Divinity Falling

by Nour Zikra

Addy slipped through the few parked cars, ducking behind them. I followed her, mimicking her movements. She glanced back once to make sure I was still with her. Her ponytail swayed like a pendulum.

  “Stay with me,” she said. “We can’t lose each other here.”

  “You won’t lose me.”

  She ran around the church, hurrying through another parking lot. Buildings surrounded us, creating a dead end. Yet Addy kept going, practically sprinting like a wildcat. She came to a halt in front of a door.

  “Through here.” She was already inside the building, rushing to the other side.

  Before I knew it, we were exiting through another door, which led to a garden. Addy started maneuvering around the trees with the crisp red leaves littered on the ground. She was a better navigator than me.

  I sighed and pursued her, trying not to make too much noise.

  Finally, we got back on actual ground. To our left were more silent buildings.

  Addy walked down the road and pointed at a brick building. “That’s the library. Reed’s over th—”

  A single gunshot cracked in the wind. The sound pulsated through my body, sending the hairs on my arm standing on end.

  Addy recoiled and collided with me. “Shit.” Her hands trembled.

  She grabbed my free hand and ran to the other side of the building. I wasn’t sure what she meant to do with her knife—or what I meant to do with mine—but she held hers as though ready to thrust it straight into the shooter’s heart.

  Right before we reached the entrance, two boys and three girls came running past us. Blood covered their faces and torn clothes. They were panting and crying. Addy pulled me toward the door without seeming to notice them, but I turned my head, watching them go. The boys were helping the girls stay on their feet, their arms wrapped around their backs.

  In the distance, cops headed our way. They were equipped with rifles. Addy must’ve seen them too, because she muttered a bad word, let go of my hand, and slipped inside the library through the door on the side of the curved glass wall.

  Past the door, the sound of people shrieking vibrated throughout the building. A large bookshelf lay flat on the floor with books dumped all over, some crumpled and torn.

  And blood. Blood stained the tiled floor, making several paths across the library that trailed after their injured donors. A strange metallic smell drifted toward me.

  A couple of shots exploded in the room. This time, I heard a large group of people scream.

  “Shut up!” a man shouted. “Don’t you dare make a move!”

  Beside me, Addy stiffened. If Reed hadn’t left, he was somewhere in here.

  I glanced out the door, wondering why the cops were taking forever to come inside. “Why aren’t they taking action?”

  Addy didn’t say a word. She moved farther inside with the knife as her only weapon.

  “Addy, wait,” I hissed. “You could get killed.”

  She didn’t listen. With no choice, I went after her. The sound of people sobbing carried from the back. It was a low, clear noise. Taking in a sharp breath, I hoped we weren’t rushing to our slaughter.

  The library was huge. Aisle after aisle of bookshelves masked the danger that hid somewhere inside. Addy swerved behind the far-right shelf. She hunched low, tiptoeing to the back. My eyes searched the room alongside her, afraid that if she missed something—or someone—she might get hurt.

  And honestly, I didn’t care much about my life. I was a fallen angel. My only real chance at redemption would be to protect the humans I swore to watch out for from the moment of my creation. Addy being one of those humans.

  “No! No!” someone begged a couple of aisles down. A second later, a gun fired and something hit the ground with a thud.

  “No!” Addy screamed. She shot up, no longer quiet, and stormed to the back.

  I yelled after her, but it was too late. By the time I caught up, she was standing with a dead boy’s body at her feet. The boy looked no older than eighteen. His sandy blond hair covered the side of his face. On his forehead, blood trickled out from a single hole.

  “How could you?” Addy screamed again. Clutching the knife, she waved her hand in front of her. “You killed him!”

  At that moment, I registered the guy across from Addy. His pitch-black eyes rose to my face, noticing me as I noticed him. He frowned, making his crooked nose seem even more crooked.

  Devin. The ex-boyfriend whose soul Addy had sold to the devil.

  Addy still threatened with her knife. “You killed Sam!”

