❝ I shouldn't have taken the angel's hand ❞
SIX
BLOODIED ANGEL WINGS
✶
'' I'm back with the right tools! '' My apartment was as quiet as if I was alone, but Sicheng was there, sitting in silence and surrounded by a gloomy, dark aura that seemed to follow him wherever he went. There was something about the way that he looked at the world, that made me wonder what kind of things he saw in his past. He had the void eyes of a person who survived through something horrible and he seemed to always be alert and ready to fight, even in a moment like that one, when he was in so much pain that he could barely keep his eyes open.
I used to not mind Paris at night. I liked having a glass of wine with the Eiffel tower shining in the distance and then roaming home past the closed museums. I wasn't scared of the dark subway stations and the homeless people that often chose them as a place where to spend the night and I felt at home in the bustling Latin Quarter. That changed after all of the murders that were happening recently. Looking over my shoulder too much and being suspicious of everyone became my new habit and I always find myself speedwalking down the alleyways without street lamps, instead of taking steps at a regular pace.
They are after you and they could decide to kill you just like they are killing the angels.
'' You are not going to believe the face that the guy at the car repair place pulled when I tried to explain our problem to him! '' I exclaimed, took off my jacket and looked at Sicheng. He was still at the same place where I left him, sitting on my sofa and trying to pull out the broken arrows that were sticking out of both his black wings and tanned skin. I told him to wait until I would come back, but he didn't listen and his hands were completely covered in blood because he kept trying to take out the shards with his fingers. '' It kind of reminds me of the face that you are pulling right now. Oh and I also got you a croissant at a bakery on the way back. It's a little dry because it's from this morning, but it's better than nothing, right? ''
'' You went to a mechanic's place? '' he lowly asked, completely ignoring the croissant that I was holding in his direction.
I shrugged and took a bite of the pastry instead. '' It's the only thing that was open at this hour. The guy that was working there gave me some old pliers and I think that they are going to do the trick. ''
'' Not only you are planning to fix me with car repair tools... You also want to do it with old and rusty car repair tools? ''
I took another bite of my croissant and shook my head in disapproval. '' For an angel, you sure are sensitive. You are even worse than Ten. And that says a lot. I still remember how back when we were still dating, he wanted to go only to the most expensive bars, restaurants and clubs in Paris. He didn't just make my heart suffer, but he also crushed my bank account. ''
Sicheng was reluctant to trust me, but he didn't have anywhere else to go. It was kind of hurtful to hear that you were someone's last choice, but I could understand why. Angels and monsters seemed to have a natural hatred for each other, even if I was still learning about their feud. Almost as if there was something in our blood that was telling us to be wary and not trust a member of the other species.
The wounded angel managed to drag himself to my bathroom, where I turned a chair around and told him to sit down. He quietly obeyed and leaned forward, giving me a good view of his back. Placing his arms on the back of the chair, he rested his chin on them, closed their eyes and let out a sigh. '' Ten is safe, right? ''
'' You could say that. I left him with a guy that doesn't really have the best reputation, but it's not like Ten's a saint either, '' I thoughtfully replied and picked up the pliers that I got from a mechanic who was working in a shop at the end of the street. Blood was trailing down from the wounds on Sicheng's back, but I was more intimidated by his black wings, stretching through the air and twitching. The feathers seemed incredibly soft under the dim light that was illuminating my bathroom and it was too tempting not to touch them, but as soon as I grazed them with my fingers, they suddenly extended and knocked all of my shampoos from a nearby shelf. My features twisted in to a cringe before I forced my lips in a nervous smile. '' Oops. I didn't notice that there was a wound right there. ''
'' Are you trying to help me or not? '' Sicheng suspiciously asked and narrowed his eyes. His chin was still resting on his arms, placed on top of the chair that he was sitting on. I could feel his gaze on me, watching me from the mirror that was right in front of him and I purposely looked everywhere else but there.
It was a dirty job, trying to help that angel. Soon enough, my hands were just as bloody as his. I was using pliers to pull broken arrows out of his skin and wings and dropping the shards on my bathroom tiles. My features were twisted in a concentrated frown and one of my hands was resting on Sicheng's neck, while I was struggling to dig all the wood splinters out of his shoulder. He was still watching me and I didn't expect him to break the silence that he seemed to find comfort in, but all of a sudden, he asked: '' Did you really love Ten? ''
The question took me by surprise and I accidentally pulled out one of his bloodied black feathers. He winced at the pain, while I cringed and carefully asked: '' You want to talk? ''
'' Would you rather just sit here in awkward silence? '' he snapped back, clearly a little irritated by my attitude.
