Story: Dawning Radiance
Genre: Dark Fantasy/Romance (though really not until later chapters unless you count Damien and his playboyness...)/Action
Rating: T; not changing that one anytime soon
Claimer: I own each and every one of the characters in the story, so please do not use them, as they are my babies...enjoy!
"Rey, should we go upstairs now? And since it seems as though we won't be able to lose you guys, feel free to come along" Nate turned to look at Damien and I like we were a new species of Under Dweller, then to Valshe with a kind smile before heading over to the door, followed by Rey, who glanced at us over his shoulder "Don't even think about trying anything maggots" he threatened, and was gone.
Exchanging wary glances, we followed at a distance, reaching the eleventh floor with ease; to find that it was empty in the first hall, save for the Angel that stood at the midpoint; the same one I had talked to only the day before.
"Hey there teach," Rey raised a hand in greeting, sheathing his sword as the Angel nodded approvingly at him "How long have you been waiting?" Nate asked as they reached him; we stopped a few feet away "Not very long…well, well, it's rather interesting to see a familiar face in these circumstances" the Angel addressed me casually, strolling confidently towards us "It's odd how out of all of the Demons I could have run into, it was you, Little Demon" he smiled warmly at me, and I couldn't help but be taken aback.
Damien looked from me to the Angel with a cold glare "You know him Xander?" he inquired, turning on me fiercely "Yesterday, when I went to get drinks, I went to the wrong floor and was curious…he started talking to me" I mumbled, looking up at Damien to measure his feelings on it "We aren't even allowed on this floor, you could've been put in one of those cells if you were caught!" he yelled, glaring at me with white rage "I know, Damien…calm down, I wasn't here for long" I gave him a pleading look, which he didn't seem to notice "I would've lost you again…" he muttered, so quietly that I barely heard him, and glared up at the Angel viciously.
"Why would you even think to speak to him, Angel?" he demanded, swinging his Oni in blind rage, the Angel made no effort to move away from the blow, but took it with a straight face "I didn't mean to endanger him" the Angel replied, honest regret giving his voice a dark undertone "Whatever…" Damien grumbled, his body so still that he could've been considered a statue by a passerby.
Valshe, who hadn't spoken in a long time, coughed quietly "I don't see why you guys can't just kiss and make up already, I mean, you've been wrapped in some eternal battle for how many millennia and you still aren't over it? That's a bit steep don't you think?" she stepped between our groups, and Damien relaxed when she rested her hand on the pulsing red orb, letting it drop limply to his side.
The Angel smiled and opened his arms wide "How interesting, I didn't expect to see a human here…and yes, young one, that's actually what me and your friend, Xander, was it? Were discussing just yesterday" he smiled, well, angelically and his iridescent wings glittered as they caught a stray beam of light. "We have to get going" Rey said from his position by the stair well "I can hear more Demons heading up here" he jogged over to Nate, nodded at him, and they both turned to leave "Not a chance" Damien snarled, gliding effortlessly around them and sinking low to attack position "You don't really hope to defeat an Avenging Angel, do you?" the way the Angel said it showed that he wasn't being smug, but simply stating facts; Damien couldn't take him down.
Biting my lip hard enough to draw blood, I moved to stand beside Damien, but Rey and Nate blocked my path, their faces masked with fierce determination. "Mr. Ravi, stand down" a woman ordered, and Damien obeyed, bowing formally towards her.
Already figuring I knew who it was, I turned, hoping that I'd be wrong, but was unpleasantly surprised when I was face to face with Mistress Haruka, the higher up that Damien had to answer to, she was one of the coldest, most violent Demons that lived in the Under World, and for a good reason.
Her long platinum blonde hair was- despite the fact that she'd obviously been fighting- looked like she'd just finished styling it, held in a jet black ponytail that fell in a smooth waterfall down to her waist, where it curved lightly in on itself.
