Stained Wings

Chapter Thirteen

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."

- Michelangelo

Dean

"Are you all sure you want to do this?" I asked. We were all gathered in the living room, just as dawn was breaking.

Last night Amelia showed up at our front door, her soul broken. We had to make a decision on what to do with her and it has been decided.

"Yes." James stepped forward. "This is the only option."

No, it isn't.

"If we give her over to the New York division, who knows what they'll do to her?" Maisie said, but it was futile. It was two against six. Maisie and I wanted to keep her here, but the others felt they would be safer with her gone.

"It's an obvious trap!" Skylar said. "Azriel and Amelia probably planned this all along."

"If we fall for it, we'll be dead by tomorrow." Noah said.

I wished I could tell them what I saw last night in her dream world. I wish I could've showed them that look in her eyes.

"Alright. If you're sure." I said. "Then we'll take her today. Any volunteers?"

The group fell silent. I stared hard at all of them. "You want to get her to New York, right? If you say this is a trap then we should take her as soon as possible. If this is a trap, then Azriel will try to get her back when we go, so it's volunteer only."

Maisie stepped forward. "I'll go."

There was a deafening silence. "If Maisie's going, so am I." Noah sighed.

"Someone's gotta have your pathetic little back. We're in." Lucy pulled at Cole's arm. Cole seemed surprised, but didn't protest.

"Ah, what the hell." James said, looking at Skylar, "What do you say, Cloudy?" Skylar nodded.

We all looked at Rose, who reddened and stomped her foot. "Well I didn't want to go, but I'm not staying here alone." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You sure you're all up to this?" I asked, giving all of them one last look. They all nodded, so I sighed and as I left the room I said, "One hour."

As I walked to my room, I searched for Amelia's soul. It was still weak, but it was better than before. I didn't want to take her to New York. She wouldn't have been safe there.

One hour later we were all gathered in the living room, everyone ready, weapons and resources packed. I quickly went to the basement to get Amelia.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at her hands. She looked up as I reached the end of the stairs and her eyes filled with sorrow when she saw the rope in my hand. She gave me a small, weak smile and held out her hands.

"I'm sorry, Lia." I said as I tied her hands together and led her upstairs. She kept her gaze on the ground for hours. We couldn't exactly fly to New York, because the group didn't trust her enough to be hundreds of feet in the air with her, wings or not, so we had to walk.

Maisie and Noah walked hand in hand, Maisie often stopping to pick a flower. Noah would then put it in her hair and kiss her on the cheek. Lucy and Cole were thumb wrestling, often tripping or falling and then laughing. James and Skylar were walking alongside Rose, talking in hushed voices.

Amelia and I were in the lead, her hand still tied and her eyes still on the ground. The sun had just started to set when I soft breeze drifted through the air.