The Sun Angel

by Ashley Martinez

  ***

  Will pulled his sword out of a Griffin, panting. He was getting tired. Another Griffin pounced as another lunged for him. He would’ve been ripped in two but James appeared in time to cut the second one down. Slicing through the first one quickly, Will let James haul him to his feet.

  “Careful there, mate; they want you dead,” James grinned.

  “Thanks,” Will grunted and stabbed another Griffin behind James.

  Together they fought, working well as they always have. Will saw out of the corner of his eye Lena struggling with two rather vicious Griffins.

  “James,” he nodded toward her, indicating he should help her.

  James jumped in, taking out one of them as Lena got the other.

  “You okay?” James asked.

  “James!” Will called out just as a Griffin raked his heavy claws across James’s back.

  Racing toward his friend Will screamed in rage as he cut the Griffin in two. James was on the ground, badly injured. Will didn’t have a chance to heal him as three more beasts dropped from the skies.

  “James!” Will yelled as he fought. “Are you alive?!”

  No sound came from him causing panic to almost overcome Will. Lashing out in fear and anger, Will killed all three Griffins himself, slicing through the heart of one while pulling out a dagger to drag it across the throat of another, spilling dark black blood all over himself before ending with a wide sweep of his sword cutting the head cleanly off the third beast. He stood panting looking around for more before attending to James.

  “Be alive, be alive,” he muttered to himself as he reached down to James.

  James groaned, “Jenna.”

  “Where did you put her?”

  “The forest next to ours,” he said through clenched teeth. “We need to get over there, then you can heal me.”

  “No, you need healed now,” Will tore away the little pieces that was left of James’s shirt.

  “Will!” James struggled as he pushed himself up. “Jenna, now.”

  “But-“

  “Now!” he barked making Will shut up.

  He was right; they needed to get to Jenna. He suddenly felt panicked thinking of her all alone in the forest at a time like this.

  “Quick,” Will said over his shoulder to Lena as he pulled James up, “run, Guardian.”

  Will disappeared with James without another word to Lena.

  ***

  “Do you smell that?” a deep voice asked in the night.

  Jenna stifled a scream and sank lower into the shadow of the tree she was leaning against.

  “Smells sweet,” a woman answered, “human sweet.”

  “Yes, which is odd. No humans come out this far,” the man said.

  “Shall we stop for a snack?”

  Jenna could hear the smile in her voice. She shivered but was otherwise too afraid to move.

  “We have the Queen’s orders,” the man replied.

  “But we need our strength too,” she argued.

  “You’re right; following him is harder than you’d think!”

  “Does that mean we can stop?”

  “After our quick snack, we’ll keep hunting the Sun Angel,” the man came to a conclusion.

  “I don’t see why we’re doing it anyway,” the woman complained as they crept closer. “I thought it was Will’s job to get rid of her.”

  “It is, the Queen just wants him to have backup and confirmation,” the man answered. “You remember last time he was supposed to kill her? He let her go thinking being human would get them the Sun.”

  Jenna’s stomach dropped and her hands felt clammy. Dread filled her as the words the two were speaking sunk in. So, Will was really going to kill her. Why was he waiting so long to do so? She leaned her head back trying to come up with a plan to get back to Lena and make a run for it. She’d either have to kill these Angels, as she suspected they were, or she would have to hide. Her best chance would be to hide, but if they found her, she’d have to fight. She gripped the dagger tighter, ready to fight if it came to it.

  They lowered their voices and continued their conversation. Jenna couldn’t hear any more of what they were saying. She tried to remain patient, but anxiety was making her itch to move. The only thing keeping her in place was knowing they were angels and that they could easily kill her. She took a deep, quiet breath and mentally prepared herself for a fight. It was either die a coward or die a hero, and she planned on taking at least part of them with her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Jenna!” Will called out as he gently laid James down.

  “Go find her,” James pushed him away. “I can start healing myself.”

  He nodded and took off running into the trees. He breathed deep trying to see if he could catch any scent of her as he searched.

  People talking brought him to a stop.

  “What will the Queen say?” one said.

  He recognized the voice to be the Moon Queen’s personal bodyguard. What was he doing so far out here and was the Queen with him?

  “She said to bring the body back,” a woman answered.

  A chill went through Will, he knew that voice belonged to a wraith, one of the most cruel spirits in their world. They preyed on humans because they were easy targets but Will knew they longed for Angel blood. Questions arose and he wondered why the Queen would be asking for a wraith’s help. Will didn’t know the woman personally, but knew he had to find Jenna before these two did. The wraith would eat her soul if they caught her.

  “Does he know?”

  “Will?”

  His name made him stop again to listen.

  “Yes, Will. Does he know the Queen doesn’t trust him anymore?”

  “No, which is probably a good thing,” the man answered, “he’d go on the warpath, and, personally, I think he could kill the Queen.”

  Will smiled to himself; he knew he could, but he just never had because he didn’t want to.

  “Is that why she’s going to have us kill him?” the woman sounded eager.

  “Probably,” he responded. “When he lost Jenna the first time was when the Queen really became fearful of him. She said he lost his mind and couldn’t be trusted.”

