The Seventh Sin Part 2

Chapter 4

Like everyone else, my first instinct is to call home; say that everything is alright, but school just exploded so I'm coming home.
   My hands shake as I dial Sariel's number on my Blackberry. He answers on the first ring; I never call him during the day. Ever. I can't concentrate on the words we exchange. He needs to know about the key. But I can't say it. Not with so many humans around.
   "Stay there, Lucrezia; Horton and I will be there in five minutes. Don't move. It's ok; I'm coming."
   "It's fine, Sam; I can walk. I need the fresh air to clear my head. I'll be home in twenty minutes. I promise."
   "No. You. Stay. There. I'll come get you; this is dangerous, especially for our kind. I'm not about to let you risk your safety when you're the one that holds the key to the Devil's heart."
   "Bye, Saz."
    I end the call as his worried voice screams down my phone. It's tempting to do what he wants. Stay here. Wait for his shoulder to cry on. Wait to tell him the truth. Wait…
    But I pick up my Jane Norman bag ad tell Miss Lunnon that I'm walking home.
    The urban scenery blurs past me as I drag my tired feet through each alleyway. 'What happened?' keeps running through my head. Did I cause the explosion? Did Lucifer? Is Lucifer free? Have I endangered the world?
    All I know is that whatever happened, innocent humans are being rushed to hospitals because of us. We never cease to put their fragile lives in danger.
   "Hey, Lucrezia! Slow down!"
   I turn to find Eddie jogging up behind me, his blue Hollister top stuffed in his bag and a delicate line of red blood dripping down his arm. My feet slow, letting his sweating human body catch up to me.
   "What're you doing here?"
   "Following you. Did you really think it was a good idea going down the back alleyways where all the murders and things happen? Everyone avoids these one; they're bad luck. You must have hit your head harder than that med thought."
   I don't have the strength to contradict him; maybe I did just hit my head. Maybe the explosion had nothing to do with me. Maybe it was just my angelic premonitions that got out of there. Maybe I just imagined the stone falling. Maybe…
   A wolf whistle distracts me from my train of thought. A whiff of whisky comes my way, carrying with it five tough looking human men, all drunk by the look of it. You don't have to have angelic vision or smell to see that.
   "On the ground, missy. You, boy, against the wall."
   The fattest one holds a gun towards us, his companions doing the same. Neither Eddie nor I move; we're both still in too much shock from the explosion. These bullies must think we're frightened. Fools.
   But when one of them, a body builder by the look of him, grabs hold of me, something inside me clicks. I have seen that glint in so many sets of eyes before. I created it. Of course I would recognise it.
   Who do these humans think they are? I am an angel; beautiful, legendary, immortal. I am a sin; powerful, exotic, irresistible. I could snap these humans' backs in a flick of my wrist.
   In an instant I have the body builder lifted four feet off the ground, against the moss covered red bricks of an old warehouse. He chokes to his companions for help, my strong palm restricting his voice. Naturally, they run.
   My crimson wings unfurl behind me, a painful strain lifted from my shoulders. Each feather dances gently in the breeze of freedom, singing for their release. I have missed my wings. I've missed the feeling of wholeness that they give my soul.
   "You're not the biggest danger in this world, are you, human?"
   I feel my black nails growing, piercing the soft flesh on his exposed throat. I hear the painful scream of tires skidding on the road nearby and fast, weightless feet sprinting towards me.
   "Lucrezia, release him. He has had enough. You will never return home if you harm him. You know that."
   Home.
   Sunlight.
   Paradise.
   My grip loosens and the frightened bully darts away, clutching the blood pooling out of his pained neck. I know Sariel will be creating some story in the human's head to protect my identity; he did, after all create the legend of vampires to hide us from the mortals.
   I turn to start pacing, my nails and feathers beginning to retract.
   I see him, crouching against the cold brick walls, his emerald eyes wide with fear. I walk up to him. He surprises me; instead of avoiding my cool touch, he welcomes it.
   "You better start explaining yourself, Lucrezia. This is bad for all of us involved. The humans as well. Now, start with what happened at school."
   "He touched my necklace. One of the emeralds fell and dissolved in the air. It started the explosion. I knew that charm would destroy us. Sariel, guide me; what are we to do?"
    His expression remains unreadable.
    "First things first; we need to get this boy back to ours before anything else happens."


