“You’re one of his lieutenants,” Cadence said as Iron bowed again.
“One and the same. I’m not the violent type. Don’t really care for this war as it is, but it’s the only way we can give the family what they want. If it means anything, I’d rather not fight you, but…orders come before preference.”
“Let me,” Marcus growled, but Cadence stopped him with a hand on his chest.
“Don’t bother, Marcus,” he said. “We need your raw power for when we join the rest. No point in wasting it on a defense of his caliber. Alessa, get over here.”
“Yes?” Alessa asked, surprised we had willingly made her the center of attention.
“All we want is to be able to move on, but as long as this Guard is here, he won’t let us. So, can you do me a favor and ask God to take out Iron for us?”
“Why can’t I do it?” Vergil asked, but Cadence gave him a sly smirk.
“You save your energy too. Let’s see what God can do.”
“I’m liking where Cadence is going with this,” Farah remarked, bobbing her head up and down like she was grooving to some music.
I chuckled as I played the odds mentally. God was definitely somewhere. There was no debate about it - we had already established this on the island. Which meant He would hear Alessa’s prayer. If God decided that we were needed on the battlefield in any capacity, Iron would be taken out, especially if we needed to conserve our energy. I had little doubt that we could defeat Iron, but it would take more energy than we were willing to put out. Alessa’s prayers were a great option, especially since this wasn’t a test. We didn’t want to fight Iron. Not because we were afraid, but because we still felt that brotherly bond with him. So many angels on Lucifer’s side had gotten cold and reckless, but Iron, had a heart, and he wore it right on his sleeve. Why he followed Lucifer and stuck to his orders so rigidly, I couldn’t figure out.
“It would be my pleasure,” Alessa said as she closed her eyes and began praying silently. Iron scoffed but stayed where he was.
“I don’t think that’s going to work, if you don’t mind my saying so. I’ve fought many a Glory in my day. Haven’t been beaten by one yet. Not saying God don’t answer prayers – He just been a little picky lately.”
“Yes, I’m sure that’s true,” Cadence smiled, “but it’s still not up to either of us what happens here. You and your friend Lucifer forget that God is still in control of the show, no matter how much He stays behind the scenes.”
“So what happens now? We wait until God shows up?”
“No, it seems like He already has.”
“Thank you, God,” Alessa said out loud, eyes wide open, smiling Iron’s way.
“I don’t follow, frien-”
Iron was cut off as a literal house came out of the sky and smashed into him with the force of a comet. The debris and rubble whizzed past us with the force of a hurricane, but not one piece touched us. As the residue of Iron’s demise subsided, we looked above and saw about seven hundred angels flying toward the distant battle. One of them came down and greeted us, making sure we hadn’t been hurt.
He was a big, burly angel with no hair on the top of his head, but growing in abundance on the bottom half of his face. His colossal red armor signified he could only be one thing.
“Sorry about that,” the angel said. “Thought you could use some help. I recognized that Iron guy from Lucifer’s troop.”
“Thank you. We did need a hand,” Farah replied.
“How about God’s?” he guffawed, placing a hand on his large paunch. “WHEW! Sorry about that, it gets me every time. You know, cuz I’m a Godhand and all. God’s…hand. Ha ha! So, ya’ll headed to the battle?”
“On our way. Mind if we join you?” Cadence asked, extending a hand. The Godhand shook it in excitement.
“No problem. Name’s Amos.”
“Cadence. We’ll fight anywhere you need us.”
“Cadence, huh? Well, Mr. Celebrity, just make yourself useful. I haven’t gotten there yet, but I hear our side isn’t doing so well. Not worried though. I’m sure God will make an appearance soon.”
“Thank you for taking us in.”
“Sure! It’s just good to find some more folk who are determined to hold till the end.”
We quickly joined the squad of angels, silently waiting for our flight to be over so we could join the others in war. It was a scary notion, and even we were unsure of the outcome. So far, we had gotten by, but there was no telling what would happen if we were forced to face an angel like Iron on our own. What if God had not answered our prayer?
