Warning: Violence

Many hugs to JoVersify for all her help with brainstorming, re-brainstorming and fixing this chapter!

Poison, VI

Issa felt nothing unusual in the bond and that scared her even more.

Was Edvardiel hurt? Was he unconscious? Had someone taken him?

She pushed herself harder, not caring about who was watching or pondering her inhuman speed as she ran far ahead of the others. Air tore through her lungs as she burst through the canopy of trees.

A crowd had gathered around the gates and Issa didn't stop to take in the mood as she pushed her way through. Several people, Tanya included, shot her dirty looks. Edvardiel looked surprised to see her. "Issa?"

She looked around wildly. Where was the danger?

Then she realised the gates had completely vanished—in its place was a shimmering golden barrier radiating from Edvardiel's hand. Her angel was single-handedly holding back the demons. She began to step towards him but his fear flashed through their bond.

"Don't come close," he said sharply.

Her muscles froze at his order. He must've realised it because he instantly softened his expression. He nodded at the barrier. "It burns everything that tries to cross it. I don't want anyone getting hurt. Just… just stay there until I get the gates under control."

Her insides tightened. Reluctantly, she stepped back, watching with the others as he raised his free hand and spun a web of crackling glory in the air. Calmly, deliberately, he drew his fingers from one end of the entrance to the other while keeping the barrier up with his other hand. His threads of glory twisted around each other, slowly forming the shadowy outlines of new gates as he directed his energy, his wings pulled taut to his body as though in deep concentration.

"To think Samael nearly killed himself making our first gates." Issa jumped as she realised Ezekiel was behind her. He leaned tiredly against his staff, his cloudy eyes reflecting Edvardiel's shining glory. "The boy is doing it like it's nothing."

Issa felt uneasy but Ezekiel was right—Edvardiel wasn't struggling. Their bond confirmed it.

There was the odd throbbing in his heart that had been there since the beginning, but other than that, she felt only determination.

In a sudden swell of power, Edvardiel's eyes and wings blazed like lightning. The crowd gasped and exclaimed as the threads shot upwards, higher and higher until they reached the clouds—and still they grew. The panels were solidifying into a new set of gates, except now they weren't sun gold but rose gold. Edvardiel's glory was stained with the scarlet of his humanity.

"It's pink," Jessica whispered from somewhere behind her, wonder in her voice. "It's kind of pink, isn't it?"

"Looks gold to me," Mike whispered back.

"It's not," Jessica said. "It's pinkish."

Mike squinted. "I don't see it."

"Who cares?" Paul appeared just then, struggling to catch his breath. "As long as they keep the demons out, I'm good."

Issa craned her neck to look for Rosalie and Alice but they were nowhere to be seen. She frowned. What had they run all the way here for?

The gates were almost finished and she felt Edvardiel's relief tangling with her own. There had never been anything to worry about. Her angel had his wings and the amount of raw power he possessed was absurd. The last wisp of glory dangled from his finger and he turned, his eyes searching the crowd. He could've looked for anyone but he was searching for her.

She ran to him, about to congratulate him. About to celebrate.

Edvardiel's face lit up as their eyes met, and she grinned back, so fucking proud of him.

"STOP HER!" A voice shouted.

Rosalie was running, her eyes wide, and at first Issa didn't understand. Then she felt a sudden, hard shove.

There was a sliver of space between the gates. A slim gap where the last thread remained unwoven.

Issa tumbled through it.

As she landed outside amidst the dead trees, she saw a flash of golden hair. Tanya. Tanya had pushed her out of Eden.

"What are you doing?" Jessica cried.

Tanya's expression was odd. She looked neither gleeful nor hateful. She looked confused. Issa didn't have time to ponder this as the last thread left Edvardiel's finger.

The gates slammed shut.

Or almost did.

Edvardiel shoved his wing through the gap. There was a gruesome sound as his wing bone cracked under the pressure. Shrieks of delight echoed from the demons as they emerged from the withered branches, weapons drawn, their eyes trained on her and the angel trapped between the gates.

Issa rolled out of the way just before a mace landed in her stomach. She sprung to her feet, bracing herself for a fight—

"Issa!"

In a burst of strength, Edvardiel rammed his shoulder through the gap and grabbed hold of her. He was about to pull her back in when a demon came swinging.

