Ancient Hands

"Don't worry. All is not lost." Samiel's purple eyes showed amusement at the still contemplative Abaddon.

"What do you mean?"

"I will write a special prescription for the Queen. It should help her body to become strong enough to absorb more magic and become stronger." Samiel said.

Abaddon did not protest when Samiel called Aisling the Queen. He even felt a little pleased.

"Thank you." He said.

"Not necessary. Are we done? It has been a while since I have talked so much." The impatience had no reverence for the King.

Abaddon had a second awkward look. They had talked so much about Aisling, and they had yet to address the main problem he had.

"We have not yet started." He brushed off the awkwardness.

"What is the problem? We do not have the whole night." Samiel was curt.

"Do you have any other place to be?" Abaddon asked flatly.

Samiel had no answer. He did not have any place to go. It was already late at night. He was just making a point about the value of his time.

"I could join one of the parties in the house." He finally said, but there was a hidden distaste at the idea,

Abaddon did not see the need to respond to this statement. He moved on to the core matter which had brought him to Phoenix City.

"I am injured."

Samiel looked at him to see if this had something to do with the King's newly found sense of humour. These were words that he had not heard from Abaddon since the great battle when he had been targeted by demi-angels from the other side.

He had been younger and less powerful, so his injuries were not unexpected after suffering from a heavy hand.

Now, hearing the statement, he felt like he could not comprehend things.

"What?" He said in disbelief when he saw no hints of joking.

"My wings are injured." Abaddon understood the look.

He would not have believed anyone if they had told him that he would sustain injuries in this millennium. But here they were.

He revealed and unfurled his wings to show to Samiel. Already, the underlying tissues were starting to heal. Still, the underlying pain was significant as new flesh grew.

The black feathers with edges of gold were as damaged as before. After all, they needed to shed and regrow. All in all, the damage looked worse than it was.

Samiel had a rare look of shock and horror on his face.

"Who did this to you? Are we under attack?" He asked urgently.

Abaddon shook his head. "Forces of nature."

"You are telling me that you were injured by a random lightning strike?" The disbelief returned to Samiel's voice.

"I am not sure that it was random." Abaddon sighed.

"Was there anyone in the vicinity?"

"No. I checked the area."

"Then, you are saying nature itself is targeting you." Samiel laughed humourlessly.

Abaddon looked at Samiel to show that he was not joking. He did think nature itself was targeting him. He just did not know how or why.

'The banshee will be your undoing.' He thought of the warning again.

"What were you doing before the lightning strike?"

Abaddon's olive skin did not redden, but he felt a bit of heat around his ears.

"Aisling and I were connecting on the rooftop of Obsidian Tower." He finally pushed the words out.

Samiel was only confused for a moment before his purple eyes glinted in understanding.

"It seems that what people say about Soul Resonance is true. Even you couldn't keep your ancient hands off of her." There was a hint of vulgarity in the tone.

"The point is, the lightning targeted me at a very specific moment. I tried to resist it, and my wings took the brunt of it." He explained with gritted teeth while looking at Samiel with daggers in his eyes.

Samiel was at a loss and wondered if the King was losing it.

"I can't help you with your paranoia. But I will help you pluck out these damaged feathers." He opened a cabinet and took out a medical kit.

"They will fall off naturally. I wanted you to check if there is underlying damage to the tissues and muscles." Rex frowned at the ominous kit.

"Don't worry. I have perfected my technique for de-feathering over the years." The evil eyes shined. "Once I have removed the feathers, I will examine the damage. You can redirect your energy to regrow your wings immediately instead of waiting for a few days."

Abaddon was sceptic about the whole thing, but he still allowed Samiel to take action.