by P. K. Tyler
Even Jacek sniffled as though fighting off tears. Nik glanced at Vai to find she'd turned back around and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.
They had all lost so much. Ma and Dika. Father Losado. And now, Adel. He felt his own tears start to fall as he held Zeph for a precious stolen moment to grieve.
Nik usually reserved prayers for those moments when he faced demons, but, for the first time in as long as he could remember, he prayed. Please let Adel's soul find the peace Asmodeus swore to keep from her. She deserved at least that.
Zeph took a deep breath that shuddered through him, then he sat up and wiped his face clean. Words escaped Nik. The only ones he could think of were, “I'm so sorry, Zeph. She didn't deserve any of that.”
He only nodded, that flat, dead stare returning to his beautiful green eyes. Nothing would ever be the same for them. Nik had long ago accepted that his life would never come close to a happily ever after. He wished he could have saved Zeph that cruel moment of clarity. He gently gripped Zeph's jaw and turned his face toward him, making him meet his eyes. “We have to take out Belial. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have gotten caught up in all this.” Nik held his breath, hoping Zeph wouldn't argue that it was Nik's fault. He could have, and, in a way, he'd have been right. If Nik had just stayed away from Zeph or hadn't been born a Sin Eater, born with the Blood of Christ running through his veins, evil would never have come calling this close to home.
But the time for apologizing for who he was had passed. This was who he was born to be. It wasn't a choice. He couldn't choose not to be a Sin Eater any more than he could choose not to be attracted to men.
But he would understand if Zeph resented him for Adel's death. Even if it killed him.
Nik let out the breath he'd been holding, still waiting for Zeph's answer. He would fault someone for Adel's death, but where would he cast the blame? On Nik, or on the evil who took it upon themselves to intrude on the world of man?
Zeph blinked slowly, as though waking up. His shoulders slumped, but he nodded. “We have to take out Belial.”
He echoed Nik's words back to him, and Nik let out his breath in relief. The voice may have been hollow, but the certainty it conveyed was enough.
“Vai, I'll go first. Draw him closer.”
“That’s a terrible idea, you’re still hurt,” Vai said.
“I’m the one he’s going to want.”
“No,” Zeph interrupted. “I’m the one he’ll want. I killed Asmodeus and whatever he meant to Belial, it was more than just another demon to him. He called Adel ‘Mother’. He’s going to want the person who killed her.”
“Zeph, you can’t...”
“Why? Because I’m not a Sin Eater? I think I’ve proven I can do what needs to be done.”
Nik started to protest but Jacek turned in his seat and spoke first. “He’s right. The beast will want revenge now, above all else. That’s how they are wired. It’s the part of them that is so much like us. He wants what we all do. Revenge for those who have been taken from us. The priest is right. It has to be him.”
“I’ll be close, right there with you,” Nik said and took Zeph’s hand. “When Belial attacks, you come out swinging. Jacek,” he turned to the holy warrrior, “we'll back him into the church. If we can keep this fight contained, and out of the public eye, that'd be best.”
Outside, brilliant streaks of reds and oranges flew through the rapidly approaching dawn. The meteor shower was uncannily beautiful, and, on another day, Nik would take the moment to revel in the simple perfection of it. But the streets would be busy soon. In fact, unless he was mistaken…
“Wait, what's today?”
Vai pulled herself together and answered, but her voice came out thick, heavy. “Saturday. Why? You got a hot date tonight?”
Nik felt the horror strike his heart, his soul. “Oh, God. The boys. They come over to shoot hoops on Saturdays.”
Zeph gripped his arm painfully hard. “Nik, we have to kill Belial before those kids get here. He'll slaughter them all.”
“I know,” Nik gently pulled Zeph's hand into his own. “We have to go now. When he gets close enough to attack, you two jump him. We'll… fuck… I don't know. We'll cut his damn head off.”
Jacek scowled. “We lost our weapons in the scuffle at the fubar.”
Vai gasped. “The dust.” She turned to Nik. “The Blood of Christ dust bombs. You and Zeph both have plenty of those. If we pelt him with enough of them...”
