by J. Ashburn
“Please leave.” Cole was a lot firmer now. “Or I’ll have to call the police.”
Baby Zach let out a cry and Sondra cuddled him. Getting up, she left the room.
Tom’s gaze swept the room and he nodded to Cole with a smile. “Very well. Sorry to have bothered you and your lovely family.”
Cole shut the door behind Tom and turned back to the living room, running his fingers through his hair. “What the hell?” He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Micah.
###
Tom looked around Cole’s neighborhood. All of the old colonial houses were quiet and unassuming. The yards were well kept and the streets were empty. Some of the streets were still made of the original cobblestone.
He walked on past his car a little ways to a crossroads. Beneath the light of a streetlamp he bent down and put his hand in the center of it. “Yep. This is the place. Soon.” He took a piece of chalk from his satchel and drew a six-pointed star in the center of the crossroads then looked up at the stars in the sky. When he was satisfied with his art he returned to his car and left the area. He still had to find Micah. Something was shielding him from being found. Tom wasn’t quite sure what that was… yet.
###
Nick was playing a game on his phone when Micah came through the front door of Nicki’s apartment.
“Micah? I thought you were working.” Nick stuffed his phone into his jean’s pocket and stood up from the couch. “It’s my turn to be here.”
“I asked to leave early. It’s okay buddy. You go home, be with Jake. I’ll watch over her.”
Nick gave Micah a big hug.
“How’s she been?” Micah asked.
“Mostly sleeping. I went in a few times and checked on her and she’s out. Snoring even.”
Micah chuckled. “Guess that’s a good sign. Thank you for everything.”
“Don’t even mention it.”
They hugged again before Nick left the condo. Micah sidled up to the bedroom door and listened. He didn’t hear anything. He eased the door open and stepped in carefully.
Nicki was asleep on the bed, her hands still restrained. Micah watched her chest rise and fall. She seemed so peaceful. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared, wanting to reach out to her, wanting to comfort her but he knew better.
Her eyes shot open. A crooked smile split her face. “Hello Micah. Come to watch me ravage your best friend?”
“Screw you.”
“Maybe later.”
“Leave her alone. She wasn’t involved in any of this. This is my fault. You want to wreck someone try wrecking me.”
“That would be loads of fun but having you watch it happen to your best friend… now that’s priceless.”
“Again screw you, demon. We will get you out.”
“Oh I doubt that. I got a pretty good grip here.”
“Nicki, I know you can hear me in there. You’re still you. Remember that. Fight him, fight him with all of your strength.”
Nicki’s face melted into a mask of anguish. Her lips trembled and her eyes pleaded with him. “Micah… oh Micah… help me… please… I can’t fight him… I…”
Micah reached out for her, putting his arms around her. “Nicki! I’m here.”
She suddenly gnashed her teeth at him, missing his throat by inches. Micah stumbled away from the bed, his heart slamming against his chest. Wicked laughter spilled out of Nicki.
“Stupid primate. You really think it’s that easy. You say a few encouraging words than poof I’m gone. Really? You know,” Nicki’s smile grew so impossibly wide Micah thought her cheeks my shatter. “It won’t be long before I can break these restraints. When Nicki is completely gone I will burst out of here with all of my hellish power and cast your city aflame.”
“Not gonna happen.”
She licked her lips and continued on as if Micah had said nothing. “Then, after your demon lover is sent back to Hell, you will be all alone, Micah. All alone.”
“Caleb isn’t going anywhere.”
“Oh really? I wouldn’t bet on that.”
“I’m done listening to you. Pretty soon it will be you going straight back to Hell. And I would bet on that.”
Micah crossed the room and left, closing the door behind him. He heard laughter on the other side of it. The hallways felt ominous as they filled with shadows. A bad feeling stirred in the pit of his stomach and he kept repeating the demon Sebastian’s words in his head over and over. He was missing something, he was sure of it.
