The Above || Completed

53 Demise

Zachariah's POV

All of us were chilled to the bone, numbed by the shock. In the distance I saw smoke rise. The first person I thought of was Grace.
"Maddison."
She spun around. She had a panicked look in her eyes. "Go! All of you gather citizens and get them onto the nearest cloud island. Now!" She barked.
I nodded. "Luziel, Aeron, stay here with her. I'm going to save Grace."
I didn't forget to notice the murderous look in Maddison's eyes before I let the doors close behind me.

Angels flooded through the corridors, some filtering into rooms and breaking windows to fly out. I decided to run into a room as well, but I almost tripped over my own feet when I realised I'd ended up in the library. And suddenly I longed for all the hours I had spent in here with Grace. It's not difficult for an angel to feel love, but she was the first to make me feel it so deeply. I wanted to protect her, salvage every part of her. We'd return to our library again. I released my wings and burst through a window, determined to find her before the council could get to her. Full speed ahead.

^^^

Maddison's POV

That monster inside me was baring its teeth. My grandfather was a vile, cruel traitor. I wanted to make him pay. But Aeron must've seen the bloodthirsty look in my eyes and decided to hold my arms at my sides. Bruno noticed and tittered as though it was the most adorable thing he had ever beheld.
"So he serves as your restraint?" he inquired, knowing it would spite me.
"Sir, I think you should shut up," Aeron said threateningly.
"An advisor too." Bruno waved a hand in the air dismissively and moved to refill his glass of whiskey.
Luziel took a step forward. "I don't know if you know this yet, Bruno, but-"

"I'll kill you just like I did Venus," I snarled through my clenched teeth.
Of course, my savagery was tainted with insanity. But there is splendour in insanity.
Bruno's posture showed that he was nonplussed.
But his voice was light, care-free. "Oh, a shame. She was rather attractive. Wasn't she the one who was interested in your boy toy though?"
Aeron's grip tightened on my arms before I could launch myself at the old man.
"You're not being very intelligent here," Aeron pointed out.
"He isn't," Luziel agreed. He was closer to Bruno now. What was he thinking?

"Oh, come on, just look at her," Bruno finally showed something other than superiority. Exasperation.
My efforts weren't all in vain then.
Aeron's eyes were on the back of my head, and Dad looked at me over his shoulder.
"Face it, Luziel, this family is full of beasts. You all see it in me. If it weren't for Quin's mother, she would've been a monstrosity too. But she-" his trembling index finger pointed at my chest, "-she's a monster too."
Stillness that seemed to last for eternities. Aeron didn't seem to have a doubt in his mind as he stroked the crevice in the curve of my arm. I silently thanked the stars for his presence. My father's fists were clenched, his eyes tightly shut with pain. I'm sorry, Dad. He really didn't know me anymore.

Just then, Luziel's arm stretched out and Bruno's glass shattered on the tiles at their feet. The whiskey ran through the fissures between the tiles. And I suppose that's how the tables turned.
My father's blonde hair fell over his face. "There's a monster in me too."
It was the first time I had ever seen Bruno look alarmed.
I slowly pealed Aeron's hands from my skin. He looked uncertain, but I gave him a look over my shoulder that said it was okay.
I was behind my grandfather now. "There's a monster within all of us."
Bruno's face was fearful as he looked between the two of us.
Aeron meandered forward, his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. "Now, Doctor Griffin, why don't you tell us where your little operation is being controlled?"

^^^

The last thing the council's headquarters needed was a damned control room. It was a room located within a bookshelf in the library. And guess what section it was in?
"Hey Maddison, why don't you do the honours?" Aeron smiled.
"It's our little corner of the library after all." I returned the smiled and exposed the lever behind a book or two.
Dad shook his head. "This is way too ceremonial."
"Lighten up, old man," Aeron said, a grin still shining on his face.
My father raised a scary eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Aeron looked down at his toes. "Nothing, sir."

I pulled the lever and the bookshelf slid to the side, revealing a room filled with men and screens. A couple of them had drinks in their hands. Was the entire council a group of alcoholics? Well, I forgot to mention one tiny detail.
They were all unconscious.
Every single man in the room looked as though he had dozed off in his seat. Well, all but one. But he was an angel. One of us. I recognised him as the big guy on Zachariah's team.
"Figured I'd get them out of the way for you." He shrugged his colossal shoulders.

^^^

Zachariah's POV

I was blinded by the smoke that rose from burning buildings. I choked on the fumes as I inhaled them. After getting used to the cold temperatures in the Above, I had never experienced a heat so suffocating. I hoped Maddison would be able to stop this before the Above was made into nothing but a pile of cloud ash.

All these obstacles, the heat, the smoke, none of it was about to stop me from getting to Grace. So I kept flying, pushing through the pain in my muscles and lungs. There was something liberating about flying, no matter what circumstances. And I imagined it would be so much more liberating once I had her with me.

But that would never happen. For as I landed on my knees, the house before me had crumbled beneath the force of the flames. I was trapped now. She'd never liberate me. It's not difficult for an angel to feel grief, but she was the first to make me feel it so deeply.

^^^

Maddison's POV

Aeron stepped inside and shook the angel's hand. "Name's Aeron."
"Glad you're alive. I'm Ramiel," he said haughtily.
My father and I were staring at the screens, watching as our forces gathered all the citizens they could before their area could burst into flames. Now wouldn't be a great time to mention it, but I hadn't looked at a screen in the Above since before I went to Earth. They're like holographic clouds of mist against glass. And even on these strange screens, I could see the distorted images of places that had been reduced to ashes.

"Ramiel, you've saved us a lot of time," I said, turning to face him and Aeron.
He bowed low and humble. "You're welcome, ma'am."
"Do you know how to stop this?" Luziel asked him, an urgent look on his face as he gestured toward the screens.
Ramiel shook his head. "They said there was no stopping it. I swear I tried everything."
Aeron stepped forward and stared blankly at one of the screens. "Then this means the Above... will be destroyed..."

^^^

!!Author's Note!!

Hey there, everyone! So the comment section is open for opinions you might want to share. Vote if you liked the chapter. Just a quick heads-up that the next chapter will be the epilogue chapter so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading!!!