by Lanie Olson
“Take this,” I said handing Hadrian his jacket back. When he opened his mouth to protest, I held up a hand. “I know. I shouldn’t be this exposed on an island possibly riddled with Thunderbirds, but I refuse to hide from them. I know we’ll leave this island together and I know we’ll be okay. I came here to find Keilyn, not to hide from these murderous monsters.”
Giving me an admiring look, he put his jacket back on and nodded at me. We walked quietly around the outskirts of the island trying to see if there was any sign of life. I had figured after a while that if something was here it would be easy for it to sneak up on us since we could barely see two feet in front of us.
“My Lady,” Hadrian said suddenly stopping.
I looked up at him and saw that he was watching at a small bonfire that seemed to have sparked out of nowhere.
Somewhere in the middle of the island, an obvious sign that we weren’t alone.
I took a deep breath as we started to make our way toward the new sign of life when the skies suddenly lit up in a display of lightning so bright that we had to shield our eyes.
“Stay close to me,” he said pulling me toward him and cloaking me in his massive arms.
I brought up my wings to shield us from the light.
“Hey!” Hadrian said as he was suddenly ripped away from me by an invisible force.
“Hadrian!” I yelled as I was pulled away in the opposite direction. I watched as his body crashed into the black ocean that was surrounding the island. Behind me I could see my destination.
I was being tossed into the raging bonfire.
Thirteen
I screamed as I felt the heat starting to get closer and closer, while the skies flashed brighter than ever. I tried to flutter my wings but they seemed to be paralyzed.
I heard Hadrian’s body splash in the water in the distance.
I closed my eyes and screamed again as I felt my wings catch fire when I landed in the middle of the inferno.
My body writhed in pain as they started to fall apart behind me.
Somehow in my panic, I managed to roll off.
I then felt strong hands holding me and trying to extinguish the back of my wings.
“Lucy? LUCY?”
I was in such pure agony, that at first, I didn’t know who was saying my name.
“Come on! Come ON! Lucy?!”
I gurgled.
I attempted to spread my wings and almost passed out from the pain.
“Oh please, please! I can’t lose you so soon. Lucy, look at me!”
I felt the hands cradling me and the familiar touch of the caress against my cheek. I opened my eyes slightly and smiled in delirious pain. If this was a hallucination then it was the best one I had ever seen and felt.
“Hello,” I whispered weakly.
“Hold on, Lucy,” Deveraux whispered. “Arissa will be here soon, she went after Hadrian.”
Picking me up, he held me close as he made his way toward the edge of the island and sat down cradling me like a child. I heard the water splash again and Hadrian and Arissa take in huge gasps of air as she dragged him ashore. She looked at him angrily before she came over to me and Deveraux and told him to lay me on my stomach.
“There’s so much damage,” she murmured to herself.
“Can you heal her?” Dev asked.
“No, she has to heal herself. Hold her down. I have to rip these burned feathers out so that the new ones can grow in their place.”
I was already in so much pain from almost burning to death, that when Arissa began to pull out my singed feathers, I didn’t really feel it.
At first.
Then when I felt the roots being pulled out of my skin, I started screaming and crying.
“I’m almost done, My Lady,” Arissa promised after a few minutes of torture.
After one final, painful pluck, I heard her stand and gather everything that was lost from me and run away with them. I heard the bonfire rush up to the heavens and the smell of my feathers burning as she made her way back to us.
“How could you do this? How could you do this, knowing how dangerous it was for the both of you to come alone?” Arissa yelled at Hadrian.
“Because she is my Lady and she asked a request of me. I have no right to refuse her commands,” he explained calmly as he sat next to her.
“You both could have died,” she said angrily.
He pulled her close and lifted her face to him gently, “No. We couldn’t. You know this.”
“We have to get off this island,” she said looking at Deveraux. “It’s too dangerous for Lucy to be here in this state.”
My tattered wings fluttered in the wind as the cool breeze passed through the new holes. I put my hands beneath myself and with every ounce of strength I had left, I pushed myself to my feet and stood wavering over the trio of devils.
“No,” I stammered in a labored breath. “If you want to leave, I give you my blessing to do so, but I came for Keilyn and I won’t leave until I have her,” I stated, taking a shaky step away from them.
“Lucy—“
“Take him with you,” I told Arissa and Hadrian, cutting Deveraux off.
“What?” he asked in disbelief.
“If you want to leave, then go. I refuse to leave until I find out if she’s here. I’ll do this alone. I’ve done other things like this alone. Long before I met you and I was fine. I can do this alone too.”
Dev got to his feet looking very angry and hurt. His height was much more noticeable to me now that I was so weak. His body seemed so much larger and that feeling of his imposition came crashing back against me as the lightning flashed again in the sky behind him.
