First things first. My deepest apologises for the HUGE delay in posting this chapter and thank you for sticking with me. Reckoning is nearing it's end my friends and I already have a good chunk of the remaining chapters written. As always reviews are appreciated and loved and Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Four
Arriane
I gasp for air as I come to a stop beside Francesca on top of the reptilian walls. Sharp, relentless pain rips through my chest. Beneath my silver armour, my tank top feels slightly damp above where Raphael had stitched up my stab wound before he hastily applied a dressing. Then proceeded to wrap my chest in gauze in order to try and keep the dressing in place. I must have pulled a couple of stitches, Raphael had warned me about the dangers of overexerting myself and advised against my participation in this fight, but I had to be here. For Luce. She would do the same for me if our roles were reversed. I also just wanted to see how smug and spiteful, Lilith would look with Luce's sword plunged in her chest.
I heard Francesca, Annabelle and Raphael all gasp as the surrounding cries of anguish and rage died, plunging us in a sudden, eerie silence. The battle, Annabelle and I had just fought through seemed to be frozen in time. I looked to my friends and followed their wide-eyed gazes out into the small arena. The sight before me caused the blood running through my veins to run cold. I saw Daniel plunging his dagger into Luce's back. Luce's mouth still open after her yelp of surprise, her chest heaving as she gasped as the blade twisted inside her. Daniel withdrew his blade causing Luce's blood to run down the back of her dirty tank top and dripped from Daniel's blade onto the snow beneath them. Luce's legs trembled before giving way as she sunk to her knees. Daniel circled back around her, catching her chin with his hand and pulled her face up, forcing her to look up at him. His lips twitching up into a cruel smirk as they moved with a couple of inaudible words before he kicked her back, her body sprawling backwards helplessly into the snow. Her blood began to pool into the snow beneath her, creating a gruesome, crimson pool. With a final satisfied smirk, Daniel sheathed his dagger and retreated a couple of steps to allow Lilith to take his place. She grinned down at Luce, who lay in shock on the ground, her eyes staring straight back at Lilith.
"Get up!"
"Lucinda, Move!"
"Fight!"
We all called out to her in disbelief and desperation to try and get her to prevent the cruel fate before her. A fate she didn't deserve. With a scream I raised my sword as I unfurled my wings and dove at Lilith, my sword pointed straight at her. Before I could get anywhere near Lilith, one of her monsters sprung from on top of the snake monster and collided with me mid-air, growling and snarling as we fell to the ground. The impact of hitting the ground, jarred my sword from my grip. The monster lunged at my face with its teeth bared, my hands pushed at its shoulders, as it snapped at me again and again. Drool fell from its yellow, long needle-sharp teeth as it flung its head from side to side trying to sink it's teeth into some part of me.
"Arriane!"
Annabelle called as she jumped into the arena after me, followed by Raphael and Francesca. With a battle-cry, Annabelle unsheathed her sword and lunged at the monster on top of me. Its ear-splitting scream was drowned out by the dragon that landed inside the arena with a deafening roar. Before Lucifer even had a chance to get his bearings, he was swarmed by Lilith's monsters and minions. Even the large basilisk type monster who created this little arena, moved in on him. With a deep rumbling growl, Lucifer breathed out a long trail of blue flames, scorching several of the monsters but unfortunately it reflected off of the skin of most of them, leaving them unfazed by his attack on them. Annabelle threw the wolf creature off me, before decapitating it with a graceful swing of her blade. I looked back towards where Lilith, Daniel and Cam were and several more wolf-like and scorpion like monsters had appeared between us and them, snarling with black and amber drool cascading from their sharp teeth. I reached behind my back and pulled my back up sword from it's sheath.
"Two each?" Annabelle suggests
"Sounds good to me." I growled
Annabelle and I both lunged at the monsters as they raced forwards to meet us. One of my swords sliced into one of the scorpions while my other swung to and fro fending off the wolf creature who easily dodged each slice of my blade. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the scorpions tail swing towards me, the venomous tip ready to strike. I quickly dodged as the tip swung down, digging into the snow where I once stood. The scorpion quickly snatched me into one of its sharp pincers, pinning my arms at my sides. My metal armour shrieked in protest as its pincers started to close in an attempt to crush me. I gasped at the pressure that suddenly encased my body and the sharp bright pain that erupted from my wound. The wolf creature, ceasing an opportunity lunged at my throat, teeth bared.
"Arriane!" Annabelle screamed as she continued to fight her two opponents, although both of her opponents were covered in their own tar like blood, fading fast as their thick, black blood continued to gush from their wounds.
A yell sounded from overhead as a figure launched off the arena's reptilian wall before spearing the wolf's throat on their sword. The wolf attempted to scream in agony though it came out more as a gurgling yell as thick black blood filled the creatures throat and dripped out the sides of it's opened mouth before it crashed to the snow, limp. Quickly withdrawing the sword, the figure spun and sliced into the arm of the pincer I was encased in. The scorpion roared in agony as it watched its arm drop to the ground, the pincer I was trapped in loosening enough for me to free myself from its grip. I keeled over in pain as air gushed back into my lungs, looking up in time to watch the large scorpion like monster stab its stinger down at its new opponent again and again fruitlessly. The figure easily and gracefully dodged each time, creating a deadly dance with the beast. Annabelle having killed her opponents rushed to me, to help me back to my feet. She kept asking me questions which I wasn't paying much attention to, my entire focus was on the girl with the bright blood red curls and the mutilated wings. She leaped into the air with a spin dodging the scorpion's other pincer as it snapped right where she previously was. As soon as she landed she drew her sword back and sprung at the scorpion driving her sword into the beast's dark green scaly skin and proceeded to stab the monster over and over again, yelling with each strike of her blade until the scorpion stumbled in the snow and fell unable to gain the strength to stand once again.
