Finding Heathcliff

Fifty-Two

"I..." Astrid muttered, feeling too confused and exhausted to explain what was on her mind, letting Azrael make the best of her nonsensical thoughts as she returned her cheek to his chest.

"You only need to rest tonight and not worry about anything. I don't know which of the fallen angels Michael will pick to accompany us, but we'll have to make our way back across Oblivis to the entrance of the pit, only angels can reach the world above directly. It will be a tiring journey."

Astrid nodded, not protesting when he lay down with her in the bed, his arms and wings never leaving her, making her feel loved and cocooned in his protective embrace. He wasn't going anywhere; that was the only thing that mattered...

She woke up alone in the bed hours later, but Azrael was at her side before she could start worrying. 

"I was going to wake you up in a minute. It's time, Michael already sent Ramiel to summon everyone. I packed your bags; you only need to wash and eat."

"Won't you get changed?" she asked, eyeing his white tunic shirt and trousers. Those clothes were the most unsuitable thing to wear for a trip across Oblivis.

He chuckled. "Just like the wings..." he said, spreading them wide, making Astrid's memories of the previous day trickle back into her mind. She bit into one of the small cakes which he had brought to her, along with a cup of tea, banishing the flashback of the morning in the Land's End cave, when it had been Orion, who had brought her breakfast. 

Azrael winced when he glimpsed that memory, wrapped in Astrid's feeling of disappointment and betrayal, but didn't comment on it, he simply continued to reply to her question, "They are magical. They'll stay forever white and pristine clean. The dress you are wearing, all the clothing belonging to fallen angels, is imbued in the same magic," he added, his seafoam eyes caressing the tight, silk and lace bodice of her black dress, making her breath hitch, scattering her previous thoughts and replacing them with images she tried, and failed, to keep to herself. She had never felt like this before, Orion had never awoken the real love and desire within her...

"I love you, Astrid," Azrael muttered, pulling away from her after a long, deep kiss, in reply to her thoughts. "We need to hurry up, though..."

"We always do," she said, pushing away from him and standing up, walking towards the bathroom. 

He reached her halfway through the chamber and spun her around to face him. "I want what you want, just as much as you do," he whispered, kissing her again. 

"Then why...?"

"There's no rush... There will be a better moment when all this is over... And your father trusts me, remember?" he added, raising his eyebrows at her, failing to suppress a smile at seeing her frown.

"I'm an adult, Azrael, I know what I want, and I'm not afraid of the consequences of my actions. And my father only happened to me yesterday..."

He pressed his finger to her lips. "You are a sixteen years old adult. Do you want me to tell you how old I am?"

She nodded, then gasped as his thoughts reached her mind. 

"Well, you don't look your age if that's any help," she said playfully, kissing him again, then continuing on her way to the bathroom as he chuckled softly behind her.

She tried to ignore the image of Azrael never growing old while she, a part human, was destined to wither and die in the course of a few dozens of years as she prepared for the journey, but even though she managed to hide it from him, the thought never left her mind entirely. 

A group of black-clad figures was already gathered in the gloomy Entry Hall of the White Tower bathed in wan, bluish light, when Astrid and Azrael arrived, holding hands. The sight of them made the fallen angels mutter and sway as they they turned to watch the couple's entrance, revealing Michael and Rigel, the two men looking different from the rest of them, in their midst. 

"Daughter," the archangel greeted as if to confirm Astrid's status, but it was obvious that the incredible piece of news had already reached the fallen angels' ears, "Azrael. Let's not waste any more time."

He must really love his Polaris, Astrid thought, skimming through the faces of the gathered company, her brows drawing into a frown as she spotted Evangeline. 

I'm sure he does, and he loves you too. Love... means so much more to angels than to humans. Michael and I have never been what you'd call friends, but I think he will be a good father, Astrid, if you give him a chance, Azrael thought. 

Astrid squeezed his hand in a silent acquiescence. She wasn't going to make her and Michael's relationship more complicated than it already was. His love of Deimos seemed great and genuine and the rest... the rest would sort itself out somehow; they would learn to be a family together.

She made a beeline for Rigel when Azrael led her into the midst of the group, hugging the young guard even as he hugged her back. Among all these people, he was the only one who belonged to her other world. Shivering at the thought, she let Azrael pull her back to him as they all started to move towards the exit. Astrid didn't feel that she belonged anywhere but at his side anymore; going back to Starling didn't feel like going home at all. But she still felt a pull to Eurovea and its inhabitants, Rigel's parents, Lady Alioth and Lord Acrux, the people living in Starling, not to mention those she cared about in her uncle's castle. She owed love and protection to them all.

Most of them are part demons. The thought that reached her mind, unmistakingly Michael's, disturbed her reverie.

And part humans, like me, she thought back while they exited the tower and walked down the rocky hill into the murky, foggy depths of Oblivis. 

Michael reached the couple and walked at their side as they followed Ramiel and Rigel, with Evangeline and Camael bringing up the rear. The group which Michael had chosen to escort them was small enough to make Astrid hope that he wanted to free Deimos in some peaceful way, she didn't think she could bear it if the archangel decided to attack the castle. 

"I have news for you," he announced as they walked through the mist, all eyes searching for the Undead, even though they were almost certain, as Azrael had told her before, that Astrid and Rigel should be as well as invisible to them, shielded by so many angels.

"You'll officially become her guardian the moment we reach the ground at Land's End, Azrael. And not just that," he added, raising his hand in the air to stop Astrid from expressing her thanks and Azrael from voicing his doubts. A guardian wasn't a guardian angel... "You'll keep all the powers belonging to the angels of death. Yes, I know it's unheard of, but I wanted that. You might need them to protect her." 

But I won't be her real guardian angel this way, Azrael thought, but Michael ignored him. The archangel had decided, there was no way of making him change his mind.

So he isn't expecting things to go smoothly, Astrid thought at the same time, looking at Michael, allowing him to read her mind. She was getting better at this. There were moments when she could shield her thoughts from the angels, all except Azrael, and she was also getting more glimpses of their unspoken conversations. 

"As I have promised to you," Michael said, his hand coming to rest on her cheek as if he was looking for any occasion to touch her, "I'll do my best to avoid bloodshed and violence. However, should Arcturus attack or provoke us, we will defend ourselves, Angelisa. Astrid."

Astrid smiled at him, letting go of Azrael's hand when he whispered, no longer able to speak in her mind this far from the White Tower, that he wished to let them speak in private. 

"I don't mind if you call me Angelisa," she offered, shrugging, then laced her arm through the archangel's as they continued walking alone, Azrael having fallen behind. The atmosphere of Oblivis was already seeping into her mind; she was feeling sad and tired, and they had only left the tower a couple of hours ago. 

It would be a long and tiresome journey, the end of which Astrid looked forward to and dreaded at the same time. Nothing was certain, nothing except her love for Azrael.