Chapter 6

Uriel gasped as he woke up. The silver curtains had been drawn and the bright light of the sun shone into the room and illuminated it. Uriel's hair was all over and he was still in the same clothes as the night before. His body felt stiff and really, all he wanted to do was just lay there and do absolutely nothing.

"Agh!" Uriel groaned and grabbed his head when an unbelievable pain struck him. Moaning like a dying cow he kept rubbing his head. What the hell happened to him last night? What did he drink? Uriel looked to his coffee table on the right, on it was a cold glass of water and a painkiller. Must've been the maid.

Shit! Uriel just realized how he must've looked coming home from the party. Heck, he couldn't even remember much that happened, which means he was drunk beyond all rational thought. Exactly what Michael warned him against.

"Learned your lesson?"

Well, speak of the devil. Uriel groaned as he was face down on the pillow. How long had Michael been standing there? And he sounded irritated too. But Uriel didn't blame him.

Michael watched Uriel turn in his bed. His arms were crossed over his chest as he casually hovered above the floor. Michael was troubled. It didn't bother him that his brother completely disregarded his warnings and got drunk, no, that irritated the hell out of him but didn't bother him. Not even the fact that he was woken up at two before the crow, which is earlier than early itself. What bothered Michael was the angel that returned Uriel's drunken-self home. Out of all the angels that Uriel could've came back with it just had to be that despicable, manipulating one.

"You moron." Michael tsked monotonously and hovered towards Uriel's bed, an expression of disappointment all over him. Uriel responded with a moan, he hadn't moved an inch.

"Man. . .what happened?" Uriel asked as he finally turned and sat up. He really couldn't recall the previous night.

"You came home looking like a drunken fool," Michael said firmly, shooting daggers at him, "Worse part is, you came home with Parisa. . ."

Parisa. . . Uriel thought as he stared at nothing. The events of the night before crashed into him and he gasped in terror. He felt the colour drain from his face as he gulped nervously. Michael's noticed the sudden change in expressions and he cocked a confused brow. He began to worry, "What?"

Uriel felt awful and disgusted. He knew Parisa was a swindler and didn't give a damn about anyone's feelings but he didn't think she would drug him into—

Oh no. . . Uriel thought. The worst possible thing that could have ever happened. Why would she do that to him?

Michael frowned and put a hand on Uriel to get his attention, something was wrong. Uriel looked up at him like he forgot that Michael was in the room. "What happened, Uriel?" This time it was more of a demand in his tone. Uriel looked at his brother and the disappointment he felt was overbearing. Michael had warned Uriel to stay away from her and Uriel didn't listen.

He couldn't tell him, so he flat out lied, "Nothing. . .just realized, I didn't get to see the fireworks last night."

Michael stared at Uriel, trying to get something. He knew that it wasn't the truth and he had a feeling that the truth had something to do with Parisa. But Michael knew Uriel, there was no point in getting him to tell the truth. So he believed him and shrugged.

"Whatever." Michael swirled around to leave the room but before leaving he turned back.

"Oh and, don't forget about your human." He informed and shut the double doors behind him.

Uriel took heavy breaths and raked a hand through his hair multiple times. He was worried about the night before. There was so much going through in his head. So many things to tend to. It messed with him. But he had other priorities to take care of. He needed to bond with his human.

* * *

The clock struck midnight in Park City. The night was freezing cold. Snow had begun to fall as winter was by the doorstep, the wind blew harshly and anyone would freeze to death if not wearing the suitable clothing. Uriel being an angel, however, wasn't affected by the cold as he wore only a short-sleeved tunic and pants, his large wings, gently flapping to keep him in the same spot. He was in the sky higher than any plane could reach. He activated his ability and his vision zoomed in on the city below; skimming through the city with a casual smile on, admiring the fascinating and calming view, he could hear the bustling and yelling of vendors; smell the spices of fast food and the chatting of humans below. The human world was still as beautiful as he remembered it. Sparkling, loud, and lively. He hadn't been there since the rather awkward incident seven years ago.

He came to bond with his human. A type of ritual an angel had to do in order to claim and have a spiritual bond with their human. The angel was to take a feather from their wings and place it on the human when they were calm and in a dream-like state, which is during sleep or in a coma. Uriel was glad that it was the latter.

He had already plucked out one of his feathers, which felt like being stabbed considering how deep the feathers had grown into their bones. One of the most painful things to put an angel through would be to pluck out their feathers. It gave Uriel shivers just thinking about it.

Uriel sighed and re-focused on the task at hand. He had to find his human. The scroll gave him all the details of the human's whereabouts, such as the country and city, yet not the exact address. But that wasn't an issue for an angel. Uriel's eyes began to glow a bright, pacific opal colour and his vision changed along with it. The different heat signatures of the humans were all over the ground, all matching a purple hue, but he glanced around as he tried to find his match.

