Chapter 7~~~ Hideout
Luc's POV
I let my eyes fall as Zak takes flight, leaning my spinning head against his firm chest and concentrating on the soft thump of his heart to avoid thinking of the searing heat, flaring across my back. It is only moments later that I feel the ground meet Zak's feet as we come to land wherever it is that he decided we should go. I want to tell him to ley me down, he shouldn't be holding me like this, we may be working together but we're still enemies, I still don't trust him, and this position is way too intimate, his way too gentle and soothing on my skin. Opening my eyes, I'm about to voice my protest at being carried but nausea runs through me and I snap my eyes shut. Pressing my back into his chest, I force the dizziness back.
It feels like my head has been stuffed with cotton wool and it's difficult to concentrate, but I desperately need to stay conscious. Who know what would happen if I was unconscious, he could take me everywhere; maybe even back to Lucifer despite what he said about despising the Devil. Sure, Nich is here, but somehow, I doubt that Nich could take on a powerful angel who had bested even me, and come out on top. Especially considering I am a much deadlier fighter than Nich could ever be and Zak still managed to subdue me and without raising a sweat.
"Why are we in the woods?" Nich's voice breaks through the haze beginning to cloud my mind and force my brain to pay attention his words. "I thought we were going to take her to a hospital or something. Are you trying to kill her? Didn't you see all the blood she lost? The amount of blood she is still losing?" Well that explains the dizziness and deathly exhaustion spreading through my limbs; severe blood loss was common during Lucifer's torture. Staying awake and aware of my surroundings was difficult, but practice makes perfect… and I've heard a fair bit of practice. Concertation is key. And concentrating something other than the spreading numbness. Usually its thoughts of revenge that get me through but for now I focus on the words escaping the two men beside me, trying to maintain their meaning.
"This is as close as I could get us to the doctor. Now let's get a move on before it's too late." His voice almost sounds worried in my confused state, but I shrug it off, maintaining my attempt to concentrate on their words. A slight whimper escapes my lips as Zak begins moving us forward again and I almost growl at myself for the demonstration of weakness, of helplessness. "I'm sorry Luc." He whispers in my ear, evening out his strides so he doesn't jolt my back again, "You're going to be okay. We are almost there I promise." I want to throw myself out of his arms and force my weak body to carry itself just to prove I don't need his help, but the fog in my brain hinders my thoughts. Taking a deep calming breath, I focus on the pain to stop the creeping numbness and push firmly against his chest.
"Why did we have to land so far away?" Nich questions, making no efforts to hide the anger clear in his voice and momentarily distracting me from my attempts to get down.
"There's a shield around the house, it prevents anything supernatural from flying in and alerts the residents when one of our kinds crosses it. Its slightly wider than I thought it would be though, maybe she got stronger since the last time Ahreal visited." He murmurs the last part quietly, almost to himself, but his lips are above my ear I hear his words easily, wondering for a moment who Ahreal is; the name rings a bell in the back of my mind, but I can't determine the cause of my recognition through the haze. Storing the name away for later, I return my attention to the pain in my back and push more firmly against Zak's solid chest.
"Let me down." I say, attempting to make my voice strong and unyielding.
"Luc, you can't walk; you're losing too much blood as it is. I'm trying to stop it from bleeding too much by keeping you still, moving will only make it worse. We are almost there. Trust me."
"I don't care. I don't trust you. Let me down." I push harder this time. Causing a jolt to run through him and I work hard to run a neutral expression as the pain explodes through my body once again.
"At least let Nicholas carry you." He replies thinking I simply don't want him to carry me.
"Yeah, Luc. Come on I…"
"No. let. Me. Down." I cut off Nich's words and feel Zak hesitate in his stride before he continuous to move forward. "Now". I growl almost throwing myself out of his arms completely this time and with a defeated sigh he stops walking and sets me on my feet. Schooling my expression from the pain and fear as I feel blood tickling down the skin on my back, I make my shaking legs hold me up and carry me forward. Ignoring both Zak and Nich as they continue to voice their concern. Their hands hover around me, just waiting for me to fall helplessly on the ground. Little do they know I've travelled long distances in more pain and with worse injuries than this and I will walk all the way to this doctor, whoever it is, without assistance, no matter how far we have to go.
