Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. D. N. Angel. Or anything, really.

…

Even with Ryoushi and Satoshi setting a pace for the latter's comfort, it still took the four of us nearly three hours to reach Azumano. We'd had to stop twice for Satoshi, who despite his best efforts to hide it, was suffering terribly. Even with Wiz as his wings, his back bled like it had been cut with a knife, and no matter how slowly we flew, his breath came in choked gasps. I wished there was something I could do for him, but all that could be done was land, staunch the bleeding around his wings as best we could, and then fly on.

When we finally reached the city, we landed on the first semi-tall building we came to, which was a skyscraper about fifty stories high. We were all tired, but Satoshi's condition had worsened to the point where he could hardly stand. Ryoushi walked over to him and pushed his cold nose against the boy's shoulder, but there was no response. For a terrifying moment, I thought he had simply died while Dark and I caught our breath. However, after a moment he stirred slightly and rolled onto his side. Wiz turned into the little rabbit-thing that was his usual form, and hopped over to Dark. With a touch of shock, I saw he had little red splotches of blood on his feet.

While Dark tended to his familiar (though it was Satoshi's blood on Wiz's feet), I walked over to Satoshi. Ryoushi growled horrible warnings against me, but I cloaked myself in a thin veil of magic and ignored him. I felt that, despite Krad's warnings, I was already full of magic and power, and that even if I could not heal Satoshi, I could at the very least help him. Gray had described healing others as having a 'nightmarish, soul-sucking feeling', but it was not like that for me.

To me, healing gave off a powerful sense of peace; a sense I can only describe as one of giving, no matter how small the wound I healed. Certainly, there had been one time I had tried to heal a long gash on Dark's back (he'd broken a window and been struck with fallen glass during a theft) when I was drained of magic, and it had caused me pain, but that was simply an exception that proved what seemed to be a general rule.

And as sure as I was of my magical reserves, I could not help but hesitate before reaching out to touch Satoshi's shoulder. Would I need this precious magic to help free Daisuke? What if Honoo no Namida was there and we had to fight?

Go on, a voice in my head murmured. Just do it. He's fading quickly; he'll need your help.

I nodded to myself, agreeing with the internal monologue. Satoshi would indeed need my help if we were to even get to where Daisuke was. I could think about magic later. Besides, Dark seemed strong enough, and I was sure Ryoushi had at least enough magic to go through a door and unlock it from the other side. I placed my hand on his shoulder, and dark blue energy that was flecked throughout with tiny specks of silver flooded down my arm.

Almost instantly, I felt dizzy and forced the magic into check. The glob of power flowing down my arm shrunk vastly, and slowed to a thin trickle that spread over my hand and poured over my fingers like small streams, but instead of spreading across Satoshi's back and to the cuts on his wings, it seemed to gather on a spot just to the left of the center of his chest. It pooled there, you could say, directly above his heart, and that was when I became afraid. I drew back my hand, leaving what magic was there to seep into his skin and heal what it could, but I did not try to do anything else. As I walked away from him and towards Dark, I wasn't sure if I could do anything else.

"It's almost eleven," Dark said, checking first the moon and then my watch. I nodded, tugging my wrist out of his grasp. "Satoshi can't keep flying, even with Wiz, and we can't leave him here." I nodded again.

"I can't find Emiko," I added grimly, "or we might leave him with her. She's still too far away." Dark shook his head.

"We'll need Satoshi to get to Daisuke," he said, "I'm almost sure of it."

"Any magic trying to heal him goes straight to his heart," I snapped back, trying to speak quietly. "He's dying, Dark, and I don't think we can save him if we drag him along with us."

"You're helping him," Dark snapped back, "that should give him enough strength to fly with Wiz, at least." I shook my head.

"I don't think it will," I said. "I- I don't think…" I wrapped my arms around Dark's neck and hugged him, suddenly having to fight back tears. "If only Gray was here," I whispered, "If only Krad…" I felt Dark nod in agreement.

"One of them could probably do something," he said, gently releasing me. "But they aren't here, and they won't help."