She was dressed in a tight black tank top that showed off her cleavage, black cargo pants that hung lightly from her curved hips, and black high heeled combat boots that were caked with different fluids on the bottoms. Scanning the scene with eyes the color of freshly drawn blood, she stepped forward confidently, her boots stomping loudly on the cracking tiled floor "Avenging Angel Malachi, you should have known better than to plan an escape" she said, her voice dripping with malice "I don't believe we have quarrel with each other Haruka…we used to be on the same side you know" Malachi answered warmly, his face yet again had a kind smile on it.
At this, Mistress Haruka snarled something incomprehensible and dove at Malachi, swinging at his throat with one of her prized electrum knives, just barely catching and tearing the thin cloth of his brown prisoner's shirt with deadly intent as Malachi soared gracefully into the air "I won't fight an old comrade Haruka, even if they've changed sides…" he said, and motioned towards the twins, who joined him on either side.
Behind us we heard Mistress Haruka gasp, and Damien and I spun around to find her face a mask of horror "How dare you bring that up!" she yelled, running towards him and jumping to attack, but to no avail; she couldn't reach. Malachi laughed and looked down at her "I don't see why you're so ashamed of your own past…Arc Angel Haruka" with this he turned, and began to drift down the hallway "Come boys, tonight we return home" he addressed Nate and Rey, who hesitated "But…is it wise to leave them alive? They'll just capture more of us" Nate quipped, but allowed himself to be pulled along with his brother "It matters not. They now know that we Angels will no longer stand for these obscenities...now come" he ordered quietly, and they continued down the hall into the darkness until we could no longer see them.
Our large group, which was steadily getting larger, didn't move or speak for a long while, until Mistress Haruka finally slammed a fist hard into the wall "What are you all waiting for? Bring them back! Don't kill them though…I want to do that myself" and with that she turned and left, and as the door to the stairwell shut with a bang, the hallway exploded into murmurs and movement, Demons everywhere moving to begin the chase and spread the latest chunk of gossip.
As Damien and I started over with the crowd, we heard a smaller group of Demons whispering to each other as they headed out "Did you hear what that Angel said? About Mistress Haruka being an Arc Angel?" one of them whispered to the others, who looked shocked "I always knew there was something about her…" another replied "That must be why she has no wings, how horrid!" yet another added.
I shook my head and turned to Damien, who rolled his eyes dramatically "Hey…did you see where Valshe went?" I asked, suddenly aware of the fact that she was no longer trailing us "Maybe she went back…she knows we have to go fight, and she can't even chase after them" Damien replied, shrugging nonchalantly. She should be easy enough to find, I thought as I floated closer to the ceiling, after all, there were few to no Demons with silver hair.
Looking down on the crowd, I scanned the heads of each and every Demon in the room until the hall was almost empty again and was unable to find her. Drifting back to the ground, I shook my head at Damien, who frowned in response "What are you two doing? Didn't you hear Mistress Haruka?" a familiar voice inquired from behind "Well, we could ask you the same thing Forte" Damien scoffed as we turned to face his blood splattered form.
Forte smirked in response to this "I don't have to go" he replied casually "Where's the little lady?" he asked, turning to glance around the now empty hallway "We don't know, we were just looking for her" I answered, as he nodded. "That's odd, according to the higher-up's everyone's supposed to be on the seventh floor right now, and she wasn't there when I took role so I assumed she was with you" he shrugged and turned to leave "Go do your jobs though; she'll turn up somewhere" he added and left as silently as he had come.
After a few minutes of me figuring out what to do about Valshe, Damien got fed up and headed out by himself, which sent me scurrying to catch up with him.
I caught him fast enough, since he'd landed nearby claiming he'd seen something weird go into the small cavern about a yard off. We knew we had to search it; with Angels around, we had to check everything out of place, and even things that weren't so we could flush them all out "Did you really see something?" I asked as we entered and our footsteps echoed on the damp stone at our feet and into the cave before us.
He simply nodded and peeked around the corner before motioning for me to join him "Get ready" he whispered, and took out a sleek black sword, pointing at a dark haired, white winged figure standing a ways away from us, discussing something with another figure, leaning soundlessly against the wall.
