Marcus
walked over to her and touched her arm. “I am only there because
you are there.”
Amelia’s
laughter faded. “I hadn’t thought of that. I guess I’m the poor
one.” She turned back to Serenity and then looked across the pale
living room to Einar and Lukas where they were talking. “Do you
think Marcus would have an amazing place like this if he lived on
Earth?”
The look
on both men’s faces dropped away to reveal their shock and their
hesitation drew a frown from Marcus.
“Marcus
living in this world?” Lukas broke the tense silence and smiled at
him, his green eyes shining with amusement. He was quiet for a few
seconds and then shook his head. “Nope… I can’t picture that at
all.”
Marcus
turned his frown on the man. He was tempted to cross the room, take
hold of him by the mess of sandy hair that crowned his pretty face
and drag him into a headlock. It was the truth and he hadn’t
expected either angel to say that they could see him living in the
mortal realm, but a tiny part of him had wanted to hear them say
something more positive to Amelia.
She stood
silent beside him, her eyes cast down at the pale wooden floor.
Lukas leaned his bottom against the back of the beige couch and
concern slowly replaced the amusement in his eyes. The redheaded
woman sitting on the arm of the couch scowled at Lukas and he
looked over his shoulder at her as though he had sensed her anger.
Even Einar looked unimpressed and Taylor was crossing the room to
Amelia.
“Let’s
get some air.” Taylor took hold of Amelia’s hand, turned her back
on him and led her from the room.
“I will
go too,” Serenity said and cast a frown Lukas’s way before
following Taylor and Amelia out of the room.
Marcus
glanced through the open door into the beech wood kitchen beyond.
The redhead frowned at Lukas for a few seconds longer and then
followed the rest of the women.
“Annelie…” Lukas said as the woman stalked away from him
without looking back, his deep voice quiet in the bright room. When
she had reached the kitchen, Lukas slouched and then shrugged.
“Guess I put my foot in it… sorry.”
“Try
thinking before you speak next time.” Marcus dumped his backpack
down on the wooden floor, exhaled a sigh, and rubbed his
jaw.
“It’s not
my fault that it’s almost impossible to imagine you living in this
world.” Lukas stood and Marcus just stared him down. They might be
the same height, but Lukas wasn’t about to intimidate him. When it
came to a fight, Marcus could easily best him, and the way he was
feeling right now, he might even start it.
“Do you
think she was testing the water?” Marcus ignored Lukas and looked
to Einar for help.
Einar
nodded. “I think she wanted to see where she stood.”
“Great.”
Marcus glared at Lukas again. “I thought you would know better. I
presume that is your female who was looking as though she was going
to murder you in your sleep.”
Lukas
glanced towards the door, the shock back on his face as though he
hadn’t noticed the bitter disappointment in Annelie’s eyes before
she had left, and then folded his arms across his chest, pulling
his pale blue shirt tight across his muscles. He leaned back
against the couch and crossed his legs at the ankle, drawing
Marcus’s glare down their long cream linen-clad length to his feet.
They were bare. Lukas was certainly comfortable in Apollyon’s
apartment. How often had they seen each other? That seemed strange
to him. The last time Lukas had seen Apollyon before his rebirth
they had parted on a monumental argument that had shaken the ground
and turned the sky black. Lukas would have forgotten the argument
but Apollyon wouldn’t have. Had he even told Lukas about
it?
“I admit
I was tactless and should have thought about what the girl was
really asking, but there’s no need to fly off the handle about it…
all of you,” Lukas groused and turned a frown on both him and
Einar.
“Tactless. Certainly a good word for you, Rookie.” Marcus
clenched his fists, drew a deep breath, and then blew it out. “I
need to speak with her.”
Einar’s
hand clamped down on his shoulder. “I think you should give her a
moment. The women will take care of it.”
Would
they? The temptation to go to Amelia and explain was strong but he
held himself back. If Einar believed that the women would handle
the situation and bring things between him and Amelia back on
track, then he would trust them with that mission. He frowned at
the wooden floor. She wanted to be with him. She wanted him to stay
on Earth. He had hated this place so much in the past, had carried
that feeling into battle with him so many times, but now his
feelings were changing thanks to one woman. A pure soul. A
beautiful creature in a world filled with cruelty, despair, death
and destruction. If she let him, he would give her all she
deserved. He would give her a place like this in whatever city she
desired to live in as long as she would remain with him.
“Is he in
love?” Lukas whispered in Einar’s direction.
“It
certainly seems so.”
Did it?
Marcus closed his eyes and turned his focus inwards, trying to
decipher his feelings and put a name to them. He was attracted to
Amelia, she was constantly on his mind, and he couldn’t stop
thinking about doing things that would make her smile or feel safe
or would make her want to kiss him. He cared about her and wanted
to see her survive the event that lay ahead of her.
And he
was considering staying in the mortal realm.
Marcus
looked at Lukas and then at Einar. Both men had chosen to come to
Earth in order to be with their women. Even Apollyon had forsaken
his duties in order to be with his witch. Was his desire to remain
with Amelia on Earth and follow in his fellow warriors’ footsteps a
sign that he was in love with her?
He loved
her.
The door
behind him opened and then closed.
“Well,
this is certainly a surprise,” Apollyon drawled and Marcus turned
to face him.
The
darkness in Apollyon’s clear blue eyes matched the anger that
Marcus could sense in him. Serenity had been right. Apollyon didn’t
want to see him and he hadn’t even mentioned anything about needing
to go to Hell yet.
“To what
do I owe the pleasure?” Apollyon lowered the plastic bags of
groceries he held to the floor. “I haven’t seen you in a long time…
Marcus.”
