Golden wings

Chapter 26 - Omen

"Will be back in no time."

Uriel growled, because his own words echoed in his mind.

The demon was holding a brand new umbrella, while he tried to walk fast through the road. It was not easy to head back home, given that the path was full of mud and water, because of the rain that was falling.

He had gone away to buy supplies, like every month. And just when he was at the market, a huge storm struck. And of course, the bastards had umbrellas, and with them knowing that every single demon visiting the market needed one, they began to sell them like they were made of gold. It was something dreadful for a demon like him, who could not stand getting his clothes soaked. He got stuck for a full day there, trying to trade a lot of things, to be able to exchange everything for one of these stupid things. Because he could not go home with his supplies wet; he did not have enough pockets, and he did not want them to get soaked in his bag, made of a light cloth.

So here he was now, dreading that Alexis worried, because he had told him that he would be home soon. He should have arrived home yesterday. The pantry was surely empty by now, knowing how the angel and hunter sometimes ate like voracious beasts. Not that he minded they ate that much. What annoyed him was that there could be almost no food left, and his angel was alone. An angel capable of eating as much as her, almost. No food... puffed wings, more work done to ignore the hunger, and then more chores he would have to do. God knew that Alexis always tried to work in his garden, no matter how the weather was.

The hall had to be a mess now...

Uriel huffed for breath, having been running for hours. He held tightly his bag with one hand, while the other kept the umbrella over his head, which did not look as expensive as it was. He finally reached more familiar areas, the road became a little wider, a sign that he had arrived to his territory.

He was close, maybe one more hour. Then, he could control his armors without tiring so much, and make sure that everything was fine, that-

He halted, because something caught his attention, something on the ground. He took a few seconds to stop his steps completely. But after a few stumbles, he managed to do so without falling face first onto the muddy road. There was something under the rain, near a bifurcation forgotten long ago. His eyes widened, because he saw a book, just lying there on the mud, under the rain.

A book... Paper... Rain and water...

"Shit!"

He almost tripped over when he dashed for it, panicking.

Who the hell left a book under the rain? Who could even throw one away?

He picked it up quickly; like if it was an abandoned baby, worried that the pages had been damaged. His eyes narrowed a little as he inspected it in his claws; while his tail held the umbrella up. The book's cover was leather made, so it kind of shielded the book from the rain. But still, it was now covered with mud. Luckily, not enough to rip the interior.

"Savages... Who could treat a book like this?"

He brushed away some mud, frowning. He loved to read; he really could not understand how some people could burn books, or consider them useless. They always told so much; they gave a way in which to dream...

As he growled, he imagined that a passerby or a traveler could have dropped it at the crossing. As rare as it was that someone crossed these roads, maybe it was an accident, someone could have been hurrying in the rain, just like him.

His thoughts faded when he cleaned the cover and saw it fully. It was a book about angels. He stood there for a full minute, blinking in bafflement. Then...