We approached silently, using as much cover as we could, and pressed close as we could against the cold stone wall that left us but feet from the other figure leaning against the other side of it. They had stopped talking for the moment and all was silent, making us believe that we'd been noticed; however we were pleasantly relieved when they resumed their conversation. The voice that spoke first was immediately recognizable; it was Nate's and he sounded none too pleased "Are you sure you're alright? No one's noticed us here yet, so you could rest a little longer…teacher said he'd summon up a Path for us as soon as he got back to Heaven, and he's probably almost there by now" his voice full of worry and persuasion.
Beside me, Damien tensed up, obviously wanting to strike before they had any longer to realize we were there, but I gripped his forearm tightly and he seemed to settle a bit. "We're always left behind though…it's not that bad, and the Demons are probably all still on Malachi's tail, so we'd pretty much have a green card to get through" Rey sounded pained, and I had to resist shifting my position to look at him, as it would put me in Nate's direct line of sight. I heard Nate sigh and mumble something I couldn't quite hear and then footsteps moving closer to where we were "The only reason we're the last ones around is because you're probably the most blood thirsty Angel that ever lived…besides Rey, you're all I have…if you die, what am I supposed to do? It's not like I have anyone else…" Nate whimpered and I heard the rustle of clothing and something like a tap.
I gave Damien a questioning look and he reached up and patted my shoulder awkwardly before motioning to them, indicating that it was what was currently happening. "Like I'd die by the hand of a wimpy little Demon…don't worry about it Nate" Rey replied, and I heard Nate scoff in response "You aren't indestructible you know" he shot back weakly "I know…I never said I was" was all he was able to come back with.
Not wanting to sit down in case we were found, we were stuck in an uncomfortable position that made it look like we were sitting on the air, and after twenty minutes total of staying like that, my legs were starting to give out on me.
I glanced at Damien, who looked as if he could stay like that forever, and became exasperated with my dead weight human genes. The twins had mostly gone silent save for Nate occasionally asking Rey if he was alright and Rey grunting in an annoyed response, and when the inevitable happened and my foot slipped from it's uncomfortable position, it sounded through the cavern like a gunshot through a city street. Damien stared at me as if I had just dove into a pit of lava and lived, and the twins had jumped back in shock, were moving around the tiny expanse of wall, and would see us in only seconds.
Slightly panicked, I launched myself into the air and whipped my sword through the air where Rey had appeared and was staring up at us, and just as it was about to strike…Nate caught it, having snuck around the other side and taking us both by surprise, flinging it back effortlessly. I slipped to the side just as it zipped past my neck and burrowed itself up to the hilt in the rock behind us "It figures that you two would find us" he called up to us casually, moving to step in front of his brother protectively "You aren't exactly the stealthiest Angels in existence you know" Damien replied venomously, which was countered by an equally poisonous glare from Rey, who had moved around Nate, despite his pleading stare.
My eyes widened as I got a good look at him, all covered in blood and gore, with a sizable laceration slicing the right side of his shirt to ribbons, the wound still spilling the red stuff all over himself and the cavern floor "I'm not really in much of a condition to play with you guys at the moment, so why don't you come back a little later?" he growled fiercely before bending over and swearing in pain "Rey!" Nate exclaimed, moving to help right him, but was swiftly brushed aside. Damien laughed mirthfully and drifted back to the ground "To play with us? Ha! You don't even look like you could lift a weapon in that condition!" he continued to laugh as Rey straightened stiffly and I realized what had probably happened.
Joining them on the ground I cleared my throat and they all looked at me as if forgetting I was even there "They got you with one of those arrows didn't they?" I asked, earning me a surprised widening of eyes from the twins. "So?" Rey shot back, having recovered faster than his younger brother "Why didn't you die? That looks pretty bad" I continued as both of their faces became emotionless, tightly masked by the blank looks they wore "I can't tell you that Demon" he murmured, and turned his head slightly as a whooshing sound whipped through the cave and a swirling white-grey portal appeared between our two groups.
Rey stepped through without a moment's hesitation, Nate following with a glance over his shoulder at us. 'Are you coming?' asked his eyes right before he stepped through and left us staring after them in shock. Damien glared at me for a while before shoving me through the Portal and stepping in after me, both of us moving further into the blank space until our vision went completely white.
