by Tim Marquitz
As much as it would upset me to see anyone suffer such horrific torture, I couldn’t find in it in me to feel sorry for McConnell. He’d known this was coming and if he’d had his way, it would be Rahim buried in the wall, in his place. Sad as it was to admit, that thought made it just a little easier to stomach what I’d seen. I still didn’t like it, but it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Scarlett, anxious to get on with it, went to look around me. I stepped in her way.
“You don’t want to see it. Trust me,” I whispered. The look in my eyes must have been convincing. She stared at me for a second, backing down without argument. Katon didn’t even bother to try.
After I steeled myself, I moved even closer to the edge of the door so I could see further into the room. I purposely avoided looking at McConnell, my eyes half closed as they swung past, ignoring the nearby shelves with my uncle’s belongings piled atop them. Once all that had moved to my peripheral vision, McConnell out of sight, I peeked once more.
What I saw was even worse.
Stretched out inside a silvered pentagram etched onto the floor was a man who I could only presume to be Glorius. Like McConnell, he was also naked. His muscular arms and legs were bound to the rock floor with the magic-nullifying manacles, the cuffs glowing bright white like they’d just been removed from a blacksmith’s forge. I could see tiny drops of something leaking out from inside the cuffs, dripping slowly to the floor. A small puddle of the waxy substance coalesced on the rock beneath him. I remembered the other sites and a shudder ran down my spine as I realized it was his flesh that was being melted away from his wrists. Unable to bear the sight, I examined the rest of his body. I immediately wished I hadn’t. One of these days I’ll learn to keep my curiosity in check.
Pustulant boils sprung up all along his skin, each easily the size of a quarter. They rippled like a churning storm-driven ocean, bubbling up with vile, blackened pus that seeped from their bursting heads. For each which spewed its repugnant load, tiny volcanoes of sickness and rot, another rose up to take its place in an endless parade of gurgling putrescence. Unable to stomach any more, I looked to his face. Though hard to see beneath the wild mass of his blond hair, I spied the misery carved there in deep lines. Yellowish-gold tears streamed from his narrow eyes. They trailed down his cheeks in waves, staining his flesh in bright streaks. His face was scrunched as he fought against what must have been excruciating pain. His teeth were bared, snapping together in a frenzied staccato. Though he seemed to be screaming, little sound came from his throat. I had no doubt he’d screeched it raw, the vocal chords so damaged they could only produce a senseless groan. His head thrashed about, swaying from side to side without rhythm, squirming to be free. The muscles beneath his boiling flesh rippled with strength as he fought against his binds. I didn’t care what Gabriel had claimed, one look at Glorius’s tortured face made it clear to me he wasn’t accepting his fate peacefully. He was fighting his bondage with all of his might. There was no way Glorius was a willing accomplice in Asmoday’s plans, he was a victim.
I sighed. That was a twist I hadn’t foreseen coming into this.
As if to reinforce my presumption, I heard Gabriel’s voice call out to the angel.
“Be still, Glorius. Put aside your anger and accept your fate. Your struggling changes nothing. The end is at hand. Let us finish the ritual without distraction so you may find your peace.”
A shimmering white light settled over Glorius, the manacle cuffs flaring up. The angel’s head snapped back and slammed into the stone floor with a dull crack and lay there as though being held by some unseen force. His squirming arms and legs struggled against the light, yet they too succumbed, sinking to the floor to twitch helplessly. Though pressed down, Glorius still fought. Every muscle in his body surged as he strained against the restraining magic. For several seconds it looked as though he might win out, his limbs lifting away from the floor, battling the pressure to stay down. Then, I heard a muffled snap and saw his arm bend back at an awkward angle. Mouthing a scream, his resistance crumbled. His body slammed once more to the floor and he lay shivering, writhing. Behind me, Scarlett gasped. Having snuck up alongside me while I was distracted, she had seen Glorius’s arm break. Her agonized voice carried out into the room.
Any chance we had of catching Asmoday and Gabriel off guard died on the vine. All eyes in the room turned to us.
