CounterPoint

by Daniel Rafferty

  “How have you entered this building?” bellowed Ariel, brandishing his staff threateningly at the three casually dressed demons who now stood amongst the remains of their former comrades. The demon in the middle was clearly the elder of the group. It gave a hollow laugh, bearing its white teeth.

  “You really think there’s anything sacred about these grounds anymore? Nothing done here is sacred. We’re back. We can go everywhere, and do anything,” said the demon confidently, pushing his chest outward. So confident that Ariel truly wondered what could have happened which could allow demons to enter this complex. The complex was christened as sacred holy ground when it was established. Some of Heaven’s greatest sanctified creations came down to christen it personally. It was to be a secure location for angels to safely administrate the planet; no demon should be able to enter it without burning to death instantly. Many had tried over the years and their remains still populated the outer perimeter.

  “Regardless, I can’t let you proceed any further,” said Ariel, before withdrawing another blade from his overcoat and firing it forth once more. It split into two pieces in mid-flight, severing the two demons guarding the senior one in half. The remaining demon uttered a beastly roar like that of a savage dog.

  “However, I won’t kill you just yet, demon. I require information. Why are you here? What is the reason?” demanded Ariel, but as he expected, the demon tried to flee. Clicking his fingers, the demon stopped dead in his tracks. He was desperately trying to move, but couldn’t. Ariel had simply bonded him to the spot. Circling his hand, the demon was forced to turn round and face Ariel directly.

  “I’ll ask again, only once. Why are you here?”

  “It’s judgement day, angel. The boss has returned; we are following our orders.”

  “Your boss is locked in a cage in the fiery pits of damnation!” said Ariel in his usual deep commanding voice. His eyes however blazed with fury.

  “You think we would dare breach your Headquarters without bigger backup and without those inside your ranks sympathetic to our cause? Don’t underestimate us angel, were going to take over this world. We won’t be destroyed because angels fucked this planet up. Angels are slow and elderly now. There hasn’t been an angel created in millions of years. Your weapons haven’t been upgraded in centuries. Your generals are old and tired, their knowledge based on the wars of old. What makes you think you even have the slightest chance against us now?”

  “The Human Experiment is of critical importance to all. We protect it at all costs. Evil was never meant to be a factor. Demons are simply an unexpected pollutant to the experiment. This planet has been host to a war that is millions of years old,” said Ariel, the ceiling above him shaking as the battle raged on upstairs.

  “We won’t be exterminated. Lucifer is back, he won’t let angels decide the fate of the planet.”

  The demon closed his eyes tightly and refused to speak. Anger contorted his face. Ariel remained calm, staring straight at him. While many considered torture to be a barbaric tool for information extraction he found it to be unusually effective. Ariel clenched his fist and concentrated, the demon began to scream and roar in agony. His insides were beginning to heat up before they would melt and turn into a sloppy goo-like substance. Most angels used this as a method to kill demons, but with Ariel’s experience he could use it at the right levels to be an effective torture tool.

  “Tell me where Lucifer is.”

  “I will not!” roared the demon, blood seeping out from his eye sockets and fingernails.

  Ariel, sensing this one to be a lost cause, clenched his fist tighter. The demon let out a hollow scream before exploding, painting the white walls a dark lumpy red. Knowing that demons could not be allowed to invade the lower floors of the compound, Ariel rushed towards the lift, his weapon with him. He quickly glanced at the corridor, taking in one last bittersweet gaze in the knowledge that it would be the last time he would see it.

  Meanwhile, the scene upstairs in the main reception was even worse than he imagined. This vast square room housed the reception desk and around twenty lifts to each level and section of the entire compound. Mervil, the receptionist since this compound was created, stood on top of her pristine black glass desk. She had her staff in hand letting loose volleys of crackling red fire. Any demon unfortunate enough to get hit by one was quickly exterminated. Throes of angels hurled themselves towards demons at every angle, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Countless more poured in from the large lifts that led to the surface. Knowing the compound was now in lockdown, Ariel had to get to the middle primary lift. There was no other way to get above ground.

  “Ariel, you need out?” shouted Mervil across the room from her desk.

  Ariel nodded quickly, trying to keep track of everything happening.

  “Ok, GO, I’ll provide cover fire!” she blasted, and with that she certainly did. Her staff seemed as if it was about to explode with the amount of firepower she suddenly started releasing. Every demon between Ariel and the lift was getting fried. Ariel blasted a few out of the way as well before realising that no matter what his feelings where towards management, he couldn’t just leave without helping the general rank and file. Stopping in his tracks, he squeezed his eyes shut in concentration and slammed his staff into the ground creating a crack in the floor tiles. A blinding shot of pure energy burst from the top of his staff, encompassing the entire room. The demons fell one after the other, shattering their limbs and ricocheting them across the four walls of the reception room. With that, and a brief break in the attack he charged towards the lift and using his staff for a push, propelled himself up the long lift shaft blasting falling demons out of the way.

