Hidden Runes

by G. Bailey

  “How?” I ask.

  “Say ‘alis abierunt’ while thinking of your wings disappearing,” he informs me, and I close my eyes, repeating his words and thinking of myself with no wings. I don’t expect the wings to be gone when I open my eyes, but they are, only a little black dust left on the floor behind me even suggests they were ever there.

  “How do I get them back?”

  “You simply think of them, and they will appear. I will help you learn how to fly and balance in time, and you eventually will not even need to think or speak words. Your mind and wings will connect to protect you,” he clarifies, his white hair hiding his face from me as he rests back.

  “In time? I’m not staying here long, buddy,” I reply, and he laughs low.

  “If you find a way out that none of us have ever done, that will be impressive. Whoever you are, you are stuck here and lucky I was here to help. No angels leave the town, and I only came to check what the noise was,” he tells me, and I pause, panicking a little. I need to leave. Hali needs me, and that bitch of a sister needs to know why she can’t kill me and get away with it. Honestly, I’d rather be dead than stuck here, at least I could haunt her ass.

  “Where are we?” I ask quietly, not really wanting the answer. I have a feeling it isn’t good or escapable. The angel turns his head, so our eyes meet, and entwines his fingers together on his lap as he sits back. He looks strange to me. His features are almost perfectly aligned, and his skin seems to glow constantly.

  “You might want to sit down,” he replies smoothly, his voice is commanding and somehow nice at the same time. The angel still freaks me out, but I doubt he wants to kill me. He would have attacked me by now, and he clearly thinks I’m like him. I slide into the wooden chair opposite him, still keeping myself on guard just in case. I don’t trust the motives of any stranger that just helps random people without wanting something in return. I know there are good people out there, but it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

  “We are stuck in the stars on the third layer of Hell. Angels cannot die in Hell, it is impossible to die in a place that has no connection to the place we come from. A demon figured out killing us here would trap us, so there was a great war. I am too young to know all the details as I have only been trapped here twenty-six years, but the other angels talk,” he says.

  “You’re saying I’m an angel?” I ask, trying not to smile. You have to be kidding me.

  "You're a half angel, of course," he tells me, and I just burst into laughter. That is the funniest thing I've heard in years.

  “That’s…well, there are no angels on earth anymore,” I say once I’ve calmed down, and he is staring at me like I’m an idiot or something. “Therefore, my father couldn’t have been an angel,” I counter, though my argument is weak and stinks of denial. Shit, I’m a half angel. What kind of messed up crap is this?

  “There were a few left on earth years ago. Angels who did not want to fight and had not lost their minds in war. There were three of us, and one of us must be your father,” he says, looking away from me.

  “Are they all here?” I ask, not knowing if I want to meet my father. Everything is too much at the moment. My mother was queen of the Protectors, and I was a child never meant to exist. I always knew that my parentage wasn’t going to be a big happy answer, but it is still more than I could have ever expected. The way Erica talked of our mother, it’s clear she hates her for having me. If I don’t kill Erica the moment I see her, maybe I can get some more answers.

  “No. I am the only one alive, and I never had a child who lived, before you even think to ask.” He doesn’t look my way as he speaks, so I have no idea if he is telling me the truth or not. “Who is your mother? I may know more then.”

  “I do not want to talk about that,” I snap because it’s not something I can cope with saying out loud yet. The angel finally stares at me for a second and nods in understanding.

  “Fine. I have a gift, an ability to see into the past. I can search your mind and find the answer if you wish? I would very much like to know who you are. The angels left on earth, well they were like brothers to me,” he explains to me. I go to say no when I pause, looking at my blue hair as I twirl it in my finger. This angel could show me what happened to my mother, what happened to make my hair turn blue…I could learn everything I have always wanted the answers to. I might need to know my past to challenge my sister when I get out of here, because there is no way she is telling me the truth about everything.

  “Can I see the memories with you?” I ask.

  “Yes, that is possible,” he agrees.

