All I could do was stand there in disbelief as Envy rocked back and forth in agony on the grassy earth of Heaven. Preston had knelt beside him, his hand slowly extending towards his fellow sin. He attempted to place it on Envy's shoulder in a comforting, brotherly way, but Eric swatted it away, "Don't touch me!" He snarled, his eyes rabid with an inner torment, his black wings lying behind him, sad and useless.
"Envy," Greyson's wings fell behind him in defeat as he hung his head.
I turned around at the sound of heavy footsteps running towards us and Illius, West closely behind him, pushed through the brush and trees. They came to a stop a few feet away from Envy, Illius' brows knitted together as he took in the grief stricken sin.
"What happened?" West asked as he tucked his guns into his belt, his hands covered in white, angel blood. My eyes met his and I slowly shook my head, my heart clenching, "What? What is it?" Worry drew into his voice, his feathers ruffling with anxiety.
"Envy's wings are paralyzed," Preston explained, his voice scarcely more than a whisper.
I watched the shock pass over the brother's faces and we all stood there, watching Eric as he battled with the emotions welling inside of himself. There was silence, we grieved for the loss of Envy's wings, for the piece of Eric that had just died. I silently wondered if he would ever be the same again, or if he had just lost a part of himself that could never be recovered.
~*~
Morana whipped around, facing her sins, her chest rising and falling with an overwhelming pain as she gasped for breath. She had aligned with the Darklings and they had given her the power to connect with the sins, but with this connection came the occasional burst of emotions from one of them and she knew her Envy suffered. She let out a scream that shook the very core of the ice hanging above them and sunk to her knees. Her mouth gaping open in a silent sob as she bent over, her hands flying to her back where her wings had unknowingly sprouted and now laid around her.
Luis rushed to her side, "Morana, what's wrong?" Panic showed on his face as he took her clenched fists in his own hands.
She gasped, choking on her breaths, "Envy," She panted, "He has lost himself."
The sins that stood in line below her throne, shifted, their eyes casting to the ground as they mourned their brother. Wrath stepped forward, his fiery orange hair falling in front of his eyes as he bowed his head, kneeling, "My queen," He began, raising his blazing eyes towards Morana, "I beg you, let us go to Envy. Let us bring him home, allow us to heal him."
She pushed aside the crippling pain, her senses returning and she stood, shaking off Luis' hands. Her amethyst orbs landing on Wrath as she considered his proposal, "Then go, bring him home."
Wrath stood, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword, "Thank you, my queen." He spun around on his heel to face the rest of the sins, "Move out. Today, we assist our brother." They strode towards the icy, entry way, determination welling in their bosoms.
~*~
The ground beneath me was cold and wet as I sat on it, leaning against a tree. We had waited in silence as Envy broke inside. He now sat still, his head hung, his normally neatly placed, black hair falling in front of his face, hiding his eyes from sight. He had been like this for the past ten minutes. I jumped as his head snapped up, his eyes dark, his face expressionless. He forced his legs to work as he stood, his broken wings dragging behind him as he moved forward, stepping past us as he moved deep into the forest.
We scrambled to our feet and quickly followed after him. The sound of the flowing river becoming fuller as we drew near. I could now see the rushing, clear waters, the sun reflecting off of it like a mirror. Several boats dotted the surface, rocking back and forth with the baby waves. Eric came to a complete stop and flipped around to face us, his wings rustling as they limply drew across the ground, "We'll stay in the brush, out of view from the canoes. Follow the river like Ava's aunt said." He shifted his jaw, his hands clenching into fists as he continued moving, staying on with the twist and turns of the river, putting distance between us and the enormous kingdom of Heaven.
We pressed forward, twigs snapping and leaves crunching beneath our shoes. I tugged Illius' coat tighter around myself, "Do you think he'll be alright?" I quietly asked Illius, who walked beside me, keeping my voice low as to keep our conversation away from Envy's ears.
