When everything was ready, I climbed inside, moving towards the front of the lifeboat, but she stopped me. “Oh, no. With you at the controls, you could throw us both overboard. Belial, darling, would you be so kind as to drive us out?”
The derision in his eyes was so intense I could practically taste it in my mouth like the burn of whiskey. His energy frothed around his body, so thick it reminded me of a swarming mass of bees. Still, he maneuvered himself over the side and continued lowering us into the water—which was twice as hard to do without help. We hit the surface of the ocean with a wild smack, and I noticed the knife nick my skin as a result as she had moved it back up to my neck. The air was ten times colder down here so I barely even felt it, nor did I feel the wound on my wrist. The only thing I could still feel was the wetness of the blood in my glove.
“Sit,” Mulciber ordered. “And don’t move an inch until we’re there. Get moving, Beli.”
He headed towards the front while I took a seat in the first row. A moment later, he fired up the engine and we pulled away from the ship, heading into the pitch black before us. The lifeboat’s spotlight was our only guide. I didn’t know how Belial and Mulciber knew the location of the Leviathan but I suspected their master had told them, the same as he told them about the fruit.
The MS Midnatsol disappeared from sight after a while and my hope vanished with it. The way I saw it, there was only one way out of this mess. I had tried to avoid it for so long. I wanted every available alternative. I wanted another option, something, anything, but every avenue had been exhausted. Belial showed no signs of having a plan and so it was left up to me. I had failed so many times, but I would not fail again.
“Stop. We’re here.”
We reached a huge, flat ice floe that stretched for hundreds of feet, safely hidden from the prying eyes of the ship or anyone else for that matter. Belial shut off the engine and climbed onto it, finding a craggy chunk to tie off the lifeboat on. Mulciber made me follow him further onto the ice, which looked midnight blue with the weak moonlight around us.
We walked for a bit until we reached a section of ice with what looked like some sort of insignia carved into it. I couldn’t figure out what it was until I realize I was looking at a sculpture of a creature no one had laid eyes on for centuries. Its face was a strange mix between a lizard and some sort of squid. The snout was long and ribbed with two nostrils at the end and long, curling lines coming out of it like whiskers or tentacles. Its jaws were lined with needle-like teeth. It was repulsive.
“Let’s get to it, Seer,” Mulciber said. “Take out the fruit and place it in the center. I may be in a Seer’s body, but the ceremony won’t work if I do it.”
I took a deep breath. “No.”
She groaned—an almost immature sound. “Shall I come up with another threat or would you prefer that I break another finger on this child’s hand?”
“Neither one is necessary,” I said in a quiet voice.
“I’m not going to do it. We’re alone out here. There’s no one else for you to threaten except for the two of us.”
While she was distracted, I grabbed her arm and pinned it with the tip to my chest so she couldn’t threaten Juliana’s body with it. She struggled, unable to wedge it from my grip because of her tiny hand, not even with her demon strength.
“So do what you’ve got to do. Kill me. Because I am not going to let you hurt another person.”
“You insignificant worm!” she screamed. “I will cut out your lungs and use them as candy dishes if you don’t awaken the Leviathan.”
“Do your worst. I died once. Can’t be that bad the second time around.”
Enraged, her arm flexed to drive the knife inside me, but Belial appeared behind her, grabbing both of her arms. He slammed her down into the ice, cracking it, and shouted,
“Now! Exorcise her!”
I dropped to my knees, drawing a cross in the air and chanting the incantation frantically in Latin. “In nomine Dei, proferres uirgo!”
She roared, unable to move with Belial holding her down. I raised my voice until it echoed through the clearing, bouncing off the frozen corridors surrounding us. Juliana’s body arched upward once, twice, writhing as Mulciber’s black soul tore from it inch by inch. At last, a dark shape rose from the child’s body and dissipated into mist, proving that she had been sent back to Hell where she belonged. Juliana shuddered a final time and went limp. I checked her pulse, relieved to find her alive.
