Angel of Fire - Requiem of Lost Souls - Book Two

Jaws of Hell

Chapter 38

Standing there all tall, dark and formidable like, my dad broke eye contact with me, but only momentarily to glance up at the gathering doom brewing above our heads.

When he finally spoke, his deep voice crawled down my spine. "Don't you think this little storm of yours is just a little ostentatious?"

My storm? He'd assumed, of course, that I had the power to control the weather. Like I was some kind of freak of nature.

"As if," I snorted, cocking a brow at him.

The brief movement seemed to spark a flash of lightning, followed by repeated thunder rolls. We both turned our heads at the same time, eyes trained on the murderous, blood-red moon like watching a disaster movie with three gigantinormous tornadoes spinning wildly out of control, waiting for them to touch down and wreak havoc all over the place.

The only thing missing was popcorn.

"I always knew you would live up to your name and cause chaos and destruction," Dad announced, returning his attention to me. "Although, I never counted on any of this." He sniffed with pride. But only temporarily. "You defied a direct order to destroy humans. And now, instead of allowing your power to be a celebration of your wickedness, you decided to keep your soul to do what exactly? To save lives?"

I wasn't sure if he was asking me, or telling me.

My dad may not have counted on the fact that I would fight back, but what I  hadn't counted on was how much he could hurt me without even touching me. I raised both hands, placing them on either side of my head and squeezed hard to keep my brain from leaking out of my ears. Just his mere presence alone caused blistering waves of agony to flood my mind, possessing me first before attempting to swallow me whole.

That couldn't happen too many more times and be very healthy.

Satisfied that he'd successfully turned my brains to mush, he smiled bitterly. "Are you ready to end this little display of defiance, and get on with using the power entrusted to you?"

I nodded my head slowly, knowing I wasn't even close to being finished. Finished defying him, that is. My reply sounded like the tagline from a movie. "The one angel designed to destroy the world, becomes the only one who can save it."

Teeth clenched tight, his incredibly disgusting voice hissed in my ear. "It's going to be such a shame to put out your fire."

I gave him a serious eye-roll. Or attempted to anyway. "Go tickle a brick."

My dad responded by rubbing my head like he was trying to comfort a spastic puppy. I jerked away and growled at him. What he had yet to figure out is that I'm more like a hillbilly hell-hound.

"You have failed, Chaos. Your dreams of saving the world are all being shattered as we speak," Serenity chimed in, voice tight with excitement. I could tell by the energy roiling in the frigid air that she was just moments away from raising enough power to execute a simultaneous attack on mankind by unleashing her global army of undead supersoldiers. Already the putrid stench of billions upon billions of rotting corpses attempted to claw its way into my nostrils.

That's when I felt it. 

My dad attempting to use the power of darkness to sever my soul. I was surprised at how little it did to squash my youthful arrogance. "I haven't failed yet, Serenity. I've just been taking my time to come up with an even better way to kill you."

She stalked around me, hand purposefully brushing my bare arm. Between my dad trying to peel me apart like an onion, and Serenity's touch...well, let's just say I fought to keep my face blank. Especially when I spied the athame lying on the opposite side of the stage. I must have succeeded because Serenity stopped right in front of me. Placing both hands on her bony hips, she purred, "I can make you do whatever I please. You'll beg to give me your immortality if it will stop the pain."