Jaida's eyes slowly opened, her eyelids feeling like lead. She just couldn't keep them closed anymore; it felt like she had been resting for days. Once they were fully open, she blinked a few times, clearing up the blurry images before her. She could see light filtering into her somewhat dark room, but she wasn't paying attention to that. She could see the window ledge, and sitting on it were an assortment of cards, flowers, candies…and her snow globe.
She smiled as the light hit it just right, making the angel inside glow a soft golden color. She would someday have to explain to Arius what their kinds of angels were like. Maybe he would eventually be able to associate the term with something other than the monster that Lucius was. That's when it hit her. She quickly remembered what had happened, and now she knew where she was. This was a hospital. She had been shot.
Jaida found that she couldn't
She suddenly felt ashamed, knowing that when he had found her, he had probably been horrified. He hated just the sight of blood, even the smallest amount. How had it felt to see so much? How had it felt to see hers splattered everywhere? She couldn't help but feel bad about that. Arius hated the crimson liquid, his fear of it being rather strong.I hope I didn't scare him too much. It's not like I meant to bleed or anything.One had to admit that his fear was a bit strange considering what he did and how he did it. His job was to kill the angels and anyone who got in his way, and yet he feared blood. Maybe angels didn't bleed. Perhaps that's why he was able to kill them so easily. She suddenly wondered how he'd react to something as small as a paper cut. Perhaps that would also make him uncomfortable, and also…what about his own blood? Was he afraid of that as well?"You
Arius and Jaida walked out of her hospital room, Arius leading her down the hallway. He was carrying all of her things for her. The only thing she had in her hands was her snow globe. For being something so simple, she really seemed to like it. She clutched it tightly so as not to drop it. She'd cry if she did. It was so beautiful, plus it was from Arius. She had to keep it close.When they got outside, Arius and Mr. Carlson loaded the car as Jaida got into the backseat. Arius came and sat in the back with her. As soon as everything and everyone was situated, Mr. Carlson started the car and took off, hoping that he wouldn't have to see the hospital again anytime soon. They all probably felt that way. It didn't take long to get home. Even though her father had driven safely for a change, he still sped quite a bit. It was only natural. With a sporty car like his, who could resist? However, he
They ran for quite a while, making sure to keep out of sight of most people. After a while, Arius had taken to using the building tops. No one really looked up high enough to be able to see him. He was able to clear every gap between the buildings, the heights not making any difference to him. But that was Arius or you. Unfortunately, his companion wasn't at all as comfortable. "He's close," Arius stated, his eyes shifting around the area. He quickly snapped them to a rather tall industrial building. He stopped running, setting Jaida down on her feet. In one fluid motion, he spread his wings and grabbed her around the waist, being careful of her injuries. "Ready?" he asked, not wanting to startle her. As soon as she nodded, he took off into the sky, heading for the building he knew Lucius was on. The second he reached the top, his eyes met the angel's.
"What's wrong, Arius?" taunted Lucius as he made his way over. Arius was just starting to get up, but he wouldn't be able to stand before Lucius reached him. The angel was currently playing with something in his hand. He rolled what looked like a marble in his fingers. It looked like nothing more than a bead of white and green jade, but Arius knew that it was far from a simple object. "That stone…" he started, but he began coughing before he could finish. Talking obviously didn't agree with him right now as his lower abdomen began throbbing. Lucius really packed a punch in his fists."I know you've seen this before," Lucius stated. "Your precious council leader gave you one a long time ago." He tossed it up carelessly, catching it without any real effort. "However, I've discovered a better use for it. A sealing stone…they're very appealing things. Maybe your race isn't completely useless af
"Arius!" she called, getting down on her knees. She reached out, her hands trembling. She gently slid her arm under him, lifting his upper body. She held him gently, being careful of his wings. She shook him a bit, calling out to him, but he didn't respond at all. "Arius, wake up!" she called, shaking him a bit more. His head only lowered involuntarily after she stopped. "Come on Arius! You gotta wake up! Where's Lucius? Say something!" She shook him again, but still he didn't do anything to give her the assurance she needed. She wanted him to say something, to wake up, just to twitch, but he was deathly still."Arius," she began, her voice shaking a bit. "You're scaring me. Please, say something." She reached out and touched the side of his face, his skin like ice to her warm hands. "Say something…" She could feel tears coming to her eyes. "Please wake up…" She hesitantly moved her hand and placed tw
