The cloth was pulled aside, and she looked up at Adrial.
“You’re awake,” he said. “Are you comfortable?”
She tried to speak against the gag in her mouth, but he smiled at her and let the cloth drop back into place. She rested her head against the floor and whimpered softly. Whatever his plan was, she knew it was to draw Miles in and use her as a pawn to disarm him, and it would work. How had they known? How had they found out? Someone from the pub, maybe? She tried to wriggle out of her bonds, but they were tied so tightly that moving just hurt her more than anything else.
The voices started talking again, and she strained to hear what they were saying. It sounded like they were arguing about something, but what it was about, she couldn’t be sure. She felt so frustrated that she was unable to even summon her blade with the way her hands were tied. She tried to reach her legs to see if her other blades were still hidden there, but she couldn’t. Suddenly everything went quiet, and she went still, waiting to see if anything would happen. The minutes ticked by slowly and she suddenly felt very claustrophobic. The cage, the bindings that held her, the musty smell in the air, and the fact she didn’t know where she was and didn’t have her bearings made her feel dizzy. She felt as though she might explode soon when she heard voices again; only this time, they sounded different. She waited in anticipation.
Suddenly the cloth from her cage was lifted, and she could see that at a distance from her stood Miles, and as relieved as she should have felt, she felt terrified.
“It’s your decision. Do you act as a Balancer or an Angel right now?” Adrial sat back down on the beam above her; she realized they were in the warehouse from the day before. “Either way, you can walk out right now with the contents of one of these cages today, and if you promise not to come back, I will stand by this agreement and not send anyone after you. You have my word.”
He was giving Miles a choice between choosing her and choosing the Balancers who were nearby; she looked at Miles who looked at the opposite side of the room, and she could see a worried look on his face. She knew how he felt about her, though; she knew that he felt the same way about her as she felt about him, so this should be an easy choice for him. Take her and come back for the Balancers once they regrouped; it wouldn’t be hard.
“I’ll take the Balancers,” Miles said clearly. Lizzie could already feel the tears involuntarily forming in her eyes as she watched him. She hadn’t expected that it wouldn’t be the answer she had wanted him to give. She had wanted him to choose her, to pick her, to put their short relationship first. How naive she had been to think her life would mean something to him after a few short days and some meaningless sex together.
Above her, Adrial gleefully clapped his hands. “Then we have a deal,” he said, Lizzie turned on her side so she could see him take something out of his pocket. She heard another cage open which could only be for the Balancers. “You have twelve hours to vacate the city.”
“What are you going to do with her?” Miles asked from a distance, and Lizzie wondered why he even bothered to pretend to care.
“That’s not your problem anymore, Balancer,” Adrial said.
Lizzie didn’t even look as the Balancers helped each other out of the warehouse; she couldn’t as the tears ran down the side of her face. She simply looked up at Adrial until she was sure they had all gone. He flew down to her cage and landed on top of it.
“You sinned by laying with him, Lizzie,” Adrial said. “You’re not allowed to lay with someone outside your kind, especially not a Balancer.” He paced along the cage. “What should we do with you?”
Lizzie glared at him and then looked away; she didn’t care what he did. With her heart broken, she didn’t give a continental shit about anything really. He could torture her, rape her, or even kill her, and she still wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of uttering out a cry for help.
“We haven’t reported you both to Headquarters yet,” Adrial admitted. “We wanted to deal with this ourselves, but perhaps I should. After all, I’m one of the few who know who your father is.”
This made Lizzie look up at him, and he smirked down at her. “Yeah, I think we’ll take you to Headquarters, the three of us, and claim you as a real prize. The boss will bestow many glories upon us for bringing you in and revealing who you are, cursed child.”
Adrial leaned down. “Perhaps I’ll take your body for myself first and see if the Balancer had good taste—” He was cut off suddenly when a blade went through his head. Lizzie looked to the right in shock to see who was wielding it and was surprised to see an Archangel standing there, with long flowing black hair, dressed in knight’s armor.
“I will free you, ma’am,” he said, “once I have dispensed of the others.”
He left, and Lizzie lay there in the silence for a few moments. She heard Jay and Christian’s screams before there was more silence and the Archangel returned. He opened up the cage and knelt beside Lizzie.
“Are you hurt?” he asked as he removed her gag,
Lizzie shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“I will take you home,” he said. “You’re from the Neutral Ground; I will return you there immediately, and then you can tell me what is going on.”
Before Lizzie could protest, the Archangel scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the warehouse, his wings shooting out gloriously. He lifted off in flight effortlessly and didn’t say a word as he flew her home. She felt safe in his arms, but as they flew, she thought of how she had felt flying with Miles, and the tears started again. As they landed outside the pub, the Archangel set her down and saw she was crying.
“Why do you weep?” he asked.
Lizzie shook her head. “I’ve lost someone.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. My name is Gabriel. I’ve been sent to investigate what is happening in the city. I would appreciate any information you could give me.”
“I can give you a lot,” Lizzie said, wiping her eyes, “but I need a drink; follow me.”
She led him into the bar, which was thankfully empty, and she flipped the sign that said ‘closed’ for the evening. She didn’t feel like serving people for the night. She shut the door after him and led him to the counter where she pulled out two beers and held one out for him.
“I don’t drink,” he said quietly.
“More for me,” Lizzie confirmed, taking a sip of her beer and sitting on the chair behind the bar. “Thank you for saving me. You’ve walked into a hell of a mess.”
She started to explain what she understood of the situation. How the Angels had been systematically wiping out the Demons and kidnapping the Balancers, how Miles had rescued the Balancers—she left out the details of her relationship with Miles—and how she was sure the Angels would continue their work until they were stopped.
“The Demons are planning on sending an army to start a war against the Angels as a result of the imbalance,” Gabriel finally said, when Lizzie had finished her story. “There will be much bloodshed. I was sent to find this boss, the leader of this cult, and put an end to him. Do you know who he is?”
“No, we never found out.” Lizzie sighed. “And the only way to find out is to join their ranks.”