Nyx and Arcana glared at each other and didn’t move.
“It will be much more relaxing if we all sit,” said Epiphenia. “And much more comfortable than me pulling you both up to your waists in the sand. Now, sit.”
The last word had enough power in it that Nyx was halfway down to the ground before she realized what she was doing. Arcana did exactly the same. Nyx shrugged and sat, taking the cross-legged position and letting her armor fade to nothing, mainly because she figured it would irritate Arcana to have Nyx sitting nude in front of her. Arcana raised an eyebrow and changed her armor to a plain gray dress that neither hugged nor hid her body, but somehow managed to make her look elegant and poised.
Persephone kept her armor on and glared by turns at Epiphenia and Arcana.
“Who are you?” Arcana said to Epiphenia in wonder. “You’re not one of us.”
“No,” said Epiphenia. “I was created by Nyx, using the WORD.”
“What?” Arcana was aghast. “Angels can’t use the WORD. Only God can use the word.”
“God and Tribunal,” said Epiphenia. “And when Nyx used the WORD, she was imbued with power from Tribunal far greater than that of any Angel.”
“Of course she was,” Arcana sneered. “And now what, you hold the four of us here to watch while Tribunal destroys the world?”
“No,” said Epiphenia. “Now, you listen to what Nyx has to say, and then you work with her to stop Tribunal. Because Nyx and Persephone aren’t strong enough to do it by themselves, and neither can speak to God.”
Arcana’s eyebrows went up. “And why should I believe a single thing Nyx has to say?”
“Because Nyx will open her mind to you.”
“What?” said Nyx. “I will NOT!”
“Yes,” said Epiphenia, “you will. Because the alternative is the destruction of the world.”
“Or I could just kill her,” said Nyx.
“Not likely,” said Arcana.
“And how will you get God’s attention if you kill her?” asked Epiphenia. “No, you will open your mind, Mother, Arcana will listen, and Persephone will calm down.” She looked over her shoulder at the still-fuming Persephone. “And then we will discuss how to tell God what is happening.”
“And if I don’t?” asked Nyx. “If I break free and cut Arcana’s head off? What then?”
You can’t break free, Mother,” said Epiphenia. “You can try if you like.”
Nyx tried.
An hour later, Nyx collapsed back down to the ground, glaring at Epiphenia. Arcana, who’d been watching with a combination of amusement and confusion, frowned. “How come you’re so much stronger than us?”
“Because I was created with the WORD,” Epiphenia said.
“We were all created with the WORD,” said Persephone. “So what?”
“Yes,” said Epiphenia. “You were all created with the WORD.”
Nyx sat up, looked at the vine around her ankle and sighed. “Does that mean that all the power that went into creating all the Angels went into you?”
Epiphenia smiled. “Not quite, Mother. Tribunal gave you an enormous amount of power, and the WORD gave you more. It wasn’t as strong as the power God used to create the Angels, but it all went into me. And because you used the WORD inside Creation, instead of in Heaven or Hell, the power of it combined with the power of what was already created. And all of that power flowed into me as well.”
Nyx frowned. “Then why couldn’t you defeat Lucifer’s Angels the first time?”
“I had only been alive for a few minutes, then,” said Epiphenia. “And my creator had made me to be sacrificed, then tried to stop the sacrifice. It was all very confusing, and perhaps I didn’t try as hard as I could have.” She smiled. “However, twenty years of being dead in Hell helped me understand myself better and to know what I want. Then you came along and got me out.”
“You were dead in Hell?” repeated Arcana.
“Yes.”
“And Nyx pulled you out.”
“Yes.”
“But Nyx is Queen of Hell.”
“Was,” corrected Epiphenia. “Lucifer is in charge now.”
Arcana looked from one to the other, then to Persephone. “Is this true?”
“Yes,” said Persephone. “Not that you believe me.”
Arcana shook her head and turned her eyes to the ocean. The sun was beginning to set, and a breeze was coming in off the water, stirring her hair and cooling her flesh. There was no question there was a lot she didn’t understand, a lot she hadn’t been told. What would it hurt, Arcana asked herself, to just listen?
