Disclaimers: The usual I suppose, same sex relationship somewhere in this, although how detailed that’s going to be is up to the muse. Major thanks to Diva along with L and L for there help with this! Thank you to Amy for her support, and as always dedicated to my Angel.

I’d love to hear any constructive criticism or suggestions, at : adarkbow@yahoo.com so please send them on! Hope you like the story. Windstar

~ Thomas Daggett, ex-seminary student/cop*

The Last Night

"Wakey, wakey!"

Blearily she swam upwards towards consciousness, groaning as the dull ache in her side and the pounding headache each vied for her attention. The light being shone in her face won and Sarah opened her eyes, then immediately wished she hadn't as she was nearly blinded.

Her fist came up and around in an instinctive action, and there was a startled yelp of pain. The glare of light disappeared as well and she cracked open an eyelid, confusion reigning as she remembered the tunnel.

Where the hell am I now?

"God damn it Sarah! You didn't have to slug me."

"You didn't have to shine that in my eyes either."

She growled, managing to get into a sitting position. She was, she found out, in her bedroom. Her side had been bandaged, and most of the dirt had been cleaned off.

"What happened?"

"You nearly died."

The Magister wasn't particularly surprised to see the Professor sitting in one of the old rocking chairs her parents had left her. Eric had picked up the flashlight she'd swatted aside and was ruefully rubbing arm where she'd hit him.

"What happened?"

Her throat was sore, but she frowned as she realized her side should have hurt a lot more than it did. A quick check of the bandages proved that some sort of magical healing had been used, the gashes were still there, but they were the thin red lines of old healing wounds instead of gashes only hours old.

"You were trapped, Magister. I alerted Eric and he came to dig you out."

The bland answer earned the Professor a glare that even made him wince.

"Not that I'm not thankful, but how the HELL did you know about that?"

Eric was watching the other man curiously also, he'd been too busy making certain his niece was alright to ask, but it had been something he'd wanted an answer to.

"Simple, I was there."

Ignoring the pain in her head and side, Sarah surged to her feet, uncoiling with an explosion of power and slamming the homeless man into the wall. Her voice was a jagged snarl even to her own ears.

"And you didn't stop him from taking Gwyn?"

Black eyes watched her sympathetically despite her move, and his voice was a calm counterpoint to hers.

"I can not interfere in this fight."

Her knuckles whitened as she grabbed a hold the outermost coat he was wearing and hauled him to his feet, only to slam him into the nearest wall.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I have my orders."

She would have slit him open to find out what he knew, and it showed in eyes as dark as the darkest night.

"From who?"

The long haired man simply smiled, and she had to hold up a hand to keep Eric from pushing the muzzle of the gun he was holding into the Professor's face.

Patience is not a family virtue.

Instead of saying anything, the man she held up against the wall managed to free a hand and point a finger upwards. She glanced at it, then up at the ceiling, then back at him in puzzlement that rapidly gave way to something approaching understanding. That he was telling the truth was blazoned across his entire aura.

"What, exactly, is it that Gwyn's involved in?"

-----------------------

"Don't worry little one, it's almost night fall. It will all be over soon enough."

Gwyn refused to answer, staring out the window at the setting sun. She half-heartedly tugged on the thick chains that Gabriel and his associates had wrapped around her and the granite bench she was sitting on. She'd given up yelling at him when her voice started to go hoarse, and was now doing her best pretending he didn't exist. The dark haired man seemed to find that amusing as he watched her from his own position perched on the edge of a chair. The old abandoned warehouse they'd taken her to wasn't that far from the oil refinery, but she had no illusions about anyone being able to hear her screams for help.

Now she just concentrated on picturing her captor being eviscerated by Sarah.

Sarah, oh please God, let her be all right. Please, please let her have survived.

She didn't know if anyone heard her prayers either, but it was all she could do for now.

"You should be honored, little one, you're going to wipe a scourge from the earth."

Pained blue eyes swung towards the perched man, watching as he idly played the valves.

"Don't call me that."

He smiled mockingly.

"What, little one?"

Her glare was his answer, and if anything his smile grew.

"What should I call you, Gwyn? You know that's not your real name."

She leaned forwards, not much, but it was enough for his grin to turn triumphant.

"Oh yes, I know who, and what you really are."

Despite what she might think of him, she wanted, needed to know what he knew. She knew Gabriel did not miss the hopeful expression on her face, and at that moment she didn't care.

"Who am I?"

The gaunt man hoped down from his perch, still carrying his horn, and leaned down towards the chained woman. His lips were only a hairs breath away from her ear when he spoke again.

