A Light in Darkness

Chapter Six

Raphael stepped out into the carnage with me in his arms. He suddenly took flight when a black spear came hurtling through the air, just to land right where we once stood. As Raphael rose, I surveyed the battlefield. I could see the well in the Center of the town, so we couldn't have been too far away from the actual place where the inhabitants of the Higher Earth lived. The battle was taking place in a small field that once grew crops. The vegetables were smashed on the ground from the steady movement of demons, angels, and Higher Earth inhabitants alike.

Speaking of demons, I could feel them clawing their way up through my earth into my bright sunlight. They ripped my soil to shreds with their claws, causing me pain in a similar way as to when Jenne threw up and her vomit soaked its way down to hell.

It was a massacre. Demon and angel blood patterned the landscape in a red mosaic. There was death. So much death.

I felt myself levitating out of Raphael's arms and my wind carrying me to Jenne's cell to see the source of this battle. Its soft and gentle breezes took on a quicker pace as my heart beat faster, taking in the battle on my soil. Angels in the air, fighting hulking masses of black. Angels on my ground, bravely sparring with hideous clawed beings. Angels falling, and laying on my ground, life slowly draining out of them. I could see, just barely, hints of gold floating up into the air and circling the battle as orbs- the angel's souls.

Before I knew it, my wind had taken me to Jenne. It gently put me on the ground and I walked towards the white cells, dragging my palm along the smooth walls as I passed.

I got to the spot I was in in my coma. The place where this battle originated; my sister, Jenne's cell.

I slowly crept around the corner of her cell, taking in the tarnished, golden bars, the white cube shape.

And no Jenne.

She was gone; just like the traces of her vomit on the floor. There were no black streaks on the floor, only a gaping, wide hole, leading to the one place I didn't want to go.

The hole was jagged and about the length and width of two of me. It pulsed every now and then, filling her cell with red, violent light.

I stepped forward, examining the hole through the golden bars. The white cell had been ripped through on the opposite side of the bars, leaving a clear path for demons to traverse, as they clearly had done. My wavy grass around Jenne's cell had been trampled, and I could faintly hear cries of pain from the ground, calling out to me to heal them.

I reached out through the bars, pushing myself to to something, anything...

nothing.

I couldn't seem to bring myself to heal my own nature. I didn't have the strength yet.

I drew back, my wind whipping around me. Suddenly, a low, guttural sound emanated out of the hole. The black rock sparked and cracked, widening the hole almost to the edges of the cell. It seemed as if the Higher Earth was eating itself inside out.

I started to get worried. If I couldn't heal even the most basic of plants, why did I come near the most dangerous part of the Higher Earth with no protection?

I started as the low sound burst through the hole again, but this time without growing. The sound got louder and louder until I saw a hulking, black figure rise out of it. I quickly backed behind a cyprus tree, my wind rustling the branches so I would be hidden better.

The... thing that rose out of the hole had four eyes, a snout for a nose, and dark as night fur. It panted, black liquid dripping off of its hide. I quickly looked around. I had no weapons on me. I was only wearing a plain white dress and flats. I couldn't seem to make any nature do anything for me, but I still tried to make a stray blue bird I saw in my tree to move and help attack the beast. I scrunched up my face, willing myself to make my bird fly, but all I succeeded in doing was making the bird peep, which made the demon turn its ugly head towards my position. It shook its shaggy head and clomped its cloved feet, heading my way.

My wind was freaking out, whipping around my tree, causing my hair to fall into my eyes. I brushed it out, only focused on the black thing shuffling over to my hiding spot. Suddenly, my wind picked me up, moving me high above the demon. I circled the sky, watching as the beast half growled, half yodeled and backed up. I sighed. I was out of danger.

My wind calmed down and carried me back to Raphael without any new information about Jenne. I sweeped the sky, looking for Raphael or Michael or anyone, when suddenly I noticed something beneath me. The demon was running at full speed beneath us, yodeling and leaving a trail of black liquid as it went. I noticed more trails of the black liquid too, all leading to the battlefields near the Center of the Higher Earth.

The thing jumped, staying in the air longer than I thought possible. The thing jumped again, this time taking flight. It slowly creeped up to my position, my wind now speeding me back in frenzied bursts.

My hair blew in my face as I drew in ragged breaths, trying to calm myself down. The beast closed in on me and I readied myself to fight, praying that I was over the battlefield and that the archangels would see my display before I was injured or... I gulped. Killed.

"Wind, turn me around," I said, twisting my body. The wind kept carrying me away from the beast.

"Wind, TURN ME AROUND!" I yelled. Suddenly, I felt my wind let go. I plummeted to the ground, watching as the demon got closer and closer to me. I breathed what I thought would be my last breath, and just as I was about to hit a tree, I stopped. My back started to move, propelling me up, up, up, to meet the thing following me.

The air had grown still. All I felt were short bursts of air from my suddenly working golden wings. I just stared at the beast, and suddenly it growled and yodeled and charged, coming onto me in an instant. What was left of the black liquid seeped onto my skin, burning me and leaving behind red welts. The pig thing grabbed my throat with its claws, digging in and choking me.

I suddenly started to cry. What had I thought I was going to do? Throw a flower at him or something? I sobbed, my tears running down my face and onto the monster's claws. I trashed, trying to land a blow on the monster's hide, to no avail. Stars started to spot my vision and my kicks weakened as the demon chortled.

Michael's POV

I was locked in combat with a hideous three headed man, when I suddenly saw two small things streak across the sky. One of the beings fell, and slowly got back up into the sky, their golden wings propelling them up. The two stared at each other for a second before the black demon rushed forwards and met the angel. The angel trashed and suddenly stopped moving as the demon lunged it's head back, probably laughing. I punched the three headed man once in each face and took flight just as the angel in captivity started to fall.

I raced to catch the angel and got a glimpse of their face.

Melli.

I propelled myself faster, adrenaline kicking in. I couldn't let a beautiful angel I just met die in front of my eyes.

Her hair seemed to flow in waves as I neared her side. I reached out my arms closer, closer, closer....

and caught her just before she crashed into a crushed tree.

Her eyes closed as I held her in my arms, her small body collapsing into me. I stared at her face, wondering why she was even fighting the demon in the first place... or trying to fight it. I set her down behind an oak tree, the ground swallowing her up and cradling her in its embrace. Man, what I would give to have a taste of her power, just a little bit of control over creation. She didn't know how lucky she was.

I turned around and reengaged myself in the battle, now fighting a triple winged creature with a lion's head and a bird's body.

Jenne was going to have some questions to answer when she woke up.

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A/N: Hey everyone!! I hope you like this chapter. It might not seem relevant right now, but it's set up for the next chapter ;)
Make sure to vote, add this to your libraries, and comment feedback! I love to hear what you guys think. I love each and every one of you.

xoxo, Ellie <3