by M. R. Forbes
"I will kill you," Raguel shouted, stepping forward and slamming his fist against the gate. He fell back in a blue flash, repelled by the power of the runes. "I will kill you as well, Diuscrucis. His power cannot hold forever. Even during the first war, he needed Raphael to protect him."
"Landon, let's go," Josette said, taking my hand. I followed her into the house, as Raguel threw himself against the barrier again.
"He's right, isn't he?" I said. "The barrier won't hold."
"It will hold long enough," Uriel said. "You have the shards?"
I took them from my pocket. The Archangel seemed to freeze again when he saw them, his eyes momentarily growing distant. Then he reached out and took them.
"It will take me some time to reforge the blade."
"What do we do in the meantime?" Obi asked.
"Pray."
Then he vanished, headed toward the forge.
I turned to Josette. "Where is Raphael in all of this?"
"If I had to guess, Michael is delaying him. The First Archangel will not involve himself directly and risk the same fate as Raguel. Instead, he will allow God to decide the matter."
"How can Michael be against God and with God at the same time?"
"He is not against God. He is never against God. That does not mean he agrees with all of His rules and laws and is an unquestioning follower. God does not ask us not to question. He asks us to be pure in our motives. In our hearts and in our souls. As you are. That is why you are His champion."
"Yeah, about that. I don't see how I can be his chosen one, or whatever you want to call it. I'm not a good guy. I'm not fighting for Heaven, and I don't want Him to win."
Josette smiled, looking at me like I was a child. I had always hated when she did that. I didn't realize how much I missed it until now.
"Do you think that God only cares about winning the war against the demons? Perhaps he doesn't care about winning that war at all. Perhaps, there is only one soul He is trying to save right now."
I crinkled my eyebrows. "Mine?"
She shrugged. "The point is, you are trying to guess the will of God. It is impossible to guess. All that we know, all that we can work from, is what we have in front of us. You want to save humankind, the Divine, and Sarah. You want to take in a demon, fall in love with her, and make her good."
"You know about Alyx?"
"I told you, Landon, we are bonded from our time together. Just like you were to Abaddon."
"I never felt you."
"Didn't you?"
I stopped to consider it. Maybe I had, but never realized it.
"I'm not making her good," I said. "She's making herself good. She's trying to be more than she has known. More than Satan made her to be. It isn't always easy."
"Temptations are everywhere. Once, you may have given in to them. But you have learned. So has she."
"I can't be all good. Not now. Not ever. I'm the Diuscrucis. My job is to keep the balance."
"So you say."
"What does that mean?"
She gave me the look a second time. I could feel my face flush.
"I can't tell you everything, Landon. Some things, you must learn for yourself."
"Right. Fine." I stepped toward her. "I missed you."
She stepped toward me, reaching up and putting her arms around me. We held one another for a long moment.
"I missed you, too," she said.
"Aww," Obi said beside us. "You two were always so great together."
We broke the embrace, looking at him.
"In a platonic way," he said. "Like brother and sister. Seriously." He smiled.
"How are you holding up?" I asked.
"Me? I'm just fine. I mean, I'm in Heaven, and still stuck in the middle of a war, but other than that, I'm good."
"You'll be rewarded for your loyalty," Josette said.
"Yeah." He looked up at the ceiling. "I guess I don't need to do that here." He laughed. "I better."
Twenty-Seven
I lost track of time, sitting in Uriel's house with Obi and Josette, spending the hours talking about everything. It felt like old times, back when we were all together and things were almost right with the world. Back before the Beast seduced Sarah, and it all began to fall apart.
I told them things I had never spoken about before. I told them of my experiences in the Box, and more specifically my experiences after I got out. I told them of Charis and Clara, and how hard I tried to convince myself to stay away from the fight, to ignore the call to return as the champion of humankind only to find myself neck deep and hurting once more.
Josette was as pragmatic, devout, and wonderful as always. Obi showed a lot of empathy for my plight, even if he didn't completely understand it.
To say the experience was cathartic would be an understatement. It healed me in a way I didn't know I needed to be healed. It helped me to prepare for what I knew was going to come. There was nothing about the future that would be easy, and nothing was going to come up roses.
But at least I knew I wasn't alone.
I felt the clenching in my gut and the shift in the balance when the demons were killed, the scales tilting back towards even. It wasn't as hard to take as the death of the Touched had been, except for the fact that I knew it made Sarah a loose cannon once more, able to target either side with impunity. I realized that was how I had made the angels and demons feel. They never knew which side I was fighting for, and it drove a fear into them that nothing else could. I felt that same fear now.
I went outside to check on Raguel from time to time. He snarled at me every time he saw me, his anger at God growing to envelop an anger at everything. His words became less coherent, his thoughts a jumbled, chaotic mess. His followers seemed to be feeding off the strife, growing more restless. Some attacked the gates and wound up falling. In the beginning, their fate seemed to bother the former Archangel. Later, he seemed to be trying to entice them to attack and to join him in his darkness.
