Radiant - By Christina Daley Page 0,47

the temperature dropped unexpectedly, and she started to shiver. I had never watched a human shiver before, so I moved closer to observe and she stopped shivering. It was my energy that had warmed her. So, I moved closer, until I was next to her for the first time. That was the closest I had ever let myself come. And as my energy warmed her, hers intoxicated me. I didn't want to leave. I wished the night would never end so that I could remain that close.

"But then the morning came. She had overslept and was late for school. I watched how she hurried and I followed her as she ran. When she came near the school, she wasn't paying attention. There was a bus. She ran in front of it."

Mary could hear the scream of the tires and the crash in her memory. Her side was completely healed, but she felt the bruises again.

"I didn't have human emotions before," he continued. "But if I had, the closest one I think I experienced was fear. I knew it would be too late. I was about to see that beautiful energy destroyed. But I couldn't just let that happen. Then I saw the red car. It had just enough mass to shield her, and it was simple for me to push it in the way of the bus. So I did."

The fiery red car flashed in Mary's mind. She also remembered Carter's body inside.

"I had been so preoccupied with one human's energy that I hadn't noticed the other one inside the red car," he said. "It was fading so quickly, like a flame at the end of a match. I had to do something. So I committed one of the highest violations of my kind. I entered his body uninvited. So, here I am. Keeping him alive as he recovers."

Mary said nothing. She couldn't believe it. He really was possessed. She had already kinda figured that, but it was completely different now that he was actually telling her.

Cautiously, she stepped out from behind the rock. Mary took a couple steps toward him and sat on her knees about two yards away from him. "Are you…you know…like what the boy at the hospital said? Are you an angel?"

"My kind has been called angels before," he said. "And demons. And vengeful spirits. And helpful spirits. And ghosts. And gods. It just depends on whom you're talking to. It also depends on which ones you're talking about."

"Your kind?" she asked. "There are more of you?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Everywhere. All the time. And invisible to humans. We don't have a human word for what we are. I guess the best way to explain us is that we're shepherds of the invisible energy behind many phenomena that humans experience."

For some reason, Mary thought back to the weird poster in Lakshana's waiting room. "Like radiants."

"What?" he asked.

"You're energy," she said. "Like radiant energy. You're a radiant."

"I've not heard of that before," he said. "But it makes sense."

"Are the others like you?" she asked.

"Some," he said. "But there are different ones. We have different tasks."

"Tasks?"

He nodded towards the sky. "There are objects always coming towards the Earth. Mostly pieces of rock, dust, and ice. The Earth has many 'shields' to keep it all from just smashing into it, like the gas giants, the asteroid belt, the moon. The greatest shield is the sun. But some still gets by. I'm responsible for those. If anything looks like it will endanger humans, then it's my task to burn it."

"Like a meteor?" she asked. "Falling through the atmosphere? That's you doing that?"

He nodded.

"Cool job," she said. "Is that why you're, you know, hot? Because you burn things?"

He nodded again. "I'm trying to control it. It's not a very easy thing to do."

Considering that he hadn't spontaneously combusted yet, he seemed to be doing it pretty well. "And the black clothes?"

He looked down at the black sweater he was wearing. "It helps absorb some of the heat."

"I see," she said. "So, if radiants are everywhere, like you say, does that mean you see absolutely everything?"

"Not absolutely," he said. "But a lot."

Creepy, Mary thought. "Do you have a name?"

"I have a…designation," he said. "But it's not pronounceable in human words."

"Not even something that sounds similar?"

"I'll answer to whatever you want to call me by."

For some reason, the first thing that came to Mary's mind was "Pinocchio." That wouldn't do. "I want you to tell me what I can call you."

He thought for a moment. Then he