© Jojo B 2020

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Divine and Damned

Chapter 2

Lunch was chicken salad wraps, and for Micah he had a Quorn substitute, which he actually liked. Nathan of course doused his entire meal with Tabasco hot sauce until his plate was swimming with it, claiming he couldn't enjoy his food unless he felt some 'heat'.

"Did you call your brother to come and eat?" Gwen asked Raphael, who nodded his raven-haired head.

"He said he was coming, and that was fifteen minutes ago," he muttered back, finishing his third wrap or so.

I snuck shreds of chicken from the shared plate in the middle of the dining table, eating it on its own, despite being relatively stuffed after two hefty wraps.

"Maybe he's in pain again," Gwen gave Sammael the benefit of the doubt. "It's been pretty warm these days."

"Oh please," Nathan scowled. "This is not warmth. Sammael needs to toughen up."

"Well, ice demons and former Angels of Fire have very different definitions of 'warm'," I unhelpfully added.

It was a touchy subject, since Nathan still hadn't recovered his fire abilities despite the battle with Randal being nearly three months ago. At first, we thought he'd get them back after he recovered from his cold, but weeks turned into months, and he still couldn't conjure up his flames. Even though Nathan brushed it off and pretended he was fine, there was no denying the emotions that simmered under his skin.

"Well, if he does not come, I will gladly finish the rest," Nathan commented darkly.

But, of course, Gwen had saved some wraps for Sammael on the counter, so that defeated the point.

At the sound of footsteps, I turned to see Sammael himself appear in the kitchen doorway. My chest gave a squeeze that I had long grown accustomed to, since the death of Sariel. He may have been shorter, but Sammael was the spitting image of Sariel, his oldest brother, from the blonde hair right down to the colour of his fair lashes.

"Speak of the devil, and he appears," Nathan stared at him as he slid the rest of the chicken pieces onto his own plate.

Sammael mustered a surprisingly scalding look for someone with a new aversion to heat.

"Too soon?" Nathan smirked.

"Nathan," Cassiel murmured.

Sammael ignored him as he made his way to the counter where Gwen had left him his portion of food.

"I hope you like cheese, I put some in out of habit," Gwen adjusted her glasses on her nose.

"Thank you," Sammael mumbled, after receiving a warning look from Raphael.

"You're welcome," Gwen smiled back.

Sammael leaned against the counter to eat, since all six of the dining table chairs were taken. Currently he was in his normal form, his golden eyes catching the sunlight as he looked out of the window dejectedly. I forced myself to look away, swallowing my sadness as I took a tortilla wrap and started nibbling around the edges.

"Do you ever smile?" Nathan was back at it again.

"Not if I am looking at something as distasteful as you," Sammael shot back.

It was constant between the two. Like literal fire and ice.

I guessed Nathan blamed Sammael for the loss of his beloved fire, since Sammael was the one who'd doused Nathan in such an ice blast, Nathan had been shuddering in blankets for days afterwards.

"Can we not?" Micah creased his brows. "Give it a break, just for one day."

"I will give it a break when he does," Sammael nodded towards the redhead. "He starts it."

"There you go, like a whining child," Nathan muttered. "You still have not grown up, I see."

"Can you just let him eat in peace?" Raphael shot Nathan a dark look.

He didn't usually stick up for Sammael, but I supposed after a while, hearing them squabble got tiresome. Nathan sighed through his nose, but he said nothing further, earning Raphael a grateful look from his younger brother.

The sound of the front door opening and closing signified Joe's arrival, as he obviously hadn't found himself anything to eat at home.

"Coming to scrounge from us?" I asked before he even showed up.

When he did walk into the kitchen, all eyes were on him, and definitely not for the right reasons.

"You look different," Nathan stated.

"That's an understatement," I whispered under my breath.

"Joe?" Gwen asked uncertainly. "What happened to your eyebrows?"

Joe looked back at us blankly, an expression he could still make, despite his eyebrows being completely gone. Erased. Missing in action.

"Ask her," he jutted his chin towards my direction.

"I promise, I didn't do that to him," I clasped my hands together, looking at Gwen with wide eyes, begging her to believe me. "When I left him, he had one and a half eyebrows, not none!"

