The World in Shadow (Eternal Warriors Book 2)

by Vox Day

  The large group of Mordrim in front of her abruptly peeled off in two directions, apparently intending to encircle the church. She had no idea what they were doing, but she didn’t have time to think about it, because she suddenly realized that a Guardian was standing directly beneath her. He jabbed his sword upward, and its flames licked at her arms as she violently twisted her body, and narrowly avoided skewering herself on the weapon.

  “Help!” she cried as he lashed out at her. “Someone, help!”

  Where did all those blasted Mordrim go, she wondered as he slashed at her head and she ducked under the blow. Wasn’t that the whole point, for them to do the fighting so she wouldn’t have to?

  The Guardian’s face was pale, but intense, and he glared at her as if his eyes could run her through. Not that he needed to do that, of course, since he was already doing his best to stab her with his sword. She stumbled backward, baring her fangs in futile defiance as he closed in on her.

  Then, something slammed into her back and she found herself sprawled face-down on the ground. She rolled sideways, and looked up to see Kaeli slipping past a violent thrust from the Guardian’s sword. Then, as the Divine angel lurched forward, she drove one of her curved daggers into his unprotected face. Melusine laughed, relieved, as her assailant shrieked and scrabbled at his face, then exploded in a blinding flash of white.

  “Thanks,” Melusine said as the Assassin helped her to her feet.

  “Hurry, we’ve got to get inside,” Kaeli replied urgently. “The Baron doesn’t know how long the Mordrim can secure the perimeter if those Divine come back in force.”

  Oh, fabulous, Melusine thought bitterly as she leaped through the bricks of the church wall and into the half-filled sanctuary. First that Guardian tries to stab me, and then the next thing is we’re getting trapped inside a cursed church, of all places! And I thought last night sucked rocks!

  “Go get ‘em,” Kaeli patted her back reassuringly, then sauntered confidently towards the middle-aged man in the cassock who was speaking at the lectern.

  How could she be so calm now? Of course, considering that the poor Assassin had spent the afternoon getting literally torn apart by Balazel, knocking off a priest in the middle of an enemy stronghold was probably a pleasure by comparison. Why, oh why, she lamented, couldn’t she have just spent this evening trying to seduce Christopher into surfing porn sites.

  Well, time to get to work. She glanced around the people sitting in the pews, looking to see if anyone obvious caught her eye. But no one stuck out, they all appeared to be nice, normal people, the kind of people you’d expect to show up for Mass on a Saturday night. She sighed and opened her senses, allowing the flow of casual thoughts to sweep over her….

  ‘…that's an interesting point…’

  ‘…wonder who the Vikes will draft this year…’

  ‘…who's she, she's kinda cute…’

  ‘…and I just pray, Lord Jesus—’

  Ouch! Not that one! Melusine felt as if her brain had been singed.

  ‘…could I be more bored if…’

  ‘…I hate that little bitch, always thinks she's better…’

  Now there was someone with promise! A little bitterness, a touch of envy, and a veritable cornucopia of raw, black, spiteful hate. She would do nicely. Melusine easily located the hate-filled woman, she was an attractive, middle-aged woman with brown hair in a navy blue suit, sitting quite properly next to a man who was probably her husband. Her face was calm and impassive, revealing no sign of the malevolent thoughts that writhed inside her head.

  Melusine entered fully into the immaterial and relaxed, even as she seized upon the seething hatred that roared like a torrent around the woman’s spirit. The spirit itself was a beaten, scrawny thing, its fire sucked dry by the bile of its surroundings, and it offered no resistance to Melusine as she immersed herself in the raging black river. She flowed with the hatred, adding to it, letting it engulf her. How this woman could hate! And yet she had so little cause, the irony of it made Melusine laugh. She had food, clothing, shelter, and a husband that doted on her, all of her needs were met, and more, and still she was desperately, violently, unhappy.

