2 Chapter 2 Through the Ruin

A noise drew her attention, drawing her back from her pit of despair. An angel, one of her own, struggled from beneath a dead demon. His wings were still pristine and white, drawing her hope from where she had discarded it.

"Aeroangel?" she whispered, drawing his attention.

"Stasia?" His brow furrowed in confusion as he took in her wings. The scene unfolded as he looked over the dead girl and the fallen demon sword.

"It was an accident," she whispered, fear evident on her face.

"My commander, I have no doubts, that if you claim it to be so, then it must be so." Laying his hand on her shoulder, she half expected his holy aura to cause her harm, but instead his unfailing trust in her calmed her and brought her peace.

"What should we do?" she asked, hesitantly, glancing back at the girl. Tears leaked down her face at the innocent life she had taken.

"I swore a vow, to follow your orders, when I joined your company. What you order me to do, I must follow, or face the wrath of the elder angels."

"I am sorry, my friend, for the trouble that I have brought you. I am fallen now, thus you can not return to the heavenly realm."

"Then we must do whatever is necessary to redeem yourself in the eyes of the elders, to reclaim your holy status. You are not dead, thus there is always a way."

She looked up at his unflinching eyes and took comfort in his sincere belief. While her own doubts tried to overwhelm her, she smiled and stood.

"The first thing we must do, is to take this child's body back to the town, and see if we can find her parents. They should be informed of the evil that has befallen her."

"We must be careful, if any suspects our true forms, we would be at risk."

"You are right. With my black wings, I am kill on sight with all angels, and with your white ones, you would be kill on sight with all demons. We must change our appearances and names to hide our true forms."

Nodding in agreement, Aeroangel gave a shudder and his splendid white wings transformed to cover his shoulders as a white cloak. Stasia shook herself and her black wings transformed to become a black tattered cloak. A frown etched itself on her face as she looked up at him.

"No matter, my commander, you are not alone on this journey."

"From this moment forward, I shall be Grey, and you shall be?"

"I prefer the name Airow."

"Very well, make sure you do not refer to me as your commander, that too would be confusing."

"I understand."

Picking the child up, she turned towards the nearest town, which ironically, was the one they had just been fighting the imps at. When they arrived, they discovered that a few people had started to trickle back into town, to begin the arduous task of cleaning up after the battle.

Grey watched, for the first time, as she witnessed the efforts the people had to go through, to clean up the damage her company had left behind. Before, they had merely killed the demons, then left immediately, leaving the carnage behind for the humans to clean up, but as she watched them pick up the debris and attempt to clean away the damage, a new pain was introduced into her heart. Why couldn't her company had taken the time to at least right some of the damage they had caused while fighting the demons? With their abilities, it would have taken them a significantly smaller amount of effort than it did for the humans to clean up.

Moving past an older woman who was gently picking up fruits that had been scattered in the street, Grey paused.

"Ma'am? This child was killed just outside of town, do you recognize her?"

"No, unfortunately. So many have been lost in the fights, that I don't imagine her parents are still alive. If you give her to me, I will see to her last rights, to make sure she does not return tainted."

"Wait, you mean as a zombie?" exclaimed Airow, in horror.

"Yes, whenever a person is killed by an unholy act, there is always a chance for a taint to remain. There are special rituals that must be done, to ensure the child does not return as a monster."

As the old woman took the limp form, Grey met Airow's eyes and the horror of her situation became even more realized. As a fallen angel, if she tried to use any of her angelic abilities, they could be tainted and cause horrible harm.

"If you are tired, there is still an inn open, on the other side of town. Many are there, preparing to return and help with the clean-up. Perhaps her parents are there?"

"Thank you."

They turned towards the direction the old woman pointed in, and began to make their way through the destruction. It didn't take long, before they found the inn, swarming with people who were trying to reconnect with their lost loved ones, after the chaos of the demon attack.

No matter how many people they spoke with, none knew of the parents of the little girl. Her white hair and blue eyes didn't match the description of any child that was missing.

"It is possible she was from a different town," suggested Airow, as they ducked into the doorway of the crowded inn.

"Perhaps the inn keeper will know something," mentioned Grey, as they made their way to the bar.

A sturdy fat man, bald and keen eyed, smiled at them as they nodded in greeting.

"Ah, it is not often I have such interesting guests in my inn, how may I help you?"

Airow's eyes narrowed, as he realized his detect evil ability didn't seem to work on this man. With a chuckle the man wiped the counter down.

"Your magic won't work on me, angel. You may as well give up."

Airow jerked in surprise. Grey looked at him, then back at the inn keeper.

"Don't worry, none can hear this conversation. Welcome to my bar, travelers. My name is Bob."