by JKMelby74
“I’m a businessman, Mr. Corba. A damn fine one too. My fortune was not earned by letting opportunities slip through my fingers.”
“You don’t even realize what you’ve done, do you? You’ve displaced Heaven! All the spirits that dwelled there and the ones who would arrive in the future are now lost!”
“That’s the beauty of this whole thing. Not only can I sell to the living here, but it’s also opened the demographic of the dead as well! Those displaced souls are more than welcome to come and see me about getting in. I can get a very reasonable interest rate for first time buyers.”
“Not to mention Hell bound buyers too. You sold to Hitler!”
“Yes. He was one of the first to buy. And the number of pre-orders is astounding. I’ve gotten bids from Bin Laden, Cruise, Trump, and practically everyone on Capitol Hill! This is an exciting day. Now, no one has to go to the trouble of earning passage into Heaven. They can just buy their own piece of it with a low down payment and surprisingly reasonable monthly payments.”
“You do realize there are reasons some people don’t make it into Heaven, right? I mean, it’s not a country club. The people who do go there earn it, and the ones who aren’t there are supposed to be someplace else.”
“Come now, Mr. Corba. Good. Bad. These are terms that mean nothing in this world. There is no right or wrong any more. It’s deals. Bargains. Agreements that truly make this world go ‘round. Supply and demand. That is the only true law.”
“Mr. Bertram. You and those demons have come in conflict with forces that none of you truly comprehend. Your actions have put all of existence into question,” Aldo added. “I represent the class action lawsuit for those wrongfully damned to Hell due to your actions. Consider yourself added to the suit.”
“This is free enterprise!”
“It’s grand theft divine!” Suddenly, a loud chorus of Ode To Joy boomed out of nowhere. It sounded like a chorus of a million angels from above. Aldo dug into his pocket and pulled out a phone. As he clicked it, the music stopped.
“Now, while he’s busy, let’s talk reality. Vyra and Pyre stole Heaven and it’s going back. Today. Everyone you sold to is getting a big eviction notice.”
“It could take days to oversee all those transactions.”
“Don’t worry. We’re doing it the old fashioned way. We just need you to keep your big mouth shut and don’t tell...” I suddenly felt a grip on my shoulder. Aldo pulled me around to face him.
“Why didn’t you tell me you spoke with Hither? And why did you tell her where Heaven was?”
“What?”
“I just got a call from my office. They tell me H.A.R.M. has sent down forces to Heaven.”
“I never told Hither where anything was. I only talked to her once and that was just so she could warn me about sticking my nose where it didn’t belong.”
“Well, she figured something out fast. I was told that Hither is en route to Heavenly Meadows right now with an entire warrior host.”
“What’s the big deal? She goes down and takes it back. Case solved.”
“The last thing I wanted was an official action being taken. I don’t know how aware you are of how angels fight, but there are rarely any survivors when they step in. If they hit Heaven, they will wipe out every living thing within twenty five miles of the area, including any towns and cities that might exist therein.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly. We need to get there now.” Aldo grabbed my arm. Within a blink of my eye, we were transported from Bertram’s office to the gates of Heavenly Meadows.
“How did you do that? I never told you where Heaven was either.”
“You didn’t have to. One touch and I was able to read your entire mind and get the information I needed.”
“Is that something only you can do?”
“No. All departed souls can do it. It’s Spirit 101.”
I looked up and I could see a small cluster of shadowy figures against the blue sky. It looked like a massive flock of birds, but soon one bird of the flock began to grow larger. The wings were getting longer too. Soon, I could see it was Hither. She was as beautiful as I remembered her, but she was wearing full body armor. Shining silver plates were strapped to her arms and legs and she wore a shining gold breastplate over her chest. Her face was almost completely covered by an equally shiny gold helmet that looked snug on her head and a large; broadsword sitting across her back completed the look.
“Corba!” She called as she landed with a surprising grace. Her wings quickly folded behind her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I told you before not to interfere with my assignment.”