Nik nodded. “Okay, that could work. It’s at least worth trying before he peels off our skin and eats our entrails.” He offered a forced smile at the joke that fell flat even to his ears. “Everyone ready?”
Zeph, Vai, and Jacek all nodded.
Zeph opened the door and helped Nik out of the car and together they shuffled toward the church, playing up his weakened state. Only a few steps from the car and toward the church, his headache disappeared and so did the nausea.
Belial was coming. Fast.
“Get ready,” he whispered to Zeph.
He turned in time to see enormous black wings whip open and flap, lifting the demon into the air.
“Shit!”
In a smooth motion, Belial flew like a bullet through the air and landed on his feet behind Nik and Zeph. Overhead, a white streak slashed through the last visible stars.
Vai and Jacek flung open their car doors just as Belial punched Nik in the back, flinging him forward several feet.
Nik landed on his face, and twisted around, grimacing at the agony between his shoulders and the radiating pain from the still healing wound in his arm.
Belial roared and swiped a massive, clawed hand at Zeph, who had retrieved several dust bombs and held them in each hand.
Zeph flung the dust bombs at close range into Belial’s face as Vai leaped onto the beast’s back, tearing at the dark feathers covering his wings. Wounds opened up where each feather had been plucked. Black ichor spewed into the pre-dawn light like an ink blot painting. The holes left behind healed almost immediately. As fast as she could pull out his feathers, they grew back.
The demon hauled back a massive hand and swung at Zeph again, this time catching him in the stomach, his thick claws rending deep grooves in the priest's flesh.
Jacek let out a battle cry that sent chills down Nik's spine, but all he could see was Zeph; his arms folding automatically across his stomach. Stumbling backward, bumping into the car. Sliding down against it and struggling to lay on his back.
Nik cried out and crawled toward Zeph. He reached his side just as Zeph's arms went slack. Blood poured out of the wound in his stomach. Nik nearly retched at the sight of viscera shining in the early morning light.
He screamed and pressed his hands against Zeph’s wounds, blood spilling over his fingers faster than he could ever hope to staunch the flow. His fear overtook him and he was heedless of the battle going on merely a few feet away from him
Nik felt Zeph move beneath him, still breathing. Still alive. He unlaced his fingers from where they covered Zeph's stomach, but saw only deep gashes where he had sworn he'd seen intestines.
He'd live, but only if Belial died before he could finish Zeph off.
Nik wouldn't let that happen. He took a deep breath and placed his hands over the wound. “Hold it tight, keep pressure on it. I won’t let you die.”
Jacek delivered a few blows to Belial's face, but he they did no real damage. Belial on the other hand, had clearly struck Jacek a number of times, judging by the blood pouring down the warrior’s face. Still, the attack managed to keep the demon distracted while Vai tore out feathers and Belial bellowed his rage and pain.
Finally, he managed to reach behind his back and stab his claws into the muscle of Vai's arm and yanked forward. His effort to throw her off failed, but he shredded her flesh from shoulder to elbow.
She cried out and brought the arm close to her chest and leaned forward to shield it from further harm.
Jacek co
ntinued to attack Belial, striking him in the stomach and chest, but the hulking demon ignored him.
The beast reached for Vai again with both hands, and this time got a solid grip on her shoulders, his claws digging into the flesh of her back.
Nik stood, calm and focused. The whispers that had always come to him when he needed them the most settled into a firm knowledge in his mind. More accurately, in his blood.
Vai jerked upright on impulse, and her momentary lack of control was enough for the demon to rip her off of him. He jerked her body like a rag doll, swinging her around and slamming her into Jacek. They tumbled away behind the bulky figure and drooping wings of Belial.
Belail breathed heavily, but he flung his wings out wide and flapped one time.
Vai hadn't done enough damage.
He lifted into the air and landed before Nik in an instant.
