Part One: Dark One

Chapter Five: The Opposite Of Love

"We're all killers. We've all killed parts of ourselves to survive.
We've all got blood on our hands. Something somewhere had to die so we could stay alive."

April 7th, 2011

The sound of cracking stone reverberated through the room. The plain gray rock rested atop a pillar in the center of the room, its surface marred by the few cracks that Adrienne had managed.

Adrienne lowered her arm, leaning forward to rest her hands on her knees as it started to become difficult for her to breathe. Sweat beaded at her brow.

Vetis stepped forward from his spot alongside Dakota against the wall. "Maybe we should take a break."

Adrienne looks at him in annoyance. "We? I'm sorry, are you the one who is trying and failing to destroy a freakin' rock with his mind?" Vetis didn't answer. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

Adrienne straightened, accepting the glass of water that Dakota offered, downing it at once. "I don't get it." She said irritably, handing the glass goblet back to Dakota. "I was able to heal both of you just yesterday. Why can't I do this?"

"Those were emotional responses," Vetis explained calmly. "Your grace recognized that you were upset and set out to fix it. They were more in response to what you were feeling than anything else." After a moment, he added, "Not to mention power like that is exhausting."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't see why you're so upset. You as much as told me you don't want to raise Lucifer last night, so we don't really have any time restraints."

"Who gives a fuck about that? I want to find and kill the angels that murdered my family, and I want to do it now!"

"Well we don't have anything to make it easier, so you're just going to have to keep practicing."

Adrienne ground her teeth and glared daggers at the fallen angel.

Dakota stepped forward. "There is something that we could try, if you're open to the idea."

Vetis narrowed his eyes at the demon. "What are you talking about?"

"Demon blood."

For a brief moment, no one spoke. Then Adrienne said, "Do you think you could maybe expand on that?"

"Think about it. Demon blood can give or enhance psychic powers. That's what happened to Azazel's children. Why

shouldn't it help Adrienne? I would, of course, be happy to provide my own blood, ma'am."

Vetis thought about this for a few seconds, then turned to Adrienne. "Adrienne, do you think you'd be okay with that?"

"No. I can't do that." She shook her head rapidly, trying to shake the images that her mind had conjured. She saw long, jagged scars scattered across Dakota's skin as blood flowed freely from them.

"Adrienne," Vetis began, stepping forward and grabbing her arm. "I understand why you're uncomfortable, but this is bigger than that. If you can't even destroy a rock, then how are you ever gonna kill an angel? This is about becoming more powerful for the greater good."

Though Adrienne shifted uncomfortably, she made no attempt to get Vetis to let go of her before she looked at Dakota. She was standing silently with her hands loosely clasped in front of her. When she felt Adrienne's eyes on her, she moved one of her arms in front of her in a silent invitation.

After a minute of awkward silence, Adrienne said, "Okay, maybe, if you guys think it will work…"

Vetis smiled and clapped once. "Great. Dakota, bring me that cup Adrienne had earlier."

Dakota picked the glass up from the spot that she'd placed it on the floor earlier. Vetis took it and gave it to Adrienne, along with a brief command to hold it. He grabbed Dakota's arm, briefly running his hand along the smooth skin. Adrienne frowned and subtly crossed her arms as she looked on.

Vetis grabbed Dakota's wrist and drew a finger along the expanse of her arm. As he did, it turned pink before splitting open, allowing the blood to flow freely from the cut. Adrienne quickly held the glass to catch it. When it was full, Dakota's skin healed seamlessly without leaving even a small scar.

Adrienne held the glass uncertainly, her stomach turning at the smell of blood, so similar to when she'd found Zaccheus in the kitchen, but with none of the rot, and much more metallic. She looked to Vetis helplessly.

"Don't worry," he said calmly, "Think of it as a glass of wine."

"I don't like wine," she said distantly, but held the glass to her lips as she caught his reassuring gaze. Carefully, she opened her mouth and let the blood in.

Adrienne remembered getting a paper cut during her first week of college. She'd sucked on her finger until it was clean of blood. It hadn't been enough to taste much of anything really, but this was. It was incredibly metallic (How do vampires drink this shit? Are vampires real? Why am I thinking about this?), but mixed with that was a strong, intoxicating taste that actually did vaguely remind her of wine. She supposed that was from the demon part of Dakota rather than the blood itself.

She drank it quickly, wishing she had some water to help wash done the bitter taste. The glass began to fall as she swayed from side to side, but Vetis caught it and handed it to Dakota.

Adrienne didn't really feel any different, and if anything was just really grossed out now and hoped this would work, because otherwise she had just drank a cup of her friend's blood for nothing. She wondered if she should feel drunk or high, but she was honestly starting to get bored and decided to see if it had worked.

