Chapter Twenty-Two

Friday came too quickly, at the same time, too slowly.

My whole body ached and I reeked. Every time I started to fall asleep again, Asmodeus would wake me up. It was like he was trying to deprive me of anything in general. He kept jabbing me in the temple with his finger or barking at me to wake up and pay attention, even though nothing was going on.

I was starting to sincerely hate him. I ground my teeth together, trying to block out the pain, hunger, and stench as Asmodeus once again entered the room. I only knew from the way his footsteps fell heavily on the carpeted floor.

“Friday couldn’t have come quicker.” Asmodeus grunted, sounding irritated as he made his way to my area of the bed. The bed sank under his weight, the feeling growing nearer and nearer until Asmodeus was right up in my face. I felt his hands working at the ribbon on my wrists.

“I’m going to allow you to shower and do whatever business you wish there. I will feed you only a bit before we perform the ritual.” Asmodeus explained firmly as my arms fell limply to the bed. I could barely move them and when I did, my elbows cracked at the pressure. I hissed past clenched teeth, feeling Asmodeus undo the ribbon around my legs, letting me stretch them out, which also hurt a bit.

He seemed hesitant to take the ribbon off my mouth, but finally let it fall. My mouth felt numb as did my tongue, so I didn’t even want to talk as the ribbon fell away and Asmodeus moved onto the ribbon over my eyes.

As soon as the purple was gone, my eyes were assaulted by light. I gasped and covered my eyes quickly, curling up into myself. I didn’t have much time to recover from being in the dark for so long because Asmodeus impatiently grabbed my elbow and jerked me off the bed. I stumbled and actually fell to my knees at one point on the way to the door. Asmodeus just heaved me onto my feet again. My balance was off and I was wobbly from having my legs uncomfortably tied.

Asmodeus managed to drag me out of his room and into the bathrooms where a small door led to the showers. He shoved me inside and stood near the door, watching me intently as I fumbled with the knobs, finally getting the water to a warm temperature.

I stepped in and sighed in relief as the water splashed down on my face, warm tendrils of water curling and coiling around me. I ran my fingers through my hair, pausing to glance at Asmodeus past the water.

He was staring anywhere, but at me. It made me think about his conversation with Beelzebub again.

Asmodeus was just doing all of this to get back at Michael. He didn’t really care about bringing Lucifer to our world and destroying everyone, so long as he got Michael back for shooting his love confession down-- and the whole tearing off his wings thing.

I washed myself down and used a couple bottles of the soaps sitting nearby so I didn’t smell like shit anymore. Now it was just a mixture of sugar cookies and vanilla, which only made my hunger pains worse. Asmodeus reluctantly pulled me out of the shower so I was still soaking wet, leaving wet footprints in my wake. He didn’t seem to care and just dragged me to the café.

I shivered, the only warmth rising in my cheeks as Asmodeus shoved me into the café, where only Cain, Abel, and Stephen were. Stephen glanced up, casting me a sour look before looking away at Cain, who snubbed me with his nose in the air. Abel just gave me a wistful stare before lowering his eyes to the table. I wanted to talk to someone, anyone, but none of these people were the right person.

None of them were Zeke.

Asmodeus forced me into a seat with a meal he picked out, which I ate hungrily without stopping even for a drink of water. My stomach cramped up halfway through the meal, but I kept eating knowing that this might be the last time I eat something decent.

It wasn’t a game of trying to get Lucifer to leave me alone anymore.

It was survival.

Michael wasn’t going to help me after our argument. I wouldn’t help me after saying things like that. They were going to bring Leviathan to our world, then wait another month before bringing Lucifer here. Once Lucifer was here, he’d take me, then toss me aside where Stephen would be waiting to claim me.

I hated this.

I felt like a toy. Once my batteries were used up, I had to wait for someone else to put more batteries in. I gritted my teeth at the thought before ripping into a small loaf of bread, quickly devouring it in less than a few seconds.

