Both women jumped at the sound. Ruby pulled out a handgun from under the table and edged carefully toward the door to look through the peephole. Seeing the person on the other side, she sighed and switched the gun safety back on before pushing it down the back of her jeans' waistband. She opened the door for a chubby guy with a long, fluffy mane of curly ginger hair who wore a black corduroy sport jacket with matching pants and a Kiss band T-shirt under. He carried a large black leather bag that house call doctors used. The guy looked like he was out of breath just by climbing up the stairs. Wiping the sweats off his forehead, Fig walked toward Kye and Michael.
"What's the deal, Ruby? Who are these?..."
Before Ruby could answer, Fig stopped dead in his track and his eyes went wide when he recognized who was laying on the table.
"Don't tell me you're stupid enough to take an archangel back to your place. You know better than this!" He lowered his voice gravely to a hiss.
Ruby walked over to put both of her hands on his shoulders and squeezed them.
"Look, I'll deal with it. You just need to fix him."
Fig puts his sausage index finger up to Ruby's face in a serious manner. "You're gonna get us all killed someday, Ruby. Don't say I didn't warn ya. And why it's always my ass helping you clean up all the messes?" He frustratingly added.
"Because," Ruby said in her sing-song voice "you love my cute ass and I love yours too. You know I always got your back." Ruby soothed him the way someone would soothe a child before slapping his rear and pushing him forward.
"Now get to work. Mama ain't got all night. Chop chop!"
Fig looked extremely uncomfortable and unwilling. He sighed loudly, cursed under his breath while shuffling through his bag to pull out a series of small glass bottles and medical tools. He set them on the chair then took off his corduroy jacket and threw it on the mattress. After tightening his hair into a ponytail, he gave Michael a once-over and looked at Kye and Ruby.
"Now ladies, I may need your help to hold him still."
The night was long and stressful, with Michael's breath occasionally hitched when Fig dug too deep into his wound trying to gain access to the grace under. It soon turned into whimpers then screams. They had to give him some cloth to bite on to keep it down and prevent him from biting his tongue off. Ruby and Kye held on to him with their dear lives. He was still extremely strong considering his unconscious state.
"Should've remembered to buy some rope!" Ruby groaned frustratingly. Kye would laugh if she wasn't also trying her very best not to be thrown to the side by Michael.
His muffled screams were deafening. They scratched on Kye's every nerve. Every minute passed threatened to push her over the edge with fear and heartache. It's extremely difficult to see him in that state. He was always so strong, so untouchable, an immortal being that knew no pain or fear. He never looked so vulnerable and damaged. His whole body was covered in sweat and black ooze replaced red blood flowing sluggishly from his wound.
Fig observed the long silver needle he just pulled out from Michael's shoulder and hummed with approval.
"Time for the hard part."
He poured a clear liquid into the wound and leaned closer to watch it shimmer for a moment before getting absorbed. A strong clean ozone smell filled up the space followed by a pulse of energy that everyone in the room could feel. The streetlights outside and the desk lamp flickered for 5 minutes. Something exploded outside. As soon as it started, it stopped.
"Any time now..."
Fig straightened his back and exhaled. He wiped his hands then walked over to Ruby's mattress and threw himself facedown on it. The women stared at his back bewilderedly.
"What now?" Kye asked.
"Now we wait." Fig's voice muffled from the mattress "Wake me up in 10." He snored before they could say anything else.
"Guy has some special talent." Ruby said amusingly "You want something to eat? I'm starving."
Kye leaned her hip on the table and tilted her head to look at Michael. He seemed peaceful.
"No, thanks. And I doubt you have anything edible in that tiny fridge of yours" She said while wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"Hey, beer is edible, or drinkable, whatever. There's some leftover Chinese if you want to share." Ruby opened the fridge and winked. Kye shook her head and gave Ruby a tired smile.
The awkward silence was back when both of them remembered the conversation that left unfinished before Fig came in. The only sounds in the place at that moment were Fig's snoring and Michael's slow breathing.
"Look, Kye..." Ruby finally opened her mouth.
"Please," Kye stopped her with a sigh. She knew what Ruby was going to say. "You don't have to say anything. I understand where you come from. It was not right or fair to us the way you left like that but it was your life, you make the decisions that are best for you. I just hope everything works out in the end, and no matter what, just know you always have a home to go back to."
She said with a certainty that made her sister speechless. Ruby leaned back on the fridge and looked down at her boots for a long time. Eventually, she lifted her head and looked at Kye.
"Thank you, sis."
Kye gave her a sad smile before turning back to Michael. They removed his jacket and dress shirt a while ago. There were blood and black residue on his toned torso so Kye took the responsibility of cleaning them off. His skin was cool under her hands then and she could feel a faint, familiar zing coming up to the surface. It gave Kye an overwhelming sense of relief and hope. She cupped Michael's cheek and whispered "Wake up, please". His hands twitched and his eyeballs moved around under the eyelids like he actually could hear what she said and reacted to it. Kye ran toward Fig who was lying on the mattress and gave him a shake.
"Hey Fig, looks like Michael's about to wake up!"
"Who? What? Where?" Fig spurted out a bunch of random short questions before slowly coming back to reality. "Oh, him. Right...It's about time."
He checked his watch, swept the hair out of his face, and sat up. Fig looked like he had been to hell and back in that 10-minute nap. He walked over to where they laid Michael and put his face very close to the wound. It seemed like an old wound that happened days ago then, already covered with new pink skin.
