The Beauty is in the Flaw

Chapter 7

The police cruiser was racing down the highway towards Red Ridge, its occupants unsure what to do next. Jeep was still glancing in bewilderment at the winding scrollwork that had begun to appear on his skin moments before. Mere seconds after Charlie had cried out in bewilderment at the darkening script, a fireball had lit up the night sky behind them. What had happened was obvious; the Paradise Falls Gas'n'Grub was no more. They were distracted instantly by a loud thud from the roof

Audrey only barely kept herself from screaming as a metallic wing dipped into view from her side window. They all held their breath, waiting for the attack they were sure was coming. But as the moments passed, Audrey began to wonder. Bracing herself inside the car, she rolled down the window, half-pulling herself from out of the car.

Clinging to the light-bar, Tessa sat on the roof, her wings now pulled close to her body. Tears were streaming down her face, mingling with the blood seeping from a cut on her hairline as escaped strands of hair whipped around her. Her eyes were devoid of any emotion, terrifying Audrey almost as much as the thought of the angel that was sure to be coming after them. The pieces slowly fell together and Audrey could feel her own tears threatening to fall. The writing on Jeep's skin exactly like Michael's tattoos; the diner exploding; now here was Tessa was clinging to the roof, looking like her entire world had ended. They had all seen the exchange when Michael told them to run, so Audrey had some idea what was between the two of them. The teenager couldn't even begin to understand the grief and anguish that covered the angel's face.

Tessa was trying to pull herself together. She still had a job to do; the last thing that Michael had asked of her and God-knew she was going to see it through, even if it killed her too. But she couldn't shake the image of Michael's shocked face, or of the spike jutting from his back, soaked and dripping with his blood. Only hours ago he had been so very alive. His body had been warm and solid under her touch, his heart beating beneath her cheek, his arms holding her close. Now he was gone, just like that, in the blink of an eye. Stolen by a cruel, flashing streak of angel-forged steel. He was never going to hold her again, or look at her with his stunning gaze. He had been her dearest friend for centuries, listening to her pour out her heart when the memories became too tough to bear, never complaining at the unpredictability of her moods or the hostility of her often-sarcastic remarks. He had always been there to guide her out of her own personal darkness.

Tessa looked over to see Audrey hanging out the window of the cruiser, her expression one of mixed comprehension and misery. She knew. Michael was dead. Tessa tried to give her a reassuring smile, the corner of her mouth only managing to twitch. She had to keep it together. It was her job to protect them now. She gestured for the teenager to get back in the car, her voice still refusing to work.

Audrey hesitated before complying, slowly lowering her body back into the car. Charlie was turned around, watching her carefully, concern written all over her features. Jeep looked over his shoulder every few moments, trying to watch the road but just as concerned as Charlie about Audrey. It took a moment before the teen herself was able to form the words she needed to say.

"It's Tessa. Michael's—Michael's gone." She nearly choked on the last word. He had effectively saved their lives, giving his own in the process. Hell, they had all blamed him or accused him of something at one point, admittedly rather deservingly. He had left Kyle to die and even shot her mother, and yet Audrey was so shaken that all resentment had fled.

Charlie silently began to cry, looking down at her tiny son, a million different thoughts all running through her head. Without Michael, the tiny bundle in her arms would never have survived, none of them would've. She would've been pulled out of the diner by the Possessed, Audrey would've died in that van, and that was only if they had survived the first wave in the first place. He had warned them, after all, and had provided the weapons that kept the Possessed at bay. The fact that they were still alive was all thanks to him. They had all been marked for death before he'd arrived, and yet the four of them were still here, even though others had been lost along the way.