The Angel's Fate

Mariel: He turns to look at me, fangs bared and eyes on fire. A skin-crawling shriek roars from his mouth as he charges at me. I draw my sword, the angelic blade handed down from my grandfather. As my hand touches the hilt, it bursts into a mixture of blue and black flame, glowing as my angelic power pulses through it.  "Try your best, vampire," I dare him with a smile as he runs at me. Suddenly he stops dead in his tracks, just barely out of my reach. A shadow of confusion descends on the vile creature's face. He c***s his head to the side and draws a long, slow breath. "You're not an angel," He hisses at me. "You're right," I say with a dark smile. "I'm something much worse." I put the sword back in its sheath, then close my eyes and lift my chin to the sky. The blue and black smoke swirl around me, a constant reminder of my impure heritage. The blue representing my angel side, and the black representing the demon.  I feel my body shifting as the fiery tornado whips around. When it clears, I tower over the lowly vampire. Giant wings have ripped their way through the skin on my back, and my hands and feet are replaced by enormous lion paws while horns grow from my head. I'm a cursed monstrosity so beastly that even the devil himself cowered in fear when he met me.  I can handle a little vampire.  I silently bend down, putting my muzzle to the creature's blood-caked face as he stares at me in wide-eyed horror. He is holding his breath, watching, waiting.  I love this part.  I take a little breath in, then release an earth-shaking roar that blows his hair back. He doesn't react for a moment, he just stands frozen with drool dripping slowly from his nose. I lick my lips in anticipation. "There are dozens of us in there," he says as he wipes the spit off of his face. "You'll never survive!" So I rear back on my hind legs and flap my scaled wings, creating a gust of wind so strong that it knocks him back. I crawl forward until I'm standing over him, relishing in the fear I see in his face.  "No," he pleads one last time.  But I don't listen. I pick him up in my enormous jowls and throw him against the wall. His body smacks into the wall with a dull thud, leaving an indentation in the rock before it slides down to the floor in a lifeless heap. I take a breath, then transform back in to my human form.  When the tongues of flame flicker away, I look like a normal eighteen-year-old girl again. I brush back my dark curls and smooth the rumples from my white shift dress. I chose it to look innocent and unintimidating. After all, diplomacy is essential here. I need to find the leader of this nest of vampires and find out why they've been running wild, slaughtering humans in the streets. It's not just the vampires; all of the supernaturals have been acting out since I killed Lucifer. So I guess it's my job to keep them all under control. I feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole lately, though. Subduing one violent horde only for ten more to pop up the next day. It's exhausting. I continue through the dark stone hallway, descending into darkness. The leader of this pack has to be here somewhere... I can smell him.  I creep past dozens more arched doorways, following the path as it goes deeper and darker. I can sense them, I can smell the victims they've brought back here to feast on. The metallic smell of blood fills my nostrils with every step I take closer to their nest. By the time I reach the end of the hallway, the smell of death is so thick that it burns my eyes. I push the giant door open, bracing myself for what I'll find on the other side. I turn the handle and burst through the doorway with divine strength. The sight before me would drive a normal human mad. I'm not a normal human. A group of Vampires is clustered around a motionless body on the floor, all vying for a taste of their victim. It's like watching lions devouring their prey, only with more blood. One of the vampires reluctantly stands up and glares at me with fiery eyes. He glances at the angelic mark on my chest, and a bloody smile creeps across his face. Red ooze drips from his fangs as he licks his lips. "I've always wanted to taste angel blood," he hisses hungrily. "Well, you're out of luck," I say before pulling out my blade once more. "I'm no angel." The creature slinks forward curiously, His face slowly changes as he smells the beastly scent of my aura. "What are you?" He asks. "Your worst nightmare," I answer sweetly with a smile. "Now, where is your leader?" The creature stares at me, examining me like an animal on the hunt. But he doesn't answer. So I draw my sword again and take a step toward the fanged creature, pointing the tip of my blade at it's neck. "I'll ask one more time. Where is your leader?" "I don't know," The creature hisses at me. "I don't exactly have a direct line. Why do you need to see him so desperately?" I scoff in disgust and gesture toward the lifeless body that lays in the middle of the room.  "What?" The vampire says with a shrug, "We have to eat." "You know it's more than that!" I shout, an animalistic growl rumbling through my words. I grit my teeth. "Vampires are killing humans out in the open by the hundreds! You're just asking for chaos." "We are hungry, and there are no more demons to get in the way," He spits back. "Our forces are only growing. We are turning more humans into our children every day, and you can't stop us. Or the werewolves, or the shifters. We will do as we please. We will hunt as we please. Now, little girl, let us get back to our meal." I can't take his arrogance anymore.  Before I can stop myself, I shift into my beast form. I'm seething with anger and ready for the kill. A shiver of joy rushes through my body when I hear the squeals of terror ringing through the air as the vampires realize who... or what.. I really am. I make quick work of destroying each and every one of these depraved creatures, and then I stand in the aftermath panting as I steady my breathing. This is so much worse than I thought. We are headed for an all-out war. There is only one person who can help me right now...  "I have to go see Robin," I mutter to myself as I shift back into my human form.