“What are you doing?” The doctor demanded. “They are dangerous. Seize him. He’ll tear our sanctuary apart.” Thehumans beside the doctor took a step forward, long sticks in their hands, which Uriel didn’t recognize.
“That’s the one who ripped Yaser from this world,” Silas said as Mason hid behind him.
Uriel glared at them as they stalked his way. The magic churned inside him, needing release. He gagged, and couldn’t fight the need to vomit anymore as a thick wad of something came up.
“Gross,” one of the humans said and jabbed at him with the stick. A jolt of pain lanced through Uriel. He shuddered and dropped to the ground. The other humans approached Silas. Uriel growled, a snarl coming from him that shook the room. Everyone froze and the magic slipped from Uriel in a wave of uncontrolled energy.
For a few seconds the world shifted and rumbled around them. Uriel had a few seconds to decide to release the magic or hold it, but could only thinkprotect them.
A raging growl howled a deafening cry. Scaled legs straddled Uriel as a large beast loomed over him, protective and fierce. Uriel continued to heave, his guts churning, from the electricity zapping through every muscle and nerve. Magic broke free from his hold and pooled into the beast above him.
“Shoot it!” The human screamed at the others. “And the male! He’s a creator. Best to snuff his power before he brings the whole building down.”
Silas and Mason crouched several feet away, keeping out of the notice of the beast. Uriel’s light above faltered as the creature stretched up and snapped it from its floating perch. Illuminated for a half second, Uriel thought it reminded him of a dragon from mortal storybooks.
The beast snarled and whipped a giant set of wings out, smashing walls and opening a hole in the ceiling. Uriel met Silas’s gaze and flicked his own upward. Telling them to escape.Silas hesitated only a moment before grabbing Mason and launching the two of them toward freedom.
Uriel shuddered as the dragon snapped at the humans, killing the guards and aiming for the doctor. He found himself not caring. Evil existed in every facet of life, best to snuff it quickly. But a mass of loud bangs erupted above him. His hearing faded to an echo and the dragon’s hot blood dripped on him.
Get away, Uriel thought as a dagger of pain erupted in his back. The dragon hesitated, swiped out another wall and jolted through it. Blood poured from Uriel, a strange, yet familiar feeling. His vision faded as he watched the doctor aim a dark bit of metal at him. The dim light illuminated a head of red hair as someone rushed to throw themselves over him.
Wade…Uriel thought with horror as the metal weapon exploded again. He fell into darkness with Wade’s weight pressing him to the floor and prayed the chatty seraph would somehow survive.
Uriel heard chatter and mentally swam through the dark of his addled mind, unable to move and drained of every ounce of strength he struggled to breathe. He opened his eyes to pitch black darkness. The room around him small, air thin and stale, the touch of old rot lingering as if it had been removed, but not cleaned properly. He couldn’t see anything, and his heart pounded at the isolation. Where was he? What about Silas and Mason? What about Wade?
Noise trickled through the thick walls to him with a muffled cadence. One of the voices stirred a longing in his gut that made him yank at the chains. They rattled, but didn’t give. He hurt, sharp and excruciating from the back of his left thigh. Dizziness brought a swirl of lights behind his eyelids.
An argument paused outside Uriel’s prison. The familiar voice raised and angry, though Uriel couldn’t understand the words. A second later a metal door screeched as it was torn away and light slammed through the tiny space, too bright. He shut his eyes, tears welling up from the burn.
Someone touched his face, gentle and careful. Was it Wade? The seraph had been very clinical about his touch. Uriel blinked through light spots and tears, and sucked in a deep breath as the musty stink of the room whispered away with a breeze and added a touch of orchids after a heavy rain.
“Uriel? Love?” The familiar voice again.
Spots blocked out the face of the one touching him, but it wasn’t Wade. Tears streamed down his cheeks, part physical pain and part grief.
“We expect you to leave,” a cold voice said from the doorway. “Take all your kind with you.”
The doctor.
Uriel snarled and tried to launch himself at the man. The chains rattled, but held firm. He wanted to howl and rage and tear the man limb from limb. He tried to pour a wave of magicintosomethingto rip him apart, but found his well of power empty.
“Shh,” the one touching him whispered, kissing Uriel’s tears away. “I’ve got you. Let me get you home and healed up.”
The spots floated to the side of his vision as they shrank and Uriel stared into a pretty face that triggered a terrible migraine instantly. “Raphael?” Uriel whispered, a thousand memories surging into place at once. He feared his head would implode as the pressure increased.
The chains snapped away, slinking free from his limbs like a reluctant snake.
Raphael ran his fingers over Uriel’s face in a gentle caress. “Rest. Heal. I’ll get you home.” The pain trickled away with the warm glow of his touch and Uriel sank into the heat, his heart battered, broken, and lost. He released the onslaught of overwhelming memories, deciding to pursue organizing them later, when he didn’t feel like someone had driven a spear through his head.
Voices came and went, some whispered, others loud and angry. All familiar. Uriel woke a few times, stumbled to the bathroom with Raphael’s help, and even drank bowls of warm broth. The ache in his leg faded, but his soul dragged. The overwhelm continued no matter how much he shoved away the memories.
He’d been a monster, hadn’t he? Devoured magic with the attempt to close fractures between worlds, but it changed him, made him a beast. What happened after that was a jumble of confusion.
He stared into an unfamiliar room, drapes closed, but light filtering through in gentle waves that made Uriel think of daylight and sunshine. Raphael treated him with the gentlest care, helping him shower, eat, use the bathroom, and returning him to rest. But the emptiness inside made him ravenous.
Raphael muttered a comment about cooking something for Uriel and vanished. The space beyond Uriel’s room silent. Where was he?
The door to his space opened and Morningstar stood in the doorway, huddled in an oversized coat, sunglasses covering his eyes. He was thinner than Uriel remembered, no less beautiful, but the cracks of his broken soul flickered through his exterior mask of perfection from the shattered energy beneath. He wasn’t whole. Had they not found the catalyst? He wouldn’t be free if they hadn’t, right?
