Dire Destiny of Ours

by John Corwin

  I look like a male stripper in angel drag.

  Frightened murmurs rose from the crowd as a bright spotlight shined down from above. I glanced up and saw the flying Brightlings diving straight down, hurling deadly spheres at me. I pinched my back muscles and felt my wings respond. With one hard thrust, I flew up a couple of feet. I just as suddenly dropped right back to the ground with bone-jarring impact. Darklings screamed and ran from the path of the spheres. A group of girls, or whatever they called young seras, fell over themselves trying to run. I ran to their position and threw up a bubble of Murk just as the first volley of spheres hit with tremendous explosions.

  The girls screamed.

  "Everything's gonna be okay!" I shouted as the ground shook.

  Cracks raced up my protective dome. I reinforced it as the next wave of destruction slammed into it. Even though the attacks weren't nearly as strong as Daelissa's, the sheer number made them a force to be reckoned with.

  The Brightlings swooped low, spearing my shield with death beams before climbing high into the air. I released the barrier. "Run!" The girls dashed for cover. I clenched my fists tight, stretched my wings, and flapped them. I felt the wind catch in my aetherial feathers. My body simultaneously sent a burst of aether through my feet and into the ground even though I hadn't consciously commanded it to do so.

  Instinct.

  My Seraphim side knew what to do even if I didn't.

  I flapped my wings and let my body do the rest. I felt a rush as aether jetted from my feet. I flew several feet into the air. The next thrust sent me even higher. Within seconds, I was high above the ground.

  "I'm flying!" I pumped a fist. "Whoo-hoo!" I was so exhilarated, I almost forgot the bastards trying to kill me.

  A white beam sliced the air just over my head. I dove between two skyscrapers as a flurry of attacks splashed against the building to my right. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the Brightlings right behind me. They were closing the distance at an alarming rate, making it painfully obvious that my newfound skill wasn't developed nearly enough to outpace my pursuers. I had to ground these jackasses in a hurry. I spotted a building shaped like a giant corkscrew and dove toward it.

  Wind whistled past my ears. My heart raced with a mixture of exhilaration and fear. I angled up at the last second and landed on a spiral some thirty stories above ground level. The building looked as though someone had taken a rectangular building and twisted it so it formed a gently sloping spiral from the ground all the way to the top. The entire structure was made of the ultraviolet Murk glass. Some sections were blacked out while others were transparent.

  I ran toward the center mass of the huge structure. I looked down through a clear section of glass and saw a hallway. Startled Seraphim looked up at me as I ran downslope overhead. Most of them wore the drab Darkling uniforms favored by these people. I couldn't tell if they were working, or if they lived here.

  I heard thuds and turned around. The Brightlings had landed.

  "Did Daelissa send you?" My heart felt tight as I considered the possibility that she'd taken control of the Alabaster Arch at the Three Sisters and sent through assassins.

  The lead Seraphim wore crimson armor with the sigil of a barren tree emblazoned on it. She lifted her arms and aimed her palms at me. White flames flickered in her grasp. "You will not speak of the Divinity in such familiar terms."

  I drew in aether and prepared myself. Baring my teeth, I leveled my gaze at the leader. "Did she send you?"

  "She did not." The other three Brightlings spread out in a semi-circle.

  I backed away. If Daelissa hadn't sent this assassination crew, who had? "You must have seen the video of me."

  The sera didn't answer. Every Brightling fired on my position. I threw up a mirrored shield and redirected the blast at a seraph to my right. He screamed as two of the beams burned holes in his armor.

  The other three Brightlings ceased fire. I lowered my shield and sent a blast of Murk at the dying Brightling. His body sailed off the building and vanished from sight, leaving a trail of black smoke. I saw two cloudbanks rushing my way and spotted Seraphim in familiar drab uniforms. The Darklings were finally coming to my rescue.

  The assassins drew swords and rushed me.

  I formed a shield with my left arm and threw it up just in time to intercept a vicious slash from the lead sera. I rolled right. Swept the feet from beneath a seraph. His wings splayed out and stopped his fall, leaving me in a very vulnerable position. He drove his sword straight down at my face. I caught it on my shield and drove my foot straight up into his crotch.

