From Within Trilogy: Book of Perdition

Prologue

The alleyway was dark, secret, and hidden, resting in a forgotten slum of the city. The one spot Isla could escape the daunting job she inherited. The Guardian attached to her hip could not even find her here. Her dark brown hair swung from her shoulders as she jumped and bounced off the walls releasing her inner warrior. She high kicked an old fire escape ladder as targeting practice. It rattled and jerked, falling off its hinge. She jumped, catching a railing. Isla swung hard, catapulting up to the heights of the top of the abandoned building, then landed smoothly on the ground.

Isla looked down at her wristwatch. He would be here soon to meet her as they had done many times before. Only this time, it was different. The life she carried inside her was going to change everything. A part of her wanted to run away from it all with him, but that was impossible. The very world counted on her, even her unborn. Her green eyes illuminated, feeling the presents of something unnatural approaching.

Isla drew her fists up, taking a defensive stance. She clenched a vial of holy water in one. She scanned the area, catching a view of the one she loved. She relaxed, disarming herself, and ran into his embrace. A peculiar forbidden union indeed. They were supposed to be natural enemies.

His wild ebony hair stood straight up on top with pieces that staggered down around his forehead. His dark eyes were tinted with hints of reds and purples that once lit up with power too.

Isla brushed her pale hand across his cold, tan cheek, "Ramiel," she whispered in ecstasy, kissing his lips.

Ramiel smiled at Isla, the happiest he had been in eons. Ramiel the Fallen had fallen in love with none other than the slayer of his kind. Only Ramiel was no longer here nor there. He was banished by God and made enemies with the Devil. His punishment led him to roam the Earth alone as an immortal, stripped of his wings, of his power, and all that made him Angelic. All he had was time.

He welcomed death the day Isla found him. Her knife inches from his throat. Ramiel just wanted peace again. Death would have given him that, but Isla's heart took pity upon him. She saw the brokenness in his eyes, not an enemy, and that's when it all began.

Ramiel had something to live for, love. Something he had never felt before, especially for a human or half-breed. Time as an immortal opened his eyes too much he had not understood before, living amongst the very things he hated, abused, and ridiculed.

Ramiel's hands proudly met Isla's belly. For him, this child should not have been—an impossibility from his curse.

Isla's green eyes sparked, emanating her powerful bloodline. "Did you feel that?"

Ramiel's face lit up in pure joy as the baby kicked. "She is strong like her mother," he noted.

Isla's demeanor shifted. Her tone was sullen. "This complicates everything. Dangerously so."

Ramiel's eyes gazed off in the distance, unwilling to look at the truth before him. "There has to be another way."

"There is not. I wish nothing more than to be with you and raise our child, but He has other plans for us. Our child is a miracle. She will be the one to end it all. I feel it in my gut," Isla caressed Ramiels face. He leaned into her warm, inviting hands.

"I know," Ramiel admitted. His voice was withdrawn, filled with heartache. A heavy breath escaped his lips. "I love you."

"And I you," Isla breathed back.

They kissed one another in the vacant alleyway, away from the world that desperately sought to keep them apart.

Isla pulled away suddenly. "Someone's here," she warned, putting her body in front of his.

"Hello, brother," Ramiel announced.

Uriel stepped out from the shadows, his sword drawn. "Isla, step away," he commanded.

"NO!" She refused, making a protective barrier of magic around Ramiel.

Uriel grunted, "He is an abomination, a disgrace."

Isla's eyes pleaded into Uriel's as she spoke to him telepathically. "As my Guardian, as my friend, I beg of you to let this go."

Uriel grimaced at her words in his head. "I cannot."

Ramiel touched Isla's shoulder. "It will be ok. Take away your magic shield. This was to be my fate long before I met you."

"I will not," Isla's tears welled.

"You must, for the sake of our child. I know Uri, and he will find me again. I am tired of running. Because I stopped, I found you. You were worth everything." Ramiel whispered in her ear.

Isla shook her head, "I can't. I won't. Not this way, please."

"If not this way, then how. We can no longer hide. As you said, things have changed. In this lifetime, we cannot be together. The child must live, and only the Guardians can keep you both safe. The war is here again and will continue until every Fallen is destroyed."

"He is right, Isla," chimed Uri. "I will find him as I do all those who rebelled against our Father.

Isla's lips trembled, "But Uri, he is different... and I love him."

A look of disgust swept across Uriel's face. "He is no different than any other disgraced. As for your love, it is not a priority. Your child with him will be in more danger if the truth is revealed. Both sides will hunt it. I will keep you both safe and hold onto your secret, but you must stand down."

Ramiel stepped out from Isla's protection. "You are my everything." He kissed her sweet lips. She sank into his kiss as their lips said the final goodbye. "Now, run from here. I don't want you to witness this."

"But..I.."

"RUN!" he growled.

Isla reached out to Ramiel. He shrugged her away, walking towards Uriel. He looked back at her, his eyes pleading with hers to obey his last wish.

Isla tear ridden in despair, took one last look at Uriel, who showed no yielding in mercy. She knew then she could not stop him. She let out an anguished scream as she turned away, hearing the sword meet flesh, and with a powerful leap, Isla scaled up to the rooftop, running far and fast from the place she once held dear.