Genesis: Falling Angel (21 page)

For a moment, he lay there, panting. He wiped the foam from his mouth, glaring at me. “Thanks,” he spat.

“Anytime,” I replied.

With Noah well enough to fly, I instructed Flint and Morrigan to meet us at Superbia. Neither of them would travel fast enough, and I would be damned if I let them ride on Noah’s back with me. I didn’t want either of them touching me.

Noah walked alongside me, apparently deep in thought. He finally turned to me and asked, “What are they doing to her? You know Leon better than I do.”

I did know Leon. He had always been slightly off. The fall had warped his mind more than Hell could have. He was second in power to Lucifer. No, Satan. He was not Lucifer no matter how much he wished he could be.

Gabrielle needed to hold on for just one more day. My worry made me slightly more cautious than usual. I’d selected one of the dragon-slaying swords from my armory. I’d thought about a gun, but Diamond wouldn’t even be scratched by a bullet. The blade of the sword was black and thin. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to use it long, but it would be a nice distraction.

Flint approached me as I waited on Noah to fully shift. “Remember what I told you when you came to my city.”

“Shut up,” I hissed.

I climbed onto Noah’s back, and we began our journey to Gabrielle.

Still, I couldn’t help but remember Flint’s words to me.
No matter what path you take, she will die.

Chapter 25
– Gabrielle

My cell was nothing more than a cold metal room with no windows. There was one door, which was locked by several mechanisms, though I had no way of breaking free. There was a toilet in the corner and a pile of dirt
y blankets for a bed. I sat in the corner furthest from the door, knees to my chest. I still wore the green dress that Adrian had given me. Leon said it looked very nice.

I knew I had only been in the cell one day, but it felt like an eternity. I knew what eternity felt like, so I believed my comparison to be accurate. It was boring, lonely, and empty. I was left with nothing but my own thoughts.

I prayed often. My Father would never abandon me. I knew this deep in my heart. He would hear my prayers and vanquish my enemies. He would bring me home. He would praise me on a job well done. He was a part of me as he was a part of all living things. Well, save for demons.

I thought of Adrian reading the Bible. He had marked it so much. It was as though he poured his very being into finding
a way to avoid the torture of Hell. I had felt awful when he told me this because I knew it to be true. My Father did not open Heaven’s gates for demons because they were inherently evil. They worked to trick unsuspecting mortals and naïve angels.

Strangely, I had the feeling that I didn’t want to really return home. I was content on earth. Sure, it was full of bloodthirsty demons. Still, I’d never had more fun in my life. I’d never felt more.

I wasn’t sure of when I fell asleep. I only knew it once I was in the white room again. Gabriel was waiting as always, though this time his sword was at his hip. It blazed with blue flames.

“I’m coming to get you. This has gone on long enough,” he said.

“I will wait for you, then. There’s not much else I can do, really,” I replied.

He nodded. “About before—”

“You were right,” I said, almost as a reflex. “I was wrong. I won’t disappoint you again, Gabriel.”

“See to it that you don’t. Your sins are forgiven. God has heard your prayers and wants you to return home. The others are preparing a descent to earth to
cast those monsters back into Hell.”

I thought of Adrian, and my heart ached. “Would I be allowed to return once all of this is over?”

“Your demon will no longer be there,” he replied bitterly. “He’ll be burning in Hell like the rest of his kind. All you need is my company, Gabrielle.”

“What if that’s not enough?” I whispered.

“Pardon?”

“What if that’s not enough?” I repeated stronger than before. “What if I want to roam the earth, traveling and seeing all of the wonders that our Father has placed on it? What if I want to help them rebuild, teaching them God’s word so that this never occurs again? What if I want to find someone to love, get married, and have children? What if I want to grow old so that I can experience everything life has to offer? What if I want to feel angry, sad, pained, and confused? What if I want to be loved in a way you can’t begin to understand? What if I want to stay human, Gabriel?”

He was silent for only a moment. “This demon has poisoned your mind. No union of yours would ever be considered natural. He comes for you now in hopes of keeping you, but you will slip through his fingers like sand.”

“He’s coming for me?” I asked.

Gabriel looked annoyed, but he didn’t say anything.

“Adrian is coming for me, and you weren’t going to say a word. He’s done more for me than you have during this entire time on earth. You have only scolded me. My Father has not forsaken me, and neither should you. It is not wrong for a mortal to feel what I am feeling. I am not an angel any longer. I am human, and my wants and desires are what so many humans strive for. They are perfectly natural.”

