I stood still as I took in the sight of the large room around me. The crystal walls of the massive cavern glittered with soft light that seemed to be seeping through cracks in the high ceiling. Silence loomed all around me, and despite the beauty of my surroundings, I felt very uneasy. I had no idea of where I was, or even how I'd ended up there.
My attention was finally drawn to a flat slab of crystal stone a few feet in front of me. A light began appearing there, starting out small but growing larger than me within seconds. It glowed with a beautiful white hue, hovering several feet above the ground. The beauty of this light transfixed me. I'd never seen anything so radiantly beautiful before.
A voice reverberated in my head as it hovered there.
"Ariana Benson."
The voice had a beautiful airy quality to it, sounding like a strange mix of male and female. It was soothing as well, giving me a sense of safety despite not understanding the situation I was currently in.
I managed to speak, "You know who I am?"
The sphere of light moved up and down slightly, "I do. I've been watching you for some time now." it answered.
"Who are you?" I inquired.
The feeling of fear was fading now, being replaced with curiosity. What was this all about? Could this have had something to do with the redemption efforts for the Shadow Wings?
The sphere moved a little closer to me in a quick, fluid motion. It seemed to be studying me. I took a step back. Something about it being so close made me feel nervous deep inside. But it was quick to assuage my fears.
"Be not afraid. I would never cause you harm, though I do have a request that I'd like to ask of you."
"A request?"
"Yes." the sphere confirmed. It remained still in front of me, glowing a little brighter, "I realize that you have been through much with what you are, and I know that there has been much talk of releasing your kind from the stigma of your existence. But none of that has mattered to the ones like me. Instead, I am looking to you for another beginning that perhaps you can offer me."
I gave it my most skeptical look, "A new beginning for you huh? I hate to tell you, but the ones like me aren't exactly the best ones for that." I warned it.
The sphere chuckled, "Perhaps not, but if you give me this, then I can also offer you the help that may end your war with those who think that you should not exist."
Now it had my attention, "You can help us?"
"I can." the sphere affirmed, "However, I would need something more from you."
It moved forward and shrank in size, gently touching my belly. Almost instantly, a vision passed before my eyes. It was very fast, and I couldn't make much out of it aside from standing in a large church with many others near me. In front of me was Judiel. He raised his sword at me, and I had the feeling that he was very angry about something within me.
But as he brought the sword down, it was like something lashed out in power and stopped it, causing it to break into many pieces.
With that, the vision faded away. I stood in shock, now starting to understand what this thing wanted.
"What are you?" I heard myself say. It was all I could process getting out.
The sphere moved in front of me again, remaining at the small size, "I may be your key to salvation. A life for a life. Will you agree?"
I nodded slowly; all of the fear suddenly gone from within me.
"If it will save us, then yes."
I awoke at the feeling of warmth merging into my lower abdomen. Lying there in the bed, I felt like I couldn't move for a moment. Instead, I was focused on the feelings within me. The warmth seemed to fade quickly, but I couldn't help feeling that something remained deep inside of me.
I finally managed to move a little and turned onto my back to look towards the clock on the other side of the bed. It was reading four in the morning. I sat up, rubbing my head and trying to process that dream. Was that even real?
I was still sitting there like that when the door to the room opened. Chris came in, dressed in a tee shirt and jeans and drying his hair with a towel. It looked like he'd just gotten out of the shower. He looked surprised to see me sitting up in the bed.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked.
I nodded, pushing my hair over my shoulder, "I think so. I just had a strange dream." I confessed.
"A strange dream?" Chris looked concerned as he came over to sit beside me.
I immediately realized that he may have been worried about something trying to come after me again.
"It's okay. It wasn't like anything coming after me. I think it was just a weird dream. I get them sometimes." I assured him.
I knew that the last part was a lie, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him the specifics of it all. It just seemed too strange.
Chris let out a relieved sigh, "I see. I guess I'm worrying a little too much lately."
"It's okay. I get why after everything that's been happening." I agreed.
Chris gave me a quick kiss, "Hey, I was getting ready to go out and do some training with Jade. Are you going to be alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I think I'll get up too. I'm wide awake now." I replied.