It had
been centuries since they had last met but before that they had
often seen each other, especially when Marcus had lent a hand as a
temporary angel of death. As far as he could recall, he had done
nothing to gain such a cold greeting from his friend.
“I need
your assistance with something.” Marcus stepped forward.
At that
same moment, the four women came in from the kitchen. Serenity
hurried towards Apollyon and he smiled at her. Apollyon’s blue eyes
rose to take in the other women and darkness crossed his face and
his irises brightened. Serenity stopped dead. A wave of anger
crashed through the room and Marcus could only stare at Apollyon as
his black wings tore through his crisp white dress shirt and he let
out an ungodly growl. His clothing shredded, revealing his black
armour, the gold edging and the rampant lions on his vambraces
gleaming in the bright expansive room.
He
clutched at the sides of his head, burying his fingers into his
long black hair and tugging strands free of his
ponytail.
“Apollyon… what is wrong, mon ange?” Serenity went to move
but stopped again when he raised his head, his vivid blue eyes
locking on her. A pained look crossed his face and then he growled
again.
“Must
leave… send me far away… far… now! All in danger.” Apollyon pressed
his fingers into the sides of his head and hunched over. “Now,
Serenity!”
The world
shifted around Marcus, swirling and distorting in a way that made
him feel as though his insides were doing the same, and when it
came back again, they were standing in the middle of a corn field
with Paris far in the distance.
Apollyon
looked up, sheer horror on his face. “No… what did you do… I said
to send me.”
Marcus
moved towards Amelia when Apollyon looked at her, his pupils
narrowing and then widening, flickering between the two. Apollyon
shook his head, closed his eyes, and then looked at Serenity,
imploring her.
“Run… get
away from me.” The desperation in his tone sent a bolt of fear
through Marcus.
He caught
hold of Amelia’s hand, sent his clothes away and called his armour.
He grabbed one of the blades from his waist and clutched it
tightly, watching Apollyon for a sign he might attack. Einar must
have sensed something too because he motioned for Taylor to come to
him. Lukas moved to stand in front of Annelie, shielding the
redhead with his body.
“Apollyon?” Serenity’s voice trembled. “What is
wrong?”
Apollyon
snarled, whimpered and then looked at her, his eyes full of
pleading. “Take them and go… please? I cannot… I cannot fight
it.”
Serenity
took a step backwards, away from him, her pale dress blending into
the corn that reached to her hips. She looked over her shoulder at
Marcus and the others. Marcus wasn’t sure what was happening and it
seemed the rest didn’t either. Apollyon had been fine when he had
first arrived in the apartment. It was only once the women had come
through that he had changed.
Marcus’s
eyes widened.
It was
when he had set eyes on Amelia.
There was
only one explanation Marcus could come up with and it chilled him
to the bone.
Heaven
wanted her dead and was ordering Apollyon to do it.
“Take
them,” Apollyon whispered. “I will hold off as long as I
can.”
“I
can’t.” Serenity shook her head. “I used all my power to bring us
here.”
“No.”
Apollyon stared at her, horror filling his bright blue eyes. Tears
laced his dark lashes, trembling on the brink of falling, and his
struggle was visible for all to see. His battle against whatever
order was being sent to him was tearing him apart along with the
fear of hurting those he cared about. “No… why… why did you have to
come? Why?”
The tears
in Apollyon’s eyes fell when he looked at Marcus, dashing down his
cheeks. He had never seen such pain in his friend or witnessed such
torment. It was so strong that Marcus could feel a sliver of it
mingling with his own fear.
“I should
never have set eyes on her… I do not want this.”
The truth
in those words and the agony that crossed Apollyon’s face as he
struggled with himself drew a dark curse from Marcus. He couldn’t
imagine the depth of what his friend was feeling or what it would
be like to do something against his wishes, to have Heaven seize
command of his body, but he knew one thing. It was killing Apollyon
and it wouldn’t be long before he lost what little control he had
over himself.
Marcus
guided Amelia behind him and shielded her with his
wings.
“Stop
this,” Serenity said in a commanding tone and Apollyon looked at
her, his jetty eyebrows furrowed, and shook his head. “I order you
to stop this.”
“No use.”
Apollyon held his hand out in front of him and a curved golden
blade appeared in his grasp. “It won’t work… our contract cannot
override something I was born to do. This is my eternal
duty.”
Marcus
stared at him. Apollyon was unlike other angels in one respect. He
had an eternal duty that could never be erased. Even if Apollyon
fell from grace like Einar, he would be called upon to use his
powers during an apocalyptic event, either to trigger or halt it.
It was the reason he had been born.
“Run,”
Apollyon ground the word out and then stared at Marcus. “I cannot
hold it back… this fury… she must take it.”
A
thousand tiny needles pricked down Marcus’s spine. He didn’t know
why Heaven had ordered Apollyon to kill Amelia and he didn’t care.
There was no way that he was going to let anything happen to her.
Even if her survival meant the end of the world as they knew it,
even if her existence beyond this point caused a catastrophe, he
wasn’t going to let her die. He couldn’t allow it. Not even if it
was Heaven’s decree.
“No!”
Marcus stepped forwards, keeping hold of Amelia’s hand. It trembled
in his. Her fear flowed into him and he wanted to take it away and
tell her that nothing was going to happen to her, but he couldn’t
lie. All he could do was protect her.
“She
must! It is her destiny.” Apollyon struggled and then brought his
other hand forwards and a second curved golden blade appeared in
it. He spread his black wings and the sky above them darkened,
heavy clouds blocking out the sun. The air around Marcus cooled,
turning frigid, and he hesitated.
Destiny
wasn’t set in stone for anyone. He wasn’t going to step aside and
let her die. The slightest thing could change her fate and he was
willing to do all in his power to ensure that change
happened.
Even if
it came down to sacrificing himself in her place.