Nik waited with a patience that defied time. He waited as the milliseconds passed for Belial to land. When he did, Nik turned just enough to face him, wasting no movement or time. Overhead, the glow of meteors slicing through the early morning had ended. Belial’s window had closed. They had stopped his plan. He waited between moments for Belial to attack. The beast’s fist shot out, aimed right for his sternum. Predictable.
Nik took one broad step to the side and another step back, his motions seemingly normal but Belial's impossibly slow.
Nik balled up his fist and glanced down at himself. In that brief glimpse, he saw himself covered in stone. He kept his emotions in check, kept his power firmly wrapped around himself, and brought his fist forward to meet the strike of the anti-Christ, blow for blow, fist to fist.
Thunder boomed between them and both men staggered backward a few paces.
Belial's mouth hung wide open. He stared at his own fist, then at Nik.
Nik had done all the waiting he intended to do. He rushed Belial, the world disappearing in a blur of nothingness. There was only Nik and Belial. Only Nik's intense need to rid the world of evil.
Belial's eyes whipped up in time to watch Nik's fist connect with a solid jab. His head snapped back and he stumbled backward.
Nik strode forward, calm and steady, focused. Numb to the world around him.
The demon kept his feet and held his ground. He balled his fists at his sides and roared, his massive black wings flaring out behind him. He lunged for Nik, clawed hands swiping at the Sin Eater's throat.
Nik took a single step forward and pivoted his body, raised his leg, and delivered a roundhouse blow to the demon's side.
Belial grunted and winced, but grabbed Nik's leg at the knee and hip, swiveling around to gain momentum. He beat his wings to increase the speed of his spin.
Nik felt a cold wind against his face for only an instant, then the demon released his hold and flung him as he had Vai.
He hit the metal side door of the church with a loud bang, then landed on the cold concrete below.
Vai ran over to Nik.
“How bad are you hurt?”she asked.
Nik looked up at her and saw the blue glow of her warrior self. Her face was calm and peaceful, the way it had been in the Crypt of Relics. She was stunning. “Not bad, you?”
Before she could answer, Belial sprinted over to them, claws and teeth bared, reaching for Vai.
Jacek barreled into him from the side and bounced off his massive body. The demon didn't even flinch but Jacek fell to the ground, gripping his arm.
Vai pulled a couple of dust bombs from Nik's belt, and tossed them at the beast.
Belial screamed as the red dust sank into his skin. He swiped at his face, scratching his skin trying to fling the dust off.
The dust disappeared under his flesh, but nothing happened. Belial shook his head, then flicked his eyes back up to glare at Nik and Vai. Black orbs of nothingness held their gaze as he scowled.
Vai trembled at Nik's side. “What are we supposed to do now?”
“I have an idea. You and Jacek go get some dust bombs from Zeph.”
Belial strode forward, clearly thinking the tables had turned.
Nik let him get close, waited for him to raise one massive clawed hand as if to decapitate Vai, then tackled him. He sprang from the ground, slamming his good shoulder into Belial's midsection with all the strength his Sin Eater blood could summon.
The monster went down with Nik atop him.
Nik didn't waste a moment. He pulled a dust bomb from his belt and made a fist around it. He punched the anti-Christ in the mouth, the dust bomb shattering in his palm, the Blood of Christ trickling through his fingers and into the demon's open mouth.
He grabbed another and punched Belial again and again, pulling bombs and throwing punches as fast as he could.
Belial thrashed and bucked beneath him, but Nik held fast to the calm that kept his armor in place and continued to pummel the creature who was determined to destroy everything he loved.
“Nik!” Vai skidded to a stop beside him and dropped to her knees. She dumped a dozen or so bombs that were bundled into her shirt onto the ground.
Nik raised his hand to deliver a blow, but Belial brought up one wing and lashed out at him, stabbing him in the shoulder with his one remaining talon.
The Sin Eater cried out and faltered.
Vai slammed a palm holding a dust bomb onto the bloody wounds where she had ripped black feathers from his wings, grinding the red dust into his open flesh.
