Chapter 13

T he dawn broke to the sound of excited yells and frustrated grunts. Elena stamped her
foot on the ground beside a tree and lifted her hand, palm towards the floor. A large pointed
tree root burst through the soil like a giant snake, weaving cobra-like as it waited for her
command. Nia faced her, not watching the root or Elena’s hand, or feet. She watched her eyes
and never broke the contact. The flicker of those pink eyes prepared Nightmare for the root’s
attack and she back-flipped out of range, pivoted and brought down a sharp piece of flint on
the tip of the root, making it blunt. It went crazy, swiping and wriggling but eventually
slowed and lay still, just as a snake would. The onlookers clapped for both of them and they
bowed and took their place back in the circle.

Seraphina was the last and opposite Carter; she chose heads on the coin toss. That meant she
got to choose what she wanted to be. Attacker or attacked. She chose attacker. Carter snarled
in anger and took his place opposite her in the centre of the circle. His body was tense and
Nia worried slightly for Phina, wondering whether the girl was up to taking on a guy who, in
Nia’s opinion, was already pretty evil. Or at the very least a misogynistic jerk who needed to
be taken down a notch….or four. But the blue haired Angelic handled his anger well,
managing to knock him to the ground with her root and bind him there with smaller roots. He
struggled but could not free himself. Phina looked over to where Nightmare was standing and
grinned at the look of pride and admiration on her friends face. Nia smiled back. They had an
easy friendship now that the air was clear between them and Seraphina had accepted her
sexuality, and no longer blamed Nia for it. She bowed and stepped back into position, only
releasing Carter when she was tucked safely between Nightmare and Fenrir.

“Well done all of you. That was very impressive. Different techniques were used and used
brilliantly. Let’s see if you do as well in the next exercise. This time we get to play with
water.”

*****

“This time you have to create a hole in the ice, ask for aid breathing under the water, retrieve
the quartz crystals we’ve left under there for you, create another hole, so you can get out. If
there are any problems, call out in your mind and someone will pick up on it. Don’t hesitate
to ask for help on this exercise. It is dangerous if something goes wrong. Kai, you want to go
first?”

Raphael nodded at the silver haired warrior and he stepped forward, pulling off his shirt and
pants and standing in Hawaiian print swim shorts. The girls whooped and he grinned
rakishly. Nia shivered a little in her simple black swimsuit as she watched him carve the hole
in the ice with one sharp claw. She watched anxiously as he dove through the just big enough
hole and slipped into the icy water. Minutes went by with no sign of a second hole and she
scanned the icy surface with worried eyes, chewing her lower lip. It was her turn next, she’d
wanted to get it out of the way, knew it would be hard.

She hated water.

Not showers or baths, but swimming pools, lakes, the sea. Anything where her feet couldn’t
touch the bottom. Small ponds were fine, if she could stand up, but the thought of drowning
almost paralysed her. Then it appeared. The hole. Kai lifted himself onto the ice and
brandished the small rock of Quartz, waving it in the air. She smiled with relief and handed
him a towel.

“You don’t have to do this,” he whispered in her ear.

“Yes I do. What will people think if I back out? I will not back down, just because I’m a little
scared. Did you actually think I wouldn’t do it?”

She gave him a chastising glare and then stepped to the edge of the lake, taking a deep breath
as she elongated the nail on her forefinger. She created a big enough hole next to her brothers
and looked in. Nia paled and her stomach churned at the sight of the water sloshing beneath
its solid blanket. With another exhale she stepped into the hole and lowered herself down into
the water until she was submerged. She popped back up once, asked for air, and then dropped
back down, trusting Mother Earth to provide her with oxygen. The water was extremely deep,
it didn’t get gradually deeper, it was just deep from the onset. She could see the bottom, water
plants reached up with green fingers to grasp at her ankles as she forced herself towards the
collection of quartz rocks a little way off. They were resting on the lake’s sandy floor,
sparkling as little rays of light managed to penetrate the thick icy crust, and she admitted,
trying to overcome her fear by thinking of anything but drowning, that they were pretty.

The water rippled passed her as she propelled herself onwards, eyes fixed on the stones, but
her gaze caught something to her right. A great hulking thing lying on the sand, surrounded
by green stuff. Curiosity is a great cure for fear, and hers disappeared completely as she
changed direction and headed for the weird object, but what she saw pulled her up short – if
you can actually pull up short in water. The bulk wasn’t a bulk at all, but a body. With wings.
And not nice wings either. They sprouted from the back like some sort of fungus, large and
leathery, transparent and deceptively fragile. But they were stronger than steel and could only
be damaged by black diamond.

