by Michael Todd
Several people in the crowd cheered, and Katie nodded. “Mercenaries work behind the scenes with the brave women and men of the armed forces. We go where no one else will go. We do what no one else will do. I want to read you the Creed of the Damned. It is our way of life, and it is our dedication to you.”
Katie cleared her throat, no longer needing a crumpled piece of paper to get it right.
“We are the ones who did not make it home.
We are the chosen.
The infected,
battling our demons night and day.
Protecting the uninformed from reality.
We fight where the stupid meet the clueless to perform
the asinine for our teammates every day.
We are cops, military, special forces, and SWAT,
medical techs, priests, and clergy.
We are the dimensional derelicts,
the legion, the host, the forgotten.
The feared.
The sheep can sleep at night because we don’t.
We fight for humanity—yours—and for our own.
We are the Damned, and death is our enemy,
our escape,
and our tribute.”
The entire crowd sat absolutely silent, completely absorbed in the words Katie had spoken. Goosebumps crawled up her spine as she stared at Moloch. “This is Moloch, a council member serving Lucifer. He was the main demon behind the attacks perpetrated against our planet and our people. Moloch has caused mass destruction from coast to coast, and beyond. Most recently, he and his cohorts were responsible for raining lava down on a Romanian town. There, people fled but were burned alive in the streets. Children were entombed in ash and soot, clinging to their mother’s arms. And friends of mine were there, fighting for you and for all humanity. We still have not heard from them.”
The crowd let out a low boo and people began throwing things at Moloch. Katie took a deep breath and put up her hands. “We aren’t saying this will end the war, but you can go to sleep tonight knowing that this particular hellspawn won’t be bothering you again.”
Katie turned toward Juntto and nodded. Juntto put his hand on Moloch’s shoulder and pushed down, forcing him to his knees. Everyone went silent again, shocked to watch what was happening right in front of them. The majority of the people wanted to kill Moloch themselves. They wanted a reprieve from the fear and chaos. They wanted to kiss their babies goodnight and know they would be there in the morning. What Katie was doing was very public, but she felt it was necessary. The country and the world had to unite, and the world had to know that Katie was looking out for them, too.
Moloch snickered, his body heaving as he began coughing, blood splattering on the ground. The crowd hissed and backed up a bit. Moloch forced his lips into a bloody grin. “You can’t kill me, little humans. I’ll be back. You know as well as I do that when we die here on Earth, we go straight back to hell. It won’t take me long to climb from the depths and regain my power. When I do, I will rain terror on this planet like you have never imagined. I’ll start right here in New York City.”
The people muttered, creating a fearful low roar over the crowd. Katie put her hands up and smiled at the people in the streets. She turned back to Moloch and bent over, a smirk lurking on her lips. “Oh yeah? I think you might be mistaken.”
Moloch narrowed his eyes and followed the shadow of Katie’s demon sliding from her body. The crowd gasped as Katie stepped to one side and grabbed a light post. Her strength left with Pandora’s exit. Pandora had prepared her body for it, healing everything she could, but Katie was still weak.
Pandora stood tall, her hair floating around her in the wind. Instead of her birthday suit, Pandora was sporting much heavier garb. Angelic robes whirled and hovered around her, shimmering in the autumn sun. She looked quiet and calm, a small, tight-lipped smile on her face. Instead of striking Moloch, she simply reached out and gently pressed her fingertips to Moloch’s forehead. Smoke came from his skin and he tilted his head back, screaming at the top of his lungs.
Pandora slowly withdrew her hand. Moloch breathed heavily, growling deep in his throat as he watched her. She paused for just a moment before snapping her fingers. Moloch’s eyes went wide as one of the angelic swords disappeared from his chest and reappeared in her hand. The blood was completely gone from the blade and it reflected the sunlight, creating a disco-ball effect on the crowd.
That was where the second sword had come from.
