From The Ashes (Forbidden Trilogy Book Three)

Chapter Two: When The Rain Falls (Part Two)

Raphael

It happened so quickly.

So unexpectedly.

We had no warning.

We were unprepared.

Balthazar struck deep within the bowels of the stronghold in the middle of the night.

He did not spare one life. Children. Women. Elderly. They were all victims.

We were left scrambling.

The guard rallied quickly, but every time we tried to form a defensive line, our efforts were smashed by Balthazar's overwhelming forces.

He set fire to the residents apartments. Destroyed them with crushing force.

I had been momentarily paralyzed by the insurmountable loss that was being wrought. I could feel their pain. I could taste their fear. That was the problem with being a healer... An empath...

I was out of ideas.

I was out of options.

Every move I made to try and save my people, my comrades, my brothers, my sisters, it was met with more blood, more violence and death.

As I was praying for a miracle, suddenly I felt Obsidian's mind merge with mine.

Overwhelming joy and relief washed through me.

He was alive.

He was here.

He would be able to save this place.

He had always been better at this than I had.

As he told me, and the others he was connected with, what he wanted us to do, I could feel another's mind hidden just out of reach. The signature energy felt familiar, yet different.

Could it be Constance?

Had she been released?

As Obsidian concluded his plans, Ryn piped up, "You want us to intentionally open up the earth? That could bring this whole place crashing down around us! And then we would all be dead! Are you crazy!?"

"Yes, I might be," Obsidian confessed.

"Now's not the time for your s**t!" Ryn fairly screamed at Obsidian, and I winced as it ripped through my mind. Though, I had to agree with Ryn on this one.

"Just trust me. This will work."

"If it doesn't, and we all die, I'm going to find you in the afterlife and kill you again!"

"I wouldn't expect anything less. Now move!" Obsidian ordered forcefully.

Before I could puzzle it out anymore, the plan was put into motion. Ryn and I organized our lines and got the elementals in place to rip apart the bottom of the stronghold. I had to admit, I was skeptical like Ryn was. This was dangerous, because if the elementals overshot it, they could near rip the stronghold in two and send it crashing in on itself.

As we scrambled to get everyone in place, my gaze was suddenly snagged by a very gorgeous creature who stepped out into the middle of the fray, unafraid. There was an aura about her, a near tangible essence that just seeped into the very air. It was invigorating, uplifting. Inspiring. I felt myself calming, somehow aware with her on our side, we would live to see another day.

I had never seen the likes of anything like her.

I remember Obsidian referencing her as Eidolon... But that couldn't be her true name, surely.

She was of average size. Short blond hair. Her large wings were multicolored. They were white at the base, then blond, brown, dark brown then black. They all blurred into each other. Her dress was unique as well, nearly following the same color scheme as her wings: the bust was white, transforming to gold around the hips, then fading to black. The gown flared around her feet as she walked, and by the way she moved it nearly looked like she was floating above the ground. From what I could discern, her real horns were the black ones that curled out of her forehead. The mask she wore was daunting in and of itself: painted black, the skull covered her face and the horns curling up gave her a very menacing aura.

I also noticed the gold cuffs binding her wrists. They looked like bracelets, but I knew better. They were imbued with magical properties that would hinder the one who wore them. And by the way they hummed, they had been recently enchanted with the strongest of spells, which meant she was a formidable creature indeed.

But what was most interesting about this new character, was the archangel's sword strapped to her back.

Who was she?

Many of us were held spellbound as she squared off with Balthazar and his army as she stood alone before him, distracting him. 

I was impressed by her show of power, the air around her sparking with the very energy she expressed. I knew the cuffs were counteracting her spells and turning them on her by their sudden change in color. Their golden color turned red and burned her skin. Yet, she never flinched.

"Focus on getting everyone to safety," Obsidian snapped into our minds. "While Balthazar's army is distracted, get everyone you can out."

Ryn and I refocused our efforts and did as told. When we had retrieved everyone we could, we signaled to Obsidian to move onto the next part of the plan.

Right as Balthazar and Eidolon clashed, the elementals went to work splitting the earth. Somehow, they got it just right, forcing cracks large enough and deep enough in the earth for those who fell in to fall straight to their death. Magma wasn't something any creature could withstand or overcome.

Ryn led the flying guard on a offensive strike while I orchestrated the ground strike.

