Phoenix

Chapter Twelve

The storeroom floor was incredibly uncomfortable, the bones in my body practically aching as the gunmen all snatched money out of the registers, yelling at one another to hurry up. I had no doubt that the police were on their way...but I was more worried about the time in between then. I didn't want anyone here to get hurt, and when I turned my head, my heart ached when I saw a woman holding her little daughter tightly, eyes wet with tears.

Theoretically...I could stop this. I mean, I was a fucking archangel. I could burn each an every one of them to a crisp if I really wanted to...but...I didn't know what exposing the other world would do. Literally every mythological being in this world went by the same code of never allowing humans to learn about what was truly lurking around. But what could humans do, really? Experiment on me? I would break free immediately, or just teleport to a safe place.

But they could hurt people I cared about in order to get information. Tara...and Jack. If I exposed myself now, with the cameras lining the interior of the store, I would be plastered on every major news network out there, Tara and Jack would be in danger.

I jolted when I felt someone grab my hair and yank me up, my scalp burning from the rough grab as I was whipped around, my gaze meeting that of one of the other gunmen.

"You," they spoke, their voice gravely and deep, "surely this place keeps more money elsewhere, right? Show me where the rest of it is, and maybe I'll let you live."

I really, really wanted to snort right in his face with his ridiculous threat, and while I was technically immortal, getting shot still would knock me out of commission for a couple of hours, and there was no telling what would happen to anyone if that happened...so being a good boy, I kept my snarkiness within and instead, acted like the scared "human" I was, holding my hands in front of me.

"I-It's in the back office." I stammered, keeping my gaze lowered in submissiveness. "W-where the boss works. But she's not in today..."

I winced and grunted when the bastard hit me in the side of the head with their gun, causing a nasty headache to form as a small drop of blood dripped from my temple. Tara went to protest, her eyes wide in fear, but one look from the other guy had her keeping her mouth shut, her gaze worriedly on me. "I don't give a fuck if your boss is in today or not, just show me where the fuck it is!"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, and instead, nodded my head, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the back office. "It's that way..." I grunted when they harshly grabbed my hair and shoved me in that direction, their gun pressed painfully against my back.

"Lead the fucking way then, princess."

Since they weren't looking at me, I indulged myself with the eyeroll, wondering what the hell this guy's deal was. And despite all the shit I had been through, surprisingly enough, this was my first time being caught in the middle of a robbery, and I briefly wondered why someone would put so much fear in so many people, for a simple piece of paper. Because that's what money was; just paper created from fallen trees.

I never understood why money was so detrimental to some people, but then again, I wasn't human. I didn't think the same way they did.

I nearly tripped a couple of times thanks to the rough treatment this douche was giving me, and once we made it to the room, I tried the handle, only to realize it was locked. Son of a bitch, are you fucking serious right now, my mind screamed, the masked individual shoving me harder against the door. Yeah, as if my body would magically unlock it to let you in, jackass.

"It's locked. And...I don't have a key." I grunted when they shoved me to the floor angrily, their eyes snapping fire as they lifted their gun and shot at the lock, causing me to cover my ears as the sound of the gunshot made my head ring painfully.

They then kicked the door in, and when it opened, they grabbed my upper arm and dragged me inside, my eyes falling on the familiar desk and file cabinets that littered the room. Taking a breath, I pointed to the right of the desk, where a large, metal safe sat, housing all the money we didn't keep in the cash registers. "I don't know the code," I muttered, keeping an eye on the individual next to me, "the only one who knows it is my boss and the manager...but neither of them are here..."

Gosh I was getting over being shoved by this dick. I couldn't even finish my sentence before the bastard was angrily shoving me against a wall, getting uncomfortably close to my face as their gun was shoved against my temple. "Then I guess I have no more use for you," they sneered, before they tilted their head, pressing even more uncomfortably close to my body, "then again, you are a pretty little thing, and I wouldn't mind having a taste of some Greek ass."

Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me. Seriously? What is up with these human douchebags thinking rape was a good idea? Like hell I would let this nasty bastard anywhere near me.

He grabbed me by the throat and threw me towards the desk, giving me the perfect momentum to grab the stapler settled by the keyboard, and once I had that thing in my hand, I sprung back and smashed it against their face, causing them to stumble back while their gun went off, the bullet hitting somewhere to the left of me.

Once they were dazed, I lifted my leg and went to kick them back. But they were fast, and they grabbed my leg, catching me off balance as I fell back onto the desk. Now, I was an agile person, and so I flipped around and ducked under the desk, sliding under it before I swiped at their feet, knocking them prone on the ground before I climbed on them and gave them one punch, then another one and another one, until they fell unconscious.

Ok...I didn't have to use magic. I just needed to get these bastards separated and dealt with for when the cops finally arrived.

With that in mind and the masked individual knocked unconscious below me, I looked around for something to tie them up in case they regained consciousness, and when my gaze fell onto the chords that were connected to the computer. Alright, those would have to do.

Once I had them tied up, I picked up the gun and wondered if I should melt it...or keep it for defense. I mean, I was horrible when it came to handling guns, and I only had a bad track record with them in the past. I may or may not have had quite a few of them literally backfire on me. Yeah, that was sure as hell painful, and quite the horrible experience...so with that thought in mind, I pursed my lips and sent a flow of magic to my palm, melting the gun unto liquid before I went to leave the room.

Surely this guy's friends would have heard the gunshot, though, if I were lucky enough, they would probably think their friend just killed me once they got what they wanted. Not to mention, I pretty much knew the store like the back of my hand, so with a deep breath, I made my way out of the room, keeping an eye on the aisles as I maneuvered through the back part of the store, keeping my eyes out for any of the masked gunmen.

About thirty seconds into my little mission, I saw something black dart across my peripherals, and when I turned my head, my eyes recognized the stench of death wafting off of the individual who ducked into an aisle, their form wrapped in black shroud.

That was a fucking reaper...and if a reaper was here...

Ice then dripped down my spine when the sound of a gunshot went off, a loud scream echoing throughout the store before everything went quiet.

A/N: Ooooohhh SNAP! Shits getting reallllllll