Dying for the Devil

9

"Who's there?" I called, my eyes darting around to try to catch any movement close to me. Silence answered me, and I narrowed my gaze. I could feel the power rolling off whoever, or whatever, it was. Anxiety bubbled up as flashbacks of yesterday came back to me.

Had it really only been yesterday Evie and I had been held captive?

That's the thing with time. You can use it freely, but once it's gone, you can never get it back. Sometimes it feels as though everything is moving so slowly you almost don't feel it there at all. Other moments, it spins and whirls and consumes you. But no matter how many moons rise and fall, time never stops.

In this moment though, it truly felt like time had stopped.

"Golden soul" a deep voice called from the edge of the forest. A voice I'd recognized. This was the same voice I'd heard the first time Gabe and I had run together. The same voice who set the hell hound on us.

"I remember you" I replied before adding, "What are you?"

"I am all knowing and all being" he replied. I tilted my head slightly, trying to understand his meaning.

"Who are you?" I called again. At first, there was no reply. Then he stepped out of the cover of the dark trees and into the light. The first thing I noticed was he was his wings. Half of his feathers were pure white, halfway changing to a grey and then deepening into black at the tail end of his wings. They were beautiful. I took him in entirely. He wore no shoes or shirt, and his soft green trousers hung loosely on his body. His body was sun kissed, brutal and sculpted, more than likely from years of hard training.

His hair, the colour of fresh snow fall, fell around his shoulders and sat tucked behind his sharp pointed ears. He stood perfectly still, hands linked together against his stomach. He was waiting for me. To do what, I wasn't sure.

He inclined his head slightly, stepping forward across the field to meet me, stopping only a few feet away. I could see him more clearly now. His skin was perfect, not a blemish to be seen anywhere. My eyes snapped to his face then, and I took in his eyes. They were the most stunning silver I'd ever seen. They were clear, seeing everything, and were relentlessly cold. I knew in that moment that this dangerously beautiful angel had witnessed horrible things that I could barely begin to imagine.

He waited for me to do something. I suspect he was waiting for me to run.

"Who are you?" I asked again. His eyes, never blinking, roamed my face as if searching for something. His eyes moved further down and locked onto the necklace around my throat. Almost as if that was answer enough, he brought his gaze to my eyes once more.

"I am Sariel" he replied, his deep voice seemed to ricochet across the field, and the trees shuddered against the answering breeze. His name was not familiar to me. My brows crinkled in confusion.

"I've never seen you on base before..." I started, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I do not live here. I am not from this world" he replied before he stepped, moving in a slow circle around me. Predator and his prey. That's what this felt like. I held myself still, not willing to turn to face him. He made his way back to me, hand resting under his chin while the other arm supported it.

"The old one really did make work of you" he replied. If that were some sort of compliment or insult I couldn't tell. I began to fidget under his gaze, hands reaching up to hold the necklace between my fingers.

"What do you want?" I asked him, and without hesitation he replied.

"I am here to help you carry out your fate" he replied. My teeth clamped together as my spine straightened.

"How could you possibly... I've not told a soul what my plan is" I replied, narrowing my eyes. He slightly raised his brow at me expectedly.

"All knowing, all seeing... I forgot" I said, mentally slapping my forehead. Of course he knew what I'd planned to do.

"You must wait until the right moment. You will need to ensure the moon is at its highest peak before you spill golden blood" he replied, slipping his hand into his pocket and pulling out a sharp dagger. Holding it between his hands, he twisted it. The light reflected off the blade, my eyes squinting against the brightness of it.

Stepping closer to it, my fingers traced over the smooth part of the blade. The inside strip was laced with a blue type of liquid that almost looked like the ocean waves on a sunny day. Bright blue and luminous, the blade sparkled in the sunlight. The hilt was carved from a dark type of wood, and small vines wrapped around it.

"This blade is forged with the purest steel, molten sapphires and the wood of the manchineel tree" he said, flicking the blades handle towards me, for me to take. Sliding the blade into my boot, I straightened out.

"Why are you helping me?" I spoke quietly...Unsure of this angels true motives.

"I was asked to" was all he replied. My brows furrowed together as I tried to think.

Am I making the right decision? I asked myself internally before wrapping my arms around myself. I stood and watched as he again tilted his head inquisitively, like watching a caged animal.

"Sometimes when you do not ask the question, it is not because you fear the lies they could tell you, but that you are afraid to hear the truth" he replied, as if answering my internal debate. He offered a small tug of his lips before bringing his mouth to meet my forehead.

"Do not forget who you are, Adelina Lightbringer" he said before winnowing away with the brisk autumn breeze.