by Joe Fowler
“I haven’t missed a game either. I still miss playing football. I tried to get some other angels to start a football team but they thought I was insane. They don’t understand how much fun it is.” Gabriel said laughing. I laughed too, thinking of a football game between angels. That would be a sight to see.
“This is Gabriel. Gabriel, this is Sarah and Crystal.” Alicia introduced the girls. They entered the room while we were laughing.
“Nice to meet you both.” Gabriel stood as he spoke to them as was proper. He was always proper. I wanted to laugh since they not only knew him, Sarah dated him while deciding between boys and girls.
“You too.” The girls stated together. They did that often. They were the closest couple I have ever seen. I sometimes wondered if they could here each other’s thoughts. I would see them react to something simultaneously in the same manner. It was a little weird.
“We are leaving. Call me if you think of something you need.” Alicia gave me a kiss before she led the girls out of the house.
“Okay. That is my cue to go get Seth and Rosalyn. I need you to call and give them a heads up so they understand who I am.” Gabriel said.
“Wait! It’s daytime! Rosalyn will die!” Austin became enraged, momentarily forgetting who he was talking to.
“She will not die. She will be protected for the day. I will make sure the sun doesn’t bother her. Relax Austin” Gabriel reassured him. “You may want to call Seth first.”
I reached for the phone to make the call to Seth, my maker. He was the most powerful of all earthbound creatures. I would someday be able to beat him but I hoped that day would be a long time in coming. The demon half of me still put enough fear in my heart that I wanted there to be someone capable of stopping me if I ever went bad. Seth was the only one that would even have a chance against me.
“Hey Anna. Is Seth around?” I asked. Anna was Seth’s wife.
“Yes. He is a bit grumpy this morning but he is here. Hold on.” Anna said. I could hear her telling Seth he was needed on the phone. He must have been outside if he hadn’t heard me speaking. Werewolves have really good hearing.
“Hello?” Seth did sound a bit grumpy.
“Hey Seth, its Josh. I needed to prepare you for a visitor.” I paused for just a second to figure out how to say it. “Gabriel is here and needs to speak to us. He will be there in a minute but he doesn’t look like Keith anymore. He wanted to make sure you understood who he is so you won’t get jumpy.”
“Gabriel. It must be something serious. What’s going on?” Seth’s tone wasn’t grumpy but worried now.
“He is waiting until we are all here before he tells us what is happening.” I informed him. “He will be bringing Rosalyn here too.”
“But it’s daytime. Won’t that kill her?” Seth had made that obvious assumption as well.
“He says he will make sure she is ok.” I reassured him. I looked over to see if Gabriel approved but he was no longer in his chair. It was then that I heard Gabriel’s voice in the background on the phone.
“Hi, Seth. It’s been a while.” Gabriel was saying.
“Holy shit!” Seth exclaimed and hung up the phone. That meant I couldn’t hear what happened next.
“Do you think he can really protect Rosalyn from the sun?” Austin said worriedly.
“He is an archangel. I doubt there is much he can’t do.” I wanted to reassure Austin more but I wasn’t exactly sure what an archangel could and couldn’t do.
I remembered the final moments when we were fighting my father. I had been shot several times. I couldn’t really move to finish off the demon who lay beaten by a combination of Seth and myself before a human woman shot us. Gabriel, then in the form of Keith, entered the room just before the demon would have killed me. While the demon shrank back in fear, it soon became known that Gabriel would not be allowed to kill the demon himself. The distraction by Gabriel gave Seth enough time to recover from his gunshots, though. Seth bit the demon’s head off.
Gabriel and Seth reappeared in my living room. One minute they weren’t there, then they were. Seth looked a little disoriented. He held a bag with what I guessed were extra clothes. He looked like he needed a moment, so I waited before speaking.
“That was different.” Seth managed.
“You get used to it after a while. It is all a matter of perception.” Gabriel said with a smile. He looked over at me and said, “You need to call Rosalyn now. She is waking up confused as we speak.”
