Chapter 8

"Oh! I remember this!" I exclaimed absentmindedly as we entered the room with the big spiral-thingy platform in the center. "This thingy is fun!"

"Good. Then you will have no trouble telling us how to work it," the prince declared, his hand on my shoulder. I stopped.

"Uh…." I could just imagine the look he was giving me right now. "Uh…… I forgot?"

"Just great!" he exclaimed, smacking his forehead. I shrugged innocently.

"Sorry?"

"Just… fly up there and see if you can figure something out."

"Sir yes sir!" I saluted, then opened my wings and flew straight up, landing smoothly on the platform. I'd found out that I could only stay in the air for a few minutes before my wings tired out and I had to rest them.

From my new position, I looked around. In front of me, there was a big gap with a lever on the other side, and behind me was another lever without the big gap.

"Yo, guys! I think I remember! But I—" I stopped suddenly and looked towards the hole in the wall. Not only had I heard something, but also I'd caught it from the corner of my eye.

"But you what?" Farah persisted.

"I…" I'd lost my train of thought by this point. I got that feeling in my stomach again that something was a little… off. It wasn't like in the ruins, when all I'd wanted to do was get the hell out of there. This time, it was more like there was something out there that needed to be dealt with. I squinted a little, thinking that maybe I would see it again.

"Naomi! What's going on up there!" the prince yelled at me.

"Sorry, guys, you'll have to figure it out on your own!" I called, then spread my wings again and took to the air towards the hole.

"Naomi!" the prince yelled at me, but I didn't listen. I flew through the gap to the outside and hovered there for a moment before landing on the ledge below. I glanced around, looking for some kind of clue that would lead me to what I was looking for, but I found no trace of anything unusual…

It took me completely by surprise when something suddenly tackled me hard enough to throw me several yards. I hit the wall and bounced off and landed haphazardly on the ground. It took me a moment to catch my breath again, but when I did, I took an immediate disliking to whoever the wise-ass was. Said jerk was standing several feet away, hands on his hips, laughing smugly.

He was tall and rather thin and lanky, a few years older than me, maybe nineteen or twenty. His clothes were similar to mine, time-wise. He wore tight-fitting black jeans, and simple black shirt, a black leather belt with silver jewels embedded around it, spiked wristbands and motorcycle boots. He had a sort of light, sort of tan complexion and his hair was dark brown and looked untamed, though average length. But one thing that struck me as odd was that he also had wings. Only instead of pearly white, like mine, they were grayish-black.

"So you're the new Angel, are you?" he asked me in a cocky voice, turning his bright forest green eyes on me. "Hmm, too bad… I was expecting more of a challenge… but you'll do."

"Just who the hell are you exactly?" I demanded.

"Hmm, not too bright, either… but then again, you are a newbie…" he smirked, "my name is Michelangelo. But you can just call me Mike."

"Alright, Mike," I pulled out my sword, "what do you want?" He eyed the blade in my hand for a moment, eyebrow raised.

"You're certainly to the point, aren't you? Let me tell you something, kitten, that little butter knife of yours will do you no good against someone like me. So," he folded his arms, "why don't you just put it away, and we'll talk." Even though I would never admit it, he had a point. I was a novice with this thing. He was probably one of those hard-core warrior guys that packs a sword ten times bigger than mine. I probably wouldn't last three seconds against him… Careful not to cut my leg off, I 'sheathed' it. "On second thought, maybe you aren't so dumb, after all." I was about to open my mouth and argue, then tell him to bug off, but before I could get the words out, Mike dove forward at lightening speed, hooked one arm around my waist and flew straight up. I hardly had time to respond before he dumped me on the roof.

"Since I'm not in the mood to deal with those mortals you've been hanging around, I think up here would be a much more satisfactory place to conduct business, don't you agree?" he asked, gesturing to the open sky. I just glared.

"What 'business' are you talking about exactly?" He folded his arms.

"Well, for starters, how about your name?"

"What's it to you?" I demanded.

"A lot."

"Naomi Fox." Looking annoyed, he rolled his eyes.

"Not your human name! You're true name! You're angelic name!"

"I don't have any other name!" Now looking like he'd lost his patience, he darted forward again, snatching my arm before I could react. He effortlessly wrestled me over his knee and held me there, holding my arms behind my back in a very uncomfortable position, while he brush my hair away from my neck with his free hand.

"Angel Samira, is it? But what's this? No rank? That isn't good, now is it…"

"Let go, you thug!" I shouted as loud as I could, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. He ignored me.

"Looks like I've just found another recruit."

"Recruit?! Recruit for what?!" I started fighting harder. Sighing, he shoved me hard enough to throw me on the ground.

"Dear lord, are you really that stupid? Of all things, I thought you would at least know about the Renegades!"

"Renegades?" He just stared at me this time, seeing that I really had no clue what he was talking about.

"Wow, you really are clueless, aren't you?" No shit, Sherlock. His smirked returned. "Well, all the more reason to enlist you." He started towards me again, but this time, I took the initiative. I jumped to my feet, spread my wings and darted forward, leaping into flight, fleeing as fast as I could. "Damn it! Don't make me chase you, Angel!" I heard him shout. "You won't get far!" I didn't care at this point. All I knew was that I didn't want to be 'recruited' into whatever crazy cult or guild he belonged to. I wanted nothing to do with him.

