~~Young~~

Chapter Five

   Gage could feel the muscles in his back twitch, his wings shifting beneath his skin, ready for the fight. He eyes looked everywhere, scanning the room for the angel but saw nothing. He wasn’t invisible, not to Gage. To a mortal, angels had the ability to vanish from their sight. But Gage and Michael were essentially of the same makeup, the same beings, just one of them was a vessel for good and the other evil. No he was just playing games, hiding somewhere…

   “Better be careful there Michael, I thought enjoying the suffering of others was a sin,” Gage said amused, his fingers slowing curing into a fist.

   He was close, he knew that much, just not where.

   “Even He wouldn’t hold it against me when it comes to you.”

   That time Michael’s voice came from right behind him and Gage spun, narrowly missing the blade swung at his head.

   “Whoo, wow, good one there Mikey,” Gage laughed as he backed down the stairs from the alter into some more open space.

   “For the infinite time Gage, do not call me that.”

   “Right, right, whatever…Mikey,” he grinned, “you almost got me there.”

   He was everything one would expect in an angel, the standards that mortals still hold themselves to even in this day. Beautiful but not handsome, with soft features that were currently twisted into a scowl that still left him attractive looking. That long blonde hair tied off at his neck, piercing blue eyes that were much like Gage’s really. And perfect form- in body in posture- that was hidden behind his metal armor shined to mirror perfection. The massive wings resting behind him were not white, but a soft golden yellow. A sign of his status, his divinity, his superiority to all other angels in heaven save Gabriel. Those two were equals in god’s eyes.

   New angels were given white wings, like Gage, they had to earn their feathers as well.

   Truly of the same decent.

   “Almost?” the angel grinned as he stalked Gage down the stairs, his sword held before him in both hands, and aimed at Gage.

   With narrowed eyes Gage reached up to his ear that, at the thought, did sting a bit. He was indeed bleeding, but even worse was the lock of black hair sitting on his collar.

   “Dammit, now I’m going to have to get it cut,” he mocked the angel as he grabbed his ear one more time, actually, that was a damn good shot.

    He nearly took his ear off.

   Rubbing the blood between his fingers he shot the angel a sideways glance, “you do realize it’s my turn, right?”

   Without giving Michael the chance to answer Gage threw his arm to the side, pulling his blade out of the hell fire and lunging at the angel. Their blades met with a spark, the blue of hell fire and the yellow light of heaven lighting the otherwise dim room every time one swung and blocked the other’s attempts.

   Lunge, clang.

   Spin, thrust, clang.

   Leap over the sweep of a leg, blade brought down from above, clang.

   This was always how it was between the two, neither superior then the other in their blade skills, neither winning, neither losing.

   Didn’t mean either wouldn’t try.

   Michael came at Gage with a few short swings to each side, clang, clang, clang. Gage pushed against Michael at the last strike, their blades spitting fire as they pushed against each other, tested the other’s strength and hold, their faces just inches from the other. Gage didn’t have much of a choice really, Michael had managed to corner him against the wall.