Chapter 2: Into the Lion's Cage

The sky was falling. The air roared; screamed in her ears through the open windows. A dangerous dance of shadows and light flitted about the walls as the light fixture swung precariously in the ceiling. Despite the sheets of white paper swirling in the air, the apartment was neat, organized even. Before disappearing, Avery had made sure to clean up, after all, she wasn't going to be back for a while.

Yes, she had decided not to come back at all.

And so, she left, with a loud bang of the door resonating through the phone to Sam. A waterfall of emotions consumed her. At first, she felt anguish, a feeling of helplessness as the two people she loved most disappeared from the world. She was alone, without anyone to support her. Suddenly, the annoying video calls, spontaneous phone calls, and even little arguments were more precious. "Mom, Dad, please, you can't be dead." Avery croaked as tears dripped from her cheeks. How could they have died just like that? It was impossible, they had dozens of bodyguards around them at all times! As she thought about it more, suspicion and fury clouded her senses. "The murderers Sam mentioned, they must have killed them." Her eyes flashed as her thoughts raced, "Yes, I will kill them, I will destroy those who have destroyed me".

In a storm of rage, she fled her apartment, packing her most valuable belongings, including a laptop, phone, wads of money, credit cards, guns and ammo, and her locket which held a picture of her most precious memory of her parents and her together at a picnic. It had been the happiest day of her life but now, that moment and her memories had been shattered, remembering only brought tears. Rather, the locket had now become a symbol of revenge, a scar that despair had torn through her and a symbol of her desire for revenge. Joining the police had been useless, even with their authority, she could not even catch the murderers. Now, she decided, she was not playing by the rules anymore.

Mud splashed on bypassers as Avery floored the pedal of her car through the muddy streets of London. Her hair was a mess from the rain and murderous rage consumed the space around her. Her pain was lost in anger. She was determined to catch the murderers as soon as possible and her only lead was the site at the manor. At 80 mph, it wasn't long before the gloomy manor appeared among the densely populated trees.

Quickly parking her car among the undergrowth, Avery quickly exited the car and headed towards the edge of the forest. Her eyes scanned the area around the manor, alert for any policemen that might slow down her progress. A couple of solar-powered lights twinkled in the darkness, signaling the workspace the forensics team had plotted. Two unfortunate cops patrolled the forensic tents, cringing as the heavy rain knocked against their umbrellas. One continuously wiped his shining bald head, while the other seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face. "Humpty Dumpty and The Grinch" she whispered (Avery found great joy in naming people without their permission, just like Sourpuss, often taking them by surprise when she called them by their less than flattering nicknames). Pulling out a taser and gun, Avery circled towards the side of the building until she was out of sight of the guards. To her pleasant surprise, she spotted a small door, perhaps the servants' entrance, that led into the manor. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she sprinted to the brick side of the manor, accidentally slipping on mud. The ground rushed towards her as she hurriedly stuck an arm out to prevent herself from slamming into the mud.

"Oy did ya hear that?" Humpty Dumpty yelled to his partner.

"Hear what? The rain? It's probably just some ole raccoons" the Grinch replied nasally.

"No, I could've sworn I heard something fell, somewhere 'round here."

The voices were getting louder and Avery froze momentarily, her mind processing millions of ideas to get her out of this messy situation. What if they found her now, trespassing without permission? There was no way in hell she was going to let them take her in, not when she's already decided to kill those bloody bastards. "There's no time to think! I've got to get out of here!" Avery thought, gritting her teeth and heaved herself off the ground and through the side entrance.

Among the patter of the rain, she heard the heavy footsteps get closer until they stopped, just five feet from the door.

"See I told you it was nothing." The Grinch boasted and she could almost see his skinny chest puff up with pride.

With a satisfied sigh, Avery surveyed her surroundings, trying to figure out what part of the building she had blindly stepped into.

Rusted pots and pans littered the wooden countertops. An old brick oven, blackened, perhaps by its overuse, rested on the side wall. Within the cupboards, smashed plates and dented utensils lay peacefully. Strangely, all the knives were missing. Everything was coated with a fine layer of dust, the gray particles preserving the image of an ancient chaotic last scene.

"Alright, I am in the kitchen. I remember passing by this place when I chased those two murderers before. Now, if only I knew where those murderers were hiding, I could get a clue."

She frowned, racking her mind to see if she could remember which direction they escaped to when she chased them down the halls.

"Oh, maybe that man in the library will remember!" excited with her new plan, Avery exited the kitchen and headed for the stairs, careful not to run into any officers that were patrolling the manor.

Luckily, she was able to hide from most officers on her way there.

"So you lied." A man's voice rang out as she arrived at the library doorway.

Avery gasped and jumped. "Way to scare the life out of a girl," she thought. Once her mind was cleared from the shock, she turned to the man, a bit angry that he had just accused her of lying.

"Look here mister, I did not want to come back here. No sir, it didn't even cross my mind until 10 minutes ago" her eyes hardened, "And, if it wasn't for all the shit I went through in the past four hours, I wouldn't be here. So forgive me if you think I am "lying" to you, people like you probably won't understand anyway!"

Avery turned around, those annoying tears returning. She didn't mean to cry in front of him but his harsh words opened a dam she had tried so hard to hold back during this whole escapade.

"Fuck you" she muttered, wiping her tears away.

"My lady, I am sorry if I have offended you. A while ago, you said that I was to never see you again and you see, I was slightly disappointed. But now you are here." The man paused, thinking carefully, "And you are right, I cannot imagine what you have been through as I have not stepped out of here in many years but I can promise I can help ease the pain."