I sat up swiftly, swiveling to look around and found myself wrapped in a thin blanket on the thread bare tan colored couch in my living room. I had been awoken by the sound of barely concealed sobbing, and pushed my tiny frame up gingerly; I was still sore from the beating I had taken the previous night by my father. I tip toed up the stairs and headed down the hall, to where my father's bedroom lay and stared for a while. The crying was definitely coming from his room, but I couldn't decide on whether or not it would be a good idea to enter. I decided against it.
I headed downstairs to go back to sleep when the bedroom door upstairs opened with a loud bang and a crack; it had been broken off the hinges and then footsteps were stomping down the stairs hurriedly. Burying myself under the covers and laying as still as I could, I hoped that he'd leave me alone if I could convincingly pretend to be asleep, but was obviously wrong as I was yanked up by the collar of my shirt and thrown to the hardwood floors that made up the living room.
"Wake up! Why aren't you out of bed yet you useless child?" he yelled, stomping over to where I lay groaning and kicking my chest for good measure. Stifling a yelp, I brought myself to a standing position, knowing that if I just took it, it would end much faster "How dare you look so much like her? You didn't even know her and you dare stay around here looking exactly like her?" he yelled, and pushed me over again, grabbing a vase from the coffee table beside him and hurling it at my back.
It smashed in the space between my shoulder blades and I felt some of the sharp ceramic bits pierce my overtly scarred skin while the rest rained down over me and the usually clean floor. Suddenly, the front door opened and Saurian stepped through the door way with two other men whom I'd come to know as Night and Darren, both Darren and Saurian having to duck to get their tall muscular frames through the doorway. All three of them stopped and took in the scene before them "Hey, Costello" Night called, but it seemed as if my father didn't hear, as he had begun to advance on me again "Just let 'im be Lane" Darren ordered gruffly, straightening up to appear more menacing, yet again to no avail and he brought his leg back for another kick.
I had closed my eyes by this time, but I heard my father gasp and grunt in struggle and opened my eyes to see Saurian holding my father under the arms as he kicked and pulled against him. "Calm yourself Costello, he's not even worth it" he growled deeply, and let my father pull away from him "Fine…you're right…" he replied and lead them to the basement, turning his back on me and leaving me laying there bleeding while Night and Darren laughed about how feeble I was before following Saurian and my father to the basement.
Sniffling quietly, I pushed myself up and moved to the bathroom to clean myself up as best I could. My father was always like this during this week of every year, because this was the week my mother had died…or more specifically yesterday, giving birth to me.
There were no pictures of her around the house; my father had burned them all for some reason or another, and the picture I kept hidden in my room that I had gotten from my grandmother before she'd died was apparently the only one left.
Sitting in my bed and staring at it as I tried in complete frustration to wipe the stubborn tears from my cheeks, I remembered finding my father in the basement just the morning before, how he had been smoking some weird white powder and had seemed fine before that. Once I had thought he'd left the house, I had gone back downstairs, where various bags and jars sat on his workbench and on numerous shelves hanging on the walls and noted how it reeked of something I'd never smelled before to look for one of the white labeled paper lunch bags he kept it in, and when I found it sitting right out in the open on his work desk, curiosity got the best of me.
No sooner had I really gotten to look at it, was I picked up, thrown over my fathers strong shoulder, knocking the wind out of me, carried upstairs and had the 'curiosity' beaten out of me. When he finally left me alone, and I curled up on the couch with the blanket, I thought back to what I'd seen in the basement. 'Pot' was all it had said, in my fathers neat upper case writing, but I knew it must've been mislabeled, after all, I knew that neither the brown bag, nor the white powder inside was even remotely related to a pot.
I gasped and flung myself up, dizzy from having just woken up, and my head promptly collided with something.
Hard.
