Raziel's POV

I disappear into the pink light leaving my perplexed mate and Lance behind, reappearing in a dining room I've never seen before.

"Raziel?" A hoarse voice whispers, and I turn towards the curly haired boy with the pink star floating above his head. "What are you doing here?"

Declan blows his nose and tosses the little ball of damp tissue on the table to join the others. His eyes are puffy and red, tears soak the front of his T-shirt and his bottom lip trembles as he tries to suppress his sniffles.

As I approach the human, I catch a glimpse of blood red writing tainting dusty golden brown pages bound by a dark brown cover that oozes darkness; an ancient book that I thought was well hidden.

"Why do you have that?"

Declan's eyes follow mine and he snatches the book from the table, hugging it close to his chest. His jaw ticks and his glare is as cold as the winter air. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here because you called me." I slide into the seat next to him being careful not to touch any of the snot filled tissues. I might have no problem with Kai's snot but anyone else's is a no no.

Declan's eyebrows knit together and I continue. "I'm your guardian angel and right now, I think you're about to do something you will regret, so I'm here to help."

"I'm fine. You can leave." He shifts his body away from me so that the book is no longer in my direct line of vision. The sadness and heartbreak in his piercing green eyes is enough to make even the most heartless person weep, but the harsh, fiery determination mixed in there is what worries me.

It's a look I have seen before. One I hoped I would never see again. Light a lightbulb going off in my head, it finally clicks why I had to be Declan's guardian angel, why it couldn't have been any other angel.

I sigh as a sad smile spreads across my face. "That book can't help you save Lance, in fact it does the exact opposite."

His eyes widen and he shakes his head. "No. You're wrong."

"Let me tell you a story. If in the end you don't believe me, I will help you get all the ingredients you need to summon the demon that you think will help you."

Although Declan's grip on the book doesn't loosen, he sniffles and nods.

I suck in a shaky breath as the images of that time start flashing before me. Images I had tried to purge from my mind.

"A long long time ago, I had a close friend called Yael. She was shy, funny, sweet and full of hope. One day, while fulfilling a mission on earth, she saw a human whom she was sure she would spend the rest of her life with.

"I'd never seen her so happy. She would talk about her constantly and soon she worked up the courage to ask her out."

Soft sobs continue to escape Declan as he listens to me.

"Though the woman's eyes lingered on her and the attraction she felt for Yael was clear, the woman said she was only interested in being friends, but that didn't deter Yael. She was happy to spend time with her and was sure she could eventually win her over. They spent weeks getting to know each other and became good friends.

"Slowly, the human started to give into her feelings for Yael and asked her out. As you could imagine Yael was thrilled."

I can still picture Yael's smile when she told me of their date. Her eyes sparkled, her entire face lit up and she bounced up and down as she spoke in a chirpy sing-song voice.

"But the woman died before their date?" Declan tries to rub the ever-flowing tears from his eyes, and I nod in response. "What did Yael do?"

A pain shoots through my chest as I remember the devastation that followed. "She wanted to have her back in her human form, just like she was the day she met her. Yael wasn't content with just seeing her in Heaven and wanted them to explore earth together, so she went in search of a way to revive her.

"After months of searching she happened upon a group of humans who after generations of trial and error had figured out how to safely summon one of the first demons. Unlike the demons which are allowed to visit earth and who were made from both darkness and light, the first demons were made from pure darkness.

"One of the elder humans even claimed to have witnessed someone being risen from the dead. Their process and the summon were all contained in a book."

Declan's eyes drift down to the book in his hands, and I continue. "The relations between Heaven and Hell at the time were strained and the summon used for the demon ensured that the demon could not harm her. Once summoned, the two struck a bargain and the demon agreed to help. They requested her lover's soul since they couldn't sense it on earth or in Hell. They said it was the only way they could bring them back to life.

"Yael desperately wanted her back in her corporeal form, especially when the woman started considering being reincarnated so that she could put more good into the world. If she was reincarnated, all of her memories and experiences with Yael would fade so that she could start her new life. However, Yael convinced her that she could find a way to bring her back to life and the woman agreed that if that was the case, she would hold off on being reincarnated since she too was upset that her time on Earth ended so abruptly."

A tear rolls down my cheek as I remember the argument we had. I begged her not to hand the soul over to a demon, but she believed the words of the humans and thought it would work.

I blink back the rest of the tears threatening to fall. "Yael complied. The next day her lover appeared before her in the flesh. Except it wasn't her lover. The demon had consumed the soul, killing it and gaining all of its memories in the process. It then shifted itself into the perfect physical replica of her lover, intending to fool Yael into thinking her lover had returned."

