“I am not your savior.” She would fight that until the End of Days.
The guard set her down gently onto the spiked chair. She cringed from the discomfort, but she noticed the less she moved the less it hurt. He continued adjusting her position, followed by strapping her arms and legs tightly against the spikes. Last he strapped a leather belt across her forehead just as Purah entered.
“Before I begin, here is your final chance to help yourself.” Alice stared defiantly, choosing her death sentence speech carefully.
“I will not bow before you, as you deserve no such love or loyalty. I will not do as I am told by a tyrant whose mistakes are not my own. I have obeyed your requests, I have endured your wrath and I have fulfilled my end of our bargain. If you must continue this torture, then know I have love in my heart and strength in my soul and when this is all over, I will kill you.”
“A simple no would have sufficed,” he said as he tightened her right wrist strap, forcing the spikes to dig into her flesh. Alice wailed in response and Purah smiled wickedly.
Paul stood on the Field of the Damned, hopeful that his true love would stay away from this meeting. The land was so charged here, it had become the only grounds for any meetings nowadays. He was nervous inviting angels to a meeting, but it had been agreed. Alice’s last chance was from those that deemed it necessary to kill her and remove the wall she had built between now and the End of Days to save her family. That family had betrayed those angels so many moons ago.
“They’re here,” Cole growled.
“Easy, Cole,” Penemue ordered.
Thunder quaked the space around them, as lightening struck widely through the sky. With a large and loud thud, three angels with silky wings white as snow landed a mere five feet in front of them. He remembered a time when his own charcoal gray wings were cotton. One stood forward three feet ahead of the other two and approached Penemue.
“Penemue. An odd request by you,” he said.
“I apologize for inconveniencing you, Mihr.”
“I’m sorry that we cannot help you,” Mihr said coldly.
“This is no way to let her die.”
“Rogziel has given orders.”
“Rogziel?” Cole asked confused.
Kokabiel whispered, “She killed him and he went back home, angry, it sounds like.”
“She’s just a girl, she didn’t ask for any of this! I thought you were the one who took orders from God!” Cole yelled, struggling under Jake’s grasp.
“Restrain your Nephilim! It is our order to kill all abominations; his freedom is the only favor you shall receive!” Mihr’s voice roared.
Penemue tried to remain cold and distant in hopes of their assistance, but he was right that this was a failure. He did notice a familiar face in the group of angels that gave him a strange feeling of hope. “Please just discuss telling us the location where she is held captive and we will take care of it ourselves.” He watched the angels discuss and felt the angst from his family. How human they had all become. After what felt like forever, the angels turned.
“We are unable to help you. May you rest in peace in the End of Days,” Mihr said, taking off into the night’s dark gloomy sky. The second angel followed closely behind but the third stared at Kokabiel.
“Why are you staring at me, angel?” Kokabiel asked irritated.
“The Fallen who tried to kill me,” Briathos answered.
“I have never tried…” Kokabiel stopped and stared at Penemue.
“The angel Alice spared at the battle on the Field of the Damned,” Penemue explained to Kokabiel. Briathos nodded. “Did you ask to come to this meeting to write her death sentence?”
“Yes,” Briathos said smoothly, staring at Cole. “And now to help you save her.”
The air around them thickened as they all froze. Penemue was feeling tricked and searched the perimeter for the other angels. “You want to save Alice?”
Just as he began to answer, Cole screamed in agony, falling to the ground. “He’s, stabbing her… all over.” Cole’s body thrashed until finally coming to a halt.
“What was that?” Briathos asked concerned.
“The gift of God,” Kokabiel answered quietly.
“Impossible!”
“We thought so, too,” Penemue said. “You were saying?”
“The way I see it, I owe her one for saving me. Rogziel wants me to take the meeting, make the trade and then if she is still alive, he plans to rip her wings off and leave her to die. He claims it will solve all of God’s problems with Fallen and Nephilim. Obviously, with this new information, even God finds importance in her existence.”
“How can we trust you?” Jake and Cole asked in unison.
