Unranked

Chapter 22

Julia was by the door in an instant, her hand gripping the doorknob. She swung the door open just as I jumped up to stop her.

Armaros multicolored eyes widened as the tip of Draco settled in between her eyes.

"Nine, this is not the welcome I was expecting." She cautiously said. I looked behind her excepting to see backup but there was no one.

I dropped Draco, propping it against the umbrella stand.

"I'm a little on edge." I admitted, shrugging. I immediately winced.

"You idiot! Your making the wound..."Julia paused to find the correct word."...leak."

Indeed, it was. The wound was again a bloody mess down my chest. I could only imagine how the back looked, no doubt worse.

I focused on Armaros. She hadn't changed one bit which in hindsight made sense as she was immortal. Her body glowed, her hair pinned up and her multicolored eyes glinting.

More details seemed to stand out the longer I stared. Bags were prominent under her eyes, her figure drooping and somewhat weary. More so, I noticed that the angel of undoing was now in fact shorter than me.

Julia forced me back into my seat, Armaros still having her own internal check out of mwah.

"What are you doing here?" She finally asked.

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" I mocked. I wanted to make quotation marks in the air, but I didn't want to risk hurting myself more. "I'm doing my job in Chicago."

"You don't have a job, though. You were just stationed here in Chicago."

"Well, as an angel I figured my job was to protect this world from demons and since I've got here, they've been streaming towards me."

"Is that how you got hurt?"

The question caught me off guard. It felt as if the argument was reaching some sort of climax and then she asked about my wound. I felt uncomfortable.

No, embarrassed.

"Yeah, " I answered. "I was with Julia in one of her classes when a sex demon with her cloud attacked me. Oh right. Julia, this is Armaros. Armaros, Julia."

The two women regarded each other, Julia a bit more wary of the stranger that she let in her house.

Armaros narrowed her eyes." This woman, Julia, who is she?"

"Somebody from my past. I found her while walking around in the city. I'm trying to remember what I left behind."

Dealing with Naamah and then Ala, I didn't really have time to deal with my past. The girl in my memories, Harry being the past me, the fact that Draco was also in my past.

The reality of my mission ahead hit me hard, numbing my body instantly.

"Nine..." Armaros looked at Julia, still uncertain, but nonetheless took a seat across from me. "...perhaps looking into your pass isn't the best idea."

Tried that already lady,Harry spoke out. This boy just doesn't listen.

I looked at Julia, narrowing my eyes. "You know what I am or at least you have an idea?"

She looked up from my wound, suddenly shy that the attention was on her in her own apartment but nonetheless she nodded.

"You talk of demons and clouds? And earlier when you two were arguing, you said as an angel and something about your job. Either the two of you are insane and are in some kind of cult or you both believe you are angels."

Believe not are. She believed everything happened, comprehended all the information and yet some part of her did not believe that we were angels.

Armaros was at the edge of her seat, watching Julia. It occurred to me that another one of her powers was the undoing of people hence the title. I wondered if she was silently pushing for Julia to break down or holding her together. Either way, Julia held.

"Why are you here?" I changed the subject.

"You've been marked. I thought it was just a mark due to your new, uh, status but apparently it's more than just a normal marker. Demons are targeting you, and you aren't even a full angel yet."

I looked down at my wound. Red blood but golden insides. Half human, half angel.

"Why not? I graduated, was made an angel yet I'm still in the middle. Split between two worlds." I argued. I pointed at Draco. "I am not getting anything from Alto, stationed in a city with no specific task. Me, a Dominion, the fourth highest angel type leading no troops and doing no job. I might as well retrace my past since that's the only way I'll get answers."

"Then all of heaven will stop you." She abruptly stood. "I'm here on official business. I've come with a message from the higher ups of Alto: stop looking into your past or heaven will descend to stop you...at all costs."