Art: Ling Yun

The artifact, vaguely as it sounded, was stored in a thirteen-by-four red mahogany box with weird symbols carved all over it.

If Kye had not known it was indeed the box, she would've easily mistaken it for a solid block of wood.

It didn't have any lock, keypad, or even opening slit. It was also deceptively light. Besides the fact that the box was quite beautiful to look at, nothing indicated that it was the storage for one of the most powerful weapons ever created.

Kye had only learned from Ruby that it was some type of close-combat weapon—One could destroy anything it touched, mortal or not. A true Michael masterpiece.

The Resistance had been in the process of collecting supernatural objects forever. They wanted to "tip the scale toward us" as Bobby, Ruby's handler, had said one time. The Resistance, or Red Serpent Resistance in full, used to be a small grassroots movement among other similar organizations. By some miracle, it had survived many seek-and-destroy operations to be the only one left standing in the Western Hemisphere. It had caused major chaos and been a nuisance for the garrisons and their councils in the past decade.

Kye understood the artifact's importance to Michael and the angels, but what was hers to the Resistance?

It had taken them five years and many well-trained, devoted-to-the-cause men and women to acquire that weapon, so it didn't make sense when they were willing to just hand it back to Michael, right after they had just gotten it, in exchange for her.

Kye didn't know a whole lot about their plans. She had only been in contact with them for four months, solely through Ruby and her handler. Ruby had said the guy was a big shot. He would contact Kye whenever she was needed, never the other way around.

How a simple girl such as Kye had gotten in bed with them, you would ask.

It all started with a nothing-out-of-ordinary business dinner. Kye had accompanied Michael to a restaurant located between Aax District and Steel Heights—an industrial area of Ayham.

Michael would meet with Fergus Crowley, a businessman-turned-politician there. Crowley was someone who had not only managed to survive but to thrive under the angels.

He had been known as a Council member who knew how to play all of his cards right. A lot of people saw Crowley as a disgrace to humankind—a crook who was willing to sell his mother out for half a cent, but Kye always saw him as witty and resourceful. Crowley could be downright charming when he wanted to, but never, ever, got the wrong idea that he was your friend.

Crowley was only Crowley's friend. Cross him, and you died or wished you could die.

Michael had been listening to Crowley's yapping about reopening the harbor, how it would revive the city, and help the miserable citizens. Angels didn't need food and necessities to survive, but humans did, and the city had been in quite bad shape. That had been the root of all crimes and riots. The Resistance had been waiting for an opportunity to incite more uproars. They might seem like a bunch of backcountry idiots with death wishes, but they also had gotten bolder and more creative each day.

Michael had agreed that the angels should not underestimate these individuals if they wished to govern Earth in peace.

They were about to conclude the meeting when Alastair and his men came in gun blazing. The man's cold gray eyes locked onto Crowley's surprised face for a second before moving on to Michael.

The archangel didn't show a single thread of emotions, but his left hand grabbed Kye's wrist with a bone-crushing force since the moment Alastair's men had kicked down the door. Michael's eyes were fixed on the humans on the opposite side of the room. He was about to teleport out of there with Kye in tow when a silver bullet hit him on the shoulder.

Alastair gave them a triumphant grin. His whole demeanor in that moment reminded Kye of a predator, who had just located his prey and was ready to pounce.

While a lot of people wished death on the angels and the councils' members, only a few had the balls and muscles to carry out the threat. Alastair had happened to be one with resources and connections, and he meant business this time.

He had recruited a lot of competent people to work for him. One of them was a young woman named Charlie. She was a weapon engineer who had obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry and material science at the age of sixteen. Her family had been the dominant figure in the biotechnology field up until they had all been killed during the War.

When an angel died for whatever reason, they would leave behind their angel blade, which was made of grace-infused celestial steel. It was considered an extension of the angel. During the War, the battlefields had been littered with these blades. Alastair had ordered his men to collect them as he had foreseen they could be of use someday. When Charlie started working for Alastair, she had learned about the extensive collection of angel blades just sitting in the storage, taking space, and collecting dust. She had then decided to turn them into something more useful and familiar.

The blades had all been melted and molded into different-sized bullets before being strengthened with Enochian sigils. It had been Charlie's most note-worthy work.

The bullet in Michael's shoulder happened to be one of these.

