Angel of War

Chapter 9: Purpose

How did he get here so quickly? She looked around the attic in panic, contemplating escaping through the window. He wouldn't harm her, right? He said he wouldn't. He also hadn't mentioned that the metal in her body was intentionally for him to control her. And he'd listened to Miranda… Let her do this. The door down below opened and she heard the woman talking outside. She turned to the window to get a better look. Maybe he was leaving? She backed up, so focused on the noise outside that she didn't hear anything behind her.

"Quite the scene you've made." She whipped around, falling to the floor in shock at his voice. He was walking towards her, a bitter smirk on his face.

Metal pieces flew through the air to the wall behind her. She released a groan in surprise. She scrambled to get herself to the window. The metal he'd thrown was barring it. She pulled at the metal with her claws, growing more frantic when a hand touched her back. Her wings spread in reflex and she swung her arms behind her. She sent him backwards to the floor. 

"Dammit." He pushed himself up and lifted his hand to the metal. The pieces went from the window to her, others coming from the stairs, to bind her to the wall. One arm and leg. Then the other. And the wings. She struggled against it terribly. Before she could break the bounds, he walked closer to her, adjusting his grip on the metal.

"Stop fighting it, girl." He sighed and whispered so it wouldn't be heard outside. "You have to change back… resist it." 

She wailed. He wasn't hurting her like she feared. Just talking… 

A breath in and she shuddered as the gaping hole in her chest withdrew and the nightmarish vision of her organs was concealed.

"That's it…" 

The sun was tinting everything orange now. 

She felt her body go limp with the strain. She couldn't do it. She'd be a monster forever now. Black tears blurred her vision.

He released the metal from her, supporting her so she wouldn't fall hard.

"Come on. You have to…" He was still whispering. "You can do it…"

She must have had more normal eyelids again because she blinked tears away. He pushed her tangled hair out of the way. 

"Just breathe." She could see his eyes behind the glasses this close. He was worried. He was grasping her skin, trying to force the unnatural maw shut. "Remember what you were." She breathed in again and shuddered as her ribs started to mold back together. It was painful.

"That's it… you've got it…" He pulled her closer so she was supported in his lap. He hated feeling this desperate.

Her face started to regain its shape, but some of the gaps refused to mend. Her wings and the tendrils they were made of started to shrink. 

Footsteps from below startled her. He held her steady.

"Lord Heisenberg, I have the items you requested." It was Luiza, holding a basket of linen fabric. "Mother Miranda is addressing the villagers who saw…"

She walked towards them, eyes respectfully downward, and she set the basket in front of them. He nodded.

"Thank you." He cleared his throat from the awkwardness. "You should join the others. Tell them… tell them the monster was detained. And everything is under control. They have nothing to worry about."

She noticed the reluctance in his voice and the way he was cradling what looked like a tangled woman. She understood better than most would.

"Of course. Is there anything else I can do to help you now?"