I had to eat whenever I could, sleep whenever possible, piss and shower, all the normal daily things when I had the chance because I know no one else was going to let me if they felt like it.

“It’s time,” Asmodeus announced after a while, rising to his feet, “Get everyone together and make sure Beelzebub is ready.” Cain, Abel, and Stephen nodded and left the room silently in preparation of Leviathan’s arrival. I felt goose bumps course over my skin, making me shudder. Asmodeus glanced at me, his eyes narrowed before he looked away.

“This is your fault. If you hadn’t of given us a detour, time would’ve gone by so much faster.” He scolded, coming around the table to grab me by the back of my neck. I hissed in pain, but didn’t fight against him as he led me to the door. I didn’t even say a word because I knew something stupid would come out and he’d probably beat the crap out of me-- Leviathan or no Leviathan.

Just outside the alter room, Asmodeus put his hands on my shoulders and murmured the Latin incantation that had a silk red cloak falling on my shoulders, hiding my nudity. I breathed a sigh of relief and mentally thanked him for it, knowing he’d probably hear it. Asmodeus didn’t say anything and just pushed me into the room, ordering me to sit near the west wall and out of the way as he and the others prepared for the ritual.

The entire time, I felt stiff and uneasy. My back ached and I had feeling it had to do with my wings, but I kept the pains and cramps to myself as I watched the rest of the Fallen enter the room.
I’m sure my face lit up when I saw Zeke come inside.

For some reason, though, I was expecting him to look a little worn out, but it was quite the contrary. His skin held more color, his icy blue eyes brighter; even his hair was a darker, shinier black. He was wearing a crisp black button up shirt with matching jeans, safety pins lacing down both sides of them along the seams.

“Glad you could join us.” Stephen said to Zeke when he came in, folding his arms over his chest. Zeke frowned at him, blue eyes sharp for a second before he scoffed and looked away, coming over to stand by a pillar near me. As soon as he saw me, his eyes seemed to glow. He stood there, stiff and unmoving, our eyes locked.

I wanted to know what he was thinking, but his expression was unreadable.

Was he angry with me? Did he hate me now? Did he not care what would happen? Or did I just look like crap? I opened my mouth to say something, but I felt Asmodeus drop his hand on my head, his fingernails scraping my scalp and making me go still before peering up at him. He smirked at me, daring me to speak and I just jammed my teeth down on my tongue to keep from making a smartass remark.

He ruffled my hair, then looked up at Zeke, cocking a brow. Zeke’s expression changed to mild surprise before he turned his back to face a pillar and he was looking into the alter. Asmodeus seemed pleased by that and walked away from me to stand at the head of the alter where all five components sat in wait.

The thin streams of smoke curling and dancing from the incense sticks, the yellow-orange flames fluttering from the black and red candles. The bowl of thick, churned soil sat by the bowl of crystal clear water. Not too far away was the bowl that held my blood, now looking less full than before. It made my gut wrench as I clasped my hands together tightly in the sleeves of my cloak, hoping they wouldn’t ask for my blood again.

To my immense relief, they didn’t.

Asmodeus started to say something in Latin that actually sounded more like a rant than a chant. It had to be a rant because Beelzebub was standing nearby, rolling his eyes in aggravation before snapping something at him. Asmodeus shrugged.

“I was only pointing things out. Anyway, we will begin. Make sure you’re spread out and keep your hands at your sides. Leviathan is very distrusting,” He advised, glancing around at everyone, who obeyed without question, “You must repeat after me every word I speak before following with complete silence. He needs to find his way to the portal himself, otherwise, he’ll throw a hissy fit because we helped him. Understood?”

Nods responded to his order and he seemed satisfied as he began to speak the incantation in Latin.

I frowned, watching the smoke and flames billow slowly at first before the middle of the incantation was spoken. By this time, the smoke was shooting up toward the ceiling while the candles danced violently. I watched the water and blood in the bowls ripple.

