Lord Beelzebub was silent for a moment. He seemed to be thinking. He fiddled with the globe in his hand, and then he turned his eyes on Kara.
Something moved in her peripheral vision. Three giant knights had appeared quickly and silently behind her, and now they sat on their great steeds, expressionless beneath their metal helmets, just like their creators. How could she have not seen them arrive? They were enormous.
There was one she’d never see before, a red knight. Even his steed was red. Just like the other knights, he was clad in red armor that hid most of this monstrous and muscular body. He glared at Kara with loathing. The knights sat silently, watching and waiting. But for what?
Where was the fourth knight? Kara couldn’t see the knight called Death.
She didn’t care.
She heard the scraping crunch of footsteps on pebbles behind her. She turned around, and her smile faded.
A crowd of men, women, and children came stumbling through one of the tunnels. Their hands and feet were shackled. Their clothes were ripped and stiff with their own blood, and they were covered in cuts and bruises. Many of them wept, and they cowered as they dragged their chains into the chamber. They looked horrified when they saw the archfiends. Children cried. Their faces were streaked with dirt and dried tears.
Her nose burned at the reek of them. They smelled of fear and death. They were human slaves. It was a glimpse of what the world would be like if the archfiends were not stopped.
Kara’s head pounded more savagely than before as unyielding rage boiled up inside her.
“What is the meaning of this?” Kara bit back her anger.
Betaazu appeared to relish her rage. He smiled and said, “Human initiation, an introduction to their new gods.”
Kara looked at a little girl, no more than eight years old.
“Slaves,” she hissed. “Human slaves. Isn’t it enough that you’ve plagued them with disease, starvation, and war? Now you’ve taken those who’ve managed to survive and made them into slaves. It’s sick.”
“It’s a new regime. A cleansing. The humans that survive will have to obey and worship their new gods. There’s no other choice for them.”
Kara watched as the human slaves were prodded into position by a group of imps. The imps yanked and pulled on the mortals’ chains, laughing and taunting them with sticks and whips. The crimson stains on the imps’ hands and knuckles left Kara with no doubt that they had tortured these poor souls. The slaves formed a straight line facing the archfiends. The imps bowed low and waited.
A male fiend with a shaved head moved forward. “Renounce your old ways and embrace the future. Kneel and worship your dark gods.”
The slaves didn’t move. Maybe they were too afraid to move, or too shocked. Kara had the feeling that some of them were about to faint. She didn’t know what they had gone through. It must have been terrible. But still none of the slaves moved.
“Kneel before the gods,” commanded the fiend. “Choose the dark gods and live…or chose death.”
One of the mothers was the first to kneel. She clung to her children and pulled them down with her. And then all the other bent and broken slaves kneeled, too. All except one.
An elderly man covered in angry blue and purple bruises stood his ground. His white hair was caked in blood. He reminded her of Mr. Patterson, and she bit down on her lip.
“Kneel, Frank,” whispered one of the men.
“Do it. It’s not worth your life,” he said in a low voice.
But Frank didn’t move. “It is to me.”
The other man shook his head sadly but didn’t speak again. The other slaves kept their heads low and their eyes on the ground.
The male fiend was at Frank’s side faster than Kara had time to blink.
“You worthless human! How dare you be impertinent before your gods, human? You insolent, miserable mortal scum. Kneel! Kneel before the dark gods!”
The old man held his head high and squared his shoulders.
“I will not. I never believed in this hocus-pocus before. I can’t deny that I’ve seen things that I can never explain, and that I don’t understand. But this…”
The man raised his chained wrists and gestured toward the fiends.
“…I can see now that there are both good and evil forces in the universe. You claim to be gods? I don’t know if that is true, but my heart tells me that you are not gods, but devils. I don’t know what you are, or why you are here. But if I did believe in a god, it would be a just god, a kind god. It would not be a god that kills and forces the weak to worship him.”
“If you don’t kneel now, old fool,” whispered the fiend, “you will die. I promise you.”
Frank’s old eyes twinkled with tears. “I don’t fear death because I believe our spirits live on.”
“Infidel!” cried the fiend. “Useless bag of blood.”
He punched the old man in the stomach so hard that he keeled over and blood spilled from his mouth.
“Stop! How dare you!” Kara surged forward but was pulled back sharply by Betaazu. She thrashed and kicked in his hold, but he didn’t let go.
The fiend lifted the old man by the neck and dragged him to the edge of the ravine.
The man cried out and fought as hard as his old limbs and strength would allow. But he was no match for the supernatural strength of the fiend.
With a final struggle the fiend tossed the old man over the ledge. His scream rang in Kara’s ears, her knees trembled, and then she heard him no more.
A low growl slipped through her teeth as a wild fury seized her.
“Let go of me,” she snarled.
She yanked hard, but the demon held firm.
“Monsters! You monsters! I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you all!”
In a single, swift movement, she twirled behind the demon. His grip faltered, and she jumped back, ready to run at the murderous fiend, but Betaazu caught her again easily.
