“Leech, this is a waste of time. Let’s figure out a game plan. Maybe we can injure Raphael enough that he’ll have to turn and run. We don’t have to kill him.”
Leech crouched down and looked Azazel in the eyes.
“What would it take to make you help us?”
“Control.”
“Control?”
“I fight Raphael. Not you. If I reveal how to kill him, you’ll end me the second you finish him off. I want control of your body for the fight and I want all of you in the pit where I was so you can’t see what I do. That’s the only way I’ll help.”
Sol laughed.
“That’s insane. Throw him back in the pit.”
Leech shook his head.
“We don’t have any other options right now. Everyone get in the pit. Azazel and I will roll the boulder over the pit. You have my word that I won’t watch the fight, Azazel.”
Azazel started laughing. Sol grabbed Azazel’s head and kneed him directly in the nose.
“No. We’re not giving up control to that maniac.”
Blood drooled its way slowly out of Azazel’s nose. He air in loudly through his nostrils as if snorting drugs.
“I had forgot what physical pain felt like. Thanks for that.”
Sol pulled Leech aside.
“I understand that you want to kill Raphael for the good of the nephilim. I can’t let you give that psycho control, though. We’re running out of time. Raphael will break through our shield soon. Find a plan that doesn’t leave us all in that pit with that maniac in control and I’ll back your play.”
“Fine. You’re right. We can’t let him have control.”
Leech turned back to Azazel.
“Tell us how to kill Raphael and we’ll remove the shackles and set you free. You can roam freely in my mind and we won’t throw you back in the pit unless you attack one of us.”
Sol looked like he was about to object, but he nodded.
“Leech is right. You have our word. Tell us how to kill him and we’ll let you go.”
“I want control.”
Sol turned to Leech.
“Let’s just kill him. I’m tired of his nonsense.”
Azazel scrambled to his feet.
“Fine. Unshackle me and then I’ll tell you. I don’t trust that you’ll keep your word. If I’m out of these chains, at least I can try to run for it.”
Sol nodded at the nephilim. Two of them approached and removed Azazel’s shackles. He rubbed his wrists and looked around, trying to find a way out.
“We’ll keep our word. How do we kill him?”
Azazel laughed again. Sol looked like he was going to hit him, but he stopped before Sol took a swing.
“I crafted Raphael’s armor a long time ago. Your weapons won’t do much. Your magic won’t do much. I placed a weak point in the left shoulder in case I ever needed to kill him. You’ll need a weapon strong enough to pierce his armor. Do you still have your scythe?”
Leech shook his head.
“Well then… I guess… you’re fucked!”
Azazel pushed through the nephilim surrounding him and ran.
CHAPTER 56
After Shade, Lucia, and Backlash let Reaper and Lucia go, they went back to Necropolis. They killed a few angels and demons along the way so they could at least offer something to the council and pretend they had completed their training mission. When they returned, they found the entire council gone, so they decided to go back to their houses and train for their next mission. They knew it was going to take a lot to kill Muan.
Backlash decided it was time to leave his parents’ house and Shade offered him the spare room in his house. Cerberus really enjoyed having a spellcaster around. Backlash could fill his water dish without getting up, he could throw objects for Cerberus to fetch without having to touch them, and Cerberus would often pretend Shade had forgotten to take him for a walk. Backlash would then take him for a second walk. Shade and Backlash noticed an increasing number of demons and angels in the area and they would use Cerberus to help track them down and kill them.
They trained as often as they could, only taking breaks to look up spells, eat, and sleep. Shade questioned Backlash about ways to improve his ice powers, but Backlash was at a loss. After a solid week of training, Shade decided to visit Nissa. He found her house empty, but heard her hammer striking metal in Weapon’s old armory. He made his hands cold with his ice powers and then ran two fingers up her spine. She jumped and turned quickly, prepared to strike him with the hammer. Shade couldn’t help but laugh.
“Very funny, asshole. I thought there was an intruder.”
“Sorry. Couldn’t help it. What are you working on?”
Shade looked down and saw Nissa’s trench coat.
“Uh… you can give that to me if you don’t want it anymore. There’s no reason to hit it with a hammer.”
“Backlash has dropped by a few times this week. He helped me magically reinforce the coat and now I’m fusing a layer of metal over it. I’m basically turning it into armor.”
“Backlash dropped by a few times?”
Nissa grinned.
“Does that bother you?”
“Nope. I don’t give a fuck.”
Nissa’s grin disappeared.
“Right. I’m well acquainted with how few fucks you give.”
“I said I was sorry for sneaking up on you. Don’t get mad at me.”
“Wow. You’re really fucking oblivious, aren’t you?”
“About Backlash having a crush on you? No. He told me about it. I didn’t think you were into him.”
“I’m not. Not in that way.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“I just meant that… uh… that’s what I told him. I’m glad I was right.”
“Shade, I’m busy working on this. I think you should leave.”
“Why does this topic make you uncomfortable? I’m sure whatever guy you eventually do like will be really cool. It’s even fine if it’s Backlash and you just don’t want to tell me about it.”
Nissa set her hammer on a nearby table and turned to look at Shade.
