by JK Ensley
“It was the only way,” Munenori whispered.
“I know you are well aware, Sensei. But do they have any idea?” Yui motioned toward the twin Angels.
“There was no time,” Munenori said, not turning to look at the sapphire giants.
Yui glanced over to find Tenshi staring at his mother, worry creasing his brow. When he looked to Daichi, his gaze was met with a burning glare. Fire leapt within those steely blue eyes, fire enough to singe them all. Yui swallowed hard and tried to hide the pity clearly displayed in his own eyes.
“Angel.” Daichi’s voice was like hardening ice. “When this is over, I will claim your wings.”
Everyone turned to her enraged Blessing, but his vicious glare was fixed on the mossy lavender Angel of Jinn.
Munenori was the last to make eye contact with Daichi. He spoke not.
“This is the last time you hurt her. Do you understand me? It is the very last time you intentionally diminish the rarest creature you have ever had the good fortune of knowing.”
“Nothing has ever been intentional, Daichi. I would never cause her unneeded—”
Daichi roared with such ferocity, the very floor beneath them trembled.
The Archs took a step back. Not even Tenshi came to the smaller Angel’s defense.
“Nothing was intentional?” Daichi yelled, his nostrils flaring, spittle gathering at the corners of his mouth. “How can you hold your head up before me, knowing you spew nothing but lies?”
Yui pushed against Goemon’s chest, trying to usher the younger ninja back inside the palace. But the boy would not be moved. He was frozen in place, utterly awestruck by the massive amounts of power pulsing around the enraged blue Angel.
Yui dropped his head and sighed. “So be it,” he whispered. “Speak not a word of this. Not to anyone. Understand me?”
Goemon could only nod, mouth agape.
“Did your arms unintentionally wrap about her as she called out for me in the night?”
Munenori flinched at the accusation.
“Was it simply a mistake when you kissed every inch of her tiny body? Are you saying it was not your intent to enter her when you lay on top of her, claiming my name as you claimed her body? Was that all just a big misunderstanding?”
Munenori could not speak, could not answer for his actions.
Raphael’s growing growls were ceased only when Gabriel gently laid his hand upon his brother’s trembling shoulder. My anger matches your own. I understand. Yet, this is not your fight, Brother.
Uriel and Jophiel shared a knowing glance before looking back at their mossy lavender brother, and the vicious blue Angel towering over him.
“And tell me, Munenori,” Daichi said through gritted teeth. “Was the second time you took her, was it an unavoidable accident as well? How about the third? Or the fourth?” He drew his hand back, his boiling anger no longer containable.
“Help me, Daichi!”
Jenevier’s cries pierced the night, halting the sapphire Angel’s blood in his veins. Daichi leapt from the balcony so quickly, his absence didn’t even register with the rest of them for a couple more heartbeats. They raced to the banister, peering down at the shimmering colors. And there in the very center of that magical gathering, angelic sapphire wings were spread out in their full glory.
*****
Stay back, Angel. It isn’t over, Kin Ryu said. There is still much to do.
What Daichi was witness to before him, was almost too much for his racing mind to comprehend.
Jenevier stood on trembling legs, head bowed, naked, screaming out when the pain became just too much to bear. Her shaking hands reached out, feeling blindly for him, for his support.
Daichi quickly grabbed them. “Naga, I am here. I will not let you go, I swear it. Hang in there, my love.”
Do not touch her further, Angel, Kin Ryu said. To do more than hold her hands will only increase her pain… and compromise the melding.
Daichi looked toward the golden Dragon now speaking in his mind.
Oh, and just one more thing, Kin Ryu added. If you see him nearing where you now touch her, if you see him approaching her hands, release her. Do not hinder his advance.
“Hinder whom?” Daichi asked, confused. “Who is approaching? What are you talking—”
Jenevier’s next scream stopped his words in his throat. She threw her head back, racked with the unspeakable, burning torture.
That’s when Daichi understood what Kin Ryu meant. That’s when he caught his first glimpse of this truly horrible, magical melding.