“Stop moving or I’ll break it,” he snarled. “Or I’ll throw you over, too.”
“Do it,” she spat. “Throw me over, demon.”
The muscles in his jaw tightened. “Don’t push me.”
But she did. She swept her leg into the back of his knees, and he fell. He didn’t release her as they hit the ground, and she landed on top of him.
Betaazu seemed pleased. “I must say that I like this very much.”
If her hands hadn’t been bound, she would have punched him. But she made do and ploughed her elbow into his face.
The demon lord cursed as he flipped her on her back. She knocked her head on the hard stony surface and saw stars. He leapt to his feet and tried to pull her to her feet again, but she kicked him hard in the stomach. She made her way to tackle him, but he caught her by the shoulder and threw her to the ground again. Then he kicked her in the face, grabbed her wrists, and pinned her to the ground.
“Enough,” he growled. “There’s no point to this. I’ll always win. You’re outmatched, Kara. Just give it up.”
Kara thrashed under his grasp and finally gave up. Only when she stopped did he pull her back to her feet.
Kara looked at the slaves. They were watching her, pleading for her help. But she was trapped and shackled, a slave just like them.
And there was nothing she could do about it.
Kara looked away from them and tried to hide her own fear.
Could they see that she was an angel? Is that why they pleaded with her silently? Did they know what she was? But how could they?
Perhaps the supernatural veil that had prevented humans from seeing angels had been lifted from their eyes by the archfiends. It wouldn’t matter anyway. The monster inside her had devoured every last trace of her angel essence and left a only a beast in its wake.
But what if she was wrong?
Perhaps the mortals had seen something good in her. After all they had sought her out. They had asked for her help. They knew something. They could see something in her. She had sworn to protect them. Could they rea
d it in her eyes?
It had taken all her strength to fight off Betaazu.
Maybe she had already given up. Maybe she hadn’t fought as hard as she might have because deep down she knew it was pointless.
Kara watched the imps lead the human slaves away down another tunnel. A child let out a whimper, and Kara’s essence began to boil again.
She looked at her hand and gave a little gasp. A small flicker of gold winked at her from her finger.
Kara had forgotten her ring. Maybe it could give her the answers that she needed. Doing her best not to look too conspicuous, she glanced down at the ring again.
One of the seals must still have been unbroken.
A mischievous smile spread on her lips. There was still a chance to save them all.
And then something inside Kara awoke.
Chapter 17
A Tumble of Fiends
It was sudden. The tiny light inside her pulsed and grew. Her head began to clear. She didn’t want to die anymore. She wanted to fight. There was still a fight left in her, whether it was angel or not, it didn’t matter. What mattered was what she’d do with it. She held on to that feeling. A veil had been lifted, not just from her mind but from her eyes. She could see now. She could see everything. Maybe it was a result of becoming a monster, but she seemed to have developed some sort of sixth sense and x-ray vision. Everything had slowed down around her, and her perceptions had sharpened.
She noticed something strange about the archfiends. Something was off—they were off. Their bodies seemed to shimmer and fade, like ghosts or wraiths that were constantly struggling to stay solid. It was as though part of them belonged somewhere else…
Mr. Patterson had said that the archfiends’ powers were lessened on Earth because of the lengthy duration of their imprisonment. Somehow they were still linked to their prison by the seals that had kept them confined. To gain full control over their powers, they would literally have to break out of their cage.
The more she observed, the more clearly she could see it. Their skin was semi-transparent. It was a subtle shift, but it reminded her of when she had begun to fade.
They hadn’t fully broken out yet! They wouldn’t regain all their lost powers until all the seals that had confined them had been broken.
Beelzebub roused Kara from her thoughts. “Tell us how you and some of your angel guard learned of the existence of my knights?”
He stared at his globe.
“You are but a speck of dust in the timeline of creation. You couldn’t have known about them. I know you didn’t discover them on your own, so you must have been informed by a reliable source that had in-depth knowledge of the gods. Only a few possess that knowledge. So, tell me who informed you of their existence?”
Kara pressed her lips together. That information would never come out of her. She’d already caused the death of one oracle. There was no way she was going to endanger the oracle mothers, or any other creatures for that matter. If the archfiends were as clever as the gods like they claimed to be, they would probably guess soon enough. If she could buy the legion some time, she would.
“Who in that pitiful regime you call a legion advised you?” asked the archfiend again.
His voice rose in annoyance, and she wondered how long she could keep this up before he smashed her into smithereens. The black veins on his face throbbed as he raised a brow.
“Was it an archangel?” spat the dark god. “Or the one who calls himself the Chief?”
A flicker of surprise showed in Kara’s face, and the archfiend’s eyes narrowed. He had seen it, too. She didn’t know how they even knew about Horizon’s head guy, but then again Horizon had seen its share of traitors. Her own father had been one.
Kara just shrugged, but she kept her eyes on the archfiend during the whole interrogation. She had to keep him guessing to keep him busy.
Beelzebub’s face was unreadable.