Arius still found himself falling in the darkness, unable to determine where he was heading or which way he was falling. He couldn't see anything around him, but at least he could hear things. However, all he heard was the voice of his council leader and his own. Nothing else was there, not even the sound of his heart beating. But he was dead, wasn't he? Then of course his heart wouldn't beat. If he truly was dead though, then just what kind of state was he in now? "Arius, have you figured it out yet?" the council leader, Jaron, asked him. "N-no," he answered, his voice still trembling, echoing in the empty distance. "I d-don't remember…how to b-break it. Last t-time it just…happened."There has to be someway to get outta here. Technically I'm not dead, just sealed. It's only magic."I never knew…you were so weak," said Jaron, a smil
Arius' whole body suddenly went stiff, and Jaida instantly knew why. Only one thing would cause him to freeze up like that. Lucius was nearby. He had to be. After all, he had a planet to destroy, and he probably wanted to start here. It didn't take a lot of searching to spot him. He wasn't even that far away. He was, however, pretty high up. He looked so small, his white wings being the main giveaway to his location. "He's here," stated Arius as he began to get to his hands and knees. Jaida was quickly at his side, helping him get to his feet. For now he was accepting it, probably knowing that he didn't have the balance or the stamina to get up on his own…but that would change soon. After realizing what Lucius was going to probably do, Arius managed to rediscover some of his strength. He spread his wings, stretching them just a bit. "What are you gonna do?" Jaida asked out of curiosity, but her v
Arius stopped worrying for a moment and glanced down at his companion. She looked so content when she was sleeping. She seemed to be rather comfortable right where she was, so Arius didn't plan on moving her anytime soon. He couldn't forget that she had been exhausted after coming home from the hospital, and what with the situation with Lucius, she hadn't gotten the time to sleep. She needed her rest. Besides, he didn't seem to mind much.She's so warm…it kinda feels good…holding her like this. He shook his head rigorously, wanting to squash that thought before it could escalate.What am I thinking? She's human. She's a worthless, good for nothing, insignificant, helpless…beautiful, compassionate, and amazing human being. Damn it…I just can't insult her anymore. This is so confusing. What am I supposed to do? "Arius?" he heard Jaida ask, her voice muffled by his clo
"Arius!" she shouted, watching as he straightened a bit. As he began turning slowly towards her, she began running, sprinting as fast as she could towards him. She couldn't wait to hold him, to feel his arms around her. She wanted to hear his voice again, to hear him say how much he loved her. When she finally reached him, when she was no more than a foot away, she reached out, leaned forward, closed her eyes, and…knocked him right off his feet, both of them going over the edge of the building.The first thing she felt was his arms encircling her, holding her tightly so that she wouldn't fall. The two of them were just floating in midair, and he was the only thing keeping her from falling to the Earth below. Neither one said anything at first. Jaida was crying, her arms around his waist, placed tightly and firmly against his back. She had her face buried in his chest, her small body shaking with each joy filled sob.Arius could do not
Jaida sighed for what felt like the one hundredth time that day. Each day that passed was getting harder and harder for her. She found herself exhausted most of the time. Other times she was just bored and unable to concentrate. She knew she was staring out the window, oblivious to the topic her teacher was preaching. Usually she tried to stay focused in Mr. Owens' class simply because she owed it to him. However, on a Friday such as today, concentrating always seemed harder. She just wanted the weekend to come so that she could spend some time out walking. Even if she was alone, she wanted to just be out and away from her house. There were too many things there that reminded her of how much she missed Arius. She needed to try and focus less on how sad his departure was and more on how happy she'd be to finally see him again.However, she had to admit that the thought of him being alive, the thought of him coming back was slowly slipping from her mind. It had be
"Fine," he eventually said. "I'll do it." He couldn't fight the smile that spread across his lips when he saw Jaida's face light up."Thank you!" she shouted enthusiastically. She ran and grabbed her book bag, shoving everything in quickly. She ran back and stopped before leaving his classroom. "I can't wait to tell Arius when he comes back." And with that said, she ran from his room. He just couldn't repress the smile on his face. For the first time in the past month, she had looked truly happy. She hadn't been forging the light in her eyes or the smile on her lips. She had finally meant it. Plus, in reference to Arius, she had used the proper word. She had said "when."Never. Never in all its infinite years had the universe every witnessed such a battle. The struggle had gone on for what felt like ages, each day passing as if it had been a year, full of loss and casualty. At some points it had been hard to see an end. Many had thought it w
