Forgiveness For My Dark Angel: Angels of the Apocalypse # 2

8: Is There Any Benefit?

“Hey, jackass, let my Marked go now, or else.” Amy’s voice cut through my pain. I heard the impact of flesh on flesh, but the end result didn’t reach me until a few seconds later as the hand holding me tilted, starting to carry me to the ground. There was a snap behind my head just as Amy came into view in front of me, one arm wrapping around my torso to cradle me as I fell out of the Viking's clutches. I buried my face against Amy’s chest and wailed, barely noticing as he moved us away from the Viking.

“Are you ok?” Amy asked when he stopped, lowering me to the ground and crouching in front of me. I nodded weakly. “Say it Laurel, tell me you’re ok.” Amy muttered, as he searched my face and body for answers.

“I’m fine.” I mumbled, watching him wince at my scraped up palms, bruised cheek and loose clumps of hair. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth and I tried to hurriedly wipe it away before he could see, but his expression hardened and he looked back in the direction of the Viking.

“Consequences be damned, they can’t just go around harming innocent people and get away with it.” Amy stood angrily, but I grabbed his hand.

“Please don’t Amy. I provoked him. Don’t screw up your chances to go home.” I pleaded.

“Yes Amy, she deliberately provoked me. All on your behalf. Defending your honor. And hers, as it were.” The Viking’s lilting voice echoed through the trees. It felt like he was circling us.

“Amy..” I whimpered, but he took off unexpectedly, bolting into the trees to the sound of laughter from the Viking. There was crashing and snapping along with roars of rage and grunts of pain. Amy drove the Viking to the ground in front of me so quickly I barely saw it, and just as quickly, the Viking had tossed him off and into the trees and was chasing after him. I tried to get up and retreat, but the Viking was suddenly behind me.

“Uh-uh-uh.” He taunted. “This fight’s all about you. Where do you think you’re going?” He gripped me by the upper arms but Amy came out of nowhere and landed a blow to the side of his head. I was spun around as the Viking tried to retaliate with one hand and Amy tried to free me.

We weren’t both making it out of this alive, of that I was certain. As the Viking’s grip tightened on my arm to the point where I was sure he might break bone. I met Amy’s gaze. Time stood still for just a brief instant.

“I love you.” I mouthed, but Amy was already shaking his head.

“No!” Whatever you’re planning, no!” He roared as I turned slowly towards the Viking. I had no plan, I just needed to give Amy time to take him out or escape. And if that meant drawing his attention to me, then so be it. I grabbed hold of the arm holding me and twisted, sinking my teeth into the bare skin as hard and as deep as I could. So hard my jaw ached.

The Viking roared and tried to shake me off. The taste of sweetness hit my mouth. Was that his blood? It was almost sickening, but I couldn’t let go if I wanted this distraction to work, so I was forced to swallow. A bellow followed by a blow to the side of my head nearly stunned me, but I wrapped my arms tighter around the Viking’s arm, hanging on for dear life. Another blow made me dizzy and a third made my teeth ache and had me forgetting why I was doing this. But then I heard Amy’s enraged shout, and the Viking jerked. I held on even tighter, swallowing more sickeningly sweet blood, clinging to the flesh in front of me with single-minded determination. Amy. This was for Amy. I reminded myself.

My hair was pulled, but then a gurgling sound from above made me open my  eyes through the tears and pain. Amy had sharp nails and teeth dug into the Viking’s neck, clinging to his back from behind in the world’s most deadly piggy-back ride. Light and blood poured from around the wounds Amy had made and I relaxed. It was over. Amy would be safe now. Heat blasted me as fire consumed them both and I screamed around the mouthful of the Viking I still had. The Viking’s eyes rolled back in his head and his body tilted backward, being dragged down by Amy’s weight, just as I was pulled down on top of them. My jaw wrenched free with a tearing sensation that I was certain meant I’d both dislocated it and also managed to rip a large hunk of flesh from the Viking’s arm. He gurgled a protest and managed to wallop me once more, striking the side of my face where my jaw was tender even as the flames charred his flesh. I didn’t have time to scream my pain again before the world whited out with the shock of it all, and sparks danced behind my eyes, each one a pulsing protest from my nerves. Then everything went blessedly dark, and I fell into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness. Gratefully.

