Minor Nephilim

by Randall Morris

  “We are four saints, recently departed. You have searched your book and found all of our names inside it. We are permitted to enter the gates of Heaven. If any of the angels attack us, you will repel them.”

  Bumalin removed his hand. Peter looked like he was coming out of a daze and then he shook his head. He looked in his book and then looked at the four demons.

  “Everything seems to be in order here. Welcome to Heaven, travelers.”

  CHAPTER 34

  “Why are all of my friends idiots?”

  Backlash frowned at Shade.

  “Hey! I’m not an idiot! I didn’t run off and try to take care of this myself. I’m asking you guys for help. We can pull it off together.”

  Nissa gave Backlash an icy stare.

  “Implying that I’m an idiot, because I ran off and tried to take care of Muan on my own?”

  Backlash really didn’t want to answer Nissa.

  “Guys, come on. He needs to die. I don’t care what justice the council thinks is appropriate. My parents sit on the council. They aren’t going to have him executed. He’s evil. I know. More than anyone, I know. Please help me.”

  Shade shook his head.

  “You realize we might have to kill innocent nephilim to get to him, right? Innocent guards who are just doing their job.”

  “Not if we plan it out right. We may have to knock a few out, but that’ll be the worst of it.”

  Nissa nodded.

  “I think we should help him and we can all go after Muan when it’s over.”

  Backlash smiled.

  “Nice. I got one of you. Shade? You in?”

  “Guys, we’re minor nephilim. I know we get lucky a lot and I have ice powers, but we’re going to run out of luck at some point if we keep putting ourselves in stupid and dangerous situations.”

  “That sounded a lot more like a Lucia lecture than anything I thought I’d ever hear you say, Shade.”

  “It’s the truth, Nissa. Breaking into a nephilim prison to assassinate a prisoner is downright stupid. I’ll help you go after Muan, but I won’t help the two of you go after Reaper. You’ll get caught and thrown in prison in the cells next to him.”

  “Fine. We don’t need your help, Shade. You don’t get to call the shots just because you have ice powers. Come on, Backlash. We’ll go figure out a plan at my place.”

  “Don’t do this, guys. It’s a really bad idea.”

  Nissa stood and walked out the door. Backlash stood and took a few steps before turning back to Shade.

  “If someone had beat you your entire life, I would help you kill them. No matter who or where they were. I don’t understand why you can’t help me with this, Shade.”

  “You are both my friends. I don’t want either of you to get caught and you’re sure to get caught. It doesn’t matter what kind of plan you come up with. The prison system was designed by your parents and by Leech and Lilith. To think you can outsmart them is…”

  “It’s not arrogance. I believe in justice. Real justice. The kind of justice that sometimes has to be delivered by an assassin’s blade. I hope you change your mind.”

  Backlash turned and walked out the door. Shade ran as fast as he could to Leech’s house. He shot ice at the lock on the door and kicked his way in.

  “Where’s Leech? I need Damnation.”

  Lilith was immediately worried.

  “He’s out. He’s the king of the nephilim. He’s generally pretty busy.”

  “You know where it is, right?”

  “I’m not just going to give it to you. Leech said he’d give it to you one day when you’re ready.”

  “I need that day to be now. I can’t explain what’s going on and I can’t even honestly tell you that I think I’m ready. I just need to scare some nephilim so that no one gets hurt.”

  “Tell me what’s going on, Shade. Right now.”

  “Please, Lilith. I can’t. I just need you to trust me.”

  “If that’s all you’re going to give me, I can’t help you.”

  “Fine. No details… but I need it to stop my friends from doing something stupid.”

  “You realize how much power that weapon has in it, don’t you? Just tell me what your friends are planning to do and I’ll stop them.”

  “Lilith, I don’t ask you for things often. I’ve always felt like I didn’t belong in your family and that mine had abandoned me so I should do everything myself. I can’t fix this on my own. I promise you that the best way to resolve this without anyone getting hurt is for me to wield Damnation. Briefly. I’ll return it when I’m done. I’m asking you for help. Please.”

  For a moment, Lilith felt like it was Shadow pleading with her.

  “You belong in my family, Shade. I hope you know that. Shadow was more like a brother to me than you’ll ever know. Even after we find a way to bring him back, you’ll still be a son to me. I was there when you were born and I’ve been there every time you’ve needed me.”

  “Are you here for me now? Can you tell me where the scythe is?”

  Lilith smiled.

  “That’s not fair.”

  Shadow grinned.

  “It was worth a shot. You taught me how to play to emotions. That’s a Lilith specialty.”

  “What will you do if I say no?”

  “I’ll try to stop them anyways, but there will be injuries… maybe even deaths.”

  “Follow me.”

  Lilith led Shade downstairs.

  “Close your eyes.”

  Shade closed his eyes and opened them when he heard a wall moving. When he opened them, he saw an opening that wasn’t there before.

  “This is where Leech stashes powerful artifacts. We’ll both go in and get Damnation. Don’t touch anything else.”

  Lilith led Shade into the room and walked directly to the dual-bladed scythe. Shade saw weapons, armor, and scrolls with spells. He didn’t recognize any of it. He saw Leech’s guns, the same guns that had been handed down to Leech from Baal.

