Love Comes In Many Dangerous Forms

I ran. I ran as fast as I could, the feeling of daggers being lodged down my throat, ripping my lungs into pieces. But that didn’t stop me; fear and adrenaline pulsed through my veins. I could hear my heartbeat pounding from behind my ears. Sticks and thorns dug into the bottoms of my feet, and were plunged in deeper with each footfall. Tears of pain, terror, and defeat streamed down my face, I knew I couldn’t outrun him, but I was going to hold onto my freedom as long as I could.

I could hear his footsteps behind me, effortless and taunting. He was laughing, a very familiar and psychotic laugh. It made me run faster, struggling with putting as much distance between us as possible.

This was it; I would die by his hand. I would die, and he would drag it out for as long as he could, torture me in every way possible. I wouldn’t get to see my family or my friends again, my kingdom would fall, and it would be the end of the human race. And it would all be my fault.

But why did he come back? I did nothing to break our deal.

Michael was here, “Run Cassie, keep running!” he chanted repeatedly.

But I couldn’t, fate wouldn’t let me.

I tripped over something, and I could feel my right foot become sliced open and blood gushed out painfully. I struggled to get up, but agonizing pain radiated from it, leaving me defenseless. But I didn’t stop trying to crawl away.

But then, a dark shadow appeared in the light of the moon. It bent down next to me, and I could see his face. His once short dirty blonde hair had grown long and fell in his face. His psychotic blue eyes stared down at me, terrifying me even more than they had before. The crow was perched on his shoulder smirking down at me. His pale hand reached out, and stroked my face with the back of his cold hand, scorching my skin.

The raven jumped off his shoulder and onto mine, digging his talons into my shoulder.

I couldn’t move, I was frozen with fear. My breath was cut off as he leaned in closer so that our foreheads were touching and he kept leaning closer. But something stopped him when his lips were almost touching mine. His eyes drifted away from mine and he glared over my shoulder at some unknown object, a menacing growl erupted from his lips and snarled exposing a sharp row of teeth.

The raven squawked angrily and flew in the direction it came in. And he stayed for a moment.

“I’ll come back for you,” he whispered gently, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear, and pressed his lips against my forehead before he left following the raven.

The moment he left, was the moment I both gained and lost my sanity, and I broke down. My vision blurred with salty tears that wouldn’t stop flowing down my face. Air swirled down my throat painfully in short shallow gasps. Unwanted images clouded my mind, unable to get them out; I would give anything to never see them again, to never experience them again. I curled up in a ball, placing my head on my knees, failing to attempt to forget the world around me, the truth was suffocating me.

He would come back, and nothing was going to stop him this time.

***

(Shane’s P.O.V.)

I paced nervously, though I knew I really shouldn’t be worrying. But Cassiel has been gone for over an hour, and it bothered me more than anything else.

“Will you stop pacing?” Zach hissed at me coming out of his tent.

I glared at him; he was really getting on my nerves, but I said nothing and kept pacing.

He narrowed his eyes at me and wet over to Cassie’s tent and looked inside, “Where is Cassiel?”

“I don’t know,” I answered looking in the direction she had left, hoping I would see her walking back, but nothing was there.

“What do you mean ‘you don’t know’?” He growled at me, getting in my face.

“She left around an hour ago,” I explained, “Now I would like it very much if you would step away from me.”

“Left for what?” he barred his teeth at me, not moving, “Are you sure you didn’t leave her dying, again.”

That was it.

I snarled at him and pushed him away from me and he landed on Colton’s tent – waking the dog.

“What the hell are you doing?!” he screamed at us, pushing Zach off the tent and stormed out the opening.

“Why don’t you tell him Shane?” Zach seethed.

“Cassiel went for a walk because she couldn’t sleep, and she hasn’t come back yet,” I explained sending a hard glare towards Zach, “And I wouldn’t hurt her.” I couldn’t.

“Well then why isn’t she back yet?” Zach mocked.

“I don’t know,” I clenched my fists, but quickly unclenched them, when I heard a very faint whimpering in the distance.

“H-,” Colton started, but I cut him off.

“Shush!” I hissed trying to listen harder, “Do you hear that?”

They were silenced for a minute, and I could hear it clearer, someone was crying. The wind blew then, and a very familiar scent of blood brush across my face.

We all looked at each other nervously and choked out one name in unison, “Cassiel.”

I didn’t even think, I just followed the scent, I could hear Zach and Colton behind me as all of us headed in one direction, toward Cassiel.

It wasn’t until we were about a mile away from camp when we saw a tiny figure shaking and long blonde hair that was illuminated in the light of the moon. Cassiel. She was curled up in a tight ball.

I reached her first, but I accidentally stepped on a branch, making our presence known and her head shot up, and she looked at us, terror was soaked deep in her eyes. Her hair was tangled and bloodied, and she had scratches on her exposed skin and I saw gashes on her left shoulder. She struggled trying to get away from us, like she was deathly afraid of us.

“S-s-stay away from m-me,” she stuttered out.

I looked at her, confused. What happened to her?

Zach, being the dumbass he is, ran over to her, which only frightened her more.

“NO!” she screamed fighting against his hold, “LET GO OF ME! GET AWAY! PLEASE!” she pled tears streaming down her face.

“Cassie! CASSIEL! Look at me,” he ordered grabbing her face in his hands.

