I wasn't sure what it was at first, but there was a smell like flowers and sweat wafting together from inside the hallway. Toward the end there was a door with a small round gold handle with a little knitted sign hanging from around its neck: 'Joy'. It looked to be an early Christmas decoration... or one that was never taken down.

Pushing open the door, the musty aroma brought a knot to my stomach; it was like walking into a swamp on an extravagantly hot day without the heat. The hairs on my arms stood on end and I brushed my hands along them to calm the rising goosebumps. A part of me feared looking up and into the bedroom my mother was supposed to be in. I had been told she didn't want me to see her. I had already known she was a small woman, skinnier than most, though she always ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner from what I understood. She wasn't sick, we'd talked it over with our local doctor to see if there was anything we should be worried about when it came to her health-- but every single test came up negative. My mother still had been getting all her nutrients, she's just naturally small no matter how much she would eat.

But now, after knowing something like a Blood Curse (whatever that horrible name actually means) could be cast upon her... I was afraid of what I was walking into. But I wasn't going to let my mother know that.

In contrast with the rest of the small house, the guest room looked to be floral themed. White and pink shades littered the floors, bedding, decorations, shelves, and furniture. There were shelves upon shelves of crystal statues and carved figures, most looked to be like fairies and an assortment of other mystical creatures. At the center of the room was a large bed with a lump under the sheets at its center. A line of golden light was streaming in through one of the nearby windows, making the bundle of sheets my mother was under warm in contrast to the lighter parts of the small bedroom.

I started toward her, first recognizing her long black hair spilling from off the side of the bed. As I neared, there was a strong pungent odor like that of burnt hair. This first thing I noticed was how hollow her cheeks were, her skin looked to be as thin as the papers on the Old Testament, and her veins were were more thickly protruding; it was this little factor that made her look alien to me. The skinny woman that birthed me was now riddled with blue, green, and purple veins slithering about her body like the web of a drunk spider. Her eyelids were scampering with small pink lines and the bags under her them could have been mistaken for the harsh shadows of a midday sun.

"Mom?" My throat was closing on me, just calling out for her felt impossible. Closing my fingers into my palm, to keep them from shaking, I blinked away tears. "Mom?" I tried again, wondering if I was allowed to sit on the bed next to her.

She didn't move, but I could hear her mumble something in response; her eyes scanning the backs of her eyelids.

"How are you feeling?" The words felt forced, but I wanted anything other than silence while being next to her. The feeling of guilt was harsh against my chest. She must have been fighting Grousteus long before I had got home. If I had left school when I was debating it...I might have been able to save her from this fate.

My mother squints her eyes as she tries to open them, but it seems to be too painful for her. I close the curtains bringing in most of the light in the room, and she was able to look around a little better.

"Felix." She smiled up at me with watery eyes-- though it only half-reached her lips. It must hurt for her to move.

"Hi, mom." I knelt down beside her bed and held some of her slick hair. It hurt not being able to comfort her with an embrace. The thought panged my heart, stabbing my chest, and more tears started to swell. It was the first time I'd cried in front of my mother in a long time, but I didn't know how to stop the overflow. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She said. She looked like she wanted to move and wipe my tears away or hold me, but she didn't-- or couldn't.

"How are you?" I asked, not knowing what else to say in this situation.

Her face seemed to say she didn't know how to respond, and she diverted answering with a question of her own: "Did you speak with Angel or Randy?"

A lump of hard spit slammed down the back of my throat. I took a deep breath. "Yeah. They mentioned something about a curse and reincarnation. Nonsense." I wanted to believe it, but I knew that wasn't the truth. My mother also seemed to have no reaction to what I told her either.

"Blood curse." She whispers softly.

"You believe them?" I said, wondering if I was hearing her correctly.

"Mm." It was a verbal nod, "Yes." She seemed apprehensive to continue but in the next moment she grunted in pain and let out a shallow sigh. "Felix... we were reincarnated together...kind of. I still have some memories from the world Before; I wasn't reincarnated like you were. I was your mother...in the past life, as well as this one. They told you about your soul?"

I held my breath, waiting for the punch line that never came. She was serious. "It's split."