*****
“It’s a good thing your Kagi Naga screamed out when she did. Or else, you would be a bloody mess right about now, Munenori.” Apollyon spoke as he casually walked out onto the balcony, as comfortably as if he lived there and did thus daily. “Not that you do not deserve such a thrashing… and more.”
Raphael snarled. “How is it you manage to leave your supposedly inescapable prison cell whenever you feel like it?”
Apollyon glanced over at his dark-haired angelic brother and smiled. “That jealousy is going to eat you up, Raph. Or burn you up, one or the other.” He snorted out a chuckle.
Walking over to Tenshi, Apollyon gently placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “You okay, boy?”
Tenshi blushed. “Yes, sir. I am fine… but Mama’s not.” Tears burned his heavenly eyes. “She keeps screaming and crying. It’s ripping my heart out. And there’s nothing I can do but listen to her from afar.”
“I know, son. I know.” He turned to face the others. “This is all you could come up with, huh? A melding?” He shook his head. “By all that’s holy. You bloody fools… absolute idiots. Did you even consider the darkness she now carries? Did it not cross your tiny minds—the possible ramifications of Ahriman’s dark gift?”
Tenshi gasped. “…Oh no.”
Apollyon looked at Munenori questioningly, but the smaller Angel did not speak.
“Do not pretend to walk in here at the eleventh hour with all the answers,” Raphael said. “If you truly wanted to help, you would have come before now. Spare us all your sullen God of the Underworld rubbish. I have not the patience to deal with your dark, depressing whining. So just shut the hell up, Apollyon. Or better yet, go back to hell… where you belong.”
Tenshi grabbed the dark Angel’s wrist. “Don’t go… please,” he whispered. “Can you not stay just a bit longer?”
His son’s pleas touched his blackened heart. He gave the younger Angel a tender smile and patted his hand. “That is why I am here, boy. I will stay with you and help see your mother through this.” He turned back to Raphael. “Why did you not ask me to go with her? No one is more experienced in the art of war than am I.”
“Why even give such nonsense breath?” Uriel said. “You know well why we would never ask for your help. How are you even here, anyway? It’s like every time we turn around, you just pop up out of nowhere. After centuries of darkness, how is it you can so easily now stroll through the light?”
Apollyon shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you?” He half chuckled. “Think about it, Brothers. How do you think I can leave a place I cannot leave?”
They all fell silent then. Apollyon turned back to the melding ceremony.
“He gives you freewill with her, doesn’t He?” Gabriel softly asked.
“Not exactly freewill, no,” Apollyon said, before turning back to face them. “Were I to have freewill where she is concerned, I would never leave her side. No, it’s more like… as a last resort.”
“What do you mean?” Yui said, stepping forward. “Is she in trouble? Is something even worse going to happen to Empress Naga?”
Apollyon looked at the raven-haired young man for the first time. “Are you not afraid of me, pretty little ninja?”
“No,” Yui answered. “Naga said you were the gentlest man she has ever known. She once said you were the only one, save Tenshi, who has never been angry at her, never raised your voice
or your hand to her. Why should I fear the man who loves my Empress above all things?”
A lump rose up in his angelic throat. He quickly swallowed it down. “Your Naga says that, does she?” He glanced back to the busy lavender field below. “Seems that curl-covered bundle of trouble is trying to ruin my bad name.” He snorted out a laugh. “Tell me, fair Shinobi. When is your Naga ever not in trouble?”
“What do you mean, Apollyon?” Gabriel pressed. “Why are you ever free to come to her? Even as a last resort?”
The dark Angel sighed and glanced at his worried son. “Father and I have sort of an understanding where Jenevier is concerned. When her pain is too great, when she can no longer bear it, when her fear is close to consuming her… He lets me be her strength.”
Tenshi smiled, happy tears welling up in his eyes.
“Is that not what Daichi is for?” Uriel asked.
“Just what are you saying, Apollyon?” Jophiel snorted. “Are you saying that you pray and Father lets you do as you wish? Do you think we are all idiots?”
