Prologue:

The council sat up high, on black clouds that blended in with the night sky. The points of light, stars, stood out, farther out from the bank of clouds where the trial was being conducted.

You could feel the formality in the air.

Lower, before them, was a male angel, maybe 19 in human age. He stood completely still, feeling their eyes search his soul. Literally. His hands were clasped in front of him, and his dark midnight blue wings folded against his back. His eyes were hidden, but if the council could have seen them, they wouldn't have found remorse. There was no regret.

He tensely reached his aura out, touching those around him. The emotions ranged from hostile, to thoughtful. The senior council member began to speak.

" You have taken the life of a mortal Adrael. No matter what your reasons, it is against our laws. Even to save another human, you knew this." his soft, yet surprisingly deep voice rang out. Murmurs of agreement flowed in from the half circle of the council around him. It grew stronger as the elder continued. "Therefore, I condemn you to a life alone, banished to Earth. You will be stripped of your wings, and your soul searching visions." Voices rang out in approval, whirling around the boy, and without warning, a breeze blew in, spiraling downward, opening a hole beneath the young man, whose face remained impassive, even as his wingless body was flung down, through the clouds, and into the bright lights of the human world.

There was a murmuring of his name by the general council.

"Adrael."

Up in the light gray clouds, sat a female angel.

Aeria was laid back on the cloud, her long blond hair spread around her, and pure white wings opened to the sides. She was lost in her deep thoughts, breathing shallow and light, as her aura probed into those around her.

" Aeria, wake up." A chirpy voice trilled, starling aeria out of her searching. Aeria sat up stiffly, and half turned to see who was on her cloud.

It was a spiky haired angel, Carlin, who sat cross-legged on the edge of Aeria's cloud. She wore a bright smile, and the typical white robe of the angels. Her wide, ice blue eyes fairly glimmered with joy.

" Yes, Carlin?" Aeria didn't mind the other angel; she was honest with her feelings, and a true and nice person. As opposed to the other angels…

" Id has asked that I share a cloud with him!" Id was Carlin's fiancé. He was short, with long black hair, and one of the most arrogant angels Aeria had ever met. But Carlin liked him, and they were engaged to spend the rest of eternity together, so Aeria humored her.

" I'm so happy for you!" Carlin squealed and clapped her hands in delight. Aeria smiled indulgently, while flexing her wings.

" Yea, I would ask you if you wanted to help me move in, but since we have nothing to move…" being angels, eternity was about a lack of material goods. But here in the clouds was more drama than had ever been on earth. In Aeria's opinion, half these angels didn't deserve a spot here; whether it was for their past, mortal lives, or their present, immortal lives. But it wasn't up to her to decided…

" Aeria…AERIA!" Carlin was shouting at her. Aeria dragged her attention to her friend, who was staring at her with a crestfallen look on her face. " You spaced off again. I guess Id better go…." before Aeria could protest, Carlin had spread her wings, and flown out of sight. Aeria sighed. She always managed to upset everyone here. Dejectedly, she stood, and began walking the cloudy path that led to the viewing circle.

The viewing circle showed life on earth, the people, the oceans, everything. But most of the angels up here didn't look in it, knowing that if they went near it, soon enough they would be homesick, and unhappy with immortal life.

Her flowing white dress was heavy to her. Supposedly, as an angel, she didn't feel this, but she had always been different, so everyone else was used to her strange announcements about itching, and the gown being too heavy.

While she had been lost in her thoughts, Aeria had gotten to the viewing circle. It rested on a large blue plate, about waist high. She gazed into its depthless blue pit, unblinkingly. She was conjuring the image of what she wanted to see, when she felt something on her hip. Spinning around, she saw Id standing there, a perverted smirk on his face. It was his hand. Aeria danced out of his reach, hissing in rage.

" You foul piece of trash. Do you forget your fiancé? Because I don't." he only looked smugger. Crossing his arms, Id stared at her in a hungry way, moving closer.

" I could forget her. For a few hours." He stated boldly, and before she knew what was happening, he was on his toes, lips crushed against hers. Stumbling backwards, Aeria knocked against the plate, and then lost her balance. Id stepped back, watching in horror as Aeria's body disappeared into the viewing circle with a blue flash.

Chapter One:

Adrael awoke, sitting on the overstuffed armchair in his dirty, damp, and dark apartment. Empty vodka bottles littered the floor, and the wallpaper peeled off the grimy walls. He stood, and the hangover hit him. Groaning, he managed to make it to the bathroom, even though his head felt like it was splitting down the middle. Turning on the tap, he splashed his face with water, drying it with his wife beater.

He gazed in the cracked mirror for a minute, taking in his red eyes and disheveled hair, trying to remember what happened last night. Pieces floated back; a bar, yelling men, stools flying, the vodka he brought home after stumbling around the dark streets of London for half the night. Adrael grinned. When you didn't age, there was no better way than to spend your time drunk. That was the cruelest part of his banishment; he would never age. Sentenced to an eternity on this damned planet, surrounded by the greed and malice of humans.