“Adrian is a demon. He once tried to wound me, and I tore his wings from his back. If he goes after you, I cannot guarantee his survival,” Gabriel responded.

“He doesn’t deserve your punishment. He had set out with me to hand me over to Lilith, but I am certain that his intentions changed somewhere. He did not even once try to lead me astray. When he kissed me, his intentions were pure. I was too afraid to accept that maybe not all touch is a sin. Perhaps there is love instead of lust in some instances.”

“What are you saying?” he demanded.

“I’m saying that I believe he loves me.”

“He’s a demon. They can’t love.”

“Some demons bear human minds. They desire what humans desire, they don’t enjoy the things they do to survive, and they are able to feel as humans do. Try and tell me that you’ve never thought of this. Try to tell me that I am wrong. I know in my heart that this is true.” I glared. “Perhaps the reason that you don’t understand is because you have no heart. I bore an echo of one since my creation. I was meant to join the human world. I’m not going home.”

“You will return if I have to drag you there,” Gabriel said through gritted teeth. “Your sick fantasies will fade in time. Your angelic form will erase all of these wild dreams.”

“I don’t believe so,” I replied, growing even bolder. “I think that no matter what you do, I’ll always have these feelings. I have tasted the forbidden fruit, I bear the knowledge that no other angel has dared to seek.”

“You liken yourself to the woman who brought sin into this world?” Gabriel asked with an expression somewhere between anger and surprise.

“I was created because of Eve. In a sense, I am the Eve of the angelic race. I was the first of my kind to be created. I was the first to taste the fruit. I was the first to gain the knowledge, and I would never take back any of my actions. I will stay on earth. There is nothing that you can do to stop me.”

“This demon has poisoned your mind,” he repeated. “You have been tempted and have succumbed to sin. You are nothing more than a child, Gabrielle. You don’t need to be thinking such thoughts. Now stop acting foolish!”

“He has not poisoned me!” I yelled. Gabriel looked completely stunned. I continued in a softer voice, “I think I love him, too.”

His face twisted in anger. “Those feelings are lies that he has planted in you.”

“Our Father did not allow love because it was evil. The love between a man and his wife is praised.”

“Gabrielle, you are not married to him. As long as I’m around, you never will be. I have the right to remove you from that wretched planet. Your punishment will not be severe as long as you come quietly.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I replied. I willed myself to leave the room, to return to the cell. Anything was better than Gabriel’s harsh accusations.

“I’ve had enough of this. It’s time—”

Then I woke. The earth was shaking slightly, and I bit my lip. The only thing I could think of that was big enough to shake the ground was
another troll. Or perhaps it was Noah. I brightened instantly. They’d come for me! Gabriel was wrong about demons. So far, demons helped me more than any mortal. I decided that I would speak to my father about this soon.

There was a loud
crash
. The door to my cell opened, and Leon entered. My heart sank at the sight of his grin. “Get up,” he ordered. I did not hesitate.

“Well, looks like we have to do this earlier than planned,” he murmured to me. “This will hurt a lot, by the way. Try not to let it consume you.”

What would hurt? Oh, the ritual. The ritual would hurt a lot. Why were the doing it earlier than planned? We made our way up a flight of steps and down a large corridor. Lilith was waiting with her scaly arms crossed over her chest.

“There, now. Bring her this way.”

A wall collapsed to our left, and I shrieked in surprise. Another shriek followed mine, though that one nearly made me collapse. Leon clapped his hands over his ears. “Can we hurry up already? They’re not doing a good job,” he snapped.

“Then go help them, dear,” Lilith said through clenched teeth. “You’re the strong one, remember?”

He smiled at this, shedding his lab coat and pulling his shirt over his head. His black wings appeared, spreading out behind him. “Is he still your favorite, mother?”

“What do you think?” she asked.

I looked through the opening in the wall. There were three objects high in the air. Two were large—one gold, one silver. The other was black. Leon eyed the third one for only a moment before he walked down the hallway, turning only to give me one last wicked smile. It occurred to me later that I knew exactly what those three dots were, but Leon’s smile had momentarily made my mind blank.

A shrill, chilling laugh came from down the hall. A great beast with fur like a hyena’s chased after a blurry white figure. The white figure paused, turning. Flint. I assumed the beast to be Judas. He grabbed at Flint, but Flint jumped onto his back. He t
apped Judas’ forehead and murmured, “Sleep.”

Lilith continued to lead me along until we came to this great set of stone doors. They were covered with strange markings and images that I had never seen before in any of my studies. Lilith noticed my confusion and smiled sweetly. “It’s my native tongue,” she whispered. “Only my children and I may enter this room, and none of them know how to open the door.”