"Don't you know? You're an Angel, just like me."

----------------

"What the HELL do you mean she's an Angel?"

The Professor choked for a second and only Eric's hand on her shoulder called the Magister back from the rage swelling inside of her. She forced herself to let go of the other man, watching silently as he gasped for breath, if he even twitched wrong she was going to gut him where he stood and read the answers she wanted in his entrails.

"Step back Sarah."

"What?"

Whirling she glared at her Uncle, lips curling.

"You kill him and you won't learn a thing."

His low urgent words managed to stem the tide of rage, and the Magister stalked away from the still gasping Professor. Her Uncle stayed close to him, eyeing the man narrowly.

"You better start talking, or she'll start cutting."

The homeless man straightened, an odd smile on his face, despite the bruises forming on his neck.

"She's going to need to know you care for her."

Sarah took a step towards him as he spoke, intent on making him answer their questions, and he hastily held up both hands.

"Wait, wait, I'll explain, as much as I am allowed to."

Two sets of eyes watched him expectantly, both dark as night, and he did not need his God to show him what would happen if he did not answer their questions.

"The being you call Gwyn is a messenger of God, a being created from pure light, made of love, and her entire existence since the beginning of time has been in His service."

When no one tried to gut him, he continued, certain he had both their complete attention.

"She was sent here on a mission, before you ask, I can't tell you what it is. Somewhere along the way something went wrong, and she was forced into a human body. Gabriel probably had something to do with that, maybe used demons to hurt her, I don't know."

There was a pause as he drew in a breath to say more, but Sarah beat him to it. The woman's eyes pinning him where he stood, her entire body almost radiated the need to do something, to strike out at an enemy. Even the Professor would not have cared to face a Magister in full war cry.

"You said she was an Angel."

"She is, or to be more precise, part of her still is. It's just locked inside of her, held in check by the body of flesh she now wears."

She motioned for him to go on.

"Gabriel will try to use her to win his war."

At confused expressions from both Eric and Sarah, he embellished a bit.

"I'm not surprised you don't know about it, not many of your kind do. There's a… well, let's call it a war in heaven. Gabriel and his supporters are jealous of you."

Sarah arched an eyebrow.

"Oh for the love of… not you specifically, Magister, you as in your kind, humans. They are jealous of you, that God raised you up above even they, it enrages them you see, to have talking monkey's walking around in paradise. So they went to war, to find a way to wipe your kind from the face of the planet, while those still loyal to His word try to thwart them."

"Why doesn't God just stop them? If He's all powerful, he should be able to right?"

The Professor simply shrugged in way of an answer and smiled that annoying smile back at her. Sarah really was starting to wonder if she had ever thought of this man as anything but annoying and what the best way would be to remove every single one of his teeth as painfully as possible would be.

"I do not question His word, Magister."

She was nearing the edge of her patience, which wasn't that difficult. The professor hurried up a bit though, so it must have been obvious to the homeless man. She knew that Eric was tensing also, and his shotgun was firmly aimed at the Professor.

"The key you found, he'll use that to open a hole to hell. Through that he will command an army of demons."

The Magister stared at him in rapidly dawning understanding, a sickening feeling blossoming in the pit of her stomach as the Professor nodded.

"You understand now?"

Her voice was shaky, but stronger than she'd expected considering the images dancing through her thoughts.

"To open a gate to he'll need to sacrifice a being of pure light."

Eric's voice was quiet in the sudden grim silence.

"Gwyn."

----------------

"Have you met my associates, Gwyn?"

Escorted by the four remaining monsters, all she could do was glare at the back of Gabriel's head.

"I can smell their stench from here."

It had not escaped her attention that as they entered the park other things had been waiting for them. The smell alone would have told her that they weren't the only things that prowled through the trees.

"Dead talking monkey's, almost as clever as live talking monkey's and even more malleable to my will."

Indeed the park was crawling with undead, she winced as she caught sight of zombies, their decaying flesh hanging in strips from wet bones. Skeletons, only clothed in traces of the clothes they'd been buried in, and worse prowled between those dark trees. Gabriel firmly clasped the amulet, that Sarah had found, in his hand.

"What's an Angel doing using undead?"

Her memory was still an abyss of darkness, but in that abyss there were more and more islands of memory. They were random, but ever since the encounter with the Professor, they'd grown. Some made no sense to her, like the one where she was using a bow and trying to shoot an arrow through something that looked like a small man with huge bat like wings. Others, her wielding a flaming sword against a host of creatures like those which flanked her right now, were terrible enough that she wasn't sure if she was glad she remembered them or not.