Without thinking, I threw myself into Belial’s arms. He held me close, saying nothing, because he didn’t really need to. I could feel the tears pouring out of my eyes, carving heated ridges in my frigid cheeks.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for saving her.”
His hand drifted down my side, stroking me in comfort. “You’re welcome.”
I started to draw back, but he wouldn’t let go. His arm wandered to my left hand as if he were going to hold it, but then something else happened. I felt something round being pressed against my palm, the one still stained with blood, and then he laid it on the ice behind us. I opened my eyes only to find that he had slipped the fruit out of my coat pocket and placed it in the Leviathan’s mouth with my fingers around it.
No.
Please God, no.
I tore away from him, scrambling for the fruit, but in an instant, it sank below the ice into the water below and disappeared in a rush of bubbles. My breath turned into panicked gulps of air as I knelt there in the dark, unable to believe what had just happened. Belial stood up. I stayed where I was, paralyzed.
“Why?” I whispered.
He met my gaze. There was something mournful in his eyes, and yet there wasn’t. I couldn’t find a word for the way he was looking at me. It just existed somehow. His lips parted and I almost didn’t hear his reply because it came out so hushed.
“It’s who I am.”
Chapter 36
Jordan
THE GROUND BENEATH my feet rumbled like there was thunder trapped underneath it, but I couldn’t tell if it was really happening or if I were hallucinating that my world was crumbling. The worst had finally happened. All of my fighting, all of my sacrifices, all of my pain, meant nothing now because I had failed. A hollow spot yawned and reached outward from inside me. Despair filled my veins and sucked me down into its clutches.
Faintly, I realized I might have been slipping into shock, but then Belial knelt and swept up Juliana, shoving her into my arms. “Take the child and go. It won’t be long before the Leviathan emerges.”
I raised my tearstained eyes, knowing that he could see both the sorrow and the hatred in them as I looked at him. “What do you care? It’s the end. She and I are both about to die anyway.”
His expression hardened. “Leave this place, Seer. It would be a shame for all of your hard work saving my daughter to go to waste.”
I didn’t want to believe him, but he was right. I had gone this far to protect one child. It would make no sense to let her die now. My legs shook but held as I stood up, raising my voice over the sound of the ice cracking around us.
“I hope it was worth it, Belial. If I live through this, I swear that I will spend every waking moment of my life finding a way to destroy you.”
He stepped close, his eyes piercing, his voice heavy with emotions that I would never understand and never care to understand again. “I would have it no other way, my pet.”
A kiss burned on my lips seconds before he shoved me away. I ran for the lifeboat, firing up the engine and speeding away just as the ice floe ripped apart. I never looked back, squinting through the inky darkness to catch sight of the Midnatsol.
When the cruise ship reappeared in my spotlight, I rode up beside it and touched the link in my ear. “Gabriel?”
He didn’t answer. Then, I heard the unmistakable whoosh of wings and then the boat rocked to the side as he landed behind me, the sniper rifle slung over his broad back. His eyes immediately snapped to Juliana’s mo
tionless form on one of the seats.
“She’s alive,” I said.
“I know. I overheard. Everything.” The last word came out accusatory and it hurt. He probably hadn’t seen what happened and thus it made him suspicious. He was disappointed in me. I had never felt that from him before, not in person. Shame curled around me like a suffocating blanket, but I shoved it aside.
“Where’s Michael?”
“On the deck, still trying to fight off the blood spell. Come.”
He offered his hand. I picked up Juliana and he wrapped one arm around me, launching into the air. He flew us to the other side of the ship, landing a few feet away from where Michael was, still on his hands and knees, trying to break the spell.
I handed Juliana to Gabriel and then ran to him, lifting my hand just outside of the circle. “Untie the bonds of blood once made and walk the world again.”
The eerie red imprint of my palm on his chest disappeared. He let out a gasp as the spell vanished, releasing him. I caught him before he could collapse and buried my face in the side of his neck. I couldn’t look at him, not now, not after what I’d done.