I scrunched up my nose, tempted to pull out another one of his feathers, but I held myself back. Instead, I went back to looking for fragments of arrows. My voice was quiet and there was a hint of shame in it when I finally admitted: '' I did love him. ''
A part of me still does, even if I know that I'm stupid for letting him play me and win a permanent place in my heart.
'' Why? '' He clearly agreed with the fact that I was an idiot.
'' I always had a thing for guys like him. Intense. Good at talking. Always able to make me laugh... '' I sighed and my lips curved in to a faint smile at all the fond memories that began to replay in my head. '' We had fun together. He complimented my art. He made me feel special. Things were really fun until I saw him with another girl and almost got killed by those guys that are hunting angels around the world. ''
I glanced up and briefly met his gaze in the mirror that was in front of him. His dark eyes were watching me in thought and I wondered what was going through his head before I looked down again. What did he think of him? Was I just another stupid girl to him? Just another one of the monsters who left the other world and chose to live among humans?
A few drops of Sicheng's blood landed on the white tiles when I raised my arm and wiped my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand. I was waiting for him to break the silence, but to my surprise, instead of calling me stupid like I thought that he would, he said something different: '' You've been around humans for too long. You feel the need to explain things with way too many words than you really need. ''
'' Do you know who I really am? '' I asked, too hopeful for my own good. '' Do you know me as anything else than just the girl who helps the investigator with mouflon horns? I've been on a quest to find out the truth about my past, but everyone who knows something, stays silent because they are too scared of Abel. ''
'' The investigator? '' Sicheng scowled and ran through his dark hair with his hand, not caring if some blood ended up on it. Just the mention of the Abel was enough to put him in a bad mood. '' He used to be a war general once. I remember encountering him on the battlefield. That bastard broke one of my wings and I barely managed to escape from him alive. He is the reason why I was forced to leave the military and become Ten's personal bodyguard instead. ''
'' Who even is Ten really? Is he actually a traitor? I remember that Baekhyun called him that. ''
'' A lot of people see him as a traitor, '' Sicheng said, purposely avoiding to give me a clear answer. '' He was the second in line for the throne. You know, in the other world. That's right. You dated a prince. ''
Oh.
I waited for him to start laughing or at least tell me that he was joking, but it didn't happen. I felt lightheaded at the thought that I dated someone like him, but there was nothing that I could do about it now. It was true that it was in the past, but I couldn't erase the fact that it happened and that he was always going to be a part of my life. As if he knew that Sicheng and I were talking about him, he sent me a text message in that exact moment, telling me that they found the collector of magic that Abel was looking for. My eyes grew wide as they traveled over his words and I quietly read them to myself: '' The problem is that Taeyong and I aren't the only ones that are after him. We are gonna try to stop things from getting too bloody, but no promises... Want to join us? I don't really know what we're doing, but it should be fun. Taeyong doesn't tell me a lot. He doesn't trust me, but I don't care because yesterday he taught me how to kill someone just by using chopsticks. I'll demonstrate my skills when you'll get here... ''
I raised my gaze from my phone and glanced at Sicheng. '' Maybe I should go to Japan and make sure that those two don't accidentally do something stupid. ''
I lowered my head and looked at my phone again. I noticed a few text messages from Alix, who wanted to know if I was going to be free the next day. She didn't respond after I wrote her that I probably won't be and I had a feeling that she got angry, but there was nothing that I could do about it. These days, I was busy dealing with the mishaps that were part of the other half of my life, the one that she thought that I made up and purposely used as excuses whenever I disappeared for a while.
'' Here. '' I handed Sicheng and towel and stepped towards the sink. I pushed my hands against the water and watched it color in a faded shade of red. '' I think that your wounds should be able to start healing now and I am definitely not washing the blood off your abs. You can do that yourself. ''
'' You want to go to Japan on your own? '' he asked and his eyebrows furrowed together with confusion. He could barely stand, but he still felt a sense of responsibility towards Ten. It was long since the two of them left the other world and he technically lost the position as his bodyguard but it was for even longer that he worked by his side, so he couldn't just forget about it.
