by R C Knight
An angel with golden blonde hair sat quietly on a rocking chair. Her elbows rested on her knees; her head hidden in her hands. Her body shook as she silently cried. A six-year-old girl came running into the room. Her black robes seemed to add to the darkness of the room.
“Mama.” The girl cried as she pulled on her mother’s arm. “Mama.” The woman pushed the girl away.
“Not now, Aria.” She put her head down and ignored the child. Aria’s head fell in defeat, her golden blonde hair shielding her face.
“But we have to go now.” Aria’s voice was full of determination as she reached for her mother’s arm again and pulled. “We have to say good-bye to daddy. If we don’t go, he won’t find peace.” Aria yanked as hard as she could, but her mother just shook her head sadly.
“There is no peace now,” she whispered. “There will never be peace again.”
“Aria.” Zane’s voice sounded through her memory. “Aria!” He grabbed her arm and turned her around. “Are you alright?”
She straightened her back as she wiped a tear from her face. “I’m fine.” Her sad, green eyes examined their surroundings. The leaves on the trees had changed to the bright oranges and reds of fall. The crisp fall air gently blew through the trees, causing some of the leaves to gracefully float to the ground. “It really is beautiful here,” she whispered as she watched the leaves.
“Do you not have trees in Heaven?” Zane asked curiously.
“Not like these.” Aria turned towards him, a mixture of sadness and pure curiosity on her face. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful up there. But everything seems so plain compared to here. It’s always comfortable. The seasons don’t change, and it never storms. It’s always the same. But this,” she spun in a circle, “this is beautiful. To not know what will happen every day is a magnificent gift. One most people aren’t thankful for.”
Zane couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Her face had turned from sadness to pure joy as she took in her surroundings. He was amazed that something so simple could bring someone such happiness. She stopped spinning and sat on the ground, leaning her back against one of the trees.
Zane pulled out a joint of rolled tobacco and a box of matches. He lit the joint and sat down next to Aria. He inhaled deeply then released the smoke from his lungs. “What are we to you? Angels, I mean,” Zane asked calmly. “Why sentence all of humanity to this fate?”
Her brows furrowed in concentration. “I…” She paused as she moved her hands nervously. “I don’t know. Anyone who was alive during the Battle of Armageddon won’t talk about it. Many from that era seem to despise humans for some reason, while others still want to save you.”
“What about the big man?” Zane asked.
“I wouldn’t know,” she sighed sadly. “I’ve never seen or met him. I answer to the Counsel of Heralds, which consists of the Archangels of Old.” She paused. “But they never seem to lean left or right on the issue.”
“Is that so?” Zane took another long drag.
“Things work differently in Heaven; it takes a long time to change anything. When you live for eons at a time it’s easy to forget that not everything living can wait that long.”
Zane stared at her, slightly caught off guard by the sadness in her eyes. “I take it you disagree?”
“Of course I do!” A spark of anger filled her eyes. “This is not how the world was supposed to be. This was not our vision,” she sighed with frustration. “It seems through all this time we’ve forgotten our purpose.”
Zane looked at her curiously. “I know you’re never supposed to ask a woman this but,” he paused with consideration. “How old are you anyway?”
Her eyes grew wide as she looked at him. “I’m one hundred and seventeen,” she replied with a small smile.
“Seriously?” He paused to process the information. “I guess that makes you one of the young ones then, doesn’t it?”
“Yea,” she responded calmly. “In fact, everyone on my team is under two hundred years old. None of us were alive during the Battle of Armageddon.”
“I see,” Zane responded. “So, can you angels die from old age?” he asked curiously.
“I’ll let you know if I find out.” Aria laughed. She looked up at the sky, a contagious smile on her face. Zane couldn’t help it; he began to chuckle and smiled with her. He put out his joint and buried it in the dirt.
“So.” Zane looked at Aria with a mischievous smile. “What’s with that lightning and water thing you do when you fight?”
She laughed as she picked up a small pile of leaves. “Well,” she began as she played with the leaves, “that ‘thing’ is holy magick. Every angel can use holy light; they’re trained to use it in various ways. Ryder uses it for his shield while Eliza uses it for healing. A lot of angels in the warrior class can use other types of holy magick, which we call elemental magick. They’re usually gifted with something like earth or water, but it’s always just one element. I, however, am one of the few angels who can use multiple elements. It takes many years of training to master holy light, then many more to learn your element. Training to use your magick while fighting is extremely hard work.” She paused, closely examining the leaves in her hand. “So, for those of us with element abilities, we have specially designed weapons to help draw out our power and give it direction while in combat. Otherwise, it takes too much concentration to be used effectively.”
“So, everyone on your team can use elements?”
“Yes. Ryder can bend earth; he mostly uses it as a shield or projectile. He barely uses it in combat though because of how draining it is. He is a master at holy light though and uses it all the time. Kai and Myra are both gifted with air, which we refer to as the unseen blade. And Eliza is an expert in holy light, but only for healing. I don’t know if she’s ever tried to use elemental magick.”
“What about fire?” he asked, a slight excitement in his voice.
