Angel of Light

Chapter 4

Anastasia was back home in Tokyo at her favorite café spot with her best friend Liz. They were recounting the details of the operation and everything in between when Liz asked her about Gabriel, “So, what is up with your sudden interest in archangels? It used to be all about demons.”

“Well, I know it’s hard to believe but he saved me in that operation Liz. One moment I was tied up, and the next there was a flash of light and all the demons were all dead at my feet,” Anastasia recalled.

“Did you get a chance to see him?” Liz asked excitedly.

“Yes, he was tall, golden, and very muscular. He reflected light everywhere,” Anastasia answered.

“There have been numerous reports of bright flashes of light whenever humans and demons were engaged in combat. Afterwards, the humans couldn’t recall anything and the demons were always dead,” Liz replied thoughtfully.

“He teleported me back to my hotel room. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Anastasia told her friend.

“I was wondering why our cameras never showed you leaving! The Prime Minister never left for the meeting and you never came out. That’s why I called,” Liz confessed.

“Well, I’m home safe and sound now,” Anastasia responded.

“I’m glad, since I’ve seen you come out of worse scrapes alive,” Liz said admiringly.

“Well, I’ve always had you there making sure I came out alive Liz,” Anastasia replied warmly.

The girls finished up their drinks and went their separate ways. Liz was going to her mother’s, and Anastasia was going to the local farmer’s market for fresh fruit and veggies. As she was walking down the street, she saw a stand full of ripe, red apples. She stopped to admire them and look them over. Then, Anastasia looked up and saw a stranger across the street staring at her.

He was tall with dark, brown hair and brown eyes set in a rugged, handsome face. As she studied him, she heard a voice in her head saying, “Anastasia, come to me. Your future awaits you. Come to me.”

She froze as if in a trance. Then, she started walking towards him. She was about to cross the street when the apple vendor stopped her, “Excuse me, Miss? Did you want to buy some apples today? It’s two for the price of one. You won’t find a better deal on apples elsewhere.”

Anastasia turned to the apple vendor and answered him, “Yes of course. I’ll take six apples then, thank you.” When she looked back across the street, the stranger was gone. Anastasia shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was probably no one she told herself, but she felt uneasy and decided to leave the farmer’s market and go home.

When she got home, she decided to watch television. She was watching the news when they brought in live footage of a house fire. She quickly switched to a different channel since it brought back bad memories. Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up.

Liz was on the other end, “Are you watching the news?”

“Yep,” she replied.

“That burning house on the news might be the result of some demonic activities. Do you want to check it out or should I send a different agent?” Liz inquired.

“It’s alright, I’ll check it out,” Anastasia replied.

“Ok, I’ll text you the address,” Liz said and hung up.

Half an hour later, Anastasia arrived at the house and looked around for traces of demons and demonic activity. She walked around looking at what was left of the house. She couldn’t help but be brought back to her own house fire and how terrifying it was. Anastasia was grateful that there was no one in the house at the time of this fire.

She was setting a perimeter around the scene to work in when she looked up and saw the stranger from the market walking towards her. Her senses warned her of danger, and she stood up. He walked right up to her scene of investigation.

She spoke to him to warn him off, “That’s far enough, sir! This area is being taped off for an investigation. Please see yourself out and don’t touch anything.”

He smiled, and Anastasia froze as a force other than her own came over her and paralyzed her. Anastasia’s eyes widened as the demon tried to put her in a trance. She used her energy to break his hold and breathed easier.

His eyes narrowed and she knew he was going to blast her, but then he seemed to change his mind and talked to her instead, “Hello Anastasia, I have come to make a proposal to you.”

Anastasia frowned at him. “What is this proposal demon?”

“It is from my father, Aaron. I believe you both have met at an earlier time in your life similar to this surrounding,” the demon replied.

Anastasia gasped. She had never expected to be ensnared by Aaron. She waited for him to finish telling her what his plans for her were going to be.

“He wishes for you to visit him and be his guest for a while. He would like to show you around his home. My father also wants a chance to explain to you the misunderstanding that has occurred between the two of you which seems to drive your murderous rage towards our kind. He’s hoping once you understand his side, you will cease hunting and killing his race and allow us to live in peace,” the demon explained.

