Page 3 of Living Legend

I rolled my eyes again. Angels and their way with words. “Pity for you, I’m sure. Now, who the fuck you are, and why are you lookingspecificallyfor me?”

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh, mumbling something about being in for a surprise. “I’m Ariel, and your presence is requested.”

I clasped my hand on my chest in feign delight, as if I’d just been asked to a royal party, blinking rapidly. Elise mimicked me before we both leaned over in a fit of laughter. “I would love to accompany you, but I’m a little busy right now.” I pointed my blade towards the bloodied man still strapped to the chair, wiping blood from my face with my free hand. His head was dipped down, his hair falling around his motionless body. He had either passed out or died from the intense blood loss. I severely hoped it was the former.

Ariel looked between us, as if he was trying to figure out the joke. “You can either come with me willingly, or we can do this forcefully.”

A threat. I wanted to laugh so hard, my stomach would hurt for days after.

I could see the steam from Elise’s nose at his threat, no laughter to be found. Her fingers pulled together into fists at her sides. I let a simmering growl leave my lips, warning her to calm down before we had bigger issues than a bold angel with a death wish.

“Where exactly am I being summoned? Limbo? The place is a bore, but I’ll go,” I countered, hoping it wasn’t Limbo, seeing as it was just an open void where the lost souls went. It’s truly a valley of unforgiving boredom. Some get trapped in limbo forever, eternally roaming, never knowing any kind of peace.

“Not quite. You are being summoned to Heaven’s Gate,” Ariel replied.

I blinked. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. It was as if the breath had left my body.

Elise spoke for me. “Heaven's Gate? That pretentious place? I honestly think it's worse than Heaven.”

One of the two sentry angels came up to Ariel’s side, holding a pair of golden handcuffs. He lingered close enough to me that I could see the sweat on his temples. Both my eyebrows raised as I assessed the cuffs. Magic dampening handcuffs.

“If you wanted to play, all you had to do was ask.” I stuck my tongue between my teeth and reached my hand out to smooth down his cheek. He brushed it off, muttering something about demon females, but there was a spark in his eye that went away just as quickly as it appeared.

“What is this all about?” I questioned, curiosity creeping up as I looked past the sentry and locked eyes with Ariel.

“I cannot discuss that here,” he said with striking authority. Ah, so he was someone of influence back in angel land.

I eyed the handcuffs again. “I have to wear those?”

“For protection,” he answered sternly.

Elise whipped her head towards him so quickly, her chin length hair swished from side to side. “We all know the only thing those cuffs do is protect you pricks from ourdangerousmagic.”

The tension grew thick, so suffocatingly thick that I had to break it before more blood spilled. My curiosity was peaked at seeing how the other half lived. I was a moth to a flame -- something inside me was pushing me to go, so I went with my gut, but not without a contingency plan. “I’ll wear the cuffs and go with you, but I have one request.”

“I’m not at liberty to grant requests for...demons.” He had to chew on the word a minute before he spit it out.

I pretended to ponder his response for a moment, flipping my weapon to tap the pommel on my chin before I responded. “You either honor my request, or I remain here. We both know what will happen if you try to take me.” I gestured to in the demons in the stands above, hungry for the bloodshed Ariel stole from them. “I don’t think they appreciated you dropping in unannounced.”

Ariel pretended to fix his stark teal suit collar with a shaky hand, letting out an exasperated sigh. “What is your request?”

“Elise comes with me. Take it or leave it.” I nodded towards her.

His eyes narrowed. “That’s your request? To bring your ill-mannered friend?”

“Fuck off,” Elise spat back, lifting her middle finger. I nodded as an answer. Ariel looked back to quickly confer with his comrades, granting me the opportunity to flip my blade silently and swiftly into a more compact size, sliding it into the pocket of my shorts. The cuffs had no jurisdiction on magic that had already been done.

The third angel remained in the back shadows, and now rounded to Ariel’s side with another set of handcuffs. Elise and I laid out our wrists, about to be trapped in angelic magic. I felt myself settle the moment they locked into place; there were no longer a million whispers in my mind.

I turned around towards the crowd, hunger and waiting still clear on their faces. “He can be your reward for your patience.” I motioned towards Luke’s limp body and watched as the demons descended to his chair and encircled him in a massive swarm.

“I fucking hate you for this,” Elise stated as we walked behind the angels towards the light, which I now recognized as a portal.

“Aren’t you the least bit curious about how the other half lives?”

Elise turned around right in front of the portal. Ariel crossed his arms, clearly irritated with us already. “No, Dani, I’m really fucking not.”

“You could have told me to eat shit and go by myself,” I pointed out.

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