Illius heaved a sigh, his eyes locked ahead of him, "Loosing your wings is the most excruciating pain a demon or angel can go through. Having them ripped away completely is agonizing, but to still have them attached to you while their dysfunctional. Knowing that you still have them, but that you can never use them again is an eternal form of torment. A purgatory for one's soul." He shook his head, "He could drive himself to insanity, or worse, apostasy."
My eyes landed on Eric's back, the tattoo of the snake, it's fangs reared and tongue flicking, "What happens if a sin can't function, for example if one did go insane?" I swallowed hard, knowing my words were harsh considering Eric's situation, "Or if a sin died?"
Illius raised a brow at me, "Those are some dark questions," He shrugged, "They're replaced."
"Replaced?" My jaw dropped, were they really that disposable? They were just thrown to the side and replaced?
"A demon, one with specific talents, loyalty, and a susceptibility to one sin more than the others, is picked. It's quite the process," A sly smirk spread over his face, his wound had surprisingly already begun to heal and he seemed to be feeling a lot better. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned my head around to look, but nothing was there. Again there was another tap on my other shoulder and I looked at Illius with suspicious eyes. His wing closest to me spanned out behind me, curling around me, it briskly pushed me and I stumbled, running into Illius' side. It kept wrapping around me, holding me firmly at Illius' side as we walked. He grinned down at me, his eyes twinkling as I gave him a questioning look, "It's not my fault. They have a mind of their own," He shrugged.
"I thought you didn't want me around you," I narrowed my eyes at him, my chest tightening and butterflies built in my stomach.
"I don't," He said, but the look in his eyes said otherwise, "But my wings clearly don't listen to me."
My arm brushed against his and goosebumps ran up my spine. I reached out, allowing my hand to brush against his feathers and they shivered beneath my touch, slacking just enough that I could slip out from their grasp. Illius tilted his head at me, his wing expanding out behind me once more. West had slowed his pace and was now walking on my other side, his eyes were glued forward but I could see the tightness in his jaw. His wing flicked out, hitting against Illius'.
Illius stared forward, his hand curling into a fist and I watched out of the corner of my eye as his wing snapped out, knocking West's to the side. They both stretched their wings out behind me once more, West's brushed against my right shoulder, prodding at me. Illius' then rubbed my left shoulder, reminding me that he was there too. I rolled my eyes and quickened my pace, but as I did, they did too. There was a mini battle of hidden messages flying between the three of us, tension filled the air. I watched the two boys out of my peripheral vision, we all kept our eyes trained forward, as if nothing was happening, but I could tell, they too were watching discretely.
I shivered as feathers from my right, softly trailed up my back. They were prompting me with their wings, testing me, playing a game. I felt Illius' wing shove West's away, only to swiftly smack me on the behind. I jumped, letting out a small yelp and cast Illius a dirty glare. He had an impish smile curled over his lips as he kept his eyes trained forward.
The sins looked back at us and Greyson raised an annoyed brow, "Could you at least try to keep up and quit messing around?" He frowned before turning back around.
I deeply inhaled, my breath slowly releasing as I tried to contain the nerves growing inside of me. The end feathers of West's wing softly trailed across the back of my hand and up my arm, tickling across my face. I closed my eyes and my vision met his tantalizing, champagne brown orbs. I swallowed hard and shook off the mixed feelings emerging in me. I sped up once more, coming in line with the sins and peered back over my shoulder to see the two watching me with determined eyes. I tore my gaze away, a breeze blew through my hair, and I shuddered.
We circled around the golden base of one of the colossal pillars, before stepping through a grove of trees. I came to a sharp stop, teetering on the sudden edge of Heaven, clumps of dirt sliding off the peak and falling through the clouds. I began to feel dizzy as I thought of how high up we really were, "How far up do you think we are?" I asked, my eyes trained on the swirling balls of precipitation.
"There's only one way to find out," Envy replied, before taking a step forward over the edge.
"Wait! Eric you can't fly!" I shouted, but it was too late. He leapt, his wings lifting of their own accord as the wind raised them. He disappeared through the clouds and I whipped around to face the rest of them.