They were grotesque.

She paddled backwards as fast as she could away from the obviously-dead-but-so-not-rotting
body only to be grasped in ice cold hands. She froze, breath catching in her throat and
struggled, her weightless body really annoying her as she fought to find some power. Her icy
attacker spun her around to so she faced towards….him. The body had been a him and the
ghostly Fallen in front of her was also a him. Big surprise there. She was seeing ghosts again.
Nightmare pushed on his chest as hard as she could, separating their bodies by a few
centimetres and loosening his grip. The Fallen looked shocked and released her, staring at his
hands in wonder before realising that she was swimming away and proceeding to chase her.

“Don’t you dare leave me here!” Impossible to speak under water but apparently impossible
meant nothing to the guy. She jerked back as his voice pierced her and gasped as she lost her
air. Water flooded her lungs and she screamed silently, her fear flooding her as quickly as the
water. Her body fought to reclaim its air and she tried to push towards the surface, knowing it
was her only hope of survival. But the incorporeal fallen was not letting her go that easily.

“I didn’t get to kill an Angel when I was alive, maybe I’ll get to do it now I’m dead. And you,
little Angelic will serve my cause very well. You are closer to Death than you think, you can
help me. You belong on this side, with all of us.” He spread his arms wide as if gesturing to
an invisible crowd and she flailed wretchedly as her limbs seized. Her throat constricted and
her chest tightened as she fought for breath.

“Yesss, join usss!” He hissed, fangs impairing his speech. He could feel her dying and Nia
refused to give him the satisfaction of watching her. She called out to the Mother in her head,
but no response came. The earth had abandoned her and as she realised that she was
completely alone, her fear tripled and she almost lost consciousness from the force of it. One
last protest had Nia breaking passed her cramp and propelling herself towards the flesh
winged Angel, hands gathering power and thrusting it towards his heart. A shocked gasp and
the power touched the Fallen, consumed him and then slammed into her. Her heart stopped.

*****

Elena looked up from where she’d found some herbs and frowned in the direction of the lake.
Nightmare had been gone but a few seconds, yet she had the nagging feeling that something
was wrong. Her breath was shallow, she couldn’t draw deep, and as the time went on she felt
her heart slowing.

“Ariel, something’s wrong. Why isn’t she back yet?”

“It takes each student a different amount of time. She’s adept. She’ll be fine.”

Elena moved towards the edge of the lake and stood frowning at the ice that coated it. The
warmth to her left alerted her to the fact that someone had moved up beside her.

“I’m worried too. She hates water, scares her to death if it’s deep. But she is too damn
stubborn, and proud. Not one little weakness will she show. Silly girl.”

“Kai, something is very wrong. I can’t breathe properly and my chest feels tight. Get
someone to check on her. Please.” He left. Dagan replaced him and took her hand. Other
students milled around, but no one seemed worried and that just plain annoyed her.

“Elena.” Raphael, thank the gods, he would help. He cared about Nia just as much as she did.
Well, at least that’s what she thought. “What’s wrong? Kai said something about Nia.” She
didn’t miss the fact that he used a nickname known only to a few close friends.

“I did the blood tracking, in class, months ago. And at first I didn’t think it had worked. But I
feel as though I am drowning. I’m not under water, so how can that be? I used Nia’s blood,
Raphael. So I could always find her, would know if she was hurt. I think something has gone
wrong.”
Raphael looked dubious, a little too sure about Nia’s strength.

“Damn it!! Go!” She pushed him, screaming as she felt her heart stop. No, not her heart.
Nightmare’s. Raphael backed away, eyes wide and stepped onto the ice.

“Get in, and find her!! Please. Before it is too late.” Elena felt wild and powerful, and then it
drained into fear as he took off his leather waistcoat.

“Please.” She whispered.

He roared and punched down, and the shock wave rippled, splitting ice so it disintegrated and
left no trace of it.
“You ruined the whole point of the exercise, Raphael. Bad boy.” Ariel admonished him
dreamily, keeping her feet well away from the now very watery lake.

“I’ll fix it when I get back.” Then he disappeared under the surface.