  “Fine, we have an agreement. What is your name?” I ask, knowing if I’m going to work with the angel, I might as well get to know some details.

  “Danike, yours?” he replies smoothly. Weird ass name, but then angel names might all be like that.

  “Evie. Now where can I get a weapon and a bacon sandwich?” I ask, needing my favourite things urgently.

  “We do not have weapons here, and we are vegetarians,” he answers. Oh god, people that don’t eat bacon.

  “You have to be kidding me,” I groan and rest back in my seat. Heaven, Hell or whatever this place is, it sucks.

  Thirty-Two

  Evie

  “Are we leaving yet?” I ask, feeling like the human kid from that movie that asks if we’re there yet a million times over. Danike just raises a bushy white eyebrow at me before turning his head and he goes back to looking through a gap in the curtain. I’ve come to notice that angels do not sleep, or at least this one doesn’t. Also, there is no meat to be seen anywhere, just lots of strange white fruits and vegetables that Danike tried to force feed me last night.

  “You could do with learning a little patience, did your mother not teach you that?” he asks, his tone ringing with sarcasm.

  “She is dead, and I was brought up on the streets. So, no,” I dryly respond. Danike gives me a slightly sad-filled look, before looking back at the gap, and I’m glad he does. I don’t need his sympathy, and he is going to see my past soon anyway. He suddenly straightens up and walks to the door, swinging it open and walking out. I follow him out, keeping a close eye on my surroundings and not seeing anything but clouds for miles. No souls to be seen, thank god.

  “We must fly to get where we need,” Danike says, looking me over, “which is going to be troublesome for a new one like you.”

  “Where are we going? You never explained anything,” I ask, putting my hands on my hips and ignoring the “new one” comment.

  “There is a safe haven for angels in the sky above us that the souls have not managed to get to. We need another angel’s help to use my powers here. On earth, angel powers are boosted, but down here…it is not the same,” he explains, clearing his throat. “Now, wings.”

  “Wings?”

  “Yes. Get them out,” he demands.

  “I really don’t feel like that’s a bright idea. I cannot fly.”

  “Evie…you can’t run from who you are and deny it. You are a half angel, half of one of the most powerful species in existence. If you learn how to control that side, you can get revenge on whoever killed you in Hell,” he says.

  “Fine,” I reply, knowing he is right, and I can’t avoid ever using the wings again. Closing my eyes for a second, I imagine my wings. I feel the weight of them on my back before I even open my eyes to see them spread out behind me. The feathers on them are black and soft looking, and it is really strange.

  “To fly, spread your wings out and think of flying. It is that easy. Once you are up, just think of where you wish to go,” he says, and his wings spread out, lifting him into the air. He floats with his wings flapping as he waits for me. Come on, Evie, it’s just flying. No big deal. I look at my wings and think of them spreading out, which they do, and then I think of flying up in the air. My wings slowly flap, once and then twice, before they shoot me up into the air, and I keep going up. I scream as I keep flying up, and then start spinning in
circles. I can’t think straight as I try to make them stop in my mind, but nothing happens. Fuck.

  “Slow down! Think of slowing down!” I hear Danike shout as the wind batters against my face, and I feel myself spiralling out of control. I think of slowly flying, balancing in the air, and I finally slow down, flying gently in a circle. I sway as I try to shake off the dizziness from all the spinning as my wings fly me around. A cold hand clamps on my arm, stopping me from flying in circles, and I follow the hand to see Danike flying next to me.