A crooked smile turned up one corner of the dark Angel’s mouth. “Yes, I do—think you are all idiots, that is.”
Tenshi quickly turned his head, muffling a laugh.
“But, no,” Apollyon continued. “I do not pray. Well, not the way you believe. In my book, praying is too much like begging. And you know me, Jophiel. I’m not real keen on begging. No, it’s more like… we talk. I feel her, always do I feel her. And when she is like this… He lets me go to her. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” Raphael huffed out a sardonic laugh. “That’s too much, if you ask me.”
“Nobody is asking you, Raph. If you like it not, take it up with Father.” Apollyon chuckled. “Tell Him He is wrong and you do not agree.”
Raphael narrowed his eyes, glaring at the beautiful Angel who once stood as his most trusted brother. “You think you are better than me, don’t you?”
“Better than you? No, Raph. No one is better than you. You are the perfect son. Now, if you meant… stronger, faster, smarter, better looking than you. Then, yes. You know I am.”
Munenori could no longer contain his rising anger. “Just who do you think you are?” He glared venomously at Apollyon. “You are the very creature who left the deepest wound upon her heart. When you slew Varick, you cut a piece of her soul out, a piece she can never replace. You didn’t see her, Apollyon. You were not witness to her complete shattering. You did not see how badly your betrayal damaged her. And now you stroll in here like you own the damn place. What makes you think you have a right to claim even a single breath more of her life?”
“I felt every single moment,” Apollyon hissed, bending down so he was eye to eye with the Guardian Angel of Jinn. “Know this, purple Angel. I am not Daichi. I will not stay my hand when the time comes for me to strike. And I look forward to the day with bated breath. As for the right to be with my Anicee… know this. If I need the right, I will not ask it of you. I will take it.”
Chapter 14
Apollyon
(ah-PAH-lee-ahn)
“Naga… oh dear gods… Naga!” Daichi cried.
Her eyes were rolled back in her head—face pointed toward the stars, pain-induced seizures racking her entire body.
Stay as you are, Kin Ryu warned.
Her curls were drenched with sweat. Drool ran freely from her open mouth, leaving glistening trails streaking down her chest.
But all that torturous horror was not what had captured Daichi’s eye, no. He was staring at the darkened spot just below her throat. He couldn’t be certain, couldn’t quite make it out in the moonlight… until it moved, quivered. He leaned in closer, studying the strangely familiar shape, concentrating, focusing hard.
Then… it blinked. It was just a tiny movement, probably involuntary. The golden eye wasn’t even focused on anything, and the sapphire lid slowly closed back over it.
Daichi jumped, startled, almost releasing Jenevier’s clenched hands. When his heart rate slowed and sanity returned, he looked over her shoulder, searching for her bonded Dragon.
“Nilakanta?” he whispered shakily.
He cannot answer you right now, Adalin said. He is busy. Keeping the flow of magic perfect at all times is paramount.
At that moment, Jenevier’s seizures increased, violently shaking her whole body. Then, she threw up, covering her Blessing in what little fluid yet remained within her.
Only then did Daichi take note that she had obviously done thus several times. The scent of urine also mixed heavily with the stench of vomit and sweat.
“By all that’s holy,” he whispered. “What is happening to you?”
As if in response, her sudden screams ripped through the silence of the otherwise still night.
Daichi squeezed her sweat-slick hands and watched in horror as a queer darkness crept around both her sides. He couldn’t quite make out the moving shadowy outline, until the two nearly touched—just under her breasts, almost completely covering her ribcage.
Her cries ceased only when the strange movement ceased encompassing her tiny body. She began to pant like a dog, desperately trying to pull more oxygen into her deprived lungs.
Only when the last little shiver ran across the darkened flesh, did her grip upon his hands loosen.
He looked closer. “What is that?” Daichi’s nose was nearly touching her belly when realization finally took hold. “Ah… i-it’s… w-wings.”