Satoshi gritted his teeth, and then spoke. "Krad… is helping," he whispered. I found that he was almost invisible in the starlight. "If he… hadn't gone back… I'd be dead… the magic there… helps…" The little spot of magic I had forced onto his skin had not been absorbed, and sat on his back like a strange marble. It was still directly above his heart. Ryoushi let out a small whine.

"We have to keep going," his voice was now no more than a whisper. "I'll be okay… just give me a minute."

"Satoshi," I said softly, walking over to him, "You're in no condition to do this." I put a hand on his shoulder, and he reached up and grasped my wrist with a wasted hand. "You'll die…" He squeezed my wrist, and then pulled himself upright.

"I'll live," he whispered. "I'm going to be okay…" But I was holding him upright by his shoulders. He seemed to have no more strength in his legs, and he was practically leaning against me. But after a moment, he took several shaky steps away from me. His back was bleeding profusely now, and his wings, once pure ice blue with simple dark red freckles on their edges, were now entirely the color of blood. Simply looking at the way that the color glistened in the nearly nonexistent light, I could tell the blood was fresh. I glanced back at Dark, who only shrugged and whispered something to Wiz. His familiar shifted into a pair of black wings, and flew silently over to Satoshi.

He was standing on the edge of the roof, with his wings and arms outstretched, and his hair glistening in the moonlight. Blood dripped from his wings, and glittered like garnets in the light. The rest of his body was only a black silhouette, motionless in the night, black on black. Unconsciously, I touched my shoulder, and felt the black bow that had appeared in my hands before now slung across my back. Without knowing how I knew, I could tell that Gray was there. Somehow, she was with us, giving Satoshi strength and crafting a weapon for me. But she would not speak. I knew she would not speak. She had spoken enough already, without uttering a single word.

"We have to go," Dark said. "It's going to start getting light soon." I glanced up at the sky, and was shocked to see that the moon was nearly touching its far horizon. It would soon be dawn. Satoshi sighed and folded his wings against his back. I saw the blood on them, now dried, crumble and flake to the ground.

What was going on with time? It seemed to be jumping forward of its own accord, and settling back into its regular rhythms without anyone noticing. It was maddening.

"Dark's right," Satoshi said. His voice was still soft, but not nearly as weak as it had been even a few minutes (or had it been hours?) earlier. I supposed we had Gray to thank for that. "I think I can fly the rest of the way," he continued. Wiz, still as a pair of wings, perched on his shoulder.

"On my own," he elaborated. The little familiar made an insulted sound, and leapt back over to Dark, transforming as he did so. But when Satoshi turned as though to face us, he knelt by Ryoushi, and gazed at the dog, and stroked his fur. Then he stood, and leapt into the air. The suddenness of his actions startled me, and without thinking, I followed, hearing Dark leap into the air behind me.

I was, in fact, so intent on following Satoshi that I did not notice the puddle on the edge of the roof, where he had been standing, was dark red and bright. It was, of course, more blood. If only I had seen it, maybe things might have worked out better.

If only.

…

Satoshi's strength kept him in the air on our final stretch to the old church that was Honoo no Namida's home, which surprised me. However, I was pleased too. Maybe I had been wrong; maybe he would turn out alright. Perhaps his wings had finally stopped bleeding.

Ryoushi flew over the roof of the old church and circled there, like a hawk. Satoshi and I followed his lead, but Dark shot past us, urgently waving at us to follow. Ryoushi pricked up his ears and winged over slowly, and I followed him. But when I glanced back at Satoshi, he was still circling. It didn't seem as though he'd seen Dark, or Ryoushi and I fly away. He was looking at me, but his eyes didn't look like they were seeing me. Or anything, really. I waved to him, hoping the movement would snap him out of his trance, but he continued to stare blankly ahead, wings slanted to circle. In the early morning's light, the effect was horribly eerie.

"That idiot," Dark growled. "He's going to blow our cover!" I said nothing, curious as to why nothing was happening. Though I hated to think so, I figured that Honoo or some other artwork should have seen him by now. Yet, despite that, nothing was happening.

Without thinking, I sent an invisible pulse of magic down toward the church. Within an instant, it had returned to me and my worst fears were confirmed.

