"Lev, Astraea, watch my stream, and tell me what you see."
"What's your link, bro?" Lev asks.
"Oh, right."
Since Astraea and I are on my login, she can see what I see. I spend a few moments to link my stream with Lev's applicator so he can do likewise.
"What do you guys see?" I ask them.
"Nothing, man," Lev answers. "I see the barn, and three huge, black, blurry blobs."
"That's exactly what you're supposed to see," Astraea says, crawling along the floor to get beside me.
"What are you doing?" I ask her.
"I'm ready. I can do this," she says.
"You are far from ready," I say. "These are real live demons. You have no idea what you're doing."
"Oh, relax. I've seen you and your mom in action before," she says.
"What did I tell you? Watching and doing is not the same. You have no clue w—"
"What are we looking at?" interrupts Lev, who shuffles beside Astraea and me, and is looking over the edge of the loft.
Lev's eyes widen at the sight of the wolves. "What in the hell are those?"
"Demon wolves," I say. "Lev, my friend, I think we're going to need an exit strategy. You got one?"
"Umm, well there's a fire exit below us at the back of the barn," Lev says. "Underneath the loft. We may have to walk through some junk and stuff to get to it, though."
"Not exactly up to code with the fire doors, huh?"
"We haven't had a fire drill in three years," he says.
"Perfect."
I reach through my leather jacket projection and click the safety off on both my firearms.
"I'm going to draw their attention,” I say, “and try to give you two enough time to go out the back."
"What are you talking about? You're injured," says Astraea.
The wolves move past the two harvest combines and get fifty feet into the barn, thirty feet away from us. I perform hand signals for both Lev and Astraea, telling them to move slowly towards the stairs. They are shuffling towards the eastern wall when a beautiful vision enters the barn, and I give the signal to stop.
Her strides are graceful and weightless. Her long hair is made of bright red flame and moves as if it is underwater—billowing, undulating, and lighting up her beautiful face. Dark black shade rims her eyes. Her skin is a smooth and flawless marble gray. She is naked, but void of sex, so her womanly contours lack normal humanoid features. She has retracted black angel wings on her back. The feathers on their wingtips are smoothly sweeping along the barn floor.
That's when our electronics go on the fritz. Our visors are the first to go. They dissolve into pixels accompanied by white noise before disappearing completely. Our earbuds scream feedback in our ears. It's so mind-splittingly painful that the three of us violently pull them out of our ears and drop them. We stand up from our crawling positions and stomp on our earbuds to stop their continuous screaming. The wolves look up and bark at us with teeth bared and slaver dripping from their mouths.
"Hold!" says the beautifully horrifying celestial with the flaming hair.
She has to be a celestial — a strong one, at that. The magical aura surrounding her is so strong it's affecting everything around us on a molecular level.
The wolves are stretching, wanting to charge us and tear us to pieces, but invisible leashes are holding them back. Their claws are digging into the ground, trying to break free.
The celestial moves further into the barn and our main applicators, the ones we wear on our hips, finally give out with sputters and smoke. The avatars our applicators were projecting onto our thermals disappear. We look like three bozos dressed in pure white, skin-fitting pajamas. I'm wearing my leather shoulder holster on top of mine. Astraea has her sword sheathed and belted at her waist, and Lev has orange cheese puff stains on his thermal suit in the shape of finger streaks. We look lame compared to the badass demon woman with flaming hair, black wings, and three giant demon wolves under her command.
Fourteen
"Bearer!" The celestial's voice echoes throughout the barn. She didn't shout. It was as if her voice was everywhere when she spoke. It's the angelic voice, reverberating, and powerful.
Astraea and I look at each other.
"Yeah!" we say in unison.
The demon woman chuckles a vibrating laugh. She walks with gliding strides towards us, her wings brushing against the farm machinery to her left and right. As she moves forward, snakes of purple lightning arc over every surface she glides past. She stops right where the middle wolf is, about fifty feet inside the barn. Thirty feet away from us.
"Confusion," says the demon. "Discord. Someone informed me that The Treaties were broken. The tides are shifting. Can you feel it, Bearer?"