  I wasn’t sure who Sam was, but I reached out and placed my hand on her shoulder. “Addy, you should step back.”

  She spun around to face me. “You think I care that he has a gun? He won’t shoot me.” She looked over her shoulder at Devin, her next words directed at him. “Will you?”

  Devin’s hollow eyes did not react. However, a vein in his forehead throbbed. “You did this to me!” He gestured at himself. “Do you understand what you’ve done? I’m a slave now.”

  This time, Addy did step back. I moved to stand in front of her. Before I could shield her, she shot me a look that told me to back off and gently pushed me out of the way.

  “I’m sorry.” She was speaking to Devin, her dark eyes fixed on him. “But you weren’t the perfect angel.”

  He scoffed at her statement. “I cheated. You’re the one who destroyed a soul.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “You hurt me.”

  The knife shook in her hand, but she still held it out in front of her like it would keep Devin and the bullets in his pistol at bay. Still, Devin took a step forward. He stared at her face as if she didn’t have a weapon in her hand. Then again, he was the one with the gun.

  “You think you’re so innocent.” He shook his head. “Yes, I hurt you, but you did far more than that. When will you get that? You damaged me, and many others.”

  Addy took another step back. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?” He gave a bitter laugh and scrutinized me. “She’s sorry.”

  “I am!”

  “Well, thanks for the apology, love, but it’s kind of too late.”

  Tears slid down her cheeks.

  “Addy!” someone called out.

  I looked to the left. Just behind one of the bookshelves, Reed stuck his head out to see us. He glanced at each one of us before his eyes drifted to the boy—Sam—whose body lay mere inches from our feet.

  “Oh my God!” Reed stepped fully into the aisle, gasping for air, his hands on his knees.

  Addy hesitated. She looked between Devin and Reed, all while the knife trembled in her hand.

  Devin smiled, flashing two dimples.

  What happened next felt like a blur. One second Devin stood with his pistol aimed at us, the next he was running down the aisle toward Reed while reloading and chambering a round into his gun.

  “No!” Addy and I yelled in unison. We rushed after him.

  I didn’t know about Addy, but my heart was pounding in my chest.

  Devin grabbed Reed by the back of his neck and planted the gun against the side of his head. “It’s good to see you again, Reed.”

  “Devin, please.” Addy seemed to forget about the knife. She extended her hands out in surrender, almost handing the knife to Devin.

  Reed’s whole body shook. “Please,” he said, his lips quivering. “I don’t want to die.”

  Devin pouted his lips. “I’m sorry, but I don’t control these things. Direct orders and all.” His index finger started to pull the trigger.

  Not knowing what to do without my wings, I dove for the pistol, hoping to shove the weapon out of Devin’s hand in time. Beside me, Addy made a leap for it too. Her knife fell on the floor, the metal thudding against the tiles. Just as my hand met Devin’s, Addy pushed her brother out of the way.

  And the gun went off.

  I managed to force the pistol out of Devin’s hand; it went fly
ing and hit the leg of a table in the middle of the room.

  Addy gasped. With my heart thumping in my ears, I whirled around to find her on the ground. A red splotch grew and grew and grew in the center of her white tank top. I felt numb. I went down on my knees and hoisted her head into my lap.

  Her eyes were wide with fear. And they were on me. I held her, wanting to give her comfort, but finding none for myself amidst the tears pooling in my eyes and the trembling of her body against mine.

  Reed crouched beside us, speechless. He brushed Addy’s hair out of her face while he cried.

  In that moment, we’d all forgotten about Devin; then he suddenly groaned. His hand flew to his forehead. “I’m fucked! He’s going to kill me!” His black eyes wavered. For a split second, they flashed blue.

  He leaned over once to look at Addy. Then he was gone, leaving his pistol behind.

  “Please stay with me.” I held Addy tightly, not wanting to let go. I feared if I did, she wouldn’t be there anymore.

  Her eyes glazed over like she was looking far away, but her chest still rose and fell, just enough to give me hope.

  “You said we can’t lose each other here. Do you remember? I can’t lose you here.”

