Chapter 18

Max

"Look at her, she's so scrawny and weak," the big woman remarks. I hold up my arms out so she can fit the material to my skin better. Her name is Stitch, a large, ugly, pointy-nose woman with unruly black hair that resembled a thorn bush. "All my genius, wasted on an angel! Look at her, she's too thin. She's like a banshee!"

"She has a name, it's Max. And I'd rather be as thin as a banshee than to be the size of a walrus with the nose of a narwhal," I smile sweetly at her. She makes a growling sound deep in her throat and all her tools begin to hover slowly in the air off of the tables placed randomly throughout the room. I think that's meant to scare me. Stitch knows she can't lay a finger on me because Lucifer considered me his heir now. Still, I was itching for a fight and I hated relying on Lucifer for protection.

Patience is a virtue, the Voice mocks. I remember all the times I'd scolded the emperor for his lack of virtues. Life was so simple back then.

Stitch gives me a "light-hearted pat on the back that sends me sprawling to the floor. "There, all done, princess. You're not very sturdy, are you?"

"I think I'm in the healthy weight range," I glare and pick myself up off the floor, hands clenching into fists, "But you could afford to pass up one or two Devil's food cakes."

Her eyes narrow. Ooh, I'm so scared.

The armor she made me is nice though. It's made of a silvery material I can't identify, guaranteed to protect me from anything created in Heaven or Hell.

Jeb stands outside the room, "May I come in now?" he says, stopping a fight.

Stitch rolls her beady eyes, "Oh come on in. Since when did Jeb use manners?"

Jeb was my newly appointed bodyguard. Now he had to guide me around as Lucifer discussed war plans with his generals. I had to do something soon before Lucifer starts to need me for his propagandas. He was going to parade me around earth to get the attention of Earthborns and guardians who were just waiting to get a shot at returning to Heaven.

Jeb and I left Stitch's shop. "Listen, princess, Lucifer's student or no, I don't think you're meant to be here," he begins.

I stare, "No, I think I was born to be here. I'm so comfortable here, I never want to leave," I laugh. "You really think I want to be here?" I hold up my left arm where the Holding Band was clamped around my wrist. Lucifer clapped it on my wrist sometime in the day. It made sure I couldn't take a step out of Hell.

"No offense, kid, but after all this blows over, I don't want you sticking around."

"None taken," I assured him, "But what can you do to help me?"

"Lucifer's second-in-command, remember?" he snaps his fingers and the Holding Band breaks off. I rub my wrist.

"Why should I trust you? You are second-in-command after all," I eye him warily.

He scoffs, "Second-in-command to him? That's nothing. You know, during the War, I was the one gathering recruits while he sat back cooling his heels until the big day came. I deserve to be in his place. I'm the one who worked for it."

I think about what he just said. After a moment, I look up at him hopefully, "So you'll get me out?"

Fang

The Flock, Dylan and I combed the entire mountain, searching for a portal. If the portal was anywhere in a five-mile radius of the mountain and Paradiso en Terra, it was very well hidden. Iggy couldn't even sense anything. We flew back to the summer home in defeat

"What are we going to do? Max must be so scared down there; I know I would be. Who knows what they're doing to her? They could be torturing her and hurting her. Oh my gosh, she must be in so much pain! What are we going to-"I cut Nudge off.

"Shut your mouth for once!" I shout at her, making her jump back in surprise and hurt, "I'm sorry if I offended you but I just can't think of that."

I flew away, finding a place I can be alone. I tilted my head back against a cold marble column. I thought about Max and her brown eyes the first day I arrived in Rome. She was so carefree back then.

"Hey, Fang?" Iggy folded his wings to land neatly right next to me. How someone blind can be so precise, I have no idea. Earthborns, I shake my head inwardly.

"Hmm?" I don't look at him.

"You love her, don't you?"

I struggle to swallow. What is it with Earthborns and their emotions? They're so human. Then again, I feel so human as well. "I do," I take a deep breath, "It kills me that we can't find her and that I can't do anything but sit around here."

"So what are you going to do?" Iggy looks me straight in the eye and I almost forget that he's blind. Sometimes, the Earthborns seem wise than we are.

"We'll need help."

Iggy nods and we fly back to the Flock.

Nudge stands up first, "I'm so sorry, Fang, I didn't mean to upset you!"

"It's okay," I tell her. I turn to the rest of the Flock, "What do we know about Hell and its portals?"

"Well, there's a Labyrinth with lots of dead-ends and door leading nowhere," Gazzy said, studying the map in the dirt.

"There's the Finishing school and the Torture Cells," Angel offers.

"Okay, and does anyone remember how we got out?" I ask. I didn't remember. All I remember was Max's face fading away and the scenery of Paradiso en Terra appearing in her place.

The Flock looks at each other, no one remembering, not even Dylan.

I let myself fall backwards, not bothering to slow myself down. I stared at the starry sky, trying to draw a map from the constellations.

"We need help," I tell the Flock suddenly. "We need a higher-up angel." Dylan opens his mouth to speak but I interrupt, "No, not you Dylan. You're just a minor healing angel. That's higher-up than we are but not high enough. We need a Watcher or an avenging angel. I don't know if we can trust archangels just yet."

For awhile, no one can think of anyone to ask. I think for a moment, "I know who we need."

Okay, I lied, this chapter doesn't have much action. It's sort of a filler and a "get this plan in motion" kind of chapter. I promise Faxness in the next chapter. Reviews? All my love. 谢谢(Chinese)