Evie
I fall to the ground, watching the dagger fly over my head, and disappear into the smoky door behind me. I hope Connor is okay. I quickly jump up, looking around and seeing Azi holding a demon in the air by his neck, and there isn’t anyone else around. The dagger distracted me for a second, but now I can’t help but look around. It is beautiful. There are fields and fields of green grass, trees with large red apples hanging from them for as far as you can see. I spot a building in the far distance, and I can hear the sound of running water in the distance, too. This place reminds me of the Garden of Eden that I read about as a kid. Where the first humans were said to have come from. I look up at the sky, seeing thousands of stars, which is impossible because there can’t be stars down here. There are so many that it’s bright enough to look like it’s day.
“Who threw the dagger? It missed me by an inch!” Connor exclaims as he comes through the portal, holding the dagger up in his hand.
“He did,” Trex points at the man Azi is holding in the air. The man, well demon, has red skin and hair, and leather clothes. His cloak is on the floor, as it a range of weapons that Azi has clearly taken off him.
“Why did you wait for Evie?” Azi demands, shaking the demon as we all walk over.
“Sent. Kill,” the demon coughs out. Azi grabs his head, snapping his neck, and letting the demon’s body drop to the ground before anyone can ask anything else.
“I don’t get why he waited for you,” Azi growls.
“If you didn’t kill him straight away, we might have been able to find out,” Connor replies sarcastically.
“He wouldn’t have talked. I could tell,” Azi shrugs.
“The demon clearly knew to take out the deadliest opponent first,” I say, and each one of them turn to glare at me.
“That is not the reason,” Nix states firmly, and the others nod.
“It is, and you all know it,” I say with a wide smile, leaning down, and taking off my bag. “We might as well have a food break. It looks safe here, and you’ve already killed the danger.” I don’t wait for the guys to agree or not before putting my bag down, and grinning at Star, who is still sleeping in the bag.
“You like to sleep a lot, huh?” I ask, and she also yawns as I pick her up and take her out of the bag. I pull my last water bottle out, drinking half and then pouring the other half in the small box I kept my food in. She happily drinks away as Azi comes over, kneeling down next to us. Star watches him, almost narrowing her eyes at him until I stroke her back, and she goes back to drinking her water.
“You like her, so I like her,” he tells me as he places a small box full of broken up jerky and what looks like bacon rasher crisps. “It’s all we have that she might eat, but we can get real food when we are out of hell.” I look over to see the others watching, but they all quickly look away when I see them, making me smile.
“Thanks,” I tell Azi, and he smiles at me before going back to his bag.
“Spoilt already,” I say to Star, stroking her head, and sitting down next to her. I pull out what is left of my food, eating it and watching the protectors and Azi. They all sit near me, occasionally looking in my direction. I have the feeling they are protecting me, when I don’t need it. I finish off my food, waiting for Star to finish hers before putting everything back in the bag as Star goes off for the toilet. I copy her idea, walking to a nearby tree and relieving myself. I walk back to the guys to see Star on Connor’s lap, and he is doing something to her collar.
“What are you doing?” I ask, stroking Star’s head that she nudges my hand with. Fussy tiger.
“I found rope in the demon’s stuff, so I made a lead. It will be good for her to stretch her legs,” Connor says, lifting the thin rope he has tied to her collar and handing me the handle hoop he has tied.
“Thanks, I’m sure Star will appreciate it,” I say, walking away a little and gently encouraging Star to follow by pulling the rope. She jumps off Connor’s lap, after licking his face first, and wanders over to my side.
“How are there stars here?” I ask Azi as he tightens his straps on his bag and walks next to my side. Trex walks with Nix just behind us, and Connor catches up, coming straight to my side with Star in-between us.
“They aren’t stars,” he says.
“I’ve heard a rumour that the lights down here are the souls of angels,” Connor says, his words seeming to echo around us.
“Everyone knows angels don’t exist anymore,” I say, remembering the story Hali’s mum told me once. Humans didn’t always know demons or any supernaturals existed until an angel fell from heaven. Not just one angel, but five. The angels were evil and started killing everything they could find, so the supernaturals and demons stood in front of the humans and defended them. Working together, they killed the angels, but thousands lost their lives. Angels were more powerful than anything. The laws for supernaturals and demons were introduced, and the Protectors were the ones made to enforce the laws.
“My oldest brother told me something once about the stars, and he is so old that it could possibly be true,” Azi says.
“Tell us then, Az,” I nudge his shoulder, and he looks up at the stars for a second.
“He said that once this place and heaven were so very close together, that angels would come and spend many of their days living with demons. It all changed one day when an angel killed a demon, and a war erupted between them. Thousands of angels and demons were killed right where we stand. The stars were said to appear when an angel died here, and the darkness was the demons who were lost. My brother swore the sky was nothing other than blue before the war,” he says, almost sadly.
“That’s a beautiful story,” I say, looking up at the stars or lights. Or angels’ souls. Whatever they are, they are stunning.
“My brother died shortly after telling me that. He pretty much brought me up, and these stars remind me of him,” he tells us, and I look over, getting lost in his eyes for a second. You would think the redness of his eyes, the unnatural glow they always have and the deepness of them would be scary, but I can’t look away. His eyes are so different, and they suit him. They are him.
“Where are we heading, then?” Connor asks, snapping me out of it. Azi lifts his hand, pointing at the white building in the far distance, right in the middle of a big open grass field.
“There. My old home.”