Raphael bit back a grunt as he forced himself from the bed. A wave of dizziness washed over him. He had to lean against the side of the bed to catch his breath.
“You’re not fooling anyone,” Danielle said. “You were unconscious for a long time. Your body has to remember how to harness all that power you reclaimed from Gabriel. I’m not going to try to theorize past that, but your body is a mess. I mean—”
Raphael looked at Danielle with a raised eyebrow, bringing her to a stuttering end. “I’ve been through worse before. I’ll manage again. How’s Kassidy?”
“She’s recovered just like you. Esther and Angelica are seeing to her training.”
“Good, and her steed?”
“Her what?” Danielle asked. “Oh, you mean the gryphon? With Seraphim gone, I guess no one has awoken the animal as of yet.”
“Well then,” Raphael said, moving to the door, “it looks like we have something to do.”
“Yeah, okay.” Danielle followed Raphael from the room and through the Temple. “I’m the nerdy tech girl who can heal people, not a beast tamer.”
“And yet you’re still following,” Raphael said with a smile on his lips.
“I’m just trying to have a conversation with you. You’re the one being rude and walking away.”
Raphael grinned and wove his way through the Temple of Artemis. The Temple was a labyrinth of halls and levels that descended into the very earth itself. The section of the Temple he was looking for, however, was a higher level to the north side of the structure.
A tall spiral staircase soon appeared at the end of a long hall in front of them. “Ahhh,” Raphael breathed, “here it is.”
Danielle strode beside him, her curiosity at seeing a gryphon only just outweighing her urge to run in the opposite direction. “Should we maybe wait for Kassidy? I mean, it is her steed.”
“The gryphon must be awoken first then it will find her.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
Raphael and Danielle walked up the narrow flight of stairs that spiraled skyward. Hundreds of steps rose on and on until even Raphael was thinking he should just extend his wings and fly the rest of the way.
“Oh, I can feel it in my quads and glutes and hamstrings … and calves,” Danielle panted. “This definitely counts for my workout today.”
Raphael chuckled. “We’re almost there.”
His words proved truer than even he knew as they crested the last step a few moments later. The pair walked onto the very roof of the Temple. The sun was setting overhead and the whole of the supernatural plane opened up in every direction as far as the eye could see.
“Wow,” Danielle said, massaging her legs. “If it weren’t for that ginormous enemy camp surrounding us, this would almost be perfect.”
Raphael’s silence made Danielle turn to look in his direction. “Raphael, are you …” her voice trailed off into a low whisper, then to nothing as her eyes took in the sight in front of her.
In the middle of the roof, a large nest of branches and foliage surrounded a beast Danielle had only ever heard mention of in myth and legend. A gryphon the size of a horse had its head cocked to the side, staring at both Danielle and Raphael through large eyes.
The animal’s body was that of a lion, complete with massive claws and a long feline tail. Its head and the wings that lay flat on its back, however, were those of an eagle.
“Easy,” Raphael said, not taking his eyes off the gryphon. “No sudden movements. Approach slowly and keep your hands where it can see them.”
“Right,” Danielle managed. Her heart was pounding. The very last thing she wanted to do was approach the creature. “I think I’m just going to stay here while you do whatever it is you need to do.”
“That would be disrespectful,” Raphael warned. “Now that we’re here, we must approach together.”
“Of course we do,” Danielle said, screwing up her courage and forcing one foot in front of the other until she was standing beside Raphael.
Together, they took careful steps until they reached the edge of the gryphon’s nest. The animal continued to look them over with a stare that was one-part curious, one-part wary.
“You’ve already awoken,” Raphael said in a soft voice, keeping his hands out in front of him, “so you know what time it is. The battle is drawing near, our enemies surround us and your rider needs her steed.”
The gryphon finally made a move. Unfurling its wings, it raised its golden beak to the sky and let out a deep cry.
Danielle shuddered.
“Don’t be afraid,” Raphael reassured her. “He’s just stretching.”