"LUCE!" Cam's scream momentarily drew my attention away from my rescuer to his position in the arena's snow not ten metres away from where Luce's body lay, his eyes wide and filled with a cocktail of emotions; desperation, frustration and grief. He shakily tried to get to his feet but whatever Lilith had probably lanced her sword with seemed to be working as his knees buckled each time he attempted to take a step in Luce's direction causing him to slump back into the snow. He reached forward and began to try and drag himself closer to where Luce lay in the snow, looking up at Lilith who was smugly talking to Luce. I gasped as I watched Lilith's sword plunged down into Luce's chest. Luce's neck jerked forward at the impact before her face scrunched into an agonised grimace, her mouth open gasping as Lilith twisted the sword in her chest. In the eerie quiet I could have sworn I heard the sickening squelch as Lilith withdrew her sword from Luce with a lioness' grin plastered over her face. She turned to her followers and lifted her bloodied sword high into the air for all to see. Lilith's basilisk turned away from its fight with Lucifer, the minions whom Lucifer had previously barged through rose to fill the gap the snake made. Lucifer's dragon form blinked in obvious shock as it took in the scene in front of him, before with a puff of steam from his nostrils, he let out a heart wrenching roar before fighting with a renewed vigour. The Bailisk slithered its way back to Lilith, whom gave its slimy head a gentle stroke, just before it rose up and let out a harsh ear-splitting yell alerting all to the fate of Lucinda. Lucifer's outraged roar drowned out the basilisk's victory cry as he roared with a rage so fierce, the ground under my feet shook as he slashed through warrior after warrior, releasing blast after blast of huge plumes of blue fire into those who attempted to flank him. Some yelled in surprise and agony as their tar like slimy skin caught alight, their limbs flailing in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames before throwing themselves down into the compacted black snow in a final attempt to smother the flames. The ones that didn't burn repositioned themselves to make up for the losses of their comrades, some waited to try and find a moment when Lucifer was engaged in combat already before instigating their attack but Lucifer's tail swished out and batted them away, their bones crunching at the impact.
"FOR LUCINDA!" Voices outside our little arena bellowed followed by deafening battle cries, as the sounds of metal on metal and agonised screams began once again. Our battered and bruised archers took to the sky and unleashed a cloud of deadly arrows cutting each of Lilith's goblin like minions from the sky as their starshots and arrows sliced through their paper-thin wings, sending them plummeting and screaming to their deaths. "Fight Back!" Edgar the one who stole and was currently flying with Lucinda's wings bellowed at what remained of his kin above us. They fumbled with their bows and arrows as a new wave of arrows sailed through the air towards them. Edgar flew forward and with several mighty beats of Lucinda's wings, stopped the arrows from getting any closer to him or the remainder of his aerial squadron. The arrows now dove down to earth, killing and injuring a couple of the monsters that had clambered into our makeshift arena or simply bounced off the basilisk's scales. What Edgar wasn't expecting was the dragon to abandon his fight on the ground, once he had gained a visual of Edgar and his stolen plush wings. Lucifer sprang into the air and quickly soar up towards Edgar, his front legs outstretching, talons out stretched similar to that of a hunting falcon as it prepared to snatch its unsuspecting prey. His sharp talons closed and dug into Edgar's hips, causing Edgar to scream in surprise. Edgar quickly tried to reach for the dagger at his side, but Lucifer's grip held the dagger sheathed at his side. Lucifer spun and dove back towards the ground, dragging Edgar's body along the compacted snow before coming to a stop at the other end of the arena, keeping a yelling Edgar pinned to the ground. A deep chortling sound escaped the dragons throat as he watched his victim squirm, plead and yell before they both burst into a raging blue flamed inferno. Edgar gurgled out an agonized scream as his dark skin melted and eventually caught alight. Monsters nearby to the sudden blast screams as they ran away and those who were caught too close to the inferno simply burnt down to ash at the intense heat.
