Darque Wants (76 page)

A mischievous smile spread across Adelaide’s face. “I didn’t.” she replied.

Samson’s face nearly turned pale as he turned back to look at the cooked meat in front of him.

Adelaide laughed at this, her giggles drifting away with the evening wind. “Don’t worry. It’s cooked all the way through, I promise.”

“Yes, but what if it had rabies?”

Adelaide scoffed, enjoying this banter in spite of herself. “Why would I even touch a rabid animal?” she demanded.

Samson shrugged. “You had sex with a vampire.” He replied.

Adelaide playfully hit him on his chest as he erupted into laughter. He smiled at her, holding her hand there. This time, she let him touch her, refraining from wincing or shying away. For some reason, he just felt different. As they continued eating while watching the sun disappear behind the line of water, she couldn’t help but to think back to her parents. She wondered how they would have died, for she was almost absolutely certain that they had to have been dead. Would they have been killed in a raid, as her sister had, or simply drained lifeless? Adelaide shuddered to think that she could have been there with them; could have held their hand, listened to their last words and heard their last screams. But as soon as she thought of that, she remembered that if she had, she would have been dead, and not sitting there with Samson, on the brink of saving the world.

Once the two of them had finished their meals, they grew groggy and lay together in the sand. Samson outstretched his wings and covered Adelaide with them. She was easily engulfed in them. It was the safest she had ever felt. As she slowly drifted into a deep and consuming slumber…

“Adelaide!” she awoke to the sound of Samson hissing at her. Her eyes flipped open to the sight of the sun rising just above the ocean. Her muscles felt stiff and sore, but other than that, she felt well rested.

“Okay. I’m up.” She muttered, nudging her way out of the cover of her wings. As she sat up, she looked in the other direction, past Samson and towards the way that they had come. Rapidly approaching them like a summer storm cloud was the Shadow. “Oh fuck.” She muttered as Samson stood up. He hastily kicked sand in the fire, then scurried down to the ocean.

Adelaide followed him, reaching into the ankle-deep waves for water to splash on her face. The cold liquid helped her wake up.

“They’re coming for us.” Samson uttered in a worried voice.

“They were always coming for us.” Adelaide replied as she glanced back at the cloud.

“We don’t have very much time. God, how did they get here so fast?” he asked.

“They’re faster than us.” Adelaide replied. She could almost feel Constantine getting closer and closer. She turned and walked back up the sand.

“What are you doing?” Samson asked as he followed her.

She ducked her head, wondering what he was so confused about. They were losing time. “We need to get to Mexico.”

“Yeah, but that’s two hours of nothing but ocean, and that’s if we fly as fast as we can.” Samson protested.

“But the vampires can’t run on water. It’s the only way we can get there before they catch up with us and still have enough time to awake the king.” She argued back.

Samson looked longingly to their right, at the path they would have taken if they had had all the time in the world, but he knew that she was right, and as much as it made him uncomfortable he took off with her over the water towards the land they could barely see in the distance, leaving behind the vampire cloud and Constantine with it.

After only thirty minutes of flying, Adelaide was quickly losing steam. Her breath came slow and heavy. Her lungs hardly inflated as the oxygen filled them, and then, as she released her breaths, her abdomen screeched in pain. Her arms were so sore that it hurt just to pin them to her sides. She glared desperately at the distant land mass ahead of her. It hardly looked any closer, and yet, she could see to her right that the Shadow had extended almost half the distance they had already travelled, thus, she hardly had the time to be tired.

And yet, she was. The sun, which had been pleasantly warm only an hour ago, felt like a million knives on her skin, sweat dripped down her bare arms and her jeans felt tighter than ever. The land mass ahead of her looked blurry, and she could almost see two silhouettes instead of just one. To her right, Samson looked just fine, his wings flapping healthily around him and his arms hanging limp in front of him. How was it that he could be completely relaxed, while she was practically dying from this heat and from sheer exhaustion…?