When she turned back to the others, Epiphenia smiled at her. “Are you ready?”
Arcana sighed. “I’ve always liked a good story,” she said. “Nyx, will you open your mind to me?”
Nyx looked wary. “You’re not going to like it.”
“I’ll manage.”
“I killed Caelum and Orion.”
“I figured,” said Arcana, her voice becoming clipped. “Now, are you sharing or not?”
Nyx sighed herself and opened her mind. “Fine. I’ll share. But you’re not going to like it.”
“Shut up, Nyx,” came Arcana’s voice in her head.
“Start the night of Tribunal’s birth,” sent Nyx. “That’s where it all began.”
“I will,” said Arcana, and she stepped inside Nyx’s mind.
Unlike when Nyx had gone through Ishtar’s mind, this was not a battleground or a breaking down of barriers. Arcana’s touch was gentle, but thorough. She went through everything. She saw the beginning, when Michael talked with Nyx, and the moment when Nyx met Tribunal. She saw the passionate lovemaking that had a quality to it—of God or of man, she couldn’t say—that was different than the love between Angels. She heard Tribunal’s promises and saw Nyx crying at his crucifixion. She saw her bloody, horrifying revenge on Judas. She saw Nyx murder Caelum and Orion.
Then Arcana followed Nyx through the last millennium as she tried to carry out Tribunal’s instructions and build a religion that could triumph over Christianity. Nyx made and broke emperors and kings. She hunted Christians in the streets and convinced Rome to go against them. She went nearly insane as Constantine made Christianity one of the religions of Rome.
Arcana watched as Nyx sought to build her own empires, to control popes, and to direct human history, all leading up to the bloody battle and despoiling of Jerusalem. She saw the softening of Nyx’s soul, which Nyx herself barely recognized. Then she saw the birth and death of Epiphenia, the battle in Hell, and Nyx’s desperate struggle to escape.
And then they were back on the beach, and Arcana was staring at Nyx, looking not at all happy.
“Well?” said Nyx. “Did you miss anything?”
“You are a very bad person, Nyx,” reproved Arcana, keeping the knowledge of Nyx’s transformation to herself. She wasn’t sure what it meant. Even softened, Nyx was far from good—very, very far.
“Spend a few eons in Hell and see what you turn into,” said Nyx. “Are you helping or not?”
Arcana sighed and looked out to the ocean again. One of the few problems with being an Angel was that the greater good always trumped the lesser. And that means I can’t just kill her for the sake of killing her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this. She gave birth to an Angel. Does that make her worse—or not? “God will judge you for this, Nyx.”
“God already has.”
“No, God judged you for rebelling against him. This is…” Arcana shook her head. “This is something entirely different, and not mine to judge.” She turned to Epiphenia. “So how do we stop them?”
“You need to go to Heaven,” said Epiphenia, “and tell them what Tribunal has done.”
“Ah.” Arcana sighed again. “Well, the problem with that is, I can’t reach Heaven.”
Nyx’s jaw dropped. “You can’t?” She looked to the sky. “The Gates are open. I can see them open!”
“I know,” said Arcana. “Bu
t I still can’t get through them.”
In Hell, Ishtar, Moloch, Beelzebub, Azazel and Astaroth stood in front of fifty Descended Angels. They were all ugly, mean, and prone to violence, even by Descended standards. They were also the best possible choice for the mission.
“Listen close,” said Ishtar, before any of the captains could speak. “I know Nyx better than anyone here. And I know Persephone. They’re both smart, they’re both dangerous, and they’re both better fighters than any of you. So don’t face them alone and don’t get cute. Hit them from behind, and preferably from a good distance away. Then move in for the kill. And remember that Earth isn’t like Heaven. Anything that dies up there stays dead, and that includes you.”
“So how do we get to Earth?” asked a large, squat, tusked Angel in the front. “Lucifer controls the gate.”
