Of Angels and Demons

Chapter 9 to Of Angels and Demons

Author's Note: Hey Everyone, I'm back with another exciting chapter. hehehe ... Ok, so this chapter is developing the angels and demons but its important so don't skip!!!! Please!!!! Its not a very long chapter so endure please, :)

Warnings: implied nudity

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“I’m at a loss of what to do.” The usual blinding intensity of the sun, unobstructed by the cover of the clouds, barely rivaled the range of a nightlight. Gabriel’s eyes turned slowly from its murky sight to peer at the young girl seemingly miniaturized in the enormous bed centering the room. “Hannah, we’ve lost Ezekiel. He’s blinded by his unending hatred toward the demons and I can’t safely say that I can trust him with any of ours or the humans well being.”

“He’s trying to seek an end, Gabriel. Though it’s at a completely different route you’d ever fammoth to take, it’s still a path he sees to terminate the conflict.” Hannah softly breathed; her voice barely above a soft whisper. “We all aren’t you Gabriel; it’s not easy for us to see that hopeful end you constantly drive us to. Your words are ever a spiritual bathe for our souls, but the death, the devastation we’re faced with each day, every second of the minutes on the hours; it wears a weaker man down.”

“I understand this, but you’ve never lost the faith,” he argued gently as he brushed across the dimly lit room to pause at her bedside. “You stand against every shadow that has descended upon us Hannah; you’ve never lost face or sight of what we’re trying to do.”

“Never,” she smiled while shaking her head, “but it’s only because you are always there, standing right before my eyes, an embodiment of strength and promised hope. You drive us beyond breaking points, Gabriel. Ezekiel has never seen you as I do, there’s always been a rivalry between you two, on his part.”

“I can’t help that.”

“I’m not saying to try,” she shook her head while turning her eyes up to the crystal ceiling, staring at the designs crafted delicately into its surfaces. “A'Sirus will become a problem though, Ezekiel is right about wanting to get her out of the way. Her power, its unfamothable Gabriel … if you were less than what you are, I can’t begin to think what she’s truly capable of.”

“I know,” Gabriel sighed as he settled beside her, his hand stroking slowly along her forehead. “But please don’t trouble yourself over this Hannah. I need you to get well, it won’t do you good to be worry about this right now.”

“I wouldn’t be able to push it from my mind if I wanted to now,” she sighed while closing her eyes. “Gabriel, be careful, whatever you do.”

Turning his hand against her hair, the soft tresses slipping between his fingers as he stared at her face settled in peace, Gabriel lifted a soft smile to his lips as he bent forward, his lips pressing gently to her cheek before rising from the bed. The snowy lightweight tunic hugging his torso flared out around his thighs as he moved swiftly across the room, his grace rivaling that of a lazy cloud in the sky. A deep breath brushed through his chest as his crystalline blue eyes shifted toward the redhead waiting outside the entranceway.

“Daniel.” He greeted as he brushed into the hallway, the younger man falling into step beside him.

“I heard about Hannah, I’m sorry Gabriel,” the redhead exhaled as his emerald eyes closed, “I know you think of her as a sister.”

“She’s recovering,” he nodded while extending his hand, his fingers closing around the file settled into his grasp. “She’s likely the most stubborn among us; she has time before her visit to our Lord.” His gaze drifted to the file as he flipped it open, carefully studying the contents. “So what exactly have you discovered?”

“A'Sirus is consuming souls in order to build a sort of containing; a shell is what I’ve been hearing it called throughout Earth. But several days ago, I heard it referred to as something else and it could open up an entire new problem for us.” Daniel explained to pause as Gabriel stopped in his tracks. He lifted his chin a small degree higher as blue eyes turned toward him. “A'Sirus is calling it a vessel.”

“Vessel,” Gabriel repeated, his eyes lowering to the floor.

Peering at Gabriel as his thin brows knotted together in calculative thought, Daniel swallowed his heavy breath as he felt his throat tighten. “The crimes breaking out across Earth are her doing … she’s got lower class demons spreading their influence into the human populace, the increase in sin is unfamothable … and once they reach a retched point of existence, she collects their souls. I believe it’s what she’s using to form this vessel of hers.”

