“Does that mean Lucifer is possibly weakened while he’s there?”
“No. But perhaps there is another way to ensure your safety when you face him. I know of a weapon that may be able to disable Lucifer, though not kill him. If you can find it.”
Philip eyed Caelum with intent. The new leader of the werewolves still had his doubts about the demon who acted as if he belonged with them, when just days before, he’d killed many of their kind. He hid himself in the shadows, focusing on his hearing so he could eavesdrop on the conversation of the angel and the demon. With the ears of a werewolf, he caught a few words despite being several feet away from them. Lucifer, archangels, souls. He wasn’t certain what they were talking about, but Philip had made it his priority to protect their clan now. And with the strange actions of the Angel of Death, he was beginning to doubt the decision his brother had made before he’d been killed.
Philip calculated if he could get closer, but doing so would alert the pair to his presence. He gritted his teeth, doubt filling his thoughts. Even if he discovered something brewing, there was little he or his clan could do against the army of Heaven and Hell. Philip was aware of that. But to admit defeat before even trying to defend his clan was a cowardly act, something he wouldn’t allow himself to do.
He took one step forward, his eyes glued to the angel. But a deep rumbling in the distance that reverberated all around the tunnel caught his attention. Philip looked up, trying to sense the origin. The rest of the monsters that awaited the angel’s orders also looked around in alarm. All of them knew something was coming. But none of them could tell if it was a friend or foe.
“Retreat!” Azrael’s voice suddenly echoed across the tunnel. All the monsters looked to her and found the angel’s eyes wide in shock. “Escape if you can! Now! We’ve been discovered!”
Before any of them could act on her orders, a figure shot out from the darkness. Then another, and another. Caelum watched in surprise as countless angels, brandishing their white and silver blades, surrounded them all.
Chapter Ten: For Blood
Books about anything remotely related to the supposed first angel piled up between Mikaela and David. Unlike most people he had shared a study table with, Mikaela kept quiet during the entire reading session, and he felt awkward about it rather than comforted. Her eyes scanned the selection of documents on the shelves without requiring the assistance of the son of the household. David felt a slight itch of disappointment in missing the opportunity to play the host of the party, and then scolded himself inwardly for even thinking about it. Way to sort out your priorities, man.
Mikaela's eyes shot up to his, and David took it as a definite sign to return his focus to the book in his hand. His tired eyes skimmed through the records of fallen angels and how the holy flames were set on their wings, forcing the angel to tear them apart and off on their own, lest they burn. He imagined how it would feel, to have a part of his body set on fire until he ripped it off with his bare hands.
David's head suddenly snapped up. He’d nodded off without realizing it. A jolt of adrenaline forced him to continue his work, just one hit of it supplied him enough energy to get through the day.
Mikaela eyed him curiously. "If you're tired, you should probably go. I can handle this by myself."
"No, no, no. I'm fine," David claimed through a yawn, rubbing the drowsiness from his eyes.
Mikaela frowned. "Your sis doesn't like the idea of a witch being left alone down here, does she?"
“It’s not like that,” David quickly insisted. “I just- I promised I’d help.”
“Hm.” Mikaela breathed, then continued her reading. In her hand was a record of the many prophecies that had been revealed throughout the ages. David remembered reading the same book when he was younger, trying to find out if he would live through the so-called apocalypse. Having a conversation with the Angel of Death herself gave him a better answer than the book ever had.
“David, right?” Mikaela’s sudden question brought him back to reality. David quickly nodded, allowing her to continue. “Tell me, why are you doing this anyway?”
“Huh?” He blinked. “Doing what?”
“This. Helping us,” Mikaela said. “When Caelum said he wanted to seek your advice on this, I really didn’t have my hopes up. I mean, your family knows how monsters are.”
“You’re not a monster,” David blurted out, then cringed at his own words.
Mikaela’s green eyes looked at him in mild disbelief. Then she chuckled. “I’m a witch. I’m the daughter of a human and a demon. I thought you already knew that.”
