Circles and Wings

Chapter 15

*Raph*

The demons were gone. She'd sent them away with whatever magic she possessed. And now she was laying on the ground. Unconscious and hurt badly. I could see her wings were fine, in all their white feathered glory, though her face was badly bruised. I could tell she had been hit, many times, hard.

She had a few cuts, one on her arm, one on her neck, and one on her leg. She wasn't healing like an angel should have. She was bleeding, her blood was dark. It was a dark pooling red, not like the silver blood of the Heaven blessed. Perhaps it was because of a mortal parent somewhere in her lineage. It wasn't important though. She needed help now.

I couldn't believe I had let myself be knocked down like that. I wasn't expecting any demons to actually try and take her. How had she held out so long? How had she summoned the infernal flames to banish the demons. Maybe it was part of her deal with a prince. Probably Wrath.

I moved towards her, gently taking her hand in mine. Her skin was near flawless except for an ornate number 6 on the back of her left hand. Odd, I could have sworn it was a 7 yesterday. Oh well. Maybe I was mistaken.

"Stop right there, Angel." Rory's voice cut through the tree's and made my gaze shoot to his. The golden haired demon stood there, arms crossed, staring at me with those beady black eyes. And next to him stood, Jasper? Why was he hanging around Jasper? "What did you do to her?" He growled.

"I'm sure he didn't do anything." Jasper said. He stared at her for a long while and I realized he'd never really seen her. She always hid her wings around him. "What happened Raph?" He asked on shaking tone.

I took her head gently in my lap and brushed the blazing orange hair from her face. She didn't shift or respond. She only laid there, breathing, dreaming. "It was Greed and Envy." I said softly, my gaze found Jasper again. "Envy showed up at her door, she led him out here—"

"Because Greed called her." Rory cut in.

"Called her?" I repeated. "I didn't hear anything..." I looked at her again. "How is she involved with so many demons?"

Rory and Jasper shared a look that was concerning, but not as important as getting Scarlett to safety. "It's not important." Rory said waving it off. He reached out his hands and took a step forward. "Here, give her to me. I'll heal her and put her to bed. Make sure she's safe."

I pulled her closer to me and I felt a long line of scarring run down her spine. "No!" Rory stopped dead in his tracks. "I'm not trusting her to a demon when demons did this."

"Did she fight back?" Jasper asked. I lifted her off the ground, holding her top in place with one hand. It was sliced clean down the back and I could see one long red line going down her spine. It only took one look at it to know it was bad. Rory looked at it too, his eyes widening for only a moment of fear. It was gone in a flash.

Rory rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Of course she fought back. We wouldn't leave her without defensive skills." He took another step forward and I pulled her back further. "I'm not going to hurt my best friend." He said softly. He knelt before me and reached out a finger, swiping up a drop of her blood and placing it on his tongue. He hissed and spat it out. "Poison."

"What kind?" Jasper asked crouching next to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. I noted the contact. How was he so familiar with a demon. Jasper wasn't close to many. They preferred to stay alone. It took nearly a century for me to get under their skin enough to stick. They don't like physical contact, normally. I'm allowed to touch them, but the only other person is God. And that's because it's God.

They're a different type of angel from me. I was born, I'm an archangel, but they were made by selfless death. They died in pursuit of goodness, and that goodness was so good they were made an angel. I was made to greet them on the first day.

So I noted the easy contact with Rory and had to wonder what happened. Rory met Jaspers gaze and leaned in to whisper something. Jasper gasped and rocked back on his heels. A secret, not important as long as we could help her.

So I asked, "Can you get the antidote?"

He nodded, "It will take a little time. Her body should fight the poison for sometime, but it won't burn it off. It's meant to incapacitate her for days to take her home." He looked to Jasper, "I'll need help getting it." Jasper only nodded and stood. He looked to me and I nodded before sliding an arm under her knees. "Take her back to her room and guard her, please." Rory said lowly before stepping forward and brushing hair from Scarletts face. "I'll be back soon. Hold on Scar." When he stepped back towards Jasper I pulled her closer to my chest. I had her wings, her beautiful white feathered wings, draped over my arm like a blanket.

I said nothing as I turned and began to walk away.