by Doug Burbey
The entire time he'd seen Deva his wings had been dirty and bedraggled, his hair unkempt, needing to be washed. He’d had lines around his eyes and mouth, dirt and dust he'd never bothered to wash away. Shane had never cared as Deva didn't smell, what business was it of his to teach an angel about hygiene. Now he saw what the Bible talked about.
Light hovered around the outside of his body. His wings were so white he couldn't look at them, and the hair he'd thought was a light brown glowed a golden light. The angel all but radiated power and something Shane could only interpret as ‘Holiness.’
Shane forced his jaw shut with an effort. The desire to debase himself fought with analyzing what he saw. Analysis won.
He tapped into the chaos between realms. His whole body channels it, converts it to light and power. No wonder my ancestors saw them and thought they were messengers of God. It is purity of power, chaos made order. Fuck.
The thought held awe and he couldn't look away, no matter how much he wanted to, no matter how much he wanted to break the spell.
The power began to dim, and Shane sagged as the grip of pure order faded.
"I saw home," Deva whispered and a tear slid down his face. He swallowed, looking at Shane. Shane flinched away from the grief, longing, and despair he saw reflected in those eyes. "Burn that stuff, I never want to touch it again. I take drugs to forget the beauty of all I have been discarded from. Get out of my sight. When I can't remember what I've lost, I'll think about the puzzle you are." Deva turned and drained the liquor in his glass.
Shane didn't wait. Instead, he fled, shaken by what he'd seen. He collapsed on the bed and fell into dreams of math, perfection, and chaos made order.
20
Learning Hurts
Shane didn't go back for over a week. Deva didn't ask for him and Shane needed time to process. He took hikes enjoying the sun and exercise even as he went over how to use angelic magic, or more accurately math. And he hit brick walls. He'd been surprised to realize he'd been here six months, much longer than at the Fae enclave. And while he could see so many different ways to use magic, and his abilities had grown by leaps and bounds, he still didn't have the answer to how to make his own realm. If angels had done it. If Siddhartha had done it. Then he could.
"Mortal, come in." Deva's voice echoed through the chambers. He, like Lewl, never used his name. One day he'd figure that out.
Shane moved in, focused on how to create a realm, but came to a pause seeing Deva pacing back and forth. He halted and turned to look at Shane. The gaze made Shane feel more like something under a microscope than ever, but he stood and stared back. Showing any weakness might get him killed.
"You are too corrupted by demon blood to ever use the magic of my people easily or well. Fae magic is easier and not as demanding on the mind. Human minds are too chaotic, full of twists and turns when they need to be laid out in an orderly fashion. You can force yourself to use it, but it forces structure on to a mind that is best fluid."
Shane couldn't dispute any of that. It made sense actually. "So how do I create a realm without it?"
"I do not know." Deva shrugged.
"What? But you told me about Siddhartha and other angels." Shane wanted to scream, to protest, but yelling at superior officers never turned out well. Besides, this superior officer could probably kill him without effort.
"I did. But I have never done this, nor do I know how they managed it. And from what I can see, I can not teach you how to pull in the magic from the realms to contain it. You would need one Angel-born or with significant Angel blood to achieve this. Then you could run the power through that one to do what you desire."
Shane narrowed his eyes. "How do I find an Angel-born?"
"They are not common. Few of my kind find any attraction to the pleasures of the flesh so I can not answer that."
The desire to start throwing things flooded him but he forced it down and paid attention.
"So now what? What do I do? You know they will come back and kill us all. We can't find anything that kills them fast enough."
"Electricity has always worked well on them but that is all I can tell you. They know better than to try and attack us. They can not win against us and fear what we might do." Shane wanted to follow up on that, but Deva kept going. "But there is something about your determination I admire. Most of our fledglings rarely experienced pain and would have quit before persevering through what you did. That given, I have something to say to you." Deva waved to the stool as he sank back down into his chair.
Shane, not seeing anything other option much less have anything else to do, sat down. Maybe something useful would come out of this. You never knew.
"Kali is gone but back when humans knew how to tap into their magic, beyond the simple enchantments you use now, they created some of the most marvelous tools. Even some of our people came and," he paused then shrugged, "stole them because we could not create what they had. A few were stolen back from us and disappeared. A few we still have but some are still here, somewhere, I think."
"More artifacts, like the Heart of Kali?"
"Yes." Deva leaned back, mouth pursed. "The ones you should seek, the ones that might help, are old. Very old." He signed and reached for his drink. This time it looked and smelled like a 90 proof whiskey. "I don't know if they are here anymore. Though I doubt they have been destroyed. Artifacts like these aren't broken easily."
"You think I could create a realm with them?"
The angel paused mid-drink. "Mortal, I suspect you will be able to do what you set your heart on, with or without them but the body count needed may be less with the artifacts."
"Body count? Surely Siddhartha didn't kill to create his realm."
"No but he had the Orb of Atlantis and the price that was paid to create that. Well, you don't have Atlantis anymore, do you?"