  “Good. Now this way,” he instructs and lets me go. I imagine myself flying slowly after him, and surprisingly it works. I fly right behind Danike as we turn left and then fly down a little. A massive cloud comes into view, and Danike flies right into it. I have nowhere else to go, so I follow him in, slowing my wings down a little in case there is anything to bump into. There is nothing but white cloud for a long time until I come out the other side and see a small village in a cloud. All the houses are white and ancient, there is white grass surrounding them and a water fountain in the middle. It looks like ancient Greece, at least the pictures I’ve seen online of it. There are even some statues of angels in the far distance near the bigger houses. I glance to my left as someone flies up to Danike, but her eyes stay on me. Another angel. She is stunning with long white hair and a white dress like mine on her. I bet this dress is hers. The angel is much shorter than we are, and she looks concerned as she glances at Danike. Her wings are massive, even larger than Danike’s and have a silver shine to them that matches her silver eyes.

  “Who is she?” the woman asks, her question fearful and nervous.

  “Evie. She appeared at the border last night. She doesn’t know who her father is, but he must have been one of the last on earth. I need your help to remember her past,” he replies just as I get to his side and think of my wings just floating me in place. Thank god it works, or I would look like an idiot falling.

  “Does she know she is stuck here?” the angel asks. “She doesn’t look like she is having a mental breakdown about being trapped forever.”

  “Yes, she knows and seems to think she can escape. I’m sure Evie will come to realise the truth soon enough,” Danike replies smoothly.

  “I am right here, and I am getting out of here,” I state firmly, even if I don’t have a clue as to how I’m going to accomplish that. The angel smiles at me, running her eyes over my body and back up again.

  “Maybe she knows something we don’t. Either way, this place is boring, and it will be fun to have someone new around. Come on then, Evie.”

  With that, she shoots down towards the houses in the blink of an eye. I have to learn how to move that quickly, it’s awesome. Danike quickly follows after her, and I make my wings move, flying me down in the direction they went. I look around, seeing no one outside the houses, and everything is so still other than the sound of my wings moving as I get closer to the ground. Where is everyone?

  I fly to the house that Danike and the angel land outside of, wondering how to land in the graceful way they do. I think about to how they landed, and know it can’t be that hard. I think of landing on the clear patch of white grass I spot in front of the house, and my wings start to slow down. I land with a thud, rolling across the grass and feeling bruises everywhere, plus what I’m pretty sure is grass burns on my legs.

  “Fucking hell,” I mutter as I cough out some of the white grass in my mouth. Hearing someone laugh, I look up to see Danike and the angel watching me from the door, the angel bent over laughing with her hair covering her face. I try not to be completely intimidated by the very gorgeous woman as she laughs at me, but it’s hard. If we were back home, I would likely make her a friend of mine. She is stunning, and I wonder if she has some kind of natural draw to her. It might be her power, for all I know. The odd thing is how the angel looks at Danike, like he has the drawing nature when he doesn’t one bit. Danike doesn’t even seem to notice her at all by the looks of it. Even the gorgeous women can’t always get the guy it seems.

  “Totally clueless, isn’t she? I think I love it and her,” the angel laughs even more. Even her laugh is beautiful, and I don’t even like girls. Dammit, I feel like the ugly duckling right now.

  “I believe her death in Hell unlocked her wings for the first time. Her father must never have met her to unlock them before,” Danike muses. “I wonder if she will have any other powers.”

  “Well, I am looking forward to seeing who her father is. I bet it’s Aniker, he was always a bit of a player after what you told me, and you said he loved demons. She is clearly half demon with that beautiful hair,” the angel states, waving a hand at me. The blue hair, of course, is making her think I am a demon.

  “I’m half Protector,” I explain as I stand up, wiping grass off me and looking at my runes on my arms. I call my healing mark to heal the bruises forming everywhere, but nothing happens. I frown, wondering what the hell is wrong now. I tap the rune a few times, knowing it won’t do anything, but it makes me feel better.

  “Protectors have a small bit of angel blood, and this place makes you need a lot of power to do anything. Your powers will not work here even as a half angel,” the angel informs me as Danike just strangely stares at me.

  “Great! No bacon, no weapons and now no runes! This place is fucking fantastic!” I grumble, and the angel laughs.

  “Why don’t you come inside, Evie?” she asks. “I don’t have any of those things, but I do have fruit freshly picked. It is lovely.”