She concentrated on the stone again, focusing her power into a single point, like a knife, as she imagined the rock imploding, blowing bits of itself across the room. It responded almost as soon as she thought of it, sending large chunks and tiny, sand-sized pieces of rock flying across the room. She raised her hand without thinking, immediately stopping them in their tracks before they could hit her. She stood with her eyes wide in amazement before putting the rocks back in place, reforming the stone on its pedestal.

The room was silent before Vetis started to clap. "Adrienne, that was wonderful!" He grinned happily, allowing his irises and pupils to revert back to their marbled-red state. Adrienne practically glowed from his praise.

"Thank you," she said, a little smugly. And why shouldn't she be smug? She was on the right track to avenging her family, was more powerful than she'd ever been and was learning to control that power. She allowed herself to indulge in the fantasy of angels begging for mercy before being struck down, then silently chastised herself for being so sadistic. This was not about pleasure; this was about justice.

Vetis noticed her silence and thought she was tired. "Adrienne, we don't have to do anything else today if you want to take a break."

"No", Adrienne insisted, "I want to keep going. There is work to be done."

April 12th, 2011

Within a few days, Adrienne had mastered her telekinesis and could teleport herself along with Dakota several miles, though Vetis forbid that as it removed her from the protection of the house. For breakfast, Dakota had made sure she had two glasses of blood. Apparently, Vetis had told her that Adrienne would need it for her training today. She cheerfully appeared in the training room with Dakota immediately after breakfast. What she saw stopped her in her tracks.

A man was chained to the wall with manacles around his wrists and ankles. Ugly tattoos were patterned on his bald head and next to each of his eyes. He was wearing one of those ugly orange jumpsuits with spots of blood and dirt at random intervals. Gray duct tape covered his mouth, muffling any words he might have had. He seemed exhausted with his head hung low and lidded-eyes.

Vetis was pulling on one of the chains, testing it. He smiled at Adrienne when he saw her, dropping the chain. "Morning Adrienne. I want you to meet my new friend, Mr… Well I don't actually know his name. And he's not really my friend. I'm not sure where I was going with that. Let's start over. Morning Adrienne!"

It was so surreal, Adrienne wasn't sure if she was awake or dreaming. Vetis took her arm and led her to the middle of the room like he always did, so that at least was normal. But that still left the mystery prisoner, who was attempting to shout at her through his duct tape. "Vetis, who is that?" She spoke in Enochian, another skill she had learned. Even as she spoke, she stared at the man who looked at her pleadingly with black eyes.

"That," he said, "is your next assignment." He flopped down easily into a chair, casual and graceful all at once, crossing his legs at the ankles with his arms behind his head. "Kill him."

Adrienne whipped around to face him, too stunned to speak for several seconds. "What?"

Vetis nodded. It was clear that he thought it was simple and wasn't entirely sure why Adrienne didn't. "Kill him. I figure it won't be hard. Doesn't even have to be messy. Just stop his heart, or his lungs or brain. Should be easy for you."

"Vetis… I can't kill someone."

He shrugged. "Why not?" He sounded curious, though he looked at her knowingly, mouth curving into a smile as though he had a secret no one else knew. His vessel's eyes were a gold brown, like solidified sunlight mixed with rich amber. He was almost always staring at her, and usually it made her feel warm, but right now Adrienne almost wanted to hit him, could strangle him for how casually he was treating another person's life. In times like these, it was easy for her to remember that he was an angel.

"Oh, come on Adrienne." Vetis rolled his eyes and sat up, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his thighs. "You said before that you want to kill angels. This is just a step in that direction." He turns to Dakota and tells her to get him a cup of coffee, and she lives with a quick curtsy, effectively removing the one person in the room that Adrienne had still hoped would be on her side. She bounces out much like how she'd come in, leaving Adrienne feeling cold and abandoned.

Vetis stands up carefully, approaching Adrienne the way one might a frightened animal. Adrienne crossed her arms and backed away from him. He moved slowly, wrapping his hands around her upper arms and sliding them down to her wrists, uncrossing her arms and pulling her hands up to his face. He presses a kiss to the tops of her fingers, and she feels her resistance start to melt away under his understanding gaze. "Adrienne," he begins, sounding serious for the first time today, "I know that this is hard, but sometimes sacrifices must be made. This is something that needs to be done if you're to continue on your path." He sees the doubt in her face, and keeps going. "Besides, he's hardly a good person. He's a killer, like the angels that took your family. He's no more merciful than they were."

