Divine Dora

by Claire Chilton

  “Creepy motherfuckers aren’t they?” the little demon whispered.

  Kieron nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that they were hanging above him and could wake up at any moment or if it was their statue-like posture and frozen bodies, but they made his skin crawl. His heart was thumping so loudly, he was almost certain that it would explode out of his chest if one of them woke up.

  Silently following Lucian to the end of the long hall, Kieron breathed a sigh when they reached a line of ancient filing cabinets that were nestled at the back of the room.

  “Short ass, you take the lower drawers, and we’ll do the higher ones,” Lucian said to Pooey, pointing to the filing cabinets.

  Pooey scowled, and he looked as if he was about to say something, but one glance at the creatures hanging above them seemed to silence him. He nodded, pulling open one of the drawers.

  “What are we looking for?” Kieron whispered to Lucian.

  “If she came here and they thought she was an angelic soul, she’ll have been assigned to one of the boot camps. We’re looking for her recruitment papers,” Lucian whispered.

  “What if they thought she was demon?” Kieron asked.

  Lucian paused. He shot Kieron a dark look. “You don’t want to know.”

  “Of course I want to know. That’s why I asked.” He frowned.

  Lucian shook his head. “She won’t exist anymore.”

  “What the fuck? That was never a possibility. Why are you saying that now?” Anger coursed through Kieron’s veins. She had to still exist. He couldn’t save her if she didn’t exist.

  “Keep your fucking voice down!” Lucian glanced up at the ceiling.

  “I will not. If Dora’s been hurt by these fuckers, I want them to wake up, so I can kick the crap out of them.” Kieron raised his voice.

  “Found it. She’s—” Pooey pulled a file out of drawer he had been searching in, but then he froze, staring up with wide eyes as a cold screech filled the air above them

  Lucian looked up. “Fuck,” he muttered as he drew out the sword at his hip. He glanced at Kieron. “I guess you’re going to get your wish.”

  Bracing himself, Kieron stared up in horror as the room lit up to reveal hundreds of creatures waking up above them. They weren’t in the least bit angelic with pinched, long faces and slits for eyes that glowed silver.

  The one screeching like an alarm was the first to move, spreading out her wings to reveal sharp golden talons on the tips. Her body was feathered too he realized as she detached from the ceiling and swooped around waking up the other librarians.

  She flexed her clawed toes as she circled above them, emitting sharp cries. Her angular face was almost bird-like. He widened his eyes at her sharp, little fangs as she opened her mouth to screech out another cry.

  “Oh, that’s just fucked up. What are they?” Pooey asked.

  “Librarians.” Lucian shrugged. “We need to get out of here before the head librarian wakes up.”

  Kieron was frozen to the spot until Lucian shook his arm.

  “Wake the fuck up, idiot son. We need to get the hell out of here.”

  Mobilized by the realization that more of them were waking up, he nodded and followed Pooey and Lucian as they ran for the doors.

  Hearing a whoosh of wings, he ducked down on instinct as one of the creatures swooped down.

  The librarian's talons clawed through his shirt, grazing his skin before the harpy-looking creature flew back up into the air.

  “Keep moving,” Lucian cried as he shot blasts of white light from his hands, knocking the creatures back up above them.

  Jumping to his feet, Kieron launched himself toward the doors, joining Lucian and Pooey as the noise in the room reached a crescendo.

  He watched hundreds of creatures waking up and swooping around the room as their screeches echoed through it. The only thing keeping them back were the blasts of Lucian’s magic.

  Pooey covered his ears, shouting over the din. “They’ll wake up the whole fucking city!”

  “That’s kind of the point,” Lucian muttered. “Let’s get the fuck out of h—” Lucian froze as a deep growl echoed through the building beneath them. It was so loud that the foundations shook, and the windows shimmered from the echo of it.

  “What the hell is that?” Pooey widened his eyes.