The worst part was that it was becoming more and more obvious that Uriel's protections were failing. The blue glow was less intense, the metals bars becoming bent and worn. If I had to guess, I would say two or three days had passed, and still, there was no word from the Archangel. He remained locked away in the forge, and while we could hear the clang of his hammer on the metal, we had no idea how much progress he was making, or when he would be done.
He had claimed the protections would hold long enough.
I could only hope he was right.
It bothered me that Raphael wasn't going to help us. It bothered me that none of the other angels or archangels were willing to step in. Or even Jesus for that matter, wherever that guy was hiding out. Josette told me that it wasn't safe for them and that their participation wouldn't change the will of God anyway. This was my moment, my destiny. Whatever. I still didn't believe in destiny, and as far as I was concerned, they were all selfish and useless. When I thought about it more, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't much different. All sentient things were selfish to an extent, either except for God or including Him. I couldn't convince myself which it was, and I wasn't going to push that one on Josette.
It was the fifth day, or maybe the sixth, when Uriel finally emerged from the forge into the main part of the house where we had made ourselves comfortable. There was nothing flashy or grand about his entrance. He walked out, bare-chested, dirty, and sweaty, holding the blade wrapped in an oiled cloth. We all stood as he did, and he approached me with a stoic, intense face, turning the weapon over in his hands and extending the hilt.
I was expecting something ornate. It wasn't that at all. It was a simple wooden handle, wrapped in leather to make it easier to grip. There was a single rune etched onto the pommel.
"That is my Mark," he said to me. "It connects me to the blade. I will feel the loss of every soul that you destroy with it."
The statement made me understand his guilt and his sadness. It also made the responsibility of its use crystal
clear.
"I understand," I said.
"I know," he replied.
I took the grip, and he pulled the cloth away. For all the handle wasn't, the blade itself was. Perfectly formed and etched with runes, glowing softly with a power I had never felt before. It was awe-inspiring to look at, and frightening to hold.
"Use this tool in the name of the Lord, and you will never falter," he said.
"Amen," Josette added.
I lifted the blade, feeling the perfect balance. He handed me a simple sheath, and I slid the weapon into it.
Then Uriel turned to Obi.
"I have done as you asked," Uriel said, reaching into the pocket of his apron and removing a pair of metal gauntlets.
Obi's eyes grew wide at the sight of them, and he reached out and took them from the Archangel. "Wow."
"What is that?" I asked.
He showed me the gauntlets. The runes from the Fist of God's bolts were obvious on the lines of metal that rest across the knuckles.
"I told you I had an idea for what to do with them," Obi said. "My man Uriel hooked me up."
"They won't harm angels," Uriel said. He smiled. "Demons are another story."
An echoing groan from the front of the house stole the moment.
"The fortifications are breaking down," the Archangel said.
"Just like you knew they would?" I asked.
He shrugged. "You can't hide in here forever, Diuscrucis. Now, go and save the world. You can start with Raguel."
Twenty-Eight
It was something right out of Western. The White Hats, which oddly enough included me, stepping out of the saloon and into the street just as the Black Hats, also strangely enough featuring a former Archangel, finally broke down the gates preventing them from reaching us.
They surged forward with a transformed Raguel at their head, two hundred strong. Nearly a quarter of them had already fallen, and by the din raised by the rest, they too were in danger of taking that final step over to the dark side.
"You're too late," I said, withdrawing Uriel's blade from its sheath. The glow of it bothered the fallen angels, causing them to shrink back slightly.
"I'm right on time," Raguel hissed.
He looked even less humanoid than the last time I had checked the perimeter, his legs merged into a single thick tail, his body continuing to grow. He was nearly twenty feet tall and all muscle, a frightening beast of a demon whose anger at God continued to twist and distort him.
"Give me the sword," he demanded. "And I will allow you to return to your world."
"It wasn't going to happen when you still had some good in you," I replied. "Now that you're a raving snake monster? Not a chance in Heaven."
He hissed again in anger. It was incredible how he had changed, and how his followers continued to support him even as he devolved into something so clearly evil.
"Then I will destroy you," he said.
I lowered the sword to my side, holding it like a gunslinger would hold his piece.
"Go ahead and try," I replied.
He shot forward before I finished speaking, his body moving so quick he nearly had me before I could react. I gathered my power, pushing myself back away from him as Obi and Josette spread to either side. The fallen angels shouted and hissed in their bloodlust, while the other angels stood by.
"Good try," I said, pushing my power into my limbs, giving myself the strength and speed I would need to match the fallen Archangel. Raguel burst forward again, swiping at me with large claws, snapping at me with sharp teeth. I sidestepped his attack, countering with one of my own. He bent back, avoiding it, at the same time his tail came around to sweep my legs.
I pushed off, jumping over them and toward the demon's face. I tried to ram the sword into his head, but he ducked aside, and then lashed out with a claw. It caught me on the side, making a light cut and throwing me into the throng.
Fallen angels reached for me, trying to hold me for their Master. I swung the blade out around me, catching one of them in the chest. I could feel the power run up the blade, a tingling pain that changed into a burning sensation as it made its way into my soul. I grunted as a result, surprised that it hurt as much as it did.
