You Better Not Be Her Prey 3

Chapter 6: The Angel Arrives

True to her word, Adelaide left the next morning. He missed her eyes the most. Those beautiful blue eyes staring back at him. He'd seen them for a split second before her eyes reverted to those black pits of inky darkness. Then she'd gone, presumably to leave the States, he assumed. He knew it was only a matter of time before whoever was coming for the Angel decided to come for his Adelaide as well - and only the higher powers of the heavens knew what she had and hadn't done. He hoped he would get to see her before it was too late, before they either captured her or killed her in their quest to see the Angel of Death brought to justice. 

There had been another stint of murders, but they weren't on American soil. A couple of bodies had turned up, having been murdered in grotesque and horrifying ways in a tavern in Hamelin, Germany. He'd been keeping in contact through the U.S. government, and through other local police departments as well, staying updated about the murders. He'd been in contact with Sam too, as he was the new Captain America. Sam was well aware of the situation with Adelaide and had tried to track her down once or twice but came up cold. The second time the trail had gone cold, Bucky had put his fist through a wall. There may or may not have been a blue van from the drywall repair company at the Barnes family home that next day. Bucky wasn't sure about that one. All of the days seemed to bleed into one, and the longer that he was away from Adelaide, the longer that things seemed to take on finding her, he grew more and more impatient. 

A couple of months later... 

Bucky jogged up the steps after his morning run. It had been a good way to take his mind off of all the murder cases that had been happening. Stepping inside, he saw someone sitting at a table, staring at him. The person in question was wearing a white shirt and jeans, with blue sneakers to match. The person had striking blonde hair and piercing green eyes. Bucky reached for the gun on top of the mantlepiece, but to his horror, it wasn't there. 

'You're looking for this, no?' the stranger said. He had a thick accent, it was unusual. In his fingers, he held the gun that Bucky had been so desperate to find. 'I had hoped it wouldn't turn to unpleasant business. You are Sargeant Barnes, yes?' 

'Yeah, that's me. Why?'

'I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of letting myself in. You see, I am an angel. More specifically, the Angel of Life.' 

'You don't look like an angel.'

'I've assimilated my appearance to fit in with humanity, in order to be able to speak to you more plainly.' 

'About what?'

'Your wife.' 

'What about her? Is she okay?' 

'From what I've heard, no. She isn't. The Angel of Death is infecting her very being, forcing her to commit unspeakable crimes against humanity. The Angel wishes for revenge against Heaven, and she is using Adelaide to bring that revenge about, by committing these atrocities against humanity in order to target Heaven for casting her out. For centuries, Azrael was able to do the bidding of Heaven. Azrael felt a sense of justice, of purpose with Heaven. But when the veil was torn - are you religious, in any way?' 

'Not particularly. Why?' 

'Let me make this simple. When God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross, the veil between Heaven and Earth was torn. The heavens no longer saw fit to have someone like the Angel of Death be constantly weeding out good from evil because all sins were absolved through the death on the cross. So, Azrael was expelled and removed from Heaven, made to take a backseat, if you will. A lesser form of the Angel was formed to merely collect souls upon death, since such a major culling of souls was no longer needed due to the absolution of sins. Azrael became enraged with this, and has, ever since, been looking for a new host body to take revenge upon Heaven with. It seems that Azrael found refuge in your wife. The "darker parts" that Adelaide's doppelganger spoke of... that was the Angel inside of her, infecting her personality, turning the corners of her world dark with evil.' 

'So, all along, Adelaide didn't mean any of what she did?'

'We've been observing her, and no - she didn't mean any of what she did. She needed direction, and purpose. The power that she was receiving from her newfound magic was tainted by the Angel's influence.'

'What should we do?'

'We must track her down and convince Adelaide to consent to having the Angel removed from her body and mind.' 

'Why am I sensing a catch with this?'

'The Angel is powerful, and angry. She will fight every inch of the way to prevent being removed from Adelaide's body. But if you want your wife back, it will be a long and painful process. Thankfully, I have just the deal to convince Adelaide to come with me in order to get the Angel removed.' 

'Will it hurt her?'

'Yes.' 

'What will happen to her?'

'I'm not at liberty to say. What we first need to do is find her. And then it'll take some convincing. I have no intention of hurting your wife, Sargeant Barnes. All I want to do is help her. But it will take time, and it will be painful. I can't do anything unless you allow me to.'

'When do we start looking for her?'