Shane blinked then shrugged. "The demons have killed millions of humans. Am I supposed to be saddened or shocked by the death of hundreds of thousands?"
An odd look flickered across the Angel’s face but Shane couldn't figure out what it meant. "True. And if they come back the death toll will approach billions if they have their way. You are power to them. They have little respect for life in any more. Even their own people are disposable tools. Life means nothing to them except as a fuel for their goals. They see only their goal."
"Power."
"No. Not exactly. Their ultimate goal is the same as the Angels." This time his voice held nothing, nor did his face. The statue David, whom he looked remarkably like, held more emotion.
"Which is?" Shane felt his spine turn to ice as he watched the Angel take another drink.
"To get the creator to return, of course. There are only two ways to do that."
Shane didn't ask. Somehow he suspected he knew.
"All four races must evolve and align or-." The Angel smiled a smile that made Shane glad he sat. If he had been standing, he would have stumbled back to get away from the emotions in that smile. Hate, joy, sorrow, bloodlust, desire, exhaustion. A single expression shouldn't be able to hold what the Angel's face did. "Only one is left. Then the Creator should come back, come back to the children."
His longing for that tugged at Shane's emotions and he found himself sobbing at the desire in the voice.
"Then I don't want to be here when that happens." Shane's voice was thick as he spoke through the emotion clogging his own throat.
That seemed to break the spell that Deva had cast over himself. He took another drink. "No desire to save your world, rescue the humans?"
"Is it possible? Is there an artifact that will stop the demons from ever coming back?" Shane knew his voice dripped sarcasm and didn't care.
Deva tilted his head. "No. Not that I've heard of. You'd have to stop them at the portals with force."
"We did that once. Earth spent what we had in soldiers, weapons, and resources. If they come back, we will kill some but there are too many and their bodies can withstand more damage th
an we can. So, unless your creator is going to come down and put an end to all this?" He asked smirking.
Deva snorted, making that odd sound still come across as elegant. "If that worked, we would have invaded the human realm eons ago." He shook his head and took a drink. "So no, your world is dead though to be fair, it might be another hundred or another thousand years before they come back. You might have evolved or created better weapons."
"Or they might be back next week."
"Doubtful. At least a year, but yes."
"Why at least a year?" Shane leaned forward curious.
"I followed the war’s progress, wondering if they would find me." Shane wanted to look around pointedly at the lack of TV or radio, but figured it wasn't worth it. "They expended a lot of resources fighting you. They don't breed as fast as humans and are much more specialized. I'd figure a minimum of a decade." He shrugged. "Maybe then they'll kill me. Be nice to know if the creator will collect my essence or if I'll just go into the between with the rest of them." A wistfulness coated his voice and Shane shuddered. He didn't need his emotions tugged anymore today.
What the fuck is the between?
He thought about following up on that but changed his direction of thought. "Then I want out of here. So artifacts?" He didn't care. If a freaking Angel thought humanity would lose, Shane wasn't about to stay around and die with the rest of them.
"Ah, yes. The Orb is back in Loana and I don't believe you will get there. Though it is possible you could learn to open a portal there and walk in, but that I won't help you with. I would look for Coyote's Tail." He smiled a bit.
"Like the Native American Coyote?" Shane pronounced it with the long e at the end.
"Oh, he wasn't an animal, though shifting? Maybe. The originals could do odd things. His tail could bring light to the dark, heal the sick, purify anything. Then there would be the Horn of Valhalla. It provided food and supplies. Created from one of the originals in animal form." Deva snorted. "Though apparently when the original turned back, it was not impressed with being slaughtered like that."
"That would be helpful. It replicates like you can?"
"Yes. It is a replicator, though it can only replicate what it has been exposed to. Otherwise, it won't know what you are asking it to replicate."
"It is still here?"
Deva shrugged. "I don't know. But I doubt it was destroyed. The last one, which I know is still here. I can feel it, though I know not where it is. The Ark."
"Wait are you talking the fucking Ark of the Covenant? Like in Raiders of the Lost Ark?"
"Oh, I enjoyed that movie. It was wrong on so many levels, but it was entertaining."
Shane took a second to get his brain to process that. "Any chance it is right where the movie said it was, locked up in a government vault somewhere?"
"Oh probably. Governments like to control that which they don't understand. Granted, I don't know which government, but I think I'd be more surprised if a government didn't have it. The Ark, well…" he trailed off. Then sighed. "The Creator favored the mortal that created it. Maybe it would bring the Creator back." He shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. Lost to time and legend. What it would do for you? I don't know. It was always picky about how it treated mortals. More than one lost their life trying to use it." He gave a half smile. "Rather liked it because of that."
"You talk about it like it is alive. Is it? Are they?" Having a sentient magical item didn't sound like a safe tool. Shane needed tools.
"Meh. Maybe? Not quite? I mean it took a while for your kind to actually figure out tools. For the longest time we thought maybe your realm was meant to be a cautionary tale, a place for us to vacation. Apparently the Creator just took his time with you."
Shane opened his mouth, closed it, and looked at the angel.
Yep, not going there. Doesn't matter. All that matters now are tools.