"What do you want, Marchosias?" Astraea asks, using the angelic voice.
A chill runs through me as Astraea speaks with her celestial tongue. The inside of my body quakes. I look at Lev. His knees are shaking. Lev and I are in the presence of higher beings.
"Is that you, sister?" asks Marchosias. "How is it that you have been given form?"
Astraea looks to me before she answers, "I do not know."
Marchosias laughs — deep and resonant. "Upheaval. I love it."
"And what of you?" asks Astraea. "How is it that you came to this plane?"
"The only way, sister,” Marchosias says. “I was summoned by one with ambition and talent. My summoner then gave a sacrifice worthy of my power to give me a corporeal form. What vessel has Ashyanthinasi given you? I am quite pleased with mine."
Marchosias gracefully elevates an arm, as a ballerina would. She makes fanning wave patterns with her fingers, elegantly isolating each one. As she does, little tongues of fire dance between each digit.
She was summoned by one with ambition and talent? Sacrifice? A life for a life. Or tens of thousands of lives for one powerful demon woman. I guess now I know the reason behind the Halcyon bombing. So many dead. A flaming winged wolf in the flames. Marchosias. A marquess of hell; commander of thirty infernal legions. Yeah, we are definitely in deep.
"Listen, lady," I say. "None of us knows what's going on. So why don't you tell us what you want, then we'll tell you what we want. Though, truthfully, we want out of this barn. And maybe we can come to an understanding where no one gets hurt."
A sneer flashes on Marchosias' face. She looks up at me with malevolent eyes — her irises the color of a smoldering fire.
"Do you think you can hurt me, mortal? Who are you to dictate terms in this discussion between gods?"
"Gods?" I say. "Kinda overvaluing yourself a little, aren't you?"
Marchosias sniffs the air as a dog might. She smiles at me. "Hmm, perhaps you're not so mortal after all. Ancient blood runs within you. You must be the new Bearer."
"No. I am," says Astraea.
Astraea unsheathes The Destroying Angel and sends an echo of ringing steel throughout the barn.
Marchosias smiles. "Curiouser, and curiouser. A divine Bearer. Oh, how I love when realities turn upside down. Tell me, sister, why do you waste time with these creatures who stink of piss?"
I put my nose in the air, looking for the scent of urine. Then I look down at the floor under Lev's feet. Lev's chin drops to his chest, embarrassed.
I put a reassuring hand on Lev's soft, rounded shoulder, and whisper, "Don't worry. It's going to be okay. We're going to get you out of this."
Lev's lips quiver as he nods.
"They are my friends," answers Astraea.
"Friends?” questions Marchosias. “Such weak ones at that. What use are such allies?"
"We gotta get Lev out of here," I whisper to Astraea. "This is not his fight."
Astraea nods to me, then turns to Marchosias and says, "Perhaps you're right, sister. Your quarrel is with me. What say, we let them go, and you and I can continue this discussion."
"There is no quarrel, sister," Marchosias says. "I came to deal with the Bearer, and offer terms of peace."
>
Astraea smirks and scoffs.
"Of course you did,” Astraea says. “Well whatever matter you need to discuss, surely we can keep it between us. Let my friends go, and I will treat with you in good faith."
Marchosias considers, then gives Astraea a tilted smile.
"Ah the protector of the human race,” says Marchosias. “You're fulfilling your role nicely. Why not. It makes no difference. They shall all be my slaves in good time. Might as well let them live free for now. Why don't the three of you come down from there? I want to get a better look at you, sister. As for your 'friends', I shall grant them safe passage out of this hovel."
I motion for Astraea to lead the way. She is the Bearer, after all. I follow behind, keeping Lev close to me, linking my arm with his as we step towards the stairs. Astraea walks, holding the sword with one hand. She is holding it at her side with a bent elbow, the pommel level with her waist, the blade standing straight up.
"Use two hands," I whisper to her from behind.
Astraea does as she's told, with staccato breaks in her movement. She doubts herself, and it shows. She once thought she was ready for this, but the sweat on her brow tells me otherwise.
