Angelic Divinity

Kiel shivered, "I...I have to do something! Ms. Logos is ill, I'm sure of it. I can see it in her eyes. She's not well. I have to help! In memory of my mother, I promised to help the angels to the best of my ability."

Yves leaned down to Tori and whispered in her ear, "You needn't be afraid. Kyrios or Stinah as we call him, is the Seraph of the Dark Court. Even creatures of the Underworld cannot disobey his call. A challenge has been issued, the creature has no choice but to show itself and accept. If it does not, Order will intervene, which is my job."

Enan of the Winter Court lifted Kaila to her feet, "Stand, you've no reason to bow to their feet. Sitnah will do what he always does." his icy eyes glittered like new ice and the rain dripped from his white hair. He looked like a young man, but Seraphim were usually around one thousand years old.

The Serpent rushed out of the edge of the trees towards Sitnah, it's long fangs extended in a lethal bite. "Filthy Seraph!" it shrieked and Sitnah only laughed. "You dare laugh at Ginash, the Devourer of Angels?! I shall show you the true might of Kadaj's army!" Out of the trees, a glint of metal and suddenly Sanya had stabbed a branch into the serpent's head and dug it into the ground. "Forgive me for being late, Seraph. Obtaining a branch from a willing Brithenwood tree was harder than I expected."

 

schuyler grabbed kiel's focus by holding onto both of his shoulders with her arms extended outwards.
"what are you talking about? do you want to get killed. we haven't even been at school for a day, what do you expect to accomplish?"
she glanced around thinking the coast might be clear, until she saw sanya come crashing out of a tree nearby stabbing the serpent.
"whoa...i think she's got it covered."

tori looked up at the seraphim nervously.
"order?"

kaila stood up with the assistance of enan. he was but the only seraphim that she had ever taken a liking too. she had taken a fondness to his young but wise demeanor. their meetings were few and sparse, but she always got a little thrill when seeing him. it was how she felt when she first started working with ren, before it was obvious that ship wasn't ever going to sail. kaila gave him a smile and then turned rather quickly when she heard sanya's voice coming from the tree lining.

 

Kiel sighed, "I suppose..." he smiled, "Forgive m-!!" he cut off as a barrage of spines ripped through the trees and a few stabbed into Kiel's back, one lodging into Schuyler's shoulder.

Yves nodded, "Order is what the High Court is all about. We maintain the order of the Heavens. And you...are invited to become a member of that. Please, join us. Your friend, Zadkiel is also worthy to come."

Sitnah and Sanya shared a sweet moment and Enan touched Kaila's cheek, "You feel hurt that Ren does not feel the same way. You shouldn't be with someone who belongs to a Dark Court Seraph anyway. The Dark Court is nothing but revelries of disgusting pleasures. Forget him."

 

"agh!"
schuyler froze. there was a spine sticking out of her shoulder. the pain didn't hit her immediately. it was kiel who looked like he was going to fall on top of her. she could see the spines sticking out of his back. there was no way of knowing just by looking if they were in deep penetrating his organs or just poking him. either way he was clearly in bad shape. with her shoulder impaled there was no way she could carry him out of the woods and schuyler had no idea where the spines had come from. whatever it was, was probably close.

tori nodded. she wasn't sure what she was getting into, but could feel that saying no wasn't really an option.
"o-of course."

kaila was taken aback. it was as if enan had read her mind. she stared at him confused.
"i have no preference in any of the courts. i am not a fan of the seraphims and i am sure you and the others are well aware of that. what do you propose i do instead?"
she glanced down the row at ren and then quickly back to enan.
"take a liking to the winter court instead?"

 

Kiel stumbled and grabbed onto Schuyler, he ripped the spine out of her shoulder and clamped his teeth down on the pain radiating through his back. "Are you...alright?"

Yves smiled brightly, "Thank you Tori, you've made this Seraph very happy."

