I landed on top of the mountain and immediately spotted them in the valley below. The three of them were walking on the ground and heading straight towards four other male angels, who were all carrying swords and were battling the beasts together. Their large white wings were unmistakable even the darkness, and they were all so beautiful that I could have watched them for hours. The other demons around me were all entranced by them.
Michael was walking slightly ahead of Joshua and the demon-girl, and they were all walking very slowly. I presumed that they did this so that the beasts wouldn’t chase them. The beasts, it seemed, were very attracted to objects that moved fast; they were like Earth’s predators, and it was their instinct to chase.
I watched in silence, transfixed at their every movement. There was something about the way Joshua and the demon-girl were together. It wasn’t just the way he tried to protect her from the beasts that now surrounded them. It was in the way he looked at her, talked to her, the way he held her hand when they walked. It was in the way they moved. They were connected, somehow, just as Kyrie and Joshua used to be connected.
Even though Joshua was taller than the girl, their pace was the same when they walked. It was as if each step was perfectly measured, their feet striking the ground at the same time, even the bounce in their step and the way their wings swayed were identical.
When they got closer to the four angels, Joshua and the demon-girl jumped up and flew in the air… and when they flew, each flap of their wings was in sync. I couldn’t believe it. I watched them, transfixed. They were flying as if they were bonded angels… because that was what they were. I understand everything now. Once upon a time, in their beginning, they were born together as angels.
My heart clenched inside of my chest, and my hand covered my mouth as I contained the scream that wanted to come out.
Kyrie.
That demon-girl was Kyrie.
She may look different, but this odd-looking girl was none other than Kyrie. It was really her. Joshua had tried to tell me when I first saw him here. I should have paid more attention when he explained how he found Kyrie again.
She was a human.
Who sprouted wings.
And she remembered everything.
Every single thing from her past.
Even me.
I didn’t figure it out earlier because she looked so different. Her features looked more like the archangel Michael than she did my old friend. She could be his daughter, my mind reasoned, and I held back another scream, just as I realized where I had seen her before.
I had seen her with Paige - in the car as Paige drove, in the house with her - because Kyrie was Paige’s human sister, her younger sister, and this is the reason why she hated me now.
If it didn’t happen right in front of me, I never would have believed that Kyrie would ever look at me with such anger and hate... but she did. In the few years that she had been a human, living as a human, her loyalty had shifted, and she had turned against me.
And it was all because of Paige.
Oh, why did everything always come back to her? Why did Paige have to take everyone I loved away from me?
My chest tightened in pain when I realized that I had just spoken to my friend, Kyrie. Well, not a friend anymore, it seemed. Remembering her words to me, the way she had spoken to me, she thought differently of me now. She wanted me to remain here… in Hell… because of what I did to her sister.
I remembered her words to the archangel.
‘She doesn’t get to come with us because she will try to kill Paige again if we let her leave this place,’ she had said.
I continued to watch them from the top of the mountain with despair. I would cry if I could. I should chase after them and try to find my way out, but Kyrie’s betrayal caused so much pain in my heart that I was frozen by it. I couldn’t even move.
At first, I thought that they wouldn’t make it out of Hell, and I was glad, but then a large circle appeared with a glorious white light shining through it. The four angels were in front of the door, guarding it, fighting the large cat-like beasts that tried to get through the door. They were fighting with such skill and ferocity that none of the other demons dared to approach them. The demons knew, just as I knew, that they would just as easily strike us down.
The white light was beautiful, especially here in Hell where white light was a rarity. I was entranced by it.
In the distance, I heard Michael say to Kyrie, “The light is your sister. She’s on the other side of the door.”
I felt my heart clench a little bit more. It was if the archangel was mocking me.
I watched as Joshua and Kyrie made their way back to Earth through the lighted doorway without one backward glance in my direction. I held my breath as I waited for one of them to turn around… and say goodbye.
They didn’t. There were no goodbyes for me.
Did they even know that I was standing right here watching them? Would they wonder what would become of me if they left me behind? Would they think of me again after this day?
I thought about flying towards the doorway, but then, as if sensing my thoughts, Michael looked up and glared at me. He had just struck a beast down, and the sword in his hand was still dripping with blood. The four angels surrounded him now. Even with the great distance that separated us, I held Michael’s glare. His eyes narrowed in warning. Then, he shook his head from side to side. He knew what I was thinking, and he was silently telling me that he would never let me leave this place.
One by one, the angels left through the doorway until only Michael remained. The doorway started shrinking, and Michael waited until it was only large enough for him to fit through. Without looking back at me, he walked through, and I watched miserably as the doorway closed.
Again, I was left alone.
Forgotten.
For the second time in my entire existence, I felt my heart breaking all over again… not because of Luke this time, but because of my best friend, Kyrie; I was certain that she hated me now.
And it was all because of her.
The Radiant.
Paige Harper.
One day, I will get her, and I will slay her.
I promise.