The chains on my ankles were cold, biting reminders not to trust people. Whether their intentions were good or not, they took away my free will and that did not sit well in my gut. It wasn't like I could freely move anyway, the wings on my back were so heavy every time I sat up I fell over. If not for the burning pain in my back I would've started working them out like a prisoner, getting my back muscles buff enough to hold up these damn wings.

How were most angels so skinny yet able to hold these things up? I didn't get it. I imagined running my hand down the nephilims back and feeling the curve of every muscle along her spine. I bet she was freakin ripped. But then, shame washed over me. She was too innocent to be involved in my dirtiest thoughts. She did not belong there.

That was a first. Usually every pretty woman I saw ended up there at some point, but for some reason, I wanted to keep her pure. It was as if she were too innocent to be seen in that way. The very thought of anyone seeing her that way made me angry.

My wings flopped behind me like an agitated fish, unable to be raised much at all, but every time I got annoyed they twitched like my tail. Imagine if the priest had found out about that. . . I would've probably been killed. The image of the perfect angel would've been ruined for them.

Looking up at the ceiling, I traced the pattern in the ceiling to create boobs. I bet that nephilim had perfect boobs. . . Did angels even have boobs? I grabbed my own chest. I mean, I had boobs. But that didn't mean angels were supposed to have boobs, that could've been a demon cover up thing. Up the sex appeal, become more demonic, made enough sense to me.

The door swung open on my right, causing blinding light to seep into the dim room. I covered my eyes, I couldn't tell who was coming in because of the lack of adjustment to the light.

They grabbed my ankles and in seconds the shackles fell off. I kicked them in the face and tried to get up, falling to the floor.

"Bitch, what the fuck! I'm helping you!" A familiar voice cried.

I couldn't quite place where I had heard that higher pitch, almost feminine voice before. It had been a long day. "Yes, so helpful, you let me out, now I'm out of here." I crawled across the floor, dragging my wings beside me.

"Dawn, your sister is a bitch, remind me how much you're paying again," the man said with a grumble.

I recognize the grumble. "Oh, Seth, did you bring me coffee? I got the worst caffeine headache right now."

"No, I did not bring you coffee, but I stepped my gay ass into this church to rescue you and groped a very old, gross priest to find the key to get you out."

"Kinky."

Seth scoffed in disgust. "I may like older men, but not that much older."

The lights started flickering on and off, as if a thunder storm was raging outside.

"We're taking you through the catacombs to the garden, that's the route Dawn sent me on my phone," Seth said as he helped me to my feet. "Oh my gawd you weigh a ton. Stop eating donuts."

"It's the wings, you idiot," I said indignantly. "I will always eat all the donuts. Yolo."

"I didn't realize angels and demons were so behind the times, yolo is so two thousand," Seth said while rolling his eyes and dragging me out the door.

No one was present in the hall, they were likely trying to figure out the weird light issue that I assume stretched to the majority of the church.

I stumbled over my own two feet, almost losing my balance a few times."I would say thank you, but they sent you to my rescue and not a hot woman, so I'll need to speak to your manager cause she's at least a six."

"Fuck you, ungrateful bitch," Seth murmured. "Maybe you brother outta pay me double for dealing with your whiny ass."

Brother. . . Dawn wasn't even my brother, not truly. But he was still here for me despite whatever oddity was happening. He was family regardless of blood, always coming to my rescue.

Seth opened a creaky, old door. The dusty smell of death and decay blew towards us with a gust of wind. "Ew. Do we have to?"

"Would you rather attempt to go through an entire catholic mass and out the front door?" Seth asked as he stepped inside and turned his phone flashlight on.

I smiled mischievously. "If it makes this harder for you, absolutely."

"Dawn, are you hearing this? Can I just ditch her in the catacombs to fend for herself?" Seth asked into what I imagine was an earpiece of some kind.

From the way he paled, I knew Dawn was chewing him out in the way my brother always did. Harsh. Seth was truly unlucky to be dumb enough to accept my brother's money. This meant he was in deep now and I'd have to see more of him, bleh. Why couldn't an attractive female barista have been chosen instead of this buffoon?

Stone rose on all sides of the poorly maintained catacombs. Spider webs had taken up most of the space in between. Dust settled over everything, just as dead as those who resided within the walls.

Seth helped us move forward, following the center path. It seemed that despite who had been sent, I would actually get out. Then, I heard footsteps behind us.

"Fuck," Seth whispered, looking around for some place to hide.

My wings would not be easily folded into a small space, but then I noticed the statues of angels along the sides. "Let's go behind one of those, raise my wings to hide behind the stones."

We shuffled behind a statue and Seth did as I asked. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out in pain at the movement on my torn back. The footsteps continued, coming close enough I could hear two men talking.

"The angel escaped and this door was open. They've got to be somewhere in here. We can't let her get away, it would make us fail our duty of saving her," the priest's voice stated.

I guessed he had at least three others with him. The footsteps spread out, echoing in the empty space. How were we supposed to get out with them crawling all over our exit route?

"If they think we're in here, maybe we should surprise them and go out the front door," I whispered, hoping no one heard the noise. Even the quietest words in this room were almost like shouting.

"Are you out of your god damn mind? This place is crawling with people of the church, someone will catch us," Seth said harshly. "We need a better idea."

"Are you able to fight? Go karate kid on their ass."

"I'm not beating up an old man."

I threw my arms up in exasperation. "He probably touches little boys. Beat up the pedofile."

"Not all priests do that. . ."

A hand grabbed my arm. "Found her!"

Shit. We were out of time.

I grabbed Seth and threw him into the pastor, causing both to crash to the floor. Using the statues for support, I dragged myself in the direction of the exit, where the garden was supposed to be.

Several footsteps rushed after me. I broke a statues hand and gripped it like a club, bashing the nun in the side of the head. She crumbled to the ground. "Who's next!"

Seth ran up to me and grabbed my arm, dragging me out the door. He slammed it shut behind us and tipped a large pot over to block it from being able to be opened. I tripped over my own two feet and fell to the ground, flat on my face.

"Oh no! Are you okay, Amaya?" A gentle voice asked as long, delicate fingers tilted my chin to look up.

The first thing I saw was long, perfectly lean calves. Then thighs that made me drool.

She cleared her throat and tilted me up higher. "I don't talk with my stomach. Are you alright?"

Light glowed behind her, making her blonde hair appear to be shining in the moonlight. The image took my breath away. I couldn't find the words to answer, so I simply nodded.

Dawn came up and jerked me to my feet. I cried out from how it pulled on my back.

"Let's get you somewhere safe, far from here," he said as he half ran past the garden.

An older lady nodded in our direction. "Take care of Evangeline, Amaya, she needs someone to look out for her."

Evangeline? That was the nephilims name? I had never heard of something so serene.

Evangeline. 

I looked back and saw her follow along behind us. She didn't fit in here, and I knew in that moment, beyond what the old lady said that it was my responsibility to keep her safe. The world only sought to crush innocents like her, it was drawn to purity, intent on snuffing it out and sending it to hells flames below. I should know, I was often the one who did it.