There were at least ten creatures (I say this because none of them felt human) in the building below. I knew without a doubt that one of them was Honoo no Namida, and (here a chill ran up my spine) also couldn't help but wonder if Syerdtsye was there too.

"There are eleven," a voice hissed. "And there are none." Ryoushi snarled, and I heard Dark make some sort of indignant, shocked noise. "It simply depends, Miss Violet, on whether or not you can see them." I whirled around, but saw no one.

Absolutely no one. Dark was gone. Satoshi was gone. Even Ryoushi was gone.

"Shining Violet, your light will die tonight." I turned around again, terrified that I was now alone with some unknown enemy.

"Lumi?" Dark's voice came from my right, and I glanced over. No one was there. "Lumi, I'm still here. Satoshi and Ryoushi are too."

I can't see you, I thought to him.

And you never will again, Shining Violet. This voice was familiar. It was that of Shinko Furaito, the tall artwork with the mist of silver for eyes. You have many enemies. I am one.

"Get out of my head," I snapped at him. "Where are my friends?"

"They are in front of you," the strange voice continued, "and they are nowhere. They are alive, and they are dead. Can you see?" A trickle of fear slipped into my stomach; twisted it around into a sickening knot; caused my wings to stop beating for a moment.

Open your eyes.

They are open.

Open your eyes! The voice was not anyone's I had ever heard before, and it is one that I have never heard again. Now, as I write it, I believe it must have been Ryoushi's. He cannot communicate with me as Fenga and Wiz and Murasaki can, and he had never before tried.

But I tried to open my eyes. I strained them against the night, looking for dissimilarities or blurs that could indicate a shield of some sort, and found nothing. I panicked for a moment more, then scrunched my eyes tight and focused all of my magic towards the point where I had last seen Dark. Snapping my eyes open, I threw out a wide, thin beam of deep navy blue and silver-speckled energy, and saw two figures melt into shape. One was Dark, grinning and giving me a thumbs-up, and the other was Ryoushi, who did a mid-air backflip and cast around for his master—who was nowhere to be seen.

"He has vanished from my spell," the voice muttered. "Only some can do that. Only those near death can do that." My stomach did a weak flip, but even as I felt shock from this statement coursing through my veins, I could accept it. Some crazy, awful part of me knew it was going to happen.

But how could I accept it? What was wrong with me? I shook my head weakly, trying to clear the awful images of Satoshi dying out of my mind. I just couldn't let it happen. I couldn't. I wouldn't.

I felt a bow slung across my shoulder, and I gently touched it. It radiated a warmth that was both comforting and wild, and I knew Gray's spirit was with me.

"I'll get you back Gray," I whispered. "You and Satoshi both, do you understand?" The bow did nothing, but I like to imagine that I felt the warmth pulse slightly. I glanced over at Dark.

C'mon, I thought. We've got to get in there. He nodded at me, and together, with Ryoushi leading the charge, we dived. The wind whistled past my face, forcing me to squint. Tears streamed out of my eyes, and my breath grew short, until I spread my wings and pulled out of the dive and landed lightly on a pew, panting gently and blinking rapidly. Dark landed next to me with a snap of wings, and Ryoushi with a clatter of his claws.

Dark tapped me on the shoulder, then tapped his temple. Instantly, I listened for his thoughts; it had become almost second nature by now.

Let's not speak, he thought, I don't want them to hear us.

Shinko Furaito will hear us anyway, I replied. He sighed, and stepped off the pew, shuffling his wings against themselves.

"Well then," he said, and his voice rang out like the pealing of bells in a chapel, "Let's make them all remember the sound of our voices, right Lumi?" I grinned, and I knew he was grinning too, like the Cheshire Cat in Wonderland, and nothing could stop him. "Shinko Furaito, True Flight of Fright, show yourself! Bring your friends!"

"Bring the pyre." Dark and I both froze. Ryoushi snarled and backed up against the pew I still stood on. Time seemed to stop, even the breeze paused, as if the whole world was holding its breath. "Tell me Dark, have you ever seen a tamer die? Or have you always abandoned them, to die alone?" For several seconds, there was silence while this sentence sank in to both of our minds.