Gabriel sneered, rage burning in his cheeks. “I should have known you’d fail me, Asmoday.” His hands Page 267 glowed with shimmering white light, yet he didn’t move to attack. He did, however, throw up a spell. The air around Glorius twisted and warped, vomiting color like a demented kaleidoscope. The space between him and us was instantly distorted, so much so I could make little out of the entire back half of the room. My stomach tightened into hard knots as I recognized what he’d cast, its magic altering the very nature of the affected part of the room. So much for my guns.
I’d hoped to take Glorius out from a distance, avoiding a close brawl with his captors, but Gabriel had ruined that idea with his spell. Anything that struck the whirling shield, which was smaller than a man and faster than a turtle, would be reflected away uselessly by the colorful maelstrom. With that, Gabriel had effectively cut our options in half. If we were gonna kill Glorius, we’d have to do it up close and personal, and that was really gonna suck. The last thing I wanted to do was murder the guy while he watched it happen. It was a good thing I’m part devil, because this was the kind of shit that gets you sent to Hell. Asmoday just stood there oblivious to what his partner was doing, his eyes wide with surprise. He stared at us, saying nothing as I imagine he tried to figure out how we knew where to find him. I saw sudden realization dawn on his face. Appearing crestfallen, I watched as he struggled with the fact Lucifer had betrayed him, favoring me over his own lieutenant. The look on his face warmed my heart, but I didn’t get the chance to enjoy it. Scarlett, enraged, shoved me out the way and leapt at Gabriel, her arms outstretched, hands balled into fists. Stumbled, I couldn’t stop her.
She streaked through the air like a missile, ramming her fists into Gabriel’s face. Judging by the offended look on it, he seemed more galled she’d actually gone and done it than he was hurt by it. The two tumbled into a ball of wailing limbs, rolling about on the ground in a flurry of sparkling energy. Thunderous booms echoed throughout the room as they battled. Katon stepped out from behind me, his crimson sword held tight in his hand. “Like we planned, Trigg. Nothing changes, do you hear me?” His voice was like steel, tempered only by his professionalism.
“Yeah,” I muttered, as I tore my eyes from Scarlett’s suicide mission. Angry she’d screwed up our plan, there was nothing we could do but go on and hope for the best. She didn’t stand a chance at beating Gabriel so we needed to get on it fast before we had the archangel up our asses.
Katon understood the same. In a blur of movement, he launched himself toward Glorius, weaving back and forth to avoid being struck by Asmoday’s magic. I took off after him, tracing my own winding path toward the bound angel, making sure Page 269 there was plenty of room between us so the demon couldn’t target us both.
Asmoday, his disappointment having turned to rage, was raring to fight. Firelight leapt to life at his fingertips. Clearly not interested in trying to snipe Katon, his lateral movement random and unpredictable, Asmoday settled for an area effect. He tossed two flaming balls of fury into the air, which took off of their own volition. They streaked above the running assassin and as they neared, rather than try to strike him directly, they exploded in the air above him. Fire rained down like a volcanic storm. Katon did his best to avoid the burning fall, but there was too much of it.
One projectile struck him in the thigh, the sizzle of his flesh drowned out by his growling complaint. He stumbled, the burning flesh of his leg slowing him just long enough to be caught up in the storm. A second seared down the length of his back, melting through his leather jacket and leaving a trail of blackened,
scorched skin behind. I could smell charred meat thick in the air. His rhythm interrupted, he could do little but endure. A third and fourth ball of flame tore into him, one setting his chest on fire, the second burning his arm as he frantically tried to put the first fire out. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to continue on without going to his aid. It took all of my willpower to not stop, but I knew we’d only get one chance at taking Page 270 out Glorius and I was gonna have a hard enough time pulling that off without getting caught up in heroics. So, leaving Katon to take care of himself, I cast a glance at Scarlett as I continued to run. I was amazed she was still holding her own against Gabriel. Flashes of light sparked all around them as they slugged it out. Gabriel, his hands still glowing, seemed out of sorts. He looked tired, distracted perhaps. Whatever it was, I hoped it lasted.
Turns out, it didn’t really matter.
