by Tj Dixon
Peter and the Rising Angels Book 6 of The War of Contractia By T.J. Dixon (part of The Chronicles of Contractia)
Author’s Foreword
Please note that all people, places and events in this story are purely fictional. Any resemblance to any real person, place or event (or anything else) is purely co-incidence. This is the sixth and final book in the War of Contractia, which is the first series in the Chronicles of Contractia.
As Peter’s journey approaches its final destination where will he end up? Hell? Heaven? Or somewhere in between? Wherever he may end up we can be certain that Peter’s path will be a bloody one, but he will not tread it alone.
As gods and angels battle against the forces of hell, armies of elves and dwarves march to war. Contractia fights a war on two fronts for not only Contractia’s survival, but for the survival of humanity and the freedom of all the mortal races.
Prologue (Azrael)
I open my eyes to the familiar darkness and nice ashy smell of my room. My bed still retains the silky softness of the elven skin I used to cover it, though I forget how many centuries ago that was. Right now it is covered with the ash of my human ‘companions’ that I took to bed last night. Their souls made a nice late night snack and I enjoy the gritty feel of their ash underneath my body. It feels especially good as their ash grinds against my leathery wings.
My room is almost entirely filled with my bed other than a few feet on the wall against the door. The bed is big enough for twenty human adults to sleep comfortably with me or about twice that many to squeeze onto. Of course that is only when I keep my form small like it is now. My muscular red leathery body is now a mere eight feet tall and five feet across, which still feels tiny even after all this time, but it is much more convenient than having to build everything over twenty times bigger. More importantly it takes less energy to maintain my body when it’s this small. Last night I had eaten not long before I went to bed, so I made do with just a dozen humans. Six men and six women.
There is a nervous knock on my door. I look through the door and see my brother Gregory May in his elven form. I renamed him that after we left heaven. His old name was so long it took almost a minute to say. He is holding the broken body of a human woman by what is left of her dirty blonde hair. Her eyes are dead but she is clearly a filthy Contractian and still alive. Her body is covered in dirt, bruises and cuts. The clothes she’s wearing were once powerful mage robes but now they are just dirty rags.
I get up from my bed and swing the door open with magic. The woman doesn’t react when she sees my black leathery wings, my black hooves, my hairless red leathery skin, the white bone horns on my head, the fierce red fire that forms my eyes or even my long razor sharp white teeth.
“How thoughtful of you to bring me a snack so early in the morning, even if she is just a mouthful.” I say in my usual deep voice. She doesn’t react but Gregory shakes his head with a grin.
“She knows a way into Portalis.” Gregory tells me.
“Excellent.” I reply and placing a hand on her forehead I quickly enter her mind. She offers no resistance as I peer through her memories. It seems she used to belong to the elite Contractian Old Guard but retired, became a criminal and ended up having to flee Contractia once her crimes were exposed. As an elite she knew about a backdoor that the old queen placed in the Great Shield of Portalis. It seems the paranoia of the old queen who feared being locked out of her own city will serve me well.
I soon have everything I need so I burn the woman and the stain she left on my hand. Her soul is resting in my hand so I eat it as an afterthought whilst her ash falls to the ground.
“So what’s the plan?” Gregory asks.
“Gather all the elves and faeries behind our human forces at the siege of Portalis. We will meet with the Envoys this morning and feast in Portalis tonight.” I tell him.
“Do we have to worry about the Sky Lord?” Gregory asks nervously. Gregory clearly remembers our last fight with the Sky Lord of Ishki. Gregory came so close to death that it took a century of intense healing magic and countless human souls to save him. It then took another two centuries to fully recover.
“No. He may have awakened two moons ago, but he is not in Portalis and his powers are no longer anything to worry about.” I answer.
“Should we invite the others?” Gregory asks.
“No. Let’s not share this feast.” I declare and lick my red leathery lips with my white forked tongue. That taster I just had is making me feel hungry, but I’m not about to eat anything else now when there is such a delicious feast awaiting me.
“Then we will eat well.” Gregory declares and pats his elven stomach.
“Make sure to take your true form for the feast.” I remind him.
“Of course. I could hardly enjoy the feast in this pathetic form.” Gregory says and a moment later his body is covered in flames of transformation. The flames last a few seconds and then he is standing in front of me in the same form as me. We’ll have to wait until nearer the time to restore our bodies to their proper size.
Chapter 1 (Dairon) – Two Months Earlier
I look at the charred remains of the goblins and can’t help thinking that Elucia overdid it. I look up from the goblin corpses at Elucia standing beside me. She’s wearing a short skirt and sleeveless top made from woven green leaves. Even her shoes are made from woven leaves. They suit her soft pale skin and almost shoulder length cool blue hair. Despite the cold weather the enchantment on her clothes keeps her warm.
The leaves were initially very prickly just like the leaves on the trees surrounding us. I had Kal Aer turn them into soft clothes using the ancient elven traditions of my clan. Of course I had to show Kal how but I never have had the patience for leaf weaving. That’s doubly true when the leaves are so prickly in the first place. Anyway, Kal then showed her sisters and all five of them are now wearing the same leaf woven clothes too. They have much more patience than me.