Chapter 14
R aphael swam smoothly through the water, relishing the feel of the cold water caressing
his skin. But now that he was beneath the surface, he could feel the pulsing menace. Danger
and the scent of Nightmare infused his cells with urgency and he made his way to the pile of
quartz, shaking his legs free from the tangle of green that wrapped themselves around him.
The water didn’t seem as friendly as he passed the body of a Fallen. It was twisted and
warped, its wings spread and lined with algae. Its arms held a large object, long and limp. He
peered through the gloom.

Nia!

The Fallen Angel had its horrible arms wrapped around her body and its face was bent
towards her neck. Raphael kicked out his legs and surged towards the monster. Nia made no
movement, only her hair drifted on the currents and even when he pried the Fallen from
around her, she didn’t lift her lids or flex her fingers. He pulled her into his own arms, skin
chilled from the icy water, hers from the lack of breath in her body. Then he used his wings
to burst out of the water.
 Waves surged around him from the force of his exit and he rose out of them with her body in
his arms. Angelics gasped from the shore and hurried to the edge of the lake. He struggled to
keep his eyes clear of tears as he placed her limp body onto the grass and knelt beside her.
Ariel mirrored him and Nephemael took up point at her feet. The healers began to move their
hands over her, feeling for any spark of life.

“Elena.”

She was there in less than a second, tears flowing freely and face red. She stroked the pale
face of her best friend and sobbed, deep whooping sobs that made her body shake. Kai was
next to her, Fenrir on the other side, Dagan and Seraphina on the outside, looking on.

“She needs life. Life from one person will kill that person. If we split it, we’ll just be
weakened, not dead. Place one hand on her, the other on me.”

Raphael kept his voice steady and his hands still. One by one they reached out to her and him,
linked. As one entity, they breathed in and when Raphael placed his mouth to her cold lips,
the release of breath into her lungs was done by all of them. The thump of his fist to her
chest was a move made by each one of them, acting through him. Their life coursed through
him, into her, one being. The action was repeated, his lips, their breath, his fist, their strength.
Over and over, breathing, hitting, human CPR with the power of an Archangel, two Angels
and five Angelics.

She should be alive by now.

He waved the others off and they stopped, slumping to the ground or weaving on their feet.
Raphael brushed the multicoloured streaks away from her forehead and then bent to kiss her
when he was sure no one was looking. As his lips touched hers, he was sprayed with water
and Nia was gasping and spluttering as the water from her lungs came back up her windpipe.
He rolled her onto her side and she coughed water for a bit before laying back and gulping
down air as though it were, well, air. She blinked open her lids and he smiled softly at the
sight of those stormy cat’s eyes sparkling up at him.

“You kissed me.” She wheezed into his ear when he bent to her. Her lips quirked up in some
semblance of a smile, too weak to attempt a full blown one.

Raphael’s body responded to the look in her eyes. He’d kill to see that look again. She
spluttered some more then seemed to catch sight of the other Angelics grouped over his
shoulder. Her look turned to horror and her pale cheeks flooded with blood in embarrassment.
Quicker than his eye could perceive, she was curled in front of him, a large, beautiful tigress,
with stormy grey eyes and leopard spots interspersed between the stripes.

Strange girl, so proud and shy, easily embarrassed by failure.

“Nia…” He breathed, but the cat just shook its bestial head and stretched.

“You died, silly girl. What are you going to do? Stay like that for the rest of your life?” The
tigress nodded and wandered off to the edge of the lake, standing beside her brothers and
rubbing herself along their legs. They bent to hug the large cat and her purrs could be heard
clearly.
“Guess she’s alright then.” And he made the others carry on with the exercise. Once he’d
replaced the ice he broke.

*****

Nightmare couldn’t face them. Not after dying so stupidly. How could she have drowned?
She had the favour of the Earth. It was a pathetic way to go. She couldn’t have died in some
heroic battle? No, she was attacked by water and lost. She couldn’t face them.

Her brothers stroked her head and she purred at the contact. But she really wished it was
Raphael. His kiss. She’d felt it in her soul and knew that was the only reason she’d returned.
No amount of CPR could have brought her back when the souls of the Fallen Angels clung to
her so fiercely. What she couldn’t understand was how Raphael had managed to bring her
back. Oh, well, at least she was back.

