Cain roared with fury and raced toward us, throwing one sphere of demon’s fire after the next in an attempt to save me. Abel was faster through, driven by raw fury and before I could defend myself, he slashed the knife across my throat. I felt the blade bite deep into my flesh and a warm sensation came over me like a blanket.
I knew I was bleeding. The furious glare in Abel’s eyes was menacing and even as my blood poured into the ground beneath me, I used the strength inside me to push him off of me. I roared, finding something inside me that flared to life.
Cain tackled Abel and my arms wound protectively around my chest. My blood poured down my body and the brightness around me dimmed. The pain dulled into nothingness and I was left feeling numb. Soon, I felt nothing else at all.
Was this how it was supposed to end?
Had fate brought me all this way only to die in the end?
The ground quaked beneath my feet. Hard. It was as if Earth itself was angry, breaking apart beneath us with such force that it threw Abel off his feet, allowing Cain to wind his hands around his brother’s throat.
The light surrounding me darkened into shadow and I came to a painful realization.
I was dying.
It was over.
Nothing I had done mattered.
Darkness engulfed me, drawing me in deeper and deeper. Blackness edged at the corners of my vision, slowly taking over until I felt like I could see nothing at all.
I’d tried to fight my fate and I failed and now I was going to die.
A single tear coursed down my cheek and I closed my eyes as I accepted my defeat. I was hardly aware of the screams of horror and sadness coming from one of the brothers. I thought it was Cain, but I was too far gone to know for sure.
Wetness cascaded down the front of me and I collapsed forward, all manner of strength fading from my body as I pressed my forehead to the earth beneath me.
I wondered if I would go to heaven. Did I even deserve happiness?
I was a monster now though. In all likelihood, there was a cell waiting for me down in the pits of hell, a cage ready to contain me and keep me captive for the rest of time. The devil would be waiting for me, ready to claim my soul as his for all of eternity. He wanted me and now he was about to have me. He was going to get exactly what he wanted.
Bright white light poured down from a break in the clouds in the sky, basking me in warmth and I shuddered at the strange feeling. The backs of my shoulders burned hot for a moment, before piercing hot agony ripped through my skin. It felt like a jagged knife was piercing through my spine, and I screamed so loud that it almost felt like the earth trembled beneath me.
I shook and curled my arms even tighter
around myself. I fractured into pieces, so broken by pain that my nails dug into my arms. I was hardly even aware of the fact that I was making myself bleed. It all paled in comparison to the tearing sensation at my back.
All of a sudden, new limbs sprouted from my shoulder blades and spread outward. I shrieked as the pain finally began to quell and that’s when it dawned on me that I was changing. Bright white wings spread outward from my back and every single wound on my body slowly pressed back together, healing almost immediately. I stopped bleeding and my strength returned tenfold in a matter of seconds.
Tentatively, my fingers reached for my mouth. My teeth were still sharp, so I was still a vampire. I touched my throat and found that it was smooth once more. I tried to reach for the magic inside me and found it burning stronger than ever, humming with intensity that begged to be set free. I tested my wings, curling them around myself. With hesitation, I brushed my fingertips against the plush white feathers. They were soft and intoxicatingly beautiful. I was speechless as the weight of what I had become fully settled onto me.
I swallowed heavily.
I was a witch. I was a vampire and now I was an angel too.
Cain and Abel stared back at me with disbelief. Something fractured in Abel and a certain unbalanced insanity pierced through his gaze. He threw Cain off of him and staggered to his feet. Then he burst toward me and I quickly put my newly grown wings to the test. I flew up, away from the ground in an effort to escape him.
Cain shrieked for me and I stared down. He held something in his hand and at once, I knew what it was. He was holding the collar and he threw it up at me, using a gust of wind magic to propel it straight to me. I grabbed it out of the air and slid it onto my wrist, preparing myself to use it and collar the beast within Abel once and for all.
Abel followed me, using his own wings to burst upward. The battle had now gone from the ground to the air. Cain couldn’t follow, which meant it was just me and Abel now. I snarled. No matter what, I wasn’t going to lose.
I flew higher and higher, feeling the air caress my skin. The demon’s fire had finally gone out on my shoulder from Abel’s earlier attack. I didn’t know why. Perhaps my new transition put it out, or maybe I had actually died for a moment and it had stopped burning because of it. Either way, I felt like a new person. I was stronger and more refreshed, but most important, I felt extremely powerful. I was a force to be reckoned with and Abel was going to learn that for himself, once and for all.
The sensation of flying was addictive and I surged up, climbing high enough to break through the clouds, all while Abel flew close on my tail. I darted back and forth through the white haze, using the mist to hide as he chased me. I flapped my wings hard and went even higher, dashing to the side once I heard the rustle of his own wings as he followed me.
He roared with anger and I could pinpoint exactly where he was behind me. Quickly, I lunged backwards and circled around him, closing in on him when he thought he was doing the very same. I moved in even further and then I barreled forward, clashing with him hard. He shrieked with frustration and the two of us dove toward the ground as he tried to break free from my clutches. I wouldn’t let him though.
It was time for me to clip his wings.