Archangels- chapter 2

Aleka was in an empty room. Her hands and ankles were chained to a chair by silver links. She kept rattling the chains out of boredom. It was the only thing she could do, so she did it with particular interest. She kinda got out of hand when Michael and Gabriel entered the room.

Michael wasn’t looking so hot. His face was misted with sweat. He kept massaging his forehead every few seconds; his head felt like it was slowly imploding on itself.

“Sorry for my appearance, I’m having a bit of a headache.” He admitted. “So if you just cooperate and-” but as soon as Michael started talking, Aleka shook her chains louder; that metal-on-metal clanking made Michael cringe with every fiber of his being.

“Stop that!” Michael shouted. He gets easily annoyed by sounds; especially with chains. “That sounds absolutely makes me want to grind my teeth!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you see anything else for me to do?” She responded sarcastically. “If you haven’t realized yet, I’m chained to a chair.”

Michael’s right eye was twitching with concealed rage. This girl was really testing his cool. Michael said with the most stable voice he could muster, “It’s best that you stop that. Seriously, you could do all of us a favor.”

“Well, sorry. You shouldn’t have told me you had a headache.” She replied childishly. What little patience Michael had when he walked in was slowly declining.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Mike asked her.

“Well I’m not here because I wanted to be, if that’s what you’re asking.” She dodged Michael’s question. Despite her appearance, she acted like a true infant. Usually, Demons would be more mature than this, but maturity was apparently bred out of her.

Michael looked like he could blow at any minute, but he kept a tight cap on, “You’re here because we think you’re responsible for the disappearances of Cherubs. Before we investigated, we at least found more than 300 signals coming from your apartment. Care to explain?”

“Not really.” She replied. “I think I’ll be more comfortable talking to that stud over there~” She looked like she blew a kiss towards Gabriel’s direction. He pretended he wasn’t there by hiding behind his hand. “Oh, come on, babe; don’t be shy.” Aleka remarked to him smiling.

“What have you to tell him if you can’t tell me anything?” Mike asked her in confusion.

“Because I don’t like you, what other reason is there?” Her little charade had gone far enough. Michael was ready to seriously blow over this girl. He kept clenching his head in anger; his forehead turned almost tomato red with veins throbbing out.

“Listen carefully: I’m about to lose my shit,” he told her angrily, “and you are about this close to losing some limbs. I’d suggest that you talk right now or-!”

But before Mike could do any damage, Gabe quickly intervened, “Michael, just calm down! I’ll handle her. Go and see Adriel.”

“No! I need to interrogate this girl!” Mike blurted out.

“Can’t you see you’re acting just as childish as she is?” Michael stopped to breath, and realized Gabe was right- he was acting like a child. “Look, I know she’s being difficult, and I can’t blame you for freaking out. But for all we know this is what she actually wants- for one of us to crack under her. And she prefers to only speak to me. We might not get anywhere if you force her to talk to you. Just calm down and see Adriel. I can handle Aleka.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but he saw another angle Gabe was coming at- Gabe was the one who caught Aleka, he should be the one to talk to her. “Fine, I’ll let you handle her.” Michael calmly admitted. “But at least get something out of her.” He was frustrated to go, but he knew he would be ineffective for this interrogation. He had no choice but to leave Gabriel and Aleka’s company.



“I’m sorry about my friend.” Gabe apologized to Aleka. “He can be a little dramatic at times.”

“I’ll say, he was about to tear me a new one.” Aleka replied.

“Oh, trust me- if I hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve ripped you more than just a “new one.” He’ll turn you into nothing but wall paint. Not even your body will remain, he’ll be extra thorough about it.”

“Ooh, sounds gruesome.” She responded in delight. “Before I thought you Angels were just sponges filled with glitter. But no, even you guys have your darker sides. Now, about these chains-”

“You’re not getting out until you answer my questions.” Gabe sternly demanded.

Aleka responded with a loud, irritated groan. “You’re no fun at all! What happened to the fun guy who caught me in Houston? My wrists are fine by the way, thanks for asking.”

“First I’ll ask a simple question- why did you have boxes filled with Cherubs’ iphones?”

“Am I not entitled to keep trophies from those I kill? Seriously, you should be glad I kept them in boxes. I don’t just throw things across the floor like some wild animal.”

“I just thought it strange. Demons don’t usually keep mementos of their enemies.”

