A/N: Yep, another long chapter. A lot happens here, and a lot more to explain. So, enjoy! And I only own Cassie.
The demoness Mikzuki smiled innocently as the gravity of the lies hit me. Was it the first time I was lied to? Not by a long shot. What made it bad was that the one lying to me was one of the few people I've met in my life who even bothered to pretend giving half a shit about me. I turned my eyes from Astarte to Mephisto… no… Samael. Knowing his identity made the instincts stronger. Half of me wanted to run. Run like I've been doing the last two years, to where he would never find me. The other part wanted me to take off the accursed amulet, change, and give him a beating he'd feel for centuries. But my own body was frozen. Frozen in shock. Frozen in sheer terror of the demon standing before me.
With a cruel smile on her face, she asked, "Did I just let your secret slip?"
Astarte glared at her, and even I wanted to step back. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't send you straight back to Gehenna with your tail on fire."
Rin stepped between them and crouched down. "I thought you didn't want to risk any more bloodshed," he said, concern plain on his face, before sparing a confused glance beyond the two to me.
"If it is preventable. I'm willing to make an exception here though," she snarled viciously at Mikzuki, hatred in her eyes.
Rin's eyes lit up with an idea. "Let her stay then. You could use her to show how successful the training of those of Gehenna can be." He seemed awfully content with himself for that idea, but I remembered hearing back at the monastery that he wasn't nearly the thinker his brother was.
Astarte, unconvinced, let out a martyred sigh. At length, she reluctantly agreed. "A trial period. That's all. If she tries anything, I'm going to let Ben and Eric deal with her." Rin nodded rapidly, apparently taking what he could get. "I suppose we need to explain ourselves, don't we?" some nodded a little, while I just glared. "You weren't ready to know the truth. Our plan was to tell you eventually but when Cassandra turned up, we couldn't tell you." The class turned to me, expecting an explanation, but I had a feeling that whenever I opened my mouth, the only thing that would come out would be profanities and words of hatred.
"Why couldn't you tell the rest of us even with Cassandra here?" Saturn asked, and other students nodded in agreement.
"Because of whom Cassandra's father is. Cassandra is the daughter of Zarathos, a fallen angel who was tricked by Samael. His hatred for my brother runs in her veins. It burns in the hearts of all his children. If she had known before we had given her the pendant, none of us would be standing here." Astarte explained lamely. "In order to protect you all, we hid this from you." It was quite possibly one of the worst excuses I've heard to date. She became desperate now. "It's not like we've never hidden our identities before. Loki, Geb, Nephthys. You name the god or goddess; it's actually been one of us. It's just part of a demon's nature to lie." And it's in an angel's nature to be honest, I thought frigidly. So which world do you walk in?
Jenna, from her place huddled beside me, said quietly, "Well I never hid anything from anyone."
"Well you're what? Nine years old? What would you ever gain from hiding anything from anyone?! Stupid child!" She snarled and the façade of control cracked. Not so much as cracked, now, as split in two as some of the purple flames that exorcists saw in their nightmares escaped.
A woman rushed over and was now kneeling on Astarte's stomach, a gun pointed at her head. "Don't you dare try to harm my master. I don't care how powerful you are. You harm a hair on her head, I'll tear you apart." Astarte turned savage as she used her tail to grab the woman's wrist to pull her down as she headbutted her. The strange woman rolled over and Astarte began trying to tear into her before Amaimon and the traitor against Heaven pulled her off.
Mikzuki chuckled lightly as she stood before us, ready to give a speech. "You see, that is your teacher's true nature. An animalistic chimera that holds no sense of loyalty." She said. She leant forward, close to Astarte who had let her anger take over. "Aren't you? You're a monster." Astarte went to grab her, pulling Samael and Amaimon forward slightly. The class backed up as her flames struck randomly. The woman meanwhile, turned to Jenna and bowed before her.
"Are you alright Master?" She asked her. Jenna nodded. The woman looked to me, now. "You bear the mark of places better left alone," she said, pity in her eyes.
"I am fine Sayomi." She said. When she spotted the class staring at her servant she realised. "This is Sayomi Matsumoto. My loyal familiar. She's a top class succubus." She explained. Sayomi nodded towards them, ignoring how every male was now staring at her tiny black bra that barely covered anything and the short black skirt that left little to the imagination. Surprise, surprise. Another reminder of how—and where—I grew up. A growl disturbed them and they turned to see a large number of exorcists along with Ben and Eric had gathered. The Paladin walked towards where Astarte was pinned to the ground by the earth.
"So your mask of control has slipped demon?" he asked with a small but ruthless grin. He asked. She snapped at him, her flames lashing at his legs in anger as she strained against the bindings. The Paladin sighed and looked at Samael. "Use that punishment." He ordered. The scumbag shook his head.
