Barely An Angel (Completed)

38~ Euphoric

"Acheron? It...it's really you?" I breathed, unable to believe what I was seeing; what I was hearing. "The...Chancellor of Vampires? But...but how did you...get here? How did you know where...we'd be?"

He chuckled heartily. "Well, as the Chancellor of Vampires, it's my job to know what goes on in the vampire world. I've been watching this situation for quite some time now, especially after I was informed of the Fantom Fangs' plan to overthrow me and steal my beloved necklace." He pat the extravagant jewel hanging from his neck with a sigh. "I don't know how they thought that was going to work out," he added, as more of an afterthought to himself than anything else. "Oh, let me help with that," he insisted, referring to the restraints that held my arms fast around the rusted metal cylinder.

"Oh, yes, please," I laughed, but it came out more as a jagged breath. My throat felt like sandpaper; I hadn't had any blood or nyris in...well, I didn't even know how long it had been.

Acheron walked around behind me, tugging a few times at whatever invincible rope I had been tied with, and it effortlessly fell to the ground at my feet. "It was a basic strengthening spell, really. I mean, it was Class 3, but basic to me," he said, as if answering my unspoken question. "It's what they used to make the rope harder for you to break, which I'm sure you noticed." He paused thoughtfully. "They must be quite threatened by you."

I rubbed my wrists, wincing at how raw they had become from the rope. My arms were limp from being stretched so far, and for so long. I tried moving my shoulders in circles to at least loosen up my arms, but it ultimately didn't do much to help the pain. "Yeah...I guess. But I wouldn't know why," I remarked. "All I've ever done is do my best to keep Nathan out of their reach, which I failed at most of the time anyways." I looked up to meet Acheron's eyes, but was shocked when he wasn't there in front of me. Instead, he had ran down the half circle, untying my friends and family each in turn and laying them gently on the ground, as none of them seemed to have woken up yet.

"You underestimate yourself, Ramona," Acheron asserted when he had finished. "You are capable of more than you may think."

I had no idea what he could've meant by that, so I didn't acknowledge it. "Hey, um, do you know why no one else has woken up yet?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't think that I was deliberately changing the subject. I was genuinely curious, and worried, about my family; weighing how possible it was in my mind that Anton could have done something to them just to spite me.

"You don't have to worry about them, they will be fine," Acheron assured me. "But, I'm sure you have other questions you'd like to ask in the meantime, hm?" He prompted.

I thought for a moment. "Yes, actually, I do. You said you were informed of the Fangs' plan...but by who? I know Anna didn't send a message because she was plotting against us this whole time. So, who was it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

He smiled. "It was her," he seemed to gaze off to somewhere behind me, so I slowly turned out to see who he could possibly be looking at. I was instantly met with a blinding white light that seemed to almost...shimmer all around me. It quickly subsided, allowing me to see a feminine silhouette emerging from the glow. I couldn't see her face, as her head was angled downwards, but I could tell that she was wearing an elegant, timeless gown of glistening silver that billowed around her, flowing to the ground with such grace and beauty that I had never seen before. Her hair was a dark, earthy brown that cascaded past her shoulders and bounced with every step she took. It suddenly occurred to me that this...this was the Chancellor of Angels.

She lifted her gaze to meet Acheron's, and I felt as though I was about to faint when I saw who it was. "Ms...Ms. Thorn?" I coughed in disbelief. "You...you're the...the Chancellor of Angels?"