When Angels Sin

40. Impending Doom

Alina

Dark blue painted the predawn skies. Alina's heart hammered and she tried to control her breathing as she hurried to the courtyard. She was not allowed to see Lucian. No one was allowed to come near him. But she could not bear knowing that he had been lying half naked in this freezing cold for a full day and night, chained to the ground in the open, without food or water, and without company, except for the two ominous guards who stood each at his side, making sure no one approached him. 

Folding a small blanket in her arms, and hiding a couple of butter buns in her pockets, she flew to the Northern end of the courtyard where Lucian was chained. As she approached, she could hear the strong whistling winds mixed with the clear weeping of gargoyles and the loud uproar of cawing ravens.

The faint dawn light showed her Lucian's pale form in the distance, lying limp on the ground, still badly bleeding where the tight metal chains had cut through his wings. Two black clad guards were standing at either side like menacing gargoyles. A sudden gust of cold wind hit against her violently, forcing her eyes closed and upsetting her hair. She tried to squint through the howling winds, and her eyes caught the great flock of ravens flying in circles above Lucian. Her heart tightened with unease, and dread further consumed her as she noticed that another unsightly form was also lying on the ground a few steps ahead of him.

Alina gasped as her eyes fell on the blackened form and her hands flew to cover her mouth. A party of black ravens gathered as they feasted on the remnants of a hollow body with remaining deep red hair. Daria's body had not been buried. It had not been removed since her death! And Lucian was still forced to sit before her and watch her as the ravens and maggots devoured her corpse. Alina looked at Lucian in horror. He was no longer crying. Yesterday he cried hoarsely, wailing and writhing, his body racked with endless sobs, his grief stricken eyes fixed at Daria's dead body. But now, he only sat with half closed eyes staring vacantly into space. 

Alina quickly unfolded the blanket she had intended for Lucian and walked towards what remained of Daria's body. She flapped her wings violently to force the ravens away, before she spread the blanket above the corpse, completely covering the gory sight. She turned back to look at Lucian. He looked back at her with dead like eyes, and a smoke of mist escaped his blue quivering lips in what she could tell was a little sigh, before fresh tears fell down his cheeks.

She had only taken a small step towards him, when the guards suddenly blocked her way. She closed her eyes in frustration.

"Please, let me see him," she said softly.

"Lord Bernard forbids it," one of the guards said as he looked upwards, avoiding her eyes.

"He doesn't have to know," Alina looked up at the guards with pleading tears, but they were still not looking her way. "Please. Have mercy..." They only kept standing there. "Please. I will be quick. Bernard will not know!" They did not respond. Sobs escaped her despite her will and she fell to her knees in despair. She only continued to weep silently, her shoulders shaking. She was only a few steps away from Lucian, but she could not see him. Because the guards stood in her way. She could not see him. And she might never see him again! 

She was still crying, her heart burning with frustration, when she heard a soft rustling sound. She raised her eyes slightly to find one of the guards stepping aside, opening the way for her. She looked up at him in surprise, and she found that he was looking back at her, not with the usual harsh expression. Her heart raced in anticipation. He was letting her see Lucian! She got up to her feet, wiping her tears and smiling at the guard in gratitude, before she quickly hurried towards Lucian, escaping the dark scowl of the other guard which was more likely directed at his partner.