~~Young~~

Chapter Thirteen

   No…

   Gage snapped his head around when the night’s breeze brought with it a scent so very wrong in this filthy place.

   Pure, clean, air.

   “Michael,” he sneered.

   The angel was perched on the building flanking the left side of the bar, crouched down, his wings folded and resting on his back as he watched the scene below him unfold.

   Gage reached down and snapped one of the rails off of the fire escape and hurled it at Michael to get his attention. Not that he didn’t think the angel hadn’t already seen him- he was kind of hard to miss even at night with his twenty feet of black wings- but he wasn’t going to let him pretend like he wasn’t there.

   Not when he knew why Michael was there.

   He was waiting for Sera to die.

   Instead of catching it out of the air as he had expected, Michael let it clang off his shiny armor- back in one piece from their battle the other day he noticed- and turned a lazy grin on Gage.

   The prick, the fucking righteous prick…

   Again he leapt for the roof tops, the metal escape groaning in protest from the force he exerted, landing just inches beside Michael. He stood up slowly, as if Gage was no threat to him at all.

   And maybe he wasn’t, depended what he had to say, if admitted to planning this all just like the mortals below-

   Gage swung himself around to check on Sera. She was gripping her head with her back to the mouth of the alley, fighting within herself he knew. But she hadn’t noticed the men who weren’t even thirty feet from her now, wouldn’t notice them until it was too late.

   “Yes you might want to be paying more attention to them than me. Wouldn’t want your precious mortal to get hurt now would you?”

   It was said with all the sincerity of someone who actually cared about Sera’s well being, and purposely so God wouldn’t question Michael’s intentions here.

   Only Gage knew he was full of shit, not just because of what Death had told him, but because to help her would be to interfere with the lives of mortals. Something Michael has never before condoned on Gage’s part.

   He curled his fingers in his hand, fighting the frigid air begging him to call his blade from the hellfire.

   “I don’t know how, but know I will find a way to punish you for this Michael,” he gritted through his teeth, his chest aching, knowing he didn’t have much time.

   He knew Michael was there for exactly that, to be a distraction.

   “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

   Gage turned to see a smug grin on the angel’s perfect face, his arms crossed over his chest and his blade already in his fist.

   “Fuck you,” Gage spat and stepped to him, “this is what you’ve always hoped for isn’t it? You’re just waiting for him to revoke my immortality so you can be rid of me.”

   “Now what in heaven would you mean? He would only do such a thing if you were to take the life of an innocent…” he dropped his arms and looked to Gage sternly, “You’re not thinking of doing such a thing are you?” he asked in mock surprise.

   “Never,” Gage strode right up to him, till they were literally nose to nose and watched as the angel shivered from the chill, “But I have it in mind that you’ve arranged just such a thing.”