I’m going to stay in animal form a little longer. Until people forget that I failed terribly on
such an easy task. And then I’ll make a comeback.

She could enjoy being a tiger. Claws, brute strength, the ability to snap a man’s neck with her
teeth.

Wonderful.

The cat grinned toothily and a few Angelics tittered warily at the sight. Her brothers made
sure she stayed far enough away from the lake. Nia turned her great head to catch a glimpse
of Raphael yelling at Carter and to see, with her enhanced cat sight, the black spread through
the pink eyes of the Angelic. Archangel though he was, Raphael was distracted by her and
didn’t see it. Power and age isn’t everything. Anyone can miss evil, if it is disguised by a
handsome face and cocky attitude. Luckily, she saw passed everything but love. She could
never tell if love was fake or real.

Carter was up to something. The cat could smell the trouble brewing and for some reason
Raphael was completely oblivious to it.

Men
 Chapter 15
W hen Carter stormed off, Nia left the comfort of her brothers and followed him. He
crept through the undergrowth, sneaky as a weasel, and holding a satellite phone in his hand,
tapped in some numbers and held the piece to his ear.

Ring, ring, ring, ring.

The tigress tilted her head and waited for the voice on the other end. When it came it was
deep and masculine but in no way familiar, and the language….she knew more than enough
languages, but this one evaded her. It sounded like German, the one language she hadn’t
bothered to learn. She could never get the sound right. And understanding it, impossible.

He finished his conversation and hung up, looked around and then stuffed something in the
ground. Oh, the phone. Weirdo. Losing interest, Nia turned around and went back to the lake,
hoping they’d finished with the water exercise.

*****

The weekend went quickly and participating in the exercises in the form of a tigress had been
child’s play for Nightmare. The cat’s claws were perfect for climbing up rock faces and trees
and hunting. She’d passed every test. Well, duh! The coach ride home was even better. She
had the entire back row to herself, and stretched her striped body along every seat. Raphael
had flown back that morning and was probably already at the school. She just wished he’d
got on the coach. Her brothers had kindly put her headphones into her ears and she sat with
her great head on her even greater paws, trying to sleep.
The trip was shorter, felt shorter because she’d slept most of it. She padded off the coach and
went towards her dorm, looking forwards to sleeping on something she hadn’t had to work
for.

Why would you have classes the day after having no sleep for an entire weekend? Stupid.

Equally tired Angelics stumbled after her and went to their respective rooms, some in the
same building, others in the one opposite. Remaining in animal form was a lot easier than
she’d thought it would be. But the longer she stayed in it, the less she thought like a human,
and more like the tigress she looked like. It was becoming increasingly hard to think in
words; instead images abounded and shaped themselves in representations of words. It was
easier to communicate with other animals in that way and she found it quite fun trying to
decipher their meanings, like Pictionary or charades…sort of.

Her ears flickered and twirled, locating sounds and dismissing them, on the alert for threats,
her nose constantly working to get a feel for her surroundings. Whiskers she really wanted in
human form – no way would she walk into poles with those babies sticking out of her face –
felt every movement in the air, in the ground, the slightest alteration, vibration. The grass
looked greener and the air wasn’t clear anymore, she could see the particles floating in it. It
was amazing, and quite addictive. Nia found herself not wanting to resume human form.

So she didn’t.

*****

“Nia!”

The tigress whipped her large head around and glared at Michael through slitted eyes.

“You can’t participate in that form. You have to sing.” He took up his guitar and looked over
to where she was lounging on the sofa. Other students milled about, some enjoying the music
lesson, others indifferent. She sat up straight as he started to play an acoustic version of
Shakira’s recent song ‘She Wolf’ and in respect for the song, she switched to that of a wolf
and took her place by the fire.

“You’re not actually going to sing like that are you?” Michael looked dubious.

Nia just fixed him with that icy blue gaze, then lifted her muzzle and let out a howl. Her
intonation was perfect and she used her howl to replicate the sounds of the song, so it
sounded as though she was humming. When it came to the ‘aroooo’ bit, the other students
laughed and joined in. Michael shook his head at her behaviour and at how she managed to
do things even when she was being awkward and not doing them in the way they were
supposed to be done. Amazing.

The song ended on the sultry strings of Michael’s guitar and the applause of the Angelics.
Nia, still in wolf form, bowed and then lay back on the sofa, head between her paws, eyes
closed. Elena sat beside her, hand on her flank and petted the silky fur softly, drawing the
envious gaze of one pink eyed Angelic with black mist over his eyes.

