xXx
"Ezekiel, what is wrong?" Michael placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, noting the stiff posture and the hard edge to his brown eyes.
"Something is wrong. I still sense her death. Michael, she should be cured already." The Angel of Death's words set everyone on edge, especially Fang.
Barely a second later a scream ripped across the beach from the house where moments before Raphael and Max had retreated.
"Max." He breathed, his jaw tightening as he whipped round and sprinted for the crushed house. He attempted to throw open their bedroom door only to find it stopped by something heavy leaning against it.
A soft groan of pain slipped through the small crack that Fang could manage and he froze in place. "Raphael!" Something was horribly wrong. He couldn't hear a thing except for Raphael's laboured breathing and the groan of wood as he wrenched the door from its frame.
The Angel of Healing collapsed at Fang's feet, a black hilt just visible from his chest. Fang sucked in a breath, trembling from head to foot. Max was gone.
"NO!" he bellowed, "MICHAEL!"
Instantly he was by Fang's side, kneeling down beside the wounded Arch. He gingerly placed one hand on Raphael's shoulder and the other took hold of the hilt. "I am sorry, brother." He sighed before yanking the blade from his chest.
Raphael convulsed in the floor, writhing in agony.
"Demon?" Michael asked, holding the blackish blade up to Fang who's chest heaved as he tried to keep his anger under control.
"No." Fang ground out, "Betrayer." He spat, barely able to control himself. His fist made contact with the wall, ripping straight through.
Raphael's convulsions had calmed to mere shakes and ever so slowly the Angel of healing pulled himself up into a sitting position.
"Raphael, what happened?" Michael demanded; an angry edge to his question.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself Raphael set his remorseful eyes on the dark Fallen Angel beside him. "I am sorry. I was not prepared… the blade was edged with Lucifer's blood, I could not heal fast enough to stop him." seeing that Fang was no longer listening Raphael turned to Michael, "They took her. The Betrayers have what they want."
"Now it is only a matter of time before their plan comes together." Michael muttered grimly.
Glass and bark crunching underfoot alerted the three to the presence of the other Angels and Nephilim.
An impressed whistle came from the living room. "Wow, gone for two hours and you destroy the place."
Fang turned his steely gaze on Dylan who leaned casually against the back of the couch, his arms crossed boredly over his chest. the second he noticed the Fallen Angel's expression the Demon held up his hands in surrender, "Hey, I just got here. I take it from the doom-and-gloom that they have her?" his eyes roamed over Michael and the other Archangels and let out a long whistle, "He sent his Elite huh? No offence but he could have done way better."
Michael didn't react at all to his words but cocked his head to the side, his blue eyes shining with curiosity. "Xaphan?"
"Hey Mike!" Dylan waved enthusiastically at the Arch, "Long time no see huh? What's it been? A couple of thousand millennia? Wow, time flies when you're having fun."
"Dylan." Fang growled in warning, instantly shutting the Demon up.
"Sour puss." Dylan complained. "Come on, since Heaven's already screwed everything up," a slow grin spread across his face as he said mysteriously "why don't you join the dark side?" Ocean eyes glinting like a kid on Christmas Dylan jerked his thumb towards the beach.
Michael instinctively took a step in front of the injured Raphael earning a pleased laugh from Dylan. "Boys, welcome to Hell." He spread his arms out and the group of Demons standing in a line on the beach, each with a pair of smoking black wings stretched out to their full length smiled tauntingly at the Angels. Dylan rubbed his hands together, "Now we do it my way."
xXx
When I come round eventually it's because of the burning ache coming from my wrists. My head throbs but that's nothing new, my mouth feels like sandpaper and there's an insistent ringing in my ears that just Will. Not. Go. Away! Overall, I'm not doing so hot. I bleary crack open an eye, trying to remember why I feel like such crap.