The only thing I got out of that was that Hell had its own language. The thought was slightly unnerving. The place had a strange aura about it. When the doors opened to reveal darkness, I shook my head, rooting myself to the spot. Lilith tugged at me and I fought her. Eventually, she yanked me into the room. Immediately, I became cold. It was almost as if the cold was burning me.

Flames appeared in little alcoves in the stone walls, casting an eerie light on the room. In the center, another strange character had been engraved on the floor. There were so many twists and turns that I gave up on trying to decipher it. In the center of the character, there was a knife. The blade gleamed wickedly in the dim light.

“My children have disobeyed me because of you,” Lilith said, gripping my jaw. “You’re supposed to look like Gabriel, right? Well you look too much like someone I once knew. She was someone that took everything from me. It was all because I didn’t submit, like you’re trying to do now. I wanted a husband. I wanted children. Instead, I was replaced by the very woman who brought this world to ruin.”

“Eve,” I said softly.

“
Don’t say her name
!” Lilith screeched. She slapped me hard, sending me sprawling to the floor. “You look just like her. The little whore basically did whatever Adam wanted. If Adam had stuck by me, maybe we wouldn’t be here right now. Maybe humanity would still be in Eden.”

“I think,” I replied, “that humanity would be in worse shape if you had been the mother of it. I believe your role as the mother of demons suits you.”

She swiftly kicked my side. “Shut up! Just because I rebelled against one man didn’t mean I was prepared to rebel against God. God abandoned me.”

“You weren’t cast out for not submitting,” I said.

“Then why?” she demanded.

I met her eyes. “Because God saw wickedness in you the moment you conversed with the serpent.”

“Enough!” she cried. She grabbed a handful of my hair and dragged me over the stone floor. I cried out in pain, which only made her grip stronger. She shackled my arms and legs and forced me down over the engraving, knife raised.

The ground shook, and then the door crumbled to dust.

Chapter 26 – Adrian

The moment Noah crash landed, I realized that I didn’t have a plan. Superbia was all boring colors: black, white, and gray. It was the center of scientific research.
All of the medicines and technological advancements were produced there.

Noah had leveled a small home. I didn’t bother to check if anyone was inside the rubble. They were all guilty in my mind. A flag proudly waved in the distance. It was white with a black crow on it, and I was certain that was where Gabrielle would be. I ran past Fallen and ponds teeming with mermaids. A few fairies whizzed by me, screaming obscenities that I had never thought of using.

There was a long staircase that led up the building. The moment I reached the top, my heart sank. My path to the door was blocked, and what else would block it besides two angry demonic lords?

Judas had already shifted into his half-man, half-hyena state. Diamond was busy filing her nails, barely even paying attention to me. Judas just laughed his insane laugh. Diamond put away her file and said, “You didn’t play very nice last time. Perhaps it’s time we taught you a lesson.”

With that, she began to shift.

“Well, damn it,” I muttered. Noah, Flint, and Morrigan were following closely. I raised a hand to make them stop where they were. Diamond’s dragon form appeared within moments, and she growled lowly. Something gleamed at her feet. I tried to get a good look, but Judas flew at me.

I dodged him with newfound speed. Draining Cassandra had definitely helped my strength and speed. He charged at me again, and this time I caught him by the shoulders, holding him back. His massive jaws snapped at me, making loud clacking sounds. He laughed his insane laugh. I grimaced with the effort of holding him. I was stronger, but still not strong enough to hold Judas off on my own.

Luckily, Noah had shifted. He had slammed Diamond into the building, causing a movement similar to an earthquake. Stone and scraps of metal rained down, and I moved a step back so that Judas would follow. A large piece of metal embedded itself in his back. He howled with rage. He broke free from me to tear the metal out of his back, but I didn’t wait. I sprinted toward the opening that Noah had made.

A clawed scaly hand pulled me back. I was lifted to come face-to-face with Diamond. She made a low rumbling sound in her throat. Strange, I didn’t think she ever laughed. She opened her maw, bringing me closer to her rows of sharp teeth.

Noah breathed blue flame at her. She roared, dropping me toward the fire. Luckily, I managed to remember that I had wings. I caught myself just before being engulfed by the flames, though the heat burned me anyways. I landed by the gleaming objects that Diamond had been standing by. After removing the torn shirt my wings had broken through, I examined the pile. It was a mess of broken glass and needles.

What had she taken?

