Teo

Dedication

To all who believed

even when I didn't.

Especially when I didn't.

Chapter 1

November, 1985

Victoria shivered in the night air, casting glances around as she walked to her car. The streets were quiet tonight, even for this late hour. She had stayed later than normal at the school where she worked, engrossed in creating her lesson plan for the next week. It was probably a little sad that she had nowhere more fun to be on a Friday night, but her last relationship had ended over a year ago when she’d caught her boyfriend cheating. She had never had a family, and her friends had gradually drifted away, busy with their own lives. A little lonely, she had thrown herself into her work, trying to find fulfilment in her career. The hustle and bustle of the classroom helped, but once the children and teachers went home, she was back to being alone. Somehow that made it worse.

The parking area was quiet, her car the only one left. Everyone else had families waiting for them at home. It was cold and dark, a typical dreary November evening in Scotland. Tired, she just wanted to get home and relax. She hefted the box of teaching materials higher on her hip and leaned down to open her car door. A sudden movement out the corner of her eye had her jumping back, the box falling to the ground with a heavy thud.

What was that? Something had darted under her car. Something fast. A cat, maybe? She hadn’t got a good enough look to be sure. If it was a cat, she couldn't leave it there. What if it got hurt when she drove away? She carefully picked up the box and put it in the car before getting down on her knees and checking underneath the car. Nothing. There was nothing there. Where on earth had it gone?

Getting back to her feet, she looked around. There was no sign of the cat. If that was what it was. She shivered again. It was far too late and much too cold to be lingering outside looking for cats she wasn’t sure were even there. The cold air seemed to seep right through her, chilling her to the bone. Winter was definitely on its way. It would soon be time to get the children excited for Christmas. She always liked to make decorations with them, watching them get increasingly excited as the year drew to a close. They could make paper chains and cut-out snowflakes. Maybe they could make white pompoms for snowballs. The headmaster was talking about each class making a collage to decorate the gym for the Christmas party. Getting a class full of children to cooperate would be challenging, but she was looking forward to it.

After one last look around, she got into the car, placing her bag on the seat beside her. As she reached to close the door behind her, something caught her attention. She paused, straining to hear. There it was again. A child crying. She sighed. Would she ever get home tonight? She couldn't leave a distressed child; she was a teacher after all. It wouldn't take long to investigate and she would never forgive herself if she ignored a hurt child. Besides, she didn’t hear anyone else around and there was no way she was leaving a child alone at this time of night.

Climbing back out of her car, she walked toward the sound, looking around, trying to find the source. There. In the corner of the playground, a small figure huddled down on the ground. Had the child fallen? Was he or she hurt in some way? Walking toward the figure, she continued to scan her surroundings. Something felt wrong, very wrong. Why was the child alone? Where were its parents? Shadows stretched across the ground, seeming to creep toward her. A heavy, oppressive feeling had her dragging her steps. She didn't want to go over there. More than anything she just wanted to turn around and go home. She shouldn't have watched that video last night, the one with Freddy Krueger terrorising teenagers. Clearly, it was making her jumpy. She forced herself to keep moving, unwilling to abandon a child because of irrational fears. She was being silly. The eerily silent playground was giving her the creeps, the child's sobs the only thing she could hear.

The child faced away from her, sitting on the ground. She could only see a blue coat and long dark hair escaping from beneath a red hat. Victoria carefully crouched down next to the child, not wanting to startle the girl. Looking around, her car seemed quite far away. She frowned. How could she possibly have heard the child from that distance?

Sweetheart, she said softly. She glanced around, hoping to spot the child's parents, but no one else was around. What's wrong?

There was no response, the girl merely continued to cry.

Victoria reached out a hand and gently touched the child's shoulder, at the same time easing around to face the girl. The crying stopped abruptly, the sudden silence shocking. Fear skittered along her spine. She was being ridiculous, she knew she was, but her heart was thumping in her chest, her hand trembling on the child's shoulder. Every part of her wanted to run, to leave and never return. She wouldn't do that. Couldn't do that.

Where are your parents? she asked quietly. Are you lost?

Slowly, the child's head turned around to stare at Victoria. Her eyes burned with hatred, pinning Victoria to the spot. Dropping her hand from the child's shoulder, Victoria edged back a little and the little girl stood, continuing to glare at her. The girl smiled, a look of pure malevolence that chilled her to the bone, looking completely out of place on a little girl. Victoria was beyond freaked out now.

The girl began to change, her outline almost shimmering, becoming something else. The child was taller than Victoria had expected, or was she actually growing? Her skin seemed much paler than normal, and her dark eyes continued to stare with a shocking intensity. Her gaze had none of the innocence of children. Instead, it appeared ageless, cruel, and terrifying. Fangs began to take the place of teeth, claws the place of nails, as the child transformed in front of her, becoming something else entirely. The girl lunged at her, laughing gleefully, hands outstretched and curled into claws. Victoria fell backward, throwing up her hands to fend off the demonic looking child, instinctively closing her eyes to avoid seeing the abomination.

