Page 5 of The Angel's Kiss
I growled and tried to attack him again when another bout of nausea seized me. It was enough to give the priest a chance to run. Only when he was out of my presence and the desire I had to kill him faded, did the sickness and pain also subside.
“What the fuck!” I cursed and dabbed at the sweat that beaded my forehead. I had never experienced such a feeling and I was appalled by something happening to me that was so...human.
Furthermore, I couldn’t understand why it had happened. Was this curse cast upon me to blame? Slowly, I climbed to my feet and shook the last of that repulsive feeling away. Looked like I wouldn’t be killing anyone innocent today. I paused in the threshold of the church, because a depressing thought came to me. What if I couldn’t kill anyone at all? What if I had to go through eternity with this pathetic shell of a demon? I closed my eyes at the very possibility that my life could become so insignificant. What would be the point of even existing?
“Want me to end it for you?”
I opened my eyes at the sound of an unfamiliar feminine voice and saw a human before me. No, not a normal human, a Guardian. I snarled, a low growl coming from me as I glared at the bitch. “Just the person I wanted to see.”
If I could kill one of them, maybe I could reverse this curse. I conjured up my sword and armor and the Guardian did the same, her two swords glowing white. She was another Guardian that was fully bonded with her Champion, but maybe not a Divine Weapon. Her weapons bore the same glowing color as the first two Guardians I had killed. I didn’t bother with small talk, I was on a mission. I charged forward, my sword raised for the attack and she had taken a defensive stance. We were inches apart when all of a sudden, another bout of sickness took hold and I doubled over, puking more bile onto the ground. My sword and armor absorbed into me as the pain in my arm felt like I’d been struck by lightning. As for my target, she had been thrust backward, but had caught her footing and was watching me in my pitiful state.
That was humiliating.
“Well, well, isn’t this interesting,” the female Guardian said. “Say goodbye, you scourge!”
I was too sick to defend myself and she brought her blade down upon me, but before it could strike my flesh, a powerful blast sent her flying back. She landed hard, dozens of feet from me, and lay there for a few seconds, holding her sore areas. She groaned and sat up, looking at me with what I assumed was the same expression I was giving her.
We were both awestruck.
How could her weapon not be able to harm me? She manifested her gun and aimed it at me. Right before she pulled the trigger, I thought about evading the bullet, but then I thought, why bother? Death was more welcoming at this point.The bullet fired from her gun, glowing white with its holy essence, and I watched as it traveled through the air toward my chest. When it struck, I was knocked back to the ground, but the bullet ricocheted off my body and became embedded in a nearby tree.
We both turned to look at the holy metal still glowing in the damaged bark of the tree. It began to disintegrate the way my body would have had that bullet entered me. Nothing was left of the large oak tree save the holy bullet that killed it.
“My god!” the Guardian gasped, then turned to look at me. “So, it’s true?”
I turned from the bullet resting in the grass to her. “What’s true?”
She looked at the church’s door and I knew why. Out of the corner of my eye, I’d seen movement and knew that the priest, our one witness, had been watching our little exchange. She groaned and then rose to her feet. “Don’t go anywhere. We have a lot to discuss.”
I climbed back to my feet. The sickness that had rendered me vulnerable was now gone as well as my urge to kill another Guardian. I watched as she spoke with the priest and he nodded, the look in his eyes seemed glazed over and I wondered if she was making him forget what he’d witnessed. Or was she making him forget ever meeting me and my little confession altogether? That would be most unfortunate if she did. Freaking him out was the highlight of my night.
She turned from him and began descending the stairs. “Come with me,” she commanded and I remained in place. She was a few feet away from me when she stopped, but didn’t turn around. “Please,” she added.
I sighed, but followed.
***
She led me to a nearby park, and there we both sat on a bench. A demon Knight and a Celestial Guardian. “Tell me what’s going on and how do I fix it?”
She chuckled. “There is no ‘fixing’ it.”
I turned to face her. “I don’t believe that.”
She shrugged. “You killed a Guardian who was a Divine Weapon, on the night of an eclipse.”
“So?”
She snarled, then sighed as if trying to keep her temper in check. “Right before the Guardian died, they made aDeath Wishand gave you a glorious destiny you don’t deserve.”
I hissed. “Speak in clear terms,” I snapped, because I didn’t know what a “Death Wish” was.
She huffed. “You received the next calling of the Champion.The Angel’s Kiss.Normally, in the death of a Guardian and their Champion, their souls go up to Heaven. Their duty is done. When a new Guardian is called, the next Archangel who is to become his Champion would have received the powers and knowledge of the one before him through the Angel’s Kiss. But in your case, it was given to you.”
I was still confused. “I have no knowledge of Heaven that an Archangel would have had, nor his powers.”
“But you have his calling.”
I frowned. “What does that even mean?”