"Don't worry," I say to her. "Keep your eyes on Marchosias. I'll talk you through it."
Astraea nods
"And watch the wolves too."
Marchosias is watching us with a smirk on her face. The wolves growl as we approach the top of the stairs along the barn's eastern wall.
Astraea frees up a hand, releasing it from the sword's hilt so she could hold onto the railing.
"Keep both hands on the sword," I tell her. "Turn your body towards the center of the barn, left hip facing down, right hip angled up towards me. Hold the pommel of the sword close to your outside hip as you go down the steps carefully. Keep the blade angled towards Marchosias in the center of the barn."
Astraea does as she's told, descending the steps slowly. She looks ready to face all threats, keeping The Destroying Angel between her, and our enemies.
"That's good," I say.
My body shivers when we reach the ground floor. We are twenty feet from one of the three demon wolves. It growls and snaps its teeth at us. There are butterflies in my stomach. Even after all these years, all the demons I've faced, I'm not immune to fear.
Lev is faring worse. He is both shaking and stiff at the same time. I coax him a little to keep walking with us. The demon wolf follows us with its fiery yellow eyes.
We walk through the space between the tractor plow, and two harvest combines to the center of the barn. There stands Marchosias. The demon wolf at her side is four feet tall and comes up to her mid-thigh. Marchosias stands at eight feet, the tops of her wings make her another foot taller, and her hair, made of fire, billowing as if it was under water, gives her a few inches more.
"Keep holding the sword the same way," I tell Astraea. "Turn a little sideways. Keep the pommel close to the hip that's facing away from her; the tip of your blade angled up towards her gut."
Astraea does as she's told, and stays in the plow guard position as we approach Marchosias. Her eyes dart between the demon wolf to our left, Marchosias and the demon wolf in front of us, and the third demon wolf on our right. She's looking the part of the protector and is pulling this off.
We get about ten feet from Marchosias when the air stirs around us. Marchosias is gathering Field energy. Then a gout of flame engulfs Marchosias' right hand. She then takes her left hand and shapes the magical fire into a solid black sword over five feet long from pommel to tip. When the sword solidifies and sets, little veins of red magma glow along the blade. Then she plants the sword into the ground, cracking the earth, and causing a quake beneath us.
Lev whimpers. He is full-on shivering. His arm closes tightly around mine, his fingers digging into my thermal suit, causing pressure in my forearm. I unlink my arm from his and put the same arm over his shoulder to comfort him. He clings to me, hugging me at the waist, sobbing at my side.
"It'll be okay," I tell him. "It's almost over."
Marchosias smiles at us. Our fear feeds her. Then she looks down at Astraea as we approach.
"So glad you can treat with me, sister," Marchosias says.
"We may treat later," returns Astraea. "You promised my friends safe passage."
"Which they shall have," says Marchosias.
"Well, forgive me if I don't trust you,” says Astraea. “How about you let me escort them out of this place first."
"Be my guest,” says Marchosias.
Marchosias gracefully moves aside, her back to the harvest combine on the left. The demon wolf too moves out of our way and sits at Marchosias' side. Astraea keeps her guard up, the tip of her sword trained on Marchosias as we step around them. Marchosias makes three, quick, clicking 'tsk' noises with her teeth and tongue, and the two other demon wolves, the ones along the east and west wall, stalk us as we walk back to the barn's entrance.
Astraea looks at the wolves now trailing us and asks, "What's the meaning of this?"
"A precaution, sister,” says Marchosias. “No tricks."
"I'll come back for you," I whisper to Astraea.
Astraea nods.
The farther away we get from Marchosias, the steadier Lev becomes, and his breathing evens out. I look behind us at the barn entrance. The huge double doors have been blown off. Once we feel the cool night air, and know that we are outside, Lev lets out a sigh of relief and looks as if he's on the brink of crying from happiness.
"Go," says Astraea as soon as she gets to the doorway.
"Come on, Lev." I take his arm, and we walk away from the barn, quick as Pan, towards my car.
"What the hell was that, man?" Lev asks. "I've never felt so—"
"Afraid? Worthless?"
"Yeah."
