Descending

by Sophia Florenza

  I hear flapping beside me. I twist my neck from side to side, seeing the Archangels flying, and Virgil is being carried by G. I hope I can make it to the center of the Circle!

  Looking below, I see a mass of small bodies running and touching all the souls, causing the heart-wrenching screams of agony I heard before. The cries are now mixed with the howls of joyous laughter. The laughter of Leprechauns creating more gold to incorporate into their beautiful golden city.

  I flap my wings a little to get some height and distance away from the little assholes. The Leprechauns sound way too happy at making more gold out of tortured souls. I hope those souls don't feel anything when they become gold.

  "Sera," Virgil says softly. I turn my head towards Virgil, waiting to hear the bad news. "This is Hell, and this is their eternal punishment. Of course, they're feeling everything when they become and are gold. Damn!

  We keep flying faster away from the Leprechauns, and I'm using my air energy to help keep my weakening wings lifted. This is the most extended flying I have done.

  When I feel as if I cannot keep my wings out any longer, Raph scoops me up and gives me a knowing grin. I release my wings, letting the exhaustion take over me while I let Raph hold me like a baby. "You did very well, baby girl," Raph whispers to me. "You lasted much longer than I thought you would. We will help you train your wings so you can endure extremely long flights when we rest at the end of this Circle."

  Raph's compliments and promises to help train my wings to help me relax against him. I become drowsy, and I am comfortable enough to fall asleep.

  I wake up in Red's arms, my body aching from my first long flight. "Are we far enough away from the Leprechauns to take a break from flying," I ask him.

  Red's face is grim and says, "Look down." Looking down, the Leprechauns are still on our tails, not giving us an inch for a moment.

  "Fuck!" I exclaim.

  A few hours later, I am given to G. My energy is slowly being restored, and the ache in my body has dulled down tremendously. I let G carry me for a few hours until I ask him if he could go a little higher so I can fly again. "I know you're getting tired, and I'm feeling good enough to fly for a few minutes," I explain to him.

  I unfurl my wings, and G flies a little higher. He grabs me by the waist and leans me forward so I can catch some lift in my wings. G then releases my body, and I am flying again. I look up, and in the distance, I see a building that is not moving away from us. The building is taller than any building I have seen on Earth. That must be where Pluto resides.

  We are a few blocks away from the building when I hear 'NO!' scream in my head. Realizing that the voice is Virgil's, I see Raph and him falling down to the ground. To where the hungry little fucking Leprechauns are about to meet them.

  Letting the protective instinct for my mates take over, I draw Cal from the sheath. Using my wind energy, I create a vortex to grab Raph and Virgil and keep them lifted off the ground. I then use my fire energy to burn the Leprechauns to ash. But nothing happens! They are impervious to fire! Let's see how they do with water!

  Calling on more energy and flying circles in the air, I call for water. I used the same technique to create a storm as I did in the Second Circle. Except for this time, Lucifer wanted his little minions to mess with my mates. That pisses me the fuck off!

  I begin creating a storm to rival that of the Great Flood that was told in biblical and mythological stories. I magnify the water molecules by a thousand percent. The deluge I unleash floods the street below, and I use the wind to push the Leprechauns down the opposite direction.

  The Leprechauns in the rear turn and run in fear of the water. I somehow knew that the little fuckers wouldn't be able to swim. They are heavy with so much gold that they are forced to expel some of it by creating more gold with a touch. Water is their natural enemy. And shit! It drained me much faster than anticipated to make the flood!

  When I see the ground rushing up to meet me, that's when I realize I lost all my energy. My wings are gone!. I close my eyes in exhaustion, not giving a shit if I'm falling to my death.

  Awareness slams into me, and I immediately sit-up. I'm in fight or flight mode. My adrenaline is coursing through my veins, and my heart is pounding a mile a minute. I quickly assess the scene around me. Where am I?

  I'm laying down on a pale green marble floor. The marble is flowing up the walls to a vaulted ceiling. The vast room looks like a building lobby, except there is not a receptionist desk.

