by Amanda Jones
“You’ve been through so much sadness, but you’ve lived a big life,” he said, awe lacing every word he spoke.
Suddenly embarrassed by the thought of her entire life being an open book, Katia blushed and looked down at the ground, scuffing her boot on the flagstone floor. “Not really, I just followed my heart. That’s where the music came from, it was just an outlet really. I didn’t plan on becoming famous or playing all over the world, it just happened.”
As Katia peeked up through her lashes at her brother, she saw him shake his head. “It’s not just that. You’ve known the love of wonderful parents, the love of your music, you always felt like an outsider, but it didn’t stop you from achieving many things in life, and you’ve finally known the love of a man who would risk his own life to save yours. Your desire to save me is so strong. I felt it hammering at me through our connection. You’re a strong woman, sister. I’m thankful to be your brother and I can’t wait to get to know you better.”
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as Katia moved forward and embraced Keir. “I can’t wait to get to know you, too. We can both live a big life now that you’re free.”
Bellerophon cleared his throat and Katia and Keir turned towards their father as one. “I’m sorry, my children, but we cannot tarry here any longer. The battle outside is raging and the losses to our side are mounting. We must make our move now before it is too late.”
Glancing at each other once more, Katia and Keir nodded in unison and turned towards the door that would lead them to the outer courtyard and their uncertain future beyond.
Chapter Thirty Five
Katia
Katia burst through the doorway into the open courtyard at her brother’s side and felt the air rush out of her in a giant whoosh at the sight before her. Blood streamed through the cracks in the stonework, the walls of the inner courtyard had been painted red and black with the blood of angels and demons alike. The sounds of battle raged around her as swords clashed and angelic whips of fire cracked through the air. Screams and cries rose above the sounds of weapons as combatants from both sides fell dead and bloody to the ground. She swallowed bile as she looked around her; her brother retched at her side. Katia passed her eyes around the carnage of the inner keep – battle tactics began to click through her mind as she palmed her semi-automatic in one hand. With any luck, the charmed bullets would allow them to cut a path through to the center of the melee so Bellerophon could fly them out of Halja into Outer-Sheol and the portal through which they could re-enter the human realm. A sudden cry at her side wrenched Katia’s attention away from her escape plan. Whipping her head to the side, she saw the agonized expression on her brother’s face. Keir lifted a shaking hand and pointed towards the far side of the keep. Katia’s eyes followed and her heart dropped at what she saw — Luc. The world swayed as her legs buckled beneath her. She cried out as her knees connected with the stones below, cracking bone with the intensity of her fall. The physical pain receded in seconds with her inhuman ability to heal, but the searing emotional pain remained. He’d come after her, and now he was crucified in the depths of Sheol on an inverted cross. Katia felt that strange coldness start to creep through her body as the sadness and despair began to take over. The world before her crystallized as ice formed over her eyes. Right before the world in front of her was about to wink out, strong arms encircled her from behind and lifted her to her feet. The feel of warm fingers closing over her own began to melt the light layer of ice that had built up all around her.
Her father’s voice whispered close to her ear. “You must stay strong. You are stronger than your brother having spent more time amongst others of our world. He needs you to stay focused or you will both be frozen in place.”
Turning her head Katia saw that her brother’s skin had taken on a crystalline sheen similar to her own, the distress in his eyes partially hidden under a sparkling layer of ice. Nodding jerkily, she reached for him. As their hands connected the coldness melted away almost instantly. Keir blinked in confusion and squeezed her hand.
“What happened?” he asked. “I felt darkness closing in on me when you fell, and then nothingness.”
Katia shook her head as she replied, “I’m sorry, that seems to happen when I get upset. Something to do with what we are, a mess of contradictions, I’m afraid.” Glancing back at Luc’s form on the cross she continued, “We have to get him off there. He’s here because of me and I can’t leave him here to die like this. It would kill me. I love him.” The last words came out in a choked gasp.
