by L. L Hunter
“You evil son of a bitch!” screamed Scarlett. She wasn’t strong enough. He put her under again and stole from her the most powerful weapon in the universe.
Chapter Fourteen
Fight
Scarlett moved in and out of unconsciousness, her vision wavered and her hearing lulled like she was floating on the ocean. Up and down, in and out. In between waves, she picked out a few words from the conversation being had around her.
“I have the tears.” There was a pause, and then the same voice spoke again, it was female.
“I have some blood.”
Scarlett blinked and saw a blurred image, a white figure moving about the room. Was she still in the lab?
“There’s a problem,” said the woman, a little clearer this time, “she keeps replenishing it.”
The next thing Scarlett heard was a muffled male voice. It sounded like he was shouting.
“Drain her!” he said, sounding outraged. The male voice seemed familiar, but Scarlett was too weak and too drugged to recognize him. No! She cried, but the word didn’t escape her mind. She was stuck inside her own body, and she felt a desperate need to fight, to be free. She couldn’t die here, not here, not alone, not without Dyston. She had to see him one more time, even if it were in a dream.
She felt heat. It engulfed her body. She wanted to scream, but she realised she wasn’t in pain. It was her body that was causing the heat. It was her Trait! She clenched her fists and concentrated on the warmth, the energy it seemed to give her. It revitalised her. Her wrists felt freer. There was less tension there. Then she looked down and saw that no binds held her, so she lifted her arms, but was met with resistance. She felt hands wrap around her wrists. They tugged her arms back down. Then she felt another prick, a sudden sharp pain that faded into nothingness. Sleep followed soon after.
“Scarlett?” a voice echoed in the dark corners of her mind. It was coming closer. “Scarlett.” She recognized it immediately. She smiled and opened her eyes. Her vision was no longer blurred, and she could see his face as clear as day.
“Dys, you came back.”
“I never left.”
“He’s gone, you can stay now.” She snuggled into his chest. His body was warm and as familiar as her own. The scent of vanilla and rain flooded her nose. She inhaled and sighed.
“I wish I could get you out of there,” he told her.
“I wish you could too. I’m trying, I’m holding on like you told me to do.”
“Good. You’re stronger than you know. There is no one else in the universe that is as strong as you.”
“Sometimes I hate being a burden,” she sighed. Dyston suddenly gripped her chin in his hand and turned her face towards his.
“Don’t ever say that. You are not a burden. Not to me and not to anyone.”
“But sometimes I feel like killing myself just to end this. I’m the reason we’re even in this mess.” Scarlett said. His eyes turned stormy, which made Scarlett shudder. It scared her.
“Do not talk like that, you hear? Promise me you won’t ever think like that again.” He hugged her tight, his embrace desperate. “It is not your fault.”
“I promise,” she whispered. And then he kissed her. First feather-light, and then it grew hungry and needy. She was the first to break it.
“How’s everyone? Emer, Kat, Josh, Jacob?”
“They’re good. They miss you, especially Kat.” He chuckled.
“I’m sorry for just leaving like that.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Okay. I’m not.”
“If Lakyn brings the world down, you and I still have each other at the end of the day,” he told her, stroking her hair.
“Hey, the world is so much bigger than just you and I. I love you, but we have to help.”
“Okay. We’ll help without you running off again.”
“Promise,” she told him. Dyston traced kisses along her jaw line.
“Because I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He kissed her again, and this time her face became transparent.
“What’s happening?” she asked frantically.
“Someone’s interfering with this dream, trying to send you another one.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know, just let them. I’ll talk to you again soon,” he said, blinking in and out of focus like a mirage.
“Dys, don’t go.” She tried desperately to hold onto him, but it was too late, he was gone. And in his place stood Lakyn, but he wasn’t in this room. He was in the factory.
“Are they the tears?” asked his young apprentice. “Wow, they sparkle.”
“They do have a shimmery appearance,” said Lakyn, as he inserted the tear vial into a slot at the top of the machine. It was a small clamp above a large vat.
“Are the arrow heads ready, Aaron?”
“Yes. All five thousand of them.”
“Excellent, coating starts tomorrow. Now, for the blood.”
“What are you going to do with the blood, Sir?” asked Aaron.
“I’m going to send it away for testing so we can see exactly what Archangel blood can do,” Lakyn grinned.
And then the dream faded, and Scarlett was left lying on a metal slab in the white room again.
The door swooshed open and in walked the woman with the yellow eyes.
“What’s happening now?” Scarlett asked.
“We just need to do a few more tests.”
“I think you’ve done enough tests,” said Scarlett, kicking out when the woman was close enough, her foot connecting with the woman’s stomach, causing her to stumble back.
“Stop fighting, Scarlett,” said another voice, another female. Scarlett recognised her as Ariel.
“Let me go, I’m not a lab rat.”
“No, you’re a unique specimen, and that’s why we want you to stay here with us.”
That was it. That was the whole purpose of being brought here. She knew Ariel had ulterior motives, but Scarlett refused to become a lab experiment.
“I’d rather die,” said Scarlett, throwing a ball of flame towards Ariel’s face, singeing her. Ariel screamed.