  “What is your name?” I ask, avoiding rolling my eyes at the idea of anymore of their fruit. Choking some down last night was enough. I keep my eyes on Danike who looks like he has just seen a ghost or something as he stares at me. Did he not realise I was a Protector or something?

  “Charmeine,” she says, before opening her door and walking inside with Danike following right behind her after he snaps out of whatever trance he was in. I think of my wings disappearing, whispering the Latin phrase under my breath and watching my wings as they disappear this time. They disappear into black smoke, leaving a little black dust that falls to the floor. I’m surprised it’s not painful and that I can’t feel the wings leaving at all.

  “Evie?” I hear Charmeine shout for me. I look around at the ghost town once more before walking in the house, knowing I have plenty of questions I need the answer to. Like if this was a place all the angels in Hell came to, where are they all?

  Thirty-Three

  Azi

  “Now, I am going to count to three, and if you don’t speak quickly, I will rip your throat out,” I growl, holding the whimpering demon in the air with my one hand. The demon shakes his head, still refusing to tell me what my brothers are up to. The demon is only young, with dark black hair and black eyes. I doubt his powers have even really come through yet as I bet he is about seventeen, and I have no intention of killing him…but I have to know what happened to get me here. One minute, the floor is falling through in my old home, no doubt a bomb of some sort by my brothers. The next thing I know, I’m waking up with what feels like the worst hangover as this demon drags me down the stairs of a basement. Where the fuck is Evie and those damn Protectors? If anyone has hurt her, the world will burn for it.

  “One,” I start, and he still refuses for a moment, until I start warming my hand up with fire. As his neck burns lightly, he screams and screams, wriggling to get free. Not that I am really hurting him. Not yet anyway.

  “Okay!” he finally shouts, and I let him drop to the floor. The demon stares up at me, fear-filled eyes darting around the room as he rubs his throat with his hand.

  “I haven’t got all day,” I snap, feeling impatient.

  “They are kidnapping all your brothers and a few demon experimenters who work in a lab I don’t know much about. I don’t know what they are doing, I swear. My father only told me to lock you in here, and then you woke up early…” he squeaks the last part out. Shit, this is bigger than I thought. I need to find Evie and ge
t Hali.

  “You tell my brothers everything went fine. That I’m locked down here. Understood?” I tell him, rubbing at my arm where there are several cuts that are only just healing. They took my blood, but why? I storm out of the basement of cages, all of them empty, and call a portal, the need to find Evie the only thing on my mind.

  I walk through the portal that leads me to an old, haunted house in the middle of New York City. My friend has lived here for centuries and never wanted to change the house, even as the high rises where built right next to it. It looks very odd in such a built-up city, but everyone knows a powerful demon lives here, and they aren’t stupid. The door opens and Lamia steps out, watching me closely but not inviting me in. She never has in all the years I’ve known her. Lamia looks like an old woman, and she wears rags even though money is not a problem for her. She also uses this appearance to come across as weak and helpless when she is anything but. People walk down the street in front of me as I slide my hands into my pocket, keeping eye contact with Lamia.

  “Azizi…what brings you to my door for the first time in hundreds of years?” she asks, her voice clear even though we are a far distance apart. I walk over to her house, stopping just outside her picket fence. I know I cannot step foot onto her land without paying a price, which many demons do not know. She smirks at me, knowing I wouldn’t fall for her trap like many others.

  “I need your assistance,” I answer.

  “An overlord needs my help? My, my…how things have changed,” she muses, laughing low.

  “I helped you once. You owe me, and demons always pay their debts,” I remind her.

  “This is true. Time moves so quickly these days, I forget the past and my debts at times,” she says, and I understand that. Lamia walks down the steps of her house, lowering her hood, and her empty eyes meet mine. Her eyes have no pupil, nothing but an off-white colour glazed across them. The street goes silent, and I look around to see she has frozen all the people walking down the street, the cars and everything. Nothing moves.