Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
271. Olivia - Demon I

Azael's roar throws the facility into chaos.

Experiments who are still locked start banging on the doors, demanding to be let out. Screams and heavy footsteps fill the hallways above and below us.

**429** grabs my hand and starts running, dragging me after him as doctors come out of the laboratories.

On our way to Azael's office, we pass several dead guards. Noticing that one of them has a handgun on his hip, I stop to grab it and put it in the waistband of my pants. Bullets will not stop Azael, but it will give me some advantages in case of an ambush. In the worst case scenario, it will be my only way out as I don't plan to return to my former life, when I was forced to do everything my brother said.

In another pocket, I find a bag of mints.

**429** checks the other guards for weapons or anything we can use. When he fishes out a mobile from a pocket, I quickly take it from him.

"If it has a signal, we will no longer have to go to Azzy's office," I say to 429 as I check the mobile. "Bingo!" The signal is weak, but it is there. I quickly type a message and share the facility's location. Seconds later, a reply comes in. *On my way.*

I exhale loudly. I never thought I'd get a reply and not so fast. But damn, it is good to know that I have my back covered for once in my life.

Another roar echoes through the walls of the facility, this time closer to me.

"We need to hide," **429** says.

I have been hiding all my life. I'm done doing that shit.

For years, I hid in some far corner of my mind with the help of the drugs, wanting to forget everything. Yet, ever since I accepted the darkness inside me, I came to the realization that I don't need a knight in shining armor to rescue me. I'm done waiting for someone to come and save me from the nightmare I'm living. Guess what? I'm my own savior!

"We have two options: we either die as cowards or walk out of here as free people," I look at **429**. "What's your name? Your real name?"

He swallows hard before replying. "Anton."

"Well, Anton, fuck Azael and this place." I look at the end of the hallway, where the stairs start. "Bring it on, bitch!" I scream. A muffled sound comes from my butterflies. "Not you. The other bitch. Azzy." Jason and my father are monsters, but Azael creates them. It happened with Rueben once. A look in his eyes and I knew he was no longer Camila's brother nor my friend, but a creature consumed by anger. After all this time, I understand Rueben entirely. There's this...rage... flowing through my veins...and the darkness inside me wants to harm all those who ruined my life, including *him*. And God help me, I want that too. I want *him* to feel the pain, the anguish, the desperation I felt all these years. Over my shoulder, I say, "Let's put the bomb in Azael's office."

A crease appears between Anton's brow. "We risk destroying important papers Azael has in there."

If there's one thing I learned while being in the Celestial Heaven, it is that those like Carlos or Azael didn't get away with all the crimes they did for leaving things in plain sight but for being smarter than most people. "Any important shit Azzy might have is not there."

The few times I talked to Azael showed me he is paranoid. With so many Lords after him, no wonder he is hiding his true identity. "What about information on the experiments he did?" Anton keeps pushing the issues, making me turn to face him. "Don't you want that information erased from history? Let's say we get it out of here, and it falls into the wrong hands."

Anton avoids looking at me. "It's for the Lord Elders. In case there's a chance...to undo what was done to me. To others as well."

Before I accepted that the old Olivia would never return, I also had the same desire as Anton. But there's no turning back. Not for us, at least. I take his hand into mine. "Being different is not always bad. We are not victims," Anton finally looks at me, "nor survivors," a confused expression on his face, "but badass bitches."

Despite being in pain because of the buttle in his shoulder, Anton chuckles. "No wonder *919* is so fond of you."

We head over to Azael's office at the end of the hallway.

I can't help but notice that something is strange. Except for us and the dead guards, there's no one else on this floor.

"Talking about **919**, he is usually in a frenzy when he is out and killing whoever gets in his path. Yet, today he is quiet," I comment when we reach Azael's office.

Anton looks over his shoulder to where the stairs start while I check out the elevator. No sign of Azael or any of the guards, but more roars echo through the facility. "He and his angel finally found common ground and stopped hating each other. At least until they are out of here."

I always knew **919** hated that he was forced to be a vessel for an angel, but I never thought the day when the two of them would get along would come. For his sake, I hope it lasts. Once he is in the real world, he will be killed by police if he loses his shit while downtown because someone accidentally touched him.

Roars and growls come from the stairs. Moments later, Azael appears on top of them, his wings tattered, broken bones sticking from under the skin. Most of the feathers are missing, and the remaining ones are covered in blood. Looks painful. Good. I hope he fucking suffers.

I quickly open the door. "I'll try to win you as much as possible," I say, pushing Anton inside before closing the door and guarding it. Azael looks at me like he wants to murder me and feed me to his dog. Does he even have a dog? If he does, I bet it's not as cute as Diva. "It looks like someone ruffled your feathers a bit."

My butterflies get away from the Bitch. She looks like shit, with foam around her mouth. There's a scared look in her eyes, but she doesn't dare move or make a sound. Because the moment she does, my butterflies will kill her.

"I'm going to make you regret the day you were born," Azael snarls as he marches up to me.