She could hear the voices all around her. Their condescending words mocking her in her grief. A mournful wail was wrenched from her mouth as white hot pain flared through her flesh. Her back ached with an intensity she had never felt before. So this was to be the price for her mistake, her mind weakly registered. She could barely hold herself erect, as she vaguely realized that the pitiful sobbing was her. All of a sudden the alley she was in was bathed in an unearthly reddish glow. The voices were growing louder now, gloating over her ruin. In a rage, she threw herself at the brick wall, letting out an unearthly cry that would put terror in the strongest of hearts. She clawed uselessly at the wall, shredding her fingertips and leaving bloody tracks in the old red brick. There was a sharp agonizing pull on the flesh covering her shoulder blades that nearly caused her to faint into a welcoming oblivion. he next instant there was a blinding flash of light, and she covered her eyes with her hands to shield them from more pain. When all was dark again she uncovered her face, just in time to see the last few downy rust red feathers float softly to the ground. As the voices with their damning message softly faded away, she gazed bleakly at the words etched into the wall in softly glowing letters. Even angels lose their wings.