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

by J. D. Stonebridge

  "Return the spear! RETURN THE SPEAR NOW!" Raphael desperately shouted, as one arm tried to break loose while the other took a small vial out of his robes. "I SAID, RETURN THE SPEAR! I—"

  Light filled the sky as if a second sun had appeared. The light rippled across the expanse as far as Caelum could see. In the next few moments, Caelum found himself flying. Mikaela's body moved through the air along with Ariel.

  Caelum extended his arms, catching Mikaela’s body and pulling her into an embrace. Ariel reached for them and wrapped her arms around them.

  A shockwave rolled in a thick wave from the light. The earth was pushed apart, sand and large boulders tossed in all directions. Caelum caught one last glimpse of the two women he loved the most, then everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty: Footprints in the Sand

  Silence fell all across the land. Daniel fell without control between the clouds of the cold dark sky. He felt an unforgiving pain on his back as flames and ashes trailed from it. The pain and the coldness of the wind that pummeled his skin was all there was to him, his eyes fluttering closed in his weakness. All he could see when he opened his eyes again was darkness trailed with embers that came from him. He closed his eyes again, waiting for the fall to end.

  The impact against the solid earth was a pain that could not match the anguish that already clawed his back. Daniel struggled to stand as both his arms and legs shook with every motion he made. His trembling hands reached behind, and his fingers touched the flames. With his jaw set, teeth grinding, Daniel grabbed his wings and pulled. His scream tore through the emptiness, filling the air with his agony as he ripped away one piece of him, then another. Daniel fell to his knees, heaving as he watched his wings burning, breaking into pieces that scattered into the air.

  Daniel’s hand went to his shoulder. He cradled himself, alone in the cold land. The pain still lingered in every part of his body, but he pursed his lips, forcing the cries and screams to cease. He could do little to stop the tears that fell from his eyes, though. Grief washed over him as the teardrops fell, shining in the faint light like stars.

  While the clouds cleared, revealing the starry night, Gabriel hovered over the land. Her eyes scanned the area and spotted several smaller lights from the distance, camouflaged by the starry sky. I see there are some who survived. The happiness was brief as she thought of all those who had fallen.

  Gabriel recalled the final few moments as Daniel dove into the center of Uriel's sigil. The sigil started to crack, but Uriel took advantage of Enoch's seal to delay the power from being released. At that moment, Raphael dropped his sigils and with a pained expression, vanished. As soon as he had, Uriel stated his last words.

  Watch over my brother, Raphael.

  The titanic sigil had cracked and ultimately broke. Gabriel summoned her scepter from Daniel, and the branch quickly sprouted an enveloping sheet of wooden vines around her. What followed next was a force that, as far as Gabriel recalled, defined God's wrath.

  All of the angels that had assisted Daniel had perished, and the remaining ones were scattered in disarray. As for Daniel, he’d used his own wings and all the power he could muster to shield himself from the blast. In the end, he survived, but as his wings burned, Heaven's punishment for his sin was delivered.

  Gabriel gazed down at the land below, thinking of the sacrifices so many had made to defeat only one enemy. Empty and quiet, the land below seemed desolate. But her eyes spotted three figures on the move. She watched them closely, and as her eyes focused on the third one, she smiled. “There is hope.”

  Enoch and the siblings appeared in mid-air and dropped near the crater where the hole to Hell was. David and Jenny scattered as Enoch clutched his knees in fatigue.

  "Mikaela!" David shouted, seeing nothing but flat land. "Caelum! Ariel!" His calls echoed across the empty land.

  "I can't see a thing!" Jenny complained as she ran from one direction to another. "It's too dark!"

  A soft blue light revealed the land below them. David craned his neck and saw a bright blue star descending towards them.

  "Gabriel!" Enoch shouted before losing his breath.

  The angel hovered above them, her scepter raised like a torch with a bright flame illuminating the area. "To the north, I feel a small ray of life."

  The siblings didn't question the being and bolted northwards. Enoch gazed and smiled at Gabriel's presence. "I am very glad to see that you are well, old friend."

  "And I, you," Gabriel replied. Both of them stared northward, watching the two humans find what they sought for.

