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Stale air rushed past Palan and Justitia as they plummeted through the harpies’ territory, heading straight for the sprawling nest made of bones at the very bottom. Palan ignored the nonstop scream coming from the unwilling angel in his grasp. Surprisingly, for what was essentially an underground city occupied by harpies, the odor and noise level weren’t unbearable. The angels’ cities were a lot worse. Maybe harpies didn’t produce as much waste?
“This isn’t how I wanted to die!” Justitia screamed as the nest grew larger and larger before her very eyes. Her gaze landed on Palan’s face. He wasn’t perturbed like this was a very normal activity he partook in regularly. “I’m not as sturdy as you!”
Palan showed no sign of reacting as he continued to scan the faces of the harpies while falling. His eyes lit up when he saw Cory, the only completely red harpy, hanging upside down from a branch on the pillar in the center of the nest. The alphabet was scrawled on the floor of the nest, and she was tracing their shapes in the air with her wing, sounding them out at the same time. As if sensing something, her wing stopped moving, and she righted herself on the branch. Her brow furrowed as she squinted at Palan who was falling straight for her. “Ah!” she said. “It’s him?”
“Dear Creator,” Justitia said as she pressed her hands together in prayer. Her eyes closed as she took in a deep breath. “Please take care of my family. I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but if this is your will, I’m willing to accept my fate. I’m sorry I haven’t been a filial daughter, but I did the best I could in my situation. Maybe this is my punishment for being weak and unable to endure the torture I was subjected to. All I ask is that you make my passing painless. In my next life, I’d like to be a mosquito. Amen.”
Her heart pounded as she waited. And waited. And waited some more. Had she stopped falling? She slowly opened one of her eyes, revealing a static floor. “Huh?” she asked. Suddenly, the floor advanced towards her face as Palan released her waist. Justitia yelped as the front of her body crashed into the nest. Her vision went black, but pain wracked her body. “I’m alive?” she asked as she pushed herself off the ground. Cory and Palan were staring at her.
“Does your Creator ever answer your prayers?” Cory asked and tilted her head to the side.
“You heard that?” Justitia asked and pursed her lips.
“Mn. You were just floating in front of me while saying that,” Cory said and nodded as she alighted from the branch to the ground. She licked her lips and asked Palan, “What are you doing here?” Her wing throbbed when she saw Palan’s red tail.
“Where’s Raea?” Palan asked and sniffed the air. “Never mind. I found her.” He walked towards the base of the central pillar and found a curtain. Behind it, there was a hollowed out space with steps leading further underground.
“You shouldn’t go there,” Cory said as her wings fluttered by her side. She bit her lower lip. “She’s there, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea. She said no one should disturb her.”
“I’m an exception,” Palan said as he took a step down the stairwell.
“I think I’ll wait right here,” Justitia said and nodded. She turned towards Cory. “Hello, my name’s Justitia. It’s”—a snake wrapped around Justitia’s waist—“nice to … well, it was nice meeting you.” Cory’s brow furrowed as she watched Justitia’s body disappear behind the curtain, the angel’s body limp and unresisting.
There was no light in the stairwell, but that didn’t seem to bother Palan. He continued at the same pace until he reached another curtain which he lifted open. Light streamed into the stairwell. Raea’s back was facing him. In front of her, metals and miscellaneous objects were stacked into neat piles. Raea was rummaging through them. She picked up a golden cup and, without looking back, asked, “Didn’t I say no one should come in here?”
“You eat metal now?” Palan asked.
“Palan?” Raea asked and turned her head. She tossed the goblet aside and stepped towards him. Her brow furrowed when she saw Justitia hanging upside-down from his tail. “Why can’t you ever hold people right-side up? What if she dies because of all the blood flowing to her head?”
Palan shrugged. “It’s not my fault she’s top-heavy,” he said and dropped Justitia onto her head. The angel’s eye twitched as she sat up, but she chose not to rebut Palan’s comment.
“Raea,” Justitia said as she sized the demonic angel up. “You look … well.”
“Sarcasm?” Raea asked and tilted her head to the side.
Justitia’s mind blanked for a second before she shook her head. “No,” she said. “Even though you don’t look like an angel anymore, I don’t think any male would care.”
Raea snorted as her tail swished back and forth. “You’re done torturing people?” she asked, turning her attention back to Palan. “Did you free her from there?” A crease appeared on her forehead. Her voice lowered as her eyes narrowed. “What about Owen?”
“Why does it sound like you want to hurt him?” Palan asked and raised an eyebrow. “According to her”—he gestured towards Justitia who was taking in her surroundings—“Owen deserted the army before everyone was caught.”
Raea nodded as her expression relaxed. “I see,” she said as she stretched her wings fully before folding them against her back.
Before she could say anything else, Palan continued speaking, “Also, I’m not quite done with the prisoners,” he said and rubbed his chin. “I want to form contracts with a few of them and your help—“
“No.”
“—would be nice. Hm? Did you say no?”
“Yes,” Raea said and nodded. “I said no.” She didn’t notice Justitia’s face paling.
“And why won’t you help me?” Palan asked.
“Because you’re mine,” Raea said and placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to share you with someone else.” Her chest ached and then burned when she thought about Palan listening another person’s orders. The feeling made her want to chop something to pieces with her tail. “Am I not good enough for you? Is that it?”
“What if I already formed contracts with other angels?” Palan asked with a smirk.
Justitia cleared her throat as she inched towards the curtain. “I’m going to wait upstairs,” she said and disappeared. Neither Palan nor Raea stopped her.
“Then I’ll force them to dissolve it or I’ll kill them,” she said and narrowed her eyes. She stepped forward and wrapped herself around Palan’s body with her wings. Her hands snaked around his back, hugging him, as she stood on her tiptoes. She tilted her head until her mouth was pointing at his ear. She whispered, “You didn’t form any contracts, did you?”
Palan frowned. He wondered if it was possible for lightning to strike him this far below ground. It probably couldn’t. “No,” he said. A miniature thundercloud materialized over Palan’s head. Lightning struck him twice.
Poor Palan, that lightning is a tricky thing. Thanks for the chapter!
lmao “In my next life, I’d like to be a mosquito. Amen.”