by Eric Vall
The Archangel began to count off on his fingers as he spoke. “Treaties that have stood fast for centuries are torn up. The war between Heaven and Hell is reignited. Almost all of the Seventy-Two Servants have been slain. Need I remind you that these were some of the Divine’s most wanted criminals, and he’s killed almost all of them in just twelve short months? And what does he do after he’s slain these demons, I might add? He takes their money and their material goods and all the wealth they’ve accumulated over the millennia as if it were just chump change. As if his smug, human face was entitled to it.”
“Damn, Jakey,” Todd whistled. “I didn’t realize Urinal hated us so much.”
“Neither did I, Todd.” I sighed. “Neither did I.”
Uriel’s body motions became more and more exaggerated as he spoke. “No one mortal should have that much power,” the Archangel growled. “If we don’t act quickly, Ralston is going to take over everything. Sure, he’s focused on the Demonic at the moment, but what’s to stop him from getting power hungry? What’s to stop him from waltzing up into Heaven, killing all the Archangels, and then proclaiming himself as the new Exalted One? At this rate, nothing! Thankfully, I’m not the only one with these concerns. Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies, had agreed to break his sacred vows and join forces with us. Together, we can put an end to the abomination that is Jacob Ralston, and get things back to how they used to be.”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing!” Raphael still sounded like he was in shock, but he now had a twinge of rage in his voice. “This has to be a trick.”
Libidine put a slender hand on the Archangel’s shoulder, but he quickly jerked away. “Raph,” she said as she tried to comfort the dark-haired man. “I think you’re in denial. It’s hard for all of us to hear, but Uriel isn’t the Archangel you thought he was.”
Raphael now looked like he was on the verge of tears, and his jaw was clenched in disgust. “I just-- How could he do this?” he balked. “Hundred of thousands of years of working together, all down the drain?”
“You heard the man,” I snarled. “He thinks I’m a threat to the ‘natural order’ of the universe.”
“He can’t possibly be stupid enough to think that this plan will work,” Cupi spoke up. “Even if he were to kill all of us, things wouldn’t go back to ‘normal.’ The accords have still been broken, and he would be kicked out of Heaven for allying himself with a demon and the rejected gods.”
“You’re right,” Raphael perked up. “Maybe there is still hope for him yet.” Before any of us could say another word, the Archangel began to run toward Uriel.
“Wait, Raph!” I called out, but the man in the white SWAT uniform was already halfway down the pathway.
“Well, shit,” Cupi hissed and readied her polearm. “I guess we’re going in guns blazing after all.”
“Yeeeeeeessssss!” Todd cackled and cocked his miniature pistol. “I really wanted to pop a cap in some fugly demons’ asses.”
I stood up off the boulder and tossed the goggles to the side. Then, I extended my hand out, summoned red Hellfire, and enchanted my goat-headed dagger.
“Alright, quick plan,” I addressed my friends. “We’ve already dealt with the Daeva once before. If we want to take these little bastards out, we have to hit them as hard as we can. Shoot ‘em with enchanted bullets, crush them with oversized rocks, suffocate them, whatever it takes. Just make sure we hit them hard, or they’re gonna keep getting right back up.”
Gula moved her axe down to her side. “We’ve already kicked their asses once before,” the redhead reminded me. “This time, we’re going to have to kick their asses even harder.”
“This time, they have an Archangel on their side,” I warned. “Uriel is waaay deadlier than Azar could have ever hoped to be.”
“I think Raph is taking care of that one,” Todd interjected. “I’ve seen enough kung-fu movies to know that you never step between a warrior and his best-friend-turned-enemy.”
“I just hope Raph knows what he’s doing,” I growled. “I’m afraid he’s going to pull his punches, and that could easily get him killed. It doesn’t sound like Uriel is fucking around.”
“Then it’s a good thing that we’re not, either!” Cupi said as she twirled her polearm around her body gracefully and then turned the pointed end toward the ground. “Sisters, would you like to join me in slaying some Daeva?”
Libidine floated up into the sky, and Gula nodded excitedly.
