The Taking (23 page)

A quick, nervous laugh escapes my lips. “Not only are you doing this in front of the humans,” I nervously gaze around the room happy to see that no one else seems to be watching, “Archangel Michael is in the building somewhere. And if he catches us, the only thing that would stop him throwing us into the abyss for a very long time is that he is desperate for our help.”

“He is desperate, for now,” he reaches over and runs his fingers through my hair from my temples to the ends.
 

I grab his hand and pull it gently down. I can’t help but fiddle with his fingers. They are so strong and comforting at the same time. While I am doing this, he embraces my hand and holds it. I leave it for a moment. “So what were you talking about?”

He shrugs. “Nothing much really.”

“Meaning?” I take my time handing out more bread while waiting for his answer.

After a while he breathes out, and that look of embarrassment appears again. “He was just telling me how well I have done with my mind speak. And he was happy that I used it to get us out of the gatekeeper’s lair.”
 

I shake my head.
 

“What?” he asks.

“All that effort just to find out something as simple as that.”

A sheepish look crosses his face, and he leans in closer stroking my hair again. “Well, he doesn’t usually complement us.”

A whoosh sounds next to us, and I instantly toss his hand and step a pace away as a nervous reaction. In a search for the cause, I turn to see Archangel Michael staring at us, his face does not look pleased.
 

- Chapter Twenty -

I try to swallow, but I just can’t get past that lump in my throat. We have been caught. Right when we need to focus on avenging Ethan and hopefully getting him fixed, we are about to be abolished for quite some time. Internally I cringe. It has been some time since I have been in trouble, but when I think about it, we have not been around the archangels to be caught doing anything wrong. I bite my tongue as I wait for the reprimand, hoping we will just be given a severe rap on the knuckles until our mission is over.
 

When Archangel Michael turns to glare at Ben, I take a quick peek too. I cannot believe it. He is again looking straight-faced — so business-like. I almost want to give him a backhanded hit on his shoulder for his reaction, as he was the one who wouldn’t stop.
 

The sapphire eyes turn back to me, piercing and cold. “What have you done?”

The eyes flick back and forth between Ben and I. Neither of us speaks while we stand to attention, eyes straight ahead like soldiers being drilled.

His muscular face tightens while his chiselled jaw clenches. Venom seeps through his voice as he says, “I asked. What. Have. You. Done?”

I don’t know what to do to make things better. I have disappointed my leader again and this time he seems more annoyed than my initial shortcomings. He has been chasing a demon all over the universe to protect me, and I have backstabbed him again by going against his orders and angelic ruling. I cast my eyes to the ground and do the only thing I can think of. “I’m sorry, sir.”

He stands over the top of me. A cough sounds from the far corner behind me, and I suddenly remember that we are still in a room full of humans. He is so angry that he is about to punish us in front of humans.
 

I am not particularly fond of this idea, so I say it again. “I’m sorry, sir.”

I can feel his breath falling over the top of me — hot and angry, rolling over my face. Through clenched teeth he hisses, “So you should be.”
 

Suddenly a strange sound fills the air, and it starts right in front of me. I lift my eyes to see Archangel Michael laughing.
 

Okay, I am thoroughly confused.
My brows push together, and I fail to see the funny side. I gaze at Ben to see if he was any wiser, and I see that he looks how I feel.
 

The laughter stops but a smile still plasters our leader’s face. “How on earth did you manage to break through cranky old Zacharias?” He places an arm on both our shoulders affectionately. “I have not seen that old angel this happy for eons.”

One of Ben’s dark brown eyebrows lifts. “He’s happy?”
 

He slaps Ben playfully on the shoulder. “Yes, believe it or not, he is the happiest I have seen him since he became earthbound.”

“How can you tell?” I ask.
 

“He greeted me in a civilised manner almost how he used to before.” He screws up his nose. “I must say though, he has an unusually harsh way of teaching. You should have seen the blood on the floor when I entered the room.”

I breathe in harshly. “I was supposed to go back and heal them.” I look at Ben. “Did you get any messages from him?” He shakes his head. I step forward to go to them when Archangel Michael stops me by grabbing my arm.
 

“They are alright. I have called Archangel Raphael, and they are healed. I just wanted to tell you to keep up the good work. Before you know it he will be laughing.”

For some reason, the image of Zacharias laughing makes me feel happy, and I smile.
 

“I have to go now and continue the search. Remember to keep an eye open for Separus. I unquestionably felt his presence here.”

Before we can respond, he disappears. I give Ben a backhand slap to his shoulder. “You nearly got us caught.”

The usual smirk crosses his face, and I shake my head. “I swear next time we are sent to the abyss, you are going to be the cause, not me.”

I reach in the bag for some more loaves. There are still hungry mouths waiting for food, and it feels like the whole room is still staring at us. As I hand it to the next in line, a scream fills the air and my eyes instantly search for the cause. Everyone in the room seems fine only distracted and staring toward one of the windows.
 

Ben drops the bag and we both head over to look out the window. In the immediate grounds of the Tatev Monastery, I do not see anything while we peer out the window. A little further a form of something that looks similar to a shrivelled old human with bat-like wings hovers above the height of the stone wall. Instantly, I release my wings and dive out the window, hovering on our side of the fence. A flash of royal blue appears next to me, and I know that Ben has followed.
 

The scene before me fills me with horror. Roughly about fifty metres away from the monastery walls on a rocky level, below the path that leads to the entrance, is a group of about thirty demons. They are gathered together in a large circle facing in the outward direction. After what Archangel Michael warned I study the group looking for any signs of Separus. Instead, I spot a group of humans trapped in the centre of the unsightly beings, and I cringe. Not wanting another repeat of what happened last time we faced them, I raise my protective shield forming the thin barrier of white light around me.
 