After the flames died down once again, all that remained was an amber haired man holding a pair of beautiful, plush white wings. Lucinda's wings. His icy eyes looked over in Luce's direction, assessing the lines of monsters between him and her. His fingers curled into the feathers of the wings he held in frustration as he shook his head and started towards the small group of us. He knew that even he couldn't make it through Lilith's defences. A couple of other angels and demons had also joined our little group after scaling the serpentine walls of the arena to come to our aid for the final push in our attempt to defeat Lilith. I was aware of Lucifer getting closer due to the waves of heat that hit us, demonstrating his pain and anger, his eyes highlighting his emotions as his icy blue eyes now had flecks of red. Reflecting how hard he was fighting his transformation into the King of Hell many faced in their nightmares or the most common illustration of the devil, in mortal culture. I looked back wide eyed at the patch where Luce lay dying in a widening crimson circle of her own blood, her trembling hand moved from her side on the floor to land on her pregnant stomach, stroking it slowly and shakily as she stared up into the dark sky, the time between each of her chest rises and falls getting longer. My hands clamped over my mouth as tears blurred my vision as they flitted desperately around the arena, looking for some way to help Lucinda but to no avail, there were too many of Lilith's monsters and so few of us. Some of the monsters who now occupied the clearing nearly defeated both Lucifer and Michael, our two best warriors when there were no sides and the Throne was the one entity we all worshipped and fought to protect. Though the monsters made sure we could watch as Lilith watched Luce drawing her last few breaths with a dark smirk of triumph and satisfaction pulling at her lips.
Cam had painfully crawled towards Luce, he fell an arm's length from her. His body trembling as violently as Steven's had. My heart sank as I watched his body spasming in response to whatever poisons must have been on the dagger, Lilith got him with. He shakily attempted to push himself back up into his crawling stance to close the distance between them. His arms shaking violently from the poison pounding through his veins and from the exertion with each movement, he dipped down close to the ground a couple of times before managing to right himself again until he had somehow managed to strenuously pull himself that bit closer to Lucinda, dropping to the ground and panting heavily before his bloody fingers claw into the crimson stained snow pulling himself closer before he collapsed once again by her side, taking her hand that lay by her side in his. His lips moved with whispered words, hers slowly moving in response, as her finger trapped in his grip curled slightly in a failed attempt to hold his hand as well. I'd watched her die so many times in the past, watched her burn into cinders, heard her momentary screams as she was engulfed by the flames. Although back then I always had the reassurance that it wasn't a goodbye but a 'until we meet again'. This was definitely the final goodbye, we had all feared. The day we once and for all lost our Lucinda and I couldn't bare to watch as my friend of millennia upon millennia et cetera died. Instead my gaze landed on the tatters of our little 'entourage'. Annabelle knelt in the snow, her hands covering her mouth as she cried while watching our dear Lucinda breathe her final few breaths. Francesca sat in the snow, her vacant gaze on Luce. Her face a perfect picture of grief and despair before she gazed back down at Steven whose head lay in her lap, his eyes half-open as his body continued to convulse. She wrapped her arms around his trembling figure, clutching him close, like a scared child would do with their stuffed plush animal before she finally ducked her head to lay her forehead on Steven's after Luce's chest rises and falls slowed in tempo and fell out of rhythm. Her long, luscious, honey blonde hair shielding her and Steven's view of what was to come. Her white knuckled fingers digging into his armour as if she could hold him together. Hold him here with her.
"Arriane."
An all too familiar voice spoke, her voice quivering slightly with uncertainty, my gaze dashing from Francesca and Steven to the curly red headed girl with mutilated gold wings who approached me cautiously in the way a frightened child would approach a menacing looking big dog. Her armour black and steaming from where the scorpionesque beasts, obsidian coloured blood. Strands of her curly blood red hair had fallen from her typical neat braid. Annabelle's eyes widened as she took in the woman in front of us, her lips parting as though she was about to say something before closing again. "Shall we, try and win this? For your Lucinda?" Tessriel asked as her eyes scanned the lines of Lilith's warriors, as she caressed her steaming blade. I blinked a couple of times in her direction in confusion. Annabelle smiled at the girl and nodded. "We better get on with it then."
Luce
My eyes struggled to stay open beneath the increasing heaviness of my eyelids, dark spots appearing in my narrowing vision. My entire body left as though it had been dipped into the frigid Atlantic ocean, my body immobilized by shock yet trembling. Weight fell on my hand which pressed into my stomach. Funnily though, I felt no pain, I was completely numb. Cold but Numb. It was a weird sensation. I'd already lost too much blood. My body was simply accepting it's cruel fate.
"Don't you dare, give up!"
"You can't die you hear me, Lucinda!"
"Keep your damn heart beating."
Cam and Lucifer's commanding voices blend together, I was too drowsy to even attempt to separate the voices and figure out who was saying what. A hand tightened around my trembling hand, lying by my side in the snow dyed with my blood, I slowly tilted my head in the direction of my hand, to see who had grabbed it. I blinked a couple of times to try and get my vision to focus a little better and through my still slightly blurred and spotty vision, I saw his emerald eyes burning into me with desperation. "You can't! You can't die! We need you, Lucinda!" He choked as he struggled closer, releasing my hand before putting his hands over the wound in my chest and pressed down, attempting to stop my blood from pooling out of me. I swallowed as I fought against my eyelids which continued to grow heavier and heavier. Sleep beckoning me, promising release from my current drowsy and dizzy state of mind. "I'm sorry." I managed to say meekly. I shakily lifted my other hand which landed on my stomach. "I'm so sorry, little one." I spoke to my stomach as the wooziness increased and my eyelids were finally too hard to fight until finally the battle was forfeit and they closed "Tell the others how terr-sorry I am. Tell Dan—l I'm srry I couldn't I couldn't save hi-. I forgive me" I spoke my voice no more than a whisper, the dizziness blurring my thoughts, I wasn't even sure if I was coherent, not that I really cared. Cam knows me well enough to somewhat understand what I meant and fill in any gaps I made. I allow the darkness behind my fallen eyelids to beckon me deeper into its soft caress, tumbling deeper and deeper into its comfort, the anguished sounds of battle fading away until all that was left was a gentle soothing hum.