Michael had taken Kye to an alley two blocks away from the restaurant before passing out. Kye had thought of the worst when the archangel gave her a drowsy smile, then went limp in her arms. Blood poured from his wound, turning his pristine white shirt red. His suit jacket was soaked through.

Kye tried with all her might to lift Michael and drag him deeper into the dark alley. His shallow and shaky breaths told her that he was still alive.  Kye prayed for the people back at the restaurant, but she highly doubted anyone could get out unscathed. Now was not the time to worry about anything or anyone else.

Michael leaned on her heavily. Kye's dress and heels made it harder for her to move. They were vulnerable out in the open, so she needed to find a safe place and wait for the help to come. By now, the people who worked for Michael should have already been aware of the situation.

Then she heard a familiar "Psst, kitty." A thin silhouette emerged from the shadow. Ruby looked just like the last time Kye had seen her about three and a half years ago. She wore a burgundy leather jacket, a black top, and dark jeans. Ruby gracefully leaned on one of the back doors with concern in her eyes and a familiar confident smirk. Kye had always found it endearing. The fact that Ruby was standing there, as bad timing as it was, calmed Kye down. She strangely felt the weight on her shoulder and the knot in her stomach slowly disappeared.

Ruby had been Kye's best friend and family since Kye was only seven years old, right after her dad's passing. After promising to sign up for the job in Aax District with Kye, Ruby had disappeared. No goodbyes or explanations. It had driven Kye crazy with worries. She had tried to look everywhere to find out what happened and where Ruby might have gone, but all Kye had gotten was false leads and conflicting information. After a while, with everything going on in her life, Kye had to give up on the search and just prayed that wherever Ruby had ended up, she could make the best for herself. Ruby had always been a survivor, so Kye could only try to find peace in that.

Kye scanned the other girl from head to toe. The whole situation seemed unreal to her.

"Ruby, how... Why are you here?" Kye asked under her breath. Her voice sounded as if it came from someone else.

"Later, Kye. Right now, we need to get your feather boyfriend somewhere safe. " Ruby straightened her back and walked away from the door frame, hands in her jeans pockets.

"He's not... Ruby, where are we going?" Kye panted with Michael's long body draping on her.

"Sorry." Ruby turned back and put Michael's other arm over her shoulders but didn't answer Kye's question.

They walked for a few minutes before Ruby stopped at the back of an empty two-story building. She pulled out her phone and typed in a line of numbers. The heavy metal door creaked open.

"Cool, huh?" Ruby looked proud.

They dragged Michael up a flight of stairs right behind the door. The steps led up to the second level of the building. There was another door at the top of the stairs. Ruby opened it with the same method.

The whole floor was empty and covered in dust. On the other side, there was a twin-size mattress with a single pillow and a blanket on it, a small fridge, an old TV with two antennas on top, a chair, and a laptop sitting next to a desk lamp on top of a wooden table that was littered with empty beer bottles and takeout boxes. The street lights outside shone through several large casement windows, giving the space an orange hue.

"Nice place..." Kye said uncertainly.

"Thanks, but put your boyfriend down here, I only have one bed. Don't want to sleep in blood." Ruby threw the laptop on her twin mattress and then proceeded to sweep all of the bottles and take out boxes to the floor with her free arm. They dropped Michael on the table. Luckily, it was long enough to take most of his tall body. Ruby went over to the windows and carefully looked outside before closing the thick sand-colored curtains. The darkness swallowed the whole place. She picked up the desk lamp that fell on the floor and turned it on. Ruby then pulled out her phone again.

"Hey Fig, got a favor to ask. Please get your cute ass over here... Yes, the bird nest. Hurry up!" Ruby said impatiently before hanging up and turning to look at Kye. "He's not gonna die, y'know..." 

Kye knew her face must've been God awful. She had tried so hard to hold everything in since they got to the alley, so she looked up and gave Ruby her best attempt at a smile.

Ruby rolled her eyes hard and groaned loudly. "Please, don't give me that heartbroken-lover look like you're gonna die with him. His kind is tough, and he's an archangel for God's sake. That bullet does nothing to him! Beer?" She opened the fridge and asked Kye without looking back.

"No thanks, maybe later... Do you have something stronger?" Kye sat down on the only chair in Ruby's place next to the table. She took Michael's hand in hers. It was always cold to touch, but she couldn't feel his grace prickled at her hand as usual. She frowned at the thought of what it could mean.

