Black Wings

Chapter 18

I was running like my life was on the line. It's probably because it was. They were coming for me, and I was terrified. I ran, splashing through a puddle. They had cornered me in an abandoned amusement park, which made it all the more terrifying. I yelp and ran faster as the teacups, worn and chipped, sprang to life. It was her that I was the most afraid of, the one with the power to do this. I skid to a stop at an old carousel. Mirrors were shattered and cloudy, horse were broken and their paint was peeling, but at least it wasn't moving. Until it was. The lights flickered on and the music started playing.

"Well, well, well. What do we have have here?"

I flinched at the sound of her voice. She smiled cruelly at me.

"Oh, don't frightened him. Look at him, he's terrified." Her partner said, but I knew she did actually mean it.

"So, are you going to come quietly or am I going to have to cut you up a little first?" She said with pure glee in her voice at the idea.

Even her partner seemed stunned by her words. I raised my hands in surrender, tears of fear staining my face. Then I was knocked by a sharp blow to the head. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair in a dark storage warehouse. They didn't seem to notice I had woken up since they were talking amongst themselves witn their backs to me.

"Rina, you need to reign it in a little. You've been acting off since we started after this demon."

"Yeah, I know."

I took me a moment to fully grasp the situation. I was bleeding from a cut above my temple. There was a devil's trap in orange spray paint around the chair I was tied to. I moved my wrist, pulling against the rope. She turned towards the faint sound, causing her partner to turn as well.

"Look who's awake." She said, streching her wings.

"I-It really is you!"

"It's me? You know about me?" The angel questioned, confusion and concern evident on her face.

"Everyone knows about you."

"Why? Tell me about the war too."

I whimpered as she put a blade under my chin, forcing me to look up at her. She looked pissed that I didn't answer immediately. The angel sighed and stabbed her blade through my left hand. I screamed in pain and her human partner gasped.

"Th-the war, it's between the loyalists and the Winged Army."

"Demons don't have wings." The human said.

I shook my head.

"It's named after you." I said, looking at the angel. "It's what your followers call themselves. The loyalists want to keep Lilith in charge and the Winged Army wants you in charge."

"Why would I have an army in hell? I'm an angel."

"Because of your parents."

"My parents? You know who my parents are?"

"Everyone in Hell does. You're the child of our creator and the first born, Lilith."

"So, I'm....half demon? Wait, who's your creator? Not even we...not even the angels know who first created you."

"We don't know either, our creator doesn't want the angels to know because he's one of them. Even Lilith was sworn to secrecy."

"Wait, Lilith, like Adam's first wife?" The human asked.

"Yes, she was created from the same earth as Adam. However, she refused to bow to him so she was cast from Eden. Then Eve was created. The same one that that turned Lilith into a demon was the one that tricked Adam and Eve."

"And are you not surprised that the demon creator was an angel?"

"No. There were only three humans, God, animals, and angels, we can take a pretty good guess. And that does explain the angel with black wings thing."

She turned to me and held the blade against my throat again.

"What else do you know?"

"Nothing! I'm a newer demon, they don't tell me stuff."

She plunged the blade into my shoulder. The human gasped and turned away, shaking. The angel moved to her, leaving the blade in my shoulder.

"Go outside, I'll finish up here and meet you in a minute."

The human nodded and ran outside, slamming the door behind her. Rina, that's what the human called her I believe, stared after her for a minute before turning to me. I flinched as her hand moved towards the blade still in my shoulder. But she moved more gently now, pulling the blade out without trying to hurt me.

"Which side are you on?" She ask curiously, but it was a heavily weighted question and there was something dangerous in her voice.

"Yours. Lilith, she's cruel and destructive. And she's expecially mean to those who became demons for good reasons like me. I did it to save my brother, and I've never hurt a human before. I was a religious person before I died and I know you've got at least some good in you since you're an angel."

"What's your name?" She asked, the danger in her voice gone.

"Jeremiah."

She crouched down at the edge of the devil's trap amd scratched a thin line through the paint, just enough to break the seal.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a job for you, you'll be my voice for now."

"Huh?"

"You're going to go back to Hell and leave your vessel. I'll make it look like I killed you and you slip back to Hell. And tell them, tell everyone that you can, tell them 'The true queen has risen, and she's coming for her throne.'"

I stared in shock but nodded, leaving my vessel behind. The throne room of Hell was the same as the last time. A woman with brown hair sat on a throne of human bones and jewels. I shivered at the sight of it. The woman on the throne didn't match it with her elegant dress and fancy jewelry. That was Lilith, the mother of the true queen.

"You, little demon, why have you interrupted my council?" She questioned, glaring at me.

"I have brought a message from the queen."

"I am the queen, you fool!"

"My message is from the true queen. She's risen, and she's coming for her throne."

"Leave now!"

My friends, ones that died alongside me, pulled me away. They were also supporters of the Winged Army. We all agreed it would be best to take this to the Army leaders.

"So you actually met her!?"

"Yeah, and she's even more awesome in person. But that human, Rachel I think, was with her. We have to make sure the leaders know that she's off limits."

"Right, it would be very bad if the queen's best friend was killed because we were stupid."

"Yeah, she's a little scary when angry. They chased me through an old stinky amusement park. I was kicked in the head, stabbed through the hand and shoulder. But I saw her wings and they were beautiful! They're huge and just as pure black as they say."

"Don't start crushing on the queen, stupid. One, she's the queen. Two, she was raised as an angel, I imagine it will be hard to get use to demons. Three, we're nobodies compared to her. And last but not at all least, the archangel. There's no way he wouldn't do something. You heard what he did to those loyalists after he found out they were the ones that hurt the queen. After that convention where they tried to kill the prophet to keep information secret."

"Shut up!"