  “And she’s waited this long to do something about him?”

  Will was just as surprised. The Queen had been scared of him for that long? How had he not seen it? Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he caught Jenna’s scent.

  It sharpened his senses, and he left the two discussing the Queen and his fate to find Jenna. If it came to it he could kill these two, wouldn’t be easy, but he could do it and would do it to protect Jenna He searched for a couple minutes before finally finding her hidden behind a tree deep in the shadows. Will had to hand it to her-- she could hide well.

  He crept up behind her so he could quickly stifle any scream she had.

  “Jenna,” he whispered.

  She didn’t scream like he’d thought. She turned and narrowed her eyes slightly. Confused at her reaction he held out his hand to her.

  Cautiously taking Will’s hand, she let him pull her to him as he teleported them to James.

  Jenna had to be careful around Will; between Lena and what she’d heard the Angels’ discussing, she knew what he was really planning.

  Will ignored her and went to help James. She walked up to them slowly not seeing Lena anywhere. It scared her.

  “Where’s Lena?” Jenna asked.

  “She’ll be here,” Will said over his shoulder.

  Relief swept through her, and she looked closer at James. Half of one wing had been cut off, and she could see deep claw marks going down his muscular back. She blanched at the gruesome sight. Seeing his torn flesh and muscle along with all the blood made her sick.

  She gasped, “What happened?!”

  “Griffins,” Will grunted as he traced each cut with his finger.

  Miraculously, they slowly closed.

  “What about his wing?” Jenna asked cringing at
the pain of her memory when her own wings had been torn out.

  Will shook his head, “It’ll grow back.”

  “How fast?”

  “Not fast enough, two days,” Will sighed and sat back. “There you go, buddy; I got you healed. Now relax.”

  “Thanks, mate,” James said weakly. “I told you you could do it. Did I hear Jenna with you?”

  “Yes,” Will laid back, closing his eyes.

  “Jenna,” James lifted his hand, motioning for her to come closer.

  “You need to rest, James,” she said sitting down next to him.

  “I will, but first I need to apologize.”

  Jenna asked shocked, “For what?”

  “For tearing out your wings,” He winced. “I’ve never had mine cut this bad; it hurts. I can only imagine what you went through.”

  “It’s excruciating,” Jenna whispered. “It hurt so bad I wanted to die.”

  James sniffled and buried his head in his arms. Jenna knew he was crying but figured he didn’t want her to say anything, so she remained silent.

  Instead she studied his wing. His sleek gray feathers were cleanly cut, and the tips covered with blood at the top of his wing, closest to his shoulder.

  Carefully and slowly she put her hand on the torn wing. She wished she could heal them as she did with other animals, but she knew it wouldn’t work. James was an angel, and she’d only healed smaller animals like birds and squirrels.

  “How are you doing that?” James turned his head to look at her.

  “Doing what?” Jenna moved her hand back, afraid she’d hurt him.

  “No, put your hand back,” he said.

  She obeyed laying her hand at the base of his wings. Again she wished she could heal it.

  “That!” James said louder.

  Will sat up and moved over to them.

  “She’s healing you,” Will said astonished. “How are you doing it?”

  Jenna shook her head, “I was just wishing I could heal him like I do with other animals.”

  “You never said you healed anything,” Will accused her.

  “You were with me when I healed that baby bird,” Jenna reminded him.

  “I thought you were just putting him back, not healing him.” Will answered. “How was he hurt?”

  “His wing was broken,” Jenna answered.

  “How are you feeling?” Will asked James.

  “The pain is gone,” he said. “It’s still sore and I can feel where it’s torn, but I can feel the new feathers already growing through.”

  “Jenna, your job is to hold your hand on his wing,” Will stood, “I need to go find our Guardian. She seems to get lost a lot.”

  Jenna nodded; she wanted Lena to get here so they could plan their escape. Looking down at what she was doing she realized she probably shouldn’t be healing James if she were going to be running from him later, but seeing him in such agony brought out her compassion. So she sat on the rock where he laid holding her hand on his warm skin next to where his wings met his back.

  Looking up to the dark sky through the little gap of trees Jenna sighed quietly, tired of all the running and questioning everyone’s motives.

  Will jumped into the air and flew, staying close to the trees as he tracked Lena. He was getting more suspicious of her with each disappearance. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get to them, and there was no way she was checking the perimeter. The only answer would be if she’d gotten into a fight.

  Will let his mind wander back to Jenna as he tracked Lena. He was surprised and overjoyed her powers were already starting to reappear, but if she’d been healing things all along, then maybe her powers weren’t fully locked. He didn’t even know it was possible to lock an Angel’s powers.

  Down below Will heard some scuffling. He landed quietly on a branch and looked down as a night creature wrestled with something.

  Night creatures often fought with each other, and Will was about to fly off when he heard Lena’s voice as she cussed at the monster.

  “You bastard!” She grunted and kicked the Orc.

  He rolled to the side, and she jumped up. Will watched interested in how Lena fought. She was swift and clever, but the Orc, which was almost seven feet tall and broader than any human was just as fast if not faster. He swung his giant arm and would’ve tripped Lena if she hadn’t jumped to the side moving to get her sword back.

