The Angel Side (18 page)

Being alone, face to face with her, a lump of fear rose in my throat.
I had no weapon to defend myself and no way to call
for help. Unable to allow my fear to show
,
I s
traighten
ed
my posture
and
raised
my chin in hopes she hadn’t noticed how scared I truly
was
.

I’d seen Lilith in action before. Tsunami or no tsunami, our capture of my essence and escape had been too easy. A flick of her wrist and she’d summon a rain of fire. A throw of her hand would conjure bolts of lightning. Why she hadn’t used her power to stop us meant only one thing. Lilith hadn’t been taken out of the game yet.

“What do you want
,
Lilith?”

“Just to warn you.”

“About what?”

“You see, I never intended to keep your soul. I
had
simply
been
protecting it. Lucifer has plans for you, very bad plans. Well, I couldn’t let a man get the upper hand.”

“So by keeping me from being whole
,
you
protect me how?”

“You have no idea how powerful we are.”

“We?
Lilith
,
you know I’m not into th
e
whole ‘I am woman hear me roar
’
crap.”

“
‘
We
’
as in Wraiths
,
girl.
What do you think I am? You really think Heavenly Father banished me because
I
refused to be
at
Michael’s beck and call? How naive. That is not the case. I
was
banished because of the threat I pose to him and his kind.
We are not limited by His rules. We can go anywhere we wish to go and do anything we wish to do.
You may not feel it but believe me when I say, as a
Wraith
,
there are no limits to what you can do
;
good or evil.
” Lilith smirked

“That’s great and all
,
but I’m nothing like you. I don’t want to be like you. I’m going to get my soul back. I don’t care what a
W
raith can do.”

“You may want to hold off on forming that opinion
. You see
,
the only reason Father hasn’t gotten rid of that hack Lucifer is because of your bond. Created as twins, you share the same life force as your brother. If he falls, you fall.
Father wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he hurt you simply to rid him and the worlds of that slime brother of yours.
”

“Everyone knows
why Lucifer is still around
.”

“As a Wraith, the bond between you and your brother is severed. As long as your soul is shattered, Lucifer can be killed with no harm coming to you. You can finally free yourself of him, permanently.”

For all I knew Lilith had been lying in an attempt to get me to do her dirty work
,
but the thought of finally getting rid of my brother and his attempts to have me serv
e as queen
was
alluring. I’d grown
tired of constantly watching my back, wondering if someone at the store
was
truly a Demon working against me or an Angel wa
tching out for me. If I’d manage to
kill Lucifer
then
the fighting for my life would stop.

It was no secret Lilith wanted to rule the lands. She made it plain and clear when she murdered me on
E
arth
.
S
he
hadn’t
take
n
the risk
of revealing herself on
E
arth
,
so I would succeed
to Lucifer’s throne. I
f Lilith had been lying and I attempted to kill
my brother, I would end up killing myself as well.
Lilith would be rid of two birds with one stone
,
leaving her to waltz into Hell.

“Use extreme caution. If any individual part of your soul is trapped, it can be shattered. If that happens
,
Heaven, Hell
and
Purgatory
will not be an option for you
. You simply vanish with the winds as if you never existed. There’s no coming back from
it
.” Lilith continued
.

Though I hadn’t asked for her warnings, I had patiently stood
with her, listening intently
. I had serious doubts Lilith would simply offer up any information to help me with
out
some type of strings attached.

“
And what do I owe you for this advice?”
I
asked, wary of her motives.

“Bring me Lucifer’s soul in exchange for my advice and solemn promise if you deliver him to me,
my servants
and I
will become your loyal allies.”

S
earching her body language for signs of deceit
,
Lilith and I locked eyes.
Her confident gaze eased my concerns about the validity of what she said. All I had to do was get close enough to my brother. One right plunge of a sword,
and
I
would
be done with him and gain a formidable ally in the process. Why I would need one with my brother gone
was
a mystery but when dealing with the
c
elestial world, it never hurt to have friends in high places just in case.
I nodded.
With a slight bow of her head, Lilith accepted my silent agreement then disappeared.

I had to catch up to the others to
tell them what had just happened
. Turning my thoughts to my destination, I hurtled through the air until I came to a stop in a bedroom
I had long forgotten
.

Appearing in my celestial living room, I had been met with the
Arches
, their significant others, and Gabriel.

“Did you get them?” an excited Gabriel asked
as he engulfed me in his embrace.

“Yes
,
and more.”
I said warily
.

