CHAPTER FOUR

The Truth

Even if he was a figment of my imagination, I followed Jack's instructions. It wasn't like I had any better ideas.

So I found the train station on the outskirts of a small town like he said, and just in time. As soon as I began running alongside the tracks, I heard the horn of the train, and in no time I was jumping in to the open container, slamming my knees sharply against the ridge of metal. No way I could do that normally, but maybe it was all the adrenaline pumping through me, or maybe the crazy black shadow things had helped me (though I didn't see any now).

It had begun to rain, and the drops hit the metal roof and walls with echoing thuds. The train sped down the track, and I moved against the back wall to keep from the beating rain. I pulled my knees to my chest and huddled my face in, trying to keep my body warmth. My backpack lay next to me, having been abandoned there as soon as I jumped in. My body shook but I didn't know if I should be sad or scared or simply numbed by shock. My eyes were as big as saucers as I stared at the dirty floor of the container, trying to analyze whatever had happened. I was completely lost.

"You made it. Good job," a voice suddenly drawled from nearby.

I spun around and nearly screamed, only to find Jack standing there, near the doorway. He was really here this time, not just a vague mist. I clenched my teeth together and felt like I could punch him. "Stop that!" I hissed, sitting back down and facing the floor once more just to show him how little I cared about him and his lack of answers.

"Stop what?" He asked. I heard his steps slowly walking closer to me.

"Popping out of nowhere."

"Did I scare you?" He sounded amused.

I rolled my eyes and kept my gaze away. He came over and sat down next to me, his long legs crossed, looking as comfortable as if he'd ridden trains all his life. I glanced at him as he sat with a sort of ease which I didn't really expect from his tall, long-limbed frame. He eyed me, looking in to my soul again. I looked away.

"Who are you?" I asked, realizing it wasn't the first time I'd asked him that. "What are you?"

"Your guardian," he said simply.

I tilted my head, turning to glare at him. "I don't even know what that means!" I sighed, exasperated.

He leaned back, exhaling slowly. "Honestly, Helena, I thought you'd be brighter than this."

"Are you calling me stupid?" I asked, offended.

He laughed softly, and to my disdain it was perfectly melodious. "Not at all—you wouldn't have made it this far if you were stupid." He paused, playing with the hem of his grey wool sweater. "I don't really know how to explain this, Helena…I never expected to be the one to tell you…"

I watched him anxiously.

"You…You aren't what you think you are," he said slowly.

I lowered my eyebrows, trying to comprehend what he was saying. "I'm not…what? A human?" I asked.

"No. Well—yes. You're half human."

My body went rigid and my mind swam. Half-human? I tried to think of other things humans could mix with, like how horses and donkeys could mate. But there was nothing like that, obviously. I was overwhelmed by everything else, and this didn't strike me as hard a blow as it should have. I blinked my eyes and noticed faint shadows in my peripheral vision that faded away after a second. They were like the ones at school, I thought, but I ignored them for the time being.

"Okay, so what am I?" I asked, playing along.

Again, Jack lowered his eyebrows. "Your mother was a human, your father is…He's a very, very powerful man who…" He seemed to be fighting with himself. "He has powers beyond those of even Angels. He's immortal. You aren't immortal, though. But your mother was really powerful. She had some gifts of her own. Together they made you pretty tough." He looked at me with a small smirk, like that should make everything worth it.

It took me a moment to start breathing again, and once I could, I spoke. "My parents are dead," I whispered. I wasn't up for stupid jokes like this.

Jack shook his head slightly. "Your mother was killed when you were a month old, and your father decided to put you into the mortal world to protect you. Everything else that you remember is real." He paused again, mid-thought. "Your mother and you were in the car crash you remember."

"This is a sick joke you're playing on me," I growled, turning away from him again. This was all a mistake. Maybe they were trying to shoot him back at the school, not me.

Suddenly he was right behind me, kneeling on the dirty floor with his hand on my shoulder. "Please believe me," he said kindly, close to my ear. His voice and touch sent chills through me, and I fought to act cold toward him. "You should have died in the car crash. You should have died when you jumped out of your window. You didn't because you are the daughter of something much more. I'm on your side. There are others on your side." He paused and exhaled with defeat, then shook his head. "Mortals sense these sort of things—abnormalities. The teachers at your school didn't like me because they sensed I wasn't human, whether they knew it or not. The students did the same thing to you. Rumours started, right?"

I glared at him.

"That's always how it happens," he shrugged. "There's something that instinctively tells them you're different, and they try to protect themselves by putting themselves above you. Believe me, Helena, I am in no way trying to trick you."

I found it extremely difficult to say no to him. Firstly he seemed to know too much, he seemed too sincere, and his perfect face was too attractive and close to mine. Not to mention his soft voice, the hint of a southern accent…Still, I was reluctant to accept what he said so easily, especially since his appearance in my life had brought so much hardship.

"What are you?" I asked again, looking straight in to his pale blue eyes.

