Chapter 6~~~ The Chase
Razakiel POV
Looking down at the happiness shinning across her usually controlled features, I feel a smile slip onto my face. After everything she has suffered and survived, I'm glad I can give her, her freedom, at least for a moment. I almost wish I could have stopped it all. I wish I could kill him. After witnessing the nightmarish memory, she was pulled into by Lucifer's sick mind… well I'm glad the demons came when they did or I would have gone after Lucifer himself rather than his little creations. That would have put a stop to our escape plans completely. I wish I could truly set her free, not just help her escape. Handing her over to the angels of heaven might not be the freedom she is looking for, even if she does want to return there herself.
"Come on we need to get out of here before more of them arrive. A lot went after Nicholas when they realized he wasn't with you so we might still have a bit more time…" I begin to explain
"They're going after Nich?" And just like that the relief and happiness is gone. Fear flashes across her face as she speaks, then it disappears as she hides her feelings once more and unconsciously shield her thoughts.
"Yes. Lucifer had some sort of alarm on you so that if anyone removed the block in your mind he would know. He thinks it was 'Nich' that removed it. Like he has the skill." I hold back the desire to roll my eyes at the thought of that incompetent child attempting to remove the block in her mind. But at least he doesn't suspect me yet, so we have a little bit more time. "He sends the demons to find you and Nicholas and bring you both back to him, so he can… ah, find out what happened." Her breathing hitches as she realizes, immediately, what Lucifer plans to do if the demons succeed.
Without thinking too much about my actions, I reach my hand down and grab hers, squeezing in reassurance that I will never let him hurt her again. I will get her out of here. She exhales, almost a sigh of relief, and grips my hand more firmly. Her gaze flickers out to mine, as I lead her out of the tunnel and for a moment as I watch her, a brief smile lifts the corner of her lips. Then I see realization break across her face. She rips her hand from my grip. Her features controlled, her eyes betraying her distrust, confusion and anger.
"We are going to find Nich, right?" She demands, racing ahead of me and placing her hand on my chest to force me to halt. I sigh in resignation. I knew she would ask. We are headed in Nich's direction now, despite the fact that I desperately want to just fly us out of this place right now. Watching the determination in her eyes and acutely aware of the distrust she still holds for me, I know I need to find him and get him out of here too. At least that way she might trust me enough to remain with me after we get out. The distant clamor of demon minds, unique in their distorted thought pattern and all-consuming urge to cause pain, makes my decision all that much easier, we need to move now, and if Luc doesn't get her way, we will be too late.
"That's where we are headed right now actually. Why do you think we're are still down here?" I explain, giving her a slight smile and urging her to keep moving. "Let's go, more demons are right behind us, so we really need to move, Luc." Deeming my response acceptable, she turns on her heel and begins moving in the direction we were heading before she brought us to a stop.
"Why don't we just fly to wherever he is?" she asks I fall into step beside her.
"Lucifer can track our flights why we're in hell, remember, its best that we don't alert him to our movements before we are ready to leave." She nods in understanding and doesn't ask any more questions, concentrated on getting to Nich as quickly as possible.
A distant growl rumbling down the tunnels after us lets me know the demons are closing in faster than I expected. As the clatter of claws on rock echoes through the walls around us, I grab Luc's hand once more and started running. I pull her along behind me, relief flooding through me when she doesn't protest m taking control and simply races after me.
I keep a watch on the multitude of demon minds chasing after us, also searching for any fallen that might be coming our way, to ensure they aren't aware that Lucifer is looking for us. I concentrate the rest of my thoughts on Nicholas's mind; he is a shield so I can't hear his thoughts but I can locate his mind and from what I can see the demons have certainly found him. He isn't too much further away. Just off the main cavern, in one of the larger tunnels. A horde of demons have him surrounded, their minds demonstrate their desperation to inflict damage but a direct command from their master holds them back, they must take him to Lucifer.
Keeping Luc close to my side, I pull us both to a stop as one of the fallen approaches, his unprotected mind tells me he isn't out on the lookout for us, but I can't have him suspecting us. I look at Luc as the fallen approaches our position, she opens her mouth to speak, a question in her eyes; she hasn't heard him yet. I hold a finger to my lips and she pauses for a moment before nodding. Hearing the clatter of the demons still following us, I take a deep breath and move us back into the center of the tunnel, still holding Luc's hand; I drag along at a steady walk.
The angel soon comes into view, I feel Luc tense beside me and my breath freezes in my chest as he gets closer. But his dark eyes, enshrouded in shadow, barely glance in our direction as he strides past, probably on some urgent errand for the devil.
