Melanie
Months —or even years—passed and I had yet to step back into the Human World. I missed the sun and light air. I missed grass and cool streams. I attempted to sneak through, but Lucifer hadn't been exaggerating when he said the portal would be heavily guarded.
Four guards, each with a three-headed hellhound, were regularly posted in front and behind the portal. I couldn't get close to it at all.
I was almost hoping to be contracted by a human just to smell the sweet air.
Zane was getting cabin fever, too. He was more agitated than usual, snapping at me or Mikayla if we even looked at him. His right eye was black now and I was beginning to see white strands mix with his black hair. He was merging faster with Kopa and I wondered if Tobias would want anything to do with him if the Metamorphose completed.
Lin survived; my father got him to the healers just in time. The arrow had been an Anti-Demon weapon, so his natural regenerative abilities had been severely hindered. The arrow, I had been told, missed his heart by a hair. Father kept me up-to-date with Lin's progress, I noticed. I guessed that meant Lin still wanted to marry me.
"Again." Father ordered.
I got up, breathing heavily. Blood dripped from my mouth and each breath I took was followed by a wince. My brother stood several feet in front of me, hardly out of breath and not a scratch on his porcelain skin. Any blood on him was not his own. My knees trembled and I nearly fell again.
"Begin." At Father's command, Zane used his speed to close the distance between us.
Feebly, I lifted my arms to block his incoming punch. I didn't block the blow to my already broken ribs. He clipped my jaw and I tumbled back to the ground. Zane punched my head with his cestus. Blood roared in my ears.
"Stop," I gasped out, holding out a hand as though that would be enough to keep him at bay. "Please. No more."
My brother hesitated and looked at our father. Father stared down at me, his face unreadable. "You're done?"
"Y-yes," I spat blood. "I'm done."
I heard his quick footsteps before his hand wrapped tightly around my upper arm, forcing me to my feet. "You are not done until I say you are. I don't care if you're coughing up blood. The Angels aren't going to show mercy if you beg them to stop."
Ever since Lucifer demanded retribution for the attempt on Lin's life, Father had intensified our training to the point we would collapse from exhaustion. Me more often than my siblings. At the moment, Mikayla was slumped against a boulder, her right eye swollen shut. She was frowning something fierce as she glowered at her broken limbs and hastily healed fingers. Zane hadn't gone easy on her. He wasn't going easy on any of us. He had started his training at the Royal Guard Academy and if I thought he had been bad before, he was a million times worse. Sparring simply turned into beatings for me and my sister.
Father gave me one rough shake before releasing me like I had burned him. "Keep going."
"I said I can't." I deadpanned, my voice not quite my own. Rayi was feeling hard pressed, too.
Father stopped walking. Zane gaped at me, horrified, and instinctively stepped away from me. My head began to ache from Rayi's sudden thrashing. She didn't like how far we were being pushed. Father looked over his shoulder at me, then turned to fully face me.
"Zane. I will continue from here. Step back." He commanded, his voice cool.
"Yes, Father." My brother nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to retreat.
I was given no warning as Father's shadows lunged for mine. I felt their icy grip wrap around my ankle and snap the bone. I cried out and fell to one knee. Its grip didn't let up as its master stalked toward me, his golden eyes alight. He unsheathed one of the scimitars strapped to his hip and swiped at me with it. I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the viciously curved blade. More of his shadow came for me until I could no longer move.
I felt the burning pain of the blade sliding into my stomach.
Blood bubbled inside my mouth as my head dropped. I gripped the blade tightly, ignoring the pain as it bit into my palms. Father let go of the scimitar, leaving it to pin me on the ground, and took several steps back. "Get yourself out of it."
I could feel my siblings' gazes on me as I stared incredulously up at my father. My eyes narrowed and I spat blood at his feet. He blinked and placed his foot on the hilt of the scimitar, pushing down on it. I couldn't stop the scream of agony as it slid deeper into the earth beneath me. If I wanted to, I could brush my fingers against the hilt, the scimitar was so embedded in.
I tightened my grip on the blade until black dribbled down my wrists. Gritting my teeth in a bloody grimace, I attempted to pull Father's scimitar out of me. Pain shot through me and I let it go, snorting like a panicked horse. Iron and salt burned my nose. Tears stung my eyes as I whimpered, "I can't. I can't."
Anger contorted my father's features as he bellowed, "You will or you will die! I did not raise quitters! Now do it!"
Rayi's thrashing grew more violent. I grabbed the blade once more. With a shriek, I pulled. Slowly, I felt the scimitar slide out of my body, blood following it. I tossed it aside and let my arms flop eagle spread. My vision was beginning to grow spotty. As my vision declined I heard Father order something incoherent.
*************************************
When I came to, I was in my bed. My torso was heavily bandaged. I didn't dare sit up, opting to blink blearily around the room. I saw Mikayla sitting by my bed, her arms folded. Her swollen eye was gone, but she was still covered with bruises and scratches. She sat up straighter when she saw I had woken and pursed her lips.