"I will use whatever means necessary to win this war."

"The ends justify the means Gabriel?"

"You always were too smart for your own good Gwyn."

They'd reached what she'd known was going to be there final destination, the bridge over the Professor's home. A huge pentagram had been drawn across the entire width of the stone structure, and a creature who resembled a woman walked towards her. She might have looked beautiful to a normal person, but Gwyn could see the disease below the flesh and jerked back in surprise. Gabriel laughed as he strode forwards, not pausing as he passed the tall blond.

"Gwyn, I'd like you to meet Maeve, she's such a good friend, aren't you Maeve."

Maeve was running her tongue over elongated canine teeth, eyeing Gwyn appraisingly as she sauntered towards her. The smaller woman had a very good idea of what would happen to her once the Vampire reached her and tensed.

"Maeve."

The name was said deceptively softly, but the Vampire jerked backwards, scowling. For just a split second Gwyn saw naked fear in the Vampire's face, and she wondered what Gabriel could have done to place such there.

"Go make certain that none of the Magister's friends, or anyone else, interfere in the ceremony. We only have one sacrifice, so we can't mess it up."

Maeve hissed, reminding Gwyn of nothing so much as a cat, and she expected the other woman to refuse. Instead she turned and slipped into the shadows, taking the other undead with her.

"So nice to have somewhat reliable help."

Giving a tug against the claws that still held her arms captive, Gwyn could do little more than glare at the Angel.

"When did you lose your grace, Gabriel?"

"Don't you dare ever lecture me about grace, Gwyn."

He sneered at her, moving around the carefully drawn pentagram.

"You who lust after a human, a talking monkey. Little better than a snail with a soul, and barely even intelligent enough to realize they actually need this world to survive. Even then they continue to destroy it, so don't you dare lecture me. Because, little one, in the end I am in the one who is right here. You remember don't you? When we were His best, his closest, and we were held highest among all."

Gwyn watched him as he talked, noting the hint of insanity in his eyes as he rounded the pentagram and came to stand before her.

"He doesn't talk to you anymore, does he Gabriel? You know why? Because you've become like Lucifer."

The blow came so fast she saw nothing more than a blur before his fist slammed into the side of her head, rocking her back on her heels. If not for the demons holding her on either side she would have fallen.

"Your friend erased my other Gate, so I couldn't call more demons to my service. I was rather annoyed at the Magister for that, and I'd hoped that the old man would have died, what's his name? Ah yes, Eric. Too bad you healed him before that happened, Gwyn. No matter, now that I have you here, and the Key, I can command all of them that I want."

His ramblings washed over her, the pale haired woman barely heard him, the ringing in her ears and the fight to keep upright consumed most of her concentration. She did hear his next words perfectly clearly though.

"Strip her, it's time that she become somewhat useful."

---------------

"Sarah!"

"Get out of my way Eric."

"Goddamn it."

The older man cursed as his niece shoved him aside and yanked open the door to her SUV.

"Would you wait until I get my stuff!"

"Meet me at the park."

Her tires smoked as she squealed backwards, only closing the door at the last second, and barely avoiding having it wrenched off by the edge of the garage doorway. Eric was yelling at her again, even as he yanked the tarp off of his own car, an older 1960s vintage muscle car that he'd had ever since his first days in the city. She was glad he'd get one more chance to drive it into battle.

"If you lied to me, Professor, I'll hunt you down and stake you where it hurts."

She growled, wrenching the wheel hard over, sending the big vehicle barreling down into the street outside of the manor, heading downtown. The Magister had only had to threaten the homeless man a few more times to get him to tell her where it was that Gabriel had to make his sacrifice.

That it was the bridge that the Professor had lived under had seemed somewhat fitting to her as she grabbed her equipment. Sarah hadn't cared if the Professor staid where he was, or left, because she finally understood what was going on.

She had a clear target.

Undead to return to the grave.

A loved one to save.

Loved one?

The dark haired woman angrily shoved that thought aside for another time, and concentrated on getting to the park as quickly as possible. A minor spell, whispered as she barreled down the street, guaranteed that she wouldn't be pulled over for speeding or any other traffic infraction.

She had an answer where all the undead had gone to during the past few months at least.

Gabriel had, somehow, managed to gather himself a small army.

How nice.