Carter watched the up and down motion of her hand and wished it was his. He stared at the
relaxed form of the wolf and wished he could touch the young woman hidden inside. He
hated her, he was fascinated by her, he was obsessed. He wanted her to notice him, as more
than an enemy or annoyance. He hated the way her eyes dismissed him as unimportant, and
her barbs cut deep each time she addressed him. Why did he still want her?

Long after the lesson ended, Nightmare slept on the sofa, not having the energy to switch into
tigress form. Her ears flickered once at the approach of soft footsteps and her lips drew back
at the feel of a hand stroking her head.

Stupid person, to place a hand so close to the sharp teeth she hid in her muzzle.

The smell was familiar and the strokes deepened as she lay immobile for a few minutes
longer, trying to identify the person stroking her. She didn’t know why she didn’t attack, but
the wolf told her that whoever it was didn’t want to hurt her, rather they were taking comfort
from the action and who was she to deny anyone comfort?

But eventually, even the wolf was getting annoyed at the monotonous strokes, no difference
in position, no scratching of the ears, just a weird palm stroke to the top of her head.
Nightmare snapped and surged to her feet in human form. Carter jumped back with big eyes,
hand clutched to his chest, a few hairs between his fingers. He rubbed them slowly and
waited for her to yell at him.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“You were a cute wolf. Much more approachable than in human form. At least now you have
boobs.”

Nia stared at him, her mouth hanging open in shock and could feel bile in her throat at the
thought of him taking pleasure from touching her.

He was evil, and slimy, and she knew that, but unfortunately, her wolf had this stupid need to
comfort those who needed it. And she was helpless against it. She backed away from him,
disgust written on her face and without another word, went to her room.

She was never sleeping in animal form in public again. Time to be human. No one had said
anything about her mishap in the lake, and they probably never would.

Human wasn’t so bad a shape. Back to the routine.

 Chapter 16
F irst Combat lesson in her own form was great. They were sparring and her brothers
were messing around with her, poking her and receiving kicks, a busted lip. But she was
bored because Michael was taking it easy after the weekend. She wanted to fight.

As if reading her thoughts, Raphael came out from the door at the side of the gym, a different
door to the one she’d come in, and stopped her from continuing, leading her through to
another gym area. She saw third years in combative poses, sparring with each other, and a
grin split across her face. Her older Angel brothers were beating the holy hell out of their
Angel partners, throwing practised punches and using defensive magic to use their
opponent’s strength against them.

“Can I go play?” Her voice was low and husky, eager and excited.

The third years stopped mid-attack to stare at her, their wings twitching. Raphael smiled and
touched her shoulder, pushing her forwards. A spark ran through her, her body warming at
his touch. She blushed.

“Right, class. This is your challenge. To test both your offensive and defensive magic and
your fighting skills. In pairs you will attack Nightmare as though she were a Fallen. Don’t
worry about hurting her; she’s pretty sick that she actually likes the pain of battle.” His
booming voice carried to the still students, and she saw a few of them shudder.

She noticed that they were completely mixed. The healers were paired with warriors, and
warriors were paired with warriors and even healers were paired together. She stepped
forward, and everyone but her brothers stepped back. She sauntered towards the retreating
Angels, smiling cockily. When no one came forward, she turned to look back at Raphael. Her
voice sounded in his head.

Can I rile them up a bit? They don’t seem very forthcoming. If they came up against a Fallen,
they’d die. They won’t fight. Let me play with them. I’ll be gentle. Ish.

He nodded slightly in answer.

She pulled her black tracksuit jacket off, revealing a black embroidered vest with flowing
sleeves zipped on. She unwound the sleeves from where she had wrapped them around her
arms to get her jacket on. They flared out like wings and she grinned again. She looked like
an Angel of Death, and even her brothers hesitated. A flick of her fingers and Linkin Park’s
‘No More Sorrow’ blasted from somewhere in the ether; no CD player or laptop, or anything
that could play music was present.

