Chapter 70

Nuriel linked Victor and asked him to tell the warriors to stand down. No way was he willing to risk their lives after what he'd just witnessed. Because what if the resurrected goddess had the entire kingdom's army killing themselves. What then?

" She's clearly up to something, no way she can be that calm unless she has something up her sleeves, " he told the three angels with him.

Rylan blew out an angry breath. Strands of his auburn hair slick with sweat. They had been out there, flying and searching for hours. He tightened the grip on his sword, itching to land and strike it through that goddesses chest, to watch her choke on her own blood.

" There's four of us, I'll go down and you three stay in the air and cover me. If you sense any danger you have my permission to intercede. " 

Nuriel told them.

" I sense danger right now, " Zarek said.

They clearly were not happy with his plan but it was either that or stay up there and do nothing. She wanted a confrontation and that was precisely what she was going to get.

" Just promise us one thing, we shall not let her see the end of today, " Rylan said but Nuriel had never been one to make promises he wasn't sure he could keep. He kept quiet, promising to do his best. 

Then with his sword drawn he began his descent to the ground, the others following closely behind him. They stopped halfway there and let him proceed on his own. 

Nuriel landed several feet behind her. And he kept quiet, waiting for her to be the first to talk. He watched her rise, her pale blue gown ripped at the seams and back. Exposing skin that he so desired to slice through.

" They didn't have to stay up there, I sure would have liked to admire them from up close, " She slowly turned around and Nuriel's eyes narrowed. He ran them up and down the females form. She held the face of someone who had once been beautiful, ethereal...before she was overcome by the darkness and was unaware of how to turn her back on it.

Her pure black eyes gave away nothing, only dread and the promise of nightmares. He had known about the goddess Phoenix. 

Back when he had been young, before the war broke out. 

She had been regarded as the most beautiful of her kind. The most lethal one as well, the goddess of destruction they had called her. Because all she touched inevitably turned to ash. 

" That was one of my warriors you just murdered, "

" I'm aware. "

" And may I know the reason behind your actions?" 

She began walking towards him, and he stood still,never dropping his gaze from her. That was his kingdom. His beings to rule. 

Yet this force of evil had shaken up their lives and replaced their routine with fear.

" You look so much like your father, "

" That's not why we're here. "

" You have his eyes, I always thought he was a wonderful male. Such a tragedy that one, "

" A tragedy you and your kind put in place. "

She shrugged nonchalantly, as if the deaths if all those angels had meant nothing. As if they had been nothing but collateral damage.

" You're right, let's not focus on the past when the future holds so much promise. '

She stopped when she got to where he stood. Her eyes on his, then she trailed them down his leather clad form and smiled.

" How well you've turned out, "she reached out her hand with the intention to touch him. But the sword he placed on her neck stopped her from doing so. Chuckling, she shook her head.

" Attractive and violent...such a riveting combination. " 

She very slightly dug her neck I to the blade, then she moved back. And Nuriel looked at the cut she had just inflicted on herself. Blood flowed down in several lines.

" I live off of pain, my own included."

" Is that why you preyed on my beings? " 

He wondered how they were going to defeat an immortal who seemed to enjoy being hurt. His sword suddenly turned scorching hot and he dropped it out of instinct .

She kicked it aside with her bare feet. 

" What do you want?" He asked, telling the others to stay put when they told him they were coming down. 

" I want my Kingdom back, " she said so casually he felt like chuckling. Clearly she was insane.

" Your kingdom you say?"

She smiled sweetly at him, but the smile also held poison.

" Correct. Among other things of course, but for now I shall simply he satisfied with reclaiming my throne, "

" The throne was never yours to begin with. "

" Not exactly, but it did belong to my kind. Angels were never meant to rule these lands, a fact even you are aware of. "

Phoenix began circling the angel, admiring the sparkling white of his wings...she had known he would be appealing but she hadn't known just how much. During their time his father had been the pinnacle of male perfection, yet Nuriel somehow seemed better than even he had been. Perhaps once she had reclaimed her rightful place she'd keep him. 

She reached out and placed her fingers on the arch of his wings, then he suddenly turned and wrapped his hand around her already cut neck. Squeezing tight. 

" Don't lay your blood stained hands on me! " he warned. 

That was a right preserved for only one person. 

" You have terrorized my Kingdom for long enough. Now you shall suffer the consequences of your actions, " he threw silver diggers at her with his eyes. Slowly grounding out the words for her to hear. 

He linked the others to land, which was what they had been waiting for all along. Zarek arrived before the rest, but a couple of seconds later all three of them had landed. 

" Good, can we kill her now? " Rylan impatiently asked. 

" I have an entire tank of  hot melted steel to drop her in,. " he added. 

Phoenix looked at them, from one to the next. Keeping her eyes fixed on Barin for the longest while before she turned back to Nuriel. 

She had her hands wrapped around his wrists as if to stop him from choking her, but her hold wasn't in the least strong. She was just holding on for the fun of it. And when she began tracing her fingers down his arms, he let go.

Her touching him like that felt plain wrong. And when he thought of Flame, his desire to see the goddess suffer intensified. 

" You're quite the bunch, aren't you ? "

" I'm gonna have so much fun chopping you up! " Rylan said. 

Barin said they needed to find a way to get her to the Triecan. Flying her there was out of the question. The female was a psychopathic lunatic who was likely to blow herself up.

All the while she just stood there, observing them. Learning them. Any sort of advantage she learnt could potentially be helpful in the long run. Honestly she wondered what they were talking about, why they sounded as if they truly had finally caught her when in her head this was a meeting to discuss them handing over the kingdom. 

Gods lived off of power. So she wouldn't rest until that throne was hers. 

So Zarek was the fastest, she heard and preserved the information for the future. The red winged angel clearly had an issue with anger management, the brown haired one didn't talk much, but she sensed there was more to him. Something even she wasn't aware of, and he was keen as well, he was constantly looking around, listening and giving well thought of suggestions. 

She was an immortal goddess. She felt like reminding them of that fact. She listened in and heard those countless footsteps approaching again. So sadly it was time for her to take he leave. 

The one they called Zarek, with his white and black wings,began approaching her, The angry one did so as well. He held her arms behind her and Zarek bent down and ripped the seam of her recently acquired gown. He intended to tie her up with the cloth. 

She let him. 

Then when she heard the footsteps getting nearer she sighed. 

" I'm afraid we'll have to continue this another time, " she causally stated. 

Then she summoned her darkness to take her away. The shadowed wisps emerged and began wrapping themselves around her.

" Goddamnit!" 

" What the..." 

Someone drove his sword through her just before she managed to disappear completely. But that would heal in no time.

After she had disappeared completely, the four angels turned to each other with blank expressions. Nuriel felt like growling out loud. That was a trick neither of them had expected. True, Gods had been powerful, but that was a new level of power even for a god.

And now she would have a chance to prey on someone else. The army he had ordered to proceed arrived after she was long gone. Victor leading them, he asked what was happening and where Phoenix was and they remained quiet. Still trying to process exactly what they had just seen.