"Don't worry about it," I tell him. "That's normal. I was afraid too, and I've been fighting demons for four hundred and some years so..."
"What?"
"Nothing. Listen, there's no time. Do you have a car?"
"No. I commute," Lev answers.
"Can you drive?" I ask him.
I turn around. Astraea walks back into the barn. One of the demon wolves comes out from the barn, to guard the open doorway, it's fiery yellow eyes watching us.
"Yeah, I can drive," Lev says.
I take out a key from my thermal suit pocket and press a button on the key fob to pop the trunk. The key is a spare in case our applicators blow out, which it did. Of course, you have to pay extra for it at the dealership.
"Okay, here," I say, handing him the key to the car.
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Drive," I tell him, and walk to the back of the car.
Lev follows me to the trunk.
"What are you going to do?" Lev asks.
"Well I can't leave her there with them, now can I?" I say. "But I am going to need more firepower."
I open the secret compartment and reveal my pile of weapons.
Lev exhales a shocked breath. "What the hell?"
I pick up two AK-47s. I load each with a fifty round magazines full of, I kid you not, silvered bullets. I sling one over my left shoulder. The other, I ready by pulling back and releasing the charging handle. Next, I reach for my sheathed katana made from silvered steel, take it out from the trunk, and belt it at my waist.
I rummage around, frantically throwing guns, ammo, a couple of swords, and a couple of grenades here and there.
"What are you looking for?" Lev asks.
"My ammo bag. Dammit!" I say. "I'm so stupid. I probably left it at home."
Frustrated, I grab four, fifty round, AK magazines and stuff them in the waistband of my thermal suit. I really should have brought my ammo bag. I would have loved to take grenades into this fight.
"I need you to drive, okay," I tell Lev.
"Where the hell am I gonna go, man?"
"I've got auto-drive presets programmed in," I say to him. "Use it to take you to m
y home. District 10, 9125 - 514 Avalon Avenue."
"What the hell are you gonna do?" Lev asks.
"If I live, I'll tell you all about it when I get home," I say. "If I die, Astraea is going to tell you all about it."
"You mean, Roxx?"
"Lev, don't push it," I say.
"Wait, why won't she die?" Lev asks.
"It's practically impossible for her to die," I tell him. "But if I'm not there it's going to be even more possible."
"But..."
"Drive!"
I walk him to the driver's side, open the door for him, and push him into the driver's seat. He pushes a button on the key fob, and a small square area on the dashboard opens to reveal an ignition switch. Lev puts the key in, and the car comes to life. He pushes on the G-drive. The graviton spinners make whirring noises, and the car rises. He looks worried and confused as he ascends. Then I give him a quick salute and walk towards the barn, setting my AK to full auto.
Fifteen
My pulse quickens as I walk towards the barn. My muscles begin the tense and loosen cycle that they usually go through before a fight. What am I doing? Am I crazy? The answer is most definitely yes. You don't live for over five hundred years without accumulating some mental baggage.
The wolf sees me and howls. Inside the barn, Marchosias looks at me as I limp towards her. She's far away, but I can see her eyes.
She pulls out her sword from the ground, the veins of magma along the black blade glow an angry red. Astraea, still in her guard, stands in front of Marchosias. Marchosias goes straight for her, looking to cleave her with one strong descending cut right down the middle. Instead of trying to parry, Astraea jumps out of the way.
I've got my own problems with Fido over here. When Marchosias attacks Astraea, the demon wolf guarding the door to the barn charges at me with teeth flashing. I unleash a spray of silvered bullets, slowing the wolf down some. Purple electricity flashes from the bullets impacting the demon wolf. I empty a full fifty round mag on the infernal beast, but the thing keeps coming.
I finish reloading as it jumps for my throat. I slide down under its leap, firing up at it with my assault rifle. I fire ten rounds right under its belly. It lands on the opposite side of me, its form fading. Its black fur, characterized by intermittently flashing tongues of flame, is sloughing off. The swirling black energy, surrounding it like smoke, gets thicker. Its form is dematerializing, and I smell the acrid scent of yellowy brown ooze.
The Irispire Portal Page 9