Anywhere.
 The students whipped their heads around as they searched for the source of the music. She
started to sway, crooking her finger and moving provocatively. A few of the Angels got
hungry looks on their faces and started forwards, cocky and sure of themselves. They began
to move beside her, around her, and she smiled invitingly again. They took the bait. One
leaned in to kiss her and….. got a face full of fist. His nose poured blood and lifting his hand
from his face he snarled with rage. Still dancing, she caught his hair as he charged, pulling
him to a stop and slammed her elbow into the back of his neck. He crumpled to the floor,
unconscious.

“Alright!” She heard Oberon roar and Malachi’s excited laughter filled the hall; the other
Angel retreated back to the safety of the cluster at the back of the hall.

“You see, how easy it is to incapacitate an attacker? Never fight in anger. Because Nightmare
bloodied his nose, Jonan attacked in anger, forgetting everything he has learnt in the past
three years. He could have fought her, perhaps not won, but he could have engaged her in
battle. She distracted him, common practice and a good defence. It gives you time to think.
Nightmare used her own knowledge of what distracts people, males in particular, to lure him
into a false sense of security. She then used his actions to start a fight. Not the best thing to
do, unless you need to fight them before something worse happens. For example,
Nightmare’s tactic could be used in a nightclub and you see a Fallen in the crowd, searching
for his next victim. Distract him, get all his attention on you, then make him give you a
reason to defend yourself – like Nightmare did with the kiss – and you can fight and destroy
him. Try to take the fight outside in that situation. Someone else, engage her in battle. We’re
not leaving until you’ve all fought her. You can do it in pairs if you like.” Raphael’s voice
had stopped the music the moment it sounded, and made what she’d done into a lesson.

As his voice drifted away, her music continued, and she began to dance again. Raphael
flicked his finger at a pair that consisted of a male warrior and a female healer. The female
curled her lip and advanced, warily but determined all the same, whilst the male circled to the
left and prepared to attack from behind. He didn’t like attacking someone who was more
dominant than him, despite the fact he had wings and she desperately wanted them. They
were well coordinated but Nightmare was tuned into their mental conversation, their tactics
were hers to read, and counter. The healer flung a Stasis shot at her, smiling smugly when it
hit her on the chest. Nightmare watched that smile fade and that face pale when she continued
to dance.

“Find her weaknesses. Study her. Analyse. Don’t let her in your head. Many Angels are
strong telepathically, but Nightmare is Angelic and you should have no trouble keeping her
out.”

Raphael’s voice rose above the music clearly, but she could tell the two didn’t believe that
she could access their Angel communication wave.

She could.

No one else could do it that she knew of, but she was practiced at hacking into the Angel’s
private mental wave. She did it all the time. She listened to them.

Keep at her back. She doesn’t like it. Gets jumpy. Maybe that will make her concentration
lessen. If she’s nervous, she can’t think as well. When I advance, force her forwards. To me.
I’ll keep her attention whilst you hit her from behind and keep her down. I’ll try another
spell, slow her, confuse her. Both maybe. She’s only young and we are much better fighters
than her.

The warrior nodded at his healer. Nightmare smirked as she listened to their plan. It was a
good tactic, they’d analysed her well, but it wouldn’t have worked even if she couldn’t hear
what they were thinking. Because when she was in a fight, her senses were completely alert
and nothing got passed her. It was like she had eyes in the back of her head, she could see the
whole 360 degrees around her. As the Angel female advanced, Nightmare backed up – went
along with their little plan – and as her opponent flung her spell, Nightmare leapt seven foot
in the air and cleared the head of the girl. The spell hit her soul mate, paralysing him and
knocking him to the mat-filled floor. She gasped and rushed forward, but Nightmare flipped
back over her head to land in front of her. The healer snarled a very unhealery snarl – warrior
side was definitely showing- and pounced. Unconcerned, Nia delivered a roundhouse kick to
the solar plexus of her attacker and then hit her with a Stasis spell. The healer sagged beside
her male.

The gym was quiet. The two had been incapacitated in just under three minutes, cleanly and
with little effort. Her brothers started to clap and whoop, their enthusiasm not spreading to
the others. They were in shock. Two of their best fighters had just been taken down by a first
year, and that first year had been bored doing it. It hadn’t cost her any effort. Raphael grinned
a very fang-filled grin at his class, before calling on two other pairs.

“Guys, if you can beat Nightmare, I’ll get you out of maths for two weeks. Promise. She’s
good practice for if you ever come across a Fallen. Don’t be too scared.”