"Oh god," I whispered. "No…"

"Which one?" Dark asked, "Who?" To my disbelief, his voice was shaking. I felt my knees start to knock together as they weakened, and I forced myself to step up to where Dark was simply to keep myself upright.

"Why not the both of them?" Shinko Furaito's true voice, rasping and curling around our minds, was coming from behind the organ that I had seen when my wings had burned from my back and Gray had died the first time.

"They have done nothing!" Dark snarled.

"They have unsealed the Dragon Vase, and spelled our doom. Do they not deserve death?" I saw something flicker to my left, and knew that it was one of the strange artworks that had allied itself with Syerdtsye and Honoo no Namida. It was this artwork that had spoken now, and I believe that it was then I realized just how much trouble we had gotten ourselves into. Of course, it could have been that I'd known all along, and only then accepted it, but I just couldn't believe that. I didn't think I was stupid enough to have dived headfirst into a slaughterhouse.

I looked over at Dark, and saw that he too was gazing at the organ. His face was a perfect mask of disbelief; his eyes wide, his mouth slack jawed in disbelief. His hands were twitching too, probably searching for a feather that he couldn't conjure.

"Go on," the new voice chided, "Go talk to your little friends. We'll let you hear their last words." This voice was feminine, and extremely condescending. I wanted to turn around and destroy its source, but Dark grabbed my wrist as though he could sense my thoughts, and held me still.

"Don't turn around," he whispered. "It's what she wants. Come on, we have to go find Daisuke."

"What about Satoshi?" I asked gently as he began to lead me forward. Ryoushi padded along behind us, prowling low to the ground.

"He's sending me a signal," Dark hissed. "It's strong, considering how bad he was the last time we saw him."

"Keep walking," Shinko Furaito chided, "You're nearly there." We were at the organ now, and Dark paused.

"I will wait here," he said deliberately, "and make sure no one tries to kill you, Daisuke, or Satoshi as you come back." He nodded encouragingly at me, and with a pit now creating what felt like a black hole in my stomach, I moved around the organ, very slowly, and went behind it.

I saw Daisuke first. He seemed fine, but for a black eye and a general sense of weary alertness, and he glanced up at me with a joyful, hopeful look of someone who thought they were nearly done for.

"Hey Dai," I grinned, "bet you're glad we're here, aren't you?" Daisuke beamed widely, and to my great surprise, shook his head.

Instantly, flames sprang up behind me, sealing me off from Dark and the rest of the church. I leapt toward Daisuke, which was my great mistake. He leapt towards me, drawing a small dagger out of thin air and placing it gently against my throat.

"Don't tell me you didn't recognize me," Syerdtsye purred, assuming her true form. "You were just too hopeful, weren't you?" With the dagger still tickling my throat, she turned me to face the back of the organ. "Now your little friend there… he'll get to watch me gut you." She gave a low chuckle as I gasped in shock. Daisuke was tied to one of the organ's pipes, and appeared to have been beaten to a state of permanent semi-consciousness. A trickle of blood was dripping over his right eye, and his face was swollen with dark bruises. Satoshi was nowhere in sight.

"Daisuke!" I yelled. Syerdtsye brought the knife closer to my throat, slicing into my skin and drawing blood – not just a trickle, but a thin stream. I didn't scream, but I hissed out a few things I'd rather not repeat and struggled even harder, sure I was going to die. "Satoshi, Dark, someone!" The knife pressed down harder against my skin, and my vision began to tunnel.

"Candra!" I could hear Dark calling my name, but I knew he'd never be able to get to me in time.

The last words I heard before I passed out were not Dark's, however. They were Satoshi's.

"Anathema labor de meus majoris, exuro aput the porta de infernum."

…

AN: Satoshi's sentence roughly translates to 'Cursed work of my ancestors, burn at the gates of Hell.' I don't think he's very pleased with Syerdtsye…

Anyway, I'm glad to be back! Please leave me a review telling me how furious you are at me for disappearing for so long!