Lore of the Angels Ch. 02

"Aria..." he prodded her mind. "Why are you so wet Aria?" Yes, she was leaking all over his fingers and he hasn't even entered her yet. Maybe she needed a little more encouragement...

Lifting her legs, he spread them open and held her in place; her back on the wall as the only support. Even through the sheer material of her panty, he could scent her arousal; hot, needy and hungry just like him. He drew his lips closer to his prize, pushing the material aside to take just one lick...

"Archangel..." he heard her say. Ignoring her, he gave another lick... and another... and another. He wanted her.

"Zilar..."

That caught his attention. Pulling away from her, he looked up into her strange blue-black eyes. He was about to reprimand her for shortening his name when she slapped his face. Immediately he let go of her legs and let it drop to the floor.

"How dare you!" he boomed.

"How dare you!" she yelled as she brushed her dress back into its original state. "I told you not to rape me!"

"I wasn't hurting you!" he snapped. "And you were begging for it!"

"Only because you made me beg for it!" she snapped back. "You rape me each time you force yourself into my head! Each time you make me do things I have no choice in!"

Aria felt a cold metal hand --no, it was a cuff --tighten itself around her neck. "You offered yourself first."

"But you didn't ask if I wanted whatever comes next." Her words sounded weary and resigned. "Forget it."

Zilarrezko slammed his hand over the stop button and allowed the elevator to continue its ascent. This Valkyrie was the most frustrating creature he'd ever met! Did she expect him to ask her permission for what she was clearly offering to him?

Obviously she had forgotten who he was.

When the doors opened, he grabbed her roughly by her arm and dragged her into his office. Then he threw her to the ground and Aria found both, instead of just one, of her ankles bound by his metal cuffs.

By the time she looked up; he was gone.

***

Aria hadn't seen the Archangel for close to two days now and while he'd always send someone with trays of food for her, Aria barely ate them. It wasn't a protest, she told herself. It was just so he'd come and make her eat it. She was going to learn nothing if he doesn't even bother to come and interrogate her.

The only thing she had learnt from their brief interlude was that he took offence at having his name shortened. Was Zilar an intimate name he reserved for someone? For Iluna perhaps? Aria wasn't sure if they had been lovers although when two Archangels lived literally next to each other, it was understandable that they would become friends, then lovers.

Iluna might not say it but Aria had seen it in the Archangel's eyes --she wanted Zilarrezko.

A sudden flash of red behind her snapped her out from her thoughts.

"Good morning Valkyrie."

Aria looked up at him. It was one of the Ordinals --the Fire one. There was no playfulness about him; no lavender tinted lashes or soft feathery wings. In its place were wings that did not even look solid enough for flying for they were simply flames that seemed to be eternally burning. Unlike Lucian, this angel appeared much older and bore a permanently bored expression on his face. One touch would be all it'd take to get singed.

"My name is Anthony," he announced.

Aria would have mistaken him for a robot if not for those wings. He bore no emotion and definitely no interest in his task. It was as if the Archangel had sent him to babysit her --which he probably did --and the Ordinal resented it.

"Get up," he ordered, pulling at an invisible chain on the floor. Aria knew it was invisible because when he began to pull, she felt her body following.

"Where... where are you taking me?"

He didn't reply but continued yanking the chains. Aria remained silent as they walked out of the office and down a long and quiet corridor. It suddenly dawned on her that perhaps he was going to bring her to some torture chamber! Apparently, she had been so sure of her worth that she'd thought the Archangel himself would interrogate her; not his second in command.

"Are you going to hurt me?"

He grunted and turned to look at her. Aria tried not to look away from the burning core of his irises. Just looking at him made her want to dive in the deep sea and hide. Yanking her chain once more, he opened a door on his left and dragged her in.

Aria fell with an "Oomph" as he dropped the chains on the ground. From the feel of it, it must have been something really heavy because she heard a distinctive "clang" of metal hitting hard granite. But when she moved her ankles, she felt nothing holding them down.

"You will sleep here and eat your meals," he told her in that same bored tone just before slamming the door in her face.

Aria's mouth hung open at his brash treatment. What did he mean sleep here?

Turning around, Aria noticed that there was a small bed, a table and a cupboard. Apart from that, there were no decorations or anything. Even the walls were a dull grey. However, when she pulled the curtains a side, Aria almost fell to the floor in amazement.

It was full length glass windows that made it look like there was nothing separating her from the city's skyline.

"Sneaky bastard." He knew just looking down would remind her of the time he threw her off the building!