"Fine. Anything else?"
"Hmmm?" Deva had been peering into his glass. The comment pulled his attention up. "Oh. Yes. The ones I think you should try and find. Sandals of Gilgamesh."
The name sounded vaguely familiar but Shane couldn't pull it out and finally shrugged. "No clue. Who's that?"
"Mortals and your live in the moment attitude. No wonder you've lost so much of what you once could do. He lived in the early days, helped to create the world as you know. He could travel a day's journey in a single step. Walk from one realm to another. I think at that time the ones you call demons had not fallen as far. They still had a living land, abundant with life. They killed it all with their hunger, their need. Even the Creator turned away from them, rather than see what they had done. Their world had fallen to their depredations before you learned how to see the motions of the planets." His mouth twisted. "At one time the beauty of their realm rivaled the elegance of mine. They were spoiled, given so much, and they threw it all away."
Shane expected to see a spark of anger in Deva's eyes, but instead, there was an odd sadness to them.
"The Sandals are still around? I could travel between the realms."
"As far as I know. I've sensed them once or twice through the centuries. Though who knows where they are now. If I were you, not that I have any desire to create a new realm, I would find the Horn and the Sandals. That might give you what you need. Maybe."
The urge to scream bubbled up but Shane forced it down. "Then what would you recommend?"
Deva sighed. "As I don't think you can make your entire race reach the level it should have already reached, I would look for what Humans once knew. Knowledge never truly dies. The Fae have been in your world for a long time. The realms have always been rather malleable to them. Information is hidden in things that seem innocuous. Even powerful knowledge can be camouflaged with simple explanations. You might find the artifacts, but I would look for the knowledge of your ancestors. Outside the Heart of Kali, that knowledge would give you the most power. Learn what you once knew. If humans could create the Orb of Atlantis," he took a drink, "I am not sure anything is impossible for you. You don't see the rules and laws that bind us. You see suggestions and constraints to rail against and you make your own rules. You treat magic like a recipe, taking a bit here, a bit there, and blending it together into something new. It is an odd way to view the world and I envy it a bit."
Deva shrugged and might have said something, but Shane had locked onto something he said.
"Humans treat magic like a recipe?"
Deva paused mid-word and looked at him, a frown creasing his perfect brow. "Yes. Didn't you know?"
"Know what?" Something waited in the air and Shane found himself leaning forward waiting.
"That is why you mortals are so dangerous. You can use all of it and adapt it to new ways. All of the immortals, the rest of us, we are locked into what we know and what we have. But you mortals twist and turn it into something new every time. You are our fear."
21
What Angels Fear
"You regard us as dangerous?" It was the easier question to ask, even as his mind spun. Didn't he do that already, merge the magics? Use blood to ramp up powers, force things even though it hurt.
"You, of all the Creators children, are the ones that turned so far away from the path. You, we will never understand. There is no unity of purpose in your world, yet you do things that require incredible acts of working together. What I've seen you do with magic… you feel it, analyze it, and figure out how to mimic it, even though you suffer as it happens. What you do when you combine them…" The angel shook his head and took a drink. "Yes, you mortals are dangerous."
"Huh." Shane leaned back, his mind spinning as he put all the pieces together. The artifacts, the comments about Merlin, his blood status, and they snapped together in a final piece.
"That is why we can create things. People with all four ancestors can merge the magic perfectly, twisting it into something new and none of the rest of you can do anything like it. I can grasp the magic and use it, but I only have Fae, Human, and Demon in my b
lood, and small amounts at that, but since I have no Angel, I can't merge it perfectly." All this came out slowly as he pieced it together.
"As you say." Devan nodded his head and smiled.
"Which means my best bet is to find a four blood, learn how to craft artifacts, and seek the ones that still exist. With all of that, I should be able to create a realm for us."
"I see no reason it would not work, though I would like to point out one thing. If the Demons know you are there, eventually they will follow." Deva's voice was mild but Shane nodded.
"Point. I'll figure that out later. I need to not be here when they return first." Shane stretched and stood, his mind already planning out how to track down artifacts and how to use them. "So you are telling me there is nothing else you can teach me?"
"No. There is more, but I believe the damage you will do to yourself will counteract anything you might learn. You know the basics and can use them well enough. If you find an Angel-born you would be able to route the power through them to use it without damage to either."
Shane thought about that a bit and nodded. "Then thank you. You have been an excellent teacher. Would you like more of anything I brought?"
"No, for now I am good. But if you drop by once a year or so, I would not mind knowing about your exploits and seeing what you have figured out. I expect interesting things from you, mortal. It has been a while since there was anyone I had any curiosity about. Create much havoc in the plans of others."
Shane laughed at that. There was something about an Angel who needed order like Shane needed air to wish havoc on others. His eye caught on the feathers again.
"Would you mind if I took some of your feathers with me? I have the feeling I might be able to use them." He kept his voice diffident.
Deva looked at him arching a brow.
I really think I need these. Something just tells me they are super valuable and in the magical community I might be able to get things with them.
