Hell was in Eden.
Issa's heart pounded at the possibility.
Hell was in Eden.
The sound of footsteps came and went. They waited. Another set of footsteps did the same. And another.
There was a patrol. They weren't going to make it out without a fight.
Paul's breaths were quick and shallow, his body drenched with sweat as he bore her weight.
"Put me down," Issa whispered.
He did as she said and Issa steadied herself against the wall.
How deep underground were they? How many guards were there?
Another set of footsteps approached and stopped before the door.
Paul clutched the rifle closer, his hands shaking.
"I can do tonight's patrol on my own."
Jacob.
Issa's entire body went rigid.
Paul, on the other hand, sagged with relief.
The footsteps receded and then there was a click as the first set of doors were unlocked. Issa reached for her knife. She couldn't let Jacob drag her back to Lilith. Not with so many lives depending on her.
She took a steadying breath, and let her ocean wash over her, its merciless cold welcome.
Her grip tightened around the blade.
"Issa?"
She startled at the unexpected voice.
"Edvardiel?" she said in disbelief.
Her angel was alive. Her angel was all right!
"Where's Jacob?" Paul asked.
"He's distracting the others." The second set of doors swung open and Issa was floored by how healthy her angel looked. His eyes shone with a glory so bright it was piercing and his skin glowed. His folded wings flamed with angelfire.
"Edvardiel." Her knife fell to the ground with a clang as she hugged him tightly, tears rolling down her face. "I'm so glad you're okay."
His body felt unnaturally tense. "We need to hurry. Where are the others?"
"They're downstairs," Issa said. "Rosalie can't walk and Jessica and Mike are unconscious." She breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been wrong after all. With Jacob, there were four of them now. "We should go get them."
Edvardiel gripped her arm. "No," he said. "We need to take care of things upstairs first. Paul, can you make sure the others stay safe?"
"Yes." Paul said. "I'll make sure no one gets past this door."
Edvardiel shook his head. "No need. I'll seal it. We'll come get you after we take care of everything."
Issa stiffened. "They'll be trapped if we fail."
"We won't fail," Edvardiel said.
"If you fail, we're dead anyway," Paul said. "Better to stay safe underground."
Issa didn't like the sound of that. "Edvardiel–"
"Go." Edvardiel took the keys from her belt and locked the door.
"Edvardiel, wait! We should give Paul the keys."
He only pulled her through the second set of doors. "We'll come back for them," he said, as he locked them too. "We need to hurry." His grip tightened around her arm as he led her through the corridor.
Issa resisted. "Edvardiel, stop! I can't use my glory."
"I know." He tried to pull her along again. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."
She stared at her angel.
"You're not thinking of leaving them behind, are you?"
"Of course not." His voice softened and he took her face between his hands. "Do you trust me?"
It was an echo of the words she'd said to him last night.
His eyes were so gentle and his touch so warm, so sure. But Issa's instincts were screaming.
Everything about this felt wrong.
She took a step back, unsettled by how her angel—her sweet, wonderful angel, her home, the only person who'd chosen her over and over again—could feel so wrong.
Hurt flickered across his face.
"Issa. My love," he said. "Why won't you trust me?"
Her angel never demanded her trust. Her angel never demanded anything of her. He certainly never disregarded her the way he was doing now.
"Don't you trust me to protect you?" He took a step towards her, invading the space she'd put between them, and Issa's back hit the locked door. Her skin crawled.
"I'm hurt," she croaked. "My blood is full of Edenium. I'll only be in your way so it's better if I stay here with the others."
More things jumped out at her. His angelfire was a shade too bright, its flicker too languid. His gaze was far too sweet, with none of the humour she'd come to love.
This was not her Edvardiel.
The creature sighed, his eyes tightening with concern. "Do you still have Lucifer's vial?"
Issa slowly reached for her gun.
"I'm not sure," she lied.
And then she shot him.
His cry of pain hurt her heart.
"Don't move!" she said sharply, her gun trained on him. She was too late. The creature was proof that Lilith had invaded Eden and sunk her claws deep.
"Please." He clutched his side, begging with her angel's bloodstained lips. "Issa, love… what are you doing?"
"Don't fucking move," she repeated. "If you know what's good for you, show your true self." The creature only stared at her with heart-wrenchingly familiar eyes, and Issa was grateful for her ruthless ocean. "Or not. I'll kill you all the same."
She cocked her gun.
"Don't!"
Edvardiel's voice came from the opposite direction this time, and Issa whirled around to see another version of him. This one was covered in blood and bruises, his wings torn and riddled with holes.