She struggled but eventually her eyes made their way to Zach, and she broke down, crying uncontrollably against his shoulder.

Jealousy shot through my veins. I wanted to be the one that held her. I wanted to be the one who murmured sweet words in her ear. I wanted to be the one that was there for her. But I wasn’t, and that pained me.

“Cassie, what happened?” Zach asked after she calmed down.

She shook her head, and had some difficulty speaking, “A m-man… came, I-I didn’t s-s-see his fa-ace.”

I felt a hiss work its way up my throat, but when I tasted the air, I couldn’t smell anything but Cassiel. That was odd.

“Cassie, I don’t smell anything,” Zach stated.

“He was here!” she argued pushing away from him, “I saw him, I felt him Zach! Don’t tell me I didn’t.”

“And she falls off the rocker,” Colton mutters rolling his eyes.

Cassiel spun on her heel and faced Colton with a glare, “I am not crazy.”

Colton looked at her doubtfully but didn’t say anything.

Zach sighed, looking around, “Let’s go find out what scared her.”

Cassiel shook her head vigorously, murmuring, “No, no don’t leave.”

“I’ll take her back to camp,” I offered.

“Alright,” Zach glared at me, “Let’s go mutt.”

“I’m not a dog,” Colton growled but followed him nonetheless.

“Can you walk?” I asked her as she stared after Colton and Zach biting her lip so hard I thought it would bleed.

She looked back at me and down to her injured foot, as she tried to step forward, but fell off balance. I caught her before she could fall; the poor girl was shaking like a leaf – either from fear or the cold breeze that whipped against her skin. I carried her in my arms as she leaned her head against my shoulder exhausted. I headed toward camp and when we were halfway there when she spoke.

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”Cassie assumed.

“I think something scared you, back there,” I told her truthfully, looking down at her.

She stared back at me with bloodshot eyes and wet lashes.

“How did you get hurt?” I asked her.

“I stepped on a rock,” she answered glaring at her injured foot.

“And your shoulder?”

“A bird attacked me,” she said looking away from me, lying.

“And I see you reopened your wounds on your neck,” I noticed, brushing off her lie.

“I must have done that when I was running,” her heartbeat quickened, lying again.

I sighed, but said nothing until we got back to camp.

Aidan watched us warily, as I set Cassiel down next to the fire pit that only had a few burning embers left. I went over to the carriage, and searched for the first aid kit. I found it hiding under the massive amount of luggage and brought it over to Cassiel.

“Thank you,” she said softly, taking the bright yellow box and opened it.

I watched her treat her foot, but had trouble with the wound on her shoulder and changing her bandages on her neck. She let out a huff of irritation and turned to me.

“Can you help me?” she asked helplessly.

I nodded my head, and she tied her hair up in a bun, and gave me the medicine and the bandages.

She was quite for a few moments as I wiped away to blood away with the gauzes.

“Can you promise me something?” she asked quietly.

“Anything,” I told her.

“If- when I… die or if I’m dying… could you please keep Jimmy away from me?” she choked out.

I felt my heart reach out to her, wanting to take her sorrow away, I wanted to rip away all of her bad memories that scared her and burn them.

But I had to ask, “Why?”

“He’s already seen two of his parents die in front of him, and he still remembers. I don’t want him to see another one. Please just tell him, that I had to go a meeting, or something. Just don’t tell him that I died, not until he's older, at least,” she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I will,” I promised her, “But you have to promise me something in return.”

She looked at me, confused.

“Promise me, you’ll fight,” I told her, “Whatever it is that is trying to kill you, promise me you will fight it off as long as you can.”

She nodded, and I finished changing the bandages, but her shoulder was still bleeding. I couldn’t clean the puncture wounds, her sleeve was masking them.

I guess she saw me trying to work around the fabric, and she smiled slightly and pulled the top of her sleeve, giving me free access to her shoulder. But something distracted me.

Peeking out from the back of her dress were deep dark markings. Scars.

She saw me looking and I quickly looked away from them, not wanting to offend her, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” she asked, confused.

“Your scars…” I trailed off.

She smiled, “I guess most people would be ashamed of them.”

“And you’re not,” I assumed cleaning the punctures.

“No,” she laughed, “They’re a part of me. Though my parents disagree, they made me get rid of the scars on my arms, my legs and my face saying, ‘scars are imperfections, princesses have to be perfect, and you’ll bring shame to this family’. I wouldn’t let them touch my back; I didn’t want to forget where I came from or what I’ve been through.”

I nodded my head, but something confused me, “But why your back?”

“It’s a funny story actually. I’m named after the archangel Cassiel, in a failed attempt to get the angels on our side. Well, Michael would call me his angel and that my scars were my wings. That’s why I wouldn’t let them take away my scars on my back,” she explained, her eyes drooped.

“I’m done,” I told her taping the bandage to her skin and she pulled her sleeve back up after she let her hair fall down out of its casement , “You can go to sleep now.”

She shook her head, failing to stifle a yawn, “Colton and Zach…”

“I’ll wake you up when they get back,” I promised her getting up.

“Will you stay with me?” she asked in a childlike voice.

I couldn’t say no, “Alright,” I sighed getting her blanket and placed it gently around her, and sat next to her.

She laid her head in my lap whispering, “Thank you.”

I smiled and stroked her blonde hair, “Anytime.”