  “When are your friends going to try to do this stupid thing you told me about?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “You’ll bring Damnation back tomorrow afternoon then. Any longer than that and Leech might realize it’s missing. Promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  Shade grabbed Damnation and felt raw power coursing through his veins.

  CHAPTER 35

  Angels flew towards Bumalin and his demons with their weapons drawn, but Peter waved them away.

  “Lord Peter, they’re clearly demons.”

  Peter shook his head dismissively.

  “I checked and their names are in the Book of Life. What demons do you know that are powerful enough to fool me?”

  None of the angels dared respond.

  “Go ahead, travelers. Enter Heaven and rest from your journeys.”

  The white gold gates slowly opened without making a sound. Razorburn looked like he wanted to fall over and sleep, but Bumalin shook his head.

  “Inside. You can sleep later.”

  Razorburn frowned and marched through the gates, stomping loudly. Monkey and Coconut hopped down and immediately started stealing anything made of gold that wasn’t bolted down. Bumalin turned back to Peter.

  “We need to speak with Gabriel. Can you have one of the angels take us to him?”

  Peter shook his head.

  “You just made it to Heaven. Relax a while. You have all the time in the world. You can meet Gabriel tomorrow.”

  Bumalin wanted to touch Peter’s head again and force him to comply with his demand, but he realized doing so in front of an entire army of angels was a really stupid idea. Bumalin entered Heaven and the gates closed silently behind him. Monkey ran up to Bumalin and showed him a golden cup filled with wine.

  “This is the best cup in existence, Bumalin.”

  “Why’s that, Monkey?”

  Monkey tilted his head back and drained the cup. The cup magically refilled itself with wine.
r />   “Where did you find that?”

  “I honestly don’t remember. We’re stealing stuff and throwing it in a sack.”

  “Stop doing that. Now. Tell your brother.”

  Monkey drank from the cup again and then laughed.

  “You worry too much, Mooballin.”

  “Mooballin? You’re already drunk? We’ve been here like five minutes!”

  “This is really good wine, Mooballin.”

  Bumalin punched Monkey in the face and knocked him out cold. He dragged him by his feet towards Razorburn. Razorburn was lying face down on the ground and Bumalin immediately worried that he had been attacked. Then he heard him snore. Razorburn had walked inside the gates of Heaven and immediately fell asleep. Bumalin dragged Monkey next to Razorburn and started looking for Coconut.

  Bumalin found Coconut trying to lift a small treasure chest onto his shoulders.

  “Hey boss! I’m making a pile of treasures I want to take home with me.”

  “You’re just as stupid as your brother. Have you not realized that we’re demons in Heaven?”

  Coconut dropped the small treasure chest and tried to come at it from another angle.

  “It’ll be fine. Peter told them to leave us alone.”

  “Peter told the angels at the gate to leave us alone. We’re inside Heaven now. What do you think will happen when an angel sees you stealing?”

  Coconut started backing away from the chest and looking at something behind Bumalin. He pointed.

  “I think we’re about to find out.”

  Bumalin turned and saw an angel with a flaming sword making his way towards them. He pointed his sword at Bumalin’s throat at the exact same moment that Coconut pulled his gun from his back and took aim.

  “How did two demons get into Heaven?”

  “Peter let us in.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  “Peter found our names in the book. Remove your sword from my throat.”

  Coconut looked over at Bumalin and Bumalin nodded. Coconut aimed and fired. The angel quickly shifted his sword and deflected the bullet. This gave Bumalin the distraction he needed. The angel was hovering over him, but Bumalin could reach his feet. He grabbed the angel’s foot.

  “We are not demons. You will protect us and take us to Gabriel.”

  For a moment, the demons thought it had worked. Then the angel started shaking his foot.

  “Unhand me, demon!”

  The angel raised his sword above his head and was about to strike when Coconut fired again. The angel looked at his chest and saw red spreading out from a small hole. He drifted to the ground. Bumalin checked his pulse.

  “Nice shot, Coconut. You got him.”

  Coconut beamed.

  “Of course we wouldn’t be in this mess if you and your brother didn’t immediately start looting the second we got in here.”

  “Where is Monkey?”

  “I had to knock him out to get him to stop stealing things. As you finally realized, Peter letting us in here doesn’t give us any protection. We’re literally in the city of our greatest enemies.”

  “Too bad you could only grab that one by the foot. I still thought you had him for a second.”

  “So did I. I’ve never messed with someone’s memory through their foot before. Good to know I need to work on it. It’s what gave you the clean shot, though. We should get back to Razorburn and Monkey.”

  Coconut tried to lift the treasure chest on his shoulders again. When he wasn’t able to lift it that high, he grabbed the handle and started dragging it.

  “Did you learn anything from what just happened, Coconut?”

  “Yup. I learned that the angels don’t like it when I steal their stuff.”

  “Maybe you should stop doing it then.”

  “I want to have a bunch of souvenirs from our trip to the heavens!”

  “That’s bullshit, Coconut. You just want a lot of gold.”

  “If I can’t take gold, what’s worth taking?”