With a screech of breaks a cab skidded to a stop as she cut straight through the last intersection, making her own path into the park through the end of the T intersection. The Magister had an impression of several skeletons, and even a zombie or two, caught in the sudden glare of the SUV's headlights, before she ran them over. A vicious grin curling her lips as she heard the crunches of bone even over the rattle of tree limbs slapping and scrapping along the sides of her truck.

The hunt was on, and fire burned through her veins, as it had every Magister since the beginning of time.

Where the trees got too thick she parked, slamming the door into the face of a ghoul trying to close in on her. A flash bang went sailing out the open passenger side window, even as she cleared her own door with a floating grace. The sword came up and around, taking the ghoul's head from it, even as the grenade exploded, turning the night to day behind her. Several skeletons too close to the glare simply disintegrated, and a zombie burst into flames.

"GWYN!"

Her yell cut through the trees, even as her sword sliced through air, removing another zombie from her path. She slipped from shadow to shadow, wrapping them about her, as she headed deeper into the park. Her senses blazed with the number of undead around, and blue fire ran the length of her blade. With her right hand she wielded her sword, cutting down anything that came between her and her destination, with her left she channeled magic. A pale blue sphere sprang into being around her, protecting her from the occasional thrown objects some of the more powerful undead hurled at her.

She could see the shape of the bridge ahead of her, just beyond another copse of trees, when the vampire stepped out of the shadows. That she was a vampire there was no doubt, that the werewolves clustered around here were under her control was also not in doubt.

"Magister, I've waited for this moment."

Sarah had no idea who this thing was, and she didn't care. All the Magister knew was that the Vamp was between her and Gwyn. The blue wreathed sword came up and she never even slowed her paces as she stalked towards the group.

"Hope you enjoy your last few moments then."

----------------

There was a commotion behind them, somewhere in the park things were screaming and bursts of magic were wiping undead from the face of the earth. None of which even slowed down the former Archangel. Gwyn was forced to lie down in the middle of the pentagram, the ever present demons, for she knew them as such now, keeping her motionless.

"You are about to start the new world, Gwyndolinn."

She spat at him, struggling vainly against the claws holding her down.

"What are you doing Gabriel?"

If she could delay him, maybe Sarah could reach them in time. The hope must have shown in her eyes, for the dark haired archangel grinned as he drew a blade from thin air. It was longer than the one the Magister wielded, and black flames flickered along its edges.

"I wouldn't hold out hope for your Magister, little sister. She's fighting every undead that I could recruit for the past five months right now. Think she's that good? I'd be willing to bet she might be, but how long do you think it will take her to get through all those dead bodies?"

The blade came up and around, she could see it only as a perfect absence of light against the clear night sky above. He was only a silhouette against that same sky as well, the amulet glowed with a malevolent light, Gwyn could feel the boundaries between worlds start to fade. All it would take would be a blood sacrifice to open the gate.

Her blood.

"You're insane Gabriel."

"Do you know what hell is, Gwyn? It's not being roasted alive; it's being locked away from God. From a perfect all consuming love. Frankly, I'd rather go up with the entire planet than go back there."

Sarah, I wish I'd gotten to kiss you one more time.

The blade came up and around, and she closed her eyes, knowing the end was upon her.

Metal clanged against metal and Gwyn's eyes shot open as the end didn't happen. Gabriel snarled at the old man who had appeared besides him, the flaming sword he too held crossed with Gabriel's.

"I warned you to leave Davvyd!"

The Professor smiled, and for the first time since she'd met him, the old man did not look old. His back was straight instead of hunched over and the lines had disappeared from his face.

"And I told you I serve our God."

It happened quickly, almost too fast for her to follow. Gabriel's sword came up and around aimed at the Professor's side. Instead of countering though, the former old man turned towards her. She had the impression of a smile upon his face as he too lashed out. His sword did not bite into Gabriel though; it carved a path through the two demons holding down her right side. She knew what he was doing, knew without a doubt that the Professor was sacrificing himself so that she might have a chance. Knew and wanted to scream at him to stop him from doing what was already too late to undo.

"Stop him little sister."

Then Gabriel's sword had finished its path, and the Professor's body crumpled next to her. The sword falling with a rattle to the pavement just inches from her own suddenly free hand.

So natural for her fingers to curl around the hilt.

So natural for her to use it to strike at the two demons still holding down her left side, while the other two were still reeling from the wounds the Professor had caused.

Then she was up and backing away from them, frantic to get off the bridge and away from the baleful red lines painted upon the pavement.

"Stop her!"

Gabriel's yell only hastened her flight.