Enan huffed, "Preferably, yes. The Winter Court will provide you with the freedom you desire and the protection you yearn for. The Dark Court stirs trouble, they derive their pleasure from it. Danger, violence, hatred, lust...all things they long for each day. Why do you believe Ren is so attractive and yet does not hold a steady mate? He feeds from the lust the girls feel for him. I mearly want to protect you, one taught properly, from the horrors the human world provides." He brushed pure white hair back from his eyes and leaned down to Kaila's face.

 

schuyler tried not to scream from the pain since it was obvious kiel was much worse off.
"y-yeah. are you okay?"
her voice was but a whisper from the pain her shoulder. she needed to get kiel back to the others, but was afraid to move him because of his back.

tori smiled sheepishly. she had been staring out towards the woods waiting for kiel to appear, but he hadn't yet. sanya and the serpent were within sight, but the other two had yet to come back. she was getting rather anxious. tori started to bite her bottom lip, as she did whenever she got nervous.

kaila's face turned warm and started to grow a shade of red as enan came closer to her. ren always seemed quite the opposite. not reveling in the attention from women, but hating it. she didn't plan on joining any of the courts, even if asked. if they wanted her, someone would have asked a long time ago. she didn't care for seraphims and most encounters she had with them were poor ones. today was an example of that. the seraphims came and all of a sudden the school was being attacked and the students lives were at risk. not to mention it didn't really seem like they were doing much to stop it. there were students in the woods that could be dead and no one was doing anything, because the seraphim said to stay put. kaila spoke in a whisper.
"well, i'm afraid you may be disappointed."
kaila gave a little smirk as she slowly pulled her face away from his. there were students in danger and she wasn't just going to forget about it like everyone else. her wings gracefully flapped twice and then she was off the ground heading back towards the woods.

 

Kiel fell face down on the ground and passed out.

Enan felt a moments surge of disappointment before shrugging it off. "If that's what you wish." He watched Ren take off after Kaila and couldn't help but chuckle at his efforts. But of course...a Dark Court child and a possible member of the Winter Court...so alike and yet so different.

 

schuyler dropped to her knees as she tried to lift kiel up. now she could clearly see how many spikes were in his back. it was still hard to determine how deep they may have been, but it was clear he was in bad shape. she called out for help and then saw one of the teachers up above.

kaila landed by the students.
"what happened?"
she saw the spines sticking out of his back. clearly something bad happened.

schuyler looked up in a daze.
"i don't know. one minute i was convincing him to come back to the courtyard and the next we were getting impailed with those spikes. kiel got it worse than i did since he was standing in front of me. we have to get him out of here."

 

Ren landed behind Kaila, still grimacing from pain of his flight. His eyes opened and focused on Kiel. "Gabe will be pissed if he sees him like this... Kaila do you still have my pocketwatch?" He barely looked at her as he knelt beside Kiel and examined his back. Out of the corner of his eye he assessed Schuyler. Good...she'll be fine. Having Kallai on my back also would be a problem.

 

kaila nodded and pulled the pocketwatch out from inside her skirt pocket. she handed it to kiel as she walked over to schuyler. the tension between them was off the charts and driving kaila crazy. it wasn't necessarily his fault that there was even a problem, she just didn't want to have anything to do with this- being a member of the court, fight monsters of great evil. she felt bad about this silent war that was going on between the two of them and just wanted things to return to normal. kaila feared that would never happen. she held her hand out for schuyler to help her up.
"here, i'll take you back to the others."

schuyler took kaila's hand and stood uneasily. the pain in her arm was excruciating.

tori stood on edge. she wouldn't breathe peacefully until she saw that kiel was okay. the serpent was being restrained for now, but it didn't look like they were really trying to kill it.

 

Ren placed the watch on Kiel's wounds and bright blue bolts of energy sparked out and slipped into his wounds, causing Kiel to writhe and scream in pain. Ren could easily predict Kaila's actions and threw out a hand to hold her back, "Leave him be. If I don't do this, the toxin from that many spines will override his personality and soul. Please Kaila...take Schuyler to the Summer Court's Seraph. She'll help her."

Kyrios knelt beside the serpent and studied it. "What is your purpose?" It hissed at him and snapped. Sanya's metal arm came crashing down on it's head, burying it in the ground a few inches. "Be kind, please." The serpent cast is red eyes toward the students and drooled a bit. "There will never be a meal so delicious that I will taste as your flesh, little fledglings. Our Master awaits your entrance into the darkened realms."

 

kaila nodded and wrapped her arms around schuyler.
"hold on."
her wings started to spread and within a minute they were in the air headed back towards the academy and all that were in it.

schuyler felt a rush of exhilaration when they took off. she had practiced flying many a time at home, but was never very successful at it. now actually being in the air felt incredible even if it was only for a moment. before she knew it she could see all the other students and teachers, along with the seraphims. as they got closer to the seraphims, schuyler could feel herself getting lower to the ground. all of a sudden they were on the ground in front of kallai.

 

Kallahi knelt and set a spark of sunlight on her wound. "You'll feel a lot of warmth. Kaila, what happened here?"

Kiel fell in and out of consciousness until he could move again. "Professor Ren...? What...am I going to die?" He listened to Ren chuckle and hum a song as a tearing sound filled his ears and he felt something being tied tightly around his wounds on his back. "I know...that song... It's Philistine...but...it's a girl song." "True, but it was my very first wife's favorite song."

 

kaila looked up at kallai.
"i have the faintest idea. they were like that when we got there. do you mind explaining?"
her gaze moved to schuyler.

schuyler's whole body started to warm up, as if she were lying outside on a summer day.
"i don't really know where they came from. i had just convinced kiel to leave the woods and come back to the courtyard and then all of a sudden he was pelted with a bunch of black spikes in his back and one missed him and got my shoulder. then as he was collapsing he pulled mine out of my shoulder. before we knew it the you and the other teacher arrived."
she had pointed at kaila when saying you.

tori looked around nervously. schuyler was back, but kiel was still out there.

 

Kallai frowned at Schuyler's description of the spike. "It sounds like a Slayer...old creatures of the dark...They live inside dead trees and attack without warning. Their spines are poisonous.... One is dangerous on it's own... Sanya, would you mind searching the forest tomorrow morning and setting any dead trees on fire? Slayers gather to breed, if there is one, more are sure to follow."

The little girl nodded her head, golden eyes sparkling with pride as Kyrios patted her head with a pale hand. "Have I done well enough, sir?" He nodded and a long yellow snake slithered out from under his cloak. Wrapping around the Serpent's head once before pushing it's yellow head into it's black mouth. Kyrios' snake kept traveling until even it's yellow tip of it's tail disappeared inside the Serpent. The Serpent's red eyes bulged in it's head and saliva oozed from the corners of it's mouth.

Yves made a face at Kyrios and his pet. He knelt in front of Tori, "You worry for your friend. Does he...mean something more to you? This boy, Zadkiel, claims much of your attention. I must admit, I'm quite jealous." His golden eyes crinkled at the sides with humor and yet deep in their liquid golden depths, something flickered around...truth, perhaps, in his words.

Ren half carried, half dragged Kiel back to the group. He'd torn apart his shirt to bandage Kiel's wounds. For a grown boy with no wings, he sure is heavy... Why am I stuck with taking care of the strange ones? Ren set golden eyes on Kaila for a moment before casting them downwards in embarrassment. His fingers clutched at the pocketwatch that still ticked with perfect time. The odd little device started to pulse and chime as he neared the choking Serpent. "Lord Sitnah, I assume it's under control so I won't bother assuming you need my help. This boy requires Heaven's medicine. A Slayer hit him...only one Seraph needs to stay to choose Court members at a time. Kiel...belongs to neither Court as of yet and thus it falls to family to get the medicine for him." Casting a glance at Kiel's disoriented state he pointedly glared at Gabriel.

Kiel's vision swam with color, mostly gray and white but flashes of blue and something black. He couldn't focus on anything. Sounds were like a rush of noise and the sensation of falling crept into his mind. Am I falling? I can't see... Would anyone notice I was gone if I did fall? Yeah...Tori would...and Professor Elena... That's right...I wanted to help Professor Logos...Schuyler came...and then...pain...but what else?

 

kaila curtsied to kallai.
"your holiness."
she turned to walk away from the seraphim and went to stand beside uriel and gabriel. kaila couldn't take any more of this uper-management business and just wanted to leave but knew it wouldn't be a wise choice. especially when the seraphims still had something to show the school. kaila just wanted to leave, but if she dismissed herself she would surely be scolded. she thought of her now destroyed meadow. it was the one place she always had that never changed and now it was destroyed. it would never be the same again. if it could even be salvaged it wouldn't be the same. everything was burned and broken to shreds.

schuyler looked surprised by kallai's frown after she had described what happened.
"are we going to be okay? kiel had a lot of spikes in him. at least half a dozen. if not more."
she stared at her shoulder nervously, which didn't really hurt anymore. there was a hole in her shirt from the spike and she rubbed the now scarred skin with two of her fingers.

tori was taken aback by yves's words and started to turn red.
"n-no. it's not like that...we've only met yesterday..he...he...was just the only person to talk to me. i don't have friends...he was someone to talk too."
tori's wings furled up tightly together behind her back as she stared at the ground. she hadn't even begun to think of kiel like that, but yves's concern over the fact that she might like kiel and not him had really surprised her.

 

Ren and Gabriel carried Kiel to Yves. "Gabe insists because he belongs to the High Court that so does Kiel. He says...he feels it in his soul." Ren made a face as if to say he didn't believe a word of Gabriel's. He knelt and touched the light blue ribbon around Tori's wrist and touched Kiel's upper arm. A similar ribbon of light blue formed around his muscle and tied itself in a neat little bow. "Lost yet found...the one who appears human has been marked."

Yves mearly smiled and gently brushed a lock of hair from Tori's face. A warm hand settled on her wings and smoothed the feathers there. "It matters not. He belongs to me now. To the High Court. He will do as I command, so there are no worries." Yves caught Enan staring at him. The Seraph knew Enan would never understand the simple part of affection. Enan, the Seraph of the Winter Court, one of the cruelest courts known to Heaven. Enan and Kyrios were closer to the Dark than was comfortable for Yves to accept.

Sanya skipped away from her Master and the Serpent, still grossly choking on Kyrios' snake and plopped down on the ground next to Kaila's feet. Her metal wing retracted as her other, feathered wing stretched. Rubbing the gears of her metallic arm, Sanya sighed, "Nobody sees what I do in Kyrios...err...Sitnah. Kaila...just because Ren belongs to my Court doesn't mean he's a bad person. Everyone is different. Elena is not subtle in her actions. She deals with plants and dance... Ren deals with history...things that change and make it important. The Dark Court is placed in the center of a lot of historic events. 9/11...they reveled in the anguish, anger and fear. Hitler's reign...they fed until they were bloated on the fear and hatred. The many Kings in England and everywhere else...they relished the lust." Sanya's blonde hair fell over her face as she leaned forwards.

 

tori's wings shuddered from the sudden touch. she wasn't used to other people touching her wings and the contact came as a surprise. her eyes stayed on the ribbon on her wrist. ren had poked it and now there was a matching one on kiel. tori held her wrist up to her face as she spoke.
"you did this. didn't you? how?"
her eyes left her wrist to look at yves. the thought that he had put it there while she was sleeping disturbed her quite a bit.

kaila watched enan staring at yves. there was something strange in his eyes. he wasn't one for affection, and yet he wanted her to join the winter court. he gave the aura of one who cared, but it was most likely closer to a business achievement by adding her to the court rather than him wanting her personally to join. her attention was taken by sanya who had sat down next to her feet. kaila sighed as sanya spoke.
"i am aware of the fact that he isn't a bad person. if anything i know better than anyone else. at least i like to think i do. times have changed however, i obviously don't know as much as i thought i did. the people i have been working with for years have been keeping secrets from me. and for what? to protect me? i'm not a student. i am plenty capable of protecting myself and don't appreciate being lied to."
her eyes ran down the line of teachers over uriel, elena, gabriel, ren, and the other staff. she didn't know how many of them were hiding the truth from her and how many may be just as in the dark as she. kaila then continued to look down towards the ground at sanya.
"that's why things are going to change. this...this may even include the relationship i have with ren. he is an excellent teacher. ren teaches history with finesse and a clear passion for what he is talking about, but he obviously doesn't share that same passion towards me and i can live with that. i just won't be lied to and i won't be kept in the dark. not anymore. if that means going about this world alone...well then...i guess that's just what will have to happen..."
pain flashed in her eyes, but she did her best to cover it.

schuyler stood dutifully next to kallai.
"wasn't there something you all were going to show us? or is it just not that relevant now?"
her wings were growing uncomfortably sticking from the rain. it didn't seem like this sudden bad weather was going to go away any time soon.

 

Yves pulled away from Tori, "Yes, I did. You owed me something and I took my payment in your alliegence to the High Court. Of course I knew you'd join, but as a precaution I wanted to give you something to protect you. You needn't feel as you do. Seraphim are incapable of mating with other angels....unfortunately we are bound only to our Father. We serve and that is the only thing we can do."

Sanya yawned like a child, "I'm glad you know now and understand. When they told me, it was too late. A creature from the dark had already stolen my wing and arm from me. You don't have to go at this alone, Kaila. Ren...may not know how to show his feelings but I do. I'll protect you! Err...at least...I'll help in whatever way I can. If you want me to." She jumped up and flexed her little arms.

Kallai tore her attention away from Kyrios and his disgusting way of torturing the Serpent and spread her six wings wide. "That's right. Starting today, we, the Seraphim of Heaven's Courts, will be alternating our presence in this school and teaching selective students about our Courts and at the end of the year, Amittai will be resigning his position as the High Court Seraph. The reason we are here is to choose a new Seraph. Be they first year fledgling or fourth year. Your classes will change..." she stopped as Enan lifted his hand.

"Over stepping your boundaries aren't you, Kallahi? The class change is my jurisdiction. Each class will become hands-on and more interactive with the mortal and Heavenly worlds. You will leave the school once a week and oversee a human of your choice. This is the job of a Seraph and you are given minor responsibilities. Questions?"

 

tori was confused.
"owed you?"
she had almost forgotten about him healing her injuries.
"oh...for healing me? i am rather greatful. how is a ribbon supposed to protect me?"
her gaze went back to the ribbon.

kaila smiled and patted sanya's head.
"of course i want you to."
her attention was redirected as the seraphs started speaking. ammattai was retiring and now the seraphim were going to become involved in the students' daily lives. being a part of the classroom and taking them away from the school. this was a bad idea. in the making. the students shouldn't have so much contact with them so soon. especially not the first years. things were going to be very difficult for them and it was wrong. kaila wanted to speak up, but knew it would have been out of place and pointless. they had made up their mind and there wasn't anything the teachers could do about it.

tori turned around suddenly to look at yves.
"you're retiring?"

schuyler became both excited and nervous. she was looking forward to learn more about the summer court, but could tell this was something new and nobody was prepared. the thought of working with and protecting a human was quite terrifying. humans were cruel people. they were mean because they didn't understand. you were a freak for having wings, not something to be remembered by. she didn't want to go back to that. not to the name calling and rock throwing.