by J. J. Egosi
“How could you know that was the real me?” Ursula shouted. “You really think you know me?”
“I have a feeling about these things. I can’t say for sure, but I sense you’re a great girl with many nice qualities. I’m sure anyone would be happy to call you their friend,” said Michael.
“Me? A friend?” Ursula pondered, crying tears of joy.
“Yes, and if you’d like, I could be your friend.” Michael walked over to her and reached out his hand.
Ursula walked up to him slowly, with each step echoing in her hesitant heart until it opened. She looked up into his eyes and broke down even more. She hugged him tightly.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for something like this. Something to mend my long-broken heart after so many years of torment.”
“Ursula, what are you doing?” Alexa trembled with outrage from the show of affection. “Think of what I’ve given you.”
“You should think of what you’ve taken away from her,” Michael refuted.
Cradling Ursula’s head in his chest, he looked down into her still blackened eyes and smiled. Ursula put her hand across his face and smiled.
“My friend.” She smiled then kissed him on the lips, evoking gasps and dropped jaws.
“Hey, get your whorish face off him!” Isabella shouted.
“That’s my husband!” Julianna demanded.
The two of them ran towards her and Michael, ready to peel her off his body with haste and aggravation.
Michael’s eyes widened from the touch of her lips. This isn’t what friends do. He was ready to push her away but held back when he saw her eyes return to normal. Her assertion surprised him, but he was content with the elated look in her eyes. He took a deep breath and allowed her all the time she needed in his embrace.
In reaction, the titan descended back into the earth. Ursula slowly pulled her lips away from his and stared at him with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry. Was that too forward?”
“Maybe a little,” he replied with a nervous laugh.
“A little?” Isabella pulled her away by the back of the collar and stared at her with dagger-eyes. “I don’t know what sort of shit hole you came from, but in this dimension, you don’t go around kissing your friends.”
“I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me.” Ursula whimpered. “I don’t want to fight anymore.”
“After kissing my husband and attacking him with a titan, I’d say you have no other option,” Isabella stated.
“Yes, believe it or not, but those things bother most women,” Julianna added.
Her fingers inched towards her infinity bag, ready to pull out any blade eager enough to quench her contempt.
“Easy, you two. She said she’s sorry,” said Michael.
“Says the man clearly flirting with her,” Isabella replied.
“I admire your trusting heart, but you’re too kind for your own good,” Julianna stated.
“You might be right.” Michael nodded. “Still. It helped Ursula see the error of her ways. And for me, that was worth it.”
Julianna responded, “You have a point. Though, I still don’t care for having another potential rival for your heart in my life.”
“She could be useful, though. Another demon in our corner, along with a titan ring,” said Isabella.
“And chances are she knows something about the Legion of Morningstar since she’s been traveling with Alexa,” Michael added.
“Yeah, I do,” Ursula said. “Please let me join you guys.”
“Will you promise to keep your lips to yourself?” Isabella asked.
“No guarantees,” Ursula looked over at Michael with blushing cheeks.
“Well, you an audacious one,” Julianna replied.
“I can make up for it by cooking all your meals,” Ursula suggested.
Isabella smiled. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
“So, I can join you?” Ursula’s eyes widened with childlike joy.
“I suppose another ally could be useful. What do you say?” Julianna asked. “Would you care to leave that stuck up woman behind?”
“You’ll need to learn some basic manners too,” said Isabella.
“Yes.” Ursula smiled. “I’d love that.”
“Then, it looks like we have a new friend and a helping hand in taking the demon king,” said Michael.
Michael and his friends shared welcoming smiles with Ursula. Their moment of bliss nearly alienated Alexa’s presence.
Alexa watched with a thundering look on her face.
How dare she betray me?
The anguish built into a raging tempest as darkness consumed her surroundings. She was going to show them why crossing her was a lethal mistake.
“I won’t let you get away with this. When I’m finished, I’ll not only have your ring but your heads too.”
Chapter 4
Blind Leading the Blind
S
miles and laughter filled the atmosphere among Michael and his friends. Ursula’s eyes glowed with a joy she hadn’t felt in ages.
“Thank you again, Michael. Even though I was so cruel, you were still so kind to me.”
“It was my pleasure. So long as you don’t mind helping us out,” Michael said.
“Of course.” Ursula nodded.
“With you on our side, that makes two titans. The same as the demon king, himself.” Julianna smiled.
“Perhaps now, we’ll be evenly matched for when we meet.” Michael thought back to Lucifer’s statement and the ace he pulled. Certain she and her titan could help level the battlefield when the time came.
Their moment of celebration came to an abrupt end when Alexa marched over to Ursula. They all laid their unnerving eyes on her. She snatched Ursula from her grip on Michael and grabbed her by the front of her shirt.
“How dare you betray me like that? After everything I’ve done for you!”
“Hey, leave her alone,” Michael shouted. “She’s had more than enough of you.”
“Ridiculous. This feeble woman has no will of her own. She simply does what her master says. And the only master she answers to is me!” Alexa hurled Ursula onto the dirt on the ground.