  Looking to my right, I see a corridor where there are multiple elevator entrances on lining each side. There are little lights above each door, making constant beeping sounds. The beeps are indicating the floor each elevator carriage is stopping on.

  Looking around, I see Raph that is passed out next to me. Our arms are barely touching each other. Virgil, Red, G, and FMC are each guarding one of the four double-door entrances that open to the outside.

  I stand up, feeling fully re-charged, and head towards my three mates and dog. FMC cocks one of her six ears, and one of the outer heads turns to look at me. She gives me a greeting whine.

  When I reach FMC, I gently pat the head that greeted me. "What happened?" I loudly ask my three mates. Red huffs impatiently and shakes his head.

  "Sera, please stop taking unnecessary risks!" Red demands. "Watching you fall like that scared the shit out of us!"

  "I had to save Raph and Virgil!" I say with absolute conviction. "They are my mates too, and I love them! Just as much as I love you and G! I would have done the same thing for you without hesitation. Because love is selfless!" I shout.

  Red groans and leans towards the glass door and starts hitting his head against the glass. 'Loving her is driving me insane!' I hear Red shouting in his and my head.

  'Right back at you, baby!' I yell at him in my head.

  Red stops thumping his head against the glass door, and turns his head towards me. He gives me a shocked look. I teasingly grin and stick my tongue out at him.

  He immediately frowns. 'I'm so spanking her for that!' Red thinks.

  'Heard that! Try it and see what happens. Again.' I threaten back to him in my head.

  Red starts thumping his head against the glass again. Looking past Red's antics, I look at G and Virgil. They are both watching the exchange in amusement. "Can somebody please tell me what happened after I passed out midair?" I say with a little impatience.

  "Your Hellhound loves you fiercely," G states. "Because she appeared out of nowhere and caught you before Red and I were able to catch you."

  Turning to FMC, I start cooing and scratching her ears. All three tongues are sticking out while she's panting in content. "Such a good baby girl," I compliment. What can I say? She's my puppy!

  And then I hear a noise against the glass. Startled, I looked up to the door window and suctioned on it is a small man. The man is bearded and wearing a tiny suit with knee-length trousers, black and white stockings, and pointed shoes. Humping the glass. That's totally fucking weird and gross!

  FMC growls at the tiny man, who's licking the window with his tongue. The little man is also staring intently at me. "What the fuck is that? And why is it humping the door?" I ask the guys and jerking my thumb at the tiny humping man. A few more of the shits hit the same window, and also start humping and licking the glass.

  "That's a Leprechaun," Virgil informs me. "They've been standing outside, about fifty feet away from the door while you were passed out. This is totally new," Virgil explains as a couple more Leprechauns start hitting the glass on the other doors. And are performing the same depraved acts as their companions suctioned to the first window. Gross!

  "Did you say you loved me?" I hear Raph's voice behind me. Spinning around, I see Raph standing up, but he looks exhausted. He didn't?!

  "Raph, please tell me that you didn't give me your energy?" I ask with my annoyance creeping into my voice. Raph smiles sheepishly at me. Seriously?

  Ignoring Raph's question because I'm upset at his curr
ent weakened state, I turn back to my other three mates. "What now?" I demand, pointing to the windows now covered with humping, window-licking Leprechauns. They weren't kidding when they said that Leprechauns were 'special.'

  I hear chuckles from G and Virgil, both who understanding my society's inside joke on the word "special" and the myths of Leprechauns. My trick is wholly lost on Red and Raph. Anyhoo.

  Feeling out, I detect a door and an Archangel's energy signature. Both are located above my head and far away. This building must be very tall or deep. Depending on your perspective of Hell.

  "Maybe we should take an elevator up to the top of the building. Or knowing Lucifer, it would be down. Either way, we need to get to the top management floor? I feel the energy of an Archangel," I tell the group, pointing up.

  The guys nod in agreement. We collect our gear and head towards one of the elevators. I press the only button available. It has a question mark on it. "Fucking Lucifer," I mutter.

