Angel Wings

Chapter 16.2

DEL

Del's back was killing him.  He could barely move his wings, and when he did it felt as though icy jets of fire were shooting down them.  He opened his eyes and blinked several times trying to focus on his surroundings.  He pushed himself up from a hard metal floor, wincing a bit from the pain in his side where the ball energy had hit that had possibly fractured one of his lower ribs, to stare through steely bars.  Looking down, revealed that he was suspended over an old medieval sitting room.  He scanned around the rest of his new environment and realized he was in some sort of hanging cage.  When he looked to his left he saw Lucis and Faux, both still unconscious in identical holds.

Del's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of what looked like thick black ropes, binding his brothers white wings.  Curiously, he reached back to his own black feathers and gasped, falling to his knees, once more, clutching his hand.  He had brushed against one of the ropes and it had felt as though his hand had been burned by ice.  Del cursed himself at his own stupidity.   It's demons skin, moron!  Duh, of course they had bound them in the foul stuff.  Mixing that demon flesh with an angel's could be quite excruciating depending on what demon it came from.

Del examined his palm where a dark blue blotch was forming.  He swore again.  It wasn't life threatening, but man did it kill!

Movement in one of the other cages made Del look up.  Faux's amber eye blinked at him confusedly.  "Del?"  He put a hand to his head.  "What's going on?  Why are my wings--?"

"Stop!"  Del exclaimed, making Faux freeze, his other hand reaching back to his own feathers.  "They're bound in demons skin."

Faux's eyes widened, and he quickly dropped his hand.  "Demon skin?  Who in the world has demon skin?"

Del rolled his eyes and leaned back against the bars.  "We're not in Jovis, stupid.  We've been kidnapped by a witch.  You know those things that make deals with demons?"

Faux's mouth dropped in mock surprise.  "What?  You mean demons actually exist?  Does that mean angels are real too?  Gaaaah!  What kind of world am I living in?"  He slapped his hands to each side of his face, to accentuate his "shock."

Del rolled his eyes again.

"But seriously, as much as I hate to say such a curse word, what the heck happened back there?  I get that we lost and all, but to whom exactly?  I get that the toots who looked like an ugly Calandra spread all the Narcal Powder and put us under, but who was she?"

Del stared out through the bars at the dark stone work.  It was like they were in some castle room.  That girl, he recognized her before she changed.  For a split second she had been someone he had seen before.  The frizzy hair, the freckles, the glasses, the high annoying voice.  She had called him vampire.              Del sat up straight, the whole thing coming back.  CJ had spilled punch on him that night, because that little girl tripped him.  That girl leaned forward, pulled back her shirt, and said he could have a drink.  He shook his head.  "She was their friend."

"What?"

Del turned back to Faux.  "That girl was pretending to be their friend.  Averno must have been searching long before us and planted the spy, waiting to see if she was the Evabelle.  That girl was probably supposed to take her out if she ended up being the one..."  He trailed off. 

Faux smiled.  "But you got to her first."

Del narrowed his eyes at the floor, mind beginning to spin.  "No, that girl was out there when the Annihilators were attacking.  She could have done something there.  True she must of enchanted the girl to distract Lucis, and somehow drugged me, but she knew it wasn't going to be long enough.  Why would she do that unless....unless this is exactly what they wanted."