by Roy Bright
“Demon, I will smite thee,” Michael says, brandishing his sword and pointing it at Azazel.
The demon turns to face the Hellwatch Commander and raises a hand.
Michael comes to a halt, his entire body frozen. His limbs quiver as he tries to move but he is unable to. He grunts, struggling too free himself from the power wielded over him.
Judas holds up a hand. “Enough! We don’t have time for this nonsense.”
The demon releases Michael from his telekinetic grip, smiles, and bows. “Just making a point.”
Michael breathes out hard and grabs his throat, rubbing it. He grips the hilt of his sword and is about to advance further when Jesus interrupts him.
“Michael, please. Let us hear what this…” he pauses to consider his words “…fellow has to say and we can then decide what action must be taken.”
The Archangel halts, letting go of his weapon, and bows. “Of course, master. As you wish.” Although he has done as he is told like every good soldier, his face still thunders with anger and his eyes burn into the interloper.
“All right, look,” Azazel says, cracking his knuckles. “I’m not actually here to cause waves or to be any trouble. As I am sure you have all gathered by now, I am actually the property of that man there, the first creature to tame me in, oh, I don’t know… forever.” He looks at Judas, who offers an innocuous nod. “War is coming gentlemen, and it will be a bitter one if something is not done about it quick-sharp.”
Michael steps forward. “Lucifer’s army is decimated, his followers scattered to the four corners of Hell and those that remain upon the Earth will soon be vanquished. You know not of what you speak, demon.”
“I think I know more than you, soldier boy. I am one of three Demon Swords of Power and we all know a damn sight more than you, so listen up as I tell you this now – Lucifer has not been defeated, he has not been weakened, or scattered to the four corners of Hell.” He shakes his head at Michael and frowns. “Really? You still speak like that?” He mimics him, “‘Scattered to the four corners of Hell.’” He laughs.
“Hey, quit it!” Judas says with a fierce stare, his mouth narrowed.
A petulant groan emanates from the back of Azazel’s throat and he turns to the Council members. “You are wrong. Lucifer has gotten his shit together and is planning a huge offensive. Furthermore, he has obtained five of the Seven Seals.”
“Lies!” Cherubim shouts, rising out of his chair.
“A demon I may be, but a liar I am not. I tell you the truth. He has five of the seven and I believe he is close to finding the sixth.”
“And how do you know this, demon? How could you know of such things?”
“Because I am an Ancient One, and I know things – more than you do, so shut it cherry-bum.”
The Angel-Lord Cherubim erupts. “How! Dare! You!” He slams his fists onto the bench to emphasize his words. “How dare you.”
Lowering his head, Judas hides a smirk.
Jesus rubs his brow with one hand and holds up the other. “Lord Cherubim, please.”
Cherubim stares at Azazel for a few moments then, tight lipped, slumps back into his chair.
Michael glances toward his Hellwatch brothers. “If this is true, we must leave now, hunt the creature down, and take back the Seals before he has chance to use them.”
“You would seek him in Hell, Michael?” Judas asks, turning to face him.
“I would. I am not afraid.”
“Well, you should be. Hell is his domain and he is all-powerful within it. Such an action would be suicide.”
Jesus rises out of his chair and stares at Azazel for a moment. “Tell me, Ikazuchi—”
“Er,” Azazel says, shaking a finger at him. “Please, call me Azazel when I am in this form. Ikazuchi is the name of the weapon.”
“Very well, Azazel. Lucifer – has he awoken the Four?”
Azazel regards him for a moment, then raises his eyebrows, purses his lips together, and nods.
The Council explodes into sound and fury once more, each talking over one another, shouting, their bodies animated, arms flailing.
Judas looks at them and closes his eyes. His intention had never been to upset the masters, but they hadn’t listened when he approached them a few days back – they had forced him to follow this course of action. And now, as he watches Heaven’s elite bickering among themselves, he wonders whether the wheels may be falling off a cart that has been steadfast for so long. He is about to speak when Jesus brings the room to heel with a rare outburst.
