Chapter One

It had begun. There were no more sunsets that were worth watching �" instead, that time was spent either hiding or running, attempting to survive. No more dates and dinners with families. The End of Days had come and death stopped for no one. Most were alone, fighting for themselves and another day. Others died long ago or wished for death, so they no longer had to live in the middle of a war between angels and demons.

Cassie pushed herself against the brick wall, hiding in the shadows. Across the street, she could make out four different shadows. From where she was, she couldn’t tell if they had giant white wings or tails and horns. Of course, she’d had yet to run into any demons, but she’d met plenty of angels. The stories of angels weren’t true. They didn’t watch over anyone and protect them, and they didn’t look like gods and goddesses. Instead, they were covered in scars, ugly, jagged ones that ruined their faces and bodies. These angels slit the throats of humans and stood over them as they bled out.

Silently, she crept from the shadows and kept against the walls of buildings. It would be death for her if she came face to face with four angels. In her black combat boots were daggers. Angels fought with swords and they were stronger than any normal man, which is why she had a sword in a sheath across her back. Since angels and demons had begun to roam their world, she’d only fought with two angels and they were trained for combat. But each time, she somehow managed to get away without having to face death.

Every city she knew of was gone. It was rare to see any human come by or even be out. Cars had been left abandoned and stores were empty. Bodies were everywhere �" they were all human. The four shadows got larger as their wings spread from their backs and Cassie halted, keeping her breathing as quiet as she could. She had learned their senses were sharper than humans and she’d quickly adapted. One by one, each angel took off into the dark, starless sky, their wings pure white against the lights from the working lamp posts. She let out the long breath she’d been holding and continued along the walls.

As she turned the corner, she came face to face with another angel, his wings spread and his sword in his hand. Scars covered the entire left side of his face, making it look like his left eye was useless, but Cassie knew better. She stumbled back, only to bump into another angel, who grabbed her hair. “Look at this, Uriel. A mundane thinking she’ll make it.”

Mundane? Cassie struggled against his grip and he chuckled. As he went to grab his sword, she elbowed him in the stomach. When his grip loosened, she bent and pulled the daggers from her boots and straightened back up. The angel she’d hit had lunged at her and before she could make a move, he plowed into her, knocking her into the ground. Cassie struggled to breathe as his weight crushed her. The angel called Uriel came to stand above her, smiling. “Be gentle, Raphael. Mundanes break easily.”

“This mundane puts up a fight, not like the others. I say we play a game with her.” Raphael’s dark eyes sparkled with a danger Cassie never wanted to face again.

Uriel bent down and moved her hair from her face. “She’s pretty for a mundane, Raphael. Do you want to ruin that?”

Both angels laughed, like they were sharing a joke only they knew. As Cassie began to struggle again, Raphael pinned her arms above her head. Terrified, her instincts kicked in and she brought her knee up into Raphael’s crotch and as he doubled over, she pushed him off her and stumbled to her feet, glaring at the Uriel. The sword the angel held began to glow and Cassie felt like this was it for her. She’d survived for weeks only for it to end like this.

Uriel came at her and she stood her ground. Before he reached her, another body jumped between them. He held a sword that glowed like Uriel’s and he slashed out towards the angel, who staggered back, his eyes wide like he was surprised another had joined the fight. Raphael had finally gotten to his feet and stood beside Uriel. The boy that stood between Cassie and the angels stepped towards them again and their wings spread.

“We will find you, little mundane. You will face our wrath one day.”  Uriel said angrily, taking off for the sky. Raphael stayed a moment longer and stared at the boy before with an expression Cassie couldn’t describe and followed after Uriel.

Cassie let out a breath she’d been holding and looked over at the boy. Now that she wasn’t fighting for her life, she could finally see what he looked like. He looked to be twenty, only a year older than she was, and had black hair that curled over his forehead. In the light, she could make out his orange brown eyes as he stared at her. “You shouldn’t be out here at night by yourself, you know.”

She scoffed and put the daggers back in her boots. “You can walk around freely and I can’t?” Cassie waited for no reply as she stepped past him, continuing in the direction she was already headed in.

“Where are you going? Those angels might come back.” He ran after her and stepped in front of her. “You are either very insane or have more courage than fear.”

Cassie crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve been doing fine since this all started. I’ll be fine now. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“I’m Klaus.” He held out his hand and Cassie raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

Black markings swirled onto his hand; she assumed it was tattoos. “I didn’t ask for your name.”

“Yours is Cassie, right?” The left side of his mouth titled up into half a smile.