"You should have kept your mouth shut. It's going to take a few days for your internal organs to regenerate." She said, an edge of disapproval in her tone.
I said nothing, my eyes sliding shut. Pretending she was not there and that I was somewhere else entirely. The warm common room of Will's house flooded my mind's eye. His bright smile as he eagerly showed me around. His arms locked around me and the security I felt in his embrace. A lump began to form in my throat.
I missed him more than I would ever care to admit. These last months had been hard on me and I had no way of coping. I could no longer go to the Human World and books had lost their appeal. Staying locked in my room had been my preference. Curtains closed, bed unmade. The "training" I went through almost daily was wearing me down.
"...just do what he says instead of talking back like that." Mikayla finished saying.
"I'm not a fighter." My voice cracked at the end and hot tears erupted behind my eyelids. I didn't dare open them.
"You'll end up like Mother then." She snapped. I heard her get to her feet and stomp out of my room, the door swinging shut after her.
I opened my eyes and rivulets rushed down my cheeks. Mother hadn't been a fighter, either. I had her gentle nature and hatred for fighting. She was weak, too, and she was killed for it. Or, so Father said. I always had the inkling of doubt there was more to her execution than what my siblings and I had been told.
Sniffling, I rubbed the tears away. My eyes felt swollen. I could hear the bell from the castle ringing loudly and raucous shouts in the street. I had no strength to get up and see what was going on, but I felt some semblance of dread.
Zane whisked into my room, his Royal Guard Private jacket on, and went to my window. He pulled my curtain back to peer outside before letting it fall back in place.
"They captured an Angel." He informed me, his face blank.
Uneasiness ate away at me and, at my worried look, he added, "Not him. Lesser Angel. Probably strayed too far and got into one of the traps."
I had no knowledge of traps being laid for angels in the Human World. What if Will had already been captured and I had yet to find out? Rayi snarled at my misgiving.
That Angel is no longer your concern! She so cruelly reminded me. I paid her no mind, though I couldn't ignore the hurt I felt from her words.
"He's an Archangel; he wouldn't be easy to capture." Zane said, as though he had read my mind.
I swallowed thickly and queried, "What are they going to do with the Angel?"
He gave a disinterested shrug as he wandered over to the foot of my bed. "Likely interrogate him. Heaven won't be pleased when they find out. We just might enter war."
Though he tried to give off the impression the idea of war bored him, Kopa was a different story. I could see him in my brother's eyes and he was hungry for war. Rayi, too, seemed to buzz in my mind. I could only hope things wouldn't escalate to that point, no matter how bleak the situation seemed now.
William
We watched Joel pace back and forth in front of us, His beautiful face contorted with rage. Beside me, Luke shuffled from foot to foot. I shivered when his cold elbow bumped into my bare arm. He was just as agitated at Joel was, his body almost vibrating with the desire to do something to remedy the situation.
One of the Lesser Angels had been kidnapped. He was a young one, no more than a few hundred years old, and it had been his first trip to the Human World. He somehow got separated from the group of five Lesser Angels and one Archangel. We assumed he stumbled into a trap we had not noticed near the portal.
"This is clearly a provocation! My Lord, just give me the word and I will have our soldiers dispatched!" The Angel of War was all but pleading, just as infuriated as the rest of us.
"The last thing we need to do is start a war! We all have seen the consequences; the world will be destroyed!" The Angel of Peace opposed, staring at us all imploringly. "They retaliated for Justin's mistake."
The fact they stole the Angel equivalent of a ten year old child didn't sit right with me, or any of us for that matter. Especially Joel. It was no secret He possessed a soft spot for children. Hence His anger.
"Why not give the Thioren to the demons then?! Trade with them!" Someone suggested loudly. I glanced at Luke, but he didn't seem to care one way or another.
Joel stopped pacing and rounded on the Archangel who gave the suggestion, baring startlingly sharp teeth. "We will not give up one of our own! How dare you even think of such a solution?!"
Everyone grew quiet and the Archangel quailed at his master's wrath. "F-forgive me, M-My Lord."
Joel's pupils seemed snakelike, his eyes possessing an eerie glow. He seemed almost...demonic. Looking around at the other fearful faces, I think my thought was shared. One of them even had her hand resting nervously on the hilt of her sword. He regarded us all before stating calmly, "We will not give up one of our own, but we will take one of them. An Optima. Monitor the human contracts closely and intervene before the human's soul is stolen. Interrogate the demon on the spot to uncover what its rank is. If it is an Optima, bring it here immediately."
The Angel of Femininity, from where she stood on Luke's other side, rose her hand and timidly asked, "W-what should we do if the demon is not an Optima?"
A stony silence encompassed us as Joel contemplated His answer. The Angels of War and Masculinity were staring at Him almost anxiously. Finally, He said rather coldly, "Kill it. I do not care."
I attempted to steel my reaction to minimal shock, but the consternation and general fear of His order got past my wall. I exchanged a glance with Luke, whose eyes were hard with determination. He was unhesitant: death was his duty. I, on the other hand, was reluctant to execute such an order.
What if Melanie was discovered?
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