Grounded ~Book Four of Winged~

Last Meal

"Can you hand me that screwdriver over there?" I look to where Zerach is pointing and grab the screwdriver giving it to him. Zerach is putting together one of many bedframes. He is replacing all the bedframes in the rooms since they are so ancient. The door to the building opens loudly and I turn and look immediately. I listen to the footsteps walk down the hall and I see Eli come into view before he steps down into the room. Malachai slowly steps into view, looking around rapidly. I stand up and quickly approach him, Zerach stands too ready to intercept if something happens. Malachai looks a little shaken up and when he looks at me it's like he is looking through me for a quick second before he smiles to match my smile. I wrap my arms up around his neck and he tightly wraps his arms around me. His hug gets a little too tight causing my back to pop, but I don't say anything and calming remove my arms from him and try to pry myself away. He lets go suddenly in a sharp movement and backs up. I see him clench and unclench his fists. Zerach keeps a very close eye on Malachai while Eli keeps his eyes on me.

"It's good to see you again, Malachai." I speak softly to him and his lips twitch up into a smile towards me.

"I'll show you to a room." Zerach offers and Malachi nods, still staring at me. Zerach walks toward the hall to the right, opposite to the one my room is in, and Malachi follows robotically. I watch after them until the disappear around the corner.

"He's in really bad shape, Trinity..." I turn and look at Eli, who is staring at me caringly. He approaches until he is really close and lifts his hand and slides it onto my cheek.

"How bad?" I question and stare up at him, trying to search his eyes for an answer before he says it.

"Bad bad. His... humanity is barely hanging on. It's really not safe for you to be around him." His hand moves from my cheek and places with a strand of my hair.

"We need to help him... Is there a way for us to help him?" Eli's eyes scan every inch of my face before retracting his hand as footsteps walk into the room behind us.

"No... He's too gone." I feel the pit in my stomach get bigger.

"The only way he'll get better is if we send him back to the prison he came from for... a while." I turn at Beleth's voice. "He won't be able to get his hands on any souls and he won't even be able to sense or feel any since there are none there..."

"In Barzakh...?" I whisper, but he hears easily in this silent building and nods.

"It's where he was before because of this exact same situation."

I slowly shake my head. "We can't send him back there. It's Hell there..." I realize whose in this room with me and rethink the wording. "That's purgatory..." Literally. "He doesn't deserve that."

Eli

"He doesn't deserve that." I stare at the back of Trinity's head, taking in her silky smooth long brown hair laying perfectly down her back. She's so small. I want to keep her safe.

"There's nowhere else we can put him that's devoid of human souls and can keep him alive." Beleth replies to her and her shoulders sink down a little more.

"But he can die there." She replies. Beleth tilts his head lost in thought staring at her.

"He knows how to fight. You should know that first hand. You're the one who saw him in Barzakh, saw him fight the people already there." I meet her eyes as she turns to look up at me when I talk. She looks sad and defeated and it makes my heart ache.

"How long?" I tilt my head confused a little, "How long will he have to be there?" I force a smile, thinking how to break the news.

"Just for a little while." Beleth speaks up and we both look at him. I give him a look, questioning why he is lying to her.

She can't find out right now that it will be centuries, maybe millennia, before he can come back to the mortal world. She won't let him go. Beleth explains without vocalizing it for Trinity to hear and I give a short nod, returning my eyes to her.

Trinity

We all sit around a bunch of the tables from the main room that have been pushed together to make one big grand table. We all have plates and cutlery sitting in front of us and in the middle of the table is a feast of simple foods consisting of; fish, bird meats, boar, plantains, exotic fruit, and nuts. The meats and plantains are cut and grilled while the fruit and nuts are opened and ready to eat. I look at the faces around the table; Azrael, Beleth, Belphegor, Dominic, Eli, Etheriel, Malachai, and Zerach. The only person missing is Nathan. I stare down at my plate. This is Malachai's last meal in a way and then I am going to talk to him to make sure he understands why we're sending him back there. We want him to get better. We're not abandoning him. This is not the end. We will see him again so soon. I can't let them just take him away without him knowing why.

"Trinity is the only one who n-needs to eat, w-why are we doing this?" Malachai fidgits restlessly as far away from me at the table that everyone could get him. He has no idea while the rest of us do. I wanted us all to sit down together one last time for a while.

"Trinity just wanted something normal for once." Zerach replies and Malachai nods, eyes focusing and un-focusing on me.

"Then let's eat." Azrael says from the end of the table to my right and grabs some of the bird meat along with some plantain and nuts. Everyone starts grabbing what they want to eat. Etheriel sitting next to me, offers me the plate of fish and I take a piece off the plate. I grab some of the unknown fruit and place it on my plate along with some of the sliced grilled plantains. Zerach gathered and prepared all the food at the table. We all eat and chat and for once everything feels okay and normal. After finishing eat, I help Zerach clean up everything, thinking about what I am going to say to Malachai.

"You know you don't have to say anything... He'll understand why we decided this." Zerach looks up from the wash basin in our makeshift 'kitchen'.

"I wouldn't feel okay if I didn't tell him why." I reply and he nods, staying silent. After we finish, I slowly walk to the outside of Malachai's room. I stand outside the shut door, but not for long because it opens shortly after I come to a stop and Malachai stands there. His red eyes stare down at me unblinking.

"We need to talk, Malachai..." He tilts his head and then steps back, letting me into his room. I look down the hall toward the main room before hesitantly entering the dark room, barely lit by a candle. I stay standing while Malachai sits on the bed, ready to listen.

"You shouldn't be alone with me Trinity." Malachai states, shifting while never taking his eyes off of me.

"I know. I know you're in really bad shape and that I shouldn't be here with you, but were sending you back to Barzakh for a little bit." He narrows his eyes at me.

"I don't want to go back." He says and shakes his head. "I can't go back."

"You have to. Just for a little bit. So you can reset and not hurt anyone else." He stands up sharply and I flinch.

"Just for a little bit?" His voice sounds condescending.

"Yeah, just-" Suddenly I am slammed against the wall and his hand is around my throat.

"It'll take a millenium to 'reset'" He quotes and I grip his wrist tightly, trying to pull his hand away from my throat.

"Malach-" I get cut off by tighter squeezing until I absolutely can't breathe anymore. I squeeze my eyes shut in pain and my feet leave the ground as he picks me up by my throat.

"You're sending me away for hundreds of years, thousands probably. You won't even be alive by the time I'm okay again. If you're not alive, no one is coming back to get me. I'll be there forever. I'll die there." I open my eyes and claw at his hand. I can't make noise. I can't call out for help. I kick my legs around pointlessly. I need help. While one hand claws at his, the other reaches out and tries to push him away. His eyes burn with rage and hunger. He's going to kill me. I'm human and I don't have Dominic's sigil anymore. A high ringing in my ears becomes apparent and blackness surrounds the edges of my vision. I need help. Help.