Before Keir had time to respond, a figure emerged from behind the cross. Katia looked at the newcomer in total confusion. What was a teenager doing in a place like this? And why did he look so unconcerned with what was taking place in front of him? Even at this distance she could see the slight smile playing across his guileless face, a dimple played on his cheek. Keir took a sharp inhalation beside her.
“What?” she asked
The anger, fear, and frustration warred in his eyes as he responded, “The master. He’s the one who kept me here for all these years.”
Katia’s brows shot up into her hairline. “That’s the master? Satan is a teenage shithead?”
Keir moaned and it sounded of pure pain. “Now I understand. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry, Katia. This is all my fault.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“My drawings. I’ve drawn pictures of you all my life. I saw you in my dreams and sketched. He saw them and asked me to keep drawing, I didn’t realize…I’m so sorry,” he sobbed.
The reality of the situation caught up with Katia with a bang of clarity. “He used you to draw me here. He knew you could see me and used you to track me. He figured out we had begun to communicate. Son of a bitch!” She shouted and stamped her foot angrily.
“He took away all of my sketches before you arrived. I’m so sorry. I brought all of this pain upon you.”
Katia took her brother’s face in the palms of her hands and looked him dead in the eye. “This is not your fault. You had no way of knowing that I was even real until we started talking. How were you supposed to know that he had found out? This is not your fault. You have no reason to be sorry.”
“I wish I could believe you,” Keir whispered sadly.
“You can, I promise. Now let’s get Luc and get out of here. Who would have ever guessed that hell really is a teenager?” Katia whirled around to face her father only to realize that he was no longer there. Spinning back around, she scanned the battle raging in front of her and saw Bellerophon for the first time in all of his angelic glory. His wings were spread wide, a flaming whip in his hand as he brought it slicing through the air to rend through the body of an attacker. He truly was a magnificent creature. As though sensing her gaze, Bellerophon turned his head and shouted over to them.
“Go. I will cut down as many as I can and then I’ll find you. Good luck, my children. I love you both. Never forget that.”
Katia tried to ignore the tiny voice in her head whispering this may be the last time she saw her father as she turned back towards Keir. As their eyes locked, a deep and evil voice boomed from across the courtyard totally at odds with the angelic teenager from which it had emerged.
“In nomine diaboli congelo.”
The fighting around them suddenly froze. Arms were still raised with weapons ready to strike killing blows, limbs that had been separated from the bodies of their owners suspended in mid-air. Blood droplets that should have rained down upon the ground floated like raindrops in space. Satan’s smile grew wider as he stepped down off the dais upon which the cross was set and walked through what looked like a museum of grotesque statues. As he passed each immobile form, they slid away from him creating a path that led directly to Katia and Keir. Stopping in front of the twins, Satan eyed Katia appraisingly.
“My, my, you are a pretty little thing, aren’t you? Your brother didn’t do you justice in his sketches. Now I can see why the stupid ex-
angel went and lost his head over you.” Satan walked around them continuing his appraisal. Katia could feel his eyes moving over her and suppressed a shudder that snaked up her spine. “You and I are going to have such fun together.” A warm breath that brought a whiff of sulfur caressed her cheek as Satan whispered into her ear. “I can’t wait to show you my playroom.” Satan slid a hand down Katia’s back to squeeze her ass. Satan inhaled deeply. “I can smell him all over you. We’re going to have to do something about that, now aren’t we, Katia, darling?” Satan moved around to the front of the twins and held his hand out to Katia. “You’ve come all this way to visit me at my home. It would be rude of you not to walk with me. You wouldn’t want to be rude, Katia. Would you? I would hate for your brother to have an unfortunate accident all because you weren’t playing nice.”