“Liby, you take the crowd from above,” I ordered. “Gula, Sia, and Cupi… You guys hit ‘em from the outside. There aren’t a ton of the little asswipes, but we can’t have you getting surrounded. Todd, you go with Libidine. I want you to put that artillery of yours to good use.”
“And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee,” Todd said with a salute and then jumped up into Liby’s arms. “Let’s do this thing.”
“What about you?” Cupi asked.
“I’m a floater,” I explained. “I’ll assess the situation and help out whoever needs it the most.”
“Look at you,” Sia mused. “Acting like a natural leader. I’m so proud.”
“I do what I can,” I said with a nod. “Now let’s go hunt some Daeva.”
Cupi turned to follow the Archangel down the hiking path. The rest of us were right behind her as we trekked up the rocky desert trail as quickly and stealthily as we possibly could.
“Unfortunately, Beelzebub couldn’t be here tonight,” Uriel continued to monologue. “The Lord of the Flies had much more important matters to attend to, setting up a plan that will bring our enemies to their knees once and for all. If we don’t get to him first that is.”
The crowd of Daeva cheered and hissed like a deflated soccer ball. Uriel was really good at this speech-making shit.
We were now about two hundred feet away from the Archangel, but Raphael closed the gap instantly, and then he stood behind Uriel with his hands on his hips. There was a shocked gasp that echoed through the crowd, and their cheers turned into muted growls.
“What is the meaning of this, Uriel?” Raphael hissed.
“Well, well, well,” the other Archangel said as he slowly turned around. “You found us after all. And here I was afraid you were going to miss out on the party.” The blonde man leaned to the left so that he could see over Raph’s shoulder.
“And Jacob!” his voice boomed joyously. “So glad you and your friends could finally join us! Maybe Beelzebub’s plan isn’t needed after all.”
“What sort of trickery is this?” Raphael demanded once more. “Are you under the influence of some sort of Demonic spell?”
Uriel shook his head as we finally came up to his position.
“I’m afraid not, my old friend,” Uriel explained. “I hate working with the Demonic and the Daeva just as much as any other Angel would, but it’s for the greater good.”
“Greater good?” Raphael scoffed. “You’ve betrayed all of our brethren and the Exalted One himself!”
“‘Betrayed’ is too strong of a word, Raphael,” the blonde Archangel scoffed. “I like to look at it as my eyes have finally been opened. I now see just how unstable the balance of all things metaphysical is.” Uriel extended his long finger out and pointed it directly in my direction. “All thanks to him.”
“Jacob?” Raph continued. “He’s on our side! He’s slain countless--”
“Wrong!” Uriel hissed and gestured angrily with his hand. “Jacob Ralston is on nobody’s side but his own. Look at him! He’s been going around killing demons and stealing their possessions. He’s the head of a cult, and while he tries to play it off as nothing, he drinks up the admiration of anyone who will give it to him. He has a harem, for fuck’s sake!”
“So what if he’s beloved by those around him?” Raph argued. “Isn’t that what the Exalted One says is the symbol of a good man?”
Uriel nearly doubled over in laughter. “A good man?” he howled. “Jacob Ralston? Just wa
it. Do you think this all stops when Azazel and his minions are dead? The power he has will eventually doom us all. Beelzebub and I are just trying to get out ahead of the problem and stop him before it does.”
“Listen to yourself, Uriel!” Raph was now practically begging. “Jacob is our ally and our friend. He would never do anything to harm us!”
“That was always your problem, Raphael.” The blonde Archangel sighed. “You get so caught up in your own emotions that you can’t see the bigger picture. Jacob is your ally now but just wait. Wait until he gets a taste of his full potential and finds out his true purpose.”
“True purpose?” I interrupted the argument. “What the fuck does that mean, Blondie?”
“Nearly a year with the succubi and Jacob still hasn’t figured it out?” Uriel responded, but he wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to Raph. “I thought he was supposed to be highly intelligent.”
“Street smart ain’t necessarily book smart, bro,” Todd interjected, “but Jakey’s still a million times smarter than your sorry ass, Urinal.”
This time, Uriel actually broke his gaze away from Raphael and looked back at our group. His face contorted into a scowl, and his chiseled jaw clenched in anger.