Moloch shook his head. “No, this cannot be! What’s going on here?”
Pandora waved her hand, sealing Moloch’s mouth shut. She held her sword high in the air and looked to the heavens. “By the rights and responsibilities I once rejected but which have been returned to me, you, Moloch, are sentenced to death. You will never walk the burning bowels of hell or the lush green grasses of Earth again. You will never harm another soul, living or dead. Let your fate be a warning to all those below who wish to test our holy vows. I will hunt you. I will find you, and when I do, your head will be mounted high for all to see, forever cemented in history. This war will end—mark my words.”
Pandora gave Moloch a sly wink and whispered, “Nighty-night, cockstain” as she swung her sword hard and fast. The blade hit his scales but didn’t stop, slicing through them like a warm knife through butter. It sliced through scale and flesh and unholy bone and reappeared in the open air. Moloch’s great head slapped the ground meatily, then rolled forward. Katie put out her foot to stop it. When it settled, Moloch’s eyes, once shimmering and shining red, flickered several times before completely extinguishing. Dead black orbs were left in their place.
His body didn’t turn to ash or disappear like the others. Instead, it teetered back and forth on its knees, headless, spilling black blood all over the sidewalk. Juntto put his foot on the beast’s headless corpse and pushed. The body fell over, hitting the ground with a thud.
The watching crowd stood there silently. On instinct, they began reaching for each other’s hands. Not everyone knew one another, not everyone liked one another, but at that moment they were joined together in one common goal.
The television news cameras kept filming the scene, even though none of the reporters knew what to say at that moment. There were more demons out there like Moloch. The danger wouldn’t end just because he was dead, but no one could deny that Moloch’s death symbolized more than just the end of another fruitless battle. It showed that humans could stand together, even in the face of one of the gravest enemies they’d ever battled. They could rely on someone bigger and stronger to take the reins and protect them whenever she could.
The news cameras panned to Juntto, who dropped the heavy chains he was holding. Jane Arrows whispered to her camera, “This person, this Leviathan, is another symbol of our solidarity. Not only are we united across the country and the world, but across the whole universe. He’s a symbol of the dedication and caring we all need to have toward each other. It doesn’t matter what race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation you are. It doesn’t even matter what species you are. We’re all holding hands. We must have courage.”
Katie and Juntto made eye contact, and Katie winked at him.
The wind swept across Times Square as the crowd began to clap. Harold stepped out of his cab and put his hands in the air, cheering wildly. After a few seconds, the entire block was cheering so loud it echoed all across the city. The camera focused on Jane Arrows, who put her mic to her lips. “You are witnessing history here today, folks. In a Channel 8 exclusive of massive proportions, we can now say that not only is Katie herself part-angel, but her demon is as well. In a harrowing act of justice, Moloch, the demon who killed hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, was executed by Pandora, the demon with an angelic golden crown. The people in the streets are going wild. They’re celebrating together, going hand in hand for the first time since the attack on New York City. If you are watching this from anywhere else, know that we have your hearts with us her
e today.”
Katie watched Pandora as she stared at Moloch’s head, huge and malevolent. She was so proud of her demon, who’d surprised them all. The crowd began to chant Katie’s and Pandora’s names. Pandora looked at all the faces she had refused to see for so many centuries. She had fallen from grace once before and lurched between hell and Earth searching for some cause to give her life meaning.
The warmth flowing through her was a better high than any she’d ever experienced. She felt alive. She was wrapped in grace’s warm embrace. She would lead the humans back to salvation and safety. Something caught her eye on top of a building. Sitting on the ledge with his feet dangling off the roof, clapping his hands, was Gabriel.
Pandora snorted, whispering under her breath, “Asshole.” Was she angelic? Sure. At the same time, she was still Lilith, the queen of the Damned.
Pandora raised her arms high and the crowd quieted, waiting for her to speak. Jane Arrows waved excitedly at the camera. “It seems that our heroine, Pandora, is about to say something. The crowd is completely enthralled. Let’s watch it unfold.”
