by G. Bailey
Evie
“Shit-a-doodle,” I mutter, seeing the fifty-some-odd souls banging the door and walls of an old building in the middle of a few small ones. I would guess it is a church, but I’m not too sure. The roof is covered in souls too, making it impossible for the angels trapped inside to even fly out. The walls are cracking under the pressure, and the souls are pulling tiles off the roof to get inside. I can hear a few of the angels screaming in the building, and we have to hope they aren’t being killed already. The logical side of me wants to run away, but it isn’t the right thing to do. I won’t ever be the one that runs from something difficult. I look over at my father, not knowing what to make of him. I know that I’m half wanting to pick him up and drop him in the souls for being an asshole. I smile a little at the bruise on his face, at least I have that.
“They are all inside, and we need to get them out,” Danike points out the obvious as we hide in a large alley between two white houses.
“We need a distraction,” I muse, searching around for one and seeing nothing. Okay, so we need to be the distraction. Danike and Charmeine look back at me with a questioning look.
“Any ideas?” Charmeine asks.
“So, you can boost powers, right? Like maybe my holy fire rune for example?” I ask, knowing my idea is a little crazy, but usually the crazy ideas are the only ones that work. She nods, looking a little confused.
“Possibly. I mean you aren’t full angel, so I don’t know how it would work boosting your powers. You cannot fight all these on your own. Nobody could do that,” she says and sighs. “I want to save them, but not lose you for it.”
“One, I have no plan on dying again any time soon,” I tell her, “and two, I was thinking we get their attention and run them back to this alley. We can make a wall of fire to escape as Danike gets the angels out,” I say.
“What if a soul catches you?” Danike says.
“Acting like the caring father now? No thanks,” I snap, and he shakes his head as he looks away. “I’m also a good fighter, so I can kick some of the souls away or hit them with something if they get too close to us,” I do explain to them both, only because Charmeine looks worried. I look around, only seeing a few fallen branches as anything I could use to defend myself. I might be able to find a stone though. At least it is something.
“That’s crazy. They could catch us, or the boost could fail. I’ve never worked with a half angel before. Most die—” Charmeine goes to say.
“Enough,” Danike growls, and Charmeine looks away with red cheeks. What was that about? I look back as the souls start climbing the walls of the building, going for the windows by the looks of it.
“We do this, or they all die. I don’t think we have any other choice,” I state, knowing we don’t have time to argue between ourselves. Danike and Charmeine look between each other, and then back to me.
“Let’s do this,” Danike says firmly, though he doesn’t look happy about it. His wings spread out behind him before he shoots up into the sky.
“We need to distract them all and make a lot of noise,” I warn Charmeine of my plan, before running out of the houses and straight towards the building nearest to the souls. They don’t notice us as we get closer, and I grab a shiny, sharp stone off the ground to defend myself with. I put my back against the wall of the house and wait for Charmeine to do the same.
“On the count of three, we both run out and scream—as loud as you can—and then we run towards the alley. Keep screaming, and I will run behind you, keeping an eye out,” I tell her.
“Screaming and running, that I can do perfectly,” she jokes nervously, making me smile a little.
“One...two...three,” I count, and we run out, catching a few souls’ attention by doing that alone. We scream and scream, seeing all the souls slowly turn to us. The ones on the roof jump down, and the ones on the walls slide down them. This close, the souls are disgusting, far worse than the usual ones on the first layer. These are dripping with a black liquid, parts of their faces and skin falling off, and most of them don’t even have eyes. They all suddenly run at us, tripping over each other to get to us first. We run as fast as we can towards the alley between the houses, with Charmeine just in front of me. Charmeine suddenly trips on a broken branch, falling over face first into the grass. Shit. I spin around in front of her, leaning down to pick the branch up and swinging it at the first soul that gets me.
“Fly!” Charmeine screams behind me, and I call my wings. I’m too late as dozens of souls run at me as my feet leave the ground. One of them grabs my foot, pulling me down into them as I desperately try to fly away.