Bloodshed. That's what followed. Yael lost all control and somehow succeeded in killing the demon, and in a fit of rage, she killed the humans who lent her the book. Many more deaths followed. Humans, demons and even some angels that God sent to bring her back to Heaven; all were slaughtered. Eventually, I was sent to stop her. We were close, so I was the only angel she wouldn't immediately kill.

My eyes drift down to my hands. White blood covers them as the sword falls from my hand. Yael's body drops. I reach out to catch her before she crashes to the sandy ground. Tears spill from my eyes, mixing with the blood now starting to pool beneath her. Betrayal is etched in her royal blue eyes as I watch the light fade from them.

I promised to take her home, to save her, but I lied. It couldn't have been helped. I needed her to trust me one last time. I had orders to follow.

At the time, I couldn't find a way to destroy the book. The darkness it held was fueled by the deaths, making it impossible, so I hid it in the farthest corner of earth.

This was one of the few times God and Satan worked together. They altered the events in all the minds of the humans, angels and demons.

What the demon did by consuming the soul was taboo and so was the merciless killing done by Yael, so they thought it was better for everyone if no one remembered the events that occurred. Unfortunately, I was made the exception since it was my job as head warrior to know of all possible threats, and the book posed a big one.

"Raziel!" Declan yells. The image of Yael's lifeless body cradled in my arms fades. "Are you okay? You zoned out."

My tears are now running unfettered down my cheeks, and I quickly wipe them away before looking up. The book has been tossed to the side. Tears are still spilling from Declan's eyes, but they don't have the same harshness as before.

The pink star over his head flickers before disappearing, and I know that I have fulfilled my duty. I am no longer his guardian angel.

"I won't use the book," he whispers, and relief floods over me. I can't lose anyone like this. Not again.

"How did you find the book?"

"Lance and I found it a few years ago. We were planting trees in his backyard and we found it buried there. It never opened, no matter what we tried, not until today. It was like I could hear it calling me, and when I opened it and saw the spell, I thought it was a miracle." A shudder runs through him as he eyes the book.

My eyes are also drawn to the book. How in the Heavens do I get rid of this? Can it actually be destroyed now? Clearly burying it only ensures that it will be found at a later date.

A muffled sob from Declan has me refocusing on the human. "I...I can't lose him. I've already been through that. I can't. Not...not again."

"You won't lose him. I will do everything possible to get my wings back so that I can take you to Heaven to visit him, and you'll actually be able to touch him in Heaven. It'll just be a long distance relationship." I find the words spilling from my mouth before I realise what I'm saying.

"Really!"

Finding myself unable to kill the glimmer of hope in his eyes, I smile and nod. "Yes, I promise."

It's a stupid thing to promise because living human souls aren't allowed into Heaven unless they are bonded to a angel or get special permission from God. I frown. Maybe Gabriel could help with that, he's always been a smooth talker. Did I dismiss reaching out to him too soon?

I shake my head and refocus on Declan. Whatever happens, I have to find a way to keep my promise. I've only ever broken one promise, the promise to Yael, and I vowed to never to break another one.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Declan squeals, squishing me into a tight hug. I hug him back. The kid has been through a lot.

"Why don't you pack a bag and come to Kai's house. Lance is there and you two should talk." That, and I don't think that Kai would want me to leave him here all alone.

Declan grins and wipes his tears before rushing off to pack a bag.

A few minutes later Declan is wearing his thick winter coat and carrying a backpack and duffle bag. Since I don't have my wings and I can't take him with me when I transport to Kai's side by using our bond, we are forced to rely on human technology.

One we arrive at Kai's house, we knock on the door. "I'm so sorry for being so harsh to you earlier. I know you were only trying to help," Declan blurts out as soon as Kai opens the door.

Kai smiles and embraces his brother in a tight hug which Declan seems to gratefully return. "It's okay. It's a difficult time for you and I get that." Kai releases him. "Come inside and talk to Lance. I think you both need it."

Declan smiles and nods, turning to wave at me before heading inside.

Kai closes the door and immediately starts fusing over me which brings a smile to my face. He touches my forehead and rubs my arms to warm them up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm still tired, but I'll be fine."

"What's that?"

I follow his gaze to the book. "If you give me lots of cuddles and kisses, I'll tell you all about my evening."

Kai giggles and glues his lips to mine, erasing the horrors of my past and bringing light and warmth to my very core.

Thank you for reading! ❤

What did you think of the chapter? Do you think Raziel will find a way to get rid of the book? I feel like the last few chapters were on the sad so I'm uploading two chapters. 

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