Michael watched Ursula whimper before meeting Alexa’s contempt-filled eyes with unbridled outrage.
“How dare you? What the hell did that poor girl ever do to you?”
The anger inside Michael pushed him close to punching Alexa across the face, had it not been for Isabella and Julianna restraining him.
“Leave it alone, Michael. She isn’t worth our time,” said Isabella.
“She’s right. Ursula may be manageable, but Alexa’s insane. You don’t want to get mixed up with her any longer,” said Julianna.
“I don’t care about any of that. Ursula’s my friend. Let me go!” Michael refuted, attempting to break the hold they had on him.
“You, a friend of Ursula’s? What a laugh!” Alexa scoffed at the very notion before kicking Ursula in the stomach. “People like her don’t deserve friends, they only deserve pain!”
“Is that really what you think?” A blinding light emitted around Michael like a growing aura. It shone with such force; everyone nearly fell over.
Alexa shielded her eyes as the battlefield plunged into his relentless rays of light.
The light dimmed to reveal Michael in his archangel form. He stood with resentment burning fiercely in his eyes.
“That’s enough, Alexa. Your fight is with me, now.”
Alexa looked at him and grinned. “Well, I made a promise. And I always keep my word.”
“Good. And if I win, you are to never lay a hand on Ursula again,” Michael demanded.
Alexa snickered. “Well, when I win, I will make you my slave, as well. Fuck my previous talks of using you to bait out the Legion of Morningstar’s leader. I want you to suffer at my own hands!”
“Take her, Michael!” Isabella exclaimed.
“Show this dimension jumping bitc
h you mean business,” Julianna added.
“You don’t have to tell me twice. If you could, though, I’d like you to take Ursula somewhere safe. Things are about to get ugly here.” he said.
Julianna and Isabella smiled proudly as they did as he said, carrying her off to the sideline. Michael and Alexa now looked across from each other, matching each other’s menacing glares, and foreboding auras sweeping the battlefield.
“So, how should we decide who makes the first move?”
“It matters not,” Alexa replied, “I will win, either way. Don’t forget I have our two remaining titans.”
Michael gritted his teeth. “I haven’t.”
“Good.” Alexa smiled. “If you’d like, however, you can make the first move. After all, a dirty angel with amnesia could use the head start.”
“You’ll live to regret those words!” Michael burst forward, charging towards her with his scepter drawn. The ground sparked with heavy voltage.
Alexa grinned, just before grabbing the tip of the scepter, stopping him in place. “Do you honestly expect to defeat me with this little toy? This thing may work against familiars and other weak specimens, but I’m of a whole other breed.” Alexa snatched the scepter out of his hand and hurled it into the dirt.
Michael saw his reflection in his scepter sticking out of the ground beside him. He then diverted his attention back to Alexa but was too late. She hit him with a weapon of her own.
Her assault knocked the wind clean out of him. He gasped for breath while his ears rang with each painstaking moment he took to rise. Michael immediately noticed the colossal bronze mallet in her hold as the sunshine reflected off it.
“Impressed? This hammer of mine is an unholy relic,” Alexa said.
“You mean you own two titans and an unholy relic?”
Michael’s eyes widened. He doubted if he had the might it would take to turn this fight around, but he would not let up. He could neither allow her to see the doubt nor give her the advantage. Not now, not ever.
“That may be true for now, but when this is over, I’ll have four titans. Goodbye!” Alexa shouted, slamming the head of her weapon onto an already struggling Michael, sending him back to the ground.
“Michael, no!” Ursula pleaded.
She and Michael’s friends looked away. They couldn’t bear the sight of his body being crushed by the weight of Alexa’s hammer.
“It’s over, Michael. I win,” Alexa declared with a triumphant grin.
Suddenly, the hammer jerked in her hands. It rose from the ground. Ursula and Michael’s friends smiled in shock and relief as Michael pushed his way out from under the hammer.
“You still dare to defy me?” asked Alexa.
“Not everyone lives to serve you. That’s called free will and everyone has the right to it, whether you like it or not.” With one last thrust, Michael hurled Alexa’s hammer out of her hands and high into the sky.
“My unholy relic!” It landed over a dozen feet away—far too much a distance for her reach before he could strike.
“You insolent angel swine.” Alexa struck a punch at Michael. Before it could land, he caught it. Alexa looked in his eyes, stunned and nervous, as her second attack came to a halt.
“The tides are changing, Alexa. I suggest you forfeit now and leave before I really hurt you,” said Michael.
This man is so much more intense than I thought he’d be. Could he have already regained his powers? It feels like he’s holding back. Alexa thought, shaking as she looked into his cold blue eyes.
Meanwhile, everyone else stood on the sidelines, watching intensely as the battle unfolded. Isabella had just put the finishing touches of her healing magic on Ursula. She now stood upright and watched with a confident smile.
“Thanks, Isabella,” Ursula said.
“Anytime,” she replied.
Julianna kept her attention on the battle before them. “Ursula, give me your honest opinion. What do you think Michael’s chances are of winning?”
Isabella kept her eyes on Ursula, hoping for good news.
