"Yes, sir." Shane slid down Jaycob's arm then ran off towards the approaching hoard.
Jaycob pulled the jar from his pocket and the bag of demon claws. He threw the jar down where it broke open. He smeared the clay mixture across the golden street then tossed the demon claws into it. "Now, Dusty! Like we practiced!"
The golem jumped from Jaycob's shoulder then held out his arms. With one feral scream, he cried out to the demons around him. Out of the wet clay, they rose, one by one. Golems of all sizes clambered out of the pit that enlarged and deepened, their orange demon eyes glowing with anger, determination, and unbridled bloodlust. Their screams filled the air, a sound rivaled only by the clashing of swords and the flapping of angel wings.
Jaycob held up his deck of green-backed playing cards as a beacon for the clay figures that formed in front of his eyes. It was a beautiful and glorious display of engineering, planning, and just the right bit of magic. The wind whipped through his red hair, sending his hat flying away on the breeze. For the first time, he didn't care if anyone saw his slave ring in his ear. He didn't care what was going to happen in the future, or if he would even live past the current day. The only thing that mattered was victory.
Dusty ran up to him and bowed. "What are your orders?"
He smiled. Jaycob looked into his dear friend's eager eyes then pointed his bladed cards at the battlefield. "Lead them, Dusty. Be their commander. Today is the day we tear down an oppressive false religion and build a new one built on truth and justice. Today we become heroes whether we live or die. That is not the important issue here. No. What is important is standing up for those who cannot do so on their own. That's always what you've wanted to do, isn't it, Dusty? All those children's souls you nurtured, all those infants who grew to love you after their deaths? If you could have saved them all, you would have, wouldn't you? Then fight today to ensure that you never have to watch another child be taken by reapers. Fight so no more children are forced into taking vows they can never uphold. Fight so no one else has to die in the name of religion! Get out there and fight for everything you hold true in your heart. Do this for Jaylen."
Dusty placed his fist over his heart and stood at attention. "Yes, sir!"
* * *
Jaylen waited.
He paced back and forth in front of the golden gates as the battle raged behind them. Nervousness and anxiety rose up his chest. He did what he could to keep his anxiousness in check. Not having Finalis in his mind was doing wonders for his sanity, but waiting for Zeriel's signal was having the opposite effect.
Gavin patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry so much. It's bad for you."
"Bad for me? I'm pretty sure worrying is far down on the list of things that are bad for me. Having my hand cut off, being starved for five months, getting a sword through my stomach, and living with a demon inside me are probably higher up."
"True." Gavin pulled a vial of clear liquid from his pocket and held it up. "You want me to hurry this along? I stole this from Oviel. It's the actual poison that Axaniel gave him, not the fake one. You want your signal?"
Jaylen locked eyes with the incubus behind the white mask. The willow trees behind the gates billowed in the cold wind. The stars gleamed brightly all around them as the sounds of the battle seemed to fade to nothing. Both men waited for the other say something, but neither did. Jaylen broke off their gaze as he turned his back to his friend. It was understood what had to be done in their silent agreement.
"Jaylen, it's okay. I've lived my life, so let me give mine up to save countless others who haven't yet had a chance to know happiness. Let me do this. You know that locking Carvael inside that cage won't solve anything. If Sola could reach out and communicate like she has been doing, then he will be able to do the same. That's a risk we can't take. I don't want to have to come back up here in five, ten, twenty years just to do this all over again. I mean, look at their name. Eternal Eclipse. They want this to be forever, and they have just enough mindless followers to do that. We have a perfect chance to shut this down forever, but I need your permission to do this. I've always looked up to you, even from that first party you went to at the castle in Ilyan where we met. I could tell you weren't just some stuck-up noble with rich coffers. No. You had riches in ways most men could only hear of in stories. People always say that angels have the purest hearts, but I saw that in a young boy."
Jaylen's eyes burned with tears as a sinking feeling gnawed away inside his chest.
Xair noticed what was happening and approached them. "Gavin, I thought you said suicide wouldn't work. I thought Carvael had to want to die in order to die."
"I was still coming to terms with it all."