“You have to trust me. My meeting is tomorrow. I will go to the meeting as planned and take Alice, but you will be ready outside to ambush me and take her.”
“Why don’t we return to her home and work out the details?” Kokabiel offered.
Briathos nodded uneasily, glancing through the Fallen. Cole and Jake exchanged a hug with child-like grins on their faces. It seemed as if they would have Alice back with them soon enough, and by what they had just been told, just in time to avoid losing her again.
Alice’s eyes fluttered slowly as the room came into focus. She could see dried blood around her wrists and could feel it on various places throughout her body. The pain she had become accustomed to, came pouring back to her in a flood of fury. She lifted her head to find a smirking Purah. “Thanks for the nap.”
“Well, if I am anything at all, I am generous. Hope you’re ready to start right back in.”
She tried to relax her body; it hurt less that way. She was fighting so desperately not to share the pain with Cole again, so much so that when Purah punched her, forcing her back into the spikes, her wings sprang out with a fierce snap. Alice screamed in horrific pain both from the wings emerging through broken bones and from the spikes digging into them.
“That a girl. Just in time for my meeting tomorrow, Put on the device!” Purah gave directions to the guard before leaving the room triumphantly.
The guard unstrapped her arms first, lifting them gently off of the spikes, followed by her legs, and last her forehead. He caught her face first, as she tumbled out of the device with pops, crackles and gushing sounds from the spikes leaving her. The pressure of his body against her wounds was excruciating, though she didn’t have the energy to even cry at that point. He threw her over his shoulder and walked her back to her cell, the very sight of which nauseated her. The guard set her down in the center of the room and retrieved the cage. The very cage she had drawn unknowingly with a familiar warning she didn’t recognize. He set it down and left the room for a moment too long, as far as she was concerned. Get it over with, was all she could think. When he returned, she was surprised to find a glass of water moving toward her. She grabbed it and nodded, but couldn’t work up the words to say thank you to the enemy.
Once she finished her water, he lifted the harness over her head. She felt the cold steel bars travel down her spine, wrapping around her waist and onto her chest where it came to a point. She felt the guard begin to wrap the coils around her wings. Every part of her throbbed in immense pain and the cold heavy steel was doing her no favors. “So what does this do? Rip my wings off like a butterfly?” She was angry, cold and broken, but she was also strong, ready and triumphant. She was hoping it was a combination that would save her and not end her.
“It’s not a torture device, it’s only meant to keep your wings recoiled and not allow you to fly away,” he said as he closed the padlock connecting the layers of metal above her tail-bone.
“I can see how me flying away is a concern down here in the dungeon.” He laughed, which looked terrifying on his leather skin, sunken like all the other evils that roamed those walls.
“You’ll get actual food now,” he said as he walked out of the room.
Alice sat, confused and achy, contemplating what the end of
her days would truly look like. What meeting did Purah mean? Are they done torturing me? She looked at her tiny piece of light shining on the floor and envied its freedom. Even it reminded her of Cole’s confident smile. As damned as she felt, she couldn’t help but have hope.
It felt like the night before the battle, except this time Alice was missing and he was more than comfortable with his ability to tear an angel, or any other, to shreds.
“Beer?” Jake said, waving a beer at him.
“Yeah,” he said with his hand out to catch one.
“Tomorrow, huh?”
“Tomorrow.” Cole was having trouble wrapping his mind around the most recent events. He was beyond ecstatic and finally felt well enough to rejoice. “I miss her,” he said between swigs. He was sure the torture had stopped for now, as the wall she built to shield him was crumbling down while no pain seeped through.
“We all do.”
He was ready to do what he was born to do. “Tomorrow we get her back and tear off anyone’s head that gets in our way.”
“Side by side, brother,” Jake spoke proudly. They both chugged their beers in silence.
Cole was glad to have Jake at his side. He knew the day ahead of them was not going to be as easy as a trade. He would fight till his last breath; they all would.