  Lucian swallowed. “It’s the head librarian.” After a moment of contemplation, he shoved Kieron and Pooey through the open doorway, slamming the doors shut behind them. He quickly sealed the doors with a beam of white light.

  A deep growl echoed through the building again, shattering the windows at each end of the hall.

  Kieron turned in the direction of the growl with his pulse racing as a giant claw burst through the floor, each talon on it the size of him.

  “I’m not fighting that.” Pooey shook his head. “Nu uh”

  “You make a run for it, and I’ll hold it back,” Kieron said unsurely. He was pretty certain that he’d die, but he was determined to take responsibility for this. He had put them into this situation after all.

  He gripped Lucian’s arm. “Make me a promise. Find Dora and get her back home safely.” He stared in earnest at the fallen angel.

  Lucian sighed and shook his head. “Great, you’re a fucking lemming. Come on.” Lucian scooped up Pooey on one arm and grabbed Kieron’s wrist in the other before he ran, dragging them both toward the open window. Kieron ran with him, staring at the window in horror as he realized that Lucian planned to jump out of it. Unable to stop because of the momentum, Kieron yelped as Lucian jumped out of the window, taking them with him.

  Kieron cried out as they dropped toward the ground, his pulse racing. He peered up at Lucian in horror. Was he trying to kill them?

  The angel spread his wings, catching the wind and gliding through the air, holding Pooey in one arm, and gripping Kieron’s wrist in the other as he swooped over the city.

  Peering back, Kieron saw a massive leviathan’s head poke out of the window behind them with ice snorting from its flared nostrils.

  “Is it going to follow us?” he asked.

  “No, dumbass. Leviathan’s can’t fly.” Lucian panted a reply while scowling down at him.

  “Why are we flying so fast then?” Kieron asked.

  Lucian nodded down to the city that was rapidly illuminating below them as lights appeared in the many windows. “The army of pissed off angels that are being woken up, and you weigh a fucking ton. Would you like to try flying for once?” Lucian scowled down at him. “Or if not, perhaps you should eat fewer doughnuts.”

  “I don’t eat doughnu—” Kieron paused as he realized that he had wings of his own. He quickly spread them as Lucian released him, flying up into the sky on his own.

  He caught Pooey as Lucian dropped him too.

  The little demon scowled up at Lucian. “You did that on fucking purpose.” He narrowed his accusing eyes.

  “What, can’t ninjas fly?” Lucian’s mouth turned up at the corners into a wicked smile.

  Kieron stared down at the city below as it began to light up beneath them. “All the angels are waking up. We need to hide.”

  “Follow me. I know a place we can go.” Lucian swooped down into a dark forest, winding his way through the trees.

  “Why are we following that dick? He always takes us to the shittiest places,” Pooey muttered.

  “We need him. He can help us find Dora. I’m sure it won’t be as bad a place this time.”

  “Yeah, right, assuming he doesn’t drop me on my head first.” Pooey clutched the folder in his hands, digging his little bear claws into the cardboard. “And it’s not as if he’s abandoned you before. Oh wait…”

  Kieron frowned. Lucian might be his father, but he certainly wasn’t someone he could trust. The man had left him to suffer in Hell for most of his childhood. When they’d first met, he’d shot him out of the sky and had his coven of witches torture him. Trusting the fallen angel to help them might not be t
he best idea. Pooey was right. Lucian hadn’t given them many good reasons to trust him.

  “WWDD?” Pooey asked, interrupting his thoughts.

  “What?” Kieron frowned down at the brown fluffy demon.

  “What would Dora do?”

  Kieron considered the question. Dora was the one who’d allowed Lucian to come with them in the first place. She was also the one who’d kept him in line. Without her around, Lucian was taking charge, and that wasn’t okay. “She’d bring him along, but she wouldn’t let him take over.”

  Pooey nodded. “We need to stop letting him make all the decisions.”

  “Once we get to the hideout he’s taking us to, we can find out where Dora is and call the shots from there.” Kieron narrowed his eyes at Lucian as he flew ahead of them.