The camera panned back to Pandora as she took a deep breath. Her eyes flickered from red to blue and back again, just like Katie’s did. The sword in her grasp disappeared, and a bright white light shone down from between the clouds, spotlighting her. She closed her eyes and released her wings. They unfolded from her back and spread wide, the tips almost touching the buildings on either side of the street. They were gray with silver and golden wisps.
She cleared her throat and began, “It is time for the War of the Angels.”
25
Baal took a sip of his wine and shoved several gerbils into his mouth, chewing loudly. Fur and blood splattered down the front of his scales. His servants had been steadily growing in number, but now they stood huddled in the corner, too afraid to approach him. He was growing more intolerant every day. He had thrown a demon down the steps to the dungeon and beat him to death the night before because his whiskey was one degree less than the perfect temperature. That was very difficult to achieve in hell, but Baal was demanding.
Baal grunted at the show on the television and grabbed the remote. “When does Dancing with the Stars come on? I love that show. One day I will perform, just you wait and see.”
None of his servants said a word, and he didn’t even notice they were there. Before he could press the button, an emergency broadcast came on. The sound hurt Baal’s ears and he sneered, covering his ears until it was over. The news station popped up, and the newscaster looked disheveled yet hopeful. That was something Baal really hated about humans—their incessant need to be hopeful.
“A miraculous event has happened in the streets of New York City, and it was all caught on tape by our JLA affiliate. We take you to Times Square, where just moments ago Katie and her demon beheaded one of the major culprits behind the War of the Demons.” The newscaster turned, and the television went full screen with the footage.
Baal sat forward, laughing at the image of Moloch in chains with two swords sticking out of him. Pandora, standing with her back to the camera, suddenly raised a sword high. “Oh, boy. Moloch is going to be pissed when he gets back. Not only will he have sword wounds, but that shit on his neck is going to take forever to heal.”
Baal grimaced as the sword cut through his old friend’s flesh. He paused, waiting for the body to turn to dust, but it didn’t happen. Baal’s face fell.
Moloch was dead. He’d truly been killed. Baal grabbed the remote and rewound it, playing the clip back in slow motion. “Wait a damned minute. That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”
He watched Pandora, draped in a white gown with a small golden crown on her head, turn toward the camera. He pressed the pause button and moved closer to the television. “Holy shit.”
Large on his screen loomed Pandora’s face, her lips twisted into a grin. Her eyes gleamed bright blue on the screen. Her crown was a circlet of golden thorns, each sharp tip sparkling in the sun. Baal fell on his ass and scooted across the floor until his back met the chair. “She’s…she’s…an angel. By the hairs of Lucifer’s rotting taint, Moloch isn’t coming back.”
Beelzebub slammed his hand on the wall and roared. He ran an arm along his desk, sweeping everything to the floor. A great plume of dust billowed into the air. Baal frowned and waved his hand in front of his face while he coughed. Beelzebub was livid, pacing back and forth in his study with his fists gripped tightly in front of him. “Those bastards. First, they publicly behead a member of Lucifer’s council, then, they celebrate his death and mount his head in the center of New York City. On top of that, Lilith turned out to be some sort of recovered demon with angelic abilities. This is fucking insane. To top it off, those lazy, good-for-nothing humans dropped a bomb of death into the third ring.”
Baal shook his head, his eyelids low as he leaned against the wall. “Really? Did you expect them to just behead Moloch and leave it at that? Did you think they were going to be satisfied with getting one of us? Please. These humans may be emotional, but they aren’t stupid. I don’t know what you expected when you dropped lava onto one of their cities.”
Beelzebub screeched loudly, straining the veins in his neck. “I expected fear. I expected blinding, all-consuming fear. I expected them to begin to play nice. After all, no country wants liquid hell dropping on their people. I feel like they never learn lessons. They never process. They just point out what we’re doing, call it evil, and retaliate.”