"Stay back!" she said, alternating her gun between the two Edvardiels.
The first shrank back while the second gazed at her, his eyes guarded.
Issa's heart hammered wildly. What was this? Maybe Lilith had already captured her. Maybe she'd been thrown into the void.
"If you kill him, we won't get any answers," the second Edvardiel said.
"And if I kill you?" she sneered.
This Edvardiel's breathing was ragged, and Edenium chains clinked from his wrists and ankles as though he'd torn them off the walls. "I told you, I'd do anything for you." His voice was so quiet that she strained to hear him. "I'd gladly die for you."
Their breaths misted in the cold dungeon air.
Her eyes moved from his horrifyingly mangled wings to his blood-soaked robes to the ring of glory in his eyes. This Edvardiel looked more real than the first.
She hesitated.
In a flash, he'd pinned her against the wall, his grip unforgiving.
She tried to knee him but he rammed his body against hers. Fiery pain shot through her wound and she bit down a scream. His eyes tightened at the strangled sound but he didn't loosen his grip. "But not like this," he said hoarsely. "You still need me. You need a Keeper. So please… Stop fighting me."
A faint tug rippled from her Keeper bond.
The command was easy to fight, and even easier to ignore. His fingers were slippery with blood, and he was trembling from the effort it took to remain standing. She could've broken free. She could've killed him. Instead, she stilled, not trusting herself.
"If you're my Keeper, why aren't your orders working?" she demanded.
"Edenium." His blood seeped through her clothes, both of them breathing hard. "It weakens your angelic side—the part of you that can be controlled by Hell."
With that, he released her, stumbling against the door.
"Edvardiel?" She was afraid to believe it. She reached for him—
He gestured behind her. "He's getting away. The keys, Issa… You have to get them. Don't kill him. Bring him here. Bring Jacob here."
Issa turned, stunned—sure enough, the creature she'd shot was Jacob, and he was crawling desperately away, leaving a trail of blood behind.
"How?"
"Guardian angels." Edvardiel leaned against the door, his broken chains clinking, one of his torn wings drooping open. "...are masters of illusions."
Jacob wasn't going to make it out and he knew it.
Issa dragged him back as he kicked and screamed.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked, restraining him with difficulty.
"Closer," Edvardiel panted. His palms glowed. "Open his mouth."
For one horrifying second, she thought her angel was about to feed Jacob angelfire, but then she realised he was giving Jacob what he'd given her.
The power to resist.
Jacob thrashed as she forced him to drink. His body lurched violently, his limbs flailing, and after several seconds, he stopped fighting.
Silence fell over the cold, dark corridors.
Issa bent over Jacob, worried that she'd accidentally asphyxiated him when his eyes flew open. He grabbed her arm. "L-lilith's going to open the gates," he gasped. "Sorry. I'm so s-sorry. I tried. I swear, I t-t-tried. Damn weed ran out…"
That was why he'd drugged himself into a stupor.
"I looked for you," Edvardiel said. "I would've helped you sooner."
"I-I know," Jacob managed a smile. "That's why I hid from you. Hell's orders. Ah shit." He clutched his side, where blood poured from between his fingers. "I-Issa. The Edenium in your blood isn't going to last forever. Don't drink Lucifer's Essence until it's out or you'll be incapacitated." He drew an unsteady breath. "Y-you have to destroy the talisman."
"Stop talking." Edvardiel knelt down beside Jacob, the movement slow and painful. "Your voice has been grating on me since the truck."
Jacob's eyes focused and unfocused. "W-whatever, dude. I saved your life."
"Why do you think I'm saving yours?"
Edvardiel placed his hand onto Jacob's wound and there was a blinding glow. The Edenium bullet rolled to the ground and Jacob's skin looked as good as new. Jacob sat up, looking at himself and Edvardiel in disbelief. Her angel sagged, looking winded. He jerked his head towards the door. "Take me to the others. I'll heal them."
Issa knelt down beside her angel, her chest tightening at his injuries. "Heal yourself first."
Jacob's eyes glowed. "He can't." He reached out and tore a piece of his shirt, staunching a particularly nasty laceration at Edvardiel's chest. It soaked the blood, revealing swollen blue flesh. "Lilith's curse got into his blood."
Issa's heart stilled. "Edvardiel—"
"We leave no one behind." Her angel straightened. He pressed his bruised lips together. "Besides, we can't do this alone." He grabbed the keys from Jacob's belt and unlocked the door. "Help me down the stairs."
Happy weekend! Gotta run somewhere now so I'll reply reviews later. Hope to see you guys next week :)