“Do you see that light show?” he asked pointing up. “That is what happens when Thunderbirds are nearby. If you think I’m going to leave you here to deal with that alone you must be out of your mind. I agree with Arissa, we need to leave until you’ve had time to heal, but since you are going to be so stubborn about this, the only thing we can do is find a suitable place on this deathtrap of an island to hide you. I don’t doubt for one bit that you can handle yourself Lucy, but you’ve got to let us help you. Keilyn is our responsibility, not yours. I will not leave you here. Get that idea out of your head,” he yelled with a shout that split that sky louder than thunder.
Arissa and Hadrian were now huddled together on the sand looking terrified.
Evidently, this wasn’t a side of Deveraux that was widely seen.
I blinked rapidly trying to focus.
Apparently, Keilyn wasn’t the only one with one hell of a shout on her.
“Together,” I said looking up into his beautiful eyes.
He let out a sigh of relief and nodded. Arissa and Hadrian got to their feet and fell instep behind us as we began to scour the island for a place for me to heal.
“Master Deveraux?” Arissa started. “If the Thunderbirds were here, wouldn’t they have attacked by now?”
“What do you mean?” he asked glancing over at her.
“Well. I don’t think they’re what attacked Lady Lucy and Hadrian. There’s something on this island but it’s not them. I think the reason for the sky lighting up as it does is because they might be flying over us, but … I know something else is here. I can feel it,” she said looking around with worried eyes.
I stopped walking.
“Hadrian, when we tore apart, what did you feel?” I asked looking down at the sand.
“It was strong. Whatever it was. I felt like the wind grabbed me with strong, invisible hands and threw me back as hard as it could and I watched you getting further and further away. It was so strange. I felt like I couldn’t breathe while I was being tossed into the ocean,” he responded.
I looked at him with a serious face.
“I know what’s here. Or should I say who’s here. I need the three of you to stay here. Don’t fight me on this one, Deveraux. Whatever attacked us was trying to save me from Hadrian because he’s a devil,” I explained lookin
g around.
“An … angel?” Arissa asked in disbelief.
I nodded grimly. “Not just any angel. I have a feeling I know which one this is and why he threw me into the fire.”
“So what you’re telling us is that there’s an angel, alive, on this island with us that tried to set you on fire and you want us to wait here?” Dev said rubbing his temples.
“Yes. Not for my safety. For yours,” I said looking at each of them in turn. “Understand this; if he meant for me to burn in that fire, I would have been nothing more than a pile of ashes. He was trying to get my attention and I have to find him.”
Dev pulled me close to him and kissed me gently.
“If you feel you are in danger, just call me for me with your heart,” he whispered into my ear.
“I will,” I promised him.
Taking a deep breath I looked at the three of them standing there watching me as I turned and made my way into the ruins of the city center in Old St. Lucia.
Fourteen
I walked carefully through the brambles around the city outskirts. If I was right in who I was looking for; he would be a powerful ally. Once I could convince him that the devils in the Western Province were trying to help me find the last of us.
A small breeze picked up and pulled me toward the sulphur springs. As I walked, I pulled my hair back with a band I found on in Deveraux’s house.
I reasoned to myself that if he saw my face completely, he would know it was still me even with this dark wings.
“You smell strongly of a devil,” a voice said to me once I reached the entrance to the springs.
“Micah?” I asked into the darkness.
One of the geysers sprung up behind him and he lit up for a moment, before hiding him in the darkness again.
“Why do you smell like a devil, Thirteen?” he asked quietly.
“The devils in the Western Province have given me shelter. Their leader is kind and has agreed to help me find the last of us. He’s sworn to help us get back to where we belong and to help us defeat the Thunderbirds,” I said wringing my hands.
“And what did you promise him in return?” he asked leaning into the dim light, intensely.
Why wasn’t I prepared for this question?
“I promised to be bound to him.”
Micah stepped forward and walked past me looking up into the night sky.
“The Western Province,” he said in thought. “That’s the devil Deveraux is it not?”
“Yes.”
“They say that he is very old and wise. Tell me Thirteen, does he know you’re royalty where you’re from?”
“No.”
I forgot about that actually. I’ve been too busy suffering Hell on Earth.
“So then, that devil that you were with?”
“He’s Dev’s oldest and trusted friend.”
“Then if you have devils on your side, you don’t need me as I thought you might,” he suddenly spreading his wings and taking to the skies.
“Micah!” I boomed angrily.
He hovered and looked down at me.
“I can’t, Thirteen. It’s not natural. I don’t want to leave you in the presence of devils, but I will not stand by their side,” he said in an accusing voice.
“While that may be, you will stand by my side,” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest and looking up at him angrily.
Micah looked torn.
He knew that it would mean swallowing his pride and going against his natural urge to destroy the devils as he saw them, but he also knew that refusing me would mean exile. After a few more moments of internal conflict he came back down and stood in front of me.
“Thirteen, I do this for you and for the last of us. Nothing I do will be for the good or benefit of the devils. No matter how kind they are,” he said through grit teeth.
“I understand my friend,” I said reaching up to put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you.”
Micah nodded, picked me up, and flew us back to the other side of the island where Deveraux, Arissa, and Hadrian were waiting impatiently.
They looked up and saw us when Micah’s huge wings cast a shadow over the scarce light.