Before she could finish that thought, she started to fall. Her wings seized up, refusing to move up and down so that she could stay in the air. With a yelp, she launched into a freefall, charging towards the ocean at an insane speed. Her heart pounded in her ears as she flailed her useless arms around her. With the water rapidly approaching from below, the sun beating down on her and wind battering her body, she found it impossible to catch her bearing and lift herself back up. She found it impossible even to breathe.

In the next moment, Samson realized what was happening and swooped down to catch her. He wrapped his strong hands around her body, lifting her back up away from the waves with ease. She adjusted herself so that she was back in the correct flight position, and made as if she was going to start flying again, but he tightened his grip. “You are not strong enough for both of us!” she yelled up at him.

“Yes I am!” He argued.

“I need to fly on my own!” Adelaide protested, but she looked up at him just in time to watch him shake his head.

“You are still recovering from Lorraine. You need to preserve your strength.”

Adelaide could not argue with this. As much as she wanted to be completely independent, the last thing she wanted to do was to take a chance that would possibly leave her too weak for her to help Samson raise the King. If that happened, Constantine would find them completely undefended and he would kill them. There is no doubt about that.

By the time they had reached the coast of the next landmass, the Shadow was nearly upon them, but just looking at the vegetation on the coast; the bright, blue waters, the lush bushes and trees, the bright flowers, they could tell that this was where the king dwelled. “He is deep within a cave.”

Adelaide stared at him with a furrowed brow.

He shrugged as he looked down at her. “At least, that’s what the elders always said.”

Adelaide raised an eyebrow as she followed him into the forest. They hiked through the dense brush, huffing at the cuts the thorn left on their ankles, and later at the tingling sensation of their bodies rushing to heal itself. “He couldn’t have just been lying in the sand?” Adelaide muttered as they began to ascend the last hill. She could see the opening of the cave just up ahead.

“Well, this explained why no one thought to do this already. They would have seen this hike and turned away immediately. Our desperation is the only thing keeping us going.” He replied.

“True.” Adelaide muttered as she reached the mouth of the cave and embraced the shade. She doubled over, struggling to catch her breath.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Samson asked, placing a reassuring hand on her back.

She nodded. “I have to be, don’t I?” replied.

He nodded, then took her hand and led her deeper into the cave. Adelaide listened to the sound of their breath echoing against the walls until they reached a dead end. There, set just at the dead end of the cave, was the king’s tomb, just like her grandmother had promised.

“But can it be this easy?” she breathed.

Samson did not answer her but grunted as he pushed the massive lid off of the tomb. A cloud of dust rose as it slammed against the ground. She rounded the tomb, her eyes wide as she stared inside of it. There the king as, lying there in a completely peaceful state. Adelaide almost felt rude awaking him like this, and yet, she could think of no other way. He was a massive angel, easily at least three feet taller than her, and although legend says that he had been dead for hundreds of years, he looked like he had merely settled down for a nap. “Incredible.” She breathed.

Samson nodded glancing straight ahead. Even from this distance, they could see that the vampires were gaining ground. It looked like the sun was beginning to set on the outside of the cave.

“We don’t have much time.” he replied as he placed both of his hands on the king’s chest.

Adelaide nodded, then rounded the tomb and cradled his head on both of her hands.

Samson adjusted his feet, then looked up at her. “Are you ready?”

Adelaide, convinced that this would somehow hurt really, really badly, just nodded at him. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Samson had already closed his eyes. “All right, don’t rush this.” he ordered as he sucked in a deep breath.

Adelaide furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry, have you actually ever resurrected an angel king before.”

Samson sighed. “I’m obvious just using common sense. Now really isn’t the time.”

Adelaide rolled her eyes. But, in spite of herself, she closed her eyes and followed his lead. With another deep breath she focused her mind on her own life force, and dispelling that force from her body. Her blood boiled hot and thick as it seeped through her veins. Her muscles burned, as if she was being set on fire from in the inside out. Tears seeped from the eyes she had squeezed shut and dripped down her flushed face. Her wings extended at full span to either side of her, colliding with Samson’s. She could feel the king growing warmer and warmer underneath her fingertips. There was a kind of tingling underneath her palms that she wanted to believe was his energy reawakening.