The man's eyes flashed as he said these words, his form leaning towards her in anticipation.

"Well, what do you say?" He pushed, eager to hear her response.

"What do you mean by 'ease the pain'. Didn't you say so yourself that you didn't know what I've been through?" she questioned, eyeing him through her lashes.

"I can grant you any wish you desire to help alleviate your pain. I have… previous experience in this area."

"Any wish?" Avery whispered, her eyes widening, "Even bringing the dead to life?"

"If that is what you would like." the man smiled, revealing teeth sharper than normal canines.

Avery frowned, her eyebrows furrowing as she struggled to decide whether she should accept the deal. Who, no, what was this man? Maybe he was a supernatural being, vampire perhaps? He definitely matched the appearance with his albino skin and scarlet eyes. Would he drink her blood?

"One: are you a vampire and two: there must be a catch. There's no way this help can be free." She asked, determined not to agree to some sketchy deal.

"I am not a vampire and of course there is more. Both sides must profit and what is lost cannot be gained back." The man smirked at her condescendingly as if he was teaching a little child.

"An angel then, a very dark angel. Only angels could grant wishes and maybe this was her calling." Avery silently thought, her human mind reasoning itself. She wished she could ask more about it but the latter part of his statement worried her.

"Then," she looked at the man straight in the eyes, "that means there is no way of bringing my parents back."

"Your tears belie your intelligence my lady." was all he answered.

"You were going to make me think my parents were alive when they really weren't, weren't you!" Avery accused, pointing a finger at the man, "That's insane to think that would be the same thing."

"What does it matter," he shrugged indifferently, "isn't that the same thing. Reality is all in the mind."

"It's obviously not!"

Avery faced her back to the man who stared down at her, her fists trembling. Oh, how she wanted to hit him, angel or not and she would have, if it weren't for the stupid invisible barrier blocking her. How could he play with her feelings like that! Giving her hope at one moment and shattering them in the next.

"Fine, rot here for all I care, I'll leave you to think about your stupid lies and your stupid contract. It's not me who needs the help." she stomped away, not caring about any policemen that might've been roaming the manor. She was equipped with a taser and a gun and she wasn't afraid to use them. Her sudden noises drew officers to her area and soon, she could hear their footsteps running towards her.

"Ah shit" she internally cursed, "Why am I so dumb"

"My, you are in quite a predicament" the man commented, "What ever shall you do."

"Shut it." Avery snapped as she readied her weapons.

Soon, the officers barged into the area with guns in hand. Avery smiled but iciness dominated her eyes. She was pissed and was about to take her annoyance out on the officers. Even better, she knew exactly how they were trained. Pressure the intruder but do not shoot until given the order by the chief which she was sure was preoccupied with her parents' murder.

"Ughh get out of my head" she growled silently as painful memories suddenly flooded into her mind. Mentally shoving them out, she charged at them, taking all them by surprise as they recognized her.

"Avery?"

"What are you-"

"Why-"

Using their momentary shock as an opportunity to stab them with a taser or shoot their legs. It wasn't long before they were all knocked unconscious by electricity or from pain. She proudly surveyed her work, pleased that she was able to take them all. But it was short-lived when she remembered one of the officers had called backup.

"Fuck more are coming" she groaned, sliding down the wall into a sitting position.

"Aren't you a force of chaos" the man observed, peering down at her amusedly, "I had no idea women had such power to take down multiple men like this."

"Of course they do! Us ladies are trained with the same vigor as men in the force!" she stuck her tongue out.

"Hmm" was all he heard from him.

"Argh what should I do, more are coming. They've probably taken my car already and I could never get away on foot."

She put her head between her knees and rubbed her temples, trying to think of a way to get out of this. Normally she would call back up back now to save her but now, they were her sentencing.

"I'll give you two wishes."

Avery turned around, staring coldly at those crimson eyes.

"How can I trust you." she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"That is up for you to decide."

She thought for a moment, her mind digging more possibilities and scenarios than ever before. Her head throbbed just thinking about it! This was harder than coming up with a way out. But what if…

"Give me three wishes." she demanded, fixing her gaze on him.

"No"

"Look here mister, I don't know about you, but I would really hate being locked up here forever and judging by your willingness to negotiate, it seems like not just anyone could make this 'deal' here." she smirked, "It seems like I am this special someone."

"You are quite astute, my lady"

"And" she continued, counting her fingers, "you owe for, one: getting you out of here, two: being your unique person, and third…" she grinned, "for being an apathetic asshole when ignoring my feelings and for lying to me."

"I did not-" he argued.

"Be quiet, I'm not hearing any more complaints. Are you taking it or not?" she put a finger in front of his lips, not on them since a barrier was between them.

The man stared at her daring finger, malicious thoughts of breaking it entering his head. How dare she, a lowly human being stop him in the middle of his sentence, and now she was demanding things from him. Truthfully, he did not care for the number of wishes, he could grant all of them and a human's lifetime was simply a speck in the stretch of his life. But, he enjoyed toying with humans, watching them struggle under his grasp as he cornered them with silly things like wishes. But this girl, this human, was challenging him. He had not witnessed this from a human since his last master and he was eager to play with another brave human once again. "Her soul must be exquisite." he thought hungrily, his mouth salivating. Of course, all of this went through his head within the split second before he answered.

"As you wish" he responded and his eyes glowed, "Now, what are your three foolish desires?"