Defiant Destiny Ch. 10

"Ever the romantic..." I giggled.

We ascended the last few steps and reached a platform, allowing us to gaze upon the chapel unobstructed. Even though the chapel itself wasn't very big, it was rather pompous - several huge marble pillars reaching to the roof framed the facade which was adorned with all types of curly masonry and colorful stained glass windows. The building was also bathed in an abundance of artificial light - regular street lights couldn't reach its majestic splendor due to the walls, so big spotlights were installed to ensure each and every brick was thoroughly lit. The entrance consisted of a large double door, adorned with all types of frilly, golden ornaments.

"Spared no expense..." Dante mumbled as his eyes glided over the many shiny and curly details.

"So it would seem..." I replied. I had stood at these doors too many times before, so I didn't really notice the pretentiousness of it all anymore. Besides - I had other concerns when I visited this place at the time.

"I'll stand to the side, behind that pillar," Dante suggested, gesturing to one of the thick marble columns protruding from the chapel's facade. "I don't want to be an unnecessary distraction for them."

I smiled and nodded at him, for while I was grateful he came with me, though this was something I needed to do myself.

"Alright... Here goes..." I mumbled to nobody in particular and took a deep breath before knocking on the big wooden door.

I wasn't nervous, not really. Although my heart did find it necessary to flood my blood with adrenaline. I waited for half a minute, but nothing appeared to be moving inside.

The vast silence of the night was only broken by my rapid heartbeat. I sighed in frustration and knocked a second time. Alas, no response.

"Again they ignore me..." I mumbled, unable to keep the hurt out of my voice. There was a fine line between being foolish and hopeful, and I wasn't sure which one had caused me to believe they would answer the door this time.

A soft growl sounded from behind the pillar and I saw Dante take a deep breath with closed eyes. Anger and frustration filtered through our bond.

"Fucking bastards..." I heard him mumble as he opened his eyes and pushed himself off the wall, walking up to the door with big strides. Dante clenched his fist and slammed the door with powerful punches, producing loud bangs that reverberated through the chapel like thunder. He kept pounding the now dented wood of the door, shaking it in its hinges and rattling its metal ornaments, making it very clear someone wanted the angels' attention. Within seconds I sensed all five of them approaching the door and Dante retreated back around the pillar, grumbling indignantly.

My eyes met his as he again leaned against the marble and crossed his arms in wait. His gray eyes stared hard into mine.

"I've got your back, Aurora. I'll protect you if needed," he assured me from a distance and sent me a large dose of love through our bond.

My heartbeat went through the roof - not because of the angels's impending arrival and the ensuing confrontation, but because of Dante and how he made me feel loved and protected, unconditionally.

"Thank you," I replied with a grateful smile and turned my gaze back to the big, dented door.

The sound of hurried footsteps was followed by the metallic sounds of locks being opened, and finally the wooden doors slowly swung open with loud creaking noises. Five angels appeared in the door opening, clearly displeased to see me, and marched out onto the platform with much dramatic disdain. The angels only had eyes for me, blissfully unaware of a powerful demon hiding behind them..

Five angels stepped out onto the platform. Four were clearly confused or shocked, but there was one who was visibly angry. A mixture of disgust and hatred flowed through me upon seeing her again - she was the smallest of the bunch and her poofy ethereal wings swayed lavishly with each step she took. My eyes narrowed when I gazed upon her haughty glare - her face practically dripped with disgust as her beady eyes traveled across my body and aura.

"Hello Isabel. I'm back," I greeted her, not at all bothering to hide the anger in my voice.

The object of my anger peered intently at me, then suddenly recoiled with a loud gasp, dramatically clasping her hand in front of her open mouth.

"You are tainted! You let a filthy demon claim you!" she squeaked with a theatrical loudness in her voice.

I never thought that hearing those words could bring a smile upon my face, but they did - a wicked one at that.

"I see you noticed..." I grumbled venomously.

The angels at her side all gasped and balked as if on cue.

"And here I thought you could not sink any lower!" she called out with equal venom and drama. Isabel took a deep breath, "How could you allow a foul, abominable demon to lay his hands on..."