Unfortunately, he was right. I knew I wouldn't get far before I tired myself out. I had to get as much distance between us as possible and find a place to hide long enough to rest and then find the Prince. I'd be safer with him and Farah.

For a moment, I thought for sure I would be able to out run him—er, out fly him, but I quickly found out, with shocking disappointment, that he was right on my tail. Alarmed, I forced my wings to go even faster, and faster, and even faster, not that it made much difference. Mike was having no problems keeping up with me. I could feel myself starting to tire from the labor I was putting into speed.

"You know, kid, you're only making this harder on yourself!" Mike called from right next to me. I looked at him, stunned that he was able to keep up… I started to panic. I started turning sharply, heading downward toward where there were more obstacles, hoping that I could lose him that way.

I weaved rather ungracefully through the trees, fences, and monuments and walls that made up the many courtyards of the palace hoping that Mike would lose my trail. He didn't. He stayed right on top of me, constantly reminding me that I was only delaying the inevitable. That no matter what I did, he was going to 'initiate' me. The more he told me that, the more terrified I became of whatever it was he planned to do to me, and the more I forced my wings to keep moving as fast as they could.

Faster and faster I urged them, and it became harder and harder to stay airborne. I'd been running for several minutes now, and I was tired as hell. I started lagging a little.

"Aw, you're not giving up so soon, are you? Things were just getting interesting!" Mike complained tauntingly from next to me. I realized by that point that this whole time, he'd just been playing with me. He could've easily caught me any time he wanted. But instead of grabbing me quickly, he forced me to over step my limits and exhaust myself by staying right on my tail. He'd tricked me into panicking and pushing myself as far as I could possibly go, so he would have an easier time 'recruiting' me against my will.

Unable to go any farther, my fatigued wings gave up the gun and I collapsed on the ground, too tired to move. I'd put all my energy into flying. I couldn't even hold myself up. I just laid there, too tired to do anything other than pant, while Mike landed smoothly on the ground several yards away.

"I tried to tell you not to make me chase you, Angel. You should've listened." He approached me with an air of 'I'm going to enjoy this' then knelt down next to me, putting his hand firmly on my back between my wings. I felt a warm sensation glide over my back from where his hand was, then creep around my shoulder blades, then it started the hurt, and then I started to scream.

Despite how tired I was I swung my arms around, trying to knock him away, or something that would stop him. But it was no use. He had me pinned down, and whatever he was doing was becoming unceasingly painful as it started consuming most of my back and neck and my wings. I yelled at him to stop. I begged him to stop. But he didn't. I knew it was hopeless…

"Leave her alone, Mike!" a new voice shouted. I didn't recognize it, nor could I see whom it belonged to, but whoever it was, Mike stopped dead in his tracks.

"What? You again? Are you stalking me or something?" he demanded taking his hand off my back. I shut me eyes and heaved a great sigh of relief as the pain started to subside.

"Hard at work forcing new angels to join your so-called cause, I see? That's despicable. One of these days…"

"Why is this one so important that you would come all the way here? Hell, she didn't even know her own name."

"Oh, you have no idea…" I heard the sounds of wings in the air, and the ring of swords being pulled from scabbards, but that was about all I heard before my poor brain just gave up and decided to stop trying to get everything and just take a good, long rest…

Kiri: Phew! At last! Another chappy is up!

Naomi: Lazy author...

Kiri: hey! I've been cramming for finals all bloody week! There's no way you can call me lazy after that!

Naomi: really? then what about all those classes that didn't have finals? Did you stay up all night, cramming in order to just sit there and do nothing for two hours?

Kiri:...shut up. So... FAQ! Hey, I've got an idea! let's do this FAQ like Rhea does her's in Dark Dreams! Who wants to?

Prince: OH! OH! ME! ME! PICK ME!

Farah: ...O.o

Kiri: Fine, fine. Princy can do it.

Prince: (leaps in the air) YAY! (looks at everyone else, who is staring at him) Er, I mean, thank you, I am honored.

Naomi: Prince, don't do that again...

Q: Who the hell is this Mike dude?!

A: Well, I'm not all that sure, but I'm fairly certain that he'll be popping up a lot.

Mike: Oh, you bet your ass I will!

Naomi: GAH! WHAT'S HE DOING HERE?!

Mike: Oh, chill out, Nay nay. I'm not out to get you... at the moment.

Naomi: ...

Q: What the freak is with that guy?

A: well, I-

Naomi: I know! He's just some gangstah jerk with nothing better to do that go around, tormenting people who are new to this wholeAngel thing!

Mike: (snickering) Oh, if only you knew just how wrong you are...

A: ANYWAY! I'm not sure, since the authoress hasn't told us much about it, but I know that he'll be a thorn in Naomi's side for a while.

Naomi: GREAT! Just Great!

Q: Naomi has another name? What the crap...?

A: Her name and her angelic name, from what I've been told. she'll always be Naomi to me.

Q: So then... what the heck was he doing to her?

A: Not sure, but nothing good, to say the least.

Mike: I was TRYING to convert her... if someone hadn't decided to interupt... (grumble grumble)

Q: Yeah, just who did interupt and save Naomi's ass?

A: I think we'll all have to wait forthe next chapter to find that out.

Kiri: he's right, too! Sorry to say that the next chapter may or may not include princy or Farah, but they will be back in action very soon. So, until the next chapter! and make sure to leave a reveiw! Those always make me happy.