“Demons- no. Succubae- we like to be very sentimental sometimes. And plus, you guys have nice phones. I just couldn’t throw them away.”

“You admitted back in Houston you had something to do with the disappearances. What was your hand in this?” He asked.

“Of course I hand in it, but it wasn’t the only one."

Something struck Gabriel as odd. “What do you mean?” He asked her.

“We have Imps abducting anyone they can find for us to prey upon- humans and Angels alike. We newborn Succubae aren’t strong enough to hunt on our own, so we need help from the Lessers. We hide in abandoned locations while the Imps hunt for our food, and treat us like the Goddesses we are.”

Imps are, in a way, just like Cherubs. They are the lowest ranking demons and are considered the trainees. They are usually given tedious jobs their superiors don’t bother with. Taking care of the newborn Succubae would be an example.

“Interesting. But one thing is still confusing me- what happens to your victims after your sex? No bodies were reported in the facinity.”

“Sometimes when we get exhausted from our love making, we’ll help ourselves to the victim. We like to get messy. I’ve done it a couple times, but I don’t eat much. Texans are high in cholesterol. Cherubs taste slightly better.”

Gabriel looked at her with disgust and shock. “You ate the Cherubs?”

“Meh, the Cherubs were alright. They taste like sweet beef. But no, I don’t eat the entire Cherub. I wasn’t supposed to, actually.”

“That’s weird, what happens to the bodies if you don’t fully eat them?”

“That’s even beyond me. The Imps just drag the bodies to somewhere, I don’t know where. But I get free sex and food out of it, so I never bothered questioning anyone. One of my sisters might know, though.”

“Do you happen to know where your sisters are located? It would make my job a lot easier if you tell me.”

“Not really. I barely hear from them. Your best bet would be to find an Imp. You follow an Imp, they’ll lead you to the Succubus they’re serving. Now, how about helpin’ a girl out of her cuffs? I upheld my end of the bargain, now it’s your turn.”

“Sure, you’re free to go. But not until you take the prisoner escort back to Hell.”

Back when Heaven was redecorating, there was a dispute about what to do with captured Demons. The Angels had to choose between two choices- either send them back to Hell, or eradicate them on the spot as soon as they outlived their usefulness. Some didn’t want to send them back, because what if the Demons found a way to escape Hell again? They’d be facing the same problem all over again! But others didn’t want to kill them because they felt it was too cruel to kill on Heaven’s grounds, regardless of the reason.

So they decided on a prisoner escort that was a mix of the two. The demons would be taken home safely, but not without a watchful eye. If a convict tries something funny, they would unfortunately be barraged at by gunfire from the guards. You know, to be on the safe side.

“Come on, dude. Are you serious about this?” Aleka whined.

“Oh, yes, very. But don’t worry, the guards will take good care of you. If you don’t pull anything foolish that is.” He grabbed Aleka by her conjoined chains gently, and led her out of the room. He had to go slowly because her feet were also cuffed together.

“Man, the interrogation room suddenly sounds better than going back home.” Aleka whined some more. “My superiors are gonna’ be pissed at me. I can only imagine the torture I’ll get.”

“You’re just going to enjoy every second of it. You really liked it when I burned your wrists.” Gabe commented.

“It’s funny how much you know about me in this short amount of time.” Aleka said.



It wasn’t very long until they reached the next prisoner escort. A long line of convicted Demons stretched out from the only portal back to Hell. Every ten or fifteen feet or so was lined with Angel guards watching their every step. The guards were plated in full riot control armor.

“Man, how long is this line?” Aleka asked. “It’s going to take fucking forever to get back home. It’s moving at a snail’s pace…scratch that, a snail moves faster than this.”

“Just a minute ago you didn’t want to go. But now you just can’t wait to go home.” Gabriel added. “This line is the only way back to Hell. I’d suggest you put up with it.” He handed custody of her over to the guards. But she wouldn’t go quietly.

“You’re kicking me out now, but how easy will it be next time?” She asked him. “Succubae aren’t known for letting their lovers go.” With that said she blended in with the line. She’s the guards’ problem now.



But what she said crawled through Gabriel’s skin. “Succubae aren’t known for letting their lovers go.” He said to himself softly. “She thinks this is some twisted love game. And she chose me as a piece of the game. Something doesn’t feel right to me.”