Chapter 7

In the lively loud city of New York, in one of the tall apartment buildings near the square, was Michael's human. Michael sighed as he observed her read the thick novel she'd been reading for the past two weeks now. He observed how her soft slender fingers would flip to the next page. How her eyes would sparkle and her full lips would curl into a smile as she read on. He was mesmerized by her. Everything about her he loved: from chocolate brown eyes that always startled him when she would look in his direction, to her smooth chestnut complexion. And her short, curly dark hair that adorned her heart-shaped face.

He made sure to always keep her voice in his ears as to listen to her thoughts and feel her emotions. He kept up with her at all times in everything she did, heck he even knew what page she was on.

Michael hovered behind her large maroon couch that sat in the small but cozy comfort of her apartment. It was always warm and the colors of the furnishings were warm.

Michael was however invisible to her eyes of course. Unless he allowed her to see him, something Michael has thought of doing for years; breaking the most sacred guardian rule just for a glimpse of her attention. But he couldn't for reasons such as her becoming a danger to the angelic realm and all its secrets. No. He possibly couldn't put her through that, even though he was the eldest prince and future king of the realm.

Every slight movement she made, every beating of her heart gave him life. He wanted to be with her every second of her human days, he wanted to touch her and feel her. A desire that shall never be fulfilled.

"Son." A sudden, ominous voice rang out in the room. The voice was booming and commanding, loud enough to be heard down the floor of the apartment building yet his human couldn't hear it; no human could. It could only be one thing, Michael realized. He raised a curious brow. His father never really did this so it made him curious. King Castiel was communicating telepathically, an ability the king would inherit once they swallow the Fire of Deities. A sacred never-ending blue flame that kept the angelic realm alive. It was the source of the planet's resources as well as the reason angels could be born with abilities.

"Yes, father?" Michael responded, his arms still crossed, his expression still blank and his eyes still focused on his human.

"Uriel is on the planet with you, get him and both of you shall come to see me." The King said, he sounded oddly nervous and that caused an unpleasant feeling in Michael's chest. Something must be happening.

"What is going on father?" Michael asked anxiously, his brows knotted. There was a pause, a pause that felt like a century, it thickened the tension in the air and Michael's frown deepened.

His father then suddenly sighed.

Michael stiffened at his next words.

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"You'd make a great queen," Asmodeus whispered in the expanse of his thoughts, thinking out loud. He stared blankly at the moving waters of the Atlantic sea beneath them. He and Abi sat on the edge of one of Antarctica's prodigious icebergs almost the size of a mountain. The night was pitch black with spills of stars here and there, there were temperatures below freezing point but the two demons were in their casual attire ( they felt nothing in the physical realm that humans exist in )

Abi scoffed and gave a defeated sigh, "No, I wouldn't. My sister is perfect for the role, Deus. Everyone in the kingdom knows that." The wind was blowing across them wildly. Asmodeus frowned and shook his head at her statement.

"Your sister left the demon realm years ago and has never returned. Your father would never make someone like that a queen. Hell, we don't even know if she'll ever return." Asmodeus pointed out confidently, working his best to convince Abi. She had always been so pessimistic when the idea of possibly becoming the new queen was brought up. King Draco has made it known to the realm that he favored his eldest daughter, Phenex, over Abilanas multiple times but Asmodeus still had hope that Abi would become the next ruler.

Abi was not like other demons and only Asmodeus knew her like no other. Asmodeus had no doubt in his heart that she would be able to lead the realm out of the unfortunate poverty and hopelessness that had befallen it after the great war between the angels and demons. A war that King Draco lost.

Abi gave Asmodeus an intense glare; a glare that held a warning. He looked away and shrugged, her glares were too frightening sometimes, maybe he went a little too far with his statement but it was true. Phenex, the heir to the throne had mysteriously disappeared from the realm hundreds of years ago, almost six hundred. Creatures began to believe she had been killed and King Draco was keeping it a secret. Some believe that she had abandoned the realm and sought out a better life on earth. Many rumors but none have been proven true.

Abi stared back down at the ocean, swinging her legs, she had thought of becoming queen multiple times but even she knew that her father would never let a weakling rule the realm, "I can't be queen, Deus. My father has always seen me as a failure of a demon...and child." Abi said and her tone was laced with melancholy, she continued, a memory came back to her.

"Remember the Flesh Feast years ago, before the war?" Abi reminded Asmodeus. He nodded his head in curiosity, Abi continued, "We were still small back then, our wings had barely grown below our knees. The demons on that day were overjoyed and celebratory, it was a great day to feast on our favorite meal. . ." there was a short silence as Abi's expression fell again.

"And for my father," she continued, "He saw it as the perfect day to test his daughters' cruelty. . .