He entered he living room with a sigh and sat down, running his hands through his hair, something his brother always did. Micah thought of him just then and the baby. His cell vibrated and to his surprise it was Cole calling.
Micah started to answer when he got an awful feeling about Caleb. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. An empty feeling of loss surged through him. It tore at his insides like nothing before. He sent Cole’s call to voicemail.
###
Jake paced around the kitchen for the last time then stopped. He eyed the doorway to the living room and ripped the bottle from his pocket.
He thumped his foot on the floor then called out: “Caleb! I need help!”
“Jake?” Caleb’s voice reverberated through the rooms. “Are you all right? Is something wrong?”
“I think I twisted something…can you come help me?”
“I am coming now.”
Caleb crossed the kitchen’s threshold and Jake hurled the small glass bottle at his feet. It smashed with a strange bellowing echo. The smell of soot filled the air. A glowing circle formed around Caleb and he froze. Jake saw the shock in the fallen angel’s eyes and the panic that began to take shape. The circle ignited with green fire.
“Jake what have you done?”
“I’m sorry, Caleb. You don’t belong here. You need to go back to where you came from.” Jake pulled Caleb’s sigil out of his pocket and started toward him.
“I cannot move,” Caleb said as he spotted his sigil in Jake’s hand. “Jake, please no. Please do not do this.”
“You’re putting us all in danger. Especially Micah. I need to send you back so he can see how better I am for him. Nothing personal but demons belong in Hell.”
9.
Nick pulled into Jake’s driveway and met his twin Rick just stepping out of his car, his hands full of grocery bags.
“Hey,” Nick called. “What ya doing?”
“Just went to get supplies for ice cream sundaes!” Rick’s face beamed.
“Really? You?”
“It was Jake’s idea. I was just accommodating him.”
“Uh-huh. Yeah, sure.”
“Shut up… whatever…”
The two brothers came barreling through Jake’s kitchen door and froze in their tracks. Rick dropped his bags to the floor.
They saw Caleb trapped inside of circle of strange flames, flames that didn’t spread nor produce any heat or smoke. Caleb reached out to Nick, making eye contact with him. His expression was pure terror. “Please Nick! Help me!”
“Jake! What the hell are you doing?” Nick approached him but Jake pushed him away.
“Stay out of this, Nick. I have to finish this, goddammit. He’s almost gone… he’s almost out of here for good.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Nick cried. “Get away from Caleb.” Nick grabbed hold of Jake’s arm, the one holding the sigil.
Jake turned around, his brow furrowed, rage burned his eyes. “Get the fuck away!” He swung his arm hard, catching Nick in the jaw.
Nick grunted and stumbled into some cabinets. His brother Rick launched himself at Jake, and a brother’s protective anger took over. He threw a punch at Jake and hit him square in the face.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Rick grabbed Jake with both hands and threw him into the wall. “Don’t you ever touch my brother!”
“Shit…” Nick crawled to his feet and steadied himself. He rushed to Caleb but stopped before reaching the circle of fire
.
“I cannot move or cross the circle,” Caleb said to him.
“What can I do?”
“Break the circle. Step on it or something… the flames can’t hurt a human.”
With some hesitation, Nick put his foot cross the fire and the flames died. He reached in and took Caleb’s hand and pulled him out.
“Thank you.” He turned to Jake. “He was trying to banish me back to Hell. He has my sigil…written on some paper.”
Jake made a move to hide the sigil in his hand but Rick grabbed his wrist. “Give it up asshole.” He twisted Jake’s hand, causing him to scream and pried the sigil out of his grip.
Rick walked over to the stove, turned on one of the burners and put the sigil into the flames, destroying it. He went to Nick and Caleb to make sure they were all right.
“No…” Jake squirmed on the floor. “He is putting us all in danger. He needs to go back to where he came from. I need to send him back!”
Rick curled his hands into fists but Caleb put his hand on Rick’s shoulder. “Do not harm him. He is no longer a threat.”