It was another Wednesday, another day just like every other day. Jaida was finding it a lot harder to concentrate in her classes, and if she didn't do something soon, her grades would start slipping. She knew her mother couldn't afford for them to fall too far. She would have to work harder at her job, and then Jaida wouldn't get to see her as much. Now that it was just the two of them again, she enjoyed having her mother home more. It made for good company and conversation.As he went around the room and passed out papers, Mr. Owens couldn't help but spare Jaida a sad glance. She was once again staring out the window, watching the sky. She was always so zoned out by the time she got to his class, so he did his best not to draw attention to her. However, it was hard. He was worried about her to some extent. After all, she rarely spoke up in class, and she no longer stayed after to work on her homework. He wasn't sure if she did it at home or even at all, but he
One month. One full month had passed since the Earth had nearly met a very abrupt end. However, no one even knew of this. No one knew of the battle that had taken place between the angel, Lucius, and the Deslyan, Arius. The human race was incredibly oblivious, but there were two people who knew just how lucky they were to even be alive. It was all in thanks to Arius…and partially in thanks to Jaida.School had gone on normally for her to say the least. The first few days had been nothing but extreme torture, full of her fighting off tears and telling people about what had happened to Arius. Amy and Seth had tried to cheer her up, but it just hadn't been possible. When she had relayed the real story to Mr. Owens, she had broken down in tears. No one could blame her really. She had just lost someone that she loved. It was a hard pain to cope with.As the days had gone on, she had gotten a bit better. She would talk more, even laugh on s
Arius snapped his blood red eyes open and shot Lucius his most threatening glare. This was going to be it. He had to put everything he had into one massive release of pure black magic. That was the only way he'd be able to truly get rid of Lucius. He had to destroy the angel once and for all. After all, the deal had been "no retreating." Lucius couldn't run away this time. He had said it himself. One of them was going to die today."How?" Lucius asked, watching as the tendrils of black light no longer thrashed about wildly. If anything, it looked like they were under Arius' control. The Deslyan's blood red eyes were full of fire, and all of it was being directed towards him."It's over," Arius stated. "One of us will die…that's what you told me. It's time we end this once and for all." Every bit of magic radiating from him suddenly stopped moving, the winds fr
"Jaida?" he questioned, shaking her a bit. "Don't do this. You've gotta wake up." She didn't respond at all to him. She was barely breathing anymore. He bent down a bit, placing his lips to her ear. "You've gotta stay alive. If you do, I promise I'll see you again. Thank you…Jaida.""Well," began Lucius, a very edgy tone to his usually laid back voice. "I see you told her." He slowly began walking forwards, a scowl on his face. "You know the rules. Since she interfered, I'm afraid I'll have to kill her." Arius snapped his attention to the angel, a deep, hateful glare on his face. His blood red eyes were like ice as he stared down Lucius. The angel didn't seem to notice the sudden change in his adversary, because he tried approaching. He apparently thought that Arius was too drained to fight back anymore, so he reached out towards Jaida, as if he was going to take her. Needless to say, this didn't go over well with Ari
As he hit the ground, he felt his broken wing twist a bit more, and he cried out in pain. It blocked out the rest of the sensations in his body, including the way his raw and bloody chest was burning from its recent thrashing. The pain of his broken ribs stabbing into his side was long forgotten, and the taste of blood in his mouth could no longer be sensed. As he lied there, bleeding from every limb he possessed, he found that he just didn't care anymore. The pain had become so great that he felt numb. He couldn't move a single muscle. He could barely even catch his breath. This was really it. He was dying.Arius wanted to get back up, to face down Lucius once more. He wanted to glare at the angel, threaten him, to do something other than just lie here. However, he couldn't find the strength he needed. His mind was blank, every thought being drained from it as he lied there. He found that all he wanted was for this pain to
Jaida had been running for what felt like an eternity, and she still hadn't found hide or hair of Arius. She wasn't sure where to even look. There weren't that many places in the city that a battle could be held at. They obviously didn't want anyone seeing them fight, so it wouldn't be towards the populated areas. They wouldn't have gone to the park. However, they wouldn't have left the city limits either.When she reached the residential area, the place she had started from, she had to stop and catch her breath. It was time to try a new direction. She couldn't take a break for too long. She needed to find her friend. She had to find Arius before something horrible happened to him. He couldn't die; she wouldn't allow it. He had to stay alive for a little longer, at least until she could see him again. All she wanted was to see him one more time.After taking a deep b