Danielle swallowed hard. The gryphon shook itself then looked straight at Danielle and lowered its head in a slow down and up motion.
“He’s ready,” Raphael said.
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four
The roar of the crowd was deafening. Alan blinked as his eyes adjusted from the darkness they were accustomed to in their cell below the coliseum. Above ground, the air was dry and his throat was parched from the lack of water.
Alan’s suspicions were correct; when he tried to call on his wings and any of his powers as a supernatural, there was nothing. Alan glanced around him to confirm what he already knew. All those, both angels and demons, with him in the coliseum were finding the same to be true.
“I guess we’re going to have to do this the old fashioned way,” Seraphim said, crunching her knuckles.
“How do you think they’re dampening our powers?” Bobby asked, joining the pair.
Seraphim and the other angels were tolerating the demons, but only barely. Alan said a silent prayer as she opened her mouth to respond with a sneer. “Either they have their own demons here that can sap our powers, or they’ve used some kind of curse. Whatever they did, it doesn’t matter. All we should be thinking on now, demon, is our survival.”
“Agreed,” Bobby said, surveying the mob in the stands.
Alan moved to the center of the coliseum, ignoring the many degrading shouts aimed to crush his spirits.
“You’re dead; you’re dead already.”
“Fresh meat for the grinder!”
“I want to see an angel bleed.”
More and more calls came, but Alan blocked them all out. He wanted to take the center of the ring to get a look at the surrounding walls. There was no doubt the structure was poorly constructed, but if there was any weak point, Alan didn’t see it. The only breaks in the walls came from four iron gates, one of which they had come out of. Behind each gate, a pair of armed demons stood guard.
One moment, the air was filled with roars from the mob, the next silence. Alan scanned the scene for the reason why. His eyes landed on a shaded platform, where Sodom stood with his arms raised. To his left, Rolf sat with a smirk on his face. To his right, Sodom’s nephew, Trubric. Alan recognized the demon from their previous run-in, when Alan had saved Kassidy from his grip.
“Here before you stands an example. Both angels from Michael’s army and demons that would turn their back on their own kind,” Sodom shouted. “Unbelievers that will not inherit the kingdom to come. They are among the first to feel the cold touch of death, but many will follow. The dawn of the Apocalypse has begun, my followers. Now let the blood flow.”
A cheer louder than any thus far rang through the air as Sodom sat in his chair and waved at Alan.
The ragtag group of imprisoned angels and demons made a circle in the center of the coliseum. There were less than two dozen of them, but they would have to make do.
“This is pointless,” Kyle said to Alan’s left. “We’re already dead.”
“You’ll see,” Alan responded, his head on a swivel, checking all four gates, and preparing for the inevitable attack. “We’re going to make it through this.”
“There,” Seraphim said, pointing to the gate in front of Alan.
The iron bars were slowly being raised. A horrible screeching came from somewhere deep under the coliseum. T
he cries reminded Alan of overgrown crows. A multitude of shrieking voices added to one another until the noise was almost unbearable.
An eternity passed before the gates were finally raised. Blurs of dark feathers shot out from the blackness behind the gate. Dozens of creatures moving too quickly for Alan to track swarmed around Alan and his group.
More cheers from the crowd mixed in with the horrific cries the beasts were making.
“Harpies!” Bobby shouted. “Stay away from their feet; they’ll use their claws as their primary weapon.”
Alan was having a hard time understanding what they were facing until one of the beasts slowed its descent and came to a rest in front of Alan. It was nearly as tall as a minotaur but nowhere as thick. From the waist down, legs covered in scales met a four-toed foot with thick razors for nails. The harpy from the waist up looked like a cross between a woman and a bird. Molting brown feathers covered her torso and large wings were attached to its back. Its face was that of a haggard female. Long pointed ears and wild hair gave it a look of insanity.