  Pushing for as much speed as possible, he burst up the shaft and punched through the roof of the garage, flying off into the sky narrowly avoiding a lightning bolt. The staff in the compound would have to deal with the invasion on their own, though Ariel suspected that there were other things happening across the globe which had more importance. Glancing down, he saw hordes of black dots descending on the garage. The place looked likely to be overrun, especially with so many angels out on patrol. While the only positive to come from this may have been the chaos that would overtake central command and therefore make his job slightly easier, he suspected this was planned by management from the beginning.

  A red bright glint caught his eye below and to his relief, Amber was racing up towards him.

  Chapter 19

  After his quick flight, Ariel marched forward towards the luxurious hillside winter cabin in Russia. Since it was a protected house used by the hierarchy, he could not transport himself directly inside. Hidden away in the mountains of East Russia, the cabin was the perfect place to secure and hide people under the protection of angels. Surrounded by trees and other foliage, some would say they had taken extra care in selecting this naturally secluded location. Ariel knew, however, that was not the case; it was simply a matter of luck. Angels were not concerned with who knew about what they were doing, they were in charge of the planet and answered to no one. Strolling up the steps to the door, he ensured to look calm and collected. His long black trench coat provided an extra layer of protection against the harsh winds. Opening the door with nothing more than a stare, he strode inside to find the Bassett’s sitting around a blazing fire. None of them would look at him; clearly Uriel had been using his trademark skills. Nine angels were nearby, four inside and four patrolling the perimeter of the house. They had not even questioned him as he walked towards the cabin. The general was standing close to his human captives. This could get nasty.

  “Evening, sir,” said the tall, rugged well-built angel named Uriel, a true soldier in both appearance and personality. Ariel had dealt with him on numerous occasions and though he was highly competent, he had little respect for humans. This had always irked Ariel greatly. Although Uriel was a high-ranking military general, Ariel was still a department head. Therefore the customary ‘sir’ had to be included to sh
ow he accepted Ariel’s hierarchical seniority. More importantly, Ariel’s department was adept at surveillance and he was able to ascertain quite quickly where Heaven was holding the Bassett’s.

  “Evening Uriel. Status update?” asked Ariel politely, trying to keep it like business as usual.

  “Everything is normal, sir. I’ve got people patrolling the perimeter and so far we’ve registered no signs of anything unusual,” he looked towards the window at the now beginning snow storm, “but we are on our guard.”

  “Excellent; unfortunately I have orders from Michael to transport them to a more secure location. Headquarters is under siege and we don’t want to take any chances with them,” said Ariel, waiting for the reply that would shape the future of this conversation.

  “I’m sorry, Ariel, I can’t authorise their release unless I hear from Raphael directly. He has taken personal interest in these humans and has instructed me they are not to be moved under any circumstances,” replied Uriel tersely, squaring up to Ariel. He knew from this moment on that this was going to have to be done the hard way.

  “Okay, I understand,” whispered Ariel, before swinging his right fist into Uriel’s left jaw. Uriel flew into the air and smashed through four solid wooden walls across the cabin. The other four angels immediately withdrew their blades and advanced towards Ariel. The Bassett’s jumped up to shield Mary from the violence - she had been so weak ever since her mission to London. Ariel’s staff immediately appeared in his hand, almost three times as long as their blades. He engaged the four angels at once. Thrashing his staff equally around all sides he managed to fool the two at his right into backtracking until they fell rearward over a well-positioned stool.

  With seconds to spare, he instantly attacked the other two, which were still viciously trying to slice him. Using his free hand, he levitated a huge wooden clock from the fireplace and smashed it straight into the head of one of the opposing angels. He vaguely heard one of the Bassett family emitting a low yelp. Duelling with the other one, very much aware the two who had tripped were getting back to their feet, he realised he was running out of time. Outstretching his arm towards the large dining room table, he levitated through the hole in the wall formed by Uriel. Seconds later it came crashing through towards the approaching angels at the rear, connecting with them violently before punching into the cottage’s outer walls and far down the hill into the trees. The blizzard winds were now blowing freely into the cabin.

  Facing the final guard, Ariel showed off some of his more majestic duelling moves, not letting himself be touched by that damn blade. Seeing his chance as the angel heard Uriel calling him four rooms away, Ariel thrashed his staff through the angel’s abdomen till it pierced out his back. Coming eye to eye with the angel, he observed a mixture of anger and sadness in his eyes. Ariel felt it too; no matter what, he didn’t want to kill.

