WattpadHornsandHalos prompt: You find yourself stuck between an angel and a demon who need to put aside their differences and work together to stop a greater evil.
A blinding burst of light erupted, scattering the encroaching darkness and momentarily dazzling Evangeline's vision. She shielded her eyes. Yet, just as quickly, a surge of intense blackness followed, swiftly taming the overwhelming brilliance.
Slowly, the grounds opened, the fire subsided, the water dried, and the wind quietened.
Evangeline's life was spared of the relentless onslaught of elemental forces as she found herself suspended in mid-air between two otherworldly beings, one a celestial entity brimming with light, the other exuding enigmatic darkness.
Coughs racked her body as soon as the elements faded and she was gently placed atop the barren ground. Evangeline curled forward, heaving for air and struggling to calm her heart.
Their powerful, overwhelming auras clashed in polarity of good and evil, light and dark, white and black, Angel and Daemon – summoned by an unusual surge of magic that rippled through realms.
"Jezebel," the Angel sneered, the expression alien across his heavenly face.
The Daemon smirked, showcasing sharp teeth resembling that of a shark as she plopped down atop a jagged rock. "Fancy meeting you here, Azrael."
Evangeline frowned, still reeling from her last encounter with the supernatural. Their unpredictability was too dizzying.
Azrael shook his wings, golden feathers fluttered as he opened them in what he intended as a threat to the Daemon. Jezebel, however, clapped as if witnessing an entertainment show, her tail swishing behind her. "That was cool," she whistled. "Do it again."
Irked, the Angel frowned. "What is it that you seek, Daemon?"
"Daemon?" she pouted. "I thought we were on a first-name basis."
Azrael huffed, rolled his eyes, and faced a wide-eyed Evangeline. His silky white cloak fluttered behind him as he headed her way before crouching down to her level. "Are you alright, Miss Winterbourne?"
"Ever the polite," Jezebel snickered in the background, muttering about Angels and their stupid robes.
Evangeline cleared her throat. "Yes, uh, thank you...sir."
Jezebel snorted and slapped a hand over her mouth when Azrael shot a glare her way before helping Evangeline – who couldn't take her eyes off his tanned skin, platinum strands, white beard, and golden irises – sit in a more comfortable position.
His wrinkles only added to the warmth he exuded as he smiled at her and she returned it. "You did great there, not surrendering to the pain and the temptations of power."
The moment, however, was broken by a yawn from a very bored Daemon. "Yadda, yadda," she drawled. "Enough chitchat already. We've got more pressing matters." She tapped her chin. "Like a few deranged people seeking to revive an ugly princess."
Jezebel's wings – a black and red membrane stretching wide behind her – flapped twice as she approached them with a teasing swing to her full hips, accentuated by her tight leather pants. Her crimson hair spilled forth as she bent forward, pinning Evangeline with fully-black eyes, two mischievous chasms of nothingness. Evangeline's gaze couldn't help but flicker to a set of wide, irregular horns adorning her head.
Azrael muttered under his breath, leaning away from Jezebel when she asked him to speak up.
However, it was Evangeline who did. "You two saved my life. Thank you."
Azrael quickly jumped to his feet, putting as much distance as he could between him and a smirking Jezebel.
The Angel's face softened before he rolled his eyes when the Daemon spoke up. "See? You should learn a thing or two from her." Jezebel turned to Evangeline. "Angels always discredit our help."
"Help? You thrive in chaos, Jezebel, and that makes me wonder...what are you even doing here? Why did you help stop the ritual?"
Jezebel mirrored his stance, crossing her arms under her generous bust. Azrael was truly an Angel for not checking her out from head to two.
Tension crackled in the air before Jezebel relented. "It pains me to admit the revival of Tiamat would unleash unparalleled chaos and destruction which is going to disrupt the existing power structures within our realm, our established hierarchy, and also threaten our very existence."
Azrael nodded. Daemons, after all, preferred to maintain control over their own domain and didn't want to see a power as unpredictable and uncontrollable as Tiamat unleashed. Her awakening would tip this balance overwhelmingly toward chaos, upsetting the equilibrium that both Daemons and Angels agreed was essential for the stability of the supernatural realm.
Evangeline hummed, "It'll have severe repercussions on the mortal world as well. Imagine reviving a supernatural being in a place full of humans, the very mortals Tiamat had initially sought to eradicate and obsessively hated."
"You can't truly bring the dead fully back to life," Azrael added, his expression grim. "They become more vengeful, tainted souls seeking to end all life. Imagine the fury and hatred Tiamat carries that Anastasius was going to unleash on this defenseless earth."
"Stop frowning, dear, you've got enough wrinkles as it is." Jezebel pulled his cheeks before he swatted her hands away.
Undeterred, Jezebel leaned on his shoulder. "Do you know why you couldn't see Tiamat even as you were getting sacrificed?"
Evangeline shook her head. "She said that she can't yet."
Azrael stepped away. "Not until she fully fused with a vessel strong enough to contain her unbound mess of a soul. You are a descendant of the great Drakaina. The perfect sacrifice."
Jezebel's expression sobered up. "You've collected all four orbs of each of Tiamat's heads...except the red one."
With furrowed brows, Evangeline stood up. "I was wondering why they performed the ritual before I found it. I thought they were afraid I might run away or expose them now that I know everything."
Jezebel was in her face, their breaths mingling as her teeth showed in a predatory grin. "It's the heart of her soul, the one they were trying to shove into you through that Drakonite you so generously handed them."
Evangeline grimaced just as Azrael stepped forward, begrudgingly tugging a smug Jezebel to stand beside him.
"It appears," he muttered, "you are in need of our assistance."
Word count: 1000.
MEANING OF THE WORDS USED:
Jezebel is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, meaning "pure" or "virginal." In the Bible, Jezebel is the daughter of King Ethbaal and the queen of Israel condemned by God. Unexalted. An evil queen who was power-hungry.
Azrael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my help." Often spelled as Asriel or Azriel, this striking name can be found in Muslim and Jewish traditions. It's associated with the archangel Angel of Death.
Drakaina In Greek mythology, a drakaina (Ancient Greek: δράκαινα) is a female serpent or dragon, sometimes with humanlike features/ A female species that is draconian in nature, primarily depicted as a woman with dragon features. It's also the title of a story of mine, the events taking place waaaaaayyyyy before this entry.