by M. R. Forbes
I hadn't felt any of it. The balance hadn't moved, at least not enough to create that empty pit in my soul. If the angels were fighting on the side of the Beast, they would fall. Unless they were only fighting demons. The Beast had said he needed the balance to keep his enemies from growing too strong. It made sense that he would order them to be careful about who they went up against.
"Is Izak with you?" I asked, hopeful.
"Yeah, man. He's the only reason Thomas and I are still alive. Seriously, what the hell is going on?"
I let out a held breath. If Izak was with Obi, he was as safe as he could be. "It's a long story," I said. "The important part is that the Beast is out of his cage, and he's consolidating his power. The Divine on the rampage are his followers. They're going to be doing their best to wipe all Divine out of existence, and then enslave humanity."
There was a pause. "Sounds like just another day at the office," he said.
"Yeah, but don't worry. Charis and I have a plan."
He chuckled. "Don't worry? You wouldn't be saying that if you were here. Did you find Sarah?"
"I found Sarah."
"You don't sound that thrilled."
"She was the one who set the Beast free. I'm trying to help her, but between you and me, I'm not sure if I can count on her." It was a tough thought. One that I hadn't wanted to confront, but was hard to avoid. "She told me she was having visions that she was going to kill Charis and me."
Obi breathed heavily into the phone. "I don't know what to say. Stay alert, I guess."
"The Beast took some of my power. I can still focus, but I don't have the mojo I used to. I have to trust her, even though it could cost everything, because we can't do this without her." She had already used her ability to Command to bail us out twice. We were going to live or die by Sarah's mental state. That one was tough too. "Obi, do me a favor?" I asked.
"What do you need, boss?" he replied.
"There's a church near the Belmont, Our Blessed Lady Mary. The priest there, can you go and check on him? Make sure he's safe?"
"Sure, man," he said. "But why?"
"Just do it for me? I'll owe you one."
He laughed again. "You already owe me a hundred or something."
"Yeah. Think of how awesome it'll be when I pay you back." I gave him a few seconds to stop laughing. "Can you turn the phone over to Thomas?"
"Yeah, one sec," he replied. I hear the muffled sounds of the phone changing hands.
"Landon," Thomas said. "It is good to hear that you are well."
"For the moment," I said. "I wanted to ask you; have you ever heard of the Canaan Blades?"
Silence. A breath. Another. "Why do you ask?" he said, nervous.
"I was visited by an angel named Callus. He said that the sword Malize gave to Charis was one of three Canaan Blades. He wanted it back, but we lost it trying to escape from the Beast."
More silence. "The Beast is free?"
"Yes, and no. It's complicated. Thomas, I need you to talk a little faster. We're kind of rushed on time."
The angel sucked in some air, and sighed it out. "Okay," he said. "Callus is an Inquisitor, a seraphim detective, if you will. His job is to track down lost relics and artifacts, and retrieve them to either assist in the war against Hell, or return them to Heaven so they can't be misused. I saw Charis' sword... if I had known it was one of the Blades, I wouldn't have let you take it to the Beast. Who is this Malize? I've never heard that name, and I know the names of all of the elder seraph."
"Charis called him the Forgotten. She doesn't know why he's called that, but obviously its because nobody remembers he ever existed. Anyway, it's not important. What is important is how desperate the good guys were to get it back, and if it, or the other two Blades can help us against the Beast."
"I don't know if they can help you," Thomas said. "All I know of them is that they were created during what were known on Earth as the Dark Ages. Three swords, gifted to three seraph, to be used against a collective of archfiends who were massing an army around the mortal fighting, sewing even more discord and furor into the region. The angels brought the swords to bear against enormous odds, and emerged victorious. The balance began to swing heavily towards the Lord."
I had seen the sword do its work. It had burned so bright the archvampire Cho hadn't stood a chance in its glare. "Something happened to keep it from tipping," I said.