  Jenny spotted a lump on the flat ground. She yelled for David to follow her, and as they neared it, they recognized Caelum and Ariel in the dirt. "Caelum!" Jenny shouted, quickly grabbing his arm and nudging it. "Caelum! Ariel!"

  David reached them and saw Mikaela's body between the pair’s protective embrace. A sob burst from Caelum's mouth, and Ariel hummed.

  "Oh, thank God." Jenny sighed as her shoulders drop. "Are you guys okay?"

  "M-Mikaela!" David reached for the witch’s face and gently turned it to meet his. "Mikaela!”

  Caelum released Mikaela and gently laid her head on the ground. Ariel followed and knelt beside her. "David..." Ariel said softly. "She… she fought valiantly for us."

  "N-no... No! It can't it-it-it..." David shook his head, tears spilling from his eyes. He cradled Mikaela’s face with his hands and his lips quivered. "Mikaela... Mikaela..." Her name was like a desperate prayer.

  Jenny had covered her mouth, fighting the sobs that escaped her lips. She looked at her brother and saw the grief that filled him. It broke her heart, and she had to look away.

  Caelum gently placed his hand on the young man’s shoulders. In the few days they’d lived under their roof, he had taken note of David’s affection for Mikaela. He knew the young man admired her so much, and it destroyed him further to know what could have been, what happiness the two of them could have had.

  David stared at Mikaela’s face, brushing the hair from her eyes. No longer did it bear her courageous visage and no longer did it radiate her warmth. She was pale and cold now, like a beautiful statue that would never contain life again.

  "I— I'm sorry.... I'm sorry…” he whispered, reaching down to place his lips against her forehead. “I wanted to protect you. I wanted to fight for you."

  The sound of dragging feet caught Ariel’s attention. She turned around to find the weakened form of Daniel making his way towards them, clutching his shoulders. Ariel moved to meet her brother, but stopped at the realization that his wings were gone. Daniel reached her, and Ariel could see the burn marks on his back. “Oh, Daniel… I’m so sorry.”

  Ariel led Daniel to the others. His eyes immediately fell on the body of the witch and guilt burned in his heart. "Forgive me," Daniel said, looking away from her. "I wanted to keep them away, and I failed. I was not strong enough."

  David’s eyes lifted to the angel, his sorrow suddenly twisting into fury. He moved away from Mikaela and stood, glaring at Daniel. “Damn right you weren’t,” he muttered. “You, all you angels, dragged us into your war, and look what happened!” David marched towards Daniel, shoving Ariel away when she tried to block his way. He grabbed Daniel’s shirt and pulled him up. “It’s all your fault! ALL YOU DAMNED ANGELS, YOU DID THIS!”

  David drove a fist against Daniel’s chest. Daniel dropped his gaze, crestfallen as the boy pounded his angry fists on him. "If all of you had done your damned job, none of this would have happened! I thought you were protectors, and here you are bringing death to us! Where is God, huh? Where is He?” David’s screams sent stabs into all their hearts. “Is it because she was a witch? Is it because she wasn’t some damned pure angel like you that she didn’t deserve mercy? Or did He simply stop caring while all of you threw tantrums at each other and put us in the middle of your petty squabbles?!”

  A soft hand caught David’s wrist just as he was about to throw another punch. David’s tear-filled brown e
yes met Ariel’s sapphire blue ones, and she touched his hand lightly to give him comfort. But David shook away her touch, releasing Daniel who tumbled to the ground.

  “David!” Jenny went to her brother who dropped to his knees and wept in his rage.

  "It is our fault," Daniel lamented. "And we…we burn with our sin."

  "Caelum, Ariel," Jenny stated as she wiped her own tears, her arm wrapped around her brother’s shoulders. "Enoch told us about Michael and Lucifer's plan. We should talk to him."

  She looked in the direction in which they’d left him. She could see the bright blue star that illuminated them from above, but Enoch was nowhere to be seen. She turned her gaze to her brother whose eyes still gazed at the fallen witch.

  Mikaela, Dearly Loved As She Loved All.