“Seems to me you’re the one interfering here. I found this place first.”
“Leave now before it’s too late. I have only to signal my warriors and they will come down upon this place like a storm of lightning.”
“Hither!”
“What is it, Aldo?”
“As you know I am representing...”
“Yes, yes! I know! I am not a lawyer and I do not care for them! I come here only to reclaim Heaven and free it from the control of the demon’s that have enslaved it. Your petty lawsuit is of little consequence to me.”
“Wait, how did you even know where this place was? I never told you!” I chimed in.
“No. I received my information from another source.”
“Who?”
“Me.” A meek voice echoed from behind. Aldo and I turned to see Felix walking toward us.
“Felix?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t wait for you guys to do anything. I went to Hither and told her my situation. She said she could help me, so she used her connections and got me a special pass.”
“You got a special pass, because you told her you could find Heaven. That’s when you bumped into me at the doctor’s office and got the location.”
“That’s right. I knew you’d have figured it out eventually.” Aldo stepped toward Felix and threw his arm over his shoulder.
“Felix. You remember what I told you, don’t you? This situation needs to be handled discreetly. Carefully, or else the whole lawsuit will,” But Felix just jumped back from Aldo and his face was pinched in rage.
“I don’t care about the damn lawsuit! I needed help,” He said. His shoulders slumped down and tears were escaping his eyes. “All it was with you was the damn lawsuit! Hither here understood! She knew how desperate I was! How desperate we all were! She promised that she’d get us justice! Real justice!”
“Felix, we will get justice. You just need to wait for the court date.” Aldo said.
“That wasn’t good enough! It never was! I was stuck in Hell for years and no one cared! Do you have any idea what it’s like in there? You think all your life that you’re too strong to let the devil take you down, no matter what. I thought there wasn’t anything that could break me, but what I saw there, what I experienced, I don’t think I’ll ever recover! I don’t care if whoever did this gets caught! I don’t care about anything anymore!”
“Wait! There are innocent people all around here. There’s no need to bring some Heavenly death storm upon them. Could we at least try to take Heaven back with as few casualties as possible?”
“No!” Felix spasmed. “Hither! Bring them down! Bring the hammer of God down on everyone here!” I walked over to Felix and threw my fist into his jaw, which sent him to the ground.
“This is insane. Hither, I don’t know you very well, but you strike me as the kind of individual who is willing to look at a peaceful solution.” Hither looked down at me thoughtfully, as though she were considering my request.
“Very well, Corba. I have given the order. They will hold for an hour, but once the hour is up, they shall come down here with all the force they have at their disposal.” I bowed in gratitude toward Hither and started toward Heaven’s gate. As I approached, I heard the sound of a car rolling up behind me. I turned and saw Ivar driving up in Gwen’s car. He quic
kly got out and ran over to me.
“Jake!”
“Ivar! Where the Hell have you been?”
“I borrowed Gwen’s car to come down here. What are you doing here?”
“As you can see, the situation has escalated,” I indicated to Hither who was hovering over us like a stone guard. “What are you doing here?”
“Ever since we toured Heavenly Meadows, I was troubled as to why Heaven was still here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t even think about it at the time, but I remembered something rather crucial. Normally when a dimension is displaced, it eventually shifts back to its original space after time. A self-correcting feature of the universe. The only way that Heaven could remain here is if there was an anchor with a similar energy vibration, keeping it stable and whole in this space.”
“So they have something in there that keeps Heaven stuck on Earth. If we can find it...”
“We can set Heaven free, yes.”
“Well, that’s great. And I know just the two who can help us with that little task.”
Ivar and I got back into Gwen’s car and, after I said a little prayer begging Gwen’s forgiveness after she discovered what I did to her car, I gunned it toward the gate, causing it to break open. I could feel the demon in me raging in my guts as we shot down the street. I could sense there was disquiet in the neighborhood. It felt as though one giant sentient mind had become aware.