“Evie!” I hear my name screamed by a familiar voice as the souls pull me down, and then there is fire everywhere just as everything goes black and my head slams on the ground.
Azi
The portal burns into existence, the pressure of going to the one place I knew was impossible to ever travel to without a great cost burning through my thoughts. The cost doesn’t flash through my mind, not even for a second, as I make the portal larger and feel the massive drain on my power. I growl low as sweat drips down my head, and finally, the portal breaks the barrier to a place I never thought I would go to. I jump through the portal, landing on top of a white brick house as I take in everything. A screaming angel draws my attention behind me where a white-haired angel is running away from an army of souls, screaming her head off. My heart catches in my throat as Evie runs around a wall, a stone in her hand as the army of souls is just behind her. What the hell is she doing? The blonde angel trips, falling flat on her face in the grass. Evie picks up a fallen branch, spinning around and swinging it at a soul as I jump off the house and start running towards her. I run around a house just in time to see small black wings appear on her back, and she flies into the air, only to be caught around the foot by a soul. The souls slowly pull her down as I run, jumping over walls to get to her in time.
"Evie!" I shout as more souls get hold of her, and I call my fire into my hands. I run and jump right into the middle of the souls where Evie disappeared, praying that she will survive this. I can’t exist without her. I send out streams of fire as I kneel over Evie as she lies on the floor. The souls scream as I increase the fire until every single one of them is gone and there is complete, deadly silence. I step off her, pushing her shiny blue hair out of her face and feeling for a pulse on her neck. I glance at her body, seeing three bites on her lower legs and one on her shoulder.
"Evie! No!" the white-haired angel screams, running over to us, and kneeling on her other side.
"Heal her! Now!" I growl at the angel, who jumps back when she sees my face.
"I-I can't alone. It isn’t my gift, but it is my sister’s," she rushes out.
"Get her then. If Evie dies, I will kill everyone here!" I shout, and she quickly runs off when she sees how serious I am. Two souls run out from behind a house at the angel, and I know they will kill her before she can get help if I don’t help her. I jump up, shooting fire balls at them as the angel takes off into the sky, and they burn away.
"Azi?” Evie gasps out, and I fall back down to my knees, picking her up and holding her to my chest. Her blue eyes gaze up at me, her soft black wings move slightly under my hands. I just stare at her beautiful features, her high cheekbones, her soft pink lips. Everything about her is perfect to me.
“I thought I lost you,” I whisper, and she chuckles, her face contorting in pain with the movements. I glance at the bite on her shoulder, seeing the poison from the bite crawling up her arm. They need to heal her before the poison hits her heart.
“Don’t go being sloppy on me now. Where has the big, bad demon gone?” she replies.
“He fell for a girl who regularly likes to give him a heart attack, that’s where,” I say with a low chuckle, making her smile even though she hides the pain she is in. I can see it in her eyes, in her shallow breaths.
“You should have picked better then,” she replies.
“
I picked the best, and I wouldn’t change you for the world. When you are better, I’m going to show you how much you mean to me and never let you out my sight, Vi,” I tell her firmly. Her eyes flutter a little before they close, and her skin feels freezing cold under my hands. I look around, knowing we don’t have time and I can’t portal her out of here while she is like this. It could kill her.
“Lay her down,” the angel shouts, landing in front of us with another angel. This one is clearly younger, and very clearly her sister with their similar features. This girl has her long, white hair up in a ponytail, a ripped dress covered in black dust and blood on her. As I lay Evie down carefully, I spot another angel crouched on a wall near us, watching our every move. His eyes are mainly locked on Evie, and he looks familiar which is impossible. His eyes meet mine, and he suddenly looks away.
“Ignore Danike,” the blonde angel suggests, catching my attention. “Heal her, Scarlett!”
