"Wine And Snow"
Part 5
by Mel
Your angels speak with jilted tongue
The serpent’s tale has come undone
You have no strength to squander
---Sarah McLachlan
He waited outside for him, his back pressed against the brick wall. Dominic had taken a moment to imagine his favorite long leather jacket on his body before he passed into the mortal realm. And as he had, he changed from Asmodeus the demon, he became Dominic.
Dominic suited the demon well. The mortal man he was supposed to be was short in comparison to his brother, the light in his grey eyes usually dimmed somewhat. Not today however, today he let the light pulse as it did through his body. He let his fury shine for all to see.
As such, most mortals steered completely clear of him.
That suited Dominic as well. He didn’t desire any form of contact at the moment, least of all petty mortal conversation. He was only here for one reason, and he was sick of that reason drinking bloody tea with another Angel. It didn’t even have any alcohol in it! What was with these Angels, damn goody two shoes!
Though furious, Dominic was not stupid. He could not take on two high Angel’s at once. They’d massacre him. So he had to wait to get Michael alone. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long. The other Angel left the café in a fluster, Dominic would have laughed at his misfortune if he could be bothered.
Instead, he waited until he couldn’t feel the purity of the Angel floating around any more before crossing the street. He entered the café, smiling at the waitress, and walked on towards the table. She made a move to stop him, but it was almost as if she saw something in his eyes that made her turn from him. Dominic was glad. The woman didn’t need the extra stress of pissing him off today.
He paused for a moment, looking at the Angel nursing his cooling cup of tea. He seemed a little lost, like he’d lost something in himself and was trying to find it. His brother had said that Michael had looked good, better then ever. But as he looked him over, Dominic saw sorrow and confusion. Though he would have liked to say he enjoyed seeing the Angel squirm, the image he made tugged silently at his heart.
But it didn’t stop the smoldering fury. Michael had still hurt Dominic’s brother, and that was worse then hurting himself.
So he sat opposite the Angel.
It took a few moments for Michael to realize that there was even anyone sitting in front of him. Dominic was patient, he waited, letting his blood boil. Michael looked up, blue eyes uncomprehending. Then recognition seemed to hit him like a truck. Dominic smiled, his lips curving dangerously.
"Asmodeus," Michael whispered his name, somewhere between awe and surprise.
Good.
"It’s a pleasure to see you again after all this time Michael," Dominic said silkily, his voice purring slightly. "Or is it Elijah now?"
"Yes, Elijah." He didn’t seem to know how to handle this. Of course he wouldn’t. His encounter with Belial had been easy, he could react with anger. Dominic was being, well, nice for lack of a better word.
Dominic found Elijah adorable when he was frustrated and confused. He wondered if Belial had been right, if he looked just as good, if not better, angry. It wasn’t going to take much longer to find out. "I heard you’ve had an interesting day."
The defenses went up quickly and he eyed Dominic with more than a little suspicion. "You did, did you?"
"Yes," Dominic’s soft voice did not change. "I heard from one very distraught brother of mine. Do you realize that you ruined his day?"
"He was lucky I didn’t ruin anything else," Michael murmured dryly.
Dominic continued as if Michael had said nothing. "And did you know, that in ruining his day, you’ve ruined mine?" That small, dangerous, smile again. "Did you want to go somewhere else?"
"What?"
"Somewhere away from here. It’s just, when I whip your ass, I don’t think either of us want a whole heap of onlookers."
~~~~~
They stood before each other, wind ripping between them. Gone were the busy streets and people. No longer were there high buildings of steel and glass. Here there was infinite nothingness, nothing but dunes of sand as far as the eye could see. It suited the dry heat of Dominic’s fury as shed the jacket from his slight form. He eyed his angry opponent carefully.
Michael’s clothes were white, they covered his body, making him glow beneath the sun. Gone were the days of heavy chain mail, Dominic noticed, and Michael looked much more at ease in the light, flowing silk. He held the sword with practiced ease, watching Dominic as he watched him.
Enough screwing around, Dominic thought, the sword appearing in his own hand. He would have much preferred his glaive, the staff with the curved blade felt so much more comfortable in his hands. But it would have stood no chance against Michael’s fiery sword.
He decided quickly it would be stupid to wait and see what Michael was going to do and, with a furious shout, he launched his body at the Angel. Michael seemed surprised but blocked the blow of the sword effortlessly. And missed the flying fist that connected with his stomach, knocking him backwards.
Dominic landed easily on his feet, not letting the one small victory go to his head. He’d be incredibly lucky to land another hit like that. Michael caught his balance, fury filling his eyes, radiating from his being. You felt that didn’t you little Bit, the thought barely had a chance to appear before Michael was upon him, sword connecting and bearing down on his, hurting him with the shear force of it all.
"Why do you want to fight me, Asmodeus? And don’t go giving me that ‘ruined day’ bullshit." Michael growled.
Dominic had to pull back, breaking the fierce contact of their swords before swinging up and around. Michael blocked, blue eyes narrowing, but Dominic didn’t bother with an answer. Again and again, he pressed the small advantage he had. Michael was not fighting back as well as he could. He was too busy trying to figure out why they were fighting.
Finally one of Dominic’s blows got passed Michael’s defenses, nicking at the flesh of Michael’s cheek. The Angel snarled, one hand reaching out, wrapping itself around Dominic’s neck, pulling him forward so he was right in his face. "WHY?"
For a moment, Michael saw the demon’s fury dissipate and he could see sorrow beyond measure in those full grey eyes. "You were our best friend and you’ve thrown us away like a pair of dirty rags. You’ve meant *everything* to the two of us and you just don’t care!" He struggled out of the hold the Angel had him in, standing almost defeated before him. "We’ve loved you almost all our lives, Michael."
Michael could only stare at him. They loved him. Had always loved him. And he had never noticed, never even thought of it. No, that wasn’t completely true.
They had sat together once, at the beginning of time, watching everything begin. ‘Do you ever wonder what it would be like to love, Michael?’ Asmodeus had asked him, Belial beside his brother, watching on with interest.
‘No,’ he had told them, ‘we weren’t made to love.’ And he had ignored the look the brother’s had shared up until this very moment. They had loved each other then, and he as well, and Michael had been too blind to see it before his eyes.
Shock, fear, sorrow and, above all, truth, ran through Michael and, even as he stared at the defeated figure of Asmodeus, he did the only thing he could do. He ran.
Dominic was staring at where Michael had been and sighed, his body shaking with sorrow and pain. Michael had managed to defeat both brothers without even trying, quite simply by being the Angel he was. The single tear that glided down the demon’s face dried up before it even hit the sand and Dominic turned, he too leaving the empty wasteland and his shattered heart behind.
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to: Mel
go to PART 6