I considered asking them to make me leaf woven clothes too but the green enchanted cloth of my top and shorts is warm and comfortable so it seems a lot of work for very little benefit. Admittedly the protection of the leaf weaving enchantment is stronger than the protection my own clothes offer. Any attack that can take down my shield though would be too powerful for the leaf weaving to protect against.
“I got them.” Elucia says grinning mercilessly. Whenever we’re alone like this she seems to reveal her true and rather sadistic feelings towards the enemy. To be honest I’d rather not be alone with her but right now we are being hunted and it isn’t wise to stay in too big a group the whole time.
“Peter…” I gasp as I sense our contract break.
“Where?” Elucia asks looking around desperately.
“He’s dead.” I tell Elucia somehow able to keep my voice calm.
“That’s not possible!” Elucia protests loudly. A moment later a blast of fire hits her back but is harmlessly deflected by her leaf woven clothing. She turns her head angrily and reduces a dirty goblin mage to ash along with its enchanted leather armour. “Peter can’t be dead. How would you even know?”
“Our contract is not one that can be easily broken but I felt it break just now. The only way that could happen is if Peter died. I wish it wasn’t true but it is.” I tell Elucia. I don’t want Peter to be dead for his own sake, for everyone’s sake and most importantly for my sister’s sake.
“Even if he is dead surely your legendary elven magic can just bring him back to life, right?” Elucia asks.
“Impossible.” I say shaking my head at her naivety.
“What about Sakura’s ma
gic?” Elucia asks.
“Also impossible. We’re not gods.” I tell Elucia.
“I won’t believe Peter’s dead just because your contract broke.” Elucia tells me.
“Then don’t believe it. I envy you for being able to believe he is still alive. I can’t believe though and I will act accordingly.” I tell Elucia.
“Does that mean you’re going to betray us?” Elucia asks nervously.
“Even if he is dead I will not harm his friends, but I will have to advance my own plans. Sakura accepts me as king of the elves so that is what I will become.” I tell Elucia.
“Fine. I’ll help you.” Elucia says and I blink in surprise.
“Really?” I ask doubtfully.
“Of course. I don’t see why Peter would have a problem with it and I certainly don’t. You’re still fighting against the Fallen Angels, right?” Elucia asks.
“Of course. They will pay for what they have done to my people and my sister.” I tell Elucia.
“So how do we make that happen?” Elucia asks curiously.
“On our own it’s impossible but we have Sakura’s legion. We first need to persuade the other faery legions. Once we have them on our side convincing the elven clans to rebel should be easier. Also with the faery legions united we can pass between worlds much easier.” I explain.
“So where are the other legions?” Elucia asks.
“I don’t know but it doesn’t matter. Sakura can contact them wherever they are.” I answer.
“So why didn’t you do this before?” Elucia asks.
“Even if Sakura was willing to accept me, the other legates would never accept a slave as a king.” I explain.
“Maybe Peter realised that and freed you so you could do this.” Elucia suggests.
“The contract didn’t allow Peter to break it.” I tell Elucia firmly.
“You don’t seem that upset if you really believe he’s dead. To be calmly making plans like this. Ouch!” Elucia says nursing her left cheek that I just slapped.
“If you say that again I’ll forget that you were Peter’s friend and that you are strong enough to kill me.” I tell Elucia with a voice as cold as ice.
“Sorry.” Elucia says looking down at the ground rather pitifully. “I don’t believe he’s dead, but it scares me to think that he might be and if he is dead then Rin and the others might be dead too.”
“I’m not going to say sorry for slapping you, but I’ll accept your apology.” I tell Elucia.
“That’s fine.” Elucia says meekly.
“We’d better continue. If we stay here too long we may not reach the meet up point before sunset.” I tell Elucia. The sun is already low in the sky. I doubt we have more than half an hour until sunset.
“Ok.” Elucia says and follows me as I lead the way through the forest. To my relief she doesn’t try to talk again.
In silence I should be able to order my thoughts and calm down a little. Instead of calming down though my thoughts go round and round in circles. After a few minutes I find tears flowing from my eyes. I stop walking and rub my eyes trying to will the flow of tears to halt. No matter how hard I try though, it’s impossible.
“Your majesty, what’s wrong?!” An unfamiliar voice calls out. I look up and see Elucia looking at me worriedly with a faery on her right shoulder. It was clearly the faery that just spoke.
“Sorry. I want to be alone for a while. Take Elucia to the meeting point. I’ll be there later.” I tell the faery through my tears.
“Understood.” The faery says without the protest I expected.
“But we can’t leave Dairon alone. What if he’s attacked?” Elucia asks.
“Then pity the goblins.” I tell Elucia grimly and she looks a little scared. In fact she looks almost exactly like how I sometimes feel about her.
“Come along human girl.” The faery says tugging harshly on her hair.
“Oww! Hey you little imp!” Elucia protests.
“Go.” I tell her coldly, my tears finally halted.
“Fine, I’m going. Now get off my hair you stupid little imp.” Elucia mutters but the word imp just makes the faery tug harder. I chuckle quietly at the sight but once Elucia is gone my tears come back full force.