The further we traveled, the more violent the demon was becoming. I could feel the blood rising up into my throat. My nose was closing up on me and my vision was getting slightly blurry. Ivar quickly took the wheel as we skidded around a rather wide turn and nearly slammed into a home that looked similar to the White House. He then forced the car to the side and insisted he drive the rest of the way. I relented without a fight.
I saw the sales office as we came around the final turn. It was difficult to see clearly as my vision was clouded by blood rising up into my eyes. Ivar stopped the car and took my hand to perform his little trick again. The pain dulled sharply and my vision quickly returned to me. We got out of the car and hurried to the sales office and as my hand felt the knob, the demon stopped. I pulled the door open and almost instantly Melissa and Jeff appeared before us, all smiles.
“Mr. and Mr. Corba! What a pleasant surprise. Are you ready to begin your new lives?”
“No. We came here to talk about your old ones,” They looked at me as though I had just sang the National Anthem in Pig Latin. I felt a force hit me and I quickly hiccupped and shot out a clump of blood and slime. It landed on the floor with a wet splat. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. We’ll get someone to clean that up.” Melissa said.
“Thanks, Vyra.”
“What did you call me?”
“Vyra. I believe that is your original name. Isn’t that right, Pyre?”
“I think you have us mixed up with some other people.” Jeff said.
“I don’t think I do,” I pulled out the pictures I had gotten from Belgard. I threw them down to the floor and Melissa and Jeff looked down at them, studying them carefully. “Those over there are your ‘before’ pictures and the ones below are your ‘after’ shots. I have to say, they did good work. Filled in all those nasty scars and marks on both of you.” They picked the pictures up off the floor and I could see their lips stretch into slight, smug smiles.
“Okay. Fine. Busted,” Melissa said at last. “What do you want?”
“I want Heaven returned to its rightful place right now.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“I think it will. I’m trying to do this nicely. There’s no reason it has to get nasty.”
“We can handle it if it does.” Jeff said and suddenly he and Melissa began to shift and change. All the work Belgard had put into them melted away as though it were never there. A metal plate covered Pyre’s face and two large wounds opened up on his shoulders and began spewing fire. Vyra’s skin went from a creamy pale peach color to a sickly green hue. Her face twisted and contorted into a nightmarish appearance. Her fingers grew longer and narrower with claws in place of nails.
“As you can imagine, Pyre and I have spent many years planning this operation.” Vyra’s voice was no longer sweet, but rather it was acrid and raspy.
“Two demons planning a real estate scam? Seems like a waste of power.”
“This is just the beginning. Bertram can sell his homes to his heart’s content. We don’t care about that, just as long as he gets them in here. As the population of Heaven grows, so does the land. We projected in five years; Heaven will grow to roughly the size of the western hemisphere. Ten years from now, it will completely take over.”
“With you in charge.”
“That’s right. We shall build a new kingdom of Hell here on Earth, and the best part is that we’ll use Heaven as its seed. And from there, we can keep expanding! Soon, Hell will grow to the size of the universe itself!” Pyre said, his flames burning brighter as his ambition grew.
“Sounds like a great plan, but I happen to know there is a mess of pissed off angels overhead ready to come down here and slice your heads off.” I noticed that the news took them off guard. Vyra looked to Pyre and her eyes, as angry and glowing as they appeared, seemed slightly worried. “You can give up now and maybe we can work out a deal with them. You might just get community service.”
“Or we can just send them your head to show how serious we are.” Pyre said as he lunged for me. He grabbed my neck in his fist and Vyra pounced on me. Ivar advanced in an attempt to save me, but Vyra belched out a cloud of green gas from her mouth and as it passed over Ivar, he fell to the floor, choking. She then ran her blade-like fingernail across my neck, pushing it into my skin. Her face was overtaken by a look of surprise and she stepped back.
“He’s one of our kind.”
“Impossible! He’s mortal.”
“I sense one of ours within him. It is strong. Powerful. Perhaps we do not have to sacrifice him? He could be of use to our cause.” Vyra suggested.