  Bumalin paused for a moment. Coconut’s question had given him an idea. He walked back over to the angel’s corpse.

  “Help me get his armor and weapons off.”

  Coconut gave Bumalin an odd look, but did as he was told. Bumalin removed his own clothing and armor and put the angel’s armor on. He was hesitant to touch the angel’s flaming sword, as he had touched angel weapons in the past and had ended up injured. He touched the hilt. Nothing happened. He grinned.

  “It looks like I’m powerful enough that angel’s gear has no effect on me now. Steam cast some spells on me before we left and said I would be fine up here. How do I look?”

  “Like a demon in angel’s armor.”

  “Good. I don’t need it to be perfect. I just want it to get me through a brief glance without any questions.”

  “I’m not wearing that kind of stuff. It looks all… glisteny and bright.”

  “You will if I tell you to. Now let’s get back to the lazy giant and the snoring thief.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Nissa made her way over to Steam and Selene’s house early in the morning. Backlash was waiting outside.

  “Did you figure it out?”

  Backlash grinned and nodded. He waved his staff and immediately disappeared. He reappeared a few seconds later. Nissa looked disappointed.

  “It better last longer than that. Don’t tell me you spent all night practicing and you can only make us invisible for a few seconds at a time.”

  “I brought myself back. I was just giving you a quick demonstration.”

  “How long can you keep the spell going?”

  “About half an hour. I figure fifteen minutes if there’s two of us.”

  Nissa sighed.

  “That doesn’t give us a lot of time.”

  “It’s plenty of time if we do this right. What did you find in the prison blueprints?”

  Nissa spread out the prison blueprints on the ground.

  “My dad had a copy of the final version. I guess he needed it for council business or whatever. I found it in his papers. There are five rows of cells. He made notes that there are spells blocking entrance here and here. Probably cast by your dad. There are guards posted all over. He marked posts with Xs, but I don’t think we can rely on that anymore. I’m guessing your mom had changed up the posts and the routes they take by now.”

  Nissa gave Backlash a hopeless look.

  “Hey. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry. We can do this.”

  “What if Shade was right? What if we get stuck in there? Your invisibility spell will run out and we’ll have to hurt or kill the guards… or they’ll hurt or kill us. I don’t know if this is the right time to strike. Can we kill him when he’s standing trial before the council?”

  “Once Reaper fell, my dad would magically lock down the room. We would be in a much worse situation there.”

  Nissa looked away as if considering their options.

  “Are you going to turn back now, Nissa?”

  “What if I do? What will you do?”

  “I’ll try it myself. He needs to die, Nissa.”

  Nissa didn’t say anything.

  “Look… I won’t blame you if you turn back. The odds aren’t in our favor. I need justice for Fade, though. I can’t walk away. Do you still want to come with me?”

  Nissa nodded.

  “I told you I would. I keep my promises. I just hate walking into a situation like this without being able to fully plan it out.”

  “If we get caught, I’ll tell them it was all my idea and that I was controlling you with sorcery. There’s no reason both of us should go to prison if we fail.”

  Nissa frowned and shook her head.

  “I’m not some damsel in distress. I can make decisions for myself and take care of myself. I don’t need you or Shade trying to protect me. You’re going have to treat me like a warrior if we’re going to be friends.”

  “I didn’t say that because you’re a girl. I said it because yo
u’re the only one willing to help me. I would have offered the same thing to Shade if he was here. Didn’t mean to offend.”

  “No offense taken. Just a warning. I’m just as lethal as either of you guys.”

  “Noted. There’s a reason I sought you and Shade out, though. It’s precisely because you two are warriors and you take care of each other. I could have used some friends like that. If you guys had been around back in the day… maybe Fade would still be alive.”

  Nissa realized that Backlash had turned the tables on her. Instead of indignation, she felt bad for Backlash. She looked down at the prison map so she didn’t have to look Backlash in the eye. She heard him chuckle and looked up.

  “That worked? Wow. You’re easier to manipulate than I realized.”

  Nissa punched him hard in the arm.

  “Ass. I’m never going to feel bad for you again.”

  “I’m not some weak guy that you need to feel bad for, Nissa. You’re going to have to treat me like a warrior if we’re going to be friends.”

  “Don’t you throw that back in my face!”

  Backlash chuckled again.

  “Alright. My bad. To be fair, you assumed shit that wasn’t actually behind what I said. One more chance to back out, Nissa. I realize my plan is insane.”

  Nissa shook her head.

  “Nope. I have your back. We tackle this together. We’ll sneak in through the southwest corner. Based on the blueprints, we’re less likely to run into spells or patrols there.”

  Nissa rolled up the prison blueprints and put them in one of the inside pockets in her trench coat. Backlash and Nissa made their way towards the prison, careful to make no noise. They didn’t want to wake anyone. As they got closer to the southwest corner of the prison, daylight started to fade away. Backlash grabbed his staff, not sure what was going on.

  “It’s the morning. It’s supposed to be getting lighter. What the hell is going on?”

  Nissa retrieved two short swords from her trench coat.

  “Back to back. This looks like sorcery. We need to find the source.”