Angels And Demons | ✓

VIII

Soon, news of my arrival had spread all through out the castle. Whenever I was intercepted by someone they would put a comforting hand on my shoulder and tell me how sorry they were. They would then say that Vlad was a demon in true form and that he was a disgrace. I would then shrug off their comforting hand and stalk off in the opposite direction.

I sighed. People thought I was touchy over the subject of Vlad because I was ashamed by my past with him. I wasn't ashamed - my time with him had been one of the best times of my life - but I was still unsure. Ashamed? No, but alright? I couldn't answer that.

There had been a time when I had been so consumed by anger and hatred that I had wanted him dead. I still hated him but the feeling I got when I thought of him wasn't anger. It was-it was something else.

As I entered the chamber of war, I started to pay attention to my surroundings. The chamber of war was small but still large enough to accommodate fifty guardians or so. Today, we were going to discuss tactics for the upcoming war. I sighed as I took my place.

God started off by expressing his desire for the war to take place in the human realm over the hill of ashes. If it took place there, no humans should get hurt. If the battle took place in the demon realm, we would be in more danger. If it took place in the angel realm, a few demons may try to sneak off and wreak havoc somewhere else in our realm.

I hardly paid attention after the introduction but I heard it when my name was mentioned. I looked up, interested, and met the gaze of Ashe, the guardian angel of tactics. He stared at me pointedly - obviously aware of the fact that I had not been paying attention. I hung my head in embarrassment but lifted it when he called my name again.

"Mia, I was just saying that you should be the one to fight and kill Vlad." I blanched at the thought.

"What? Bu-but Why?" I stammered. God looked at me comfortingly but I hardly noticed. Ashe raised an eyebrow at my reaction.

"We were talking about different demon's strengths and weaknesses. Vlad's strength is that he is able to draw on power from the hatred of the people he fights. That is why if any of us fought him, we would be at a disadvantage since he would be more powerful."

I could see where he was going with this. "What if two of you took him on at one?" I asked softly, afraid that if I spoke too loud my voice would break.

Ashe was shaking his head even before I finished. "If he had two opponents then he would just gain strength from the two of them and still be more powerful. The only person who can fight him so that they are both equally as powerful is you."

I froze. I had known he would say that but I hadn't wanted him to. I glared at Ashe. "No." I snarled.

His eyes widened but he continued to try to convince me. "You are probably the only angel who doesn't hate Vlad. Due to your -past it is almost impossible for you to hate him because you once loved him."

A silence had fallen over the chamber as Ashe spoke and I glared at him. "You think so?" I asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

He studied me as he said, "I know that you don't hate him. You must see that you are the only one who can fight him. Will you put your fellow guardians at risk just so that you don't have to be responsible for his death?"

I blanched slightly but held his gaze. He continued. "He will die one way or another. If you kill him, it saves more time and more lives."

I slowly shook my head. "I just -can't." I said in an agonized whisper as I sat back down. "You don't understand. It's not that I still love him its just that-there is still a part of me that will never be able to hurt him because of what we shared. Please don't ask me to do this." I begged.