I smiled and told him: '' You can consider it as a little vacation from work. Enjoy it while it lasts. ''
I wished that I could go on vacation too. In the years that I remembered spending on this world, I never took one before. Actually, I did it one time, but it didn't go very well. Alix, Yunho and I were supposed to take the train to Amsterdam and there catch a plane for Moscow, but after three days and three of my random disappearances without any real explanations, they told me to just forget about our vacation and go do whatever I had to do. Up to now, they still had no idea how I came back home from Russia. All that they knew was that instead of taking the same plane as they did, I was waiting for them at the airport with flowers, chocolates and endless apologies for being a bad friend.
Abel thought that it was really important for us to find the collector from Japan before the angels killers did, so he let me borrow one of his magic keys and travel there. Putting it in a lock and turning it around, was enough to open a door to any part of the world. It was the only magic that Abel really allowed me to do, mostly because it was so simple that it barely even required any effort. Despite so, it still happened from time to time that I screwed it up and opened a door in to someone's bathroom and got yelled at in some unknown foreign language.
I found Ten and Taeyong in an arcade in Tokyo, but we didn't stay there for long. The collector of magical objects quickly filled me in on everything that they found out and I agreed that we had to act fast, even if their plan wasn't very well crafted and had a lot of parts where something could go wrong. '' The collector's name is Yeonjun and he is the son of two of the most strong and powerful people in Japan. He knows that they aren't really related, but he would rather delude himself instead of just admitting the truth. ''
Taeyong's life was hard from the very start and he learned that he could either accept reality and try to do something about it or cry and possibly get killed. He didn't understand why this boy would prefer to keep acting as the perfect son of a conglomerate boss and beautiful actress, even if just looking in the mirror clearly showed that there was something different about him. He grew up around humans and he knew very well that it wasn't a normal thing for humans to have horns growing out of their heads. '' It's tough when you have to grow up in an environment like his. Really tough. You're constantly under pressure and everyone always expects you to be perfect. Yeonjun has a lot to live up to and prove that he's good enough to be his family's son. He's probably scared that they would abandon him if they would know the truth about him. That he's different. Wrong. ''
In a way, we really were creatures that weren't supposed to walk this earth, but that didn't make us wrong, did it?
Yeonjun had no one that he could confide in and ask for help, so it was no surprise that he had no idea how to control his powers either. There were three times that he encountered another beast and let his fear get the best of him. That was where the dead bodies with the spiral-shaped scar came from. He killed three people by accident and someone else besides Taeyong managed to find out about it. Now they were threatening the poor eighteen year old and saying that they would kill him if he won't do everything that they'll ask.
'' I understand what he's going through, '' Ten declared, looking way too proud of himself. His blonde hair was pulled back by a headband and there was a smirk on his face. '' I've been there too. ''
Taeyong rolled his eyes and said: '' You aren't adopted. ''
'' No, but I did have to accept the fact that I'm the second born disappointment, '' Ten replied and carelessly shrugged. During the time when him and I were still together, I never took much notice of the harsh way that he spoke about family relations. We rarely talked about it anyway, since I didn't have much of it either, but now I couldn't ignore it anymore.
Taeyong had some gems that allowed him to use magic in this world and we used them to get in the building where Yeonjun was that night. There was a private celebration happening in the rooftop restaurant of the tall skyscraper, hosted by his mother who played the lead role in a very successful film that just got revealed in Japan. His father wasn't able to attend the party, but she did convince him to join, even if the latest message that he got from the people that were threatening him, said that they will kill him because he didn't do what they wanted him to.
'' Come on, Effie, this isn't the to act like a princess. If I tell you that I'm not looking, then I'm not! '' Ten called out behind me and urged me to change in one of the waiter uniforms that we found in a private room of the restaurant. Getting in the building was easy, but blending in the crowd, entirely composed of rich and important people, all dressed in their best gowns and suits, was something completely different. '' Trust me! ''
'' I make that mistake once and I'll never repeat it again! ''
'' You really want to start that argument now? '' Ten asked and gritted his teeth in annoyance. He was about to start defending himself again, but Taeyong grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him out of the private room before he could. Once I was left alone, I quickly replaced my clothes for the uniform that was used by the waiters of the fancy restaurant. I took one look at the nametag, already placed on the white blouse and waiting for the real owner of it and tried to memorize it.
I got this.
I've certainly done things that were dumber than this.
The plan was to grab Yeonjun and get out of the building as fast as possibly, but things didn't go as smoothly as we were hoping that they would. Far from it. At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary celebration. Tables got moved out of restaurant, creating a lot of open space where people could stand under the dim lights and talk. Some of them were drinking champagne, others were eating tiny servings of raw fish and I could hear soft cello music coming from the corner where a band set up their instruments. A door lead to the open terrace, where there were more people standing around and smoking their slim cigarettes and expensive cigars.
