Wingless Bones: The Life of Sauriel, Former Angel

Depression

Sauriel yelled as she struck down another demon. Former sibling, she reminded herself as she slashed through more with her sword. She formed her energy into a small, serrated dagger for her other hand; with it, she blocked a strike from yet another demon. She turned during a relative lull to see Asa felling another demon.

    "Where's Marcin," she shouted, panic gripping her tone.

    "I saw him dragged off," Asa replied. "We need to cut through this hoard before he's taken beyond our lines." The assertion fired Sauriel's soul, and she compressed her energy such that a single swing blew through the rest of the regiment. Asa gave a withering gaze, "don't burn through all of your strength." He flew on shaking wings to her, using his own energy to heal a crack in her shell.

    "Hypocrite," she said, looking at the cracks across his own shell. "We must fight on, I will not let them twist Marcin into falling." As soon as Asa removed his hand, she was off in the direction he previously indicated. Across the fields of heaven, Sauriel blinded scores of demons as she scanned for Marcin. She searched for several minutes before she saw him sprawled on the ground. Ignoring Asa's warning, she dove to his side. She reached out to grab him only for her hand to go through him, a demonic illusion.

    "They must've already taken him," Asa choked out. Sauriel had sat there among the chaos clutching air as his words registered.

    "No," she whispered.

    "Sauriel, we must go," Asa shouted, grabbing her shoulder. She turned to yell at him but watched in horror as a demon ran a sword through his chest. Electric blue life force splattered across her face from the wound.

    "NO!" She screamed as Asa's body dropped to her side. She stood and took off the demon's head with a single stroke, but it wasn't enough. The hoard was closing in around her. She fought over Asa's bleeding form, felling demon after demon, but her energy was almost spent. She almost gave up. She would've if a blinding light hadn't landed next to her and sliced through the rest of the hoard with two powerful strokes. Her eyes adjusted to the light and registered Gabriel, clad in shining armor and holding a golden scepter. She looked about the field and saw leagues of approaching demonic garrisons.

"Retreat!" She commanded. Sauriel headed Gabriel's command, secured Asa's body in her arms, and flew back to the stronghold as fast as she could, leaving a cyan tail across the sky.

***

    Sauriel awoke once more on her couch, but unlike other days, she awoke to the sound of heavenly music. Unlike the day before, she wasn't confused by her surroundings, and she prepared herself before she sat up and acknowledged Abiah sitting in the corner of her room.

    Though she could see the condensed true form that originally greeted her in the cemetery complete with her harp on one of the planes adjacent to Earth, Abiah had chosen her clay shell to show on the mortal one. Her hairstyle was much the same, but her hair was a cool black. Her shell was warm, dark, freckled, and clothed in a long-sleeved shirt under an overall dress.

    "I sensed demonic energy around your home, and I wanted to make sure you were safe."

    "Don't worry, it was just Marcin," she said, stretching her arms over her head.

    "Is he well?"

    "About as well as can be expected. He has kids, ya know?"

    "For demons, they seem perfectly lovely."

    "You've spoken with them?"

    "Of course I haven't, that would be an aberration, convening with demons is against the rules of heaven and forbidden for angels," she snapped.