Once Upon an Angel (To Light and Guard Book 2.5)

  After watching the beasts for what must have been hours, I finally had enough. I needed to talk to other demons and find a way out of this place. Maybe I could find someone who could give me more information on how Gaius managed to walk out of Hell. It was a start to my plan of leaving this place.

  Looking around the mountain, I gazed at the faces of the other demons around me; there were five of them to my right, and six to my left. They were all scattered about.

  I tried to remember which one of them knew Gaius the best. I looked to my right again, and that was when I saw a certain blond demon, standing by himself about a hundred feet away. His black wings were tucked behind his back, his arms were crossed in front of him, and his gaze was focused solely on the valley below. Maybe he was just lost in thought, but it certainly seemed as if he didn’t want to be bothered by anyone.

  It was Joshua. I smiled. I knew this demon. I knew him well, and he was a friend of mine.

  But what was Joshua doing here?

  The only way for a demon to make it to this place was to kill a human, and I knew that Joshua would never do that. He was one of those demons who stayed far away from the humans to prevent such a thing from occurring. He always thought that the humans were too fragile, and too risky to be around because our wings were already black.

  So… how did he manage to land himself here?

  I walked towards him with a purpose, going around several other demons who didn’t even bother to look at me as I passed them. Rudeness, it seemed, was the norm over here.

  When I finally reached Joshua, I said his name with a large smile on my face. I truly was happy to find him here.

  “Joshua.”

  He immediately turned to face me, and I walked straight into his arms, hugging him tight. It didn’t matter how he got here. He was here now. That was all that mattered, and maybe I wouldn’t feel so lonely anymore.

  “Adra,” he said as he hugged me back. When he released me, that was when I noticed his frown, the tightness around his lips. The misery. It was written all over his face. He looked shattered. I haven’t seen him looking like this for a very long time - not since Kyrie died.

  "When did you get here?" I asked. Maybe he was still adjusting to the fiery beasts of Hell… and other things. That was possible.

  "Just a few minutes ago. I didn’t think I was going to make it. One of the beasts bit my entire wing off.”

  I glanced at both of his black wings, and both of them looked intact.

  “It grew back,” he said, crossing his arms again. “I guess we’re still immortal… even here.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. I saw a demon get eaten up by one of those beasts when I first got here.” I jerked my head towards the giant cats roaming the valley below. “And no one has seen him since.”

  Joshua grunted next to me. I looked at him again, and I could tell that something was definitely amiss. It wasn’t just being here that was bothering him. With a sigh, he sat down on the dirt, and I sat down next to him.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  "I found her," he said. He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes.

  Her.

  Without asking, I already knew who he was talking about.

  Kyrie.

  She was the other half of his soul… and my very best friend. More than a friend, really. She was the only angel whom I ever referred to as a sister because that was what she was to me.

  I was heartbroken, just as Joshua had been, when she died mysteriously a thousand years ago. Angels weren't supposed to die. We are immortal, and yet, Kyrie found a way. Perhaps it was her next great adventure. I was still trying to figure it out.

  Kyrie was the one thing Joshua and I had in common, and we had spent much time talking about her. It was how we became good friends. When all of the other angels told Joshua to forget about his loss - his Kyrie - I encouraged him to remember her.

  “How?” I asked.

  "A human."

  I gritted my teeth, forcing myself not to say anything harsh about this new human who Joshua believed was Kyrie. Humans are conniving, miserable creatures. They weren’t to be trusted. Joshua thought that he found Kyrie’s soul in a human named Elizabeth a thousand years ago, but I knew the truth. It wasn’t her. For one thing, Elizabeth didn’t know who I was, and I knew that Kyrie would never have forgotten me. Never. Not after what we had been through together. But Elizabeth had no memories of me. Not a single one. Besides, it was insulting to think that Kyrie’s soul would be inside such a frail and plain-looking girl - a human.

  A thousand years ago, I was convinced that Elizabeth was not Kyrie, but Joshua was certainly deceived. It was then that I promised Kyrie’s soul that I wouldn’t let Joshua be beguiled by a conniving human ever again. I owed it to our friendship… and when Elizabeth was burned as a witch alongside Gwendolyn, I let it happen.

  “How do you know it’s her this time?” I asked.

  "She sprouted wings. It just came out of her. They grew from her back. It was amazing... and the best thing is that she remembers everything. Adra, she remembers me. She remembers our entire past together."