There were no matches in the city so he looked at the hills and mountains surrounding the city. The scroll did mention that his human's father was the COO of a tech company, so he might be living in the mansions in the hills. After a few moments of skimming and he found a matching heat signature.

Uriel flew towards it leisurely, playing around with his feather in hand, his magic whirling it around. He couldn't believe that this moment had finally arrived. He was about to bond with his long-awaited human. He didn't know how to feel right now: excited, nervous, afraid, jolly? What if he wouldn't be able to protect him? What if he would fail and his human wouldn't be able to live out their destiny? It was all too----

Uriel saw it and for those few seconds, his heart stopped. His eyes widened and fear crept inside him. The sight was one of every angels' fear, remnants of something despicable.

The fog. A dark, ominous fog, invisible to the human eye but visible to all others. The fog was a sign, a horrible sign that a demon had been there or a curse was nearby. And the worst part: the fog had surrounded the entire mansion like a dark cloud of evil.

"No, no, no," Uriel repeated as if to erase what was before him. What had happened? Was his human cursed? Did the demons do any harm? Did he come too late? Worry enveloped Uriel as he flew towards the mansion. He rushed towards the room his human was in as fast as he could, his heart racing and stricken with fear. Uriel hurriedly flew through the walls as if they weren't there. His frantic eyes landed upon the boy and his heart broke into pieces as he lost hope.

There was the child in his bed, curled up into a ball, shivering and double-breathing in his sleep. Sweat trickled down his brow, tears stained his round, reddened cheeks. His hands gripped the sheets tightly.

William couldn't sleep well. Ever since that frightening night. Since the day he'd picked up that wooden toy, he wasn't able to enjoy sleep. Every time he would go to sleep, a horrid nightmare would envelop him and the worst case was that he wasn't able to wake up till the early morning. Exactly what was occurring now.

William tried to get rid of that thing. His father threw it away, but it mysteriously returned with only the smell of rotten food. They then tried burning the toy but the outcome was just the same. It came back, and not even a burned mark could be found on its wooden figure. Desperate to get rid of it his father took it to a dumping sight to have it crushed and the plan succeeded but to their horror, the wooden car was found neatly by the pillow of William's bed. It was like a horror movie came to life. Tormenting this home.

Uriel watched with saddened eyes. The room was dimly lit by the lava lamp on the bedside table, it seemed so peaceful yet the was a war going inside the little boy's head. Uriel wasn't sure as to what had happened but he was about to find out. Bonding to William would give Uriel access to the deepest parts of the boy's mind, he would search his memories and figure out who had done this monstrosity.

Uriel hovered towards William and bent down. He first needed him to be calm so the bonding could occur, so he placed his hand on William's small shoulder and magic flowed into the boy's body. William flinched as he felt a certain calmness envelop him, he then stilled, only breathing lightly. Uriel made him go unconscious.

But William felt it right before falling into complete darkness. He felt that, once again, something was there but this time it wasn't something frightening, instead it was comforting and gentle. The guardian angel's power succeeded in calming his human.

Uriel watched William with a soft smile. His charcoal hair looked so soft as it fell over his eyelids. He was so small in his bed, short and scrawny, he looked fragile and he reminded Uriel of himself when he was younger. Uriel already felt connected to him.

While admiring the boy, Uriel's eyes saw his tears. He realized how swollen Chanseo's eyelids were. His cheeks were flushed, his nose bright red. And it ignited a fit of furious anger in Uriel. He was ready to destroy whoever was responsible for his boy's pain. He'd slay them with his bare hands.

Uriel placed a soft kiss on William's forehead and covered him up. He took his long golden feather and gently placed it on the top of his forehead. The feather began to glisten a bright opal blue; Uriel's magical signature. Then they both felt a sudden surge through their bodies. Uriel gasped and threw his head back as his eyes glowed the same colour as the feather. William whimpered in his deep sleep, experiencing the power as well.

The boy's memories, emotions, and thoughts raced in Uriel's mind; images of William's past and possible futures flashed behind his eyelids like fast pictures on a large screen. It was a painful yet blissful, bittersweet experience. He had never felt so at one with anything or anyone. William was his and he was William's.

When the ritual ended Uriel's eyes stopped glowing, he descended to the floor and his wings folded down. He took meaningful breaths, his wings falling and rising to the motions of his chest. His jaw clenched and unclenched, his hands balled into fists. His eyes were shut for a few moments as he gathered his murderous thoughts and there was only silence.

But when his eyes snapped open, he was blinded by rage and vengeance. He saw her, that hellspawn. He didn't know what her name was but he saw her. He heard her laugh her sadistic laughter as she tortured William. As she toyed with him and played around with his fears.

He knew the demon's face and now, he would slay her.