Angel in Chains (9 page)

It was a weird feeling.
He had carried the chains for over two hundred years, and now when they were gone his arms felt light as if something was missing. It would take some time to get used to, but Aledyan didn't mind. At least he was rid of the damn things now, and he would never allow them near his wrists again.

He hadn't been this near the cave's entrance for a very long time. He could
even feel the sun warm his skin, and it send a thrill through him. He longed to stretch out his wings and fly.

Aledyan turned around. Inez stood
in the tunnel with her arms around her. She looked fragile and vulnerable with fear in her eyes. The chains looked big on her, and he knew they were heavy.

Aledyan bit his lip
, and pain filled his chest. The last thing he wanted was to leave her. She needed him, but if he stayed he sealed them both.

He walked back to her and pulled her into his arms.
She was shaking.

“I will hurry,
” he promised. “I will be back before the two days are up. I will not let Yorin hurt you.” He grabbed her face between his hands and looked straight into her eyes. “I love you. You are mine, and I am yours, forever. Remember that and don't ever doubt that. Do you understand?”

She nodded, but he
still saw uncertainty in her eyes. She feared that he would never come back, that he would leave her and just take off. He had to do something to prove to her that she was wrong.

Aledyan let go of Inez
, and backed off a few steps.

He spread his wings and looked them over. They were still dirty and in a mess, but they were strong now
, and that was what mattered. They were strong enough to carry him home.

He grabbed his right wing and pulled it
in front of him. Then he placed a feather between his fingers, and took a deep breath, preparing himself. In the corner of his eye, he noticed that Inez stared at him with big eyes, wondering what he was doing.

He took another deep breath
, and then he pulled hard. When the feather loosened from his wing sharp pain shot through him, almost paralyzing him. His eyes watered, and his head spun, but all he could do was wait for it to wear off. This was definitely not something he wanted to do again. He had heard from others how painful it was to rip off a feather, but he had never expected this. It took minutes before he could move again. It felt almost as if someone had kicked him in the groin.

“Why did you do that
?” Inez asked, still staring at him, but now with confusion in her eyes.

The pain slowly subsided
, and
he could release his breath. He handed her the feather. She accepted it hesitantly, and gave him a look that told him that she still waited for an answer.

“It will protect you,” he said.
“As you know angel's wings are very sensitive and private. Imagine a stranger coming up to you and touching your breast, well that's what it feels like for angels when someone touches their wings without permission.”

“Yes, I remember,” Inez said
, and he noticed that her cheeks blushed. It made him wonder what went through her mind. Maybe she thought about the first time she had touched his wings. She hadn't had permission then, but he had allowed her anyway. She had only indented to soothe him, but ended up turning him on instead.

“It is a
n intimate thing for an angel to give away one of his feathers. It only happens with someone he cares deeply about.”

A shy smile appear
ed on her lips.

“It also means that I
pledge my life to you,” he went on. “That I place you before me, in any situation, and that I value your life above my own, always.”

Inez opened her mouth to speak, but Aledyan didn't let her.
He placed a finger against her mouth to stop her. He wanted her to hear him out before she said anything.

“A feather can never be taken, it can only be given. If a feather is taken by force
it immediately withers and loses its power. Keep it near you always for protection. My life force is imbedded in it, telling evil to stay away from you. But it also tells other angels that you belong to me and that I'm yours.”

“What if I lose it?”

“You can't lose it. I have given it to you, meaning that it's yours now, and it will always find you. And don't worry, you don't need to carry it around. You can attach it to your skin and let it stay there. You won't even know it's there.”

“What do you mean attach it to my skin?”

“Place it against your arm and you'll see.”

Inez did as he said
, and let go of the feather. It stayed where she had placed it. She looked at him with big eyes.

“Only your hands can remove it. Until you do so
, it will stay glued to you forever.”

“Wow,” she said and looked at the feather
with a child's joy.

“Most prefer to have their feather above their
chest,” Aledyan said.

“To keep their love close,” Inez said with a whisper and blushed again.

Aledyan smiled. “Yes.” He touched her face. “I
will
return, with or without a way to set you free. I promise you that, Inez.”

She nodded
and took a deep breath. He closed his arms around her and held her tight. They didn't say anything. They only stood in each other arms, letting their emotions do the talking. Promises were whispered between them, promises about eternal love and devotion that could never be torn apart.

He kissed her, gently and
slowly while unfurling his wings. He heard her sob, and felt her tears soaking his chest. Everything inside him screamed when he turned away from her, and flew out from his captivity of over two hundred years.

He had almost forgotten what it felt like to have the wind blow through his hair, to have the sun warm his skin and to flap his wings in the air.
It was bliss, and he promised himself that he would never take it for granted again.

His wings felt heavy, unused
, and it took a few minutes to get used to being able to fly again. Funny, but he had never in his wildest imagination thought that he would need a short flying lesson. He had hoped to fly straight back home, but his wings didn't let him. He didn't even dare to fly high. His wings felt stiff, and he didn't trust them yet. He had once loved to fly, and he was sure he would love it again. He just needed some time to shake off the inactivity of his imprisonment. He had done almost nothing but sleep during those years. Aledyan had no other choice but to take it slow. He didn't want to end up on the ground with broken limbs.

