Rayi
The terror she felt was partially her own and mostly the Melanie's. It forced her to act. She flickered and appeared behind the Angel, knocking the knife out of the air with one of the daggers Melanie had looted off a dead guard. She felt the Angel's eyes land on her and harden as he stumbled back from her. Tossing her head to glance at him over her shoulder, she gauged his expression. Mistrust, fear, but not hatred. She felt a smile creep onto her mouth.
She could deal with mistrust and fear as long as he didn't hate her.
"Irsya, dear, don't you know it isn't very nice to invoke people into your games when their back is turned?" Rayi questioned lightly, rocking on the balls of her feet.
Her younger sister twirled one of her knives between her long fingers, humming tunelessly. "Where's the fun in that?"
Without a gesture, lightning shot from Rayi's chin and collided with the knife that had previously been in Irsya's hand. The two sisters charged each other, each with their own snarls of fury. Rayi's hand found Irsya's long French braid and tugged on it, for once thankful that Melanie always cut their hair so short as Irsya scrabbled for a grip.
Irsya bared her teeth and lightning crackled once more. Rayi, unfazed, wrapped an arm around her sister's throat. "Come now, sister, this is far easier than it should be. You aren't putting up much of a fight."
"That's because I'm the bait." Despite the chokehold, Irsya managed to grin.
Rayi's constant smile fell and she whirled around, her grip slackening. Amnon and the Angel were standing there, watching her worriedly, completely unaware of Kopa racing toward them.
"Angel, look out!" She screamed, altogether forgetting about her opponent.
He turned around just as Kopa's fist collided with his face. He went flying back from the force of the punch and didn't get back up when he struck the wall. Amnon engaged Kopa then as Irsya managed to elbow Rayi in the face.
With a grunt, Rayi released her to cradle her broken nose. Irsya got back to her feet and dusted off her frock. A giggle escaped from her painted lips when she spied Rayi glance at the Angel's prone body out of her periphery.
"Why, Rayi, I don't think I've ever seen you so upset before." She remarked.
She jabbed a thumb back at the Angel. "What, you think I'm upset because of that? Please, I'm more upset with my own foolishness. I should have known Mikayla would not have been so amicable with the little one under any other circumstances except to find out her secrets."
"Yes," Irsya smiled. "That was my idea. Clever, don't you think? Playing with Melanie's sentimentalities garnered the exact type of reaction from her I expected."
Her twin's red eyes narrowed when they looked back at her, her smile all but gone now. She was directly in front of her quicker than Irsya had ever seen before and she let out a wet gasp as blood welled up from her lungs. Shakily, she looked down to see Rayi's hand through her chest. She glowered furiously at her older sister before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell backwards.
"Hmph. I always was the better fighter." She scoffed to herself. She turned to see how Amnon was faring against Kopa only to wish she had remained looking away.
Kopa the Berserker, as her brother was known as, stood over Amnon's body, clutching the latter's heart in his hands. His abysmal black eyes regarded the organ boredly before he let it fall to the floor with a wet squelch. Fury—not hers—welled and swirled inside her chest, making a snarl rip from her throat. It drew his attention onto her and he tucked his white hair behind his tapered ear, staining the strands red.
His guttural voice scorned, "That was not much of a battle. He looked strong. What a waste of time."
Her small limbs shuddered and she clenched her fists. Despite the calm mien on his face, she saw the bloodlust swirling in his eyes. His lips twitched as he fought to keep from grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
"How about it, Rayi? You've always been hesitant to engage me. Perhaps I should involve the Angel an-"
She was an inch from him, her fist caught in his hand. She was shaking from the effort of trying to strike him, their eyes locked. He was no longer calm, his eyes filled with madness.
"Struck a nerve, did I?" He asked rhetorically.
She head-butted him, knocking into his chin with a sharp click, gritting her teeth in pain when she felt her brain rattle inside her skull. He released her, stumbling back from the force. She rubbed her forehead, muttering, "That was stupid."
The sounds of other enemies were fast approaching. She looked at Kopa, then at the Angel, who still hadn't gotten up. "Look, I don't really have time to play with you at the moment. But perhaps next time."
She rushed over to the Angel and grabbed his arm. He groaned as she hoisted him to his feet and began to use up her stamina with quick bursts of speed. Each time she used it was taxing; she was used to doing it with just herself. Never with a seven foot tall, unconscious Angel sprawled across her shoulders.
"When we get out of here remind me to convince the little one to get you on a diet." She grunted, glowering at his body.
Within her mind, she felt the Melanie's grief over the loss of Amnon. It only weighed her down more and she forcefully shoved the other presence back as far as she dared. She didn't need any more distractions than the fear that was steadily pumping through her veins in her blood.
Once she deemed they were far enough away, she staggered into an empty room and clumsily leaned his body against the wall. She jogged over to the door and locked it, throwing the heavy wooden board between the metal clips. She stilled, her ears jerking as they listened for any noise. She heard the quick heartbeats of servants nearby, locked away in their rooms while the Archangel ran loose. They were down the hall, not near enough to notice them. The closest set of guards were running the opposite direction. She dared herself to relax. They were safe for now.
Rayi went over to the Angel and pushed his hair back from his face. His head was bleeding from where Kopa had struck him. It had yet to slow, she noted concernedly. Straightening up, she ripped off a strip of her raggedy dress and knelt back in front of him. She tied the strip firmly around his head and lightly patted his cheek.
