Artemis nodded, then ran down the hall away from the cell door. Her part in this was over. Now it was up to Alan to sell his shock and dismay.
Alan watched as Kyle lifted a balled fist and raised one finger at a time. As the third finger rose, the angels fell to the floor as if their legs had turned to jelly.
Kyle reached for the keys, then unlocked the cell door.
Alan took a deep breath and, in a light, easy stride, he started walking away from the cell hall. Soft footsteps reached his ears before he could count to five. Turning, he saw Kyle race down the hall, with Triana following close behind. “Hey, Kyle. What’s the—” He intentionally made eye contact with Triana.
Alan did his best to act shocked—his mouth fell open, and he forced his eyes wide as he filled his lungs to shout a warning. Kyle slammed into him like a linebacker with a free hit on the opposing quarterback.
The blow was enough to force Alan to quit acting and actually fall backwards as the wind was knocked out of him.
“Run!” Kyle shouted to his follower.
Despite the shock and the fact he’d been thrown against the stone wall of the Temple, Alan held back a chuckle as he saw Triana, eyes wider than his own, look back to him, then forward as she raced down the hall.
With a grunt, Alan recovered from his fall and regained his feet to follow in pursuit. The next stage of the phase would be tricky. Offering Triana the reality that she was escaping the Temple meant they couldn’t make it easy for her.
“Ardat, Esther,” Alan yelled as he followed. “Triana is escaping with Kyle!” It felt strange to yell something he didn’t really mean. Kind of fun in a way.
Alan called on his supernatural gift of speed to travel through the Temple’s maze of halls. He caught up with Kyle and his clueless runaway as they entered the Temple’s main hall.
Alan was just in time to witness Triana transform into that same mutant bull that had gored him during their first encounter. With a lowered head, she ran at Esther as Kyle used Ardat’s own powers over gravity against her.
Esther sidestepped Triana’s horns, and at the last second, glanced off the animal’s body, selling the idea she was thrown with a crash into a large bookcase.
Likewise, Ardat was flying backwards through the air under the pretense that Kyle had caught her off guard.
In a matter of seconds, Kyle and Triana were gone, up the stairs, toward their false sense of freedom. Michael and Seraphim with her Death Angels would track them from afar.
Alan caught Esther pulling herself free from a stack of toppled books. Ardat rejoined them from her spot on the floor. “Do you think she bought it?”
Ardat shrugged. “Any scenario where Kyle is more powerful than I am would be a joke, but Triana has never been the sharpest tool in the shed.”
Esther almost smiled at the woman’s words. “I think we acted surprised enough to explain their escape. Michael and Seraphim will track them now. We should be concentrating on our own parts to play in what comes next.”
Chapter Ninety-One
Everything would change. Time and fate were both a constant stream headed toward one direction, and Gabriel wasn’t foolish enough to think he could stop that flow. He did know that his power, combined with the curse from the shaman, would divert that stream.
The raw strength that pumped from his heart to every portion of his being told him this was possible. Nothing would be the same. What he’d found inside the Statue of Zeus had placed him in a league of his own.
Gabriel hovered over the landscape, clasping the amulet in his right hand. The small trinket etched with the symbols of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was such a simple thing, yet combined with what he’d become, it would change the world.
Gabriel took a deep, steady breath, while his wings beat in unison on either side. With both hands, he held the spell-laden charm and, channeling the same power he’d discovered inside the statue, Gabriel willed his laws into effect.
He began his spell by rejecting what their world told them was true, twisting and manipulating the rules set in place for millennia. The effort was enough to hold the air in his lungs, and his entire body sent out dark tendrils that shifted and wavered in open space.
Every muscle seized. Even his wings ceased to beat. Gabriel fell, but below him there was no world, only darkness. Sweat ran from every pore in his body, and fatigue began to set in. The power the hex demanded would have killed anyone else.
Still, Gabriel’s stranglehold held. Hate and the lust for power forced him on and darkness tore through his heart as he ripped the fabric of reality and imposed his own wishes on fate: the Horseman, the rules of supernatural life and death, the Wonders, the very world they lived in. They would all change.
---
Alan, Ardat, and Danielle said their good-byes to Esther, Gideon, and Angelica. Artemis was also present at the entrance of the Temple to see both parties off. Their paths would lead them on very different journeys.
Alan found himself already missing the Temple as Artemis reached up to give him a hug. The concern in her eyes gave him pause as he knelt next to her. “What’s wrong, Artemis?”
In that moment, Alan wasn’t sure if she was looking at him through the eyes of a child or a mother. “It’s all going to change.”
“What is?”
“Everything. You have to stop him, Alan. At all costs, you have to stop him.”
“I will. Don’t worry. We won’t let Gabriel bring about the Apocalypse. I promise.”
“I wish I could see more of the future,” the girl said. “So much is still hidden from me. I can only see pain and suffering clearly. Victory is veiled in a series of choices.”
“We’ll win, Artemis,” Alan said, summoning the most reassuring smile he could manage. “I promise. We’ll win and we’ll eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches together again.”