“Then die, you will,” growled Ariel. She stood up straight after recovering slightly from being burned and grabbed a syringe off a nearby table. Scarlett saw skin peeling away from her face where she had burnt her. She could see the bone. It made her feel nauseous. Then Ariel plunged the syringe full of bright green liquid into Scarlett’s arm. She stopped fighting.
Wack! A snowball hit Dyston square in the face. It caught him off guard and he fell back into the soft snow. Another assaulted him in the chest.
“Hey, you shouldn’t kick someone while they’re down,” he chuckled.
“Sorry, do you surrender?” Scarlett asked him, appearing from behind the tree that had acted as her fort.
“Yes, yes, I surrender,” he said as he put his arms up.
“Good.” She ran over and flopped down in the snow beside him. “So when did you first know that you had to look after me?” she asked as she gazed at him. Dyston looked so deadly, dark, and beautiful against the white powder. She reached out and touched her fingertips to his. They were perfect snow angels.
“When I was eighteen, I began having dreams.”
“Who sent them to you?”
“I still don’t know.”
“Were they dreams like mine?”
“Yeah, a flash of colour here, a smell there, and not always at night.”
“That’s more intense than what you sent me.”
“That’s because I’m not a very powerful angel. I think these dreams were sent to me by an angel much higher up.”
“Like an Archangel?” Scarlett asked, getting up on her elbow.
“Yeah, could be. I’ve been beginning to put the pieces together.”
“You mean to say, that more has happened than just the dreams?”
“Yeah. I’ve received numerous mysterious notes and items, and no one has claimed g
iving them to me. So, who else could they be from?”
“Maybe you have a secret admirer,” Scarlett teased, shoving him playfully.
“Yeah, right,” he replied, leaning over to kiss her. Scarlett giggled. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back so passionately that she felt they would melt the snow. After a few seconds, she released him.
“We better get back,” he said. She got to her feet with Dyston’s help, and together, they brushed the snow off their coats.
“Yeah, before your secret admirer comes looking for you,” Scarlett teased.
“Ha ha!” He shoved her playfully and took flight. Scarlett followed him. She felt his wing tips graze hers, so she felt comforted at the fact that he was right beside her.
Black and gold—a perfect match.
Scarlett blinked. She now felt the weakest she had felt since coming here. Another dream? Were they accidently giving her dream serum instead of a sedative? Her mind fought over the decision to wake up or to pretend to stay unconscious. If she woke up, they would just put her under again, and if she stayed under, then she could see Dyston. In the end, the former won out and she opened her eyes slowly.
At the precise moment, Lakyn returned to the room, so she quickly shut them again, playing dead.
“Is she asleep or…”
“Her vitals are too strong. Her immune system is fighting off everything we put into her. I don’t think we can kill her,” said yellow eyes.
“But we have to do something. She’s just going to go back and tell him, and they’re going to prepare to fight.”
“Aren’t they going to do that regardless?”
“True, but my brother cannot find out what we’ve been up to.”
“Then how are we going to kill her?”
“I’ve been researching all the ways to kill an Archangel, and trust me, there aren’t many, and all of them are invasive,” said Lakyn, standing over Scarlett’s body.
“But she’s only half an Archangel, right?” asked the woman.
“Correct. Half Arch, half Nephilim.”
“Then gold will work.”
“I don’t have enough. Tear tips won’t work, because they are made from her own tears. Besides, can’t we just kill her using one of our gold bows?”
“No. We can only kill an Archangel using blessed gold. It has to be from the melted down chalice belonging to Michael the Archangel.”
“How am I supposed to get that?”
“You will soon find a way,” said the woman. She took off her surgical mask and grinned. While their backs were turned, Scarlett managed a look at her face. It was disfigured, her skin reptilian. She was a demon.
“But right now, we need to drain her again.”
No! She wanted to cry, but she didn’t dare make a sound. Scarlett quickly closed her eyes before the demon woman could see. The demonic woman stuck another catheter in Scarlett’s arm and drained what was left of her life force.
Chapter Fifteen
Descent
Someone was stroking her hair. Oh, please let it be Dyston, she thought, no one else but Dyston.
“Let her go, Lakyn. She’s as good as dead. No angel has survived this,” said a man with a gruff voice, whom Scarlett didn’t recognize. But Lakyn, Lakyn, was stroking her hair. Unbeknownst to them, Scarlett was listening to every word, because her soul was still intact.
“You don’t know how special she is,” whispered Lakyn.
“You are letting your feelings get in the way of our mission. Let her go, Lakyn. She’s dead.”
Lakyn stared at Scarlett’s lifeless body. She was as pale as if she were a photograph that the entire colour had been saturated out of. He scooped her up and carried her outside in his arms.
Underneath the Bridge of Wings was an abyss, a black hole that swirled like a soup of millions of distant galaxies. This was where Angels in The Beginning began their fall after receiving judgement. And this was where Lakyn would be sending Scarlett.