“What if I refuse his invitation?” Anastasia retorted.

It was the demon’s turn to frown at her and he simply answered, “No one refuses my father.”

“Well, there’s always a first time for everything. Therefore, I refuse his offer,” she exclaimed. Then, she blasted him.

He took her blast well and flew back at her punching her. She flew to the ground from the impact but sprung up. When she was standing, she saw the demon holding a gun. He shot her and in a few minutes, everything became blurry. Then, she slowly sunk to the ground finding it strange that there was no blood but only darkness.

When Anastasia woke up, she was gagged and tied to a chair in an abandoned warehouse. The demon that shot her was on the cell phone talking and she could hear his side of the conversation.

“No father, I did not hurt her. I had to shoot her with a dart to keep her from hurting me, but I swear she is unharmed. She should be conscious by now, so I should go and check on her.” Then, he hung up and walked over to her.

“Good, you’re awake. I will have to take you to a safe spot. So please don’t fight or struggle. I will have to shoot you again if you do,” he warned her.

She glared at him. She tried to think of Gabriel and how to contact him to help her. Somehow, the demon sensed her trying to telepathically connect to someone.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It would not bode well for you if my father’s plans are thwarted in any way,” he told her.

A van with tinted windows and unidentified plates drove up to them in the warehouse. The demon hauled her into the van still tied to her chair. Once, they were inside the van, he gagged and blindfolded Anastasia. Then, the van took off. She had no idea where they were going.

When they finally stopped, she was hauled into an elevator and then deposited in a room. Her blindfold and gag was taken off at last and she looked around her. She was surprised to find herself in a beautifully furnished room. She looked for her captor, but she was all alone.

Half an hour or so must have passed by, and then she heard him enter. He came up to her, and she saw he had brought food. He set it up at the coffee table in the living room and then sat across from her pointing a gun at her.

“I have been warned about your abilities, Anastasia. Do anything stupid, and I will shoot you with this gun which is loaded with real bullets,” he told her.

Then, he shot the ceiling for proof which made Anastasia jump.

“ I have to feed you and keep you safe but if you harm me in any way before my father arrives, I have no problem hurting you back,” he threatened her.

She glared at him but nodded knowing full well she was at a disadvantage right now and needed to play along. Her best bet to stay alive and get free was to keep him talking and telling her about his father’s plans for her.

He took her nod as acquiescence and went to untie her hands so she could eat but kept her legs and feet still bound. She looked at him and asked, “What’s your name, Demon?”

“Thesus,” he replied.

“That’s an interesting name. Did your father, the Marquis of Hell choose it for you? she inquired.

“No, it was my mother. My mother was Greek,” he answered.

“You are a halfling? Half demon and half human?” she asked.

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

“You are very powerful for a halfling,” she noted.

“My father trained me well. He trains all his children himself to ensure they survive up here against demon hunters like you,” he retorted.

Just to needle him she asked, “You got a girlfriend, Thesus?”

He looked at her and frowned, deciding if he should answer or not then spoke, “There is someone. What about you?”

She thought about Gabriel and then answered, “There is someone.”

“Yeah, what’s his name?” Thesus asked.

“Gabriel,” she replied then asked, “And yours?”

“Lilith,” Thesus replied.

“Is she pretty?” inquired Anastasia.

“She’s beautiful. Her mother was from Spain,” Thesus responded.

“Yeah? What about her father?” questioned Anastasia.

“Her father is my father also. She resides in paradise with him. Since, I am older, I can live here on Earth now,” Thesus explained.

Anastasia frowned at this news and pondered it, but he broke into her thoughts. “Tell me about your own beloved.”

“There’s not much to say except he hunts demons just like me and kills them too,” Anastasia answered.

“Why am I not surprised by that?” Thesus asked, “Will he come here looking for you?”

“Yes, he will come if he knows I’m in danger,” she replied.

He shrugged, “Well, no one knows you’re here. This place is not on the radar. Your agents will not be able to find it.”

“He will find it. He’s not an agent,” Anastasia retorted.

“Then, what is he? A halfling?” Thesus inquired.

“No, someone who is neither,” Anastasia said coyly.

Thesus thought for a moment and then asked, “It’s not that Archangel Gabriel, is it?”