Instead of the impact she expected, she heard a thud and a scream of frustration. Sitting up slowly, she opened her eyes and saw a man facing off with the evil child. Where on earth had he come from? He was tall, muscular, with straight, long black hair tied back at the nape of his neck. He wore a black leather jacket and dark jeans. His back was to her as he kept himself between her and the scary child, protecting Victoria from attack. She should probably be watching the child and not the man. Confused as she was, she knew which of them was the danger, the one she should fear.

Frozen in place, she watched helplessly as the two stood watching each other. The child's eyes flicked to where Victoria lay sprawled and then back to the man, clearly sizing up its chances of getting to her. Hissing, it turned and ran, clearly unwilling to tangle with her rescuer. Victoria felt a little of the tension drain out of her although she couldn’t control the trembling of her body from the mixture of cold and shock. Her palms stung from contact with the ground.

I cannot let it leave, the man said to her. His voice was warm and rich, almost a caress, making her shiver. Or maybe that was still the shock. Still, he had saved her life, and she didn’t want him to leave her alone. He turned briefly to her and stopped, swallowing whatever he’d been about to say. His black eyes widened. Victoria frowned. Why were his eyes completely black? The whites of his eyes were missing, swallowed up entirely by the black.

"Meu Deus," he gasped, staring at her.

She stared back. What on earth was going on? Had she fallen asleep at her desk and this was just some sort of lucid dream? The night’s events were so far from normal that she had trouble believing in them. The man's looks were stunning. She honestly hadn't thought that men that beautiful really existed. Certainly not outside of Hollywood. She found herself unable to look away, afraid that if she did, he would disappear.

He walked forward and held out a hand, simply waiting for her to take it. In a daze, she reached out, and he pulled her to her feet with little effort. He didn’t relinquish his hold, his grip warm and oddly comforting after what she'd just seen. At least with him here, she didn’t have to face that creature alone.

Uh, weren't you going after that...? she stopped. She still didn't know what it was, only that it was definitely not a child. Children did not grow fangs or give off evil vibes.

Demon, he supplied absently. He held up her hand, examining the scrapes there, frowning at what he saw. I changed my mind. This is more important. He reached for her other hand to examine it too.

What is? she asked. Surely nothing was more important than stopping that creature. She watched as he gently brushed the dirt from her palms, his touch feather light, careful not to hurt her. A curious warmth spread through her hands and she could actually see the scrapes disappear. Gasping, she tried to snatch her hands back, but his grip was firm.

Who are you? she asked, looking up at him. His eyes were no longer black, merely a warm brown colour, the sclera visible and white. "What are you?"

He smiled at her, the expression animating his face, taking him from attractive to truly breathtaking. She had never had such a strong reaction to a man she didn't even know. As confused as she was, she was still reluctant to end this encounter, not wanting to say goodbye to this man and then never see him again. She knew she would never forget him, and she would always remember this moment. Years from now, she would think of him and wonder who he was, where he was, what he was doing. No matter where her life led, she would regret that it took her from him. Her mind would fill in all the blanks, building him into the perfect man in personality as well as appearance. Of course, it would be a fantasy built purely around his looks and a few exchanged words. She didn’t know him, didn’t know the first thing about him.

My name is Téo, short for Téodoro, he answered. I am a nephil.

Silence. He waited, watching for her reaction.

I don't know what that means, she admitted. Why were your eyes black a minute ago? What was that thing that attacked me? She had so many questions she didn't know where to start. She had never been so confused in her life. The whole world had just changed, and she was floundering, desperately trying to catch up before she drowned in her new reality. Whatever that reality was. Assuming, of course, that any of it was real and not some insane dream.

His thumb caressed her hand, a small smile playing across his lips. I am a nephil, he repeated. Half angel, half human. It gives me certain abilities, and also certain responsibilities, such as protecting people from creatures like the one you just faced. My eyes were black because I was using my ability to see things as they really are, seeing through the disguise to the demon beneath.

Great, the man thought he was an angel. He must be crazy. Pity, he really was very attractive. She tried again to release herself from his grip, failing once more. He was being careful not to hurt her, but he seemed determined not to let her go. Perversely, she wasn't entirely unhappy about that.

"I am not crazy, querida, he said, smiling down at her. He must have seen the disbelief on her face. You know what you saw, even if you are not yet willing to admit it. As I told you, the creature you saw was a demon. I am simply the opposite side of that. You are safe with me."

He was right about one thing: she did know what she'd seen. The child had not been normal. Besides, if she was being honest, she’d recently seen several unexplainable things. Not many and not so frightening as tonight, so she'd been able to brush them aside and pretend she hadn't noticed anything unusual. It was easier that way. Tonight, the demonic child had attacked her and there was no pretending it hadn't happened. Somewhere deep inside, she knew it was the truth, she simply wasn't ready to face it head on. She looked at him, frowning. "So they all look like that?