Alan tore his eyes away from the single harpy on the ground and searched the air for a reason the other monsters weren’t attacking the demons in the stands. He didn’t have to wait long. Alan witnessed multiple harpies break off from the main pack that swirled around them and dive toward the crowd. An invisible field stopped each one as if walls they couldn’t see were trapping them in the coliseum.
“It’s an invisible bird cage they’ve locked us in,” Bobby muttered.
“What are they waiting for?” Alan asked.
“They’re smart pack animals,” Seraphim shouted above the cawing. “They’re testing any weaknesses in the coliseum to try to escape. Once they know they can’t, they’ll come after us. The one on the ground must be their leader.”
Sweat poured down Alan’s forehead as he struggled to come up with a plan that didn’t involve all of them turning up dead at the end. With no powers, no weapons, and outnumbered, things were looking bleak.
Before Alan could come up with a course of action, the lead harpy in front of him gave a shrill cry. The harpies flying above them attacked as one.
---
“Good,” Ardat said, leaning to the side to avoid a blow. “Don’t stop now. Keep going.”
Tracy was breathing heavy as she aimed a string of punches and kicks in Ardat’s direction. Each attack, Ardat maneuvered around by either dodging the blow or deflecting the strike with her own hands and legs.
“Come on, hit me.”
“I’m—trying,” Tracy said through determined eyes.
“Well, stop trying and do it. Trying will not be enough. You need to succeed.”
Frustration finally won out over Tracy’s emotions and she became careless, swinging high to strike Ardat’s left temple. Ardat caught the blow and used Tracy’s own momentum to send her sprawling face first into the sand, where she landed with a thud. She lay motionless where she landed, panting.
“Get up,” Ardat said without sympathy. “There’s still a lot to learn and we haven’t even begun training with weapons.”
Tracy rolled over in the sand. Tiny granules poured out from her nose and ears. Her face was a mess of sweat and sand and her hair was atrocious. “I feel disgusting and there is definitely sand in places there shouldn’t be.”
Ardat’s glare melted at the sight of Tracy’s state and she even surprised herself with a smile and a short laugh.
Tracy’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow, you can laugh?”
Ardat recovered quickly. “Of course I can. But this is not the time for laughter.”
“I know, I know,” Tracy said, struggling to her feet and slapping her hands together, trying to dispel the sand, “more training. Before you throw me around again, can I ask you a question?”
“What?”
“Who’s that old guy over there by the lighthouse?”
Ardat turned quickly. Tracy was right. Somehow, the Shaman had snuck by her and was sitting on the railing of the stone bridge that connected the beach to the island where the lighthouse stood. He wasn’t alone. A large red bird was perched beside him.
“Take a break,” Ardat said to Tracy before she took off across the beach. As she closed the distance between herself and the Shaman, her suspicions were confirmed. The blood-red bird that sat beside the Shaman was the Horseman of Death’s steed. How he had come to possess the animal was something not even Ardat could guess.
“Hello, Ardat,” the Shaman said, stroking the ostrich-sized phoenix.
“How, did you awaken the phoenix? He’s not ours to handle.”
“Oh, you mistake the events that transpired,” the Shaman said. “The phoenix came to me. It’s time.”
Ardat felt her stomach drop inside her. “She’s not ready. Another day, maybe two, at least.”
The Shaman shook his head. “It has to be now. Two of the four are in mortal danger. We wake Tracy’s steed and we fight.”
So many questions were going through Ardat’s mind, she couldn’t think straight. First and foremost was the strange feeling of responsibility she felt for Tracy’s safety.
You’re a fool, she told herself. You knew this was coming. You did the best you could with the time you had. Your part is played. Tracy must do the rest.
“Your concern for Tracy is admirable,” the Shaman said with a nod. “However, neither of us can stop the course of events unfolding around us.”
Ardat waved his praise away with an open hand. “If I feel anything for Tracy, it’s only the need for her to succeed so I can see Michael once again.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” the Shaman said with a smile. “Ahhh, here she comes now.”
