Fallen (Undergoing editing)

Chapter twenty six:

I dreamed of demons that night.

Demetrius was their leader. He stood before them like a God; eyes cold and dark as old coal and black evil tendrils swirled adoringly around him. I could smell the sulphuric scent of cruelty waft into my nose. I watched as the demons crowded around him, bowing to him, kissing his feet, but he just stared at me, ignorant to their groveling, moaning, raking devilishly at his ankles to get his attention. Nothing caught his eyes, nothing turned his nose, nothing except me.

"Lilith, your toast popped."

I jumped and looked over my shoulder to a tall broad shouldered Fallen boy who gazed at me with cold blue eyes that rounded in such a way it made him look curious no matter how his eyebrows morphed over his face. He'd appeared beside me in the kitchen while I waited absent mindedly for my breakfast. I hadn't even heard him approach me, but I was used to being sneaked up on around here.

I blinked. "Oh, um, thanks."

He nodded and proceeded to pour himself some orange juice, sliding curious glances at me from the corner of his eye unblinkingly. I just awkwardly painted butter on to my cold piece of toast as I felt his gaze travel from the side of my face to my shoulder blades where I felt his gaze burn like a hot fire ember.

"You're that new recruit from Avon."

I nodded and shot him a fake smile. "Yeah, word gets around doesn't it?"

"Did it hurt?"

"What?"

"The wings—when they clipped them, did it hurt?"

I gawked at him, taken aback by his sudden questioning without a hint of politeness in his voice.

"If I took a blade to you and chopped your wings off, would it hurt?" I snapped harshly.

For the first time, the boy blinked at me looking dumbfounded, "No, because I can't feel them."

I frowned gazing past his head to his russet feathered wings that looked tattered and flopped awkwardly against his back. "What?"

He stiffened. "When I was young, the angels captured and tortured me for the Fallen's whereabouts. They tortured me so bad; I lost any feeling in my body and wings. I'm unable to fly, but I guess it counts for fighting since I can't feel when someone stabs their blade through my chest." He smiled softly as if the topic didn't hurt him.

I stared at him, looking around at the few bodies that traveled into the kitchen tiredly and dishevelled, hardly noticing me cornered by this...individual.

"Oh," I said. "I'm...sorry."

He shook his head, face looking softer and with some lightness to his eyes. "Its alright, I got over it." He reached past me for his cup of orange juice, "Just know, you're not alone, Lilith. See you." He flashed another cool smile before turning on his heel and leaving. "Oh one more thing, if you're going on that trip with Alice and them, he's out back waiting."

After chowing down on my toast and wandering aimlessly through the mansion and a little disturbed from my little talk with another flightless victim, I finally found the 'out back' through a pair of French glass doors that led through a small garden, then to a small hillside behind the mansion where Lucien, Alice, Raven and Demetrius waited, stretching their wings.