“Why go after the knights when the rest of your kind are being slaughtered? I’m surprised that you weren’t with your precious legion. They could have used a creature like you at the front, even though they are going to lose. You must have been an angel of some importance if they let you go.”
His yellow eyes glowed. “What was it you were searching for?”
This inquisition could last forever if she didn’t give him something to think about, so Kara kept her face as blank as she could.
“We weren’t searching for anything,” she said. “We were just doing our duty as guardians. You know, saving mortal lives, the lives you want to destroy.”
The archfiend laughed a terrible wicked laugh. But when he spoke again there was no trace of laughter.
“Are there more plans to try and stop my knights? Tell me! It’s very important.”
Kara raised her brows.
“I’m sure it is, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just a guardian—or I was—they don’t tell me anything.”
The commotion of the battle below them grew louder, and the fear in the pit of her chest increased.
Beelzebub leaned forward in his throne. “What do you know of the seals?”
Everything relied on her answer.
She suspected the archfiends could read her mind. She didn’t have a plan—not yet. First she needed to free her bonds. Her eyes moved to the death blade that hung around Salthazar’s belt.
“Seals? The water animals that live near the ocean?” said Kara, looking back at the giant man sitting on his throne. Her voice steady. She hoped it was a good enough lie.
“I can taste your lies,” said Beelzebub. “Somehow the legion discovered the connection between the seals and the knights. This is why you thought you could stop them. But you cannot stop this.”
He paused and then added, “Mors vincit omnia.”
Kara made a face. “Sorry, my Latin’s a little rusty.”
“It means Death conquers all.”
“And life will go on,” countered Kara, slightly pleased at herself.
“Life?” laughed the archfiend. “Your idea of life will not exist after the apocalypse. There will be no more mortal souls for the legion to save because there will be no more legion, no more Horizon. Only the dark gods and those who serve us will survive. As much as I appreciate your determination, your will to fight for what you believe is right, it will all be in vain. Horizon’s actions are fruitless. Angel kin cannot stop us. You cannot stop a god.”
Kara didn’t know what possessed her, but she couldn’t help it.
“You’re not a god—”
Whack.
Salthazar smacked her on her head, and she staggered forward. After she blinked the white spots from her eyes, she stared at him. His face was stone cold, but his eyes were saying, Play the game, stupid, for both our sakes.
Whatever game she decided to play would be her own game.
The screams rose from below the cliffs, and she could definitely hear some sort of battle cry, but it was too far away to make it out. Suddenly all the archfiends except Beelzebub stood up. Beelzebub’s eyes lingered on her as though he was waiting for something.
The archfiends passed her without a glance in her direction and moved to the edge of the platform. They spread their great big wings, dove down from the edge and disappeared.
Kara shuffled a few curious feet toward the spot where the archfiends had disappeared, but Salthazar grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back forcefully.
She scowled at him, and he smiled back.
“And I thought you liked me,” she said.
“Oh, but I do like you,” he purred. “Very, very much.”
She raised her bonds. “Then prove it and cut these off.”
“She’s like a stubborn mule that we need to break,” said Betaazu before Salthazar could answer her.
Kara looked over to the dais. It was the first time she had seen a real smile on the archfiend’s face, and it was terrifying.
Beelzebub raised a finger. “Break her.”
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A very happy Betaazu and two other fiends came at her with whips and chains.
Why hadn’t she noticed their weapons before she opened her big stupid mouth?
Kara lifted her hands again.
“Not really fair, is it.”
She turned to the Salthazar, “Can you at least untie me?”
But the demon lord’s face was a blank mask. He stepped away from her and gave the fiends the space they needed to beat her.
“Thanks,” she grumbled. “You hurt my feelings.”
At first she had wanted to die. But the look of their weapons and the grins on the fiends’ faces sickened her, and her ideas changed. She would fight them with everything she had.
Kara braced herself for the first assault.
The female fiend came at her swinging a chain like a lasso, twirling it at her side and then above her head.
“Show off.” Kara snarled. She wished she could use her wings to cut off her head.
The fiend grinned with pointy teeth. “You’re mine now, girlie girl. I can’t wait to taste you—”
The red-haired fiend came for her, fast and slippery, like a wraith. She swung the chain at Kara’s neck.
Kara ducked and heard the chain whip over her head.
Where were the other two fiends?
She heard the second whip before she saw it. It wrapped around her neck and yanked.
The world tilted and Kara heard a crunch as her jaw hit the ground. She opened her mouth and spit out some of her teeth. She had loved her straight teeth, but she needed to control her outraged vanity and save herself. She twisted the chain around her legs and pulled. The force was enough to loosen the chain’s grip around her neck. Kara jumped to her feet and glared at the redheaded freak.
She spit out one last tooth. “I’ll kill you for this.”
Faster than a blink of an eye, there was crack, and the red haired fiend had wrapped the chain around her ankle. Kara crashed to the ground again. The fiend was on top of her instantly, with her black fangs poised over Kara’s neck. Kara bucked and thrashed and kicked the fiend’s head with her boot. She rolled over to the side and loosed the chain from her ankle.
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