could have cracked your skull with this bat!” She dropped her hands to her side; breathing heavily. She was trying to gain her wits, calm herself while taking in the shock of the visitor.
Frowning, he uttered a mild growl as he all of a sudden had no idea how to handle himself; unexpectedly nervous, he dumped the glass in a bin to the side of the counter before turning to her, “by the look on your face am I to assume you know who I am?” She seemed plain at best as far as he could tell; but she had spirit, a feistiness about her that was for sure, he could definitely see why his son loved her.
“Yes, I know who you are. You could have let me know you were coming; and not break into my house,” she muttered as she grabbed the broom and dustpan to clean the remaining glass that was on the floor. “You must forgive me, I do not transition into human form often; I have forgotten how clumsy I get,” he watched her finish cleaning up his mess. “You would think I would be used to it by now,” she replied as she put the broom and dustpan back in the pantry. He watched her as she put water in the tea kettle and placed it on the stove to boil; then placed a bag into two separate cups. Continuing to watch her ready the tea, be said, “and you are right; I apologize for my unannounced visit. I just thought it was time for us to meet; given the circumstances do you not agree?” She finished pouring the hot water over the tea bags into the cups; handing him one as she sat down at the table.
“I agree; however, I am a bit surprised Gaylen didn’t mention your intent to visit me.” She softly blew the hot tea before taking a sip as he answered, “he does not know.” He stared at the steaming cup of tea, it smelled of mint and honey; after he took a small sip he placed the cup on the counter before him and continued, “I did not want interference from him; I thought our first meeting should just be us two. It seems as though certain recent events have made the decision for us.” She looked at him questioningly; clearly Gaylen spoke to him about Centos.
“I appreciate your concern, but aside from his attempt at intimidation he has crossed no lines; yet. There is a reason he is showing himself to me, and why he is attached to this particular spirit; and the latter is my biggest concern.” Yes, she had spirit, an honorable quality in a woman.
“Angelica; may I call you Angelica?” She nodded as he continued, “the situation between you and my son is very complicated as we both know; if Centos is showing himself now there is a specific reason for it. A reason my son is very dedicated to finding out; but aside from that I am here to try to understand. This is all very new to me; the changing of the rules, status and such. I wish to learn more about you first.”
Angelica was a bit concerned; Yiorgos had never wanted his son with her as his views and beliefs went against everything she was about. Looking at him now standing before her she saw a man with great concern for his son; a son whom she loved very much.
“Sir, if I may,” he cut her off by holding up his hand, “Call me by my name, please,” she smiled as she continued, “Yiorgos, I love your son very much. I know you did not come to learn more about me; rather you want to learn more about my gift. The counsel stands against something they really know nothing of. Your interaction with other gifted in the past has clouded your judgment; if I may speak freely,” he nodded as she continued, “my whole life I have had to hide who I am, people thinking I’m weird as they see me talking to something they cannot see, how I know things; they do not understand so it is much easier to keep my gift to myself. I do not tell fortunes or futures, I do not try to manipulate or do evil. I am not a witch who can cast spells or have any powers that I can use against anyone or anything. I simply have the ability to see spirits, hear what they tell me and see what they show me. They come to me for guidance, answers that may help them find peace and the ability to cross over.”
He watched her intently as she spoke; her words were spoken with so much passion, her aura screamed of strength. She was correct, a gift like hers was considered evil. Being able to speak to the dead, interact with them made a gifted dangerous; they were capable of influencing a spirit, manipulating it in a sense that could bring harm to people. But there was something about her; something that made her aura glow brightly.
“Your gift is seen as evil, yes, but you must also understand that it comes from centuries of watching and trying to divert the dark side because it uses this type of gift to do harm. You do see the dangers do you not?” His voice was soft, she thought; she had envisioned him as a massive, gruff man with a stern rugged voice and temperament; but as she listened to him she realized he was actually the exact opposite. She continued looking into his eyes as she began to speak, “I understand the dangers; however, I do not fear it. I was born with this gift, not once but twice, and with all due respect, I will not shy from it. I am well aware of the rules that come with it, they do not bother me as I know who and what I am. I would never intentionally put your son or anyone else for that matter in harm's way; but I will continue helping lost souls, not even Centos can stop that.”
Yiorgos felt a trickle of laughter begin to build up within him; aye, she was definitely a feisty one. She was tiny in stature but fierce in spirit; and he liked her. She stood before him, her arms crossed with defiance; she didn’t know how he was going to react to what she had just said but she at least wanted him to know she was not backing down. Angelica felt her body ease some as she noticed the smile begin to merge on his face; it was like a huge weight had been lifted.
“I can see why my son loves you,” he giggled, “my intent here is to get a better feel of the situation as a whole; if Centos indeed has intentions of causing harm, I need to be prepared as to how to handle the situation. I can hear in your voice the lack of fear, this is not always a good thing, Angelica, Centos is dangerous.”
She could hear genuine care in his voice, “I am not sure what his intentions are, but I will not live in fear; I have broken no rules in this agreement that allows Gaylen and I to be together.” Her voice dropped to a soft lull; she would never do anything to bring the counsel down on them so she was very careful to stay inside of the rule box they made for her.
Yiorgos’ mind was made up; he liked her a lot. She was a good match for his son; however, she did break the rules. Since he did not see her as someone that would outrightly lie, he assumed she just did not know. He noticed it shortly after seeing her for the first time; her aura’s brightness gave it away.
He took a few steps towards her, placing his massive hands on her shoulders he softly said, “but that is not one hundred percent true, now is it Angelica?” Her questioning look let him know she had no idea. “One crucial rule, the most important rule has been broken and has left me with no choice but to intercede, my dear, for I would never in a million centuries allow any harm to come to my grandson,” he stated as his hand dropped from her arm to her belly.