  This would not be a difficult possession, not at all. Melusine simply wrapped herself around the wan little spirit and seized it… so!

  She moaned as suddenly the world changed around her. The river, the spirit, her vision itself was altered. All at once, she could feel, and taste, and smell, and hear. It was wonderful! It was exhilarating! It was a rush that simply would not stop! Yes! Yes! Oh, yes! She glanced up and saw the stained glass windows high on either side of her, and it seemed to her that the lovely hues of the leaded glass were pure light, radiant in jeweled glory.

  Next to her, she could hear someone breathing heavily, loudly, and it was the most wonderful thing she’d ever heard. The carnality of it all took her breath away, and she could feel the woman’s body, her body, responding to her excitement. She closed her eyes and ran her hands over this exquisite thing, and the feel of the mortal flesh sent shivers up and down her spine. She was overcome with lust for herself, for the babbling priest, for the people sitting next to her, for the flesh of all mankind.

  Swept away by pure animal desire, she reached blindly out for the person on her right. There was an appalled gasp, and the offended glare of the grey-haired woman she’d touched shocked Melusine out of her blissful state, just in time to hear the howl of onrushing wind that marked the arrival of the Kesh’Adai.

  All twelve stained-glass windows exploded inwards simultaneously, raining sharp shards of leaded glass down on the congregation in a colorful, but razor-sharp cascade. People screamed in pain and fear, but mostly in bewilderment, as the evil wind spiraled down inside the sanctuary itself, and swirled all around them in a riot of sound and fury. Melusine nodded, pleased by the archdemons’ awe-inspiring display.

  That, no doubt was her cue. Showtime!

  She leaped to her feet and raised both her hands, shrieking loudly. The winds abruptly died, and she let her arms fall limply to her sides as she dropped her head on her chest like a ragdoll. Then, as people nearby started to point at her, she stumbled awkwardly out into the central aisle. She stood there for a short moment, moaning and drooling, then rolled her eyes back so only the whites would show and lifted her head.

  Father Keane was staring at her, she saw, as were the rest of the mortal crowd. He was a pudgy man, of short stature, with a florid complexion and a full dark head of hair. He seemed more perplexed than fearful, even when she slowly raised one arm and pointed a nicely manicured finger at him.

  “You asked, where is my victory, good Father,” she mocked him in a voice that was deep and scary. “You asked, where is my sting? It is in you even now, Father, and there is nothing your Nazarene can do about that!”

  It was hard, so very hard, but Melusine steeled herself to relinquish the woman’s body. Remembering Balazel’s instructions as well as his baleful threat, she stamped a single word in the woman’s mind, then hurled herself so violently out of the mortal’s frame that the woman collapsed and fell unconscious to the red-carpeted floor. Now safely back in the spirit world, she saw Kaeli-Thugal strike. It was a perfect blow. Father Keane raised both hands to his head, then slumped forward, knocking over the wooden lectern and smashing it under the weight of his body as he struck the floor two feet below the elevated platform on which he had been standing.

  There were screams of fear and cries of horror, and Melusine felt giddy with delight. She felt revived, even renewed, and she shouted triumphantly as she leaped up from the floor of the chaos-filled sanctuary to follow the killer angel out one of the shattered windows. Behind her, the shrieks and cries grew louder and more panicked as the churchgoers discovered that their Father had indeed gone the way of all flesh.

  Flanked by the Kesh’Adai, Balazel was waiting for them on the rooftop, his tusked grin spreading from one bestial ear to the other.

  “Well done, both of you,”
he praised them. “Perfect! This was a great victory tonight!”

  But was it really? Melusine found herself wondering. They hadn’t gained the Father’s soul, in fact, by killing him they’d lost it forever, and it wasn’t as if his mealy doubt-filled preaching had been doing them any real damage either. It had been fun, to be sure, but how was it a victory? Of course, the Baron had hinted that something else was going on. Well, even if Balazel didn’t know what he was doing, she wasn’t about to argue with him. Especially not now, when she could see the Mordrim surrounding the church were starting to look nervous.