"I will not do that to her. Not in front of Sora and Chikyuu." The Paladin glanced at the two boys and gestured for two female exorcists to escort Jenny and the boys away. When they were forced to move, the boys growled to her in a strange language I'd never heard before. "Oh, do shut up. You'll see them once we're done."
"How did you know this had happened?" Ron demanded. Nao and some others moved forward, determined to get an answer. Despite the behavior they had just witnessed, she was still their teacher. I hung back. No matter how much I would want to forgive her, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
"Eric over there informed me that the limitations on her abilities were starting to slip. She can't be allowed to lose control again. The world does not need another incident like her last loss of control."
"Why don't you like Astarte?" I asked a drunken Moreau. His face fell
"During the Dawn of the Purple Flames, my brothers, both exorcists and priests, were ruthlessly slain by her. Though I hold no grudge against half-demons, there are some things that cannot be forgiven."
The Paladin approached me. "Give me the bottle you have with no markings." He must've seen how shocked I was. "Moreau told me about it after some, ahem, gentle persuasion. Now give me the bottle."
"Go to hell," I spat. "You'd think you'd be a little more loyal to the loyal under you than that."
He seemed amused as he tore it from my grip. "You seem to have inherited your father's fire. See that you keep it under control." He unscrewed the cap as he walked to the teacher, now impaled brutally by spikes. "This should bring you back under control," he said as he poured the holy water over the wounds.
I looked on as she screamed inhumanly. Moreau always warned me about letting the stuff get in my bloodstream, but I never really paid much attention to it until that moment. She tried to force herself off the spikes but the wounds had healed around them.
"STOP!" Meiko yelled, the class trying to surge forward but being held back. They looked towards Amaimon for assistance but he was being held at bay by a barrage of blessed weapons. Even Samael was being held back by chains. The Paladin turned to them.
"Why? It is our job to eradicate threats to Assiah and humanity." I knew it was, I've been more or less living with exorcists for two years, but this was crossing a line.
"But you're killing her!" Saturn yelled.
He merely laughed. "That'll be the day. She's had every blessed defence we have against demons thrown at her and still she stands here. Even when she was younger and stabbed with a blade of blessed silver, or having ingested large amounts of holy water on several occasions, she still stands."
"But...this is inhuman," Noel said, fear for her teacher written all over her face.
"They're right, you're going too far this time Engel!" Shura growled, sword at the ready.
"But you all witnessed the dawn of the purple flames first hand did you not?" He asked the older class. "You all know exactly what she is capable of doing. What atrocities she can perform without a hint of morale or shame. What acts she engages in on a regular basis and still you would stand by her?" He asked them. Then it hit me. He doesn't hate her, he fears her. The poor bastard is scared stiff of her, so he does whatever he can to show his power over her while she's here in Assiah.
The words were poisoned honey, finding their way into my mind. My mind lowered its defenses enough for the other side to continue building doubt. Think of how she lied to you. Think of the innocent blood on her hands. The blood of children yet to say their first word. The blood of Moreau's brothers. The blood of all those she murdered and didn't lose sleep over. Do you still stand by her?
"Sayomi, sort this out." Jenna said simply.
"Of course, my lord and master." Sayomi bowed before sneaking up beside the Paladin as the exorcists watched the torture and holding her gun against his head. "My master wants you to let her teacher go."
"And if I refuse?" The Paladin asked.
"You'll find out why they call me the reincarnation of wrath when I paint these cliffs with your brains." She growled. The paladin chuckled before holding his hand up and signalling for the exorcists to back off. He looked at Samael.
"You can release her." he muttered something I couldn't comprehend and the spikes vanished, leaving her collapsed, panting in shallow, desperate breaths. Blood poured from each of the wounds, and I saw it as something of a miracle she was still alive. "The Vatican wants to talk to her. As soon as she is able to stand alone and talk, bring her to them."
We all crowded around her. "It hurts," she said between pained breaths.
"Is she…" Noel began to ask.
"No. She's not dead, simply passed out," Amaimon said, blue gaze never leaving the broken, bleeding form of his wife.
Mikzuki yawned and clasped her hands behind her head. "Kinda ironic, really. She's trying to train this bunch and loses control herself so easily."
"You made her lose control by winding her up. You know exactly how temperamental those other sides can be. And calling them a chimera when they are separate is guaranteed to piss them off," Amaimon almost yelled.
Rin once more formed a wall between feuding demons. "It's not all her fault. For a queen of an entire realm, she should have much better control over herself." Before an all-out fight could break out, Astarte started heaving and coughed up a black glob.