“I’m not good with my powers. They won’t work, Charmeine,” Scarlett nervously says, looking between Evie and me.
“You can do this. I believe in you,” Charmeine tells her, grabbing her hands and placing them on Evie’s stomach. Evie’s head rolls to the side as she goes completely unconscious, and I frantically look at Charmeine.
“Heal her or she will die!” I shout at them both desperately. Charmeine places her hands on her sister’s head, a white glow coming from them. Scarlett’s hands start glowing a little on Evie’s stomach, but I know it’s not enough.
“More! Push everything you can into healing her! She is our family, heal her!” Charmeine shouts, and Scarlett screams as a white light blasts out of her hands, sending me flying backwards into the side of building. I smack against the wall, cracking it in places, and brick falls down onto me. I have to hold my hands in front of my face from the light as I try to stand up. The light suddenly disappears, and I run over, dropping to my knees next to Evie and Scarlett as they lie next to each other passed out. I pull Evie to me, seeing the bites are gone and a little colour in her pale cheeks.
“You’re going to be okay,” I whisper to her, and kiss her forehead. I’m not letting anything happen to my Evie again.
Evie
“Who the fuck do you think you are to tell me what to do, angel?” Azi growls, his chest vibrating with anger as my head is pressed tightly against it. His smoky and somewhat sweetly seductive scent comforts me for only a second as I realise it’s really Azi. How is he here? Azi is no angel. Unless the angels lied to me, which I highly doubt.
“Am I dead?” I ask, pulling away and looking up at Azi who holds me in his arms. He lets me down as I wriggle and sway on my feet.
“No, Vi, I wouldn’t let you die,” Azi tells me firmly, holding his hand on my shoulder. I blink my eyes into focus, seeing Danike standing in front of us, his arms crossed as he stares down Azi. Bad move. I look around him to see Charmeine hugging a girl who I assume is her sister by the looks of it. Right behind them is a crowd of angels, all of them looking at us expectantly.
“What do you want?” I ask Danike.
“We need your demon to open a portal, so we can all leave and return to earth,” Danike answers. He doesn’t even give a shit about me, he only cares about escaping here. Go figure.
“I am taking Evie, and that is it. This place was made to keep you away from humans and demons,” Azi says, and Danike narrows his eyes.
“I knew most demons were selfish bastards, but you are willing to let us all die?” Danike exclaims.
“Azi, can we talk alone?” I ask, not wanting him to answer that, and he looks down at me before nodding.
“Don’t be long. The souls will come back,” Danike warns us as we start to turn away.
“We will be as long as we want. You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do,” I warn Danike, who looks close to losing his shit until Charmeine places her hand on his arm and he walks away. I walk straight to the far house I see in the distance, with Azi keeping himself close to my side.
“Who is he to you?” Azi asks. “And can I kill him? I find him annoying.”
“My father, and trust me, if anyone has a reason to kill him, it’s me,” I reply. Azi places his hand on my back, comforting me without any words.
“Angel…I didn’t expect that,” Azi finally says into the silence.
“Neither did I. The wings are strange,” I say, and I see Azi looking at them.
“They are stunning and suit you,” he replies. Smooth, real smooth.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I chuckle in return, nudging his shoulder. Azi opens the door to the house, letting me go in before coming in himself and shutting it.
“Hali? You did get her? Or we need to leave right now?” I say the moment the door is shut. I couldn’t say anything in front of the angels, I don’t need them knowing about Hali when I cannot trust them all. Azi steps into my space, placing his hands on the top of my arms.
“The Protectors broke Hali out and have hidden with her. I saw Hali before I came here, and she is heartbroken but perfectly okay,” he says, and I sigh in relief until I process what he just said. The Protectors did what?
“They did what?” I ask in disbelief.
“Saved Hali. It seems you have their respect, even when they think you’re dead,” he tells me.
