by Raquel Dove
He thought about Sebastian, and the last talk they had. He had seen the longing in his eyes when they spoke about Gabrielle. Few would know why he had such a look in his eyes, but Kasen knew why. The thought hadn’t even dawned on him until he had seen the look in Sebastian’s eyes. But it was too late now, and Sebastian would never be able to confirm what he thought about Gabrielle. None of them could.
Kasen arrived at Gabrielle’s quarters and shook the thought of Sebastian out of his head. He knocked on the door, eager to see the woman he had fallen very quickly in love with. After waiting for some time, and hearing nothing beyond her door, he knocked again. This time he heard someone shuffling around inside. Finally the door cracked open and Gabrielle’s beautiful little face poked out. He could see she must have had a rough night and had slept hard. But even with her tousled hair clumped around her head, and the sleep still crusted in her eyes as she squinted out the door at him, she was the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on.
“Matthew?” she said. He could hear the excitement in her voice at seeing him, but at the same time, hearing her call him the wrong name constricted his chest every time he heard it. After tonight, she would know his real name. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
“I thought I’d surprise you,” he said, holding out a bunch of flowers that he had picked for her from his private garden.
“They’re beautiful,” she gasped as she took the flowers. “I’ll go put them in a vase or something—“
“Forget about that,” Kasen said, unable to keep the smile off his face. “Just get dressed and let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” she asked, a confused but still excited look overcoming her face.
“It’s a surprise,” he said with a little wink. “but we need to get going soon.”
“Ok,” she said. “I’ll go get dressed.”
###
The view was absolutely breathtaking. Gabrielle could feel the wind blowing against her face and it was the most amazing thing she had ever felt. She looked over at Matthew and felt her heart absolutely melting. It was official. She was in love with him.
“How is this even possible?” she asked, looking around at all the people that were going about their day beneath them. They sat on a roof at one of the tallest buildings in New York City, in the mortal world.
“I called in a few favors,” he said, looking down at her with pride beaming from him. “Pulled a few strings. I knew how badly you missed going outside, and there isn’t an outside in the Death Angel Society, so…”
“This is amazing,” Gabrielle breathed as she turned back to look out at the world that she had inhabited not so long ago. “Are you sure no one can see us?”
“Positive,” he said.
Gabrielle hadn’t even imagined it was possible for her to go back to the mortal world, and if she had, she would have thought it would make her miss it. But looking out at the world below, she found that she didn’t miss it all that much. In fact, now that she had Matthew, she could see herself really learning to love it there. She had a great job, and a great boss, and now she had an amazing boyfriend. Her mind immediately went to the night before. She had thought a thousand times before she had fallen asleep about the kiss with Mr. Black. She had reasoned that it had to all be in her mind, but still, she couldn’t get it out of there. This was the first time she had thought about it this morning, and now that her mind was completely cleared, it seemed like an even more absurd thing. It was definitely just a figment of her imagination. And besides, she loved Matthew. So it didn’t even matter if he had kissed her. It was best if she pretended like it never even happened.
“Are you ready?” he asked, holding his hand out to her.
“For what?” she asked, placing her hand in his.
“I have a few more surprises for you,” he said, smirking at her.
###
Kasen had only been to the mortal world a handful of times. It wasn't something that Death Angels got to do very often, except for the Dark fighters. But they were only ever here on missions, disposing of the Darklings that cropped up here. He had to pull in quite a few favors to get a free pass for not only himself, but for Gabrielle as well. Of course, Sebastian had to sign off on it, since he was her boss and direct commander. It wasn't pleasant for Kasen to ask Sebastian to do such a thing, but there was no other way to get Gabrielle here. Sebastian had voiced some concern, but Kasen insisted that she would be safe. He had personally checked to ensure that there were no Darklings in the area.
Even as beautiful as the day was, as pleasant as the warm sunlight felt against his skin, Kasen could only focus on Gabrielle. The mortal world paled in comparison to her beauty and nothing could ever be as interesting to him as she was. She turned her attention away from the mortal world to catch him staring at her. He quickly diverted his eyes, but she had already caught him. She smiled at him and scooped her hand into his. He squeezed it gently, and then dropped it to reach into his pocket.
"I have something for you," he said, his stomach fluttering. She looked curiously back at him. They had spent the day going around the city, walking through the park and mostly just talking with each other. They had found a sunny little spot on the top of another tall building in the city and they were staring out at the fading sun. Now seemed like the best time to give her his gift and ask the question that had him very nervous.
"A gift?" she asked, her eyes growing a bit larger. "I didn't know...I don't have anything for you."
"That's alright," he said softly with a smile. He loved that about her, how caring she always was. They hadn't been dating for very long, but he felt like he knew her so well. There was an undeniable connection between them, and that's what had prompted him to make his decision. There would be repercussions, but in the Death Angel Society, there were always repercussions.