Soft swaying woke me up. My arm was swinging free and my head was tilted back uncomfortably. I tried to straighten up, but could only groan in pain.

“Don’t move.” Amy instructed hoarsely. “I would have healed you already, but I wanted to get us to safety first. I can’t trust our Angel friend didn’t bring or call for backup. “ My mind raced, filling in all the details. I sucked in a deep breath through my nose, I couldn’t move my jaw, it was swollen and sore. My sobs were stifled into sniffling and snorting.

“Shh. It will be ok.” The set of Amy’s own jaw was grim as I rolled my head to look up at him. He was almost as rough as I, but I could see his wounds slowly knitting back together. Too bad I didn’t have that ability. It would come in handy about now. Any glanced down  at me. His lower face was covered in blood. With his solid black eyes above it and loose strawberry blond hair blowing gently behind him as he walked, he looked like the world’s most sexy and yet terrifying vampire. “We’re almost there.” He murmured. “Can you hold out a little longer?” I tried to nod, but the swelling from my jaw had somehow worked its way into my neck too. I whimpered, closing my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see Amy’s worry. His arms tightened on me slightly.

“Don’t ever do that again because what you did was crazy, but.. You fought well, little Blossom.” Amy said softly. I cracked open my eyes. So now we were doing pet names? I must have really scared him. If the way I felt was any indication, I scared myself. I swallowed hard, holding my jaw as still as I could. I pushed words past my teeth.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I ever want to try something like that again, but Amy.. the things he said..” I don’t know if anything I said was understandable, but Amy shushed me before I could finish.

“Don’t worry about it now. I’ll keep you safe.” He promised. I let my eyes fall closed.

“Ok.” I mumbled. His slow, even pace sent me back to sleep, and I went with no objections.

The world flashed by me in snapshots and briefly remembered recordings between the blackness of unconsciousness. Amy asked me to help him remove my clothes. The feel of cool water ran over my skin. A strange glow surrounded me. Being enclosed in something that made me think of space-age tech. I think I muttered the word ‘cool’ at Amy. Being held in his arms. Feeling the piercing draw of the Mark, and again being enclosed in the strange pod thing, this time with Amy beside me. And then I woke up alone in a bed, covered in a thin sheet, the smell of fried meat, and something sweet hanging in the air. My stomach growled, and I did too, not wanting to give up my peaceful sleep. The sound of Amy’s chuckle had me opening my eyes in shock, however.

“You’re here. I’m here.” I mumbled hoarsely.

“Maybe I should put you through the healing pod one more time.” He laughed. The fragmented memories chased each other through my mind and I dimly remembered helping him undress me. With embarrassment, I peeked under the sheet to see that I was, indeed, naked. “Ah yes, sorry about that. I was trying to clean you up so I knew how much of you was actually injured, and how much was just covered in blood.” Amy grimaced. “Seems like for a brief period, because you consumed the Angel’s blood, you were actually healing on your own. But then it began to counteract with the blood I’d already mingled with yours, and you had a nasty reaction.. Well mostly your skin bled both foreign bloods out. I had to remingle ours afterwards just so the Mark wouldn’t disappear.” I closed my eyes and swallowed hard, holding up a hand.

“Please, I can’t take any more right now.” I groaned. Amy blanched.

“Yeah, sorry.. I just got kind of worried there. I wasn’t sure you’d make it, but you did! So…” He offered me a false, bright smile as he rubbed the back of his head. But I felt the tug in my chest of his emotions. The fear, the grief, the loneliness. All echoes now, but they haunted him. “Oh yeah, clothes! I um, sort of picked out some things, I hope you don’t mind. They’re in the dresser.” Why was he suddenly being so bashful? I looked towards the dresser as he pointed.

