The Dark Side #1

Chapter ~ 13 ~

When I wake minutes later, I'm lying down on Rhazien's expensive white couch, my blood staining its material. Rhazien doesn't even seem to notice the blood.

"What on earth happened to you, Cecily?" he asks me as soon as I alert them that I'm awake. Xavier is leaning against the wall beside the entrance hallway, and Rhazien is sitting beside me on the couch. I blink heavily, looking around drowsily.

"It was an angel," Xavier replies for me, his arms crossed over his chest as he observes Rhazien and me from a distance. "From a town a few days from here."

"We thought they were keeping Kai there," I continue for him when I come to my senses as Rhazien brings me some water, "but we were captured and they tried torturing us for information."

"He- he stuck his hand inside her chest," Xavier mutters, his anger clear. "Grabbed her heart, and almost pulled it out, too."

Rhazien's eyes snap up to Xavier's in surprise. "How in Hell's name is she not dead?" he demands, standing up in a fluster. "You were supposed to look out for her, Delarosa; that was the reason I pointed her in your direction!"

"I am not dead because of him, Rhazien," I speak up feebly, shuffling around to get comfortable. The pain from not taking any of Xavier's blood in a few days has slowly started coming back, but I try not to reveal this too much. Rhazien might be able to heal me well.

"What do you mean?" Rhazien asks, his tone softening as he turns to sit beside me. "What did he do?"

"Demon blood," Xavier admits hoarsely, leaning back against the wall. "It healed her. But she has refused to take it, as of a few days ago. I do not know why."

"And, there is something else," I step in before Rhazien can speak. "Something that happens every time our hands touch; blue sparks. It makes us stronger, more immune to pain. It was the main thing that stopped me from dying."

Rhazien's head lifts up to Xavier, and he shoots him a look that I can't see from my position on the couch. Rhazien soon sighs, turning back to me.

"Well, that might be good or bad news," he admits, tossing his head to get a loose strand of hair out of his face. "You have a connection; a bond, of some sorts. It is good that you have stuck together throughout your journey, although I fear the worst if you are split."

"Why, what will happen?" I perk in, a frown etched on my face. Xavier swallows.

"Neither of you can die," Rhazien announces, getting up from the couch before moving into the kitchen. "Well, neither of you should die. If you do, the other will go with you."

I breathe in sharply, my eyes widening as I stare at Rhazien.

"Are you serious?" I demand, and he shrugs, his back to me.

"Deadly serious," he shoots back. Xavier and I exchange fearful glances as Rhazien moves back towards me, carrying a bowl of what smells like soup in his hands. "Drink this," he tells me, handing me the bowl. "It will lessen the pain."

I slowly drink the soup; it tastes like sweetened honey and pine nuts.

"You have not just returned here for Cecily, have you?" Rhazien asks after a few minutes of silence. I sigh, holding the soup on my lap.

"Kai was not where we originally thought he would be," I admit solemnly. "So I suggested that we come back here; we thought you might have another idea of where he could be, since every other angel in every other town is looking for him."

"What town did you go to?" Rhazien asks next, sitting in the chair opposite me. "Where these Angels tortured you; which town was it?"

"The town my parents lived in after I was born," I reply quietly. Rhazien looks at me. "The one with the house that was burned down when the angels thought my parents were lying to them about me not being the Child of the Prophecy. The town that we fled right before Kai was born."