Rubbing my forehead and spilling strings of curses, I opened my blurry eyes and found myself staring into an equally surprised pair of honey colored orbs. "You're awake! I thought you'd never wake up!" Valshe cried, her eyes holding more relief than I felt was necessary. I nodded and continued to rub my sore head "What happened?" I asked, looking around, before whipping back around to face her "Wait! Where were you? What happened to D? And those Nephilim twins…" I allowed my voice to trail off as Malachi stepped into the room, dressed in a white button down shirt and perfectly pressed black dress pants.
He smiled when he got a good look at me and I slid up against the wall as he advanced on me "Calm yourself Little Demon, you are safe here" he told me, holding out a cup of what appeared to be water. I reluctantly took it, and even though my throat felt as if I had just eaten a sandbox, I didn't drink it, but set it down on the bedside table next to me and stared up at him cautiously.
Annoyingly enough, he was still smiling at me, as if he were actually glad to see me "How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down beside me on the plush bed "Fine" I replied impatiently moving away from him and turning to instead look out the window at the clear blue sky and silvery gold clouds of Heaven. Clearing his throat Malachi stood up and moved to block my view "I know you do not trust me, and I understand this, but there are things we must discuss" he said, his voice almost sounded pleading for a split second.
"And why should I?" I inquired, meeting his warm gaze with an icy glare "Because I am answering questions you yourself asked" he replied silkily "Now please comply" he took the glass off the bedside table where I had left it and held it out to me once more. I turned away again, continuing to glare and he shook his head in exasperation "It's only water little one, and you haven't drank anything in quite a long time" he offered it again, and after a look at Valshe, who nodded, I rolled my eyes and took it, drinking it a bit more thankfully than I would have liked.
It tasted wonderful, and my face must've showed it because Malachi laughed and turned to Valshe "Can you get him another Miss Marina?" he asked, and Valshe nodded, taking my glass and quickly exiting the room.
Once the door had been shut, Malachi began to speak, catching me off guard "Huh?" I quipped, and he laughed again "I was just inquiring what it was you had asked earlier" he replied, smirking in a fashion that reminded me of Damien. "Where's D?" my eyes widened and I frantically looked around the room once more "He is in the next room, but hasn't yet awoken…I'm afraid using the Path took more out of him, a True Blood Demon, than you, a Black Blood Demon" he answered quietly as Valshe re-entered the room with the water and left after announcing that she was going to go make sure Damien was alright.
I sighed, and rested my face in my hands "What happened? Where are your so-called 'students'?" I mumbled through partially separated fingers "You tried to follow Nathaniel and Rey through a Path, and were rendered unconscious by the wards inside it, then as you lay at the front door of the Judgment Hall, where Nate and Rey waited beside you until I arrived, I was able to convince my brethren to allow you and your friend life for the time being…I'll let you go though Little Demon, worry not" he assured me as I shrank to a defensive position.
The room was silent for a while after that; I didn't want to talk to him, and he was waiting for me to ask something else, which I didn't for a long while. "That's great and all…but why is Valshe here? She did nothing wrong" I whispered, suddenly very tired "She did not" he agreed, nodding his head slowly "However, we Angels are intrigued by her as well…a human, fully in tune with the world of Ethereals? It's unheard of. So we have been running a few exams of our own on her…with her consent of course" he added when I opened my mouth to argue "She willingly came with us" he told me, as I clenched and unclenched my fists.
It figured…humans always complied with the Angels; they were the 'Good Guys' that protected them from the darkness of their realm. I shook my head to rid myself of the sleep that pulled at me even though I was sitting up "Get some more sleep Little Demon, you are still weak from your trip through the Path and the wards around Heaven, but when you wake up you should feel fine" he cooed, and stood up, leaving the room with little more sound than the door clicking shut behind him.
A/N: Thanks to Faded Innocence for my very first review! I went back and spaced it a little bit better for you, and I'm greatful to hear that you like my story so far! It really means a lot!
This story is really getting long, but theres no way I'm going to end it where it is...I'd feel like a failure XP I think RL is really starting to suck away my motivation, so I need to find some more. Any of you guys feel like borrowing me some? Please? Until next time, please review and make sure you hide your motivation from the RL...it can and will eat it!