"All the demons had gathered at the large dining halls of the palace, dancing, and singing. Enjoying the meat of humans. King Draco came to me and took my hand, he told me to follow him before taking Phenex's hand as well. I was nervous and afraid that day, what was he going to do with us? I thought. He had taken us all the way down the palace dungeons, where they kept all the demon criminals. I saw the hopelessness and hunger in their worn-out, dirty bodies and already my heart ached for them. I was so weak---"

"No you weren't, Abi" Asmodeus interjected, laying a hand on Abi's shoulder. Abi neglected his comfort and carried on with her story, " He then took us into an invisible chamber, one that we had never seen before. We carried down further into the chamber. I was both curious and terrified of what could have been in that chamber. . . And my fears got worse when I saw him. . ." Her tone changed at the last word and Asmodeus snapped his eyes at her. There was a certain horror in Abi's eyes, a horror that worried and yet frightened him at the same time. Something terrible must've happened. Who did she see? What could have been so terrible for her voice to falter this way?

"It was a mother and her girl, a small demon girl," she was holding back her tears, ", she was no bigger than my wings, she looked starved and scared," Asmodeus looked down, sorrowful.

" 'Eat it.' He told Phenex and me to eat the two alive." Abi choked, disgusted, and scarred by the memory. Asmodeus inhaled sharply, staring at Abi in disbelief. Cannibalism! Asmodeus was in shock, he knew the king was cruel but not so cruel as to command demons be eaten alive. Asmodeus was desperately hoping Abi hadn't done it. That she hadn't been evil enough.

"What happened?"

"I-I...I-"

She couldn't answer him. She was ashamed to, she was disgusted with herself. Asmodeus shook his head in disbelief, his fear of Abi just grew a hundred times now; her need for her father's approval, his pride; she'd do anything for it. That scared him. Her face told him everything and he was in disbelief. Asmodeus snapped his eyes back to the water, observing new waves would hit the iceberg over and over. There was an odd feeling in his chest. Did he even know Abilanas?

The night became silent. Only the sound of waves rolling into the icy rocks and the whistling of the wind could be heard. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. They both stayed silent, rerunning the conversation and asking more questions. Asmodeus began doubting Abi's true nature.

There was a sudden ominous odor. Then an even more ominous sound. Flames. . ? Asmodeus picked it up first. The sound was so distant like silent white noise. It was all so slow, in a fraction of seconds. The sound became louder and so did the beating of his heart. It got closer and closer. Fire! It came fast, nearly too fast.

Asmodeus's quick instincts immediately kicked in, a few seconds was all he had, a second to reach out his arms to Abi before Abi had a chance to even react, he reached for one of her folded wings, grabbing them tightly and pulling her body towards his chest. But even those seconds were too long; he wasn't quick enough.

In a fleeting moment came a bright bulbous light. The burning odor invaded their nostrils.

Then, a huge explosion catapulted them off the icy cliff. The force was so powerful that it blew them into the sea. The mysterious blue flames spread like wildfire, even the freezing water couldn't put them out; the fire lingered on their surface. The water began to boil.

Something blasted Asmodeus's ribs and he roars. The blast jettisons him in the direction of an enormous iceberg. Asmodeus put all his power into the muscles by his wings and flapped them, he caught Abi mid-air and pulled her into the expanse of his chest. His back was to the ice. Asmodeus crashed against the side of it, disregarding his aching wings as he kept a strong grip on Abi, assuring that he would take the hit and not her. She was knocked unconscious as the explosion was much closer to her than it was to him. Asmodeus grunted at the pain that struck into the bones of his wings, the crumbling sounds from the ice weren't helping one bit.

Abi however was safe, in his arms and unconscious. She looked at peace and alive. Asmodeus sighed in relief. He proceeded to search the dark sky, his eyes frantic, trying to find the creature that did this. His worried eyes landed on a floating figure in the sky, his wings were the largest wings Asmodeus had ever seen. The figure's snow-white clothing was a stark contrast to the coal-black night of the South pole. Asmodeus's eyes glimpsed the pure gold and widened. It was not just an angel, it was a royal. Asmodeus zoomed in on the infuriated expression of the angel and he caught his breath. Fear-stricken. He knew who that angel was.

Uriel's eyes were filled with cobalt flames, his irises had vanished, glaring down at the demons below him. In his right hand was a long burning sword, the sword burned like bright sapphire, his magic fuming the sword like gasoline. His eyes zoomed in on the female demon in the male's arms, Abi. That was who he wanted, who he was here for. She was his enemy. She was his target. The spark to his anger.

Uriel snapped his eyes to Asmodeus's determined eyes as he glared back at him. Ready to fight and defend. Uriel sighed in annoyance as he slowly descended towards the waters, tilting his neck as he stared back at Asmodeus. He didn't want to kill two demons tonight; killing one was already difficult considering how peaceful angels are meant to be.

