Blood on Their Wings

Chapter 4

Vinny stood in the dining-room, watching his father pace back and forth. The sound of his shoes against the wood irritated him more with each minute. Oliver gently rubbed his thumb up and down Vinny's knuckles, trying to keep him calm.

"When did this happen?" Madison asked, also sick of the sound of Duke's pacing.

"About half an hour ago. The demons have taken the other couple," Jed said sadly, though nobody knew what that might mean.

"Corey and- what's his name?" Oliver asked.

"Panuleon," Jed said, linking his fingers. He could do no more than offer what he had heard from other angels.

"When do you think they'll find us?" Duke asked.

"I'm not sure. A few days maybe," Jed said truthfully. He knew that if Corey and Panuleon were taken, there was a slim chance that he could stop Vinny and Oliver from getting taken too.

"Right, I know the secret service will soon discover the breakout of this war, and we'll have to tell them about you. Are you okay with me doing that?" Duke asked, pulling his phone out of his pockets. He was going to call for extra security.

"That's fine, do everything you have to do." Jed was beginning to feel anxious. He had been sent by the angels to protect Vinny and Oliver. An angel was sent to Panuleon and Corey too. If the angel in the other world failed, Jeduthun knew he was out of his depth.

"Who is after us?" Oliver asked the angel and wrapped arms around Vinny's waist. Vinny's warmth kept him from trembling.

"Demons," Jed murmured. There was no gentle way of saying it.

Vinny felt his soulmate tense up. They had myths of demons in the vampire world. Demons were meant to be devious with jet black eyes and a heart full of evil. "They exist?" Vinny asked.

"You can't have good without bad defining what good is not. If angels exist, so do demons. The bad has to go somewhere."

Vinny turned his head and let his nose brush along Oliver's cheek. He could feel Oliver's worry, and he didn't like it. "Don't panic; we will figure this out," he whispered.

"I hope so."

Vinny hugged him tighter. "Are we fighting?" he asked. "We would be arranging to get out of here if we weren't."

Everyone looked towards Jed who looked down at his hands. "I'm afraid so. We can't run from them; they'll find you. But we can try and fight them off."

Madison hated the idea. War was coming for her child. Not even an angel had faith that the demons could be stopped.

"We need to get battle-ready," Duke then said. "If there's nothing else we can do, then we may as well prepare ourselves." He felt sick with concern. Nobody was ready.

"Vinny, can you go and tell John what's happening? We'll arrange his blood to be given to him at midnight, so he's ready for tomorrow if it does happen that quick. I'm going to have to inform the secret service. They need to be prepared for this." Duke wasn't thrilled about convincing them that demons and angels were real.

Vinny ran a gentle hand through the back of his soulmates hair before kissing his forehead and leaving the room to inform John.

Duke left to make a phone call as Oliver, Madison, and Jed headed to the gym to practice some self-defence.

* * * * *

"I know you're nervous, Oliver, but I will try my best to stick by your side if they reach us, " Jed said. The demons had crossed into their world but on the other side of it.

"If one of the other couples is an angel and they got taken, we'll get taken too." Oliver wasn't stupid. He knew there were serious risks and the fact that Jed had given them very little information, and was doing very little to stop it, meant that there wasn't much he could do. There was hope, though. Hope that the angels would see Jeduthun and Zachariah struggling and send more angels to help.

"Stay positive Oliver," Jed said softly. "Show me that move again." Teaching him how to fight was not an angel's wish. Jed needed Zachariah here, but he knew Zachariah would be looking for Corey and Panuleon.

Vinny and Duke entered the gym as Oliver pinned Jed to the ground.

"Perfect," Jed beamed. "Madison, it's your turn."

As she walked over to Jed, Oliver walked over to his soulmate. "What did dad say?" Oliver asked.

"John's worried out of his mind. He said that he's just as confused as the rest of us about all of this. We all have so many questions but not enough knowledge to answer them."

The boys could feel each other's stress. This sudden war was coming fast like a tornado spinning out of control, destroying anything in its path. All they could do was wait it out, fight, and hope.

"If I'm honest," Oliver said, twiddling his thumbs. "I didn't think it would get to this. I didn't believe it would happen. How unrealistic is it, though? Demons from other worlds are coming to capture us because they think they can use our bond as a weapon against the angels. It's just ridiculous."

"I know, I think they're delusional," Vinny said. "I'm angry that they feel like they can do this to us."

Oliver took his hands and squeezed them tight. "We need angry Vinny; he fights better."

Vinny tried to smile. "He does," he said and kissed his soulmate. "Come on then, show me what you've got." Vinny playfully shoved him.

Oliver shoved Vinny back and wrapped a foot around his ankle at the same time. Vinny fell flat on his back with a solid thud.

Vinny raised his eyebrows when the side of his face was pushed into the floorboards. It didn't take Vinny long to pin Oliver's face to the floor. He held Oliver's arms firmly behind his back with a smug smirk.

"How did you do that?" Oliver muffled into the ground as Vinny let go and turned him around.

"You're weak."

"Shut up," Oliver grinned, and his eyes gleamed. Just for a moment, he stopped feeling sick with worry. The fear seeped back into him in only minutes. They were both scared of what was yet to come. The boys didn't know what to expect. How many Demons would there be? Were they armed? Would they hurt innocent people to get to them? What would happen if they did get captured? Would they be taken to the other world?

Those questions were circling in Oliver's head, and the night was going to be a very sleepless one, for everyone.