“Jor,” he wheezed, trying to catch his breath. “The Leviathan…?”
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m so sorry. I tried to stop it, but I wasn’t strong enough.”
He straightened, pulling away, and cupped my cheek in his hand. “We’re still here. That’s what counts.”
He stood, shaky at first, and then found his footing. “Get Juliana to a doctor and then get the hell out of here.”
I frowned. “I’m not leaving.”
He sent me a harsh look. “Now is not the time to be unreasonable.”
“I woke the damn thing up. I’m not going to let you clean up the mess alone.”
“What are you going to do, Jordan? Use your vast arsenal of rapier wit on it?”
“There’s got to be a way to stop it—”
“Yes, it’s called a war.”
“Excuse me,” Gabriel interrupted. “But we haven’t got all night with the Apocalypse brewing and whatnot. Jordan, get this child medical attention and you can continue arguing after we’ve saved these people.”
I tore my gaze away from Michael, forcing myself to listen to reason. “Alright. Keep the link open so I know where you are. And be careful.”
I gathered the little girl in my arms as Gabriel snorted. “A little late for that, I’m afraid.”
“That’s never stopped you before.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Point taken. Now get moving, Amador.”
I hurried away, my footsteps pounding almost as loud as my heartbeat. Once more, I found myself running to save someone I had put in harms’ way.
Bad habits die hard.
Michael
* * *
“WHAT’S THE PLAN?” Gabriel asked, fixing his arctic stare on me rather than in the direction of the oncoming threat. So far, all I had heard was the ice cracking apart. I knew things wouldn’t stay quiet for long. They never did.
“Sink the ship.”
“What?”
“Fly down and punch a hole in the side, somewhere with the lowest risk of casualties. That’ll force them to evacuate the passengers. They’ll head back to the nearest town and at least they’ll have a head start. Besides, less witnesses means less mess to clean up if we make it out of this thing alive. I’ll gather the troops and strategize.”
“What about Jordan?”
I hesitated. The two sides of my soul were pulling in opposite directions, and it scared me. Maybe the angelic part had been a soft still voice that I hadn’t realized was getting louder over the past few weeks. Now that voice was like a bullhorn. He wanted to get rid of her because she was a distraction, my Achilles’ heel, the permanent thorn in my side. I couldn’t fight as well when I knew she was in trouble. But the husband in me knew it wouldn’t be right to remove her from the equation just because she was human. What right did I have to stop her from trying to help? After all, this wasn’t just on my head—it was on the both of us.
“We’ll worry about that later,” I said finally. “Go.”
Gabriel gave me a curt nod and hopped over the side of the ship, his golden wings stretched to carry him on the wind. I shrugged out of my cumbersome parka and then closed my eyes, concentrating until my own wings sprouted from my back.
I leapt off of the deck and soared towards the place where I could feel an unstoppable power bubbling just beneath the surface of the water. I found a nearby ice floe and perched, scanning the spot where the creature would rise. Presumably, Belial had gone down below to assume command of the beast.
I remembered reading the report on the previous battle with the Leviathan. I had deployed my best angels to take care of the job because it would be tactically improbable for me to intervene. If I had gotten dragged into Hell, someone else would become the new Commander, but back then none of my soldiers were quite ready for that kind of responsibility. Now, things were different. If the unthinkable happened, someone could ensure the safety of Heaven. Someone more worthy than me.
I heard the sound of metal crunching in the distance and knew that Gabriel had followed orders. I closed my eyes and ascended to the astral plane. The cold night of the Arctic Circle disappeared. I opened my eyes to a field of white and thousands of angels armed to the teeth, waiting for my command. I stood on the crest of the hill, dragging my gaze across them.