The two pairs came forward, two warrior males, a female healer and a female warrior. They
seemed to psych themselves up, the healer hovering a few foot off the ground, the warriors
extending their fangs until they reached their chins. The music changed. Nine Inch Nails
pounded around the gym, the walls vibrating with the force of it. Nightmare sneered, crooked
her finger at the advancing Angels and arched an eyebrow. Her figure shimmered with
rainbow magics as she brought them to the forefront. She kicked out as the first male reached
her, landing a solid hit to his head. She felt his neck snap back, checked it wasn’t broken
using magic and then punched his sternum so he fell.

“FERNAN!!”

The feminine voice that came from the crowd of students was filled with worry, and anger,
and Nightmare had time only to see the girls tear stained face before she was forced to block
the spells she threw. Obviously the male she’d felled had been dating the psycho Angel.

“Jenai, back off. He’s fine, just unconscious. Stop shooting Death spells at me!”

Nightmare snarled at the enraged Angel, who had once dated her brother Oberon, as she
shielded herself against the Death spells. Tiring of the repetition, Nightmare dropped her
shield enough so that she could hurl a Binding spell at Jenai and stop her insane vengeance
spree. The magic wrapped the warrior female in a magic binding, and Nightmare lowered her
to the floor. As she turned, the second male was throwing a punch. If she hadn’t turned, it
would have landed against the back of her head. She caught it in her hand and twisted.
Screaming in agony, the guy went to his knees, begging, pleading. She hit his head with her
fist and he went down like a stone. The healer that had been part of the pairs sent after her
floated forward on a cloud of fire, her hands at her sides, palms facing forward. The other
female stalked at her side, her own hands sparking with prepared magic.
Nightmare narrowed her eyes and she half turned to glare at Raphael.
You monster. These are your strongest fighters aren’t they? Magically, anyway. That’s why
you set these guys on me. You know, I actually thought you liked your students. Obviously
not, since you set them up to be beaten to a bloody pulp.
She laughed low in her throat as he scowled playfully at her, shaking his head at her words.
Then she turned back to her opponents. They’d stopped a few feet from her and made no
move to approach. The music still boomed, a great song for a fight. And she was rearing to
go. Her body literally hummed with power, with anticipation. Her muscles tensed as the
warrior Angel pounced, projecting herself three feet into the air and trying to take Nightmare
from above. She twisted out of the way of the airborne Angel, dropped to the floor and
extended her leg.

The Angel couldn’t stop her momentum and she went flying towards the outstretched boot,
wings flapping uselessly. Nightmare flexed her muscles and that leg sent the girl soaring
across the gym, crashing into the healer as she went. As the females collided, the magic that
had been held in their palms flew out into nothingness and bounced around the gym,
manifesting itself into whatever it wanted. Flowers and grass carpeted the stone floor of the
gymnasium, vines sprouted up the walls and water gushed from a waterfall that hadn’t been
there at the start of the lesson. The students oohed and aahed at the display, until Nightmare
waved her hand. The waterfall dried up and shrivelled into nothing, the grass withered and
died, the vines receded into the floor and the flowers disintegrated.
The magic, now that its outlet had been removed, turned into a ball of purple light, looking
for a place to settle. Nightmare held out her hand and the ball hurled itself at her, like a puppy
that had been left at home alone, and its owner had just walked through the door.

She closed her eyes and sighed as the magic flowed into her. It lifted her feet off the ground,
spinning her slowly, caressing, and sparkling like diamonds. She was bathed in the purple
glow and through her pleasure she heard the gasps of the students as they witnessed
something that they hadn’t been taught yet. She let her head fall back in ecstasy as she felt
happier than she had in years. The door to the other gym had, at sometime during her fight,
been opened and the first year students had come through to the third year’s gym. They all
watched her, mouths open, eyes wide. Apparently, they’d witnessed the fights. Apparently,
they were now even more scared of her. Apparently, she was going to fuck everything up this
year. She sighed as the magic buzz died and she turned to face her fellow classmates,
descending and landing softly on the floor.

“Well done, Nightmare. Though the Acceptance could have been left out. They don’t learn
that until their last year.”

