A Chance With the Devil

Hard Choices

I woke up with an extreme headache and my head seemed groggy. My limbs felt heavy and I could feel the effects of something in my system. I looked around myself and attempted to get up, wanting to get out of wherever I was at. I got up and automatically felt an extreme head rush that made me fall back to the bed I sat on. Wait. Bed?

I desperately looked for something to help me identify my location but failed. All I could see was that everything was white.

Overwhelmingly white, I added to myself as my eyes began to focus. I was sitting on a makeshift bed, the sheets were white and so was the pillow. As I looked closer at the walls, I saw that they were padded.

Very slowly, I got to my feet and walked over to them. I pressed my hand against the cushioned walls and felt the sinking of my hand. Why padded walls? Over in the corner, I could see there was a small indent that went around the whole bottom wall. It looked like a door, blended as much as it could in order to disguise it.

I chuckled to myself at the thought of whoever had tried to trick me, didn’t do much of a good job. Right as I was about to open the door, I heard a click on the other side and saw the doorknob twist around.

I moved behind where I knew the door would open and held my breath, not knowing what would be on the other side. Then, I heard the sound that rattled my bones and made my feathered cloak stand on end.

A loud hiss reached my ears, and I did not breathe, nor utter a sound as I waited behind the opened door. I saw a long tail slither its way inside as I peeked between the opening of the door. I knew then what it was. Dark angels were very powerful, Guardians of Light even more. Nobody knew about our existence; except the Naga, who were our enemies. Although dark angels weren’t part of the angels that were overseen by the all-powerful figure, we still abide by their rules but never associated with them. Then again, they never made themselves known to us or to anyone else.

But we did share a common enemy and now, I was trapped within their layers. Using my combat training, I made sure to not let any fear-scent escape me, or else the serpent would sense it and I’d be done for. My wings were still in their disguise and I dared not to reveal them.

Cutting off my emotions so they wouldn’t get the best of me, I carefully gazed over to where I had been sleeping and saw the serpent slithering its way up and sticking its tongue out, smelling my scent.

In order for me to do this right, I had to make sure I did not make any mistakes.

I held my palm face up and summoned a ball of light. A swirling ball of yellow streaks circled in the palm of my hand and I moved swiftly out of my hiding spot. Spotting the snake that just gazed at me in awareness, I threw the ball of light in front of it before turning around and bolting through the door as it burst into a bright light.

I found myself wandering the halls of a place that seemed almost completely familiar to me. I had no idea where I was going as I sprinted down the halls, turning corners that lead me somewhere completely different. At one point, my pace began to slow as I realized that I had been running in circles now. It didn’t make sense to me at all since I had been turning different corners each time. Or maybe it’s a trick and you need to turn the same corner every time. It made the most sense considering I was most likely in a nest full of serpents who have been our enemy for the longest. The floors were tiled as I jogged down the halls once more, this time taking great care in turning one corner. I would always choose the right side if I came upon two halls that separated into opposite directions.

What I didn’t notice, however, was the pounding in my heart as I kept drawing near and nearer to whatever was causing it to race.

I turned around as I ran to make sure I wasn’t being followed and when I turned back around, I realized too late that there was someone waiting for me there. A small gasp escaped my lips as I ran straight into my destined mortal. I looked up into the piercing yellow eyes that had been the last thing I saw before I had blacked out earlier.

Right when I had seen his eyes, I knew what he was, and somehow, I just couldn’t take it, along with the strange pounding in my chest.

“Get away from me,” I heard myself say as I backed up into a wall, my palm resting on the cool surface.

“And why do you think I should do that, my lovely black rose,’ he replied in that seductive voice of his. His short black hair was partially in his eyes but I resisted the urge to push it away. I recoiled in disgust at the nickname. I was no rose and he was just about to figure that out if he didn’t stop toying with me.

“I suggest you get out of my way, slimy reptile,” I said with as much disgust in my voice as I could possibly muster. I heard a chuckle escape from him and watched with widened eyes as he got closer. My hands stretched out to the sides and a swirl of light appeared on both palms, “Stay back.”

He didn’t even bat an eye at the threat that rested on my palms. He just continued to walk forward very slowly, almost too slowly. His figure seemed to blur as he moved in a hypnotic way towards me.

All of a sudden I felt a hand wrap around my waist and could feel my figure lean toward his. I had been too wrapped up in his appearance that I forgot for a moment what I was even standing there for. It was strange to me, this feeling is something I’ve never felt, and yet here he was, using it against me to his advantage. No matter how hard I tried, it seemed to work.

The light disappeared from my palms as he leaned ever so close to me. Those piercing yellow eyes seemed to gaze into my soul. I wondered if he would find anything, I was merely his protector after all. So much of a protector if you can’t resist his touch. I had to admit it, he really knew how to catch my attention.

I knew of some dark angels who had used their great features to their advantage and spent their time constantly toying around with mortals. I wouldn’t call myself beautiful in any way. Nor had it been brought to my attention, there were other dark angels out there who looked way better than I did. But this man here was no mortal in any way. He was the same as me; born to live forever unless death decided differently.

I shook my head, resisting the thoughts and suppressing the urges and most definitely, resisting him. My hands pressed against his chest, pushing him away from me and making him let me go. As I looked at him, I could see a flash of anger course through his gaze at my rejection. Hmm, judging by his reaction, he isn’t used to being pushed away. Wonder how many others he used his “charming features” on. I couldn’t help myself, he really did look like he just wanted somebody to provide him entertainment twenty-four seven. Not this girl, I thought as I raised my chin up defiantly.