He bent down, looking under the cabinet for a moment, before locating the aspirin. He grabbed the half empty, and downed the rest. Throwing the bottle in the sink, he walked back to the kitchen. There was a pack of cigarettes on the counter, and his lighter. He pulled the thin stick out, and lit it, letting the sweet burn of the smoke fill his lungs, giving him instant relief from his hangover. Feeling much better, Adrael slipped on his shoes, put his pack of cigarettes in his pocket, and walked out the battered door, down the filthy hallway, and out the door into the street.

With the drapes drawn in his apartment, he hadn't noticed it was night already. Not surprising, considering the fact that the amount of alcohol he had consumed last night would have killed a human. Already, young men, and women crowded the streets, arm in arm or in groups. Although there were many pretty women around, none of them compelled him to introduce himself, even though he got plenty of looks himself.

He was tall, well muscled, with longish black hair that fell into his pupil less black eyes. Women stared after him, as their boyfriends spit in his direction, jealously clouding their auras.

Street lamps lined the cobbled street, and hotels and vacant buildings all around. There were many dark alleys around here, and it wasn't the nicest neighborhood.

Adrael swaggered down the middle of the now abandoned street, intent on getting more alcohol in his system, when a flash of bright white in an alley caught his attention. He slowed, pausing to look.

It was a girl, in a long white dress. Her hair was pale blond, and fell down her back in waves. What was most startling was her alabaster skin, as if she had never been in the sun.

And then, when his aura automatically reached out to touch hers, he let out a yelp of shock. She was an Angel, for Christ's sake, what was she doing down here?!?!

The girl stirred, and Adrael crossed the street to the alley where she lay. He crouched down beside her, and her eyes fluttered open, giving him a glimpse of pale violet .

There was a man beside her, wait, a boy. He was maybe the same age as her? He had dark hair, white skin, and his eyes were such a deep color, Aeria couldn't see his pupils. She smiled a little. How come she had never seen him in the clouds before? Her aura spread out, feeling for the familiar contours of her cloud. Then it hit her with a bang. She had fallen through the viewing circle. How was it possible? Panic washed over her, fear, angst. It was an emotional waterfall. And then she hit his aura. It was slightly shocked, but soothing. And for some reason, cold.

She struggled to sit, until she was leaning against the building to her left. The boy leaned back on his heels, still staring at her. His aura told her he too was an immortal. But where were his wings? Reflexively, Aeria went to flex hers. And found her back flat, and wingless.

With a piercing shriek, she shot up, hair askew, looking behind her for the beautiful white wings that gave her the freedom she needed. They were gone. The one thing she loved about being an angel, was gone. The boy was making shushing sounds. Aeria let out a sob, and crumpled to the cold, hard ground. Her wings…her life…was she a mortal now? What was happening? Would she ever get back?

Warm arms wound around her, lifting her from the ground effortlessly, and the last thing she remembered was the sound of a door shutting before she let the dark take over and end the confusion.

The girl had totally freaked out when she found out her wings were gone. The scream of utter confusion and panic had been stuck in his mind ever since. He hadn't ever heard something as heart wrenching.

That was why, without thinking, he had brought her back to his place, and set her down in the chair. Immediately she had curled into a ball, and had stayed that was for almost seven hours now. Meanwhile, a very sober Adrael had been drinking cup after cup of coffee, trying to kill the thirst that had built up. And he waited for the girl to wake up.

When Aeria woke up, she was in a soft chair, but to her it felt hard as rock. She was used to her perfect cloud. She stretched, and looked around with a dazed expression.

She spotted the boy in the kitchen, inhaling a pot of…coffee? It was a strange color. As a matter of fact, everything was strange colored. Almost like…there was no sparkly anymore. Aeria was used to the shine of angel life, and being back on earth was considerably dimmer. She felt almost blind.

The boy looked over, and seeing that she was awake, he pulled another cup out, and filled it with coffee. He glided over to where she sat, and held it out silently. Gratefully, she accepted, and drank it, even though it had a funny, metallic taste to it. Again, from being in the human world now. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until he broke it;

" How did you get here? I can feel from your aura your not human." He spoke quickly, and his voice had a pleasant sound to it. It was deep, but quiet and soothing.

" I can feel your aura too." She didn't answer the question right away. She still had to work it out herself.

" Yea, im not exactly mortal." The boy rubbed the back of his neck, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

" What happened to my wings?" Aeria questioned in confusion. He looked thoughtful.

" I don't really know. I just found you there, I don't know how long you were there." Aeria was upset. Who knew what had happened to them?

" Well what happened to yours?" she asked, puzzled. How did he get here anyway? Why wasn't he living in the clouds? His face became blank.

" It's a long story. I doubt the same thing happened to yours." He looked away, and Aeria changed the subject, sensing he wouldn't talk about that just yet.

" Thank you." The boy looked up, startled. She smiled, just a little bit.

" Uh, no problem?" Aeria let out a small laugh. It was easier to accept it now. She was on earth. With another angel? But still, didn't she always want adventure? She definitely had one now.

" I'm Aeria. What's your name?" he seemed friendly enough.

" Adrael." But he wasn't a talker apparently.