Chapter 5

"What would you like to drink, lad? Anything to eat?"
  Sariel leads Eddie to the crimson sofa in the red lounge whilst Horton closes the burgundy blinds. The human boy shakes his head, confused and fearful now that he knows that we are unnatural.
   "Red, Sariel?"
   "Of course, Lucrezia. But you're just having a Dr Pepper. No alcohol. Your emotions are clearly unstable at the moment and I don't want to strap you down on your bed like some deranged human."
   I role my eyes, pouring his wine into one of the cheaper, everyday crystal glasses. He's definitely acting more parent-like every day. It's infuriating, really, to be treated so inferior when, realistically, we both know that I am more powerful than he is.
   Horton takes the tray from me and lays it gently on the mahogany coffee table ad I slide onto the soft sofa next to Eddie. He quickly grabs my hand with his cold, sweaty palm, a nervous smile forced on his frightened face.
   My face remains emotionless.
   "Eddie, we're going to need to take a DNA and a blood sample from you. You're an anomaly; you're suffering none of the usual symptoms. Sariel, the Angel of Guidance, and I have seen many different reactions to humans seeing our kind in our true form; trust me. That is why we hide from your kind; it is the best way to protect your elaborate minds. It is possible that you are descended from one of our kind and, if that is the case, then that has protected your brain from hot wiring. It is essential that we know if that is the case."
   He looks at me, his big eyes questioning me trustingly. I turn my face dolefully towards Horton. For the past nine cycles he has been loyal to Sariel above all others. He has forfeited any chance of a family by staying in our service. The only way that he has survived all the angry cat fights that Sariel and I have had (we fight better in our angelic forms; they have more muscle tone) is because Sariel fathered him.
  The large vial, a delicate needle attached at one end on a tube, raises out of the floor as Horton punches in the security code. Even though no full blooded angel can be affected by the DNA machine that Xaphan, the Angel of Invention, created, I still shy away from the silver equipment.
   I remember the day that Xaphan pulled me aside and asked if he could show me his newest creation, back when I was still unbound and desired freely by all. Naturally, I followed him, intrigued. I was, to say the least, a vain fool ruled by my affinity. He led me to his workshop and showed me his contraption. Curiosity consumed me and I let him stick the silver needle into my exposed arm.
    My body shakes violently as I remember watching the red blood be sucked out from my body and into a compartment of the machine.
   I hold Eddie's sweating hand, willing him to experience less pain then I did. Every angel in Heaven went through the same process as me. God commissioned it so that we would know when a human-angel hybrid was born. But, Xaphan could only make it once. And he gave Sariel the only contraption.
   Horton holds Eddie down whilst Sariel readies the machine. My fingers trace intricate patterns in the human's palm, his tendons and muscles contracting in expectation.
   The needle enters his weak arm.
   I close my eyes.
   Before the banishment, I had no understanding of pain. I was powerful, my strength growing every day. I was what would be known now as the athletic slut, if I'm honest. And it never bothered me. Until I was bonded; then I tried to change.
   But the more I changed, the more lustful Lucifer became.
   "Lucrezia, look at the dial."
   My breath catches in my throat.
   The dial that points to the angel that shares the same blood with the human (if there is one…) stops at a name that I hoped it would avoid.
   Somehow, this boy is Apollyon's hybrid.