"Yes," Thomas agreed. "The Swords of Gehenna. You can guess their purpose."
The exact opposite of the Canaan Blades, for sure. Even without Charis and I, the two sides had managed to keep some kind of balance pretty well on their own. "So what happened?"
"I don't know. I don't think anyone does. The angels who were in charge of the Blades were killed, and they were lost. Which could have caused the downfall of Heaven, except the archfiends who held the Swords of Gehenna were killed as well."
It was hard to believe, especially since all of this had happened before any diuscrucis had walked the Earth. Who else would have taken them from both sides? "So somebody took all of the weapons. Why?"
"A good question. What's even more curious is that whoever took them, never used them. As you've found, their power is such that they're very noticeable when activated."
Somehow, Malize had gotten his hands on one. Even though he couldn't leave the Cave, and they hadn't been created until a thousand years plus since Jesus had been buried. Even though he would have fallen if he had killed an archangel to get it. Was Charis wrong about Malize? And, where were the other swords?
"So, what do they do that makes them so special?" Besides only being capable of destroying pure demons. The Beast must not have known what the sword was either, or he wouldn't have let Sarah use it to try to end us. And he called himself a god.
"I don't know," Thomas said. "That history is not kept in the open. Still, it doesn't comfort me to know the Beast has one."
Even angels had their secrets. "Me neither," I replied. "But at least he can only kill demons with it." Demons like Rebecca. "Thanks Thomas. I've got to get going. Remind Obi to do what I asked, and tell Izak that Sarah is safe. We'll be back in New York in a day or two. Stay safe."
"I'll tell them. You stay safe as well, my friend," he said. "By the way, how did you get Callus off your back?"
The question was posed with a thread of anxiety. Thomas may have signed up to join my little club, but that didn't mean he was comfortable with the idea of dead angels in my wake. I wish I could have given him better news.
"The Beast killed him," I said. "I've got to go." I hung up, feeling just a little bit dirtier than I had before the call.
CHAPTER SIX
I started walking back up towards the hotel, my mind churning through what Thomas had told me. Who would have had the power to kill angels and demons holding a set of the most powerful weapons ever made?
It would have been a vacation to be hunting down a more complete history of the things. I could almost see myself sitting on a beach somewhere with a laptop, cruising the internet for any tidbits of data I could dredge up, Charis in the lounge chair next to me. In my imagination, she was wearing a little red two piece, her toned flesh glistening in the sun, her hair laying damp around her shoulders. She pulled her sunglasses down her nose and looked at me, her eyes inviting, and then rose out of the chair and sprinted for the water, pulling off the shreds of fabric as she went.
"Landon."
The knock from Sarah shook me out of my daydream, shoving me back into reality and leaving me a little bit breathless. Where had that little fantasy even come from?
"Sarah, are you okay?" I asked, glad that she was still able to keep an eye on me.
"For now," she replied. "I've been watching over Charis, standing by the window. I saw a messenger demon pass by a few minutes ago, and now it's back, sitting on the roof of the building across the street, staring at me."
That wasn't a good sign. Whether it was the Beast, or just the local demonic overlord, the messenger
demon would keep an eye on the prey while a more powerful contingent moved in. There was no doubt they would be picking up Charis' signal, the only question was how they would be receiving it.
"I'll be there right away," I said. I focused, pushing power to my legs, and started running. I could still tear up the pavement, but the noticeable reduction in output nagged at me with every stride.
"We'll be waiting," Sarah said. "I'm going to wake Charis."
I felt her presence vanish from my mind, and I tried to push harder to pick up the pace. It couldn't be more than a few minutes to the hotel.
I put all of my energy into the run, and turned all of my attention to the thrill of it. The pumping blood, the wind on my face, the feeling of my muscles thrumming beneath the skin. It was raw pleasure, a twist of freedom I hadn't experienced in some time, maybe even since I had been mortal. It was short-lived.