“Ben, can you tell Zacharias?” I ask.
 

“
Already done
.” His voice sounds in my head.
 

As we hover, my eyes do not leave the group. A movement sprouted from the middle, and I feel the colour run from my face. “The gatekeeper.” The words escape my mouth unintentionally.
 

When he reaches the front of the group that horrid cackle sounds throughout the hillside. My hand instinctively drops to my thigh grasping the hilt of my dagger. I dive quickly to a closer level landing on a tall rock. With a quick rotation, I flick the dagger from my hand and watch it fly through the air, aiming straight for the gatekeeper
’
s heart. My eyes are fixed on the dagger, watching the perfect line it is traveling, moving quicker than the human eye can register the information to the brain.
 

It is centimetres away, and I am ready for the jump of victory when I see him suddenly move ever so slightly to the side. It slides past him, missing his skin. My eyes open wide as I watch the dagger aiming directly for one of their captives. A gasp escapes my lips. It is a woman; her stomach swollen with pregnancy. I hear the cutting flesh as the dagger embeds deep into her uterus.
 

“No!” I scream barely hearing the woman cry out in pain as she drops to her knees on the ground. Her hands grasp around the hilt of the protruding knife. As her backside lands on her feet that terrifying cackle of the gatekeeper explodes through the air accompanied by the screeching of the surrounding demons.
 

I feel weak, sick to the stomach. Ben flies down and grabs me by the arm, directing me back to safety until we think this through. Bitter tears pour down my cheeks when we land on top of the wall. “I need to save the woman and her baby,” I cry.

He wipes the tears away with his hand and grabs my shoulders. “I know. Cindy will be out soon, and we can fight them better with numbers.”
 

I twist to look at the group below. The woman collapses completely to the ground and lies on her side. The gatekeeper points to her and cackles that horrid telltale cackle. I know he said he did this to inform Separus that he has found me, but I don’t care. Instead of fear, deep anger rises to the surface. I cannot wait for Cindy to come, I need to get the pregnant woman now and stop them.
 

I am about to push off when I feel my arm being clasped. I try to shake it off when it grips me harder. I turn and see Ben’s eyes firm in his decision.
 

“
They are coming
,” he says in my head again. “
I don’t want to lose you and we need more of us to fight
.
”

“We need to go now,” I argue, yet he continues to grasp me, his eyes pleading.

A whoosh sounds and on the wall behind Ben a large gathering of yellow appears. My heart lifts seeing Cindy’s friendly face.
 

She glances over the group and frowns. “Strange, I thought there would be more. My gut seems to be picking up a stronger scent than what is displayed before us.”

Another rushed swish sounds behind me, and I frown.
Who else would be here?
Then I remember; Archangel Raphael was healing Zacharias and Cindy, so he must have come to fight with us after hearing about the demons.

I turn, expecting to see an angel of green when the only green that greets me is the eyes of an angel dressed in black monks wear with a wrinkled, grumpy set face.

“Zacharias?”
I cannot believe it
. His eyes are actually twinkling.
Wait; is that a smile on his face?
“You’re out of your room?”

He holds his head high and says, “I am protecting the property. It is my job.”

I look at Ben. “Did you know?”

He shrugs and smirks.
 

I shake my head. “Well, let’s do this. There is a lady in the middle I injured by mistake. I need to heal her.”

With my protective layer still firmly in place we fly down to the level of the demons. Watching in my peripheral vision, I notice how Zacharias has to flap his wings at least double the number of times as us to fly down safely. It must be an exhausting way to fly.
 

I catch the beginning of several black pulses about to hurl our way. Knowing our chances would be slim to dodge thirty of them, I grow concerned for my friend’s safety. On a whim, I focus on trying to place a barrier across the front of all of us to work as a shield. I have never done this, and I am nervous about whether it will work, but I have to try something. The black pulses are fired, and I push the white light out from my abdomen using the strength of my core. When they reach only one metre away, the light bends to my wishes and places a shield in front.
 

Inwardly I cheer as I prepare for another round; it comes within a few minutes, and I am ready, deflecting them away before they hit one of us.
 

We land and each one of my companions reaches for their weapons. I grasp the side of my thigh; with the empty sheath I am swiftly reminded of my destructive throw. My eyes search for the poor lady with my dagger still sticking out of her swollen womb, and I am fuelled by passion to fight. I need to heal her, or I won’t be able to forgive myself. I know I could retrieve my dagger using my angelic powers but without being healed at the same time, this would cause her more harm.

The gatekeeper disappears from the fight. As I prepare to attack the row of demons in front of me, I do not see where he goes. I raise my hands in a defensive motion and skip in to strike with a sidekick to the knee. The snapping of bones is clear as the scream similar to a strangled cat fills the air. The demon does not stop their attack but continues forward as more join him. Just like the time I fought Separus, right before my eyes the bones automatically heal themselves, and the demon has a functional leg again. I do a rough calculation and work out we have more than seven demons to our one. If all of them can heal themselves like that, it is not good odds for us.
 

Before the demons crowd me, I have a quick look at the others. Cindy is fighting well using her blade sides of the Chakram, managing to cut many slashes in the demons’ skin. She is not throwing them at the demons, probably afraid that she will do damage to the humans like I did. Ben is slashing deep gashes with his butterfly swords, and Zacharias is swinging his double-ended Egyptian Axe. I remember running my fingers over the rich blue and gold decoration of the axe during the choosing of the weapons. Limb after limb was cut off, yet the demons continued to come. I did notice that any wounds inflicted by the weapons blessed by angelic power did not heal.