The entire time, I ached.

This couldn’t be happening.

To think that not too long ago, I was just a normal juvenile delinquent at an all-boys Catholic school. I only had to worry about graduating and if someone found out I was pretty much gay. I would wake up in the morning and rush downstairs for breakfast with Zeke and Dustin. We’d avoid the student council like the plague and pull stupid stunts, like food fights and pranks.

We’d steal test answers and gamble our things away in a game of cards. We’d swim in the pool and not worry about ghosts dragging us under. We even hung out together during the holidays since my parents never came to pick me up. We’d pretend we were giving each other presents when it was really just stuff we stole from one of the other guys at the school or handmade crap. We’d stay up and talk about why the school sucked and why it would be better if all three of us could go off on our own.

I remembered talking to Zeke and Dustin about how cool it would be to go across the country on a road trip. We’d stop and see New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco. To see the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the Rio Grande, all of it was part of the original plan.

But none of that existed anymore.

I wasn’t a normal high school student struggling to find my reason for living.

I was some fucked up mutant angel child of the Archangel Michael. I was the key to Lucifer’s manifestation in the human world.

All of it came at me too quickly. I was still having issues comprehending all of this, even believing the fact that Michael was my father? That was impossible, it had to be. It made no sense. I didn’t remember anything about him. I’ll admit we looked similar, but he couldn’t possibly be my father. He didn’t act fatherly at all. He acted like Asmodeus-- like a brat.

I ground my teeth together. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to be used in some fucked up ritual to bring Satan back.

I didn’t want to be a toy anymore, even if it killed me. I rather be dead than have any of this happen.

I felt my body grow tense as I rose silently to my feet as quickly as possible. I clenched my fists and nibbled on my lower lip, glancing at all the Fallen. They had their eyes closed in concentration, an aura of power engulfing each of them like armor. Asmodeus stood at the head of them with Beelzebub beside him, both focusing hard on the task at hand.

The task that I was once again going to ruin.

The thought had just crossed my mind when Zeke opened his eyes and turned his head to look at me. I froze, expecting him to say something to give me away, but he didn’t. He stared at me for a while, then looked away with a placid expression, closing his eyes again.

He knew.

And I could see his body tense in preparation to save me, which I really wish he wouldn’t do. I didn’t have time to scold him, so I just moved as fast as I could. I darted forward, rushing right past Zeke and Stephen, their eyes flying open and Zeke feigning surprise.

I kicked the bowl with my blood over, watching the red splatter across the stones, making the bowl of water shudder before tipping over to wash it away. The candles fell and went out, the incense and dirt flying up.

“You son of a bitch!” Asmodeus barked, his eyes open and blazing. Beelzebub’s silver eyes were also heated with irritation as he lowered his hands to his sides. I stumbled back, breathing hard.

“I’m not doing this anymore! I’m sick of being your toy! If you want revenge on Michael so badly, attack him yourself! Stop using others!” I shouted angrily. Asmodeus fumed and started at me. I gasped and stumbled back, but tripped over one of the bowls, slamming into the ground. Asmodeus started to grab me when it happened.

A bright flash of light exploded between us, making me gasp. I covered my eyes to hide from the bright light. Asmodeus cursed and took only one step back before he went flying-- and I mean, he went flying.

His feet left the ground as if someone had punched him in the stomach, sending him shooting across the room where his back slammed into the stone wall, denting it inwards. The stones crunched and crumbled to the ground like bits of cracker, littering the floor with rubble. Asmodeus slumped to the floor, breathing hard in pain as blood oozed from the wounds on his back.

I winced as the bright light slowly began to fade and I was stunned to see Michael standing between me and everyone else in the room. He was wearing a white leather jacket with a clasp at his throat, matching the white leather pants he wore as well as the black hulking boots. In his hand was a spear, sharp and ended with a ribbon. His pale blue eyes watched everything in the room like he owned them.