Daniel
My eyes fall on Luce, her chest hadn't risen nor fallen in the last couple of minute though her body continued to tremble slightly in the crimson stained snow and I was taken by surprise at the sick, heavy feeling in my stomach and chest, as wave after wave of grief hit me. Cam's hand moved from holding her hand lying in the snow to pressing down on the wound to her chest hard, one hand over the other, ignoring his own injuries oozing blood. "Don't you even dare, give up!" He was growling at her, one hand moving to find the pulse on the inside of her wrist, from the look on his face I knew he was having difficulty locating it. The sound of crunching footsteps drew my attention away from Cam and Luce to Lilith sauntering her way back to us with her her giant basilisk friend at her heels. The serpent's forked tongue flicking out from between its venomous, gleaming long black fangs again and again. Analysing it's surrounds. Lilith's hand reached back to affectionately stroke its scaly head and the serpent came to a stop to my left. Its eyes were at my level and I somehow managed to repressed the shudder that tried to tear its way through my body as it's green and orange, slitted eyes flitted to me, holding my gaze.
"No! no, no, no, NO!" Cam's lamentful yells broke my gaze and drew my attention to him. He drew a limp Lucinda closer to him. Her arms fell limp from her stomach, her eyes now completely closed and her lips parted slightly. "Such a pity, though I did warn her." Lilith tutted, stroking the head of her serpent. She gazed into it's eyes and nodded giving it some sort of a signal before the serpent pulled back before thrusting the upper part of i's body into the air, the body below it's big head, flaring outwards into a hood. It looked very much like a gigantic cobra but the blood- curdling roar it let out was nothing like its look-alike and nothing like the roar it had let out as Lucinda lay dying in her own blood. At my hand.. The roar sent the hairs at the nape of my neck upright. Roars and cheers of triumph echo back from outside the arena's reptilian wall as Lilith's supporters hurt of Lucinda's tragic fate. The grief built up once again into a huge lump in my throat that I felt like I couldn't breathe through and couldn't swallow. "Daniel?" A voice quizzed, I looked up straight into Lilith's midnight blue eyes which held mine with such an intensity that I knew she could see the unexplainable grief within me, for a second her eyes softened and became almost sad looking, but the abrupt change in emotion was gone before I could properly identify it. Lilith's eyes flick from me to something behind me, lifting her small chin slightly.
"Whats the matter, Danny boy? Hmmmm?" Arms wrap around my body in a vice like grip, I struggle trying to break free. "You're the one who did this to her. You could have fought it, if you tried….. So much for love." The same voice sneered into my ear. Everett. "What the hell is going on!" I growl as I try and fight out of Everett's hold on me. My only response was a blissful, raucous laugh from Lilith. "You didn't really think I was going to keep you, did you?" Lilith giggles, cocking her head to the side, sending her fiery red ponytail tumbling over her shoulder, her hands firmly placed on her hips. "Oh Darling!" She sniggered, shaking her head as though I had just told some sort of joke. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel!" She tuts before bursting out in a little giggle "You, my dear were you were merely a means to an end." She chuckles as her gaze falls on Cam and Luce. "Her end to be more precise. You both were bound to be each other's downfalls at some point. Love makes you weak, blinds you to your own vulnerability. Something I learnt the heard way." She jeered following my eyes as mine landed on Cam cradling Lucinda's body to him. "As part of his …departure, for want of a better word. Why don't we have him give us a little entertainment before we wrap this up as a little thank you?" Lilith winked at Everett, while dipping her head in Luce's direction. Everett's grip on me faltered for a second. "What a brilliant idea, my Queen." He complimented her before I felt a sharp pain in my neck before a burning consumed me. I cried out as Everett's grip held me upright as my body convulsed. "Give it a minute and you'll be back to your old self." Lilith grinned at me, her figure blurring and turning negative as my head swam. "W-W-W—What have y-y—y-you given meee?" I stuttered out. "Exactly what your friends gave you when they shot you with that arrow right here." Everett smirked, pushing the part of the arrow that had pierced my armour and sunk into the flesh of my shoulder deeper into my skin until it hit bone. I yelped in pain as I thrashed trying to get away from him. "Just a lot more potent, it will neutralise what I had given you completely." I heard Lilith's voice grin as she paced in front of me. "It's a shame your loyalty to her, runs deeper than I had anticipated. You would have been fun to keep around. Sweet Dreams, my darling." Lilith sniggered as she came to a stop in front of me. She unsheathed her sword once again. I futilely struggled more intensely against my brothers grip before I saw Lilith lunge forward as something hard collided with the side of my head. I gasped in surprise but was unconscious before I hit the ground.
Luce
"Wait! Lucinda! No! Stop!" A voice hastily echoed.