A short moment later, it became impossible to deny. The king seemed to be stirring underneath her. She could feel him, really feel him. He was as real as any of the other creatures she had touched, as real as Samson, who stood right next to her. But no sooner had she realized that she was starting to succeed, did it occur to her that her own body was failing. Her thoughts came in detached phrases, incoherent sounds and words that banged around in her head, never becoming anything more. Her arms started to shake uncontrollably the muscles seeming to detach themselves from the bone, her knees started to give, over and over again. She willed herself to keep standing… to keep going.

She had come so far.

She was almost there.

Almost. There.

As if shocked by a million bolts, the king rose. He shot up from the tomb, ripping away from her grip. It was as if have him there, kept her alert, but as soon as she wasn’t touching him anymore, as soon as she couldn’t feel Samson anymore. Her legs gave and she collapsed onto the stone ground….

Chapter Six.

“Oh. Look at this.”

Adelaide forced her eyes to open, but even that was too much for her to manage. She felt drained just from holding her eyes open. The king had climbed out of his tomb and was staring down at her. She could feel Samson’s hands on her torso. His eyes were bloodshot and his face wet, as if he had been crying. She cocked her head, ever so slightly, to the side. “What happened to you?”

Samson’s eyes flashed wide. “Are you kidding me? I thought you were dead.” He cried.

Adelaide’s heart soften at the sound of his worry. She reached up to hold his face in her hands. She had never been with a creature who could cry, let alone cry for her. The king was in their presence; the fabled king, and he had his back to him. He was facing her. He cared about her. “I’m right here.” She breathed. “You were crying.”

Samson took her hand in his, lifting it to his lips. He planted a kiss on the back of it.

It gave her tired body instant goosebumps.

“I thought you were gone.”

“You.”

They both looked up to see the king staring down at them. Adelaide’s heart fluttered in her chest. She couldn’t believe that she was actually looking at his magnificent body. He gazed down at her with his pink lips folded into a scowl. His long hair tumbled down his neck and back, his curls even more luscious than hers.

Samson stood up to face him. “Constantine is here. Alone.”

Adelaide gasped. “I thought we’d have more time.” she whispered as she tried her best to get on her feet.

“How is he alone? How do you know?” Samson asked.

“He came from the south. I can feel his intentions.”

“But he’s dead.” Adelaide pressed. “How do you even know?”

“Not entirely.”

“He fed.” Adelaide breathed as she turned to face the long corridor that led to the opening of the cave.

It was only a matter of time before….

“There.” The king pointed to a spot right in front of the tomb.

Before Adelaide could even register what he was saying, a blur of light, a tall body clad in dark clothing, zoomed through the corridor, coming to an abrupt stop exactly where the king had predicted. His dark red eyes went first for Adelaide, then Samson, then they widened in awe and terror at the sight of the King. “What have you done?” he demanded of Adelaide.

Samson stretched his arm across her torso, a protective gesture. She looked up at him, completely unfamiliar with being taken care of in situations such as these.

Constantine’s eyes shifted from Adelaide, to Samson and back again before a deep hiss slithered out of your mouth. “I will make you pay.”

Both and Adelaide and Samson braced for impact, lowering themselves into a defensive stance, but before Constantine could even take his first high-speed step, the king picked him up, holding him in a chokehold.

“You were foolish to have thought that you won.” He sneered as he squeezed Constantine’s neck.

The force of it gave Adelaide chills. She watched as Constantine, realizing that death was upon him, shifted his gaze from the king to her. “It’s a shame….” He croaked right before his skin began to disintegrate and he was reduced to a pile of ash and other dead matter.

Samson was the first to speak, stepping around the tomb and staring with wonder at what used to be the most powerful creature on the planet. “Incredible.”

The king simply stepped over the pile of ash, turning to summon the both of them. “Come, we have much work to do.” With that, he turned back around and made his way back through the corridor.

Adelaide made as if to follow him, but Samson grabbed her wrist, dragging her back towards him. Before she could say anything in protest, her took her in his arms and kissed her. It was the most real thing she had ever felt.

Without even turning around, the king roared, “Now is not the time.”