  A sign appears on the door. Your ass needs a workout. Take the fucking stairs because the elevators do not work for fat asses. My annoyance at Lucifer's childish pranks fuels my anger.

  "I'm kicking Lucifer's ass when I see him," says a pissed off Raph.

  "Get in line," growls G.

  "We all have a bone to pick with that childish prick," says Virgil.

  "Let's all kick his ass at once?" suggests Red.

  "I'm down for whatever you want to do to Lucifer when we meet up with the asshole," I say, ending the subject.

  "Let's go find the stairs," Raph commands. We find the stairwell not too far away, and it's large enough to accommodate FMC's massive size. An idea hits me.

  "Let's ask FMC if she'll let us ride her to the top?" I suggest. I know my idea is not well received by the men, but I don't give a shit. It's a practical solution. They need to get over their egos.

  Without waiting for an answer, I turn to my three-headed Hellhound and ask if she would carry all of us to the top management floor. She whines, letting me know she doesn't like the idea either. But I know how to bribe. "I'll give you ear rubs, a belly rub, and brush your beautiful fur?" I offer.

  FMC loves my bribe and immediately lays down. Her signal for us to climb on. Without any hesitation, I jump on to FMC's enormous back. I cannot even correctly straddle her and have to use the collar to hang on. Turning to my stunned mates, I quirk an eyebrow. "Coming?" I ask.

  "We are mated to the only woman in the universe who can easily make a Hellhound her pet," complains Raph. I blow him a kiss.

  'Love you too,' I think to him.

  Raph's frowning face breaks into a beautiful bright smile. Without further complaint, he walks over and climbs on behind me. Raph holds onto my waist and gives me a quick peck on the cheek.

  I look at Virgil, Red, and G. I loudly sigh impatiently. "Get your asses up here," I command. All three look at each other and shrug. They walk over to FMC and climb on, holding on to the man in front of them.

  FMC stands up and slips into the stream, going Mach One up the stairwell. She can really move!. I laugh out loud. "I really love this ride!" I exclaim excitedly. The men behind me don't share my enthusiasm. FMC wuffs in reply to my excitement. Such a beautiful girl!

  What feels like an hour later, we arrive at our destination. There are no more stairs, and a closed crimson red door is standing in front of us. The temperature has definitely dropped during our "ascent" because my ears are cold, and my nose is numb.

  All four of us dismount FMC, and I approach the door. Feeling an Archangel's energy signature close by, I carefully touching the doorknob. Seeing that the door is not locked, I unsheathe Cal, preparing for anything that may attack us from the other side of the door. I carefully push open the door and stop short. What the hell!?

  "WELCOME!" is shouted. There is a whole group of men and women in business suits, wearing party hats, and standing a few feet back from the open doorway. Twisting my head and having a confused expression on my face, "Are we on the right floor?" I ask my mates. I'm pointing at the bizarre welcome party that greeted us at the door.

  "You're definitely on the correct floor Ms. Dante," a female voice says. One of the women in the welcome party steps forward. She is short, young, and ugly looking with blond hair and dull blue eyes. Her eyes look sad, making me feel sympathetic towards her. "Mr. Pluto is expecting you. Please follow me." Okay?

  Us, including FMC, follows the young woman down the large corridor. She's wearing an unflattering female version of a business suit. It makes her body look like a box instead of today's business attire that compliments the female body. "Excuse me, but why is the head guy named after a Disney cartoon character that's a dog?" I ask the woman.

  The woman stops abruptly and turns. Her face is deathly, pale, and severe. "Don't ever ask Mr. Pluto that question," she demands. I shrug. The fuck I won't!

  I hear the guys stifling their chuckles behind me. Our escort starts walking. I notice that the corridor walls are painted white, but the floor carpeting is blood red. There are no decorations like pictures or paintings hanging on the walls. Everything is bare and depressing. Like a real office job on Earth.

  We keep walking down the long corridor. I keep checking the Archangel's energy signature, noting we are getting closer to the location because it has not moved. It dawns on me that there are no turns to lead down other corridors. We are walking one long, seemingly endless straight line.

