The guards spotted her—all six of them. Sera could run. A prudent person would, but Sera was not a person. She tucked in her gray-and-white wings, which proclaimed her a fallen angel, though concealment would not matter if the guards caught her and ate her soul. In the middle of the shallow valley stood six posts. Chained to each post were stacks of souls contained in boxes of living fire, some as small as new plants and others as large as grown cats. The souls blinked black, gray, and white in varying stages of decay. One piercing glance told Sera which box held Jack’s soul. It was almost entirely black, shot through with tiny flecks of gray and white. Some hope remained, but not for long.
The guards lunged for her with clawing hands. Sera rose above them and noticed that they, too, were chained to the posts. They salivated as they tracked her, clicking their teeth and claws. She circled overhead until one spread his leathery wings and dove at her. His claws raked her arm, and the wound festered at once. No time to heal it. She plunged toward the posts as two guards swiped at her legs, then raged when she slipped away. Their attacks soon became coordinated. Sera broke their formation by feinting toward one guard and then another until their cooperation dissolved into every creature for himself. When one finally caught her, the others attacked him. During the melee, she yanked Jack’s soul free. She released a burst of light; the guards screamed and hid their faces. Clutching the soul, she flew toward the cave entrance.
But her light had summoned others. They scrambled after her, hungry for it. A horde pursued her out of the valley, up the mountain incline, and into the dark city. A demon bit a chunk from her wing. Smearing his lips, he crunched bone and feathers with a sigh. Two greasy, insect-like creatures clamped their mandibles onto her left calf and bit again and again. Blood streamed hot and bright to the ground below, and more creatures gathered to lap it up. Still, she held tight to the souls she could save. Unable to fly, with more creatures closing in, she reached the tunnel. One wing nearly chewed away, she dragged herself forward as the keening behind her drove her on. Reduced to crawling, she tumbled out of the entrance as dawn rose in lavender streaks touched with indigo—bloody, battered, and still clutching her cache of souls.
Her breath ragged, she stood on wobbly legs. Out of the shadows, Jack strode toward her. Smile on his face, malicious intent on his mind. Sera waited. Breathed. Jack reached her. “You’re mine now.” He threw his head back and laughed.”
Reaching into her pile of fire boxes, Sera found the one by touch. While Jack laughed, she raised the box pressing it to his heart. He yelped trying to pull away, scared for the first time. He stared at her, the dim light of his lost soul binding to him. Screaming, he fell to the ground cursing her name. His body shook with tension. He fought it, but his soul settled into him. The agony of his shaking, shattered body. A flood of his unconscionable, scathing acts flooded his system. He fell to the ground anger flowing from him in bouts of red light. He ran from them, into the morning light searching for relief and the darkness.
Sera dropped to her knees, battered and broken. As the sun rose, a beam of light surrounded her. She gazed into it. They were there with her. A hand, loving and soft, stroked her wings, another placed a hand on her heart. Her wings stretched out whole and white. All white. She heard the angelic voice. “Return the souls.”
Love filled her whole body. She hadn’t heard their voices in so long. This falling was her choice, but her adoration never faltered. She glowed with it. As suddenly as it arrived, the light withdrew. The removal made her heartsick. Had she made the right choice to leave? And what could she do about it?
[ To be continued ]