Raven had been sitting on the pool room floor Malachi showed her for at least five minutes, watching the soft lights on the ceiling reflecting off the clouded water…
She didn’t know why… she liked it here… the feeling inside this room. It was fascinating, and she never wanted to leave.
The door on her right opened, and a tall, male figure came into the room, smiling softly as he made his way over to her.
Malachi settled down next to her, looking out at the water like she was.
“I had a dream about these rooms…” she responded then; her voice so soft. “I like it here.”
He smiled, something warm consuming him at her words.
“It feels abandoned even though people live here… and I like the feeling, you know?”
He nodded, watching her amber eyes reflect the blue room like the sunset’s reflection along the ocean.
She sighed then, drawing her knees up to her chest. “I thought I was dreaming at first… that all this wasn’t real and that I’d wake up soon… but I never did… And when I pinched myself… I felt it… Because this all seems like some big dream.”
She looked up. “Then I thought of what you said… your super speed… the weird things you do that no other human can… And I realized… you were right.” Her brows drew together. “But I… I don’t really know what’s real or not.”
They were both silent for a moment.
She looked to him then, tilting her head to the side curiously. “What are you?”
He chuckled. “The way you word that seems rude, you know.”
She kept her eyes on him, waiting.
“I’m corrupted,” he answered then, making her brows draw together. He smiled at her confused expression. “Corrupted Angel,” he continued. “It’s a type of mutant. Very rare, actually. Scientifically—even in this world—I shouldn’t be possible, but I am the first, but sadly,” he looked to the right, “not the last.”
“How are you a mutant?” she questioned.
He smiled. “So—technically—I’m supposed to be evil. Becoming a corrupted also corrupts my brain, not just my body, and I was evil at first. That’s why I became an assassin. I knew I was stronger than other people, I knew how to fight because I was originally an archangel, and how to be silent, so I used that as my job.”
She gulped, stomach sinking.
“But that’s when I met you,” he said. “You changed me.”
She shook her head, indicating that she didn’t believe it even when she still wasn’t sure.
“I’m three times stronger than an average fallen,” he stated. “My corrupted brain heightened my intelligence, we usually have a certain element dedicated to us, as well: fire, ice, wind, water, and it goes on. Mine is fire, but it’s a little rusty. I haven’t used it in a while.”
“Ignis…” Raven said then. “Your last name is ‘Igniser.’ Ignis is Latin for fire.”
“Yep, we also have mind powers.” He smiled. “We can read minds, deceive certain people.”
“That explains a lot,” she muttered.
“Look,” he said, sounding suddenly serious, “I read your mind, yes, but I’ve never used my powers to deceive you.”
She only nodded softly.
He continued, “We can also become a shifter and a vampire.”
Her heart stopped for a moment. Is that why he licked my blood off his finger? Did he do it unknowingly?
“You weren’t born like this…” she said then, mind racing. “You said you were an archangel before… How did you become this way?”
He was silent for a moment, staring off into the water, the smile gone. “Corrupted have to do something… really bad to become one.”
“Oh.”
She decided against asking him what he did… though her mind was screaming for answers.
“Raven…” he said then, “I’m doing this because I want to protect you. I want you to feel safe and be safe. I don’t intend to harm you, alright?”
A small nod.
“The assassins want you… because you’re not human either,” he explained her unasked question. “You’re a really rare breed, as well.”
“I knew it…” she whispered.
“Huh?”
“I knew something about me was off… I was an outcast… I’ve done weird things that I thought was magic when I was little… but when I grew older, I told myself it was just a coincidence or… it was just in my head. I’ve always been stronger.” Her voice trailed off. “It’s so weird that I’m accepting this so quickly.”
“It’s not weird,” he stated. “Everyone reacts to the news differently, you know. A lot of the werewolves and vampires here were turned, and they had to go through horrific changes.”
“Yeah…” she whispered. “I just think it’s a little odd… because I went through the five stages in less than ten minutes… Denial… anger… depression… blah, blah, then acceptance.”
He was silent, just watching her stance.
“Malachi…” she whispered, “can you prove to me that you’re actually willing to protect me?”
“I have,” he stated with no anger or frustration in his tone. “I’ve saved you like… two times.”
“Yeah…” she said, “but the first day I saw you, you knew where I lived, and you kept on eyeing sharp objects.”
