Contest Entries

The Choice | Round Four | Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons

Raphael spread his wings wide, using his panic to fly faster. His thoughts were filled with horrific ideas of what that demon bastard was doing to his beloved Laurie. He pumped his wings harder, the ground nothing but a blur beneath him as he soared through the night sky, desperation practically suffocating him.

Because Laurie was his mate, he could've found her with his eyes closed. His heart naturally led the way to her, beating as quickly as his wings. He hoped he was not too late. It was all his fault for making a deal with the demon. The irony was, he had done it to protect her, but that had clearly backfired.

It enraged him.

He heart pumped harder when he hovered atop an abandoned house with a foreclosure sign on the front. He landed roughly, quickly scrambling into a run for the front door. He had barely caught his balance and nearly tripped over his own feet.

He hadn't noticed he dropped from the sky right in the middle of a friendly neighborhood. All he saw was the abandoned how were his heart told him Laurie was being held. He didn't realize there were children in the yards all around him until one of them yelled, "Oh my goodness, a real life angel!"

He tried to ignore their gawking as he barreled into the house, praying the children would be smart enough not to follow. Just like a demon to do this sort of business in a populated area where the body count would be higher, if things were to go south. Raphael didn't doubt that it could, but he sincerely hoped it wouldn't.

He didn't call out her name, though the urge to do so was overwhelming. He tuned in his hyper-hearing, listening to the creaks of floorboards a couple rooms down the hall. He tiptoed towards the sound, clenching his fists in barely contained rage. He would be unstoppable once he got his hands on that evil bastard. No one would be able to control him from ending what he started, for cleaning up his mess.

He reached behind his head, gripping the studded hilt of his sword. He used his other hand to gently push the door open where the creaks were coming from. He peeked in, confused when the room was vacant, and it clicked only a moment before someone ambushed him from behind.

A trap.

How had he been so foolish? He should've predicted this.

He shrugged the arm off his shoulders, spinning to grab the culprit's wrists. He swings the man into the wall, unsheathing his sword simultaneously to bring the blade to the mere mortal's throat.

A lackey, then. So where had the demon gone?

Raphael snarled at the boy, whose eyes widened in terror. "Where is she?" he growled, a tone he often used to scare his commanders into getting his way. A tone that made weak men melt to the floor.

When the boy didn't speak, Raphael pushed his blade a little further into his skin for incentive.

The boy whimpered, managing through quick, terrified breath, "I-I don't know. He-he took her."

Obviously.

Raphael bit his tongue to refrain from snapping. Instead he shoved himself off the kid, knowing it would be no use to question him further. He was just as clueless as Raphael as to where his beloved had been dragged away to.

But she had to be here.

His heart would not lead him astray. Not from his mate.

The boy ran from the house while Raphael stepped inside the room where he had heard the floorboards. Someone must have been here, or he wouldn't have heard anything. He narrowed his eyes, focusing intently on the four walls for any indication of a secret door or exit. He scrutinized the wooden floor with the same intensity but to no avail.