"I thought we were in a hurry?" I managed to spit out through clenched teeth, releasing a deep breath as I finish and continue leading the way in what I hope is the right direction, considering I still have no idea where we are going. "And what is stopping Lucifer from following us here? I might have been imagining things but I swear I saw him arrive just as we took off." I continue turning my head to glance at Zak as he strides steadily alongside me, his eyes trained on my every movement. A flare shoots up my neck before sending fire raising from my shoulder down my hip the muscles in my back withing, pretending my sharp intake of breath didn't happen, I slowly turn my head back to the front, hoping that desperately neither of them noticed the pain that a simple head turn caused me. Keeping my stride steady, I decide not to move anymore that absolutely necessarily for the rest of the journey.
"Are you sure…" Nich begins before Zak cuts him off and I can't bring myself to be angry at Zak for talking over my best friend; especially when he answers my question rather than continuing to ask about my health.
"Lucifer can't leave the confines of hell. Our heavenly father banished him from not only heaven but earth as well. He has no way of following us, he can send his demons up here, but they require human host to move around up here as you can see, we are in the middle of the forest so there aren't a lot of host for them to occupy." Listening to his deep alluring voice, I sift through what he is saying, trying to understand why there is a niggling feeling at the back of my mind telling me that he is wrong or lying. Then I remember.
"You're are lying. Lucifer came here to get me after the fall, only a couple of days ago if you remember. Nich was there, he saw him" I say, keeping my head as still as possible as I speak. Nich nods in agreement to my words.
"Yes. But majority of the angels, as you know, have one gift or another; I'm a shield and a reader, Nich is a shield, even though he is a poor one, you are a number of different things, some of which I am not entirely sure about yet. And before you interrupt and ask, I'm not going to tell you any of that until we get to the doctor and I know you are going to be fine, okay?" He asks just before I could do what he predicted I would ask what my gifts are and exactly how many I have. I almost nod my head in acceptance, before remembering my 'no unnecessary movements' rule, and give slight humph of agreement. "Good. So just like, Lucifer has a gift, his is projection; he can send an image of himself anywhere he wants, he can see through its eyes and speak through it, but he cants physically touch anything. What you saw was one of those, I know because I was in the same room as Lucifer when he sends one to where you were hiding."
"I wasn't hiding." I snap at him, forgetting my injured state for a moment, and turn to hit him; no longer concentrating on my shaky legs, they seem to forget what their purpose in life is and give up beneath me. Before I could even begin to fall, two sets of hands grab my arms and keep me on my feet. Ignoring the smug look on Zak's face, like I have just proven that I am not incapable of getting myself anywhere without his help, I turn to Nich and give him a slight smile of thanks, moving slightly closer to him in order to escape Zak's hands which are still latched onto my arm.
Once I've gotten both of them to release me, I stride forward once more, keeping a few distance between us. Looking up from concentrating avoiding any rocks or roots waiting to trip my unsuspecting feet, I finally see what we are heading for. A small cottage sits in the distance; two stories high, the apex of the roof sits just below the highest branches that stretch overhead, the greying timber walls blending nicely with surrounding forest. As I take in the sight before me, I see a slim figure move through the open doorway, fiery red hair falling perfectly straight to about halfway down her back, she looks about 25, though she is an angel she could be any number years old.
I hesitate about 10m from her and wait for Zak to take the lead when I catch sight of the steely glare her smoky grey eyes are sending my way.
"Carli?" Zak ask, stepping up in front of me, while Nich stands by my side, "I told John we were coming." The girl Carli remains silent for a long moment, just starring at the tall, dark figure standing before her in the early morning light, until a broad grin sweeps across her face, leaving me to stare at the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I see Nich go still besides me and I know he is thinking the same thing and for a moment I wish I could elicit that sort of reaction from the two guys with me. Then I shake the thought from my mind, reprimanding myself for the ridiculous and selfish thoughts.
"Razakiel?" The red head shrieks, her bright, grey eyes wide and her grin growing even further as she rushes towards the stock-still angel in front of me and throws herself into his arms. "We haven't seen you in forever Razzie! We were starting to think you didn't make out of the fall alive."
"Carli we can talk later, right now Luc's badly injured and I need John to take a look at it." The happiness in her eyes fades away quickly, worry overtaking it, as she turns her attention to me.
"You're Luc?" She asks in my direction, taking in my pale face and slightly shivering frame, she doesn't even wait for an answer before returning to the dim interior of the cottage, "Bring her in." she calls back through the door way before disappearing within. Zak turns to face me and moves back to my side holding an arm out in question, this time I only hesitate for a moment before leaning towards him and leaning on him as we move towards the cottage.
Nich slips his hands into mine before we move through the door and squeezes it gently, reassuring me that he was with me; he wouldn't let anything happen. And despite the knowledge that there was a little he could do if these people were on Lucifer's side, a quiet sigh of relief left me at the knowledge that the one person trusted most was standing by my side.