  Lifting her tank top above her stomach, I examined the gaping wound. Her liver was clearly hit. The blood oozed out with no sign of stopping. I pressed my hand against the hole, doing anything to stop the injury from getting worse.

  Reed managed to collect himself a little. He grabbed his phone and dialed a number. When he spoke, I knew he had called the emergency line. “My sister’s been shot. She needs help. She’s dying.”

  My attention traveled to the main door. Where are the cops? They had been near the library when we’d walked in, yet there was no sign of them now.

  Addy put her hand over mine on the wound and squeezed. “Hey.” She drew in a harsh breath. “I think I’m okay.”

  “What?” I didn’t know what she was saying. My hand and both our clothes were bloody, and she was still shivering.

  Noting his sister talking, Reed put the phone down and watched her.

  Addy lifted her head and looked down. “I’m fine. Look.” She pushed my hand away, though I felt reluctant to move. “Adriel, look.”

  Where the gunshot wound had been a moment ago was bare, smooth flesh. Her stomach had no marks, no sign of an injury other than the blood all over her flesh and clothes.

  I rubbed the area to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me. “Addy, how’d you do that?” My limbs felt like they were melting as relief and shock washed over me.

  She pushed herself up into a sitting position and said, “I didn’t do anything. I just stopped feeling the pain.”

  “But how?”

  “I don’t know.”

  With tears still in his eyes, Reed smiled. “You’re okay?”

  “I think so.” Addy reached for her brother, drawing him in for a hug. “You almost got shot, Reed!”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “Ade, you did get shot . . .”

  I sat back, taking the situation in. While I was happy Addy was alive, the whole incident felt like the moment I’d plummeted from heaven to Earth. If it weren’t for this miracle, I could have easily lost her today.

  A new emotion bubbled up inside me. I couldn’t put a finger on it, but as I watched Addy and Reed, I envied their closeness, their familiarity. I wished I could swap places with Reed and have my arms around the young woman whose life I’d recently fallen into. The woman I’d almost lost in the blink of an eye.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  ADELAIDE

  I recognized Devin’s voice the minute it rang out through the library walls, ruthless and shrill. But I did not expect to see him so . . . different. The ocean in his eyes had run dry. Nothing but darkness existed there now. I remembered looking at Adriel a few hours ago, thinking how I could read his soul just by looking at his eyes. That was not the case with Devin. He was completely shut off. The windows to his soul were missing.

  “How could you?” I didn’t want to look down at the floor. I didn’t want to see Sam, Reed’s dorm mate, with a bullet in his head. “You killed him!”

  Sam’s bony hands were still plump and full of color. His sandalwood cologne reeked like incense, seeming to surge from the hole in his head or the fearful energy left behind in his body. It made it hard for me to forget he had been standing here, eyes moving, heart pumping, brain racing before I’d heard that gunshot. If I’d only reached him sooner, just a second sooner, he would be alive right now.

  Devin scowled at something behind me. Lucifer’s initial, which I’d carved into his wrist four days ago, was still there, just inches from the pistol in his hand. It had scabbed, yet remained bold.

  With a shaky hand, I lifted the knife. “You killed Sam!”

  I knew I shouldn’t have yelled at a man with a gun in his hands, but I did it anyway, my sanity lost. My heart thrummed in my ears, and I could barely hear Devin’s next words.

  “Do you understand what you’ve done? I’m a slave now.”

  He was right to turn the blame on me, because it was all my fault. Yet, the wiser part of my brain had shut off, and I found myself throwing his awful last act as my boyfriend in his face.

  He stepped closer. “You think you’re so innocent. Yes, I hurt you, but you did far more than that.”

  I didn’t want to show weakness, but I couldn’t control the tears. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?”

  “I am!”

  “Well, thanks for the apology, love, but it’s kind of too late.”

  In that wretched moment, Reed came into view from behind one of the bookshelves. Quick on his feet, Devin ran toward Reed, readying his weapon. I dashed after them, begging Devin to stop with what few words I managed to utter. Everything went downhill from there.

