Red Bones

Knives

Key Eight: Knives:

Lavi knocked on the bathroom door again. "Ami? Please come out and talk to me. Please? Ami?" The angel put his ear to the door. His stomach dropped when he heard low groans.

"Ami?" Lavi asked.

"It hurts!" she cried. The angel jumped to his feet and opened the bathroom door. Ami lay huddled on the floor clutching her stomach. She had tears of pain running down her cheeks.

"It's hurting me," she whimpered. "Ow! Why is it... ow!" Lavi ran straight into the bathroom. He knelt down in front of her.

"Ami? Ami?" he asked. Lavi ran out of the room and grabbed her phone. The ambulance came by and took Ami to the hospital. Bookman accompanied Lavi en route.

"It has started," he said. Lavi turned his head.

"Are you saying...?" he asked.

"Yes," his mentor said. "That girl doesn't have long. If this child doesn't kid her, it will rob her of her sanity." Lavi trembled as Bookman spoke.

"You can't mean that," he said. "It can't be that bad. Can it?" Bookman didn't speak. Lavi drew his mouth closed.

"Oh..." he muttered. It had started to rain outside.

They are already starting to whisper in hell.

A new king will arise. A new king will arise! A new king will arise!

There are still some trapped in hell. They want to dance upon the choking living world. But what is keeping them at bay?

They aren't strong enough to break out.

They wish that they could be. Just because the Woman in Red is free doesn't mean that Hell is. Even worse, Hell is overcrowding. The guards don't know what to do. They are just as stressed as Purgatory itself.

Something has to give.

Lavi and Bookman sat in the hallway. The younger angel bit on his thumb.

"Oh..." he mumbled.

"The girl will be okay for now," Bookman said. Lavi turned his head.

"For now?" he asked. "What does that mean?" Bookman took a drag of his cigarette.

"They have not found this child yet," he said. "It's not developed enough at this point. But that girl must be having the visions by now."

"Visions?" Lavi asked.

"That child will start to draw the darkness towards it," Bookman said.

"Will the Woman in Red find them?" the younger angel asked. His mentor turned his head.

"Who told you this?" he asked.

"Is it true?"

"Lavi, who told you this?"

"Stacy. Is it true?"

"You're still in contact with that demon?"

"Tell me the truth! Will the Woman in Red find them? I have to know the truth. Please tell me."

Bookman sighed. "Yes."

All over the color drained from Lavi's face. "No..."

"Why are you still associating with that demon woman?"

"She found me."

"You needn't talk to her anymore. You know she is trouble."

"I know that." Lavi sighed and buried his hands in head. Something told him that this was only going to get worse.

Heaven is starting to hear the rumors too. First, off they were shocked to hear that an angel turned up in the living world. Some had to guess who it was. The head officials called up the remaining angels in Heaven to do a headcount. The ones still alive were accounted for. The officials looked through who was still missing. What if an angel thought dead was still alive in the living world? It could be possible. There were so many bodies that had to sort through. There were still more in morgues.

Komui rubbed his forehead in his office.

"What's the matter, brother?" Lenalee asked. Her brother lowered his hand.

"There might be a nephilim about to be born," he said. Lenalee twisted up her face with a confused look.

"What?" she asked. Komui shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "It's probably all just a rumor." Funny, he didn't sound too convinced of that himself. He couldn't stop the talking forming around Heaven. The angels were right to be scared and worried.

"What happens when a nephilim is born?" Miranda asked.

"I don't know," Komui said. "I have never heard of such a thing happening." There are no records of a nephilim even being born. Angels have always been kept separate from the living world because of past hungers for flesh. Things got worse when the Woman in Red was freed. Japan became proof.

They could be seeing more of the same disaster reaching Heaven.

A nurse stepped out into the hallway. Lavi and Bookman looked up.

"How is she?" Lavi asked, jumping to his feet. The nurse gave him a little smile.

"She's stable for now," she said. "We're going to keep her here for overnight observation." Lavi dropped his shoulders and breathed out.

"Thank goodness," he said. "And the baby?"

"Baby's fine," the nurse said. "We will keep watch over him along with his mother." The angel blinked.

"Wait... him?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "You're having a son." Lavi stood there in shock. Bookman narrowed his eyes at the nurse. He has snuck in charms under his cloak before he and his student left for the hospital.

"Let me know if there's anything else you need," the nurse said.

"Can we see her now?" Lavi asked.

"She's asleep right now," she said. "But you can go ahead and see her."

"Thank you so much," the angel said. He bowed quickly.

"Excuse me," the nurse said. Bookman watched her walk down the hall. Lavi turned to him.

"A son," he said. "Did you hear that? I'm going to have a son."

"No!" Bookman barked. "You have no son! You cannot think of this child as your own!" Lavi stared at him with a big eye.

"But..." he said.

"No!" Bookman shouted. "It's too dangerous to get attached. Do you understand?" His student lowered his head.

"I understand," he muttered.

"Good," the older angel said. He would still need to keep an eye on his student. Something told him that he wasn't going to be strong enough to resist this little baby boy on his own. Bookman kept the charms under his cloak. If need be, he was ready interfere when need be.

Meanwhile, Ami slept in her room. The child has settled down in her womb. A shadowy figure in the shape of a nurse stood over her bed with glowing red eyes. Its mouth opened wide, revealing a black fanged smile.