"Abominable demon?!" I interrupted her loudly, feeling my own demonic side furiously rise up. "That demon saved me, Isabel! He protected me, loved me, unconditionally! What about abominable angels, Isabel! You and your... your sheep! You were abominable for abandoning me when I needed you!" I roared at her in my fury, my demonic side eagerly amplifying my voice with vicious growls. Never before had I been so engulfed in rage, never before had my hands trembled in sheer desire to hurt someone, never before had I longed to sink my fangs deep in her throat and violently rip it out, never had I...

Never before did I not recognize myself.

My arms fell weakly to my sides and a chill ran up my spine. What was happening to me? I closed my mouth, my breath rushing in and out through flared nostrils as I glared angrily at Isabel. I desperately willed my fangs to recede and my rationality to surpass my anger, but it sure as Hell wasn't easy to calm myself down.

"Are you alright, Aurora?" Dante asked me, but his concerned words barely registered.

I now immediately understood why Dante had to suppress his demon so often, and why it sometimes burst through his rationality - if he didn't, if I didn't - the demon would take over with dire consequences. I swallowed hard, my eyes shooting a brief worried glance at Dante. I wouldn't be me anymore if that happened.

If, after all that had happened, I still was me...

"No... I'm not..." I whispered shakily.

Hateful, scorning laughter slowly bubbled up out of Isabel's mouth, making her poofy etheric wings shake in her glee.

"Oh, Aurora... Sweet, sweet Aurora..." she chuckled with a vindictive smile, venom dripping from her voice.

"I knew you were weak... I knew that the gift of your unfairly pure soul was wasted on you. You were worthless as an angel, and I am not at all surprised you're failing as a demon..." Isabel sneered as she slowly walked over to me.

"Do you want to leave?" Dante's voice pierced the painful emotions in my mind.

Isabel's provocative words seared into my soul, hurting me where they shouldn't and I winced my eyes shut to at least barr her condescending grin from fuelling my rage any further.

"Shut up, Isabel..." I half growled, half begged her.

I realized in despair that I was not prepared for this - it was far too soon since my transformation for me to have this confrontation with Isabel - I had far too little control of these new emotions, of this new 'me'. My fury was almost spiraling out of control, violently clashing with self doubt, and my fear of giving in to this unknown side of me paralyzed me.

It was a mistake to come here.

I was not ready.

"I... I don't know what to do... I cannot..."

Isabel's footsteps drew closer.

"I was right, you know. Having you sent to Earth finally showed the others how worthless you truly are. You didn't even last a day down here without succumbing to temptation. Finally, the others saw what I knew you to be all along..." she spat angrily.

I couldn't look at her. My eyes were squeezed shut, sweat beading on my forehead to try and keep this maelstrom of emotions in check, my body trembled in fury and doubt. Isabel's breath scorched my cheek, the stench of old incense penetrating my nose.

"A vile slut!" she spat at me with all the pent up acid in her soul.

The moment her insult reached my ears I felt an unexpectedly powerful slap on my cheek, throwing me backwards and making me screech in pain.

***Dante***

For minutes on end I had been silently fuming and gritting my fangs behind the angels' backs, trying my utmost hardest not to let my anger spill over through our bond.

My demon was livid. Each one of Isabel's insults intensified his demands for her death, but as much as my claws ached to give in, as much as a dark and deep part of my soul would love to bask in her blood - I would never choose to lose my humanity and succumb to that foulest of urges - I would never kill, as tempting as it may be.

That being said, Isabel striking Aurora was something I could not tolerate without interfering.

A deeply pent up and menacing growl broke free from my chest as I dashed towards the angels. Isabel's sheepy clique didn't appear to be of any threat, but I had the feeling Isabel could be a tricky one - she was a lot stronger than she looked.

My clawed hand shot out to tightly wrap around Isabel's throat. I lifted her up by her neck and slammed her into the chapel's ornamented door, making it rattle in its hinges for the second time this evening.

Despite my surprise move, Isabel was deceptively quick and alert - she managed to pull some sort of golden dagger from her robes and raised her hand to swipe it at my throat. With a loud tearing sound my wings ripped from my back, reducing my shirt to tatters, and I slammed her wrists into the wooden door with my wings, making the dagger hit the marble floor with loud clanking noises. She may have had a trick up her sleeve, but so did I.