“I’m not saying I didn’t have faith or thought I wouldn’t be answered,” Alessa said, breaking my concentration. “I was just wondering…what’s the plan for when we get to Lucifer next time? I don’t think he’ll be as forgiving the second time around.”
“We have an agreement,” Vergil said. “No harm will come to us.”
How could I to respond to that statement? Sure, maybe Lucifer had said that, but he had lied before and I couldn’t bank my future upon a what-if. It was a miracle in and of itself that he had only knocked us unconscious for a short time.
“Well, I for one am glad God helped us out with Iron,” I said. “He was just a Guard but he had the potential to take out our whole team! I mean, just think, what if we have to face a Godhand next time?”
“Hey!” Cadence interjected.
“He speaks truth,” Marcus replied swiftly. “Godhand scarier. Truth hurts.”
“So what’s been happening so far? I hear we’re losing,” Cadence yelled to one of the Faithfuls nearby, changing the subject. The angel winced at the question.
“From what I heard, we’re down nine hundred angels,” the angel yelled back over the speed of our wings, “with three hundred at critical levels. We outnumber them, but we were really scattered when Lucifer took us by surprise. It’s hurt us pretty bad. We’re trying to launch a counterattack but Lucifer’s been elusive. We believe he’s camped out somewhere in the plains to the north. All we have to do is get there.”
“Is it an all-out battle? Or are there pockets where this is occurring?”
“One big battle royale for the most part. It started in the field in front of Symphony Hall but it’s spilled over into the city. Of course, the city can’t be harmed due to its metamorphic composition, but it’s still been laid in chunks all over the place. No one’s bothering to fix it yet but that’s alright. We need all the energy we can muster for the war. I tell you, it’s worse than we could have ever imagined.”
“Any sign of God in all this?”
“Besides Glories making contact, there’s no sign of Him being here or even planning on coming. He’s remaining mum on some of the more intrusive questions.”
“Thanks for the update.”
“I just hope we can make a difference at some point.”
“We will. We will.”
As soon as Cadence said the last “will,” something rocketed past our formation and slammed into Farah. Whatever it was took her with it and she screamed in more rage than fear as it carried her down to the rubbled city below…
CHAPTER 11: Battle Stations
The last thing we could make out of Farah’s departure was her gaze of determination. Whether we helped her or not, she was ready for battle. I looked back at Cadence, his face scrunched up in worry. My eyes asked the question for me, and he nodded in reply. We both knew that I had been the closest in proximity to her when she had been attacked, and we didn’t have time for all of us to go down and save every angel that was separated from the group. I knew what Cadence was thinking. The only way we were going to overwhelm Lucifer now was to beat him with our numbers. Vergil’s power, Marcus’s strength, Cadence’s endurance, and even Alessa’s prayers…they were needed. I would go to save Farah - the rest would continue ahead.
I broke from the group as Alessa cried out for me to save Farah. I felt my throat tighten, but I pursued. I didn’t know what had hit Fara
h, and I was tired of the little fighting I had already done. The most I’d ever done was in that spar against Raphael, but ultimately, that wasn’t even legitimate. And in the fight against Lucifer I had only gotten sucker-punched. Hardly a “W” in my stat card.
“Farah? Farah?!” I called out to her. I stood on the once soft and velvety flooring that adorned Heaven’s streets - it was tangled and ripped now. Chunks from broken buildings littered the streets. Craters were everywhere like they were common potholes in a major Earth city and I could barely make out what section I was in. I thought I was near the second Fellowship Hall - but I wasn’t sure.
Finally I saw Farah nearby in one of the craters, lying on her back and groaning unashamedly. I ran over to her and tried to pick her up but she pushed me away with one of her tiny hands and darted upward until she was face-level with me.
“What are you doing?” she snapped. “Why did you break from the group?”
“I came to help you.”
“I don’t need it. No offense, Lysander. But I have God. That’s all I need.”
“I’m still your teammate, and besides, I’m already here.”
“Okay, but stay back and let me handle it for now. If you see me getting too hurt, then I’ll let you know when you can jump in. Just be ready.”
“That’s not a very economical plan. I would suggest-”
“Just be ready!!!” she squeaked.