According to Fig, the problem was not with Michael's gunshot wound but with his damaged grace. Grace was an angel's life source and energy, which made them what they were. It was pretty much like a human's soul. All of the angel's powers came from his or her grace. Without it, the angel was mortal. Grace could be manipulated in different ways, it could be charged up, drained out, bound, or share between individuals. All angels could use each other's grace interchangeably but it was different when it came to humans, only a true vessel or a strengthened one could contain an angel's grace for a long time or eternity without deteriorating.
It was easy to see that the attack at the restaurant was aimed at Michael. The bullet carried some deadly sigils to any lower level angel had punctured Michael's grace then dissolved itself, poisoned him from inside out. If it was not for the fact Michael was an archangel, he would've died the moment his body came in contact with it. The Resistance had known about these bullets' existence for a while but they couldn't get their hands on them. Their quantity was limited. Alastair had hogged 90 percent of unclaimed angel blades out there and guarded them with his life. It was a form of insurance. What made these bullets special also came from Charlie's combination of Enochian sigils carved on them that no one got access to besides herself and Alastair. It was her best work, a lifetime worth of research to perfect that combination.
Kye suddenly remembered her walk with Michael a while ago. They always took one together before dinner and talked about every random thing on Earth and Heaven. Out of the blue, Michael asked her what she thought about being immortal. He had this strange hesitant but hopeful look in his large blue eyes that reminded Kye of a child presenting his best artwork, waiting for compliments. She thought that was weird of him but just chucked it up to Michael's occasional curiosity and boredom in his long existence. She answered him truthfully that she didn't think much about it at all and while it seemed nice, the truth is immortality was more like a curse than a blessing to her.
"It would be a lonely existence. Everyone I love would be gone. I would have to mourn their deaths, one by one. There would be no true connection or love with anybody because I would outlive everybody anyway. I would just slowly wither."
"Why so gloomy? What about if you don't have to go through it all alone? What if you could spend eternity with someone you love, isn't it better?" Michael smiled charmingly.
"Yes, it may be, but I wouldn't know, and to be honest, I don't think humans are designed to live forever. Being immortal, our body would stay the same but our mind would grow old and dull and we would slowly lose ourselves." Kye let her eyes wander far away while she was deep in thought. "Like this is better. Everyone has one life to live. You do your best to fulfill that life and when it's your time, you lie down and rest. Same to everyone so it's fair. It may not make a lot of sense to you, Master, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else."
She remembered a disappointed look on Michael's face, so brief that she thought her eyes must've mistaken. He then put his permanently calm, unreadable smile back on and took her arm in his. They resumed their walk back to the loft without exchanging any more words.
Listening to Fig, It started to dawn on Kye at that moment what Michael really wanted to ask. Her heart felt like it was hit with a force of a train. She saw Fig's mouth opened and closed but she couldn't hear a word he said. Everything became a blur and Michael's face was the only thing in focus. She walked over and leaned down, ignoring the "what are you doing?" look on Ruby and Fig's faces. She gently traced his facial features and ran her fingers through his soft brown hair. Her eyes started to swell up. God, Michael really had that effect on her. All she wanted at that moment was for those deep blue eyes to open again and looked at her.
***
They waited for what felt like an eternity before dawn came. The colors slowly returned to Michael's face and his breath evened out. His grace started to work again, repairing the damage on his vessel. Fig closed the bag and put his jacket back on.
"Ok ladies, I've done my part. His grace is recharging, he should be back in no time. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get myself out of here before His Highness wakes up. Don't feel like going to Aax today!" He walked as fast as his short legs allowed out of Ruby's place, the door slammed behind him. Kye and Ruby both stared at the door for a minute before chortling.
"Now what?" Ruby asked.
"We'll wait for his men to come pick us up. They should be here anytime. Took them long enough already" Kye looked at Ruby "You should get out of here. Sorry, you may have to wait until we all cleared out before coming back to this place."
"I would've stayed with you if it's not for the fact I'm literally on the watchlist" Ruby looked apologetic. She then gave Kye a mischievous wink. "Take care of your boyfriend, but don't overdo it."
The way she emphasized "take care" made Kye rolled her eyes. Typical Ruby always thought she had a great sense of humor. That was a nice thought but really the last thing on Kye's mind at the moment.
"You still use the same number?" Ruby looked at her phone and asked. Kye nodded.
"I'll call you later" Ruby turned her phone off and put it in her back pocket. Before walking out the door, Ruby stopped and said quietly without looking back.
"Tell Ma and Nick I'm ok...And I'm sorry for everything."
Just like that, she was gone. Kye stared at the door for a long moment before turning back to check on Michael. She was met with a pair of the most intense azure eyes.
NOTES:
Remember "work smarter, not harder," I said in the last chapter's note? I accidentally deleted my work, twice! The first time, all 3000 something words of not only this chapter but some drafts for the next chapter. I tried to retype everything from memory and ended up making some changes, new details, then I found out the original work was still there in my phone. I had 2 versions to work with! I picked the details I like from each one and blended them together. Cool, very happy, ready to post, then again deleted half of this new work! 😂 Please, someone grips me tight and raises me from perdition! Now I had to go back to the unedited original one that was on my phone, edited it again, and put it together with the undeleted half of the ready-to-go one. Thank Chuck very much!
People, save, save, save your work, email it to yourself if you have to. (Which I did) Don't be a dummy like me! After everything, this is what I've got to offer. So please enjoy and give it some love. Thanks a lot!