“We tried to help them,” Cyra replied. “The Throne angels cared for the mortals we had looked after for so long. I watched my sisters fly all over this land to try and help those ungrateful… those greedy…”

  As she spoke, her face scrunched up, and her voice lowered. I glanced down to see her ivory fists curled up in tight balls, and her golden eyes sparkled with rage.

  The red-haired angel quietly seethed, and I wondered if I should take a step away in case she suddenly exploded into a ball of flames or something. I got the impression I did not want to be on the receiving end of that silent anger, and I stayed quiet as she worked through whatever she was feeling. Her bare feet stomped down extra hard on the desert as we walked, and mini sandstorms flew into the air with every step.

  It was several minutes before she spoke again.

  “We wanted to help,” she said eventually. “We hated watching the world we had protected fall into ruin, but I knew we should keep our distance from the mortals. I love the people of this world, but I’m not stupid. I have seen why the gods left, and what these mortals are capable of.”

  At this point, it seemed like Cyra was in a flow of narrative that was for her own purposes just as much as it was for my curiosity. I got the impression she hadn’t had someone around to vent to for a while. The red-haired angel was flailing wildly as she spoke, and I didn’t want to interrupt her as she recalled the story of the gods. Besides, it was fascinating to listen to, and she was a passionate storyteller.

  The way her eyes flashed was almost mesmerizing.

  “So I came down to help,” she continued with a huff. “But the mortals had already decided we were their enemies. Angels are workers of the gods, so of course, they decided to lump us in with them in their minds.”

  “Even though you were trying to help.” I nodded.

  “Exactly!” Cyra scoffed. “They were going crazy and turning on each other yet again. I begged my sisters not to get too close, I warned them these people were too lost in their own egos to accept our help.”

  She shook her head as she stared out into the distance. We still seemed to be in the absolute middle of nowhere, and I started to wonder exactly how long it was going to take to reach this city. Or how long it would be until I could have a drink of water. I still wasn’t entirely sure if I was even alive, but I knew I needed to rehydrate soon.

  “So, what happened to the angels?” I asked gently. “Did they all just leave, too?”

  “Most did,” Cyra said. “So many of them tried their hardest only to be attacked by the people they wanted to help. They left to be with the gods, and only a few of the more determined angels stayed back.”

  “Including you?” I asked.

  “At that point it was for my sisters,” she said a little stiffly. “I had seen all I needed to of the mortals, but I wanted to make sure my sisters all got out safely because I knew something bad was coming.”

  “Something worse than being abandoned by the gods?” I asked.

  Cyra gave me her sideways glance that I already felt like I knew so well. It was like she was constantly sick of my ignorance despite the fact I appeared in this world a whole fifteen minutes ago.

  “Yes, worse,” Cyra said simply. “Demons.”

  I felt a shudder run through me from the word despite how boiling hot I was. Suddenly, I had a deep sense of dread for the people of Dracoria, and for myself, if I was about to walk into a city full of demons.

  “Demons?” I clarified. “Like… real ones?”

  Cyra didn’t deign to answer the question. She just arched an eyebrow at me, and after I glanced at her very real angel wings, I decided I had my answer.

  “What did the mortals do?” I asked. “Did the people fight?”

  “Some tried.” The angel shrugged. “But without the gods and angels around to protect this place, nothing could be done. There were too many demons to possibly defeat, especially when they were all led by various Demon Kings and Queens. They devoured this world as quickly as they could and came in droves to lay claim to the various lands. That’s when I knew it was all over, but I tried desperately to save all my sisters.”

  Cyra kicked the sand and shook her head as though she was trying to stop herself from getting upset.

  “What happened to your remaining sisters?” I asked. “If it’s not too painful to talk about.”

  “The demons captured them,” Cyra said between gritted teeth. “Many of them were trapped within their lands by the Demon Kings and Queens. Now they’re stuck there all because they tried to help the mortals who thought of nothing but their own greed.”

