Temptation [A Young Writer's Prize Submission]

Betrayal

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Hebrews 1: 14

"Seriously?!" Cain yelled, noticing Azrael there; "Can't you just keep out of our business?"

"She asked you to leave," Azrael's voice was deceptively gentle, but I heard the threatening undertone. The same tone he'd used before throwing Will into the alley wall.

"Cain, go," I was pleading with him now, more for his sake than for mine. In the corner of my eye, I noticed Raphael standing at Azrael's side.

Staring at the tell-tale tick in Cain's jaw, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. The only way Cain would leave was after a fight - a fight I knew he couldn't win. I acted in the only way I thought I could.

I embraced him, pressing my lips against his ear to whisper: "If you go now, I promise... next time."

That caught his attention; he stared heavily down at me, to check my face for sincerity. I was silent under his gaze for a long moment, but then, just as I was about to give up hope, he nodded. Still fuming, he marched out of the room, deliberately brushing past Azrael and Raphael. They watched him leave with condemning eyes.

The moment his foot hit the stairs, their gaze snapped to me. Azrael came forward, looking concerned and sympathetic.

"Are you alright, Mercy?" he asked gently.

It wasn't the question that made me tense, but the distinct 'click' coming from the door as Raphael locked it.

"What are you doing?" I asked; my voice weak.

"Locking the door," Raphael answered, matter-of-factly.

"Why?"

The look he cast me was not friendly; nor did it suggest he'd acted in my best interest. He hadn't locked the door to keep Cain out, but to keep me in. A little terrified now, I stared up at Azrael. His expression showed the same sentiments. They looked... dangerous.

"Who are you?" I whispered, realising the horror of my situation. My head was spinning round a hundred suggestions a second; serial killers, psychopaths, rapists... all three? There was something really, really wrong about these men - not the rescuers I'd believed them to be.

Cain was right: he'd warned me about them. I called out for him, but there was no response. Only then did I realise that I hadn't heard any more footsteps coming from the stairs since that first. Had time stopped, or was I delusional?

"Shh," Azrael placed a finger to my lips. He took hold of my arms, manoeuvred me to my bed. I felt my limbs relaxing into a helpless paralysis as he held them. When I didn't make a sound, too terrified of him to disobey his order, he smiled at my fear. Despite its origins, it was a nice smile, the kind of smile that invited you to smile in return. I managed to resist, but it was a close call.

"Good girl," he murmured, seductively. "You're a good girl, Mercy Falle."

"How do you know my last name?" I whispered. Hysteria was beginning to build up in the pit of my stomach. His gaze was like a laser, searing through my skin. My head began to throb, first where Will had hit me, but soon spreading through everywhere else, too. Black spots danced in front of my eyes, growing ever larger by the second. I needed to rub my eyes as everything blurred before me, but Azrael kept my body in paralysis.

"We know everything about you, Mercy. We've been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time." He spoke, as if speaking to a mere child, still learning the ways of the world: 'because I said so, that's why.'