Chapter Four

"Noah! Someone help!"

Noah had fallen through his portal, landing as close to the medical bay as possible. He tried to heal himself with pure energy, but he couldn't seem to concentrate. His vision began to fail and he knew that if he blacked out, he would die.

When angels or demons are killed, they don't just go back to heaven or hell: they cease existing. Their soul is destroyed: it's a price he and his fellow angels are willing to pay if it means they can fight for their God and the good of the world.

But, at this moment, Noah was so frightened of not existing. He wanted to live! He wanted to continue to serve God and most of all he wanted to find and help the girl who worked for Lucifer.

He had to be mad of course, wanting to help the person who had slashed his throat wide open. Here he was, on the floor, his life force seeping away, and all he could do was think of her cold gray eyes, her pixie-like face, and the hardness of her voice.

"Just hold on Noah, you're going to be just fine."

He felt arms wrap around him and gentle hands cover the wound over his throat. Pure magic pulsed through his neck, healing his wound. He sighed in relief and slumped into the arms holding him.

He was carried to a bed and gratefully he collapsed into it.

"Don't worry Noah, you're safe now."

Yes, he was safe, but what about that girl? Would Lucifer punish her for not killing him? Was she wounded severely? What about the Signor's country? Had she succeeded in plunging the country into anarchy?

He closed his eyes and drifted into a peaceful slumber. He vowed to himself that he would help the girl.

___

Lucifer sat in the dark of his main office, watching the chaos evolve across the screen. The entire country was in a panic, other countries following its example. He should be celebrating right now. He should be rubbing it in those snarky do-gooders' faces but the chaos had come at a price. Jen had been injured.

She was valuable, one of a kind, and all his. She had never before failed him at a mission but she had never come up against an angel before. He knew that because they possessed pure magic, they could harm her, but seeing as she wasn't exactly a demon, she couldn't die from it. She would recover and no doubt push herself to exceed his expectations once again.

He remembered when he first saw her. She had been frightened but not to the extent as was usual. She had come in with another batch of human girls, ready to be processed and used for various... purposes. The demons in charge of rounding up human girls had sensed something was off with her. She, like all the other humans before her, underwent several tests to analyze their physical and mental capabilities as well as the condition of their soul.

He grinned, remembering the report that had changed both their lives. Jen had no soul. Well, correct that. She had a soul, after all, you couldn't live without a soul, but most of it was gone. In fact, so much of her soul was gone that only the bare amount to keep her functioning was left.

This was actually not as rare as one might think. There was a creature out there called the Fea Rauku. God had created it soon after the fall of humankind to hunt out Lucifer and his demonic followers. The creature is pure darkness and feeds upon souls. Its dark nature caused it to rebel against its maker, much like Lucifer, and it stalks the earth, devouring any soul it comes upon. Humans can't see it and are its main food source.

For those without a soul, the mind keeps the body alive but they lose what makes them human and become an animal. Some are unresponsive 'vegetables', others run away to the wilderness, or they are deemed 'insane' and locked away. They never recover.

But, there are those strong enough who survive the process and are able to retain a portion of their soul, however small it is. Jen was one of these jewels. Lucifer thought that no one could survive the Fea Rauku but she proved him wrong.

Humans only use around 10% of their brains. Where the brain is unable to do some things, the soul makes up for that. Yet, nearly 93% of her soul was gone. Her mind had to compensate. Lucifer hoped to one day harness the power that the human mind offered him and here was this human girl, practically shoved into his arms that could make his wildest dreams come true.

She is physically more powerful than any human and is mentally a genius beyond all proportions. She can analyze situations faster than one could blink and is able to be the most efficient killer that has ever worked for him.

He stood up and began to walk towards the medical bay: his medical staff had better have her in top condition or so help them...

___

"So, is it possible to retrieve her soul?" Noah asked.
"It's complicated my son; the Fea Rauku is a beast of mystery. We know for a fact that not all the souls it steals are eaten; yet what it does with those, we do not know. You would have to find out if it ate her soul, if it did, she is out of luck. If it didn't, your next task would be to find where it put it. It's a complicated mess, and one that does not concern you. You must focus on getting her away from Lucifer," Peter instructed.

Noah sighed.

It had been one of the longest days of his existence. After he had woken up and been declared healthy, he had to report to his superior, none other than Saint Peter the Apostle. A bit intimidating when one has failed their mission, allowing an innocent man to die and causing several countries to plunge into chaos.

After he had told the strange and complicated tale, Peter told him about the Fea Rauku, reckoning that that was the cause of her apathy and employment by Lucifer. One of his duties of being an angel was never to harm humans or he could be exiled, something no angel wanted to happen. However, Jen was something of an enigma.

"I need to inform the others about this my son. It's rather alarming the tactics Lucifer is now employing. Until you're told otherwise, you are not to harm her and you will be assigned a partner," the elderly man said.

Noah opened his mouth to argue, he could certainly take care of himself! Peter held up a hand to silence his young charge.

"It's not an insult to your fighting skill my son, it's simply a fact that we do not know all that this Jen is capable of. She almost killed you and until we know more, you'll have a partner," Peter said quietly.
"Yes sir," Noah replied softly.

Peter nodded and then patted Noah on the head, "It will work out my son: you don't have to worry, we don't think any less of you."

As Noah left and began the walk back to his quarters, he couldn't help but think that it wasn't himself he was worried about, but Jen.

The million dollar question was simply: why was he concerned over someone who had almost succeeded in killing him? More disturbingly, why was he anxious to see her again?

Only time would tell when their paths would cross again.

I'm sorry this took so long to get out, school's been nuts. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Aly