"Meaning?" Xair asked, crossing his arms on his chest.
"I lied because I didn't want to die. But now I see the necessity for it. So Jaylen, if I have your permission, I will get that signal for you. I'll drink this poison and kill Carvael along with me. It will end everything. You'll have your window of time to get the seraphs to Sola's cage and free her and the female angels. They need you, Jaylen. Everyone in Aldexa needs you. Heaven needs you. No one needs me. I'm just a crazy old incubus with a narcissism problem."
With one look towards the sky behind Heaven's gates, Jaylen nodded his head.
Gavin took a deep breath as his fingers tightened around the glass vial. "Very well. I would like to ask a couple of things first."
"Anything. I owe you anything you want."
"Have mercy on Stephan. He's not as bad a people make him out to be." Gavin unscrewed the lid from the vial. "Tell my daughter . . . tell Liaxa I love her."
A blue-winged angel that Jaylen had never seen before landed nearby, his black coat covered in snow. "I'm so glad to have found you."
Jaylen looked between the angel and Gavin who shrugged his shoulders. "And you are?"
"I'm Payniel. I used to be a seraph, but now I'm just Stephan's messenger. Stephan and Liaxa are safe with Naomi and the cavalry. They have Amari with them as well as Liam's egg and the egg containing Xair's son. Everything is fine. I came ahead to deliver a message to Gavin because we all know what he's doing with that vial."
"You knew?" Gavin asked.
"You told Stephan long ago that you would kill yourself if it meant killing Carvael in the process. Here." Payniel held out a piece of parchment to Gavin and bowed to him. "It's from your daughter."
With the open vial of poison in one hand, Gavin opened the note with the other and read it.
Father,
I know what you will end up doing if this war gets to Heaven. I know you want this all to end just as much as any of us, but you can't throw your life away. You have so much to live for. I need you.
You know that, don't you? That I need you? Sure, you're annoying and weird, but you're my dad. Without you, I wouldn't be here. I can't lose you. I don't want to be alone.
So let Jaylen fix this problem without you. You don't have to die for this victory. You don't have to die for anyone. Please listen to me. Please don't do this. Look at all you've lived through, all you would be giving up just to throw it away.
I know a few words won't change your mind because you're a stubborn incubus. But know that I love you, daddy. I always will.
By the way, Stephan says hi and he wants to see you to apologize in person. I think being in that dream world with Karix and Zeriel really opened his eyes to everything. Nimiel wanted them all to join forces for the greater good in the world. They were bonded through what many could call immortality that would let them do great things. They had to stop the marks from the demons from spreading. They found a common purpose that brought them together. Once we are back in Ilyan, which should be tomorrow night, I want to sit down with you and Stephan so we can all work things out and be a family. I have already forgiven him for what he forced me and Payniel to do.
So you can't leave me yet. We need to be happy. I'll be waiting for you back at camp. I love you, daddy. Do the right thing.
With
love,
Liaxa
With a heavy heart, Gavin folded the note up and slipped it into his belt.
Jaylen watched as his friend walked over to the edge of the road where fresh green grass was growing despite the icy air. There on the violet-covered ground, Gavin knelt down and held up the vial. For a few minutes, the incubus stayed there quietly saying a prayer that Jaylen couldn't hear the words of. Then Gavin held the vial to his mouth and crumpled to the ground.
Everyone who was still outside the gates fell silent.
A bright white light caught Jaylen's attention inside the city. "It's the signal. Carvael is dead. Dragons, stay here and guard the gates. Jeremiah, Xair, Ulon . . . let's go free our goddess."
Chapter 17
"This is the cage?" Jaylen asked, standing in front of the black box in the middle of the destroyed building that used to be the temple. "Zeriel, are you sure you brought us to the right place?"
Zeriel put his arm protectively around Jaylen's shoulders. "I'm sure."
"Are you all right? You're covered in . . ." Jaylen sniffed the angel's cloak. "Is that chocolate syrup?"
"Don't ask."
"Enough talking." Jeremiah slid down the chunk of ceiling from the temple and landed in front of the box. "Can I get this going, then?"