The second my eyes focus on the Angel tied to the chair across from me it hits like a ton of bricks. The Archangels had come, then the Betrayers…oh god, the Betrayers have me…
My throat grows thick. Shit.
"Iggy?" I croak, wincing at the raw sound of my voice.
His head lifts ever so slowly and my eyes widen. What have they done to him? thin jagged cuts litter his face, pearly blood mixing with black liquid that runs down his face. His shirt is torn to shreds, patches stained black and stuck to his body with sweat. His strawberry blond hair sticks to his forehead and his usually clear sky blue eyes are now clouded over and distant. I realise that his binds aren't there to keep him from escaping, they're only there to keep him sitting upright. One thick rope wraps around his torso, another around his shins and a third is wrapped around his neck, pulled tight so he could barely move.
"Max…" he choked out, his eyes darting along the wall I'm shackled to.
Why won't he look at me? I wonder as his eyes continue to never fully settle on me. "Iggy, why won't you look at me?" I whispered, coughing so hard pain wracks through my chest.
His head drops in shame but not before I notice the pained expression on his face that has nothing to do with the numerous slashes littering his body.
"Oh Iggy." I gasp in realisation. "You…you're blind." I sag against my restraints, not even caring when the hard metal bites into my skin. "This is all my fault."
Iggy's head snaps back up at that, "No. It's no ones fault but mine. I'm sorry Max, please forgive me but they have Nudge. They were…they were going to…" he trailed off, physically unable to complete that sentence, "If I fight they will kill her." his eyes beseech me to understand but honestly there was nothing to forgive.
"It's ok, Iggy. They can't win, the Arch-" I'm cut off my the door being thrown open and to my utter shock a muscled man dressed in military garb complete with cargo pants and black boots walks in with a smug expression.
"Sergeant Dixon?"
He smiles, "Dr Ride." Without another word he places his hand on a pad beside the door and after a few seconds it beeps and the shackles give a hiss as they open.
I tumble to the floor unable to catch myself before my head hits the floor.
Sergeant Dixon scoops me up and still in a dazed stupor I vaguely make out the cement grey halls of the base Fang, Iggy, Nudge and I had fled from. What's going on? I think foggily, trying hard not to loose consciousness. Dixon enters a completely white room, blindingly white and plops me unceremoniously down onto an examination table.
The cold metal beneath me sucks out any remaining body heat leaving me to shiver on the metal slab until a handful of people enter the room ten minutes later. I didn't even try to sit up, for some reason I feel weak. Beyond weak, staying awake is too much of a mission so attempting escape would not go well. I squeeze my eyes shut and think of the Archangels and the Demon's Dylan had gone to enlist the help of. There was no way the Betrayers could win this, they may have me but they're stupid if they think that'll hold up for long.
Someone grabs hold of my wrist and tugs it up to lock it in place and my other wrist and ankles follow suite. Once I'm securely in place the brightness of the florescent lights on the ceiling is blocked out by a white-blond head. "Mm, good. You're awake." Nisroc sounds beyond pleased about this.
I muster up all my strength to glare at him, "You won't succeed. You've got Heaven and Hell working together to destroy you, it's impossible." It comes out far more weakly than I like but I think I get the point across.
Nisroc tips his head back and laughs, "Stupid little girl, you underestimate our strength."
"You don't understand what you're doing." I whisper because it's all I can manage. Even talking is too much strain, "If you do manage it what do you think is going to happen to you? Everything will be destroyed, that means you too."
Nisroc lets out an exasperated sigh, his breath wafting over my face. Bile rises in my throat. "Enough talk. I want it done now, before her precious Angel tries to stop us." he barks out the order and I hear shuffling in the room. "Ready little girl? Are you ready to die?"
I smile weakly at him, "I've been ready to die for days thanks to you."
His hand comes out of nowhere to make contact with my face, whipping it to the side with the force of his blow. My cheek and jaw ache but I give no sign of pain to him.
"Get the Angel." He growls, storming out the room.