  "Catch this with your wings!" The impact sent the seraph flying into the air.

  Unfortunately, it seemed his armor saved him from a life of sterility because he didn't even scream in a high-pitched voice. His wings spread wide and caught air. I rolled away and flipped to my feet as two swords clashed against the roof where my neck had been.

  The cloudbank reached the building. A group of Seraphim in Darkling uniforms piled off of it.

  "Thank god!" I shouted. "These jackasses ruined my bath. I hope you can arrest them for that."

  The lead sera smiled and went to the head Darkling. They clasped forearms. The Darkling leader drew a blade. His other five companions did the same.

  My sense of elation dropped like a lead stone and played pinball with my guts. "Who are you people working for?" I shouted. "What Darkling in their right mind would join with Daelissa's cronies?"

  They formed ranks. The second cloudbank reached the roof and more Darklings joined the others. I looked more closely at their uniforms and realized they were actually quite different from the ones worn by the Darklings in the hallway beneath me. These uniforms were pitch black with crimson striations running along them like muscle fibers. A deep red gem on the sleeve of the lead Darkling sparkled by the light of Brilliance coalescing in the hands of the Brightlings. The other combatants had similar gems on their sleeves.

  A thudding noise beneath my feet drew my attention. A Darkling on the other side of the glass pointed frantically down the sloping hallway she stood in. It didn't take a lot of brains to understand her meaning. Run! I faced my enemies and considered spawning into demon form. I flashed back to the carnage from the ministry chambers and shuddered.

  What if I completely lose control? A thin barrier of will was all that kept me in control of the raging beast lurking inside me. That was why I only manifested into a half-demon form. If my inner demon had his way, I'd spawn into a raging monstrosity destroying everything in my way. Since my demon seemed to thrive on Brilliance, that made it even more dangerous.

  Killing these assassins wouldn't be pleasant, but I could live with it. Unfortunately, my demon side wouldn't stop there. It would happily kill innocents as well. A simple moment of misunderstanding had resulted in the murder of too many people already. I'd have to save my demon side as a last resort.

  The Brightlings thrust their hands forward. Blinding light speared toward me. I threw up a shield. The Darklings charged while I was pinned down. I felt thumping beneath my feet and saw several Darklings shouting and pointing downslope.

  Refocusing the shield into a mirror, I redirected the deadly energy and sliced off the leg of a charging enemy. The Brightlings stopped their attack. I decided it was the perfect moment to follow the advice of the Seraphim in the building.

  I turned.

  I ran.

  Shouts echoed behind me. I turned and saw the Darklings charging after me but, compared to me, they were slow as dirt, and I quickly left them behind. The Brightlings were nowhere to be seen. I ran down the spiral a couple of turns and suddenly saw where they were. The Brightlings had simply flown down a level and waited on me.

  They thrust their hands toward me.

  I jumped high into the air over their attacks, extended my foot, and slammed a seraph in the face. Before his companions could respond, I gripped his neck and squeezed until I felt something crunch. The sera screamed and slammed
into me. We rolled down the slope. Her knee slammed into my crotch, but the armor protected my man parts. I finally got a bit of leverage and punched her in the face.

  She reeled back. I threw her off me and stood just as her remaining companion dove and slammed into my stomach. I tumbled backward. He stood and spun. His wing slashed my chest. Searing heat bit into my flesh. I cried out and jumped backward. Blood trickled from severed pectoral muscles. My arms suddenly felt limp and useless. I could move them, but it took immense effort.

  The seraph bared his teeth and slashed with his wings again. I turned on instinct. My ultraviolet wing caught his thrust. Holding my arms tight against me to keep from tearing my muscles further, I wove Brilliance and Murk into a fogbank of gray Stasis. It enveloped the seraph and froze him in place. The pursuing Darklings rounded the corner and skidded to a halt as the seraph's wings crackled and shattered like white ice.