The ambiance was peaceful and calm until the sounds of gunshots echoed through the building. It was hard to tell where they came from, but they were soon followed by screams, both from the guests of the party and a young boy who appeared out of the crowd. There were deer horns growing out of his head and his silky red shirt was covered with drops of blood, that almost disappeared in the fabric. More of it was on his cheeks, smeared and faded because of the tears that were falling from his eyes. He was shaking his head and repeating to a cop that he wasn't innocent, but he didn't let go of the gun that he was clutching in his hand.
It took me a few moments to realise what just happened. The people who were threatening him, they decided to change their plan. Instead of going after the horned boy and killing him, they murdered someone that was close to him and made it look like he did it. In a way, that was even worse than death.
'' Drop the gun! '' the cop screamed in Japanese, but the boy wasn't listening to him. He was backing towards one of the glass walls of the restaurant, while the crowd was quickly running away from him. It seemed like the entire top floor of the building fell in to an awful silence, so everyone heard the sound of loud shattering when I dropped the glasses of champagne that I was carrying on my tray and used it to conceal my face before I carefully approached Yeonjun.
After that fiasco in Cairo, Abel will kill me if I'll appear in the news again.
The cop waved his hand in my direction and angrily called out: '' What are you doing? Are you crazy? Do you want to die?! Get back! ''
Yeonjun's fingers were trembling around the gun when he pointed it in my direction. He was murmuring something incomprehensible, while I kept looking in his eyes and urging him to stay calm. Strands of his dark blue hair were sticking to his sweaty forehead and he was biting his lower lip to the point of making it bleed. He was scared to the point where I wasn't sure if he could even hear me. '' Stay calm. I'm here to help you. I'm on your side. I see the horns. I might not seem like it, but I'm different, just like you are. ''
Bang.
The first bullet fired from the cop's gun, hit Yeonjun's leg. The second one would've pierced his heart, if I wouldn't have pushed him out of the way. The bullet lodged in to the glass wall behind him and cracks started forming around it. Yeonjun was screaming and he almost collapsed on the ground because of the pain in his leg, but I managed to grab him before he would. Another step and I crashed against the cracked glass wall and made it smash in to pieces. Just like that, Yeonjun and I were falling from the rooftop restaurant.
The wind blew my hair out of my face and he desperately clung on to me and started screaming even louder. My eyes were closed and I was trying to concentrate. A tingling sensation was spreading from the triangle shaped scar on my chest, but I wasn't able to reach the magic that I was hiding within myself until Yeonjun and I were right above the ground. He thought that we were going to die, but then feathers suddenly grew out of the skin on my arms and formed in to wings.
Cars beeped and I heard the echo of shocked screams when I started flying. Flapping my wings and ascending past the windows of skyscrapers until I found a rooftop that I could land on. Yeonjun dropped on the ground a little before I did, immediately holding his wounded leg and murmuring something to himself in pain. I barely managed to stop myself from rolling right off the rooftop. I was laying on the edge, catching my breath and trying to calm down and grasp reality again, but it was difficult. I could feel myself spiraling out of control, losing the sense of what was true and what wasn't and forgetting who I was. The monster that was contained within myself, was clawing at the edges of my heart and trying to escape.
A familiar figure emerged out of the shadows and kneeled down right by my side. There was a look of pity and sorrow on his face and the beast inside me started screaming. It hated him and it wanted him dead.
Baekhyun.
His hand gently touched my cheek, I looked up and caught a glimpse of his face. His voice was void of any emotion and he sighed before he said: '' You've been using magic too much. This part of you is still the same. You were always like that, prepared to destroy yourself just to make others happy. ''
His tattoed fingers caressed the skin on my cheeks and I stared right in to his black eyes. That was when a memory suddenly flashed in my head. He was kneeling down by my side and holding my cheeks, just like right now and there was an underlying sadness in his eyes, but he smiled when he looked at me and said: '' To be honest, you're kind of scary, but I don't mind it. This is you. The griffin is you too. ''
The Baekhyun from my past disappeared, but I still heard the sound of his voice in my head. Endlessly echoing and repeating those words until the feathers that were growing out of my skin shed away and dissolved in to black liquid. Streaks of darkness appeared over my vision, all strength left my body and I rolled right of the rooftop that Yeonjun and I barely landed on.
I was falling once again and the last thing that I saw before I passed out, was the view of the angel that dived after me to save me and the shadow of his black wings, opening and stretching out behind him.