by Noree Cosper
“While I agree that Faust needs to die,” I said, “you don’t have to kill everyone in the city.”
“In order to ensure it does not spread, I do.”
I shook my head. “You have the power to find those who are blighted, as you say. You don’t have to kill innocents.”
“I cannot take this risk.”
Faust inched to the left. Sariel appeared beside him and slammed him into an invisible wall. Gold lightening appeared, as if traveling down the wall, and struck Faust. He screamed and dropped to his knees.
“This one alone is responsible for corrupting countless souls,” Sariel said. “He built up his own private army.”
“Which the two of you have pretty much destroyed,” Faust got to his feet, panting but with a smile on his face. “So, no harm, right?”
“I think not, Johannes Faust of Roda,” Sariel said.
It was as if someone poured ice cold water over me. Johannes was a German or Dutch version of John.
John Roda. Even if the thought had remained in the back of my mind, knowing the truth was like a punch to the gut. All this time, it had been a lie. I settled my glare on Faust.
He gave a wheezing laugh. “Sorry, babe. Looks like the honeymoon is over.”
Chapter 35
“I think not.” Adrian whipped out his spirit Taser and fired it off at Sariel.
The two metal bits shot out and embedded into Sariel’s chest. He looked down and ripped them away.
“I offered you to join with me and you raised arms against me.” Sariel’s voice sounded almost sad.
“You possessed my brother,” Adrian said. “I don’t work with abominations like you.”
“Abomination?” Sariel’s face suffused with deep red. “I am One of the Almighty’s chosen and something like you would dare call me an abomination?”
I will not give you the choice. Sariel’s words from before repeated in my head and my heart leapt in my throat. He wouldn’t really kill Esais’s brother, would he?
“Wait.” I took a step towards Sariel.
Sariel vanished and appeared in front of Adrian so fast he froze in surprise. He brought his palm to his forehead and there was a burst of white light. Adrian screamed and collapsed to his knees.
Faust got to his feet and took off down the street. With a glance at Adrian, I raced after him. Adrian was still alive. If Sariel truly wanted him dead, he would have killed him. I sure as hell wasn’t letting Faust escape.
The binding must have seriously hurt him because he ran in a limping gait. I sprang forward and tackled him to the ground. We wrestled as he tried to buck me off him. I pressed the edge of the dagger against his throat, cutting into the flesh so that it sizzled from the anti-demonic magic the blade was composed of. He gave a pained groan, followed by a throaty chuckle.
“You’re angry. That’s understandable,” he said with a pant.
“Angry doesn’t begin to describe my mood at this moment,” I said.
I jammed the blade into his shoulder and twisted it. He needed to feel the pain I’d dealt with over the last few days. His scream rang out and twisted into a laugh.
“Your anger makes you so quick to go back on those morals, doesn’t it?”
I hesitated and that was all he needed. He darted forward grabbed my arm, twisted it to the side, and flipped me.
“I have to say I really enjoyed watching you scramble from one place to another in your mad quest for vengeance against me over this past month. So easy to push your buttons,” he said. “We’ve always been able to steer you where we wanted.”
“Why?” I whispered. Was this all a sick game?
“For Mother, of course,” he said. “She wants you because you’re special, like me.”
Like him. So, that meant he’d been an emissary at some point. “Why couldn’t I see it?”
He grinned. “That would be telling.”
“Because he is a deceiver,” Sariel said from above us. “Full of lies and trickery.”
Faust’s weight disappeared from me. Sariel held him off the ground in a choke hold. Faust picked at the fingers around his neck to no avail. He was beginning to turn blue.
“He is so gifted, he deceived himself,” Sariel continued. “Look upon his true form, Gabriella.”
Something in his voice rang through to my core. I switched to my aura sight. I didn’t have a choice. The mask on Faust was gone. It its place was a noseless face with multifaceted eyes and insect mandibles where the mouth should have been. He was completely black. He had the torso of a man with long arms that ended in spindly fingers. His waist extended into the body of a spider with eight legs.
Sariel, in his angelic glory, still held Faust up. His fingers burned away the flesh on that black neck. A white and gold light traveled down to Faust’s chest.
“Mother,” Faust cried. “Protect me!”
As soon as he uttered the words, a purple flame sparked in his eyes. It spread like a flash fire and the spider was gone. In its place was a female form composed of purple flame. It burned with a glow that obscured the details. I reeled back, closing my eyes, but the flares danced as afterimages.
“Well, if it isn’t my big brother,” the former Faust body said in a husky voice.
Sariel’s face twisted in a scowl. “Naamah. Still protecting your minions, I see.”
A chill ran up my spine. This was going to get bad. Somehow, Faust had called Naamah in his place. I got to my feet and started backing away. Naamah pulled Sariel’s fingers away one by one and dropped to his, or her, feet. She looked at me and smiled.
“A mother has to protect her children,” she said.
“Wait,” I said. “Faust is connected to the Throne of Greed. How is he yours?”
Both looked at me as if I was a child intruding on an adult conversation. Eerily enough, Naamah had more of a motherly smile on her face than Sariel, though there was no sincere warmth.