“Fire? No. God decreed it was too destructive for any angel to use. Especially after the whole Lucifer turning on him thing,” she teased. “Now God is the only one who can use it, and he hasn’t done that since biblical times.”
“Aw, yes. The evil city, salt pillars and what not,” he teased back. “I think I read about that somewhere.” He chuckled to himself as Aria giggled quietly. He grabbed one of the leaves from Aria’s pile and turned it over in his hands. “I sometimes wonder if he’s all powerful and loving like the book says. Or if he’s just some overpowered rarity that has flaws and misgivings of his own. What if he’s just like us?”
She stopped playing with the leaves and stared at Zane. She had never thought of that before. They had always been taught that God was the end all be all. I guess that’s what made humans God’s favorite creatures. Their ability to question anything and everything, including him. She gently placed the leaves back on the ground and stood up.
“I suppose we should head back,” she said as she forced the emotions from her face. Zane smiled sadly, wishing her face would light up again.
“Yea, I guess we should,” he said as he stood up and wiped the dirt from his pants. They picked up their piles of wood and headed back to the cave.
Riley and Jackson had returned to the cave while they were gone. Smiles lit up their faces as they pointed at the pile of goods. “We hit the jackpot!” Riley announced as they entered the cave. Zane looked over the pile. Sweet meats, cheeses, bread, and some jars of canned vegetables had been piled in the corner. There were a couple of jugs of water and even bottles of wine and liquor. Jackson grabbed a bottle of liquor and took a swig.
“Nothing like staying hydrated!” he laughed, his face red from the alcohol. Clearly, he had already been hydrating before they arrived. Zane and Aria piled the firewood in the back of the cave. Someone had dug a small circle in the ground and had placed some kindling in it. Zane brought some of the wood over and placed it above the kindling. He pulled the matches from his pocket and started the fire.
Aria’s team ha
d already placed plush blankets around the fire pit for everybody. Myra and Eliza were sitting closely, whispering and giggling as they looked at Zane. Ryder and Kai were silently eating their food. Bishop was still asleep, wrapped up in the plush blanket. Myra and Eliza had made sure to stay close to him. Jackson had taken a seat by the girls and continued to drink his liquor. Riley had finished eating and was lying in the corner reading a book.
Aria sat next to Ryder and Kai while Zane sat across from them. For a moment, Aria and Zane just stared at each other. “So, did your dick go soft on her or something?” Jackson chuckled as he leaned into Zane. Ryder narrowed his eyes at Zane, his hand twitching towards his sword.
“What the hell –” Zane was cut off.
“Well after that tumble you had with Keira, I could imagine why. She must have worn you out back at the hotel.” Jackson continued as he took another swig of his liquor. A faint blush appeared on Aria’s cheeks, was that him that I overheard?
She looked over at her group and quickly spoke in Enochian. The angels laughed as they looked at Jackson. Zane laughed as well as he replied in Enochian. The cave fell silent as the angels stared at him.
Zane looked around and shrugged his shoulders. “What? Enochian is still the common tongue of demons, so I was taught at a young age.” He paused and turned towards Jackson. “And you’re cut off for the night,” he said sternly as he grabbed the bottle of liquor from Jackson’s lips and took a swig himself. “So.” He looked at the angels. “I know you’re just dying to know more about us. Ask away.” He opened his arms as he looked around the cave with anticipation.
Aria looked around at her team. “First things first,” she responded matter-of-factly; her face closed of any emotion. “Where are you going next?”
“We’re heading south to our safe house. We normally spend the winters there, the demons can’t reach us because of the water. They’re afraid of it for some reason.”
“And what exactly is it that your group does?” she asked.
“We roam the country and raid demon convoys. We avoid the bigger cities that are completely run by demons, like Chicago and L.A. The items we acquire during the raids are used to pay for our food and lodging, along with other necessities.”
“Why hasn’t anyone formed an army against the demons?” Ryder asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
“That’s too risky,” he responded. “We could never win a full-on war. Small raids are the only way for us to fight back. Even then it’s just a façade, showing that we want to fight back even though the demons know we’ll never have an actual war. They won seven hundred years ago, and they know it.”
Silence filled the cave as the words sank in. Zane could see the sadness on the angels’ faces. “Why don’t you already know some of this? Don’t you watch us from Heaven?”
Aria shook her head sadly. “We haven’t been able to see Earth for over six hundred years now. The demons have created something that blocks us.”
“Oh.” Zane watched the angels, a pang of regret flickered across Aria’s face. “So, you don’t know anything about this new world?” All of them shook their heads. “Well, that man you fought today was Gideon, Lord of the East. They say he made a deal with Lucifer, way before my time. He’s always ruled this area, but mainly stays in New York. This was my first direct confrontation with him.” Zane said, his voice laced with anger.
“If he rules the east, who rules the other parts of the world?” Ryder asked.
“I guess I should draw out the separation of powers for you.” He grabbed a small stick and began to draw in the dirt. “From what we know the demons tried to keep most of the existing boundaries intact. They lack creativity so most places still have their old-world name. All of the major cities are demon strong holds. You have New York as the capital of the east. Austin is the capital of the south, with Los Angeles in the west. Chicago is the capital for the Midwest, and it is home of the White Horseman. He rules this land, and it looks like you guys pissed him off.”