“I will have to thank them. I owe them now,” I mutter. I’d rather owe Azi, and he is a demon. I don’t have a clue how I could pay back the Protectors for such a debt.
“You act so much like a demon with your need to repay favours,” Azi mutters.
“I was mainly brought up around them, and I find their way of life to be right,” I answer and then think of something. “How did you get here? The angels say they can’t escape.”
“They can’t, and only an overlord can get in—and out—of here. My father made this place, and we were all told that coming here would cost all the worlds a great price,” he explains, his words spoken low, and I can sense he feels some shame in breaking a no doubt important promise to his father. I don’t know much about his parents, only that Azi respected and loved them. To break anything he promised them, well it means a fucking lot.
“Still you came for me?” I whisper.
“Evie, fuck. Don’t you know by now that I will follow you anywhere? Even if you don’t want me there and hate me…my place is at your side,” he says, sliding his hands up my shoulders and to my neck. I don’t move as his one hand slides to the back of my neck, and he pulls my lips to his. His hands rest on my neck as he passionately kisses me, the way I remember his kisses being. Perfect. Incredible and so seductive that you forget the entire world around you. I fist my hands in his hair as he picks me up by my ass, turning us around and lying me down on the table.
“We shouldn’t. We have a lot to do and—” I stop as Azi lifts my leg, kissing the inside of my leg, my voice catching in my throat.
“There is nothing we can’t leave until later,” he tells me, kissing my thigh this time as he steps into the space between my legs. I lean up on my elbows as Azi goes to push my dress up and flashes me a wicked grin.
“We have a problem!” Charmeine shouts, and then bangs on the door. “The souls are back, and we need to leave!”
“For fuck’s sake,” Azi groans, and I feel exactly the same. I slide off the table, pulling the door open and knowing I need to find some time alone with Azi to repeat this again.
Evie
“Where are they?” I ask Charmeine at the door, stepping out where all the angels are gathered together. She points in the distance, where there is a massive crowd of souls running for us. We still have a few minutes, but not a lot.
“Azi?” I ask, and he gently grabs my arm, pulling me away from Charmeine.
“We don’t know all these angels, and if we take them, they could attack everyone. Earth was nearly lost once because of an angel attack,” he explains in a whisper so no one else hears. If everyone blamed entire races for the actions of a few, no one would
be left alive. I won’t think like that. I look over at the group of angels, most of them are sitting on the floor and giving up. Others are stood proudly, watching us for our answer. Danike, Charmeine and her sister are talking quietly, Danike’s eyes drifting to me every few seconds.
“And if we leave them, that’s on us. It would be genocide because of something they didn’t do,” I harshly whisper back.
“It won’t be genocide. You will be coming back,” he says.
“Not without them I won’t,” I tell him, crossing my arms and stepping one step back towards the angels.
“Don’t be stubborn now,” he mutters, rubbing his face.
“I’m not. I’m being normal and doing the right thing,” I tell him, not keeping my voice down, and I hear the angels whispering behind me.
“God, I hate your moral compass at times. Fine,” he says, stepping around me and walking to stand in front of the angels.
“You like me really, demon,” I tease, moving to stand at his side and chuckling at the glare he gives me before addressing the angels.
“I will open a portal to earth, which you will need to run through as quickly as possible. Do not be alarmed if you pass out, demon and angel magic don’t mix well,” Azi shouts. I glance behind us, seeing the horde of souls getting that much closer. The angels all cheer, looking between each other, and a few hug. I spot five who stand slightly away from the others, they are all men and have cold looks on their faces.
“I give you one warning though,” I shout, and everything goes silent. “If you cause any problems, any danger to earth, or kill anyone without reason…I will come after you. You do not want that.”
“And she will not be alone,” Azi says as I keep my eyes locked on the five angels. The one in the middle lowers his head and nods in agreement. That’s all I need, and I will have to trust them for now.
“Time to go! I need my sword and a bacon sandwich, asap,” I say, holding my hands on my hips.