Cole rolled out of bed, slightly hung over with red eyes and sweaty skin. He pulled himself up to a seated position and listened to the clanking and excitement in the kitchen. It was the first time he had slept in their room since he got them into this mess. Glancing over at the desk, he noticed her jewelry box was unhinged. He stood up and walked over, snatching it off of the desk. He sat on the edge of the bed and with a heavy sigh, opened the box. Sweet buttercream and vanilla danced in his nostrils, flooding his mind with memories of the two of them rolling around the bed. When he opened his eyes he was surprised to see a note addressed to him.
“Alice?” he questioned. He opened the envelope and read the message Alice had left him.
Cole,
First off, I love you so very much. You changed my life and continue to save me even in your absence. Second, please don’t blame yourself for this mess we are in. I know you have been beating yourself up and its time to stop and find a way to fix this. Something has changed in our Fallen family and they will need your strength to guide them. Lastly, we will survive and I will return to you. Have a little faith and don’t ever let me go.
Love always,
Alice
Cole wiped the tears from his eyes and allowed a true smile for the first time in weeks. Even from so far, so lost in the darkness, there she was guiding him home to her. He leapt from the bed and flew down the stairs into the kitchen.
“What’s the new parlor trick she can do?” Cole asked reading between the lines.
“Morning to you too, son,” Kokabiel chuckled, passing him a coffee.
“I’m serious.”
“She can show you her soul,” Jake answered.
“Not that, that’s a gift for us all.” He stared at Jake, a little curious as to why that information was available to him. “Something more dark?” Cole was getting anxious but the visual Alice gave him days ago was becoming clearer over time.
“She dropped us to our knees,” Paul answered. “She connected to us and shared all the emotional trauma she has endured, or that she felt from us, and directed it towards us.”
“I need to get in touch with her. I think that we can take Purah out and send him to the abyss if we can get a message to her.”
“I think we should stick to the plan,” Jake said.
“We will stick to the plan; after the trade she can take him down. I know why she hasn’t done it, she’s afraid for all of us. Right now we are having a human discussion about our feelings about her safety. She did that, she showed us all how to live. She will never be safe while Purah is walking this earth. I’m sure he threatened her the same as he threatened me - that he would kill us all.”
“As if he could,” Sariel grumbled.
“She doesn’t know that. He messes with your mind.” Cole searched the room. “When Purah finds out an angel helped us he will report to the angels and he will come back to find his savior.”
“Okay,” Kokabiel said.
“Okay,” Paul added.
“I’ll try contacting her until I break through the wall. Keep everything else according to plan. No matter what, Alice comes home tonight,” Cole said with new-found strength.
“Agreed,” Sariel said.
Alice grabbed her aching head as she fully woke up. Just as the guard had promised, breakfast of sorts lay at her feet. She chewed on the cold bacon and bland rubbery pancakes. She envisioned Cole’s gourmet breakfast spread and that made it almost bearable to eat the pile of crap she was consuming.
“Ready for our meeting?” Purah hissed from the doorway.
“Like I have a choice.” All she could think about was how desperately she wanted an aspirin. She couldn’t figure out how, after all this time, it now felt like someone was chipping away at her mind.
“Cole,” her voice whispered. She glanced around, nervous that they would catch her speaking to him. She took in a deep breath and slowed the space around her. She closed her eyes and visualized knocking down the wall she had built to protect Cole and as soon as she did, she could feel the warmth of his soul.
Alice? Come on Alice, it’s time.
Cole! Just his voice in her head was heaven to her.
Finally! I’ve been trying to reach you all day.
Why? What’s happening? Is everyone alright? Alice asked, exhaling and quickly refilling her lungs with dingy air. She was going to have to do that repeatedly.
Everyone is fine. That imagery you sent me days ago of our family dropping to the ground? I think you can use it on Purah.
Cole. I know I can, but I have to feel all those emotions, too. Worse, I have to tap into theirs and he is pure hatred. I just don’t think I can handle it.
Can you try? The meeting is a set up, and that angel you saved is going to agree to his terms and get you out of there. But we both know Purah will never stop.