Artemis looked into Alan’s eyes, freed from her own thoughts of doubt. “You’re right. It’ll be okay. It’s just going to get worse before it gets better. Good-bye, Alan.”
Artemis wrapped him in a hug so intense, it caught Alan off guard. As Alan returned the girl’s embrace, he could hear her tiny, faint sobs, almost too low to perceive. Her body shook in his arms.
A thunderous sound, as if the sky itself was tearing in two, seized Alan’s attention and he lifted his eyes as darkness spread over the once-clear blue atmosphere.
“He did it,” Ardat said with a tired voice. “We’re too late.”
“The spell worked,” Esther breathed.
Everyone stood stunned as a shadow filled the sky. Darkness not only covered the landscape, but it also worked its way into their very bodies, and fear gripped Alan’s heart, forcing into his mind the notion that they’d already lost.
The girl sobbing in his arms reminded him that fear was a choice. So Alan fought back his questions and steeled his will against the darkening landscape, pulling Artemis away from his body instead.
At arm’s length, he wiped the tears from the girl’s large, brown eyes. Alan had never considered himself a leader, yet in that moment, he knew leading was exactly what he needed to do. “It’s going to be okay.”
Standing, Alan looked around him. Everybody’s eyes were on the sky, shadows of their own fear written across their faces as everyone battled against their own inner demons.
“This isn’t the end,” Alan said. Stares turned his way as his voice shook them from their own thoughts. “Gabriel can change whatever he wants, because there is no reality that exists where we don’t fight him and win. This isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning.”
End Book 2
Volume Three
Of Angels and Gods
Formerly Titled
Alan Price and the Statue of Zeus
Prologue
Before the Creation of Mankind
The air was perfect, the sun’s warm rays the same. Peace was whole in a time before conflict. For Michael, the idea of strife was nonexistent. The worl
d as he knew it was flawless in everyway. Joy was waking up to be surrounded by the ones he loved and an eternity with those same beings.
Michael let his wings flap ever so gently through the rushing air. His eye caught motion to his right. He already knew who was coming to join him. Two angels he would consider as close as brothers, Gabriel and Raphael.
“If you smile any wider, I think you’re going to break your face,” Gabriel said. “Thinking about Ardat again?”
Raphael maneuvered himself to Michael’s side and gave him a gentle nudge on the shoulder. “Oh, let him be happy Gabriel; it’s not everyday we get to see our little brother appointed as an Archangel.”
Gabriel joined his two brothers. They flew slowly in sync. Their massive wings spread out on either side of their bodies. Michael soared in the middle with Gabriel on his left and Raphael to his right. “To be honest with you, you both were right. I was on my way to go see Ardat and I was thinking about my new position. It’s beyond an honor to be appointed as an Archangel with the two of you and—”
“Oh, please,” Gabriel said. “You deserve it. We’re privileged to have you become one of us.”
“He’s just looking forward to giving you some of his workload,” Raphael said with a playful grin.
Michael’s smile widened as Gabriel feigned indignation. “As the oldest of us, you know that’s not the case, Raphael. Six Archangels were enough to handle the work…”
“But?” Michael said sensing the word coming like an inevitable force.
“But,” Gabriel agreed, “I’ll probably ask you to help handle some of the creatures the Creator has me looking after. They’re a handful and gigantic by the way.”
“Of course,” Michael said.
“Well, come on Gabriel. We don’t want to overstay our welcome. I think our little brother has somewhere to be.”
Michael blushed as he gathered Raphael’s meaning.
“Oh right,” Gabriel said. “We don’t want him to be late for his game of kissy-face.”
Raphael gave out a booming laugh. His wavy, silver hair melded into his beard of the same color as his chest rose and fell with mirth.
Before Michael could deny Gabriel’s jest, his two friends increased their altitude and were gone. Once again, Michael found himself flying alone. He knew what he had wasn’t luck. He was blessed to be in the company of such great angels. Now, as the newest addition to the Archangel corps, he would be able to give back in a greater way to his friends and family.
As Michael approached the earth, he picked her out amongst the deep greens and vibrant blues of the world’s surface. She was waiting for him at their favorite location. A hill topped by a single tree thick with branches. The spot overlooked a body of still shimmering water.
Ardat wasn’t alone. She sat with her white wings folded at her back, her long, black hair draped over her right shoulder. In her lap was an infant pegasus, a supernatural being quite closely resembling a horse except for the two wings that spread out on either side of its small body.
The baby pegasus’ head rested gently in her lap. Ardat stroked its soft white mane. She focused her scratches on an area right between the creature’s large, blue eyes. The motion invoked a series of happy sighs and gentle tremors from the small creature.
Michael landed beside the two with a soft thud on the thick grass. “I see you found someone to keep you company.”
Ardat fixed him with the same stare that always stole his breath. She was by far the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The rising of the sun, the brilliance of the stars, the creation of the world; everything paled in comparison to the woman he loved.
She gave the pegasus a final scratch and stood to give Michael a hug. The two embraced. The feeling gave Michael a rush of joy.
“I’m so proud of you. Today, at the ceremony you looked beyond handsome, Michael. You did it; you’re an Archangel now and will join the six others.”
