by M. R. Forbes
I went inside, throwing my power up again as a second round of gunfire erupted against me. I spotted the dozen or so Nicht Creidem soldiers on the inside, outfitted in bulletproof vests and dark fatigues, carrying heavy rifles and swords on their hips.
"Hold on a minute," I shouted again, this time in German. "I didn't come here to fight."
They didn't react to my words, lowering their guns when they saw how ineffective they were and charging at me with swords. Bullets couldn't kill any Divine, but they were able to slow some down and wound them enough to make the close range stabbing easier.
I pulled my power close, running it through my veins and into my muscles, using it to toughen my skin and increase my strength. I could feel the increased energy I had captured from Raguel, and I flexed my limbs in response to the power.
The first guard reached me, his sword flashing in a quick maneuver that I had no trouble following. I batted the blade aside with a bare hand, knocking it from his grip, and then shoved him with the opposite hand. I pushed harder than I expected, sending him hurting into another guard and knocking them both down.
I felt something hit my back, and I turned to see a runed sword against my firmer flesh. I grabbed it and snapped it in half, and then threw my power out below me, pushing myself into the air and across the lobby, landing on the reception desk.
"Seriously," I said again. "Just wait a second. I want to borrow something. Nobody else has to get hurt."
There was still no reply. The guards came at me again, trying to coordinate their movements to overwhelm me. I threw my power out again, knocking them over a second time. This was a fight they couldn't win, not unless they had a prison to catch me in or a weapon that could deflect my power.
I hopped off the desk and headed for the elevators. One of the guards charged me a third time. I slapped the sword from his hand and grabbed him, turning him easily and taking his head in my arms, positioned so it would be too easy to break.
"Why won't you listen?" I asked.
"I told them not to," Sarah said.
She swept in through the front of the building, her wings flashing as they reflected the light.
I froze, letting the captured Nicht Creidem fall to the ground in front of me.
"Uriel's blade, brother?" she said, landing between me and the exit. "Your intention is to kill me and take my power?"
She sounded hurt.
Bianca had done a good job convincing me she was playing for the right team.
Damn.
"You were going to kill me back in Italy," I said.
"Out of necessity."
"Same here."
"I'm trying to save humankind. Isn't that our job?"
"You said I was breaking the balance, not keeping it."
"Yes."
"So are you."
"Yes."
That answer stopped me in my tracks.
"Are you surprised?" she said. "I know how my story ends, Landon. I've seen it, remember? When all the others are gone, when you're gone, I will be gone, too. That is the way it must be."
"If you destroy all of the Divine, there will be nothing left for anyone."
"I don't believe that. I have seen it."
"You haven't looked far enough. Things won't fall apart in an instant, but they will over time. Everything is connected. Everything is related. You can't kill an archfiend without another taking their place. You can't destroy two realms without destroying the third."
"It will all be destroyed if I do nothing," she said. "How can I stand by and watch everything die because of me?"
"Because of you?" I asked.
"My existence caused your existence. I helped unlock the Beast. I was the reason you stayed when you could have left this world behind."
I felt my anger growing. "Is this about fate or guilt?"
"It is about what is and must be. The Nicht Creidem seek the end of the Divine, and with their help, I will achieve it."
"You aren't listening," I said.
"No. You aren't listening, brother. There are always three, remember? You cannot change what is or what will be."
She wasn't making any sense. Whatever was in her that was causing her to do this, it had stolen who she had been. The realization was as painful as if she were already dead.
I looked over her shoulder. I wasn't ready to fight her, which meant I needed to get away, the third eye be damned. The problem was that Dante couldn't pass through the entrance, his Divine power blocked by hidden runes and scripture. But if I could reach the other side, he could bamf us out.
All I had to do to reach the other side was time walk myself.
"Let us finish what we started, brother," she said, moving toward me, her wings wrapping around her, the tips pointed my way. "Dante can't intervene this time."
"You're making a mistake, Sarah," I said. "A huge mistake. I know you think you're doing the right thing, but you aren't. You're going to destroy everything. You're going to become everything your father wants you to be. Everything the Beast tried to be."
"You don't know anything about it," she screamed, so loudly it cracked the glass inside the lobby. "I am saving these people from us, and from him. I am protecting them from our chaos and destruction and death. I am sparing them from our reckless, wanton ambivalence."
"You aren't," I said calmly. "You're killing them."
"No," she replied softly. "I'm only killing you."
She swept forward, so fast I could barely follow the motion. I clutched my power tight, dropping it behind me and falling backward into the spacetime bubble. It popped open on the other side of her, and I hit the ground closer to the entrance, a little disoriented but desperate to escape.
"Stop him," she said, spinning around.
The Nicht Creidem jumped into action, rushing toward me as I stumbled to my feet. The front of the building was only a short distance away, and I could see Dante on the other side, running toward it.
A serrated feather was sticking out of his side, and blood was running from a deep gash in his neck.