  Even as she noticed this, one of the Mordrim’s captains approached and bowed before the archdemon.

  “Baron, we’ve received a report of a Divine force heading this way, led by a pair of Thrones,” he informed Lord Balazel. “It’s very large, possibly more than a dozen cohorts. I don’t think we can fight them.”

  Balazel was unconcerned.

  “We’re not going to,” he told the captain. “Go, all of you, return to whatever it is you normally do. Go now, and quickly!”

  He turned to Melusine and nodded, a surprisingly graceful gesture in a being so large and powerful.

  “You have done well,” he repeated. “But nevertheless, don’t forget to keep your charge out of my way. That is paramount!”

  Melusine scratched her head, watching as the big archdemon flew away, followed by his seven powerful companions. One of these days, she was going to have to ask Prince Bloodwinter what the Baron was doing here in the Cities. She smiled as her saviour, Kaeli-Thugal, gave her a little wave, and then she too was gone, disappearing into the dark night sky. Melusine wondered if she’d ever see the demoness again. She seemed pretty nice, for an angel of death, and hopefully her back would heal soon.

  The Mordrim were scattering every which way, reminding her that she’d better vacate the premises now, unless she felt up to the task of taking on a legion of infuriated Divine all by herself. Already she could see the golden light of their approach appearing in on the horizon like a false dawn as they flew in from the east. Yes, it was definitely time to go.

  Chapter 10

  Immortal Kombat

  Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

  —Daniel 10:12-13

  The Lewis house appeared to be quiet. The windows were darkened, and the mortal family slumbered. Melusine hoped it had been an uneventful evening for everyone, mortals and angels alike, as she simply didn’t feel up to invading Christopher’s dreams tonight. Humans were beasts, as far as she was concerned, they were just animals endowed with the merest spark of angelic fire, but sometimes she envied them their ability to sleep. How nice it would be to simply shut the world out for a time and not have to worry about anything, anything at all.

  She alighted softly on the rooftop. The suburban neighborhood didn’t make for very interesting viewing, simply trees, rooftops, and then more trees, but the night’s activities had left her edgy and restless. Below her, she could sense the household angels, Divine and Fallen both, as they kept watch on their charges and each other.

  There were three almost directly beneath her, that would be Aliel and Dandaela in Holli’s room, joined, no doubt, by Lucrezia, who could be found almost anywhere except where she was supposed to be. An angel in the next room had to be Paulus, Jami’s handsome Guardian, and Melusine amused herself with the thought of slipping down and trying to seduce him. She didn’t harbor any real hopes of success, but he was rather yummy despite his stuck-up attitude. There were four more angels in the parents’ bedroom on the far side of the house, but she didn’t give them much thought. Betty, the mother was lost, but harmless, and Incandazael appeared to have the father’s arrogantly intellectual soul quite firmly in his grasp.

  That left only one angel unaccounted for, Mariel. Melusine reached behind her head and twisted her long mane of hair into a loosely knotted bundle. How she’d like to have her hands around that cursed little blonde’s neck! It was strange how quickly the tables had been turned in the last three months, as Melusine had always been able to push her rival around quite easily in the past. She shrugged. That was how the Great Game was played. Until she could get Christopher to abandon his faith, or at least steep himself deeply enough in sin to provide her with more leverage, she’d have to use her wits to defeat the Divine angel.

  Right now, the rules seemed stacked against her, but Christopher was young yet, and there was plenty of time. He was a smart boy, and she still had high hopes for his college experience. College was always a wonderful place to shatter a young man’s faith, especially those older sanctuaries that had been personally defiled by the most cunning of the Dark Sefiroth, by the Archduke Baal Anath himself.

  Then, the slightest breeze seemed to brush her cheek, and she looked back in time to see a flaming sword sailing towards her eyes. She leaped backwards instinctively, and the blade flashed in front of her face and through the nearby chimney.