“I mean,” David tried to come up with something better to say. “You’re just a person. Doesn’t matter what… who your parents are…” His words grew weaker as his confidence plummeted.
Mikaela rolled her eyes. “You’re not giving me emotional therapy, I hope.”
“No, I-” David groaned. “Just because you’re not like us doesn’t mean you’re evil or something.” He sighed again, his eyes looking around at the books on the shelves. “As a kid, I read a lot of what my ancestors wrote. Instead of reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales, I read actual facts about mermaids, werewolves, demons and the like. I don’t know, maybe because I grew up with them, I don’t see them as the monsters others think they are. A lot of them feed on people, sure. But what makes that different from me eating pork or a lion hunting a zebra?” He shrugged. “I guess that’s why I wanted out of this life, because I don’t understand why those creatures are treated like freaks. To me, we’re all the same. Living things that are fighting to survive in this messed up world.”
Mikaela studied the human in front of her, the book in her hands heavy as she took in the words. She shook her head and huffed. “You do realize that all living things in this day and age are being put under a microscope. Plants, animals, and humans. That’s why there are people called geneticists and biologists. So, what makes you guys different from those guys?”
David considered her words. “I-” He began, then ending the word with a sigh. “So, uh… What makes you different from us, then?”
“What?”
“You said we know how monsters are.” David reminded her. “That means you assume that all humans think of monsters badly, right?”
Mikaela was silent for a while, then she returned with another question. “Don’t you?”
“No. At least, I don’t. But that’s my problem. Not everyone thinks all humans are evil, not everyone thinks all animals are evil. But the majority of them think of monsters as pure evil.”
The witch stared at the human for a few moments, her opinion of him split. She remembered a time before when she’d been lurking around a vampire coven. She’d been forced to reveal herself when a boy, roughly her age, was cornered by two of the monsters. Mikaela had saved the boy; still, the father had attacked her because of what she was. Finally, she huffed a breath and decided to change the topic. “That didn’t really answer my question. Why are you helping us?”
“If Lucifer escapes from his cage, we’re all screwed anyway,” David said simply. “I mean, like Azrael said, it would be anarchy up there if he sets foot in Heaven again. And who knows what he’s planning. Most likely something not good. Then again, the world is ending anyway, with what my fellow humans are doing to it. But I guess I’d rather God Himself ends it than some twisted angel who’d spent eternity amongst the tortured souls.”
“You seem pretty okay with that idea,” Mikaela said.
“Can’t really help it. I mean, what can I do against God?” David told her, a humorless laugh escaping him. “Besides, now I don’t have to turn in my report, I guess. Now I can do something bigger than that.
“That’s a reason,” Mikaela said, closing the subject. She turned her attention to the book in her hand, but David’s mind was distracted.
“Why are you doing it?” David asked her.
Mikaela’s brow shot up, looking back at him with a confused expression. “I just—” she
began, but didn’t know how to end the sentence. “I’m bored, I guess. And I want to see what happens. Besides, I made a deal to help him out.”
“Caelum?” David’s use of his name earned a glare from Mikaela. “Um, I guess having a demon as a dad isn’t easy.”
“Family is never easy. Lucky for me, he’s almost never around anyway. Gave me a chance to understand the world on my own without him breathing down my neck.”
“Huh.” David didn’t know how he’d imagine having a demon from Hell as a father would be, but how Mikaela described it made him think of his own. He thought back to the days when he and Jenny were younger and their parents would be out when they caught a whiff of something strange. He’d had to grow up quickly and take care of his sister, and unlike other people, he didn’t mind that. “It’s made us who we are now, and we grew up pretty okay,” David said out loud without meaning to.
Mikaela looked at him in confusion, "What?"
"Uh, nothing," David stuttered, feeling embarrassed about speaking his thoughts out loud. He buried his nose in the book in his hands again, but peeked over it at the witch in front of him. It was strange how comfortable he was with her, considering what she was and the short amount of time he’d known her. David caught himself staring at Mikaela while the witch’s eyes were on her book. He studied her face and wondered if he had met her before. Then, her own words echoed in his mind.