Somehow, Sarah had gotten the drop on him. Damn it.
He could have gone back to Purgatory to heal. He should have, but didn't. He stayed to help me.
I spun to face Sarah again, throwing my power out like a wall. It knocked the Nicht Creidem back, but did nothing to her, as she cleaved through it with her wings once more.
"I don't know who you are," I said.
"You never did," she replied.
I pushed off with my power, sending myself hurting back, through the cracked glass and out into the street. I hit the side of a car, denting it inward and coming to rest, every one of my ribs broken. Dante reached me as Sarah took to the sky, rushing toward us.
"Dante, get us out of here," I said.
"I cannot, signore. I'm too damaged. I can only return to Purgatory."
"Why don't you?"
He looked into my eyes with his own. They bore deep into my soul, giving me an instant chill.
"Take up the sword," he said.
"What?"
"There is no time. Use Uriel's blade. Capture my power. Now." His tone was serious, furious, commanding. His eyes burned red, in a way I hadn't seen in years.
"You want me to kill you?"
"No, but you must. Do it."
He had reached under my coat and retrieved the blade. He pulled it from the sheath and held it out to me. I looked past him to Sarah, who would be on us in seconds.
"Dante," I said. "I can't."
He smiled sadly and nodded.
Then he shoved the blade into his gut.
"Take it," he said, releasing the hilt. "Take the power, or you are going to die."
I didn't have time to say anything. Not thank you. Not goodbye. Not anything. I grabbed the sword, the rune at the end flaring as I did.
The pain was intense. Excruciating. So much more so than it had been with Raguel. Dante was the Lord of Purgatory, maybe not on a level with God or Lucifer, maybe not even as
powerful as Zifah, but he was no slouch. I was barely able to contain the agony, to fight against it and throw myself away from the car as Sarah came swooping down, wings stabbing at me, slicing violently through the fallen poet.
She screamed at my evasion, and I rolled over in time to see her toss Dante aside. He fell to dust as she did, scattering into the breeze.
I clenched my teeth to fight against the pain, the anger, the disappointment, and the new font of strength that was adding fuel to my fire. It still wasn't enough to beat Sarah; I could sense that much. Her power was unlike anything the Divine could muster. It was of a kind that was never meant to be.
"Now you," she said. Her eyes were cold. Cruel. She was bending the way Raguel had, her guilt and rage twisting her initial design into something more. Or was it less?
Either way, I knew there would only be one way to stop her, despite what I had told Josette.
I pushed myself to my feet. Dante's power was coursing through me, mingling with my own.
"Not yet," I said, closing my eyes.
I felt a familiar rush of air, and when I opened them, I was far, far away.
Thirty-Five
"Landon?" Obi said.
I looked around the space, still a little disoriented. I was in Espanto's hideaway, standing in the center of the workspaces. Obi was off to the left, looking up from one of them.
"That really sucked," I said, falling to my knees. I felt nauseous and dizzy, and a little high on the power I had gained. It was like a massive hit of caffeine, leaving me jittery and cold.
Dante was gone. Dead. Worse than dead. Erased to nothing, just like that. And for what? To save my life?
My life wasn't worth it.
"What happened, man?" Obi asked, rushing over to me. "Where's Dante?"
"Gone," I replied. "He sacrificed himself to save me. He gave me his power through the sword. Sarah caught up with us. She has a deal with the Nicht Creidem. They're helping her kill the Divine."
"You mean a trap?"
"Yeah. Sort of. We thought Gervais was setting one for me. Sarah set her own."
"Damn."
"That's what I said." I managed to pull myself to my feet. "She's different, Obi. She's lost it. Completely lost it."
Obi looked stricken. He seemed to know what I meant without having to ask.
"Geez. I'm sorry, man."
"Me too. There are no winners here. No matter what we're all going to lose something."
We already had.
"What are we supposed to do? I take it you didn't get the third eye?"
"No. That part of the plan is shot. I got the mimic stone, though. It's better than nothing." Dante's power would be a huge help as well, though that thought was still a raw one. It was hard for the truth of what had just happened to sink in. The whole thing was surreal in the worst way possible.
"If Dante is gone, what happens to Purgatory?" Obi asked.
"I don't know. Probably nothing right away. Someone will have to take over for him, I suppose." I paused, trying to settle my stomach. "That may be the least of our concerns right now. What time is it?"
"Here or in Indo?"
"Indo."
"Nine o'clock."
Gervais' demo of the Fist was in two hours. That didn't leave us a lot of time.
"I was feeling a little better about this a few hours ago," I said.
"It's not your fault, man. I'm sure you did everything you could."
"It wasn't enough. It wasn't even close."
"You have to bounce back. There's no other choice."
"I know."
I fought against the tide of emotions that threatened to sweep over me. I railed against the upset in my gut, and in my soul. I had already known I would have to kill Sarah. The promise I had made to Josette had been made with the hope of an outcome I didn't believe in. It was like a lie, but not quite. I had told her there were no guarantees.
