Phantom Pain (trilogy)

Melissa Cruz

Chapter 20: Melissa Cruz

A woman cowered near the back of a church. She was unarmed, slumped onto one of the pews. Darker circles on dark skin aged her features even more than time. This woman was older than the few decades she had lived on this planet.

She stiffened, as a shadow fell across the aisle, cast by the full moon peeking through the glass. It was a figure, with wings larger than life. The tired women rose to her feet, as it closed the gap between them.

“Where is the child?” My own voice was foreign to me. It echoed off of the wood, devoid of emotion.

“You'll never find her, angel.” The woman stood before me, with the strength only motherhood could bring.

My sword was heavy in my hand. This had happened one too many times, and I was tiring of it. Could the humans not see that I did the Lord's work?

“That creature is not your daughter.” I extended my wings, and the shadow spread to more than the width of the church, individual feathers outlined in the white light of the moon. “There is a chance for forgiveness, if you offer yourself to heaven.”

The woman curled her lip, a gesture of defiance I was not used to witnessing in humans. “I think I have given more than enough to beings like you.”

She compared my brothers and I to the demons of hell, and it lit fire in my veins, heating the sword in my hand.

“You have taken everything from me.” Old tears glinted in her dark eyes. “And you will not take my baby!”

This human—Melissa, her name was—would not give in. I could feel the emotions that boiled inside her, and I knew that it was hopeless. She protected the spawn of a demon: a danger to this world, and mine, an abomination that could not be allowed to keep existing.

I pressed the tip of my sword into her neck. She backed away until I had her pinned against the wall.

“You have ten seconds.”

I could see myself through her eyes. I towered: faceless, terrifying. Gold wings were colourless in the shadows of the church. Still—though she trembled—not a word passed her lips.

“Five.” My hand cupped he forehead, tilting her head up to look at me. “I will kill you. And I will find the abomination you call your kin.”

Not a word. Even the shaking had stopped now, and she stared at me with a chilling acceptance.

“Four.”

“Three,” I faltered. Did I really need to kill her? She was only human, after all.

But the face of the woman had split into a taunting grin. She mocked me. This insane being dared to think she was above me in some way.

“This is your last chance.”

Gritted teeth—a grimace more than a smile.

“Two.” I steeled myself. Whether she went to heaven or hell, I was unsure, but her time on earth had come to a close. “One.”

A gash appeared across her neck, faster than she would have been able to process. Red droplets evaporated on the power of my blade, and I released the lifeless body. It crumpled to the ground. The child was motherless, alone. It would be no difficulty locating it now.

I spun without a second thought, the door of the church hanging open, waiting for me. The stale air shifted slightly as my feathers cut through it. Sword in hand, I walked back into the night, and it was terrifying.