When Angels Fall In Love

Chapter 20: Sisters

Leaving Samuel's home was harder than expected when it finally came time and they had said their goodbyes. Erelah had only allowed herself to look back once as she flew away from the modest home. Samuel had just stood there and watched from the porch, as she had to fight every urge to turn back and launch herself into his arms. It was a few hours later now and Erelah couldn't decide which was harder as she contemplated the new complexities of her immortal life. Despite her talk with Samuel, Erelah still hadn't gone home like she said she would. She was going to do it but it was just a matter of hesitation. In theory, it was easy enough but going home and facing Michael, that war still waged within her. Then there was leaving Samuel, that was an unexpected ache that weighed heavily on her as she sat perched high atop a thick tree limb with her wings tucked in close to her sides. She stared off into the distance, fingertips absently smoothing over the rough tree bark while the world around her passed by lazily, uncaring of her tangled plights and endless knots of emotion roiling under the surface of her skin.

There were too many unknowns, too many paths before her with no clear end in sight. And if she was being honest with herself, she was being a coward. She feared what was to be awaiting her when she finally returned home, it was a fear she had been wrestling with since that first night when she left Michael standing alone in the forest. The memory of it so clear now as it replayed in her mind. I can't lose you...I love you...

Michael's words echoed in her head. Why did he have to complicate things? Deep down, Erelah was angry with him for his actions, wishing he had just kept his mouth shut and none of this would have ever happened. Then again if it hadn't, she wouldn't have seen Samuel, and the Father knows how long it would have been until she went to see him, if ever...Erelah outwardly groaned, resting her head against the tree. She could scream as frustration coiled heavily in her stomach. It was almost enough to make her march home and poke her finger into Michael's chest for all the trouble he had caused her. It wouldn't change anything but it was something to do rather than sit here and feel miserable. Having a purpose felt nice even if it meant knocking Michael down a peg. She couldn't help but smirk at the thought but it slowly faded as she cast her eyes skyward once more knowing she was going to miss this view.

She sat in serene silence for a while longer when someone inside her pulled at her spirit. Bound in spirit, I pull at thee. I call upon your strength, may your sword not waver... A shiver rolled down her spine, her head whipping to the East where the tether pulled her. It was the call of her family. An angelic beacon calling out for help...Erelah wings snapped open in an instant, brushing against the tree branches as rushed adrenaline flooded her veins and she launched herself into the sky. Wind whipped at her face, all her strength poured into her wings as Erelah followed that pull, each second that passed feeling like an eternity while she searched for any kind of disturbance on the spiritual plane. All that called out to her was that pull and it loosened the closer she got.

A sudden flash of light off the trees was hard to miss as Erelah dove for it. Power crackled across her skin, the familiar weight materializing in her hand as she grasped the hilt of her sword. Tree limbs ripped her skin, bursting through the canopy and headed for the ground, her sword raised at the first demon she saw. A war cry erupted from her throat as she threw herself into battle. Ichor sprayed. Erelah's fierce blade slicing clean and true through the first demon before spinning around for the second. It dodged and she had all of a second to take in the carnage around her before the demon swiped at her again.

Bodies lay everywhere...demon corpses scattered about while to Erelah's horror human bodies lay mixed in the heap. Young and old, dead...it was enough to bring tears to her eyes as she raised her sword and impaled the grotesque creature through the chest.

"Erelah!" Her head whipped around toward the voice. Her fellow sister, Yitmin, struggled fighting off two other demons while a third creeped up from behind her. Erelah had barely had time to react as she leapt and slammed the full weight of her body into one of the demons, screaming at Yetmin to duck as she threw a dagger towards the demon about to pounce from behind. Erelah tumbled to the ground, flinging the snarling demon away from her, its body thudding against the trunk of a nearby tree before shaking itself off and setting its sights on another target that she hadn't noticed. Her blood ran cold at the sight of the body sprawled across the ground, a pair of angel wings laying limply and splattered with ichor while fiery red hair covered over a familiar face. Imeria...

Panic had Erelah sprinting madly, diving for her sister's body as the demon reached them both and slashed at her arm. Pain erupted as her scream pierced her ears. Tears slipped down her face as her skin sizzled. Using her uninjured arm, Erelah flung a blast of power towards the demon, the blast just barely clipping its shoulder as it squealed and hissed. She took all of a second to glance at Yitmin, just as the demon she had been fighting struck her, its claws slicing through the soft flesh of her stomach. Erelah watched in horror as she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.  All she could do was scream...and Erelah screamed his name with all her power...She called for Michael...