The answer came only moments later. Blood poured from her back. She howled with rage. Bone, muscle, and flesh formed so rapidly that the movement was barely noticeable. The only signs that a change had occurred were the blood glistening on her scales and the large, silvery wings that now protruded from her back. Noah roared in outrage.

She took to the air. Noah and I followed immediately. As we rose higher, I heard Morrigan scream. I could only hope that she and Flint could hold Judas off a while longer. We flew higher and higher.

Finally, Diamond turned on us and blasted us with ice. The chilly air washed over me, dusting my wings with frost. I felt heavier suddenly, and I knew I couldn’t let her manage a hit like that again.

She was not as fast as me in the air, but Noah was slower than her. Every time he snapped at her like she was some pesky fly, she’d dart away. Then she’d come back moments later to sink her teeth into his flesh. He roared with rage. Blood poured out of him.

At one particular instance when Diamond swooped down to attack Noah, I met her halfway. I slashed at her face, and she let out a shriek of pain. She dropped from the air for only a few seconds before she was flying back toward us. The left side of her face had be
en sliced open and blood poured from it. Her eye had been destroyed. I was fairly pleased with myself. 

She came straight for me, and I dropped before her massive claws could tear me apart. Noah came from behind her, clamping his jaws onto her neck. She writhed and breathed more ice, but to no avail. Noah made a tearing motion, and Diamond looked at me only for a moment before she began her fall back down to earth. I raced after her. I landed on her scaly chest, raising my sword above her heart.

I couldn’t do it. Maybe I had grown soft, but I couldn’t kill a creature like her. Not anymore. Diamond was as much of a victim as any of us. She was the last female in a royal line. She had been raised to be cold. The curse of Greed had warped that mindset. She had begun to hoard treasures and people. She always was trying to find another way to make a gain. It seemed almost sad to kill such a pathetic creature.

I jumped off of her right before she struck the ground, unconscious. I landed a few feet away, waiting for Noah’s descent. He returned to his mortal form before landing, so he ende
d up falling flat on his face. He was a true idiot to the end.

This, however, would not be the end. Gabrielle needed us, and we need
ed her just as much. She was the first to try and change the forsaken world. She was important. She would set all of us free. I was prepared to go to Hell if it meant her freedom.

“Are we leaving her?” Noah asked, looking more serious than I’d ever seen him before.

“It’s for the best. Once this is all over, there will be a greater punishment for her.” I didn’t want to say that it would be a punishment for us as well.

He nodded, leading the way into the building. We climbed over rubble, and I had to keep my wings folded tightly to my back. “What was it that she took?” I asked him.

“It was hormones, probably. Only males grow wings.” He said it as though he’d been reciting it his whole life. He did not seem to bear any anger or remorse over what his sister had done or that he was part of the reason she lay bleeding on the ground. He just looked tired, which was a bad sign.

“Shouldn’t you be in dragon form right now?” I asked.

“I won’t fit in the building. I don’t want to tear this place apart. I might accidentally kill someone,” he replied.

We made our way down the hallway until we came to Morrigan and Flint. They were standing over the human form of Judas, who appeared to be mumbling incoherently. Flint turned to greet us. “He talks in his sleep. Isn’t that fascinating? I think he talks about food, mostly, but still. It’s something to use against him in the future.” He sighed. “
That is, if there even is a future. There are so many images in my head, so many possibilities. One in particular is coming toward us as we speak.”

Morrigan coughed, and a few droplets of blood stained her lips. Flint looked on the verge of falling asleep. I wanted to scold them, to tell them that the mission wasn’t even close to over, but they’d done a decent job at knocking Judas out. Maybe they weren’t so useless after all.

“Do you know where Gabrielle is, Flint?” Noah asked.

Flint almost looked amused by that. His lips twitched slightly like he wanted to smile, but he just wasn’t capable. “I see images of the future and past, but I don’t know how to locate people based on what I see. I only know as much as you do. She is definitely here. Why else would the others have been guarding it?”

“You know who was missing from the battle, don’t you?” Morrigan asked, coughing again.

“Yeah, I know,” I said with a frown.

Noah looked at the three of us, taking in our sullen expressions. “What’s next?” he asked.

“We haven’t seen Leon at all. This is unnerving,” Flint whispered, glancing around the room with something akin to paranoia.

“Move along slowly,” I said, taking up the rear. Flint led us onward, peering around every corner as though some sort of terrible monster was waiting. Technically, a terrible monster was waiting for us.

Something pinched my shoulder. I turned to p
ull a tiny dart out of it. “Crap,” I murmured before I crumpled to the ground. Well, I almost did. Someone caught me before I made it to the floor. Why was I always the one that got paralyzed?