Issa knocked the demon's arm aside but the blade slashed open Edvardiel's shoulder. His blood spurted onto the golden heart and to everyone's horror, the gates swung wide open. Edvardiel threw out a hand but his glory flickered.

The demon grinned at her, his eyes glowing an unsettling blue as Lilith's monstrous voice echoed from his mouth. "Such insolence. Do you know what I do with disobedient children?"

Edvardiel's shoulder bled profusely. He was still drained from the gates but three Acolytes leapt towards him, giving him no quarter as they forced him to fight back.

"I take away their favourite toy."'

Issa heard the sound of tinkling glass. She was back at the cathedral, unable to move as she watched Yassper die. Except this time he had wings, and when she dug his body out from the rubble, it was Edvardiel's unseeing eyes in the pulpy, disfigured face.

She screamed, twisting the demon's arm viciously and turning his blade on him. She pushed it up and up in a red haze of rage. It was only when she'd sliced through his horrible grin that she realised she'd literally carved him in two.

Blood dripped from the blade. It was curved, like her old ones. Her hands were bloodied, the way they'd always been. And the demon lay dead at her feet, like all the people she'd killed before.

Issa felt sick.

Her free will made no difference.

All around them, people were fighting with Edenium weapons. Rosalie with her chain whip, Jessica loading a revolver with unnaturally gleaming bullets and Mike helping to push a giant catapult. The people of Eden were as ruthless as Lilith's army, and there were as many dead demons as there were humans.

The earth overflowed with blood.

An Acolyte came charging at her and she sunk her blade into him, watching him fall to his knees. She saw herself in him as he crawled towards her, forced by the poison even as he choked for breath. Slowly and with great difficulty, he wrapped his blood-slicked fingers around her throat–

His head exploded.

"The fuck are you doing?" Rosalie yelled, her bazooka smoking from a few feet away. She smacked an Acolyte with it as she shouted. "Stand up! Stand up right now!"

Issa forced herself up. She moved through the mass of bodies, disoriented as she deflected blows with muscle memory more than anything else. How many Acolytes did she have to slaughter? How many more people did she have to watch die? As she pulled her blade out of yet another body, she nearly stumbled over a corpse. She looked down and saw Tanya's golden hair caked with blood, her jaw blown off. Issa's world spun. She heard the tinkling of glass again as the blade shook in her hand.

"Edvardiel," she muttered, trying to centre herself as her vision blurred. She had to find her angel. She had to make sure he was all right.

Steady, child.

The feather rain was back. She never thought she'd be relieved to hear her dream angel's voice.

Drop your blade, he said. It connects you to your past. Use your glory.

She drew an unsteady breath. "How?"

He sighed. I cannot teach you how to reach for something that is right there. Drop the blade. He sounded annoyed. And if you must, look for a different weapon.

This time, she let go of the blade and reached for a fallen rifle. The rushing in her ears faded and the flashbacks stopped. Her dream angel was right. He was actually right.

Everything you need is within you.

A demon ran at her, forcing her to shoot him. His blood sprayed onto her face. "Where?" she demanded angrily.

Anger is not your key. He sounded amused. You are Michael's daughter. His key is joy.

"You can't seriously expect me to be happy right now," she said, ducking as a rain of arrows followed her shot.

I do not make the rules child. Fortunately for us, Michael is no longer able to summon his glory. Not since he discovered your existence. Her dream angel laughed. Or perhaps unfortunately. If he could smite us to oblivion, there would be no need for the Apocalypse.

One of the arrows grazed Rosalie and she cursed, ducking beside Issa. "There are too many of these fuckers," she said, clutching her side as it bloomed with blood. "I don't know how long we can hold them off. I don't understand why the gates aren't closing."

Issa blew the brains off another demon before he clubbed Rosalie.

"Did you see Edvardiel?"

"No," Rosalie said. "Last thing I knew, Alice said she'd look after him."

Issa's stomach clenched.

She didn't have time to reply as the fighting grew more intense. She watched numbly as a young Acolyte slashed Rosalie's arm open before Rosalie disembowelled her. Another Acolyte was on her in an instant and Rosalie barely managed to choke him with her whip before two or three more emerged. Issa managed to shoot them before she ran out of bullets.

