Fallen Angel

Chapter 24.1

Margaret walked around aimlessly. The entire Vale was in a bustle, but it seemed nobody needed her help. Catherine took charge in the Scola with Luke to ensure the artistas worked on fortifying the defences or giving the weapons a little extra kick. The prospect of the nearing battles encouraged them to work together for once (and they feared Catherine's wrath more than the Devil himself).
Raphael had arrived with a weakened Archangel named Uriël a while ago. He was brought to the Hospitium while Raphael returned to the Mortal Realm, muttering something about Gabriël. Margaret had gone to see if she could help there, but Isabelle had everything well at hand. The rest of the physicians were busy making cures for the warriors and toxins to be used against demons. It seemed that even in a place that usually always needed an extra pair of hands for this or that, there was nothing for her to do. 
Not that anything she'd done would have mattered. Her mind and heart just weren't in it anymore. Why should she care about the Final Battle and demons knocking on Heaven's door when the actual struggle was going on inside her? Lately, Margaret had been remembering more of her mortal life and to say it gave her cause to think was putting it mildly. Some things were still hazy, and her head hurt when she tried to focus, but others were clear as day. And they terrified her.

Margaret halted when she noticed her feet had taken her to the Villa. The winged lions were still gone. Their absence only made Michael's absence stronger. His disappearance added more to her anxiety. What if they never found him again? She needed Michael. He alone held the answers to the clutter of her memories. And... there was that feeling, too.
She held no particular love or fondness for the Lord Protector, but Margaret had always felt a connection with him. An attraction, almost. After learning how entwined their pasts truly were, that sensation had only grown. It had prompted her to offer herself to him, even though her mind had screamed at her not to. At the time, she felt disappointed Michael had turned her away, but now... Even if it had only been that one time, just a quick sexual release, it would have been one too many. A mistake beyond repair. It would have changed everything between them. Perhaps it already had.

Margaret sighed despondently and made to leave, but she then caught sight of a figure at the top of the stairs. That was odd. Gabriël hadn't returned yet, as far as she knew, and no one else would dare enter Michael's home if he wasn't there. She hesitated a moment, but eventually, curiosity got the better of her. Taking two steps at a time, she ran up and into the Villa.
A sombre gloom and dead silence reigned within. Margaret only heard her own footsteps as she carefully ventured further. She halted when she came upon a man, about mid-twenties maybe, on the other side of the parlour, glancing over his shoulder as she entered. He had messy, copper hair, lighter than her own auburn curls, and a pale skin. His eyes were piercing green. No, not eyes — eye.
Margaret drew in her breath as he turned to face her. His face looked as if it had been cut in half. One side was beautiful and fair, while the other was horribly scarred. And the eye on the scarred half held no pupil, no iris, just ghostly white sclera. He looked like something of nightmares, something that neither Heaven nor Hell wanted to claim. 

Upon seeing Margaret's stunned expression, the stranger raised a hand and said, "Forgive me. I did not mean to scare you."

His voice was soft and pleasant to hear. Margaret exhaled and shook away her initial shock.

"You didn't," she said as amicably as she could. "I just didn't expect anyone to be here. Are you looking for the Lord Protector? He's not here. He's —"

"Missing. Yes, I know. I came to see if his replacement was here."

Margaret detected a hint of contempt in those words.

"Gabriël went to Earth a while ago," she said. "I'm not sure when he'll be back."

"Damn. You wouldn't know if he went to Adam's Peak by any chance? To see an Archangel called Uriël?"