Joe said nothing further, he went to lean against the counter next to Sammael.

"Can I eat this? They clearly didn't leave me any," he was already holding the second wrap from Sammael's plate.

"Sure," the blond mumbled, biting into the first one.

Honestly, Joe had done a lot of maturing over the last few months. Not only had he forgiven Sammael, his former Guardian Angel, for using him in Randal's demonic plans, but it seemed the two were actually becoming friends. Sammael of course had apologised to Joe, but however genuine that had been, was anyone's guess.

Sammael had long associated himself with demons since he fell from Heaven, way before any of the other boys, despite him being a generation younger than them. Randal's plan to make the first ever ice demon was an effort to appease Hell after he broke their rules and created the first female demon using the soul of a former human, Holly.

The ritual had needed Joe's blood, since he had powerful Angel's blood running through him, and a Holy Tablet which the boys had stolen from Heaven before they were cast out. Unknown to Randal and his cohort, we switched one broken piece of the Tablet for a fake, causing the ritual to go wrong and as a consequence, Sammael was stuck between his regular Fallen Angel form, and his new ice demon form.

"So, are we not going to talk about why you don't have any eyebrows?" I couldn't help but bring up.

"No, Vienna, we are not," Joe said, his voice so thick with venom, I shut up.

"At least they grow back," Micah tried to see the positive.

"Yeah," Joe sighed heavily, taking a bite of his wrap.

"Did you even apologise for shaving Joe's eyebrows off?" Cassiel turned to look at me knowingly.

"Of course I did!" I was quick to defend myself, though if I was honest, I didn't remember.

Cassiel too looked dubious as he arched a brow at me, before turning back to Joe.

"Maybe Gwen could draw some on for you," he suggested.

"Why me?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Because we definitely should not trust this one to do it," he grinned at me.

"Oh, come on!" I cried.

"I'm not really a makeup expert," Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "I can try though, Joe, if you want."

"What I want, is for you all to stop going on about my eyebrows," he glared, pushing himself off the counter and walking out of the room.

I bit my lip, lowering my gaze to the table.

"Sorry," I mumbled lowly.

"Wow," Cassiel heard me, shaking his head in disbelief. "So you did not apologise?"

"Don't need to rub it in," I scratched my chest. "I already feel bad."

"Make it up to him then," Gwen said.

"How?" I spread my hands. "I doubt there's anything I could do to make it up to Joe. And oh no...Mum is gonna kill me."

"Well, you've got that part right," Gwen agreed.

***

That evening we ended up watching the scary movie IT together, since Nathan had decided for everyone that we didn't want to go for a walk. For the first time in a while, it was a full house – including Sammael, who was normally a recluse. I didn't blame him for feeling like an imposter, since he'd been an accomplice to Randal after all.

It was Gwen who tried to get him involved and surprisingly he didn't just brush her off. Though that could have partly been due to the fact that Raphael would never let him get away with treating his girlfriend like that.

The lights were low, and the TV cast an eerie glow into the room.

I was nestled in the couch next to Cassiel, my head tucked against his shoulder. Nathan, who was sat in the nearby armchair, was the first to ask questions, just minutes into the film.

"Just watch and you'll find out," I told him, a smile inching onto my face as I watched him stare at the screen.

I'd already seen the film, but had no problem watching it again for the sole purpose of seeing the Fallen Angels' reactions.

"This looks demonic," Micah murmured quietly.

"Should be to Sammael's taste then," Nathan replied, his eyes still glued to the TV.

"Come off it," Gwen scolded, leaning against Raphael.

We all watched the camera pan closer towards the sewer that the little boy's paper boat had drifted down during the heavy rain. I heard Nathan gasp just as loud as Gwen when the pair of eyes popped out from the darkness within the sewer drain.

"No," Cassiel whispered, his hand gripping my leg as the boy reached down into the sewer drain to retrieve his boat from Pennywise the evil clown.

"Do not do it..." Nathan was engrossed, his face pinched as he watched on.

The silence was stretching as our suspense grew, then suddenly a loud burst of sound as Pennywise attacked the boy, biting his arm clean off. Nathan actually jumped in his seat, his face a pale reflection of the TV screen. Even Cassiel stiffened beside me, his grasp tightening on my thigh, sending threads of shock rippling through my nervous system.