“Well, where is she?” Gabriel prodded as everyone funneled around him, waiting for my answer.

“She’s on her way. Look, before she gets here, you all should know—”

“Where’s the war hammer and scutum?” Uriel cut me off
,
pushing to the front of the group
.

With
Etta not far behind me
, Nicor’s weapons were the l
e
ast of my concerns. Though the weaponry being in Nicor’s possession held
an incredible risk of the next D
emon attack being too much to handle, it
barely faired in comparison
to
what Etta
may do
to our world
as a Wraith
.

“Nicor took it, but as I was saying, with just three parts of her soul, Etta’s a—”

“Nicor has the war hammer? Are you kidding me? Do you know what he can do with them?”
Uriel protested
.

“Yes! I know what he can do. I’ll take care of it. Now if you don’t mind I’d like to finish what I’ve been trying to say!” I stepped in
front of
Uriel’s face, annoy
ed at his need to interrupt me
,
when Etta’s voice broke behind me.

“Hey guys.” Etta said
,
stepping from our bedroom. Shoving their women behind them
,
the Arch
es
drew their swords and flared their wings.

“No!” I cried
,
but it had been too late.

Raphael, followed by the others, charged toward Etta. As Raphael ran past me I grabbed onto his wings and slammed him onto his back, then pivoted in time to clothesline Remiel. As I moved to drop Saraqael, I caught
a
glimpse of Uriel’s shield as he bashed it against the side of my face, knocking me to the floor.

A siren’s wail erupted with a shockwave, catapulting us through the front of my house until we landed on Heaven’s streets. Debris showered down around me as I attempted to get to my feet. Weak from the blow of crashing into ground, I stumble to my knees.

“You dare raise arms against me and my husband?” Peering back, a charcoal figure glided through the dust cloud where the side of my house once stood, snaking a shadowy wisp around Raphael’s neck as it lifted him from his feet over her head. Raphael tried to struggle against
her
causing
Etta
to constrict tighter around his neck. Raphael’s olive skin faded into a purple
-
blue hue as his waist length black hair turned to
platinum white.

“Etta! Don’t! They didn’t know!” I called out.

Behind me, the clattering of metal grew louder. The sentries were coming. If they arrived before I got Etta to relea
se Raphael they would kill her
,
no questions asked.

“Etta
,
put him down, please.” I pleaded
as
the sentries rounded the corner in a battle charge.

Scrambling to my feet I took off in a full throttle run until I collided with Etta,
hoping she
’d
sense my intention
as
I thought of the one place I wish
ed
we had been
. Wrapping my arms around her, I held
tight as she
flash
ed
,
narrowly escaping as an onslaught of
spear
s
flew past our heads.

“Are you hurt?”
I asked after
materializing in the attic of the Divad home
.
I released Etta and examined her.

As if frozen in place, her body had been stiff. The white of Etta’s eyes, now filled with black
,
were locked in a stare.

“Etta?” I cupped her chin searching for signs of life when she gasped and jolted as if she had just been awakened from a trance. Grabbing onto my shoulders she steadied herself.

“What…what happened?” a frightened Etta shook.

“Nothing to worry about.
Are you okay?”

“I don’t feel so good. I need to lie down.” Etta repl
ied before collapsing against me
.
Swee
ping her in
to
my arms, I had no clue
how to care for a Wraith. The only
idea I’d been able to conjure up had been
to place
a semi-conscious Etta down
in
her
bed
, pulling her comforter over her.

“Ra?”
Etta whispered
.

“Yes?” I replied as I sat next to her on the bed, petting her hair.

“Will you lie down with me?”

“Of course.”
I said, sliding under the blanket, wrapping my arms around her.

Her sweet warm breath curled up my chest, filling my nostrils and calming my nerves. Despite popular belief, what made me happy and at peace had never been my victories, my possession
s
, principalities, or reputation. It had always been Etta. The way she smelled, smiled, laughed
,
and the way her nostrils flared when she
was
upset. Caress
ing her hair as she laid sleeping, my thoughts drifted from the immense pain her attack left behind to what I would have to do next.

Etta had proved why no one wanted a Wraith beyond the gates. With their emotions all over the place and easily provoked, Wraiths tended to leave death and destruction in the path of their emotional breakdowns and outbursts.