Isabel's eyes went wide - she clearly did not expect this - but quickly recovered and began frantically mumbling some sort of spell. I tightened my iron grip on her throat, secretly enjoying the feel of my claws sinking into the skin of her scrawny throat, and prevented her from uttering anything but strained gurgling noises.

"DEMON!!!" the angels at Isabel's side squealed in surprise. They watched me with both horror and the slightest sliver of wonder as their eyes traveled along the markings on my exposed body. The two female angels were speechless and recoiled in shock. The two male angels snapped out of whatever they were thinking and somehow managed to produce elongated swirls of bright light around their hands. Multiple strands of light quickly appeared, weaving into one another and within seconds they solidified in a golden, coiled sword made out of light.

I winced at the light's intensity. This was new. And unexpected.

I eyed them warily - their lack of apparent muscle mass did not mean they didn't have some trick on their sleeves. I did not see that coming at all and made a mental note not to readily dismiss my opponents as non-threatening again.

The males approached me, their swords glowing brightly and pointed dangerously in my general direction. I growled a deep warning, baring my fangs and let my eyes blaze fiercely in warning. The female angels had recovered from their initial shock and produced a steady stream of frantic mumbling. Within seconds some sort of shield-like bubble formed around the male angels.

Fuck. I really needed to stop underestimating my opponents.

Deciding not to underestimate Isabel, I kept her throat tightly pinned to the door with my claws, shoving her into the splinters. She was the leader of the bunch and had to be more powerful than the other four, and I had no intention of finding out what she was capable of. I pressed her wrists further into the damaged door, forcing thick jagged splinters into her skin. My claws dug deeper into her skin and I felt her warm blood steadily seep through my fingers. Her subsequent cry of pain halted the male angels' approach.

A strong, commanding voice came from behind me.

"Stop this. There is no need for this."

It was Aurora's voice. She had crawled back on her feet from Isabel smacking her and was now standing behind me. While her voice had sounded calm, her eyes told me a different story - through the blackness of her irises I saw her emotions shimmer in her eyes. Whatever it was that she was feeling, she chose not to share it with me. That didn't bode well...

Aurora approached me and gently laid her steady hand on my bare shoulder. "Please, Dante. I know you can take down these angels, but that is not what I want. Please let go of Isabel and let's just go..." Aurora pleaded with me privately.

I growled in frustration. I did not like having to let go of the trump card named Isabel when her lackeys were prowling in the background, anxious to attack.

"It's alright, Dante. I got a grip on myself again. I've learned more than I wanted. Let's just go home..." Aurora asked me and gently squeezed my shoulder, wordlessly asking me to retract my claws from Isabel's throat.

I snorted.

Fine.

But not without a very clear warning.

I looked over to Isabel, pinned painfully to the wooden door with my claws and wings. Her hair was matted from her sweat and blood, and she looked at me with large, fearful eyes. It seemed I was not the only one who underestimated my opponent this evening.

I made eye contact with her, making damn sure she saw my barely restrained demon desperately wanting to tear her apart. Slowly I moved my mouth to her ear.

"You're lucky Aurora is a forgiving woman," I growled lowly and felt Isabel tremble in my tight grasp, desperately pulling her at her wrists underneath my winged death grip.

"I'm going to let you go now, but if you so much as think of hurting her, I will show you just how gravely you underestimated me," I growled into her ear and let my power flow through me at full force, making sure she felt it. The subsequent widening of her eyes and the stench of her fear told me I had her attention.

I looked deep into her eyes, making sure she saw the promise in mine, "Touch her again, and I will tear you and your lackeys apart," I growled, loud enough for all to hear, and released Isabel from my grip. She gasped for air and slumped to the ground, weakly holding her wounded hands in front of her. I took a few steps back to stand with Aurora, allowing the other angels to tend to Isabel.

The two female angels rushed to a coughing and heaving Isabel, inspected the claw marks on her throat that started healing already and began prying the wood from her wrists as gently as they could. The males stepped in front of the women, their fiery swords still pointing in my general direction.