“You actually came.” I managed at last, my voice hoarse. Michael blinked, glancing at me for a split second before looking away at Asmodeus, who steadily rose to his feet, glaring daggers at Michael.

“Yeah, Michael. For once, you’re helping others instead of yourself.” Asmodeus muttered bitterly. Michael narrowed his eyes, his grip on the spear tightening dangerously. This small action had all the other Fallen backing up cautiously, their guards thrown up and eyes watching Michael like a cobra watched its prey. Zeke only flashed me a quick, confused look before looking back at Michael as he took a step back.

“Shut your mouth, heathen,” Michael commanded, his voice booming off the walls, “You’ve obviously not learned your lesson after the first time. This time, I will kill you and your Fallen. God’s Word will not be scorned.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Asmodeus sneered, his black eyes hot with rage, his fangs elongated and dripping saliva threateningly, “You can be as stupid as your son if you wish, Michael. I have no problem. I’m not the same as I was before.”

“We’ll just see about that.” Michael muttered and flipped his spear in his hand, aiming the sharp arrow head at Asmodeus, who smirked and held his hands out, palms facing Michael. I watched as the familiar sharp claws Asmodeus had curled freely, the points glistening with their poison.

“Beelzebub, take the Fallen away and protect them.” Asmodeus ordered. Beelzebub looked like he was going to protest, but finally caved in and barked an order in Latin to the Fallen, who were making their way to the door. Only to have Michael slam his fist into one of the pillars, causing the ceiling to shudder and tremble. The doorway shuddered and the door crunched as a group of stones fell down upon it, blocking the entrance.

“I will kill all of you. Right here.” Michael commanded. Asmodeus narrowed his eyes, but smirked anyway.

“Collapsing a doorway won’t scare my Fallen.” He stated, glancing for a moment at each face in the room before his eyes fell on mine. The black heat couldn’t look anymore like the sun hurdling toward the Earth. He lunged first, ducking low and coming straight at me. I gasped and withdrew until my back hit the wall behind me.

Michael darted out and swung his knee up into Asmodeus’ chest, knocking him back for a split second. Asmodeus recovered quickly and slashed his claws at Michael’s face, but Michael reeled back, then brought his leg around and kicked Asmodeus in the side of the head, causing him to smash into the floor. Beelzebub ground his teeth together, revealing that his fangs too had become visible.

“Beelzebub, fuck off!” Asmodeus yelled at him, sensing the hostility. Beelzebub didn’t move, but he looked like he was having troubles fighting the urge. Asmodeus swung himself to his feet, then brought his foot around and kicked Michael in the hand that was holding the spear. Michael hissed, dropping the spear for a split second before snatching it out of mid-air, jamming it at Asmodeus, who dodged to the side before taking a hold of the spear.

Michael’s eyes flashed as smoke billowed from Asmodeus’ grip on the staff. Asmodeus hissed like a wounded animal, but didn’t let go and merely jerked as hard as he could, bringing Michael with the spear. He slipped his arm around Michael’s waist, his other hand reaching up and grabbing Michael’s jaw, tilting his head up so their eyes met.

“I’ve always wanted to touch you like this.” Asmodeus smirked, his fangs flashing before he brought his mouth down over Michael’s. Michael’s eyes widened in horror and he writhed against Asmodeus’ grip.

Panic rose in my chest, making me scramble to my feet. I looked around quickly and my eyes landed on one of the rocks that had fallen from the ceiling. I snatched it up and whirled to face Asmodeus and Michael, who was still struggling to get away from Asmodeus. I reeled my arm back, then flung the rock forward, catching Asmodeus right in the eye.

He barked out in pain, releasing Michael and stepping back before whirling to face me.

“You pain in the fucking ass.” He snarled, coming at me, reaching out to grab my throat. He was only a foot away before a hand darted out and slapped his away. I blinked in surprise, looking over at Zeke to see him standing right next to me before getting in between Asmodeus and I.