"Lucinda, Wait!" A southern voice called as something circled and tightened on both of my wrists, gently tugging me backwards into harsh, blinding light that cast the soothing darkness far away from me. The cries of battle were back but muffled almost as if it were happening on a TV show in another room. I squinted in the light, trying to search for anything in the light as I tried to get my bearings. My eyes watered against the bright intrusion that cast the beautiful darkness away. I squeezed my eyes closed against the light before slowly opening them once again. Once my eyes started to adjust to the abrupt change in lighting, I glanced down at my wrists and slowly two hands wrapped around my wrists came into my vision. My eyes followed one of the hands back to find a long, blonde-haired woman looking back at me, her blue eyes filled with various different emotions but relief and concern were the most evident, my gaze flitted to her left to find another woman whose hair was styled in a more edgier fashion than the previous woman. Her half bleached blonde hair and half black hair was styled in a straight cut bob, her face covered in piercing. Her blue eyes also didn't mirror her companions either. Her blue gaze held pity.
"Gabbe?! Molly?!" I gasped. A big grin stretched across Gabbe's face causing her eyes creasing slightly. "You remember us?" Gabbe grinned, her blue eyes glisten0ing. "Of course! How could I ever forget you two?" I ask as I pull my wrists from their grip and throw my arms around Gabbe in a tight hug. Molly rolls her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Wouldn't be the first time, you'd forgotten us, Meatloaf. Good to know that it only took for us to die for you to remember us in your future carnations." Molly grumbled. "Ignore her." Gabbe smirked into my ear, glaring at Molly before we pulled back from each other. "Good to see, that you haven't changed one bit, Molly." I countered.
"But I thought, when angels died there was nothing for them?" I said incredulously as I looked around
"Funny Thing about the afterlife, is that you actually have to die to figure out what happens in it, Meatloaf." Molly smirked affectionately
"We'd love for you to stay, but you can't. It isn't your time yet."
"What do you mean? Lilith won. Where one stall stand triumphant with all, the other shall fall and have nothing at all." I say, my arms opening to draw their attention to the nowhere we were in.
"Considering, I'm not currently on a battlefield and can only vaguely hear the battle. Im assuming Im the one who has fallen." I add
"Again, Funny thing about prophecies or whatever the hell that annoying jingle is, is that they can be interpreted in many different ways by different people or have hidden meanings or tiny but essential loopholes as I'm sure you are aware of based on your previous life. In your first ever life, you fell but didn't die….well at least not straight away and not in the angelic sense. This lifetime you got your wings back, technically regaining some of your angelic nature but then your wings were taken from you once again, causing a set back and opening that all important loophole in your so called prophecy. A lot of angels have lost their wings before and are a special brand of Fallen. So congratulations, you have let again Fallen!" Molly smirked
"Your heart is still beating, Lucinda." Gabbe smiled, tears in her eyes.
"Faintly but still beating." Molly agreed.
"How, I mean. Lilith just stabbed me in the chest?" I countered
"Jeez! Do you want to die? Cause we won't stop you, if that's what you want" Molly spoke annoyed crossing her arms across her chest.
"Ignore her, What she meant to say was. That's true but she only nicked an artery close to your heart but missed your heart, so it can still beat.
"Your body is in a weird state right now, mortals would describe it as a severe comatose. But it's actually a special state for us angelic folk, it's a defensive mechanism where the body slows down and prioritizes healing by going into a very deep sleep which to mortals is life or death situation. Daniel entered it a few times in the past before, after you well…ummm combusted, to help pass the time between incarnations but since you aren't a full angelic being anymore, your body can't heal itself but will remain in this state for a while. Without need for oxygen, food or water. It slows your heart rate and has reduced the rate of your blood loss although your blood loss is already quite extensive." Gabbe simply grinned at me before her smile fell some, as though she just remembered something dire. "But I'm afraid that if we don't work quickly that you will bleed to death, we need to stop your blood loss for a period of time, to give you enough time to defeat Lilith." Gabbe mumbled as she began to pace. Her blue eyes distant, lost in thought. "Don't forget strength, if she doesn't have enough strength there isn't a hope she'll be able to defeat, Lilith." Molly interjected. Gabbe stopped and turned, a big grin spread over her face. "I think I have a plan."
Daniel
"Daniel!"
"Grigori!"
"For the love of god, Grigori. Wake up,"
A voice snarled as I slowly began to resurface from unconsciousness. SLAP! My cheek stung and throbbed at sudden impact. "WAKE UP, You bastard!" The voice yelled. SLAP! My other cheek now burned, jarring me awake. I grumbled at the pounding pain in my head, as I opened my eyes, the pain intensified, my eyes closed again. The person scoffed in response at my feeble attempt to do as they wished. I opened my eyes once again, colours and shaped swirled in my vision. The colours and shapes focusing and un-focusing as though I were looking through a camera's lens. My hands reached out in front of me, looking for something to hold onto until the world ceased to spin unnaturally around me. My hands collided with cool, damp metal. I blinked several times as I tried to focus on who was before me. Black hair and glaring emerald eyes. Cameron. "I always knew you would ruin her!" He said in a mixture of a snarl and a sob as he pushed me away, his hand pressing into this chest wound, which was oozing blood slowly. What? Ruin who? I thought before a tidal wave of memories and emotions crashed over me. Luce underneath me, sweat beading above her eyebrows as her lips gliding into an easy understanding smile. I'm sorry I couldn't save you from her…I wish we had more time. I love you. My dagger poised above her heart. The sudden pain that stopped me from finishing the job. The confusion. Her stomach rounded. Lilith's voice in my head. The blade of my dagger coated and dripping with Luce's blood. Luce's gasp of surprise as she fell to her knees. Sweet Dreams. Lilith stalking forwards, pushing her onto my back. Lilith examining her blade before plunging it down into Luce's chest. Luce lying in a pool of her own blood, her hand slowly gliding over her pregnant stomach before her arms fell limp. "No." I breath out as the blood in my veins ran cold. Not true! Not true! NOT TRUE! It had to be Lilith playing with my mind! I would never hurt Luce! Never!