She looked at him for a moment and then stepped around him once more and began to walk. Cassie was hoping there’d be someone safe she could stay for the night, somewhere where the angels wouldn’t find her �" and the demons, if any of them were really roaming Earth too. She could hear footsteps behind her and she stopped, turning around to face Klaus. “Look kid, I don’t need a hero, okay? Thanks for helping me back there but that was all you did.”

“I think I did more than help you. Those angels would have torn you to pieces. That’s what happens to mundanes.” He replied, running a hand through his curls. “Besides, you and I would make a pretty good team.”

            

“What does mundane mean? Why does everyone keep saying that?”

Klaus laughed, like what she said was funny. “You need to learn the lingo quick. Mundane means human.”

Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “How about if I give you a place to stay tonight and tomorrow morning we go our separate ways?”

Klaus nodded, a lopsided grin on his face. “Sounds like a plan.”

The two walked in silence as they searched for a place to stay the night at. After a while, they came to an abandoned apartment and found a room. Klaus offered to have the couch, leaving the only bed for Cassie. As Klaus made a makeshift bed on the couch, Cassie made her way to the bathroom. As she stood in front of the mirror, she looked at her reflection. Her black hair had grown to fall to the middle of her back and her green eyes were dim. There were faded bruises on her jaw from fighting with the angels.

She began to think about her family. Before this had all started, she’d had a mother and father and a younger brother. Cassie had been there when her brother was killed, but not her parents. They had died after her brother, after they had separated themselves from Cassie, blaming her for Richard’s death. She blamed herself too. Richard was always her responsibility and she’d failed when the angels first attacked.

A knock on the door brought Cassie back from her memories and she opened the door. Klaus stood on the other side, his hair ruffled. “Why are you crying?” Touching her face, she realized he was right. Wiping her face, she stepped past him. “Cassie, are you okay?”

As she stepped into the doorway where the bed was, she stopped. “I’m fine, Klaus. I’ll see you in the morning.” Cassie didn’t look back as she shut the door behind her, heading straight for the bed. As she sat on the edge and took her boots off, she began to wonder if having him in the same apartment was a good idea. Despite he had helped her with the angels, she didn’t know if she could trust him.

Cassie got under the covers and closed her eyes, trying to get comfortable. She had gotten lucky, finding this apartment with nothing touched by looters and others kinds of people. Hopefully when she woke up, she’d find something to eat and then she could get back to going wherever she could find more people. Within moments, she felt herself drifting off into sleep.

À       

She stood in the middle of the street, her brother not too far ahead of her. A smile was on her face as she watched him. Their parents stood beside her, their faces filled with both pain and happiness. Though they’d lost everything, they still stood together. They had traveled far in the last few weeks and they had finally found somewhere quiet with no sign of angels or anything else trying to harm them.

As Cassie went to take a step towards her brother, a white flash caught her eye and she looked upwards. In the sky, coming straight for her brother, was an angel. Its wings were pure white and the closer it got, Cassie could see the scars all over it. This was no angel from any story she’d ever heard from her parents. “Richard!”

Her brother glanced over his shoulder and then up, just before the angel landed in front of him. Cassie took a step towards Richard as the angel pulled a glowing blue sword from his side. Eyes wide with fear, Cassie began to run, her parents on both sides of her. But they were too late; by the time Cassie had reached Richard, the sword stuck out of his back. “Richard, no, please…”

À

Cassie felt hands grab her shoulders and she tried to fight against them, keeping her eyes squeezed shut. “Cassie, wake up.” The voice was familiar and the touch was warm. After a moment, she stopped fighting and slowly opened her eyes. Klaus sat on the bed next to her, his hands still on her shoulders. “You were yelling ‘Richard’ over and over.”

I had? Cassie sat up and pushed Klaus’ hands off her. She had been having dreams of her brother’s death, and she’d hoped that she wouldn’t have any when Klaus was around. However, Cassie soon learned things didn’t go the way she wanted them to. “I’m fine, go away.” There was no way Cassie would ever tell Klaus or anyone else what had happened. She could trust no one.

Cassie could feel Klaus’ stare on her and she felt angry at herself. She was all alone in this world, with no one to count on. Klaus had saved her from an enemy and she felt that maybe he could be someone worth trusting. But there was no way she’d tell him anything the night they met. Klaus would have to wait if he wanted to know everything. Slowly, he got off the bed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll be on the couch if you need me.”

She watched him leave the room and close the door behind him. Then she broke down. Her brother, her parents, they were all gone. Cassie would never see them again. There would be no more shared laughs and hugs and tears between the four of them. Was she lucky that she had survived? Or is she doomed to live alone through this destruction?