Asmoday, confident he had Katon delayed, turned his fury on me. Distracted as I was by Scarlett’s success, I’d failed to notice the demon charging at me. I heard him an instant before he reached my back. With a hiss, I spun about to fire, but Asmoday was already on top of me.
He threw a right hook that would make Mike Tyson proud. Reinforced with magical energy, his fist slammed into my face like a high speed train wreck. Brilliant lights flashed in front of my eyes as my head snapped almost horizontal to my neck. Through the cluttered haze of my head, I heard several pops as I stumbled back and fell to the ground. The pain yet to penetrate the fog of impact, I didn’t want to think about what kind of damage had been done. Not that thinking in general was all that easy at the moment anyway. I tried to open my eyes and see where Asmoday was only to realize he was standing right in front of me.
Though it was hard to see him, his image wavering back and forth like a bad acid trip, I could see the murder in his eyes. I moaned as I noticed his hand extended toward me, his palm glowing with flame. Not a big fan of being charbroiled, I curled into a ball just as he released it. Like a flame thrower, his magic tore into me. I screamed, but my breath was sucked from my lungs by the heat while the fire lapped at my flesh. All of my nerve endings picked up the pain signal at once and roared to life in a cacophony of searing agony. My face covered, I felt my scalp boiling up, blisters springing to life beneath the torrent of flame. The backs of my hands were the same.
Frantic, I fumbled with my gun belt with one hand, hurling it away before the shells could go off. Once it was clear, I threw myself at the ground, ignoring the violent collision as I rolled to put the fires out. My lungs tightened, the blast burning up all the oxygen in the surrounding air. Unable to see, I flopped against the hard stone, rolling back and forth. I could feel the heat melting my clothes, adding their scent to the bitter conflagration of burned flesh. After what seemed an eternity, the heat backed off, though I wasn’t sure if it was due to the fire going out or if my nerves had just been seared insensate.
I pulled my arms away from my face, daring to hope, and drew in a deep, pained breath. I could breathe again, however much it hurt. The fires were gone and I was still alive. For what that was worth. I opened my eyes, dried out from the blast, and blinked to focus. Once I could see again, the tear ducts reluctant to engage, I looked to see how bad off I was. Nearly naked, my clothes having been burnt away, the skin beneath was black as coal. Much of it was the same consistency. The only parts of me that didn’t look like a charcoal briquette were my face and my backside where the flame hadn’t managed to reach. Overall, it could have been much worse. Given the level of power Asmoday wielded, I’d gotten lucky. Under any other circumstances, he’d have killed me outright. I guess our theory as to his having spent most of his energy performing the rituals was a good one. Though it gave me little comfort, it did conjure up some small inkling of hope we might survive long enough to pull off our plan.
As a living representation of fire safety, I pulled my crispy ass to my feet while looking for Katon. The assassin, having overcome his own encounter with Asmoday’s flames, was in the midst of engaging the demon. Though slowed by the damage he’d taken, he was still quite nimble. He dodged and weaved in close to Asmoday, taking him on up close.
Across Asmoday’s flank were several long wounds, evidence Katon had been having some success in his assault. However, Katon looked far worse for wear. His face was blooded and marred with scorch marks. He ducked and stepped inside over and over, catching glancing blows as he did, yet landing no strikes of his own. He was tiring and his accuracy was suffering for it.
Hoping to help, I looked for my guns. They lay on the floor a short distance away, the outside of the holsters singed black. Agony accompanied every step as I raced to retrieve them. Though warm to the touch, they’d sustained no damage. I almost cried. I would have if my eyes hadn’t been seared dry. At least something had worked out in the cluster fuck of our assault.
I settled my pistols in my scorched hands and leveled them to fire, squeezing tight to keep them steady. In the time it took me to focus my eyes to aim, Asmoday had gained the advantage.
With a vicious backhanded sweep, the demon struck Katon across the side of his face. Oblivious to me, he stumbled into my line of fire holding his head and blocking my shot. I went to shout, but that’s when I realized what one of the snapping sounds I’d heard earlier was. It had been my jaw.
Sharp spikes of pain shot up my cheeks and down through my teeth as I tried to open my mouth. My eyes shrugged off the fire damage and sprung to life, moistening and blurring my vision. Before I could clear them and shake the pain off, Asmoday got in a lucky shot.