My eyes widened as I lunged forward, desperately trying to grab the front of Cam's armour. "Get off me!" He snarled, weakly trying to push me off. "Where is she?! Where is Luce? She's okay right?!" I ask panicked. His eyes narrowed. "Does she look okay to you." He snapped, his eyes travelling to where a beautiful black-haired woman lay in crimson stained snow not six feet away from us. "No!" I breathe out as I try to get to my feet. The world spun at my sudden movement sending me stumbling back down before I hurriedly crawled the few feet between us, I landed on my hands and knees beside her. I pull her limp body onto my lap. "Luce! Luce baby, wake up!" I whisper to her. She was so cold. I shake her gently as I stare at her face, one hand lifting to gently caress her cheek. She looked so peaceful, so blissfully unaware of the battle surrounding us. Tears filled my eyes as I lifted her up, my elbow supporting her head as I pulled her to my chest. "Come back! Please baby, come back to me!" I sob as I duck my head into her stiff black hair. "I'm so sorry!"
Cam scoffed from beside me. "Yeah, like saying how very sorry you are is going to bring her back!" Cam snapped between each chatter of his teeth. "I didn't know what I was doing!" I snarl back at him. "Don't! Don't you even dare say, I was poisoned, Cam! I was delirious! You always claimed that your love for her transcended EVERYTHING! And yet one drop of poison causes you to stab her in the back and lay her out like a sacrificial lamb for Lilith! You are pathetic, Grigori!" Cam snapped right back as he tried to co-ordinate himself enough to make his way over to where I held her. My stomach sank even further than it already had at his words. He's right. Even Everett had said it You're the one who did this to her. You could have fought it, if you tried….. So much for love. I felt a bump connecting with the side of my body and loosened my grip on her to expose her pregnant stomach. My head fell backwards. "Oh god!" I sobbed, my fingers tightening their grip on Luce's body. "This can't be happening, it can't!" as tears continued to pour down my face. This is all my fault. I did this to her and to the- our baby. My fault. Cam's grunt drew my attention away from Luce, and to my brother as he shakily lowered himself down onto one of his elbows, his fingers clawing the snow beneath him as though trying to keep his balance as his other blood -stained hand pressed more firmly onto his chest wound. His gaze glazing over slightly. His lips moved with muffled curses. "What do I do, Cam?" I asked, panic seizing me as my eyes flitted from Luce to him. Cam rolled his eyes. "What do you think? You end this, you get up and fight back like you should have when Lilith first got to you." He groaned as his body lowered once again from its propped-up position to flat on the ground. "Get that damned cuff off her wrist, that's her power source, it probably helps her control all those minions of hers. They're a law onto themselves, they're dominant creatures not submissive, they would rather fight to the death thna live under someone's boot. Chaos will break out no doubt, that's when you end her. Make it quick, don't draw it out because you will find some way to screw it up. Violence never was your strong suit." Cam mumbles, one corner of his lip quirked up. "That was my forte, you were always the tracker. We made a good team, whether you like to admit it or not." He reminisced with an amused exhale. "But it's up to just you now, Brother. Kill Lilith, bring an end to all of this. Finish what Luce started." He encouraged his body trembling. "I'm sorry, brother." I apologised to him, one of my hands reaching out to grasp his shoulder. "I know, but you still have some making up to do. Now get out there and finish this." Cam ordered before letting out a deep breathe.
