Fallen Angel

Chapter 32: Emily

Arcaedia crossed the room grabbing my wrist and hauling me to my feet.

"Did you go outside?" He hissed.

"No."

He let me go with a growl, turning away.

"Get your jacket, we're leaving."

"Why? I thought you liked the quaint log cabin in the dull as dishwater town. Nothing ever happens, your stupid assignment of babysitting me is going along smashingly."

His eyes darted to the broken mirror at the end of my room which I had repeatedly referred to as a jail. I wasn't allowed to leave the cabin, I had to find entertainment in what was provided which was a board game that was missing the dice and a half a pack of bent playing cards. Television, radio or internet? Nope, out because of the heavy snow fall. I'd resorted to a rather worn novel that I'd found under the bed. That was a week ago and I'd read it several times now.

The mirror was broken because I'd thrown a cup at Arcaedia and he moved out of the way, the mirror suffering my anger instead. Our time together was always heated, Arcaedia was just as hot headed as I was.

"I am saving you from a fate worse than death Emily, you should be grateful. Now get your damned coat on or you'll freeze."

Arcaedia turned away, stomping through the small log cabin. Something had him riled enough to grump at me, usually he would talk sternly to me and nothing more. Retrieving my jacket, I shrugged it on and went in search of him. Arcaedia was unusual at the best of times, the fact that he was standing in front of a closed door was more than just unusual.

"What are you doing?"

He turned around and looked at me, the pupils were dilated until he blinked and returned to normal.

"Just looking outside to ensure there's nothing out there. The wolves are howling a lot today."

"I hadn't heard them." I muttered. "So where are we going?"

"Maybe somewhere a little more modern, what do you think?"

I looked at him with disinterest.

"I think you're up to something."

"You know I'm not a fan of wolves Emily, they're unpredictable."

"No they're not." I scoffed. "You're just..."

I frowned, feeling my heart thud hard as the whispers of uncertainty slipped through my mind. We'd been here a month without a single issue. The wolves had been hanging around, I'd seen one in the back yard and Arcaedia didn't care in the slightest. Something was different now.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, we're leaving now."

"I don't want to."

Arcaedia huffed, shaking his head as he walked over.

"First you didn't want to be here, now you don't want to leave."

"That's because you abducted me and now you're making me leave and I know that something is up, now tell me what's going on."

"Don't be ridiculous Emily."

"Fine, I'll walk outside and see what you're so concerned about."

In an instant I found myself wrapped in bonds, Arcaedia smiling as he walked over to me.

"No, you won't be. Now be a good girl and shut up. We can go so many places and if you're a good girl, it will be somewhere great."

Instead of flying up into the sky, we disappeared into the darkness. The cold that was the snowy land was replaced with a milder cold. We appeared in an apartment that sat high over a city, its lights twinkled in the early evening sky.

My bonds were gone as soon as my feet touched the tile floor. The apartment was cold and clinical, sterile lines of an artfully decorated place. Modern and lacking in the warmth of a home. Wrapping my arms around myself, I wandered to the window and looked down at the city below. Where I was, I didn't know but I knew one thing, whatever I'd left behind was something worthwhile.

"We were running, weren't we?" I said softly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, are you hungry yet?"

"Answer me!" I screamed.

Arcaedia looked at me plainly, setting the food onto the kitchen bench.

"Fine. I detected a demon so rather than having to kill him I chose an option that I know you'd prefer. Because you'd rather I not kill them, right Emily? You'd prefer to keep them alive and oblivious rather than have them happen upon us and their life ended, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." I said sadly, returning to the view.

Just a demon, not a deity. How sad. It was to be expected, Brannon was probably told to avoid me now, I wasn't worth the trouble. It broke my heart to think that he didn't want to look for me, that he was okay with letting me and our love go.

I honestly thought that he loved me. Pressing my head to the glass, I closed my eyes and let the tears flow. I missed him so much and it was killing me to think that he'd be getting on with his life, moving into a new life that didn't include me. Brannon deserved to be happy but I couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't. That my departure was causing him far too much grief, not allowing him to move on.

"Here, read the notes. I'm going to bed, don't think that you can leave without me knowing."

Arcaedia wandered off into one of the bedrooms after dumping a file onto the coffee table. I looked at it knowing that I wasn't going to like the contents. Sitting on the lounge, I put the file onto my lap and opened it. All it was, was the notes taken from my debriefing.

The event was rather dull, I'd been taken to one of the rooms and made to sit on the seat under the light bulb. Arcaedia stayed in the room, his heavy paw on my shoulder as a reminder that I wasn't to move. I was congratulated for a fine assignment that was conducted with near on perfection. It was suggested that it was only a matter of time before hell would fall and once that happened, I would be made a deus angel as a reward. I didn't want it. I told them where to stick their rewards and as soon as the words escaped my mouth the grip on my shoulder tightened and I blacked out, waking in the frost bitten nightmare.

With a heavy sigh I tossed the folder back onto the table, as it whacked onto the glass a photo at the bottom of the file fell out slightly. I pulled it out and looked at it, wishing I hadn't bothered. It was a photo of Brannon and Chloe, I knew it was her rather than her sister because of the school bag hanging on her shoulder. She'd managed to find a satchel bag with her name scrawled in big letters across it, it sparkled and was rather gaudy, suiting her rather well.

But the bag and it's ugliness wasn't the issue, no that was the fact that they were kissing. He'd moved on and rather quickly too. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I tucked the photo into my pocket, pretending I hadn't found it. Wishing I hadn't.