“Not good, I’m afraid. Alexa’s completely undefeated. Not to mention, she hates angels, so we can expect her to go at him even more aggressively than she normally would.”
“Figures as much since she’s a demon.” Julianna scowled.
“Our aligning with him should be enough to show we can trust him. Why is she going so far for control?” Isabella asked.
“She’s not one to take ‘no’ for an answer. I don’t think she’s ever not gotten what she wanted,” Ursula replied.
Julianna gulped. “In that case, I hope Michael has some sort of surprise to tip the outcome in his favor.”
“Well, Michael’s the archangel. Demons and angels may be enemies in most stories and tales, but I, for one, believe in him,” said Julianna.
“That’s right. As long as we’re here to support him, he can’t lose!” Isabella added.
Their confidence painted a stunned look on Ursula’s face. She smiled. “He must mean a lot to you guys.”
“He does,” Isabella began. “That man is my world. We grew up together in the same house. I just wish I hadn’t treated him how I did all those years, though. We lost so much time that we could have spent growing our love together. To make up for this, I have dedicated my life to prove to him that I am worthy of his love.”
Ursula stared at her in silence before turning towards Alexa. “So, you hurt him, but you still love him?”
She watched as she continued to combat Michael ruthlessly. Wondering if her movement carried any of the same compassion.
“I do. With all my heart.” Isabella said, smiling.
A smile formed across Ursula’s face, mesmerized by Isabella’s words and the motions of the battlefield.
“Michael holds great significance to me, as well,” Julianna said. “I’ve never met a man so well-mannered to women before. As you’ve seen for yourself, when he cares about you, he’ll spare no time showing it. Good men are tough to come by. A great man like him, well, you just don’t let someone like that go.”
Ursula’s eyes widened. She looked over at Michael with a firm nod and a smile, determined to make him see her the same way the others see him.
Meanwhile, the battle between Michael and Alexa raged on. They exchanged bloody, bone-crunching blows and devastating displays of supernatural power.
“Just how much longer do you plan on keeping up this charade?” Alexa said as she sent dark bursts of magic energy his way.
He deflected the energy with his arm and returned a confident look at her. “As long as it takes to prove to you that your way will never succeed.”
He manifested his sword from his hand. The iron gleam took Alexa by surprise. The voltage seeped from the blade’s edge and fired towards her like a lightning strike piercing the darkness.
Alexa swiftly dodged it and frowned.
“I’ll admit, I didn’t expect that sword. Perhaps you haven’t completely lost your touch.” Alexa began. “Even so, who do you think you are telling me what the right way is? I’m the richest and most powerful woman to ever grace the sixth dimension. My power and influence are absolute. There is only one way: my way.”
Michael sneered at her words, recalling his conversation with Lucifer in their dream. His heart thundered just as it did then.
“You talk about wealth and power, but where has that gotten you?”
“Excuse me?” Alexa demanded.
“I’d imagine someone with your influence sending out her servants to collect the titan ring in your stead,” Michael stated.
“You think I’d ever trust someone with such a critical task? And let the ring fall in the hands of inferior soldiers?” Alexa refuted.
“As a matter of fact, I don’t,” Michael replied. “Because I think the only person you trust is Ursula. And since she’s left you behind, that means you’re”—
“Shut the fuck up!” Alexa’s eyes flared with malice. Her blackened aura s
pread around like ink shattering the air.
The hair on Michael’s neck stood upright. “It means you’re all alone. Just as I was.”
“Like hell I am,” Alexa shouted. “I have everything I need.”
“To her point, she does still possess two titans,” Isabella began.
“And if Michael continues to provoke her, he’ll find himself face to face against one or both very soon.”
I can’t let her become absorbed in her tyranny, Michael thought, or she’ll end up like Lucifer.
“I think it’s time I teach the archangel a lesson for speaking out against the queen.” Alexa unfurled sharp talons from each of her fingertips. They sliced through the air, dripping down dark magical energy across the grass.
And I can’t let her do this alone. Because then, she’ll end up like me. Michael thought as the memories of solitude and vilification still tore at him.
Alexa unfurled her wings, beating them against her shadows. She spread out her sharp talons and rushed towards Michael, prepared to let her fury erupt.
“You’re wrong!” Michael blocked the wall of shadows she formed by slicing through with his blade. The intensity sent her flying and landing on her back.
“You disgusting brute! What sort of attack breaks through my shadows like that?” Alexa grunted as she slowly picked herself.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop insulting me,” Michael replied. “Your bad attitude may get you wealth and power, but there is more to life than that. Take it from someone who’s never had either of those things.”
Alexa coughed and panted when she stood back up. She rounded a look at the mutiny and resentment in everyone’s eyes. Her face reddened. “I’ve had enough of you. All of you. If I hear one more word from you or the others about friendship and believing yourself, I’m going to fucking lose it!”
“Then, by all means, lose it,” Michael coldly replied.
Alexa’s eyes narrowed as he touched the last of her nerves. “I’ll mark your grave with those words.” Familiar outworldy energy shrouded the battlefield—the same one the titan of the second dimension carried.