There was no warning. I was so focused on the visceral joy of the chase that I never Saw the were charge out of the alley, leap, and grab me, throwing me violently into a second alley directly across from his origin. He landed on his feet, while I tumbled and rolled along the pavement, scraping up my meager clothes and feeling the bite of stone in my skin. I cursed at the pain, and came to a stop.
"Diuscrucis," he said. "We were told you would be here."
My body began to knit itself, and I stumbled to my feet. My assailant was keeping his distance, blocking off the only way out of the alley. He had hit me in his demon form, but had since shifted back. He was tall and muscular, with a huge jaw and a bald head.
"Who told you?" I asked. I already knew the answer.
"A friend of yours," he said. "He told us where to find you and your friends. He said you weren't feeling quite yourself."
"He must have been exaggerating, if you think you can take me alone," I said, grabbing the dagger at my belt and holding it out, crouched into one of Josette's favorite guard positions.
"Look up, diuscrucis," he replied. "I'm not alone."
I looked up, and I could see the throng of weres standing above me, edging the buildings on either side of the alley. I hadn't Seen them. I still couldn't See them. They were far enough away to avoid detection, but close enough to leap without killing themselves.
"He offered to promote me if I captured you alive," he said. "I would never have tried it, but he told me to test you out. We've been following you from the rooftops since you left your hotel. I was sure you would have known we were there."
I should have known they were there. "You and your pack aren't acting alone. Who's commanding you?"
"Myzl is leading the attack. He's probably meeting with your friends right about now."
Myzl. I knew the name. A fiend without a home, he didn't seek out the kind of power that most demons hungered for. His desires were much more physical. I could only imagine what the Beast had promised him, and I could only imagine how he would handle Charis and Sarah if given a chance.
I looked up at the weres surrounding me again. There were at least a dozen of them starting back, ready to pounce if I tried to run. Of course, I didn't have a choice but to try something. If I let them take me, I was as good as dead anyway. It was all just a matter of timing.
I dropped the dagger and put up my hands. "Fine. You've got me," I said. "You should know, Myzl is working for the Beast."
"Who?" he asked.
"You don't know who the Beast is?" I said.
"I know there's an old legend about it," he replied. "I'm not stupid enough to believe that it's real, especially coming from you."
I couldn't help but laugh. The angels hadn't believed me, why would the demons? It had been such a long time, neither side could conceive of the fact that their oldest stories were true. "If the Beast wins, you're going to die," I said. "We're all going to die."
The bald were smiled. "There is no Beast," he growled, turning his attention to the rooftops. "Come and get him."
The rest of his pack leapt from the buildings, landing gracefully in the alley. Two of them grabbed my arms while the others loitered around them.
"Take him to the rift," Baldie said.
They started to move me forward, and I let them. The other weres formed up around me, leading me to where Baldie was standing at the end of the alley. It was a lost cause to try to get away from them while they had me boxed in. Once we got out into the streets, it was a different story.
"You're going to regret not believing me," I said. Baldie stood right in front of me, leading us out of the alley. The mortals had subconsciously fled the scene, something in their mind telling them to stay away from the area.
"I'm going to regret not gagging you," he replied with a snarling laugh. I heard a couple of throaty chuckles behind me. It was time to go.
I focused, pushing my will, demanding my body to become stronger, and then using the strength to stomp on the feet of the weres who were holding me. I felt their bones pulverize beneath my feet, their weight shifting as they recoiled in pain. The change in their balance was what I had been after, and I pulled them forward, throwing them into the weres in front of me. Four of the five fell together in a heap, leaving only Baldie between me and the open road.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, lashing out at me with hands elongated into claws. "Not if I can help it."
I took the blow on the cheek and let the force of the attack carry me to the side, away from the weres that had been behind me. I rolled onto the ground and hopped to my feet, ducking under a follow-up attack from him. The others were regaining their footing, shifting to their demon forms. I was running out of time. I wanted to go north, and north was clear. All I had to do was get the furry monkey off my back.