Zane paused to make sure they were following along. “South of Austin is Dead Man’s Land. Thousands of miles of barren land that never recovered from the Great War. No one has ever been able to cross it. South of that is controlled by the Red Horseman. We don’t know much about that area; except rumors we’ve heard at various port villages. I’ve seen on maps other land masses across the ocean. The Black Horseman and Pale Horseman control those areas, but I don’t know for certain where either one is. North of these areas is a frozen tundra all year round. We’ve never seen or heard of demon activity in that area.” Zane paused for a drink and pointed at Florida. “Where we are headed, is an area that used to be attached to the mainland but has mostly sunk into the ocean. Now it’s a handful of island swamps, which has been a perfect retreat for us. It’s the only place we know of that is habitable and demon free.” Zane said proudly, a small smile on his face.
“Have you never tried to cross the waters to see what was over there?” Ryder inquired.
“If only we had the right equipment, leaving this country would definitely get the heat off our backs. However, the ship I have can’t handle that long of a voyage or those waters. We’d need a bigger ship and a much larger team. Which is dangerous, large groups attract too much unwanted attention from demons. They’d slay us before we ever set sail.” Zane grimly looked at the angels.
Riley looked up from his book. “Besides, the demons have contracted these huge mercenary ships. They patrol the coasts and have these huge guns.” Riley held out his hands to emphasize the size of the guns. “Remember that time in Carolina? We used a fire ship to get past a blockade to escape the port village. I thought we were all dead for sure! You should’ve seen –”
“Enough Riley!” Zane shouted across the cave. “We lost good men that day.” He looked around the group, anger in his eyes. “That’s enough for tonight. Our only concern now is to get the rest of the group and get my ship in New York. We should all get some rest; we have an early start tomorrow.”
Once again silence filled the cave. Aria looked at her team members, gauging their reactions to this news. “I’ll be right back.” She pulled a golden book out of her bag and walked outside of the cave.
Bishop began to squirm, his eyes popped open and he grabbed at his chest. “Ow.” He winced as he tried to sit up. Eliza quickly made him lay back down.
“Oh, hell no,” Zane looked at Bishop sternly. “After the shit you pulled, I don’t want to hear any complaining out of you.” He smiled as Bishop sighed with relief and went back to sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Earth
The dying embers of the fire created an eerie red glow across the walls of the cave. Eliza slowly lifted herself up, looking around the cave. Everyone was sound asleep, their quiet breathing filling the silent air. Eliza smirked as she grabbed her satchel and stood up. How pathetic, she thought as she slowly walked out of the cave.
The cool night air was refreshing, awakening her senses. She walked slowly, enjoying the sounds of the nocturnal animals. A smile spread across her face as an owl swooped down and caught a field mouse. Ah, the strong picking off the weak. Exactly how it should be. She walked deeper into the woods, navigating by the moonlight.
Eliza entered a small clearing, fallen leaves scattered across the damp ground. She looked back from where she had come. This should do. She opened her satchel and began to search through its contents. A small smile spread across her face as she pulled out a round crystal. It fit perfectly in the palm of her hand, the moonlight reflecting off its smooth surface. She began to chant in Enochian, a golden sigil of holy light formed beneath the crystal. She chanted faster, the golden light shining brighter with each word.
Light filled the clearing as the nocturnal animals quickly scurried away. Eliza laughed as she watched the animals leave, basking in their fear. Her gaze fell on the crystal, silence filled the clearing now that her chanting had stopped. She began to bite her lower lip as she stared at th
e crystal. The golden glow was beginning to fade, she held her breath as she waited.
The crystal began to shake in her hand. She let out her breath and her shoulders began to relax as the golden glow of the crystal turned silver. A small, hooded figure formed on top of the crystal. “I did not expect to hear from you so soon.” The man’s hoarse voice echoed through the clearing.
“I have important news,” she responded quickly.
“Make it quick. I don’t have a lot of time,” the man commanded.
“We encountered Gideon in the village. He’s already looking for us.”
“Yes. He acted quicker than I would have liked.” The small figure began to pace across the crystal. “What else?”
“Aria plans to stay with these humans for now. They’ll be heading to New York for his ship.” Eliza smiled down at the figure.
“This is good.” The figure stopped pacing and looked up at Eliza. His blue eyes shone brightly from beneath his hood. “Are you still prepared for the task ahead?”
“Yes,” she replied with confidence. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
“Let me know when it’s done. Until then, don’t contact me unless it’s urgent.”
“As you wish.” Eliza bowed her head in deference. The figure disappeared, taking the silver light with it. She quickly placed the crystal back into her satchel. She turned around and left the way she had come, a smug smile on her face.
Chapter Fourteen
Earth – New York
Gideon paced across the room, his hands clenched tightly by his sides. The moonlight was shining into the room from the balcony, illuminating the gilded king size bed and the built-in bookshelves. A thin female sat on the bed, her porcelain skin glowing in the moonlight. Her black hair fell in curls, draping across her breasts.
“Now, now,” Lilith sighed as she examined her blood red nails. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”