  “Yeah, assuming it isn’t another insane, angel nightmare,” Pooey muttered.

  Seven

  Heavenly Horrors

  Dora shivered as she stumbled across the desert, guided only by the light of the moon. The expanse of nothing seemed to stretch on forever, but she rationalized that she’d only been walking for a few hours.

  She couldn’t help but panic every time she heard the wind rush over the wasteland. She was certain that the patrols from Camp Angel would be coming for her soon. In fact, she was surprised they hadn’t shown up yet.

  Maybe they don’t know that I’m missing?

  Tired of walking and feeling sore all over, she tried again to make her wings come out. Flying would get her out of here so much faster.

  She dropped her bag on the dusty ground. Then she slowly exhaled, trying to summon her wings. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on her back.

  Come on. Fly me the fuck out of here.

  After a few moments of clenching all her muscles to try to push the feathered things out of her back, she sighed. She glanced back, shaking her head at the lack of wings. Clearly, her angel wings didn’t come out on command.

  Fine, I’ll just walk out of here then!

  She scowled as she reached down to pick up her bag, pausing when her fingers brushed over something brittle.

  Glancing down, she yelped and jumped back, widening her eyes at the skeletal remains on the ground.

  Snatching her bag up, she backed away and swallowed as she noticed an array of bones sticking up through the sand. Staring around her, it dawned on her that she was standing amidst a field of skeletons. She looked down at the one near her feet. Although just bone and dust now, she could make out a body with giant wings spanning out behind it from the skeletal remains.

  Angel corpses… What the hell is this place?

  Paying more attention to the bumps in the ground around her, she realized that she must have stumbled into some kind of angel graveyard.

  Swallowing a bubble of panic, she threw her bag over her shoulder. Whatever this place was, she needed to go through it. There was no way in hell that she was going back to Camp Angel, and this was the only other option.

  Just don’t think about it. They’re dead and long gone anyway.

  She frowned as she stepped carefully around the bones before continuing on her way across the wasteland.

  How can angels die anyway? Aren’t they already dead?

  Galvanized by a need to get out of here, she picked up her pace, ignoring the aches and pains in her tired muscles as she hurried over an incline. She hoped that once she reached to top of the hill, she’d leave this macabre place behind.

  Forcing herself to hurry to the top, she eventually reached the summit panting for breath.

  Remind me to do more cardio when I’m alive again. My fitness level sucks.

  She frowned as she scanned the expanse of desert ahead. It was a circular enclave surrounded by craggy caves. On the ground were more angel corpses, but some of them still had skin on their bones.

  With every essence of her being, she did not want to go down there. Every nerve in her body was warning her to turn back. But with nowhere else to go, she didn’t feel as if she had a choice.

  Hitching her breath, she froze when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Near the entrance to one of the caves, there was an angel bending over with his back to her. His wings were ragged and dusty, but the white feathers were still visible beneath the dirt.

  Maybe he knows what happened here.

  Even less eager to meet another angel, she weighed up her options. This angel was an outcast too. Maybe he could help her. Also, following this path without knowing what she was walking into seemed like a very bad idea.

  At least I can find out what I’m walking into this time.

  Gritting her teeth, she scurried down the hill toward the dirty angel before she had the chance to change her mind.

  Goosebumps popped up on her arms as she silently stepped closer to him. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something wrong here.

  She stopped a few feet away from him, listening to the slurping sounds he was making.

  Is he eating his dinner?

  Her stomach grumbled.

  I wonder if he’ll share some with me.

  She eyed his back. His robes were shredded and dark, hanging off him in tendrils as he hunched over something in his hands.

  After deciding that her hunger was more important than her fear right now, she decided that her best option was to ask for help.

  “Er, hey!” She called out to him, trying to ignore the feeling of impending doom.

  His shoulders stopped moving as he froze.

