Ethereal - Part Two

Chapter 39 - Nephilim

I was on fire. My body was on fire, my mind was on fire. I was on fire. My head hit the wall behind me with a thundering thump, rolling forward to rest my chin against my chest and my fingers gripped the restraints I was bound with.

After supper, they dragged me back here; to the cell I was previously in and chained me to the wall. This time both arms were stretched out away from me, and I was standing on the tips of my toes.

I didn’t even see the first fist coming my way. I hadn’t expected them to beat me to death. I thought they would just tie me up and leave, but clearly, they had other plans.

The demon guards that had taken me from my cell earlier both took their turns with beating and whipping me, while the greater demons stood back and watched. Lilith was there too, looking bored out of her mind. As well as the slave girl. When my eyes were still fine, I had noticed her wiping away the dampness under her eyes.

Now I couldn’t see shit. My left eye was completely swollen shut from being punched too many times and my right was on the verge of failing me too. I could not hear properly either. The one guard whipped me with something on my ear and it’s been ringing persistently ever since.

For someone so single-minded on using my blood to create new demons, Lucifer surely didn’t care about the amount of blood I was so quickly loosing. I turned my head so I could look at him through my right eye. He smiled at me and then continued talking to Sathanas about something. I didn’t know what it was, and I couldn’t – for the life of me – lip read.

In any way, my view of Lucifer was soon taken away when the demon guard gripped my chin, forced me to look at him and bashed my nose in. I yelled in pain, trying to reach my hand up to comfort my now broken nose, but the chains held me back.

The demon guard stood back and watched me, then he glanced towards Lucifer who simply nodded his head once. The gestured communication was apparently rather clear for both the guards and the rest of demons.

Then Asmodeus stepped inside the cell and I whipped my head to look between Lucifer and Asmodeus. Why the fuck was he here? Were all the demons planning on taking turns?

Asmodeus smirked when he came to stand before me, his hand reaching out to feel my hair. I moved my head away, his fingertips brushing the tips of my hair. “Now my dear, at least let me touch you” Asmodeus said, but it wasn’t Asmodeus, it was Azriel’s voice.

Asmodeus had transformed fully into Azriel, when he spoke, it even sounded exactly like him. “Oh doll, how I have missed you” He said, walked around me and then embraced me from behind.

I shifted in his arms then completely stilled when I felt his hot breath fan the side of my face. “Just say the word, doll and I am all yours”. My breath hitched in my throat when I felt his hands slowly trailing a path from my waist to my hips and then further.

“Get off me!! Get off!” I yelled and tried bucking my body against his to get him to move, but clearly Asmodeus saw it as a sexual reply to his touch as he moaned out loud. Cue gag reflex. 

Then his fingers started working on lifting up my silk dress and I panicked. “Get off, get away. Get your hands off me!!” I screeched, trying to headbutt him from behind but Asmodeus just laughed in response.

Everything was becoming too much. The touch of the demon behind me. The sneers and smirks from the crowd who relished in my pain and discomfort. The pain I felt within each and every fibre of my body. The cuffs that bit the skin around my wrist. The fallen who had yet to make an appearance. Everything.

I had to do something to rid myself of the frustration I was being consumed by. So, I screamed. I screamed until I ran out of breath and my lungs started to burn. But after I was done, I felt a searing warmth in my back.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder but at the same time, the searing warmth I was feeling started getting warmer, sharper and near the brink of unbearable.

A groan fell out of my lips and I bent over forward, now feeling almost numb, weak. A dribble of saliva escaped my gaping mouth and fell to the ground, the sound of the chains rattling against the ring that held it in place, to allow my movement. Something popped in my shoulder blades and I tugged on the chains restraining me as the pain took over.

Then the pain doubled as I felt a tear in the skin on my back and I screeched in severe agony. Asmodeus moved away from me, walking to stand on my side. Again, I tugged on the chains as I screamed, managing to loosen one of them.

I brought the hand that was freed over my shoulder and felt at my wounds. Muscle, bone and cartilage were starting to protrude from the gash in my skin and my stomach turned over in feeling the foreign structure. Trickles of what I assumed to be blood and sweat tickled down my back.

I wasn’t ready for this to happen, I was not yet ready to take on my Nephilim form, but my body had clearly other plans. I heard the sound of bones popping and groaned, bracing myself for what I knew would be the worst part.

I shrieked out, holding a high pitch I thought was unattainable as the rest of the bones pushed through, forming a complete set of wings. I could now feel the weight of my wings and even tried flapping them. They moved in the air, slowly at first and then much faster.

My wings whipped the air into motion, while I gained the motivation to break my other hand free. Without giving it a second thought, I flew straight towards the demon guards and the other demons.

With my newfound strength, I grabbed onto Asmodeus’ neck and dragged him up into the air as I flew to attack the guards. Asmodeus then decided to transform into his demon form, and I fought with him mid-air until he brought his tail to my neck and stung me.

The poison made me dizzy, but I was still able to tackle him. Then he stung me for the second time and I lost control of myself, falling down towards the floor. Asmodeus caught me in his arms and the last thing I saw was the smirk on his face before my eyes closed.