“Silence! That is enough!”
The room falls into immediate quiet and all turn to face him.
He walks around the desk and over to Azazel, who takes a couple of steps back.
“May I?” he says, holding up his hands to his face.
He looks around, at Judas, then returns his gaze back to Jesus and shrugs.
He places his hands on the side of the demon’s head and closes his eyes, then draws in a sharp breath and his hands glow white.
Azazel tries to back away as the sensation is very uncomfortable, but the Lord of Heaven’s grip is much too strong. He grunts and grabs Jesus’ arms, attempting to break his hold, but yet again finds he can’t.
After what feels like an eternity to Azazel, Jesus lets go and the glow around him dissipates. He steps back and ponders.
“Jesus-H-fucking-Christ,” Azazel says, rubbing his head and glancing toward Judas who narrows his eyes and shakes his head.
As Jesus ambles back to his seat at the bench, he looks around the room. “The demon speaks the truth although he is hiding something from me, something that even I could not decipher.”
“Well,” Azazel says, rubbing his neck, “We all gotta have our little secrets, don’t we?”
“So what now, my Lord?” Michael asks. “What would you have us do?”
Jesus sits down and contemplates the options, placing his fingers under his chin.
The experience of the last few minutes has been distressing and something that the other members within the room had not faced before. They glance at one another, eager to hear what he has to say, to hear the words of wisdom that would spew forth and put a plan into action.
Michael is about to speak again, to hurry him along, when Jesus stands back up.
“Judas.”
“My Lord?” he says, stepping forward.
“You were the one who first brought this to our attention. Although it would seem that you were right to disobey my orders and pursue this path, I feel that you may have set in motion a devastating chain of events. Events that may get the better of you.” He glances toward Azazel, who offers a faint smile. “Although we did not listen then, we are listening now. So what do you think our course of action should be?”
“My Lord!” an angry Michael interjects. “Surely this is a decision for Hellwatch to make?”
“It is,” Jesus, says. “Which is why I am assigning Judas to Hellwatch as an advisor and you are to take everything he says on board and act upon it as though the command came from me personally.”
Michaels face burns red and his eyes narrow, but he says nothing more. He knows it is not his place to argue with his Lord and master, but this decision has him seething and all those looking at him can see it.
Judas nods. “Well, my Lord, first off I think it would be very important to bring Charlotte in on this.”
“Why?” says Seraphim, interrupting him. “Surely the last thing we want to be doing is putting The Light anywhere near Lucifer or his subordinates?”
“Lord Seraphim, she is much stronger than you realize and in truth this is what I have trained her for. We need every capable body on Earth to push back against the darkness and chase it back into the underworld. At this moment in time, there is no planet to save. It is pointless for The Light to reach out and help people while Lucifer is close to an endgame.”
Seraphim is about to respond, when the chamber doors burst open once again and Gabri
el enters. Striding toward Judas, he glances at Azazel, then back to Judas, raising his eyebrows and cocking his head to one side.
The gesture causes Judas to smirk and nod, knowing that Gabe will have a few choice words for him later.
Gabriel bows in front of Jesus, who returns the gesture. He glances toward Judas and frowns. “You all right?”
Judas frowns back at him. “Yeah, sure. Why?”
He presses his lips together. “I don’t know. You seem different. Changed.”
Judas draws his eyebrows together and shakes his head at him.
Gabriel stares at him for a moment and then looks back toward the Council. “So, what have I missed?”
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Judas says, “Well. Long story short. Lucifer is back and on the rise, he has five of the seven Seals, and we are discussing how to fuck his shit up.”
His cursing garners looks of disdain from the Council members.
The Archangel Raphael steps forward. “So what do we do about it?”
Taking a moment to think, Judas then takes a few paces toward Michael. “Look, Mikey.”
Michael rolls his eyes; nicknames are not his thing.
“I have no intention of getting in the way of your command. The only thing I want is to keep Charlotte safe so that she may begin her true calling upon Earth and help save as many people as possible.” He turns back to face the Council members. “I am sure that is what you all desire also, yes?”
None of them speak. The pride of many of those present still smarts from their lack of involvement during Lucifer’s first uprising when Judas and Charlotte had to fend for themselves and a great deal of guilt still besets them, none more so than Michael himself. He had pleaded with the Council to allow his team to intervene and support the pair. He had begged to get involved and spare humanity from the horror they were experiencing, but all to no avail as the order had been passed that no celestial beings were to interfere. Even Gabriel’s minor infringement, helping Judas and Gary gain access to the Tonada building, had gained him a severe reprimand from God, and the Archangel had been lucky not to have had his wings clipped and been demoted; a piece of information that had never been revealed to Judas.
“Okay,” Judas says, “I’ll take your silence to mean yes.” He looks at Jesus once again. “My Lord, I think we all know what Lucifer’s endgame is. He not only intends to annihilate the Kingdom of Man, but the White Kingdom also. If he were to acquire all Seven Seals and read from The Book, then our fate would be set. We must ensure that he cannot do that by finding the Seventh before he does. Ikazuchi says that—”
The demon offers a theatrical cough.
Judas casts him a stern look. “I will call you what I damn well please, when I please, got it?”
Azazel closes his eyes and cocks his head to the right a fraction, his mouth turning down.
Judas eyes him for a moment, then turns his attention back to Jesus. “He says that only by bringing the Seventh Seal here and breaking it in the presence of The Almighty can we reset these events and bring back peace. It would also lock Lucifer below for at least ten of man’s millennia. Or so he says.” He glances at Azazel who once again frowns and nods in acknowledgement. “But I do not know where to start, master. The Seals had been hidden away, and no being is supposed to know their location apart from the Custodian. How are we meant to find the Seventh?”
Jesus sighs and places a hand on Judas’ shoulder. “You must seek the Archangel Barachiel, Judas,” a statement that draws forth murmuring from the other Council members. “But he will not be easy to find and I also have concerns about his allegiance, as someone had to tip off Lucifer’s forces. As far as I am able to know, Barachiel was the only one to know the locations of the Seals.”
“Barachiel?” Judas says, frowning. “I have never heard of this Archangel.”
Gabriel steps forward. “Not many have, Judas. He is from before the time of man and was the highest of the Seraphim upon this very Council before being entrusted with the safe-guarding of the Seals.”
“So what happened?”
“He did as he was asked. He withdrew from our halls and hid himself away, taking the Seals with him. Some believed that he hid them in the Kingdom of Man in plain sight. The problem is that I share our Lord’s worry on this one.”
“How so?”
“Because Barachiel is the only one who knows of the Seal’s whereabouts and I doubt he has been captured as it would take Lucifer himself to defeat this particular angel – and we know that he has not been able to leave Hell since Charlotte sent him back there. So that could only mean one thing: he has turned and is working for evil. If that is true, then you are going to have a terrible time getting him to talk and reveal the Seventh’s location. A terrible time indeed.”
Judas stretches out his arms, gesturing to the Hellwatch men around him. “But we are many and formidable. Are you saying he’s that powerful?”
Gabriel raises his eyebrows and says nothing.
“Shit!” Judas says, shaking his head.
Stepping forward, Azazel places a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you worry about that, old bean – try not to let Gabe’s spooky campfire stories worry you too much. You have me now. We’ll get the information you require. Trust me.” He winks. “Besides, I know where the old fool went.”
Jesus holds up a finger, and is about to say something when he stops. Grave concern spreads across his face like wildfire, his eyes opening wide. Something is wrong, very wrong indeed.
At the same time, Judas feels it, the same dread and his eyes open wide. “CHARLOTTE!” he shouts, then sprints off toward the main doors. “Ika!” he calls, and the demon somersaults from a standing start, transforming into the sword and landing on his master’s back. “Hellwatch, on me,” he says as the doors fly open and he tears through them.
Michael looks toward Jesus who points in the fleeing man’s direction.
“GO!” he screams, “Protect The Light!”
They waste no time, sprinting after Judas with furious intent, speeding along the angelic halls. Although they do not share the same connection with Charlotte that Judas and Jesus do, they sense that something terrible is happening and that spurs them on toward the ‘Earth-drop’, the fixed portal within the White Kingdom, through which angels may travel to the realm of man.
Judas powers along the corridors causing other people to leap out of his way to avoid being bowled over by the stampeding man and those who follow behind. He rounds the corner to the Earth-drop and spreads his blackened wings. Wasting no time, he dives into it and Hellwatch follows.
Thirty-Three
“Come on,” Isaac says as he grabs Abigail’s hand and pulls her closer to him. “Stay close to me, we can’t afford to get separated.” They force their way past dozens of people, all screaming as they run around terrified but not knowing from what they flee.
Sarah brings up the rear with her hands on Abigail’s shoulders. “It’s gonna be okay, everything will be all right. We just need to get away from these people. Then they won’t be able to see us.”
“Is it the Dark Ones?” Abigail asks. Her voice trembling, more out of the speed in which her brother hurries her along than fear.
On all occasions where demons were involved Abigail has kept calm, which was something her brother and sister admired a great deal. She had never once cried or panicked, she had just followed her brother’s lead, stopping whatever she was doing, keeping her presence low and silent, allowing the Dark Ones to pass by without noticing them. Isaac had remarked on how most other children would’ve crumbled at that point. He had said that she must be like The Light Herself, strong, courageous, and afraid of nothing. A true Fisher. This always made her smile. It had been a continual stream of hiding incidents followed by standing in plain sight among them that had made them aware of their invisibility to the dark creatures. That was as long as no other person broke that camouflage by interacting with them, such as physically handling or engagin
g one or more in conversation, and it is that notion that has Isaac concerned, desperate to be far away from here as fast as possible.
As they push through another group of people, Abigail spies one of her friends. “Peter!” she shouts, waving to him.
He glances over to her but is then gone, dragged away at the hands of his mother, desperate to be away from where they are.
“No, Abigail!” Isaac says, hurrying her along further. “We must not speak to anyone or interact with them. That way the Dark Ones will not be able to see us. Do you understand?”
Before she has a chance to reply, he changes direction and, grabbing Sarah, pushes through a door that leads to the rear of a deserted hangar.
“This way,” he says, pulling the door shut and drawing the heavy bolt across with a clank.
“Why are we going through here?” Sarah asks.
“Because, this is the quickest way back to the dormitories and we have to grab our stuff before we go, as I don’t want to have to scavenge more gear in order to get by for the first few days – do you?”
She stares at him for a moment and then shakes her head.
He looks down at Abigail and raises his eyebrows.
“You’re the boss,” she says, smiling up at him.
He smiles back.
“Okay, good. We need to be fast and very, very quiet.”
***
“You know you’re supposed to keep those damn things with you at all times. You know that, right?” Gary says, as he and Charlotte hurtle along a corridor, back toward the dormitories.
“Yeah, all right, don’t make a big deal out of it,” she replies, rolling her eyes, the pouty teenager mode in full effect.
“Don’t get antsy with me, young lady, you know Judas would go mental if he knew tha—”
“I said all right! Jeesh.”
He doesn’t respond to her second outburst, realizing the pointlessness in arguing with teenagers having hauled countless numbers of them into the station when serving as a beat cop. As grown up as they always think they are, the inevitability is that they revert to their infantile selves when they do not wish to engage adults in a conversation if they dictate the terms. Bloody kids, he thinks to himself.
