An Angel and a Demon

Chapter 5

Dead leaves crunched beneath Lydia’s boots as she made her way through the thick of the woods. The last light of day shone perfect beams between the trunks of the trees. When she was younger, she would lose herself exploring these woods. She would run deep into the thicket and discover every fairy ring, every clearing and every hidden stream. Those were her earliest adventures and the one she treasured the most. Now, she was back, but this time, it wasn’t to explore.

She reached a small clearing, far away from the prying eyes of those who lived on the edge of the trees.  She looked around, just to be sure, and took off her jacket. She concentrated, nervous. The last time she tried this was decades ago and she didn’t know how tired her wings were. Silence pressed onto her ears, muffling her heartbeat. Her deep breath seemed to echo through the whole forest. 

And then they unfurled.

She looked back at them in awe. They were just as powerful as she remembered. Long-feathered, beautiful, muscled, pearl white wings. The ruffled themselves, shaking off the years and letting the fresh air breathe life into them. 

And they awakened in her a longing for the freedom of the sky.

She took off, maneuvering between the patterns of branches and leaves and breaking through the canopy. Golden light touched her face and she closed her eyes, remembering what freedom felt like. The wind kissed her face as she smiled.

She stayed there, beating steadily in the sky for what seemed like ages before reality pulled her mind back to the ground. She was here for a reason. Her eyes snapped open and she looked back at the forest on the ground. Freedom would have to wait.

It took her no longer than an hour to find the base. Those maple eyes that had served her during the war hadn't lost their sharpness. Yet. 

She touched down silently at the iron gates. It was a massive building that could only be found by those with the blood of an angel running through their veins. It looked as ancient as it was, a solid concrete structure, only two floors high but hundreds of floors beneath the ground. During the war, the angels had trained their best assassins in those chambers. She was a perfect example.

Lydia walked up to the concrete doors, covered with engravings of symbols and laid her palm against it. It glowed blue as if it was listening to her.

“Lydia Carson, head of Angel Detachment 6, code name ‘Vigdis’.” 

The symbols pulsed for a few seconds and then turned green, welcoming her into the military base of the angels. She took a deep breath and walked into the place that had almost been her home during the war. The artificial sunlight lit up the rooms and she surveyed what it had become. Yes, the corridors were cracked and caked with dust, but memories played through her head of her generals, her sisters and her trainees walking from room to room, busy with work. She walked to the dorms. She wasn’t sure why but she wanted to see if the wall still had the hole from the bomb. It did.

Eventually, she found her way to the room she had intended to visit. A brass label hung off the door. Records. She took a deep breath and knocked. No answer. She knocked again. Still no answer. She stood there, beginning to feel like an idiot. 

And then the door clicked open.

She looked at it skeptically, but curiosity got the better of her. The door creaked open fully and she inched inside. Darkness enveloped the room, absorbing everything it touched. She stepped in slowly and the door closed gently behind her. The darkness disorientated her a little. It was impossible to guess how big the whole room was.

“Anaklisi?” she called into the abyss. 

A dim light came into existence in a corner to her right. She walked towards it. As she got closer, the features of the old man hunched in the corner became clearer. Faded and wrinkled, his skin draped his face as if it had just been put there for show. His squinted eyes looked black and small and his hair was ash that hung off his scalp. She was surprised he still had any.