Page 16 of Roses for the Damned

“I had to see you, father, just one more time in case anything happened to me.” Her arms went around him once more as rivers of moisture soaked her skin. “I want you to know how much I love you and how very proud I am to have you as my father. Forgive me, if I have failed you in any way. I tried my best to be a worthy daughter.”

Thin arms went around her, his voice cracking as he shook with sorrow, “Sweet, innocent child, you are the greatest gift that God could have given me. A true angel walking amongst us mere humans. You take care of yourself, you hear me?” he pushed her away, “This old man’s time has come to an end. I will be watching you from a better place. Now, go, hurry!”

With one final look at the man that had given her life, Rose bolted from the room, running until her lungs collapsed, until her soul shriveled up, knowing that the morning would soon be upon them, and her dear father wouldn’t be alive to see the Sun rise one final time.

Ch. 11

T heir home was aflame. The fires raging with fury, eviscerating everything in their path like merciless orange beasts.

Prowling across the balustrade, Gabriel peered down, seeking for the slightest hint of an escape route for his little dove. He didn’t care about the flames. He was accustomed to them; after all, Hell was known for the endless blazing pits that sinful souls were regularly thrown into. They couldn’t hurt him. But they were deadly for Rose. A sure nail in her coffin.

“What are we going to do?” her voice reached him, the fear in it as clear as day. “Why are they doing this? They will burn the cathedral to the ground at this rate!”

She had returned from her father’s place barely an hour ago when the first fire had started. At first, Gabriel had thought it to be a simple bonfire that the homeless would start when the nights became too cold. But then another one had sprung forth, and another one, quickly turning into a ring of orange that encompassed the entirety of the building.

Suspicion clawed at him.

Gabriel had warned Rose about the possible repercussions of going to visit her father so soon after her escape from the authorities, but as expected, she had refused to listen to him and had brought the authorities straight to her hiding place instead. He couldn’t really blame her though, he was well aware that aside from Gabriel, her father was the only other person in her life that she cared about.

Shaking his head in exasperation, he finally answered her, “We have to get you out of here, Rose. It’s not safe for you.”

“What about you? I’m not leaving you here!”

“Sweet human, I will be fine. The fires cannot harm me, I am a gargoyle, my skin is as impenetrable as stone.”

Sobs shook her beautiful body. “This is all my fault! If only I had listened to you!”

Tugging her against him, he wiped away the tears, cursing the Heavens for the vile humans that had dared to make her hate herself. “This is not your fault, little dove. You didn’t set the building on fire, nor did you attack Florent. If anyone is to blame, it is me. I should have ripped him to bits when I had him in my clutches, no one would have known. You would have been safe at home, with your father, and none of this would have happened.” And I never would have fallen in love with you.

Soft lips grazed his mouth, his heart swelling with an emotion that he never thought himself possible to feel. All because of her, his very own angel on Earth.

His lips parted, tongue teasing as she opened for him, their bodies tangling around each other as if afraid they would perish without the other’s touch.

“Do not be afraid, Rose,” he whispered softly, his strong arms braced around her in a possessive manner. “I will keep you safe.”

“I know, Gabriel. I trust you.”

Wings spread around them as he scooped her up, her upper body and knees pressed against his chest as if carrying her to bed and not away from the very pits of Hell.

“We will make a new home, little dove. For home is where you are, and I would rather cease to exist than live in this world without you.”

She yelped as he jumped off the ledge, soaring into the night sky and away from the raging inferno. Moments later, they landed on hard ground, the southern wall of the cathedral the only place where the fire hadn’t yet reached.

“My, my,” a shrill voice came from the shadows, “what do we have here?”

Gabriel leaped in front of Rose, shielding her from the monster in front of them, for the man standing ten feet away was not human anymore.

Empty holes and pockets gaped in Florent’s body where large chunks of flesh should have been, a part of his scalp void of all tissue, the bone completely exposed and bare to the air around it. One half of his face was covered in scars, as if a serrated knife had been used to carve ragged lines into it. An entire fist was missing from his left arm, as if someone had yanked it out of its socket, the skin still raw and angry. It was the same hand that had struck Rose, the one that had sealed Florent’s fate.

“I should have killed you that night.”

“Yes,” Florent said, gleefully snickering, “you should have. That was your first mistake, demon. Your second mistake,” a group of men appeared behind him, torches flaring all around them, “was thinking you were safe from me. Now, hand me over Rose and we will be leaving you. The fires will be put out, you have my word.”

Rose laughed, mirroring Gabriel’s very own thoughts.

“Is there something that amuses you?” Florent asked as a crowd gathered behind him. It seemed as if the entirety of Paris had come to the streets. “Justice will finally be served tonight, you filthy whore. You will pay for what you did to me.” He took a step forward.

Lethal fangs dropped from his jaw as Gabriel roared, his already massive body growing in size as he dropped to all fours in front of Rose. His tail swung back and forth, snapping at the humans, sending them scurrying back in fright. Wings spread out, blocking their view of his precious flower. No one would touch her. He would skin them alive.

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