"Did you expect that outcome?" I asked her softly. We were on our way back to the house and the lively afternoon was quieting into a blissful evening. She walked confidently, but slowed at my question. "Not quite, I hadn't expected him to display any love for Azaila." I could almost hear the smile in her voice. I wonder if she had been counting on the chance that he loved his daughter, but I also wonder if maybe she had hoped to hear that he had loved her to. That she hoped what was between them, wasn't merely arranged. At the same time I knew that she loved her wife dearly and from her reaction toward his confession, she wasn't willing to give up her wife for (what i suspect) the hope that he loved her. "Luke?" she looked back at me playfully, "don't let that mind of yours wonder too much." My face flushed red and I averted my gaze to the ground, "yes, ma'am." Can she read minds?
Raphael was not lying when he said he's send an army. There weren't many angels, as he said, but there were plenty of undead warriors, giants, ancient dragons, and even a couple of dinosaurs all most likely borrowed from the mid-life. The mid-life is the place between life and death, real and mythical. It was a place for failed creations or mutations God did not expect to occur and some were the spirits who had just not given up on what made them human. "Wow, I know Raphael is powerful, but this powerful?" Claire laughed lightly, shaking her head. "This is wonderful isn't it?" I shook my head agreeing with her and when I looked to her face I realized a darkness had fallen over her that had not been there in the moment before.
"Claire?" Her body was still and she spoke quietly, "He has come faster than I imagined, we must be prepared in two days. His rise to Earth will only allow us that much time."
"Two days, but that isn't nearly enough time. We've only just got this army! We have to train together, educate on war tactics and make sure everyone is prepared to fight not only Lucifer's army, but Lucifer himself!" I exasperate. Claire scoffed at me, "There is no need for training and they are very much prepared for his army and I am the only one getting close to Lucifer. We are not to kill him, I am giving him my soul in place for my daughters life and power to be restored back to her. Without her power he cannot sustain himself, let alone , a whole army on earth. They only thing we will have to prepare is tactics. And if im not mistaken, you were apart of God's elite squad, so you will not need training." I nodded as a response. I knew that I have had plenty of training in physical battle and even carried out a few demon executions for my father, but I had never been part of such a large war with someone I love more than anything else at risk. If we did not win, I would lose her forever. I could not bear that kind of pain. I will have to give up my own life if I cannot save hers. I do not wish for her mother to give up her life either, but she is insistant upon it and I would be silly to think any of us or even all of us could even bring harm to a being such as Lucifer. He is as immortal as God himself. "Well, we won't help her by standing around. Let's get started," Claire stated eagerly. I had never seen a woman enjoy war so much, it was amusing in some ways to see a woman act as if she were as powerful as a Goddess. In Claires case, though, i'm not entirely sure it was acting. I smiled and followed her into the crowd of soldiers that were willingly helping us in a battle like this. She was greeting each of them in their own languages and I was amazed at the cooperation among the group. There was certainly an air of importance about this mission and I knew they could all feel it.
We got to business right away and we lead them all to an underground shelter outside the forested area that surrounded their home. We decided our front line would be the undead warrior, obviously our airborne would be the dragons, and our very last resort of our attack would be the giants. We decided on a tight formation, since it provides a better defense and while the war is waging Claire would use that window of time to find Lucifer and seal her deal with him. "So, what's going on?" Zane said casually. I was startled by his voice and wondered how long he had been there. I didn't trust him and I didn't want him to have any knowledge of even a single detail of our strategy. "What do you want Zane? There is nothing here for you." I stated. Claire looked toward us and zoned in on Zane with an angry look, "He is right, you have no business here. Leave." she demanded, and then lightly added, "and Luke? Why don't you leave with him. You need a break, it's been 27 hours since we've been working here. You need rest." I looked up at her, ready to protest, "but you haven't gotten any sleep either. I do not wish to leave. This has to be perfect, in order to save Azaila's life."
"Luke," she started softly, "I am a powerful Witch, I can fool my body and my mind into thinking i've had enough sleep with a spell. I am also not engaging in battle, so I will not need as much rest. We will save her Luke, you do not have to worry." I did not agree with her totally and felt the impulse to argue further, but I did not. A sigh escaped my lips and I followed Zane up the steps and back to the house. "She is in her room, if you'd like to see her. We have been tending to her and she has gained some color and warmth." Zane spoke as softly as Claire had, most likely in the hopes that I would not cause a scene. "I will go, but I want to go alone. I need to see her, but I do not want your company." He watched me closely and nodded at my request. I turned away from him aggressively, I blamed him for her situation. If he had not told her in the first place or kept her memories from her this would not have happened.
I entered her room quietly, unsure if I would disturb her if I was loud. I saw that her body was still, but her chest rose and fell ever so slightly. It made her seem as if she were being forced to breath. Dead, but breathing. I moved closer to her and touched her arm lightly, her skin was warmer, but not much. The softness of her skin was so delightful and my heart ached at the fact that i could not have a conversation with her or see her smile. If I did not make it out of this battle alive, I would never even see her again. I felt warm tears spill over my cheeks as I gently held her hand. All these years I have watched her and loved her dearly and now I am part of the reason that she is lying here dying. If I had not chosen this love over my Father and God, he may have put forth more of an effort to save her since she is special. He will not help those who directly betray him and I was a fool for the actions I took leading to this moment. I held my head close to her hand, planting kisses on all of her fingers. "I love you, Azaila." He jumped as a soft voice responded quietly, "I love you too, Luke." My heart practically thumped out of my chest and I looked up at her face and her eyes fluttered open. Her hand squeezed around mine weakly. "You're alive!" I said excitedly. She nodded her head and the look on her face revealed that she was feeling confused. "Huh?" she asked tiredly. "You cast a spell and handed all of your power to Lucifer, you were dying!" I exaperated. She knitted her eyebrows together, still confused. 'Son, though you have decided a different path from me, I will grant you her life. I love you and I know that she is important to you. She does still possess power, but very little. You must teach her to control it, if you wish to win this battle you are facing.' Father? God? He is helping me? 'I do not know how I can repay you Father, but I appreciate your services in the highest honor.' I smiled inwardly, knowing in my soul the God could not completely abandon me. I still had somewhere to go if I died, even if I was stripped of my angelic abilities. Azaila was still staring up at me expectantly, "Azaila, I am going to teach you how to use you powers, we have twenty one hours to do it, Let's ge started," I said eagerly. "Why twenty one hours?"
"Lucifer is coming to earth and he has something of your that we're going to get back."
A/N: I'm getting really close to the end of this. I hope you like it! I kinda felt like I babbled a lot in this Chapter, but I still feel like this Chapter was necessary to connect some dots in the story. The ending of this book is going to be a real surprise, so hopefully that will be motivation to keep on reading! :D Comment/Vote please. :)
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Locem Ac Tenebras
Adventure"Zane," he spoke quietly. I looked at him questioningly, noticing that he was watching me intensely. I almost got lost in those golden eyes when I realized what he said. "Your name," I said lamely, "mines Azaila." He smiled at me.
