Uriel (The Hallowed Chronicles Book 1) (11 page)

Chapter Twenty

The pain shot through my back like wildfire. If I were to lose my wings, I would lose my only chance of being with Jophiel again, and the thought of it angered me. My eyes rolled back and as I let out a shriek, my energy burst from my body at full force and the creature tearing at my wing was tossed into the air. I stood slowly with my knees shaking uncontrollably and I whipped around to find a council member getting to its feet. "You," I said seething. Summoning my blades, I charged at it and pinned it to the outside wall of a house with my blades crossed over its hood. Freeing a hand, I pulled the hood back to reveal the one I knew was corrupted and let out a hiss. His face was knotted and scarred, and his eyes were black voids staring back at me with a slight curl of stitched lips. "Why did you try tearing off my wings?" I demanded. My head was spinning, but I could hear his laughter through the fog that clouded my thoughts. Though I asked, I had a feeling why he wanted my wings ripped off; I would lose my power to help in this and I would become fully human once more... and I would die; turn to dust from living this long.

You are a different girl than when we last met. Then, you were so innocent... so harmless.

"And now I'm not so harmless so you want to get rid of me?"

Yes. You have become a threat to our plans. So did Jophiel. That is why he is gone.

His mocking tone danced around my head in a taunting matter and I gritted my teeth. He was toying with me, trying to anger me and throw me off. I pushed him harder into the siding of the house and thrust my blades at his neck
. Ah, ah, ahhh. If you were to do that, you would have broken a rule and you will lose your wings. You don't want that do you?
His voice was an eerie calm that made the hair on my arm stand up. "Stop toying with me!" I yelled in his face. I didn't want to hear anything he had to say but I could feel his presence swimming around in my head, trying to get me to do it. I let him go angrily and walked away, stopping short when he appeared in front of me wagging a finger.
We are not done here, Uriel. It isn't polite to just walk away,
his voice said in a whisper.

"I don't care to be polite. If you haven't noticed, there's no such thing as being polite anymore."

My, my, what a cold personality you have gained. Did losing your beloved make you full of hatred?

"You have no idea."

Can't you feel it, then? The corruption? I can see it coursing through your veins, swallowing the Light.

"I refuse to be corrupted by darkness. That is why I am stronger than you. While you allow the darkness to corrupt you, I continue to fight for Light. The Dark will never succeed... They will never win."

Mind your words, Uriel. You see, here, Darkness has done more than Light has and in this world, there is no more Light to shine through.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides and gripped the hilt of my swords painfully. Looking to the sky, I willed the clouds to move and let the Light pour in to bring even me hope for the future. Yearning came from deep within my chest as I longed for the other archangels to find me and I concentrated, feeling three of them and sensing the void where Jophiel's presence used to linger. My heart was empty of the love I once held and was replaced by the need for justice. I spun around and pointed with my sword to the councilman, remembering the one thing I should have kept in mind. "You realize that Father knows what is happening, right? He sees all," I said a bit smugly, stepping forward. He put his hands up in surrender, but I didn't buy it. His energy spewed the word traitor and traitors are not to be forgiven when they give in to corruption and defy Father.
Ah yes, but He cannot do anything, can He? Too busy tending to the angels and the souls that escaped being dragged into the pit to get His lazy ass off His throne and do something,
he said laughing.

"Too busy? Why do you think He let us live? To destroy shit like you."

Now, now, Uriel. It is not polite for a high ranking angel such as yourself to say such words. Have you not heard? Can you not feel it? Out of the seven of you, only four remain. Three failed their duties and yet they are still welcomed beyond the gates of Heaven. How do you think you will accomplish your destiny with only four?

"Were you not informed? We all have our power and if I needed to, I could destroy a city. Most likely with the four of us, we could destroy the world. But we won't; we'll fix it and rid it of people like you."

I envy you. You have lost your Guardian and most recently, your lover and yet you remain intent on finishing your destiny. What pushes you?

"They do. If I accomplish my destiny, I will see them again and I will be rid of this forsaken place. You really thought I would let myself become corrupted and push myself further away from them? You must be really stupid."

I could tell I was angering him; the stitches in his mouth were pulling as it moved in attempt to speak. The air seemed to shift and an inhumane shriek pierced through the air. It came from the councilman. Plugging my ears, I crouched at the sound. Lightning cracked like a whip beside me and shadows rolled in like fog. Standing weakly, I pulled my hands from my ears, noticing the councilman had stopped. A massive roar shook the ground and my heart plummeted. "What did you do?" I yelled at the council member who stared back at me and smiled wide through split lips and decayed teeth. As if to answer my question, a large claw stepped from the shadows, its nails curling into the soft soil of the ground. I stepped away as another claw joined the first and the same roar created its own breeze, whipping at my face and splattering it with black tar. Wiping it away, I stepped back more, noticing that the more I moved away, the more the creature hiding in the shadows moved into view. Though I was afraid to see him up close, I stepped back.