“Top drawer’s underthings, then tops, bottoms, if you let me know what you like, I can get more..” He explained, but I had stopped listening. Instead, I had zeroed in on the complicated swirl of emotions in my chest. There was pride (in caring for me?), love, care, attentiveness, this willingness to please, and then the raw blast of lust hit me. There it was. I sucked in an unsteady breath. This was why all the awkwardness. What changed? Seeing me naked? Imagining me in the underwear he provided? “Laurel?” Amy nudged me gently.

“Hmm? Yeah?” I replied distractedly.

“I said if you hurry and get dressed, I made eggs and ham.” He searched my face with worry. I smiled at him in what I hoped was a reassuring way.

“Sounds great! Tell me you have toast?” I begged. Amy tsked.

“Sorry, no toast. Just croissants. And muffins. For those that need a sugar fix.” He grinned at my moan.

“You know me so well. Now scoot so I can dress.” I instructed, pointing at the door with a smile. Amy grinned and executed a short bow.

“Milady.” He teased as he backed out of the room. I sighed, sitting up and letting the sheet drop. I really did love Amy, but I was beginning to think he might have been better off letting the Mark fade.

‘Bring us a Nephilim’ echoed faintly in my ears and I shivered. I climbed stiffly out of the bed, expecting pain, but found only exhaustion instead. That was a rather pleasant surprise. I’d take some tiredness over pain, considering..

My mind jumped back to what the Angel had said, unbidden. He wanted me to use Amy to advance their cause. My heart squeezed painfully. Amy had been right, they would do anything for their war efforts, and this was supposed to be the good side. I tugged open the underwear drawer and nearly collapsed.

It was full of lacy, sexy lingerie. I was a cotton panties girl, and Amy had picked all these out for me..?

No wonder he was having such powerfully lustful thoughts. I picked up a pair of light blue see-through lace panties and held them to my chest as I sobbed.

They wanted me to bring them an Angel/human hybrid baby. They thought Amy was a good enough soul to create a Nephilim, but not good enough to let back into Heaven. It was so wrong! My limbs were shaking, so I sank to the floor to my knees, sobbing.

“Laurel? Laurel are you alright?” Amy’s voice drew closer, but I couldn’t stop the tears long enough to warn him away. His arms wrapped around me, cradling me to his chest from behind.

“If you don’t like them, you don't have to wear them. It’s alright, I promise. I can get you some other kind..” Amy soothed softly, a note of bewilderment in his voice as he rocked us gently. That started me trying to laugh while I was crying, which created an insane mixture of sobs and exhaled, horrifying laughter, which bewildered Amy even more. He came around to kneel in front of me, holding my upper arms, thumbs rubbing gently at my skin.

“Laurel?” Amy asked. I shook my head, letting my eyes fall to my lap so I wouldn’t have to meet his gaze anymore. “Ok that’s enough of this.” Amy stood, scooping me off the floor and carrying me to the bed where he sat on the edge, with me on his lap. “No woman of mine is going to cry alone on the floor. Not when there’s two arms and a lap available to help bring her comfort.” The crazed laughter got worse.

“What if.. I’m mad.. At you?” I managed to gasp out, and Amy scoffed.

“Impossible!” He snorted, but then his voice got quiet. “Then I’ll hold you through the storm anyway until you can tell me what I did wrong.” His words touched me and made fresh tears spring to my eyes.

“You’re so good! And they.. Won’t let you back!” I sobbed. “It’s wrong. So wrong!”