He tried to hit me again, and I sidestepped, twisting and planting my elbow in his jaw. I heard the crack of it breaking, and he crumbled to the pavement. At least my muscle memory had retained some of Josette's ninja moves. The coast was clear, and I propelled myself forward, legs pumping.
The weres gave chase. I could hear them growling, their sharp claws scraping the cement. I started to push harder, but I knew it would be a waste. Even pumping myself up, two legs were no match for four. Where the hell was Ulnyx when I needed him? In there somewhere, I knew, torn to pieces and licking his wounds. I reached out with my Sight, and ducked below a heavy tackle, sliding along the ground, then rising up and turning east. The weres turned with me, chasing me along a narrow street. I could see people up ahead, our battle shifting locales too quickly for them to evacuate.
Cursing, I saw a fire escape up ahead, and I coiled my legs and jumped for it. It was fifteen feet up, and I hit the metal hard, feeling my ribs cracking on the impact. The weres didn't slow, and I turned and lashed out with my foot, catching one in the snout and sending him careening back to the ground. I pulled myself upwards, ascending towards the rooftop.
The fire escape shook when the weres started landing on it, led by Baldie. Even in his demon form, there was a patch of fur missing from the top of his head. I could have laughed, if I had any strength to spare. Instead, I stopped, twisting around on the metal structure and putting my hands below my body, focusing on the iron, willing it to rust and crumble, pushing the corrosion along its length to where it was bolted into the stone. Baldie was getting close. I could see his yellow eyes looking up at me. I could feel the heavy stench of his labored breathing.
I smiled and waved when the fire escape lost its grip on the building, and the whole group of them went down with it.
It was a temporary victory, I knew. They would heal from the wounds, and be looking for a way back up to where I was. My body began to feel sluggish, but I pushed ahead, climbing the fire escape ten stories up to the rooftop. I could see the way north to the San Gallo Hotel. I resumed the run.
I sent my focus outward, capturing the heat of the demon army in front of me, and the growing heat of the weres gaining behind and below me. I reached the edge of each building and leaped, willing myself to the other side, fighting against fatigu
e to reach my destination. I Saw the grunts coming, their wings carrying them from nearby buildings on an interception course. I didn't slow, catching the arm of one mid-air and throwing it into another, lashing out with feet and hands to send the lesser demons scattering.
I hit the next rooftop and tripped, sprawling forwards and getting right back up, ducking under a claw and grabbing it on the way by, pulling the grunt from the sky. Without a blade or Ulnyx's strength I couldn't kill them, but it was enough to get me through their lines. One more jump, and the shorter hotel was right in front of me. I could See Charis now, and Sarah. They were backed into the corner of our room, a white hot beacon standing over them, flanked by a pair of fallen angels. It had to be Myzl.
Nobody was moving. Charis was in front of Sarah, and I knew she was trying to protect her. Why wasn't she Commanding the angels? I knew she had the power. Something must have happened. There was no time to stop and consider. There were vampires on the ground, and the weres had split up. The grunts still circled in the air, coming towards me more cautiously now. My feet were approaching the edge of the building, and I gathered myself for the jump.
Time seemed to slow as my feet left the ground, my body launched forward, angling towards the window of the corner room in the hotel. I pushed the air in front of me, shattering the glass before I hit it, collecting the shards and pulling them back out into the open atmosphere. Some of them dug into my body, but more of them flew by, implanting themselves into a pair of grunts who hadn't been cautious enough. I crashed into the room, the momentum carrying me forward into the drywall and through to the next room. I Saw Myzl and Charis both turn to look in my direction, right before I made my grand entrance by smashing through the wall and coming to a stop on my back behind the demon and his cronies.
I knew I should say something witty, but I was too tired and in too much pain. I groaned and tried to get to my feet, but was gripped by the angels within seconds. They pulled me to my feet, and I got my first look at Myzl.
