“What should we do, Lysander?” Farah asked me. I was taken aback by her words. Why was she asking me for help?
“Why don’t you do the same thing you did with the Guard?”
“Faith doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t rely on past experiences and things you can see. It’s pure belief. Doing the exact same thing, just because it helped once, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work again.”
“Or are you just losing faith?”I asked her. She laughed lightly and grew silent for a moment.
“Well, I’ve never faced a Godhand before.”
“Neither of us have, but it looks like they have one under their belt already. We should get down there and help with the second.”
We hurled toward them just as Cadence fell to the side in a slump, having finally taken too many blows. Marcus’s eyes lit up in a blaze and with every ounce of power he could muster, he slammed a fist into the Godhand’s chest. The Godhand stumbled back a little bit, but Marcus, despite having only minimal power, kept coming. He wailed on his opponent like he was turning grapes into juice, and with one last, weak heave and a push, the Godhand toppled over and didn’t get back up. Cadence began laughing hysterically as Marcus lifted him up. They gave each other high-fives and hugged Alessa, almost a little too tightly. Together, they had taken down not one, but two Godhands. Not a feat to sniffle at. With Cadence letting the second Godhand waste energy, Marcus was able to finish him for good.
But even I knew they probably couldn’t survive another encounter. Alessa couldn’t even speak, she was so weak, and Marcus and Cadence were barely able to stand, smiling through their significantly depleted energies.
“That was intense,” I said to Farah as we slowed our speed. The battle was over, so there was no need to hurry.
“I wish I had gotten the chance to fight a Godhand,” she said, envying the others’ victory.
“You’ve never fought with Marcus, even for fun?”
“No, he loves me too much to spar with me. He refuses whenever I ask.”
“He sure didn’t care about that when you beat him in the arm wrestling competition.”
“That’s because he thinks I cheated.”
“Oh, I get it,” I said. Cadence waved us over. Farah and I landed and stared in awe at the two defeated Godhands, lying in an Olympic pool-sized crater.
“You guys okay?” Farah asked. Cadence nodded weakly.
“Glad to see you survived,” Cadence said. “In case you’re wondering, Vergil went on ahead. We figured he was needed more on the frontline.”
“So you don’t care if he gets more credit?” I asked him slyly.
“Don’t care,” Marcus said, and Cadence nodded in agreement.
“After what we just accomplished, he can have the glory. I’m just happy we contributed. I knew Lucifer was wrong about us.”
Right at the end of Cadence’s speech, something the size of a boulder crashed into him, sinking him deep into Heaven’s floor. We all flew back in shock as we realized that it was not a piece of rubble from one of the buildings, but another Godhand, and he was bigger than either of the previous two. Cadence was finished.
Marcus stepped back, eyes wide in both anger and fear. No matter how much bravado he might try to show, we all knew, including the Godhand himself, that he had no energy left. He needed time to replenish his angelic pressure - and that was where we would come in.
Farah didn’t play around. Zipping past us like a dragonfly, she immediately punched the Godhand in the face. He fell over like a falling tree and timbered to the ground, simultaneously giving Farah her first Godhand victory. Our jaws all dropped in unison. Farah rubbed her fist vigorously and we went over to help Cadence - but we had no time to assist him. This was war, and Lucifer’s angels were taking advantage of any weak angel they saw.
Farah was a victim of this, as yet another Godhand decided to drop in, seeing her weakened angelic pressure and small frame. Farah wasn’t afraid and met the intruder head-on, but like she had stated earlier, faith didn’t mean a situation would always play out the same way.
The Godhand caught Farah in mid-flight and threw her into the ground, proceeding to stomp her into a crater, kicking up rubble all around her. I flew to stop him, but Marcus beat me to it. Giving it his last, he hit the unaware Godhand in the throat and followed with an uppercut to the jaw. The Godhand was knocked unconscious instantly but Marcus fainted on impact and I barely managed to catch him. He glanced at me, smiling for the first time, and then went unconscious. Using a substantial amount of energy, I half-dragged, half-carried him with me to inspect Farah who I found curled up in a fetal position, still in the crater. She had given her very heart and soul in the fight.
As I thought about Cadence and Alessa, who were awake, but paralyzed - I felt a rushing wind go past me. When I looked up to follow the breeze’s trail, I saw Vergil, standing on the other side of the crater. He still held a sword in his hand, and his armor and angelic pressure were unscathed. I could only imagine how many of Lucifer’s angels he had “slain.”
“Vergil,” I whispered and he looked at me, a concerned look on his face. “What’s going on at the frontline? Are we winning?”
“No, not yet,” he said, inspecting Farah, running a finger down a crack in her weak armor. His demeanor was noticeably serious, and his stance was rigid. He had seen more war than we had and it was beginning to take its toll. He was turning from an uncertain Archangel into a formidable, battle-hardened warrior. His face was stoic and void of emotion.