“They won’t let me..?” Amy sounded confused, then suddenly stilled. “I see.” He said in a much harder voice than I’d ever heard. “So that’s how it is, huh?” Amy’s grip on me tightened.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said!” I tried to avoid getting snot on his shirt, which had to be silk or something. It was a gorgeous deep blue, rolled up to his elbows, exposing his forearms, and just the sight of him made me feel even more guilty. I felt like I was sullying him in more ways than one. And those arms, God, those arms! Had those muscles always been so defined like that? Oh my God, was I seriously getting turned on in the middle of this horrible conversation?

“Laurel?” Amy murmured softly. “You’re still nude, flower, and..” I bolted upright off his lap, afraid I may have embarrassed myself by leaving behind a wet spot on his lap. When I turned to look back, Amy’s eyes were completely black, and he was devouring me ravenously with his gaze. “Yes, why am I denying myself, if they’re not going to release me anyway?” Amy rose slowly from the bed, and I backed up, placing a hand out in front of me. I didn’t recognize this Amy, and I wasn’t sure I liked him.

“Because they want to use you to produce a Nephilim.” I answered, backing myself almost into a corner. Amy barked a harsh laugh.

“So does Stolas! And the Demon faction! They’re all trying to manipulate us, so why don’t we just build our own little army?” Amy’s chest pressed against my palm, forcing my arm to bend or break. I chose bend.

“Because I would never do that to my children.” I whispered, looking at my splayed fingers as Amy invaded even more of my personal space. Amy's hips pressed against mine, and he grabbed me to pull me against himself as he rubbed his incredibly generous erection against me.

“Nephilim aren’t really children, little Flower.” He taunted.

“Don’t.” I stated firmly, meeting his gaze for the first time since he’d gotten so close. His smile faltered only briefly.

“Don’t what, flower?”

“Don’t use that pet name when you’re like this. I don’t recognize you when you’re like this. You’re not my Amy, and you haven’t earned the right to call me that.” I slammed both palms against his chest, dropping the underwear set I had previously been clutching to my breastbone. A small exhale of air escaped him, probably mostly from surprise, but it was enough incentive for me to lean forward and shove him again.

In the back of my brain, it registered that I wouldn’t be able to move him if he chose not to go, but he stumbled back a step or two anyway. His expression became slightly confused. I felt a tightening in my chest as his emotions swarmed me. Maybe, maybe my Mark had saved me.

“But I thought..” Amy’s face solidified into a mask of rage, and he advanced on me once more. “All of those times you threw yourself at me, and now, now you deny me?” He pinned me against the wall, arms caging me in, face mere inches from mine as he breathed heavily. Here was the Demon.

“I threw myself at Amy, my Fallen Angel. The Demon I see before me does not deserve my attention.” I stated calmly. Amy’s face dissolved into a horrible mask. Rage warred with a mix of emotions I wasn’t sure I understood. This time, the fear inside me built. Fear that I’d pushed him too far, and I finally would be murdered as all those stories told about Demons. I closed my eyes and let my head hit the wall behind me. Maybe it would be better for Amy if he did kill me. Then I wouldn’t present so much of a temptation and a burden to him.

My heart hurt so much, I almost didn’t notice the shift in his own emotions in my chest. His forehead suddenly landed on my shoulder as he collapsed to his forearms on the wall beside my head.

“Get dressed. Food’s getting cold.” He mumbled, then shoved off the wall without looking at me and turned to go. Shocked, I reached out a hand and stuttered.

“W-why?” I asked. Amy’s shoulders tensed then drooped and he stopped by the door, head bowed. Still not bothering to look at me, he turned his head slightly to answer.

“The Mark goes both ways. I can feel you inside me, just as I assume you’re able to sense me. When you decide to let me have your life so I would no longer suffer, I felt it. That’s.. Not what I want.” Amy left the room and shut the door behind him. A breath of pent-up emotion escaped me as he went and I sank to the floor. A silent sob shook me as I stared at the beautiful wood grain between my hands.

“I don’t want that either Amy. But is there any other way?” I whispered to the empty room.