A Melody Played on the Strings of a Broken Lyre

Soren kept watch, staring at Elyra as she hovered over the old woman's mansion, whispering to the witch-girl and the near-vampire. This secret rendezvous seemed to him like a betrayal of his master's confidence. He watched them closely, thinking that there were ills in the world that were much more serious than demons, evils that even a deity might be blind to in the big picture. Soren was determined not to let Father Malachi trap Amara or Elyra again.

Soren thought it was an issue of a distorted worldview rather than Father Malachi himself having a dark soul. This did not, however, relieve the man of his transgressions, particularly since the angel could see that he intended to repeat them.

Father Malachi waited a moment as Elyra left her friends, long enough for Soren to confirm his evil intent regarding both women. Soren quickly decided that he would follow Elyra, leaving Father Malachi to wait, even if his gaze was constantly drawn back to her. He followed her with greater subtlety.

Before long, it was clear that Elyra had no idea where she was going, roaming aimlessly and retracing her steps as though she were trapped in a maze she had created for herself. She might have seemed aimless to Soren, but she suddenly turned at the outskirts of the city and started walking toward the forest with a renewed sense of purpose.

Soren was overcome with a sense of dread and had to step in. He thought, Spirit her out of here, stop Father Malachi. Maybe he should leave Father Malachi and Elyra to their own devices. He was plagued by an unfathomable certainty: nothing he could see through the thick forest canopy would comfort him.

Still, Soren continued, however he soon fell behind. It was evident that Elyra knew her way well, yet even Father Malachi found it difficult to keep up. To Soren's eyes, she was elusive, and her route was unclear.

A melancholic tune floated from her mouth, gentle and entrancing, briefly relieving the fear gripping his heart. He chastised himself for his anxiety; this woman had not unnerved him, surely, but the near-vampire's evil aura.

Then he could see her clearly: she was stunning, dressed in white, and her presence was as bright as the moonlight in the middle of the day. As though she were as much a part of the gods' realm as he was, she moved with a grace that was almost divine.

But something wasn't right. Her movements, which had before brought him peace, now made him uneasy. He had witnessed such elegance, such easy lightness, in a wild creature before. A sleek, exquisite cat had stretched idly in the sun, seeming very innocent, and then a few seconds later, it had leaped on a bird. He could still clearly recall the memory, which had just been there a few hours before.

She had the beauty of a huntress, a predator ready to attack.

The necessity to act quickly compelled Soren to come out of hiding amid the woods and yell, “Elyra!” He didn't know exactly what he was stopping, just that the idea of her blood-stained hands at that very moment was too much for him to handle.

Her song stopped suddenly, and she turned to look at him, her face displaying a look of astonishment and panic. She had failed to notice him. Her gaze then shifted to Father Malachi, who was motionless, not only not anticipating his own discovery but also not knowing the angel was around.

Soren begged, "Elyra, you mustn't," but he wasn't precisely sure what she meant. All he knew was that both she and he would regret what she had done. "Elyra, he isn't worth it."

Her eyes came back to his, and then, gradually, they changed into something terrible. "I never said he was worth it," she admitted in a trembling, quiet voice. However, Amara is! I won't allow him to hurt her ever again, and he won't stop until she's dead!

She suddenly surged with frightening speed toward Father Malachi. Her mouth twisted into a vile snarl, and she struck his throat with deadly accuracy. Father Malachi's neck broke before he struck the ground, and Soren knew that he would be dead after just one stroke.

Soren, however, was faster. He grabbed her arm and wrenched it away as he stopped her. He was faster, even if her speed was strange. She shouldn't have been that fast, though. He muttered, "Elyra?" looking for a glimpse of the light he had previously seen in her eyes.

For a moment, she turned on him, as though he would be her next victim, and ripped her hand free. This defiance lasted only a second before her demeanor gave up and her eyes softened. Soren briefly noticed this shift before turning away, seemed taken aback. “God-sent, this doesn’t worry you!” she yelled, her voice hoarse and unidentifiable. Once this man is dead, hunt down the demon you want and kill it; I won't stop you. But don't bother me, my prey!

Soren felt the same terrible apprehension that had taken hold of him when he had first seen her walk into the woodland. “You have nothing to do with my hunt for the demon, Elyra!” he shot out, his voice rising with a panic he would not admit. "I won't allow you to give up your soul for someone like him! You are more valuable than that.

There was a long, foreboding hush. Elyra's body shook as she stood inches away. Soren could see the sweat trickling down her skin, hear her heart pumping frantically, smell her fury and fear, and see her chest heave with a last, shuddering gasp.

Then, amazingly, she stopped moving completely. It seemed like forever before she took another breath to talk. "You want to keep my soul intact?" Now, her voice was grimly ironic and emotionless. "Angel, what gives you the impression that I even have a soul to save?"