"Just as well, I didn't expect you to remember me anyway."
Remember her? David wondered. But before he could say anything, Jenny came through the door.
“Hey.” Jenny greeted them, startling the two. She stood awkwardly looking at them and asked, “Um, so how’s the research?”
“It’s good. It’s good,” David claimed, but there was an uneasiness in him. He rubbed the back of his neck and admitted. “Though I haven’t found anything good. You?” he asked Mikaela.
“No,” she said, putting away the book in her hand without finishing it and taking another from the pile. David followed suit and replaced the book he held with another.
“Okay…” Jenny’s eyes lingered on the witch, suspicion still in them.
David caught her glares and attempted to lighten the mood. “What are you doing here, Jen?”
“Oh,” Jenny broke her stare on Mikaela to turn to David. “I made some waffles, do you want any?”
“Um, no, I’m good,” David said. He looked to Mikaela and asked. “You?”
Mikaela’s eyes lifted to his, her expression blank. “No, I already ate,” she claimed. “And not people, for the record. I eat ordinary food like you two do.”
“Good to know…” Jenny turned around and marched up the stairs, leaving the two behind.
David looked at Mikaela again. Engrossed with what she was reading, he decided conversation time had ended. He opened the book in his hand, which was about the creation of Heaven and the angels.
God created the angels before man. Angels remained in Heaven in service of God as he created the worlds below. Like what Azrael had told him, He first created Lucifer, the angel of light, born out of God’s mind. The second was Michael, the archangel, born from God’s image.
David read on about how God had created Adam, the first man, in the likeness of Michael, making the humans closer to Michael than to any other angel. Then, God created the other archangels using the form of Michael and Lucifer, and through the archangels, the rest of the angels were created. This made the vessel of all angels similar to the first two.
An idea tugged at David’s mind. “Hey.”
He moved closer to Mikaela and offered her the book he held. She looked at him warily, as if he’d crossed into her personal space, but she took the book.
David asked her, “Is this true? All the angels were created from Michael and Lucifer?”
“How should I know?” Mikaela muttered. She reached for another book she’d read hours ago and quickly turned the pages to a section she remembered. Her expression turned grim. She took the book from David and read the page he pointed out to her. Her green eyes scanned the words quickly, her brows pulling together as she read, her thoughts running wild.
“Ariel.” The name escaped her lips as she thought of the angel held captive in Hell. Mikaela had wondered what made the angel important, why they had dragged her, specifically, into the cage with Lucifer. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place in Mikaela’s mind and her eyes widened at her realization.
“The angels are copies of Michael, Lucifer, Raphael and all the other archangels,” Mikaela concluded. “Their souls are different, but the vessels are just copies.” Her thoughts went to the wraith she’d captured days before. With a spell, she had been able to split apart the souls and direct a few of them to Caelum’s body so he could absorb them. If a hybrid like her was able to do that, what could Lucifer do?
“He’s going to use her,” Mikaela announced. “Lucifer will use Ariel as a vessel!” She lifted herself from the chair and rushed up the stairs.
“Wait!” David ran after her. He took the stairs two at a time and nearly bumped into Jenny as he reached the ground floor.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“I have to go,” Mikaela told them. “I must tell them about this. David, stay here and continue with the research. Maybe you can find something else that may help us,” Mikaela said as she moved for the door.
“Um, sure?” David said as he watched the red-headed witch walk out, shutting the door behind her. "Mikaela, wait..."He rushed to follow her, but when he opened the door to the front yard, he found it empty.
"Wha— Right, she's a witch..." David muttered, a little disappointed.
Jenny walked to his side and studied his expression. "You think she's pretty, don't you?"
David elbowed her. "Sh-shut up.”
His thoughts followed Mikaela and the theory she mentioned. He was worried, thinking about the hideout of monsters Mikaela planned to enter.
