Death Among Us

by Jack Crosby

  As he pulled up beside me, “Death, what news do you bring?”

  “It is as the Almighty feared; the natives are too far gone. They worship the Bird demon and bathe in the blood of their own. Judgment shall be cast.”

  He tilted his head down in disappointment. “What is decision brother? Shall any be spared?”

  Cold anger washed over me. “Death comes to all. None who remember their ways will walk away this day.”

  “So be it. I will gather the others.”

  I put my hand up. “No, that is not required. I have cast judgment and I shall be the reaper as is my post. Tell War and Famine they may return. Conquest, stay as my witness.”

  Without another word, he made his way back up the ridge. In the moments while I waited for his return, my only thoughts were to the acts I was about to commit. Khloros was strangely quiet, offering nothing in ways of an opinion or strategy. He simply stared off into the distance, looking at the Aztec temples.

  “It is done brother; War and Famine have return to the Garden. Are you sure you are in no need of my bow?”

  “Save your arrows for another time. Today the world will learn why Death is the oldest and most terrifying of us all.”

  Without another word, we began our descent.

  **Conquest**

  I had never seen my brother so hard and cold. Something must have happened while he was in the city. Many sunrises and sunsets had passed before he called. War was looking forward to this, but it seemed only one of us was needed and that was just to bear witness.

  Leviathan was strapped to his back, ready to reap the souls of the unsuspecting natives who we were charging towards. My horse Leukos even noticed a distinct change.

  “Conquest, this is personal, is it not?”

  We were two to three lengths behind and with Death in such a trance; I doubt he could hear us. “It certainly appears so.”

  “Do we need to interfere?”

  “No, to do so would be a mistake. If true that they are trying to bring the Bird demon to Earth, then the punishment fits the crime.”

  He seemed satisfied with that answer. Not long after did we come to the outskirts of the civilization. Death stopped and turned back to me.

  “This is a good spot. Stay here and observe only, even if it seems I am in trouble. Do you understand?”

  His young face, boyish young, had been replaced with a mask of anger. “Of course brother, I shall do as requested.”

  He spurned Khloros forward and brought Leviathan to position. Screams of terror were soon to follow as the massacre began.

  **Present**

  “That does not sound like the guy sitting beside me. That Death sounds like a fucking badass!”

  “I forgot to warn you Conquest, she likes to interrupt.”

  He looked at both of us. “It appears so. Quite the mouth you have to young lady.”

  Her red eyes did their thing. “I am probably as old as you, thank you very much.”

  That brought up a pretty good point. I didn’t know that much about Roxanne’s lineage. I mean, I knew she was Beelzebub’s mate, but the Arch-Demon probably had millions of those.

  Conquest picked up on it too. “Oh due tell then.”

  “A lady never tells her age, but I will oblige you with this piece of information. I’m one of Lilith’s daughters.”

  Neither one of us responded right away. That answered a lot, as Lilith was the oldest Lust demon we knew about. Depending on what generation she was, Roxanne may even be as old as me.

  “No need to think about anything else boys, that’s all I am willing to give you.”

  “Then back to your initial assessment,” Conquest looked at me, “my brother was definitely a bad ass as you say. The Aztecs were no match for him. Unfortunately by the time we made it to their main temple, the ritual was complete.”

  “So you faced the Bird demon one on one? Conquest, you didn’t help at all?”

  He smiled, “As I said, I was just there to serve witness. Now, if you allow me, I will finish the story.”

  **Past - Conquest**

  The area laid covered in red, bodies of those already reaped strewn about the city. I had agreed to bear witness and this was an event I would never forget. I watched in silence as Death was a whirlwind, Leviathan cutting down the final guards as he ascended to the top of the temple.

  “Come Leukos, he is about to enter.”

  Dodging the bodies, we followed his wake of destruction. It was only as we got closer to the top than I felt a wave of demonic energy wash over me. “Quetzalcoatl has risen!”

  “Conquest, we need to interfere, the Bird demon is not to be trifled with!”

  I agreed and I steered Leukos into the temple. In the center, covered in waves of demonic lightning, was Quetzalcoatl. Death was under him, pointing Leviathan in his direction.

  “You should have stayed in Hell Bird demon! It would have saved you the pain and suffering that comes with facing me.”

  “Horseman,” as he talked, sparks flew off his feathers, “If you think you can challenge me and survive, then please do! It has been so long since I have feasted and you will do nicely.”

  I went to move into position beside Death when I noticed Leukos and I had been bond by celestial fire chains. The fool had stopped us from interfering.

  “Enough chatter Bird, let us begin!”

  Instead of raising Leviathan, Death brought his hand up and created three balls of celestial fire. Tossing them into the air, they surrounded the Bird demon. His black eyes followed the path but then turned their attention back to Death. Flapping his wings, gusts of wind filled the temple.

  Death brought Leviathan down into the floor to hold his position. As the gusts flourished, lightning began to crackle around the claws of the bird. Seeing his was about to be struck. Death let go of his scythe and flew backwards away from the blast. The wind carried him into the stone wall, his body shattering it.

  The wind died down and the Bird demon laughed at the fallen body of my brother. “Fool, you thought your power was equal to mine. There was a reason Lucifer banished me to the Seventh Circle!”

  Death stood up, a smirk appeared on his face. “Your arrogance blinds you.”

  “What?”

  Quetzalcoatl never saw the attack coming. My brother had focused so much of his energy into the celestial fire that he was willing to give up the initial attack. The orbs blazed to life and quickly turned into chains. One wrapped around his claws, another around his body and wings, and the last wrapped itself around his beak.

  No longer able to keep himself airborne, the demon came crashing down to the stone floor. The smell of burning brimstone filled the air as the chains burned brightly.

  As my brother walked over to him, grabbing Leviathan on his way over, the Bird’s black eyes radiated hatred. “Do not mistake this as a victory Horseman! One day when you least expect it, Hell will bring you to your knees!”

  “Shut up bitch.” He brought Leviathan down, severing the Bird Demon’s head. The body exploded in a burst of demonic lighting, sending Death flying back towards me.

  The explosion caused him to lose control of the chains binding myself and Leukos. Jumping off my horse, I was able to catch him. “That was unexpected.”

  He looked up at me. “Put me down.” I was amused but decided not to push it. Once firmly on the ground, “The deed is done. None remain and the Bird demon is back in the depths of Hell.”

  Even though he was victorious, sadness filled his eyes. “Is everything alright brother?”

  “It will be. For now, let us return to Eden, I grow weary of being here.”

  That too was odd. Of all the Horsemen, Death spent the most time here, even telling me he preferred to be among the humans. “Very well, let us make our leave.”

  Once we were away from the now lifeless city, Death gave one last glance back. Getting down off Khloros and to one knee, I heard him recite a prayer, asking for forgiveness, but not for him. He was ask
ing for someone he had just reaped.

  **Present**

  “And that is the story of the Fall of the Aztecs.”

  As Conquest finished the tale, I remembered why I hated it so much. All the feelings I had buried came back to the surface.

  “Master, I saw you use your celestial fire! The power is still in you!”

  I gave Roxanne a weak smile. “A flicker of that power is inside me. The Death that defeated Quetzalcoatl is a distant memory.”

  “Speaking of memory,” It was Conquest’s turn to grill me, “what happened that day that changed you? We all noticed it, but no one had the spine to ask you.”

  I cursed the both of them. “I fell in love with a priestess during my time there. I thought I could change her and bring her to the Almighty. I ran out of time and I killed her during the massacre.”

  “So that’s…”

  I pushed myself up and silenced Conquest. “That is enough. Right now I wish to be alone.”

  And with that I walked out of the living room and to the back bedroom, tears flowing from my eyes.

  Chapter 22 – Time to Get Back Up!

  There was a soft knock on the door. “Master, are you okay?”

  “You don’t have to call me Master, Derrick or piece of shit will do just nicely.”

  She opened the door and walked in. Sitting beside me, “It makes sense now why you did not end the mortal’s life. You were trying to heal a very deep wound.”

  Stupid sex demon and her insight. “Try as I did, I still ended up making a fucking mess.”

  “Your heart was in the right place. True you made a giant mess, but damnit you can’t give up so easily.”

  We sat there for a little bit, neither of us said a word. I tried to reason with what she said, that my heart was in the right place and breaking the rule at the time was the right thing to do. Who was I kidding though? The torment Maggie must’ve gone through to have been broken like that would’ve been worse than death.

  There was only one thing to do. “You’re right.” I tried to pull myself back together. “All we can do is keep on fighting, huh?”

  She looped her arm around mine. “Let’s go see what your brother has to say. He is here to help you.”

  When we got back out to the living room, Conquest was on my phone. “I can see why you live here! These devices that allow you to play games are amazing.”

  “Okay, you see why I’m here, now why are you here?”

  “As I said before, I am here to help.” He opened his hands up and a bow materialized. “I thought for old time’s sake we could spar.”

  I laughed. “You just want to kick my ass finally, don’t you?”

  “The thought never crossed my mind.” The smile on his face disagreed with his words. “However, that is a positive to what I’m proposing.”

  “Huh… you’re on.”

  Roxanne had different feelings though. Stomping her foot to the ground, “I can’t let you do that! In the condition you’re in, all you will end up doing is fucking yourself up more!”

  “Roxanne…”

  She stood in front of me. “If you can get passed me, then you can do whatever you want.”

  I looked over at Conquest for help. He offered none. “A fine idea! Death, take the lady up on her challenge!”

  “Listen, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She laughed, “Oh really?” With lightning fast reflexes she grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. With as much pain as my ribs and shoulder were causing, I dropped in no time. “Beg for mercy! Tell me who the bitch is!”

  Her voice had gotten rougher and her eyes were glowing. “Roxanne, let go!”

  She twisted it harder. “Come now, I’m just a sex demon! Show me your power Master!”

  This wasn’t what I was expecting. If I didn’t do something, she might really rip my arm off. I tried to overcome the pain and concentrate. It was faint, but I felt the celestial power. I tried to call upon it but nothing. Screw this, I can’t call upon it, I must demand it!

  “Holy shit, that burns!” Roxanne’s hand dropped my arm like a hot potato.

  “Good! Continue to draw from it, command it!”

  The feeling was wonderful, my power coming back! Pushing the fire harder, I began to form a chain in my hand. “Hey, I can still do this shit!” Then it disappeared. I was so close and now it was so far away.

  “Derrick, what happened?” Roxanne’s hand had a big burn on it from where the fire caught her.

  “His anger was replaced with joy. It seems as of right now, Death’s power only comes to you when you are pissed off.” Conquest walked over and looked at the burn mark. “You are lucky Lust demon, had he had more juice behind it, you would be back in the depths of Hell.”

  That brought Roxanne down. I got up and walked over, “Hey, I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m sorry that I burned you as bad as I did.”

  “No, I’m the dumbass. I should not have pushed you as hard as I did.”

  I hugged her. For the first time that I could remember, we touched and it had nothing to do with sex. “You did what you needed to. You gave me what I needed; hope that I can be me again.”

  “I hate to break up the party, but there is a place we can go, to train, and not lose anytime here on Earth.”

  I shuddered at the thought, but I knew where Conquest was referring. “You want to go there?”

  “Heavens no! I would rather spend a day hanging out with Lucifer than to go there! Given the circumstances, I see no other alternative though.”

  Fear was in Roxanne’s voice. “Where are you two talking about?”

  Conquest wasn’t going to say it, so that left only me. “Tartarus.”

