The Angel's Stone

Chapter 25.

Voices echoed in Angel's mind discordantly, the only familiar noises that've spiraled into her head in the past few days. Stephanie's antics had been to plunge more of the poison into her body bountifully, and for a while Angel wouldn't wake, even for a sliver of a moment. She could not hear, or see, or smell anything, and her mouth was dry as sand. She could feel, however, as if she were built for the particular sense: she could feel it every time her heart contracted, feel her dirty blood snake through her veins, into the very tips of her fingers. She could feel it when the poison attacked her brain- the splitting headaches were enough to drive her insane. But the worst of it all was when the tip of the needle hit her skin. It was like being struck with lightning in slow motion; she couldn't help but try and plead with whatever was doing that to her, but even then it was just an addendum, it did little to nothing: she still received a daily dose of the sluggish liquid.

But now, her hearing was clearing up, like the sun after a month of storm..

She tried to decipher what the voices were saying, but even as a Shadowhunter, it took longer than it normally would, as if her brain were trying to run through molasses.

".. let you go if you get her to give it to me!" a female voice snapped churlishly.

"I won't- Natascha wouldn't give it up-" Angel's heart twisted- Wayne. He was still alive; which means they probably didn't poison him- they didn't kill him-

"SILENCE!" Roared the female voice, which Angel realized must be Stephanie. "ONE MORE WORD OUT OF LINE, AND THE GIRL DIES!"

The room was suddenly quiet, and

Angel slowly opened her eyes.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Wayne looked up at Stephanie as he had before, but unlike the other times she had threatened him, his expression was pleading, not cold. She stood over Angel, breathing furiously, her nostrils flaring. Her voice took on a deadly calm that mismatched her expression.

"You will. Or the ceiling will be the last thing she sees."

Wayne thought back to the past few days: getting forced-fed disgusting food, trying to cut himself free of the ropes, watching more of the demon blood get plunged into Angel. Of course, Stephanie had allotted the disgusting syrup, but it was nothing compared to watching it happen to Angel alone. He had never seen her so miserable- not even when she broke her ankle at the age of seven. It made him realize that this woman wanted Natascha's stone more than anything else in the world, and he must not ever let her have it.

Angel raised her head and stared. Wayne felt a pressure lift off his chest, only to be replaced by a heavier one- she was alive, but if he said 'no' one more time, she would have to watch herself die- knowing it was on his command.

"Will you do it?" Stephanie asked, flaunting her needle full of what looked like black tar. Both ladies stared at him, Angel breathing as though she just ran a mile. He didn't want to steal Natascha's stone and give it to Stephanie- that much power to a woman so cruel? He would rather get hit by a truck. But Angel.. To have her die would be like getting hit by a train. It seemed like an unbearable decision, and each second that passed by seemed to make the situation swell solicitously with even more stress. He couldn't be the one to decide- he would give anything-

His eyes darted from an expressionless and pale Angel to a ravenous Stephanie. It was one girl or the fate of the world- but how could he choose, if the girl was just as important as the fate of the world?

Angel stared at him, her usually brown eyes a bright maroonish-crimson. It would be much easier if she wasn't there- but, the decision had to be made. Pressure building in his chest, he gathered the word, and with a building courage, shoved it out of his mouth.

"Never."

A pause. The air was charged with danger, and Stephanie asked with staid, "What, did you just say?"

Wayne looked her straight in the eyes, and swallowed. The words trained out of his mouth without caution, however painfully.

"I will never, ever give you that power, you evil banshee."

Angel let out a wavering breath. Stephanie swelled, for a moment just shaking with rage, until she stalked over into the dark, deploring words like "You'll regret this," or, "Foolish little, stupid Shadowhunter."

She returned, mustering yet another syringe full of the sticky black goo, and Angel just about lost it when her crimson eyes snuck a peek at it. Wayne shut his own eyes, trying to block out the sounds of her begging and pleading. But listening to it in the dark wasn't much better than watching it with your eyes open.

There was Stephanie's malevolent words against her complies, a small cowering cry, and then silence.