Setting me down, he looked at Deveraux with a steely gaze.
“I haven’t seen you in almost three thousand years.”
Deveraux returned his look.
I guess it was safe to say there was bad blood here, besides the whole angel/devil thing.
“Can we hold all grudges aside please?” I asked in a tired voice. “Arissa, Hadrian, this is Micah. He was one of the first created. I’d introduce you to Deveraux, but I see you two already know each other.”
A slick smirk started to cross Dev’s face.
“Would you like to hear a story Lucy?” he asked, his eyes locked on Micah.
“Um…”
“Micah was the first of your kind that I was assigned to kill. Of course he had the same orders for me. I almost had him. Almost. But then I was suddenly swarmed by a bunch of angelic cowards. I was outnumbered so I left, but I took a trophy with me, didn’t I Micah?”
I could see his fists at his side and I knew that Micah was struggling to control himself at the moment. I looked at Deveraux.
“I didn’t say I wanted to hear your story Dev. I don’t want to hear anything negative about angels or devils. I just want to get Keilyn. After that, you and the rest can go home. I’m sure Micah and I can track down the last of us. Once we find them, I’ll come back for you and we can take out the Thunderbirds.”
“You don’t listen very well do you?” he asked giving me a sidelong glance. “I’ve told you a million times that I won’t leave you to do any of this without me and I won’t.”
“Thirteen, why did he call you Lucy?” Micah asked turning his attention to me.
“We are bound. It was my right to name her,” Dev said.
“I wasn’t asking you, devil,” Micah said through narrowed eyes.
“Stop bickering!” I shouted.
Turning to Deveraux, I said “I am yours and you are mine, yes?” He nodded. “Then does it not hold some truth that you do as I say as much as I do as you say?” He nodded again with a small, slightly sexy smile. Turning to Micah, I proceeded, “Micah, you know what I am. You know that you must heed my requests regardless of me being bound to Deveraux or not, is that not true?” Micah turned his face away. “Micah?”
“Yes. It is true.”
“Then please will you both just try to get along? Please?”
“I will do this only until we find the others. Then it is up to them what to do with you and him,” he said looking at Dev.
“Fair,” I responded.
“Can I say something?” Arissa asked stepping forward.
We all turned to look at her expectantly.
“Master, forgive me for never revealing this to you,” she said with a quick glance at Deveraux, “But I can see the past and the future. It is my gift as a devil. I’ve known what you are this entire time. I knew this was all going to happen,” she said softly looking at me. “And I know how it will end. More blood will be shed, more angels will fall, and more devils will be turned to dust. I also see that working together will be the only way to survive this. Then everything will be as it was, while some things will turn into what they should have been all along.”
“Wait, you’ve been hiding—” Deveraux incredulously started.
“Arissa, can you tell us what is going to happen?” I asked cutting him off.
“No. My gift will be taken from me if I do. I’m sorry Lady Lucy,” she said quietly as Hadrian put an arm around her and pulled her close.
I walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me with sad, tear filled eyes. I gave her a comforting squeeze to let her know it was okay and I wouldn’t allow anyone to drag her secrets out of her, before I turned to the rest of the group. They were looking at me wondering what to do after Arissa’s revelation. I glanced up at the heavens and then
back at them.
“Let’s go.”
One thing they all finally agreed on was that we wouldn’t leave the springs until my wings had mended themselves.
Micah led us back to the sulphur springs were we nestled in for the remainder of the night. I didn’t understand what the difference would be since the dawn was not much brighter than the dusk these days, but I welcomed the opportunity to rest my head against Deveraux’s strong chest and feel his arm wrapped around me as I healed.
I listened to Micah’s wings as he soared through the air, clearing his head and trying to wrap himself around the fact that he had to align himself with devils for the time being, and felt jealous.
I only wished I could be out there with him floating through the air, but instead I was lying in a dirty cave, with my lover’s arms wrapped protectively around me.
That’s actually not a bad deal, Lucy, I thought to myself with a smile.
“Aargh!”
I jolted awake from my half sleep state to the sound of Micah’s cry and ran out of the cavern.
He was in the sky being attacked by a pair of Thunderbirds and he was fighting for his life.
I immediately began to desperately beat my wings, trying to gain some kind of velocity to get to him, but the holes were too large and my wings were still too damaged to lift me more than a few mere feet off the ground.
Fifteen
I turned ready to yell for the others, but Deveraux had already shot out of the cavern at top speed and lept into the air, slamming his fist into a Thunderbird’s back so hard that it fell back toward the Earth in a spiral. Arissa was right behind him and managed to leap just as high as her master taking the other one down by the waist. Below her, Hadrian was waiting and he already had one of the Thunderbird’s by the throat. Catching the other one Arissa threw toward him, he grabbed it also by the neck forced them to their knees.
“Oh, how I’ve waited for this moment,” Deveraux said approaching them speaking with dual vocal chords.
What’s wrong with this eyes?
Dev’s eyes were now large and vacant. They had washed out from their beautiful amethyst color to ice blue.