  I felt my flesh tear from the bullet. My insides felt like a watermelon in a blender, shredding and spewing red juice everywhere until they dissolved. I dropped to the ground.

  They say your life flashes before your eyes moments before you die. Mine didn’t. In those few seconds, which felt like eternity taking its damn time, I just wanted Reed to be safe. My brother would have no one once I was gone.

  As I lay dying, his crying resonated in my ears. He stared at me with pleading eyes while his cold fingers brushed my skin. Everything I’d done up till now had been for him. If I had to go to hell for him again, I would.

  Adriel held me in his arms. He pulled me against him in a way I’d never felt. Not even with Devin during our good days. I tried to reach out to him. I wanted to tell him to watch out for Reed, be there for him now that I was leaving. But the blood leaked from the pit right under my rib cage, and I was losing myself.

  “You said we can’t lose each other here. Do you remember? I can’t lose you here,” Adriel said.

  I did remember. And yet, it made no difference. I had no control over my life anymore. All twenty-two years of my existence I fought to stand out, to be someone people noticed because my mother didn’t notice me. I fought, and I’d made it far. This, however, I could not fight. It was beyond my power.

  My stomach roiled and everything in my body held on to each ticking moment. It was as if, for the first time, I could identify exactly where my spleen, stomach, heart, lungs, and liver were in my body. The ruptured organ rotted slowly inside me, or at least it felt that way. Lungs working overtime, I drew in a heavy breath.

  Sensing my anguish, Adriel pressed down on the wound. He was a blur above my head, and I felt nothing but his touch. Of all the ways to die, I was happy to be doing it in his arms.

  The pain eased, and I thought it was time. Time to go. Time to be dragged to hell, where my father reigned. I didn’t realize I had been healed, not until Adriel came back into perfect view and I was still there in the library, Devin’s bullet hole in my past.

  H

  After the initial reali
zation that I was alive, it occurred to me that something—or someone—was missing.

  “Where’s Madadel?” I scanned Reed from head to toe, making sure Devin had not harmed him. “He promised he would protect you.”

  Reed gave a half shrug. “He disappeared right before the shooting. Said it was important.”

  My brother was nearly murdered and I had been on the verge of dying because I’d been shot saving his life, yet Madadel had something more important to do?

  “I’m going to rip that angel’s wings right off when I see him,” I hissed.

  Wincing, Adriel stood. “The important thing is that we’re all alive.” His face turned in Sam’s direction, but he quickly looked away. “No need to rip anyone’s wings off.”

  I sighed. “If you ask me, Madadel is the worst guardian angel. Simiael died saving me. Where the hell was he just now when Reed needed him to fight off Lucifer’s hellhound?”

  “You mean your ex,” Reed remarked. “The one you turned.”

  I covered my eyes with my hands and sat still for a while on the floor. “I know I made a mistake, a really bad one, but I can’t take it back.”

  “No,” Adriel said. “I guess not.”

  “Then I’m the reason we all nearly died today. That some people did die today. Devin wouldn’t have been like that if I hadn’t sold his soul.”

  Adriel grabbed my hands, dragged them from my face, and helped me to my feet. “You made a mistake. Now is the time to fix it. You can’t change Devin back, but you can bring Lucifer to an end.”

  “How?”

  He was looking at me in that wild way he sometimes did, though he kept his distance. “Maybe it’s time we figure it out.”

  Reed didn’t go near Sam’s body, but he beheld him from afar. His eyes were wet. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

  “I’m so sorry.” I pulled Reed into an embrace. “I wish I could’ve saved him.”

  “There’s nothing we can do, is there?”

  I shook my head, letting Reed go. “How did this even start?”

  “I don’t know.” Reed scratched his head. His hazel eyes were red from crying, making them look extra fiery. “I was studying with Sam and some classmates—this was after Madadel told me to wait because he had to do something important—and Devin just walked in and sat down with us. He looked bizarre, like those demons in hell. He put his hand over my shoulder and was telling me about you.”