“Gabriella, even I didn’t expect to meet this soon,” she said.
“Irrelevant,” Sariel said. “You have decided to take the place of Faust. You shall die instead.”
“I’d like to see you try. I’m no mere demon, brother.”
Flames appeared above the palms of her hands, giving a purple glow to the snow around her. The surrounding temperature plummeted. Sariel emitted a pale white light. There was a ripple in the space between them and it felt like gravity was sucking everything to that point. My inner ears popped. The ripple shattered, and a wave of force hit me. It lifted me off the ground and blew me into the wall of one of the shops. My head slammed into the bricks and the world faded away.
Chapter 36
I walk through the Van Helsing graveyard with my hand up to shade my eyes from the sun. Everything is hazy in the brightness and the graves shine white against the grass.
A man stands in front of the mausoleum. My heart speeds up at the sight of his broad shoulders. Could it be my Dimitri? He turns, and I see it’s Esais. He gives me his boyish grin and I quicken my pace to meet him.
“Is it really you?” I ask.
“This is a dream, Gabby.”
I glance around us. “Oh, right. Well, still you could be doing this with your ability.”
His eyes narrow and he tilts his head with a look contemplation. “In a way, you could say it is me. I transferred some of my psyche along with the means to stop Sariel.”
“You should have told us.”
“Not without him knowing. I was given the angel’s ability of speaking.” He pointed to his head. “I had to bury the ritual in your subconscious along with my memories of doing it. This is the last one.
“Why did you make a deal with him in the first place?”
“To save Tres.”
It always came down to family with Esais. He would sacrifice anything for them. He smiles at me and nods.
“Everything has fallen apart since you’ve been gone,” I say. The words of all that’s happened tumble out of me.
“Have
hope, Gabby. Things aren’t as bad as they seem.” He takes my hand in his. “You have the pieces to defeat him.”
“I’ve put the circle together, but I don’t have the banishing incantation.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” He pulls out a large, leather tome, opens it, and blows off a layer of dust. “That was for dramatic effect. Now, repeat after me.”
Chapter 37
I pulled off the ground with a groan. My head pounded with a dull thrum and the world still looked sideways. The stench of charred rock hung in the air and chilling silence pervaded over everything. My vision cleared, and I gasped.
Most of the buildings were still standing but they had been burned beyond their recognizable color in places, resembling blackened husks of their former glory. Most of the snow had melted from the streets. I followed the path of destruction back to the original corner of Hudson and Fifty-sixth. The corner lay in ruins with several of the shops demolished. The symbol was scattered in bits of rubble, it’s burned marking barely recognizable.
My stomach churned. This was the aftermath of a fight between and Archangel and a Throne. Those things should never manifest on Earth. They needed to stay in the Eclipse, where they belonged. The last vestiges of doubt that had had existed about fighting an angel disappeared. Sariel had to be banished.
Where was Adrian?
My heart pounded as I ran to the rubble and began pushing it aside. He couldn’t have still been here, could he? Why the hell had I left him to chase after Faust? I let out a yell as I hurled a rock across the street.
“Gabby?” Adrian’s voice called weakly from behind me.
I spun around. He leaned against a snow-covered car with his head down and his shoulders slumped. I rushed to him and gripped his arms. He had no wounds, but his face held a slack look I’d never seen on him before.
“I can’t hear her voice,” he said. “My muse is gone.”
A chill ran through me. I switched to my spirit sight and gasped, the chill growing. There was no woman beside him, whispering in his ear. Only an empty space. A thin cord that looked to be made of moonlight dangled from him with its unattached end frayed. I swallowed as my mouth dried up like a river in a drought. Sariel had severed the connection between Adrian and his spirit.
I gripped his shoulders and gave him a small shake. “Adrian, we have to get back to the others. I think I know how we can stop Sariel.”
The trek back to Jonah’s took longer than when we had set out. At first, Adrian shuffled forward each step. However, as time passed, his slacked look disappeared, replaced by his usual mask, though I could see a flash of anger spark through his eyes. His steps became a march until I had to hurry to catch up.
We didn’t talk at all.
Once inside Jonah’s apartment, Adrian moved to the living room and sat in one of the chairs. I gathered Jonah, Lucy, Tres, Marge, and Viktor. They took the available seats and stared at me.
“How are you feeling?” I asked Tres.
“Strange,” Tres said. “I don’t know how to describe it, but like there is something tight around me.”
I glanced at Adrian and bit the inside of my cheek. He’d bound his brother’s spirit, but had lost his own. I wanted to reach out to him, but stopped myself. I took a deep breath and turned back to Tres.
“Do you think you’ll be up for a fight?” I asked.
Tres raised his right hand. “I don’t have the power anymore.” His hand closed into a fist. “But I can still use a gun.”
“Good,” I said. “The nephilim are going to be difficult and I think we are going to need everyone there.”
“How are we going to handle Sariel?” Viktor asked.
I grabbed a piece of paper from the coffee table and sketched out the binding circle. I slid it in Adrian’s vicinity.
“Do your nanites still work?” I asked.
His jaw tightened. “Of course. They have already been created. All my inventions will work.”