  What feels like a half-hour later, we finally reach a set of huge, black double doors. A nice change for once. The Archangel's energy is on the other side of the doors. Our escort patiently knocks, turns the handle, and then walks in. We follow closely behind her into the room.

  The room turns out to be a spacious office that has minimum furnishings. There are big picture windows at the far wall, looking out to a never-ending surface of gold and sunlit sky.

  We are so high up that we cannot see the distinct shapes of the large buildings below. Everything looks flat as one big shiny golden mirror.

  In front of the picture window is a large black desk, practically bare except for a small laptop sitting open on it. In front of the computer is a red-headed man, wearing a black business suit and matching tie, head down and focusing on the laptop screen in front of him. And he is definitely our missing Archangel.

  "Mr. Pluto. Your appointment is here," our escort informs the man behind the desk. Not bothering to take his eyes off the laptop, he dismisses her with a wave. She silently leaves the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

  All five of us plus FMC are standing and waiting for Mr. Pluto to give us his attention. When it feels like enough time has passed to where our host is rude, I loudly sigh. Not taking any more bullshit from this Circle.

  Not giving a shit about professional courtesy, I walk over to the black desk. I reach over and slam the top of the laptop closed. Mr. Pluto looks up at me in shock. I'm also in shock because he is absolutely stunning.

  He has teal colored eyes, framed with red lashes and red eyebrows. His skin is pale like it has never seen sunlight before. His jaw is square and firm, and right now, protruding a little bit from grinding his teeth. He looks like a Scottish Highlander except with neatly trimmed red hair slicked back from his forehead.

  I hear gasps from behind me. I turn my head to look at my mates. "Barachial?" Raph sputters. Barachial looks past me and starts studying the three Archangels standing behind me.

  "Been a long time, Raphael, Uriel, and Gabriel," Barachial says calmly to them. Fuck me! Is that a Scottish accent?

  Turning back to me and looking at me like I just killed his favorite pet, he angrily says, "Welcome to The Exchange, Ms. Dante. I am an extremely busy man, so please make this meeting quick. I have real work to do."

  Chapter Seven: Meeting the Real Gordon Gekko

  Not caring for Barachial's, now B's priorities in life, I cross my arms and stare back at him with the same look. "B, I've come here to collect you and bring you back to Heaven with us," I te
ll him. Not going into too much detail about the whole situation.

  B leans back in his chair, a look of amusement crosses his face. Like he's the king of the world. "Yer to collect ME?" B scoffs. B's Scottish brogue makes his belittling remark sound so sexy.

  "Yes," I patiently tell him. "The Creator sent me to get you. And you're coming with us. One way or another," I smile, but the threat is clearly there.

  B doesn't like the sound of my threat because he is instantly standing in front of me, angrily frowning down at me. Wow! This guy is big and tall. Precisely like a Highland warrior.

  "And how is a wee girl like ye going to make me leave?" he quietly murmurs.

  I roll my eyes at him and with a witty remark readily available, "I'm going to drag your ass through the door down through the next levels of Hell," I inform him with a sarcastic smile on my face. B returns the smile.

  "With what army?" he asks.

  I turn and jerk my thumb at my four mates behind me plus my Hellhound. "That army," I inform him. B starts laughing, but the laughter sounds like it is at our expense. When he stops laughing, he gives me a deadly look. This guy is dangerous and seriously unhinged.

  "First, Ms. Dante, I rule this Circle, which makes me the most powerful being here. Second, in the Archangel hierarchy, I'm senior ranking in this room. And lastly, Ms. Dante, ye are a weakling and have been a waste of my time. Now. Fuck. Off," B finishes. Why are Archangels egotistical?

  With ease, I call on my air energy and blast B to the ceiling. Looking up him with a bitchy smile, "Who has the senior rank in this room?" I ask out loud, directing my question to mates.

  "You do, Sera," they respond. You four are definitely getting a treat later!

  B smiles his amused, evil smile back at me. Then I see his teal eyes swirling, and suddenly his wings pop out. B's wings are a stunning teal color. They look so soft that I get an urge to touch them.