“Do you think I’m attractive?”
“Sure.”
“Sure?”
“I’ve never really given it much thought. You’re my best friend.”
Nissa punched Shade hard in the gut. Shade clutched his stomach.
“I like you, you idiot! I’ve been flirting with you for years! You have to have noticed!”
Shade was still holding his stomach.
“Well?”
Shade held up one finger and tried to inhale.
“Wow. If that’s how you tell me you like me, I don’t ever want to be your enemy.”
“Get out.”
Shade grinned and held up both hands defensively.
“Alright. I guess I can’t play dumb anymore. I’ve had a feeling you were into me for a while. I’ve thought about it. I don’t think it’s a good idea to pursue it.”
“Why not?”
“Everyone I love abandons me. My parents didn’t want me. Lucia took off with Reaper and who knows when I’ll see her again. Leech and Lilith try their best to make me feel welcome, but I still sometimes have doubts. Is it just an obligation at this point? I mean I know it isn’t… but I…”
“I haven’t abandoned you.”
“And that’s why I can’t date you. I love you. If we date, I will inevitably screw it up and then you won’t talk to me or come over anymore. I just can’t deal with that.”
“So you’ve thought this out… did you actually figure out if you like me in the same way?”
“Nissa, it’s pointless. We can’t…”
“Just answer the question.”
“Fine. Yes. I’m pretty sure I’ve been feeling the same thing you are for a while now. Sometimes I can’t even help myself and I flirt back. It’s just a bad…”
Nissa pulled Shade in and kissed him. When it ended, Shade had a daz
ed look on his face. Nissa looked worried.
“I had to feel what it was like. Are you mad?”
Shade didn’t respond.
“Shade?”
“Damn it, Nissa! Why the fuck couldn’t you just listen to me and…”
Shade kissed Nissa again. They continued to kiss until Nissa gently pushed Shade away. She smiled at him.
“It was good, right?”
“Of course it was fucking good!”
Nissa grinned mischievously.
“Cool. Well now I have it out of my system. We can go with your dumbass plan of just being friends now.”
“Fuck you.”
“Hey! We haven’t even gone on a proper date yet! That’s moving way too fast, Shade!”
Shade laughed.
“Well that was even better than I thought it was going to be. Nissa?”
“Yes?”
“When this is all over and we kill everyone we need to kill, do you want to go for drinks or something?”
“That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“The drinks part or the killing part?”
“Both.”
“You’re demented.”
Nissa smiled, put her arms around Shade’s neck, and kissed him again.
CHAPTER 57
Lilith had some of Bumalin’s demons carry Coconut inside the walls of Necropolis. She tried to do the same for Selene, but Selene brushed away her attempt. She got on her feet and started walking. Once Bumalin’s demons were inside Necropolis, Lilith gave the order to the gate commander to close the gate. As they were closing the gate, a fierce looking panther ran into view with a nephilim rider.
“Who is that?”
The wall commander looked out with a telescope.
“It’s Steam, my queen. He’s riding with an unconscious demon and leading a small band of demons towards the wall.”
“Open the gate. Let them in.”
Selene tried to make her way outside Necropolis to meet her husband, but Lilith shook her head and pointed at Selene’s house.
“Go rest. I’ll deal with this.”
Selene looked like she was going to protest, but she ultimately turned around and started moving slowly towards her house. Lilith ran out to meet Steam. He looked badly beaten and was bleeding from both ears. When he saw Lilith, he hopped off the demon panther he had summoned and threw a sleeping Bumalin over his shoulder.
“My wife?”
“Selene’s will be fine. She helped me take on two major demons. Gangrene and Raven are no longer allies. They have orders to kill us. Selene is injured, but she’ll recover.”
“Fuck. Gangrene and Raven? We got hit by the angels. Raphael. Why does everyone want to kill us?”
“So you’re here. Bumalin’s alive. You brought back some demons. Where is Leech?”
“He said he could stall long enough for me to get Bumalin out of there. I was going to stay and help him, but he was right. We needed one of us to run Bumalin back to Necropolis. I was the logical choice. Leech has more experience fighting Archangels than I do. We were ambushed by angels several times along the way. Now that I’ve brought Bumalin safely back, I’m going to get him inside Necropolis and turn around. Leech will probably need my help.”
Lilith noticed that Steam also had a large cut up his left side that was still bleeding.
“You’re just as bad as Selene. You’re injured. Get inside. Go rest. I’ll go find Leech.”
“I know where I left him. I can…”
“Your demon panther knows how to get me back there. Get inside the fucking walls, Steam. Go rest.”
Lilith climbed up on the Panther’s back and turned to Bumalin’s demons.
“Welcome to Necropolis. Steam will lead you all inside. Coconut and the rest of you are already there. We can keep you protected.”
The remains of Bumalin’s forces started moving slowly towards the city. Steam grabbed his demon panther by the fur on his neck.
“We’re talking about an Archangel, Lilith. We should probably go get Selene and take him on together. The four of us. What makes you think that you and Leech fighting Raphael and his army isn’t a crazy idea?”
