Finding Heathcliff

Thirty-Eight

Azrael walked away from the curtain separating him from the girl the moment he was certain that the demon had fallen asleep-- even though he could not read the black fog filling his mind, he could perceive it blink out of existence when he slept, like any other person's thoughts.

She was safe; he wouldn't disturb her tonight.

Azrael could finally go to talk to the LandEnders, he needed to advise them on how to deal with Arcturus' guards in his absence-- the men mustn't feel like prisoners, not after Ramiel's killing one of them, that would only make the situation worse... Although it had been pure self-defence, the demon regent would not see it as such. To him, it would be an act of breaking the treaty, the reason to declare a new war the moment he found out. Azrael sighed; everything seemed to be getting more and more complicated since he had met the girl.

He nearly reached the main cave when he realised that the LandEnders would have to wait. He just couldn't walk away from her knowing that she was alone beyond that curtain, inside his room, the pull he felt towards her was too strong. It had been a very long couple of nights when the demon had never left her alone. Azrael couldn't simply leave now, not after he had heard her call him in her sleep...

Sighing again, he turned on his heel and rushed back towards her room, entered noiselessly without moving the curtain, and let his bow and quiver slip on top of his cloak on the floor. Then, he crossed the room towards the bed where she was sleeping huddled to one side as if purposely leaving space for him.

He laid down next to her without waking her up, feeling his heart melt when she moved close towards him immediately out of habit, her fists closing around the sleeves of his shirt, her head finding its favourite spot on his chest, her cheek on his heart, as she breathed him in, whispering his name again.

The demon was right about love. Love was an awful weakness, Azrael mused as he pressed his lips to her temple, then held her as the hours passed, and he listened carefully to every noise reaching them from outside, ready to get away should anyone approach the room. But there was no movement in the corridor, no sound apart from the distant whisper of the stream they would follow on their way to Oblivis in the morning.

His eyes were starting to close against his will-- it was too easy to relax next to her, and he hadn't slept properly in so long-- when someone's thoughts reached his mind from outside, urgent, questioning, looking for him.

Camael? Azrael thought back, recognising the newcomer. He removed Astrid's hands from his shirt gently, adjusted her covers, then rushed towards the entrance, picking his things off the floor without stopping. Walking out through the curtain, he came face to face with Camael and... Evangeline.

"Eva?" he asked incredulously. She was the last person he was expecting to see here.

"Long time no see, Azrael," she said, smiling, as if she had forgiven him.

"I thought you returned home as you wanted," he muttered, searching her aquamarine eyes for her reasons to be there unsuccessfully. Evangeline had never allowed him to read her thoughts.

"As we wanted," she corrected, raising a questioning eyebrow. "I thought I'd wait for you... but now I hear that you changed your mind, that there's... someone in your life, and that's why you avoid me and hide on the Black Nights instead of..."

"And I've heard that you moved on, Eva. I told you not to wait," he said, his voice rising slightly. Whatever had been between them, it was in the past, and she knew it. He had never promised her anything.

"Let's talk in your room, Azrael, before you two wake everyone up," Camael said, bringing Azrael's attention to several lines of thoughts stirring around them in the semi-darkness. It must be nearly morning; people were beginning to wake up.

"No," he said quickly even as Camael reached for the curtain behind him. "Let us go back, I need to talk to the LandEnders before we leave. It's late."

Exchanging a confused look, the two fallen angels followed Azrael back towards the main room.

Astrid saw Azrael smile at her as she and Rigel, who carried her bag, reached the main cave where the rest of their group was already gathered, in the midst of a small crowd, an hour later. Izar and his men, who seemed to be treated like guests rather than prisoners, came to say goodbye, and so did many of the LandEnders. The people's respect for the fallen angels made Astrid's heart flutter, or was it Azrael's intense look she could still feel on herself as she approached the people...?

Orion rushed towards her from the crowd, and she laced her arm through his and leaned into him gratefully, feeling as tired as if she hadn't slept at all.

Her heart gave a disappointed leap when Azrael did not look at her nor offered her his hand like the day before when she tripped as Orion led her towards him, Ramiel, and the two newcomers who she could finally see when the small crowd parted for her and Orion. They were definitely fallen angels, judging by their dark cloaks and blond hair. They must have arrived at night.

The man was as ethereal and good-looking as any of them, Astrid decided, strength and magic emanating from his tall body. Astrid shivered as he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips courteously when Ramiel introduced them, missing his name. She really wasn't feeling well... She watched the man leave immediately, Azrael's doves perched on his shoulder, even as Azrael's voice reached her ears and made her turn towards him, the slight movement sending her head spinning again, making her lean closer into Orion.

"Are you all right, Lady?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," she said, looking at the tall, slim woman standing at his side. She was gorgeous, Astrid thought dejectedly as Azrael introduced her as Evangeline. They looked stunning together, and judging by the way they moved around one another, anticipating each other's smallest gesture, knew each other very well...

"Are you sure you feel well enough to continue on our journey, Lady?" Azrael insisted, and when Astrid finally looked up at him, his eyebrows were pulled together with concern.

She nodded, watching the crowd around them vanish, taking Izar and his men with them, leaving only the three fallen angels, Astrid, Orion, and Rigel in the middle of the cave.

Azrael observed her shortly until the woman's hand came to rest on his shoulder, distracting him.

"Let's go then," Evangeline said, her eyes flickering between Orion and Astrid, then between Astrid and Azrael, and before the woman moved to lead the small group towards the exit, followed by Azrael, Astrid was sure that Evangeline didn't like her.

The two angels led the group through the caves, then down a rocky path which replaced the staircase in this part of the pit, below the Land End's cave, illuminated faintly by torches burning at irregular intervals along the walls.

Astrid and Orion followed them at a distance, which made it impossible to overhear their half-whispered conversation that soon ceased entirely, Rigel and Ramiel walking close behind them.

Astrid's head never stopped spinning, and the path winding in tighter circles around the rock walls, the deeper they went, made her feel nauseous. She forced herself to focus on the distant sound of water to distract herself from the bright, moving spots appearing on the dark rock under her feet when she started to feel short of breath, it was as if she was climbing up the hill instead of descending.

But she never complained, ignoring Azrael's occasional furtive, confused looks, and they walked silently for hours until Rigel, noticing her stumbling with exhaustion, called to Azrael.

"May we stop and have something to eat? We're tired."