I was not impressed. I stood my ground, flexed my wings and stared hard at them, hearing my power crackle the air around me.

"Enough..." Isabel half wheezed, half squeaked, her voice not yet stable. "Jacob, Isaac, dissolve your weapons," she commanded the two males breathlessly while the females continued plucking the thick, wooden splinters from Isabel's bloody hands and wrists.

The two males hesitated for a second, but then the light from their swords faded and the weapons were gone though their stances remained hostile.

In response I let my power and demonic traits recede and glared at the angels - wordlessly warning them not to try anything stupid. Aurora stood beside me and placed her trembling hand on my shoulder again.

"Thank you..." she whispered privately.

My eyes shifted to Isabel's. She coughed up some blood and wiped her lips with the back of her healed hand, smearing the blood across her cheek. The splinters were removed from her wrists, and she shooed away the angels with her healed hands. The deep wounds my claws had left in her throat had started to heal, and soon the only evidence of our encounter were some pink fading lines on her neck.

Aurora looked down upon the panting angel and narrowed her eyes at Isabel.

"Let's go, Dante..." she said softly and turned around to descend the steps.

"This was a mistake..." she added privately.

I glared hard at the five angels in front of me, seeing a mixture of fear, anger, but also of wonder in their eyes as they silently gazed back at me. For a moment I felt like repeating my threat to Isabel, but her defeat was obvious and there was no glory in emphasizing it further.

I turned to watch my Aurora descend the stairs, head hanging low, slender arms tightly wrapped around her waist, clutching herself in comfort. Seeing her like this broke my heart, the angels behind me instantly forgotten.

I jumped down the stairs towards her and scooped her up in my arms, cradling her close to my chest. With a defeated thump she let her head bump against me as she hung limp in my arms. I placed a soft kiss upon her hair.

"You did well," I whispered softly, though I knew she wouldn't agree with me.

"This was a mistake..." she repeated with a broken voice, speaking so softly I could barely hear her.

I unfurled my wings and jumped high up into the night sky, not even bothering to look back at the angels residing in the chapel.

We needed to get away from that terrible place, and so I flew us to the highest building in town - some sort of corporate monstrosity, copiously lit by huge spotlights. On the roof was a tiled seating area surrounded by lush potted plants. The old smell of cigarette smoke clung to the benches.

After landing there I let my wings recede, walked us over to a bench and sat down, pulling Aurora close to me in the silence of the night. She snuggled her face against my chest, her fingers resting limply against my skin, her emotions painfully mute through our bond.

I took a deep breath, feeling Aurora's hair tickle my chest. The moon serenely shone down on us and when I looked down at my angel's face, I could see its light sparkle in the trail of tears on her cheek.

With my thumb, I softly wiped a fresh tear from her skin. Aurora shut her eyes and dug her face deeper into my chest, wiping her nose on the back of her hand.

"I don't know who I am anymore... I don't feel like an angel... Or a demon..." she mumbled weakly, fidgeting and digging her nails into her hands.

She took a few deep breaths.

"I'm feeling all these new and... and violent feelings, and... that's not me! I don't know... I... I don't recognise myself..." she mumbled and let her head sag against my chest again, her warm tears seeping down my skin.

Poor thing. Becoming part demon was not easy. Like none other I knew how it bombarded you with new feelings and urges, and how overwhelming they could be - the violence inside, separated from the world by a mere thin layer of skin.

I swallowed and looked away, for I was suddenly embarrassed at how easily I had adjusted to becoming a demon. True, the physical transformation almost killed me, but I was never this overwhelmed by that foreign urge to kill in your soul, or that vicious desire to hurt someone else.

In a strange way, having this much difficulty adjusting to her demonic nature, made her a greater person than I could ever be.

"I'm proud of you, Aurora. Very proud, in fact," I told her, feeling her scoff limply in my arms, making her body quiver softly in my lap.

"Liar," she almost inaudibly mumbled against my chest.

"I would never lie to you, my dear..." I replied with a small smile, letting my fingers trail through her hair.

Aurora's breathing became faster and deeper, her fingers clenched against my skin. Within seconds she was heaving loudly, her tears wetting my chest.