We both release the captured air, held too long in our lungs, as his echoing footfalls finally disappears. Then we are racing towards Nich once more. Two turns later and a swarm of demons stand before us. Standing in their midst, poised to strike, stands Nich, his deep brown wings stretching out behind him as the danger closes in.
Confusion alights his face as he turns continuously, trying to keep them all in his line if sight. The demons stand cautiously around him, not attacking yet, almost as if they are waiting for him to make the first move. Then Luc strikes out at the demon closest to us and it is as if a switch has been flicked; every single one of them moves towards the target and the attack begins. Nich swings his blade desperately in all attempt to stave them off, but in the wide tunnel he has them coming at him from all directions, he doesn't stand a chance of getting away without help. Without another thought I cut my way through the mob of malicious miss creations.
I see Luc cut her own path to Nich not far from me, her enthralling wings flaring behind her and I attempt to move closer in her direction; I can't have her getting injured now, we still need to be able to fly out of here, but the more demons we kill, the more they notice out presence and begin to turn their violent attack on us as well as Nich.
Attempting to dance around the swinging talons and swiping claws and paying particular attention to those demons dexterous enough to wilt swords on their own, I keep my movements steady and defined. Every swing and thrust has to count and with each blow, one more demon falls at my feet and coats the floor with its fiery blood.
I glance at Luc, tells me she is fighting with more fury and agility than even me, cutting down more demons than I would have thought possible, she looks dangerous and threatening as she wields the blade and I can't help but notice that the look suits her, she is perfectly in her element and it is beautiful to watch. Just as I am about to break my gaze and move my attention back to the fight at hand, I see a glistening blade moving towards her from behind; a towering demon with only one eye left in its head, its body crooked and bent, has a blade in one hand it has left and is about to slice it straight through Luc's side.
"Luc!" Forgetting completely about my own fight I dive towards her, anger filling me as I race to stop the blade from touching her skin, she looks up just in time, stepping slightly in my direction. The blade slices down her back, her glittering silver wings disappear and pain shoots across her face as her eyes meet mine. Her legs seem to collapse right from under her and I barely make it in time to catch her before she hits the ground. We are defenseless as I lift her in my arms, looking around for a way out of this and then Nich is at my side, staving off the attacking demons as I help Luc back to her feet.
Her face is pale as she stares up at me, the fear returning to her eyes.
"Can we still get out of here, Zak?" she murmurs. Glancing around us. The demons that have been chasing us through the tunnels had arrived at some point, because the number of demons had increased despite the many we had already destroyed.
"We just have to fly out and shield each other minds as we do. I have a destination in mind…" keeping Luc behind be I help Nich fend of the demons for a moment as I explain what he needs to do to get us out of here.
"Nicholas. We are escaping. If you want to come with us there are some things you need to do. Okay?" He doesn't stop his attack, despite the confusion blooming across his face.
"You're helping her escape?" he asks, disbelief coloring his tone. "I thought you were going to wait Luc"
"Does it look like waiting is an option, Nich?" she asks, a flash of anger in her words, "We are currently being attacked by a mob of demons and Lucifer is probably not far behind them, we need to get out, we need to do it now." A small gasp escapes her as she finishes, and knowing the pain she has been through, I wonder just how bad her injury is; we might need to hurry for a completely different reason. Unable to see the damage while I fight, I decide to move things along; either Nich comes with us and help or I leave him behind, whichever he chooses, I intend to get Luc out of here before she dies of blood loss.
"Listen, we're going to fly out of here, I'll carry Luc, since I don't know whether she can fly at the moment. You need to shield mine and Luc's minds, you can do that, yes?" he nods slightly in response, "Good and I will shield you and Luc. That will prevent Lucifer from tracking us as we leave and once, we are out. Don't stop even once we are out. You understand?" he nods once more, "Hold them off for a minute." Turning to Luc, I wrap an arm around her waist, her shirt is slick with blood; I'm surprised she's still upright., but from the dazed look in her eyes, she won't be for much longer. Reaching down, I place my other arm under her legs and lift her up, holding her gently against my chest, trying not to touch the gaping wound on her back.
"I'm going to have to change our destination." I murmur mainly to myself, but from the understanding look on Nich's face, I know he heard me.
"Are we ready?" he asks.
"Yes, just put your hand on my shoulder when I say now. And remember not to stop shielding." He nods in confirmation and as he kills the next demon, I find the destination I need and prepare for flight.
"Okay, ready…" Before I could finish a tall figure strides into view, tattered black wings identifying the one person we desperately wanted to avoid. "Now" I say without any further hesitation. And as Nich place his hand on my shoulder, I fly us out of there. Lucifer's enraged eyes the last thing I see before we leave the dim shadows of hell behind.