The Rise and Fall

25 - Little White Snakes

The first place Emiliana wanted to search out was Gabriel's office. He usually spent most of his time holed up in there, claiming taxes and money that the Risen angels simply didn't have. She thought the plan to search there first was fail-safe.

"Where are we going?" Mira wondered as they hurried up the grand staircase, followed by Leo and Haven.

"Well, my first guess as to where Gabriel is, is his office. He's always in there after dinner," Emiliana replied, looking at Mira as she took in the information, nodding and biting her bottom lip with interest. She had a sort of glow now and she seemed stronger and even stood taller, her hands planted firmly in the pockets of her jackets, the beanie on her head covering her ponytail yet not quite reaching her dark eyes. 

"Seems reasonable," she agreed as they turned down a corridor. Mira quickly glanced behind her before leaning towards Emiliana. "I know Haven doesn't like you." She whispered softly, winking when Emiliana looked up at her. 

"Well, the feeling is mutual," she answered quickly, scoffing at the remark a little. 

"And I choose my friends," Mira continued, nodding once, "not him. Don't let him put you off wanting to be friends with me."

Emiliana was utterly astounded. Was this even the same person that she'd spoken to this morning? She let out a quiet giggle which Mira quickly joined in with, understanding that Emiliana probably wouldn't take in anything that Haven told her, something that she admired. Most girls were infatuated by Haven and Leo and would do anything they told them. 

"Don't worry, he's not," Emiliana smiled, genuinely meaning the grin that she gave Mira. Distractions, distractions. Emiliana suddenly realised where she was and stopped so suddenly that Haven ploughed into the back of her, not realising she'd stopped. Emiliana closed her eyes briefly, then opened them as they rolled around the sockets, showing pure irritation that Mira stifled a giggle from. 

"Do you mind?" She hissed at Haven, who looked mortified, staring down at her. 

"Um, excuse you for stopping without any warning," Haven spit back at her, looking down at her like she was crazy and completely unpredictable. Which she was. 

"Maybe you should be more alert then," she bit back, leaning on her toes to make her look taller. Leo grabbed her shoulders and turned her body so that she was facing him rather than Haven. 

"Calm down," he purred as one of his palms caressed her cheek. She tried not to go all soft at his touch though she did take a sharp intake of breath when his rough skin connected with the supple flesh of her face. She calmed down pretty quickly. "Why did you stop?"

Emiliana didn't say anything. She just pointed at a glass door. It was the door to Gabriel's office. She released herself from Leo's grasp and cautiously peered through the faded glass. She couldn't see any outlines in the office, but she wrapped her hands around the door handle anyway, throwing it open and stalking into the room with out any further thought. 

No one. 

"Urgh," Emiliana's foot kicked the desk, making it creak and crack. 

"Well, don't blame the desk," a snide, purring voice trickled into her ears and she rolled her eyes at the sound of his voice. Not Gabriel's. Ramiel's. She turned around and saw him standing next to a file cabinet just next to the door. He was leaning his shoulder on it confidently so that his body was slightly slanted. His flawless blond hair was sitting in its usual waves and his face was still pale with his ice blue eyes that seemed to bore into Emiliana's skull. Then, she noticed a circular bruise around his right temple, spreading down his cheekbone. It was like a purple storm cloud, laced with shades of blue and even yellow. 

Emiliana chuckled at the sight of his face and even bent down to lean on her knees briefly to mock his now imperfect appearance. He stood up straight and slammed the door shut with one hand, flicking the key in the lock with one swift movement. 

"Emiliana?" Leo's voice was muffled by the glass door and she could see his light silhouette banging against the door. 

"I'm okay, Leo, just wait out there whilst I deal with this?" Emiliana called calmly, her face still lit up with amusement. "Did I do that?" She pointed at the cloudy bruise marking Ramiel's face as he advanced towards her. 

"Yes," he breathed seductively, though there was no way Emiliana was falling for it. She backed up against a wall and cursed under her breath for being so stupid. His fingers traced the scar down her eyebrow softly. "And now we match."

"Okay, well, only temporarily," Emiliana reasoned, putting her hands on his shoulders and applying enough pressure to push him away except that when she did, he stayed firmly still, leaning his arms up against the wall either side of Emiliana's head. She was becoming extremely uncomfortable. "Go away."

"Never," he replied, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. The only way she was going to get out of this was to return the flirtatious behaviour, something she knew she was going to cringe about for the rest of her life.

"Oh, but what if I wanted you to?" She whispered, biting the left corner of her lip, trying not to squeeze her eyes shut and cringe.

"Hmm, no, only if I wanted to," he answered, purring in her ear now. It was rather uncomfortable, feeling the hot breath flow into her ear, it made it itchy actually. "Gabriel knows you're here, Emiliana."

"What?" Emiliana jolted her head away and creased her eyebrows. "How?" 

"Using the servants' kitchen door when the window above it is this office? Silly decision on your part, my sweet." He pulled away and licked his lips, staring down at Emiliana's. She knew it was coming and so she had to ready herself. He started to lean in and she brought her hand to his cheek, letting it connect with it harshly. A sharp, gut-wrenching sound filled the office as Ramiel's head snapped to the side uncomfortable and his cheek flamed. Whether it was embarrassment or a flush from the slap, Emiliana could tell, but it caught him off guard enough for her to throw him off and pin him up against the wall. Her fingers found his collar and kept him on the wall, staring down at her with surprised eyes. 

"Where is he?" She growled, holding her dagger to his cheek, not holding back from letting the sharp point at the top dig into his skin. A small blob of red liquid bubbled out of the point where the knife had cut into his skin and his eyes were clamped shut. "Aren't you going to tell me?" She whispered, trailing the knife slowly down his cheek so that the blob became a thin line. "Maybe it'll scar," she added. "Oh, then we'll match!"

"Dining hall," he gushed as though the thought of a scar on his perfect face frightened the life out of him and it made him weak at the knees. 

"Thank you," Emiliana thanked him sweetly and breathed out. Keeping one hand firmly clutching at his collar, she turned around and found a quill pen. She reached over to the desk for it and examined it quickly before driving the nib into the glass wall, Ramiel's jacket and shirt caught up with it. The glass of the wall cracked around the pen that was sticking out of it, little lines snaking their way up the wall like little white snakes. She turned on her heel and flicked the key in the lock and swung the door open, only to be grabbed in a bear hug by Leo. 

"I'm okay, Leo," Emiliana whispered calmly in his ear, though she wrapped her hands around his waist and squeezed a little just to give him some comfort. "We have to get to the dining hall." She pulled away from him and smiled to boost his confidence again. "Come on!"

The four started moving again, asking no questions about the whereabouts of the person she'd met in the office only because the expression of pure determination was spread across her face and could easily be turned into irritation if they stopped her from doing what she'd been gearing herself up to do. Even Haven backed down a little. 

They walked back to the grand entrance hall as the dining hall was through a door just to the side of it. When they finally reached the balcony, Emiliana leaned over, her eyes set on the door to the dining hall. Immediately, her eyes clocked the face of the angel she'd been wanting to kill for a while now. He was exiting the hall, looking smug and proud of himself as he usually was. About thirty guards followed him out of the room and Emiliana realised that he'd clearly been prepared for when she returned. 

He knew her better than she thought.