He looked around while h
e flew near the tree tops. Yorin had picked a good place for the cave. The surroundings had not changed much since the last time he had viewed them. There were still no houses as far as his eyes could see. Aledyan cursed. It had been a lucky fluke that Inez had somehow managed to stumble upon the cave. The chance for that to happen was so small that he preferred to call it a miracle.

Unless
something or someone had somehow intervened.

He gave th
e thought some consideration, but in the end it didn't matter right now. What did matter was Inez. He had to find a way to set her free. He would keep trying as long as he was able to defend her, as long as there was air in his lungs.

He would never give up.

He looked up and felt the magic within him grow. It made him feel whole again, but his magic felt rusty. It had never been his strong side. He used it only when he had to. In the past, it had come to him as easy as his next breath, but not now. Now he really needed to focus to make it work.

Aledyan sighed. It would take time before he
became his old self again. The powerful warrior he had once been no longer lived within him. He
was now a shadow of what he had once been, and something told him he would never be that Aledyan again. He was changed, for all time.

He closed his eyes and focus
ed on his magic again. It was still there, he could feel it. It waited for him to use it, and he had to be able to use it if he wanted to go home. The magic within him was the only thing that could open a portal between the world of humans and the angels world, but that was also the only thing he could use his magic for. He was a warrior, not a magician.

For the first time in his life
, his magic worked against him. Opening that damn portal gave him a headache, and it weakened him. Aledyan cursed, and swore that Yorin would pay for what he had done. It actually hurt to use his magic. It felt like a huge muscle ache, but in his head. It drained him of his powers, and he felt more and more tired, but if he didn't open the portal he would never be able to go home, and time was something neither he nor Inez had. He didn't have the time to recover! He had to do it, now. Every minute counted.

Aledyan closed his eyes
, and his determination grew. He ignored the stabbing headache and reached for his magic that was hidden somewhere deep within him, slumbering. It struggled against his reach, and slipped out of his hands several times, making him sweat and his heart pound against his chest.

Aledyan
was out of breath after several minutes. His head spun, and all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep, but that option didn't exist.

It was now or never.

With the little strength that he had left he somehow managed to open the portal. He watched it materialize in front of him like transparent waves in the air. At first he saw his own reflection before the everlasting beauty of a green forest, and a blue sky appeared.

He
exhaled and relief filled him. Aledyan flew through it, but without a hint or a warning his wings suddenly gave in. Aledyan gasped, and fear went right through him. His wings refused to hold him up anymore. No matter how frantically he tried to move his wings they refused to obey. They felt like heavy stone blocks, and the ground came up fast. If he didn't make them work soon, there wouldn't be much left of him once he hit the ground. For some reason, the portal had opened high up in the air, most likely because of his lack of concentration. Usually that elevation didn't bother him because usually, he could fly.

Panic
took ahold of him.

Suddenly four unknown hands grabbed him around his waist and arms, slowing his fall until he gently landed upon the grass.

Aledyan breathed fast. He lay on his stomach and realized that someone had just saved him, but he was too exhausted to turn around and thank them.

“Aledyan?” he heard a familiar voice
say next to him. He barely had enough strength to turn his head to look at the owner of the voice.

Someone leaned closer and Aledyan got a glimpse of
long, red hair. “It
is
you!”

Aledy
an turned his head a little more and saw two of his friends sitting next to him. Their facial expressions were mixed with confusion, worry and surprise. Their eyes told him that they barely believed what they saw. He understood why.

Aledyan understood
what he looked like to them with his dirty, messy wings and weak, shaky body. It was embarrassing that his own wings hadn't been able to hold him up, but he tried to ignore the feeling. What was important now was that he had managed to get home. Hope filled him. Maybe he would be able to save Inez after all.

Aledyan
smiled toward them briefly before he slowly sat up. His head was still spinning, and his wings felt heavy. His friends helped him while they looked him over.

“We have been l
ooking for you for many years. Where have you been and what has happened to you?”

It was
Cerin who spoke. He was an attractive angel with long, wavy hair that had the color of fire. He had a face that made every woman turn around, but his cold, green eyes made them think twice before they approached him. His entire aura screamed “stay away”. Cerin was taller than Aledyan and more muscular. His flawless skin was as pale as milk, and his wings were red all over. Even his wings were bigger than Aledyan's. Cerin's huge body made him look very intimidating, like a perfect warrior and a killer machine, but Cerin was neither.

He was a healer.

That didn't mean he couldn't defend himself; he did if he had to, but Cerin preferred to stay away from fights.

“It's a long story,” Aledyan answered and sighed. His body
ached, his muscles protested. All he wanted was to lie down and rest. But knowing that Inez was all alone inside the cave was all it took for him to stay awake.

“Well, you're safe now
, and you have a lot of time to tell us, but first you need a bath, food and rest.”

Aledyan shook his head. “No, time is precious. I need to hurry
. I must save her.”

B
oth angels went silent for a while. They looked at each other before their gazes fixed upon Aledyan again.

“Save who?”
Vorian asked. Although if he was shorter than Aledyan and Cerin he was still taller than most. His black hair was thick and gave his masculine features a wicked look. Those uncontrolled curls of his made him look wild and unpredictable. He always threw himself into battle with laughter and with passion in his eyes. He was the natural born warrior.

“Inez,” Aledyan answered. “She's the one who set me free. Now I must set her free.”

Aledyan began to explain what had happened. His friends listened silently with grim expressions upon their faces.