I could see Leon standing over me, wings proudly on display. He held a finger to his lips as if to tell me to keep quiet, as if I could speak anyways. He walked straight up to Noah and shoved a knife through his abdomen. Noah doubled over, turning back to look at his attacker. Dark blood was leaking past his lips. He made an attempt to strike back, but Leon stopped him. With one swift motion, he shoved his hand against the center of Noah’s back. A loud
crack
filled the room.

“I want to save you two for last,” he said as Morrigan and Flint finally turned around. “Your spine’s broken, but that sho
uld be nothing for you, right? It’s agonizing to heal, but not unmanageable. As for you two,” here he turned his attention to Morrigan and Flint, “you have both been very disappointing. The weakest of us all, yet you persist.”

Morrigan screamed. It shook the room, and Flint clapped his hands over his ears to block out the offensive noise. The very air seemed to vibrate. The moment it ended, my ears began ringing.

Leon hadn’t flinched.

“You think screaming will help you? Well, I love to make someone scream as much as the next person, but you are just annoying. You two rely too heavily on your powers.”

Morrigan was too stunned to move. Flint jumped forward, taking Leon’s head in his hands. He gazed into his eyes. For a moment, they seemed to have some sort of staring contest. Finally, Leon cracked a grin. “I am your superior. Don’t think your little tricks will work on me.” He slammed his fist into Flint’s face, and Flint’s hands immediately rose for his nose. This left him open for a kick to his stomach, sending him flying back into a wall.

Leon turned on Morrigan. “I really don’t like to hit girls,” he said solemnly.

She pulled a dagger from her cloak, making to stab him. His hand caught her wrist. “But this will be a pleasure,” he said. His fist hit her throat.

She crumpled, gasping for air. I was gaining the ability to move once more. Whatever he had given me was weak. I chanced a glance at Noah. He was motionless, lying with his eyes opened and glazed. Panic gripped me for only a moment.

A swift kick to Morrigan’s head knocked her out cold.

“Lilith wants those two alive,” Leon said solemnly, turning to me. “You and the dragon, however, have caused too much trouble. What did you think, Adrian? Did you think that Lilith would reward you whether you succeeded or not? You were made to serve, Adrian. You are nothing.”

I gained enough movement to rise to my feet. Leon allowed this. “You’re right,” I whispered. “I am nothing. I couldn’t have ever stood up to Pride and expected to live. I’m ready for your punishment, my lord.”

He seemed so pleased by this that he decided to continue speaking. “Yes, a miserable wretch such as yourself. Perhaps you’ll be happy to know that your superior will be keeping the angel, if she survives the night.”

He was keeping her. My Gabrielle. This monster was going to torture and defile her. I gained a new resolve to kill him. My limbs felt like they were back to their usual strength. “Do you envy her soul?” I asked.

He glared. “Her what?” he asked.

“Her soul,” I repeated. “Do you envy her soul? You know, since Fallen don’t have souls. They burn the second an angel falls, right? It’s a guarantee that you’ll never be allowed back into Heaven.”

Noah had begun to rise.

“You insolent little,” Leon began. Instead, he smiled with a manic gleam in his eyes. “She will be dealt punishment for your words. I will let her know who the cause of her pain is every time she screams. I hadn’t intended on hurting her, but I think it needs to be done, don’t you?”

Noah was inching closer.

“You were cast into Hell. I was born of it. You will not like it as well as I will,” I hissed.

He raised his dagger. Noah’s hand came through his abdomen, claws glinting red in the light. Leon cried out in outrage, knocking Noah back. He looked to me with a grin before launching himself into the air, smashing through a wall, and taking off into the sky. I followed.

“Why do you care so much for her?” he asked once we’d reached a higher altitude. “You can never enter Heaven. You said it yourself. You were born of Hell. Why throw away a life on earth for that girl?”

“I’m not giving you the satisfaction of an answer,” I replied. To tell him my reasoning, to tell him just how I felt about her, would pollute such feelings. He could not know anything about her.

“I fell because of her, partially. I fell for each of the seven sins, but I never forgot her,” Leon said, laughing slightly. “Gabriel’s little pet! The image of Eve! She’s the angel who appears to be Fallen! She is a true rarity. Therefore, she is nothing that a lowly creature such as you should enjoy.”

I launched myself at him, and he ducked out of the way. This pattern went on for a few moments before he grabbed hold of my wings, right where they met my back. I remembered the feeling of Gabriel tearing them from me, letting me fall for what seemed like an eternity. I was frozen in fear.