Sanctuary . Amy Blankenship

blade suddenly shone brightly as it was absorbed once more back into her body. Since the blade seemed to think she was safe, then she probably was. Aurora felt relief ease her tense muscles and decided it was time to get down from this building before someone saw her.

      She looked down over the edge of the massive concrete hawk and inhaled as the wind rushed upwards lifting her hair around her face. She was still so far from the ground and she wasn’t about to dive off for two reasons. Reason number one… she’d probably hurt herself and two, the main reason, she didn’t want anyone to see her.

      She’d thought about dying while in the rift but she had a chance at freedom now… she no longer wanted to die, so diving face first from a skyscraper was not a choice.

      Climbing out onto the wing of the hawk, she looked down at a balcony several stories below and judged the distance. Aurora gripped the edge of the wing and swung herself toward the balcony enjoying the feeling of freefalling. Landing in a silent crouch, she gazed into the window and froze.

      Between the part in the curtains, she saw movement and leaned closer to get a better look. Her lips parted when she saw a woman in a short silky nightgown smile coyly at a man sitting on the sofa across the room from her. The lady eased the silk from her shoulders, letting it hang down over her arms… exposing very little covering underneath.

      Aurora moved her gaze to the man seeing his eyes darken with passion. He stood up and removed his shirt, tossing it over his shoulder before stalking toward the woman like a cat slowly moving in on its prey. The woman smiled again and let the silk fall the rest of the way to the floor… exposing all she had to offer.

      The man closed in and took the woman in his arms. They shared a passionate kiss before the man reached down and took hold of her, lifting her up. Her long legs wrapped around his waist and when he adjusted her slightly, the woman tossed her head back exposing her throat.

      Aurora’s breath quickened when the man’s lips descended on the offered flesh making the woman in his arms shiver. He turned and walked them into another room, closing the door behind them and blocking her from seeing anything more. Aurora felt the small sad smile that caressed her lips and for a moment wished she was human.

      She swung around and leaned against the building, slowly sliding down the wall until she was sitting with her knees drawn up in front of her.

      She’d spent her childhood hiding what she was… trying to pretend she was human. Her one wish had always been that she was human. If she had been, she wouldn’t have found the hell she did at Samuel’s hands and she’d have been free to love anyone she chose.

      It had been a boy her own age that informed her of what she really was. His name was Skye. To the humans, he’d only looked about seven years old… the same as her, but she’d known the truth. He’d been her best friend for a long time and the only company that either one could trust.

      They would just smile when the humans mistook them for siblings, their coloring was almost the same and by human standards they were considered beautiful.

      Skye had told her stories about the Fallen… and the demons the Fallen had inadvertently created. He should know… he was one of those creations but it didn’t bother him. He once told her that he enjoyed looking like a Fallen because it was better to be an angel than a demon. He’d also warned her about the fears humans had and that if they ever discovered what she really was… they would try to kill her.

      For years she and Skye had stuck together, moving from village to village every few years before the humans could catch on to the fact that they weren’t aging like normal children.

      She still remembered the last time she’d seen Skye. He’d smiled at her before walking into the forest with several of the village men who were taking him on a vision quest.

      That was the day the demons had come… so many demons. The earth shook with their arrival, killing anything that got in their way. The ground beneath them had opened up and actually sank before a great crack raced through the center of the village square.

      Aurora could only stand there and stare in terror at what was happening. A demon roared and came running at her and she’d stumbled backwards just as three men rushed in between her and the demon, blocking its path. She gasped waiting to feel the hard ground beneath her and screamed when the earth started to rise up around her.

      One of the human men, a village warrior, dove down after her but was caught in midair by another demon… that was the last she saw of him. Other humans were falling in with her, screaming all the way and it suddenly dawned on her that she’d fallen into the huge crack. Her wings, only a smoky shadow to the naked eye, appeared and she tried to return to the surface but an inexplicable force continued to pull her down… away from the home she and Skye had chosen.

      Before the screaming had stopped, the whole village had been sent into the rift… trapping humans and demons alike. She closed her eyes trying to block out the memory of what had happened to those humans and turned her thoughts back to Skye. She was glad he had went on his vision quest… was glad he hadn't seen any of it. The only hope she held onto now was that he was still alive and living a full life.

      Bringing herself back to her present predicament, Aurora leaned toward the glass peeking in to see that the human couple had not come back out of the far room. Reaching up she sighed when the door easily opened and she slipped inside, running soundlessly across the carpet and out into the hallway.

      Once at street level, she made sure to keep to the well-lit areas just in case Samuel reappeared for another fight… a fight she wasn’t so sure she could keep winning. She didn’t really keep track of where she was going or how long she walked… all she wanted was one night of peace… to rest.

      When was the last time she’d truly slept without the fear of being accosted because of what she was? It had been before she was dragged into the rift. And the only moment of happiness she’d found since coming out of the rift was with a man in the subway tunnel.

      She reached up and touched the necklace she was still wearing and was caught between melancholy and the thrill of the stolen moments of bliss. It was a memento, something to remember him by because she knew she’d never see him again.

      Aurora jerked her gaze up to the fence she was walking beside and looked around tucking the necklace back inside her shirt. For the first time since coming out of the rift, she didn’t feel any demons near her. Wrapping her fingers around the tall chain link fence, she stared across the parking lot at the huge building it surrounded.

      She didn’t know how to read the words that were lit up in red across the top, so for the lack of demons in the area she pretended it read Sanctuary and smiled. Within moments, she had scaled the fence and made it to the roof of the building.

      Moving silently out of habit, she curled up against the only door leading into the interior because it had a small overhang that would keep the sunlight from waking her too soon. Another smile appeared on her face as she felt safety here… a place where she could finally rest.

      She lay there with her eyes closed and stretched her senses out feeling all of the boundaries surrounding this place. She didn’t know why or how… but she felt like she was on an island in a sea of demons and they couldn’t come out of the water to get her. Opening her eyes, she inhaled sharply when she did indeed feel the demon energies around the perimeters of the barrier.

      Aurora felt their rage and frustration as they tried to break through and couldn’t help but smile… they would not get her this night.

      Chapter 3

      To say Skye was confused was an understatement. He’d somehow gone from one prison into another, not realizing until it was too late. When he was unexpectedly freed from the trap that had imprisoned him and Misery together, he’d stalked the she-demon knowing she planned to release the demons that had been pulled into the rift.

      A large part of him actually hoped that Misery would succeed in her quest, but not for the reasons that some might believe. Just because he was a demon didn’t