Sadly no goblins do wonder upon me so I end up sitting on the ground crying for too long. I can’t stop thinking about Peter and my sister. I had hoped so much that he would save her. It is not just dark but well into the night by the time I am able to stop crying. I am able to find my way easily though, so the darkness isn’t a problem. If Elucia were still here we would have to go really slowly and the goblins would have an advantage over her, which is why we don’t travel at night.
When I reach the camp I can tell instantly that Elucia has told everyone about Peter. Jenny and Jimmy both have dark tearstains around their eyes. They are sitting by the small fire looking miserably at the ground. They remind me of how I was not long ago.
“Your majesty, welcome back.” Sakura says quietly as she floats in front of me.
“Will you fight for me no matter what? Will you stick by my side even to the last breath of both our races?” I ask.
“Yes.” Sakura answers firmly and with eyes full of hope.
“You can share my voice, not just my words, with the other legates. All of my voice.” I tell her. It isn’t a question.
“Let me know when you are ready.” Sakura tells me.
“Now.” I say simply and Sakura blinks.
“Are you sure?” Sakura asks doubtfully.
“Yes.” I tell her firmly.
“You don’t want a little time first?” Sakura asks.
“No. It has to be now.” I tell her.
“Very well. It will take about a minute to connect to the other legates. I’ll raise my right hand once your voice is connected. Raise your right hand when you are finished. They will only hear your voice. They won’t see you.” Sakura tells me.
Sakura frowns as she begins work on contacting the other legates. I’m impressed that it should only take a minute to contact the other legates. It is very advanced magic to contact even one because she has to do it manually, they are on different worlds and she has no way of knowing where they are. To contact all six of the other legates is of course far more than six times harder. The legates though, including Sakura of course, are all at the ultimate pinnacle of faery magic.
Sakura raises her right hand and I begin to sing. Again it is the song of my life sung through the voice of my soul just like when I first met Sakura. The song this time is different though. It is sadder, darker, fiercer and freer. It calls for rebellion. We fae will live free or die. Freedom or death, those are the only options that I will accept. Those that refuse to join us will be my enemy and die by my will.
I don’t know how long my wordless song lasts but eventually it is over. I raise my right hand. I feel Sakura cut the connection as she stares at me in shock. I also feel the stares of the other faeries and of the wind sisters. Elucia looks at me, confused and worried. Even Jimmy and Jenny look up at me in confusion. Of course the three humans couldn’t hear my song but they can see the reactions of the faeries and the expression on my face.
“I suspect it will be a while before we hear back from the other legates. Perhaps days or even weeks. They will have a lot to consider before they can make a decision.” Sakura says cautiously.
“We may not hear back from them at all.” I say.
“I am sure at least some of the other legates will side with us.” Sakura says.
“Even after your legion rebelled?” I ask.
“It is true that they will be kept on a tighter leash now, but to be the elven king’s enemy is the ultimate disgrace for a faery. The faery legates have not forgotten their pride despite the dismal reality they live in.” Sakura tells me.
“We will wait here for their answer tonight before we make any further plans. If we haven’t heard anything by dawn we will need to consider our options carefully. I do not wish to be
killed before I have brought an end to the Fallen Angels.” I tell Sakura.
“Try to get some sleep your majesty. Tired generals are easily defeated.” Sakura tells me quietly.
“I’ll try.” I reply weakly.
“And I’m sorry for your loss.” Sakura says with genuine sadness.
I look over to Jenny, Jimmy, Elucia and the Aer sisters. The Aer sisters all seem to be intently minding their own business, but Jenny, Jimmy and Elucia aren’t hiding their curiosity even a little. If I try to get to sleep they’ll just come over and bother me so I wander over to them.
“What were you talking to Sakura about?” Jenny asks.
“I had her contact the other faery leaders. I’m trying to convince them to help me defeat the Fallen Angels.” I answer.
“Weren’t the faeries and elves already beaten by the Fallen Angels? Will they really help us?” Jenny asks dubiously.
“They were and they may not, but if there is a chance to beat the Fallen Angels it is now whilst Contractia still stands. Once Contractia falls there may never be another chance and even if there is it is unlikely to be in our lifetimes.” I tell her.
“I hope they see it like that.” Jenny says.
“So do I.” I agree.
“Your majesty…” Sakura says cautiously from behind me. I turn to face her.
“Has one of the legates responded?” I ask.
“They all have.” Sakura says with a wince on her face.
“They said no?” I ask.
“No, they all agreed, but on a condition.” Sakura says.
“What condition?” I ask.
“They had the impudence to question whether you are worthy to be king. They insisted that you defeat an enemy chosen by each legate.” Sakura says.
“Have they told you which enemies I need to defeat yet and where they are?” I ask.
“Only the first so far. The ‘Goblin Cook’. He’s an immortal goblin and the only goblin in the empire to be given the title of general. He’s also the goblin responsible for defeating and cooking the eighth faery legion. That was before we were conquered by the Fallen Angels.” Sakura tells me nervously.
