Grim Echoes

Chapter 23 - Ander

Ander understood he should let her leave. They had no room in their life to watch over anyone else, at least not full time, but he worried for her safety. They had warded her and given her the neck pouch to hide her for at least seven more days from demons. He knew Will would keep in contact with other Soldiers of Night to keep watch and protect her.

However, the farther she got away, the more he struggled to breathe. She wanted to leave, was repulsed by him, but he could not let her go. When she turned her back to them, Ander's chest tightened. A wave of nausea made his stomach bunch, and his vision clouded with darkness. He jogged across the parking lot.

"Wait, I have a question." he wanted to touch her but kept his hands at his sides.

She turned around to face him with raised eyebrows.

"What did you mean in the library, when you said you were sorry? Why did you say that?" Not what he intended to say, but were the first words that formed on his lips.

"I... I just meant," she blinked rapidly as her eyes moistened. "I'm sorry about all the pain you've experienced. The loss of so many people," she paused, "the possession, so many bodies..." her eyes clouded over.

Ander stood rooted to the spot as his heart raced. She knew he had been possessed. Did she know the acts he committed while the sorcerer controlled his body? Fear knotted inside him, shame choked him.

"Ander, let's move it!" Will called but sounded a hundred miles away.

Roughly, Ander grabbed Maeve's arm and pulled her toward him. She stumbled with wide eyes. He heard Will again, louder and more urgent, but could not perceive what he said. Out of his peripheral, the unmistakable brilliant light almost blinded him.

Distracted, Ander had no time to react before he was hit and flew back through the air. He disliked angels. There was no warning when they arrived and they preferred blinding humans with the bright light that accompanied them.

"Human filth, I am here to collect on a debt Wyatt owed," the booming melodic voice singsonged loudly.

Ander held his hands over his ears. His head pounded with pain. The volume deafened him to the point it was impossible to have coherent thought. A tool used by angels to gain the upper hand upon arrival on earth. However, Ander understood that. They could only project their voice at one person at a time, unless they were an archangel, which meant Will was likely already behind the angel.

"What is this?" the soothing voice asked.

The pain ceased. Ander blinked and glanced at the angel. Why had it stopped using its ability? Had Will already attacked?

The angel was consistent with the others he had seen. Around seven feet tall with an athletic build, long flowing hair and gentle face that instantly gained your trust. This one had two sets of large white wings. Ander had once witnessed one with three sets. To this day, he was curious how all three sets worked anatomically. Its eyes were the strange, unusually bright white eyes. There might have been a color to the irises, but when viewing angels, it was never perceived. Only the strange light. It was the source of brightness used when manifesting on earth, to blind or awe simple humans.

As always, she or he, difficult to tell most of the time, was covered in dozens of piercings. So many piercings on a typical angel one almost did not realize they were scantly clad. After a human recovered from the initial blindness of their arrival, the light reflected off of the many piercings distracted any who gazed upon them. If someone dared to look at their face, they would be enslaved by their unearthly beauty. He averted his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" it said and stared at Maeve.

Ander took the opportunity to stand. It blinked its glowing eyes and stepped toward her. Maeve stumbled back and held out her shaking hand in front of her. Ander pulled his sidearm. The angel spun before he could raise it and swatted him to the ground.

"No!" Maeve yelled. The sound reverberated from her and crashed past him.

Knocked down on its knees, the angel almost fell over. Ander's eyes bulged. The angel was winded. Never in his life had he witnessed anything that winded an angel. Maeve stared at her hand before she moved her eyes to Ander. The blood drained out of her face as she fell to the ground. He caught her just before her head hit the pavement.

From behind, Ander heard the splat and sizzle of demon blood as it exploded on the angel. Gun shots rang out and then a distinct thunk. And then another and another. He turned around with Maeve in his arms, not shocked to see Will on the last blow to separate the head from the angel.

He gazed at Maeve. What was she? She had injured that angel or did something to impair it. Will was an excellent soldier and had destroyed an angel before, but with a whole unit and traps.

Will smiled at Ander. His straight white teeth shone. For a second, his eyes shifted almost golden. Ander stumbled and almost dropped Maeve. His heart pounded in his chest as a sheen of sweat broke out on his skin. He shook his head. His mind played tricks on him again. He took a deep breath, reminded himself of what was real. Could not have a break with reality right now.

"Will, the vehicle," Ander said roughly and turned to the SUV.

Will flashed another smile and ran to the SUV. Moments later Ander loaded Maeve in the back seat while Will opened the back. He and Ander lifted the body of the angel into the back, more difficult than Ander anticipated. A seven foot tall creature with dense muscle mass was extremely heavy. Will struggled less due to his larger frame and upper body strength. Ander was not weak, but his strength was distributed throughout his body. He looked like an athlete and Will looked like a body builder. The back was almost full. How would they fit two decapitated bodies? Quite a bit of work lay ahead for Ander.

Ander got in the front seat and put his feet around the head on the floorboard. Will left the parking lot quickly and tossed Ander his phone.

"Text the other Soldiers of Night, tell them to abort and we'll report later,"

Ander nodded and sent the text. Assuagement spread through his limbs. She would remain with them for a bit longer.

Once they had traveled a few miles, Will used his new vehicle modification and changed the license plate. To any who examined the license plate it looked completely normal, but it was actually one of four that were switched out frequently. When the driver pressed a button, it simply dropped down and rotated to a new plate before moving back in place. The SUV was non decrepit on purpose and the color was often remembered as "dark". The less memorable they and their vehicle were, the simpler life was.

"Oh man, Mason is going to lose her shit when we show up! An angel! I mean yeah she's gonna be pissed for the having to deal with getting rid of the body but a fucking angel!! I took out an angel!" Will's smile still plastered to his face.

Ander nodded and gave Will a small smile in return, but his mind moved in many directions. The scientific part of him considered the possibilities if he did an autopsy. Were angels truly different from humans on the inside? If he could preform an autopsy, he could gain so much information. What were their weaknesses? How did their wings work with multiple sets? Or what was the reason their eyes could discharge light at will?

He glanced in the back seat. Maeve was still unconscious. She would have to stay with them for an undetermined amount of time. Still jarred by what she had said to him directly before the angel manifested, however, viewing her sleeping form he admitted to himself he did not want her to leave. How had she hurt the angel? Or at least knocked the wind out of it?

Yes, Will had destroyed the angel, but what repercussions would that have? The angels and demons already detested them because of Wyatt. Their own interactions with both sets of creatures over the years had been for the most part bloody as well. They did not actively hunt angels the way they did demons, but there were many times where angels came into conflict with them or their objectives. Ander looked out of the window. Regardless, the events of today would have repercussions for them. He hoped they were prepared for them.