We were able to take advantage of the situation and disposed of a decent portion of Balthazar's army before they were able to regroup. The instant they did , though, Obsidian pulled us back in to our defensive line. I had to wonder what he had planned, however, I didn't have to wait long.

Suddenly, Uriel moved into a position behind the woman who called herself Eidolon. What were they planning--

And then he shifted. And it wasn't into some puissant demon or mere creature of darkness.

No. He shifted into a huge ass dragon.

Holy f*****g hell!

How had none of us known he was a dragon!? I had so many questions.

With Uriel's dragon backing Eidolon, and the sudden blue fire he spewed at Balthazar's army, it wasn't surprising the demon lord and his army retreated, leaving us with a lot of c*****e to deal with.

I pushed every question I had aside. Who she was and Uriel's dragon secrets could be answered later. Right now, I had wounded to tend to. I was their healer. And my work was definitely cut out for me.

I flipped the switch in my head to numb myself to all those who lay dead and dying. All those familiar faces frozen in time. I helped where I could. I comforted those I couldn't. I eased others into death's embrace. 

However, the one death I couldn't block out was Rain's.

I had been hopeful she had made it out alive when I'd found her parents without her. However, she had died alone. And somehow, that was far more devastating to me than anything else. So many lives had been lost. So many innocent lives...

Obsidian had found Rain first. Eidolon was draped around our great leader as he fell apart. I slowly made my way over to them and took a moment to myself where I allowed myself to feel my emotions. To feel the pain, the tormenting sadness that was sinking it's claws in deep. To accept Rain's soul as it seeped into the empty spaces, looking for others to latch onto in death.

I allowed myself to feel anger. Anger at Balthazar for his untimely attack. Rage over how this world viewed demon half breeds. I wallowed in the anger and hurt inflicted by Obsidian's silence. He had made us all believe he was dead when he hadn't been. I wanted to press him, to know exactly what Uriel had wanted to show him, but I knew time would reveal all.

However, when he admitted that Victor attacked Ulysses's mansion, my heart fairly dropped. If Celeste had perished... I wasn't sure he would be able to keep himself from falling into the darkness. She was his mate after all.

Relief washed over me when he told me she and Gabriel were alive. Yes, it wasn't good they were in Victor's custody, but they were alive. If Obsidian and I were good at one thing, it was sneaking into places to obtain specific items. We would get Celeste and Gabriel back. There was no doubt in that, and I knew he felt the same way.

"And Constance?" I asked, my gaze flitting to Eidolon.

"She's in purgatory," Obsidian responded.

I knew he was lying. I was a freaking healer for f**k's sake! I sensed the shift in hormones, the body's internal response to the lie. But, I also knew there was a reason for it. He wouldn't risk lying to me if it weren't detrimental. And so, I played along.

As much as they all wanted me to believe she was Eidolon, I knew it was Constance.

She had undergone a huge transformation, and I looked forward to hearing her story one day.

But right now wasn't the time.

No. We had wounded to tend. Dead to bury. A stronghold to rebuild. And much to mourn.

As we went our separate ways, I had to wonder what detrimental piece of information they'd learned in order to keep Constance's return a secret. I wondered what other atrocities, secrets and hardships lay ahead, and prayed for the innocents in this world to be spared. I knew it was an impossible hope, but it was one I would cling onto. 

Because if we didn't have hope, then what did we truly have?

"Obsidian, Raphael," Ryn called out to us. Both of us reacted to the urgency in his tone.

"What is it, Ryn?" Obsidian asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eidolon pause as she listened in on the conversation.

"Ickarous is at the meadow. What do you want us to do?"

"Bring him in," Obsidian responded without hesitation. "And don't worry about blindfolding him. We can trust him."

Interesting... I couldn't help but wonder what had changed his mind about the archangel.

Ickarous

It worked!

The ploy worked.

Camael had taken the bait.

Azrael had seen him but decided to let the fallen archangel go, to tell Victor 'Constance' was in purgatory. When asked why he had let Camael go, his reply was spot on. "It won't be the last time he comes here, because if he believes he can do it once, he will do it again. And the next time he won't be so careful. He will make mistakes. He will become careless." 

Let him believe he was unseen. Let him believe he can come and go. The more he believes he is invincible and invisible, the more we will see. We will be able to track him easier. We can gain more information pretending to be so ignorant.