A vessel created through human souls … what could she be planning?

“What do you want us to do Gabriel?”

“Do?” Gabriel snapped his eyes up to Daniel, “nothing … we’ve no idea what she’s planning or to what point this is going. I can’t send anyone out there without more to go on, not on A'Sirus turf. She’d tear us all apart. No, I can’t do anything until I’m sure what needs to be done.”

Daniel stared disbelievingly but refrained from speaking what his mind was screaming. Exhaling a long breath while bowing his head, Daniel turned halfway from the elder angel.

“As you wish Gabriel, but just a bit of advice … don’t wait too long til we take an action against her. We don’t want it to be too late. I’ll keep a close eye on their movements and-”

“No I need you up here with me.”

“What?” Daniel blinked, puzzled.

Smiling softly as he brushed up to set his hand on the confused redhead’s shoulder, Gabriel chuckled softly, “Daniel I need someone trustworthy to help me hold the line. With Hannah out of sorts, I need someone I know I can trust with my life, it’s you. Please stand with me til we’re able to regroup?”

Scowling while closing his eyes, his breath easing slowly through his chest as he hung his shoulders in defeat, he lifted slightly amused emeralds. “Alright then … I suppose you do need someone to straighten things out up here, you’ve been kinda lazy lately huh?”

“Just distracted.” Gabriel grinned while turning to brush through the hall.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Brushing slowly through the abysmal darkness, ground and sky lost in the unending length of shadow, Ophithus hoisted his eyes to stare at the crimson lights flashing occasionally overhead, highlighting the corporeal tresses of what had been human once. A grin lifted to his lips as he turned his gaze back to the path before him, his hand tightening on the leather binding of the book braced to his side. Chills crept down his spine as a shrilling screech drifted through the darkness, his hand rising to rub at the prickly skin when the shadows suddenly split before him.

Darkness continued to stretch out before him like a massive cavern, the exception being the pillars of lavender flame twisting iridescently before his eyes, brightening enough of the area for him to see A'Sirus’ slender form silhouetted before a humanly figured creature.

“I trust you’ve found something?” Her voice coolly inquired as the figure sprawled across her arm twitched.

“I did,” he nodded to walk further into the chamber. “Though it’s not going to make you happy.”

Flexing her hand to watch flames incinerate the body draped against her, A'Sirus turned her gaze dangerously toward Ophithus. “Why would you come to inform me of something I’ll likely dislike rather than continue searching so when you come to me the visit will be as painless for you as possible?”

“Cause I know how patient you are,” he grinned while opening the book. “What I’ve discovered is incredible because the possibility of it being true is impossible … the boy you met, the brunette with the demonic blue eyes as you put it, he doesn’t exist within the folds of this book.”

“Doesn’t exist,” A'Sirus snarled, “don’t be presumptuous, I saw the boy with my own eyes, I watched what he did to Titus’ shell before he was interrupted. He is very much alive because it was beyond dream and nightmare!”

“I’m not saying he’s not alive!” Ophithus sighed as he worked his hand up through his hair. “This book is a detailed recording of all knowledge within this world. All that is past, that is present, and all that could be the future. It holds it all … yet this boy’s identity, his existence is a blank page. I have no record of a mortal brunette with demonic blue eyes.”

“Blank …” A'Sirus puzzled as she shifted through the darkness. “How could this be possible?”

“I don’t know,” Ophithus smiled, his eyes shining amusedly. “It’s completely unfamothable that there could be absolutely nothing about this boy within these bindings … and yet, no matter which way I twist it, how I phrase the inquiries, I can find nothing.”

“Like he’s shrouded in darkness.” She frowned.

“Shrouded. Do you think someone’s ensuring that this boy stays blind to the worlds’ eyes?”

“What would cause someone to go through such troubles for a single mortal … what dark secrets could they be trying to hide?” A'Sirus grinned deviously. What is he capable of to make him be erased from the pages of history?