“Shadow appeared to save us. He killed Raven and took her scythe. We may not have a guardian angel, but we do have a guardian nephilim. I don’t know how he found us or how he knew we were in trouble, but he showed up. Shadow will protect us if it comes to that.”
Steam winced as he adjusted Bumalin on his shoulder.
“You have a lot of faith in Shadow, don’t you?”
“Always. Now get in the fucking city and stop wasting my time!”
Lilith removed Steam’s hand from the demon panther and kicked its sides. The panther took off running. Steam chuckled as he hobbled towards the city.
Leech got to his feet and drew his axe right before Raphael kicked through the green energy field surrounding Leech. Raphael tried to stab Leech with his sword, but Leech blocked with his axe. He jumped to Raphael’s side and swung with all his power at Raphael’s left shoulder. His weapon bounced off the Archangel’s armor. Raphael didn’t react, so Leech realized that he didn’t know about the weakness in his armor. He also realized that his axe wasn’t strong enough to get through the vulnerability. Leech and Raphael started circling each other.
“You wasted the energy you stole from my army. Get on your knees and I’ll give you a quick death. There’s no way you can win this fight.”
“That’s not true. Once I kick your ass enough, I’ll take your sword from you and use it to pierce your armor.”
“You won’t be taking my sword.”
Raphael attacked viciously. Leech blocked each incoming blow but was grazed by Raphael’s sword several times. Leech noticed that the scratches healed, but they took a lot longer. He was nearly out of the power he took with his parasitic touch.
“One last chance, Leech. Get on your knees and I’ll remove your head quickly.”
Raphael swung his sword with power over his head and aimed at Leech’s skull. Shadow appeared and blocked the attack with his short blade. With his other hand, he hit Raphael hard with the scythe he had taken from Raven.
“Are you really here? Or is this the vision I’m going to see before I die?”
“I’m not here for long, Leech. I’m just here to even the odds.”
Shadow handed Leech the scythe. As soon as Leech had taken it, Shadow teleported away. Leech attached his axe to his back and waited for Raphael to get to his feet.
“I bet it fucks with the collective mind of the Archangels that someone as powerful as Shadow exists. If he hadn’t taken it on himself to rid the world of Abaddon, he could kill you. He could kill the rest of the Archangels. Fuck… he could probably kill Michael. Since he is currently being tormented with a burden that never should have been his, I guess I’ll have to be the one to remove your head from your shoulders. Catch your breath, Raphael. I don’t want anyone to say this wasn’t a fair fight.”
CHAPTER 58
Shade stumbled into his house late at night, grinning like an idiot. Backlash was at the kitchen table, drinking heavily and looking over some books of incantations.
“What up, roomie? I walked Cerberus. I honestly think he’s playing us, pretending he hasn’t been walked.”
“Huh?”
Backlash looked up from the book he was reading and saw Shade’s vacant eyes and overarching grin.
“You’re back late. You get lucky?”
“Not gonna play games with you or keep secrets. You’re my friend. You should know. I made out with Nissa. It was awesome.”
Backlash stood up and clenched his fists tightly.
“What the fuck, Shade?”
“I’m sorry, Backlash. She’s not into you. We can find you a girl after we kill Muan. I’m sure it won’t be too difficult. You’re the best spellcaster in the city next to your dad.”
“No. Not what I meant. I totally made out with Nissa yesterday. She’s playing
us both!”
Shade finally left his dazed stage and immediately got angry.
“What? Are you kidding me?”
Backlash started laughing.
“Actually… I am. Just got tired of seeing that idiotic grin on your face. I’m actually way happy for you. I was starting to wonder if you realized that she was into you.”
“Thanks, asshole.”
“Hey now… I only hit on her in the first place so you would get jealous. I’m pretty sure Nissa even knew what I was doing… and she probably hoped it would work. Sit down and have a drink with me.”
Backlash conjured a mug and poured generously from the bottle next to his own mug. Shade accepted the drink and held it in the air. Backlash raised his mug.
“To the dance of tongues. May we both experience it with hot nephilim chicks many more times before we ultimately die in battle.”
Shade laughed.
“To the dance of tongues.”
They hit their mugs together and drank deeply.
“What were you working on while I was out?”
“You asked me about improving your ice powers and it’s been bugging me. It’s a sorcery power and I wanted to be able to help somehow. I started reading the records Leech wrote about his journey with Shadow and what little information we have about Abaddon, Michael, and the other Archangels. From what I’ve read so far, I think you’re further along developing your ice powers than any of them were at your age. It’s probably the combination of Michael and Gabriel’s bloodlines in you. I think that gives you more potential to take it further. My dad and Reaper are pretty good at summoning demon animals now. I was thinking maybe we could have you try to summon a demon spirit or animal inside ice.”
“Backlash, you know I’m terrible at sorcery. The only spell that comes naturally to me is ice. You just said only Steam and Reaper are good at summoning demon animals. It sounds like pretty advanced magic. Do you seriously think I can pull it off? Can you even pull it off?”
“I’ve been practicing for a few days. I’ve summoned a few small demon rats and cats for Cerberus to chase around the house. I’m thinking maybe we can start there and then I’ll help you when I master summoning larger demon animals.”
Minor Nephilim Page 19