"Hey, c'mon, Angel, get up. Little punch like that shouldn't knock you down for the count." She muttered, her pats becoming slaps in her urgency.
With a little groan, her swatted at her hand and opened his eyes blearily. Seeing her so close, he jerked, hitting his head against the stone wall. He winced and rubbed the back of his head.
"That's a nice reaction to seeing your wife." She teased.
He glared at her. "You are not my wife."
Rayi tugged at his chain and then hers—the only thing they had been allowed to keep—and smirked wryly. "Wanna bet?"
He grumbled and looked like he wanted to argue before his brow furrowed. "Where's that Human-Turned-Demon?"
All humor left her as she felt the little one's hollow grief. She said flatly, "Dead. Kopa got to him."
He at least had the grace to seem apologetic for the loss, though she wasn't sure if it was because he knew Amnon meant a lot to Melanie or because he had grown on him a bit. Perhaps both. "I am sorry to hear it. He seemed very loyal. But, who's Kopa?"
"Ah, right. You were out cold thanks to him." She ignored his sneer. "My brother. He's...a bit much. Perhaps even for you if you were in top condition."
He seemed tempted to argue but at the seriousness of her tone thought better of it. Instead, he looked around slowly, his eyes narrowed. "Where are we, anyway?"
Rayi twisted around on her heels and sighed. "Damn. I brought us to the throne room."
"You what?!"
She growled, "It wasn't exactly easy carrying your fat ass around on my shoulders, Angel!"
"I'm not fat, you-"
"My, my, fighting like children. How sweet." They both froze at the honeyed voice of Lucifer.
She had no idea how he had gotten into the room unless he had been in there the whole time; there were no other entrances to the throne room except the one she had locked.
He was lounging in Lin's golden throne like it was his, one leg tossed carelessly over one of the arms. In the darkness of the room, his red eyes shone like a cat's. She saw a flash of white as he smiled amiably at her.
"Rayi, how nice to see you. It's been, oh, what; thirty, forty thousand years since we last encountered one another?"
She stood and bowed low at the waist, her hand over her heart. "Give or take, My Lord."
The Angel watched uncomfortably before hissing, "What's he talking about?"
She didn't look away from Lucifer as she explained, "How do you think Adsecula come to be, Angel? How are our names found in the books of Summoning humans so often stumble upon? There is a single reason why we are found in Optimas and some noble families."
She and Lucifer patiently waited for him to work it out. At the moment of his realization, his eyes widened. "You're one of the Fallen Angels. B-but how?"
"Clever boy," She cooed. "You see, unlike Lucifer, Adsecula were once Lesser Angels. Not Archangels. So, when we Fell, we died but our souls were absorbed and taken into demons who came from an Angelic lineage. Kopa was once the Angel of War, Irsya the Angel of Knowledge, and I was the Angel of Peace. Ironic, no?"
The Angel struggled to get back to his feet, his legs working like wet noodles. He only managed to slump back to the floor, long legs stretched out in front of him, panting. His infectious wounds were taking their toll on him. His glare had turned hateful, something that caused an ache inside her.
"Let's not share all our secrets with him, Rayi." Lucifer said, rising from the throne.
"As you wish, My Lord." She bowed to him once more, straining to keep her muscles from tensing. She hoped he couldn't smell her fear.
"You've been a very bad girl. You and Melanie both. Why did you not stop her from involving herself with the Angel of Life?" Lucifer questioned when he was a meter before her.
She straightened back up. "Trying to stop her is like trying to stop a charging bull. And, she is so afraid of losing herself to me she had locked me up inside her mind. Only when there are nuanced cracks in my prison am I able to fight her."
"And why did you help the Angel escape?" His eyes flashed.
Rayi blinked owlishly before glancing at Will. He looked to be willing her to combust on the spot. She swallowed and relaxed her face. "To bring him to you, My Lord."
If it hadn't been the subtle change of Lucifer's mien, her head would no longer be attached to her body. She dodged his swipe, landing beside the Angel. Lucifer clucked his tongue, his smoldering eyes the only thing giving away his ire.
"You always were a horrible liar. If you were to bring him to me you would have left him where he lie thanks to Kopa!" He bellowed the last part.
"Ah, good; I'm glad you didn't state because I killed my sister otherwise I would have called you the liar." She retorted, grasping the Angel's arm.
"What are you doing?" Will hissed.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Do you honestly believe I am dumb enough to attack Lucifer? The only thing we can do now is run."
"Oh, no you don't!" A bright light began to shine around Lucifer's body. There was the sound of cloth ripping as the membrane of wings erupt from his upper back. Slowly, the light hugged the membranes until they evolved into feathers.
"Crap." Rayi muttered as she hoisted the Angel onto his feet. While this time he was conscious, his fevered body was still weak from his injuries. "Angel, work with me here."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the vertigo." He groused as he attempted to hold up most of his weight so he wasn't crushing her.
Rayi figured she could use her speed twice more. She would have to make them count. She stood stock still, staring at Lucifer has more light formed around him until it was blinding to look at.
"What are you waiting for?!" The Angel exclaimed.
"For the right moment. I can only use my burst of speed two more times before my body gives up. I have to make it count." She answered.
Lucifer's light completely engulfed his body before he let out a mighty war cry and the light surged toward them. The windows shattered and the walls were scorched from the heat of the light. As the light dissipated, Lucifer stared eagerly at the spot the Angel and Rayi used to stand.
He gave an infuriated roar.
ns 15.158.61.52da2