Jenevier hit her knees. Her arms went slack and her head lolled back. Daichi watched in horror as the eerie whites of her eyes were hidden by slowly closing lids, consciousness ebbing away from her. Her fingertips slipped from his grasp as her body gradually arched backwards, almost as if she were being held from behind, gently laid to rest. With her knees upon the ground and her legs bent under her, Jenevier’s body curved up drastically as the crown of her head gently touched the soft ground behind her.
Daichi was frozen in place, briefly unable to move through his shock and confusion. He stared blindly at her limp form, contorted unnaturally, uncomfortably… almost like a discarded, broken doll.
“Naga!” When his senses returned, he made to lift her up, reaching for her waist.
Touch her not, Angel, Kin Ryu roared. It has yet to be finished.
Daichi stopped, frozen in place with his hands extended. Still bent over the only person he truly cherished, he watched in horror as black burn marks crept around the same tiny waist he was still reaching for—the fair skin bubbling, hissing, darkening slowly, inch by painful inch. When the two approaching burns neared her navel, the point of each barely touching the outside ring of her bellybutton, all movement ceased.
The swollen black scar smoothed out, settling back flush with her angelic skin. When the darkness receded, Daichi gasped as the torturous mark faded into a glistening sapphire… drawing.
“What is that?” He sucked in a sharp breath. “Is that… claws?”
Yes, baby Angel, Adalin whispered within him. And with only barely enough room. Another half an inch, and the whole process would have been for naught. The giant pink Dragon moved to stand beside him. It is finished, little one. Take our Guardian now. See to our little Kagi Naga. We know not yet how she fares. The melding is complete. Nilakanta is fine. But never have I seen a host have to sacrifice so much in the process. Heal her, Daichi. Only you can ensure her future health. Go in peace, mighty Blessing.
The beautiful blue Angel silently lifted her limp form. He gazed lovingly at the tiny, helpless Angel draped silently across his arms.
“Naga…” he whispered, pressing her to his chest as he quietly spread his glorious wings.
*****
“Where is he taking her?” Jophiel said, leaning against the railing, straining to get a better view. “Is it over? Why did he not return to the palace, return her to us?”
“Because… this is not about us,” Raphael said quietly.
Upon hearing the strain in the Arch’s voice, Apollyon glanced ba
ck at the Angel he had once called his most treasured brother… and took notice as the handsome dark-haired man quickly tried to hide his silent tears.
A jealous anger swelled within him. Does he… Does he love her… like that? He started to growl, but Tenshi gently touched his hand, reining in his dark temper.
“This is about what little Naga needs,” Raphael continued. “Daichi is only doing what Father made him to do.”
“But why can he not do it here, at the palace?” Uriel mumbled.
“These gilded walls are no place to restore her beautiful soul,” Yui said. “Empress Naga needs more than this stone and mortar can provide. She needs the stars, the openness. Naga needs the moonlight.”
Tenshi remained quiet, a peaceful smile now painted across his lovely face. Apollyon had been watching his son from the corner of his eye. He casually bumped the beautiful young Angel with his shoulder.
“Keeping secrets, boy?”
Tenshi blushed. “Not really.”
“But you know where they went, do you not?”
“Yes.” He turned to face his father, whispering for his ears alone. “You will never find a more breathtaking view of those majestic moons up there, than the one you can see from the hidden hot springs within our secret valley home.”
“Is that so? Perhaps I should have a look at that for myself.”
Tenshi glanced over his shoulder at their present company, and then quickly looked away, trying to hide his smile.
“Tell me one thing more, son. Tell me the true intent of these Angels gathered here. Is it for this summons alone? Or do they do thus regularly?”
“Not every day, no. Yet they visit… on occasion.”
“And do you know why? Is it for duty? Or…” He glanced back at Raphael. “…for something else entirely?”
“Worry not, Father.” Tenshi turned to face him then, keeping his voice at a whisper. “I will not let them touch Mama in that way. No one will ever get that close to her heart again. If they try, I will cease them.”