  "Does she remember me?" I asked.

  "Yes. She remembers everything. It's her. It’s really her."

  Alright, maybe this time it was different. I had never heard of a human growing wings before. If this human remembered Joshua, then it was likely that she would also remember me.

  "How did you get here?" I asked. I was still confused as to how Joshua managed to make it to Hell.

  "There was an accident when Kyrie and I were flying, and another human died because of me... and I just lost her again.”

  I placed my hand on his shoulder for support. Losing Kyrie must have devastated him all over again. I knew how much he loved her.

  "Is there a way out of here?" he asked as he glanced at me, his purple eyes glowing with emotion.

  "Some of the demons suspect that the only way out is through repentance and forgiveness. Do you remember Gaius?”

  Joshua shook his head from side to side.

  “I just heard that his wings turned white after repenting for many years, maybe a hundred years.”

  “I don’t have that long,” Joshua gritted out, his frustration showing. “Not long before I made it here, Kyrie turned into a human again. She was hurt, and I left her bleeding on the roadway. I have to get back to her. Right now!”

  I looked deep into his eyes so my words would penetrate. “Joshua, there is no quick way out of here. And Gaius… I don't even know how he did it. I’m still trying to figure it out. You could be here for a long time." When he said nothing, I added, "Maybe you shouldn’t worry so much. Humans are very resilient creatures, and I'm certain that wherever Kyrie is right now, she’s doing well. They have hospitals to fix the humans. They have doctors.” Even without the power to heal, the humans had the miracles of modern science. The humans didn’t really need guardian angels anymore.

  “What if she stops remembering me?”

  I didn’t have to say anything else because we both knew the answer to his question. Joshua and I had both been guardian angels once, a long time ago. We knew that as a human, Kyrie would move on… with other humans… because humans forget way too easily. She would have her human family and forget about the angels from her past.

  She will forget Joshua.

  And she will forget me.

  That thought hurt so very much because I loved Kyrie. She was loyal, a true friend, and she was the only one who stood by my side when Luke left me many years ago.

  "How's Luke?" I asked.

  "Okay," he said, his head turning away from me.

  My fists clenched in anger as I waited for him to say something more.

  Okay? Luke was okay? Is that it? Okay?

  But he wasn't supposed to be okay. I killed Paige to make sure that he was never going to be okay ever again. It was my grand revenge
against him. He was supposed to be miserable.

  Why would he be okay?

  I felt like screeching at Joshua, but I held it in, controlling my breathing and my anger. It wasn’t his fault. Joshua was Luke's best friend, and even though we were friends, his true loyalty would always belong to Luke. Right now, however, I could tell that Joshua didn’t want to talk about Luke. Perhaps he was holding on to some of his secrets.

  “Adra, what you did to Paige was wrong, but I understand why you did it. If I ever lost Kyrie’s heart to a human - to anyone else, really - I would be…”

  He stopped talking as he struggled to find the right words.

  “Broken?” I asked, my voice cracking. Joshua nodded sadly.

  When he said nothing else for a while, I stood up. I didn’t like seeing him looking so devastated. I pulled his arm up, trying to get him to stand. He lifted one eyebrow.

  “Come on,” I said. “Since you just got here, let me show you around.”

  “How about no.” He pulled his arm away from me with a jerk.

  “This place isn’t all that bad. Let me show you a couple of interesting spots,” I insisted.

  “How about... hell, no.”

  He was going to be stubborn. I pursed my lips. Joshua wanted to mope, but seriously, this place wasn’t that bad. I did have a head start, though, but I must admit, I did hate the beasts that lived here; their one task seemed to be to eat the demons alive. I sighed loudly, making sure Joshua knew how exasperated I was with him.

  “Adra, I know you’re just trying to help, but I’m kind of wallowing in misery here. Can you just please let me wallow? In misery?”

  When I opened my mouth to say something else, Joshua added, “In silence?” Then, he immediately closed his eyes, trying to block out everything around him.

  Sitting back down next to him, I kept quiet and let him be. At least he didn’t say ‘alone.’

  Beside me, Joshua became very still and very silent. He didn’t want to talk to me right now. I suppose, the best thing to do was let him mourn the loss of Kyrie once again by simply remembering her… in silence.

  Kyrie…

  She was something else… something really good, and like Joshua, I really missed her, too.

  CHAPTER 2