The Head frowned a little at her, but she could feel how proud he was of what she’d done,
proud of what she could do. As the first years gathered around, Raphael went to stand beside
Michael; Nightmare braced herself for the next attack. Without any obvious signal, two more
pairs moved forward, less cautious than the others and spread out in a circle around her. The
Angel males – her brothers no less – smiled at her, but the other warrior male and female
glared daggers at her. She chuckled at their disgusted expressions and moved counter
clockwise, circling them and humming under her breath. Her brothers recognised what she
was doing and crouched low, jacknifing up and out of her circle just as her humming stopped
and a purple ring formed around the remaining pair. The Angels snarled and growled, as the
magic glued them to the spot, glaring up at her brothers as they used their wings to keep them
high above the magic.
Raphael waved his hand to stop Nightmare’s next attack. She stopped mid stride and looked
at him expectantly.

“Now, does anybody know what these guys should have done before she trapped them and
what should they do to get out of it?”

He looked around at the students’ blank faces, knowing that some of them knew at least a bit
about what they should have done. No one spoke up, except Nightmare and her brothers who
all had their hands raised.

“You were all taught the magic she just used. At the end of last year you learnt how to
perform that spell, and how to counter it. We spent a lot of time practising this. You’re all
Angels, whether healer or warrior, you should have no trouble with this. Why can none of
you tell me what they should have done? It is a complex spell, and if you know how to free
yourself, you will survive. If not, when a Fallen uses that on you, you die. Horribly. In that
circle, you have no defences, no magic. You can’t shift in that circle. You can’t use your
speed or strength in that circle. No magic, at all. You’re screwed if you can’t free yourselves,
because it will hit you guys the hardest.”

Michael’s voice had risen, and was loud and slightly angry. Raphael stared at the students
before him, noticed that Nightmare’s chin lifted as he looked her way. The others cowered
away, ashamed.

“Nightmare,” she looked at the Head, “I want you to do it again, but this time with myself
and Raphael,” she looked shocked and turned to look at the Archangel in question.

He stood, tall and powerful, towering above all the others, his deep blue braid sweeping his
ankles and his emerald eyes flashing. He made an intimidating sight, but Nightmare really
wanted to get closer to him. Fighting made that possible. She snapped her fingers and the
music started up again – Breaking Benjamin’s ‘Topless’- inviting the teachers forward. They
advanced, Michael on the left, Raphael on the right. She relaxed, one hip cocked out, leg
slightly bent. They knew better than to think she was unprepared, and Michael made a move
that would have taken out her leg, but feinted, giving Raphael a chance to attack whilst she
was distracted. If she’d been distracted. She’d already read their tactics in their heads, and
was well prepared for the attack. Nightmare spun away and Michael’s leg connected with
Raphael’s, knocking him backwards and giving Nia the opening she’d been waiting for.

Dropping to her knees, she brought one hand up so the palm faced outwards and the other so
it touched the ground. A circle of purple fire whirled out from the grounded palm, spinning
wildly on the floor, expanding out from her body to race towards the fallen Archangels,
giving them no time to fly upwards and then rising to encompass them both in individual
bubbles. She rose slowly, keeping her palm outstretched, and walked towards the bubbles.

“Break out.” She ordered.

“We can’t.” Michael sounded slightly sheepish as he admitted it.

“What do you mean? You’re Archangels, of course you can. It’s simple, you’re taught it early
in school.”
She frowned, getting closer and putting her hand on the bubble.
“Nightmare, you have to bring it down. We are ashamed to say we can’t break out without
hurting you terribly and that we are fast losing air.” Raphael was laughing but his lungs were
struggling to draw breath. Michael, too, was starting to gasp.

Eyes wide, she withdrew the magic and released it back into them in the form of oxygen,
returning them to normal.

“I’m sorry.” She offered her hands and helped them to their feet.

Raphael was the first to speak, with slight reverence and awe. “Your power is great,
especially for an Angelic. You just need to learn how to regulate it. You released it without
knowing how much power you were using. But it was spectacularly done.”

She smiled.
The others applauded, rather slowly, and then left to get changed. Elena and Dagan bounded
over to her, Dagan looking scared, to congratulate her. She laughed as they re-enacted her
performance with bizarre looks on their faces and just made a mockery of her skills. Nia
aimed her finger at them and they flinched as a loud pop sounded. Tongue to her left canine,
she grinned wickedly and then ducked when they threw towels at her.

She was back, her friends weren’t treating her differently and she’d made an impression on
the older Angels. Hopefully that would stop any future problems with annoying cocky
people. Maybe.

Things never work out quite the way she wants, though…..ever.