  The black stone marked where she rested. Snow fell gracefully on the meadow that spread around the red brick house where they’d chosen to leave her in peace, creating a pure white blanket while the black grave marker stood out. David had never seen where she’d lived before, and every time he looked upon the structure, he could almost imagine how she would move around in her quaint home. With her hair in a ponytail, she would be gathering materials from her shelves, carrying books and bottles in her arms as she made her way to her study table. David fancied her as a scientist who experimented with the crafts to see what more she could do. He admired that.

  He knelt before the stone where her name was etched, gazing at it with solemn eyes. He placed his palm over her name, brushing off the snow that covered it. David whispered his final farewells, his thanks for all that she'd done for him, an apology for not remembering the past they’d shared years before, and a promise that would push him in the days to come. A few moments of silence later, he walked away, leaving a bright red rose that danced with the cold winter air.

  "David's back," Jenny said, peeking from the window where she saw her brother walking up to the porch. She hurried to open the door for him while he dusted off the snow that covered his coat. She looked at his eyes, saddened that they had changed since Mikaela’s death. David didn’t utter a word to her, merely stepped inside, walking straight for the common room where Caelum and Ariel waited. He gave them a nod of greeting before collapsing on the armchair near the window.

  “He will be here,” Ariel announced. Just as she said it, the light spilling from the skylight above them grew brighter. They turned their eyes away until the brightness dimmed and revealed Daniel standing in the center of the room. "Daniel," Ariel greeted. "It has been seven days, how are you and our sister, Gabriel?"

  "The pain has ceased," he answered. "Gabriel and more of our brothers and sisters lay hidden as they recover. Her strategy to take Heaven back will rely on the information we can gather."

  Caelum straightened his suit's collar then cleared his throat. "You better grab some tea, Daniel. We're about to start."

  Caelum and Ariel sat together on the sofa while David leaned forward to place his duffle bag on the coffee table in front of them. Jenny sat down on the ottoman opposite the demon and the angel while Daniel stood nearby.

  David placed his fingers together. "Like we've said before. Lucifer and Michael aim to transform themselves into the new God," he said, his voice emotionless. He took three scrolls from the bag and slowly unrolled them across the table. The brown parchments displayed a long pattern of Enochian characters. David pointed at one of them.

  "Michael was made in the image of God. According to Enoch's records, Michael was the prototype for Adam and Lilith. The one thing that makes this relevant is that he is the most likely to become the vessel. Lilith was able to turn herself into something like God, and perhaps, so can he."

  Daniel rubbed his chin. "Why hasn't he done that yet?"

  David sighed. "To be a vessel that can house a power similar to God, they need something to help contain the power; a sturdier framework or environment that can support a scale of programming equal to God." His index finger then pointed at Daniel. "The only framework that can support that, as far as I know, is those of angels."

  Caelum held out his hand. "So, you're trying to say that Michael needs angels so that he can form the body of God?"

  “Most likely, yes," David nodded.

  Daniel looked at another of the scrolls. "How does Lucifer fall into this?"

  David closed one of the scrolls and placed the other one closer to him. "These records state that Lucifer was created as the embodiment of wisdom. The one who separated the light from the darkness. It's all symbolism, of course. Just as Adam and Eve became aware of their nakedness as they ate the fruit of knowledge, Lucifer became aware and separated order from chaos. I'd rather say..."

  Jenny couldn't help but admire how her brother looked. From a nerdy guy who had stuttered at anything he wasn't prepared for to this man who, in the face of an impending catastrophe, had a deep-seated poise and brows lined with thought. Though she couldn’t help but worry about what was beneath the confident face he wore.

  "He is the closest to God's awareness," David continued. "But like any good program, it works best when run by a powerful machine. Lucifer is not yet powerful enough to run God's program, per se."

  Ariel lowered her head in wonder. "What would he need to be able to do so?"

  "Souls," Jenny answered as she placed the other scroll aside. "This scroll states how important human souls are." She nudged the scroll forward for Daniel and Ariel to see. "Human souls bear the wisdom and will of God, but only in small pieces. You could say that us mortals have a little bit of God inside us. Same can be said for souls that were converted into demons."

  Daniel asked, "Do you know how they will achieve this?"

