Dreaming of the Devil

20

"Adeline!" Lucifer shouted at the same time I spun on my heel, coming to face a towering grotesque form of a beast. Large black curled horns sat across his forehead, while his mutilated face showed starvation. A kind of deep unrelenting hunger that I knew I was meant to sate. The monster had only deep pockets where its eyes should have been, and the long skeleton like hands reached out for me.

The clashing of metal on metal echoed all around me as time slowed down. I watched as Lucifer engaged in a battle against Hades, each of them holding their own. Creatures everywhere fought against the angels as the war between good and evil carried on in full force. Some of the archer angels had taken flight, their wings moving in slow motion fluttered bright against the dark sky.

Turning my attention back to the creature in front of me, I knew I'd die tonight, one way or another. My thought drifted to Thea, and I hoped she would remain safe. I wondered whether my parents would be there to greet me on the other side of wherever it is people go after they die.

Time sped up, and just as the horrible creatures fingers feathered the skin on my arm, a splattering of black blood across my face had me recoil in shock. I watched as the creature split horizontally in two, and fall apart.

A soft cry escaped me as the felt the warm liquid stick to my face and skin. My eyes snapped up to the person responsible for the slaughter of the creature and my heart stopped.

I'd seen this man before.

"Adeline" he spoke. His voice completely captivated me. I'd heard him speak before in my dreams, but it never felt like this. Something was different, and I couldn't tell if it were a good thing or not.

"Adeline I'm here to take you to safety, take my hand" he spoke, holding out his calloused palm out to me. I hesitated, and after a moment, a second angel came to land beside him. Kamara stood tall, her wings in perfect condition – Not a single feather remained missing or out of place. Her body shielded in the soldiers uniform as she grinned at me.

"Kamara?" I whispered, hardly believing she stood in front of me.

"Hello Adeline" she replied before adding, "Perhaps we could get to safety before we talk".

"Let's go" the male angel beside her ordered, authority hard in his voice. I glanced around, finding Lucifer just as he swung the end of his blade down across the back of Hades' head, rendering him unconscious. Lucifer looked up, finding me immediately before shifting to the two angels behind me.

Something akin to deadly fury crossed his face as he began to winnow toward me. Before he got the chance to reach me, I was snapped up a strong pair of arms as the male angel swooped his wings up and into the air. The pressure of moving so quickly combined with the shock of everything that had just occurred pulled me immediately into unconsciousness.

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The muffled sounds of voices echoed around me as I regained awareness. My face pressed up against something warm. Someone warm. My eyes shot open to see the male angel still holding me in his grip. A sharp inhale of breath came from the man as the world suddenly dissolved and reappeared in the middle of a strange forest, the last of the sun's rays shining through the tree branches, giving a warm glow to the bright greenery. Slipping out of his arms, I backed away slowly, not taking my eyes off his face.

"Adeline, we need to talk" the man declared. Before I realized it, I felt my soul reaching out for a different place in the world. Like a new electrical connection that had been sitting dormant all these years had finally been repaired.

"Who... Who are you?" I asked. His beautiful ocean-like eyes widened in awe as I spoke. Standing a little taller, he removed his helmet completely and bowed deeply towards me, his white wings tucking in behind him as he did. His golden hair tumbled around his shoulders.

"Adeline, I am the Archangel Michael. I have been sent to retrieve you and bring you home" he replied as his voice shot a wave of longing straight through me, so strong it made my legs shake.

"What's happening? Why do I feel like this?" I spoke, my voice wavering slightly. I felt sick, like I needed to vomit. By the look on Michael's face, I must have looked like it too. He cautiously stepped once, bringing himself a little closer to where I stood.

"There are some things I should explain to you" Michael spoke, his tone serious, and almost a little hesitant.

"I am the Old One's chosen messenger, and I am the protector of this world" he explained, stepping closer still.

"I have been given the mission of retrieving you from Lucifer, and bringing you to the kingdom of light, to the kingdom of Taevas" he said, closing the small amount of distance between us, before finally speaking five words to change the course of fate forever;

"And you are my soulmate."

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9/6/2021: The sequel to Dreaming of the Devil; 'Dancing with the Devil' is currently available to read here but please note that it is currently a work in progress and will be updated! (Updates may contain story/plot changes!)