“Geez, you’re starting to sound like Alessa.”
“Sorry,” she said quietly. “I’m just mad I got hit. I saw her coming toward me but…I just didn’t move.”
“Don’t get reckless because your pride is hurt. Let me help.”
“Lysander, just trust me, okay?”
“Fine...so you saw what it was? It looked to me like a small meteor hit you.”
“It was a Guard - using the same tactic Cadence implemented on Marcus back at his house. She used her shield for extra strength to weigh me down.”
“Where is he now?”
“She is right there, up ahead, coming our way now.”
Indeed she was, and she was huge, especially for a Guard. Bigger than Cadence. She had a mean countenance with dark, almond eyes that stared directly into us. She clutched her shield, which was half the size of her body, wound it back and hurled it at us. Or more like at me. And I was too paralyzed by the object screeching toward my forehead to move. I screamed in shock as Farah reacted on my behalf, breaking through the shield and shattering it into pieces - her whole body behind one pint-sized, but very dangerous, punch. I heaved in relief and Farah grabbed the collar of my breastplate armor.
“Stay alert, Lysander. We’re in the war now. From here on out, our enemy will try to end us.”
“Right. Right,” I said, still shaken by the attempted decapitation. “Thank you.”
Farah shot up into the air with her hummingbird shuffle and hesitated before she charged at the Guard. The Guard picked up a large boulder from the ground, a former piece of a building, and manifested it into a shield. She was able to block Farah’s next punch with it, and this time, the shield didn’t break. Farah didn’t let that phase her though, as she did a backflip in the air and went for the Guard’s legs. The Guard blocked that with the shield too and then slammed it into the back of Farah’s neck. Farah plopped onto her belly and shuffled back just in time for the Guard’s shield to miss a fatal blow to the head. Farah backflipped to her feet and went back into the air, stretching out her neck as she searched for a boulder of her own.
She eventually saw one she liked and picked it up from the soft floor, hurling it at the Guard, manifesting it into a javelin at the last second. The javelin went through the shield but didn’t harm the Guard at all, who kept the shield at bay during the impact. She hurled the shield, javelin and all, back at Farah who easily dodged it. The Guard sprinted to a fallen building and started hurling boulder after boulder at Farah, shape-shifting them into shields one after the other. Farah dodged them without even trying, but she eventually lost focus, and failed to see the Guard fly behind one of the larger shields. Just as Farah dodged the first of the last three shields thrown, the Guard appeared behind her and grabbed her tiny body, stretching Farah’s arms behind her, making her painfully open for the last two shields. They slammed into her abdomen with full momentum, and she screamed horribly in reaction.
Watching from below, I could tell that Farah’s angelic pressure was decreasing rapidly. And it didn’t help when the Guard grabbed Farah by the head and chucked her into the krillic rubble below like she was a baseball. The Guard returned to the ground, but she still had a lot of energy left - she was laughing now, throwing boulders onto the pile Farah was under, just for fun.
That was too much for me. I flew forward as fast as I could to stop the Guard but she saw me coming. As soon as I was within striking distance, she hurled another shield my way, which caught me straight in the chest. I fell over into an embarrassing tumble and the Guard cackled at my attempt.
But her bullying was not rewarded as Farah burst from the pile. I thought she was going to attempt a tiny barrage with her miniature fists, but she refrained. She didn’t even bother flying. Striding on the ground toward the Guard, she walked forward like she was going to win it all in one punch, but when she got to the Guard’s feet, she collapsed and went down to one knee.
The Guard didn’t show any mercy, hitting her over and over again in the head as Farah remained motionless. It went on for too long, but I couldn’t move. It was like something was pinning me down, not allowing me to help her.
