Chapter Seven

I had travelled through time before, going backwards and then moving forward to the present. That always felt like wading through oncoming water when travelling to the past, with a strange gravity pulling me back to the right time. This was nothing like that. Instead of fighting against the stream, it felt more like walking through a narrow tunnel lined with razor blades. The pain was intense, both physical and mental; I was forced to relive every one of Lucinda's deaths, but instead of the devastating feeling I'd always been left with, the one that also told me she would return, there was nothing but an eerie hollowness in my core. My brain remembered Lucinda and the reason for my journey, but my soul had been shattered. It was up to my brain to continue to convince me this excursion was important.

The moment I was flung onto the hard ground, I felt completely out of place. It took several minutes before I could catch my breath and a few more before the vertigo faded. As soon as I could, I stood up and surveyed the landscape. Everything seemed unnatural and artificial. I scooped up a handful of dirt; it felt wet, but sprinkled to the ground like it hadn't seen a drop of moisture in years. I looked out to the horizon where dark clouds were rolling in, but the light in front of it seemed strange and other-worldly.

The smell of sulfur hung thick in the air as I started walking towards the city. My wings that were still unfurled felt like they hadn't stretched out in years. As I took more steps, people seemed to phase in around me. There were swarms of women and children screaming and being herded by men. None seem to notice me until a small girl bumped into me (I hadn't seen her before that moment, either) and looked up at me with wide eyes.

"You're… you're…," she stammered.

Tilting my head, I looked down at her with concern and curiosity until I saw her staring at my wings. I quickly folded them behind my back, but didn't tuck them away. "Where's your mother?" I asked as I glanced around expecting to find a woman searching frantically for a lost child.

The girl's eyes became glossy and she shook her head. "Please don't kill me, too."

I was taken by surprise by her request and knelt down in front of her. She immediately backed away, but I grabbed her arm to stop her retreat. "I'm not going to hurt you. You've seen other angels?"

Before she could answer, I was hit from behind with a heavy object. I heard the impact against my skull before I felt the pain, and only experienced that for a moment before my eyes closed of their own accord.

"He's coming to," I heard a male voice say.

My eyes were blurry in the bright light as they opened slowly. I could smell a faint scent of blood, but when I moved to feel the back of my pounding head, my arms were held tight in place. I jerked my arms to free them, but whoever restrained me knew what they were doing. I squinted my eyes and tried to clear my vision to see the faces of my captures as I spoke. "Let me go," I demanded through gritted teeth.

"You heard him, Billy. Untie him," a louder voice said from the doorway.

"But… I thought…" The young boy stammered as he walked hesitantly towards me.

"Thank you," I said under my breath as he stood in front of me. I was surprised to see a boy who looked to be no older than fourteen or fifteen shaking in front of me, like he'd been told to release a wild animal they caught.

His eyes widened in surprise as I spoke to him, but he didn't say anything to me. I relaxed and tried to gain my bearings as Billy struggled to untie the ropes.

As soon as I took a deep breath and relaxed, the man from the doorway was suddenly in front of me. He backhanded Billy, sending him flying into the wall. "Are you daft, boy? Why the hell would we free this monster?"

My wings involuntarily twitched as I tried to move to protect the child, but as soon as they tried to extend, pain that was ten times worse than my head flared from my wings and shot through my entire body like a jolt of electricity. "Owwww!" I yelled, which was followed by a growl at the only man in my field of vision.

"Hurts to have those broke, don't it? When ya have been in the business of huntin' outcasts as long as I have, ya learn the right spots…" he leaned forward and plucked out a feather from on the inside of the break in my wing and then lowered his voice… "to cause the most pain."

I closed my eyes tight to the pain, but refused to cry out again as he pulled a very sensitive plume from my wing, which he stroked against my cheek. He wasn't a large man, but he definitely had enough presence to lead the (I stopped for a second to mentally count the men I'd noticed in the room) seven people gathered.

"We have another tough one, boys. Have we cleaned up from the last one who thought he were better than us?" The man's voice was gruff, but almost musical. There was no doubt that he enjoyed the power of his position.

I remained in a quiet, meditative state, focusing on burying the pain, while he rallied his group, pumping them up for whatever job they were supposed to be doing, which I quickly decided was going to be unpleasant for everyone involved. I knew that for every man sick with power like him, there were people under him who didn't feel as impassioned about the cause, people like Billy.

When I heard the last of the footsteps leave the room, I opened my eyes again, breathing out a staggered breath as I coped with the pain. I'd been broken in many ways throughout my existence, but very few mortals had ever laid witness to my wings, let alone touch/break them. I could count on one hand the number of times they had been injured, but this situation was unique and humbling.

It was only between waves of pain that my brain was able to remind me of the reason for this unfortunate journey. "I have to find my family," I whispered to myself.

"Family?" Billy stepped out of the corner of the room, his voice cracking as he repeated the word. "Who are you?" he asked, taking hesitant steps toward me.

"I'm Daniel," I replied, feeling the strength of who I was pulse from within me as I said my name. I lifted my head up and looked him in the eyes. "And I need your help to get out of here, Billy."