Afterlife (Purgatory Series Part Three)

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

I couldn't process what I was seeing. My brain refused to accept it. Flames danced in front of my eyes and ash drifted through the air to fall against my skin, but I was frozen like ice.

"Alethea," Gabriel whispered. "We must leave this place. It is no longer safe."

He tugged on my sleeve, but I couldn't move. My feet refused to let me walk away despite the horror of what I was witnessing. Shivers wracked my body as I stared at the burning remains of the Aerie.

"H-how did this happen?" I stuttered out. "It was protected. It was a safe place."

"This is brimstone," Gabriel explained with a disgusted sniff. He wrapped his arms wrapped around himself as if to ward against the evil around. "Demons were here. The war has begun."

"But there were spells protecting it!" I protested. "And only people who had been here before knew how to get in—"

My words cut off abruptly as I realized the truth. An angry sob coughed its way up from my chest and I felt the stinging of tears building behind my eyelids.

"Delilah."

"It is very likely that she was involved, yes."

"She's going to pay for this," I snarled, clenching my fists and wincing when my sharp talons sliced open my skin.

Gabriel took a step back. "We must concern ourselves with stopping this war and saving lives. Do not let the desire for revenge corrupt your intentions."

Turning to look at him wearing a malicious grin I replied, "Don't worry, Gabe. I can do both."

Without waiting for his answer, I turned away from him and walked further into the city. The flames were rising, but I wasn't going to leave before I made sure everyone was safe. Gabriel seemed to guess my intentions, because as I began searching buildings on the ground he began flying loops overhead.

"See anyone?" I called up to him in between coughs.

He landed a few feet away, and shook ash from his wings. "No, I believe they were warned and were able to leave before the attack."

A tremor shook the ground and caused us both to fall off balance. One of the nearby buildings collapsed and began to cave in from the fire damage, creating a domino type effect for the rest of the buildings around it. Fire and ash roared around us and I realized there was no longer a way out. The path I had walked was now overtaken with a wall of flames and there were burning buildings in front of me.

Would running through the flames kill me? Did I have to be staked in the heart to die? Or would I just have to drink blood to repair whatever damage was done?

Before I could make a decision, a flaming beam to my right fell from the rafters and clipped my shoulder, causing me to stumble into Gabriel. He reacted before I even knew what was happening and lifted us up away from danger, hovering over the remains of what was once a safe haven.

He seemed to be having little trouble carrying my weight, as if he could stay in the same place forever with no effort at all. But while I appreciated the rescue, my arm hurt quite badly and being held up underneath them wasn't helping matters.

"Let's head back to the SUV," I called to Gabriel over the noise. "We need to find out where everyone has gone."

And suddenly we were flying.

Despite the severity of my pain and the fact that my friends' homes were burning, I couldn't help the smile fighting to break across my face at the sensation. Flying was just as awesome as I had always imagined it would be.