“Back off.” Zeke ordered. Asmodeus’ eyes flamed and he started to grab Zeke, but he seemed to sense Michael behind him as Michael went to jam his spear into his back. Asmodeus whirled around and grabbed the spear, just under the arrowhead, which had stopped only an inch from his chest. Michael snarled and tore back harshly, the arrowhead slicing through Asmodeus’ palm.

Asmodeus hissed and lunged at Michael, slamming into him hard so they both fell to the floor. Michael threw up his spear between them to keep Asmodeus at bay, but it didn’t last long as Asmodeus grabbed the spear, despite the searing burns he was probably going to have. I looked at Zeke quickly as he watched Asmodeus change his mind on attacking him.

“You--”

“No time for thank yous,” Zeke stated, looking at me now, “The room’s blocked off, but there’s another way out of here. While everyone’s distracted, I’ll take you through the hallway and you’ll be back on the surface.” I blinked, staring at him with awe. I was about to quickly agree and ask where this opening was when I heard Michael give out a frustrated scream.

Zeke and I snapped our heads to see Asmodeus getting closer and closer to Michael’s throat where he planned to sink his fangs in. I looked quickly at Zeke, who shared my look of pain.

“I can’t leave yet.” I managed. What a stupid thing to say, I thought. I’ve been locked up in here for what? Almost a month and I finally had my chance for escape, but I couldn’t take it.

Michael had come to save me, even after our argument. We had tons of disagreements on the way things should go, but he still came to save me. I couldn’t just leave him here to fight Asmodeus. When Michael had thrown Asmodeus from the Garden of Eden, Asmodeus hadn’t fought back, so Michael was getting caught off guard by Asmodeus' retaliation. He didn’t know how to react to Asmodeus’ attacks.

“I have to help him.” I blurted. Zeke studied my face for a moment, then nodded in agreement, looking over at Asmodeus as his fangs just barely scraped Michael’s throat. His eyes narrowed and he moved quickly, like a blur in front of my eyes. I snapped my head to see Zeke grab Asmodeus by the shoulders, jerking hard. Asmodeus snarled in surprise, releasing Michael for a split second. That was all Michael needed, though, as he swung his feet up and kicked Asmodeus hard in the chest.

Zeke immediately withdrew, snapping his head to look at me as if waiting for my approval. I could only nod quickly before he looked away and Asmodeus whirled on him.

“And just what in fuck’s name are you doing?” Asmodeus sneered. Zeke held his ground, glaring firmly in return. I watched as bits of red began to form in his icy blue eyes.

“Protecting Michael. What does it look like, Lord Asmodeus?” He demanded, his fists clenched and ready. Asmodeus seethed and lunged at him, only to have Michael grab him around the torso, swinging him around and slamming him into the ground. Michael flung his spear out, the point just barely missing Asmodeus’ throat as the demon rolled away and sprang to his feet. He lunged at Michael, who sidestepped. Asmodeus swung his leg around and slammed it into Michael’s chest, sending him flying into one of the pillars.

Michael gasped in pain, dropping his spear with a clatter. He spun around, snatching the spear up just as Asmodeus grabbed him from behind, his mouth nearing Michael’s ear. He murmured something that I couldn’t hear from where I was standing, but whatever it was made Michael scream in rage.

He brought his elbow back into Asmodeus’ ribcage, then spun around and slapped Asmodeus hard across the face. Asmodeus’ head snapped to the side so I could see his expression. It wasn’t one of a demon getting revenge.

Asmodeus wore an expression of a rejected lover and it actually made my heart squelch in pain, falling into my stomach.

“How dare you,” Michael seethed, then slapped Asmodeus again, getting no reaction, “You are an unworthy demon! A sin! You twist the minds of the innocent to fit your selfish pleasures, not a single thought on the other person! You think something as insignificant as an apology will bring me to trust you?! Over my rotting corpse, Asmodeus! You are to die right here, right now by my hand or face the rest of your life in eternal damnation!”