“Soldiers,” I said, slipping on my most authoritative voice. “Once again, I ask you to lend me your metal. Some of you may have heard rumors. Unfortunately, they are true. The Leviathan has been awakened and is threatening the safety of the people we are charged with protecting. Many of you have served with me before so you know what to expect, but some of you do not. The Leviathan is unlike any other creature in God’s creation. It is the living embodiment of evil. It is not just a monster. Its mouth is the gate to Hell, meaning that anything from the world of the damned can come through at any time. Your task will be containment. Gabriel, Raphael, and I will concentrate on sealing its jaws while you make sure that none of the entities escaping the Hellmouth are able to claim an innocent life. I have faith in each of you. I know that the odds are stacked against us, but I have never seen a more formidable, honorable force in this universe or any other one. I want you to go down there and show that demon what the true power of Heaven is like. Do not give that piece of filth the satisfaction of killing even one of you. Understood?”
Thousands of voices spoke in unison. “Yes, Commander.”
I lifted my hand. Seconds later, my sword came flying down. I gripped it and the silver armor flowed down my arm, over my chest, across my back, until I was completely covered. It solidified into metal that bore the markings of my most important battles in history—of demons and monsters falling before my blade. The pieces were lightweight and separated at my joints for maximum flexibility. The helmet left only the center of my face visible. I only wore the ensemble in the direst of times, but it felt like slipping into a comfortable pair of jeans and t-shirt. It felt right.
I allowed a smirk to rest upon my lips.
“Wreak havoc, my friends.”
In a flash, I returned to my body on Earth, which had also been outfitted with my sword and armor, and looked up at the sky. Huge grey clouds had formed in my wake, lightning slashing the black with white, thunder crashing like great cymbals. Seconds later, angels poured out from the billowing mists of the clouds, some of them choosing to hover in the air to wait for the Leviathan to surface, others taking spots on the icebergs nearby.
Not long afterward, Gabriel and Raphael came to stand with me, one on either side, both decked out in their warrior garbs—gold and bronze, respectively.
“Do you think we can win this?” Raphael asked.
“Doesn’t matter what I think,” I said. “We don’t have a choice.”
Just then, the last bubbles in the water of the clearing stopped. All I could hear was my own
breathing and the sound of thousands of wings flapping. The clouds slid aside, pouring moonlight across the placid sea. A low sound emanated through the clearing, the kind that made my bones hum inside my body. The average person would have thought it was a whale, but I knew better. It was the Call.
The Leviathan’s head burst from the water first. It was about half the size of the Midnatsol—over sixty-five meters in length and about half the width. The top of its skull looked like a lizard; it had black and green scales rather than skin, and two enormous yellow eyes with pupils like slits. Its upper jaw was laced with gigantic razor-sharp teeth around the ridges of its gums, but that was just protection. The inside of its mouth was another matter entirely. Thick, slimy pink tentacles burgeoned from its throat like a second mouth with a sickening, pulsating black hole at the center. This was where Lucifer had hidden his greatest treasure—the only other entrance to Hell besides the Demons’ Door. Old Scratch himself could no longer walk the earth, but that didn’t mean his flunkies couldn’t.
The Leviathan’s neck was covered in poisonous spines that led down to its body, which was easily four hundred feet in length from chest to tail. Its four limbs were long and powerful, ending in webbed feet with deadly claws at the ends.
Belial stood on the creature’s forehead, a dripping wet pale beacon in the night. His feet were firmly planted and he held an antenna in each gloved hand, feeding his thoughts directly into the Leviathan as they were now linked.
Fully risen, the Leviathan bellowed a hoarse, unearthly growl that I knew would echo for miles and send chills down the spines of all who heard it.
I gripped my sword as the familiar rush of adrenaline pumped through me. At long last. War.
“Well done, Commander,” Belial called out mockingly. “You did not disappoint. Your armada is impressive. I look forward to slaughtering them all.”
I smiled. “I told you I’d enjoy sending you back to Hell, demon. Today I get to keep my word.”
I raised my sword, lifting my voice so my soldiers could hear the declaration. “Attack!”
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