"Hand over that female and run along, boy. I did not come here for you." Uriel's voice boomed commandingly, like an echo in a cave.

Asmodeus was terrified and with good reason. He could end up dead if he challenged a royal. But his bravery always overpowered his fear. He knew that all the odds were against him if he were to fight Uriel but if it was to protect Abi, he would do it in a heartbeat. Demons were just powerful as angels but the royals were different. They were the most powerful creatures in all of the universe.

Asmodeus made up his mind already, between life or Abi. He was ready to die for Abi. No way would he hand her over to an angel; their primary enemies. Not even if his life depended on it.

"I'm not handing the princess to some dalcop." Asmodeus spat menacingly, his grip on Abi tightened. Uriel shrugged at the insult and smirked. He tilted his head to the side, his long hair grazed over his flaming eyes, "Alright, fine by me." He cooed.

Asmodeus was confused at his sudden smirk. What was this angel planning? Was he going to leave? Asmodeus stared Uriel down then blinked and Uriel was gone. He disappeared into thin air like some magician. Asmodeus panicked and glanced around him frantically.

Uriel was right behind him.

Uriel's actions were too quick for Asmodeus to decipher. The next second, Uriel swung his leg and his calf crashed into Asmodeus's aching back. The force was equivalent to crashing into a train. Asmodeus roared as he flew towards the icy terrain. With all his strength he swung around in mid-air once again to protect Abi from the crash. The collision was dangerously painful as Asmodeus felt a sharp pain in his spinal column once again. Uriel might have actually broken it.

Asmodeus breathed heavily, even breathing was a pain. He groaned. He could no longer move, the pain was tremendous. Abi had flown from his chest and was now a few feet away from him, face-down on the ice. He'd succeeded in protecting her from the collision.

Uriel landed gracefully on the ice, sauntering towards the two demons and swinging the flaming sword around; his wings dragged behind him like a majestic cloak. Uriel knew they were both alive, he just made sure to temporarily paralyze the male so he wouldn't interfere with the execution. He'd always had a thirst for violence, something his father always scolded him on. He could never hurt a fly back at the angelic realm. But this was not the angelic realm. He could do whatever he wanted here and no one would know. He was itching to destroy that demon; to torture her slowly, to hear her screams and have them be louder than his human's. To take his revenge on her. H could already picture it; the oozing of black blood; the breaking bones, the cluster of bloodied feathers, and the screams of the demon girl. He would hurt her. Or so he thought.

Uriel stood by Abi's body. She was unconscious he saw. He used his foot to turn her on her back. He inhaled sharply, staring down at her. He was startled at her beauty once again. He looked at her closely, bending down. Her scent lingered, his heart hammered like a drum. He gently touched her hair, soft and frizzy, like clouds.

"N-No! Agh!--" Asmodeus groaned in his attempt to move. Uriel ignored him and just watched Abi. She looked peaceful that way. And innocent. She was beautiful, like a black pearl, so beautiful that his anger dissipated. His heart was conflicted. He hesitated with his sword; gripping it tightly. Suddenly, the act of killing pulled on his heartstrings. His heartbeat quickened as he watched her. What was she doing? She was evil. She was his enemy. He enjoyed the thought of killing her just moments ago. What happened. Why can't he do it? Uriel no longer wanted to kill her. He no longer wanted to hurt her. Something inside him was preventing that, and he didn't know what. He couldn't understand why, he's always enjoyed killing demons; enjoyed hearing their pained screams. It brought him a sense of power, and it had always been easy. He would shock many of his own kind, they would be frightened at his mercilessness.

Images of his frightened human flashed before his eyes, fueling his anger once more. He remembered his purpose in being there. To protect and destroy anything that threatened the well-being of his human. He was there to kill her. And that was what he was going to do. That was what he had to do.

He didn't want to do it. But he needed to. For his human. For William. Uriel grit his teeth and raised his sword. He pointed the edge of the flames dangerously close to Abi's chest, marking the spot to slice her black heart. He wanted this to be quick, he would stab her heart and she would die immediately. This evil would be exterminated. This evil that tormented others for centuries, that destroyed families and ruined worlds...he would do it. Then the spell would be broken and his boy would be freed.

However, that was more untrue than the earth being flat. The curse that bound Abi to that child would not be broken. Abi's death would only make it permanent. Uriel did not know but he needed her alive.

But Uriel didn't know that. Only she could break it.

"N-no! Don't hurt her you--Arg!!" Asmodeus yelled only to groan. Uriel took a sharp breath, mustering up the strength he needed. He shut his eyes and swung.

"No!!"

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