Katon slipped left when he should have slipped right. Asmoday launched a hook and the assassin moved directly into it. I saw his head snap back as blood sprayed into the air from his shattered nose. While Katon would normally take a blow like that in stride, backed by magic, there was no way to describe the punch as normal. His legs wobbled and buckled beneath him, sending him crashing to the floor, a look of shock on his face. Asmoday wasted no time. Like he had with me, he raised his hand, firelights springing to life. He was gonna cook Katon. I couldn’t let that happen.
The assassin out of my way, I raised my gun and pulled the trigger. Asmoday’s blast went off at the same time.
Before I could act, Katon was engulfed in licking flames. My shot, way off its mark, struck the demon in the meat of his shoulder, miles from being a fightending blow. He growled and ducked for cover as he felt the sting of the demon-slaying bullet, leaving Katon behind to burn.
I popped off a few more shots to keep Asmoday at bay as I tried to orient on the obscuring spell and was surprised when I actually saw Glorius instead. Through the rapidly shifting web of Gabriel’s spell, a handful of holes the size of fifty cent pieces had begun to appear. The colors had faded, many settling into a dull gray while the distorting effects had lessened. Page 275
Through the swirling holes, I saw Glorius straining once more against his restraints, his functional limbs tugging against the manacles. He was determined to break loose and seemed to be gaining ground. I cast a glance at Gabriel and saw his hands had also lost a measure of the glow that had been a constant since we’d arrived. Though in trade, he seemed less weary. He also seemed to be winning his fight with Scarlett.
My brain clicked into high gear.
The reason Scarlett had been doing so well was because Gabriel had been expending all his energy restraining the supercharged Glorius. Now that he’d let his hold slip somewhat, the angel was fighting free. His strength was more than the manacles alone could contain, and Gabriel was gaining the upper hand over Scarlett. I looked back toward Glorius, firing a few more shots to keep Asmoday away, and made up my mind. If ever there was time to try for the angel, this was it. Though it hurt me to once more to turn my back on a companion, a fellow soldier in the war against Armageddon, sacrifices must be made. I didn’t like the choice I was faced with, but considering the consequences if I failed, we were all dead anyway. It wasn’t hard to make up my mind. I’d worry about the morality
of it later.
Unable to get a clear shot at Glorius, the remnants of the spell moving randomly and at a sufficient speed to Page 276 muddle my aim, I fired another shot at Asmoday, who’d begun to creep closer, and bolted toward the angel. At a full sprint, I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I could hear Asmoday bellowing behind me, anxiety and frustration thick in his voice. That only spurred me on. I took the last few steps in a single bound, readying myself for the disorientation that would strike me as I passed through the barrier.
But just before I reached the edge of the spell, its colors suddenly dropped away, the obscuring magic dissipating only to be replaced by a shimmering shield wall. Unable to stop my momentum, I slammed hard into the shield, face first. White flashes of pain reverberated through my jaw as I bounced back, barely managing to retain my balance. My brain rattled inside my head as stars danced in front of my eyes. I cried out in frustration and anger and no small amount of agony. As my pain receptors eased off the pedal a bit, I looked through the translucent wall and saw the blurred image of Glorius, once more fully restrained by the glow. My heart dropped in my chest. I’d failed.
Defeated, I turned around slowly and saw Gabriel bearing down on me, waving Asmoday off. Past him, Scarlett lay in a bloodstained, battered heap. She wasn’t moving. I glanced around the room for Katon. He was nowhere to be seen. I looked back to Gabriel.
“Valiant effort, Triggaltheron. I applaud you.”
Gabriel stalked toward me, stopping about twenty feet away. Wary, his left hand shimmered with a small shield, crafted by magic.
“You can take your praise and shove it.” I spoke through clenched teeth. I wasn’t feeling up to being witty and my jaw hurt.
“Come now. It’s over. Put away the guns and act civilized and I’ll let you live to see the start of Armageddon.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slow, calming my nerves. “Front row seats to the end of the world, how generous of you.”
