One
The Devouring Dark
"She is an abomination!" The fat man on the opposite side of the table hissed, jumping to his feet with outrage. "How many times must we clean up her messes! The girl is unable to show a ounce of self restraint..." He glanced at the head of the table.
"How dare you!" Legion fumed as his own chair fell back against the wood flooring, "you self righteous prick! Have you forgotten how she saved yours, and everybody in this room's bacon! Not that its worth much. All you do is feed of this universe like a God damned parasite!"
"You slime bucket!" The man yelled back. "You're father should have given you more boots up the ass..."
"I will rip you to pieces..." Legion growled and would have sprang across the table if Caleb hadn't restrained him, the others in the room voiced their own opinions on the matter and Holly massaged her temples. A migraine was slowly making its presence known, as if this night wasn't crappy enough.
"Gentlemen please," a woman off to Holly's left pleaded. "Castillo, do something!"
The Ebony Seraphim who sat at the head of the rectangle, Mahogany table didn't so much as glance the woman's way, his dark eyes focused entirely on the warring Immortals.
"You have all the manners of a catfish!" The man spat at Legion, "no wonder hell is going to the dogs."
"What would you know of hell?" Li threw back, still tussling with Caleb, "you wouldn't muddy one of those pricey Oxford loafers, come by and I'll personally give you the guided tour!"
"Li, this inst doing any good." Caleb admonished but Legion was utterly swept away on a sea of fury. He'd been in a bad mood all day and had obviously been bottling up all that animosity for a council who would punish Holly for protecting her family, rather than deal with the culprits, or what was left of them.
More angry voices merged in the din of the room and Holly sighed, leaning back against the cool leather of her chair Holly's eyes found Castillo's. His wide lips parted slightly in a polite smile before he motioned to the door with his head. With one last glance at Li and Caleb Holly followed the Angel outside.
"This is slumming it." She mused as the cracked and peeling French doors gave with a squeal of protest, at the end of the hallway. The last time the order had been called had been, once again, because of Holly, she had found herself caught up in the grandeur that the Order had oozed. Since the council was rarely called, they used any excuse to have a party, glorious food and wine and adorned elaborately covered tables, expensive ball-gowns had hugged the Red Plush carpet...a far cry from the weed invested, tiny garden she now found herself in.
"Yes, well..." Castillo's deep voice boomed off the rotting fence, "times have changed." He motioned to a giant billboard that towered over the small yard, where a man garbed in black glasses and an expensive suit urged people to report any Immortal activity, they even had their own hotline.
"Take its not going well then." Holly piped.
Castillo righted a decaying plastic chair that had been left to die along with the house and its contents. "The line of peace is a fragile one." The Seraphim finally admitted. "Despite bending over backwards, granting all their...frankly insulting demands, we find ourselves regarded with suspicion and fear." In the last three years everything had changed. Not just Holly's world but Castillo's too. After the showdown with Lucifer in New York the Immortal world had finally been revealed to the humans. At first their was celebrations in the streets, all over the universe, God was real, Angels were real, finally their Faith had been rewarded. A Faith that turned into fear and mistrust when, in a bid to past the behind him, Castillo had revealed just what these Immortals could do, and how they weren't all Angels.
The discovery forced humans to come face to face with every single creature that haunted their nightmares but had told themselves couldn't be by the light of day. All real. Too real. This somewhat killed their buzz for Immortals.
Angry voices carried down the hall and outside, followed by smashing of glass. "Looks like Caleb couldn't hold him any longer."
"They are nothing but little children." Castillo said suddenly. "Nothing can be solved by this" His tone changed from a hard and harsh to soft and warm. "But they do have a point Holly."
Holly exhaled in frustration. "They were after Colt, what do you want me to do?"
"I don't mean that." The Seraphim dismissed much to Holly's astonishment. He had always proved to be a stickler for rules. "I agree with you, they shouldn't have attacked you. Especially when myself and Li have made it rather clear when it comes to you. No, I mean killing a human. I'm afraid you've stirred up some old feelings. You're leaders didn't trust us before, what do you think they will do now?"
"Can't you explain the circumstances?"
Castillo smiled sadly. "I fear we are beyond that Holly. We have given them an excuse."
"Come on," Holly said utterly bewildered. "I think the humans realise they wouldn't stand a chance against Immortals." She pointed out.
"Maybe." Castillo allowed after some time had passed, but he didn't look convinced. "And then there's Colt. The incident with the school a few month back?"
"He's a three year old boy Castillo, he can't control it. He doesn't even know what he's doing..."
"Precisely why Immortals don't come into their powers till they turn eighteen." Castillo interrupted. "Colt's a ticking time bomb."
"Do you think I don't know that." Holly found herself yelling. "We have tried to bind his magic, nothing works on him, not even my power."
"I'm trying to criticise you're parenting skills Holly." The Seraphim said softly, "I know you worry about his power as much as we do, but, he can not be allowed to use his gift wherever it suits. What if another child had gotten hurt?"
"It was break time..."
"Holly, he burnt his kindergarten down."
Holly sat down onto the wet decking. "He did, he really did." She uttered unable to argue the point. "He just got upset, one of the other boys called him a freak..."
"Perhaps you should take Legion up on his offer. Let him have Colt while you're working." Castillo inserted with all the trained manners of a doctor. "I know you want Colt to have a normal childhood." He added on seeing Holly about to argue. "But its about time you admitted the truth. Holly, Colt inst normal. You treating him as such is doing no one any good." Holly looked into the Angel's dark eyes and knew it was true. Legion had said the same thing many times when they argued over it.
Holly was failing her son.
"I don't know what else..." She began to sob when Caleb broke through the doors. Castillo got out of the chair and straightened out his suit. "Well?" The Seraphim asked and Holly slapped away her tears, getting to her feet with a confused expression on her face.
"They're ready." Caleb replied taking Holly's wrist and leading her down the steps into the wild garden.
" 'Bout time." Castillo shot.
"Where is he?" This time it was Caleb who asked the question and Holly could tell by the way his body wouldn't keep still that he was nervous.
"What's going on?" She demanded but no one answered her.
"He'll be here." Cas said to Caleb.
"Who?" Holly asked feeling anger starting to gather. "Caleb if you don't tell me what's going on..." The fact that Caleb wasn't even looking at her only enraged Holly further, and while she proceeded to rant and rave, Caleb stared at the back of the garden.
"Still she's still hot headed as ever."
That voice...
Holly knew that voice. Masculine, commanding, suggestive, absolute music to the ears...but it couldn't be. Turning Holly found herself looking into the most turbulent dark eyes she'd ever seen. It was like being adrift on a churning sea of oil. There was only one person with eyes like that...still Holly couldn't bring herself to believe it.
"Dom