AngelFire

by Luke Valen

  “AH!” the demon yelled. The clouds darkened and the ground shook. He held his arm with the other in agonizing pain, staring at his nub of an arm where his hand used to be. He stumbled back into the tree line in shock.

  The black, dinosaur-like hand smashed into the ground, forming a crater in the earth right next to the church. The old lamppost was crushed. Waterlines spewed water and waste into the crater and busted at the seams.

  Abigail ran over to where I was still being held in the deadened hand. With all her might, she attempted to pry open the dead fingers and their stiff grip. Try as she might, she could not pull me free. Each finger had to have been the width of a tree trunk. She could barely wrap her hands around it. Still in a daze, it all felt like a dream. My mind didn’t know what to think, to be happy she was alive or mad at the truth I now knew. I lay in mental agony. In physical pain. Was this Hell?

  Tires came screeching in as Jade and Bryon skidded in the dirt, slamming on the breaks. The side of the car careened into the meat of the hand, smashing the remaining windows. Jade threw open her door and fell out, and Bryon followed, climbing over the center console and spilling out of the driver’s door. Asorath was screaming in pain, as flashes of light burst in the sky like lightning contained in the height of the clouds, colliding with his face over and over again.

  Jade ran to the back of the car and popped open the trunk. Bryon ran over to where Abigail was on top of the lifeless hand and its grip of death.

  “We thought you were dead,” Bryon said through heavy breaths, grabbing onto the large finger that Abigail was attempting to pry loose.

  “It’s a long story,” she said.

  The two pulled and pulled but could not loosen its grip. Their hands continued to slip in the heavy rain, the skies pouring down their icy tears. Jade ran over with an animal-skin pouch in her hand. “Here, give him this. Make him drink all of it…quickly!” She handed the pouch to Abigail, stood, and pulled an old wooden crossbow from her back. Loading it with an arrow, she aimed up at the pain-struck demon.

  “How is that supposed to help again?” Bryon said, looking at Jade.

  “That is the healing water from Eden…and this…is holy water,” she said, nodding, motioning toward the bulbous, glass arrowhead’s liquid contents sloshing around.

  Just as Asorath began to reach down with his still good hand, Jade fired the arrow. Flying through the air, breaking through rain droplets on its path to the demon, it reached its mark. The glass from the arrowhead broke as it smashed into the side of Asorath’s face, releasing blessed holy water onto the creature.

  “Holy water…AHHHH!” Asorath screamed as his skin began to boil and rot off his ugly mug, exposing his back teeth and the muscle fibers holding his jaw together. Half demon, half skeleton, his face lit up in with strikes of lightning. Flashes of light appearing left and right, knocking the demon around like an annoying mosquito taking bites out of its victim.

  Abigail moved her way around the fat, clawlike fingers and lifted my head into her arms.

  “Here, drink this,” she said, opening my mouth and pouring the contents of the pouch down my throat.

  Swallowing the liquid, I began to cough as it spilled out the sides of my mouth. I could feel its warmth travel through my body. Strength returning. Focus returning. Power. My eyes began to flicker open and closed, the blurry vision of Abigail coming into view. It wasn’t a dream. Snow from above made it hard to keep my eyes open while lying on my back, though she finally came into focus.

  “Abigail?” It was really her sitting there in her red coat. Any anger I had toward her vanished. I could feel her heart beat, and mine. I am the foolish heart. Her eyes, though still beautiful, seemed different.

  “Hey,” she said, laughing through tears. “I thought I told you not to get into any more trouble, that I wasn’t going to save you next time.”

  I smiled, coughing up more water.

  “Guess I couldn’t help myself,” I said. Was I still in this disgusting hand? It held me back from embracing this dream.

  “Hey, lovebirds, we kind of have a situation on our hands,” Bryon said, still trying to pull open the hand. “Dean, I am going to need you to push as hard as you can on three, okay? Abigail, you ready?”

