XVI. Life, I

They tumbled onto the floor of the antique shop. The broken cathedral painting swam in and out of Issa's vision. Maryam was screaming again for her father before his blade slashed her throat.

Yassper was dying underneath the cathedral.

And then Edvardiel's wings—their last hope—were destroyed in a rain of blood.

It was one of those days when everything was too much. She heaved, as though her body were trying to expel all of the horrors it had just witnessed. Gripping the edge of a table, she tried to anchor herself to reality.

"Issa?" Edvardiel's wan face blurred into Yassper's and back as soft, bloodstained feathers floated like snow all around them.

"Fuck, we're still in the void, aren't we?" she remembered saying before everything went black.

She dreamed of Yassper's ash eyes.

In her dream, little Alice sat in Yassper's lap as he read her a picture book. In her dream, his ash eyes were cloudy with age and his hair and beard were grey. In her dream, they never kissed—she was a mere stranger walking past his front porch, smiling at the wrinkled old man and the tiny girl lost in a world of djinns and princesses.

The skies were a clear blue. There were weeds growing on the sidewalk and a line of ants teeming around a fallen piece of bread. The sun was bright and hot against her skin and when she looked up, a single soft feather dropped onto her nose.

She raised her face to the sun and saw the shadowy outline of wings and a familiar face.

Edvardiel?

She blinked.

The sun was indeed beating down on them. Edvardiel's worried face slowly came to view and she realised she was lying down with her head in his lap. A quick glance told her they were sitting in the back of a moving truck.

"The princess awakens."

That wasn't Edvardiel's voice. Issa turned her head and saw a human man with russet skin and a disarming smile in the passenger seat. "Hello, sleeping beauty."

Issa sat up abruptly, giving herself a fresh bout of dizziness. "Where are we?"

"We're on the way to Albania," the man said conversationally.

Albania? That was where Rosalie and Alice were headed. Issa looked at Edvardiel for answers but he only pressed his lips together—the universal sign for I'll explain later.

"How long have I been out?"

"Oh, I don't know," the man said. "Three days, maybe? Gotta ask your boyfriend. Not very talkative, that one. Not sure he can even talk, but he's been carrying you around like a lost puppy so we took him on board. I'm Iakovos, by the way."

"I just call him Jacob," the guy in the driver's seat said.

Jacob grinned. "The guy who's too lazy to learn my name is Pawel. Or Paul if we're playing his game."

"Lilith destroying the Tower of Babel doesn't make your name any less of a mouthful."

"Careful I don't kick you off my truck," Jacob said good-naturedly. He glanced back at her. "You still haven't told us your name."

"Issa."

"That's a man's name."

"Clearly not in this case," Issa snapped.

Jacob raised his hands. "All right, spitfire. No need to bite my head off."

"What about his name?" Paul asked, jerking his head at Edvardiel.

Issa looked at Edvardiel, sensing his deep reluctance and distrust through their bond. "His name is… Edward."

"Edward," Paul said. "Nice. Simple. I can remember that."

"He's a little slow," Jacob whispered, winking in Paul's direction and earning an elbow to the ribs. "Anyway, what happened to you two?"

Issa shrugged and lied easily. "The usual. Demons, searching for food and water, all of that."

"We have water." Jacob passed her a bottle, unexpectedly generous. "We boiled the snow. Filtered it. Can't do anything about the radioactivity, but hey, we probably won't live long enough to get cancer, eh Paul?"

Paul grunted.

Issa passed the water to Edvardiel and Jacob followed the motion. "Is he mute?" His gaze was more sympathetic than judgmental.

"Uh…" Issa figured he couldn't stay silent forever. "Not really. It's a long story."

Jacob nodded. "Happened to my brother too. Saw something terrible and all of a sudden he wouldn't talk. Just sat in a corner, staring off into nothing. Probably a mercy that the fever took him. Better than the demons, anyhow."

Issa didn't know what to say but Jacob didn't wait for an answer, rummaging in his bag for supplies. "Here. Some food. The bread is hard as stone but it'll line your stomach at least."

"Wet it with water or it'll break your teeth," Paul grumbled. Issa found herself trying to see if he had any broken teeth.

"The green bits are algae we managed to grow at the previous resistance. They taste funny and might give you a stomach ache but no one has died eating it," Jacob said.

"That you know of," Paul muttered.

Issa stared at the algae and the bread.

"Why are you sharing these with us?" she asked bluntly. Drinkable water was scarce. Food was even more scarce.

Jacob shrugged. "We're all going to die anyway. Might as well die decent."

"Jacob thinks the Apocalypse is happening because God is pissed at us," Paul said.

"What, you think I'm wrong?"

Paul only grunted.

"You think I'm wrong?" Jacob pressed, looking at them with intense eyes.

Issa was not touching that subject with a ten-foot pole. She kept her mouth shut. But of course, Edvardiel had to choose this moment to talk.

"You're wrong," Edvardiel said quietly.

"He speaks." Jacob's brows shot up. "What makes you think I'm wrong?"

"Because Hell doesn't belong on Earth," Edvardiel said. "Hell belongs in Hell. Just like Heaven belongs in Heaven."

Jacob stared and Issa sighed inwardly. Edvardiel was going to get them both kicked off the truck.

But then Jacob grinned. "You're a funny guy, Edward. I like you." He turned to Paul. "Oi, Paul, where'd you put the weed? Ah, here it is. Hey Edward, you smoke? We've got the good stuff, I promise."

I know I said I'm going to try to keep the split chapters to a minimum but weekdays are tough for me. Had a seminar yesterday until 9 pm and today I was helping my friend with wedding preparations (am gonna be a bridesmaid yay). Stayed up a bit to finish this, hope to post the next part soon!

Glad most of you guys liked the improved void scene—you can thank my significant other for that. (You're the best, C! xx) Am proud to say that he is hooked and trying to prod me for spoilers, haha (my lips are sealed).