empyrean
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Jack looked at the smoldering husk of flesh on the floor. Then he looked at his girlfriend, Amber, who was also looking at the corpse. Then he looked at the wings that were sprouting from her back.
“So…angel, huh?” He asked.
Amber turned from the creature she had roasted and looked at him. She looked almost embarrassed. “Uh, kind of.” She said. “I’m actually an empyrean. See, there’s a bunch of different kinds of angels, just like there’s a lot of different kinds of cats or dogs.”
“Ah, got it.” He did not, in fact, get it. But it seemed like the thing to say. “And, that…” He pointed to the husk.
“A demon, obviously. I mean, it’s a little more complicated than that. I could tell you the exact kind of demon if you want.”
“No, just demon is fine.”
Amber sat. Her wings folded up and disappeared. Her hair went from blazing gold to her normal platinum blonde. Her eyes changed from a literally flaming yellow to a cool blue. In short, she looked like Amber again.
“Sorry from keeping it from you, but, well, you know.”
“Yeah, I get it. Kind of hard to bring up in casual conversation, huh? I mean, how would that go? ‘Hey, by the way, Jack, I’m a divine being and fight demons.’”
She gave a snorting laugh. “Probably could’ve dropped a few hints before I actually had to kill one of them right in front of you though.”
“Probably.” He took a moment to collect the ever mounting number of questions. He opened his mouth to ask the first one, but Amber cut him off.
“Okay, let’s get the obvious ones out the way, huh? First of all, I am not, nor have I ever been, dead. Angels are not the souls of departed humans. We’re a separate species, just as alive as you are. We do not serve any deity. Actually, we’re governed by a council of elders, but we can go into angelic society later. We’re not messengers, guardians, warriors, or anything else like that. We can be any of those things, of course, but so can humans, so take that how you will.”
“And God?”
“If he exists, I don’t know about it.”
“Got it. So, empyreans?”
“Yup. We’re actually pretty badass. We’ve got all kinds of awesome powers that other angels don’t get.” She seemed quite proud of that. “I’m basically a super angel.”
“Sounds pretty cool. So, what kind of stuff can you do?”
“Well, for one thing, all my physical abilities are over a hundred times greater than yours.”
“Wait, really? So why do you always ask me to open jars?”
“Really? That’s what you ask? It’s obvious. I wasn’t trying to show you I’m super strong. Anyway, just hitting stuff and running fast is the least of my powers. The real good stuff is white fire.” She conjured a small ball of flame that shone with a pure white light and began twisting it around her fingers. “It’s pretty awesome. Other angels can do either light or fire. Some can even do both. But only us empyreans can combine them. Oh, I can do normal light and normal fire, but this is where the good stuff is.”
“Got it. Sort of. I guess asking to see what kinds of tricks you can do inside the house is a bad idea huh?”
“Oh yeah. Maybe later we’ll head somewhere empty where I can have some fun.”
As he watched her playing with the small flame, a nagging worry entered his stomach. “Say, Amber, uh, I’m not going to have to worry about a heavenly assassin gunning for me am I? Like, you being here isn’t breaking any angel laws?”
“Nope.”
He blinked a few times. “Uh…no?”
“Nope. Humans and angels of all types have been intermingling for millennia. We get along just fine, and there’s no laws about interspecies couples. Hell, even you knowing about me isn’t a big issue. A few of the older rule sticklers might not like it, but there’s no laws against it.”
Jack let out a sigh of relief. “Oh good. I’d hate to be the cause of a huge battle or something.”
“Hah, no. Also, I should mention something. You, sir, are just a normal person. No special powers, no grand prophesies, you’re not a lost angel child. Nothing of the sort. Just an average, ordinary human. I’m just here because I like you.”
Jack nodded. “I can live with that. Actually, knowing you’re not going to give me a magic sword and ask me to save the world is kind of a relief. I don’t think I’d make a very good chosen hero.”
“Oh god, you’d be terrible. You can’t even handle a fighting game. I’d never expect you to do the real thing.”
“Hey! My gaming skills are top notch. I just let you win most of the time.”
“Uh-huh. Sure you do.” Amber said with a grin. “I’m sure that’s the reason you haven’t beaten me once.”
“Oh, that sounds like a challenge. Are you challenging me?”
“I do believe I am.”
“Well then, you’re on. Just no super angel powers, okay?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. You’d never shut up about cheating.”
The two continued to banter playfully as Jack got everything set up. As the two played together, Jack put a hold on the mountains of questions he still had for her. For now, he was content to just be with her. And it was nice to know that that would not be changing anytime soon, no matter what Amber was.
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I think it'd be pretty cool to have a girlfriend with magical powers, don't you? Well, as long as she was an actually good person and stuff. Of course, that's the same with even normal women without magical abilities.
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