“A mutt. A filthy, mortal mutt. We’ll do our brother a service by freeing him from this bag of excrement.” Pyre said. Vyra looked at me and thought for a moment.
“You’re right.” She began to push her claw deeper into my body. Suddenly I heard a loud bang and one whole side of the room disappeared. I looked over and saw Hither above me with her sword drawn.
“Release him now!” She called out. Pyre’s grip relaxed and I fell to the floor. I scrambled to my feet and she landed softly before us. “Do not worry. My host is still holding back. I just sensed you needed help.”
“Thanks,” I said as I got my breath back. I saw Vyra and Pyre shrinking back away from us. “What do we do now?”
“We take Heaven back.”
“Okay. How do we do that?”
“We liberate the anchor.” Ivar said as he steadied himself up off the floor.
We all looked to Vyra and Pyre. Hither held her sword at Vyra’s head but instead of cowering at the threat, she smiled a sick, satisfied smile and turned to Pyre, who I could only assume was smiling similarly back at her.
“You have him, don’t you?” Hither said. Vyra just spat at Hither’s feet. “Where is he!?” She bellowed. I could see a little extra pep in her step as she held her sword to Vyra’s throat. “Tell me where you’ve put him, demon bitch!”
“He belongs to us now.” She said through her clenched teeth.
“Whoa! Him? Him who? What are you talking about?” I asked. I saw something that appeared to be a tear tracing down Hither’s cheek.
“I wasn’t sure until your friend said anything, but now I realize what has happened. These fiends are responsible for the disappearance of one of our finest warriors.” She said. I looked to Ivar and he seemed to be deep in thought. I poked him slightly and as he looked to me.
“An angel,” He said. “That must be the anchor.” Suddenly the ground began to shake and a giant e
xplosion roared through our ears. I ran outside to see what had happened and I saw a large figure standing up from an even larger crater that had not been there before. There were large chunks of dirt and rock all over the place. The figure rose to its full height, which had to have been ten or fifteen feet, and two large wings stretched out from its back. The feathers on his wings looked weathered and were tinted black.
As it turned, I saw that it was a male angel. His head was covered in old bandages, except for his left eye, which was wide and burned with energy. In his hand he held a large sword. The hilt was large and ornate, decorated with jewels and gold and silver. I felt Hither come up behind me. I sensed her awe was as sincere as mine.
“Lethar.”
“Who?”
“Lethar. The One Eyed Angel. One of the host’s finest warriors. And my soul mate.”
“You believe in soul mates?” I asked with some amusement. Ivar slipped up behind me.
“Soul Mates in Heaven mean something a little more different than here. Two angels who are Soul Mates are connected on a level that no word in any recorded language can accurately describe. It’s as though every part of their bodies and minds are connected on the most basic level.”
“He disappeared years ago and for so long I have searched,” Hither continued. “I have been from one end of creation to the other and everywhere in between looking for him.”
“You knew they had your little friend there this whole time? You knew and you never felt compelled to share?” I asked.
“I was not certain. I had heard a rumor that Lethar had been taken by demons, but I could never imagine anything like this. I had no idea they could use him like this. I did not think it could be true of Lethar. He’s too great a warrior to be overtaken by demons such as these. Clearly, he has been corrupted. Hurt. I can feel it. I can feel...” Suddenly, Hither jumped back and fell to the ground in agony. Ivar and I ran to her.
“She was trying to feel his mind. Must have been some feedback.”
“There is a part of his mind that he blocks from me,” Hither said as she struggled up. “This can’t be possible! Lethar! Let me in! Share with me your pain! I can help you!” She shrieked. Lethar then raised his sword up, blocking out the sun, and then brought it down sending a shock wave through the ground beneath us. We fell back and watched as Lethar began to soar into the sky. Soon, he was little more than a dot against the blue sky. He floated down and he appeared normal, or at least as normal as a man with black wings coming out of his back could look. He walked up to us, his sword still at the ready. He held his free arm out to Hither who took it quickly. He pulled her up to meet his eye. They just stared at each other quietly.