Adelaide and Samson were frightened into action. They scurried behind him. When they reach the mouth of the cave, the king sucked in a deep breath, stretching his arms on either side of him. His wings swung out to full span. Adelaide gasped at the pattern of gold and white feathers that had completely covered the mouth of the cave. Ahead of them, the Shadow quickly approached, but, for once, she felt safe.

Samson took her hand, and the three of them stood there, side by side, awaiting the future.

Epilogue

Adelaide took a good look around her, taking in the garden the King’s men had built around her family’s old grave. It had taken months of relentless effort to track it down until, one day, Samson and Adelaide had discovered it, in the middle of a human burial ground in what the humans would have called the southern United States. They had massive tomb stones, three on total: one for each of her parents and for her sister. The lush greenery that grew on top of where they lay was evidence enough that she had found them. Grass reaching half way up her shins formed a natural bedding, punctuated by wild flowers like honey suckles and sunflowers. There was even the odd blue bonnet.

She sat down in the grass, its soft surface seeming to embrace her, molding around her skin. “Samson, I never thought I would see this day.” She whispered.

Samson, who had been silently watching her, determined to give her the space she needed, sat down next to her, holding her hand. “I told you we would find your family, and we did.”

Adelaide could feel her eyes stinging with the promise of tears. That morning, she had woken up, the sky above her lacking the Shadow, thinking she had done all the crying she would ever do for a lifetime.

But life is long and she nearly wasted hers fighting.

She nodded. “I just didn’t realize it would be this painful.” She muttered.

“Your family is gone.” Samson replied, putting an arm around her. “How easy were you expecting this to be?”

Adelaide tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “I should have never left home. I should have stayed with them.” She replied, wondering what was so bad about being overprotected in the first place.

“You can’t tell yourself that anymore. You can’t keep beating yourself up about this.” Samson argued.

Adelaide shook her head. “Well, what the hell am I supposed to do?” she demanded. “Here they are, dead. And here I am, a war later, two lovers later, a million fights later…. Feeling just as empty as I did when I was alive.” Her voice broke in the end as she broke down into tears.

Samson rubbed his hand along her back, and rested his head on her shoulder. He was trying everything possible to calm her down. “You can’t think like that now. You were instrumental in the end of the war. Cut it however you like, but if you had never left, you wouldn’t have met Daman, or Constantine and there wouldn’t have been a truce… which means you never would have been driven to find the King.”

Adelaide’s tears poured much harder now as she was seriously reconsidering whether any of this really mattered. “But couldn’t we have won this some other way? Couldn’t we have just figured it out?” she demanded.

“Angels are pacifists. You know this better than any of them. They wouldn’t have fought without the king.”

Adelaide gritted her teeth. The whole thing was just so frustrating. “I just wish there was a way that I could just have one more day with them you know? One more real day, without all of those frustrations and all of that anger….” Adelaide was drowning in her own regret. “I was just so angry!” she cried. “And it wasn’t even that important, you know? It didn’t even matter.”

Samson wrapped his hands around her, planting a kiss on her temple. As they sat there in front of her parent’s grave, Adelaide breaking down like she hadn’t in years and Samson simply being there for her, the morning turned into afternoon. Mosquitos and bees began to swarm around their heads, drinking the nectar of the flowers. A blue Jay perched on the grave stone, almost as if it were watching them. Samson’s wings extended, then lay softly on Adelaide, wrapping her in their soft warmth.

              “It was life or death.” Samson murmured. “Adelaide, you saved the world. Now, for the first time in centuries this is a safe place for angels… and for humans. There is no Shadow, no Hell fire. You couldn’t have achieved this without a sacrifice. That is just how things work.”

              Somewhere, far in the back of her head, Adelaide knew that he was right. She knew she could not deny this truth. She knew she truly had to let go of her past. So, she looked up to Samson and said, “You’re right.”

              Samson nodded, drawing his wings back and standing up. “Now, I hate to rush this, but the Execution is in less than an hour. The king will be waiting.”

              Adelaide nodded. “You’re right,” she replied, “let’s go watch the last of them burn.”

              With that the two of them left the graveyard, and their past, behind.