Despair overtook her.

How many had she killed today without Lilith's compulsion? How many more did she have to kill? She was no better than them. And for what? Lilith's army was endless and more Acolytes rose after each raid.

I often wonder how the seraphim will react if they knew their king is powerless and hiding behind a silly sword, her dream angel mused.

"I don't have time to talk to you right now," Issa said. Joy. She tried to think of something happy but all she could see were her own trembling, blood-soaked hands and the growing pile of corpses.

Need help? Her dream angel asked lazily.

"Aren't you just a creepy voice inside my head?" Issa bit out. "What can you do?"

Do you want me to help or not?

"Yes," she gasped, as an Acolyte leapt onto her. They rolled on the ground, all teeth and nails. "Fucking help me already!"

Very well.

Her body suddenly felt like it no longer belonged to her. Her skin blazed a deep, blinding gold.

There was fire.

There was screaming—from the demons, the Acolytes, and maybe some humans. She didn't know if it was from pain or fear.

Angelfire was a great, ravenous beast which ate and ate until it couldn't anymore. And it wasn't her fire. It wasn't even Edvardiel's fire. This fire was all his—the mysterious seraph.

There was so much of it.

She was bleeding. No, he was bleeding. Her dream angel.

Gold.

And then there was nothing.

Everything was fuzzy.

"Where have you been, Eve?" Her lips moved but her dream angel's voice came out of it. Issa realised she was in his memories.

"Busy." The woman's back was to them, her long hair whipping in the wind as she stared out into the cliffs below. "Did you get what I asked for?"

"No," her dream angel said. "I've been busy too. Samael's gone."

Eve's shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry."

"Someone had to end his suffering." He sounded bitter. "Why didn't you help him like you helped me? You had no problems mending my wings."

"Because I can't do it anymore." Eve finally turned. She blossomed with life the same way Lilith withered with death. She was breathtaking, her beauty as sharp as any angel's, but her dream angel's attention was on the glowing bundle in her arms.

He stared for a long, long time.

Then he laughed. "Not you too." He laughed some more. "Oh, this really will be the end of us."

"I see a new beginning." Eve's eyes shone with the sunset. "A mother city where our children can live in peace."

"That will never happen," he said. "The seraphim see them as a threat." He tilted his head at her. "You know, I never took you for an angel lover."

It was Eve's turn to laugh. "I'm not sure you can call it love." Her eyes grew faraway. "Things were different back then. There was no Heaven, Earth or Hell. Those things came later. Angels didn't use to Fall. They Descended. Guardian angels were the closest to humans–they were the first to desire free will. Some seraphim wanted to do the same." She smiled humourlessly. "That was when the problems began, when they realised our children had glory stronger than the seraphim in Heaven. Eden wasn't the first of the Nephilim. She was simply the first to survive this long."

Her dream angel's attention was still on the bundle in Eve's arms. "Tell me, Eve. Who's her father?" His face split into a slow grin. "Is it who I think it is? I have been wondering how you grew my wings. The power of life doesn't include the key to Heaven itself."

Eve's smile turned sardonic. "You already know, so don't mock me. I chose Earth and he chose Heaven."

"And then you chose to bring his daughter into the world in the middle of all this." Her dream angel laughed again. "What a wicked woman you are."

"I will protect the beings on Earth," Eve cradled the child to her breast. "Including those born here and those who chose to Descend. Glory is beyond me, but it isn't beyond her."

"Poor, wretched thing," he said. "She's barely taken her first breaths and you've laid the weight of the world on her shoulders."

Eve shot him a knowing look. "I see Eden's rubbing off you. Not the callous seraph, anymore, are you?"

"I'd mind my own problems if I were you," he said silkily.

Eve stepped towards him, her eyes dancing with amusement. "My problem?" she said. "I believe you mean our problem. You are in my debt, seraph, and I've come to collect."

Hello guys! Sorry about the missing update last week, this was by far the most difficult chapter I've ever written for this story! I wrote five different versions of it and poor Jo had to suffer through three of them with me lol. Hope you guys enjoyed it though :)

PS. I'm on a break next week so I'm not sure if I'll manage to write something for next Friday but I'll try. See you guys latest in two Fridays :)