The door across the room opened, and Alichino wandered in. He looked at me strangely when he did, and for a moment I thought it was because he had forgotten about me again.
"Dante?" he said, his snout curling and his eyes beginning to water.
They had been friends. Close friends. Somehow, the demon could see his power in me. The truth of the last few minutes punched me in the gut again.
"I'm sorry," I said. "He sacrificed himself for me."
Alichino nodded sadly and then fled the room.
"Poor little guy," Obi said, watching him for a moment. Then he turned back to me. "So, are we going to call back your girlfriend to help us out with this?"
"No. Not that I don't want her beast-mode on our side for this, but we won't be able to surprise Gervais if her aura is blaring across the countryside."
"Do you think we're going to surprise him?"
"It's fifty-fifty, but that's what the stone is for."
"Right. When do you want to head out?"
"No better time than now," I replied. "Can you get me a location that's a little further out than we had planned? Dante was going to drop us, and I'm not that comfortable with his method of transportation just yet. I want a little breathing room in case I screw it up."
Obi laughed and returned to his workstation. "Can do."
He called me over a minute later. I had managed to quell my nausea by then, and get a better feeling for my increase in power. I hadn't been expecting to gain some of Dante's abilities along with his Divine energy. That was a surprise bonus.
"Bogor, Indonesia," Obi said, showing me the view from Google Earth. It felt like a different world compared to New York City, though it seemed equally as crowded. "It's about thirty miles outside of Srizyl's main compound. As long as we avoid the attention of any Divine, we should be able to disappear in there for a while."
"Sounds good."
"Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Not completely."
He smiled. "But if you teleport with me, I'm not going to wind up with my head where my ass is or anything?"
"I'm not making any promises."
"I can stay here."
I looked at him. He smiled.
"Right. Let me grab my Nintendo power gloves and I'll be right back."
He headed for the door.
"You are coming back, right?" I asked.
He winked before he disappeared.
I slumped down into his abandoned chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. I didn't know how much more I could take. At least when I was fighting the Beast, I was going up against an enemy whose motivations that I maybe didn't understand but at least could villainize. Sarah was a different story. She wasn't a monster. She was a person. Powerful? Yes. Confused? Yes. Lost? It seemed like it. But still at least part human. Beyond that, she was like a sister to me, or maybe like a daughter. Either way, I loved her like family. Even her efforts to kill me hadn't changed that.
Obi returned a minute later, wearing the gloves Uriel had made for him, along with a leather jacket and jeans. He looked badass, focused and ready to bring it. I needed to be the same.
"Thanks for coming back," I said as I stood and met him halfway.
"You know I'll never abandon you when you need me."
"You're a good friend."
"Damn right."
I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder. He put his hand on mine.
"Don't get me bass-ackwards," he said.
I closed my eyes and pictured the image from Google Maps.
A moment later, we were there.
Thirty-Six
Bogor was as crowded as the picture had suggested, even at nine o'clock at night. The city was alive with activity, as motorcycles and scooters raced along narrow streets along with pedestrians, bicycles, and the occasional car.
Nobody took any notice of my arrival with Obi. We became an instant part of the landscape, just another flesh and bone obstacle to move past. Obi shouted with joy that his head and rear were in the right place, but otherwise we started walking along with the rest of the traffi
c as if we had been there all day.
The jump made me a little dizzy, but the effects were shorter-lived the second time. Maybe it was because I was more calm when I made it. Maybe it was integrating better with the rest of my energy. Maybe it was from experience. Either way, it gave me a growing sense of confidence that I could handle the power, and learn to use it to my advantage.
"What do you want to do now?" Obi asked. "We've got some time to kill."
"The teleport didn't knock me out like the last time," I replied. "We should take advantage of the extra time. Rent a couple of bikes, head for the target, and be a little more judicious with our approach."
"Agreed."
We moved through the streets. I stopped at a few street vendors, asking them where I could get a pair of motorcycles. They barked out directions, pointing and waving through the throng. It took a few tries, but we found the place before long.
It was being run by a fiend.
"We can find another place," Obi suggested.
We were standing across from the shop, out of sight. I was trying to decide if I wanted to announce myself to him or not. Odds were high that he was in Srizyl's employ, which meant if he saw me he was sure to rat me out. I didn't really need her to know I was coming before I got there.
At the same time, I knew next to nothing about the archfiend and getting a little intel from the demon had a lot of potential value. It wasn't my intent to raid her compound and go right to wholesale slaughter. If I thought I could convince her to give up Gervais, I would.
"No. Let's go talk to him," I said, making up my mind. Beating around the bushes hadn't worked for me so far.
"You sure, man?"
"Yeah. Come on."
We moved across the crowd. The shop was small, with only four bikes out in front of it that looked like they were for rent. It had an open front, and the fiend was sitting behind a rickety table that served as a counter.
He looked up at our approach. His eyes landed on Obi first, pausing on the gloves. He tried to stand.