"Alright." Chris agreed. He gave me another kiss before getting up and leaving the room.
I slipped out of the bed, shivering slightly as the cool air hit my bare skin. I quickly rummaged through the drawers of the nearby dresser and pulled out some clothes to take a shower. Once I got them together, I put on my robe and made my way to the bathroom.
I wiped my eyes as the bright lights over the mirror came on with the flip of the switch, then turned on the water to the tub. The warm water of the shower felt good against my stiff body when I stepped in.
But as I stood there, I thought about the vivid dream that I'd had. It had to be a product of the recent stress. So much had happened in so little time. There was no way a being of such pure light would come to someone like me and make such a bold proposal.
I looked down at my belly as I thought about it. Maybe it had been a bit of wishful thinking too. After all, Shadow Wings had limits. Even though Chris and I could get married, we'd never be able to have a family of our own. I sighed as I thought about that. Perhaps one day the two of us could take in a child together, maybe even another like us.
Pushing the thoughts to the back of my mind, I washed and turned the water off. I stepped out and dried off and dressed, then grabbed the brush on the side of the sink to fix my hair.
But as I brushed it, I stopped and stared at my reflection. Something was different. I looked closer, trying to figure out what it was. Then it hit me.
There were now streaks of red in my hair.
I stood there for a long moment, staring at my reflection. This couldn't be possible. Was I seeing things?
I set the brush aside and leaned forward to look at the streaks closer. Yes, they were definitely there; the same red that my hair had been before. They were very vivid against the black coloring that I'd gained from Will. But how in the world was that possible? While I knew that Chris had said that I might be able to gain my natural color back eventually, I knew that I hadn't gained enough control over my powers to do it yet.
I hurried out of the bathroom and into the den, hoping that I'd catch Chris. Thankfully I was in luck. He was standing out there looking at his phone.
"Chris!"
"Hey, what's going on?" he asked as he turned to face me.
But as he did, he stopped and stared at me. He'd also noticed that my hair had started to change.
"How did this happen? I thought you said that it would take a long time before my red hair started coming back." I reminded him.
Chris came over to me to take a closer look, "How is this possible?" he muttered.
Jade was coming in as he said that, "I thought I told you to hurry up. I refuse to waste my time when you're the one who wanted this training." he complained, stopping a few feet from us and looking squarely at Chris.
"I was coming, but this is more important." Chris shot back. He stepped to my side, "What's going on? How is her hair changing back this quickly?"
Jade stared at me, his green eyes becoming wide with shock. But I had the distinct feeling that it wasn't from my hair. Instead, he seemed to be looking lower on me.
Then, all at once, his black wings burst out.
Chris shielded me as a strong gust of wind flew at us from those wings, "What the hell are you doing?!" he demanded.
He quickly brought out a shield as Jade zipped across the room and tried to strike at us, and Jade was repelled back. He landed hard on the wooden floor, actually cracking it under him. We heard him growl at us, a low, guttural sound reminding me of a wild animal, and his eyes were now cat-like in his anger.
His attack had woken up the rest of the house too. Will and Zane quickly came into the room with us. Will was quick to get between us and Jade, using his whip to defend us against Jade coming at us again, then wrapped it around him, binding his wings and throwing him to the floor.
"What the hell has gotten into you?! Why are you attacking them?!" Will demanded.
Jade took a deep breath, keeping his head down as he tried to regain his composure, "Get that girl away from me! I cannot be near her at this moment without the urge to kill her!" we heard him growl.
I stared in shock at the scene unfolding before us. In all this time, I'd never seen Jade react so violently towards anything or anyone. Even when he was angry, he'd always managed to keep control of himself.
Zane took me by the shoulders, "Come. Let's go back to your room while they handle him. It will be safer for you there." he told me.
"But I..." I started.
"Go with Zane Ariana. I'll be there as soon as I can." Chris ordered. He didn't look at me. He was closely watching Jade.