Chapter 6

"How is that possible? He's been imprisoned behind the gates of Hell. I locked him there myself! There is no way he could have got out."
   "We must act on this, Lucrezia; it doesn't matter how he's escaped. It matters that he has. You know him better than I do. Where would he be?"
   My heart races in my chest as the Angel of Death's face flashes in front of my eyes.
   "Freeing his brother."
   He and I had always been fighting for my husband's affections. Apollyon was Lucifer's dog; he did everything for his older brother and never got any credit. Even when we were banished, he remained loyal and competitive whilst I tried to distance myself from my husband.
   I run my hand through my hair.
   It won't matter to my brother-in-law that I have deserted Lucifer; he will still see me as a threat to the relationship between he and his brother. Even if I don't want anything to do with their family anymore. As long as my husband is still behind bars but his brother is free, I am in danger.
   Sariel rests his strong hand on my shoulder.
   "You cannot be alone at any moment, Lucrezia. If he plans on destroying you than he will do it when you are at your weakest, when you are alone. I will contact the four of my best warriors. They will be your best friends, from your old school."
   "He will definitely try to dispose of me; he always has hated being second to a woman, especially when it comes to his brother."
   I shoot out of my seat and start pacing, my mind racing through the possible methods of torture awaiting my reunion with my brother-in-law.
   "I don't understand. What does this have to do with me?"
   Eddie sits slumped on the crimson sofa, his face pale. I sit next to him again, cradling his hand. It doesn't matter who his father is; he is still an innocent human. His emerald eyes seek the answers locked away behind my black irises.
   "This will not make sense to you Eddie. But just go with it as if it is completely logical; you will understand in time, I promise." I massage my temples and inhale deeply, choosing my words carefully. "I have been alive for a very long time, Eddie. I married the brother of your father, many years ago. It was a mistake, trust me. But I stole your father's place in my husband's heart and now he wants to cause me harm."
   "Lucrezia turned against her husband and her people. She was, and still is, their princess. She is the only obstacle between all hell breaking loose in this world. She is important to the survival of humans. The explosion that you witnessed this morning was a sample of what will happen if the other four emeralds in her necklace come in contact of a mortal. But once the last stone falls, the whole world will be consumed. Like a giant nuclear bomb. Your father will wish to free the younger three of his four brothers; they all wish to dispose of Lucrezia. And then afterwards they will free their eldest brother, their prince. It is of vital importance that we intervene."
   Horton removes the contraption from the coffee table. Sariel sends his over to the fireplace, to show Eddie the painting. I close my eyes as he removes the Van Gogh masterpiece to reveal an exquisite portrait of the most beautiful creature ever born. My favourite piece of art.
   I know the portrait by heart; I scanned the man's face enough times over the centuries without him.
   His black hair frames his strong face handsomely, his pale skin a perfect contrast. The pair of glowing green eyes bore into my memory, arousing the sin buried deep within my soul.
   He owns my soul. Ever since the day that he begged God to give me to him. He always will. I can never forgive myself for leaving his side. No matter how evil he was.
   I open my eyes.
   "Lucifer."
   My tongue caress his mellifluous name as it leaves my dry lips. His eyes capture mine; even as a painting he holds an unnatural power over me.
  "Eddie, I'm afraid that you have been brought into something incredibly dangerous. We must start training you to protect yourself from our kind straight away. I will collect you after school with Lucrezia everyday. You must learn how to channel your angelic strength, in case it comes to the worst."
   "Sariel, it takes years of practice to perfect the art of killing. And we don't have that long." His gaze silences me. I suppose that some training is better than none. I turn to the hybrid. "So don't expect to be amazing."
   "Only Lucrezia can truly beat them; she is as strong, if not stronger, than the majority of them. It is her reward from her reformation."
   "Reformation? From what?"
   "We are angels, Eddie. Well, Sariel is still an angel; he can, technically return to Paradise whenever he wishes. But he chooses to stay. He is the Angel of Guidance; he sees it as his job to guide those of us that fell to Lucifer's powers home. As for me, I can only return once Lucifer pays his penance. No matter how high my status was in the court of God, I must still pay the same price as the rest of the fallen. It is our punishment."
   "So what're you an angel of, Lucrezia?"
   Horton rings the bell; lasagne is served.