  “Ariel. You’re dead!” shouted Uriel who stormed back again through each gaping hole he was punched through mere seconds ago. Ariel swung round to face him, though he knew that Uriel would be more than a match for him and this fight could go either way. Squaring up to each other, they refused to blink.

  “Uriel, don’t make me do this. Just let me take them and I’ll go,” negotiated Ariel, he sincerely did not want to have to try to end another angel’s life again.

  “Ariel you don’t have the power to destroy me. I’ve been fighting the demon war since time began and more. I’m no desk boy,” said Uriel coldly, getting ready for a duel to the death.

  The blizzards winds from outside were intensifying and light snow showers were filling the interior cabin. The main front door blasted open, flying off its hinges.

  “He may be a desk boy,” shouted the character standing at the door front, “but I am not.” Rapidly, violent shards of crystal ice flung through the door frame and encircled Uriel instantly - just leaving his face visible. Uriel tried to struggle, but each time he did he was sliced by one of those jagged shards. Ariel stepped back, thankful for this friend’s late, if not appropriate, arrival. The look on Uriel’s face showed he had finally pieced it together. There were very few things that could ever harm an angel, especially one as high ranking as himself, except perhaps another angel.

  “Manakel,” Uriel growled, again slicing himself with the shards as he struggled to contain his rage. “You have no right; when Michael finds out he’ll have you put at the bottom of one of your damn oceans and kept there for all eternity”

  “Maybe so. But not today. And he won’t hear it from you. Not where you’re going,” replied Manakel ever so calmly. “Ariel, if you could please step back. I’d hate for you to get dragged along by accident.” The female human walked forward, her white flowing gowns rippled majestically in the 100mph winds. Her eyes turned baby blue and she raised her arms to the air loudly enchanting an old spell in an ancient language. The winds began to intensify. Everything was done with such ease.

  Uriel could feel himself lifting off the ground, and the sensation of water at his feet and salt in his mouth. His last sight was looking down at Manakel and Ariel as he was projected miles above the house at warp like speed before descending into one of the world’s deepest oceans soaring towards the mantle of the planet.

  Ariel, with relief pouring over himself, thanked Manakel profusely for answering his call for help and for taking care of the angels outside on the perimeter. She looked at him fondly knowing that she had been of help for the right cause, a first in a long time. Manakel herself was a very high ranking elder angel in control of the world’s oceans and anything related with water. She made a formidable enemy on the battlefield and was credited with extinguishing the fires in Hell when they were started by demons after the crucifixion of Christ. Legend held that she had almost drained an entire ocean and flooded Hell with its cooling properties.

  “Ariel,” said Manakel, “Michael will realise what has happened to Uriel and release him. He will be coming.”

  “I know, but the next time we’ll be ready. I’ll be ready.” They nodded in agreement, knowingly.

  Ariel walked over to the Bassett family and explained what had happened. He told them how he had been contacted by one of God’s closest agents and how he sensed something was very wrong. They still did not know why Michael and the rest of upper management wanted them excluded from this coming war but Pravuil was sure it was not for good intentions. They suspected the war itself was not righteous and that this family held the key to stopping it. It was therefore necessary that they find a place to hide them, from both angels and demons.

  “People, if you would follow me to just beyond the perimeter of the house we can get you out of here,” said Ariel, walking towards the family who were all standing around the fireplace with Mary between them.

  “What the Hell is going on?” shouted Mary.

  Ariel could immediately tell where David got his temperament and blunt conversational skills from. Ariel knew he had to find the balance between conveying a sense of urgency to these people and also accepting they needed answers. None of that, though, could nullify the fact that a squadron of angels would soon be on their way. Explaining to them briefly that there seemed to be some corruption at the very top of the celestial chain of command, he then tried to impress upon the need for speed.

  “And who is she?” barked Mary, giving Manakel a death stare.

  “She is what you might call a specialist. She is responsible for the water of this world,” said Ariel who then asked Manakel would she mind tampering with the weather to ensure they had safe and easy passage to just beyond the perimeter. Dutifully obliging, with only a moment’s thought, the wind, snow and ice stopped instantly.

  “We must hurry, please come with me,” ushered Ariel managing them out of the half-destroyed cabin. Manakel would stay behind and head off any squadrons that were due to appear any time now. They rushed down the slight incline, shoes and boots trotting into the snow. Ariel ensured that each footstep into the snow was subtly erased. Mary was havin
g a hard time keeping up with the pace and it took the efforts of Claire and Catherine to ensure she made it to the perimeter border. Once there he slowed the group down. Instructing each to each place their hand on him they would soon find themselves in an area filled with near blinding white light but it would only be momentary. They were not to move an inch and would soon find themselves in their final destination.

  “Okay, ready?” asked Ariel, looking round and receiving nods from each of the three, “Okay, three, two, one.” The five vanished without sound or physical impact.