  “You broke the Concordat!” Mariel screamed at her, her green eyes wild and feral. “You tried to kill him! You tried to kill both of them!”

  What? Melusine might have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so dire. Mariel wasn’t very big, but she was really looking pissed, and then, there was that sword too. Flames crackled dangerously as the Guardian advanced towards her, sword in hand, holding her white wings arched high over her head like a hawk about to strike. Fortunately, as Mariel approached, Melusine could feel a surge of energy below as the other angels in the house became aware of the confrontation.

  Melusine put up her hands and dropped into a crouch, spreading her own wings in preparation for flight. But Mariel was faster than she expected, and struck before she could leap away from the rooftop. The angel’s thrust missed her body, but Melusine couldn’t help shrieking as the flames seared her left wing.

  Curse the King, that hurt! But the sword had gotten fouled in her feathers, and when Mariel tried to pull it back, she grabbed the angel’s outstretched arm.

  “Drop it,” she screamed as she tugged with one hand and slammed her fist up against Mariel’s elbow. There was a satisfying crack, and now it was the Guardian’s turn to shriek with pain. Melusine shook her blazing wing, and the searing sensation receded just a little as she felt the weight of the sword fall away from her and towards the ground below. The flames died out a moment later, but the awful stench of her burned feathers was tremendous.

  Furious, Melusine lashed out with one clawed hand and managed to score the blonde’s insipidly pretty face. Mariel cried out again, and Melusine took advantage of the angel’s distress to leap at her, smashing her violently against the other chimney. She leaned forward, throwing all her weight into the angel and kept Mariel pinned with a hand across her face as she drew back her other hand. She was really starting to enjoy herself as she waved long fingernails before Mariel’s helplessly raging eyes.

  “I told you I’d rip those out someday!” she snarled triumphantly. “Owwww!”

  Melusine shrieked and stumbled backwards, clutching at her left hand.

  “You bit me!” She couldn’t believe how much it hurt. Son of Gog and Magog!“You bit me, you bitch! I can’t believe you just bit me!”

  “And I’ll bite you again, Hellwhore!”

  Mariel’s right arm was hanging at an awkward angle, but she looked more than ready to continue the battle. Fine, Melusine thought, just fine! Bring it on, if that’s how you want it. You’re going down! But then the Divine angel stepped back unexpectedly, as from behind her, she heard the sound of someone clapping slowly.

  “‘See, I will send venomous snakes among you,’” a familiar voice declaimed theatrically. “‘Vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,’ declares the L
ord.”

  “Shut up, Incanno,” Mariel said angrily as Melusine whirled around, plenty mad herself about the unwanted interruption. “She’s the snake!”

  As she turned around, Melusine saw that Incandazael, the sarcastic, dark-skinned Tempter of Christopher’s father, was standing behind her. Paulus was at his side, and both angels, Divine and Fallen, appeared to be very amused with the situation they’d discovered. Aliel was there too, and Holli’s short-haired Guardian shot her a nasty look before shoving past her to embrace Mariel.

  “I love a good catfight, don’t you?” Icandazael nudged Paulus. “Give you two-to-one on Mel.”

  “I don’t gamble,” the Guardian replied seriously, but he was smiling, the jerk. “Though I do believe that Mariel would have triumped in the end.”

  What-ever!

  “Tell Aliel to get out of the way and you can find out, haloboy,” Melusine shot back. “We can finish this right now!”

  “No one’s finishing anything,” Paulus told her imperiously, and to her surprise, Incandazael nodded in agreement. “Melusine, why were you attacking Mariel? You know that’s not allowed.”

  Melusine stared at him disbelievingly. He was blaming her! How unfair was that! She wrinkled her lip at him and threw her hands up in exasperation.

  “Attacking her? What do you mean? I was just up here minding my own business when she tried to take my head off!”