The Mark of a Fallen Angel

54: 23 Hours Remaining - Step 5

THIS. Is where everything happens. So many things happen in this one chapter:
Its LONNG but I'm proud :)
Yes, the story is coming to an end soon. :(
But this isn't the last chapter. There are just over a few left!

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I'd been burning all day.

It was just like when I'd changed into this form. The same burn.

I'd been sweating and snapping and growling. Jayden had moved the bed a fair distance away because I'd told him to. I could only speak through thoughts. I'd send the occasional reassuring thought to tell him I was fine.

Sometimes I would burn so hot I would create a flame.

The platinum cuffs on my wrists stung and grew hotter every few minutes. Eli had come in once to check on me but I'd only growled at him. He gave Jay food and water but left quickly afterwards. 

I'd been seeing red almost all day. I'd tried to pull out of the cuffs a few times because of the pain but it was no use. They were like kryptonite.

I didn't get a wink of sleep the night before so it had been a whole 24 hours; so much for my day off. Light was creeping through the small holes in the ceiling. The pain was starting to ease but only a bit. 

"Alexis?" 

My head snapped toward Jay. My breathing was heavy and uneven. My heart beat was loud and fast. 

"Do you want some water? Surely you must be dehydrated."

I nodded slowly and blinked. 

Jay crawled over with a bottle of water and opened the cap. He poured some into my open mouth. The water burnt my insides and did nothing to get rid of the pain. 

He sat in front of me and I stared at him.

"It's today isn't it? When you... Decide." He asked. 

'Yes,' I thought weakly.

"It's almost dawn. Today is your final stage. I want you to stay strong, Alex because this will persuade the shit out of you."

"It's too late." I whispered aloud. "I'm as impure as demon's get. I always have been. In my previous lives I wasn't as bad as this."

"What would Gabriel think?"

I shrugged and lay my head back on the wall. "He would probably have an aneurism."

Jay sighed and rested his hand on mine briefly before pulling away. "You're too hot to comfort."

I chuckled. "I apologize for my inhuman ways." He stared at me with sorrow filled eyes. I sat forward and watched his eyes fill with tears. "Jayden."

"I'm fine. I'm still not used to the fact that you're not a human and will probably never see you again."

"What do you mean, never see me again? You will." I croaked. "I guarantee it."

Lies.

I don't guarantee a thing. I might not see him after this... I might not see a lot of people.
But I didn't want to alarm him.

"Jay, I love you so much. You're like a brother and always have been." I said.

The burn was finally beginning to subside. I let out a sigh of relief. 

"I love you too, Alex." His voice broke on my name. He crawled forward and despite the heat of my skin he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. "Out of Meg and Tracey you are my best girl friend."

I laughed. "And you're... One of my best guy friend."

"Did Gabriel and Cam beat me?" He asked.

"Well, I have known Gabriel for over five hundred years and Cam since before Christ."

"Man you're old." Jay said trying to lighten the mood. "And by the way... you owe me a muffin."

I thought about it for a moment and then burst into laughter. I forgot about that! "Oh Jay!" This is the first time I've laughed in a week.

"You can't blame me for remembering," 

"I know. I'll give you the dollar fifty if I don't damn the world to an eternity of hell." I mumbled.

We were both silent as we lay on the cold floor. 

I could hear Jay mulling the whole idea over in his head. The idea of hell on earth. The idea of everything changing.

We didn't speak again as the sun rose. My head was rested against his chest while his head was rested on top of mine. The burn had ceased and I started feeling and seeing everything. My heart still pounded in my ears.

My emotions felt... Odd. Slightly off. But I tried not to think too much of it.

Soon enough the sun was shining through the holes in the ceiling. Today was the day. Remember those voices from my first change? Yeah, I could hear them whispering. But it was fierce. The whispering I could hear during my first change were normal whispers you would hear in a classroom full of kids. But these whispers were fierce horrible voices. 

Footsteps sounded through the tunnel and I bolted up. 
Eli and Grigori entered with smiles on their faces. I kept my defensive position in front of Jay.

"Hello, Princess!" Eli said.

I stood up right and tilted my head toward him. "I'm no princess."

Eli came forward. "You, my dear, are the highest archangel that has ever lived. Scratch that, the only highest archangel that will ever live. You know the Elder's are the closest thing you have to real family?"

Grigori walked up to me and started undoing the chains on my wrists and ankle. "Yes, I know." I said.

He looked taken aback. "You know?"

"More memories came to me last night."

"Back to your normal pattern I see." Eli said with a chuckle. "You know how it goes? The line of Royalty I mean? It's The Elders, and then it's you."

Maryanne's nickname came to mind. At least that's cleared up. No wonder she called me princess.

"Everyone looks up to you." He scoffed. "Not anymore. Get washed up and we shall start your Final Stage."

I nodded and ran off to the river. I only had a quick rinse of the face and general areas. Once I finished off, Bonnie ran through the trees and sat in front of me with a wagging tail. Having Bonnie around had been reassuring. Jay and Bonnie had been the two things keeping that thin strand that kept my sense of humanity from breaking.