Whether they were late by a breath or two, it didn't really matter now. They made meaningless the words that had been spoken before they arrived. Stopping just in sight, Amara could feel the tension between Soren and Elyra, an indication that something permanent had been said.

She let out a small, silent cry, pleading with them to stop. Their resentful gazes froze the air around them as neither paid attention to her.

With a giggle that was everything but human, Elyra raised her chin boldly and her lips curled into a smile. "And will you protect her if you kill me?" Her looks gradually changed into something lovely but horrible as the half-demon desired. She pointed to Father Malachi, knowing how dangerous he was, her grin turning to disgust. "He set her mother on fire for hanging around with demons!"

"But you see now, don't you? It's a gift from God." Her eyes turned to stone, and her amused and disgusted expressions disappeared. "My mother, not hers, was the one who worked with a demon."

Soren's eyes burned with a fury that was unworthy of a holy person, but he stayed motionless, his human body intact. "Deceiver," he said, his tone full of personal treachery. "That I might have thought you were beautiful!"

Before her demonic ancestry completely dominated her features, Elyra hesitated and gave a brief, melancholy smile. “That you might have…” she said, her eyes showing a weakness Amara had never seen, her voice briefly human. "But don't you see me for who I really am now?"

"No, Soren!" Amara sobbed, startled out of her daze by the knowledge that this would be their final encounter. She sprang forward, but Gramor grabbed her by the waist. Desperate to stop the angel from bringing down the remaining members of her family, she resisted him. "Please don't! You're not getting it!

"Don't think you can fool me!" With his once lovely voice now hollow, Soren's head cocked slightly in her direction. "Do you believe that a half-demon is somehow more worthy of escaping the wrath of heaven than a full-demon?" He shook his head and lowered his voice. "No, witch-child, you won't speak to me again."

"What was her option?" Elyra questioned, her voice devoid of humanity. "Betrayed those who had faith in her? Follow your damned holy will mindlessly, pigeon? Just as you follow orders from someone who won't even tell you why you hunt?

"I don't need a reason other than your blood!" Soren growled, his sound so unholy that Amara stopped fighting and stared in shock.

"And his true nature comes to light." From behind her, Gramor murmured in a cryptic voice that showed no respect for the warrior of heaven. "Remember that an earthbound angel cannot remember his origins for a reason, Amara."

Amara was tossed aside and fell to the ground before she had a chance to consider what he had said. Stepping between the two enemies, Gramor moved over the forest floor. Amara wasn't sure he thought he could stop either fighter.

She ought to have waited to see how this conflict between near-deities would turn out, immobilized with terror. But without thinking, she sprang up and ran to stand between them too.

Gramor flinched back in terror as she sank her teeth into his arm and tried to grab her and push her away. She faced Soren with eyes as unwavering as Elyra's, resolute despite the flavor of his ancient flesh and the possible taint of his blood.

"And you think it's that easy?" Amara's voice was full of emotion and unshed tears as she murmured. She must also be doomed because her father and his ancestors both have damned blood. Are you really so easily tricked?

Even though he didn't push past Amara, Soren's eyes were cold, their depths boiling with anger as he stared at her. With a voice full of threat, he muttered, "Deception is a demon's nature." And ever since our paths first met, that beast has only lied to me. Get out of here, witch-child. You are not the object of my argument.

"You're not fighting here!" Amara's voice sounded almost scream-like. "Angel, she has no blood on her hands. Get your eyes open and see the reality!

Soren looked from Elyra to Amara and back again slowly. With a death-defying tone, he declared, "I see a demon." "Not much more. Again, I caution you, witch-child—move away.

"Or what?" Amara lowered her voice to a whisper. "Angel, what will you do? Are you going to murder me too? She belongs to me just as much as any demon's child does. Thus, if you have to murder her... "Then you must kill me to reach her," she said, pausing, looking him in the eyes, and making herself continue.

There was a moment of hesitancy in Soren's eyes. An angel could only defeat demons, and he had named her one of the people he was obligated to defend, so Amara knew she had touched a nerve. In order to reach Elyra, he couldn't hurt her. Of course he could get around her, but for now he just looked.

"Amara." Amara flinched when she heard her name spoken in those horrible tones for the first time, and it was Elyra's voice. "Remove yourself. Never give up your life for a monster.

Amara took action without thinking. Before anybody could react, she slipped by Gramor and turned on Elyra, slapping the half-demon across the face with her open palm. Amara remained unflinching despite the careless strike that drew blood from the jagged thorns that adorned Elyra's demonic body.

“Don’t call yourself that!” she growled, while Elyra gazed at her with a face that didn’t fit her current appearance. "You don't deserve the moniker any more for your birth than I do for mine, yet I've been dubbed a monster my entire life! My teacher deserves it just as much as anyone else because of the blood that was thrown at him.

Her rage persisted, but her voice steadied. "I'll hit you again if you say it again. Elyra, I don't give a damn about your blood. I'll never be afraid of you.