Caleb put his arm around Nick. “I am sorry Nick. He said that if I was out of the way Micah would realize how he belonged with him instead of you.”
Nick’s eyes welled. “You son of a bitch.”
“He’s lying!” Jake growled. “I was doing this for us…he’ll only bring death down on all of us. He’s a demon… he’ll never change!”
“Go to Hell,” Nick said lastly
The kitchen door flew open again and Micah charged into the room. He was out of breath. His jaw dropped when he saw the scene. His eyes met Caleb’s and the two embraced immediately.
Micah’s chest heaved as he caught his breath. He whispered in Caleb’s ear. “I felt that you were in danger. I could feel your fear. I got so scared.”
“I am okay now. Your friends were here.”
Micah smiled and kissed him. A moan escaped Jake.
“What happened?” asked Micah.
“I will tell you all of it later,” Caleb said. “Nicki is alone.”
“I know…I had to…”
“We should head back there.”
“You guys all right?” Micah asked Nick and Rick.
“We’re good,” Nick replied, wiping tears from his face. “Jake and I are over. Rick will stay with me while I get my things.”
“Okay.” Micah glanced at Jake who refused to look at him. There was blood seeping from his nose. Micah took a dishcloth from the counter and threw on the floor in front of Jake. He took Caleb’s hand. “Let’s go.”
###
Caleb sped across town driving Micah’s wagon, determined not to leave Nicki alone for too long.
Micah took hold of his car door and held on. He broke out into laughter. “Whoa… how did you learn to drive a car?”
“Your television.”
Micah laughed even louder. “Oh man, not the greatest of examples. I can teach you someday.”
“That would be nice.”
“Listen… I’m so sorry I wasn’t there in time. If it wasn’t for Nick and Rick, I don’t know…I …I can’t even think about losing you.”
“It is not your fault, Micah.”
“I sensed something. I could almost feel that you were in danger. I should have paid more attention and left sooner. What Jake was going to do to you is unforgivable.”
“He is a flawed man. I could see the pain and conflict inside of him. He did not truly know what he was doing.”
“Don’t defend him. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was getting you out of the way so he could get to me. He’d been hitting on me ever since I met him.”
Caleb nodded. “He is going to need our help. His pain is not over.”
“I want nothing to do with him. He is dead to me.”
“That is not really you, Micah. I know this. I can see the colors of your soul. He will need healing. Your natural inclination is to heal others, I see this.”
Micah didn’t answer. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, remembering seeing Jake taking drugs while at the hospital.
A few moments later, Caleb pulled into Nicki’s condo complex and parked. The two of them hopped out of the car and hurried to her condo. They both entered her bedroom hoping beyond hope that nothing had happened to her or that things weren’t worse.
Nicki opened her eyes and stared at Caleb as he entered the room. “Ah, still here Caleb? It’s so good to see you again.”
“You helped Jake,” Caleb said. “You taught him the binding circle and my sigil.”
“Son of bitch,” Micah hissed and charged the bed, his hands curled into fists.
Caleb took him by the arm. “Micah…. It is still Nicki inside there. You cannot. It will not hurt him.”
Nicki laughed in Sebastian’s laugh. “Should have known that human couldn’t follow through. If you want something done you have to do it yourself. That is so true Caleb, isn’t it? When I am free from this room I’ll take care of you myself.”
Caleb shook his head. A gurgling sound rose out of Nicki and thick, black saliva oozed out of her mouth.
“Oh God,” Micah gasped. “I’ll go get her a towel.”
Caleb watched Micah rush from the room then moved closer to Nicki. “Sebastian, why do you hate me so much?”
“I don’t hate you Caleb. It’s nothing personal. I’m following our master’s wishes.”
“Our master? You mean the one who broke every promise to us he made? The one who failed to lift us out of the pit and return us to Heaven? The one that continues to lie to us over and over again? He betrayed us, Sebastian. He used us to fight his war and when he lost all of his promises turned to dust.”