Michael released his hold on her and held her at arm’s length. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Your love and support have meant—still do mean—so much to me.”
Ardat let her hands find his. Something in her eyes and the slow way she spoke told him she was choosing her words carefully. “I’ll always be here for you, Michael. No matter what happens. Nothing will ever stop me from loving you. Everything I do, I do for us.”
Michael’s lips moved towards hers as if he didn’t have a choice in the matter. His life was complete. He couldn’t imagine how things could ever be different. Nothing would happen, they would be together forever.
Michael had no idea how wrong he could be.
Chapter Ninety-Two
Dread inched down Alan’s spine as the darkness became total. Nothing could be heard besides the breathing of those around him. One thing was clear, Gabriel had managed to use the curse that manipulates reality. What that meant exactly, had yet to be seen.
Everyone was suspended in the moment, victim to his or her own fears of the future. Then, just as fast as the sky darkened, the shadow left. Alan blinked against the light of the morning sun. He rubbed his eyes when the landscape around him came back into view. When the darkness overtook the group, they were standing at the entrance to the underground Temple; now Alan stood inside a building.
Large, stone columns reached to the heavens. A stone ceiling provided shelter against the sky. The sun showed sideways through the forest of pillars offering light to the structure. Alan was speechless. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. Everyone was still around him; Gideon, Esther, Angelica, Ardat, Danielle and Artemis who all shared a similar expression. Their faces spoke of wonder and fear.
Something was still off. A thought tickled the back of Alan’s mind as he tried to work out the implications of the event. It hit him like a slap in the face, the humans. The people traveling on the human plane, like phantoms, were gone completely.
A dozen different possibilities pushed for Alan’s attention as panic filled his heart. “What—what just happened?”
“Gabriel exercised his power over the spell,” Ardat said with anger in her eyes, “This changes everything.”
“The people,” Danielle said looking from Alan to Ardat and back again, “Did he kill them?”
Gideon was the first to speak. If he was shaken by the events of the last few minutes, the old angel didn’t show it. “Unlikely, however, it does seem he has managed to separate the two plains the natural and the supernatural live in. It seems he has also managed to remake the Temple.”
“More than likely, he has brought back all seven Wonders of the Ancient World,” Artemis breathed. All eyes turned to the small girl. She was slowly walking among the pillars, her hands briefly touching their cool surfaces as she spoke. “The game has changed. Everything that was old has been made new once again.”
Alan remained quiet as he listened to everyone but tension was building in his shoulders. As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he had a responsibility. The pressure of this title ordered him to speak. He had to do something. “I need to find out how Gabriel is doing this,” Alan looked at each one of them in turn. “This may change things for all of you—and that’s fine, don’t let me hold you back—but I still need to know how Gabriel is so much stronger than any of us. I’m going to the spot where the Statue of Zeus once stood.”
Alan didn’t wait for a reply. Sitting in the aftermath of Gabriel’s actions was beginning to anger him on a deeper level than he thought possible. As the Horseman of War, he needed answers. The fact that he was always waiting, always reacting to Gabriel instead of being the one to make the first move ate at him. With a thought, Alan ordered his wings out behind him. Blue tendrils of energy obeyed his command and waved gently anticipating flight.
“Wait,” Esther said speaking for the first time since the darkness covered the sky, “we need a plan.”
Anger rose in Alan’s chest. “All this planning is not helping us. I’m going. You can talk and discuss all you want but I nee
d to find answers.” With that Alan’s wings beat the air behind him. He lifted into the sky ready to maneuver through the Temple’s pillars and head for the Statue.
No one moved to stop him, however Artemis’ voice gave him pause. “The future is so unclear at this point, it’s impossible for me to give you sound advice. If your heart tells you to go, then go. The rest of us should stay near the Temple and prepare.”
“What?” Danielle asked, “You can’t be serious. We can’t let Alan go by himself, we should—”
“Let him go,” Gideon said with a tug on his short beard. “Everything is playing out as it should. This has all happened for a reason. If Alan feels like he needs to go, then he must walk his own path. Who are we to stop him?”
Alan heard enough. In the wake of Danielle’s protests, he sped through the Temple pillars and out to the unknown world beyond.
---
Fear wasn’t exactly the right word. An eerie stillness covered the world with an unnatural quiet. Silence was the only thing accompanying Alan on his flight. The world around him was motionless. The terrain remained the same, however all signs of life were gone. The earth for all intents and purposes was abandoned. No roads lined with buildings on either side ran across the ground. The white noise of cars and voices was completely gone, vanished like a shifting specter.
The everyday hum of activity was gone, in its place an empty world of silence reigned. As Alan’s wings beat behind, him he chanced a look over his shoulder. There was no doubt that the Temple was rebuilt. In the place where nothing but a few broken pillars stood before, a monolithic structure now took his breath away. It was beautiful. Given any time to spare, Alan would have loved to explore the remade structure, which had been destroyed thousands of years before; but time was not on his side.
The Complete Archangel Wars Series: A Shared Universe Series (The Archangel Wars) Page 39
