Collecting the Sword of Amara (Completed)

Chapter 23- Matthew

I gritted my teeth together and glared. I was getting sick and tired of hearing the same thing that Anne would tell us what she was hiding, but she was scared. Hell, I was scared, but I told her... some stuff. "What is she hiding?" I asked, my voice cold. "We deserve to know."

"You deserve to stay alive and be taken care of," Anne said, coming into the room. Her eyes were half closed, and I could see that she was in pain. She signaled for Mercer to stop moving and took a seat at one of the couches that were in here. Relief filled her face, and I could see the pain still etched on her face.

Lilly left my arms and ran over to the older female. Her back shook as Anne soothed her and clutched her as if a mother was clutching their child. "I-I-" Her voice cracked, and all I wanted to do was take Lilly, again, in my arms and hold her like I was her rock.

"Shhhh, I know," Anne soothed. She ran a hand through her hair and waited until Lilly stopped crying before looking at me. Anne was tired, and I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for the way that I was thinking of her. "I can not tell you what I had been through the time that I had been on Earth because most of the stuff that I did would get you killed in the end if you knew."

I frowned and blinked. "Then how are you still alive? Did you make a deal with Lucifer?"

"I fought him once," she replied, "as well as my father." She shrugged her shoulder. "I almost won but barely, and he tried to get me to make a deal with them. I refused and walked away." She glanced at the Demons, pain in her eyes. They had this some sort of communication, and I didn't like that either. "Long story short, Lucifer said that he would help me after I made it out alive somewhere."

"Was it dangerous?" Lilly asked.

She nodded. "Let's just say that you three would've had to face what I had to if I hadn't stopped it, and it isn't the event." She looked at me. "I do not think that you all would have survived." She paused and sighed. "I barely did."

***

I moved a hand through my hair and sighed, leaning against the porch fence. I was tired, but I couldn't sleep. After Anne came in and told us that we wouldn't have survived what she had been through, all I could think about was what she had to go through. I felt her next to me but didn't acknowledge her presence.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, leaning next to me. She moved a hand through her hair when I glanced at her.

I nodded but stayed silent.

"You are still angry." She looked at me head on, her eyes telling me not to lie to her.

I clenched my jaw but didn't say a word. I clenched my hands together, creating fists. All I wanted to do was punch her for her putting Lilly in danger.

"She wasn't in danger," she said. She looked at the sky, and when I looked at her, I could tell that she had this far away look in her eyes. Her whole body was tense, and I could tell that she was in pain, even if she tried to deny it. "I have met most of them during the thing that I had been in and in the event," she said, finally. She shook her head and chuckled darkly. "Lucifer had no idea what was going on, but he knew about the event. He couldn't stop it."

"Will you ever tell us?" I asked. My voice was hard, and I pursed my lips. I had no idea what she was trying to do, but I knew that she wasn't looking for pity.

She sighed and shook her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Damion will be the leader of the group if I die. You will be the one that will know what I had been through in detail." She looked at me. "You are strong and can't be swayed. Whatever you hear about me when I am gone isn't true. What is true is the writings that I have done."

"How much did you put in writing?"

She looked away and sighed. Anne looked at her hands, and I looked at them to see them shaking. "All of it. All that I had done." She cleared her throat and stood before clapping me on the shoulder. "Get some rest. You are going to need it. We leave in the early light." And with that, she walked away.

I watched as she walked down the street and disappeared in the dark. I was curious as to what she was doing, but I didn't try to find out. I knew that she said that she was going to protect us, but what if we had to be protected from her? What would we do then?