“I was?”
A nod.
“I wasn’t trying to scare you,” he stated, “just thinking. Sometimes when I’m lost in thought, I stare off into space, or I guess in this case… I stared at a knife.”
She was silent.
“But remember?” he said. “After that? I helped you with your wound. Didn’t that prove to you that you could trust me?”
“I was confused.”
“Is that why you pulled a knife on me?”
A nod.
He smiled at her honesty. “Are you still confused?”
“Yes.”
He chuckled. “I get it. I’m a very confusing boy, aren’t I?”
She giggled at the word “boy,” pulling her legs to her chest so she could bury her cheeks into them, hiding the redness.
He glanced at his watch, then back at her while she stared off into the water. “C’mon,” he said, standing now, “let’s get you back home.”
“‘Home?’” she echoed, glancing up at him.
He only smiled, offering a hand.
She took it, letting him help her stand.
About two minutes later, Raven and Malachi walked into his underground townhome, Raven settling on the couch while he pulled off his leather jacket, hanging it on the rack.
He looked to her as she leaned forward, watching herself twiddle her thumbs.
She didn’t seem to notice him walking to her and jumped when he ran his hands down her arms.
“What are you doing?” she questioned.
He only looked over her gently. “You’re so cold… poor thing.”
Why was that bad? It was normal, wasn’t it?
She didn’t know why, but those words made heat sink into her skin, lighting her cheeks seconds later.
Before she even knew it, Malachi scooped her up, carrying her up the stairs before she could register the movement.
She felt so light in his arms… like she was flying…
They entered the room, Malachi pushing the door open with his shoulder and kicking it closed seconds later.
“Let’s get you comfy, huh?” he said, lowering her down onto the bed.
Wait… why was he doing this? How did doing this help him?
He seemed very egocentric… and she didn’t really understand what he was getting out of this.
“Here,” he said, draping a soft blanket over her, the feather-like texture sending tingles through her blood, lowering her lashes.
She was silent when he sat on the bed next to her, brushing some hair out of her eyes, Raven closing her eyes instead of slapping his hand away.
The blankets smelled so much like lavender… so calming and sweet… and the sheets brushing her skin like silk… and she just wanted to sink into it and fade away… but she didn’t know why she was exhausted… all the other times she tried to sleep for the past week… her eyes couldn’t even close…
“You okay?” he whispered at her silence, clearly not used to her being so calm.
“I think…” she said, blinking slowly as he tucked some hair behind her ear, “I’m starting to understand you.”
He smiled softly, watching her slowly fade away. “That’s good news.”
“I don’t know how you got this way, though…” she continued, brows drawing together lazily. “You seem so kind and sweet… when you want to be… But I don’t really understand… How did you become corrupted?”
He stopped for a moment, watching her blink slowly again, though still awake, waiting for an answer.
After exhaling a sigh, he said, “I did something really bad.”
“How bad?”
“Horrible,” he answered, making something inside her coil, though she couldn’t register it.
“What?” she said then. “What did you do?”
“I ate…” he said, “a burger.”
She gave him a look when he smirked. “So unforgivable,” she answered.
“I know, right?”
“What did you really do?” she pressed.
He was silent for a moment, then looked down to her almost sadly. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Please.”
“I had a little brother…” Malachi said then, brushing some more hair away from Raven’s eyes. “His name is Cameron—and he’s still alive—but… I also had a little sister, who sadly is no longer with us.”
Raven’s eyes reflected concern in them.
“No,” he said, shaking his head, “don’t worry. I didn’t kill her.”
She relaxed in the bed.
“Before my sister’s passing,” Malachi said. “My father would train my little brother and I. He would instruct us to fight each other, learn the others' moves and such. So, we could become really strong archangels.”
Raven nodded.
“But what he did when one of us failed… is that he whipped us…” he turned so his back faced her and drew his shirt up, making her gasp when she saw dark red lashes spread along his back, “really hard… When we didn’t do what he wanted anymore… he got stronger ones, then thicker ones… then spikier ones… That’s why some of these scars have rough edges.” He pulled his shirt down, propping himself against the headboard. “I was always the rebellious one,” Malachi said, “I went off on my own little missions. I was so angry at my father that I didn’t join the archangels… refused to, and whenever I got home from a long night of doing stupid crap, then came the punishment.”