Katia squeezed her eyes shut for a second to steel herself before slipping her semi-automatic back into its holster and sliding her hand into the one outstretched towards her. As their fingers touched she felt a dark and oily feeling slide up her arm making her shiver. She could feel the evil oozing off of him. Katia felt like all the showers in the world wouldn’t make her clean again. Satan tugged her forward so she was at his side, much closer than she’d rather be under any circumstances.
“You’re coming with us,” Satan said as he motioned for Keir to join them.
Satan walked sedately, taking stock of the frozen battle scene around them, occasionally reaching out to test the sharpness of a blade or to spit on a frozen angel. His arm snaked out to encircle Katia’s waist, pulling her flush against him. She felt the side of her body begin to heat to the point that her clothes should be going up in flames. His arm tightened around her waist as he began musing over the current state of affairs.
“Did those dirty angels really think they could best me in my own house?”
Katia ignored his comment and continued walking, her eyes cast down to the ground. Her only thought was to get to the dais where Luc was frozen in place, upside down, bruised, battered, and bleeding from a multitude of wounds that didn’t seem like they had even begun to heal. What had been done to him to stop him from healing?
“I mean, really, do they think I’m weaker than the Deity would be in Heofon?”
Again, Katia ignored him and continued to match his pace. Suddenly she was cranked around in front of him, one arm banded around her like iron, pulling her flush against the front of him as he reached up and yanked her head back, forcing her to look him in the eye. Satan’s grip on her hair was inexorable; she could feel the bones in her neck grinding with the force he was using on her. Her eyes watered in pain as she stood immobile, staring into Satan’s glowing red eyes, locked on her like the laser sight on a gun. Keir gasped from beside her.
“Don’t make a single move or I’ll snap her neck like a twig,” Satan said to Keir calmly.
Katia slid her eyes over to lock with Keir’s, silently pleading for him to stay put. Almost imperceptibly, he inclined his head in acknowledgement.
“I’m trying to have a civilized conversation with you, Katia, darling. Why are you ignoring me? That isn’t very polite either, is it?” he asked, a quiet menace in his voice.
A tear slid out of the corner of Katia’s eye as she replied in a hoarse and raspy voice. “I’m sorry.”
Satan laughed, clearly pleased with her response. “You’re sorry. Yes, everyone’s always sorry. ‘Sorry’ doesn’t go very far with me, but perhaps today I’ll make a special exception just for you.” He pulled back a little harder on her hair, causing Katia to cry out. She could barely breathe; any more pressure and her neck would be broken. The pain was excruciating, and Satan definitely knew that. He also liked it judging by the bulge in his pants that he had begun to grind into her. Katia was caught halfway between wishing her neck would break so he would stop touching her and hoping he would choose to continue his gloating walk towards the cross. As though her prayers were being answered, he suddenly released her. Katia stumbled backwards a couple of steps gasping for breath.
“Shall we continue?” Satan said, motioning towards the cleared path that led to the dais. For all intents and purposes, he was back to being formal and seemingly polite. Katia flicked her eyes up to her brother with another silent request to continue on calmly. She resumed her prior position at Satan’s side. He kept his hands off of her this time as they continued their leisurely stroll through the killing field. As they walked, Katia peered around attempting to locate anyone she knew in the fray. Familiar faces began to make an appearance. She saw Sam, B, Yetarel, Michael, Baliel, Asmodeus, and Azazel. They all seemed to be in one piece as they stood frozen mid-action. Katia breathed a quick sigh of relief that they hadn’t been harmed. She didn’t see Amir anywhere, which was a good sign. If he had witnessed the beginning of the battle, he may be trying to open another doorway to the courtyard, but knowing how spirit-walking worked, it was anybody’s guess at how long it would take him to find his way back here. With this many players from team “good” stuck in Halja, they were going to need the quickest escape route possible.