  Jade fired another arrow into the sky—this one was blocked by the demon’s good hand, burning a hole through it. “Any day now!” she yelled, loading another arrow.

  “One…two…three!” Bryon yelled, prying with all his might, Abigail next to him doing the same.

  “Ahhh.” I pushed as best as I could.

  The hand began to open.

  “Keep going!” Bryon yelled through the rain.

  “Rahh!” The hand peeled open just enough for me to wriggle out and slip down onto the muddy earth.

  “Dean!” Abigail ran to where I had fallen on the ground, embracing me with a tight hug.

  “We thought you were dead.” I stood, wrapping my arms around Abigail. “We went to your house and…”

  I was lost in her eyes staring back into mine. Gently I stroked her cheeks with my thumbs, pulling her lips close to mine. Closing my eyes, feeling every second, our lips softly met under the pouring rain. It was as if time stood still, the raindrops frozen in air, the creature like a statue of evil—we lived fully alive in the moment.

  “Wait,” Abigail said, pushing me away. “I can’t do this.”

  I stared at her, confused to say the least.

  She wouldn’t meet my gaze. “I am not who you think I am.”

  “Abigail, I—”

  “No. Dean, you don’t know what I am. I am not good for you. I’m…” Abigail’s eyes swelled, teary-eyed with a quivering lip.

  “Abigail. I know,” I said softly.

  “No. You don’t!” she said, moving to run away.

  I grabbed her, stopping her from turning away.

  “I know. I was shown in a vision. I know.” I pulled her in close once again. “I know who you are, I know what you are, and I don’t care…I love you.”

  “Dean—” Abigail started before I pulled her in and kissed her again. She melted into my arms and embraced my love. Finally.

  “Guys! I hate to ruin your moment but…” Jade said, waving her empty quiver and dropping the bow.

  As she did, the demon swatted in the air, knocking the flashing light to the ground so fast, like a missile from above, and grinding the earth down into a streak of torn mud and shrubs, the light flickered as it stopped near us kids.

  “Nile? Nile!” I recognized my friend as I ran over to where he was lying. “Nile! What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t come back,” I said as Nile attempted to get up onto one arm. The rain pounded down on us like waves of a tsunami accompanied by the frozen blizzard.

  “Bryon called me…Ah,” Nile said, grabbing his side. A metallic gold liquid dripped from his ribs—he had been injured. I could see Bryon grasping onto the necklace Nile had given him.

  “Your father…” Nile said. “He would have come back himself, but…”

  “But what?” I asked, leaning in.

  “He sent your father on a very important mission. He could not make it,” Nile said with all of us looking at him. We had quickly forgotten about Asorath in that moment until he reached his hand down, taking hold of Nile’s broken body.

  “You have interfered for the last time, angel,” Asorath said, gripping Nile in his clutch and raising him to eye level.

  “Nile! No!” I yelled, running as fast as I could toward Asorath.

  “Dean!” Abigail yelled after me. By the scrap pile of a church they stood. Jade held Bryon back from chasing after me. I could hear their screams of pain and sadness.

  My wrist began to glow a bright blue hue. I ran as fast as I could toward the massive demon. My legs, like spring-loaded machines, propelled me through the air as I jumped the entire height of the creature. With a strength from within, I screamed. “Ahhh!” I swung a fast right hook, landing square on the jaw of the creat
ure.

  The force from the blow was equivalent to that of a tomahawk missile hitting its mark. Dropping Nile from the unexpected bomb of a punch, Asorath went flying. His body destroying hundreds of trees as he crashed through them, feet dragging on the ground, plowing the soil.

  I landed next to where my friend had fallen. “Nile.”

  “Dean…” Nile coughed up the golden biofluid.

  “No, no, no, no. Ah. Nile. No. You’re going to be okay…Jade! Get over here!” I yelled.

  Jade came running along with the other two.

  “Give me the water!” Abigail handed Jade the pouch.