  The sera watched with open horror. "Monster!"

  "You people are the monsters!" I shouted as I backed away. Every step cost me in blood and pain. My supernatural healing struggled to clot the chest wound, but all this fighting had overtaxed my system. I looked toward the Darklings. "And you all should be ashamed of yourselves. Who are you working for?"

  "Primogenesis is a blight," the leader said. "We will not stand for your perpetuation of myths and fallacies. By killing you, we purge the cancer from this land."

  I didn't know if I should laugh or cry at the absurdity. I'd killed the two super-religious zealots on the Trivectus and spared the non-believer. Now I was suddenly at the epicenter of a culture war.

  "Primogenesis is fake!" I shouted. "I don't want to promote it; I just want to save Eden."

  "Liar!" the Darkling leader shouted.

  The Stasis mist faded and dropped the unconscious seraph to the ground. The Brightling sera rushed to his side. She looked up at me, hate burning in her eyes.

  "Why would you ally with Brightlings who follow the Divinity?" I asked.

  I felt thumping under my feet and looked down. The same group of Darklings were frantically motioning me to run again. I desperately wanted to untangle this strange mystery. Unfortunately, I couldn't adequately defend myself. I took another step back. My feet slipped on blood.

  I looked down at my bikini bottoms and cursed my stupidity. I'd been so busy surviving I hadn't even thought to extend my armor. I touched the hem and sent Nightingale armor creeping over my body. The armor gave me a firm grip on the building despite the blood on my feet. I was too injured to fight and it was obvious talking wouldn't accomplish anything. Once again, I ran.

  Grunts of pain hissed through my teeth with every step. My arms hung by my sides since moving them only invited agony. I probably looked as ridiculous as Gus Gurtzky in third grade P.E. class when he tried to run like an ostrich. I looked down at the hallway beneath me, but my group of faithful Darklings had fallen behind. Startled looks from others in the hallway greeted me almost every step of the way.

  It made me wonder if Darklings had nine-to-five jobs, or if they just lounged around in pajamas all day coming up with the most bizarre building designs possible. I looked over my shoulder and saw no signs of pursuit. That didn't mean anything. I hoped the two remaining Brightlings didn't try to cut me off at the pass again. I could probably fight them, but it would hurt me about as much as it hurt them.

  I angled toward the edge of the building and saw the ground only about ten stories below, though I doubted the height of this building could be measured by such human terms. When I looked up, all hope vanished.

  A veritable platoon of soldiers stood in my way. Someone shouted a command and the soldiers drew swords.

  Chapter 10

  These people left me no choice. I had to spawn or dive off the building and hope my wings could still hold me. Even if I let my inner demon rampage, I didn't stand a chance against a platoon of soldiers.

  "Destroyer Slade, we are here to protect you," said a seraph with a blue gem on his sleeve. "I am Legiaros Ketiss."

  Despite the use of my new cringe-worthy name, I almost melted with relief. "Are you absolutely positive you're not here to kill me?"

  He raised an eyebrow. "Yes, sir."

  The enemy Darklings and two remaining Brightlings charged around the curve. They saw the force of enemies and nearly fell over themselves in an effort to reverse course. The platoon of defenders rushed the enemy.

  The Brightlings dove off the building and glided through the air.

  I ran to the side of the building and shook my fist. "Run all you want, cowards, but I'll get you if it's the last thing I do."

  Their flight pattern wobbled. The strain on their faces made it obvious they'd overextended themselves and were exhausted. The sera glanced down and a look of hopelessness erased the determination from her face. I followed her gaze and saw more soldiers gathering in the plaza at the base of the building. The Brightlings might be able to glide to the ground, but there was no escape for them now.

  The sera flashed a furious, defiant look at me. "I have failed today, but others will come and they will succeed."

  "You will die, monster," her companion declared.

  The Brightlings gripped hands. A look of acceptance came over their faces. Their wings flickered away and they fell without a single cry toward the ground far below. The crowd parted like a sea of ants. I saw splashes of crimson paint the ground and looked away.