“Lucifer controlled the gate by telling you not to go through it,” said Ishtar. “Look up. The gate’s open.”
“Lucifer wanted to catch Nyx,” said another, a wraith-thin female with no tits to speak of and razor sharp teeth in her jaw. “He wanted to torture that bitch for eternity.”
“And we all saw how well that worked out,” said Ishtar. “This is a kill mission. You go up there, you kill her, you come back. Torture and kill a few hundred humans on the way if you like. No one cares about them.” She looked them up and down scornfully. “Any other stupid questions?”
“Why aren’t you going?”
Ishtar smiled, and this time her teeth became razor sharp and jagged. “Because someone has to run things here, and that’s going to be me.”
“You?” Moloch’s red, hairy eyebrows went up high on his forehead. “What makes you think…?”
Moloch’s head hit the ground with a thud, his body following a moment later. Ishtar sheathed her sword and grinned at the death squad. “Get out of here. Now. And if you don’t kill Nyx, you’d better pray God takes you back to Heaven. Go!”
The fifty Angels sprang into the air and toward the Lake of Fire, where the gate to earth awaited. Ishtar turned to Beelzebub, Azazel and Astaroth. “So, all of you at once or one at a time?”
Nyx, Persephone and Arcana winged high into the sky, up to the edges of Earth’s atmosphere, to float before the Gates to Heaven. As they watched, a dozen souls floated past, slipped in through the Gates and vanished from mortal realms.
“So what’s the problem?” demanded Nyx. “It’s right there. I can see it.”
“I’m glad you can,” said Arcana. “I can’t. I can feel it, and I know it’s there, but I can’t actually see it at all.”
“Weird,” said Persephone. “So how come we can see it?”
“Because we’re not allowed to pass through it,” said Nyx. “Doesn’t matter whether we can see it or not.” She shifted in the air so she was facing Arcana. “If we guide you through it, do you think that will work?”
“It’s worth a try,” said Arcana.
“Turn all your thoughts to Heaven,” said Persephone.
“I know how it works, thanks.”
Nyx and Persephone each took one of Arcana’s hands while Arcana closed her eyes. They guided her forward, straight up to the Gate, released her hands and pushed her through it.
“Well, that was fucking easy,” said Persephone.
“You would think so,” said Arcana, floating in the air a dozen yards ahead of them.
Nyx and Persephone exchanged a look. They took Arcana’s hands and tried again. They kept their eyes on her the entire time and saw her pass through where the Gate should have taken her to Heaven.
“What. The. Fuck?” said Persephone. “That’s not possible. Are you sure you’re trying?”
Arcana calculated Pi to the hundredth digit in her head before answering, “Yes, Persephone. I am sure I am trying.”
“What else have you done to get through?”
“Everything,” said Arcana. “I’ve tried flying through; I’ve followed souls through. I’ve thrown every ounce of power I have at it in the hopes of making it open. Nothing has worked.”
“Tribunal’s sealed it, then,” said Nyx. “Probably the moment the Gates opened he made it impossible for Angels to pass from Earth to Heaven.”
“Most likely,” agreed Arcana. “But why haven’t any Angels noticed that it’s sealed on the other side? Or at least come through to see what’s happening on Earth?”
“I assume he’s blocking them as well,” said Nyx.
“Shit,” said Persephone. “How powerful is he?”
The three Angels stared at one another as they floated in the air before the Gates of Heaven.
And if he’s this powerful, wondered Nyx, how are we going to stop him?
Nyx, Arcana, Persephone! Epiphenia’s voice rang in each of their minds. You must return, quickly!
As one, they folded their wings and dove for the Earth.
Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Azrael stood in the glade, listening. Tribunal was in Heaven. But he was not calling out to anyone and did not seem to be directing any attention toward them.
“How are we doing?”
“We have brought the realization,” said Raphael, using the term they had agreed upon, in case Tribunal was listening, “to fifty thousand so far. They will bring it to fifty thousand more. Then those will bring it to a hundred thousand others. By tomorrow, half a million Angels will know what has befallen us.”