  The Orc looked like a regular human, aside from his massive size and pointed teeth. This particular Orc belonged to what the Angels’ called the Savage Orcs, ones who lived in the forest and traveled in smaller packs preying on animals and the occasional hiker.

  Will was curious to know why this one was alone as he swiftly got to his feet and blocked Lena from her sword. Faster than Lena could move, he reached his hand out and caught her by the throat.

  Seeing the Orc would snap Lena’s neck, Will dropped from the tree he’d been hiding in. His presence caused the Orc to pause.

  “Master Will,” the creature said in a deep voice.

  Will nodded, “What are you doing with the Guardian?”

  “She attacked me; I’m only defending my home,” the Orc answered.

  “What is your name?”

  “Emanuel.”

  “Really?” Will asked surprised. “What was your mother thinking?”

  “She wanted me to live as normal as possible.”

  “Well, no offensive, but you are far from normal,” Will pointed out.

  “I never said she was smart,” Emanuel grunted.

  “Where is your tribe?”

  “I belong to no tribe.”

  “Interesting,” Will said slowly as an idea came to him.

  Lena gasped, drawing Will’s attention back to her.

  “Drop the Guardian,” he ordered.

  “Yes sir,” Emanuel quickly obeyed.

  “About time you came looking for me!” Lena got up rubbing her neck, “and I did not attack you first, Orc!”

  “Stop,” Will held up his hand. “Guardian, get back to Jenna and James. I need to speak to Emanuel.”

  “Whatever,” Lena retrieved her sword and took off running, disappearing into the forest.

  “What do you want with me, Night Angel?” Emanuel inquired.

  “Do you like living alone?”

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  “How so?”

  “I refuse to hunt the way my brothers do.”

  “And why is that?” Will found this Orc to be intriguing.

  “I don’t want to be a monster,” Emanuel looked away.

  “What would you say to joining me?”

  He laughed harshly, “Is the Moon Angel offering me a job?”

  “I am,” Will confirmed.

  “Why?”

  “You’d be a good asset to me,” Will answered evasively. “So what do you say? Join me or continue to live in solitude.”

  Emanuel stared at Will before answering, “No.”

  “Okay, well, enjoy your lonely life,” Will spread his wings. “I could’ve used your help, but if you insist on staying out here destined to be alone forever, then I will not stop you.”

  “You’re not going to kill me for declining?” Emanuel asked surprised.

  Will looked thoughtful, “Do you want me to?”

  “No, sir!”

  “Then consider yourself lucky, lonely one,” Will turned and slowly walked away. “Good luck to you and your lonely life.”

  He knew if he reminded the Orc that he was alone and would be for the rest of his life that he’d likely be begging him to join them. Will picked up his pace, leaving Emanuel to make up his mind, but wanting to hurry back to Jenna. He’d been away from her for too long and wanted her warmth around him.

  “Wait!” Emanuel came running up to Will.

  “Yes?” Will turned expectantly.

  “Why are you picking me?”

  He shrugged, “I need someone of your strength to guard something.”

  �
�Guard what?”

  “Not what, but who,” Will grinned. “Follow me. And don’t ask so many questions. I hate them.”

  ***

  “Where’s Will?” Jenna asked Lena when she arrived in the rocky clearing.

  “Talking to an Orc named Emanuel,” she grunted and threw herself down on the ground.

  “There’s an Orc named Emanuel?” James chuckled. “What was his mother thinking?”

  “What’s an Orc?” Jenna asked.

  “He’s like a goblin,” James answered, “only bigger and crueler.”

  “Why’s he talking to him?”

  “Who cares?” Lena answered. “I’m tired.”

  Jenna wanted to tell Lena she was ready to leave but was unsure how to say it without rising suspicion. She reached out with her foot and tapped Lena.

  “Knock it off,” Lena said with her arm over her eyes.

  Jenna continued to tap her.

  “Ugh!” Lena sat up. “What, Jenna?”

  “I was just thinking of the party we went to,” Jenna made up giving her a pointed look. “You’re right. I should’ve gone with your dress.”

  “What?” Lena looked confused.

  “You were right,” Jenna widened her eyes. She didn’t know how else to say she wanted to leave in front of James. “We should’ve gone shopping together, alone.”

  Lena’s confusion cleared and was replaced with understanding, “I told you! You can’t go shopping with guys; they never know what is right!”

  “What are you two talking about?” James asked confused.

  “We got invited to a party awhile back and Jenna’s dad wanted to take her shopping for a dress,” Lena lied smoothly, “I told her to go with me but she went with her dad instead and ended up with the ugliest dress ever!”

  “It wasn’t that bad!” Jenna laughed.

  “Whatever,” Lena laid back down. “It was ugly, and you know it.”

  Jenna kept her mouth shut and looked at James, who was staring at her hard. Jenna had never been a good liar and her palms dampened with anxiety as she tried to appear calm so not raise suspicion even further.

  “What?” Jenna asked.

  “That was very random,” he accused.

  She shrugged, “I’m random.”

  “I need to pee,” Lena stood and gave Jenna a look before walking off.