"It comes with a question, however," Kasen said as he pulled the small box from his pocket. He couldn't keep the small shake from his hands. Perhaps it was the Sickness wearing on him again. Or maybe it was because he was about to propose to the woman he loved. In the Death Angel Society, it wasn't an uncommon thing to arrange a marriage, or marry for convenience, or a number of other reasons not at all related to love. But Kasen realized that Gabrielle hadn't yet been fully indoctrinated into the ways of the Death Angel Society. He pushed all of that aside as he opened the box and looked down at her with hopeful eyes. She gasped when she saw the necklace that he presented to her. It wasn't very big, or very elaborate. It wasn't even terribly expensive. But it was a very beautiful piece of jewelry. It was a delicate silver chain that had tiny emeralds dangling like charms from the small circles that formed it. Each emerald was encased in a tiny silver shell and the whole thing sparkled and glinted in the sun of the mortal world.
"It belonged to my mother," Kasen said, his voice taking on a more somber tone as he remembered his mother. He was always closest to her, and this was her favorite piece of jewelry. It had been given to her by his father on their first courting. Their marriage had been arranged, but they had fallen in love with each other the first time they met. Kasen had never seen her without this necklace on, and there was no one else he wanted to see wearing it now more than Gabrielle. Her fingers reached out to gently touch the piece and she looked up at him.
"It's...it's absolutely beautiful," she said. He could see the sincerity in her eyes and that gave him the confidence to continue.
"I know that we haven't known each other for very long," he said, taking the necklace gently out of the box and preparing to place it around her neck. "And I realize that our ways are likely still foreign to you, which is why I don't want my proposal to scare you. But I love you, Gabrielle. I have from the first night I met you. I can't think of anything else but you, and quite frankly I don't want to. Please, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"
Gabrielle looked up at him with a mixture of shock, confusion, and some other emotion that Kasen wanted to call admiration but wasn't quite sure
. Unfortunately, before he could figure out what her answer would be, a loud growl caught his attention. It was followed by Gabrielle shrieking in horror, and as Kasen whipped his head around to see what she was looking at, he caught sight of the source of the distraction.
His immediate reaction was utter shock, but that was quickly replaced with utter terror. He had recognized the howl of a Darkling before he had turned around to see it, but his surprise wasn't that there was a Darkling in the mortal world. His surprise was at the size of the Darkling. The thing was massive. In fact, Kasen was hard pressed to say that he had ever seen one larger than it. The thing towered to almost four stories high, its arms sagging nearly to its feet. It had a large jaw, filled with rows of razor sharp teeth that he now flashed directly at Kasen and Gabrielle.
He didn't understand how it was possible. Darklings, all of them, began as tiny creatures. They would continue to grow as they fed on the souls and bodies of things around them. The bigger they were, the more powerful and harder they were to kill. They also tended to be easier to track however, and Kasen had done a very thorough search before he had brought Gabrielle here. There was no indication that a Darkling was to be found in this area. The fact that this massive one stood almost directly before them made no sense. But Kasen didn't have time to dwell on these facts. He had to get back before this Darkling made lunch of the two of them. Unfortunately, the portal was on the other side of the city. He had planned on making a day of things and taking Gabrielle through the city, finally ending at the portal back to the Death Angel Society. Now, they would need to make a run for it.
"We have to go," he said, taking her by the hand and pulling her quickly along. The mortals that inhabited the city wouldn't be able to see the Darkling, at least most of them couldn't. But Gabrielle could, and it had shocked her into paralysis. To Kasen's horror, the Darkling turned its blood red angry eyes directly towards him. His only hope that it was a slow moving behemoth was smashed to the ground as the thing took off running towards them. That seemed to snap Gabrielle out of her frightened stance and she followed behind Kasen as they ran to the edge of the rooftop. Kasen grabbed her hand tightly and without another word, he leapt to the ground below.
###
Gabrielle could already feel the pain in her legs as they raced to the edge of the roof. She had no idea where they were going, but she trusted Matthew. When he leapt off the building and took her with him, her heart panicked as the concrete below came up quickly to meet them. To her utter surprise they landed without incident and without injury. Apparently, being a Death Angel gave them some physical benefits when it came to the mortal world. She chalked it up to another thing that probably would have been taught to her during her orientation, if she had had one. Once they were safely on the ground, she didn't have time to consider such things as the Darkling came up right behind them. He lumbered down the city streets, surprisingly fast for his size. The putrid stench of Darkling filled her nose and she wanted to puke, but she held it back. The only thing they could do was run.
As they fled, Kasen reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a mobile phone. He punched a button on it and held it to his ear, continuing to pull her along with his other hand.
"We have confirmation of a Darkling," he said, his voice sounding so calm and official despite their current situation. "I need immediate assistance."
Even though he was able to speak the words with an even tone, Gabrielle could hear the worry in his voice. It made her worry. She had only seen these things twice before, but he had seen them presumably his whole life. If he was worried, then she probably ought to be as well.