He smiled and laughed lightly, then moved away from me and sat down a few feet away. "Didn't I just tell you?" He looked at me with mild enjoyment. "I guess it's a hard question," he said when I stared at him, and rubbed the stubble on his chin. I noticed that he appeared as though he hadn't slept in a few nights. His hair was messy and there were bags under his eyes. Of course he still looked pretty.

"Well," he continued slowly. "My mother is human, and my father is an Angel."

I laughed, finding that a little too dubious, even if he looked so angelic. "No, seriously," I insisted. "What are you?"

Jack looked at me like he wasn't in on the joke. "I'm not here to trick you, Helena." He said for the second time. "My father is an Angel of the Underworld…I suppose I'm a bit like you in the sense that both of our fathers are extremely…powerful."

"Is my dad an Angel, too?" I cringed. Hopefully not one of the Underworld. That was too weird to think about.

Jack tried to hold back a smile. "No. He's more powerful than any old Angel. Anyway, when you were born your father contacted my father and asked him to find someone to guard you. Kids like you always get half-Angel guardians. It's a thing. My father, naturally, was guarding the gates of the Underworld, and I guess he was the only one your dad trusted enough. So, here I am." He shrugged slightly. "I was assigned to you when I was very young, when you were born, and given many of my father's memories when I turned fifteen. Last year, when I turned twenty-one, I was officially on the job, protecting you from the outside. I could never actually get on school grounds without an invite." He made a breathy noise of annoyance as he glanced away with a frown.

I watched him, still weary of accepting everything he was saying. After a long moment, I managed to speak.

"That sucks."

He laughed again, softly. "I've been raised for this." Something in the way he spoke and looked told me he was thinking deeply. I wondered if he wished for a different life, if he disliked me already, or perhaps he was just worried he wouldn't do a good job.

"Sorry you got stuck with me." I cringed.

"It's not your fault," he murmured. "I know nothing else. It's not like I miss being…normal." He paused. "Besides, you're not so bad. Maybe a bit more work with all these people after you, but it's nothing I can't handle." He meant it as a joke, but I wasn't really paying attention and he let it drop.

We sat there for a long time, the rhythmic rain pounding overhead. I leaned against the wall and watched him, trying to be secretive about it. I didn't want to look like a creep, staring at him and all.

Jack's eyes seemed darker than I knew them to be, and they were staring vacantly at the outside world as it zoomed past. His white-blonde hair was unkempt, and his hand ran through it in a poor effort to keep it under control. His pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness, and his features only looked more divine. Honestly, it didn't surprise me that he was the son of an angel—look at him!

"Did you inherit abilities from your father?" I asked quietly, recalling how he had floated next to me in the forest.

"Hm?" Jack was slow to respond, as he was clearly tired. "Oh, yes. I can do everything he can, just not quite as extreme."

"Like what?" I asked, hugging my knees close to my chest again.

He shrugged, his eyes remaining on the passing countryside. "I can run faster than normal, teleport—but not over huge distances—and do some limited mind reading. That sort of thing."

He had said it so nonchalantly that I couldn't help but laugh lightly.

"What?" Jack asked, frowning.

"You," I grinned. "You're acting like those abilities are no big deal."

He held back a smirk. "My abilities are nothing compared to yours."

"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically, shaking my head. "Don't try to flatter me."

"Trust me, Helena. I'm not. You'll get it all figured out eventually, but your powers outshine mine tenfold."

I blushed furiously and tried to hide it by looking away. "So I was right," I said idly, looking outside. "There are more things out there than just humans?" I felt confident that the redness in my face had subsided, so looked back at him.

Jack grinned bigger than I'd ever seen him grin, and he held back laughter. "Oh yes, Helena. There are…hundreds, if not thousands of creatures lurking out there…some of them even live among humans."

I turned my whole body to face him. "Like what?" I asked eagerly.

He shied away slightly, hesitant to tell me. "Uh…you know. People with powers. Trolls. Ghosts. The typical fantasy novel monsters."

I marvelled at the idea of all these things being real. I had only heard of them in stories, it seemed crazy to know that they actually existed. Then again, there always had been part of me that believed it all.

"Have you always suspected there were others?" Jack asked, his voice suddenly serious. Returning my gaze to him, I realized he was sitting quite formally, waiting for my answer.

"I've always had a suspicion, I guess," I shrugged, wondering why it mattered. "I was talking about it the other day, actually. With Ollie." Oh, right. Oliver. Remembering him stung, and saying his nickname out loud was more like a stab. I knew he'd been serious, but I couldn't bring myself to accept what he said. It just…hurt me.

Suddenly I felt very sad about everything, and I silently made a vow never to let Jack see me like this again. If he was my guardian like he said he was, he must have thought I was a hopeless nutcase that will need a lot of…well…guarding.

Author's Note:

I am so sorry for the delay in this one, guys! I thought I had more chapters posted and I wanted to get more done before I posted another, and I was really busy with school and family stuff blah blah blah. But here it is. I will post the next one in the next couple days because of this delay! Thanks so much to the reviewers, I'm so glad you like it.

Next chapter we will meet new characters! And then I will post some character pictures.