Gotta Get Out of Here

The Kingdom was similar to Golden City, though on a much larger scale, with it’s white, magnificent buildings, elevated towers, intricately sculpted archways, and extensive bridges. However, Golden City was only golden in name. The Kingdom was paved in it.

Ivy had never felt so uncomfortable doing something as simple as taking a step. She had never given much thought about what she was walking on, but now that it was actual gold under her scuffed boots, it was all she could think about. How many coins would this road make? Where did they get it all, and who was responsible for maintaining it? How many mouths could a small section feed?

Ren had said that gold had little value in The Kingdom, but just how little she could have never imagined.

“Is it always like this?” Ivy asked, observing the nearly bare roads. What few angels there were stayed clear of them, eyes carefully following the Fallen One as they made their way closer to the center of The Kingdom towards the castle that towered high above all else, an idol in its own right.

“No, I’m sure most have already taken off to Golden City.” Ren glanced around, smiling and waving at two angels on the other side of the road who quickly turned and hurried away. “This really is the best. Normally, it’s a hassle to make your way through the crowds, but things have really improved under my command.”

“You’re having too much fun with this,” Sakura warned. “You need to be more serious. We should be observing that parasite, not frolicking through The Kingdom. We’re wasting time.”

The man waved her off. “I’m having just the right amount of fun. Besides, this is important. I’m not killing anything until my terms are agreed to.”

“You’re not killing anything at all!” she argued. “I am!” And the demon was anxious to kill it now, every moment passing making her more and more impatient.

The angel looked down at her, pompous in his attitude. “I am your king alpha mate, everything you do is a direct reflection on me. Anything you kill, I kill, and I will take all the glory for my achievements.”

The woman should have been seething at his better-than-thou aura, but the only thing she could manage to fathom a care about was the parasite. Was that white speck its eye? Were there more? Was Ren’s sword really the only thing that could puncture it? So many questions, the answers only attainable with said infuriating man’s assistance. But as long as she could get what she wanted, she would play along with his delusions of grandeur.

For now.

“Whatever,” Sakura groaned. “Make it quick. We don’t have all day.”

The group made it to the castle with it’s elegant ivory stone and steep-peak towers after passing through the expansive and impeccable gardens bursting with a symphony of bright hues with bulbous hydrangea, cheerful lilies, and cascading morning glory's among the seemingly infinite other varieties of blooms that garnished the golden paths that led to the castle’s front steps.

Everything perfect.

Everything flawless.

Everything other than the four beings who clomped up the stairs to stand in front of the tall, wooden doors at the castle’s entrance. The Fallen One took the lead, shoving the doors open, and gallivanting across the marble floors, under the tremendous and glistening chandeliers, leading the others down wide, pristine hallways and up winding staircases. What angels of The Guard remained watched them pass in silence, understanding the gravity of the situation in which they were in.

They didn’t like it.

But they had to accept it.

Least The Kingdom of Heaven be forever lost.

And Ren was basking in it all.

Ivy touched Sakura’s arm, gaining her attention. “How long is he going to act like this for?” The man’s cocky attitude had only increased the closer they got to the castle, and it was now emanating from him in obnoxious waves as he strutted along.

The woman shrugged with a small shake of her head. “Who knows. It’s Ren. But to be fair, The Kingdom did spend sixteen years plotting and four trying to get him killed. Let’s let him have his moment for now. If it goes on more than a few days, I’ll shut it down.”

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Because no matter how much she loved the man, she didn’t have the patience to tolerate his arrogance for long and would not hesitate to take him out.

Ren finally came to the end of one of many hallways and pushed his way through the doors to find Cassiel sitting at the same desk that he had placed countless of heads upon. The man looked ragged and weary, having learned of the Fallen One’s repetitive arrival... and departure... and arrival hours before. He had had plenty of time to marinate in his despair and dread, and it showed in the way he held himself, his body hunched in defeat rather than tall and confident.

“I’m here for my rewards!” Ren’s voice boomed throughout the large room as he narrowed in on angel, a predator ready to claim his wounded prey.

Cassiel was taken back, looking at him and his companions in shock. “You’ve already exterminated the parasite?” No one knew what to expect with the termination of a parasite, especially one so large. The Kingdom had spent the better part of a month trying to navigate its destruction to no avail, and the possibility of its nearly instant demise from the Fallen One was demoralizing at the very least.

“No, I’ll take care of that whenever I get around to it.” The man was nonchalant in his response while he sauntered up to the desk and sat on its edge, picking up random items and lazily observing them before putting them back in different spots. “Today, I want you to agree to my stipulations. No arguing. No questions asked.”

Cassiel was prepared for this. “And what are those?”

Ren jerked his head back, indicating towards Zero. “I want The Kingdom to leave the poor, little, inbred kid alone and any offspring he may produce and so on and so forth. All of them, don’t bother them, ever. For any reason, ever. None of that loophole bullshit like you pulled with me. I also want unlimited access to all records in The Kingdom.”

The man sat, eye contact steady with the Fallen One, waiting for something more that never came. “Is that all?”

“Yep.” He nodded, pleased with his choices. “That’s about it.”

Cassiel felt frozen, unsure of what to do. He and the entirety of The Kingdom had readied themselves for the worst of assumptions of what the Fallen One may request for his prayers. They had come to the conclusion that they would have to take that risk in order to have any chance at saving The Kingdom. They would have to make any sacrifice for God. It was the reason why most of the angels had already fled to Golden City, in the hopes that they would be spared the wrath of the Fallen One.

And yet, all he wanted was to look at records and for a boy that no one in The Kingdom other than Cassiel knew about to be left alone.

