Wings of Destruction by Victoria Zagar Page B

bay, Martin felt despair flow freely through his veins. He wanted to curl up and give in to sleep, but forced himself to keep moving forward.
    The path branched into two, and Martin took the left branch. It led him into another cave, where more angels stood behind glowing panels. He lit up each panel with growing dread as none of the angels seemed to be his friends. Were they even in Tartarus at all? What if Gabriel was playing games with him?
    It was Sarah he found first, encased in the far wall. Gabriel had turned her wings black and taken her feminine beauty from her. Tears streaked down her face as Martin put his hand on the crystal and Martin wondered what wicked torment Gabriel had fashioned for her.
    "I’m going to get you out of there. Hang on." Martin looked around for a weapon but saw only stalagmites rising from the floor. He pulled on one, putting all his weight into it and it snapped off in his hand, throwing him backwards. He stood up and grabbed the makeshift spear in both hands, attacking Sarah’s prison with it until cracks started to show. Finally the blue crystal yielded, shattering and letting go of its prisoner. Sarah fell into Martin’s arms, wet and coughing as if she had just been birthed from the cocoon.
    "Sarah, we have to find Anael. He’ll know where God is being kept. We have to stop Gabriel and revert the world to its natural order."
    "I couldn’t go along with Gabriel, Martin. Not even for my true body…" Sarah wiped the tears from her eyes angrily, composing herself quickly.
    "Everything’s going to be okay. We’ll find a way to get your body back."
    "We’re in Tartarus. I’m a fallen angel now." Sarah looked sadly at her black wings and shuddered as she saw her reflection in the next crystal cocoon.
    "Anael has to be here somewhere. He’ll know what to do. Don’t give up hope, Sarah,” Martin soothed.
    “Right." Sarah nodded, shrugging off her self-pity and taking Martin’s arm.
    Martin helped Sarah to the cave exit and they continued on the long, winding path. At times the road was narrow and they had to walk single-file to avoid lava flowing beside the path. The red stone was hot in places and their feet stung as they walked. Sarah initiated conversation to keep their mind off the pain.
    "Gabriel made every human soul an angel. He wants them to be part of his new world, so that he might rule them and become a god in his own right. Those who opposed him ended up here."
    "We’re going to stop him, Sarah."
    "It’ll all be for nothing if we can’t free God. If the natural order is disrupted, it won’t be long before Gabriel rules not only Earth, but Heaven, Hell and Tartarus as well. Angels are immortal unless they are killed by violence. Heaven and Hell will become stagnant. Nobody will be born and nobody will die. Nobody will learn from their mistakes or seek redemption. Gabriel has created a world that can only lead to self-destruction.”
    "He must know that,” Martin said.
    "He doesn’t believe it. He’s too arrogant." Sarah sighed, pulling the straps of her dress up over a chest that no longer filled it out. "I realized my mistake in destroying the world when he revealed his plan to me. I’m sorry, Martin. I killed Anael. His blood is on my hands. It’s my fault he’s down here."
    "We’re going to find him." Martin marched forward and they checked another cave before emerging from the other side. He tried to keep the voice of despair at bay, the tiny voice that told him they might search forever and never find Anael, but he knew it might be right.
    "There!" Sarah pointed ahead of them, where the rock formed a flat circle enclosed by lava. Fallen angels chanted and circled a cross where Anael was strung up, his head hanging limply on his chest. His wings were gone, shorn off by the Black Rain and left on Earth.
    Martin moved to engage the demons, but Sarah pulled him back behind a rock and out of sight.
    "Martin, you can’t go down there! Those fallen angels are