Chapter 4: The Protective Blackness

Lily was running through the streets, shedding tears, not even looking back. She could still hear Linda’s faint cries from behind:

“Lily! Lily!”

She swirled to a narrow alley and rushed downstairs, into the Den of Former Hosts, as it was called – the darkest part of the town everyone feared to go in. Many criminal organizations and bandits lurked there, so Lily was sure Linda Black, the ‘dignified’ heiress of the city mayor, would never descend there. As for her, she didn’t really care whether she would die or not anymore. She wandered off, hid behind a wall, and held her breath.

“Lily?”

She heard Linda’s fearful cries from the upper part of the city. Then, she caught the sound of her feet run off her hiding-place, and she knew she had gotten rid of her pursuer sister. Maybe she thought Lily would never walk down in the Den of Former Hosts, and went to search for her in other places… Well, it didn’t really matter. Main was she got her off. She sighed and continued her way in the dark streets, letting out quiet sobs from time to time.

Everyone had turned their backs on her. They all worked together to make her life miserable. All of them were guilty – the High Forces, archangels, angels, people… They all were equally responsible for her problematic life. Who would ever want such a life? Why should she live it? She could bet when her soul, Lilith (as they called her), was in the underworld, she felt a lot better than in this condition! Who cared if she died? She’d just go back to the underworld and live well like her soul always did before. They gave her no other choice! She frowned and kicked a stone nearby, making it roll away at a fast speed. Such a nuisance… Her life was some big dirt! Tears poured down her cheeks as she walked on. She had clenched her fists, feeling bitter anguish within.

She heard quiet steps from the front. She flinched and raised her head – three tall silhouettes were coming towards her. She gulped and stepped back – who were these weirdos? They wore dirty black clothes and held knives in their hands. They laughed with their filthy yellow teeth. Probably they hadn’t brushed them for days.

Lily felt disgusted, and also, fearful. She made another step back and was ready to run at any moment when she heard steps from the behind too. Sweat poured off her forehead as she looked back, to see three more hooded people.

This isn’t good…

The young men approached her with grins on their faces. The tallest one of them chuckled and rolled a knife in his hands:

“Look, we have a stray cat here!”

“Do you think she’s from up the city?” another one from the behind laughed.

Lily gulped in fright. She made a step aside and leaned against a stone wall. There was no way to escape – the boys had surrounded her from all corners.

“How would I know? I lost my angel ages ago. I don’t bother feeling light auras anymore. I do whatever I please,” the tallest guy smirked.

“So I guess we can do whatever we please with this little kitty?”

The second guy chuckled with amusement. Lily shuddered in fear – what did they intend to do?!

“We must be cautious, she might have an angel,” a third one spoke.

“Nah, no person with an angel would come down here, you know it,” the tallest guy shook his head. “They know this place belongs to us street rats”.

“That makes it easier. Me first, then!”

Another tall guy rushed up to Lily and violently grabbed her hand.

“Let me go!”

Lily yelled in fright and struggled against his grip. She tried to punch him in the chest.

“Haha! Look how she’s fidgeting! She’s pretty energetic. I like it,” the guy grinned with his caved teeth.

“Leave me alone!”

Lily punched him furiously. Now the guy shrieked in pain and rubbed his aching jaw. His eyes sparkled with rage as he grabbed Lily and hit her against the wall.

“You will pay for that, slut!”

He hit her in the face. Her nose bled. Tears gushed from her eyes as she reopened them to see the young man’s evil grin.

“Let me go…”

“Shut up, you rat!”

He hit her again, and again. He had found amusement in it. Lily felt pain all over her face. Her eye turned blue from the young man’s fist. She couldn’t fight anymore. She just whimpered miserably.

“She obviously has no angel!”

“Then just roll off and let me have real fun,” the tallest guy grabbed him and pulled him off Lily. “Now I’ll finally have some delight…”

He bent closer to feel her lips. Dreaded Lily was about to shriek again when in between her and the gruesome young man, emerged an ominous black silhouette. It blasted some heavy black current and pushed all of the boys off, who got thrown into the opposite wall.

The boys looked forward, to see who had dared push them off. Once they saw the adversary, they widened eyes in horror – the horror of death. Lily gulped at their reaction and glanced at the black silhouette before her. She felt extreme pain in her tummy and shudders down her spine – this black spectre was not anything of this earth… It had long black claws and torn, feathered pitch-black wings. But Lily could not see its main feature that had made the boys pale out: the red eyes full of evil. A beastly snarl sounded from inside its darkened depths.

The boy who had beaten Lily raised his shivering forefinger and mumbled through the chattering teeth:

“D… Demon!”

Just as Lily widened eyes at such an unusual remark, the monstrosity vanished in black smoke. However, the boys remained frightened. Once Lily came to her senses and stood up, they quivered and shrieked:

“Don’t come closer!”

They darted off as fast as they could. Lily watched them in confusion. Once they disappeared, she turned back to the place where that monstrosity had emerged. Did that blackness actually… protect her? She shivered as she remembered the black silhouette snarl like an infernal beast.

“What are you?”

Indeed – what was that black torn-winged monster she had never seen before?

Wings… Could you actually be an angel?