Belial jerked his talon out of Nik's shoulder and tried to scream, but before he could make a sound, Nik shoved another parcel of the Blood of Christ into his mouth, blocking the passage of sound.
Belial's choices were to inhale or swallow. Gasping and coughing, Belial swallowed the package and quit fighting Nik and started clawing at his own throat and chest.
“It’s working!” Vai risked a look at Nik, her eyes wide.
Nik knelt on the beast’s forearms. Vai continued to feed him the red dust, packet after packet, until they had none left.
Jacek joined them with another pile from Zeph's belt.
Zeph. Nik rose off of Belial's now still body.
Jacek took his place sitting on top of the devil spawn’s massive chest, holding him down so Vai could finish him off.
He stumbled over to Zeph and gathered him into his arms, dropping that calm that brought up his armor and allowing his love to wash over him, warm him, and take complete control of him.
“Is it over?” Zeph moaned, looking up at Nik with dry red eyes.
“It’s done. We got him.”
A brilliant flash of white immolated reality for an instant. When Nik could see again, he was still holding Zeph, but Vai and Jacek lay nearby, on their backs, barely conscious, sitting up.
Belial stood in the center of a circle of soft, white light. Its glow encompassed him. He laughed, low and dangerous. The aura surrounding him blazed brilliantly from behind, outlining his form in an almost silvery glow. Light spread across his wings like blood seeping across cloth, turning the ebony feathers a pure, incandescent white.
Vai and Jacek crept to where Nik and Zeph sat on the ground against the car. Together, Nik could feel their combined strength. The four of them, even in this weakened state, were powerful.
Belial’s eyes darted up again to sear into the depths of Nik's soul. Instead of the black that he'd expected, or even red, his eyes shone golden yellow.
Belial took a slow, menacing step forward, a malicious grin spreading across his face, but a high-pitched whistling sound from above halted his progress.
All five pairs of eyes turned to the sky and followed the rapid progress of a huge flaming ball of something hurtling toward them.
The ball of fire punched into the ground at the center of the circle created by Nik, Zeph, Vai, Jacek, and Belial. The meteor shower had ended, but here, something had landed, smoking and blazing a fierce, dangerous heat.
The beast looked uneasy, staring at the smoking crater with a frown, his eyebrows drawn close together as though he were conf
used. “Can't be,” Belial mumbled just loud enough for them to hear.
A hand shot out of the crater, tearing at the broken earth surrounding it.
Belial leaped back, using his wings to boost the distance of his jump. His eyes widened and his face flushed a deep red. Without any provocation Nik could see or hear, the demon winced and his hands flew up to cover his ears as though someone shouted at a pitch only he could hear. The grimace on his face stayed even after he opened his eyes and moved his hands.
Belial glared at Nik and spread his wings wide. “You will die by my hand, Sin Eater. Soon.” With that, he launched himself into the air and disappeared within seconds.
Whoever had landed in the crater moaned and pulled themselves up and out of the hole, falling over the lip of the still smoking bowl in the earth, an outstretched hand came to rest on what remained of the asphalt around that hole.
The church is going to be pissed about that, Nik thought, his never-ending sarcasm unable to take even one moment off.
Massive white wings lifted into the air, standing out in high contrast to the blackened earth and parking lot, as a man rose out of the hole and stood before them.
He stood nude before the smoking pit and unfurled wings, glorious white wings which spanned across the entire parking lot. Beautiful and terrifying, the man’s skin shone iridescent in the morning light and his dark hair shrouded his eyes from Nik’s sight.
“An angel,” Zeph whispered.
“No... they can’t...” Vai turned to look at Nik, confusion and anger on full display. Ma and Dika had sacrificed themselves for Heaven’s intervention. Whatever this was, it wasn’t right.
The man opened his mouth to speak, but stopped and let out an otherworldly shriek instead.
Darkness crept over his shoulders like a spreading fire and wrapped around his stomach from behind until it covered every inch of him in a thin veil of iridescent black. His flesh smoked and the scent of charred feathers surrounded them as the darkness spread over his wings and turned his feathers onyx.
