Page 4 of Living Legend

She let out a loud groan before turning back to the portal, disappearing into the winding tunnel.

Ariel gestured forward. “Go on.”

The closer I got to the light, the more I realized it was actually quite blinding. There were portals to get to every realm, but unless you resided there, finding those portals or even getting someone to open one up for you wasn’t easy. Even I hadn’t seen a portal up close and personal. I stepped into the winding white wisps. Another step, another, then another.

I felt my body shift forward and a bit to the side. I felt off balance, but I was upright.

I blinked.

Suddenly, I saw blue skies and white clouds, grass, flowers,fruit. Angels soared above me, drifting, letting the wind take them up as far as their wings would take them. The trees seemed to disappear into the clouds above, giving the illusion that they went on forever.

I felt a small shove to my shoulder, forcing me to move forward to where Ariel and Elise moved down a gravel paved pathway.

“This way.” Ariel stalked toward a gate of thick marble. Behind it sat a building of multicolored stones: red, beige, and gray in various clusters around the exterior. It was acastle. The tops of each peak had symmetrical, curved, burgundy rafters, the tops built high into the clouds, much like the trees. The gates seemed to tower over all of us, and instead of serpents as the handles, wings took their place. Two bored looking angels opened the gates, letting us pass. If they had any knowledge as to why I was here, their faces revealed nothing.

“We will hold you in a room on the ground floor until we’re ready. I'm sure you know how to be on your best behavior.” Ariel glared at us with skeptical eyes.

"I think we have different ideas of best behaviors." I winked at him, and he scowled. He shook his head, grumbling something under his breath.

Heaven’s Gate: its own world from the actual Heaven above it. Two demons roaming around, handcuffs or not, was a risk. Good thing I happened to love a little risk.

Chapter Two

NICK

Iraised my sword and swung upward, meeting Reese’s sword in the middle. The clashing sound reverberated through the entire training room. I pushed forward, barreling my weight towards him as beads of sweat flung from my forehead. He bucked forward, forcing me to release my stance and fall back. I felt the cool air from the fan above through my drenched shirt, sleeves sticking to my biceps. Reese thrusted his sword towards me, assuming, as he always did, that he had the upper hand. I darted to the left, the silver tinge of the blade sliding past my abdomen.

The look of pure confusion on Reese’s face was priceless and a little daunting, as we’d practiced this sparring set up dozens of times in the last two and a half hours. Reese had complained the entire time, even though he knew that you had to make a request to even be able to use a training room on the weekends.

The walls in the training room were gray, one with a long rectangular mirror, another with a one-way window, and yet another covered in training weapons. The Skies had six training rooms, one for each floor. The Skies was a sort of general hub for all the top positions in Heaven’s Gate. It was shaped like a castle, but no royalty resided there. Reese would have opted for a lower floor with less stairs to climb, but I personally enjoyed the sixth floor, with its spectacular view of the grounds and all the messenger angels who flew above them.

I caught his right ankle with my right foot, hooking my ankle around it and lifting it off the ground, causing him to tumble forward before he could steady himself. I grabbed his sword as it flew out of his grasp. His slim body made a less than graceful thud onto the scuffed mat.

“At least you used your hands this time to brace your fall,” I laughed, “instead of your face.”

Reese only grunted in response; his face still squashed on the mat. His tumbles of blonde hair splayed out wildly around his head.

I rolled my eyes. “This is your own doing, you know.”

He pushed off the mat, bending to stretch out his back. He clasped his hands together, pulling down to stretch out his long arms. “I did everything you told me to. You must have changed something halfway, sneaky bastard.”

“No, you just don’t listen.” I tossed his sword back to him. “You, sir, have tunnel vision.”

“Tunnel what?”

I walked behind him, pointing my sword so that it was perfectly aligned and parallel to him, forcing him to lift his own sword and follow suit. “Tunnel vision. As in, you only see what’s in front of you and never look at the perimeter.”

I patted his shoulder, coming around to stand in front of him again. “Your eyes have to be everywhere, or else, you know, you could die.” I backed up, tapping the tip of my blade to his. “One more time.” I could feel the heat in my cheeks; I already knew the color of my neck matched Reese’s flushed skin. I could feel the ticking of my pulse without having to lay a finger at my neck.

Reese nodded, taking his position again.

“Fuck.”Reese slid his hands over his face as he laid on his back on the mat. I peered down at him, shaking my head, my sword inches from his throat.

“Reese, your only problem—” I started before he interrupted.

“I swear if you say tunnel vision one more God forsaking time, I’m going to strangle you in your sleep.”

I chuckled, placing the sword over my shoulder and stretching my hand out to help him up. Once he was up on his feet, we moved to re-rack our weapons.

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