Anastasia did not respond but the truth was in her eyes.

He frowned and spoke to her, “Archangels are forbidden to be with humans. Gabriel will never return your affections.”

“That may be true, but I would rather choose him over a demon any day,” Anastasia replied.

“That’s unfortunate, since my father plans on making a proposal to you,” Thesus responded smoothly.

“Yeah, to be his prisoner for all eternity in this so called paradise?” Anastasia asked sarcastically.

“No, you are to be his honored guest. If you like it down there, he would eventually propose and make you his wife. You will be the new Marchioness of Hell,” Thesus informed her, “It is a great honor. It is why my mother said yes as well as Lilith’s and many others.”

“Forgive me if I don’t jump up and down at the thought of being one of his many wives and having halfling babies with him,” Anastasia snarled.

Thesus ignored her remark and cleared the dinner plates away and then prepared to leave again.

“You’re going to leave me here all night like this?” Anastasia asked.

“I don’t trust you. What do you expect?” Thesus responded.

“What if I have to go use the bathroom?” she whined.

Thesus sighed, then, turned around. “Very well, I’ll untie you to let you use the bathroom, but if you do anything…”

“I know, I know. You’ll shoot me,” Anastasia finished for him.

He nodded grimly and moved to untie her.

“Does your father always send you to kidnap his future wives?” she asked as she stood up stretching and trying to get the blood flowing back in her legs again.

“No, he usually romances them himself, but he’s caught up in a business deal at the moment and couldn’t come. He should be here in a couple of days though,” Thesus replied.

“A business deal with nuclear bombs?” Anastasia asked caustically.

“I wouldn’t know. He doesn’t discuss his business deals with me,” Thesus answered.

Anastasia went to the bathroom and decided on how to formulate a plan of attack. She figured that the best plan was to disarm him. He was too suspicious and jumpy. She had to find a way to get him to relax his guard and trust her. So, she used the only thing in her arsenal at the moment. She turned on the water in the bathtub and stripped naked counting on the demon’s lustful nature to rise to the forefront.

“What are you doing?” he asked from the other side of the door.

She opened the door a crack so he could see that her clothes were on the floor but not her body. “I’m taking a bath silly, would you like to join me?”

She saw Thesus visibly gulp. He thought about it and she used his momentary pause to open the door wider, so he could see half her body.

“Come on Thesus. What would be the harm? Come and keep me company,” she said flashing him her smile.

He gave in and came in quickly to the bathroom shutting the door. He took off his shirt and then his pants. He was about to go for his boxers, when she stopped him and said softly, “No, please let me sweetheart.”

She pulled his boxers down to his feet, then, looked up at him still kneeling on the floor. He looked down at her, and his eyes glowed a deep red. She knew he was thinking about taking her in the bathtub. She punched him in the balls.

He howled in pain. She took his jeans and used the legs to wrap around his neck and strangle him. When he was unconscious on the floor, she got dressed and walked out. She was about to leave the apartment when one of his cronies walked in.

“What’s taking you so long, Thesus? The girls are waiting!” he shouted as he sauntered in.

He froze when he saw Anastasia. He was not expecting her to be free. “Where’s Thesus?” he asked suspiciously.

“Um, he’s using the bathroom, he’ll be right out,” she answered quickly.

“Ok, I’ll sit here and wait then,” the demon replied sitting watching her warily.

She groaned inwardly. She was determining how to best get rid of him when she heard movements from the bathroom and a lot of cursing.

“Thesus?! You alright buddy?” the demon shouted to his friend.

Anastasia blasted the demon clear across the room and ran for the door but not before Thesus limped out with his gun.

“Freeze, b***h!” he roared at her.

She stopped and turned around.

He glared at her and hissed out, “I have no idea why my father wants you, but you are a waste of my time,” then he shot her in her shoulder.

She screamed in pain and fell to the floor. She looked up to see Thesus holding the gun above her head.

“I promise not to kill you, but I will have some fun putting a few bullets in certain parts of you,” Thesus threatened menacingly.

Anastasia closed her eyes waiting for another shot to come. She heard a movement and then Thesus"s grunts of pain. She opened her eyes and couldn’t help, but smile.