Michael^^ just imagine him with blond hair and green eyes and you are set. (He even has the latin cross)
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"It was as dark as the soldier's own box."
-The Tin Soldier in the gutter.
Brother. Brother. Brother. Brother...
No matter how many times I repeated that in my head I still couldn't grasp the meaning of it. Michael was at my side in an instant, hugging me close and shooting daggers with his eyes at Kaien.
If Kaien was Michael's brother, that meant that Kaien was also an archangel, but how could that be? If he was truly an archangel the news of his drop would have been announced to the whole population of Celestiel, because loosing an archangel affected all of the Seven Kingdoms.
My head was being bombarded with questions, but the one who stood out most was: what had Kaien done to deserve falling?
"Kaien?"
He knew what I was going to ask, he replied simply with, "Ask him." He said while making a quick movement with his chin towards Michael.
I pushed myself away from Michael and looked at him in the eye. "Michael?"
Now he looked confused. While Kaien looked determined and seemed almost...content? Michael frowned but soon rage took over.
"You want me to tell her? How you left? You are a deserter. You left and no one knew where you were until Raphael saw you on the surface with some...girl."
It was Kaien's turn to look confused and gobsmacked. "I deserted? Where did you come up with that lie!" Kaien roared, power radiating off him in heated waves. That was when I felt the extent of his powers. He was as strong as Michael, maybe even stronger.
"You and your brothers took me in my sleep and dropped me! You tell me I deserted when all I did to deserve falling was being born!" At this point Kaien was panting with rage. He soon saw me looking at him and he turned his head hastily. I frowned, did he think I feared him?
"What does he mean by that Michael?"
Michael was stammering, "I-I don't-" He took a second to cough and his eyes softened, his gaze dropped. "I didn't drop you Kaien. I don't think I or our brothers did."
Kaien took a step forward, making Michael flinch a little. He was taller than him by a few inches.
"Tell me how dragging me all the way from my chambers to the gates and pushing me over isn't DROPPING ME!"
"It's the-the-" Michael seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't. He looked like he was having an internal war with himself and soon I grew worried by the strain in his face.
"Michael, stop whatever you're doing. You're hurting yourself!"
He shook his head and then held it between his hands. He finally relaxed. "Bring me a pencil and paper." He breathed out.
Kaien had a thoughtful expression on, like he was examining Michael. Seeing as he wasn't moving I went to search for paper and a pencil. I found what looked like an office and found what I needed.
I grabbed a pencil from the office table and quickly rushed back into the living room where both brothers-it felt strange acknowledging them as so- sat on opposite sofas, both looking away from each other.
The tension between them told me they had argued in the small amount of time I was gone.
"Hey, I brought what you needed." Michael nodded and took the paper and pencil. His wrist moved graciously as the pencil glided onto the paper smoothly.
Halfway through his first line Michael's forehead scrunched in concentration. He was struggling again, but one look from Kaien told me that I should leave him be.
Slowly the lines took form into a figure, the figure had now a head and later a body.
It was a symbol.
Kaien's face drained of color and Michael stared at the painting with a scowl. It was a serpent with it's lower body forming an infinity sign and then it's tail connecting to a star. It had a crown sitting on top of its head. After a while I realized that the crown was the Angel Crown.
"The Serpents Order," Kaien whispered, "that's why he can't talk, they have put a Locking spell on him." Determination seeped into his eyes and stance.
"I know someone who can help."
***
"The gutters? Really?"
I stepped over what I think was a dead rat's body and continued on, refusing to look down.
Kaien walked in front of me while Michael walked besides me.
"I can carry you if you want." At Michael's words, Kaien's back tensed and his pace slowed down a little.
I frowned at Kaien's actions. Each time Michael got close to me he got tense and all closed up. This side of him was so different to the one I met in the motel.
"No, it's all right. I can walk."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Kaien threw a look over his shoulder, "We are almost there."
Our footsteps echoed in the tunnels, the only sound apart from the soft 'splat' of water dripping onto the cement floor.
The tunnels were dark, even with our heightened senses I could barely see where my feet landed, and by the looks of it. Michael and Kaien were having problems too.
I hadn't dug further into their past, fearing it would backlash, but I was curious. They were the first beings created by the Gods and now I realised they looked almost identical compared to how Raphael and the rest of the archangels looked.
"Are you two twins?"
"Yes." They both said in unison. Which put me in between their glare at each other.
After a minute of this Kaien resumed his stride and I didn't realize we had met a dead end until my front crashed into Kaien's back. I would have fallen if it wasn't for his quick reflexes.
He held me in his arms and frowned before he pushed me away from him.
Before I could say anything he placed his hands against the dead end's wall and chanted words that I recognized as Theban, the Witches' language.
The stone wall emitted a sound, like a low rumble. The wall seemed to light up with blue vein-like lines and words from the Theban alphabet. Then it dimmed.
"Is something supposed to-"
Then the wall shone again. This time white and it was brighter than before. Michael and I covered our eyes with our elbows while Kaien just looked straight ahead.
The stone wall's veins were a tangled mess. There were circles and triangles and the jumbled Theban words. But there were two lines than ran parallel to each other in the middle of the wall. The stone cracked in between them and then there was a roar as the heavy stone walls separated and opened into a dark room.
Kaien stepped through and I followed but was stopped by Michael.
"Stay back O the last thing Celestiel needs is you getting hurt."
I put my hands to my hips and narrowed my eyes at Michael.
"You just don't want me to hear what you will say."
"How did you kn-"
I waved a hand and then opened my eyes wide looking behind Michael. His stance change into a fighting position and he turned to see the threat and I took that opportunity to run into the darkness chuckling at how easy it was to fool Michael.
