[BOOK TWO]
"Anniversaries to some are like counting the years spent doing something great, years spent together, or years spent alive." I started slowly, voice dropping to a drawl as I peeked cautiously out of my bedroom blinds, scanning the road to...
MUSIC STILL STRUNG loud and clear in the air when I had finally reentered the ballroom. Laughter rang loudly, chiming in with the music as I darted my eyes back and forth around my surroundings, searching for any sign of Dimitri. It shouldn't have been a problem, considering the air of authority in which the spirit gives off was unrivaled by any other in the room, perhaps even the world. Along with that regal sophistication in which Dimitri held in his stance and perfect posture, an air of icy cold winds followed after him, acting as an aura of sorts that protected him from the warmth. When I was met with complete and utter silence, a frown subconsciously made its way onto my features as strings of stranger after stranger entered my vision instead of a familiar face.
I huffed once, venturing towards the outer corners of the ballroom in an attempt to view the area better. It had always been the wisest thing to do; step out of the chaos to view it clearly if you wish to find a solution. And though the process was being handled with very much literally, it will still be a good way to evaluate my current situation. Though, how I wished to be able to find a familiar face, perhaps even spot Minnie dancing with her date.
"And why would you be so lonely? One might have thought that Death would've had his hands all over you by now, considering the last I've seen of you."
The blood in my system ran cold as ice when the familiar voice breathed down the nape of my neck. I could feel Lucius' chilling voice echoing loudly in my ear, and for a second all I could think of was the times Lucius had betrayed me and the rest of my friends. And through those painful moments, I thought I had also witnessed the happier days between the both of us before the world of angels and demons had reeled us into their web of lies and power game.
"My my, Addison. Did Death finally leave his precious little cargo alone?" Lucius taunted, his lips nearly kissing the little bit of skin on my neck as I inched away from his figure. "Why did you leave me alone in the forest, Addison? I did miss your company so very much."
"You did not seem to miss me when you went off with my best friend before stabbing me right in the back."
"Well, technically, I stabbed her in the back, not you," Lucius mockingly pondered.
"I see you've dropped the act, then," I stated, tilting my chin up. My eyes, however, were frantically scanning the crowd in an attempt to locate Dimitri's wildly tossed midnight dark hair once more. In fact, any of the four brothers would do for now.
Safety seemed like a far off dream that could never be reached. After all, how many others can say that they are literally in Hell, wanted by Death, and also the head of an angel rebellion?
Exactly just like I thought. None.
A small frown made its way onto Lucius' face, something in which he did not do very often back in our youth. And yet, it hung onto his features as if it had belonged there since the very second in which he was born. Sneering seemed of second nature to him, just as per any other negative emotion and expression.
"If you meant the act of treating you like a human being, trust me when I say that I've not dropped that quite yet. How did you like your memories from last year, hmm? Was it Hollywood worthy yet? I mean, I did piece them together quite beautifully."
All at once, I felt as though hands were crawling their way through my skin, digging below the layers of fiber that held my body together one by one. It clawed its way through, tearing my skin apart bit by bit though none of the harm was really on my body. Lucius toyed with my mind, allowing me to feel pain in which I had never thought existed as a scream threatened to rip from my throat. Though, no sound escaped my lips. Yet another spell in which Lucius had placed over my human body.
Human, not quite as sinful as a demon, not quite as beautiful as an angel, and not quite as powerful as the gods. How very pathetic.
Through the continuous assault Lucius brought to my mind, I could feel his own pair of hands creeping up the sides of my arms, pulling me into his embrace as we backed further and further into the shadows. When it finally consumed the both of us as it did back in Paradise when Dimitri had taken me away, I could feel the resounding pound in my head echoing louder and louder before. The silence of our surroundings only added fuel to the fire, elevating my pain into levels higher than the galaxies as I curled up slightly in Lucius' hold.
And then, it became silent all at once.
It wasn't the sort of silence as defined per the dictionary. The sounds that surrounded us were much more peaceful, much more angelic and calming. It was the usual orchestra of birds chirping, filling in the voids of the world with their beautiful melodies. The soft rustling of the long grasses added in as a backdrop, almost as if mimicking the tune in which the birds provided. The skies were bright though it had to be night time where we were back in Hell, and yet the sun tore through the crowds like a warrior charging through a field of dead bodies.
How gruesome, how ironic.
Yet, with all the beautiful greenery, I knew that the place we were in was not Paradise. The haven in between Heaven and Hell had much more luscious flora, decorating the fields with endless bounds of grass. Where the grass ended, trees continued on into tomorrow. And yet, the path we stood upon was a blinding white, decorated with even purer daisies that had a little spot of yellow down in the center. Whatever other color was present, it never overpowered the main themes of white.
Though Hell had not kept up with its reputation of a fiery burning pit of damnation, the same couldn't be said about Heaven. Other than a live choir serenading the line of the incoming souls and perhaps a dozen or so more angels flying around in the sky, the place was every bit of what I had imagined Heaven to be.
So blindingly white that it felt as if I was the one that had tainted its precious grounds.
To that, it might be true. After all, no human had been let into Heaven since all the dead go to Hell. I might be the first, living or dead, to touch the grounds of this sacred haven.
The thought of that, however, was not at all comforting.
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