  The enemy Darklings furiously fought my defenders. The cloudbank the attackers had arrived on hovered into view. Some tried to leap to it before it reached the building. Two made it while three others plunged to their deaths. The enemy leader rushed toward the cloudbank, but my rescuers surrounded him.

  "Surrender," Ketiss called to him.

  "Never," the seraph hissed back. Sword held high over his head, he loosed a battle cry and ran at Ketiss.

  Blasts of Murk caught the seraph's charge. One slammed him in the shoulder. He dropped his sword. The next blast hit him in the face. His legs flew from beneath him and his back thudded against the glass. He groaned once and lay still. I heard shouts of fear and looked toward the cloudbank with the only remaining enemies. Ultraviolet beams speared into it. The billowing clouds dispersed, leaving only thin air between the escapees and the ground.

  Biting back pain, I shot strands of Murk at them. I missed one, but caught the other and willed the aether rope to bind him. The strand contracted and brought him into the waiting arms of my protectors who immediately secured him. The enemy leader was also bound. Apparently, they'd knocked him senseless with their attacks instead of killing him.

  "Are you injured, Destroyer?" Ketiss asked me.

  The black Nightingale armor was soaked with blood, but it merely looked wet since it hid the red. "I've been better." I tried not to groan and hoped my supernatural healing would be able to do something.

  "I'll have a healer attend you." He snapped his fingers and a young sera came forward.

  "Yes, Legiaros?" she said.

  He motioned toward me. "The Destroyer requires your services, Flava."

  Her bright blue eyes looked me up and down. "Are you wounded, sir?"

  I lowered the armor to display the slice across my chest. It still wasn't healing and I abruptly remembered why. Seraphim wings were pure aether. When the Brightling had sliced me, he might as well have hit me with a blast of magic. Unlike physical wounds, magical ones typically took longer to heal.

  "Goodness, this is quite awful." She touched it.

  I flinched. "I agree. It's awfully awful."

  She blinked a couple times as if what I'd said hadn't translated, shrugged, and leaned forward to examine the wound. "This will take a few moments." Fingers extended, she sent gentle pulses of Murk into my wound. At first, my tissue seemed to resist the procedure, but suddenly began to seal shut like a zipper. The pain melted away and my body relaxed. I stifled a yawn.

  "Wow, that was really good." I sounded like a stoner who'd just eaten a bag of cheesy poofs.
With the chest wound gone, aches from other parts of my body gave notice that I had a lot more healing to do. It was also evident that my demon side was ravenous from the clawing sensation in my guts. I switched to incubus vision and saw the glowing auras of the Seraphim around me.

  They glowed much brighter than humans. Healer Flava's halo shone bright and golden. A psychic tendril from my aura automatically quested toward this tempting source of sustenance. She flinched the moment it touched her aura.

  Eyes wide, she backed away. "What are you doing?"

  Ketiss raised his eyebrow. "What is the issue, healer?"

  Forehead pinched, she stared at me. She felt her head. "He touched me."

  I felt my face burning. "I'm sorry. There's a part of me that needs to feed."

  She held her hand flat and splayed her fingers, demonstrating the way Seraphim fed. "You did not indicate you were feeding."

  I shook my head. "My demon side feeds differently."

  "Healer, you will assist the Destroyer in any way he requests." Ketiss gave her a sharp look. "Do I make myself clear?"

  Her big eyes flared wide with fear. She looked down. "As you command, sir."

  Ketiss surveyed the bodies and shook his head. "None of them are wearing gems. They must have known this would be a suicide mission."

  I was about to ask him what help the gems would've been when a large cloudbank drew even with the roof. I felt vibrations beneath my feet and looked down to see a crowd of Darklings inside the building. Some seemed to be cheering and shouting something at me, but I couldn't hear them through the protective glass.

  Ketiss motioned toward the cloudbank. "Destroyer, this will take you to a secure location. Flava and a contingent of guards will accompany you." He gave me a gem. "Press this to your uniform wherever you wish and it will adhere to the surface. Should you need to speak anyone, simply think of them and it will put you in touch."