  The angel fell silent, and I watched as her sharp nose scrunched up again. Her usual wild movements got much smaller and static when she was angrier, and it was somehow even more unsettling than if she had just screamed and yelled. I could practically feel the smoldering fury coming off her in waves, and I stepped a few inches further away from her as I realized it made me sweat even more.

  Then something else managed to drag my attention off the feathered beauty beside me.

  I thought I heard a distant rumble behind me, but I spun around to see nothing but a stretch of orange sands under a pale blue sky.

  “What?” Cyra asked as she turned with me.

  “I thought I heard something.” I shrugged. “It must just be the heat getting to me a bit. Is it much farther to the city? I could really use some water.”

  “We’re close,” Cyra said as she narrowed her eyes and studied the desert. “But we need to go faster. Walk quicker.”

  She spun on her heels and started to tear over the sand as her burgundy waves tumbled behind her. Her feathers glistened as the sun hit them, and I hurriedly followed after her as I wiped my forehead. I was desperate to peel my jeans off, but I decided that might be slightly too much considering I was with a woman I had just met. As heat stung my skin, I forced myself to think of anything except how warm my legs were.

  It reminded me too much of my last memories in that fire back home.

  “You said there are other angels left,” I said. “So what are these lands that they’re trapped in like? Is it all desert?”

  “No,” Cyra replied. “We’re going to the Night Lands, that’s the closest one to us right now. Then there’s dozens of other lands in this world. Fire Lands, Water Lands, Storm Lands… too many to name.”

  “That’s kind of cool,” I said. “I mean, not any of this horrible stuff that happened, but the fact the lands are all so different. I wouldn’t mind seeing them. I’m from Arizona, so other than the rainy weeks we don’t get much weather change.”

  Cyra didn’t reply, and I got the feeling she didn’t care for my small talk.

  “Why does everyone stay in their lands?” I asked. “Can’t the people leave the demons?”

  “They’re all trapped,” Cyra said. “The Night Lands are surrounded by this desert land. It would take me days to fly over it, and I don’t need food or water to sustain myself. Anyone else from their lands would be dead within a day.”

  I took a second to process how impressive it was that this angel woman didn’t need sustenance to survive, and I wondered what exactly it was that powered her. That was a low-priority question on my mental list, though, and I tried to keep to the story she was telling me.

  “So the people are all just stuck,” I said. “They’re held prisoner by these insurmountable divides the gods left behind?”

  Cyra nodded curtly.

  “That’s a pretty brutal punishment,” I muttered. “And you’re trying to find the trapped angels?”

  “Nisha is the closest,” Cyra said. “She’s stuck somewhere in the Night Lands, but I haven’t the faintest idea of where to even start. I’ll find her, though. I need to find her.”

  “I can help,” I offered. “I don’t exactly have anything else going on right now, and it would probably be easier to have two people on this rescue mission?”

  “I don’t need help,” Cyra said. “This is a solo quest to rescue a Throne angel. It’s not really a group thing. Especially a group with a… human.”

  She said this word with obvious disdain, but when her golden eyes shot toward me, they dropped straight to my exposed torso. Then she swiftly looked forward again.

  “Like I said, when we reach the city, we can go our separate ways,” Cyra concluded.

  “And then you’ll just go look for your sister by yourself?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she stated.

  “So, why did you save me?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” she snorted. “I didn’t save you.”

  “Sure you did,” I snickered. “I woke up in the middle of the desert, and now you are helping guide me to the city.”

  “We are supposed to help mortals,” she sighed as she glanced away from me. “It won’t take me much time to show you the way. I am hardly saving you.”

  “If you say so,” I sighed.

  Despite her objections, the beautiful woman had saved me from wandering the desert and dying, so I didn’t want her to go into this demon-filled land alone if people were still against angels. Her angel wings were pretty fucking noticeable, and as feisty as she was, I could tell she cared about the world a little bit. Plus, it was obvious how ferociously loyal she was to her angel sisters.