“You keep telling yourself that. The war is still waging, my brother. And you’ve gone AWOL. I need to take you back.”
Micah returned with a towel. Caleb halted him and asked for it. “Let me. Please. Give me a few moments alone with Sebastian.”
“Okay.” Micah looked surprised but did as Caleb wanted. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
Caleb turned back to Nicki and gently wiped her mouth. She stuck out her black-coated tongue and tried to lick him. He refused to be frightened and continued his cleaning.
“I know you Sebastian,” Caleb continued. “You are hoping to go up the ranks of the hierarchy. You want to ascend the legions of Hell.” Caleb shook his head. “No one has in centuries. You are wasting your time. Lucifer has forgotten us. He has forgotten you.”
“You wish he has Caleb. So you can stay out of the pit and escape your suffering. Did you think of any of the rest of us still suffering there?”
“Is that what this is all about? Is that why you cannot leave me in peace? You are jealous that I escaped Hell? You are jealous that I found love here and want to stay? Sebastian, you can leave too? Just do not go back…. Leave Nicki’s body and stay on the Earth.”
“Love? With these primates? Are you serious? I wouldn’t stay with them for anything in the universe. Disgusting piles of meat—so imperfect, so weak and vulnerable. They are pathetic. And you are pathetic for conniving with them. You are soiled. Filthy to us. You are a traitor and deserve what Lucifer has in store for you.”
“You are wrong about the humans. Very wrong. They are beautiful beings. They strive to be better, so many of them have pure love in their hearts and souls. Micah and his friends welcomed me into their fold and have given nothing but love to me. Did you ever stop to think why you hate them so? Why your master hates them so much? No, you just blindly follow. The war is over. We have lost. You know it in your heart. If could only see them how I see them you would—
“Enough traitor! The war has just begun and you will see! It is going to end right here on the Earth and soon we will…”
“What did you say?”
“Oh yes,” Sebastian cackled loudly, it was the sound of crows and screeching cats reverberating around the walls of the room. “You finally know…fool. It is coming, a
battle to end all battles when Lucifer will crush your precious humans. They are the abominations not us.”
“No…” Caleb shook his head. “He cannot. He… they are better than us…do you not see that? We think we are perfect so we remain dark or light, we never ascend. We have just the same feelings as they, wrath, hatred for each other, jealousy, rage but they try to be better. They try to be more than who they are despite their sins. We just remain the same.”
“It’s already too late, Caleb.”
Caleb’s eyes welled. He stormed from the room while Sebastian continued to mock and call after him.
He entered the hallway, slamming the door behind him and slumping against the wall. Warm tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Caleb,” Micah came to him immediately. “Caleb, what is it? What’s wrong? Is Nicki all right?”
“She’s still ok. It’s Sebastian. He says the war between us all is coming to the Earth. He says Lucifer’s legions intend to destroy all of you to spite the angels. We cannot let that happen… Micah… I will not lose you… “
Micah put his arms around him. “Don’t listen to him. Sebastian’s a liar. He couldn’t tell the truth if he wanted to. God wouldn’t let this happen.”
“Father has not been interested in any of this in a long time.”
“I can’t believe anything that bastard says. He’s just trying to torment you. Don’t give in to him. Remember what you told me? Ignore him, everything that comes out of him is a lie.”
“You are right. I cannot trust his word.” Caleb cracked a smile.
They leaned into one another to kiss when a crash stopped them dead. They turned to see Nehemiah burst through the front door.
A spiked mace materialized in the angel’s hand and he charged. Caleb put up both hands in defense. He braced for Nehemiah and pushed Micah out of the line of fire, shoving him into the living room.
Caleb ducked the first blow and the mace smashed the wall, sending plaster and wood scattering around the hallway. Nehemiah turned and took the mace in both hands.
“Brother wait, please!” Caleb called. “I need your help.”
