The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set)

by J. D. Stonebridge

  Escape! She commanded herself. Ariel pushed on into the flames, moving higher and higher until the flames were only grazing her heels. The great kingdom of Hell was now before her, with the tower of their leader standing tall over the burning land. A roaring sound came from behind her, and Ariel pushed forward faster as the great beast came charging towards her. The canine leapt into the fire, three jaws open to take the angel. But Ariel chased after the light above them, narrowly avoiding the teeth of the beast.

  The light was dimming; the bridge was closing. Ariel felt the dark souls of Hell rushing into the light with her, trying to reach the land above. The heat from the flames lingered behind her, and tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes from the pain. She closed her eyes against the blinding light and pain, focusing on her goal to escape.

  Caelum’s body was an extra weight in her arms, and Ariel struggled not to let him go. Her wings had been weakened by the fire that touched them, and the angel focused all her willpower to push on to climb higher and higher. With the light almost gone, Ariel forced herself to reach out from Hell, and, like her release from her prison in Heaven, she embraced the soothing warmth of the sunlight as she reached the mortal land.

  Ariel gasped at the summer wind as she shot up from the light just as it faded. Her flight was staggering and she was on the verge of losing her balance completely. Her eyes opened to the clear blue sky and she knew she had escaped. Forcing her wings to ease her fall, Ariel landed on the ground and the cry she had been holding in was released from her throat.

  A gurgling sound of pain and horror tore from her lips; the flames that had gathered around her wings had also burned the skin on her back. She reached behind her and pulled at the flaming wings. The fires of Hell had weakened her wings; they still burned. Ariel had no choice but to forcibly remove it, lest she burn herself completely. She had seen the process many times and Ariel rued that it was happening to her in this way. Her hand gripped the wing tightly and pulled it hard, tearing off the piece of her that she had cherished most.

  Humans gathered around the angel as she ripped off her fiery wings, a pain-filled cry escaping her. They watched the rare sight of the creation of a fallen, and one who had done it by flying into the fires of Hell.

  When the deed was done, the stinging on her hands bore her no greater pain than seeing her beloved wings engulfed in fire. Her tearful blue eyes watched as the flames devoured a piece of her until there was nothing left but ashes. She watched as the wind scattered the ashes.

  I can never go back home, Ariel realized as she watched the ashes dance in front of her. She caught sight of a young boy staring at her with wide brown eyes, his father clutching him protectively. Her eyes lifted to the crowd that had gathered around her, all shaken by the event they had just witnessed.

  She found herself laughing. There is no point in hiding now, Ariel concluded. With Lucifer’s very public release, she imagined how much the mortals had seen already. The laugh that shook her chest was sad and humorless. She laughed at her failure, at her loss. Tears spilled on the earth between her hands as she laughed away the pain in her body and her heart.

  “It’s over. It’s all over…” she whispered to herself. The soft murmurs of the humans that surrounded her were nothing but a shadow in the darkness that was already in her. Her eyes fell upon the body of the man she’d carried from the cage.

  Crawling to him, Ariel placed Caelum on her lap once again. A small ray of hope still fought in her heart, shaking the demon awake in her wish that he had somehow survived. But no response came from him, only more tears that streamed down her cheeks. There was no laughter anymore, only a scream that released her anger and her pain. The humans were alarmed by her outburst, inching away from the fallen angel that clasped her beloved demon to her. She embraced him tightly, trying to stifle her cries in his bronze hair.

  She had lost her home, her purpose, and the man she had forgotten that she loved. What do I have left?

  Like an answer to her prayer, a warm hand touched her shoulder. She thought of Gabriel’s army, and how they must have been ordered to kill her for releasing Lucifer, or for simply exposing herself to the humans. Fear was not what she felt at the thought of them, but relief. If their punishment to her would end her suffering, she would welcome it with open arms.

  She raised her eyes to the owner of the hand, sad green eyes met hers. A woman Ariel had never met before, with crimson hair spilling down her back, touched her shoulder gently. She wore a burgundy suede jacket and dark jeans. She was no woman; she was a witch.