Ardat turned to see a timid Tracy approaching behind her. The girl’s eyes were huge as she looked the phoenix up and down. Ardat couldn’t blame her; seeing the creature’s crimson feathers and its piercing yellow eyes for the first time could be a bit much to handle.
“Sorry, if I’m interrupting. Should I go?”
“No,” Ardat said, looking from Tracy to the Shaman. Her eyes wavered on the Shaman as she gave him a disapproving stare. “Apparently, the time has come to unite you with your steed and ride to battle.”
“What?” Tracy said, taking a step back. “Are you kidding me? I’m not ready to go. I don’t know how to fight.”
“You know enough,” the Shaman said with a smile. “You’re stronger than you think you are. While we travel to rein in your steed and to the battle, Ardat will continue to teach you. However, the time has come. Have faith in yourself and those around you, Tracy.”
Tracy’s mouth was still open as she blinked, trying to process the events surrounding her. “Well, where—where is it that we’re going? What’s my steed to ride into battle?”
“The Horseman of Disease rides a—a type of horse into battle,” Ardat said.
“Oh, well, that doesn’t sound so bad,” Tracy said, exhaling.
“Wait until you see,” Ardat said.
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five
“Cratos said five days, correct?” Raphael asked.
“Yes,” Esther said, looking at the map that covered the table in a large room deep within the Temple. “That was two days ago now. We’re running out of time.”
“And so is Alan,” Danielle said.
The room sat quiet. All in attendance knew Alan, Seraphim, and the others could already be dead.
“We should go now,” Kassidy, the Horseman of Famine, voiced. “I owe Alan my life for taking my place.”
“I admire your courage,” Raphael said with a smile, “however, if we strike without Cratos and the minotaurs, we won’t stand a chance. The Angelic Army has been reduced to hundreds and even with my strength as an Archangel, it will not be enough. Sodom’s ability to sap the power from other supernaturals makes him a formidable opponent. My guess is that he already has Alan’s power and yours. No doubt he’s hunting for the other two Horsemen as well.”
The room sa
t silent. Danielle looked to Raphael, Esther, Kassidy, Angelica, and Artemis. The only person who looked as though they had any idea as to how to mount an attack was Artemis. The little girl was smirking.
She caught Danielle’s eye and winked. “I have a crazy idea,” Artemis said.
“Go on,” Raphael answered.
“Well, maybe we’re not accounting for all of our assets. I know he’s not the most popular person right now, but ...”
Danielle felt her mouth open in shock. Without even saying his name, she knew to whom the young prophet was referring. It seemed she wasn’t the only one.
“I’m going to pretend I’m not thinking you’re referring to the person I think you are,” Angelica said with a look that was both disapproving and full of shock.
“I am,” Artemis said.
“I’m super confused,” Kassidy chimed in from her seat.
“Just so we’re all on the same page,” Esther started, “Artemis is suggesting we try to reason with Gabriel. The person who started these events and the reason we’re all in the mess to begin with.”
Danielle looked at the young Horsewoman take in the information. There was no way Kassidy would be able to grasp the absurdity of Artemis’s thought. Kassidy had already been captured by Sodom and his forces when the fight with Gabriel had taken place, resulting in his capture and the loss of hundreds of supernatural lives—including Seraphim’s entire command of Death Angels—and Michael’s disappearance.
“Oh,” Kassidy said, confirming Danielle’s prediction.
“I have to agree with Angelica on this one,” Esther said after a moment of silence. “While Gabriel’s power would tip the odds in our favor, there is no way of controlling him. He’s too much of a wild card and his word would mean nothing. There’s no guarantee if we freed him to help us, he’d follow through on the deal.”
Danielle nodded along with Esther’s words. From everything she knew of the Fallen Archangel, Esther was right on point.
“There may be a way to secure his aid.”
The Complete Archangel Wars Series: A Shared Universe Series (The Archangel Wars) Page 62