Feeling that I had no choice, I agreed and hurried back into my room with Zane. As soon as we were inside, Zane quickly closed the door behind us and chanted a spell to set up a barrier to keep Jade from entering. He then turned back to me as I sat on the bed in an effort to calm myself down.
"That was very unexpected." he breathed.
"I don't know what happened. All I was doing was asking Chris about how my hair was changing, and then Jade came in and it was like he went crazy." I admitted, holding the side of my head.
I was feeling a bit nauseous from the fear I'd just experienced. I truly had thought that Jade was going to kill me out there. I never thought he'd actually attack me like that.
Zane knelt down in front of me, "Hey, it's alright. I'm not sure of what's going on, but we'll figure it out, okay?" he assured me.
But as he touched my cheek, he suddenly seemed to freeze in shock.
"Zane?" I asked cautiously.
Please don't tell me he's going to do something too, I thought.
Zane quickly shook his head, bringing his hand down, "Ariana, did something else happen this morning before you woke up?" he asked me.
"Something else?"
Zane looked very worried now, "You were dreaming, yet not dreaming, and something else came to you through that state." he clarified.
I stared at him as I realized what he was talking about. That dream with that sphere of light. Was it possible?
"You saw that dream?" I asked him.
"Yes. I did see some of it." Zane admitted. He hesitantly looked at my stomach, "Ariana, may I check something? I promise that I won't harm you in any way."
I hesitated for a moment, but since it was him, I felt safe enough to agree.
"Okay, I guess."
Zane gently held a hand over my abdomen. Incredibly, I saw a light glow come from it in response. Zane slowly pulled his hand away, sitting back and shaking his head in disbelief.
"This shouldn't be possible. What kind of angel can do such a thing?" he breathed.
By then, Chris and Will were coming in there.
"Are you all okay?" I asked them.
"We're fine, but Jade's gone. He said that he couldn't stay here right now." Will admitted. He looked like he was very confused about this whole thing.
"What the hell happened to him? He's never done anything like that before!" Chris fumed, sounding extremely frustrated.
Zane slowly stood up, "I believe I know now, and we may have much bigger problems." he told them.
"What's going on?" Chris asked. There was a clear hesitation in his voice.
"Please tell me if I've read it right. Hold your hand over her abdomen." Zane requested as he looked at Will.
Will looked at him for a moment, then nodded and walked over to me. Kneeling down, he held his hand in the same place that Zane had, and again, the same bright light appeared. He quickly drew his hand back, cursing as he stood up.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he yelled, hitting the lamp off the nightstand.
"What the hell is that?" Chris demanded as he sat with me.
"You know, don't you Will? You must recognize such a power with that reaction." Zane said quietly, not moving from where he was standing. He looked afraid now.
Will took a deep breath, shaking his head as he stepped back, "This is why Jade reacted so violently. He wasn't prepared to deal with that much holy power. I don't think any of them will be at first. But why would one of them get involved and do this? Why?!"
"Will, what's happening to me? What is this?" I asked, feeling more afraid now.
Chris was quick to help calm me as held me, "It's okay. Nothing's going to hurt you." he reassured me. To my surprise, when he laid a hand on my abdomen, the soft light came back, but not nearly as intense. Instead, it seemed to lovingly accept the touch.
Chris looked back up at Will as it did, "It's one of them, isn't it? They're putting in their final bid to end all of this for good." he guessed.
"Yeah. It definitely looks and feels that way." Will agreed, taking another deep breath to completely calm himself. I watched him run a hand through his dark hair.
"What is this? What did it do to me?" I asked as I laid my hand over Chris's.
"It's one of the most powerful beings in existence. One of four angels only known as the Seraphita. For whatever reason, it's decided to put itself in the middle of this final war between our kind and the opposing ones from the Heavens." Will explained.
"A Seraphita?" I whispered.
Zane nodded, looking back at Will, "So what is this? What kind of deal did it make with her?" he asked.
"It didn't really make a deal." Will answered, "It's more like it made a promise."
"A promise?" Chris repeated.
"Yes." Will replied, "New life for new life. She's carrying a child that will harbor the soul of a Seraphita."
To be continued in Beautiful Fallen - Legacy