Asmodeus snapped his head to look at Michael now, his black eyes practically glowing in the dimly lit room, his expression pinched.

“You love spewing the Lord’s word, Michael. You’re so loyal. I’m envious. Not only do you love your Lord, but you love Him enough to do anything for him. You have no problem confessing your feelings for God. I, on the other hand, do not love my Lord. I do not hold your loyalties… But I was not lying when I said I loved you. My apology wasn’t for brainwashing you. My apology was that I hadn’t confessed to you sooner. For that I am sorry, but it doesn’t matter now because you’ve done unforgivable things too, Michael, and I’m about to make you sorry you ever tore my wings off.”

Michael blinked, looking caught off guard for a moment and Asmodeus took advantage of it, grabbing Michael’s wrist and snapping it. Michael cried out in pain, dropping his spear as Asmodeus slammed him into one of the pillars, their bodies pressed together tightly as Asmodeus tilted his head down, kissing Michael’s temple.

Michael shuddered and screamed again, writhing furiously against Asmodeus’ power and weight. Asmodeus didn’t seem to care and nuzzled Michael’s blonde hair before giving him another kiss, this one on the forehead.

As much as I felt sorry for Asmodeus, I also felt sorry for Michael and he just saved my life, so there was no point in siding with Asmodeus now.

I moved quickly, darting to get by Zeke, who ground his teeth together.

“You need to get him off Asmodeus. I’d do it myself, but the guy’s got two hundred pounds on me.” I hissed. Zeke nodded, his eyes latching onto Asmodeus for a split second before snapping to something else.

“Shit!” He cursed and surprised me by grabbing me around the waist, darting to the side with me as Beelzebub shot some kind of blue electrical bolt at us. Beelzebub narrowed his eyes.

“As adorable as I think you two are, you’ve done what my brother feared you would do and that is betray us. This will not go unpunished.” He stated. I fumed, wiggling away from Zeke, but not leaving his side. Beelzebub went to shoot another bolt at us, raising his palm to face us, but a ball of fire shot out and met the electricity, exploding and making the room shudder, another pile of rocks slamming into the floor.

I jerked my head to the side to see Akira standing near a pillar, breathing hard as he lowered his hand. The orb in his choker glowed brightly, turning from blue to fiery red in an instant.

“Protect Michael,” Akira ordered, his voice echoing off the walls, “I will take care of Beelzebub! The rest of the Fallen, exit through the opening in the back! Move quickly!”

No one argued with that. Cain grabbed Abel by the hand, jerking him close and moving past the rocks that fell to the floor. Abel didn’t bother to fight him and let Cain lead him to the exit. Tobias and Roy moved quickly behind them. Daniel paused to look at Stephen, who was fuming, then grabbed Stephen’s wrist and forced him to follow. Dustin, however, didn’t move anywhere near the door and took up a position beside Akira, who looked at him in surprise.

“You’re not taking him on alone, fox.” Dustin stated, his eyes locked on Beelzebub, who frowned. Akira blinked, thoroughly surprised before smiling slowly.

“Of course not, hound.” He responded, then glanced at me to nod quickly for me to return to the fight. I looked at Zeke, who nodded at me, then faced Asmodeus, who had somehow managed to bury his tongue in Michael’s mouth. Michael squirmed, trying to bite down on the muscle in his mouth, but Asmodeus’ fangs scraped his lips and tongue, making him bleed.

Zeke darted out quickly, dropping to the ground to avoid a bolt from Beelzebub before he was attacked by Akira and Dustin. Zeke slid across the floor, snatching up Michael’s spear. He hissed as the gold of the spear seared into his skin, making smoke curl into the air around it. He reeled the spear back and rammed it forward.

Asmodeus cursed and tore back, the arrowhead slicing through his shirt, tearing it open as well as a hairline cut into his torso. He snarled and snapped his head at Zeke, who dropped the spear with a pained curse, looking at his now reddened hands. He reached out, grabbing Zeke by the throat.