Ruby gave the sight a thoughtful look before walking over to a corner, kneeling on one knee, and using her pocket knife to lift one of the floorboards. "I hide all of the good stuff down here," She said while pulling out a tall glass bottle with clear, amber-colored liquid inside. "Whiskey, neat?"

***

That night, Kye first learned
about what Ruby really did during the time they were apart. She had joined the Resistance right after Kye was selected to work for Michael. Turned out, it was Ruby's plan all along to encourage Kye to take that job. She had waited for her sister to settle in before leaving the city. Ruby knew Kye would never agree with her decision to join the organization.

After Kye's dad died, she had vowed never to be like him, to go out and die for some great cause, leaving behind a broken family.

Her dad had been a medic. A bomb'd exploded right under his unit's van when they were on their regular search-and-rescue route. It had taken Kye, her mom, and her brother Nick a long time to pick up the pieces and rebuild the family after his death.

Ironically, the War was almost over then. Humanity was forced to enter a negotiation, more like a surrender to the angels because there was really not much else to do. Earth already depleted most of its resources. People who didn't get killed during the War struggled to survive with food shortages and diseases. It was hell. Kye's family took Ruby in around this time. She was this skinny, dirty thing wrapped in rags with eyes that had seen too much. Kye's mom found her wandering the street all by herself, eating scraps on the ground. She must've looked miserable enough for a woman with no means to survive, and 2 mouths to feed already decided to take her in.

Listening to Ruby just left Kye in thorough disbelief. One thing to be an occasional troublemaker but an entirely different thing to actually go join a rebel group. She never, in a million years, took Ruby for the type. She was not some doe-eyed naïve girl or an idealist who would die for a cause, no matter how good the cause was.

Ruby leaned back on the table and sighed. "My life's shit anyway, Kye. Maybe I can do some good before leaving this Earth. This is no way to live under these sky assholes. I'm not gonna play house with them. No offense to you." She looked down and bit her lower lip. "By the way, I would not make a good pet either. Probably get my ass smitten if I didn't find the way to kill the fucker first." Ruby chuckled sadly.

"Then why did you encourage me to sign up for the job if you thought angels were assholes? Which by the way, most of them are! You just left me high and dry!"

Kye was getting very upset. Ruby made it sound so light the way she was just up and left everyone behind.

"'Cause what else were we supposed to do, Kye? Ma's health ain't getting any better, and Nick was growing bigger every day. We needed money. Food. There were not a lot of job options out there if you haven't noticed." Ruby scoffed, "My job at the bar ain't cutting it anymore, so I had to figure something else out. Fast. They were hiring companion jobs for some hotshots just rotated down from Heaven, so I figured, why not? It's not an honorable job, but the pay's great. Maybe suffer a few beatings here and there, but other than that, you don't have to do much most of the time, and if the angel likes you, you're getting out of the shithole. Like I said before, I'm no angel's pet, but you could be. Sorry, but that's just the truth. You hated the everyday hustles in Eastwick and rather just stuck to your dead-end job at Donn's store getting abused by that asshole every day anyway, so I thought this might be the way out for both of us. I could go join the Resistance with peace of mind knowing that you're taken care of."

"That's real thoughtful of you, Ruby," Kye laughed dryly. "Mom worried sick about you. Nick didn't leave his corner for days, blaming himself that maybe he annoyed you so much, that's why you left for good. And I," Kye shook her head. Tears slowly filled her eyes."I went out looking for you like a maniac. We had no idea what happened to you. We thought of the worst-case scenarios. Where could've you gone? Why didn't you come back? Did something happen to you? After a while, it became 'Were you alive?' Because if you were, why didn't you bother to call? You're something else, Ruby."

Ruby sighed with an apologetic look in her eyes. "Look, I know I've been real shitty to you guys. I never meant for it to be like that. But it was dangerous, ok? What I decided to do was dangerous. I was not even sure I did the right thing, so the less you knew, the better."

She came closer and kneeled on one knee to be at eye level with Kye.

Her sister continued shaking her head. There were so many things left unsaid between them, so many questions Kye wanted to ask. They stayed like that for a long moment, staring at each other before three crude knocks threw them back to reality.

Notes:

I wondered why this chapter took so long to complete. Turned out, it was as long as 2-3 chapters combined after I did the word count. I didn't want it to become so long so I decided to cut it in half and save the rest for the next update. Work smarter, not harder lol :D Hope I won't bore you guys to death! Give me some feedback and suggestions, lovely people! Thank you so much!