She gulped, watching his eyes harden.
“I was so angry,” he said, “but I held it in. I knew what my father was doing was wrong but didn’t move to stop him from hurting me or my little brother.”
“What about your mom?” Raven said.
“My mom was a bystander,” he answered. “Watched him do these things and never moved to stop him because she was afraid of him hurting her, too. And that’s where my little sister came into the equation.”
Raven sat up then, looking at his dark eyes.
“My little sister was a beautiful girl… She had black hair and gorgeous eyes… but my mom always pressured her to look pretty… and because dad would always hurt us, she had no idea how to raise a little girl, so she took my father’s methods and used them on her.”
“Oh, God…” Raven whispered sympathetically.
“My sister didn’t take it as well as me and Cameron did,” he continued. “She kept on growing depressed… turning into this wreck… and eventually she ended her own life.”
Raven covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Yeah…” he said, “Cameron came home that night… He was the one who loved her so much while I was stuck in my little world… but it still hurt tremendously… My mom told Cam my sister never loved the family, so she left us, and that’s when I lost control.”
Raven looked to him, watching his gaze harden.
“I told Cameron the truth… how she killed herself because mom was whipping her, too… and he got into a fight with mom and dad after, then left, never returned again.”
“What did you do?” she said.
“The same night,” he said, “both mom and dad knew I told him the truth, and they said I ‘betrayed them,’ that ‘I was an ungrateful bastard,’ and then I needed to be punished.”
Raven started breathing shallowly.
“The whippings were extreme that night…” he said. “But they moved to swords and daggers, cracking them across my back, too… and I lost control again… But this time… all the anger I held in all these years exploded and I took the knife away from my mother, slashed her across the face. My dad got angry and came toward me, but I jumped at him and stabbed him over, and over, and over, and over again… And I somewhat enjoyed it… I felt all my emotions drain and I moved to my mother… I whipped her like she did me, then stabbed her five times.” He was silent for a moment. “And now I knew I enjoyed it… because my brain was corrupting. So that’s how I became this mutant thing… I killed my sister because I never tried to help her, my parents, and now my brother is nowhere to be found. I doubt he’d want to be around me after all those people I got paid to kill.”
Raven watched him stare off into space for a moment, black eyes somehow darkening.
But she got out from under the covers, making him look to her curiously when she crawled over to him, resting her head on his lap while curling up like a kitten.
The gesture was supposed to be comfort for him, letting him know that she understood and that she didn’t hate him… but it was also a comfort for herself… because she liked the feel of him… Even through his clothes.
He smiled down at her, running his fingers gently through her hair. “Is this you asking me to cuddle with you tonight?”
She blushed, turning her face into his pant-leg and nodded.
He chuckled, sliding under the covers and held her to him for the first time this way… Her face fit in the crook of his neck… arms wrapped around him, and legs slightly crossed over his.
“It’s okay,” he whispered in her ear, clearly noticing she was tensing. “You can relax. I won’t hurt you.”
After his gentle words, he draped the feathery blanket over both of them, feeling her muscles weaken at the softness…
She liked how her body felt… like it was melting with his heat trapping under the fabric… She felt so warm… the lavender detergent he used calming her senses… and he started caressing her back, making her eyes weigh…
All the pain the anxiety cast upon her was slowly dissipating… and she wanted to sink into the sheets and fall asleep… though she didn’t really understand why she was so vulnerable to his touch…
How he could make her sleepy by rubbing her back when she couldn’t even close her eyes before…
“Shhh…” he soothed, continuing to calm her with gentle strokes. “You can go to sleep. I’ll be here all night. You’re safe with me.”
“Malachi?” she whispered.
“Hmm?”
“Why are you so kind to me?”
He smiled, attempting to tease to see how she would react when she was this tired. “You really want to know?”
Silence.
He looked down to her, seeing her lashes shut, and she was breathing softly against him.
“Asleep already?” he said, tucking some hair behind her ear, then pulled her back into his embrace. “You should know I’m never letting you go now… Never.”
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*****
It was around two in the morning and Malachi lay on his bed, holding Raven tightly in his arms as she slept.
