dark devotion ≫ a.b.

10 - The Mortician's Daughter

I lift up Andy's head to check if he's still breathing. Thank God, he is. "Andy? Are you okay?" I whisper.

"He's unconscious, dumbass," Alara snaps and if I could see her eyes roll through pure black, I'm pretty sure she's doing it.

I ignore her obnoxious retort and get back on my feet. "Who shot Andy? How?" Jinxx asks, surprisingly calm. "One of the Shadows got him with a poisoned arrow. I'm sure he'll be fine a couple days," Ash says. He was trying to stay positive, but his face reflected worry. Andy, please wake up, I pray silently.

Suddenly Andy gasps. I kneel down to his level so he can see me. I place my hand on his warm, smooth cheek and offer him a smile. "Blue?" he rasps. His eyes were wide as he coughed flecks of scarlet. His body heaves up and down in pain. At this moment I want nothing more than to make him feel better. CC and Ashley rush to hold him down to keep him from hurting himself. Andy's eyes roll back in his head, and now the whites are the only thing visible. His struggling stops and so does the dreadful coughing.

Alara scoops him up into her toned arms. Jinxx attempts to help, but she brushes him off.

Alone, she carries Andy into camp.
**********
The only ones allowed in the tent where Andy is lying is Jinxx and Alara. Their powers combined can heal, but neither can do it alone. I tried to check in on him one time, but was met with Alara's angry words. Jinxx firmly but gently pushed me out and told me to go study the books in the library. With a sigh, I do as he says.

I grabbed a book simply spelling out FALLEN ANGELS in black bold lettering and slump into the comfortable chair Jinxx sat in only minutes ago.

"Can't stop me from sitting in the comfy chair now, can you?" I grumble bitterly. The blood-red cover featured a well-detailed illustration of a handsome male angel with dark feathery black wings. For some reason, I extend my index finger to touch the angel's wings, almost as if I could reach through the book and feel the softness against my pale skin.

The hard cover comes in contact with my finger, and so does reality.

What am I thinking? All this supernatural stuff is getting to my head. I shake my head, bangs falling into my face, and flip it open.

Many, many years ago all the angels lived in peace (see ANGELS page 3). Until one day an angel was tired of all the harmony. He brought together a group of rebels and they attacked the angels. A war bloomed and burned on for many centuries. Eventually the group of rebels (see FALLEN ANGELS page 9) were defeated and cast out of the heavens.

I decide to first flip to page 3. A beautiful sketch of an angel greets me on the next page. She wore a golden dress and sparkling jewelry. Her honey blonde hair went all the way to her waist and her arms were open like she was about to embrace someone.

Next I go to the page where the fallen angels are first introduced.

Fallen angels are usually very tricky and untrustworthy. Fallen angels are born with breath-taking beauty and grace. They often use their beauty to lure mortals and others into traps.

A lot of the information Jinxx told me is repeated. I spend another hour going through pages and pages of information. It gets to the point where my eyes can't take anymore and I throw it to the ground and drape an arm across my aching forehead.

Why couldn't I have brought my phone outside with me when Andy brought me outside? I want so badly just to have one call with my friends. What do they think I'm doing right now? Sure it hasn't been even 24 hours yet, but we hardly ever go a night without texting each other.