1 Prologue: Her Beginning

Even a devil was once an angel that fell because their wings were too weak to carry the burden of a human's darkness.

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

"I don't want to do this anymore, I-I'm sorry, p-p-please, don't m-m-make me do this," her hands trembled as she rested them on the child's shoulders. The young boy's hair danced in the wind; it resembled the rustle of autumn leaves on a silent night. Fallen flinched at the seemingly raspy chuckle from behind. She couldn't turn to look at the source that held her in place with a suffocatingly tainted aura.

"It's easy, he's nothing more than a human child. Don't forget our little deal, Fallen. You gave up your wings, along with your freedom." Fallen looked down at her tattered clothes and the rusted chains around her arms and legs. She was reminded of what led her to make this sacrilegious decision.

 "Now, before I lose my temper, do it!" She quivered at his aggressive tone. Fallen took one last look at the stars before leaning over the boy's shoulder. Her eyes trailed down to the underdeveloped feet that met the edge, she grimaced at the passerby who was naive to the chaos above. Her mouth came closer to the boy's ear, the skin between her lips stuck together from dryness.

A radiant glow draped over her as she seduced the boy's innocent mind. Her eyes turned a light violet, glimmering over the young boy's frame as he trembled and whimpered out a few cries. His sorrowful eyes, filled with rage at the sight of the distant pavement. I'm sorry mom and dad, I just can't. With his eyes squeezed shut he inched his heels closer to his demise. I hope they regret what they did to me. Fallen let her head rest on the boy's shoulder, knowing he was blind to her touch. She relaxed there before taking a deep breath and facing the profile of the terrified kid. Fallen's voice barely reached above a whisper wishing for the regret she feels, to vanish. The words boiled in her stomach and burned her throat on the way up.

"It's all their fault, it will all go away if you simply just take one step. Show them what their actions cost. Make them forever feel responsible. It's quick and painless, just..." Fallen hesitated while looking away from the child's profile; she stared up at the empty sky and forced the last words out.

"Just..jump," her hands rushed to her mouth as the boy's body disappeared from her view. She collapsed to the ground, her legs giving in, leaving her wings to cushion the fall. Fallen's screams of horror pierced the sky. Her bedraggled clothes tinted red from the bloody tears she shed. Fallen's arms latched at her wings. The muscles in them withered and deteriorated, cracking and twitching in place. Her hands were left empty as one by one the feathers turned black and wilted. The sound of the boy's body meeting the pavement echoed through her mind, getting louder as the reality of what she did sank in. Her hands clutched over her eyes only to have the endless flow of blood seep through the gaps between her fingers. Her arms were snatched away from her face, body limp, she was dragged over the ledge. The demon jumped over the ledge, Fallen not even having the energy to resist their descent.

Her eyes widened at the boy's final moments, his chest twitched in an attempt to breathe. Panic erupted as people rushed to his aid, not knowing he was hopeless. Countless civilians ran through their ghostly figures to get to the dying boy. Fallen stared at the life disappearing from his eyes, she caused this.

Fallen's head turned upward, making her notice an expressionless child staring at the boy's blood splattered across the pavement. Fallen's curiosity was broken by the demon's voice.

"Why don't you go and give her a listen?" The demon smirked at Fallen's trembling figure. Fallen weakly shook the demon's grip from her arm, gravitating towards the little girl. Her glow flickered, her once angelic entity was now drowned in despair. She reached out to read the small girl's thoughts.

He's finally dead, thank god. Join me, brother.

A flood of memories hit her at once; in an instant, she saw the child's memory flash by. Fallen saw the young boy dragging her into a room by her wrist. The little girl followed in glee, excited to finally play with her big brother.

"Let's play a game," his smile was brighter than any ray of sunshine, and Fallen took that away. The little girl did as he told her. She closed her eyes and laid down on the bed. The boy began to smack her, spit on her, and shake her until she was sick. He only cursed under his breath as she cried out.

"You are so annoying, the game is to be quiet, you lose, now for a punishment." Fallen quickly separated from the child's mind as she was too broken to see what was next. She knew from the look in the boy's eyes what he wanted. Fallen reached out to comfort the young girl but was stopped by the demon clutching her outreached arm. She was hurt like she was, robbed of her innocence by people who only had excuses. The boy tortured her every day, using her as a replacement for the people he didn't have the courage to face.

"See, humans are just a waste of time. Let go of this filthy world and join me." Fallen's tears of sorrow turned black as she stared at the little girl. Like candle wax, it thickly dripped onto the concrete. Fallen turned to look at the demon and stared at his outreached hand. He slowly let go of her forearm only for it to plop down to her side.

"Welcome to the world of demons, Fallen." She could only utter a sigh while her dark brown eyes grew black. Her brown skin was covered in lines that slowly took the shape of cursed symbols that mark those cast from heaven.

"Thank you," she took his hand as ambulance sirens played to her soul's last demise. Fallen looked back at the young girl that stood there alone amongst the panic. She seemed stuck in time, unaware of the rest of the world. A portal opened, the demon signaled Fallen to step through. Her actions came to a halt at the sound of a child's giggle.

Fallen quickly turned, she met the stare of the little girl. With a few teeth missing the young girl shakily smiled, "thank you, Ms. Angel, I'm finally free."

Fallen came to a realization as she watched the young boy's spirit follow the girl helplessly. She never escaped her brother alive, he was on the ledge to pay for what he did to her mercilessly, no wonder her memories were so easy to reach. Fallen smiled brokenly as it all clicked, she knew that the young girl was asked the same question she was when all hope was lost. Fallen let her eyes rest closed, the question played back in her mind:

"Want to make a deal with a devil?"