"No," he said, his voice suddenly rising sharply. "Send a General. Or two. This thing is massive. I’ve never seen anything like it."
He shoved the phone back into his pocket and picked up his pace, dragging Gabrielle along with him as he glanced over his shoulder to check the location of the Darkling. Gabrielle reflexively looked back with him. She immediately regretted it. The Darkling had been gaining on them and he was uncomfortably close now. His massive hands swatted at them and they went crashing into the side of a building.
She felt every bone in her body crushing as she was thrown into the brick. Concrete and mortar flew around them and bricks fell on top of her body. Her ears rang and her vision swam. When she realized that she was still alive, or still dead, or whatever, she tried to stand, pushing the broken bricks off her body. They had been knocked into an abandoned building and as she looked around for Matthew, she saw the Darkling poking it's head into the hole it had just made with their bodies. She honestly didn't know how she was alive and standing, but she didn't have time to think about any of that now. The Darkling was making its way into the building and his eyes were locked on her.
She knew that she had to move. She knew that she should be running, but she just couldn't make her body move. She wasn't injured, nothing was broken, but her mind just didn't have control over her body. It was too dumbfounded and frightened by what she saw. In the corner of her eye she saw Matthew. He was sprawled out on the floor, broken bricks on top of him, and she could see blood covering his once pristine white clothes. She saw him begin to move and was thankful that he hadn't died, but she didn't have time to dwell on that. A hand was coming down over top of her, massive without any hope of escaping it and it was coming down fast.
She felt a rush of wind around her and suddenly the hand was gone. By the time her mind adjusted to the reality that a Darkling wasn’t eating her, Mr. Black was standing in front of her, as calm and collected as always. He had that massive sword in his hand and he slashed at the Darkling with an ease that bellied the size of it.
"Get her out of here," he said, his voice a flat monotone as he glanced over his shoulder at her. She felt Matthew's arms wrapping around her and pulling her back.
"The portal's on the other side of the city," he said, holding her protectively. Mr. Black reached into his pocket and pulled out a small square metal object and tossed it at Matthew who caught it with ease.
"What about you?" he asked. Gabrielle didn't really follow their conversations. She was just glad that someone was here with a big sword that seemed very calm about the situation.
"I'll be fine," he said, this time not turning around. The Darkling had reeled back, his bloody stump of a hand clutched to his chest, but he was recovering quickly. "Just get her to safety."
###
Gabrielle hadn’t realized it, but she’d been squeezing Matthew’s hand tightly as he guided her towards her quarters. They were back now, safe in the Death Angel Society, but she didn’t feel very safe. They hadn’t spoken a word since he had brought them back using the little metallic device that Mr. Black had given him. The conversation usually flowed so well between them, and it felt odd for it to be suddenly so quiet between them. There were so many things that her mind was worrying over, she didn’t really know what to think.
Matthew had been beaten up pretty badly in the scuffle with the Darkling. His nose had a little trail of dried blood underneath it and was turning an awful shade of purple. His cheek looked like it was bruising quickly, and she wasn’t positive, but she felt like he was limping just slightly. She thought about asking him if he wanted to slow down for a moment, but she decided against it. It somehow still didn’t feel right to say anything. She could tell he was deep in thought about something, but she didn’t know what. He wasn’t angry, but there was some other emotion behind his eyes that told her he wanted to be alone in his thoughts right now. It was alright, because she wanted to be alone with hers as well. He wasn’t upset, but she could tell he was conflicted about something.
She had realized that, in spite of being tossed into a solid brick wall, and in fact going right through it, she didn’t have a scratch on her. She suspected that Matthew had put himself in harms way to protect her. That must have been why he had so many injuries. She wanted to say thank you, or that she was sorry, or something, but she just couldn’t make her li
ps work.
Then there was Mr. Black. They had just left him there, alone, with that awful looking thing. Granted, he told them to go, and he appeared to be completely unfazed by the thing, and even seemed like he was totally indifferent to fighting it. But still, they had left him. The concern in his voice when he told Matthew to get her out of there wasn’t lost on her. She wondered if that was just because she was his subordinate, and he felt somehow responsible for her. She vaguely wondered if she would be in any trouble for going to the mortal world. She shook her head, trying to clear out all these troublesome thoughts from her mind as they came to her door.
Matthew took a heavy breath, and she could tell it was strained. His eyes had cleared up and she could tell he wanted to say something, but there was some hesitation in him.
“So…,” he said. His eyes looked away from her as he paused for a moment. “I know I probably caught you off guard back there and I’m sorry about that. I know that you don’t know how things work here…”
He took another labored breath and looked back up at her. He looked like he was going to say more, but he smiled instead. It was a forced smile, and it didn’t have the characteristic joy behind it that it usually did.
“Look,” he said, “Don’t even worry about what I said…I…it was too soon, I know, I just…”
