Into the Wild Dark

CHAPTER 28 - JACK

Ch. 28: Jack's Wake-Up Call

September 8 | Night

I gaped in awe as Sunny hurtled to the bed.

He had incandesced and sprouted wings. His exemplary body had reached a higher octave of perfection. Distant memories of mythologies churned to the surface. In a stunning outpouring of ecstasy, he had scaled Olympus and stolen the lightning bolt. Prometheus, returned to earth now, he wilted.

Mal screamed his name. An explosion of gold dust, smoke, and blood-red filaments of energy discharged from her fingertips. The angel's wings suddenly went up in heatless flames, but by her expression, I realized she had been trying to stop it.

Her lapse of guardedness revealed about her what the orgasm had revealed about Sunny. Her smooth complexion surrendered to the glint of gold. Her eyes came alight with brimstone. Her hair flailed around her in the static of her shadowy countenance. The soullessness of her eyes chilled me to the bone. It was angel versus demon.

In a blink, both parties returned to normal. Mal hit the floor on her knees beside Sunny, yanked up his chin, and stared feral-eyed. "Why didn't you stop?" she shouted.

He shook his head, speechless.

"Gauging by your reactions, what just went down was next level bad." I wiped my mouth and tried to digest what I had witnessed.

"I lost my wings. All my powers are gone." Shock marred Sunny's features. Mal pounded his shoulder, and he stared vacantly, then crumbled in her arms like a child. His pain sickened my heart.

Mal nuzzled him to her chest in a nurturing embrace. "He's been demoted to human," she whispered.

"I can't protect you like this!" Sunny cried.

"Shh, it's alright. We'll figure this out–just–shh." She rocked him.

I stepped into the bathroom for a damp towel and returned to make them comfortable. I didn't know what to say. I had been under the impression Sunny couldn't have sex for job-related reasons. The epiphany jolted me. His job was Guardian Angel. We had fallen in love, and that love had cost him his halo.

I watched Mal wipe up, and I came to terms with also having fallen for one of humanity's worst nightmares. "So, you're a demon," I posed the question as a statement.

"A djinn." Her burning eyes flicked to mine.

I nodded, trying to make sense of that. "So, not quite evil."

"Not quite." Her eyes flicked away.

Sunny decompensated further. "Oh my gosh, what am I going to do? I can't go back to Headquarters. I can't accept my reassignment."

"Reassignment?" Mal stiffened.

He sat apart from her and reigned in his emotions. "I let you believe that I hadn't chosen what I did, and I'm sorry. When Wallace came last night, it was to tell me it was time for me to go. By that point, we had discovered a way out for you guys, and I had changed my mind. But how can we go up against Darcy without my angelic capabilities?"

"That's why you were always goading me with speeches on forgiveness and gratitude," I snapped my fingers. "It was in your nature as an angel. Tell me about Heaven."

Mal scoffed. "Heaven and Hell don't exist the way humans interpret," she said as she refocused on our companion. "Sunny, we can still take down Darcy without a fight. I wish you would've told me about your situation sooner, but let's make the best of new circumstances. You're stuck here instead of in limbo at Headquarters. So we press forward with the plan. Find the map and go to the council to limit our physical involvement with the vampire."