Micah burst into laughter, tipping his head back, "This is funny."

"It is," Joe agreed with him, finally sharing a smile.

"Why are you laughing?!" Gwen sent Micah a wide-eyed look. "The sweet little boy just got eaten by the killer clown!"

"Exactly," Micah only laughed harder. "It is ridiculous!"

"Not the reaction I was expecting from you," I admitted with a grin.

"Yeah, well, he's right. Atta boy, Micah!" Joe clapped him on the back as he too chuckled.

As the movie continued, I found myself laughing along with Micah and Joe as Nathan's scares were hilarious. At one point, he asked Gwen to pause the film so he could 'take time to understand what was happening'. I refused to let Gwen do that, I cackled as Nathan tucked his chin into his chest, curling as far back into the armchair as he could.

"Are you alright?" Cassiel asked me lowly.

I met his dark blue eyes with a confused frown, "Yes, why?"

"You keep scratching," he pulled my hand down from my chest and held it in his.

"Oh," I hadn't even realised I was doing it. "It's just so itchy, the cream doesn't work, and the doctor already changed my prescription."

Cassiel brows bunched together, "You should let me take another look at it."

"Are you sure you're not just using that as an excuse to get me naked?" I whispered back.

"No!" he whisper-yelled, his eyes lighting up with tiny white pinpricks.

"The stars in your eyes tell me you're lying," I teased with a smirk, dragging my finger under his chin.

It was too dark to make out, but I was certain Cassiel was blushing and it only warmed my heart for him even more.

"Okay, fine, let's go," I squeezed his hand and started to get up.

As the pair of us left the living room, Joe sent us a disgusted frown.

"Ew, you two better keep it down."

"Yeah whatever, Joe," Cassiel brushed him off.

Leading him into what used to be my parents' room, I shut the door behind us. Not bothering to turn the light on, I took hold of Cassiel's hands, looking up at him through the gloom. The curtains weren't drawn, allowing the milky moonlight to accentuate his features. The slope of his nose, the rise of his cheekbones, the curve of his lips.

"Come here," I reached up to cup his face, dragging him down to kiss him.

Cassiel wasted no time kissing me back, a gentle groan tickling the back of his throat as his hands came to rest on my waist.

As soon as his tongue grazed mine, I was greeted with a spark of pleasure. Smiling against his lips, I curled my fingers up into his hair, gripping his locks lightly. Cassiel's tongue was thrumming with electricity, making me light and giddy with excitement.

"Aren't you worried you're missing the film, Cass?" I broke off the kiss, panting against his lips.

"Why ask me such a question when you know the answer?" he breathed back, pulling me closer so that our bodies bumped together.

My hands slid down his neck and to his broad shoulders, rubbing over them as we kissed with growing passion. The quiet room was graced with gentle sounds as our lips moved in sync. Fire brewed in my belly as I slipped my hand up Cassiel's shirt, admiring his sculpted form. I couldn't help but graze my nails against his hot skin, making him physically shiver from my touch.

"Vienna," he whispered my name as he pulled away to kiss down my neck.

I inhaled shakily, tilting my neck back as Cassiel's warm breath fanned across my skin, causing goose pimples to rise. Biting my lip, I looped an arm around his neck to keep myself steady as he sucked on a spot under my jaw, marking me.

"Cass," I gasped, gripping his hair suddenly when he gently bit my sensitive skin.

The fist knotted in his hair made him groan quietly, before he pulled back, his hands moving to the hem of my t-shirt. I looked up at him with eyes of adoration, helping him strip me of my shirt as I raised my arms. I was about to pull Cassiel in closer for another kiss, when I squeezed my eyes shut as a burst of light struck my retinas.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, cracking my eyes back open again.

"Checking out your rash," Cassiel replied after turning on the light, his eyes focused on my chest.

I heaved a sigh, not even bothering to comment on how I'd forgotten about that. Looking down at the raging red mess across my chest and collarbone, I resisted the growing urge to itch it. Cassiel leaned closer, frowning as he peered at my body. I knew he wasn't looking at my chest per se, but I couldn't help the flush of heat that dusted my cheeks. Sure I'd been with him in just a bra a fair amount of times, but it didn't change the way it set my insides alight.

