Angels and Demons Are Coming For Clara
823 Words
I stopped to look at her. “I know. Sorry, Grandma.” I poured two cups of tea.
“I don’t think you do understand, Clara. You think it’s all fun and games, but visions don’t work like that. You see things you don’t want to see and you’ve no control over it. They come when they choose.” She sat at the table as I placed a cup in front of her.
I had never seen my grandma like this before. She was so solemn. “I’m sorry. I was just excited.”
“I’m sure you were, but visions normally come as a warning of some sort. You say there were two people but was there anything else?”
I thought back. “I heard whispers. I couldn’t understand them at first, but then they got clearer.”
“What did they say?” she asked, then took a sip of tea.
“Umm… Something about they’re coming, one would live and one would die, and something about betrayal.”
Grandma’s face lost all color as she started coughing.
“Are you okay?” I asked, jumping up to pat her on the back.
When she regained her composure, she looked at me. Her eyes were wide, but they seemed sad. “Are you sure that’s what you heard, Clara?”
“Well, something along those lines anyway.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, whispering, “They’re coming. All is not lost. One must survive. One must betray. One must kill.”
My expression brightened. “That’s it! That’s exactly what I heard.”
“Oh, Clara…” Grandma shook her head and reached for my hand.
My face fell. “What’s wrong?” She was starting to scare me. I thought she’d be happy.
“I’ve had that same vision since I was a child. Those same words repeated over and over again.”
“And?”
“I don’t know. That’s the one vision that has never come to pass.”
“Oh. Do you know what it means, though?”
“Yes. My mother and grandmother explained it to me. Now it seems I am to pass the information to you.”
I picked up my cup of tea. Grandma was really starting to freak me out. She’d always spoken so positively about her gifts. That was why I was so miffed Sarah got them. Now I wasn’t so sure.
“Do you believe in angels, Clara?”
“Angels? You mean, like, the guys with wings? All-powerful beings that gave the Shadowhunters their powers?’
Grandma shook her head and huffed. “No. Not make-believe, Clara. I’m talking about real angels.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never given it much thought. Why?”
“The vision you had tells of a prophecy from long ago. Two angels, brothers, cursed for their mother’s mistake. One dark, the other light, but no one could ever tell which was which. The curse made it impossible, and no one wanted to kill one for fear of taking the life of the wrong one. It is said that the two brothers waged war against each other, both claiming to be pure of light. They hunted each other throughout the universe, a never-ending battle.”
“So, they’re both angels, but they want to kill each other?”
“Something like that. The problem is they haven’t been able to. My grandmother told me a witch would be born having the power to see inside their souls. She would see which was good and which was evil. A girl with the gift of sight. In every generation of witches, there have been those who received this vision, but it has never come to pass.”
“So, I shouldn’t worry about it too much then?”
Grandma shook her head. “It is always better to be prepared, Clara, and have the knowledge.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re seventeen. You’ve never shown any signs of magic, and now… It’s strange, that’s all.”
She reached out and patted my hand, smiling. It was a fake smile, one to placate me, stop me from asking any more questions. I’d seen it a million times before from both her and Mom when they wanted to end a conversation.
“You should get ready for school. I’m going back to bed for an hour.” Grandma stood from the table.
I sat there, stunned. What just happened? Where did all that talk of angels and demons come from? I picked up my cup of tea and tried to make sense of everything. Had Grandma even confirmed I had a vision? And what was wrong with me coming into magic now? Maybe nobody ever noticed because they were too busy assuming Sarah had been buried with the gifts. I finished my tea and huffed. I’d show them.
- Writer