Then I was launching away from the demons, rocketing back toward Raguel. I caught a glimpse of Obi and Josette as I did, wading into the melee and clearing the field of the fallen. Obi's gauntlets hit the demons in flashes of blue light, pulling them easily off their feet and leaving them steaming with sulfur.
Raguel faced me, his hands shifting to block my incoming attack. I reached out with my power, pulling myself sideways as I neared him, throwing my sword arm out and slicing across his outstretched hand. A neat line opened up beneath it, and my body writhed as some of the former Archangel's power was absorbed. I landed on the ground in a ball, struggling to deal with the input. Had Uriel messed something up, or was it supposed to feel like that?
Either way, I barely had time to recover before Raguel was on me, his tail whipping out and trying to wrap around me. I rolled away on the ground before pulling myself to my feet and facing off with him once more.
He had shrunk at least a foot after my first attack, the reduction in his power causing a reduction in size. As my pain vanished, I could feel the increase in my overall strength, and I pushed it through me, bunching myself and launching toward the demon again.
He hissed as I launched a series of quick strikes, managing to duck back from them as I moved in, keeping himself out of range. He tried to get his tail in play again to knock me down, forcing me to pause the attack to avoid it and getting himself back on the offensive as I did. I barely got the blade up in time to deflect one set of claws, and then had to throw myself aside to keep from being bitten. I rolled to my feet, taking only a moment before deciding to go for the finish.
I gathered myself and sprang at him again, launching myself into the air toward his head. He was anticipating the move, since it was the third time I had done it, and he jerked aside accordingly.
Only I was anticipating his reaction, and I had already released Uriel's blade, using my power to throw it out to the right, directly into the space he was now occupying. I could see his eyes grow as he caught sight of the sword. Then it was sticking into one of those eyes, burying itself all the way to the hilt.
I landed unarmed on the other side of Raguel, turning and facing him. His body was shrinking, the sword crackling with his power. Whoever touched the hilt next would be able to claim it as their own.
One of the fallen angels saw it and turned to reach for it. Obi grabbed him a moment later, lifting him easily with the gauntlets and throwing him aside.
"I love these things," he said.
I moved toward Raguel. His body was almost back to human size, the sword sticking absurdly from his head. It clattered to the ground a few seconds later as the body vanished into ash.
I stood over it, looking down. I knew how much it was going to hurt to lift it and claim the power. It caused me to hesitate, and maybe that was the point. It shouldn't be easy or painless to destroy other souls. It should hurt. It should force you to think before you did it.
I reached for it slowly, trying to prepare myself for the hurt to come. I didn't want this, but I needed it. There was no other way to save human or Divine from what would otherwise come. There was no other way to match Sarah, whether I took her life or somehow saved it.
I put my hand on the hilt. The sigil flared, and the pain coursed through me. So did the power. I felt it acutely like I was winding a massive ball and had just added a few more layers.
Then it was done. I stood in the center of over one hundred angels, all of whom seemed to be breaking free of a spell. They stared at me in reverent silence, as though I was their savior and not the killer of their idol.
"Well done, my friend," Josette said, coming to stand beside me.
"Well done, indeed," Uriel said, approaching from the entrance to his home.
"Does that mean the w
ar in Heaven is over?" I asked.
"Only time will tell us that, I'm afraid," Uriel replied. "But it is a good sign, a clear signal that God supports the Diuscrucis, and continues to watch over us and uphold His laws."
"You should have told me it was going to hurt," I said.
"You should have expected it," Uriel replied.
I nodded somberly. He was right.
"We need to return to the mortal realm," I said. "We seem to have lost our ride."
I was looking at Josette when I said it. Of course, I wanted her to come back with us.
"I'm sorry, Landon," she said. "I cannot. My vow is to remain with the Sisterhood."
"I understand," I replied. "Will I ever see you again?"
"I don't know. That depends on you, I suppose."
I knew what she meant. I nodded and then embraced her.
"I love you," I said, feeling my eyes moistening once more.
"I love you, too," she replied.
"If I can save Sarah, I will."
"I know."
"I will return you to your realm," Uriel said. "Is there anywhere in particular you would like to go?"
"Mexico," I said. "Home."
"Think of it, and it will be so."
He started reaching out, one hand for me and one for Obi.
"Goodbye, Josette," I said.
"Goodbye, Landon," she replied.
Then Uriel touched me, and I was home.
Twenty-Nine
"Landon," Alichino said as Obi and I made our way into the control room of the underground lair. "Where have you been?"
The room was filled with former slaves of Espanto, Turned men and women who had chosen to remain with Alyx when she took control of the place. They monitored different data sources, tapping into phone calls, hacking computer systems, and otherwise working almost nonstop to keep the information flowing.
That was the true currency for the Divine on Earth. The difference between being master or slave. How much more you knew than anyone else, and what you could do with that knowledge. Espanto had gained the position he did more because of his ability to capture and parse information than anything else.