  I wasn’t sure exactly what I could bring to this new world, but I still had my skills and knowledge as a firefighter and paramedic. That surely would come in useful at some point during her mission?

  At least, it might save my own ass here.

  It wasn’t as if I had any clue what I would do in the Night Lands anyway. Would everyone actually have wings? Was the whole place going to be dark?

  “I’ve got medical experience,” I said. “If your friends are hurt, I might be able to help. I know angel anatomy will probably be different from humans, but it’s got to be worth something.”

  Cyra didn’t reply, and her golden eyes were wide as she snapped her head each way and stared out into the desert. Her maroon wings twitched, and I followed her gaze over the span of the orange sands.

  “We need to run,” she hissed, and she suddenly broke out in a sprint.

  “What?” I asked as I started to race after her. “It’s kind of hard to run on sand!”

  My feet slipped on the sand as I ran, but it seemed like Cyra’s wings were helping her move without a similar problem. The feathers quivered slightly even though they were still tucked in, and her ivory feet didn’t seem to slide into the ground as easily as mine did.

  “What exactly are we running from?” I asked.

  “Don’t speak!” she snapped. “Use that energy to run! Like I said, you’re too big for me to carry.”

  I did what she said, and we sprinted over the desert as quickly as possible. The blazing sun scorched my bare chest, and it was becoming clear why the people of the Night Lands didn’t try to risk escape. I was a much more physically fit guy than most, and I’d lived in Arizona my whole life, so it was virtually impossible for me to even get a sunburn these days, but even I was struggling to keep going in the crazy heat. Anyone smaller or less healthy than me probably would have fallen already.

  As I took deep breaths, I suddenly heard the same deep rumbling noise from before. This time, it was much closer and obvious, and I knew I hadn’t imagined it as Cyra’s head spun around toward me.

  “We’re too late,” she hissed. “How are your fighting skills?”

  “Fighting skills?” I asked. “Uh… we don’t exactly get combat training in the fire department.”

  “But you’re strong?” she pressed. “That’s going to have to do. They found us.”

  “Who?” I asked as I looked around.

  “The desert monsters,” Cyra replied, and she suddenly slowed to a halt. “Stop running. You’re going to need every last bit of your strength.”

  I skidded to a halt and spun around as little clouds of sand flew everywhere. The rumbling sound had grown into more of a stampeding noise, and I could finally see what was making it.

  Then my stomach dropped as I looked out over the orange sand and saw the distant shapes of an animal herd come into view.

  They were moving so quickly that it didn’t take long for them to be recognizable as something that looked like sand-colored scorpions. Except these scorpions’ bodies were each the size of a Mini Cooper, and it looked like they were on stilts. They had legs as tall as my six-foot frame and were scurrying toward us in a mini sandstorm. I could see thick tails swaying behind them, and each one had an arrow-shaped stinger pointing up into the sky.

  “What the fuck?” I whispered. “What are those?”

  “The desert monsters,” she sighed.

  “Can’t you fly away?” I asked as my heart hammered against my chest. “Save yourself.”

  “I said I would get you to the city,” Cyra said. “That means we do this together. Get ready.”

  I had no idea how I was supposed to get ready for a herd of giant scorpions, but I curled my hands into fists and stood my ground. I was in a new world with new dangers, and I was going to have to adapt quickly in order to survive.

  As the desert monsters charged over the sand toward me and Cyra, I readied myself for a fight I had no idea how to win.

  Chapter 2

  I suddenly felt very aware of how unarmed I was. My bare fists didn’t feel like enough as the scorpions drew closer, and there wasn’t even a single rock lying around that I could grab. I pulled my shirt back on as if the thin material would have any protection against the approaching danger, and the sound of the stampede grew louder.

