The Wicked & Divine

Chapter 20• Glass Eyes

I practically scampered onto the steps of the train, stumbling and cursing as I entered the long walkway between the rows of scratchy midnight blue seats.

Raphael and I were both eager to get out of public sight and onto the next train to the nearing town where Raphael briefly mentioned we had arranged transportation waiting for us.

Even though he was quite a stranger, I didn't have any strong doubts that he wasn't who he claimed to be affiliated with.

I cupped my hands up to my mouth and huffed thick, warm air to thaw my icy fingers. I had forgotten gloves at the small clothing store we had made our detour at and my hands were numb from the icy air.

I spotted an empty row and quickly slid in, huddling my arms to my chest as the warmth from the heater overhead danced on my damp skin. I trembled slightly, both from the cold and the adrenaline.

I've never experienced such paranoia before, constantly checking behind myself and jumping excessively at any loud noise. I loathed being overwhelmed with such anxiety and anticipation, just to see that it was nothing all along, merely a figment of my over-processed psyche.

I sighed in exhaustion, the city we were in had been much larger than I previously assumed and the journey to the station was much longer than I had expected. It must already be past 4 pm, around 7 or 8 back in Ninas hometown.

My eyelids felt like heavy cement bags sinking down to the cold ocean floor. I looked out the fogged glass to see a pale blue sky, clouds overwhelmed by snow eagerly waiting to descend unto the icy and jagged mountains not too far in the distance.

The heat was now seeping onto my skin entirely, like vines stretching eagerly and uninterruptedly down abandoned brick. I felt it pour down my back and under my damp clothes and settled onto the plush seat comfortably.

Raphael slid onto the seat opposite to and facing me. My eyes flickered open reluctantly "Hot chocolate?" He asked, holding two steaming styrofoam cups. I nodded and with some effort, opened my numb and icy fingers to enclose around the hot cup. The heat stung my skin a little, but my hands quickly adjusted and began to thaw out.

"Were we followed?" I asked, blowing softly on my warm drink. "No I don't believe so, if we had I don't very well believe that we would've gotten onto the metro in one piece. Your aerkvo's goons are ruthless and would have openly made their move with no regard for the humans if they had gained on us. It would have been a very messy ordeal to put it simply" he stated very matter-of-factly.

There was something about or maybe just in his tone that made me feel very secure, it left no room for doubt and set me at a calm ease.

"Wait, what is an 'Aerkvo'?" I asked, my ears perking up at the unfamiliar word. He cleared his throat and began, "There are many ancient languages festering our world. But one of the originals is still widely used in the realms between. I'm not sure what the translation would be to English, in fact I'm not sure I could even pronounce it in English if I wanted to. But many of the words can be. Aerkvo is the masculine version of a word that roughly, well, means twin flame. Yin and Yang, that sort of thing love. So as much as you hate it, Lucifer is your Aerkvo, and you his Aerkva. That is the term for it in our world, although it is rare, some of these matches are merely platonic and are partners in a non-romantic fashion" He finished, taking a sip of his drink.

I winced at the thought of anything friendship related between that brute and I, let alone romantic. All that this conversation confirms is that the person who should be the man of my dreams is really just the man of my nightmares. 

He glanced at me with curious eyes, before the veil was lifted and he assumed the look of genuine surprise. "So...they really never told you anything after all. I had assumed that when you're family told me you were bereft to any knowledge of our veiled side of reality, that all that meant was you only really knew bits and pieces. Not that you had no idea at all-" he paused his rant to glance at me, and immediately I could see the guilt seeping like poison from his eyes. 

My mother used to say my eyes were like glass, that no matter how much I tried to cover them people could still see right through them. It was at many times, much like this one, my most humiliating trait. No matter what I said to people, and now to add to that list, deities and angels and demons alike, would always see right to my truth. 

So naturally, I knew Raphael didn't believe me when I swallowed the heavy stones in my throat and grinned through the tears that squirming to fall against my cold skin, and said-

"It's okay Raphael"

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I dreamt of bliss, and I dreamt of a handsome butcher, slicing my dreams open in the heart. 

I sunk my toes onto the cool grass, warm wind gushing against my skin and sunlight beaming through my hair. Streams of flowers and plants paraded around my body, I was blooming and arching my body against the cool earth that hummed and gently pulled my soul into it's embrace. I picked berries from above, and smiled as the cool river water washed against my bare body, I was happy, but something was amiss.

How could this be? how could my heart have one empty spot?

How could it be that the earth could fill my stomach with it's juices and fruits and nuts, and cool my dry throat with it's spring waters. That the sun would dance around me all day, and at night the moon would tuck me under it's golden protection, the wolves howling around me and keeping me warm during her presence. 

How could life be all that it was meant to, but still not fill me to my brim. 

And then the thunder cracked against the sky and dark clouds covered the sun. Suddenly what was was no more, there was only him.

He grinned at me, and I surrendered to my undoing.

"DEA! please wake up!" Raphael shook me from my dream, and once more I was inducted into another nightmare.

All of the passengers were thrashing about wildly, running to the back of the passenger car we were in to the back exit. My eyes flew open and my heart shook in my chest, god no please no, I begged silently as I stood up frantically. It was dark out already, and the locomotive had halted to what looked to be the side of a mountain. 

I whipped my head to a standing Raphael, who maintained a firm posture and expression. But his mutability could not pull me from panic this time. "He's here isn't he?" I asked urgently. But he shook his head to my surprise, "No Dea, this would be his father"

And as all the passengers grunted and screamed and flailed their arms, I could see doom lurking outside the fogged windows.

Literally.

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