Through the mist, I spotted Joshua standing on top of the mountain, talking to two others; one very large male angel, who was holding a sword, and one female demon with long dark hair. There were other demons standing just a few dozen yards away, but I focused on the three of them.
The angel was very handsome, and he had an aura that was unusual. I wondered who he was and how he managed to keep his white wings here in Hell. Strangely, he looked as if he belonged in this place, as if he had been here many times before.
The girl-demon, on the other hand, looked very odd and out of place. She had the look of a human, with her dark hair in disarray, but I could see her black wings clearly. She was a demon alright, but who were they, and why were they here?
I looked around, but I didn’t see Kyrie anywhere. Were these two here to bring Joshua back to Kyrie? Where was she? I desperately wanted to see my friend again. I had already waited for this moment for a thousand years.
As I flew closer to them, I kept my eyes on the demon-girl. She looked strange, and I didn’t know what to make of her. Maybe she was a demon hybrid? But why did she look so familiar? Where had I seen her before?
Flying even closer, I listened in to their conversation.
“What are you doing here?” I heard Joshua say.
“Rescuing you,” the girl said smugly. “It’s okay. No worries. I brought back up.” She tipped her head towards the large angel standing slightly behind her.
“Back up?” the angel said. “I am no one’s back up. You’re my back up.”
The demon-girl replied, “I don’t think you two have been formally introduced. Dad, I would like you to meet Joshua.” Leaning closer to Joshua, she looked at him. “This is my father, Michael. He's an archangel."
An archangel?
I stared at the large angel with wonder. I have never, in my entire life, seen an archangel before. That would make sense, though. It was likely the reason why he retained his white wings here. I had heard that archangels were different, that they had greater powers, and that they can follow demons into Hell.
As I flew closer to them, I hesitated. I wasn’t sure if I should interrupt their conversation. They hadn’t seen me, yet, and if I flew away now, no one would know that I had been here.
Joshua bowed to Michael, and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
The demon-girl smiled at Joshua. She looked so happy, and the way Joshua was looking at her with affection… with love… There was something definitely wrong here.
I narrowed my eyes at the girl, because Kyrie would not be pleased seeing Joshua looking at another in this manner. Kyrie was the only one Joshua was allowed to love - to be with. This girl cannot take Kyrie’s place in his heart. I would never allow that to happen.
I tucked in my wings and landed right behind Joshua. I peeked over his shoulder, just as Joshua turned to look at me. My gaze was focused on the demon-girl, and I walked around Joshua with a purpose.
I stared down at this demon. This girl… This close to her, I could tell that her features looked human. I could see the pores in her skin, and her eyes were dark. Even with the red light coming from the ground, I could tell that her eyes were not angel-eyes, and they were wet… with tears.
She was so bizarre. Angels and demons never cried because we can’t. It was an impossibility, but this girl… She had black wings on her back, but she was dressed like a human, with the face of a human; she was such a contradiction, a walking abomination. I didn’t know what to make of her.
“Are those tears?” I taunted. “Are you crying?”
The girl immediately took offense, her face hardening.
“Are you calling me a sissy?” she asked, wiping a tear from her face with the back of her hand.
“No, I’m calling you human.” I said the last word with disgust, as if the very word was the very worst kind of evil.
I watched her face. It was so expressive that it became amusing to watch. She looked very angry. Her cheeks turned a little red, and more tears leaked from her eyes.
“What? Why are you crying? Are you afraid of me?” I asked. I was aggravating her on purpose, but I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t like the pull this demon-girl seemed to have on Joshua.
“Adra. Stop.” Joshua said, his voice firm.
But I didn’t stop, and his words just bothered me even more. I didn’t take my gaze away from the girl. “Do I look scary?” I asked, widening my eyes as I took one step closer to her.
“Scary ugly, maybe,” she said as she took a step closer to me, “but just plain scary? No. Not really… because standing right behind me is Michael. He is an archangel. Have you heard of him?” Standing behind the girl was the archangel in question, and I stared at his face as I heard the girl’s next words. “He also happens to be Paige Harper’s father. Do you remember her?”
I kept my gaze locked on the archangel.
Michael.
That was his name, and he was Paige’s father? How? Paige was human. She wouldn’t have an archangel for a father.
The girl kept on talking. “She’s the demon who tried to kill Paige, Dad. She doesn’t get to come with us because she will try to kill Paige again if we let her leave this place.”
Michael’s face transformed from annoyance into deep, deep anger. He approached me and raised his sword in my direction. I gasped as I took a step back, terrified. He would kill me for what I had done. I knew this by simply looking at the expression on his face.
Without waiting, I turned away quickly. In a run, I took three steps, and jumped up. My wings flared, and I flew away from them, my thoughts racing. Flying back into the mist, I heard Joshua say, “Goodbye, Adra.” There was a finality to his tone. It was as if he knew that he was never going to see me again.
Was he leaving, then? With them? Back to Kyrie? The archangel would know a way out.
I hid myself in the mist as I hovered a hundred feet above the ground. I replayed the demon-girl’s words to me over and over again.
She’s the demon who tried to kill Paige, she had said.
Tried to kill Paige.
Tried to.
She didn’t say ‘killed,’ and then, the girl said, ‘she will try to kill Paige again.’
Her words meant only one thing. That Paige was still alive. I was here rotting in Hell, and Paige was still alive somewhere. She was still breathing. Her heart was still beating. And she was probably with Luke right now.
“AAARGHHHH!” I screamed out as my hands gripped my hair, and I pulled hard. Chunks of blonde hair came off in my hands, and I stared at them. My eyes twitched. Trying desperately to control my breathing, I opened my hands and let the strands go.
This wasn’t fair. Paige should be dead! It was why I was in Hell to begin with. I shouldn’t rot here for killing someone who didn’t die.
I screamed again... and again... and again... until my throat throbbed, and I lost my voice.
I flew upwards. Then, I flew back towards the mountain and towards the three of them. If the archangel knew how to leave this place, then I should stick very closely to him. He could be my only way out.
CHAPTER 6