  Chapter 23 – Meet Abaddon, the Destroyer

  “You fucking idiots are going where?!” Roxanne’s eyes were actually glowing at this point.

  Conquest looked at me like ‘get your shit together.’ Here goes nothing. “It’s not that bad, you know? Tartarus just has a really bad rap, that’s all. It’s the perfect place to get the magic back.”

  “Oh well in that case, there isn’t a thing to worry about is there?” This was a weird reaction… “It’s not like FUCKING ABADDON IS THERE!!”

  “Well, yeah, about that…”

  Let’s have a quick history lesson. Do you remember me telling you about fallen angels and everything? Okay, good. As you know, Lucifer is the first and strongest of them all. Well back in the day when Hell was in a civil war with all the different fallen angels trying to establish control, Lucifer had a general named Abaddon, the Destroyer.

  Now old Abaddon was mean, vicious, and most of all cunning. When Lucifer won control and became the king of the downstairs, Abaddon attempted a coup de taut. I wasn’t personally there, but they say the battle between the two of them was epic. In the end Lucifer won and sentenced Abaddon to eternity is Tartarus.

  As for Tartarus itself, it’s a bleak and barren land with an eternal red sky and creatures straight out of nightmares. Abaddon has fashioned himself King of the Damned now and leads a pack of these nightmares to kill whoever is foolish enough to enter his domain.

  The only good thing about Tartarus is being there for extended periods of time bring out one’s true nature. Plus, time flows differently there, so I could go and be back and it would seem like a second on Earth. That is, if I survived the journey.

  There is two ways to get into this wonder vacation spot. The first is through a portal in Lucifer’s own palace, which is completely out of the question. The second is when a Horseman and an Archangel combine there might to create a rift. The only problem with this plan is that it takes about ten minutes to recharge the celestial fire to reopen the rift. Ten minutes here could be millennia in Tartarus. That’s why we usually have two to three archangels, so the rift can be immediately reopened.

  I regrouped, “I’ve been there before. Everything will be okay, right Conquest?”

  “It will only be I and Dante who are willing to open the rift
. And even his help comes at a price for us. War and Famine believe this plan to be a fool’s errand.”

  A price? Great, only the Almighty knew what Dante had in mind. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until I saw the angel to ask. “So I’m going to be on my own until the two of you recharge? That’s not a good plan.” No, it was completely ass-hatted.

  “I wish I could say there was a better way in the time frame we are working, but if you continue to fight at your current ability, you will not be successful.”

  Unfortunately, he was right. “When do we leave?”

  However Roxanne had other ideas. Putting her hand on my chest, “You are not going there alone.”

  “I don’t have much choice here.”

  “Yes you do.” Her eyes went hard, “I will go with you.”

  “Roxanne, it’s bad enough I’ve got to go there, but I’m not sure you going would be a good idea?”

  Her hand flicked down and before I could blink there was a knife in my face. “Read the dagger, what does it say?”

  It was so close to my eyes it was hard for me to focus. Once it did, I had to do a double take. “If my translation is correct, it reads of Lilith’s bloodline. Are you the eldest daughter?”

  “I am her eldest and strongest.”

  I didn’t know if this revelation was good or bad. “Shit, that’s why Beelzebub is so pissed isn’t it?”

  She nodded. “My mother promised me to him for eternity. As you know demonic pacts are a hard thing to get out of, unless you have a well placed plan.”

  “Why is my safety and well being so important to you? Is it because without me, no one will protect you?”

  I guess that was a very untactful question as Roxanne’s eyes couldn’t stop from showing how hurt she was. Even Conquest cringed after I asked.

  “You asshole!” With that, she stormed towards the kitchen only to stop before she entered to yell at me once more. “I hope Abaddon feasts on your bones!”

  Neither of us talked until the backdoor slammed shut. Only then did Conquest say anything. “That was not your best moment, no?”