Fallen Angel

♱ CHAPTER FIFTEEN

☽ Luke

I JUMP OUT OF THE TRUCK before it even stops moving. Xavier is slower on the uptake. He awkwardly scrambles over the side, hanging there for a second and staring fearfully at the ground moving beneath him. The urge to roll my eyes is at an all time high.

"Hurry the fuck up, dude," I hiss at him. "He's going like, two miles an hour."

I sigh. We really don't have time for this. The sun is already starting to set, and soon enough the cave will be closed. And anyways, we still have to plan our cover story.

Finally, Xavier steels himself and jumps off the back of the truck. Half of me wants to punch him in the face, while the other half wants to high five him for actually doing it. I settle for a scowl — chaotic neutral. Xavier and I dash away from the truck unnoticed, then sneak towards the back of the site, where there are less workers milling around. Ducking behind a large palm tree, I scan the area, searching for an entrance. I see maintenance workers here and there, some caution tape roping off certain areas, and pylons — lots and lots of pylons. But I don't see an entrance anywhere.

"You see anything?" I ask Xavier as I pull the suit on. It's a little baggy, but it'll do. It's just a quick job, in and out before anyone sees us. Piece of cake.

"Hey, wait a second," Xavier says, ignoring my question. His eyes widen. "What am I gonna wear?"

I furrow my brows. "I thought you were gonna stay outside," I say. "Be the lookout."

Xavier makes a face. "Oh," is all he says at first. Then, "That's so lame. Why do you get to be the badass and sneak in there? The crystal is for me, anyway."

Rolling my eyes at him, I say, "This is so stupid. Who cares?" But actually, I care. This time, I wanna be the hero. I wanna show JT that I can get my shit together. I wanna be the one to do the bulk of the work — which I've already been doing anyway — to prove that I'm not just some loser, some Heaven dropout, some demon killer who lives in Hell. I'm not the same pariah that I was in Heaven, disliked and ostracized. And I'm not the same rule breaker JT met behind that 7/11. I've had to take on the responsibility of protecting Mortals from demons. I've learned to hunt, stalk, trap, and sometimes, to destroy. I taught myself how to throw knives. I forced my body to regain its angelic strength through intense conditioning. I'm learning more and more everyday, with every demon I take down, every brand that appears on my body. I'm becoming a weapon, a blade that gleams, a blade sharper than the cut of a diamond.

The Angels I used to know, who used to hate me, they'd call me a monster now. But I no longer fear the blade. You can't fear the blade, if you want to become it.

I'm not afraid of knives or blood or demons anymore. I'm not afraid of boys like Xavier, the good guys, the guy who gets the girl. I'm not afraid of girls like JT, fearless girls who've loved and lost and would do it all again in a heartbeat.

I'm afraid of the responsibility, the job I have to keep everyone safe. Because if I let one demon go, let it slip past my aching fingers for even a second, everyone is in danger. And it's all on me.

But this responsibility, this weight on my shoulders, needs to fuel me. Needs to help me prove to them, to her, to everyone that I'm not a fuck-up. Not anymore.

I don't know why Xavier wants to be the one to go in that cave, other than maybe he wants to impress JT. But I know why I wanna go — need to go. I need to prove myself.