Standing above me on all fours was the fear dragon and it stared down at me. Bile rose up in my throat and I screamed, turned away and ran. Letting out a vicious roar, it bounded toward me and reached for me, pulling me down with its massive claws. When it lowered its head and opened its mouth, I slashed my free sword at it, watching in horror as the area I hit blew away like smoke before coming back to its body. I could hear the councilman striding up to me and beside me on the ground, looking down with a sadistic smile. "You remember the fear dragon, don't you Uriel?" His voice had changed from the one I heard in my head. It was hoarse and scratchy for not being used for who knows how long. My heart stuttered inside my chest and I stared at the councilman, refusing to look back into the dragon's eyes. "You know what it does right? You see your worst fear. I wonder what Jophiel saw right before the dragon swallowed him whole," he said laughing.

"Stop!"

"What was that? Why would you want me to stop? Don't you like talking about your lover?"

"P-please. I beg you, stop!"

The councilman's hand waved dismissively in the air and the dragon growled, the noise sprouting from deep within its chest as it huffed warm air onto me. There was a part of me that wanted to know what his worst fear was, but I didn't want to give him the opportunity to answer it. Begging wasn't going to do me any good, but I needed to buy time to get away from the dragon. Instead of stopping, the councilman knelt beside me and grabbed my face. My cheeks were cramping between his fingers and I tried to get away, refusing to look him in the eyes. "I want to see your reaction when you see what he did," he said with pride.

The world faded around me and I was standing in front of the dragon upon the hill. But I wasn't me, I was Jophiel. He closed his eyes and pictured me and our memories together and they were pried open. Replacing the face of the dragon was mine and the dragon descended upon me and clawed at my body. Blood spewed from the makeshift me and paralyzed him to the ground, his body disobeying him when all he wanted to do was run to me.

I came back with tears in my eyes and the dragon had stepped off me, freeing me, but staying close with smoke pouring from its nostrils. The councilman was laughing at me as I choked on my own tears. He was feeling accomplished and was amused by my agony; he wanted me to fall apart and he wanted to be the one to watch it in person. Standing weakly, I gripped the hilt of my sword tighter and let my energy burst from me and into him, sending him back several feet. "That's it," I said standing over him. "I won't let you torture me or anyone else again. If the others have a problem with my decision, let them do their worst. I don't care anymore." Readying my weapons, I pulled my shoulders back and slashed at him, stopping without the intention to as the mighty roar of the dragon followed its pounding footsteps. It was coming after me, protecting the councilman and I rolled out of the way, hoping it would trample him.

My heart fell when its feet dissipated as it traveled over the councilman's body and reappear when it went past him. Cursing myself, I extended my wings and pushed at the air, feeling my body being lifted by them. My wings burned from being torn, but I had to keep going. Pushing harder, I made my way into the sky only to be followed by the dragon. I heard a boiling noise coming from the dragon's throat as I continued my attempt at escape, only to be hit with a severe pain in my wing, causing me to fall from the sky. When I hit the ground, I pulled my injured wing toward me; it had been eaten away by something acidic that came from the dragon's mouth. Crying out in pain, I stared in horror as the acidic liquid dripped down my wing, dissolving it until part of it fell to the ground. "You really thought you could get away?" the councilman asked, chuckling to himself. Snapping his fingers, the dragon's face descended on me and it opened its jaws, ripping its teeth into my stomach. The pain was unbearable and I screamed, feeling the blood pouring from me and create a crimson pool around me.

Life was slipping away and the world was getting dark, only to light up again. The pain ceased and the dragon disappeared, but the laughter coming from the councilman did not. Looking down at my stomach, I noticed no wounds and I went for my wing which had been solid and intact. "What the hell did you do to me?" I yelled with tears in my eye. His laughter stopped short and he looked at me with an unreadable expression. "You think you don't feel fear after what happened? Well, how do you feel knowing I can get into your head and make you feel... see anything I want you to?" he said with a malicious grin across his face. "See you in Hell, Uriel," he said before disappearing, leaving me to dry heave and choke on my own tear
s and the taste of true terror.

