Uriel allowed me to sleep the rest of that night and when I woke at the break of dawn, I figured he had withdrawn into his sleep under the house. As I turned over in the bed, I grabbed my pearl rosary from the edge of the bed and put it around my neck. I would’ve fallen back to sleep in complete ecstasy from the night before if what happened next didn’t frighten me to the core. Lucy screamed with much agony. I heard it like it was inside of me even though it was a mile away. I shot up, jumped into my pants, yanked my tinted glasses off the table and ran out the house and toward my horse, which was up. But I heard the scream again and decided there was no time to get to the stable, saddle up and ride, so I ran quickly toward town. My speed began to pick up as I called out Lucy’s name and began to see smoke from the distance. The screaming became more excruciating and bone curdling as I picked up speed and entered the town. No one was on the streets or in their shops. The smoke was coming from Lucy’s booth and it had begun to catch fire. Two men stood at the entrance looking inside and I ran up to them. Before I could ask what had happened, they tried to attack me. The first man, who was overweight and short, swung his fist at my face and the second man, who was also overweight but taller, tried to grab hold of me. Without thought, I grabbed the first man’s fist in midair and snapped it out of place. He plummeted to the ground in pain. The second guy, who had stopped in mid-movement, abruptly started running away. Lucy’s booth was completely engulfed and I had seen a lifeless body bound to a stake and swallowed up in fire.
“Lucy.” I muttered. For that moment, I had completely forgotten about the fat man on the ground until he wrapped his unbroken hand around my ankle. My anger arose and I immediately kicked him with my free foot and broke his jaw. I would’ve killed the man if my mind hadn’t picked up even more danger. My heart sank when I felt my home, our home, was being invaded. I would’ve felt the men around my house if I wasn’t concerned with this elderly woman’s (who I had befriended) life. My emotion was tied into saving her and now that I knew what her fate was, my guard was down. I screamed Uriel’s name as it was the last breath I would take in my life and began running toward the house. My father told me that in time of war, when men were taxed out on battle, there was always a trigger that would snap in them and they would be instantly renewed somehow. It was called adrenalin. And it was flowing through my veins like the fire it felt. Or it could've been Uriel's blood. No way to tell. I called out Uriel’s name again when I saw the house go up in flames and a group of townspeople standing around with tall crucifixes, torches and my horse. A guy, who was no older than me and equally built, turned toward me as I ran up and tried to push me away.
“That’s my house!” I yelled with so much hate in my voice, it scared even me. He just kept pushing me away and when I heard a loud screech from inside; I grabbed the intruders arm and swung him around me and over the cliff into the lake. The other people took notice and tried to block me from entering. At that moment I saw Jeffery, the baker, exit the house with a hand held cross and I was furious. With great force, I pushed people aside like they were little twigs in the way of a path and when I met Jeffery face to face, I heard the screech from inside again. The fire was enraged, like my insides, and the door was almost falling off. I pushed Jeffery aside and made my way to the house. When I entered, everything was clouded by smoke and covered with fire. The bed we made love on was a mass of inferno and the temperature was rising by the second. I heard the screech a third time and saw Uriel branded to the wall by the sunlight, black wings extended as far as the wall itself and wrapped up violently with fire. At that moment, my life didn’t mean anything. I wanted to save Uriel’s. If I could grab and run him to the lake before he died, I could save him. As I pushed pieces of the roof that had collapsed out the way, I heard Jeffery behind me.
“Die creature of the night! It is Christ Jesus who condemns you to hell for eternity!”
That chant was something I heard in the stories my mother told to me in many of her bedtime tales and my heart began to weep.
She must have endured this situation before.
But I couldn’t think of that now. I forged my way through the fire, getting singed as I got closer; but when Uriel’s eyes met mine, I froze. Only for a fraction of a second did I see pity in his eyes and before I knew it, one of his wings flapped and blew me right out of the fire through the nearest window with tremendous energy.
“Lucy.” I muttered. For that moment, I had completely forgotten about the fat man on the ground until he wrapped his unbroken hand around my ankle. My anger arose and I immediately kicked him with my free foot and broke his jaw. I would’ve killed the man if my mind hadn’t picked up even more danger. My heart sank when I felt my home, our home, was being invaded. I would’ve felt the men around my house if I wasn’t concerned with this elderly woman’s (who I had befriended) life. My emotion was tied into saving her and now that I knew what her fate was, my guard was down. I screamed Uriel’s name as it was the last breath I would take in my life and began running toward the house. My father told me that in time of war, when men were taxed out on battle, there was always a trigger that would snap in them and they would be instantly renewed somehow. It was called adrenalin. And it was flowing through my veins like the fire it felt. Or it could've been Uriel's blood. No way to tell. I called out Uriel’s name again when I saw the house go up in flames and a group of townspeople standing around with tall crucifixes, torches and my horse. A guy, who was no older than me and equally built, turned toward me as I ran up and tried to push me away.
“That’s my house!” I yelled with so much hate in my voice, it scared even me. He just kept pushing me away and when I heard a loud screech from inside; I grabbed the intruders arm and swung him around me and over the cliff into the lake. The other people took notice and tried to block me from entering. At that moment I saw Jeffery, the baker, exit the house with a hand held cross and I was furious. With great force, I pushed people aside like they were little twigs in the way of a path and when I met Jeffery face to face, I heard the screech from inside again. The fire was enraged, like my insides, and the door was almost falling off. I pushed Jeffery aside and made my way to the house. When I entered, everything was clouded by smoke and covered with fire. The bed we made love on was a mass of inferno and the temperature was rising by the second. I heard the screech a third time and saw Uriel branded to the wall by the sunlight, black wings extended as far as the wall itself and wrapped up violently with fire. At that moment, my life didn’t mean anything. I wanted to save Uriel’s. If I could grab and run him to the lake before he died, I could save him. As I pushed pieces of the roof that had collapsed out the way, I heard Jeffery behind me.
“Die creature of the night! It is Christ Jesus who condemns you to hell for eternity!”
That chant was something I heard in the stories my mother told to me in many of her bedtime tales and my heart began to weep.
She must have endured this situation before.
But I couldn’t think of that now. I forged my way through the fire, getting singed as I got closer; but when Uriel’s eyes met mine, I froze. Only for a fraction of a second did I see pity in his eyes and before I knew it, one of his wings flapped and blew me right out of the fire through the nearest window with tremendous energy.
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