"Sure." Jaylen said. He stepped back as Jeremiah reached out a hand to it. A glowing white key materialized and glided into the invisible lock. "Be careful."
Jeremiah shook his head. "I'm always careful. Xair, you're next."
Xair's white bangs fell into his purple eyes as he moved closer and set Ulon down on the ground. "I don't know what I'm doing."
"Just hold out your hand and Sola will do the rest. Calm your mind and let the magic flow from you just like you used to do with your magic."
Xair obeyed Jeremiah's instructions, holding out his bandaged hand towards the wall of black stone. The key manifested out of the air and joined Jeremiah's key. "There." He put his arms around his brother's back then held the boy's thin arms out towards the cage. "Okay, Ulon. Like we talked about. Slowly and gently let the power out, just like taking a deep breath."
Just as the light began to dance on the tips of Ulon's fingers, the boy screamed and his legs buckled under him. He continued squealing at the top of his lungs until Xair picked him up.
"What's wrong?" Jeremiah asked.
Xair began examining his brother closely. "I don't know. He shouldn't have any issues with casting that. I don't understand. Wait. I feel something warm." He lifted the boy's tunic then pulled the waist of his pants down. "We have a problem."
Jeremiah grabbed Ulon and turned him over. "Oh hell. A demon mark?"
Jaylen pointed towards the blaze burning nearby. "Just brand over it. We have to do it now. I'm sorry, Xair. But we don't have time to be gentle. This explains what voice he was hearing. Those words weren't from Sola. They were from a demon."
Zeriel returned with a piece of metal that was glowing bright orange at the tip. "Hold him down. Xair, I need you to step back and let Jeremiah handle him."
"No. You'll kill him. He's injured and weak. Ulon can't take a brand."
Zeriel motioned to Jaylen. "Do what you have to do."
Jaylen drew his longsword and pointed it at Xair. "I don't want to hurt you, but you're getting in the way. You know we have to do this. I don't like hurting him any more than you do, but we're running out of time and options. That hoard of demons could break through our defenses at any moment. We have to get Sola out of the cage."
Xair closed his eyes as he held out his brother. "Take him. Do it quickly."
Jeremiah took the boy then laid him down on the cluttered ground. He removed the crying boy's pants and held him down. "Come on, Zeriel."
Zeriel stopped and turned towards the street. "Someone's coming. It's . . . it's James Vallen?"
"Damn it." Jaylen ran across the rubble towards the man. "Brand him, Zeriel. I'll take care of this."
"What?"
"Just do it!" Jaylen jumped down to land on one knee below the mountain of debris. He held up his sword defensively as he glared at the smiling man. "Divinus."
"You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun here, did you?" Divinus chuckled then cracked his knuckles. "Are we going to dance again?"
"Get out of James's body."
"You know, I like it in here. He's not whiny like you were. If you want to defeat me, you have to defeat him as well. Won't that be so sad? First I killed your wife. Now you'll kill your brother-in-law. Shame, shame, Jaylen. It seems death and loss follow you wherever you go."
"You can do what you like, but I will not let you get to that cage."
"The cage?" Divinus scoffed. "Please. You honestly think I came all this way just to stop the seraphs from opening Sola's cage? You're more delusional that I first thought, boy. It doesn't matter one way or another for me. Either way, I'm still dead as soon as Purgatory is reopened. See, I'm only here for one thing. You. You left me impaled and bleeding to death on that ship in the middle of the harbor. Then it exploded. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me? And you actually thought you'd gotten away with it."
Ulon squealed as the hot metal was pressed against his skin.
Jaylen focused his attention on Divinus. "How are we going to do this, then?"
"I want a rematch."
"A rematch?" Jaylen asked.
"Yes. You versus me. To the death."
"You're already dead."
"To James's death."
Jeremiah called out to him from the cage. "Jaylen, problem!"
"What now?"
"Ulon is unconscious from the pain. He can't summon his key."
Jaylen's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword that he kept pointed at Divinus. "Anything else going to go wrong? Just tell me now."
"It's snowing." Zeriel said jokingly, but then his demeanor changed. "Uh, actually . . . that's not snow."
