beyond the rift } { and demons, saints must fall
“There are a thousand ways to win a war, Gracin,” his father used to tell him, “but all you really need is one.”
Gracin is five the first time he hears the phrase, and he knows almost instinctively that it’s something his father enjoys saying, and that he’s been saying it a long time. The words have the weight of a man of experience, and he knows that his father is old, far older than he looks. That’s the curse of an angel. They watch the world turn for as long as the world will let them, and some get to watch longer than most. Everett Collinsworth is getting to be close to two hundred by the time Gracin is born, and everything he does indicates that despite those two hundred years of wisdom, he is no more capable of being a father than any other man.
In fact, as far as Gracin is concerned, it’s less. Other fathers play games with their children. Other fathers hold them when they cry, not tell them to suck it up and be a man. He’s five years-old. He’s not supposed to be a man yet.
His mother is an angel as well-a gorgeous angel of healing with long red hair, and she’s such a softer presence than his father. Her children gravitate to her like moths to a flame, and there’s simply something about her nature that makes their father seem just a bit softer. They never really notice how rough around the edges he truly is until she’s gone.
And as these things often go, she is gone far too soon.
***
Gracin receives his Calling at sixteen, and no one in the family is happy about it.
His mother isn’t there to be happy. His father rages about his weakness, not reaching his full potential. It’s hard to come from a family of archangels and find a different Calling, feel the tug of the wandering Guardian. It’s hard to have your father be angry with you for something you can’t control-that you could never control.
He talks about how he’s unfit, how he’ll never be able to bear what’s coming for him, but Gracin doesn’t understand that at the time. All he knows is that there had always been hope that he would gain his father’s favor once his Calling came, and now those hopes are gone. All he has left is the chance that he could prove his father wrong, somewhere along the way. That he could work hard and prove that guardians could be more.
Two years later, when his middle sister receives her Calling and becomes an archangel herself, it just feels like another smack in the face. It twists something inside him, hard and fast, and he just keeps pushing himself to be better. It isn’t the fact that his father said he was disappointed-he’s over it by then, simply wanting to move on with his life, but it’s what his father says regarding his sister that drives it home like a knife to his gut.
“Such a waste,” he sighs, looking over his sister’s wings with a skeptical eye. “A Calling like this on a girl. Especially one with such little … tenacity.”
In the Collinsworth family, regardless of who you are, your Calling is never good enough.
***
It takes a few decades before he finds a ward, and in that time, Gracin does a lot of growing up.
There is a part of him that, a long time ago, promised that he would never be his father, but it was all too easy for him to fall into his father’s footsteps. After all, the Society is bred into families. If you’re born into it, there is a very slim chance that you’ll ever get out of it. There is also a part of Gracin that still seeks his father’s approval. Which is why there is a part of him that will still ask ‘how high?’ whenever his father says jump.
It’s why he’s meeting his father’s lawyer.
This is something that should be his father’s responsibility, but he’s taking care of it. Everett stopped caring about his children long ago, but apparently, it doesn’t stop him from having them. Gracin is waiting in the attorney’s office, sitting with one leg crossed over the other. He’s going through paperwork for work, trying to keep his mind focused, just as he always did. If he didn’t, it wanders, even when he travels constantly for his job, and right now, he is sitting entirely too still.
“Mr. Collinsworth?”
He looks up, and within seconds, he’s already in love.
It’s not just the bond. He can feel that within seconds as well, the sudden visceral feeling of being grounded, the overwhelming sense of fear, uncertainty, grief-all these feelings, strong and overwhelming, from a little girl who couldn’t have been more than five. For the first time in his life, there is something for him to love, to pour his attention and time into. He now has someone that he can truly shield from the hate that is all around him.
She may have to find out one day, but this child wouldn’t be one that his father would get to destroy.
William Jackson, the lawyer, is an angel of knowledge. Gracin knows that he knows the bond between a guardian and his ward when he sees one. He doesn’t comment on it, however, simply places a hand gently against the girl’s back and nudges her closer.
“I believe you two can handle this from here.”
With that, he turns and moves down the hallway, but the girl still looks like a deer caught in the headlights. He does the best he can to reassure her, though he knows that he’s probably terrifying enough in his own right.
“Hello,” he smiles. “My name is Gracin. I’m you’re big brother.” It’s not as comforting as it could be, but her shoulders relax, just a little. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Sheridan,” she replies simply. “Are we going to go to your house?”
“Yes,” he says, pushing to his feet and extending his hand to her. “Yes, we are. And I think you’ll be very happy there.”
She doesn’t take his hand right away-he would have been surprised if she did-but eventually she decides to trust. She reaches forward, letting her fingers slip into his as she follows him down the hallway. About half-way down she stops, tugging on his hand expectantly, and big green eyes look up at him, wide with expectation.
“You won’t leave me there alone, will you?”
He gives her another small smile, before crouching down to meet her eyes again. “Don’t worry. So long as I’m breathing, I’ll always be right here. I promise.”
With that, she takes him at his word. He gives her hand a small squeeze, and she squeezes back, before starting to lead the way down the hallway again. “Is it a big house?”
“It is the biggest house you’ve ever seen.”
“I don’t believe you,” she says, a small bit of a teasing tone to her voice.