“No!” I cried out and moved forward quickly, leaping over fallen rocks as Michael slid down the pillar, grasping for his spear and breathing hard in disgust. Asmodeus tightened his grip on Zeke’s throat, his black eyes narrowed. The pentacles on his cheeks began to glow an eerie red color and he sneered something in Latin. Zeke choked and writhed, squeezing his eyes shut.

“M-Matty, get away!” Zeke managed to shout, but I ignored him and grabbed at the nearest rock to throw it at Asmodeus, but he moved faster than me and used his other hand to grab my wrist. I hissed in pain as he clenched his hand tightly on my wrist, enough so that I swore it was about to break.

“You can’t fight me while you’re fighting yourself.” Asmodeus smirked dangerously, then threw Zeke at the nearest wall before turning to me. He jerked me forward and moved like a snake, biting into my wrist. I cried out in pain, watching Asmodeus’ thick fangs sank into my skin. Blood immediately bubbled past the puncture wounds. Asmodeus tore away, then swung me around and shoved me at Zeke. I landed in Zeke’s lap, making him gasp.

“Fight to the death.” Asmodeus mocked, then whipped around in time to avoid an attack from Michael with his spear. I whirled around, rising to my feet, opening my mouth to order Zeke when I saw him cringing. His icy blue eyes were entirely red and his fangs looked like they were coming in painfully slow, his body tense and twitching.

“Zeke, please,” I pleaded, “We can’t let Asmodeus win. We’re so close!”

“I-I’m trying! Matty, you have to leave!” Zeke barked, pausing to pant desperately, clawing at his hair. I blinked.

“But, Zeke--”

“I can handle Asmodeus myself! Just take the exit that everyone else used! You have to leave or I’ll…” Zeke didn’t finish, just sat there, twitching and flinching as he tried to fight the urge to maul me. I took a step back, extremely hesitant to leave.

There was no way Zeke could take on Asmodeus by himself. Not to mention, even if by some miracle, he could take down Asmodeus, he still had Michael to deal with because Michael wasn’t about to let him leave, even if Zeke did save him. I wanted to stay so badly, but by staying, I was only hindering Zeke, who had more power than I did to defeat Asmodeus.

“Don’t die.” I managed at last. Zeke gave me a pained smile, his red eyes glowing in the darkness.

“I’ve lived this long to find you. I’m not going to die now.” He responded shakily. I bit my lower lip, feeling jumpy before I quickly leaned down, taking Zeke’s face in my hands. He cringed and squeezed his eyes shut tightly in pain. I quickly kissed him on the lips before shooting to my feet, running for the exit.

A small opening in the wall like a crawl space where the others had exited. I glanced behind me to see Zeke slowly regaining control. I grimaced, then darted into the crawl space.

It was small and tight, filled with dirt and cobwebs that had me choking. I panted hard, pausing to wince every so often when I heard crashes and booms from the room behind me. I managed to continue, crawling further and further down the space. It was pitch black near the middle and I was getting freaked out. I hated it when it was this dark and part of me hoped to God that the others were out. I would never want to be trapped in here with Stephen, especially since I was bleeding.

It hit me that I was still bleeding from Asmodeus’ bite. I paused to grasp at my wrist, feeling the blood drying on my skin. I grimaced and grabbed a hold of a piece of the cloak I was wearing, ripping it off and wrapping it around my wrist. I used my teeth to tie it tightly before I continued.

Moments later, I saw light peering down at me from the end. I moved faster, scrambling and crawling to get out of the space.

From that experience, I learned that I was even more scared of the dark and most likely small, enclosed spaces. Thinking about it made me shudder, but seeing the light drove me further and further until I reached the end.

I crawled out of the space, stunned to see my hands touching wet, green grass. I hadn’t seen grass in what felt like forever. I ran my fingers through the grass, touching it and pulling at it before I jerked my head up, getting hit in the face with water.