  “Give it here!” I grabbed the empty leather sack. “No, no. Where is the rest of it?!” I shook the bag in Jade’s face.

  “We only had enough for you,” Jade answered, dropping her eyes.

  I looked back down. “Nile.” Something inside me felt like it was dying along with him. My heart was a punching bag, and it was losing the fight.

  “It’s okay,” Nile said softly, looking back up at me.

  “Dean,” Bryon called to attention. “He is getting back up!” he said, looking over at the fallen demon.

  “Dean, your father wanted me to give you this.” Nile’s shaky hand reached into a pocket on his silver utility belt around his hip. Slowly he pulled a golden chain from the pocket. It shone and sparkled in the moonlight with a brilliance like no other. At the bottom of the chain was an amulet, a small ruby stone encompassed by a twisted gold channel. Handing it over and taking a closer look, the same mark that shone on my wrist was engraved on the beautiful red stone. “It was your mother’s . . . My sister’s.”

  My eyes began to tear up. With not even a memory of who she was, what she looked like, smelled like, felt like…she became real. I looked quickly at him, having heard that last breath. His what? No. I couldn’t lose another. Not before I knew him. Not today. Not like this.

  I am the breaking heart.

  “Dean!” Bryon shouted again. Vaguely I was aware that Asorath was almost fully up.

  “That means you’re my…” I said, crushing my eyelids together, tears squeezing out.

  “Yes,” Nile said with a soft voice.

  “I can’t lose you too,” I struggled.

  “Never lose your faith. No matter what happens, we are with you always.” His words slid off quieter and quieter as his eyes lightly shut. Without saying a word, I laid Nile easily to the ground.

  I reached over and shut Nile’s eyes completely—at rest he shall lay. Nile’s body began to glow a glorious white light. So bright, myself and the others were forced to shield our eyes. His body began to fade away into a million firefly particles floating up to the sky and disappearing into the dark night. The cold night rain showered our bodies with icy temperatures. He was gone, and so was a piece of myself.

  “Ah, ha ha ha ha ha!” Asorath laughed, standing to full height. “That’s more like it!” He began running back toward us at full sprint.

  Still kneeling in the cold mud, I raised his eyes to meet Asorath’s. “Stay here,” I commanded Abigail, Jade, and Bryon. Step by step, I spooled up into full speed matching that of the demon’s. Puddles of water and mud splashed with each landing footprint. The still-standing trees shook their pine needles loose with the vibrating ground, and rocks bounced as if rubber.

  Like the breath of a dragon, Asorath let out a deep rumbling growl, sending a torch of flames into the air as he reared up his good fist. Closer and closer we came. I jumped once again into the air, fist cocked back like a piston ready to fire. BOOM! The sonic boom from the punch shook the ground, creating a force wave bending the surrounding trees, and stopping the rain from its downward descent.

  Asorath hit the ground once again, this time waking up quicker, turning his head to look back up to the sky. I landed on top of the demon’s face with rage in my eyes.

  “Yes, yes!” the demon mocked.

  “You…” I punched his ugly face again with brutal force, shutting him up. “Killed…” Left hook. “My…” Right hook. “FAMILY!” Left hook.

  The demon’s face was being pounded so hard into the ground, it formed a crater around his head, growing deeper and deeper with each unforgiving furious fist. Every dark bone in his face, completely destroyed.

  “You are weak,” Asorath whispered through a broken jaw, barely moving his mouth. “You will watch your friends die, one…by…one. He is coming for you. You will not stop him.” Asorath’s eye wobbled in its socket, looking over to me. Out of breath and losing strength, I stood on the creature’s jawline, taking hold of the abomination’s oversized tusk. “You cannot defeat me. I am death,” he said, weak and beaten, his body limp on the ground as I stood on his face. Like a piece of meat that didn’t know it was already dead.

  Violently, I tore the creature’s tusk from his mouth, raised it high above his head, and looked him dead in his black eyes.