  “I don’t know if he’s ever told you about me, but I’m Mikaela.” Mikaela introduced herself, looking over Ariel’s shoulder to the demon in her arms.

  Ariel’s eyes darted from the witch to Caelum, their similarities obvious. “Y- You’re…” Ariel began. But Mikaela interrupted her.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” Mikaela suggested, looking at the crowd still watching them. The sirens of police cars were echoing from the distance, bringing trouble with them. She looked at Ariel and studied her face. “Would you trust that I won’t lead you into a trap?” Mikaela asked as politely as she could.

  The confused angel searched for the answer around her, but the faces of the horrified humans only contributed to the mess that was in her mind. She looked to Caelum again, imagining how he would decide.

  “Not that I’m rushing you, or anything. But I must say, getting shot by guns still hurts even if you’re not human,” Mikaela warned Ariel. The witch awkwardly walked around to face Ariel and looked at Caelum. Her hand folded the collar of his bloodied shirt, looking at the skin closely. A sense of relief appeared in Mikaela’s face. “Don’t worry. He’ll be alright.”

  Ariel’s wide eyes looked to Mikaela, wondering what she meant. The witch smiled at her, promising, “We just have to put our trust that he’ll go through with the plan. And that I made it right.”

  He floated in nothingness. Weightless and free, Caelum let himself be cradled in the void that he found himself in. It reminded him of the red river in Hell, where the water was soft as air. But unlike the river, it did not feel cold, and there were no wisps of trapped souls tugging at him. He was alone, with nothing but the echo of his thoughts to reach him. He felt lost, yet it did not haunt him. With all the pain and difficulties life had thrown at him, he finally felt able to breathe freely. He let himself go, cherishing the moment of peace.

  Soon, his thoughts questioned the peace he was relishing at that moment. He questioned how he had arrived in the darkness, scouring his memory for the events that brought him to where he was now. Caelum closed his eyes and saw himself on an empty road. The houses looked older than what he had grown accustomed to in his home in Chicago. Not one soul was present on that road, and he stood waiting under the light of the full moon.

  What am I waiting for? He asked himself. A sudden pain stabbed his chest, but when he looked down, he found no blade. Yet the pain throbbed inside his heart, forcing him to hunch forward. Warm tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but he held them in. He knew where the pain was coming from, and his mind showed again the bright light and the angels that took his beloved.

  Ariel… He knew who she was, and he knew he couldn’t reach her anymore. The thought haunted his mind and heart.

  A voice made him turn around, and a man with his hat covering half his face stood close by. He was stout and wore an elegant red tailcoat. He was speaking to him, but the words were lost on Caelum. It was as if he was listening to the man’s voice underwater. He focused on the man’s mouth, forcing himself to listen.

  “What is it that you desire?” The question came to him clear as day.

  Desire? He repeated the word. The question resounded in his mind; he looked deep inside himself to search for the answer. What did he truly desire? Not the joy of manipulation and torment; they were only temporary entertainment, a game he played to keep his mind running. Never did he really desire to serve Hell, the land that had damned him to b
ecome who he was. He didn’t have any love, much less loyalty, for Hell. Did he want things to be like before he had forgotten? To live as a human again, as Cornelius Wells, the struggling poet in a time of war with no family left for him to cherish? No. Living alone like that was the reason he feared to speak his thoughts. And it had caused him to commit the sin he had desperately tried to get away from.

  What do I desire, then? He looked up to the night sky with the full moon tempting him with its beauty. A shadow of a figure flashed before him. The figure came from above, appearing in the night sky to descend upon him, a silver sword in hand.

  Reflex made him jump at the memory. His thoughts were taken to days before, when Ariel had appeared out of nowhere and attempted to kill him in the alley beside the prophet’s apartment.

  Ariel. He thought of the angel. He remembered her black hair that gracefully swayed with the wind, her stark blue eyes that were like sapphires. He remembered watching her intently, seeing the small expressions she made and the curious words she spoke. A pang of longing overcame him, and he knew what he desired.