Yukio pushed aside the other two and examined the mass. "The holy water's gotten into her body. Looks like only a small amount did though. She should heal so long as she gets peace and quiet."
Damn… that could be me… I thought, remembering Moreau's warnings about letting it directly in my bloodstream, but I never knew the results would be that horrific.
"The hell is it?" asked Drake.
"If I'm correct, it is burned flesh." Yuki answered. "Demon flesh can't cope with holy water and burns. It's like throwing acid on a human." Drake stared at it, then at me.
"I've reconsidered my asking about having some of that holy water."
"Shiemi-san, will you go and inform Jen to bring the boys back to the academy, we will take Astarte to the medical wing and leave her to heal." Mephisto said. "You will all be informed of when your class will resume, but for now...you are temporarily free from expectations and training. If you want to continue training, I will have a room set aside for you." He explained to the class. As both he and Amaimon took her away, we watched silently.
When we returned to the campus, I packed my bag and went to my motorcycle. As I mounted it, I caught sight of Drake.
"Where are you going to go?'
"Does it matter? Didn't you hear him? He's not sure if Astarte's gonna get better, and I'll be saved before I'm caught dead in the same place with Samael any longer than necessary. Drake," I sighed. "I know you trust really easily, and if Astarte trusts him, it's good enough for you, but you have to understand. He's awful. He's the scum of the Earth and deserves to be trusted as far as a human can throw an elephant. But, even if she does get better, I'm not sure I'm coming back."
"Where will you go, then?"
"I've lived the last two years like this. It won't be a problem going back. Do me a favor?" he nodded. "Tell Jenna for me."
Just as I left the gate, I was approached by Samael. "Haven't you caused enough suffering?" I asked frigidly.
"Cassandra, you don't have to leave. We have plenty of room at the dormitory for you. You don't have to go back to… however you're living."
"You know what Samael? Why don't we play a game of 'fuck yourself'? You go first." At his glare, I sighed. "Usually, I can be pretty forgiving. But there are some sins that can't be overlooked. You pulled an angel from heaven. Can you imagine the wars that could've been stopped? The lives that could've been saved? But you just had to have a new pet. So, I'm not sure if Astarte's going to recover, and frankly, I don't really care, given the lies she's told and the lives she's taken. The innocent blood on her hands…" I shook my head. "But you won't see any more of me than you'll have to. So with that, I say, 'Yippee ki yay, mother fucker'." I flipped him off and drove away.
When I saw the sun start to set, for the first time in two years, I wasn't rushing to find a church. But I do need somewhere to sleep. Not another holy place. I wanted to at least spend my first night without worrying about changing in another church, with the sterility and cold distance. And I couldn't find an empty warehouse, nor did I have any money to drink away at a bar. I sighed in relief as I found a cemetery.
I pulled into it and set my jacket down on a stone bench. I learned from experience that they could be surprisingly comfortable. I strode to the cross in the center of the graveyard. The bleeding body of Jesus hung from it, his mournful eyes cast to heaven. I knelt before it in prayer, as was my custom when I slept in a cemetery.
Clasping my hands and bowing my head, I began. "I know You exist. I've seen too much of Hell to not believe in Heaven. The priests always say that You never turn Your back on Your children, but I'm not sure if I believe them, and I don't expect You to listen, giving all the shit I've done in my life. But, I want you to know I'm sorry. I'm sorry for killing all those people. I know that they've all done wrong, but all souls deserve a chance at Paradise, a chance I took away from them. I'm sorry for the way I've lived my life. I could blame my mother, but what she was is no excuse for how I chose to follow her footsteps and her influence. I also… want to pray for my father's soul. Both Zarathos and Johnny; for both were wronged by the Trickster. I know my human father sold his soul, but it was for a selfless purpose and I hope that one day he can get it back. I also hope against hope that Zarathos can regain his rightful place in Heaven, guarding over us, Your wayward children. I'm not exactly a believer, but I'm told You love us anyway. Also… I pray for myself, that the Hell I live will come to an end, whether You choose to lift my curse, or kill me, but I can't continue living like this. I know things happen for a reason, and You have a plan, but just… please, give me a sign. Something that says there's a reason for this suffering and I'm not a pawn in some twisted chess game, and You have a purpose for me. Amen."
I walked to the stone bench and drifted off to sleep. For once, the nightmares didn't come.
A/N: Yes, I'm kind of religious. No, I'm not going to shove my faith down your throat. This prayer from Cassie is more of saying something she doesn't want to admit to thinking or believing. No, this will not turn into a faith-centered story, but I think that the daughter of a fallen angel who spent the past two years in numerous churches would spare her time for the occasional prayer.
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