Memories rushed back to her, crashing through her mind like tidal waves.

She'd been chosen for the mission because she'd had so much experience hunting demons recently. There had been some sort of demonic presence in the city, and she'd been asked to go assist the other city's assigned Angel, Daffyd.

From the moment she manifested things had started to go wrong.

The transformation from a being of pure light into a body that looked human was neither pleasant, nor quickly accomplished. She'd been half formed, barely aware of her surroundings, and only a fraction of her true power when they had attacked.

The huge demonic shapes had bulged out of the mirrors lining the front displays of nearby high fashion stores. The terrible high-pitched screams had driven her to her knees, hands pressed to her ears.

The last thing she remembered before her hazy memories of the hospital room was the way the demon's mouths had opened impossibly wide as they'd come towards her.

-------------

A half dozen werewolves lay dead around the now bloodied clearing as Sarah dropped the empty stake thrower. She had no more silver stakes to load into it, so it was useless. The small headset she still wore remained stubbornly quiet and she wondered what the hell was taking Eric so long.

"Come on, that the best you got?"

Her side ached from the mostly healed wound, and she was covered in small cuts and bruises. None of the werewolves had managed to bite her though, which was good news, since she didn't feel like becoming a werewolf herself. The vampire laughed, a high lilting sound that crawled underneath the Magister's skin and left her wanting to warm herself.

"You're slowing down Magister, how long before one of them gets through. Only a matter of time, and you don't have that much to spare do you."

Unfortunately the Vamp was right, and the Magister snarled. She was about to launch herself at the vamp and the surviving werewolves when a voice spoke up in her ear.

"Hey, kiddo, you down there?"

The snarl turned into a smile and she saluted the vampire with her blade, then pointed towards each of the werewolves with its tip.

"What are you doing, Magister?"

"It's just you and me now, Vamp."

She laughed again, enlarged canines flashing in the moonlight.

"What, you think my pets are just going to disappear?"

"That's exactly what I think. Eric, take care of the pets will you?"

"Who are you speaking…"

The rest of her sentence was drowned out by the sharp crack of the heavy sniper rifle. Eric was set up in one of the taller apartment buildings across from the entrance of the park. The first bullet took the werewolf in the head, the silver bullet blowing the creature apart.

"My Uncle, he's a very good shot."

By the time she reached the stunned vamp the last of her werewolves was laying on it's side, streaming blood flowing from the wound in it's side.

"I think he's very good, don't you?"

"Damn you Magister!"

The bloodsucker flung herself at Sarah, who smiled thinly. This was not the first vampire she had ever crossed paths with, and except for the occasional smart one, they were rather predictable. Against most people a charging vampire would probably succeed, against a Magister, it was futile.

She held out her hand, palm towards the rushing vampire and whispered.

Magic flared brilliant in the clearing, and flames engulfed the undead woman as she neared Sarah. The screaming was inhuman, and Sarah counted it as an act of mercy as her sword took the vampire's head from her shoulders.

"Took you long enough."

"Sorry, had a few things to pick up. Gwyn's running towards you right now, Gabriel's gaining on her though. She's picked up a sword somewhere. I'll keep the other goons off your back."

The sharp cracks of the sniper rifle didn't even slow down, as Eric began picking off the zombies and ghouls left in the area. Clearing a path for the Magister as she ran straight towards the bridge.

"Gwyn!"

The pale woman was running towards her, a sword the Magister had never seen clasped in her right hand, it's length wreathed in brilliant white flames. Behind her, running in odd leaping lunges, was Gabriel. The Archangel carried his own blade, but where as Gwyn's was wreathed in brilliant white flames, his was as dark as a starless night. They were perfect opposites, and for the first time she believed the Professor's words.

"You're mine Gabriel."

Gwyn skidded to a stop next to the Magister, blue eyes wide and frightened, but holding a new strength to them that the taller woman had not seen before.

"He has more demons with him, Sarah."

She saw no demons, not a surprise since she hadn't seen them at Marina's house either.

"You killed her didn't you?"

The Magister's eyes were black with fury.

The approaching Archangel slowed to a walk, and his smile was as cold as the vampire's had been, as he answered with a shrug.

"I needed her to tell me where my little sister had fled to."

"Gwyn?"

The Magister calmly asked the blonde woman clinging to her side.

"Yes?"

The blonde woman's voice was shaky.

"You can see the demons right?"

Gwyn hesitantly nodded.

"Can you kill them?"

The pale woman hesitated at that for a moment, then swallowed and answered.

"Yes."

"Good."