"This is getting worse," he concluded.

"Well, thanks, I could see that," I frowned, wanting to put my shirt on already.

He stopped me with his hand, raising his other one to touch my tarnished skin.

"Don't," I brushed his hand away, not liking the attention the eczema already caused.

"No, Vienna," Cassiel looked serious, his eyes searching for something I just couldn't see.

"What?" I folded my arms as I waited for him to finish. "Do you still think it looks like writing?"

He shook his head, "It is not writing, they are numbers."

"Wait, what?" my heart thumped, my arms dropping to my sides.

"Six – six – six," he said aloud, making my skin prickle with thorns of fear.

"No," I shook my head. "No way – "

I yelped suddenly when the bedroom door was thrown open, quickly grasping my shirt to my chest. Nathan barely even glanced at us as he stormed towards the bed, ripping the covers back. Cassiel sent his friend a hard look, before turning back to me apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," I said before he could speak, pulling my shirt back on. "Sucks to have such a moody roommate."

Nathan kept his back towards us still, his dark grey t-shirt stretched tightly over his tensed muscles.

"Was it the movie, or was it your best friend Sammael?" Cassiel asked him, an amused smile growing.

"Just leave it," Nathan muttered deeply.

"What if we were doing it?" I had to ask him.

Nathan rolled over to face us then, "But you were not, were you?"

I rolled my eyes, giving up on him.

"He's on his period, clearly," I murmured to Cassiel with a grin.

"Clearly," Cassiel gave a firm nod, fighting a smile.

"Well, goodnight," I reached up to peck him on the lips gently.

His lips lingered on mine before he reluctantly stepped back, "Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow morning for work."

"See you then," I smiled before leaving the room.

The movie had obviously ended, since the living room was empty. Raphael and Gwen had disappeared, probably to Raphael's room, which was Gwen and my old room. My sister would have told me if they were sleeping together, so my guess was that they cuddled. It would have been nice to do the same with Cassiel more often, but it wasn't possible since Nathan shared the bed with him. I had to settle with sneaking him into my room some nights, it was thrilling, to say the least.

As I passed by the dark living room, I caught sight of a pair of iridescent blue eyes, immediately making me jump. Thankfully, it wasn't Pennywise from IT, but a grumpy looking Sammael instead. Since all the three bedrooms in the cabin were taken, Sammael slept in the living room most nights with the windows wide open. When that wasn't cool enough for him, he took to the bathtub instead.

"Goodnight," I grunted to him.

"Night."

***

Sitting on the edge of my bed in my pyjama shorts and a vest, I smoothed out the sheets absentmindedly. Getting onto the floor, I bent over to pull out a shoe box from under my bed. Without opening it, I sat back down with it on my lap, my hands gently resting on its lid. After a few quiet breaths, I opened the box to reveal the large shining feather inside. It was placed diagonally on a bed of tissue roll, so that its tips barely brushed the corners of the cardboard box.

Sariel's feather gleamed like gold in the soft light of my bedroom, still emitting a faint ethereal light itself. I picked it up delicately in my fingertips, brushing over each soft but resilient fibre that formed the feather. Holding this single piece always made me picture the many more that made up Sariel's glorious wings.

My dreams were frequently plagued with memories of the night we defeated the demons. It didn't come at a small price. Not only had I taken a life by my own hands, I'd lost a best friend. Regardless of whether Holly was human or not, when I killed her I'd felt everything when I'd sank that knife into her chest. I didn't regret it, but I wasn't exactly boasting about it either. I still saw her face in my sleep, as well as Randal's. And Randal wasn't dead.

There was no more warmth and protection from Sariel, and he didn't get to live what should have been an eternal life. Part of me registered that I may have been using his feather as an emotional crutch, but I didn't want to change anything about it. My almost nightly routine never got old, nor did Sariel's feather. After the countless times I'd handled it, it never got worn or dirty.

It was a part of Sariel that would never die.

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Ahh what did you think?

I know it's early days, but feedback is much appreciated! :)

J

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