Baal groaned. “They aren’t the only creatures in the universe who don’t crumble to fear, Beelzebub. We are one such species. If anything, you should admire their tenacity and ingenuity. They could have simply done what they did before, come down here and knocked some demons around before getting their asses kicked. Instead, they came up with a scientifically viable weapon that not only fucked with us but sent a huge number of our demons either into the abyss or plummeting into the very depths of hell they had just climbed out of.”
Beelzebub shook his head, stomping his feet on the stone floors. “These humans all deserve to die, and they have Pandora to thank for it. That bitch knew all along she was an angel. She knew it, and she kept it a secret from everyone. Can you imagine what would have happened if she’d tapped into those energies while married to Lucifer? She could have ended hell as we know it.”
Baal yawned. “I really think you’re being melodramatic. She wouldn’t have beaten Lucifer. She’s only one angel. Armies of angels have fought the dark lord and lost. I think Lucifer would have been happy to have an angel in his bed. It would be like a badge of honor of sorts.”
Beelzebub winced. “That is sick and disgusting, Baal. Those creatures could not stand up to our grace and valor. They are not as strong as we are. They would have chased us from existence long ago if they could have.”
Baal shrugged. “From Lilith’s speech, I would say they now have every intention of doing so. It’s a whole new game. Demons are no longer volunteering to go to Earth. Before, they knew that if they died, they’d come back home. Now they know that if they face a legion of angels, they’ll just die. Done. They’ll no longer exist. I believe we need to rethink our strategies.”
Beelzebub sat down at the table and put his claw to his lips. “I knew I should have stayed and helped Moloch. Better yet, I should have just done it on my own.”
Baal snorted. “I know you think you’re all high and mighty, but you wouldn’t have survived either. She would have beheaded both of you with that golden sword of death and never given it a second thought. Your headless corpse would have been tied to a tractor-trailer and dumped next to Moloch’s.”
Beelzebub narrowed his eyes. “And you would be right here in hell, the only one left to tell the tale.”
Baal turned his head. “Wait a minute, don’t you dare imply that I wished this upon Moloch, or even worse, had anything to do with it. You know I like the behind-the-scenes stuff. I’m not the public face of any operation. I needed Moloch, but I
don’t want to be the next headless corpse because I made one too many careless choices.”
Beelzebub stood up, knocking his chair over. “Careless choices? I set him up for complete success. That’s more than you have ever done in this war. How dare you come in here and insinuate that I don’t know how to perform my duties in the correct manner?”
Baal was getting frustrated. “I wasn’t involved in the fighting because I chose not to be. I wasn’t giving orders because it wasn’t my fight. Unlike some demons I know, I don’t let my ambitions get the best of me in these serious times.”
Beelzebub marched toward Baal, shaking his fist. “You turd. You bleeding anus. You talking pool of vomit.”
There was a loud pounding on the door to the cave. Beelzebub sneered at Baal and grabbed the door handle. He threw it open gruffly, yelling, “What?”
He blinked at the demon standing there. He was standing ramrod straight and wearing Lucifer’s livery. Beelzebub cleared his throat and stood up taller. “My apologies. I don’t get visitors from the king very often these days.”
The demon kept a blank face and handed him an envelope. “Lucifer is demanding you show yourself to him immediately. You can follow me back to the castle.”
Beelzebub swallowed hard, looking back at Baal. “Of course, I’ll come. Catch you later, Baal. Lock the door on your way out.”
Baal huffed, keeping his back turned. Beelzebub followed the king’s demon. His palms began to sweat, and his bowels turned to liquid. He was, in short, terrified.
Beelzebub marched to his audience with Lucifer, plotting and scheming. He was looking for a way to save himself if things went poorly with the king of hell. If that happened, Baal would no longer be able to play in the shadows. Beelzebub would make sure of that.