Sighing to herself, Aria settled herself on the bed; relief tingling down her body at the promise of a soft mattress to sleep on instead of the cold hard floor. Those two days sleeping in his office had made her ache all over and while she craved for a warm shower and fresh clothes, Aria craved sleep more.

It didn't take her long to fall into a deep slumber.

***

He watched her sleep --Sometimes from outside her window and sometimes inside her room while under the cloak of Illusion.

It was nearing three days now since he last spoke to her and while he could have let Anthony grill answers out of her, Zilarrezko had to admit that whatever answers she would give were meant for his ears only.

But for now... he will let her rest.

Sneaking out, he closed the door gently and gave a nod to Lucian who had relieved Anthony from guard duty a few hours ago.

"I will brief you on a separate occasion Lucian. For now, the Valkyrie is your only concern."

"Yes Cardinal," he replied, bowing slightly as Zilarrezko made his leave.

Amongst his four Ordinals, Lucian was the youngest and less... severe in his treatment of mortals. He hasn't yet reached the age where immortality made an angel look at a mortal with nothingness in his or her eyes. It was a known fact that mortals die and emotions for a mortal only brought pain to an angel.

But Lucian has not learned that yet. His love for life and everything exciting would put Aria at ease --enough for when it was time to interrogate her.

For now, Zilarrezko needed to speak of war strategies with his other Ordinals.

Stepping into his office, he made a mental scan to ensure that there were no other spies lurking around. Satisfied that there were none, he locked the door behind him with a flick of his wrist and settled down in the chair in front of his Ordinals.

"Marcus, what have you learnt?"

Marcus, a Metallic Angel like himself, had been sent to spy on the enemy's advancement. It was risky sending an angel to recce enemy territory but unlike Iluna, Zilarrezko did not trust Valkyries. They were hired guns and not bound by loyalty. They would so swiftly turn the tide if offered more money.

"Iluna has been courting Cyrus of Europe in hopes that he would forge an alliance with her in this war."

"She still thinks that we have Yuki's Valkyries at our disposal I see..."

"Yes Cardinal... It could escalate into a massive war if you are attacked from more than one front. Perhaps we should seek a real alliance with the Snow-Water Cardinal," suggested Julia.

Zilarrezko leaned slightly in his chair and contemplated his options. "Yuki and Cyrus have shared borders for centuries and if they haven't once had a dispute, I doubt they'd both enter our fights and break that record."

"Cardinal Cyrus will not yield." This comment was said by Anthony --the man of few words.

"He might if I had called for help," said Zilarrezko wryly. "He is misogynistic that way."

His three Ordinals nodded then Julia spoke, "As instructed, I have readied the air-force troops. They have all been mobilized and simply waiting for activation."

Zilarrezko nodded. Angels may have been present since the beginning of time but that doesn't mean that they do not keep up with technology. The air-force troops were made up both Humans and Angels; one as cover for the other. He believed that if he was going to sacrifice Man, he'd made sure that at least they had a fighting chance of survival --by giving them wings of Metal that they could control with their hands. In other words, he had ordered for specially constructed aircrafts that used his own metal feathers at the core of their alloy.

"What of the Valkyrie?" asked Anthony. "Do you plan to use her?"

"Aria is a type of Valkyrie that I have never seen before and it worries me that Iluna might have developed an ability to infuse her own powers into her Valkyrie warriors."

"I have heard no such thing Cardinal," insisted Marcus.

"There will always be things that slip one's notice Marcus," said Zilarrezko patiently. "And the Archangel of Darkness has the ability to obscure one's sight when it serves her purposes."

Marcus lowered his gaze then whispered. "This war is unnecessary Cardinal... You're the only one who can stop it and you know why."

The other Ordinals stared at Marcus for his daring words then turned to Zilarrezko, half expecting him to cut off Marcus's head in fury but the Archangel simply sat in place, tapping his fingers together.

"I will not be her lover," he said simply. "And if she thinks sacrificing lives will get her what she wants then she is clearly not worthy of me."

"You have faith that we will win Cardinal?"

"Yes... because I will unclip her wings even before we can start the war."

The Ordinals looked at each other; fear transpiring between them. To clip an Archangel would lead to severe consequences. While the Cardinals would still remain immortal, those of the Ordinal classes and lower would be reduced to wingless, mortal beings... just like the Humans.

When Gaia allowed her wings to be unclipped, it sent cries of pain throughout the world as one by one the Earth angels lost their ability to fly and gained the ability to die. But those were stories in the Lore that mothers never read to their children. The Dark Ages of the Angels were not bedtime stories --even for angels.

Would Archangel Zilarrezko really be that cruel to annihilate another clan just like that?

One would never know.

***