"Yes," Her smile faded, "and I was the one who ran off with the part of you that didn't die....Your soul was split by...someone who despised us. We had the ability to use magic without needing to borrow from someone else. You see, there was a monopoly against those...who had magic and those who didn't, but those with magic...could share their gifts for short periods of time. Eventually war broke out, as those without...magic became selfish and those with magic were tired of giving parts of themselves away. Long story short, your...soul was one of the first to be destroyed when a non-magic user was...trying to steal all of your magic entirely. But before they could take the...part of you with magic away..." She trailed off, her voice seemed to be getting tired.

"Your mother stepped in." Came a male voice from the doorway. I turned to look, seeing Angelo at the door holding a steaming mug.

"I brought the part of you that died...the part of you that was going to be used in war by evil men, into this world; I became pregnant again with you."

"Talk about a Virgin Mary." Angelo set down the mug on the nightstand. "Your mother was a warrior in her days."

"Funny." My mother gave a loving smile at Angelo.

"So." I said, noticing the familiar displays of affection they were giving one another, "How do you know each other?"

Angelo patted my head with one of his big hands and ruffled up my hair. "Easy, pip-squeak! I'm your guardian angel!"

"No, seriously. How do you two know each other?"

My mother let out a soft laugh. "I should have known when you said you bumped into something at school that Angel had got in your way. Serves me right, loosing my grip like that."

"What?" I was more lost now than I had been before.

Angelo shrugged and crossed his arms across over his chest. "There's too much to explain in a day. But, I am your guardian Angel. Most Afters can't see me unless I want them too. Technically, you're not an After being... not really anyway. Like I said, you're a special case. You are birthed from someone from the Before into the world of the After. Meaning you both have the same background and history of the Before, but the livings of the After."

"Before, meaning: Salcyra and...After meaning: America?"

"After meaning Earth."

"Right... and you're an angel from another... world?"

"Sure, you can put it that way. Dimension, world, time, space... whatever makes you comfortable. In the world Before we have jobs too. And sometimes we like to become Warriors, or Watchers, of those who have passed on. And since your mother and I were good friends, I got permission to be your guardian in this life."

My head was spinning. The world we had a past life in was full of people fighting over magic but also was a place that guardian angels came from? And what exactly would people on Earth need guarding from? "Is everyone reincarnated on... earth... from Salcyra?"

Angel smiled at me, almost as if he were delighted that I had so many questions. "No, but everyone who leaves Salcyra is re-birthed on Earth. And we don't know what happens to those who pass away on Earth. But there are theories about it. Much like your religions and philosophies." Angelo looked at my mother and nodded once. "Megan will be home shortly to treat you before we head out. I just wanted to let you know. And Felix," he gestures to the mug swirling with a thick brown liquid, "that's for you."

With a graceful bow to my mother and another ruffle of my hair, he swept himself from the room. Guess he said all that he wanted to say. Perhaps I had asked too many questions.

"Did I say something?" I asked my mom, but she didn't look to be concerned. Instead she was staring at me like I was the love of her life.

"No, sweetheart. I'm surprised... at how well you're taking... this in." She swallowed painfully, wincing slightly as she adjusted her head.

"I think I'm in shock."

"Could be that too..." She said, her light expression turning downward. "I'm sorry." She looked away for a moment before meeting my eyes again.

"Don't be sorry, why are you sorry?" I press myself against the side of her bed as if that would console any of her worries.

"I hid everything from you. I just didn't want you to get involved. I tried to keep you from the truth of your past. Raise you again with a childhood you rightly deserved--half a soul or no. But..."

"Mom, no. You are a wonderful mother. I love you very much. I know you mean well."

"You're such a good boy." Her voice wavered slightly. "I love you too, very much. But I must tell you."

"What is it? Do you need something?"

"No," Her eyes were suddenly dark and enraged. "The man who attacked me. His name is Grousteus. He's been under orders to take you away from me since I was found to have you. When you came home in Angel's arms I put a protective ward on you. But I've been getting weaker. I can't protect you anymore, I can't protect you from those that would want you. From those that want your soul..."

"It's okay mom. I promise I'll be okay." I wasn't so sure about that. "Why would they want my soul so bad?"

She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. I guess I would have to figure that one out later.