“Don’t believe me?” he smirks. “Well. We’ll just have to see about that.”
1205 words
Gracin is five the first time he hears the phrase, and he knows almost instinctively that it’s something his father enjoys saying, and that he’s been saying it a long time. The words have the weight of a man of experience, and he knows that his father is old, far older than he looks. That’s the curse of an angel. They watch the world turn for as long as the world will let them, and some get to watch longer than most. Everett Collinsworth is getting to be close to two hundred by the time Gracin is born, and everything he does indicates that despite those two hundred years of wisdom, he is no more capable of being a father than any other man.
In fact, as far as Gracin is concerned, it’s less. Other fathers play games with their children. Other fathers hold them when they cry, not tell them to suck it up and be a man. He’s five years-old. He’s not supposed to be a man yet.
His mother is an angel as well-a gorgeous angel of healing with long red hair, and she’s such a softer presence than his father. Her children gravitate to her like moths to a flame, and there’s simply something about her nature that makes their father seem just a bit softer. They never really notice how rough around the edges he truly is until she’s gone.
And as these things often go, she is gone far too soon.
***
Gracin receives his Calling at sixteen, and no one in the family is happy about it.
His mother isn’t there to be happy. His father rages about his weakness, not reaching his full potential. It’s hard to come from a family of archangels and find a different Calling, feel the tug of the wandering Guardian. It’s hard to have your father be angry with you for something you can’t control-that you could never control.
He talks about how he’s unfit, how he’ll never be able to bear what’s coming for him, but Gracin doesn’t understand that at the time. All he knows is that there had always been hope that he would gain his father’s favor once his Calling came, and now those hopes are gone. All he has left is the chance that he could prove his father wrong, somewhere along the way. That he could work hard and prove that guardians could be more.
Two years later, when his middle sister receives her Calling and becomes an archangel herself, it just feels like another smack in the face. It twists something inside him, hard and fast, and he just keeps pushing himself to be better. It isn’t the fact that his father said he was disappointed-he’s over it by then, simply wanting to move on with his life, but it’s what his father says regarding his sister that drives it home like a knife to his gut.
“Such a waste,” he sighs, looking over his sister’s wings with a skeptical eye. “A Calling like this on a girl. Especially one with such little … tenacity.”
In the Collinsworth family, regardless of who you are, your Calling is never good enough.
***
It takes a few decades before he finds a ward, and in that time, Gracin does a lot of growing up.
There is a part of him that, a long time ago, promised that he would never be his father, but it was all too easy for him to fall into his father’s footsteps. After all, the Society is bred into families. If you’re born into it, there is a very slim chance that you’ll ever get out of it. There is also a part of Gracin that still seeks his father’s approval. Which is why there is a part of him that will still ask ‘how high?’ whenever his father says jump.
It’s why he’s meeting his father’s lawyer.
This is something that should be his father’s responsibility, but he’s taking care of it. Everett stopped caring about his children long ago, but apparently, it doesn’t stop him from having them. Gracin is waiting in the attorney’s office, sitting with one leg crossed over the other. He’s going through paperwork for work, trying to keep his mind focused, just as he always did. If he didn’t, it wanders, even when he travels constantly for his job, and right now, he is sitting entirely too still.
“Mr. Collinsworth?”
He looks up, and within seconds, he’s already in love.
It’s not just the bond. He can feel that within seconds as well, the sudden visceral feeling of being grounded, the overwhelming sense of fear, uncertainty, grief-all these feelings, strong and overwhelming, from a little girl who couldn’t have been more than five. For the first time in his life, there is something for him to love, to pour his attention and time into. He now has someone that he can truly shield from the hate that is all around him.
She may have to find out one day, but this child wouldn’t be one that his father would get to destroy.
William Jackson, the lawyer, is an angel of knowledge. Gracin knows that he knows the bond between a guardian and his ward when he sees one. He doesn’t comment on it, however, simply places a hand gently against the girl’s back and nudges her closer.
“I believe you two can handle this from here.”
With that, he turns and moves down the hallway, but the girl still looks like a deer caught in the headlights. He does the best he can to reassure her, though he knows that he’s probably terrifying enough in his own right.
“Hello,” he smiles. “My name is Gracin. I’m you’re big brother.” It’s not as comforting as it could be, but her shoulders relax, just a little. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Sheridan,” she replies simply. “Are we going to go to your house?”
“Yes,” he says, pushing to his feet and extending his hand to her. “Yes, we are. And I think you’ll be very happy there.”
She doesn’t take his hand right away-he would have been surprised if she did-but eventually she decides to trust. She reaches forward, letting her fingers slip into his as she follows him down the hallway. About half-way down she stops, tugging on his hand expectantly, and big green eyes look up at him, wide with expectation.
“You won’t leave me there alone, will you?”
He gives her another small smile, before crouching down to meet her eyes again. “Don’t worry. So long as I’m breathing, I’ll always be right here. I promise.”
With that, she takes him at his word. He gives her hand a small squeeze, and she squeezes back, before starting to lead the way down the hallway again. “Is it a big house?”
“It is the biggest house you’ve ever seen.”
“I don’t believe you,” she says, a small bit of a teasing tone to her voice.
“Don’t believe me?” he smirks. “Well. We’ll just have to see about that.”
1205 words