Page 21 of Witch's Betrayal
I felt Raum's weight lift off the bed as he took our newest son to see his other two fathers. A smile played at my lips from the sheer, unrestrained happiness I felt. How lucky I was to experience this love and miracle of life time and time again with the three best husbands I could ask for.
Just before my body as Alfhilde drifted off to sleep, I prepared to let go of that memory and continue searching through my shadows. But a surge of unknown power made me pause and stay focused there.
Like a rag doll, Alfhilde was ripped from the bed. I let out a startled cry but kept my focus. Distantly as if underwater, I heard Seth demand to know what was going on but I ignored him.
Alfhilde was pressed against the ceiling of her house. Pain wracked through me as I stared helplessly down at the bed I just gave birth in hours ago. My back was surely broken. The power wrapped around me was immense and suffocating. I called out for my men but couldn't make a sound.
This wasn't an ordinary death by the judgment of humans accusing me of heresy. This was different, like nothing I ever felt before and it scared me.
The force of whatever was pulling me finally ripped Alfhilde's broken body through the ceiling. In horror, I watched my house grow smaller with each passing second. Villagers and animals became the size of ants. I felt like I was in freefall but in reverse. Something carried me up, up high into the sky at breakneck speed. The air was so cold up here, my fingers and toes turned blue.
Somehow I was able to turn my neck to look up at whatever dragged my body up through the atmosphere. And my worst fear was confirmed.
An angel looked down at me with a vengeful scowl on his face. He could have been Ash's brother, golden and beautiful. The feathers of his blindingly white wings barely ruffled while air currents thrashed my body back and forth. So much pain. No human torture compared to this. This body was close to death and I hoped it would come soon-- before this angel got ahold of my soul.
And then all too quickly, we stopped.
Blood poured out of my ears and nose, unable to handle the pressure of the atmosphere at such speeds. My back and neck had to be broken but I stood upright, apparently floating in midair before the divine being that ripped me from my home, my lovers, and my son.
He smirked at me, clearly enjoying the suffering he caused from dragging me up here.
"Finally, I have the honor of meeting Lilith," he said in a smug tone. "Our dear Ashtaroth's whore. It's not every day we meet the reason for an angel's fall." He tilted his head like a curious puppy. "Too bad our first meeting is also our last."
I wanted to spit at him, to tell him to fuck off, anything but stand silently in defeat. But either my jaw was broken too or he rendered me unable to speak with magic.
"Your reign of heresy and wanton lust is at an end, Lilith," the shithead angel continued. "Have you noticed your so-called lovers aren't here to protect you?" He spread his arms out and looked around mockingly. "Where are they, Lilith? Isn't your unholy trinity supposed to guard you?" He cackled, extremely pleased with himself. "That's the problem with you knowledge-seekers. You're so self-serving, you scatter like mice at the first sign of trouble. Even when one of your own is in danger."
I reached for my men with my aura and felt their panic as they tried to reach me. They knew something was wrong, and that I was missing, but this angel wasn't working alone. They must have coordinated this for years, maybe even centuries. The same force of power that dragged my ass up here, was now acting as a shield preventing them from reaching me.
Alfhilde! Where are you? I can't reach you!The panicked voice in my head belonged to Ash.
Up high. An angel has me. My body is so close to death but he's not letting me die. He's talking shit and taunting me. This is bad, love. I think he's going to take my soul.
Fuck! We're getting Lucifer and Beelzebub to help. We can't go up but there's nothing stopping us from going down. We'll have an army at your back in five minutes, my love.
Fear gripped my soul as the angel began gesturing, casting his own brand of holy magic. A heavy sensation laid over me and I realized he was beginning to separate my soul from my body.
I might not last that long. My body is broken. I can't talk. I can't stall him.
We're coming, my love. Please hang on.
The two hemispheres of my brain felt like they were splitting apart. The pain radiating through me made childbirth feel like a walk in the park.
Ash, I love you so much. Tell Raum and Sal I love them too. Take care of Ragnar. Guide him and make these damned angels afraid to speak his name.
Stop! Do not say goodbye to us. We're coming for you now.
You were my first true love. Curse the god and all the angels, I love you with all my soul. Please don't forget me.
Lilith, my love! Don't let go. Hold onto your soul with everything you have. We won't let them take you.
I couldn't scream with my mouth so I did inside my head.
If this angel ripped out my soul, he'd ensure I'd never occupy another human body again. I'd be truly dead, never to come back and feel the love of my men or children ever again.
I saw the angel sneer through my blackening vision. He was taking his time, making this as painful as possible for me. My soul peeled away from my physical body inch by excruciating inch.
And then, nothingness.