“Maybe I should be the one to call her. Josh isn’t exactly her favorite person anymore.” Seth suggested.
“Good idea.” I added. Seth began dialing. I could see the anguish on Austin’s face. He was still worried about the daylight thing.
“Hello?” Rosalyn’s voice was uncharacteristically shaky. I couldn’t blame her. This would be the first time in almost twenty-five hundred years that she was awake during daylight hours. I might be a little shaky myself in that situation.
“Rosalyn, its Seth. I know you are probably wondering what is going on since you are awake. I can explain a little. Do you remember the stories we were telling and the mystery surrounding Josh’s friend Keith?” Seth chose a good way to break her into the whole angel thing.
“Yes. He was supposed to be human but everything pointed to him being much more. What is going on, Seth?” Rosalyn asked.
“The boy we knew as Keith was actually the archangel Gabriel. I am calling to warn you so you don’t freak out and attack him. He is about to appear where you are. Just be calm and trust him, ok?” Seth waited for a response to know she understood.
“Okay.” She sounded like she thought Seth had been doing drugs and was out of his mind. She was preparing herself for something though. Her voice sounded like she regained some of her composure.
“Hello, Rosalyn.” We all heard it from this end of the phone. Gabriel was already there.
“Holy shit!” Rosalyn exclaimed.
“So I keep hearing.” I could hear Gabriel’s smile.
“You really are an archangel?” Rosalyn asked.
“Yep. I need to take you to where Seth is. There are some bad things going on and it will take all of you to stop them.” Gabriel informed her. We didn’t get to hear anymore since Rosalyn hung up the phone then.
“He won’t hurt her will he?” Austin asked.
“No, Austin. If he is bringing her into this it means we need her.” I explained.
That was when Gabriel and Rosalyn appeared in my living room. Like Seth, Rosalyn seemed a little disoriented. She looked around in a daze until she saw me. Her eyes focused in hatred. She obviously hadn’t forgiven me for killing Austin. She darted in a movement faster than a human could see. I was partially changing in response, when I felt myself returning human against my will. Gabriel had intercepted her in mid-stride.
“No, this isn’t going to happen!” Gabriel spoke in a voice I’d never heard from him. This voice demanded all attention and didn’t allow for any arguing. “We need you both. Rosalyn, Josh was only doing what he was told to do when he killed Austin. I made it very plain to him that any vampire who drank his blood had to die. No matter what. You would not have wanted to see what Austin would have become if he had lived. As a matter of fact, why don’t you talk to Austin himself about it?”
Gabriel snapped his fingers and Rosalyn was able to see Austin standing by her side. Her eyes welled with tears and her hand covered her mouth to stifle a cry. Her knees seemed like they were going to buckle. Gabriel saw this and helped her to sit in the chair. She was trying to speak but was unable.
“Hello, beautiful.” Austin said. He walked to her chair and knelt before her. The love in his eyes made me almost embarrassed to be watching this. “I’ve been watching you since that day. I know how you don’t like ghosts but you have one stalking you. I hope you don’t mind too terribly.”
“I miss you so much it hurts. I still can’t go for more than a few minutes without thinking of you.” Rosalyn a
dmitted.
“I’m the same except I still get to see you.” Austin looked at me and then back to Rosalyn. “You have to forgive Josh. He did what he did to save you. He told me before I drank his blood what would happen. I chose to save you rather than live without you. Josh was the only reason we were able to succeed.”
“I know. I knew it then. I just don’t agree with the decision the two of you made. I have lived a long life, Austin. You were so young. All I can think about is what you would have become if you had lived.” She looked at me for a moment. “Deep down I know you thought you were doing the right thing, Josh. I won’t attack you again but I may not ever be able to forgive you. Sorry.”
“I understand. Believe me I do. I put myself in Austin’s place and thought of Alicia being the one held by Cyranos. I knew I would have done anything to save her. Knowing that, I couldn’t refuse to help Austin. I also understand how Alicia would feel if I died for her. She would move heaven and earth to hurt the one who killed me. Believe me Rosalyn, I understand completely.” It felt good to finally get to say these things to her.