The black rose petals drifted down from the sky and began to blanket the area. When Jaylen looked back up at Divinus, James's body was on the ground. "Guys, I think Nimiel sent Divinus into the dream world. Now's our chance. Get Ulon awake."
Jeremiah and Zeriel set to work shaking the boy and doing everything they could think of to wake him back up, but Xair wasn't helping. Xair instead climbed up the pile of garbage and twisted metal. He flew up in the air and slowly circled around the area as the fighting grew closer. The shrieking of demons filled their ears along with the popping of gunfire and clashing of swords.
"Xair, what are you doing?"
"Something's not right. I sense a demon moving."
Jaylen returned to the cage where he watched as Ulon took a breath then sat up. "Ulon! He's okay. Get his key. Let's finish this."
Ulon stood up and started giggling darkly. His voice morphed deeper until it was not his own. "Hey, there, Jaylen."
"Divinus! He's inside Ulon."
"How?" Jeremiah asked. "We got rid of the mark."
"The marked one wasn't Divinus. It was just a different demon. Zeriel, you destroyed this building. Isn't there anything you can do?"
"Not without endangering the lives of everyone here."
Without wasting any time, Jaylen lunged at Divinus, sending his blade at Ulon's stomach. His attack was parried by a wall of air. He circled around the boy then hooked his leg behind Ulon's knees, sending him to the ground on his back. "Xair, now! Leash him!"
"I can't! Divinus is not truly a demon."
"You can try. So try!"
Xair managed to roll up the sleeves of his robe with is broken hands. A wind blew around the area as Jaylen continued to land nonlethal blows to the tiny Ka'taylin boy's body. He began focusing, summoning his arcane energies that sparked with electricity around his legs and moved up his body, coursing and pulsing with life.
Jaylen cried out as Divinus's wall of air hit him and threw him backwards. He slammed against the side of the black box so hard that he lost all control of his muscles and slid down to t
he ground. He couldn't breathe as the impact radiated up his spine. His legs felt like jelly, his arms and neck tingled with pin-pricks of sharp pain, and an immediate and pounding headache throbbed behind his eyes.
Zeriel and Jeremiah were thrown back as well where they rolled to a stop on the ground before either of them could flap their wings to slow the impact. They both stayed there, writhing and groaning from the pain as blood seeped from their wounds.
More black rose petals fell across the area as Ulon's eyes closed and he fell to the ground.
Xair looked around. "Where did Divinus go?"
His question was soon answered as James's body stood up and rushed at Jaylen. "Xair, he's in James! I can't move!"
"Bow to your master, your Ata-Lin! I command you to obey me, demon!"
Jaylen covered his face with his arms as Divinus lunged at him. He braced himself for the impact as he screamed out. "Sola!"
Nothing.
Opening his eyes, Jaylen looked around him to see Xair on one knee and James and Ulon motionless on the pile of rubble. The black rose petals had vanished, leaving only the broken glass, crumbling marble, and cracked metal behind.
Xair panted as sweat streamed down his face. "I . . . got him. I got him. I leashed Divinus." He pulled his robe open to reveal the white rune shaped like a circle on his lower abdomen. "I got him."
Jaylen pulled himself to his feet and tossed down his sword. He went to Ulon and touched the boy's face. "Ulon? Ulon, wake up."
The boy's large purple eyes opened as he whimpered. "Xair."
"I'm here." Xair crawled to him and took his brother in his arms. "It's okay, Ulon. You're okay. One more thing to do before you can rest, all right? Go summon your key for the cage. I'll help you."
* * *
Jaycob threw his deck of cards into the mass of demons as his golems, both small and large, went head-to-head with the demons. It was a mess of squealing, snapping bones, bloody claws, and gnashing teeth. He fetched another deck of cards that flickered to life with flames as he threw them one by one into the battlefield. Where they landed, bright fires sprung out of the grass and the golden streets. He smiled as Garenzen and the other dragons flew overhead, showering the city in their different elemental breaths. It was a thrilling sight, to see demons and angels, dragons and zombies, all working together for the common good.
Angel of Darkness Books 6-10 Page 66