It was raining.

I was outside and it was raining. The dark clouds curled and swelled in the sky, thunder growling darkly within as rain poured down. It was cold out too, cloud enough to make me wish I had more than just a cloak.

But I was too happy to care.

I sprang to my feet and reached up at the sky, the rain splashing into my hands. I eagerly drank whatever I could get in my hands. I felt like I was on the verge of tears because I was so happy to be outside again.

The air felt clean and fresh, crisp with water and plants.

After dancing around in the rain for a while, I whirled around to scan where I was at. It looked like I was behind the old wing, closer to the wall that surrounded the school’s property, a ways away from the main buildings and out of sight of them. The crawl space was hidden underneath a statue of Raphael and I sighed in relief, silently thanking him for helping me out before I turned to scan again, only to see Stephen standing about two feet away from me.

“No!” I gasped, taking a jolting step back just as a boom of thunder shook the air. Stephen smirked, his hair plastered to his face with rain, but not hiding the glow in his green eyes.

“You may have stopped them, but you still have me to deal with, Matthew.” Stephen stated, putting a hand on his hip. I gritted my teeth, taking a step back.

“Fuck you, Stephen. You might want to get out of here while you still can or Michael will kill you.” I warned, but it didn’t do anything, but make Stephen laugh.

“Oh, no. I don’t plan to stay here for long, Matthew. I just came to grab what was mine.” He responded, lowering his arm and taking a step toward me. My eyes widened and I whirled around to bolt across the yard, but he caught the hood of my cloak, making me choke in pain. He threw me to the ground, getting on top of me. I yelled angrily, trying to punch him and shove him back, but he caught the wrist that Asmodeus had bit and I whimpered in pain.

He paused, sniffing at my wrist and shivering.

“Mmm, you’re bleeding… How delicious.” He murmured, then licked the blood soaked cloth and moaned. He held my other wrist down easily as he licked and sucked on the cloth covering my other wrist. He slid it across his face, leaving behind blood streaks that the rain washed away easily. I writhed and kicked, trying to buck him off me, but he didn’t even budge.

I watched his fangs slowly poke free into his mouth. He slid them against the cloth, cutting it off so it fell to the wet ground. He breathed hotly against the puncture wound in my wrist, licking slowly and sensually.

“Get off!” I shouted angrily, trying to snap my wrist away from him, but he refused to let go and parted his lips further, aiming to bite my wrist.

“No!” I managed to rip my other wrist away from his grip, swinging my hand around and slamming him hard across the face so his head snapped away from my wrist. He snarled, letting go of my wrist for a split second and moving to grab me again, but this time I shoved him hard in the chest. I managed to wedge my legs between us, kicking him hard in the gut, causing him to fall back.

I scrambled away from him, shooting to my feet and watching Stephen recover from my blows. I had to think quickly.

Stephen was a hundred billion year old vampire. How were you supposed to kill one of them? Obviously stake to the heart, entering holy land, and garlic were all out of the question.

I didn’t have too much time to think as Stephen shot to his feet, lunging at me again. I quickly moved out of the way, remembering one of Michael’s moves and swung my foot around, kicking Stephen hard in the chest, knocking him back. Stephen barked a curse and whirled around to grab me, but I spun out of the way and brought my elbow back in between his shoulder blades.

He howled, then swung around and grabbed me around the throat with his arm. I choked, gritting my teeth before bringing my elbow back into his chest, making him gasp in pain. I whipped away from him, but grabbed his head and slammed it down on my knee.

Stephen crumpled to the ground, holding his bloody nose as I stumbled away from him, breathing hard.

“Go to Hell!” I spat as he tried to look up at me with a snarl. I kicked him hard in the face, making him snap back onto the grass. I took a few more steps back before running.

Where to?

I had no idea.

So long as it was far away. Far away from Stephen, from Asmodeus, from Lucifer, everyone.

So long as it wasn’t here.