Collecting the Sword of Amara (Completed)

Chapter 26- Anne Marie

"How the fuck did you get that?" Damion asked as I walked into the commons area. He eyed the scythe warily, and I couldn't help but wonder as to how much he remembered.

"An old bargain that had gone wrong," I replied. I looked at Zoë to see her scowling at me and raised an eyebrow. I knew that she thought I had killed someone to get it which wasn't... that far from the truth. "He knows," I said. "Have you got them up to date?"

Zoë nodded her head and pursed her lips. She glanced at the scythe, and I can see that her hand was twitching because she wanted to order one of the Hunters to try and kill me. She knew that I could be dangerous with it and could attack them. Unlike her and the Hunters, I didn't have to follow "orders," except for staying in my designated place. That was one of the joys of being a Fallen.

"I don't like it," Matthew said. He narrowed his eyes at me and glared, his whole body tensing. Fear and anger filled his eyes, and I could tell that he was scared of what would happen to Lilly. "It's suicide."

I shrugged. "You don't have a choice," I replied. I did not tell him that that the only person that might not make it was going to be me. I had drilled Zoë and basically told them that they had to get my group out no matter what. "If we don't stop the higher Demon from rising, then the world, as we know it, is destroyed."

"Well, is that a bad thing?" Matthew asked.

"Considering that Fallens and all Angels would be destroyed, then yes. Yes, it is."

"I say we go for it," Damion said, leaning against his seat. He placed his boots onto the table, ignoring Zoë's clearing of the throat because he placed his feet on her papers. He stared at the scythe, and I could tell that he didn't like that it was in my possession. "I mean, it'd be better to go out with a big boom than nothing at all."

"It might stop my father from trying to get to me," Lilly agreed, softly. She licked her lips and looked down, rubbing her hands together. She glanced up at me, and I could see the determination in her eyes. "I mean, he has to be working for this... Demon."

"And, that isn't your father," Matthew stressed, glaring at Lilly which caused her to shrink back in her seat. "And how can you be so stupid and agree to this? You could get killed," he snapped, slamming his fist on the table.

Lilly flinched and took a deep breath. She glared at Matthew, her eyes shining with tears. "Anne Marie would not let that happen," she said, her voice leveled and hard. "Don't you see? She will die first before we ever die. She will protect us, even if it means leaving and going by herself. All of us," she gestured towards Damion, Matthew, herself, and I, "control the elements. Not just her."

Matthew frowned but huffed, flinging his hands in the air. He knew that he wouldn't win, and he knew that it'd be the best thing to just agree and get on with it. "Fine. When do we leave?" he asked, grumbling.

I glanced at Mercer to see him nod his head. I knew that the Fallens in the area would be watching and waiting for me to arrive. That was where I had wandered off before I was visited by a Hunter. "Now," I said. "We are going to have to leave now." I watched as they followed out and started to follow when I was stopped by the Hunter who had started to cause me to become a Shell.

He furrowed his brows as he looked at my wrist to see no more black veins. He knew that it meant that I was not going to turn into a Shell, and that was a miracle in itself. "It's gone," he said, looking at them and then at me. Curiosity shone in his eyes, and I did not like it that he might try to look up my past. "H-"

"There are things that even you do not know about," I replied, coldly. "If you want to stay alive then don't dig." I pulled myself out of his grasp and left following the group. I knew that he would try to get answers about why my veins weren't black, but I prayed to God that he wouldn't.

It seemed to me that the spell only worked on me, and I didn't want to test my theories on anyone else. I knew that it could cause harmful effects if something did go wrong.

***

The way to Playa Del Rey was harder than I would've liked. The roads were backed up as people tried to flee the area. There had been signs of bad weather around, and some of it had almost broken the SUV that I was driving.

"Fuck it," I grounded out, pulling to the side of the road when someone cut in my lane to go through the traffic going the other way. "We will never get there like this." I opened the door of the SUV to have it plowed down by someone that was in a hurry. "You have got to be kidding me!" I seethed, my eyes flashing. "Lilly, do you think that you can make the rain to not fall hard?" I asked, getting out of the SUV. I moved some air around me to create an umbrella shield around my head before getting out of the car and going to the back where the weapons were at.

"What's going on?" Zoë asked, coming at me. She looked at the sky and scowled, and I knew that she hated that it was raining, also. "Why are we stopped?"

"We can't get through this stuff," I said. "I think we are going to have to change some plans." I grabbed the duffel bag in the back and opened it up.

Zoë scowled and folded her arms across her chest. "What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I mean that a third of the group needs to go one way, a third of the group needs to go another, and then the other third need to direct traffic. If the Superiors are here, then they aren't doing a pretty good job to direct traffic."

Zoë huffed but nodded, probably getting what I mean. "Where do you want me to attack?" she asked.

"East." I glanced at Mercer when he joined me. "Contact them. Tell them that Anne says that it is time to pay their debt. Have them attack North and South. You attack West."

Mercer frowned, worry flickering in his eyes. He knew better than to contradict what I said, so he just nodded his head before walking away. His whole body was tense, and I knew that he was thinking that this was the end of me.

I puffed out my cheeks and looked at the bulging guy that had almost taken my life. "You and the rest direct traffic. If Demons try to prey on the weak, then warn them that Anne Marie will get Lucifer to have their asses for a long time. If that doesn't stop them, then just kill them."

"And why would Lucifer let you work with them?" he asked. His hand twitched, and I could see the urge that he wanted to just reach for his scythe and kill me. He thought I was dangerous, and that wasn't far from the truth. I was dangerous, but I was dangerous for different reasons.

I grabbed some of the weapons out of the duffel and handed some of them to Zoë. "Let's just say that making a deal with the Devil can go both ways." With that, I walked over to where Lilly, Matthew, Gabriel, and Damion were waiting. My heart was heavy because I knew that this was going to be goodbye, no matter how much I hoped that it wasn't. "You four are with me. You four will have to create a distraction to get me close enough."

"And if we don't?" Damion asked. Worry flickered in his eyes as he looked at me. He knew that this might be the end because I would never have someone try to create a distraction to get me somewhere.

"Then I die faster than I would like, and the world goes with me."