“Vergil, are you okay?”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for the group. I sensed Cadence and Marcus losing against the Godhand so I rushed back as fast as I could, but there were too many of Lucifer’s army in the way and I got sidetracked. This war…it’s too brutal, Lysander. Any time one of Lucifer’s angels takes one of us down, any time we decide to show a bit of mercy - they take full advantage, hurting us long after we’ve blacked out. There are some angels who will be out of commission for millennia…But I did meet up with Michael, the leader of our army. He’s also an Archangel. And he says that once we stop Lucifer, it will all be over, so we’ve slowly been making a path to him. All we need to do is break through.”
“How long will it take?”
“No telling, but I haven’t lost an ounce of angelic pressure. I intend to exhaust myself completely, trying to end this once and for all. I’m going to drill through the last of Lucifer’s protection and strike him down.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said. “I’m still fresh. I can help.”
“Lysander, I don’t know what we will face up there. There could be a line of Archangels guarding Lucifer.”
“Then I can distract them,” I said firmly. “I’m not useless. All I’m asking is that you show me the same trust I showed you.”
Vergil smiled from a corner of his mouth.
“Okay, Lysander, I’ll be honored to have you by my side.”
“I’ll come too,” Cadence groaned, coming alive. I rushed to his side and saw his armor flicker disturbingly.
“You’re hurt,” I said. “It’s best if you stay back.”
“I know you’re not going to force me to stay here after that speech you just gave. I can also be a distraction.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“If we don’t give every ounce of energy we have now, we may never get another chance. This is it, Lysander. There are no second chances.”
“He comes too,” Vergil decided and I didn’t bother arguing. I helped Cadence to his feet.
“Can you fly?” I asked him.
“Can you stop worrying?” he asked me, chuckling as he pushed me away lightly.
“Not to sound offensive,” Vergil began, “but I’m going to be flying at full speed, plowing through angels as I go. I don’t plan on stopping, no matter what happens.”
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Cadence said.
“Alessa, are you okay watching Marcus and Farah?” Ver
gil asked her. “I can see you’re hurt but they definitely can’t defend themselves.”
“I will pray to God for their protection,” she said weakly, “and for yours.”
Vergil gave one last grin and took off, light years away before we even realized he had left. Cadence and I lifted off like rockets to follow him. We couldn’t catch up to him, but we stayed true to the path he laid before us – fallen angels dropping out of the air like a jet stream, some still awake but stuck in a gyrating spin from the level of force Vergil had exerted upon them.
Somehow, one of them managed to grab Cadence’s leg as we sped along, pulling him far behind. I slowed my speed to help but Cadence already knew what I was doing.
“GO ON!” he screamed as the Glory dragged him down below. “BE A VOICE OF REASON!”
I swallowed my instinct and went after Vergil, determined to catch up. Past the city and the broken homes was the first ring of Heaven – the mountains and the plains. I had never been to this side of the ring so some of the landscape looked foreign. Somehow I found it fitting that Lucifer would set up his camp on the side closest to the black hole. Maybe if things got sticky, Lucifer would have an easy escape route.
I couldn’t see Lucifer’s army, and the area past the angels’ homes was eerily quiet. With a trail no longer left for me, I had to figure out Vergil’s path on my own. After a minute, I took a chance on the gargantuan mountain towering a few miles to the north. My database told me there was a massive expanse beyond it, large enough for an army. That was as good a guess as any.
I flew up the mountain that I assumed Vergil had ascended, keeping my wings tucked behind me for optimal climb. I made it to the top, where a platform stood, with half-broken pillars encircling it. It wasn’t a very big platform, only about a mile wide in diameter. But in the middle, radiating brightly, was Lucifer himself, extending his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. I hid behind one of the pillars to watch, carefully watching my step and staying silent. Vergil was glaring at him, both hands on his sword, ready to strike. Lucifer didn’t show any sign of fear, for in the midst of peril he was performing his most dangerous technique: talking.
CHAPTER 12: More Like Thunder
“Are you going to strike down someone this defenseless?” Lucifer asked pretentiously.
“You need to be stopped,” Vergil responded flatly. “We need to stop this war.”
“You’re afraid, because of what you see around you,” Lucifer said, “but when the war is over, there will be no more need for fighting. Why do you think God had everyone learn about combat when they were born? It’s because He knew this day would come. He was preparing you for His absence, preparing you to fight for yourselves and stop the blind angels that follow God without cause. He wanted you to take up arms with me.”
“HE PREPARED US TO FIGHT YOU!” I screamed from behind one of the three pillars at the platform “entrance.” Lucifer extended his neck to see who had given the retort.
“Lysander? Is that you? Still yelling out things from behind a cover I see…tell me, where are your comrades? Weren’t there more of you?”
“They’re out fighting your army,” I said, my voice straining as I stepped from behind the pillar, “but we managed to find the time to come stop you.”
“Stop me? You mean like last time?” he chuckled.
“We will win,” I muttered. My words were shaky. I wasn’t sure why, but he was a lot scarier this time. It wasn’t his stature, but the foreign aura he was emitting. It was…cold and frightening. I felt a lethal danger seeping out from his spirit, and it let me know that if I engaged him in battle, he intended to wound me deeply. He was still glowing like he always did, but it was a false warmth, like the sun shining high in the sky on a bitter, cold day. Something was off about him.