Distantly, Adrienne feels like it shouldn't be sweet that Vetis picked a criminal for her to kill, but it is in a way. He knew that she could never kill an innocent so instead he chose this man, this thing. Well, maybe that's more manipulative than sweet, but it still feels nice.

Vetis turns Adrienne so that she faces the man. Vetis is still behind her, one hand grabbing her forearm and raising it. Mindlessly, she shapes her hand into a fist.

Adrienne stares into the man's black eyes, dark as any demon's, and imagines him as the angel that killed Zac.

It's easy.

In fact, it's almost disappointing how easy it is. She thinks of the man's heart, pumping blood throughout his body, strong enough to take decades of strain, but not strong enough to resist when she forces it to stop, as though frozen in time. The man reaches for his chest, but the chains don't allow enough movement for him to do so, and they sump against the wall instead. Now the only heart that's beating is her own, and if it's faster than usual, she ignores it easily enough.

She decides to speed the process up and does the same to his lungs, cutting off his supply of oxygen as his blood grows stale. It takes several minutes, during which Adrienne stands unblinking as she tried to justify this to herself.

It's for Zac, it's for mom and dad, he's not a good person, I have to do it -

The man dies with his eyes open.

Adrienne hears his cries in her sleep. She wakes up with her hand pressed to her chest, relieved to feel her heart beating steadily under her skin, and wonders if she will ever sleep again.

April 13th, 2011

Dread threatens to suffocate Adrienne the next morning as she walks to the training room, hoping against hope that Vetis has no more plans of death.

It's a woman this time, with a terrified face and piercing hazel eyes.

They look like Zac's, Adrienne thinks while forcing down a sob.

Vetis encourages her to think of a different way of killing her than the method she used yesterday, but all she can think of is getting the woman's eyes off of her.

Still, it's difficult for her to even question Vetis knowing all that he's done for her, and so she does not argue with him now, even though the mere thought of anything happening to those lovely eyes is almost enough to send her crying and screaming. She clenches her jaw to force her own silence, and does as she is told.

Instead of stopping the organs like she did yesterday, she speeds them up, forcing the heart to beat faster and the lungs to take in too much oxygen. The woman's screams are muffled and her eyes are wide, but Adrienne does not stop because this is what she has to do.

The blood vessels in the woman's eyes burst. Adrienne lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she sees that they are red.

Adrienne wonders if Vetis can bring people back from the dead, but immediately dismisses the thought. If he could do that, her family would be safe and warm and happy, and it would be enough even if they never saw each other again.

April 17th, 2011

Killing humans is ridiculously easy, Adrienne thinks as she examines her latest test (she can't bring her to think of the as victims, because that puts them in the same category as Zac and mom and dad, and she needs to do this). So far every death has been more or less clean, and though the thought is almost terrifying, she is swiftly becoming bored.

It's that thought that drives her to experiment more with this new man. He implodes, covering her in a layer of blood and flesh and other stuff she does not want to think about.

Dakota moves to help clean her, but Vetis waves her away, insisting he do it himself. He smiles and even hums a bit as he runs the washcloth over Adrienne's body, red eyes sparkling. And if Adrienne feels her heart stutter at the sight, that's for her alone to know about.

Vetis isn't quite sure what he's doing when he decides to help Adrienne after she covers herself in what little is left of the man, but he does know that she is so bright that it is almost hard to look at her, and even her (sadly) human body is far superior to that of others. And it is especially nice when she shivers under his touch and her pupils dilate.

Adrienne doesn't dream.

April 22nd, 2011

People always talk about how the human body can survive under extreme situations and circumstances, but none of them know what she does. They don't know how easy it is to stop the organs, or how to send them into overdrive until they stop themselves. They don't know the feeling of forcing a person's cells to multiply at an insane rate, watching their body become deformed by the cancer in a matter of seconds. It's easy to force a person's blood through the pores in their skin, and it's almost funny to watch when she makes them hallucinate their worst fears.

This person is a demon, the first that Vetis has brought her. He is a traitor, a follower of Crowley - the false king - and a threat to their continued existence.

The vessel is already dead, though Adrienne hardly cares. She distantly notes that he has hazel eyes, but that's not important. What is important is that she single out the demon instead of the body, and obliterate it. Vetis calls it smiting, and it's more instinctual than anything else she's done so far. It burns the vessel's eyes out, and Adrienne makes a curious noise when she realizes that it's how Zac died.

Huh.

Adrienne sleeps soundly on silk sheets. She dreams of Vetis.

A/N: The poem at the beginning of this chapter is "if memories could bleed, if dreams could scream" and was written by dvoyd on tumblr, who kindly allowed me to use it in this story. Please do not use it without her permission.

The title of this chapter comes from the quote by Elie Wiesel, "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference."