Makeysha

His lips were so soft, his kiss demanding yet tender. He wrapped his arms around me, drawing me further into his warm, head-swirling world. A gentle wave of love and peace washed over my soul, bathing me in serenity. Fuzzy tingles, like pins and needles, crept through my body, awakening long forgotten desires.

In my mind's eye, I could see the link between us, buzzing and alive with energy. A mixture of pure excitement and total surrealness, I couldn't believe how my luck had changed so drastically. Whatever Fate had decided to bring into my life, if it was this good, I didn't care. This, right here, made the last two thousand years more than worth it.

Ronin, we should be watching out for the creature, not kissing.

In my head, he chuckled, then replied, So break it off then.

As much as my head screamed at me to stop, my heart wanted something different. I wanted to keep this enchanting connection between us and never let it go. I could feel my soul blooming deep within me, showering me in the delightful sensation of being complete for the first time in my life.

"This seems like the butt of a good joke. An angel and a hunter kissed on the edge of a cliff..."

I froze upon hearing that voice. A calm yet authority ridden female voice that chilled me to the bone. I'd heard that unnerving tone before.

And it only belonged to one person.

Tearing our lips apart, I glanced to my left to see none other than Lucia, the female Twin. An ethereal white glow emanated from her, lighting up the immediate area around her. Her tall, slim figure perfectly highlighted, along with her wavy long locks, the mix of browns, reds, and blonde all mingling together into a hypnotising blend. Her skin-tight white silk dress clung to every part of her, making her look the epitome of lethal, ethereal beauty.

"Who the hell are you?" Ronin asked, frowning at her.

"Lucia," she said, offering her hand to him. "Pleased to meet you."

"I don't think I can extend the same courtesy," he replied.

"Such a shame. A strong, handsome man such as yourself. We could be great friends." She gave him a cheeky wink, then licked her lips.

I glared at her, resisting the urge to scratch her onyx-coloured eyes out of her head. I'd managed to escape coming face to face with a warlock for two thousand years. The moment I find my soulmate, I also find some powerful bitch drooling all over him. That just about summed up my life and my luck.

"I don't think so," Ronin said.

He stared back at her, a muscle in his cheek twitching. She locked her eyes on to him, not even blinking. Silence stretched between all of us. When beads of sweat broke out on Ronin's forehead, I started to panic.

"You have some very resilient mental shields," Lucia said, her voice cool and calm. "I'm impressed. Considering you're human and all."

Without even thinking, I reached out and wrapped my hand around Ronin's wrist. Light beamed around us, as expected, but it seemed less vibrant. However, our minds connected as planned, giving him some much-needed extra strength from me. Lucia's presence looming on his mind felt like an awful migraine bearing down pressure on his brain. I could feel his mental walls struggling to hold the heaviness of her power.

He started shaking, the effort of holding her off becoming more and more difficult. A shot of adrenaline released into my veins, mixing with my rising anxiety. I had to do something drastic.

I had to use my magic.

A ball of nerves churned over in my stomach. I knew my magic had power, real power, but I had no idea what its true capabilities were. The most I'd used it for to this point had been teleporting us to Wanda's and cleaning up my crypt. I'd never needed it for anything more.

Closing my eyes, I pictured a golden shield standing in front of us, taking the brunt of all of Lucia's energy, soaking it all in. Ronin suddenly gasped for air, his breathing laboured and heavy.

When I opened my eyes to look at him, we were stood behind a huge golden shield. Standing a good foot above us and wide enough to encompass another three of us, it really was quite the spectacle. It vibrated as it took the force of Lucia's focused powers, filling the air with a metallic hum.

The pressure on Ronin's mind lifted, leaving him ok, alive at least, but short of breath from the physical exertion of trying to fight her.

"You can't stop me, Angel," Lucia yelled. "I'm more than a match for your whimsical powers."

"Take me on then," I shouted back. "One on one, leave the human out of it."

The shield stopped vibrating. Silence fell around us. I'd caught her attention enough for her to cease her assault on us—for now.

Seconds ticked by before she said, "An angel and a human who are soulmates. This is priceless information."

I reached out and touched the shield, willing it to be gone. In the blink of an eye, it vanished. I narrowed my eyes at Lucia. "And who exactly are you going to give that information to?"

"Well, I know Lucifer would be very interested in that. Especially as you're damned to an eternity of loneliness. What must be going on in the Universe for this to happen?"

That was a question I was also wondering but I couldn't let her know that. "And what is he going to do with it? It's hardly news of the century, is it?"

"Ahh, that's where you're wrong," she said, stepping forward with a sinister grin on her face. "This is news. Big news. THE biggest news we've had for a long time."

A lump of fear formed in my throat, sending my mind racing. Ignoring it as best as I could, I asked, "And why is that?"

"How often do soulmates happen? Not very."

"It's two souls reconnecting. What's so dramatic about that?"

She took another step forward and clasped her hands together in front of her. "It's kind of like a lunar eclipse, don't you think? You know how the humans get, going all crazy over such a simple occurrence. They think it's something special, something magical. Seeing two soulmates come together is no different in our world."

I laughed at her. "You expect me to believe that? That you simply wanted to see two souls finding one another? I'm not an idiot, Lucia, so please don't treat me like one."

"Well, there was one other thing," she said, flashing me a big grin. "Apparently, you're indestructible. Immortal, if you will." She cocked her head to one side and folded her arms over her chest. "I wanted to test the theory."

"Alright," I said, smirking. "You're on. If I don't die, I get that dagger."

I pointed to the unicorn dagger hanging from the belt around her middle. The thick black accessory she wore to accentuate her hourglass waist looked like it came with the weapon attached to it. It was all part of her perfect looks that enabled her to capture the most suspicious of prey—warlocks fed exclusively on human souls.

"Makeysha," Ronin whispered. He widened his eyes and glared at me.

"It'll be fine," I replied. "Trust me."

"I don't know about that," Lucia said. "That seems a little too easy for my liking...standing there and taking my attempts at death is a lot easier than fighting for something you want...if you want it, why don't you come after it? Then we'll see if you can die."

I grinned. "Let's go."

"Makeysha," Ronin yelled, his voice laced with panic.

I flicked my wrist at him. I only meant to motion for him to go away, but my magic actually flung him back twenty feet, leaving us both shocked.

"You have no idea what you're even capable of, do you?" Lucia said.

"Should make it easy for you to kill me then, shouldn't it?"

"Are you sure you're ready to die, Angel?"

She uncurled her arms and held her hands out at her sides, palms facing up. A football sized ball of whirling black energy appeared over each hand, pulsing with menace.

"Bring it on, bitch," I said, grinning.

A malicious grin spread over her face. Without further hesitation, she threw one of her dark energy balls at my head. On instinct, I put my arms up in front of me. The mass of magic hurtled towards my face. Around six inches out, it stopped and splattered out like a giant paintball.

A bright white wall of power beamed from my arms, its lightness now covered with her dark magic. The black mixed in with the white, turning my magic a murky grey.

What the...? What did that mean?

My eyes widened as over the course of several seconds, all traces of the grey slowly dissolved into white. My magic wall grew brighter and bigger, its shining brilliance almost blinding.

"What are you?" Lucia said.

If I didn't know better, I could have sworn I heard a tremble in her voice but that would be impossible. Nothing scared the Twins. Nothing.

"You know what I am."

"No...I've killed dozens of angels before you. None of them have done that."

I didn't know how to take her words. Was she baiting me to lower my shields so she could blast me or was she genuinely concerned about fighting me? I briefly debated if I could hurl her magic back at her and somehow give her a taste of her own medicine.

As I thought this, the colour of my magic wall started to change again, turning grey. Then, as if time rewound itself, all of Lucia's black magic gathered back into a football sized ball. I blinked and watched in awe as the dark energy suddenly rushed through the air, right back at her.

She lifted her arms and threw her remaining ball of magic at it, no doubt trying to deflect its course. It didn't work. All it did was merge with the ball I'd unwittingly thrown at her and double in size.

Lucia thrust her hands down towards the earth. Wine coloured energy blasted from her palms and within a second, she'd encased herself in a globe of dark power. The double sized ball sliced straight through her shield and hit her square in the chest.

She shrieked, I guessed from shock and surprise, but then I couldn't help but wonder if fear was a part of it. The huge black ball exploded over her body, covering her perfect white dress in dozens of tiny black spots. I stood, spellbound, as the spots grew larger, reaching out to each other like long, spindly fingers.

Lucia looked down at herself and started frantically trying to wipe it off, but the more she touched it, the quicker the energy reacted. In less than ten seconds, Lucia found herself wrapped up in a coat of black magic. She looked at me, panic streaming through her dark eyes. The magic crept up her neck like jungle vines, then slowly climbed over her face like spidery black veins.

She stared straight at me as it took the last few inches of her face, then seeped into her eyes. When she blinked, her black eyes turned milky white.

I had no words. I was dumbfounded. Shocked. Speechless.

"Makeysha," she said, her voice now light and airy. "Please accept my sincere apologies. Consider me at your service."

My mouth dropped wide open.

Then she curtsied.

My mind totally blown, I glanced over at Ronin, who stood staring at the suddenly obedient Twin in total shock.

"What the...?" I said to him.

"I'm lost," he said, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "I'm way out of my depth here."

"You and me both."

"What on earth do we do with her?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Damned if I know." I looked back at Lucia and decided to try my luck. "Lucia, if you're at my service, please hand me the unicorn dagger you have."

Lucia nodded. Staring straight ahead the entire time, she fumbled with the weapon attached to her belt. When she finally released it, she placed it on the palm of her left hand and then walked towards me with her hand outstretched, like it was an offering. She had a warm smile on her face the entire time which chilled me more than when she grinned like an evil maniac.

She stopped two feet away from me and then bowed. I hesitated as I reached out to take the dagger, wondering if at any moment she would suddenly snap out of this trance and kill me in a heartbeat.

When my fingers wrapped around the delicate handle, I snatched it away, scared she would pull some clever move at any moment. I threw it to Ronin and stood before Lucia as she rose back to her full height.

This was it. She would pull some kind of stunt now, I knew it.

"What would you like me to do next, Makeysha?" she asked.

I looked over at Ronin who shrugged his shoulders as he tucked the unicorn dagger inside his jacket pocket.

"I think we need to speak to Wanda," I said to him. "Because I have no idea what's going on."

He nodded and came over to me. "Let me call her, see what she says."

"Can't we just go and see her? It would be a lot easier."

He looked at me and then at Lucia. "Can you teleport three of us?"

"I...I don't know actually...all we can do is try, right?"

"Are we likely to lose your new follower if it goes wrong?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "No idea."

He cocked his head to one side and frowned. "Are we missing a trick here?"

"Why?"

"If she's now your obedient little slave, why don't we send her into Hell to get the other daggers?"

"Look at her," I said, motioning a hand up and down in front of Lucia. "She hardly looks like the same evil Twin they'll all be expecting."

"Can't you do something to make her look like the normal Lucia again?" he asked.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know what I did to do this to her, let alone anything else. I'm not feeling particularly confident about my magic at the moment."

"Can we at least question her about what to expect down there?"

"Yes, I think that's a good idea. Let's go back to Wanda, regroup, interrogate the warlock, and figure out our next move."

He grinned and took hold of my hand. The area around us lit up at our touch, but again it seemed duller than before. "Is that supposed to be happening too?"

"The light getting dimmer?"

He nodded.

"I don't know. Looks like Wanda is going to have a long night answering all our questions."