sixteen
Pain is a sensation I’ve become accustomed to over the years, but this is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I’ve never fought an angel before, and I wish that were still true. If the archangel hadn’t stepped in, I wouldn’t be waking up right now. I’d have been pulled into the depths of darkness.
I grasp onto sleep for as long as I can, hoping that slumber will magically heal my wounds, but knowing it won’t. I can feel the puffiness of my cheeks; the bones of my jaw feel like they’re hardly holding together. My neck is tender, the skin rubbed raw with the angel’s handprint.
“He was seen about half a day’s flight north of here.”
An unfamiliar voice fills the silence, pulling me back into the world. “He knows you’re looking for him.”
“It does not matter if he knows. I will take care of Cain.”
The archangel’s familiar low grumble grabs my attention. Though my eyes feel the instinct to snap open and search for a weapon, I force them to remain closed, and I listen.
“If he knows you’re coming, we will lose him again, and then what? We are running out of time.”
“Enough, Uriel. I’m aware of what’s at stake. I will travel alone on foot. He wouldn’t expect me to do so.”
“Archangel,”
Afriel interjects, “let me come with you.”
“Afriel, you know I would under any other circumstances, but you don’t exactly blend in.”
I bite my lip to suppress a scoff at the image of Afriel’s bright hair standing out amongst the canopy of trees.
“And what about her? What are you going to do with her?”
This time, I can’t hide the sound of my sharp inhale.
The room falls silent.
Shit.
“Leave us.”
The order from the archangel sends footsteps scurrying without another word.
“I know you’re awake, Slayer.”
I open one eye and then the other. I roll onto my side, swinging a leg over the chaise I was asleep on. I wince as pain stings down my jaw and neck, rubbing my skin as if it will ease the sensation.
The archangel leans against the doorway, his eyes narrowed on me in a deadly gaze. “I told you not to come here, human,”
he growls. The word is as an insult as much as it is a threat.
I thought I was lucky that he stopped the fight in time. Now it dawns on me that perhaps he just plans on killing me much, much slower.
“You also gave me your word that you would keep me alive until sunrise, which means you can’t kill me for at least another five hours.”
I hold his gaze despite the goosebumps that crawl their way up my arms.
The archangel pushes off the doorway and slowly prowls towards me until he stands only inches away. He places a hand either side of my legs, caging me in like an animal would their prey. His breath is warm on my skin as he lowers his lips to hover just above my ear. “Oh, I’m counting down the seconds.”
My heart thumps in my chest and my brain scrambles for its next move. “You need me.”
His brows shoot high, but his mouth pulls into a thin line.
“The fallen angel knows you’re coming,”
I explain. “He’s looking out for the silver-and-white-winged archangel stalking his shadows.”
“Eavesdropping, were we?”
“You need me to help you blend in as a human.”
The archangel scoffs and leans in closer. “I don’t need you for anything. I certainly don’t need to bring myself down to your level to survive.”
I fight the urge to cower. “Really? How has that been working out for you so far?”
His eyes are cold as they lock with mine. The silver in them is stronger now than it was earlier. Perhaps it’s the inhuman part of him strengthening while he’s around his own kind.
He holds my gaze for longer than is comfortable, and I’m the first to look away, ducking under one of his arms and slipping out from underneath him.
“Do you really think I’d want to work with you? The murderous psychopath who’s led the war that’s torn apart my home and slaughtered over half of the human population?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I’d love nothing more than to watch you and your people burn.”
“Careful, Slayer.”
The nickname holds no affection. He spits it out through gritted teeth.
I lift my chin high in response. “There’s something that both of us want even more than to be the cause of each other’s demise. To find the fallen angel.”
I look around for the first time since waking up. The room looks larger than it feels. A grand table sits in the centre with a large wooden carving moulded on top. As I look closer, I realise it’s a map of the city and its surrounds. There are flags next to the AIA, the Luminary, the city border, and the suburbs.
I wonder if this is their war room. The voices I heard when I woke did sound as if they were planning a battle strategy. It’s no wonder he dismissed them so quickly. Can’t have the human hearing all of their plans.
I walk over to the table and trace my fingers along the borders of the city, gazing around at the rest of the room. It looks like an old library, with large bookshelves that tower as tall as the ceiling. They don’t look like the literary works of humans; each book is the size of a textbook, with foreign symbols on the spine.
“I may want to find Cain, but do you believe I’m desperate?”
The archangel’s voice snaps my attention back to him. “You will do nothing but slow me down with your human fragility.”
“You know what will slow you down more? Being attacked by a fallen angel and his horde of daemons alone with no backup.”
The words are laced with annoyance. His egotistical attitude pulls the threads of my patience quicker than anyone I’ve ever met. If he were human and I had a chance of winning, perhaps we’d be fighting already.
With each step towards me, the archangel growls. He stares at the wooden map, tracing his fingers over the trees. He lingers there for a moment, his expression turning sombre. “You’re an extremely stubborn thing.”
I can’t help but smile at the statement. An image of my friend pops into my mind; Xavier has said those exact words to me time and time again. “It’s one of my best traits.”
He turns to face me, his brows pulling together tightly. “If you get in my way, I will leave you to die.”
I nod slowly, worried that any sudden movement could change his mind. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
The archangel studies my face for a moment, as if he’s searching every inch of it for a reason to back out. His gaze trails down to my jaw and he traces it softly with a single finger.
I wince at the touch, my body growing still at the threat of him being so close. I watched him rip the head off a daemon with nothing more than the hand that lingers over my cheek.
His finger explores its way across my jaw and down my neck, to the raw skin the angel left on me. The silver in his eyes flares for a moment, but it’s gone the instant he drops his hand.
“Don’t mistake my cooperation for fondness, Slayer. Know that if I want you dead, you will be dead.”
He turns and walks to the door. “Stay here and rest. We will leave at sunrise.”
Then he’s gone.