“Is that so, imp?” he growled. “I’ve orchestrated this entire thing for weeks. Ever since I got a taste of Jacob’s true power in the Battle of Hell’s Gate, I knew something had to be done. Ever since then, I’ve been sabotaging your efforts at every turn. Who do you think was behind the assassins? Why do you think we’ve had a ‘hard time’ recruiting other members of the Divine to join our alliance?”
“You son of a bitch!” I growled and tightened my grip on my enchanted dagger. “We trusted you.”
“As I did you, Jacob,” the Archangel sighed, “but that was a poor decision. I did it more to appease Raphael, anyway.”
“Awww,” Todd mocked. “How sweet. He wanted to make his butt-buddy happy.”
Uriel’s face grew red, and his scowled intensified. “We are not-- You know what, I’ve had just about enough of you, imp!” The blonde Archangel turned back to Raph, and he summoned Divine light into his hands. “Step aside, old friend. My quarrel isn’t with you, it’s with those abominations.”
Raphael cautiously reached down toward his belt and put his hand on the hilt of his bowie knife. The man in the SWAT uniform stepped to the side so that he was now directly in front of Uriel’s face.
“You know I can’t do that,” he warned. “I’m not going to betray my friends. I’m not like you.”
“Fine,” Uriel growled. “Then I’m afraid you’ll have to die along with them!”
There was a flash of bright light, and Raphael was tossed back into the air. The Archangel caught himself on his massive feathered wings and instantly began to unleash a hailstorm of enchanted bullets down onto Uriel’s head. The blonde target ducked out of the way, rolled to his feet, and then blasted white light in our direction.
I tossed up the biggest shield of purple Hellfire I could muster in the nick of time, but even then, I could feel myself struggling against the Divine powers. I’d never fought an Archangel before, but they were apparently just as strong as all the stories would suggest.
Uriel’s blast was interrupted by the sound of unceasing gunfire, and the Archangel was forced to somersault backward to avoid being riddled with the deadly projectiles.
“Army of the Dejected, attack!” the blonde man screamed as he zipped up into the sky on his wings. “Rip them to pieces!”
“Jacob, you should come with us,” Libidine argued. “Uriel has made it clear that you’re his target, not Raphael.”
“Liby is correct,” Cupi added as she took a defensive posture at my side. “If you’re down there in the trenches with us, that bastard is less likely to attack. He’d kill his own army in the process.”
“That’s never stopped our enemies before,” I reminded her.
“Uriel might be a fallen Archangel, but he’s still an Archangel,” the blonde succubus continued. “He won’t fire on his own.”
The growls of the Daeva grew closer, and I assumed they were ascending the other side of the hill, yearning to sink their teeth into our flesh.
“Alright guys, I’ll let Raph handle this himself.” I sighed and then perked up as adrenaline pumped through my veins. “Time to activate our master strategy. Go!”
Libidine swept Todd up in her arms and flew past my right. Uriel tried to blast the succubus as she ascended, but his aim was thrown off when he was hit with a blast of Divine light from Raphael. As soon as Liby and Todd were high enough, I saw the muzzle flash of Todd’s pistol as it began to fire down on the Daeva. At the same time, Liby began to strafe and unload handfuls of yellow spears with her free hand.
“Split up!” I commanded the remaining two succubi. “I’ll take the front, you guys take the left and the right. If we can flank them, it’ll divide up their ranks, and they’ll be easier to handle.”
Cupi, Sia, and Gula dashed off to get in position. Meanwhile, I readied my enchanted dagger and summoned red Hellfire into my left hand. Then, I took a deep breath and charged forward. Blasts of Divine light pelted the ground all around me as I pushed forward, but none of them were able to connect.
Raphael was doing his job perfectly.
Finally, I got to the top of the hill and looked down on what we were dealing with. Hundreds of small, black-and-red demons were scuttling up the side of the hill as they hissed and growled into the night sky. The army of Daeva wasn’t as large as I had originally thought, but there were still plenty of the little fuckers to deal with.