The silence of the underground tunnel was shattered by the arrival of the angelic warriors, wearing the glimmering white robes from Heaven in their humanoid forms. Monsters roared and wailed as the angels swooped in with their weapons, exterminating the creatures that took shelter in the darkness. With their silver and bone-white blades, those who did not have the power to immediately remove themselves from the area were eliminated one by one. Werewolves and wendigos roared in pain, vampires and kitsune screeched.
"Stop!" Azrael yelled over the noise. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground, the choice to stand with her brothers and sisters or defend the creatures she had taken care of confusing her. The Angel of Death didn't want this; memories of reaping the souls of millions of soldiers returned to her.
Azrael took flight and hovered above them all. Her voice echoed across the tunnel when she spoke again. "Stop this madness! There is no need for bloodshed!" A few of the angels paused, looking up to her in confusion. A sliver of hope came to Azrael that the angels would listen to her plea. But that hope was destroyed when the monsters took this as an opportunity to retaliate. Werewolves jumped on the angels at the command of their leader, the rest following suit.
"For our brothers!" Philip cheered on as he transformed into his beast form. His limbs extended and his jaw grew forward, making a snout with long yellowing teeth. He pounced on an angel, driving her to the ground, snapping at her shoulder.
"No!" Azrael made to break the fight apart, but a figure blocked her way.
The young face of the angel with dark hair and eyes stopped her. Azrael halted in front of Daniel, the angel who had climbed up the ladder to earn himself a spot beside the archangel, Raphael. He wore a dark jacket over a gray shirt, suggesting he had been stationed on Earth, rather than coming straight from Heaven. "Azrael.” He greeted her with a small bow. “It has been quite a long time."
Azrael glared at the angel with her fiery red eyes as the blades clanged around them. "Daniel, order our brothers and sisters to stop."
"You have truly switched s
ides, haven’t you, sister?" Daniel brandished his white, glowing blade. "Forgive me, then. But I remain loyal to our home." He rushed forward, slicing across Azrael, who turned her body away to evade. Azrael's dark hair circled around as she turned, unsheathing her own blade.
"I do not wish to harm you, Daniel," She warned him. "But you must open your eyes! Did it not strike you as odd that Raphael ordered you to murder that prophet?"
'It was not murder," Daniel argued. "I was delivering Heaven's Judgment!" He flew up high over her head and waved his blade, leaving traces of light that quickly materialized into copies of the sword. The blades rained downward. Azrael lifted her blade to shield herself from his attacks. She slashed the other blades that came her way, then gasped when she saw Daniel's form diving towards her. Their blades clashed in a flurry of sparks as the force pushed her down, and she plummeted to the ground. Azrael shifted her body to land on her feet. She looked up to see Daniel speeding towards her. Azrael jumped out of the way and rolled on the ground. She got back up on her feet just as Daniel landed gracefully, sword extended. His dark eyes found hers, and the angel of death gripped her blade tight. Death was all around her again, and she must stop it. Even if I have to persuade you in another way, brother.
Angels littered the tunnel and the lone demon had himself hidden in the shadows. Caelum watched the massacre unfolding before him, drawing him back to the memory of Ariel surrounded by the monsters in the church. He lost Azrael the moment the angels came. And much like with Ariel, he couldn’t escape until he found her. She’s a formidable ally. I can’t lose her in this mess.
The darkness of the tunnel allowed him to pass through unnoticed. Blood pooled all around from the monsters slaughtered by the Heavenly beings. The angels had the advantage of their flight and the weaponry that could kill the monsters, while it took much more effort to put down one of them. Caelum wasn’t looking forward to confronting one.
In the midst of the battle, he caught a glimpse of dark hair. For a moment, he saw a flash of bright light and heard the clinking of swords around him. Then, he saw Ariel, defending herself from angels that were trying to take her. Her blue eyes found him, and her lips mouthed his name, begging him to help her.
The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set) Page 31