“See you back on earth.” He kissed her pale lips and let her slip from his arms into the sea of galaxies. He knew she wasn’t truly dead, he knew he would see her again. He knew he had to kick start the healing process. He needed her fit and healthy for the next part of his plan. That was why he kissed her. He had the gift of healing, which was ironic to the blood that flowed through his veins. Walking away from the void, Lakyn couldn’t help but feel like he had just thrown away the one thing he had been striving for most. Like a child who had saved up all his pocket money to buy that one thing he had always wanted, and now to have it literally slip through his fingers due to his foolishness… he shook his head and went inside. Who was he turning into?
When you are about to die your organs shut down one by one, and then your senses with your hearing being the last to go. That was why Scarlett had heard everything Lakyn, Abraham, and the Realm Technicians had said. She couldn’t feel his kiss, but she knew what he had done before he let her fall. That was why she could remember it vividly. His kiss had ignited something inside of her. It started at her heart, and began to spread throughout her entire body.
“No!” she screamed, but the words didn’t escape. She couldn’t think about Lakyn like that. Lakyn had tried to kill her. She loved Dyston. She could no longer live in denial. Lakyn had done something to her to awaken her, and now she was falling back down to Earth.
Scarlett didn’t feel like she was falling. There was none of that stomach-in-your-throat kind of feeling. She felt like she was floating in suspended animation, like she was floating in water, or like a baby in its mother’s womb. In reality, she was travelling towards Earth in a fireball faster than the speed of light. When she reached the earth’s atmosphere, her essence was entirely made up of fire and ice. She opened her eyes and saw the city of Melbourne below her. How did Lakyn know to send her in the right direction? She noticed Blackbell and realised she was falling way too fast—she was going to hit it. She tried to move and twist her body out of its path and all those she loved who were inside. But it was no use. She tried one last attempt to reach out to Dyston in prayer.
“Get everyone out. I’m falling. I can’t stop it.” She closed her eyes and hoped. Then she felt something itching on her back. It wasn’t the fire, she was made of fire. It was a different kind of burning. Something was growing out of her skin. Something was pulling and pinching the delicate skin on her back, and as she fell, Scarlett felt the unavoidable urge to push whatever it was out. Then something caught her eye. Like a piece of glass in the sun, the light it gave off blinding her.
Then she felt them. The wind seemed to pick her up and to carry her higher. What was going on? She looked back and that’s when she saw them—her wings. She had wings! They were the most amazing shimmering gold she had ever laid her eyes upon, just like the wings she had in her dream with Dyston. They glittered against the red and orange of the fire, and then she hit the ground.
Scarlett was only aware of one thing after she landed—she was cooling down. She opened her eyes and managed to lift her head up. She was mortified at what she saw before her. There were crumpled buildings all around. Smoke, fire, and ash filled the air. It was all she could see, all she could taste, all she could feel.
Was she in one of the Realms? She pushed her limbs off the ground. They were lying at odd angles, but she easily popped them back into place one by one. First her arms, followed by her legs, until she stood upright. She spread out her wings for balance and began walking down the debris- strewn street, looking for anything she might recognise, but she saw nothing. Everything looked the same in this new post-apocalyptic landscape. That was when she heard the screams. They were all around her. She looked up and saw wings. Angels everywhere were fleeing, leaving the destruction, which she had caused.
And then Scarlett saw the one thing that stood out amongst the ashen ruins—a lone maple tree. Her heart leapt. Was that all that was left of her home? She heard a sound behind her, the crunch of someone’s boot on the ground. She tur
ned cautiously, and came face to face with the one whom she had been longing for the most. Her ears were ringing, and she tried to speak over the high-pitched sound penetrating her brain.
“Dyston,” she uttered, her voice coming out hoarse. She moved shakily towards him, still getting used to her body. It felt like lead, and it couldn’t hold her, so she fell again. But this time she didn’t hit the ground. This time she was surrounded by softness and the smell of rain. She was finally in his arms.
“Did you do this?” he asked, he didn’t sound angry though. She looked up at his face and the high-pitched screeching sound stopped.
“I… I don’t know,” she stuttered. He then smiled at her.
“What?” she asked in curiosity.
“You’re naked,” he smirked. He stood her up again and tugged off his white-buttoned shirt, which he slipped over her head. Then he lifted her off the ground. She felt no shame.
“What happened?” she asked as he carried her above the smoke and embers.
“I’ll tell you soon. And tuck in your wings. They’re beautiful, but no one has ever seen wings like yours before. They’ll stare.” As they flew, the soft flap of his magnificent black wings made her eyelids droop.
“Rest, I’ll wake you when we’re there.”
She wanted to ask where there was, but sleep was already taking her.
When Scarlett awoke, she no longer felt drowsy, but instead, she felt brand new. She sat up and expected her head to pound but it didn’t. She was in a soft white bed in a small room with latte coloured walls that looked like a dormitory. There was another bed in the room, but it looked like it hadn’t held an occupant in quite some time. She swung her legs over the side just as the door opened. It was Dyston and a man in white and gold robes, whom she didn’t know, following him.
“Scarlett, this is Father Luke. He specialises in angelic healing. He’s here to help you.”
“Where are we?” she asked, her voice still hoarse.