Arriane
Countless monsters lay discarded on the snow behind us. Some heads separate from the bodies and other limbs scattered among the chaos. Many of the monsters still screamed and yelped as they awaited death to come and relieve them from their agony. Finally we broke through the barricade revealing Daniel cradling Luce's limp body, his head ducked into her dark hair and Cam lying motionless not far away from him, his eyes closed. Annabelle sank back into her poised position, her sword's blade pointed at Daniel. "Daniel?" I called cautiously. His tear-streaked face lifted from Luce's hair, sniffling as he saw me. Annabelle lowered her sword slightly but was still poised to strike should he turn on us, like he did to Luce. "S-She's gone." He choked out as his lamentful gaze once again fixed on Luce's face. "No thanks to you." Lucifer snarled, his icy blue eyes turning red in his rage. He started towards Daniel but before he could take more than 2 steps I stepped into his path and raised my sword at him. "Arriane!" Tessriel gasped, her eyes widening in alarm as she looked nervously at Lucifer. Lucifer's fiery eyes narrowed as he took me in. "You must be dumber than I thought, if you would willingly turn your back on the man who not five hours ago literally stabbed you in the back." He snarled, his hand reaching out to push me out of his way. "I wouldn't." Tess growled as she too lifted her sword to the man who she conspired with to try and sway my alliances centuries ago. "He was under the influence of Myscriatoxin. No one, not even you could have fought it." Tess countered fixing her steely gaze on Lucifer. "You knew the poison that was used on him?" Francesca asked Tess and Lucifer suspiciously, her fists clenching as anger clearly began to bubble up inside her. "He's the one that told me the antidote to it, but I couldn't create a potent enough serum to lance the arrow that I shot Daniel with, hence why he unfortunately relapsed." Raphael interjected, looking at her apologetically as he admitted his failure. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Raphael. He told you, at the front lines, there isn't much you could have done but to work what you had on hand. Even if you flew back to your tent to get what you needed, there's no guarantee that it would have changed anything." Annabelle sighed, gulping as she took in Luce. "We need to stick together and not turn on each other, if we are have any chance of finishing this." Arriane glared at Lucifer. "Quite right." Francesca agreed having returned to us, her blue eyes puffy and red, her cheeks streaked with tears. "Steven?" Daniel asked hesitantly. "He was unconscious when I left him, Dabriel is taking him back to camp to see Raphael's second." Francesca answered, looking at her adopted son before her gaze fell on Luce, her voice fading as she spoke the last few words. "You can go back to him, you don't have to fight with us." I said. "No, he would want me to fight. We owe her for saving us from a world of his making once." Francesca sniffed, wiping her face and nose with her wrist, her now narrowed eyes looking at Lucifer as she spoke. "Pleasure to see you again too." Lucifer asked.
"We need to get the cuff around Lilith's wrist." Arriane quizzed.
"That thing, reeks of dark magic." Annabelle agreed, her face twisting with distaste.
"Well, Have fun with that." Lucifer huffed as he unfurled his wings while stretching.
"What?! You're leaving." Annabelle exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked at Lucifer.
"I no longer have any stake in his battle and would rather watch one of those things eat my innards than become a member of what team this is." He shrugs before turning his back to us, dipping into a deep plie as he prepared to jump
"Coward!" I snarl at his back, before I could move he had whirled around and had snagged my chin in his burning hot hand. I winced at the heat but ground my teeth together to stop myself from yelping in surprise or pain.
"I, little one have learnt to choose my battle and this." He growls turning my head with dizzying speed towards the battle that still raged between our forces and Lilith's forces. Numerous bodies scattered the battlefield, tripping up members of each side as they fought. "This is an example of a battle I'd NEVER choose to fight in, I wouldn't be where I am today, if I didn't wisely pick and choose my battles."
"So, you'd fight for Lucinda's love yet wouldn't fight in her memory! No wonder she left you, you're a coward. A heartless coward at that." I snap, watching as his icy eyes once again changed to the fiery red most associated with the devil. His grip on my chin tightened as his nails lengthening and turned into sharp black claws that dug into my skin, his palm becoming blistering hot. I clenched my jaw tight to stop the cry that tore up my throat.
"Arriane! Lucifer don't!" Tess gasped, stepping closer, hesitantly lifting her sword towards her master.
"That's enough!" Annabelle snapped, now poised to strike Lucifer if he took any step towards harming Arriane.
Lucifer pushed me back with enough force that I would have fallen to the ground, if Tessriel hadn't dropped her sword and steadied me. "If Luce had been smart enough, she would have known that this was a battle no one could have won and joined Lilith. But no, she had to try and play the saviour gig one last time and turned herself into a foolish, martyr. She did this to herself. All of this is on her." Lucifer spat as his arms spread out gesturing at the battle roaring around us and the bodies strewn on the crimson snow, most of which belonged to our forces.
"Arriane, let him go." Daniel muttered as he gently lowered Luce from his lap to the ground, his eyes didn't move from her as he straightened up, his gaze finally snapped to me. "None, of our warriors were forced to fight for us and had the option to withdraw their services when if they wished. Lucifer is no exception." Daniel stated. "We can do this without him." Lucifer blinked at Daniel in surprise a couple of times before he threw his head back and barked out with laughter. "Oh Grigori, if only if that true. You have never had to face most of the creatures on Lilith's side, you have no clue what they're capable of." Lucifer sneered. "Oh but I do know. In case you forgot, I was on their side for a period of time. I heard whispers of their weaknesses and how the warriors were trying to adapt them for combat. I know how to fight them." Daniel jeered back at him, taking a few steps closer until he was right in front of him. Lucifer clenched his jaw, shaking his head slightly. "Yet you couldn't fight a simple poison, you couldn't fight it enough to save her." Lucifer returned, his tone hard and cold as ice before he turned his back to Daniel walked a couple of steps in the opposite direction and then took off with a mighty clap of his golden wings.
"Coward." I snarled as I watched Lucifer soar into the air before disappearing into an announcer that floated about thirty feet above our heads.
"So the cuff? How do we get it off of Lilith?" Tess inquired, looking between each of us, but I was all too aware of her gaze lingering on me longer her blue eyes trying to piece together how I was feeling about her return after thinking she was dead for centuries. She wasn't going to find any luck there, I was too focused on defeating Lilith for Lucinda, that I hadn't even had time to process that yet.
