Fallen

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The thing leapt out of the disembodied shadows, latching several inch long claws deep into the fleshy part of my shoulder. I cried out in pain, silence echoing in my eardrums instead of the expected screams, the faint glow that had embodied me ever since we began this journey going out with a blink. The claws dug deeper, blood began to pour, and the thing was still latched on. Hopelessness seeped into my heart, and pain was seeping into my mind.

My mother jerked away from me in surprise before smacking it off of me with a tremendous tug and running after it, leaving me to clutch my heavily bleeding wound. Now that I had a good look at it, I realized that the creature was not one of the insane souls that dwelled here. It had shrunken and bedraggled grey wings on its back. This thing was a Fallen that had gone mad in the depths of Solitary Confinement.

It was unrecognizable. The bedraggled red hair was brown with grease and filth, the normally bright blue eyes were dull and glazed, and the grey wings were shriveled and hanging limp from his back. The nails were so long they had become three-inch long razor sharp claws. At the moment, they were stained red from digging into my shoulder. It must have sensed the angel in me and come to destroy it.

It snarled and snapped, swiping the claws at my mother. She managed to get out of the way, but they sliced through a strand of her black hair, causing it to fall to the ground slowly, standing out like a crow against snow in the white, misty land. Ronove smirked as she glanced at it, and I was frightened by the look of hatred and bloodlust on her face. The Fallen swiped at her again, but quickly lunged at her wildly, mouth open in a silent scream.

My mother's eyes had turned bright red again. Dark power glowed around her, and I knew that this horrible, insane remnant of a Fallen was about to finally find peace. Or at the very least escape this world of terror and madness to be remade in Heaven and resent to Earth to fulfill its destiny. The energy surrounded the creature, before all of a sudden vanishing. It choked, spluttered, and collapsed to the ground, twitching in agony. My mother took a step back to stop it from crawling onto her feet, and glared down passively as the twitching slowly stopped, and the Fallen angel, gone mad after years lost in Solitary Confinement, lay dead at her feet.

Mother turned back to me, her eyes once again their normal black, the look of hatred replaced by one full of worry. Aliel, are you alright? You're bleeding very badly. Let me look at it. She asked, getting down to her knees to better look at the wound in my shoulder.

I whimpered in my mind so she could hear, but I also opened my mouth in a silent cry. Do I look like I'm alright? I spat. I'm bleeding to death!

Don't be silly. My mother scolded, pulling bandages out of a pocket in her black coat. You aren't bleeding to death. In a couple minutes, you'll be fine. Perks of being part angel and part demon, you know. Non-threatening injuries heal quicker than humans- much quicker. Unless they're on the wings, of course. Wings are so fragile.

She continued to babble. I could tell that she was trying to make me relax with her constant chatter, and I appreciated it. I tuned out her thoughts and instead watched her hands work on my injury. They worked with an expert speed, something that surprised me. Why would a demon, trained to inflict pain and suffering in all situations, whether the victim be healthy or weak, big or small, adult or child, be an expert in healing?

That should do it. My mother said, straightening and cracking her back. Now we should get moving, before the smell of angel blood draws every soul in this place to us.

I nodded, and stood up, my shoulder sending short jabs of pain down my spine. My mother appeared to sniff the air, searching for the right way to go, before gesturing for me to follow her once again through the thick white mist.