“What’re you going to do A'Sirus?” Ophithus curiously pressed as he closed the book. “Is this going to upset your plans-”

“No, I just wanted to know who he was,” she sighed as she brushed past Ophithus, “so long as I never run into him again, it’ll be fine. Now, I must ask you to leave, I’ve other matters to deal with.”

Lowering his eyes with a knowing grin lifting through his lips, Ophithus slowly turned toward the way he’d come in. “Always a pleasure Lady Siren.”

A long breath eased through her small chest, failing to cool the burning of her lungs when the column of iridescent flame glimmered past her, eerily illuminating the infuriation plastered into her face. Easing her eyes closed as she felt Ophithus’ presence disappear into the darkness, she lifted her hand lazily to tug against the cloth wrapped around her chest. It licked slowly down her torso to flutter lazily within her trembling grasp as she turned to walk further into the dark chamber.

“A'Sirus.”

Slipping her fingers through the lace hugging her hips, releasing the last bit of restricting cloth from her figure, she slowly turned her eyes to watch Salarius emerge from the shadows, a slight grin on her thin lips. Watching the Legion bow to her knee, her hand rising to rest against the cavity holding her heart, A'Sirus turned to step from within the pile of clothes, her hand loosening against the shirt clutched in her grasp.

“What do you have Salarius?”

“I’ve found it; I know exactly where it is hidden.”

Settling her foot slowly onto an onyx stone to pause, a deep breath lifting her chest as her long hair stirred against her bare back, A'Sirus slowly turned her gaze to Salarius. “And will it be as it says? Will it bring about the Angels destruction?”

Bowing her head slowly, a simple nod before A'Sirus turned back to the darkness misting the stairwell she was perched, Salarius grinned wickedly. A'Sirus’ mind churned slowly as she reformulated and devised new plans, her own malevolent smirk rising to her face.

“Titus must go with you. And take some of the Second Class Legions, its time they prove their worth.” She ordered while descending the stairwell, not waiting for Salarius’ reply.

Her gaze was fixed to the path before her, dead eyes staring blankly into the darkness til the stairs disappeared from beneath her feet. She remained suspended for only a moment til gravity caught up with her, pulling her into more darkness where illuminated beads of water began to flutter all around her, wetting her dry skin as they struck her figure. She suddenly stopped falling, though the droplets continued to breeze past her, rising to some unknown destination. With a heavy breath she closed her eyes, leaning her head back to invite the chill radiating from the moisture of the water.

It seems your plan wasn’t as foolproof as you originally thought.

Knotting her brows as she let her arms lift along her sides, A'Sirus shivered as she felt the heat of fire and chill of ice wash across her in the same instant.

I had an unexpected encounter. Nothing to worry about, I’ve found the means to break the angels for good. Everything’s continuing to fall into place, despite the small detour.

This detour?

A mortal that shouldn’t be mortal. I was simply caught off guard.

Did you end its existence so to prevent a repeat?

Not worth my time, I’ve bigger things to avert my attention to. It won’t be much longer, the vessel will be complete and we’ll crush them once and for all.

I’ve no doubt.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Standing atop a forty story building gazing out over the now slumbering city, his long snowy hair billowing before a darkly enraged face, dark eyes narrowing in frustration and indecisive thought, Ezekiel ground his teeth together while snapping his head down. Working his fingers into fists that began to tremble while his chest began to heave in increasing fury, Ezekiel’s eyes burned darkly with hatred as he opened them to stare at the street directly beneath him.

“It shall not continue … if I must betray everything we stand for, I’ll not let it continue.”

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Author's Note: See wasn't so bad *cough cough* I have to develop the villains and their mortal enemies, so chapters such as these are necessary. So sorry to any that had to drag themselves through the chapter. I promise to make it up to you in the next chapter. *evil diabodical laughter* Thanks to everyone and special thanks to ajj7sunhawk you're the best, :). Please review and come back, only going to get hotter *cough cough, oh man, slipped* better in coming chapters. XD. Til next time