Fallen in Love

13 - Where There's Smoke

"If we want to make peace this way, we are running out of time." Noel said. Bently finally decided to speak up. "Running out of time for what? What's going on?" He asked, as if he didn't already know. Everyone looked up at him. "Bently? I told you to go inside." Malik said. "I-I know, but..." Bently trailed off. It was probably useless to try and explain himself now. He didn't exactly have a lie either. "Oh look." Lucian spoke up, walking over to Bently and putting a hand under the boy's chin, forcing Bently to look at him. "It's the boy. The boy that started this whole thing. The boy that will probably get us all killed. The boy..." he paused, moving his hand down to Bently's neck. "The boy that should be dead." When he said "dead", Lucian attempted to choke Bently, only to be grabbed back by Malik. "Don't touch him." Malik sternly said, to which Lucian just laughed. "Aww look guys. Malik's getting all protective over his little boyfriend." Lucian snorted, which ended up in him getting thrown into a tree. "Ow! Hey! What the heck was that for?!" He groaned. Despite being a demon, no one had ever heard Lucian curse in any way. He tended to avoid it to "save his reputation", as he'd always put it. Malik rolled his eyes. "This is exactly why I didn't want you here." He said. Lucian just groaned again and, quite...gracefully, fell from the tree. "You have wings, you know. You didn't have to fall, dummy." Ashlyn said. She wasn't calling him a dummy to be mean for once, he actually wasn't all that smart. "I know..." Lucian grunted as he got up. "Anyways." Malik said, turning to Noel. "You were saying?" She nodded slightly. "Right."
As she started to explain, Bently's anxiety set in suddenly, and he wasn't too sure why. "Bently?" Cain asked, noticing his best friend's panicked look. Bently had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that made him slightly nauseated. Something bad was about to happen, but what? Malik and the others soon noticed there was a demon missing...Lucian. "Wait where's Lucian?" Charlie asked. "He must've wandered off when no one was looking. But...where'd he go?" Malik muttered. Bently soon smelled something frighteningly familiar, and it made him sick. Smoke. "I-I smell smoke." He muttered, starting to breathe heavy in an attempt to keep his lunch down. "T-there's a fire." He muttered again. He had now started to cough and spit. "Everyone stay here." Malik said, heading inside to find Lucian and find the fire. Bently managed to grab his arm. "Please...don't." He said through coughs. "I have to. I'llbe fine. Angels can't die." Malik said. He pulled his arm back and went inside.
Malik, using his wings to get through most of the smoke, eventually found Lucian rooting through some books in the library. But that wasn't where the fire was coming from. "Lucian. What did you do?" Malik asked. "Me? Nothing. Why? I'm just an innocent demon looking through books in the library. That illegal in your rule book?" Lucian asked, not looking up from the bookshelf he was currently digging through. "Do you not smell the smoke?" Malik asked. "Mm..." Lucian paused, sniffing the air. "No? Think you've finally lost what's left of your mind, Mal." He said. "What? I'm not insane!" Malik said. He grabbed Lucian by the belt loop on his jeans and dragged him outside. "Stay here. Someone watch him." Malik said. Bently, still coughing, walked over to Lucian, a smirk on his face. "What are you doing?" Lucian asked. Bently coughed one last time, and threw up right on Lucian's shoes. "Ah. That feels better." He said with a smirk. "Why you little..." Lucian muttered. Ashlyn grabbed him. "In your defense, you deserved it." She whispered.
By the time Malik got to the source of the fire, a half lit cigarette in the window of one of the empty dorms, Andy had already put the fire out. When he saw the cigarette, he immediately knew who it belonged to. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Andy asked. "Yeah, I am." Malik replied. "Lucifer's been here." They both said.
"Wait...so...all of you are angels?" Bently asked. "Well, more or less." Charlie replied. "I'm a demon, like Ashlyn and Lucian." He said, looking over at Lucian, who was still trying to clean his shoes. "And me, Malik, Noel, and Andy are all angels. Of course, there are more of us, but not everyone comes to these meetings." Cain said. "My best friend is an angel? Wow..." Bently muttered. "I cant believe I've been friends with an angel all these years and I never knew it." He continued, just muttering to himself at this point. As he continued with his random ramblings, all the angels and demons raised their heads. "It's coming sooner than we expected." Noel said. "What?" Bently asked. "The Great War. Find Malik and Andy. Now." Ashlyn said. "What? Why?" Bently asked. He was getting more questions than answers at this point. "Just go." Charlie said. Bently ran inside to find the two still in the empty dorm. "The...the angels...hold on." Bently said, pausing to catch his breath. But Malik finished before Bently could speak again. "I know. Andy, get him to Graycott as soon as you can." Malik said. "Right. Bently, get some rest for now. We leave in the morning." Andy said. Bently could feel tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I don't wanna leave you Malik." He whispered as Malik hugged him. "It's for your safety Bently. I'll find you once the war is over. This isn't the last time we'll see each other. I promise."