What a strange man.

One who certainly didn’t live up to the hype of the stories that had been passed down for generations.

“That’s it?” the angel asked skeptically, unsure if he was really ready for the answer.

Ren considered it for a moment. “Actually, there is one more thing. For the last time, leave me the fuck alone. Don’t come poking around my house again, ruining my day, asking me for favors. You think you can handle all that?”

Cassiel nodded slowly. “We can.”

“Great. Once it’s dead I’ll need some time to go through a few things, and then we’ll be out of here. Until then, stay out of my way.” He turned and strode from the room, ready to make a quick escape. “Come on, let’s go.” His fingers snapped impatiently at his companions.

Zero stalled momentarily, glancing at the older man, his blue eyes so similar to his mother’s, before allowing Ivy to pull him along in following behind Ren and Sakura.

Ivy was right.

He had looked sad as he looked back at the boy.

Like he was losing a piece of himself.

Even though it had never been his to begin with.

Now that Ren had completed one task, there was only one more thing to do.

Get out of the castle as quickly as possible.

“Come on!” he barked at the three behind him. “Move your feet. We ain’t got all day.”

“What is your major malfunction?” Sakura snapped back, unable to keep up with the man’s sudden change of attitude. He had been so full of himself all day, and now he seemed rushed and somewhat nervous. “You couldn’t wait to get here. What’s the hurry to leave, now?”

“I don’t have time to explain. Just keep moving.” The angel refused to look at the demon, his attention focused on what lied ahead. He just needed to get out of there, and all would be well. They made it down several flights of stairs and multiple hallways before the foreboding clicking of heels echoed along the marble floors. “Shit!” The man stopped shy of where the hall intersected with another, intending to turn and proceed the other way, but it was already too late as the stunning woman came around the corner, her face lighting up at the sight of him, crisp Guard uniform hugging her hourglass figure.

“Ren!” she gasped as her scarlet lips curled up and she rushed to him, flinging her arms around his neck. “I heard you had come back.”

“Fuck!” the man groaned, drawing out the curse as he faced the ceiling, seeking salvation that wasn’t there. The woman was just as infuriating now as she was while he was in The Guard. He needed to figure out the best course of action to take, and take it now. Dropping his head, he looked to the unimpressed vixen and swallowed hard. “I know this looks bad.”

Sakura peered up at the dark-haired angel. She couldn’t wait to hear his explanation. “Hmm, it does,” she agreed calmly. Too calmly.

“But it’s not what it looks like.”

A cherry brow raised. “Oh? And what does it look like, Ren?”

“Something very, very not good.”

She nodded with an uncomfortably forced smile. “Uh huh.”

The woman’s hold loosened as she looked between the two, her curiosity from years before finally being quenched. “So it wasn’t some human girl that you wanted to go back to. It was a fox!” She released Ren and stepped in front of the green eyed woman, gawking at her and the ebony feather on her shoulder. “I knew there had to have been a woman, but you were not what I was expecting. How did the two of you come together? When? Did he steal you from the den?”

Sakura stared at the blonde angel who was only slightly taller than her, not nearly as interested in the woman as she seemed to be with her. “Who the fuck are you?” She looked up at Ren, confused. “What the fuck is going on here?”

“I’m so terribly sorry. How rude of me,” her tone a seductive whine. “I’m Charlotte. I was an informant for Ren during his time in The Guard.”

The demon nodded, finally understanding. “Oh, so you’re the blood sucking snake he’s told me about.” Ren had mentioned the woman several times in the past along with a few others, however this angel was the one who had stuck with her, mainly due to the man’s colorful renditions of her. “You’re not nearly as grotesque as he made you out to be though.”

“He’s told you about me?” Surprise painted her sensual face.

“Well, yeah. He tells me everything. He never shuts up.”

Charlotte glanced up at the man for only a moment before setting her eyes back on emeralds. “Is that so? Where are you staying tonight?”

The woman shrugged. “Wherever I lay my head I suppose.”

“Do you like to drink?”

“I sure do.” Sakura grinned, optimistic for the possibility of free alcohol, the only kind she ever consumed.

The angel peeked around the fox and at the girl for the first time, momentarily taken back by the elysian beauty. “And what about you two precious creatures?” She viewed the boy next to Ivy with a small raise to her brow, her lips curving ever so higher.

“No, thank you,” Ivy declined politely. “We don’t like to drink.”

“That’s a shame,” she sulked before turning back to the demon, having quickly pinpointed who held the reigns. “I was recently gifted a case of wine that I’ve been dying to share. How about you four stay with me tonight, and we can enjoy it together?”

The vixen’s ears perked. “Wine? Free wine?”

“Of course, you’re a guest. I’m not running a tavern.”

Sakura chewed her cheek, her head lightly bobbing side to side as she weighed her options. She hated angels with an unbridled passion and wanted absolutely nothing to do with them unless it involved inflicting the most amount of pain possible on each and every one that crossed her. But this woman had been different. She had assisted Ren, for a price sure, but assistance is assistance and hers had led to the man freeing himself from The Guard. It wasn’t something she’d think an angel would normally do for the man they disgustingly referred to as the Fallen One.

The angel woman was unusual.

Possibly beneficial.

And she had free booze and a place to sleep. More than likely food would be involved as well.

That was good enough for Sakura.

She peered up at the man, his resigned shrug giving the final go ahead. “Alright,” Sakura agreed. “Why not?”

“Wonderful.” Charlotte looped her arm through the demon’s and began leading the way. “We’re going to have a fantastic time together.”