“Why wouldn’t they?” Lucy asked.
He shook his head.
“Good,” I said. “I’m going to need you to use them to create this… while Viktor is distracting Sariel.”
Viktor started and looked up at me with wide eyes. “What?”
“We need something to draw him out,” I said. “He needs you to complete his plan. You said you wanted him stopped.”
His head bowed as he bit his lip. “Will Esais be hurt?”
“No. Once he’s bound in the circle, I’ll perform the banishing ritual.” I looked to Jonah, Lucy, Marge, and Tres in turn. “I’ll need you to keep the two nephilim off me. Think you can do it?”
Marged nodded. “Finally, time to kick some ass.”
“Four against two,” Tres said with a rough laugh. “It should be no problem.”
“Be careful,” I said. “Neither are anything to play with. Irae has fire and Aaron can change the weather on his whim.”
“He’ll probably still be weak from calling the blizzard,” Viktor said. “So, maybe not at whim. I might be able to do something about the power.”
“Good,” I said. “I think we have a plan then.”
“Where are we doing this?” Lucy asked.
I smiled. “I have just the place.”
Chapter 38
I stood on the rock outcropping that overlooked the Wallman Rink. The enclosed circle was almost perfect. The large circle of ice and snow was surrounded by an oversized sidewalk and an amphitheater
I leaned close to Adrian. “Do you think you can create the circle in the concrete?”
He smirked at me, a hard expression in his eyes. “I can even do it under the ice to make it unnoticeable.”
“Good.” I looked back at Viktor, who stood with Tres in the back of the group. “We call him there. Everyone else can hide and wait.”
We headed down the hill. I hid in the metal seats of the amphitheater. I needed to stay close for the right time. Viktor hopped the metal railing and cautiously walked to the middle of the rink. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I flexed my fingers as I waited. They were stiff from the cold.
Minutes later, Sariel appeared in the sky with the sound of fluttering feathers. I had blinked, and he was there. He crossed his arms and looked at Viktor with a smug smile.
“You have been trying to hide from me, Viktor.” He placed a hand over his heart. “You have wounded me here.”
“I have thought on what you said,” Viktor said.
“You have decided to join me,” Sariel said.
Viktor shook his head. “You’re asking me to murder this city.”
“It is necessary. The city must be purged to prevent the spread of corruption.”
“Why can’t you do it?”
Sariel spread out his hands. “I have given my favorite mortals the power to change the world.”
“But you’re making us murder people that don’t even deserve it.”
“Have they not sinned?”
Viktor’s lips pressed into a thin line. “We all have. Doesn’t God forgive?”
“I am not our Father.” Sariel sighed. “I am disappointed in your loyalty.”
I glanced at Adrian. His gaze was focused on the rink with an expression of concentration. If Sariel decided Viktor was unhelpful, what would he do to him? I had to buy a little time for Adrian’s nanites to complete the circle. I emerged from my hiding place and entered the rink. Sariel watched me approach with narrowed eyes.
“You didn’t really answer his question,” I said. “You’re not doing this because you don’t want God or the other angels to know that you plan on killing a city full of people.”
Sariel smiled. “This is a mortal affair.”
“And you can’t be blamed for what mortals do.”
“Do not misunderstand. This is an issue that we angels must deal with. The others would not approve of my methods.”
“They’re extreme.”
“Death gives them a chance of peace.”
&n
bsp; “You know this is wrong. You’re hiding your actions.”
His eye narrowed. “I have given you ample opportunity. If you will not stand with me, you stand against me and will die like all the rest.”
I backed up, pulling Viktor with me as Sariel took a step forward. We skidded on the ice to the entrance. Sariel followed for a few feet and stopped. He looked at the ground with a frown.
“Very clever,” he said. “I wondered who Esais had given the information to. It will not save you.”
Viktor staggered and gripped my arm. “His power has left me. The others will know. They’ll be here soon.”
“Get with the Jonah and Tres,” I said.
He exited the rink and scanned the sky. The clouds had thickened and grew to charcoal grey. The air became frigid as the wind began to howl. I turned back to Sariel and took a deep breath.
“Sariel, keeper of the Book of Life and Death,” I chanted in Enochian.
The wind swirled around me and blew my hair in my face. Sariel lowered his head but kept his gaze on me. He was colder than the wind.
“Servant of Amezes Hardeh, He whose name is unchanged from what it was.” Esais told me that was the name the angels used. It meant Father.
Two figures broke through the cloud cover and began to descend.
“I cast you out of this world of earth, water, air, and fire,” I said.
Aaron and Irae were almost on us now. I could see Irae’s crazed expression. Tres stepped out, raised his gun at Aaron, and fired. The bullet veered in the wind, just missing Aaron. He smirked at Tres.
“I cast you out of this world of flesh,” I said.
Sariel’s expression twisted with an expression of rage, which looked strange on Esais’s face.
Irae landed with a soft thud and sprinted to the rail. A gout of flames rolled over the ice. The steam that rose off the rink scalded my face and I jerked back.
I coughed. “L-let you return unto your place into the Eclipse.”