  Jenny nodded. "Based on what they’ve done so far, we’re guessing the secret is in sealing Purgatory." Caelum and Ariel leaned forward in surprise as she continued. "With Hell broken and Heaven locked, souls have nowhere else to go but Purgatory. Right now, though, souls are still being released from Purgatory, but with neither Hell to purify them nor Heaven to keep them, they either return or are released to the mortal plane. Until someone fetches them all."

  "Seal, you say?" Ariel questioned.

  "Yes," David replied. "In this last scroll, it mentions how to seal Purgatory. Essentially, they need special kinds of souls that were slain by angels." David leaned back, folding his arms. "By special, it means souls that truly defied the nature stitched in the fabric of their being. Or, to put it simply, souls that contradicted what they were supposed to do. I'm not talking about the soul of a man that lived as a woman; something far more defiant to nature."

  David slouched and let his head perch on the seat’s backrest. "I'm not sure if they completed the seal, nor am I sure what specific kinds of souls they are aiming for. All I know is that these souls must have been killed by an angel."

  Silence fell among the group. They’d found their first obstacle. But soon came Daniel’s revelation. "I believe I am responsible for one soul."

  "Who?" Ariel asked.

  "The prophet, John Maxwell Saunders," Daniel stated.

  "I believed that was a suicide!" Ariel exclaimed, her expression boiling into anger. "You tricked me?”

  "Yes. I did," Daniel confessed. "When Caelum was successful in corrupting Maxwell, I was ordered to dispose of the wayward prophet."

  Caelum bolted from his seat. "What? Are you saying that the assignment Azazel gave to drive Maxwell into insanity was part of that plan?"

  "We were all manipulated," David proclaimed defensively. "So, we have Maxwell, he sure caused a stir, but what was this prophet supposed to do?"

  Ariel swallowed, remembering the first time she’d stepped into the world below Heaven. "I was tasked to guide Maxwell into proclaiming the coming of our Father, that all men should gather and welcome him with peaceful loving arms."

  "There is no God," David cursed under his breath. "Caelum then completed his assignment. We have a prophet of peace that spread pandemonium." He stretched his back and sat up. “Who el
se did the angels try to kill? Or, who else did something they shouldn't have?"

  Silence again. David's mind worked until he had an idea. He looked at Caelum. "I remember, Caelum. Lilith mentioned that you were a sacrifice of sorts."

  "Yes, one too many times," Caelum replied, sinking back to his seat. "I sort of recall how Lilith wanted to prep me and attacked Ariel." By recall, Caelum meant what information his power-self recalled.

  "A demon," David scoffed, "who saved someone? No, sacrifice? Yeah, a demon who sacrificed his own life for an angel. That's ironic no matter how I look at it.” His eyes quizzically landed on Ariel. "I suppose you, Ariel, would have been a sacrifice?"

  "No," Daniel interjected. "Ramiel took her place." Both the demon and the angel asked with their expressions. "Ramiel went against Heaven's law and fell, built an army of corrupt beings, then was the first to wage war against Michael."

  David exhaled. "I see. An angel that went against the rules. Perhaps more than that. Ah, an angel who fell for the sake of Heaven. It's like becoming a criminal for the sake of justice."

  Caelum added, "There is someone who might have taken my place as well."

  David didn't have to hear another word. Caelum's somber face was enough.

  Bastards. David remembered when Caelum told the events to him. He lightly punched the cushion at his side. "Uriel saw the opportunity when Mikaela risked her life to turn you back to normal."

  Jenny placed her hand on her brother's trembling hands. "Dave."

  "I'm okay. I am.” David took his hands away from his sister’s. “So that makes three so far. How many do they need?"

  "Five," Daniel claimed, but doubt laced his brow. "Heaven's gates hold seven seals. One symbol for every archangel. In Hell, there are six. A seal for the archdemons. Purgatory holds five seals. Four are for the horsemen and one for the guide."

  "Five it is," David voiced. "Two more and we have a big mass of souls gift-wrapped and ribboned for Lucifer to gobble up." He then pinched the bridge of his nose as he slouched again. "Jen, could you get me some Ibuprofen?" Jenny nodded with a sigh and left the living room.