I know he won’t. You trust this angel? After everything? Alice questioned.
I have to. Get a read on him when he comes; he’s going to be on his way after I speak with you. Regardless, you are coming home tonight; we are all coming to see it through.
I’ll try, Cole. I’m not exactly in the best shape. I have to go before Purah figures out what I’m doing. I love you.
You are the strongest person that I know, you can do this and I love you, too. See you soon, love. Cole severed the connection.
Alice cried tears of joy but was interrupted by Purah.
“Did I miss something?”
“I haven’t had breakfast in a few weeks, someone doesn’t find it necessary,” she said and wiped away her tears quickly.
Purah eyed her intently, circling her like a predator circles its prey. “I don’t believe you,” he said, digging his finger into a wound on her shoulder. Alice cried out in pain, falling over on her side.
“Sir?” the guard interrupted.
“What is it?”
“They are on their way.”
“Fine.” He let go of Alice and walked out of the room, yelling back, “Keep an eye on her.”
She wasn’t sure why the guard was suddenly being nice to her, but she wasn’t about to complain. Something in his eyes, the way he looked at her, was the same way her Fallen family did, as if they saw something in her she could not see. He helped her to a standing position, adjusting her wings in the cage to a less painful position. She looked into his eyes and felt her soul open up to him. She was angry with her soul for sharing itself with him, but she allowed it all the same. “Thank you.”
“You’re welc…you are the savior,” his rough voice whispered, captivated by the view.
“Is he going to let me go?”
“No. He plans to capture the angel and use you bot
h as a guarantee to enter heaven. If that doesn’t work, he plans to end you and start the End of Days.”
Alice gasped as her soul grew sad. So close to returning home to her family, to Cole. She was doomed to more terrible torture. She couldn’t believe this angel was walking into a trap, only wanting to save her after all they had been through. The stench of sulfur hit her nose, and all Alice could feel was complete hatred. She had torn down all her walls to speak with Cole and was entirely too weak to build them back up. Purah’s darkness boiled under her skin like liquid metal. The guard stepped away with a slight sadness in his eyes as he watched his savior in her final hours.
Cole’s arm moved up and down in the breeze outside his car window. They barreled down the road following a reluctant angel who rode with his father in the mud covered SUV ahead of them. His excitement to bring Alice home was interrupted by an ache in his soul. The gift of God that connected them was telling them both that something was wrong, but he refused to falter.
Reading the expression on Cole’s face, Jake said, “If things go wrong as they always do, I will trade my life for hers and fight until the end.”
“We may need to, Jake.” He knew it was true and he had never been more ready to fight.
Two hours worth of nerves later, the SUV slowed, turning down a hidden road in the middle of a full forest of beautiful green leafed maples and pine trees. Everyone jumped out of their vehicles and met at the entrance to the road.
“Halfway up, you stop walking and wait for us to exit. They can’t know you are with me,” Briathos ordered as he flexed out his wings.
“Understood, Briathos, and thank you,” Penemue said.
“If you run into trouble, as I fear you might, tell Alice to contact any of us and that we are nearby,” Kokabiel added.
“I will not need your help.”
“Bring her back to me,” Cole ordered as Briathos turned and disappeared down the dark road. Cole had softened a bit too much in his opinion, and this was not the time for forgiveness or kindness. Cole followed, gauging where halfway was. He stopped when he saw the light from the building shining on the nearby forest. He sat down against a tree and focused on Alice; he could feel her inside the building. His soul reached out for a connection he hadn’t felt in weeks. He felt her shield wither away, sharing all her hopes and fears and pain. Cole struggled with the pain from invisible wounds all over his body that mimicked her body wounds and… “her wings.” The image of the cage danced in his memory as he remembered a key-hole by the base of each wing. With a turn of a key, Purah could break her wings. It made no sense as she was what he called “their savior,” unless it was for the angel. “This isn’t about salvation; this is about punishment, Alice for existing against God, and an angel for being allowed to return home.”
Alice's Sacrifice (Alice Clark Series) Page 15
