The Unknown // Colby Brock

~~ Chapter Twenty-Three ~~

          A loud bang rang out through the entire house. I couldn't really tell where it was coming from, but something told me it was bad news. My feet moved on their own when I rushed out of my room to the hallway, meeting Xepher in the middle. She grabbed my hand and we ran together, neither of us really sure what was happening until we reached the balcony. A swarm of angels were fighting with Mike and what appeared to be only Reggie and Kevin.

"What's happening?!" Cassie asked as she flashed into the room.

She instantly gasped, turning to Xepher, who manifested three daggers, passing one to both of us.

"Where's everyone else?"

"On their way," Jake announced, appearing on the stairs. We all moved down into the throne room and got to fighting instantly. I threw a few angels into the arms of others while ripping through the rest. There were way too many for this attack on us to be caused by just the rogues unless they'd massively grown over the space of a week.

Just as I was about to stab another, someone came in front of me and did it for me. I wasn't surprised to see Colby kicking the very same angel across the room. Didn't mean I wasn't annoyed.

"That was my kill," I grumbled, shifting the dagger in my hand.

"Well, I took it." He gave me a smug look before turning to fight another angel. I did the same, keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't steal any more of my wins.

We were about halfway through the huge crowd when the door opened to reveal Sam and Katrina. She instantly flared her hands blue, freezing every angel in the room. I stepped back from the one I was halfway through punching and turned to them in confusion.

"These angels have been misled," Sam said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "We want to take them out of your hands and correct them."

"If these angels start a war, we're going to finish it. We don't need heaven to intervene," Mike growled out slowly, pulling the dagger from the angel he had only just finished stabbing.

Sam looked at him then slowly towards me. His eyes travelled around the room behind me. I saw the shock and worry on his face too late as someone suddenly grabbed me.

Something cold and sharp and very, very painful sliced into my stomach. Just like that. The angel standing in front of me looked murderous, carelessly watching me as I gasped. I just barely took a step back before I started to feel lightheaded. What I hadn't realised was that I couldn't hear anything and I could barely see anything either.

All I knew was that I stumbled, and then my head hit the floor and everything went black.

Jake's POV
The last thing I saw before my heart stopped was Sam opening his mouth to yell something. But then everyone turned at the sound of Arianna gasping.

Most of us got there in time to see the angel stab her and watch her coldly as she stumbled backwards. She was awake, but her eyes were distant. She was panicking at the very least, dying at the worst.

"Ari!" Colby exclaimed, pushing passed me to get to her. Just before he could, the angel moved to meet him halfway. He spread his wings intimidatingly and motioned the dagger towards him as a threat.

But Colby wasn't having it. He practically growled as his hands curled into fists.

"Oh, look. The devil is coming out of his hole," the angel teased.

I wasn't sure what he meant until I saw every part of Colby's eyes glowing bright red and his hands fading into fire. Colby had buried the devil deep down the day Katrina had gone missing - not because he thought he'd scared her, but because he decided he was going to be evil without the whole scary aspect; without the terrifying eyes and almost limitless power.

When Colby took a step forward, it wasn't Colby anymore; it was purely the devil. And he was angry. He took another step; this time the two things he'd hidden from almost everyone including those in the group, flashed out. His wings. His fallen angel wings, because at the end of the day, that's what he was. He was still an angel rejected by God and sent down to hell to rule it. But he never liked to admit it.

I knew in that moment that Colby was done with bullshit. Ari getting stabbed had pushed him over the limit and he was angrier than he had ever been.

He used his wings to propel himself forward into the angel, slamming him against the wall, where he held him effortlessly by the throat. "I hope you know that if she dies, you have one hell of a torturous eternity to live through," he said slowly with all the angry calm he needed.

The angel visibly frowned and started struggling against Colby's hand, but there was no chance he would escape the angry devil.

"You've made the biggest mistake of your useless life." He slammed him against the wall again then threw him down into the ground. "Get him in the prison and cut off his wings. I don't have time to do it myself."

Colby walked to Ari and it was like his entire demeanour changed. His wings flicked into his back, his eyes turned blue once more, and he became gentle. He carefully scooped her up before disappearing with a flash. I looked to Aryia, who nodded and flashed out of the room, too.

"Sam, get your 'misled' angels out of here before we slaughter every single one of them and hang their wings as trophies," I spat in Sam's face, glaring down at him like my life depended on it.

He wasn't afraid of us, but he nodded anyway and took a step back while Katrina waved her little magical hands, causing the angels to all disappear apart from the one Kevin and Corey had their hands on. He was going to be tortured for eternity whether Ari survived or not. I would make sure of that even if Colby didn't, which was unlikely.

By the time Sam and Katrina had gone, my heart was pounding in my chest - and I didn't even have a heart. I wanted to know if Arianna was okay. I needed to know. But before I could even come close to going upstairs, Aryia appeared with us once more. He glanced around slightly confused then casually cleared his throat.

"Um, she's alive, but she's really fuzzy," he said quietly.

"Can I see her?" Xepher asked with her hands clasped and a begging look in her eyes.

Aryia just slowly shook his head, shifting the dagger awkwardly in his hand.

"Why?"

"She's in Colby's room."

"I'm allowed in there," I stated with a frown.

Aryia just gave me a look. Oh. Colby had specifically asked that they be left alone. I wanted to be angry about that and flash into the room anyway to make a point, but I just couldn't. I knew that, when it came to Ari and Colby, alone time was just about the best thing for them. All it would take was a little bit of alone time and their previous relationship would be completely rekindled. Colby would have his girl and then, whenever they were ready, she'd become the queen. Of hell. Of us. Of him.

Just had to wait it out...