I swished the kitchen knife in the air in front of me. The angel seemed to indulge in my pathetic attempts, and deftly swerved out of the way of my unbalanced attacks. I never made contact with him, but I manage to keep him at bay. At least for now.
I didn't dare glance over at Lucas and Nick to my left, but gravel was being kicked up around them like a hurricane, and I could hear clear grunts of exertion- and pain. I wasn't sure who they belonged to, but I could have taken a guess.
"Stay away from me," I called. It sounded more like a plea than a demand.
To my surprise, the angel raised his hands. "We don't want to hurt you. We just want to help."
It was clear that, in his eyes, 'help' could very well mean kill.
"Help?" I repeated disbelievingly. "You murdered Leclair! How could you possibly help me?"
He didn't answer, instead lunging forward to my right, as if to grab for the knife. I yelped at his unexpected movement and swung the knife again. It came closer to catching his skin this time, but I didn't move my hand back fast enough, and the blade caught on his thick jacket. The angel caught my extended wrist before I could react, and twisted it so I had no choice but to drop the blade. I tried to kick at his knees, but he didn't even seem to notice my futile efforts. He held tightly onto my wrist, and, quicker than my eyes could follow, reached out with his other hand to wrench my head forward. He shoved me to the ground, and I felt the gravel grate at the skin on my cheek.
"What do you want from me?!" I screamed through clenched teeth, managing to swivel onto my back to face him.
He paused, as if considering how best to answer. "We want back what we gave to you."
Before I could grasp his words, he shoved my arm behind my back, and it rolled in pain. I managed to rise back up to lean on my knee, but he stopped me from moving any further. My shoulder felt like it was about to pop out of its socket, and black spots tinted my vision from the pain. The knife was on the ground, just a few feet away, but there was no chance of me reaching it.
The angel pulled me up to my feet and yanked me closer. For one terrifying moment, I thought he was about to fly from the ground- with me in tow. But before he could gain any momentum, I was knocked from his grip by what felt like the force of a brick wall.
I slid along the hard ground like a useless puppet before being pulled up again, this time by a much more welcomed face.
"Did I not tell you the knife wouldn't help you?" Nick scolded, although he had a proud glint in his eye.
"It was better than doing nothing." I spat back, ringing my hurt wrist.
I looked around at the scuffle still raging. The angel that had attacked me look disoriented, and wobbled on his feet. Another angel was laying on the ground to the left, unmoving. Lucas was trying to fend two more off at once, but he was losing. Not a moment later, the angel to his right seemed to catch him off guard, and managed to sweep his feet out from under him. Lucas fought to regain his footing, but with two figures pinning him down, there was no use.
The last angel was quickly moving toward us. Nick grasped my arm. "I have a backup plan, but it'll take a toll on me," He panted. "I'm going to need your help to get us out of here once I release the energy."
I nodded, trying to slow my breathing. "What are you going to do?"
He looked back at the angels, as if readying himself. "There's a demonic spell I can use. It will neutralise all heavenly servants. It won't kill them, but it should at least buy us a little time to escape."
I yanked at his sleeve. "But won't it affect Lucas too?"
Lucas, shoved onto the ground with blood in his mouth, must have heard my words.
"Do it!" He screamed.
Without another word, Nick spread his arms. The angel coming towards us must have picked up on what he was about to do, because he began running.
Nick shoved me behind him, and I could see beads of sweat running down his neck. Whatever he was preparing to enact was going to take everything he had left, and it was up to me to get us the hell out of here once it happened.
In a grand, sweeping gesture, Nick clapped his hands together. The sound echoed around us like thunder, and a large grey wave of power swept through the air in front of him. He shouted something to accompany the spell, but I couldn't hear it over the lingering blast.
One by one, as the dark vapour reached them, the angels collapsed to the ground. Lucas became still under his captors, but they too quickly fell from their feet. Nick looked about ready to collapse as well, his knees shaking and his skin turning ashen.
The grey, fog-like power enveloped Nick, and quickly spread out into the air toward me. I moved toward Nick, to catch him before he could fall.
But when the grey power hit me, I fell to the ground in a scream of agony.
***
When I opened my eyes, I didn't recognise my surroundings. The walls around me were shifting and tumbling, making me feel nauseous. I tried to sit up, but that only made the spinning worse.
Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong hands supporting my back. "Woah, just stay still. You'll faint if you try to move too quickly."
Nick's blurred face came into view. I tried to reach out to him for balance, but my limbs were frighteningly weak.
"What happened?" I asked groggily.
"We got out," Nick said with a grimace. "I managed to move us out of Faith Heights. We're safe- for now."
I forced myself to sit up with a grunt. I was on a small couch, leathery and rigid. Nick was crouched beside me, his face hollow. I didn't know where we were, but it was dark outside of whatever cramped room we were holed up in. There was a whirring sound from above, maybe a fan. Another figure slowly came towards us, and I felt my heart quicken before I recognised it as Lucas. He looked down at me with a mixture of relief and bewilderment.
I rubbed my face, trying to clear my eyes. My glasses were filthy with dust, but cleaning them didn't help much.
"Why did I pass out? Why did I feel the spell?" My mouth felt dry, as if it had been stuffed with cotton balls.
Lucas hesitated. "There's an obvious reason... but it's impossible... it would explain a few things, but it can't be true-"
"Lucas, spit it out." I croaked.
He stuttered before speaking. "It means... that some part of you is angelic."
"What?" Nick spat, his head snapping in Lucas' direction with a vengeful expression.
"That's not possible. Only human species can be old souls. Werewolves, witches, psychics... nothing touched by another world. Nothing with pure angel blood." He added, with forced composure, "Her vessel could simply be descended from a Nephilim."
Lucas shook his head, but he looked as confused by the revelation as Nick and I were. "No; for the spell to have affected her, it would have to be a vibrant, untainted angelic soul mixed with her own spirit... She is part angel." He stated, as if he didn't fully believe it himself.
How... how was that even possible? It was a ridiculous accusation. Unfathomable.
But what other explanation was there?
It should have been impossible. It was impossible. But, as I looked around at the angel and demon before me, I knew that, whatever the explanation, we were in this together.
For better or for worse.
If we had to fight through fire and rain, heaven and hell, to find answers, then the three of us would find a way.
And once we found those allusive, taunting answers, the angels wouldn't know what hit them.
And so as I looked over at Nick's pained, tired face, I swore to myself,
Through fire and rain,
heaven and hell,
angels and demons,
and the terrifying unknown in between,
I would find a way.
***
Well, that's it! Thank you to everyone that read, commented, voted and followed over the last few months! It's meant the world to me.
Feel free to comment or inbox me anything you thought worked or didn't work, any questions you might have, or if you'd like a little hint at what might be coming in 'Gravity' (Faith Heights #2).
Again, thank you to everyone, seeing people enjoying my stories is always the highlight of my day! :)