The Guard was growing impatient now, finding it impossible for Farah to be taking so many hits without going down. She got so fed up, she gathered up most of her angelic pressure, grabbed Farah’s throat, lifted her up, and slammed her charged-up fist into Farah’s baby face. Farah didn’t make a sound. Instead, she reached forward with both hands and grabbed the Guard’s wrist like she was picking up a sandwich. She squeezed lightly but the Guard shrieked in agony, letting Farah go free. Farah casually went over to the Guard, who was now on both knees and clutching her wrist like she was holding her last drop of life. Farah wiped the hair from her face, put her right wing and fist back, and then delivered both to the Guard. I didn’t even have to look to know that the Guard was unquestionably out. Farah dusted herself off and walked over to me, offering me a hand.
I chuckled and took it. She had to fly and use her whole body to pull me to a standing position.
“What happened?” I asked her. She smiled warmly at me.
“God intervened, Lysander. I was losing but I knew He would give me the victory. Eventually it got to the point that when I was in the rubble, I asked God to take away the force of her blows and I had faith that my prayers would be heard. Which it did! Now, I have a question for you. When I was under the rubble, were you too scared to help me out or did God hold you back?”
“God held me back,” I said, thinking of the force that had held me down. Her eyes smiled.
“Of course He did, because you wouldn’t let little defenseless me handle it alone, would you?”
“I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I did.”
“True. Now, let’s get back to the others. I’m sure they’re in battle by now.”
“Do you ever waver in faith?” I asked her as we flew as fast we could. Farah cast her eyes down for a second and then stared straight ahead.
“I’m not strong like Marcus. I don’t have defense like Cadence. Even with your abilities, you still have basic fighting skills. Without faith, I can barely change a building with my thoughts. My faith literally keeps me breathing, Lysander. I start doubting? I begin going unconscious. I find my vision fading and my body growing weaker. And yet, I wouldn’t trade my classification for anyone else’s, because though God may never talk to me directly, He’s right here with me, lifting me up, pushing me forward. I can feel His presence constantly – like a heartbeat. It’s faint, but it never fades. And that, keeps me resolute.”
“Do you think we’ll win this war?”
“Yes,” she said confidently.
“How do you know?”
“Because,” she turned toward me, smiling with her eyes, “if we could lose, He wouldn’t be God.”
We didn’t see the others at first, and for this I was glad. There was a massacre before us. We were too late to be at the frontline so we were forced to see the aftermath. Angels were lying dormant all over as we got closer to Lucifer’s main army. The condition of the boroughs were increasingly worse, and the sounds of agony kept getting louder. Lucifer had made sure to recruit as many Godhands, Archangels and Glories as he could, focusing on strength, power, and a strategy of limiting God’s involvement in helping the other side. Based upon the decreasing numbers on our side, it could have been said that he planned his war tactics wisely, but not so. His pride would be his undoing.
God had created each of us to be parts of a whole, complementing one another, and Lucifer had neglected this part of the equation. The Messengers were tactical, but Lucifer thought he had the war all figured out, so he determined that he didn’t need them. The Faithful could bring distinctive, game-changing elements to the table, and the Guards could protect themselves and their comrades. In his thirst for chaos, Lucifer had forgotten the importance of order and balance. He couldn’t win. Not while the rest of us were still able to move.
And it didn’t matter if the situation looked abysmal. Who cared if there were millions of angels strewn around Heaven’s floor, indisposed for an interminable amount of time? God would come through in the end. My conversation with Farah had given me new courage and I was eager to test it in my next encounter. Farah may have been a Faithful, meaning that her faith ensured her battles were constantly guided by God’s hand, but that didn’t mean that He loved me any less. Surely what He did for her, He could do for me.
We finally saw the group, but Vergil was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t bring myself to dwell on why - I had to help them. Even from a distance I could tell that Alessa was badly hurt, stooped over on one knee and clutching the back of her head with her right hand. Apparently the team had been facing two Godhands. One of them had been taken care of but Cadence and Marcus were busy focusing on the second. It was obvious that they were weary from their first fight and it was debatable whether they would win their second. Cadence’s shield was gone, and he was currently taking hits from the Godhand, covering his face and abdomen to the best of his ability, giving Marcus precious time to recover some of his energy. He would need it. The second Godhand’s angelic pressure was still very strong - they had not done much damage. It was a losing battle.
The Works of Julius St. Clair - 2017 Edition (Includes 3 full novels and more) Page 76