  “I want to see her again.”

  The man smiled beneath the cover of his hat. He chuckled at his answer, finding it amusing. “Then I shall grant you that wish.” The man lifted his hat and Caelum finally saw his face. It was Azazel.

  Something sparked from afar, catching his attention. He was back in the void again, floating in the darkness. But there was a faint light, growing brighter and brighter. The light burned, and its heat reached his skin now. Caelum watched as the light turned into a fire that roared towards him. He was frozen in the nothingness, unable to move away from the flames. He covered himself with his arms as the flames reached him, enveloping him in heat and light.

  He screamed, pain shooting into every fiber of his being. He felt himself burning, scorching heat reaching from his skin and inside his body. Everything was on fire, ripping him apart over and over. The pain was overwhelming; he was growing weaker as he fought it. He did not have the strength to escape, and he was running out of energy to struggle through the pain. He held himself tight, cocooning himself from the fire in hopes that it would lessen the burning inside. But to no avail. The flames reached for everything that was a part to him.

  Stop it, he begged. Make it stop. There was no one around him, and no one to help. Yet he found himself pleading.

  Please help me.

  Get me out.

  It hurts.

  His eyes snapped open in the flames as the voices echoed in his thoughts. The cries of the souls in the pit returned to him, and it was as though he was back inside of it. He waved his hand to let his eyes see, but there were no souls around him. No one was pulling him, though the pain was similar to when he dove in the pit.

  “It will be painful.” A voice from his memory had warned him. “But you have to go through it.”

  Mikaela. He remembered. Caelum shut his eyes tight and saw Mikaela’s room with the dim orange light. She held out a necklace with a red pendant on the end.

  “Remember! You have to let it burn!” Mikaela prodded him.

  The necklace fell gently on his palm, and Caelum looked at it closely. The pendant was made of glass, and he saw that it was not completely red. Swirls of red, orange and yellow mixed with each other inside the pendant. He watched them with fascination, seeing them dance inside the tiny pendant. A speck of white appeared inside them, and he focused his attention on it.

  “You won’t feel it now,” Mikaela’s voice told him. “But you will when you release it and it returns to you. You think you can handle it?”

  The question hung in the air as the scene dissolved from his mind. The memory reminded him of what happened. Lilith, the beast, the pit and the river, the Oarsman and the cage where Lucifer had struck him down. All the memories came rushing back to him.

  His eyes snapped open in the fire, and he knew the answer to her question. “Yes.”

  Caelum gritted his teeth and balled his fists. He forced his body to straighten, welcoming the raging fire that surrounded him. With his jaw set tight and his arms outstretched, he let the fire go through him, devouring every fiber of his being. Caelum allowed it, he no longer fought it. And despite all the pain, he allowed a smile to spread across his face. I can do it. I will return!

  When he was on the verge of his limit, the fire died down and everything went black.

  “Caelum?” A voice called to him, sweet and tired. He felt her presence near him, but his body refused to either move or respond to her. She heard his sigh. “I thought I felt him move. Will it really work?”

  “I—I—I don’t really know…” The stuttering boy was familiar to him. It was David Tenney. “I am no expert in this kind of thing, really.” He heard David laugh rather pathetically.

  “It will work!” It was Mikaela now. “We worked on it together. Stop being so pessimistic about it!”

  “I- I’m not! I just—“ David tried to argue, but he had nothing.

  “Forgive him, he’s really not used to talking to people,” another female voice interrupted him. Caelum was not familiar with this one, though she sounded younger than the rest. “Nor to witches and angels.”

  “Err—so, what’s the news on the big light… thing?” David tried to change the subject.

  “Well, videos are spreading like wildfire on YouTube,” The younger voice answered him. “People are flocking to it like some celebrity having a nip-slip.”

  “We can’t really do anything about that now,” Mikaela said. “And it’s the least of our worries. Now that we have completely botched the plan to not let Lucifer escape.”