Chapter Twenty One

Ever since that night with my encounter with the councilman, I couldn't sleep. The fear dragon's presence was imprinted upon the back of my eyelids, its haunting form roaring at me every time I tried to get a good night's sleep. The fear had been growing inside me this whole time and I began to wonder how I would go about defeating it if all I radiated was the perspiration caused by the fear I had to face every day of my life. Alone. When the councilman disappeared, I staggered my way back home, not wanting to risk flying and being attacked by the real dragon and told Gazardiel what had happened. At first, he didn't believe me when I accused the councilman as being corrupt, but after he took a look at my back to see the slight tear of my wing, he himself began to fear for the future.

All of this was happening so quickly and I wanted to give up, but something with Jophiel's voice kept pushing me along, telling me I wasn't someone who would give up so easily, that he knew I would overcome this fear somehow. I just wish I knew how. A few months after the attack, I had growing pains at the base of my back; as if something was inside me trying to burst free and it kept me sore all day long. More and more survivors had found their way to our house; I acted as some kind of beacon to them, but I knew we needed to find a new place. One that could actually hold the remaining humans so we didn't have to kick any out. So we did just that.

Though we were never safe, we traveled in a medium-sized pack, having about ten people including Jenna, Gazardiel and I. They all remained packed closely together, not wanting to risk straying from the boundary Gazardiel and I had set. Jenna was at the front, leading us to a house she had spoken of; a mansion with more than enough bedrooms. My wings carried me over them, giving me enough warning when we would be coming across demons. In our travels, we came across none; it was far too quiet and it put me on edge. Had someone unknown to us clear out the area? Approaching the large house, I descended and walked beside an older man who looked as if he was approaching his sixties. He stared at me with calm eyes and took out a notebook from the bag he had been carrying, immediately starting to scribble words onto the blank pages. "What are you doing?" I asked curiously, stretching my neck to get a glimpse of what he was writing. Chuckling, he put a hand on my shoulder, hesitating for a moment to take in his touch. "Since we may be the surviving group, someone needs to keep a record of it," he started saying. "Let's think of it as a new kind of bible." A smile wrinkled his face and I couldn't help but return that smile; the first one I've broken since I lost Jophiel.

"Let us hope the new age of people do not get your words mixed up as they had long ago."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, the bible was translated consistently, its true meaning locked away somewhere in the world."

"I haven't thought about it that way. What comes of the people who had taught others to fear God?"

"They go to Hell. They are misleading and they are false prophets."

He was silent for a moment, scribbling more words into his notebook, being careful not to bump into the other people. As we approached the mansion, two people came running at us, yelling for help. Studying them, I noticed they were still young and what looked like an older brother and his little sister. "Please, someone help us!" the boy cried and I stepped forward, stopping them mid stride. "What has happened?" I asked them, pulling back my shoulders. They stared in awe, forgetting what they had run here for. "You're an angel," the little girl said staring up at me with wide eyes. I squatted in front of her and took her hands. "Yes, I am and I am here to help. Please tell me what is wrong," I said in a sweeter voice.

"Monsters have our house surrounded. Mommy and daddy are in there!"

"Don't worry. I'll get them, but you guys stay here, okay? So the monsters don't get you either."

I stood tall and extended my wings, my arm caught by the older man. He looked at me stubbornly in the eye and I knew what he wanted. "No, you can't come with me," I said sternly. He pushed the notebook in my face and gave an apologetic look. "Someone needs to record these events. Someone needs to know what you have done to help our world," he said weakly. Sighing, I looked to Gazardiel who had made his way to us. He nodded, agreeing with the elder. "I will get them into the mansion after making sure it is clear. If you hear screaming, you know what's going on," he said putting a hand on my arm. Nodding, I took the elder's hands and stretched my wings, pushing the air with them until we were airborne.

The man was silent on the way to the other destination, even as screams pierced through the air, coming from a small run down house that I knew wouldn't hold if the demons kept bashing themselves into it. I landed several feet away from the horde and turned to the man. "If you get attacked, scream. I will know it is you and please, stay here. Do not move. You can see everything from here," I instructed, putting my palms in the air. When he agreed, I pushed up again and landed myself onto the roof of the house where the demons snarled and gnashed their teeth at the house. Sighing, I stood and summoned my blades, jumping from the roof and landing at the center, exploding my energy around me. The energy shattered into small dagger-like objects and pierced through the crowd of demons, fatally injuring them until the Light of that energy burned them to ash.  I knocked on the door and the couple inside screamed. "Stay away, I have a gun," a man said from inside. I knocked again and they ignored me. "Your son and daughter came searching for help to get you. I am that help," I said.

"You? You sound like just a kid."

"I'm not. In fact, I'm older than I appear."