He looked down at me at his tremendous height, a frown on his head. “You would be one to be surprised at the things I can convince you to do.” I heard him say as a smirk pulled at his lips.

I glared at him with all the hate that I could muster. “And you would be surprised to how much I can resist.”

One of his brows raised, his smirk turning into a wicked grin as his eyes began to swirl. In fact, his whole body was swirling. Despite that, he never took his gaze off of me. A shadowy smoke wrapped around him and the next thing I knew, there was a large serpent towering over me. Black scales and large fangs replaced the man that had once stood in front of me. My eyes widened in horror, only a leader could obtain a tall form, and here I was, standing in front of him. My “mortal” was a leader of serpents and enemy to my species. What would they say if they knew I was his protector? I looked up into its piercing yellow eyes and saw the snake’s upper body sway to the sides as if hypnotizing me. Weirdly, I felt nothing.

A frown crossed my features as I shot a streak of light toward him. A hiss escaped him, his long forked tongue moving in and out of his mouth.

A flash of light brought my attention away from the enemy and I saw a portal of some sort open up. A figure stepped through and I saw it was my mentor, Gidon, who had trained me in my combat. His aura was confident as he looked at the snake who, in turn, hissed loudly at the being. The reptile lunged for Gidon and automatically, I shot light at his side, sending him across the floor. That’s when a frenzy escaped me.

Soon, I was shooting streaks of light at him, one after the other. Every time I shot one streak, his body would move to the side in which my other throw would hit him. Unfortunately, every strike that seemed to hit him felt as if it were hitting me. Small stabs of pain would hit my sides whenever I hit him and then I realized something: I could feel his pain. The light disappeared from my palm as I let a shriek escape me.

Anger coursed through me and I snapped. My wings appeared, this time, each feather glistened with a sharp point and dark liquid dripped onto the floor. My mentor, forgotten, said nothing as if this was a normal thing. And indeed,it was. It didn’t matter if I was supposed to be this murderous reptile’s protector, he was our greatest enemy. My crazed mind wouldn’t matter once I got rid of him and I would do all that I could to do just that. I flapped my wings once and began spinning. My wings stretched to the side and I felt a rip of pain in my torso meaning I had already slashed a part of him. My hands were rested on an invisible surface as I spun, and I began shooting darts of light at the floor. A flash of pain coursed through my right shoulder and then it was gone. I heard a thud hit the floor to my left and I stopped spinning. My shoulder was stinging and when I looked over, I could see the two holes that were direct across from them gushing out blood.

It didn’t hurt as much as it looked, but apparently, the snake was wounded which would give me the opportunity I needed. I looked to the sides of where I stood, seeing my mentor gesture to him. “Kill him and you will be doing us a favor.” I heard him say in my head. I nodded, Guardian’s of Light could not kill in the mortal world, or else he would have done it himself. I had no idea what time of day it was or where I was even at but that wouldn’t matter. I was going to kill the reptile that laid at my feet. I brought my gaze to rest on the serpent and watched as he transformed back into the man.

A rasping breath escaped him and I could see that his shoulder was covered in the same wound as mine. So he can physically feel my pain. Serves him right for biting me.

My hand stretched and a flash of light revealed a light sword that I grasped tightly. “Thought you could trick me didn’t you? Next time, I suggest highly that you don’t underestimate me for who I am.” I raised the sword over the place where I knew his heart would be. Judging by the look he gave me, it honestly seemed realistically true that he probably had no heart.

He had killed my species before; murdered them in cold blood. What did we do to deserve that? Countless mortals had no protector to defend them because of the man that stood at my feet. He was the one responsible for the death of my species as well as the death of the species was destined to protect. Killing him would dispose of the greatest threat that hovered over us wherever we went. Maybe that was why our bond had been cut off from the start. Maybe it was the real reason I had become a hybrid; so that I could be strong enough to fight him and win. The whole process of getting him to a weakened state was a lot easier than I would have thought possible.

As I looked at his frame, a part of me felt sympathy towards him. Questions crossed my mind, wondering what had led him to do what he has done. Ruining the lives of many and taking some of them in between. And for what, bloodlust? Entertainment? A goal, perhaps?

These thoughts were turning and something was telling me to listen to them. I had never killed before and to be quite honest, I would only in self-defense. But here lay a leader among all, his fate resting at the tip of my sword that I held. The better thing to do was to get rid of him while I could, dispose of him, and worry about myself later. Inform the Guardians that he was dead and later, perish not long afterward.

“Kill him.” the voice that was Gidon’s repeated in my head more urgently. I looked down into the eyes of my enemy and saw his gaze had softened, or maybe softened just enough that I could see his soul. Those piercing yellow eyes had turned into a liquid gold as he stared back at me. He looked as fragile as a newborn, and something in me was telling me to give him a chance, give him a choice. I was no better than him if I killed him in cold blood. Or would it be cold-blooded if he had done something to earn his death? The tip of my sword lowered to his neck and I saw him go limp. His posture signified that he had given up and come to terms with his fate and my choice. And in those moments, I knew, I couldn’t kill him.

I looked up into the eyes of my former mentor and uttered a single word that would be looked upon as much more. “No.”