  Lucifer. Caelum thought of the name, and he remembered. He had been deceived into giving his life to free the archangel. His blood that was shed to protect Ariel had broken the seal of Lucifer, and now he walked free. The regret and anger surged through his blood, and finally, he was able to open his eyes.

  “Caelum? Caelum!” A blurry image moved in front of his eyes. He blinked multiple times until the vision cleared, and he saw the smiling face of his angel. Ariel. Her blue eyes were shining with tears as she looked down at him, a smile spread across his face. “It worked. Oh, Caelum!”

  Caelum let out a breath when the angel took him in her arms. Confused and surprised, he looked around. The room he had been taken to was unfamiliar to him. It had a simple modern design with white walls and mahogany furniture. The smiling faces of Mikaela and David stood around him, along with the face of a young teenager with brown hair like David’s.

  “I—Where am I?” Caelum asked as Ariel released him. He met her eyes, and it was as though his question dissolved from his thoughts. A smile tugged at his lips and relief washed over him. She looked at him curiously. Before he could ask her what was wrong, David answered his previous question.

  “You’re in our house,” David told him. “It was kinda weird that we didn’t have any trouble getting you in here, now that I think about it.” David looked to the other girl. “We still have the demon wards, don’t we?”

  “I know why,” Ariel said, her tone was serious. She studied Caelum’s eyes, devoid of the joy she’d had a moment ago. She took his hand in hers and looked in his eyes. “Caelum, you do not possess demonic energy in your soul anymore.”

  Caelum was confused. “What?”

  “Caelum.” Ariel’s face was a mix of worry, confusion, and delight. “You’re human again.”

  Epilogue: Heaven is Mine

  Fear and confusion was everywhere in the land of Heaven. A bridge was opened that led to the two worlds below; the angels questioned what was happening. They sought the answer from the archangels, but with Gabriel leading the army to fend off the formless demonic souls from Hell that had escaped, and with the rest of their leaders locked behind closed doors, they were stuck wondering.

  Then came the loud gasp from a young angel. All heads turned to the sound and a chorus of surprise spread amongst them at the sight of the figure entering.

  With
his head high and his shoulders straight, Lucifer walked between the lesser angels. They parted to create a path for him as he neared, the fear and shock in their faces. And he savored the mood of his return.

  "Lucifer!" A strong female voice shouted from behind; the archangel turned to see Gabriel glaring at him from across the floor. She held herself proud with her spear in hand. She walked forward and extended her hand to him, the tip of her spear pointed to Lucifer. "How dare you walk into God's land once more?"

  "It is a delight to see you too, sister," Lucifer said.

  Gabriel had no intention of listening to his remarks. She swung her spear in the air and bent her right knee while her left leg extended. She pulled the spear level with her head, never diverting her eyes from him. "I shall drag you back to your cage even if I must do it by myself."

  "You will not," Michael commanded from the other side. The angels turned to find the Hall of the Archangels opened, revealing Michael, Raphael and Uriel. Michael stepped forward to Lucifer, his eyes studying the face of his brother.

  "You have grown thin," Michael commented.

  "And you have grown strong, my brother," Lucifer replied, bringing a smile to Michael's lips. The younger angel moved closer and extended his arms to him. Michael welcomed his brother with open arms. The sight of their embrace shattered Gabriel's bravado; she rose from her offensive stance.

  "Michael," she called him. "What is the meaning of this?"

  The two ended their reunion, and Michael looked to Gabriel like one would a child. "I see that there is a misunderstanding."

  "Misunderstanding?" Gabriel had her eyebrows furrowed. "I understand that our brother does not belong here—"

  "And who are you to claim such, Gabriel?" Lucifer asked her, smiling.

  "I did not order your punishment, brother. Our Father did," Gabriel said. She turned her eyes to Michael's and asked, "Have you forgotten?"

  "I have not," Michael said. "But Father has not been present for so long. I believe it is right for the true leader of the angels to return."