Instantly, I unleashed a massive fireball down onto the ascending Daeva. A few of them were able to swing their bodies out of the way, but many of them weren’t so lucky. The skin of the Daeva closest to me was seared from his flesh, and his lifeless body fell backward as little more than bone and gore.
I was somewhat taken aback because red Hellfire didn’t seem to work on these guys before. Maybe making the connection with Gula and Tris made me stronger than I thought. I didn’t have much time to ponder because the remaining members of the army were approaching fast.
I launched a few more blasts of red Hellfire into the crowd, but this time it only caused a few of the little bastards to lose their grip and tumble down the hill. As strong as my Hellfire had gotten, the Daeva still had thick skin. Anything less than a blast at point-blank range wasn’t going to do the trick.
There was suddenly a shriek of pain as a few of the Daeva off to the left were tossed into the air. Off in the distance, I could see Gula’s glowing battle axe illuminating the night sky as it cut through the crowd. On my right, I could see Cupi’s slender figure was she twirled around her polearm. A gout of red flames exploded from her free hand like a flamethrower as she spun like the world’s deadliest lawn sprinkler. Then there was Sia, who was short enough that she was lost in the crowd. However, a few shots of black Hellfire gave her position away.
Well, that and the floating Daeva that she suffocated to death in her spell.
The first Daeva reached the top of the hill and leapt into the air. I lashed out at him with my enchanted blade and knocked him to one side. Before he could even hit the ground, one of Libidine’s yellow daggers struck him through the shoulder and pinned him helplessly to the ground. I finished him off with a flash of red Hellfire and then turned my attention back to the others.
Three more of the little demons were vying with me for King of the Hill, and I was forced to throw up a portal of green Hellfire just as their jagged claws shot out to disembowel me. The attacking Daeva’s hand reappeared behind another one’s head, and it sliced open the fucker’s skull like an overripe watermelon. I quickly dispatched the third attacker with a blast of red Hellfire at point-blank range, and his entire body dissolved under the fiery spell. Then, while the first Daeva was still in shock from feeling his friend’s brain, I caught him in a cast of green flames. The black and red demon flailed wildly as he hung
in the air, and then I looked up to see Liby and Todd making another pass.
“Hey Liby!” I called out to the approaching succubus. “You need some target practice?”
The Daeva’s eyes grew wide as I moved my hand upwards and launched him into the air. Once his body was about a dozen or so feet above me, I heard the muted crack of Todd’s Beretta, and a spray of dark-red demon blood splashed onto the sand in front of me. I released my spell, and the Daeva’s body fell to the ground, lifeless.
Another small wave of the tiny demons reached the top of the hill, but they didn’t get any farther than that. As soon as they took a step in my direction, one of Todd’s impact grenades smashed into the rocks in front of them. There was a blinding white light, a loud boom, and then the six or seven approaching Daeva’s were turned into a gory spray of dismembered body parts.
“Good shot, Todd!” I called up to the aerial team.
“Thanks, kid, but don’t get cocky!” Todd snickered and then fired off another couple of shots into the crowd below.
I surveyed the small battlefield again and tried to find a way to take out these Daeva all at once. The six of us had been successful in thinning their ranks, but there were still at least a hundred of the grunts left. Gula was still blasting them with oversized fireballs and slicing at them with her battle axe. The redhead’s blade wasn’t of any use against the Daeva’s thick skin, but it looked like she had found a way to improvise. Instead of slicing the demons’ limbs off their bodies, Gula was using her battle axe as a bludgeoning weapon, and it was working like a charm. As the curvy redhead advanced, she left a trail of battered piles of flesh and crushed bone in her wake.
On the other side of the battlefield, it looked like Cupi was faring just as well as her sister. As I looked over at the succubus, she struck one of the Daeva between its legs with her polearm, flipped him into the sky, and then spun around and blasted him with red Hellfire. His skin melted off his flesh like it was made of silly putty, but Cupi didn’t have time to savor the victory. She spun, hooked another Daeva around the neck with the pointy side of her polearm, and then flung him into the crowd of his brethren. The fleshy projectile struck a group of Daeva, and they tumbled to the ground as if Cupi had just bowled a strike.