  Their long legs scuttled along the sandy ground, and I could hear their giant pincers clicking as they got closer. Cyra scowled at the monsters, and her wings made her look twice the size she was. I glanced down at her slinky, golden dress and hoped she might have some kind of dagger hidden under the material.

  Although there weren’t many places it could have been.

  “Do you have any concealed weapons?” I asked.

  “Where exactly would I be concealing them?” Cyra asked.

  “Yeahhh…” I nodded as I glanced at her exposed legs and arms. “You said angels have powers, are those going to come in useful?”

  “Let’s hope so,” the angel replied, and she tucked her burgundy waves behind her ears.

  It was clear she wasn’t about to walk me through any combat tips to tackle the massive monsters, and I tried to think of my best logical chance. These fuckers were as big as me, and there were a lot more of them. It was hard to count in the flurry of sand, but I reckoned there were five.

  I wasn’t exactly someone who got in a lot of fights back home, and I was pretty sure the last time I threw a punch I was a teenager. It was clear these beasts were going to be a lot tougher contenders than whatever spotty kid I had gotten into a brawl with back then.

  I was strong, though, and I could already see how skinny the monsters’ legs were. There was a pretty good chance I could fit one of those limbs in my fist, and I just had to hope they were easy to break. Then I just had to make sure I didn’t get in the way of the massive pincers that looked like they could crush me in half.

  I tried to ignore the blistering heat that pounded against my head, and I rubbed the sweat from my eyes as the desert monsters approached.

  “Any game plan here?” I asked. “Or are we just throwing ourselves in and hoping for the best?”

  “Game plan?” Cyra asked. “This is not a game. Our plan is that we try not to die. Well, you do. I can’t die.”

  “You can’t die?” I asked. “What is that supposed to mean? I told you to fly away, and you won’t.”

  Cyra glanced at me with an eyebrow raised, and I definitely spotted a smirk on her pretty face before she turned back to the herd.

  “By the way,” she said. “The stingers in the tails are deathly poisonous. Don’t let them stab you.”

  I wanted to reply but the herd was too close, and I had to be ready for whatever the fuck I was about to do. I knew I had to play to my strengths, and that was about all I had to go off of.

  As the desert monsters descended on us, I was surprised to see they didn’t fan out into a wide line or a circle. If they had done that, then they could have surrounded us easily, so I quickly realized they might not be the smartest of creatures. They stayed in a hurried, haphazard line, and I counted five of them as they got closer.

  I could see from a few feet away that they had horrible beady eyes that looked out of place on the sides of their massive heads. Their mouths opened from the sides and revealed a row of razor-sharp fangs in front of a purple tongue. Their thick pincers clicked menacingly, and a stale, rotten smell wafted toward me.

  Then Cyra suddenly shot up into the sky, and I couldn’t help myself from watching as her maroon wings hid the sun from view. It was a short but amazing release from the constant heat of the sunlight, and it gave me the energy boost I needed.

  The scorpion beasts were equally startled by the angel’s sudden flight, and they stalled as they waved their pincers up at the redhead.

  And for half a moment, they seemed to forget I was an easy target.

  I took that chance to leap at the closest one, and I delivered a hard kick right into its knee. I felt something break under my boot and hurriedly steadied myself as I pulled my foot back. The creature let out a chilling hiss as the leg buckled, and I quickly grabbed one of its back legs in my hands, held the skinny stalk in my fists, and snapped it in half.

  There was a gross sound of bone breaking, and the scorpion cried out louder as the others ran around in a panic with their tails whipping. I dove out of the way as the injured scorpion toppled over onto its back, and it flailed its remaining legs around uselessly as it tried to get back up. I made sure to stay well away from the pincers as they snapped toward me, and I felt a rush of adrenaline as I looked at my first victim.

  The remaining four monsters got mad as fuck, and I rolled out of the way as one of them charged at me with its pincers held out. I skidded to a halt as I just barely missed its claws, and I suddenly heard a loud sizzling noise coming from behind me.

 

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