“The main thing is to try to get along well enough for the problems that are heading this way. It will take all four of you.” Gabriel stated plainly enough. It took a minute for me to realize the word four was spoken when there were only three living people in the room.
“Wait, Austin will be helping us too?” I asked. “He is a ghost. How can he help?”
“You will need a spy. Who is better at going unseen than a ghost? The witch will be able to see him, but the rest of her bunch won’t.” Gabriel was smiling again. That can mean a lot of things.
“Maybe you should tell us what is going on. Let us get a clue what we will be dealing with.” Seth suggested.
“Everyone should sit for this.” He waited for me and Seth to sit on the couch. He snapped his fingers again and a second chair, just like the one Rosalyn was sitting in, appeared. “We have a witch problem. There is now a witch in Colorado who is more powerful than any witch since we intervened way back when. I can tell you the story but let’s do that later. Right now is for the problem she is causing. She has called an army of werewolves to her as protection. She knows that the three of you could kill most any army she put together but she knows you would never kill that many innocent werewolves when they were under someone else’s control. Her power comes from merging with a demon, which is why she will be able to see Austin. Something we never thought could happen.”
“Why wouldn’t that happen? It sounds like something they both would agree with.” Seth spoke what I was thinking.
“Demons are built on hate. They hate everything and everyone, including other demons. The only other emotion that is equal to their hatred, is their will to survive. They will never give themselves up for anything or anyone. For this merge to work, the demon had to give himself up to the witch. She would live on while the demon dies. We never thought a demon capable of doing anything like this. In point of fact, we were right. He was made to forfeit his life by someone he couldn’t say no to. Their end goal here is for Lucifer to take over Josh’s body.”
Chapter 3
We all sat in stunned silence. Lucifer. The Devil, himself. Oh shit.
“Wait, I thought you said that if Lucifer ever came to earth, Michael would come to fight him. Isn’t that what you told us?” I asked.
“Michael will come down from heaven as soon as Lucifer sets foot on earth. It is the witch’s plan to have Lucifer set foot into you without touching the earth. Then, as with your father, we wouldn’t be able to touch him. He would be rising without breaking the laws that were set for him.”
“I’m not being vengeful when I say this, but wouldn’t it be better if we just killed Josh? Sorry, but that would be better than Lucifer on earth.” Rosalyn was just stating the obvious. I knew she was right.
“We thought of that. Some still think that might be the better plan. I don’t. Josh is needed to stop this witch. He is the only one who can get close to her without her magic affecting him. Even Seth, strong as you are, would fall under her spell if she got close enough to you. Her magic begins to fade the farther away you get. For a normal werewolf, her magic can control them for twenty miles or so. I would say one hundred feet would be the closest you should get, Seth. Her magic can’t control you, Rosalyn, but she can use her magic to kill you easily. Because of Josh’s demon blood, he can’t be harmed or controlled by any kind of magic.” Gabriel explained. I felt like he wasn’t telling the whole story. I remembered how frustrating that could be. Gabriel as Keith, used to withhold information on a regular basis.
“If she can’t use her magic on me then how will they get me to allow Lucifer entry? If he is anything like my father, he will need my permission before he can enter.” I asked. My father had beaten me down only to find that my wolf spirit kept him from forcing his way into me. I would have needed to give him permission to enter before he could take me over.
“They have a ritual to extract your wolf spirit. You would be a normal half demon then. Lucifer could enter at will since he has total control over any demon, or half demon, if he wants it. So far as we can tell, the plan is to put enough bullets into you to knock you out. They would perform the ritual to remove the wolf spirit and then summon Lucifer. They have an alternate plan of controlling Seth and having him beat you down until they can restrain you.” Gabriel was telling us what we needed to know but I really wished he would shut the hell up. This was not a happy discussion and I needed time to process it.
