The Above || Completed

47 The Angel

Erica's death would not be in vain. As much as I wanted to, I had no time to blame myself for her death. In fact, I imagined she wouldn't want me to.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save everyone there, Maddison," Zachariah said sincerely.
We sat on a small cloud island outside of the Above.
"It's all right. Thank you for getting my father and I out of there." I offered a small smile. "Dad, are you feeling okay?"
He shook his blonde head. "I feel terrible about killing your friend, Maddison."
"It's not your fault. You were forced into that position," I reasoned, placing a consoling hand on his shoulder, glad to have him here with me at last.
Life as a slave had meant rough physical labour, and he had grown broader in muscle over the past few months. I didn't want to think about what he really went through as a slave.

Grace's voice was cold when she spoke. She'd been silent ever since we said goodbye to Erica.
"Aeron's execution will happen sooner now. It's possible we've already missed it," she said.
I stood. "We have to go."
My dad took hold of Grace and Zachariah. "Lead the way."

^^^

Aeron was most likely to be held in the council's headquarters since he was confirmed non-angelic. I flew in the general direction of headquarters and began to descend, meaning to scout the area before landing. At first, I saw the coast was clear. However, I heard an arrow zoom right past my ear and alarm sent my heart racing.
"Archers!" I called.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Grace shrieked in frustration.
"At least I'm not the one holding the bow this time." Dad sighed.
"Not helping!" I pointed out, dodging another two arrows.
"Distract them, Maddison," Zachariah said calmly. "Luziel, you'll have to land us safely away from headquarters."

I saw my dad nod before he veered right, leaving me as the archers' only target. It wasn't easy to see the arrows in the dark but luck truly seemed to be on my side. After a few minutes of dodging arrows, I began to fly left to go around headquarters and meet with the rest. I picked up speed, flying in zigzags and loops to make it more difficult for them to aim. Then a scream echoed through the air and I stopped dead. In the distance, Grace had been struck by an arrow. Dad was distracted by this and I couldn't shout for him to watch out when another arrow flew into his shoulder. My stomach did a backflip as I watched his hold on Grace falter and her small body begin to fall.

I sailed through the air at an unimaginable speed but screeched to a shocked stop when I realised Zachariah had broken out of my father's grasp and fallen down after Grace. Could I save both of them?
I pushed forward. I had to try. Just then, a strong gust of wind knocked me off course and a dark figure shot up through the sky. It was a winged Zachariah holding a wounded Grace in his arms.

No. Way. I thought in amazement.
Zachariah was the angel.
And just when I thought our situation could not get any better, he pulled the flute out of his pocket. A shrill, melodic note rang out as he placed his lips to the mouthpiece.

^^^

!!Author's Note!!

The last few chapters have been so much fun to write!!
Except the one prior to this one... It was literally the most heartbreaking scene I've ever had to write.

Anyway, I'm hoping I'll finish the book soon. There should only be a couple of chapters left and then The Above will be no more. 😭

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