He hadn’t fallen asleep yet… he didn’t really need to, though he still hadn’t loosened his grip or moved to get more comfortable…
She was warm… and she felt so good in his arms… he never wanted to let go…
He buried his face in her hair that smelled like coconuts, reminding him of the ocean…
But she started trembling, and he moved away a little so he could see her face.
Her eyes were still closed… so she was still asleep…
But her brows were drawn together, and she started whimpering softly.
When she started wiggling in his grip, he only pulled her closer, running his fingers through her hair while she started writhing in his hold.
“Shhh…” he breathed, knowing that she was having a nightmare. “Shhh… It’s not real… you’re safe with me… It’s okay.”
When he moved his hand to rub her back, she eased in his grip, brows relaxing as the nightmare dissipated into thin air.
“There you go…” he breathed, gently stroking her arm with a palm. “Stay asleep, okay? You need the rest.”
A sudden knock on the front door broke through the soft silence, making him close his eyes in annoyance.
They knocked again.
So, Malachi gently let go of her, lying her down onto the bed and draped the throw blanket over her cold form.
He only stared for a moment before stepping out of the room, to the front door and pried it open.
It was the three sergeants again, looking up to his glare.
“Sorry, sir,” one of them said. “We just wanted to make sure she’s okay.”
“She’s fine,” Malachi answered. “I found her a couple hours ago, alright? Don’t worry about her. All you should worry about is keeping watch, alright?”
They nodded.
“And you three,” he said, watching them look at him before walking away. “There’s a new rule because unlike me, she needs to sleep. Don’t knock on the door from ten pm to seven.”
They all nodded. “Sorry, Malachi… We didn’t wake her, right?”
He shook his head. “I have to go back to her now, go do your jobs.”
They nodded and walked off.
Malachi shut the door then, dragging his hand down his face.
A sudden scream echoed through the townhome, making something inside him burst, and he found himself darting straight upstairs before he even knew it was Raven, throwing open the door.
It slammed against the wood, and she wasn’t on the bed, making his body grow cold…
But a second later he heard a thump! and he sprinted around the bed, finding Raven on the floor, rubbing her head as if she hit it.
“What happened?” he questioned quickly.
She looked to him, clearly confused at his sudden terrified self…
She had never seen him this way… his eyes dark, hardened in fear… it was so abnormal…
“What?” was all she said.
“You screamed,” he responded.
She blinked, brows drawing together. “I… I did?”
The previous fear inside him got drowned out by confusion.
“I had a nightmare,” she explained as if she were unsure if that were the cause, “and I fell when you slammed the door.”
“Did you hit your head?” he said, remembering her rubbing it earlier.
“A little.”
He scooped her up then, making her yelp, but he only lay her gently on the bed, staring down at her intently.
And she clearly wasn’t used to it.
“Where did you hit it?” he questioned almost protectively.
“Why are you—”
“Answer, Raven.”
She just breathed for a moment. “On my forehead.”
“Let me see,” he urged, lifting her bangs.
She winced when he touched the bright, red bump. “Ow!” she exclaimed. “Stop it!”
He let go then. “Do you feel sleepy?” he said quickly. “Does your head hurt? Can I see your eyes? Make sure they’re not dilated?”
“Whoa, whoa,” she said, brows raised. “Take a breath, alright? I’m fine.”
He looked her over for a moment.
“Why are you acting like this?” she questioned then. “Just a day ago, I’m pretty sure you’d laugh at me hurting myself.”
He never responded, just gently pushed her down onto the bed, drawing the sheets over her and got in beside her, pulling her into an embrace before she could register what was going on.
“You scared me…” he whispered.
Her stomach coiled with confusion.
Why was he suddenly acting like this?
“I’m sorry?” she said.
He shook his head, pulling her closer. “Go to sleep.”
“But I—”
“Go,” he said, “to sleep.”
She looked down to his chest then, easing in his arms. “Can you rub my temples?”
He gave her a curious look.
“Whenever I hit my head…” she said, “my mom would rub my temples… It helped the pain… I can’t really sleep with it hurting like this.”
“Do I need to take you to our doctor?” he said.
She shook her head. “No… I feel fine. My forehead just hurts. I don’t think I have a concussion.”
He raised a hand to her forehead then, using his thumb to gently knead her exposed temple, watching her close her eyes in response.
After a moment, she relaxed against him and slowly drifted off to her dreamland.
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