As the trio approached the dais, Katia’s stomach clenched. Luc was clearly being held immobile through the same dark magic as everyone else in the courtyard. His eyes were open but unblinking, the blood that had once been running freely down his body suspended in time. Almost every inch of visible skin was cut, bruised, or burned. She wanted to run to him, to free him, to fix him, but all she could do was stand silently at his tormentor’s side waiting for an opportunity that may never come to save the man she loved. The closer she got, the more Katia realized something was wrong. His Sigil was gone, the golden glow that had clung to him was missing, the low level electric hum was absent. It was as though he were an ordinary human man that was quickly approaching death. Katia blinked rapidly to keep her tears concealed.
Breaking away from the group, Satan hopped up the steps of the dais and made his way to Luc’s side. “I’m sure you’re happy to see your beloved one last time, my dear,” he said to Katia as he ran a finger down one of the deep gouges in Luc’s chest. “Why don’t you join me beside him? Perhaps you’d like to give him a kiss goodbye. He will, after all, be dying soon.”
Katia felt anger boil up inside of herself at Satan’s cold and calculated pronouncement. Keir must have felt it too as he reached out and took her hand in a gesture of comfort. However instead of comfort, the moment their hands connected that strange electric charge took hold once again. Katia’s body began to buzz with energy. The air around the twins became thick, almost as though a thunderstorm was on its way. Sparks started to dance along both of their arms, little blue flames popping and crackling. Satan’s eyes grew large, confusion washing over his features. Katia wanted to laugh. This was a being that wasn’t likely often confused about anything. She wasn’t quite sure what was happening herself, but anything that threw him off his game was good in her book.
“I’ll kill him now if you don’t stop that immediately,” Satan bellowed.
In perfect synchronicity, Katia and Keir turned to look at each other, and that was when all Sheol broke loose.
Chapter Thirty Six
Lucifer
From his position on the cross, all Luc could do was stare at the scene unfolding in front of him with confusion and horror. Luc could hardly believe what he was seeing. They were yin and yang, two sides of the coin, each one mirrored in the other. He struggled against the dark magic that held him immobile, his desperation to get to Katia by any means possible becoming his only driving force. Luc felt the sting and burn as Satan drug his finger through the deep gouge in his chest, the pain only serving to renew his struggle against the invisible bonds that held him. The air in the courtyard suddenly ionized. Luc could feel the electricity skipping over his skin like a stone tossed across a pond. The twins turned to face each other simultaneously as they joined hands. Blue sparks began to fly through the air, radiating off the duo. A shockwave travelled through the courtyard from the twins
as though they were standing at the epicenter of an atomic bomb drop. The sound echoed off the stone like the firing of a canon. As the shockwave travelled upwards, the glass in every window of the castle shattered, raining dagger-like shards upon the battlefield. Smoke billowed out through the gaping holes that had once been glassed in. The flames were visible seconds later, licking out of the windows like tongues of a great serpent hell-bent on total destruction. Halja was burning in its own hellfire. Luc gave a silent scream as the diamond-sharp shards of glass bit into his exposed skin, flaying him anew. The blast must have shocked Satan into dropping his defenses, as suddenly the courtyard was once again awash with movement, but not that of battle. Angels and demons alike dropped their weapons as they yanked out chunks of glass that had become embedded in their skin. Confusion reigned as everyone looked up at the thick black smoke billowing out of every opening, blocking out the burnt orange of the sky.
Luc felt the blood begin to trickle once again down his body, dripping over his face and neck to splash on the ground. He knew he was going to die here, but he would be damned if Katia was going to stand witness to it. Gathering what little was left of his waning strength, he cried out to her, hoping against hope that she would be able to hear him through the strange force that gripped her and her sibling.
“Katia! Go, get out of here!” Luc’s voice was hoarse from screaming during his torture and could barely be heard over the din in the courtyard. He felt his heart sink as he looked into Katia’s face and saw only an otherworldly light glowing behind her beautifully flawed eyes as they remained locked on her brother’s. Suddenly, Satan’s voice boomed through the courtyard causing everyone to freeze in place as though they had returned to their statue-like state.