  Great, I’ve scared the shit out of hi—

  She froze in horror as he spun around with blood dripping from his open mouth. In his hands, he appeared to be holding a disembodied arm.

  Her stomach flipped over at the sight of the mauled tendons and raw flesh as the dirty angel swallowed what he’d been chewing. Bile rose in her throat at the thought of who or what he was digesting right now.

  You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, cannibals!

  She stepped back, holding up her hands as a placation. “Never mind, I’m not hungry,” she said as she backed away.

  Chills trembled down her spine as his glowing red eyes locked onto her, and a deep growl echoed from within him. He dropped the bloody arm and stood up, a glint of hunger in his eyes.

  Without waiting to see what happened next, Dora turned on her heel and ran.

  Her pulse raced as she heard his heavy footfalls behind her. Too terrified to look back, she skirted around the bodies, trying to weave her way past the caves.

  Her throat closed up in terror when another creature like the first one leapt out of a cave beside her. Its hands clawed as it reached out for her.

  Dodging sideways, she leapt over corpses, running from the creatures that were waking up in the caves around her.

  I’m fucked! There’ are too many of them.

  Glancing back over her shoulder, her heart skipped a beat. They were lurching after her like mindless zombies, and they surrounded her on all sides. There was nowhere left to run.

  Please, God. Make my angel wings work.

  She closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to imagine what it would feel like to be eaten alive.

  Why are there zombie fucking angels in Heaven anyway?

  Her eyes snapped open when she felt her wings spread out behind her.

  Thank you!

  She flashed her wings, running forward and beating her wings to launch herself out of the graveyard. She rose up in the air above the creature as they reached out to try to grab her feet. She kicked them away, rising up into the clouds and leaving the horrific monsters behind her.

  For a moment, she feared that they would follow her. Fortunately, these things didn’t seem to know how to fly as they stood beneath her howling. She watched them for a while as they attacked each other for body parts. Then she turned and flew over the desert, hoping to leave the memory of them in her wake.

  What the fuck is wrong with this place? This isn’t what Heaven is supposed to be like. Whe
re is all the peace and tranquility?

  Eight

  Down There

  “Oh, baby!” Pooey called out to the group of angels ahead of him, his hips swinging in a jaunty swagger as he made his way toward what looked like an angelic roadhouse.

  Kieron shook his head at the little demon before he frowned at the bar. It was out in the middle of the forest with no other buildings for miles. It was a wooden shack in the wilderness, complete with neon signs and a group of scantily clad angels lounging outside the saloon-style doors beneath a sign that read:

  HEAVENLY BODIES.

  “What is this place?” he asked Lucian.

  The fallen angel pondered the question for a moment, his expression confused as if he was trying to come up with a good explanation and failing dismally. “Think of it as a slice of Hell that is tucked away in Heaven. If you want to do something bad, you come here.”

  “Is that allowed in Heaven?” Kieron frowned. It didn’t look much like Hell to him.

  Lucian shook his head. “No way. This place is off the radar. If the Angel Guard found out about it, it’d be shut down in an instant. They’d probably smite it out of existence.”

  As they reached the bar, one of the angels bent down to pat Pooey on the head. “He’s so cute!” She stroked the little demon while cooing at him.

  “Hey, hands off the fur. It’s not free.” Pooey brushed her away. “Cute.” He spat out the word as he rolled his eyes.

  “Omigod he talks!” She jumped back, a sparkle of excitement in her eyes. “I want one.”

  Pooey turned to face Kieron, his eyes like slits. “I hate this place.”

  Kieron sighed when he heard Lucian snort with laughter beside him. Anticipating another bout of fighting from them both, Kieron decided to head into the bar instead of listening to it.

  He pushed open the saloon doors and walked into a room that did not meet his expectations. From the outside, the bar looked like a ropey old shack in the wilderness. However, inside it was a hive of metropolitan activity. From the stylish mahogany bar to the geometric artwork on the walls, every inch of the place looked designer.