Greyson ran forward and pushed off the edge, his wings lifting him off as he dived. Preston gave me a small wink before following after. Illius and West looked at me and I shook my head, "No, no I am not jumping off a cliff!" I exclaimed, my heart pounding with fear. They strode towards me, closing in on me, "No!" I shrieked as West darted forward, his wing shoving Illius back. His arms wrapped around me and I slammed against his warm, bare chest. I screamed as he dove head first, the wind whipped around us as his wings tucked to his sides. We shot like a bullet through the sky and I tensed with terror, my arms helplessly holding tightly around his neck.
His wings flew open, catching the wind to slow our fall as he righted his body, his feet slamming against the ground. He gently set me down and I fought to catch my breath. I held up my hands in front of my face, they were violently shaking and I shoved them into the pockets of Illius' trench coat. Illius landed, crouching to the ground, his fist striking the earth. His eyes locked on mine as he stood, "Now you can officially say you fell from Heaven." He joked, smirking.
I continued shaking, trying to steady myself, "Very funny," I shook my head and my eyes traveled to the sins who were drawing out their weapons, their eyes darting around.
"Be quiet," Envy snapped, his limp wings trailing over snow, "We're not alone."
Illius and West were by my side in an instance, drawing out their own weaponry, "Stay close to me," West ordered, giving me a side glance.
"I can take care of myself," I stubbornly objected before yanking a dagger from Illius' belt. He raised his brows at me, but said nothing.
We all stood in awaited anticipation, the palms of my hands sweated as I held steadily to the hilt of the dagger. A bush to my right rustled and we all whipped to face it, our bodies poised, ready to strike. The plant shook again and out hopped a white rabbit, it's pink nose twitching. I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back, my hand dropping to my side.
"Put your weapons down demons," A strong voice commanded. A man moved out from behind a large boulder, his hands raised, balls of purple fire crackling in his palms. He had plum purple hair that was spiked up with gel, his eyes bright with shades of green. He wore a pair of grey striped pants, tucked tightly into a pair of thick, black boots. A purple vest covered a white dress shirt that was rolled up around his biceps, a pocket watch hung from the front pocket of his vest, "Hello Ava." He nodded towards me, his eyes sparking with interest.
"You know me?" My hand tightened around the dagger, my heart leaping in my chest.
"I'm an old friend of your aunt's," He gestured towards the demons with his head, "Now tell your friends here to put their weapons down and then we can have a civilized conversation." My eyes met Illius' and I gave him a strong nod. He reluctantly slipped his daggers back into his boots and the rest of the boys followed his example, "Good." The man shook out his hands and the purple, magical fire dissipated. He moved towards me, extending his hand, "My name is Killian Brack, I was the one who provided your aunt with all those Flimere potions in order to mask your scent." He fished into the pocket of his striped dress pants and withdrew the Crystal Key, "I'm here to help you."
"We don't need anymore people tagging along," Illius objected, "Thanks, but no thanks."
Killian glared at Illius, "I don't believe you have an opinion in this. You see, Ava is my main priority. I could care less if you approve." He held out the key to me, "I believe this belongs to you."
I took it from his grasp, shivering as the cold metal of the handle pressed against the skin of the palm of my hand. My eyes fell on Envy, "You manipulate energy don't you?" I asked Killian.
He nodded, "As a Warlock that is where I draw my power from, yes." His eyes narrowed, "What are you getting at?"
"Can you heal others using the energy?" I pressed, and watched Eric's expression shift.
Killian thought for a moment, "Essentially yes, to a point."
I tucked the key into the pocket of my leather pants and made my way towards Eric, holding his jade green eyes with mine, "I have friend who could use some healing." Envy poured over me, his eyes studying mine with confusion, "If that's something you're willing to do." I said, looking back over my shoulder at the warlock.
His eyes passed between Envy and I, "If that is what you wish."
I nodded, my eyes falling to Eric's sorrowful wings, his black feathers rustling in the wind that carried snow, dotting them with snowflakes, "It is."