I had been positive I got to her before she had permanently injured or killed Raphael, but the damage would be irreversible. None of the Arch
e
s would trust her enough to help us claim the last piece of her spirit from Lucifer. Being threatened and seeing me fall to the ground triggered her violent outburst. I
hadn’t been
sure I would be able to trust her not to repeat it should I get hurt.

I would have to go to Hell solo, which meant I would have to leave Etta again
.
N
ot something I’m sure she would go for
,
but I wouldn’t walk into a possible trap with a ticking time bomb by my side. My head said to go now while she slept but
at
the slight chance I would make it out
,
I didn’t want to give her any cause to
be
mad at me.

A snoring Etta rolled over, snuggling her backside against me. Gliding my hand over her hip, I rested it on the
pooch
of her stomach as I kiss her neck. My hand continued downward until Etta released an involuntary moan. Etta wanted to wait to consummate our relationship until we
renewed
our vows. Though she remembered our celestial wedding, Etta argued
she and
Abihail
were different people. When it came to the bedroom, I had to agree. A naked Abihail would rush me as soon as I
walk
ed
through the door, whereas Etta had yet to let me graze a boob
,
much less
touch
her in a way that would ignite her sexual desires.

Though frustrated to the point of exploding, my morals wouldn’t allow me to instigate what I wanted
with
a sleeping woman. I wanted to feel her touch and kiss me back. To tell me she wanted
to as she stared into my eyes. I would wait forever if need be to hear “I want you
,
too” pass her lips.

Rolling over as to not be tempted to further punish myself, a faint clicking sound coming from downstairs caught my attention. Putting on
the
illusion of Ramen, I tiptoed out of the room
not wanting to
wake Etta. Amy and Gabriel
had
walked through the front door by the time I made it to the landing of the steps.

“If you
’ve
come to finish the job, don’t waste your time, Brother. I won’t let you near her.” I
threatened, flaring out my wing
. As
my
wing opened
,
a sharp pain shot through my back. Sucking my teeth, I hoped Gabriel hadn’t
noticed
how much pain I
had been
in.

“I’m going to search the house.” Amy spoke, kissing Gabriel on his cheek then disappeared in
to
the living room.

“I’m sorry
,
Ra. We didn’t know. John explained what happened. Amy’s here to take a look at you.” Gabriel said, taking a few steps toward me.

“Stop, Brother. Don’t take another step.
” I commanded, rattling my wing
despite the excruciating
,
stabbing pain it caused.

“Downstairs is clear. Is anyone else upstairs
,
Ra?” Amy asked as she returned to
the
foyer.

Once Amy said it
was
clear, Gabriel
sloughe
d
of his illusion of Benjamin.

“I’ll never get used to that.” Amy giggled.

“Ra, we’re not here to fight you or hurt Etta. Amy and I came to check on the two of you. Is Etta upstairs?”

Twice now he
’d asked
about Etta. Fearing Amy and Gabriel’s arrival had been nothing more than a diversion
,
I
bolted up the stairs
to Etta’s room, ready to fight whatever I may find but found Etta still sound asleep. Gabriel’s flash startled me. Spinning on my heels, I saw him go for Etta. With battering ram force, I shoved Gabriel through the wall. As swift as he landed in John’s room, Gabriel flashed into me
,
knocking us through Etta’s closet and into the bathroom.

As my back hit each wall, a sharp pain throbbed in my chest. Slamming against the tile of the shower wall, I’d been unable to hold my poker face. Releasing a roar of sheer agony, Gabriel jumped back.

“Amy! Amy! Come quick!” Gabriel shouted, and then dropped to his knees beside me.

I wanted to get to my feet to keep Gabriel away from Etta
,
but I’d been unable to keep my eyes open much less fight him off.

“Please, don’t hurt her. Please.” I begged.

“As I tried to tell you, Brother, we’re not here to hurt anyone. I swear.”
Gabriel knelt over me as he stroked my back.

“A shield did this to your face?” Amy knelt next to Gabriel. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” she asked, feeling my chest and legs.

“My back
…
something’s wrong with it.”

“Shrapnel from the explosion.
His wing is cut.” Gabriel answered as he tilted me forward
.

“Shoot. It’s cut halfway through the stem. Okay, Ra, bite down on this.” Amy shoved a washcloth in my mouth.

“Okay
,
on the count of three.” Amy said, rubbing her hands rapidly.

“One…two.”
Amy announced, smacking her hands against my back on two.

“Ah! What the hell happened to three?” I
bit
out.

“It didn’t work. Let me try again.” Without warning Amy smack
ed
her hands against my back again.