“This is too much! How can we fight this?” I asked.
“”With careful planning and a little luck.” Gabriel looked like he might cry for a moment. I knew he was about to say something truly disturbing. If it was bad enough to make an angel cry, then it wouldn’t be good for me. “If worse becomes worst, the angels wanted me to ask you if you would die to save everyone else. I told them you would. I know you, old friend. You wouldn’t hesitate. I am trying to come up with better options. I don’t have a plan that I know would work. There are too many variables and the witch and her helpers have been planning for a long time now.”
“Wait, if Lucifer can control Josh, then why doesn’t he just make Josh go there and surrender?” Rosalyn asked.
“Lucifer has to be on the same plain of existence to control him. Lucifer is in hell and can’t touch Josh from there. Plus, the wolf spirit is dominant over Josh’s demon half. That’s another reason they need to extract it. When a demon, or Lucifer in this case, is summoned, his spirit arrives a few seconds before the body. That would be enough time for Lucifer to take Josh’s will and gain entry.” Gabriel explained.
“Give us the description of where she is and her defenses.” Seth said.
“They are in a huge estate just outside of Denver. She has about forty human guards armed with assault rifles. She has called over a hundred werewolves from the Denver area to surround her estate. She has another witch, her mentor Josef, who advises her. Josef is the real mastermind behind all of this. It was his prayer to Lucifer that got this underway. He found out about Josh’s unique condition from a demon and has been looking for a way to exploit it. He came up with a doozy.” Gabriel informed us. He hadn’t mentioned Josef until then. Something told me Josef might be the key in another way.
“If Josef is the thinker of that bunch, would it help if we took him out? Maybe we could find a way to kill him without attacking the estate.” I wondered aloud.
“That would definitely help. He rarely leaves their compound though.” Gabriel shook his head and sat back in his chair. “I think it is story time. I unloaded all this on you guys and you need some time to let it sink in. I said I would tell you the story of the first witches and why we had to intervene.”
“I think that is a good idea. My mind needs to rest a minute.” I said with a huff.
“Well, we all know your mind doesn’t always work too well anyway.” Gabriel said with a smile. Seth and Rosalyn joined in with smiles of thei
r own. “Early humans were very boring. We watched over them with nothing exciting to see. It might have continued like that if not for Dairko. He is a lesser, but very powerful, god that travels the universe. He only shows up here occasionally. Unfortunately, he is very mischievous. He saw how boring humans were and decided to give them magic. That certainly livened things up.”
“How come we’ve never heard of him? I’ve been around a long time and that is the first time I’ve heard that name.” Rosalyn asked. Gabriel looked at her and smiled. He took a deep breath and sighed.
“Maybe I should start in a different way. In the beginning, as angels understand it, there was only God and Chaos. Out of Chaos came elements at random times. Father gave order to those elements and created the universe. He had fun creating world after world and then had the supreme idea of creating life. He went from world to world making new things and eventually created us, the angels, to handle some of the smaller matters that He didn’t have time for. Somewhere along the way He created Dairko to spice things up a bit. It seems Dairko likes his job.
“Anyway, when Dairko gave magic to humans, he did not set any limits to their power. Some of them became so powerful they could have destroyed the earth. The only thing in their way were the good witches. By their very nature, the bad witches were becoming much more powerful than the good. We saw this as a real problem and asked Father if we could restrict how much power witches would be allowed. He agreed. Witches complained but we didn’t give them a choice. Some of them passed the story along through countless generations so that some like Josef, still feel robbed. Josef studied everything he could find to try and find a way to give witches back their power. As you see, he has succeeded somewhat.” Gabriel grew quiet for a minute.
“Was Dairko angry?” Rosalyn asked.
“He laughed when he returned. He was pleased that his actions made us work. He thinks angels are lazy and useless. He loves nothing better than to screw with us. Father warned him not to do us harm but lets him antagonize us. As a matter of fact, when Dairko returned was when he created vampires.” Gabriel threw that in to all of our astonishment.