My answer seemed to be good enough because the man who had been talking to me opened the door and gasped. "Holy mother of Jesus," he said breathlessly. Holding back a smile, I just decided to greet them back warmly. "No, I'm not Mary," I said. The man opened the door wide enough for his wife to stare at me. I seemed to have gotten a lot of stares... as if no one actually truly believed in the existence of angels. "W-where are my children?" the wife asked, appearing as though she was trying to be careful with what she said around me.

"They're safe. We have a group of survivors moving into a large house and you are welcome to come. At least then, you'll be safe."

"We will go with you, right, honey? You are the most trusted safety here."

"Come then, we will walk back. I can't fly with three people in my arms."

"Three?"

I waved the elder man over who was intently scribbling in his notebook and he hurried over, taking a look at the new additions. He nodded at me, as if knowing I had said we needed to walk and began doing so with the couple behind him and me overhead. The way back was just as quiet as it was on our way there and when we had gotten closer to the new house, no one was inside. I landed in front of everyone and walked them inside, the house coming to life when the silence from outside stopped and there were loud conversations going on inside. People stopped talking when we walked in and the kids ran screaming to their parents, creating a tiny welcome "home" ceremony. My eyes traveled around, counting the heads and noticed one was missing; the teenager that I had saved from the church. "Where's that teenager?" I asked looking around. Gazardiel and Jenna shrugged and I walked about the house looking for him. And someone screamed.

The teenager's scream bellowed against the walls of the house and I noticed it was coming from the backyard. Running down the stairs, I pushed out the door to find a demon over his screaming body and tearing away at it. My heart sank and worsened when the boy looked at me with pleading eyes. "P-please," he sputtered. "Don't let them drag me into Hell. I-I was a good person," he cried out as a single tear tore his life from him and his soul stood above his unmoving body. I stared at the demon and rage swelled from within me. They kept taking away everyone I was supposed to protect and I wouldn't let them drag anyone else into Hell where they didn't belong. Crying out, I summoned my blades and rushed forward stabbing the demon in the head with enough force that it split open, splattering ebony tar over me. My own power surprised me and I was shaking from the intensity as others poured in. The people watched from the house as I shaped my weapons differently; turning them into a whip.

Time had slowed down as the horde of demons came at me with their teeth gnashing, lusting for contact. Cracking the whip, I readied myself and lashed at them with the glowing steel of the whip. My back began to throb, making me unfocused for a split second and allowing myself to be lost in the sea of the horde that attempted to grab at me and dismember me. The pain became close to unbearable and I let my own power build up in me as the pain burst through my back, the skin tearing as something was released from my flesh. Simultaneously, I let my power burst; Light filling the area and blinding me before dimming to reveal no sight of another demon. My heart was racing and I found the soul of the kid staring back at me with a calmness spreading across them. He was waiting and then he was pulled partly into the ground. Fear crossed through visibly in his eyes and I reached forward, grabbing his hand and pulled, taking him back up. "I need to do this now, whether you're ready or not," I said touching his face.

"I was always ready. But you have always been the one to guide me there. Tell me, what is it like?"

"If I could tell you, I would. But I was man made and therefore, have no knowledge of Home."

"Then I will go for the both of us. If you can, read up on those zombies, angel girl."

I closed my eyes and concentrated, my energy forming a pillar sprouting from the crown of my head and into the sky, parting the dark clouds.
Your way is through the light. Follow it and you will be Home,
I whispered in my head to him. I concentrated closely, feeling his soul make its way further and further from this world, disappearing beyond the clouds as the Light that came from me dissipated. Gazardiel's presence startled me and I turned to him. His eyes were near the ground and confused, my eyes traveled against his line of sight to where another pair of wings lay nestled up against my feet, hovering there as if to shroud them. "Well, Uriel, looks as if Our Father has given you another pair. More power, a higher rank," he said bowing slightly. Tilting my head, I stared up at the sky. "What does that mean?" I asked softly.

"If you gain another pair, you will be more than just an archangel. You will have gained the rank of Seraphim. And you, my child, belong among the other Seraphim. Trust me; you have proved it to us all."

I didn't deny it. Something told me this is what was always supposed to happen. Staring at the sky, I closed my eyes and got to my knees. "Thank you, Father," I said quietly. More feet made their way into the backyard and I heard as the others had also gotten to their knees. Their silent prayers filled the air, parting the clouds above to allow Light to shine on us all. He was listening, He always had been and now, we knew He would always be rooting for us down here, granting us all His mercy. We wouldn't be giving up any time soon; there was too much left to leave behind... a world that was meant to be saved, to be healed for humans to live and survive again like they always had... and always will.