Screams rang. Frantic footsteps - linen shoes and heavy boots - sounded. Cries for help and mercy, delivered in vain, echoed through the night. The smell of fire and destruction filled the air.
The soldiers, invading the village, were overwhelmed by their own bloodlust. So they didn’t notice. Later it would come to them that their victims were all adults and mainly men. They wouldn’t know why.
Crowley did. Unseen, he walked across the village square. He fed off the fear, the wrath, and the greed, feeling himself grow stronger thanks to chaos and destruction.
He smiled when he reached the house. As nondescript as the crooked shack was, a treasure Crowley had been hunting for centuries, since the beginning, lay behind the simple wooden door. Covered by the chaos, he had the perfect opportunity to find it.
Making sure nobody saw, Crowley went in. Determined, he stepped towards the old shelf in the corner and pushed it aside to reveal a trap door. Beneath, narrow stairs led into the darkness below.
Crowley’s eyes would not need a light to see. So he went down. With a snap of his fingers, the hatch was closed and the cabinet in its former place again. He did not need interlopers.
With quick and silent steps, Crowley followed the secret passage.
After a while, he heard voices. As he drew closer to them, the corridor became a bit broader. It finally ended in a round room where several women and children were gathered. Some of them carried babies, some hastily packed bags. And all of them were watching a short chubby man with golden curls who tried opening the door that led into the relative safety of the woods.
“Why won’t it open, Aziraphale?” asked one child.
“I don’t know, dear boy,” answered Aziraphale.
It was a lie. Crowley was sure Aziraphale must know by now that a demonic sigil held the exit closed.
“But don’t you worry,” Aziraphale added. “It’s probably just stuck after all these years. I’ll find a way.”
“But will you find it in time?” Crowley finally made his presence known. “Maybe I can help.”
The women gasped and the children’s eyes went wide with curiosity and fear.
“It’s alright,” Aziraphale said. “I… know him.”
He pulled Crowley aside and hissed, “What are you playing at? Did you seal the door?”
“Yes.” Crowley nodded. “I knew you’d bring them here.”
“Do you want them to get killed, Crowley?” Aziraphale asked in disbelief.
“I have no interest in their deaths,” Crowley said casually.
“Then let them go.”
“I will,” Crowley said. “I can remove the seal and they can go, but…” Crowley pulled the black collar, adorned with magic runes, out of his robe, “... you stay behind and let me put this on you.”
Aziraphale’s eyes went wide. “You did… only to…”
“Only?” Crowley asked, amused. “I told you in the garden you’d be mine one day. And you will. If not today, then some other time. But if you decide it’s not today, you can’t save them.”
Crowley gestured towards the people near the exit. Aziraphale’s gaze followed and he bit his lip. With a smirk, Crowley watched the angel’s pretty eyes wander over the trusting crowd.
“Can I use one miracle before you put the collar on me?” Aziraphale asked after a while, his voice subdued. Sadly, he pointed at the people. “A simple protection against evil.”
Crowley sighed. It was a fair request. After all, Aziraphale would sacrifice his freedom to keep them safe. So of course, he wanted to be sure they would remain safe without him.
“Alright.”
“Thank you.”
Aziraphale stepped closer to the women and children and snapped his fingers. The warmth of an angelic miracle rushed through the secret room. Turning to Crowley again, Aziraphale nodded.
Grinning, Crowley approached the secret door and opened it without a problem.
“Would you look at that,” he told the relieved crowd. “Aziraphale was right. Just a bit stuck.”
The people hurried outside and Crowley returned to Aziraphale. A smug smile on his face, he put the collar around Aziraphale’s neck. It would suppress the angel’s powers, making him helpless. The lock snapped shut… and snapped open again. Wide eyed, Crowley watched it fall to the ground.
“Well, I stayed behind and let you put the collar on me,” Aziraphale said happily. “I guess my part of the deal is done. I better get going.”
“How?” Crowley growled.
“Well, I suppose protection against evil keeps collars, crafted in Hell, off of me.”
“You were supposed to put protection on the humans!”
“I didn’t say that, did I?” Aziraphale asked innocently. “Goodbye, Crowley. Take care. It’s chaos out there.”
Speechless, Crowley stared after him. But after a while he grinned, sharp teeth showing.
“Well played, angel. Next time, then.”
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