Sarah lunged forwards, her blade leading the way, intent on wiping the smirk from Gabriel's face. He met her halfway and sparks showered them both from where their swords crossed.

"Your just a talking monkey, Magister. You really think you can beat me?"

He shoved and Sarah went tumbling backwards. The Magister had a surprised second of flight before hitting the dirt a good dozen feet away from where she'd been. The Archangel was stronger than she'd expected. She got to her feet just in time to meet his next attack, and hissed in pain as his blade slammed down against hers. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Gwyn whirling and slashing at what looked like mid air.

Another slash and her right arm went numb from the shoulder down as she blocked Gabriel's attack. With a grunt she managed to get a bit of breathing room, and avoid being sent flying again.

"You can't even stand up to me, what thinks you can beat me, Magister?"

He was an excellent swordsman and with strength the equal of three men, little could face him sword to sword. However, a Magister's strength did not only come just from her ability to use a sword.

"Because I'm smarter than you, Gabriel."

Her left fist blazed with magic, and keeping his sword wide, she punched him in the face. His head snapped back and the scent of burned flesh filled the air.

"Now I'm going to make your death painful, Magister."

Gwyn would have gladly helped Sarah out. If only she could, but right now she had her own problems. She might not have been facing an angry Archangel, but the four demons were plenty dangerous on their own. Memories continued to flood back, but unfortunately serving only to distract her. The first two demons fell quickly to her blade, the two that the Professor/Davvyd had wounded. They'd been nearly dead anyway, and it hadn't taken much to finish them off.

The other two were a different story.

One of the two hissed at her, and she only barely ducked under a claw swipe. The second was right there to press the attack, but she managed to fling herself up under another, and slash at the first one. She did little more then scratch it's scales, but the thing drew back, with a scream that would have shattered windows, from the flaming sword she wielded.

"Gwyn, you alright?" Sarah yelled above the noise of her own blade clashing with Gabriel's.

"Just peachy!"

She would have grinned at that answer, if she hadn't been busy trying to keep from being cut down. Instead, the best the Magister could do was quirk a brow and block another of the Archangel's attacks. Her arms were starting to tire, and she knew she couldn't keep it up for much longer. Soon he was going to be able to bat aside her sword, and it would be over. She doubted her magic's would help against whatever it was that Gabriel was now.

Gwyn slid up under one of the large creatures, the claws of the second tearing into the turf behind her. Her sword jabbed upwards, and she kept right on moving, slitting the demon open. A part of her almost faltered as she remembered using that exact same maneuver before, but there was no time for memories now, only reactions.

Sarah couldn't feel her right arm, her body ached in dozens of places, and she knew she was slowing down. More flares of magic managed to drive Gabriel back, but she couldn't keep that up forever either. The Archangel wasn't tiring at all as far as she could tell. Her options were starting to get limited.

"Eric, need some help here…"

She wheezed, briefly driving Gabriel back onto the defensive.

"Sorry kiddo."

The sound of a pistol being fired came over the headset.

"Got a bit of a roach problem."

Not what the Magister had been hoping to hear.

"Give it up Magister, just hand over your little Gwyn and I won't even kill you."

She noted that Gabriel wasn't even breathing hard, another reason she wanted to drive her fist through his face.

"Go to Hell."

"Heaven, at least get the zip code right."

Over his shoulder she could see Gwyn, dodging and feinting with a beast that was invisible to her. She knew, in her gut, what would happen if she didn't stop Gabriel. He would use Gwyn's murder to open a gate to Hell and wipe humanity from the face of the planet. Her family would do their best but with an army of invisible soldiers they would fail. They would die protecting the rest of the world, but they would die.

I shouldn't have stopped kissing her.

The thought was crystal clear as she stepped into Gabriel's next swing. It is said that the best swordsman in the world does not fear the second best, or even the third, he fears the worst, for they do not react as expected. Sarah was far from being the worst in the world, but as Gabriel's sword crunched through her side he looked at her in surprise.

Her timing had to be perfect, for there would be no second chances, ever again.

Even before the pain reached her mind her left hand gripped the hilt of his sword, ignoring the burning and holding him close as she drove the tip of her own sword upwards into his heart. Somewhere in the distance she heard Gwyn screaming her name, but as the blood welled up past her lips she managed to spit one last time at the dying Archangel. They both sank to their knees, anchored together by their swords, and Sarah had the pleasure of watch the light fade from Gabriel's eyes first.

Then darkness claimed her, and her body fell to the side lifeless.

To Be Continued.