“I could end you both right now,” he said with assuredness. Almost as if to prove his point, a Faithful flew down from the sky and tried to stab him in the back. Lucifer easily struck him down. In the same breath, he continued speaking. “But where is the profit in that? There’s a reason why our paths keep crossing.”
“I thought you said we were clowns,” I spat at him. An injured look appeared on his face.
“Anger was necessary to put a fire under you all. Insults guaranteed that you would come after me. And I needed this. I needed you…and your unity on my side. Everyone is so divided, and this conflict has been going on since long before you came. I had to make it seem like I was the enemy, so you would fight on Heaven’s behalf, and solidify your teamwork.”
“That doesn’t make sense…”
“Do you know that I wasn’t always what I am now, that in the past-”
“What are you talking about?” I interrupted, throwing up my hands. Lucifer didn’t budge.
“How many teams do you see in Heaven? You might have heard of a few, but I bet you haven’t actually met one yet - because they’re rare. You see, everyone is such an individual, but your group is united, so much so that you could accept an Archangel, a far superior being as an equal, and make him feel as such. We need that kind of unity in Heaven, so I used you. I had angels announce the defeat of Rufus in the streets. I had you lose by my hand so you would seek revenge, but I did not put you out of commission. I needed you to show Heaven that no matter what, one could bounce back, that somehow you had survived a fight against Lucifer himself! The other angels would love you even more and applaud your tenacity! They would line up to be a part of your group and take in your words like hungry baby birds. All of this elaborate planning - so that when we talked here and you finally came to my side, all of Heaven would rejoice and put down their weapons - seeing their champions choosing the better way. Don’t you see? With you as our poster child, they will realize that we are not to serve God who is cold and distant - an individual…but me, who will usher everyone into my presence and unite all of Heaven as one!”
“No…you’re confusing me,” I said. Something was wrong. I could feel it. I could feel it.
Suddenly, a rumble sounded off in the distance, like a thunderstorm on the horizon. Lucifer’s aura lit up, and his incredibly long wings began to quiver.
“There He goes,” he seethed. “I was wondering when He’d show Himself.”
“Who?” Vergil asked.
“God, that’s who. It’s His way of announcing to me that He’s coming, and there’s no telling when He’ll arrive…don’t you see? This is the moment. It all comes down to your group. If He gets here and ends me, without your consenting to join and unite us all, He will win. How does that make you feel? Knowing that you all would have fought for nothing? That you could have turned Heaven into the sanctuary of joy and content that it is supposed to be, but instead you chose to uphold its cruel neglect? How will you survive, when God throws us back onto the islands as punishment? Join me, and we will make Heaven a better place.”
“I don’t understand,” Vergil stated. “You said that you served God more than anyone. How can you be against Him?”
“I did, Vergil,” Lucifer lamented, “but if you had served God for as long as I have, and saw how nothing ever changed, you would be frustrated too. Now we see the light. If I serve God the most, and He never shows His presence, even to me, then what hope is there for all of you?”
“But that’s wrong!” I screamed as Lucifer cautiously put a hand on the hilt of a new sword, lying in its sheath.
“Wrong? Don’t be naïve. It’s only wrong because God decides what’s right and what’s wrong. And if God is wrong, then His decisions are wrong. Don’t you see?”
“No…” I was getting confused again. “You’re wrong.”
“What will you do if you become God?” Vergil asked - his tone low and submissive.
“Share warmth and goodness with everyone, of course. I will let my presence be in constant supply. But first, I will end this war, and ensure that even the angels who sided with God are nursed back to health. They are not to be hated. They are just confused like our good friend, Lysander
.”
“Then that’s all I needed to hear,” Vergil said. “I will join your cause.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was this what my database called a dream? An illusion? This couldn’t be real…Vergil could not have just switched sides.
“VERGIL!” I shrieked, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him close to me. “What are you doing?”
“Joining him, Lysander. He’s right. Didn’t you listen to his words? We are to be the voice of reason for the rest of Heaven’s host. We are to convince them of how right Lucifer is and end the war, not because of who we are, but because of the way we connect with one another. Our unity needs to spread throughout all of Heaven.”
“Voice of reason…” I trailed off. Those were Cadence’s last words. He had known that our greatest battle with Lucifer would not be physical, but of a psychological kind. He had wanted me to be the guiding cry heard in the wilderness, to show…Vergil the path? Lucifer? I was so confused, I could barely see. I tried to hold on to my conviction and to what I felt in my heart had to be right, but my mind still tingled over Lucifer’s words. Lucifer had made sense, but what was it about his message that kept me from being fully persuaded? And how could I be a voice of reason to either of them when I didn’t know what was the right path myself?
“Lysander,” Lucifer said softly. “We need you too. We can’t do this alone. Search your tactical mind. You know that what I’m saying makes sense. If you don’t join us, then we will have accomplished nothing. We will all just go back to being divided again. And all of us will go back to the island, just like when you were born.”
The Works of Julius St. Clair - 2017 Edition (Includes 3 full novels and more) Page 77