From behind I hear Michael mutter to himself, "Only you O."
I smile to myself as I skip further into the dark. I walk for a few minutes and then resume to a walk, and just when I was about to shout for Michael or Kaien I stepped into a well lit room. It was like I was never in the dark in the first place.
Kaien was already in the room and soon Michael stumbled into it.
"Good, you didn't loose yourself," Kaien told Michael and he scoffed.
"From now on I talk. This witch is not a normal one, she can be...a bit demanding. So stay quiet and she will help."
I nodded. Michael stayed quiet, which Kaien took as a yes.
He chanted some words over and over again. "aperi Libane angeli Domini, aperi Libane angeli Domini, aperi Libane angeli Domini!"
There was the roar and then the floor gave away and fell off. Literally fell off and then we were falling with the flying stone and dust.
I tried opening my wings but then realized I couldn't in such a confined space.
I was grateful for the Gods that I wasn't wearing one of those horrendous gowns or dresses, because the twins had fallen before me and were looking up, trying to get to me.
It was Kaien who used the stone walls to propel himself forward and he wove a hand around my waist and held me close to him. I could see the floor and waited for the impact, but it never came.
I opened my eyes to find myself face to face with a woman in her twenties. She was beautiful. Long and curly black hair with ice-blue eyes that changed to green when she moved her hands in time with her chants.
Her chanting slowed and then we landed softly on the ground. I had not noticed the tingles on my body from where Kaien was touching me when we were falling, but given his reaction he had noticed right when landed and he pushed me away once again.
The witch gave us one look. Each of us she scrutinized and then she smirked and chuckled.
"Oh you people. Hilarious how you are all so oblivious. Anyways, I have been waiting for you. Kaien dear how are you doing? Haven't seen you in decades! Oh, Michael, or should I call you Saint Michael the archangel? You were the one who chained Lucifer to Hell. An idol, such an idol."
"We didn't come here for your adoration Maritiae, we came because you once told me you unlocked someone from the Locking spell."
"Ahh yesyes. I saw an angel that refused to answer me and I figured out he had the Lock. It was pretty painful...for him." With that she grinned evilly and I frowned. What kind of witch was allowed to pain an angel?
Maritiae saw my face and giggled. "Oh don't worry dear, he was fallen and already broken. I gave him freedom of speech if that soothes your kind mind."
My eyes widened and she giggled more. Besides me Michael growled, probably thinking she was disrespecting me.
"Oh Mickey, don't be so animalistic. I was just making conversation. Now, tell me what you have come for I have other matters to attend to urgently."
"We need you to unlock Michael."
She grinned and raised her eyebrows. Then cackled with laughter. "YOU! An archangel? On the Serpents Order? Wow, you angels never cease to amaze me. No doubt thats why the humans decided to write about you so much in the Bible when us witches weren't even recognized as such powerful beings we are.
"Well you can't change the past. You can only twist the future to your ways..." She licked her teeth and waved us over what looked like a table full of old tattered books and stacks of blank old paper.
"Lets see. Unlocking spell..." She used her hands to move her books around, each of them stopping before her and moving onto a stack as she shook her head at them.
"Taming spells...no...the history of the dark arts...oops you weren't supposed to see that...hmmm...where did I...AHA!"
She dropped her spell as she grabbed the small leather-bound book in front of her and slapped it with her left hand.
"The Ever-Powerful Unlocking book of the Unlocking Spell!" She turned towards us and flipped the book open.
"Let us see, let us see." But the book was blank, there weren't any writings on it. Then the witch started chanting again, softly and closing her eyes while placing her fingers on the blank pages, lifting her palm so it would not touch the paper.
"Videamus nos videamus quid celare quae scribat. ostende te oculi tui. Ostende te!" She lifted her fingers and horizontal lines of writing slowly seemed to paint themselves in the yellowed pages. It was all in Theban, a language written but not speaken, because Theban speaken was latin.
"Come here pretty boy." Maritiae pointed at Michael and then the other table in the room. On which a purple table cloth was drapped over the wooden surface and candles surrounded the table, dangerously close.
There were restrains besides the table and on the edge of it.
I instantly panicked. "Michael, you don't have to do this."
"It's okay O, I've been through worse." He grinned reassuringly but his eyes held fear.
Maritiae grinned at us and I frowned again. It reminded me of the look Queen Merlissay gave us in the Valerian Fields.
"Let us start then," the witch said eagerly as Michael laid down on the low table and the witch slapped the restrains on his wrists and ankles. Then she produced a leather belt in her hand which she strapped under the table and around Michael's waist. And then, she went on to gag him.
"No!" I jumped forward and Michael threw a relieved expression my way. "No gags...please." The witch smirked knowingly and then threw the gag into the air, where it vanished into thin powder.
"I'm not going to lie," the witch sighed, feigning care. "This is going to hurt like a bitch." Then her eyes shone gleefully as her hands moved and green flame-like lines followed her movements.
"Hello pain."
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We are going in with the fantasyyy.
This chapter now I realise, is so long. 2300 words is a lot. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and let's see what secrets we can squeeze out from Michael in the next chapter.
I also have the cliffhanger ready. Not really a cliffhanger, but a shock and an "Ahhh now I understand" moment for you readers.
I also have ready the ending and I'm so excited to share it with you guys, but for that I need support, votes and comments to keep going! Shareshareshare and I will really appreciate it. Sequels could even be written if my book has enough reads. (WE GOT INTO THE HUNDRED CLUB)
Seriously, when I came up with the ending I was so heartbroken that I almost cried, but I got to keep going.
So plz don't be a ghost viewer and vote and comment! <3
Thank youu.
Xx. LuciaSuiz