Being an archangel, Camael knew what would happen if he were caught. He would know the kind of torture he would be subjected to. He was already mentally prepared for that kind of reality, which meant we wouldn't get the information we needed out of him if he was caught and taken into custody. We would indeed learn more if we sat back and watched him. We would learn more if we let him make his own mistakes.

I wrapped everything up with Azrael and the other deities as quickly as I could before returning to earth. I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to tell Constance about the win we had gained. However, that high was quickly dampened where I found out the demon stronghold was under attack.

Teleporting to the meadow, I waited.

The demons hadn't allowed me exclusive access or knowledge of the strongholds specific whereabouts. I couldn't blame them, but right now, in this very instance, it would have been helpful.

I paced. Waiting. 

I wasn't used to waiting and I found myself growing impatient, anxious and restless.

Had they all perished?

Would I ever know?

What was taking them so long?

I tried reaching out to Alessandra, but she wasn't anywhere near. Which seemed odd.

When I'd spoken with her, she had informed me she was the stronghold's first and foremost line of defense. Was she fighting for her life? Could she possibly be dead?

The thought had an unfamiliar emotion ripping through my chest, and I stubbornly pushed it away.

I was an archangel. I couldn't take a mate. Not unless I renounced my status and became one of the fallen.

Which, I refused to do.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to focus on the energy in the surrounding areas to try and feel any surges of power or emotion.

All I was met with was emptiness.

Damn!

After what seemed like ages, several of the demon guard stepped from the shadows. Their minds weren't being shielded and through their mind's eyes I saw what they had experienced. I got a general idea of how everything had gone down before, during and after Constance arrived to help them. Well, I knew who she was, but they were told she was Eidolon. Someone I had sent to help in Constance's place while she was being held in purgatory. 

I was glad Constance had had the forethought to keep her identity a secret.

I knew the demon guard were distrustful of me, however Obsidian had given the order to show me how to get to the stronghold.

An interesting choice, however, it just showed how much faith and trust the demon lord had in me. I had no intention of betraying him and felt honored by his show of faith.

When I was taken into the depths of the stronghold, I was swamped by the depths of the depressing grief and loss from the survivors. It took me several moments to build the walls up in my mind to keep their thoughts at bay. Being a telepath had its strengths, but it could also be a curse. Especially in cases like this...

Right before I closed my mind off entirely, I caught a glimpse of Constance's thoughts, and my heart plummeted.

Rain.

The little spitfire who had faced an archangel and lived had perished.

It didn't take long for me to find the wee little thing, tucked safely between her parents. As I stared down at the family, I realized they were just like everyone else. They loved like everyone else. The bled just like everyone else. Their deaths were just as tragic and unnecessary. They deserved so much more than a scared life spent in hiding.

I didn't think as I knelt before her and reached out, touching her forehead in the customary sign of respect us archangels displayed when we met death. I whispered a small prayer under my breath and allowed the sorrow to fill me. I would never get to take her flying. That joy had been ripped from her today, and the being responsible for her death had been allowed to live.

All because us archangels had insisted upon Constance's powers being suppressed. 

If we would have just placed our trust in her in the first place, Balthazar wouldn't have lived to wreak more havoc on this good earth.

Rain's life could have been spared...

Standing up, I turned around with purpose to find Constance, only to come face to face with the masked individual herself. "Eidolon."

"Ickarous?"

Behind her I saw I had generated quite the audience. So many half breed demons had gathered to watch my actions as I grieved Rain's death. It had to be a sight, not only seeing an archangel grieve the death of a demon but also offer her the same respects as I would to any other being. 

I could only hope this would be the beginning of a movement to treat these demon half breeds the same as any other living being.

"I'm sorry," I said honestly as I picked up one of her hands and unlocked the first cuff from her wrist. "We should never have done this to you." I picked up her other wrist and unlocked it too. I held her hand in mine for a moment longer as my gaze caught sight of the burns on her wrists. "You deserved better than this. You all deserve to be treated better, to be seen as the amazing creatures you are and not demonized."

Sighing, I eased Constance's hand to her side before turning to Obsidian. I was about to shock even more of them by what I was going to do next. There were deep wounds and scars between archangels and these demon half breeds, but I was determined to break the cycle. "I know words cannot bring them back, but I am sorry for what has happened here. What can I do to help you?"