“Will it be enough?” asked Raphael.
“I don’t know,” said Michael. “But I fear we are running out of time to deal with him, if we can still deal with him at all.”
“You think he grows more powerful?”
“I think he’s an aspect of God,” said Michael. “I fear he’s come to understand what that means and how much power he can draw upon.”
“So when?”
“Dawn,” said Michael. He smiled. “It’s traditional.”
“Tradition is a fine thing,” agreed Gabriel.
“And the plan is?” asked Azrael.
“We fly on the mountain to seek an audience with God,” said Michael. “All of us at once, from all directions. And if even one of us can get through, God will be able to tell us what his will is, and put a stop to whatever Tribunal is doing.”
In the center of the Sahara desert, a pit opened in the ground. Rocks and sand slid out of sight into the darkness, and the earth rumbled and shook. A deep, fetid stench rose up from the pit.
High above, Nyx, Arcana, and Persephone all sensed the arrivals of the Descended at the same time. They steepened their dive, falling on the island like streaks of fire.
In the darkest parts of the jungle along the Amazon River, where no human had ever ventured and returned, another pit opened.
In the wild steppes of northeastern Asia, a third pit opened.
A fourth opened in a place called Agu by its people—a place that would eventually be called Australia.
The fifth opened in southern India, in a temple dedicated to Kali.
Ten Descended Angels crawled from each one.
On the Island, Arcana, Persephone, and Nyx landed with a force that sent sand and wind flying and knocked over several small trees. “Fifty of them,” said Arcana. “All Descended. All tough.”
“All hunting for us?” asked Persephone.
“Only reason they’d come here,” said Nyx.
“Why only them?” asked Arcana. “Lucifer knows you are here; he knows how powerful you are, Nyx. And even this one —” She tossed a dismissive wave in Persephone’s direction— “is not without skill. Why send so few?”
“Fifty Descended is hardly few,” protested Persephone. “They could give you a run for your money.”
“Any twenty of them might,” said Arcana. “The same for Nyx. For you, probably ten would be enough. But they’re all separate. Which means we could fly to each group and destroy them. Why?”
“Because Lucifer and Tribunal aren’t ready to unleash the hordes of Hell onto the Earth yet, and they want to make sure we’r
e too preoccupied to stop them,” said Nyx. “Though I’m sure he wouldn’t mind at all if they killed us.” She turned her attention outward and spread her senses to the world. The Descended had spotted them and were winging their way toward the island. “They’re coming.”
“They can sense us,” said Arcana.
“I know,” said Nyx. “How do you think I found Caelum and Orion? There’s no place on Earth that one Angel can’t sense another.”
“They can’t sense me,” said Epiphenia in her musical voice. “I’m of the Earth and they only sense me as part of it, not as a separate entity.”
“Can you destroy them?” asked Nyx.
“Yes,” said Epiphenia. “But it will take time and power, and right now we have neither to spare if we are to get Arcana to Heaven.”
Nyx frowned. “Do you think you have enough power to open the Gate?”
Epiphenia shrugged. “I don’t know. But I can try.”
Nyx scanned the sky, waiting for the first Descended to come into sight. “We have to get Arcana to Heaven to tell God what’s going on. Anything else is secondary.” She paced up and down the beach, thinking. “Epiphenia, you said they can’t detect you. Can you make it so they can’t detect us?”
Epiphenia thought a moment. “I believe so.”
“Do it. Then go to the Gates. See if you can open them. We’ll get out of here for now.”
“Can we go to Greece?” asked Persephone. “And get some wine and grapes and meat?” Both Nyx and Arcana gave her a look. She shrugged. “I’ve been in Hell for twenty years. I miss food.”
“This may hurt,” warned Epiphenia. She touched Nyx’s cheek and once more Nyx felt her body being invaded. It hurt much less this time. Persephone swore and grimaced when Epiphenia touched her cheek. Arcana didn’t make a sound. A moment later, awareness of both Angel’s presences vanished from Nyx’s mind, though she could see them standing in front of her.
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