Proud that I'd left him at least a little ruffled I let my eyes drift shut once again.
The door is thrown open and I loll my head to the side to find Iggy being pushed forward by two scrawny Betrayers, their wings hanging around them in tatters.
"Move!" one cackles, grabbing hold of one of Iggy's limp wings spattered with Angel blood and black, twisting it at a painful angle.
Iggy clenches hi jaw but doesn't cry out as he approaches the table I'm chained down to. The second Betrayer roughly grabs his hand and pushes it down hard on my chest, enough to make the breath leave me in shock and a stab of pain to radiate through me.
"Do it." they both hiss threateningly.
Iggy hesitates to do whatever they were ordering him to until the first Betrayer leans in, "Don't forget about your human, Angel. Come on, refuse, we'll have lots of fun with her."
Iggy's shaking with anger but gingerly places his hand over my stomach.
"Iggy." I whisper, "What – "
I get backhanded again, "Shut up!" The second growls.
"If we get in shit because you felt like using her as a punching bag I am going to kill you." The first warns the second who laughs.
"Oh please, Nisroc doesn't care what we do to her as long as we don't damage what he wants. Her face isn't it so back off."
My mind still swam as I tried to figure out what the heck they wanted from me but the second the first Betrayer orders the second to go fetch Nudge I snap, "Just do it, Iggy. Whatever it is, just do it." I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing it's going to hurt like hell.
"Max – " Iggy starts, sorrow coating his words.
"You heard her! Do it!" the first betrayer barks and finally Iggy concedes.
My back arches off the table, the shackles tearing through skin to slick my wrists and ankles with my blood as my mouth drops open in a silent scream.
I was right. It hurts like hell. It's like I'm being cooked from the inside out, I can feel my blood boiling and my eyes rolling into the back of my head.
Sweat breaks out across my whole body, my hair sticking to my back and neck as I try desperately to somehow get away from Iggy's hand which is the source of the pain. My chest feels like a live fire has been started on it but I can't do anything to stop it except wait for it to end. It becomes too much, I can't hold on any longer. I finally loose consciousness, retreating into the safety of my dreams.
I am officially on a role! Lol! And? Is the awesomness continuing?
Ok, for anyone who didn't understand why Raphael is still alive it shud be rather obvious considering, well, everything. He's an Arch, Lucifer's blood won't kill him. remember? Max needed an Archangel's blood to counteract Lucifer's? yeah, so it doesn't kill him but it does incapacitate him for a while…
Oh and a bit of confusion as to the characters (I know there are a lot but I can't exactly have to few cause otherwise I'd end up having to kill off everyone, get my point? Lol!) so even though I'm sure I put a list somewhere along the lines here is another one updated:
Nephilim:
*Angel (Daughter of Selene)
*Zephyr (Son of Selene)
*Jason
*Mia
*Linden
*Ryder (Son of Lily/Sofiel)
Angels:
*Lily (Sofiel – Angel of Nature)
*Fang (we're getting there, promise!)
*Iggy (Harachel – Angel of Knowledge)
Demons:
*Dylan (Xaphan – Angel of Invention)
*Lucifer (Devil – duh ;-D)
Archangels:
*Ezekiel (Archangel of Death and Transformation)
*Gabriel (Archangel of incarnation, conception and birth and dreams)
*Michael (Warrior Archangel)
*Uriel (Angel of Fire)
*Metatron (Archangel of Records)
*Raphael (Archangel of healing)
Betrayers:
*Nisroc (Betrayer leader - was the Angel of Freedom)
Oh, headsup for a possible new story…I know…I'm utterly hopeless but this one is coming to a close so I don't think it's too bad…lol! Any of my Finding True Love readers, if you have ideas….well I suggest you give them to me cause my inspiration for FTL has shrivelled and died. Sadly.
22 reviews! OH YEAH! Hahaha! Please continue guys! I beyond appreciate them! they made me laugh ;-)
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