An Angel and a Demon

Chapter 8

She pulled into the Oakleys’ driveway and got out of the car. Mad though she was, she knew she had to keep her head. She couldn’t afford to mess this up.

Elijah opened the front door and greeted her with a smile that she returned.

“Welcome, old friend.”

They walked in and Ciara beamed, greeting Xenna with a hug that was too warm for her liking. She plastered a smile on her face as Ciara broke off from the hug.

“Thank you for coming. I’ll be forever grateful for what you’ve done for our family.”

Xenna tried her best to keep the smile, even though her anger was building. 

“Is Marilyn here?” she asked, ever so sweetly. 

Ciara’s smile faltered a little.

“No, but there’s someone else that you’d like to meet…” she said, walking over to the wall and switching on the lights.

And then Xenna saw Lydia by the staircase and the first genuine smile broke across her face.

She walked towards her.

“Well, well, well. Turns out she’s still a bit rusty, isn’t she?”

Lydia glared daggers at her, but didn’t seem to have the strength to retaliate. 

“This is where you deserve to be. Tied up, pathetic. It’s what you deserve after stealing him away from me… twice."

“He was never yours,” Lydia managed.

“Yes, he, was,” Xenna snarled, stepping closer. “He loved me before he even knew you existed.”

Lydia smirked.

“And then Noah met me and realised that the world had better things to offer.”

Her anger resurfaced.

“You should be grateful for me, you angel wretch. I was the one who kept your little relationship a secret from the generals. I was the reason that you two could be together in the first place! And how am I repaid? He lies to me.”

She regained her composure and continued.

“You know what Noah told me when he came back to the military? He told me that you left him for someone else.”

And Xenna watched with long awaited satisfaction as Lydia heard the truth. 

“You’re lying,” she whispered.

“No, I’m actually not.” 

“It was… it was just a cover story…” 

“You can ask him when he gets here, which should be quite soon actually. Oh yes, I know you called him. And when he gets here, you can ask him about how he came back to Ireland and told me that he had finally realised that he’d been in love with me all along and that he had finally decided what he really wanted. Cover story or not, there’s some truth in it and you know it. And you know what? I fell for it so hard, without a second thought, because I trusted him. He was the one person during the war who had stuck up for me, who had been there for me, and now I know that you and him had it all planned out to protect your little beast.”

“That’s my daughter you’re talking about, you bitch. And I know for a fact that you would have done the same thing.”

Xenna leered at her.

“I wouldn’t have had children in the first place, knowing the risks.”

Ciara spoke up.

“We told you Lydia, we’re sorry, but we’d rather have one soul taken than three,” she said.

Lydia gestured to Xenna.

“You can’t really believe that she’s going to let Noah and I live, can you? How naïve are you people?! She’s going to kill all three of us! That’s why she wanted to bloody do this in the first place!”

Ciara shook her head.

“No, we made sure that she only needed one life-”

“It doesn’t matter what she said! Marilyn’s soul alone may be enough to get all three of you to Eazaros but that’s not what her plan is!”

Ciara frowned but before Lydia could say anything else, Xenna flexed her palm and Lydia gagged. She gasped for air that wouldn’t come. Xenna kept the air out of her system and turned around to face Ciara, trying her best to sound sympathetic.

“She’s trying to manipulate you. Angels will do that. But I assure you, all I want is for your family to get back home safely. It’s about time that demons got the revenge they deserve. I'll do whatever I can to make sure that happens."

And then they heard the leaves outside crunch by the window and she released her choke, looking at Elijah. Lydia slumped against the railing once more, unconscious.

"I think that would be our long awaited guests. I suggest you bring them before they do something they regret. Ciara, keep an eye on Lydia.” 

Ciara hesitated, but nodded eventually.

Elijah followed her out the door and closed it after them. He breathed in the crisp night air and his horns curled out of his skin from his forehead. He disappeared around the corner.

Xenna stood alone for a moment and closed her eyes in the silence of the street. Soon they’d realize what her plan was, but she wasn’t too worried about that. By the time they figured it out, she would have already accomplished it.

She calmed her mind feeling the air on her skin, the particles brushing against each other. She could sense the movement inside the house. Ciara, curling up on the couch, Lydia, still slumping on the bannister. She shifted her power to the right side of the house, looking for disturbances in the air, looking further and further away, and then she felt them. Three figures in the old park. Two of them faced the other. They were talking.

And then there was a fourth figure, away from the other three. Hiding. Watching. Waiting.

She’d found her target.