Chapter 7

Everything's changed now. It's all happened too quickly. Eddie's taken our advice; he visits every evening for training. He even speaks to me at school, making other people come talk to me. I don't want it. With Apollyon on the loose, I have enough to worry about.
   This whole situation has me drowning in stress. And it really doesn't help that Alice O'Connor has been growing more jealous of the attention that Eddie gives me everyday.
   Of course she would be jealous; a beautiful, powerful immortal like me, against a human like her? I'd be jealous, if I were her. But, I don't have time to think of Eddie as anything but my pupil in the art of the sword.
   I keep myself in check as Alice and her crew back me up against the school wall, throwing insults and threats at my lonely form. It would be dangerous to show myself to another human, especially when my glass is already so full.
   "Did you hear me, Lucrezia? Keep away from my boyfriend or I will personally see to it that your life here at Ashbrooke is shit. I will make your life hell."
   "And how would you know what Hell is, hmm? Died and came back, did you?"
   She inches toward me, her gang of bitches closing in around their prey.
   "I know that sluts like you are destined for hell and should be avoided. Especially sluts that love their own brothers."
   "I love same as any sister would her brother; is that such a crime? Plus, did you ever think that Eddie chose to seek out a prettier friend than you because you're such a spoilt and obnoxious brat? Or maybe he just woke up and noticed that you're actually a hideous hag underneath all that disgusting make-up you cake your face in twenty-four-seven."
   Slap.
   My ears ring as I fight the sudden adrenaline pumping through my bloodstream, trying to free the demon stirring inside me, the creature hidden from view for so many millenniums. I count to ten, willing my mind to relax.
   The group of girls laugh at my reserve. I know that, secretly, each of them envies my resilience.
   "What's the matter, slag? Too pathetic to fight back? You're such a whimp."
   I close my eyes and grit my teeth. Sariel would kill me if he had to clear up the mess that my demon would leave behind. He doesn't deserve that.
   But this snob does.
   My demon has been inching closer to the surface ever since the explosion. Sariel and I have been getting into more fights over such trivial things; a clear sign of the gate's weakening.
   Alice slaps me again.
   "What's going on here, ladies? Disperse before I send you all to Mrs Murphy's office."
   Alice's hyenas leave the two of us with Coach Lunnon to await our punishment. (Not that it will make any difference for me; I'm already in disgrace twice over.)
   "Lucrezia, explain."
   "Petty girl jealousy that I was unaware of until five minutes ago, sir."
   "Alice?"
   "She called me a fat slag."
   Sariel appears around the corner to take me home, his blue shirt flapping in the gentle breeze, his six-pack shining through. The adoration of the human girls, and jealousy of the boys, humours me, relaxing my tense soul.
   Coach Lunnon turns to face my 'brother'.
   "Mr Ashton, I presume?" He cannot help but admire the angel's perfect torso. Sariel nods, his handsome face grave. "Your sister has been caught fighting. I don't know who started it, and I don't care to be frank. Don't worry, I will say this to Mr and Mrs O'Connor as well; both of these girls need to learn some manners if they don't want to get expelled."
  I glance at Sariel's disapproving face, guilt suffocating my lungs. He puts his caring arm around my tense shoulders forgivingly; we have both learned the importance of forgiveness. We're both so sensitive around that concept.
  "Of course, sir. I will see to it that this little demon is correctly punished. But I feel that I am somewhat to blame; I have been making life at home slightly difficult recently. I feel that I should be the one to apologise. Lucrezia tells me that the location of the Christmas Prom for her year is still undecided. I feel that offering my home is the best way to demonstrate how contrite I truly feel."
   I groan. As if Apollyon isn't enough to worry about.