"That Basilisk is not going to let us near her, so at least one of us will either have to try to distract and kill the basilisk, the killing part is optional as obviously it will probably take more than one person to bring that beast down. While that team is dealing with the basilisk the rest of us, go for Lilith and get that cuff, off of her by any means necessary. Once that cuff is off, the trance she has put all of her followers under will break, leaving all of them in a daze for a while. Hopefully giving our forces enough time to dispose of them or at the very least give themselves the advantage." Daniel added.
"Times up! Duck!" Annabelle yelled before we all through ourselves to the ground as a cloud of arrows whizzed over our heads. My eyes flew in the direction of where the arrow had come from to find Everett and a few minions knocking another arrow onto the string of their bows. "He's mine, he helped cut her wings off." Daniel snarled. Francesca whipped her bow off from around her shoulders knocking two arrows before shooting them towards the little group. "Go! I'II cover you." Francesca nodded at Daniel. Daniel looked at her in shock. "He's part of the reason why my Steven and your Luce are dead. He is no son of mine anymore. Just one of Lilith's corrupted followers." She huffed. A creature launched at us from it's hiding spot between two rocks. Annabelle dashed forward to greet it, with her sword. "Okay." Daniel said as he prepared to go before Everett and his entourage were able to regroup. Raphael threw a couple of daggers in their direction. As Daniel was about to dash forward Francesca grabbed him and said. "But you better come back out of this, you hear me." Francescas blue eyes hard as ice. A smirk spread across Daniel's face. "Yes, Mum." He mumbles as he took towards Everett. "Raphael, watch my back." Francesca ordered as she knocked another arrow and shot it towards Everett's group, this time hitting one of the warriors in their throat. "Yes Ma'am." Raphael replied to Francesca. "I have something that might be able to take down the Basilisk if you three girls are up for it." Raphael announced before throwing himself at a monster that came at us from the side, he made easy work of slashing the monster to pieces before returning to us. "What kind of something?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Daniel
Luck, for once was on my side. Everett had positioned himself on the rockier side of Lilith's arena. Making it far easier to dodge from the arrows that he shot in my direction and meant that Francesca and the others had somewhere to hide as they arranged a plan on how to dispose of the Basilisk to make Lilith far more accessible. "Come on, Danny! What fun is hiding? In fact it's rather cowardly. In face, I don't recall your Luce ever hiding." Everett taunted pausing as though he was considering something. "Then again, she is dead isn't she? All because of you." Everett continued to taunt, my fists clenched tightly at my side, it took every bit of my will power not to take his bait and launch at him at that exact instinct. If I did, I knew he'd have me exactly where he wanted me and I wasn't about to make this any easier on him. I kept low, continued to navigate around the rocks using his voice as a indication of where he was, so I could stay hidden from his sight as I attempted to flank him. Arrows and daggers flew overhead, in Everett and his little squads position, the squelching sound that followed in formed me that one or two of the arrows had succeeded in hitting their targets. "Too bad, you'll never get to meet your child though, that was quite an unfortunate change of events. Lilith and I never ever expected you two to be get well…intimate when our string of events began back at the beginning of the summer. Tell me would you have preferred a daughter or a son?" Everett voice came and I could practically hear the smirk on his face in his voice from other side of the rock I was currently behind and that was what finally sent me over the edge. With a yell, I launched over the rock, colliding with Everett sending him sprawling into the snow, his head hitting a rock as he landed. It didn't stop Everett from swinging his curved dagger at me, nicking my jaw. I slammed my fist into his wrist causing him to reflexively release the dagger. "You Ba—" I trailed off as he swung and punched the side of my face hard sending me tumbling off him as stars flashed and swirled in my vision. Through the stars I saw him make a grab for his dagger but before he could move closer to it, I grabbed him and pulled him back, moving up to straddle him and pin his arms to his side and I punched his face over and over again.
"You were my brother! I loved you. I looked up to you! Why did you turn on us?" I snarl as I grab him by his armour and pull him up, shaking him. The only response I got from him was him spitting blood up into my face. "You obviously weren't paying attention, brother. I were always the favourite. Mum and Dad used to bend over backwards for you! Daniel This… Daniel that! Lilith came to me when I was just a boy with a promise of what was to come and I swore myself to her." Everett snarled as he wrestled one arm free and before I could even react his hand gripped the hilt of his dagger and managed to reach his dagger and thrust it at me. I grabbed it by the blade and pushed it away before it came in contact with its target. My neck. I yelled at the sharp pain as the blade cut into my palm, blood dripping from my closed fist as I pushed the daggers point away from me. My free hand slams into the side of his head hard, dazing him allowing me to pluck the dagger from his hand. "This is for Luce!" I snarl as I deeply slice the dagger across his throat. Blood gushing out of the thin line I had cut along his throat. His entire body jerked beneath me, this free hand futilely lifting up to try and stem the bleeding to no avail. I slide off him, suddenly overcome with grief. I run my bloodied shaking hands through my hair. Images flash through my mind of when we were kids. Chasing each other around various houses, throwing a football back and worth and our numerous wrestling matches. "What have you done?!" I heard a voice shriek from in front of me before something hard collided with my side and sent me sprawling once again into the rocks. When I turned to see who had hit me, I saw Lilith crouched near my brother, whispering to him before her enraged gaze set on me.