  “Go to Hell.” I drove the razor-sharp tusk down with all my might into the demon’s mindless skull, drilling a hole so far through it pierced the ground below. The lack of acoustic resonance. The creature’s body lay there, lifeless and limp. Dead. Like a modern-day dinosaur in size and stature, its body quickly decayed. Melting away its flesh and bone became an oozing lake of tar and blood. To oblivion and beyond.

  I stood covered, like a grease monkey at battle.

  Jade, Bryon, and Abigail came running over.

  “Dude! Yes! That was incredible!” Bryon ran up to me, wrapping his arms around my bruised body. “I knew you could do it! These two doubted you, but I knew it.”

  “Good work.” Jade took her turn and embraced me in a warm hug. Then Abigail approached. Her soft, porcelain skin shone beautifully in the white moonlight. Her blue eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky.

  “I thought I lost you. Twice.” Her eyes locked with mine. “Don’t do that to me ever again.”

  “Abigail, I—” I began before she pulled my face into hers, completing the kiss she had so abruptly ended the first time.

  “I love you too,” Abigail said, staring deeply into my eyes, into my heart and soul falling harder and deeper with each passing moment. I am loved.

  “Isn’t that just precious?” A voice came from behind a lonesome tree, accompanied by obnoxious clapping.

  Quickly I turned. I knew that voice.

  Kip and Beth emerged from behind the lightning struck tree. Clapping his hands together, he moved into the light in his dark purple suit and tie and leather shoes. Beth came out almost gliding on the ground, her long black hair lying flat against her black flowing dress. Her white face paler than a ghost.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, pushing the others behind me and preparing for a fight.

  “Oh, don’t you worry. We are just here for our little cousin,” Kip said, moving clockwise around my friends and me. “Uncle wants her back. We will deal with you later.”

  “You’re not getting near her,” I answered.

  “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Kip continued to circle the group. “That big hunk of meat,” he said, pointing to the tar and blood that I was standing in, “he broke the rules. He tried to defy my uncle’s rule. He was weak. He had no…real power. Replaceable. You did us a favor, honestly. Uncle wanted me to kill him after we got the girl back anyway. So, thank you.”

  I kept my eyes on both Kip and Beth as they circled in opposite directions around the group.

  “Oh yeah, sorry about your little buddy too—what was his name?” Beth slithered. “Nile, that’s right. Pesky little worm, serves him right for interfering. Guess he won’t be around to save you this time, huh?”

  I became enraged, my wrist glowing a dark red feeding into my fast-beating heart.

  “Getting a little angry, are we? Good. You’re gonna need it.” Kip lunged toward me, tackling me to the ground with lightning-quick speed.

  We began to wrestle on the ground for control. Kip ended up on top, pinning my arms to the ground. “My un
cle gets what he wants, one way or the other.” His voice felt dark and evil. His eyes nearly popping out of his head.

  “Get off of him!” Bryon came running in toward Kip.

  With one fluid swipe, Kip swatted Bryon away, sending him flying flat against a large boulder, instantly knocking him out.

  “Ahhh!” Jade ran toward Kip next with a bat-like stick in swing position. She went flying with another swift swat from Kip, hitting the same rock Byron did, sitting there unconscious side by side.

  “Bryon! Jade!” I yelled, struggling to get free. Kip’s grip was unparalleled.

  “Like I said, I will deal with you and your little degenerates later,” Kip said, looking over to Beth and giving her the go-ahead. She disappeared in an instant, vanishing into thin air. Kip looked back over. “See you later, lover boy,” he said, blowing a kiss. He vanished as well, gone into the night air. I jumped to my feet. Jade’s head rested on Bryon’s shoulder. The two were unconscious but breathing—I could see their chest rise and fall. I ran over to Abigail, who stumbled in place.

  “Are you okay?” I grabbed her by the shoulders.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said.

  “What was that all about? Why did they just leave?” I asked, as if Abigail would know the answers.

  “I don’t know, I…”

  “Abigail?” I looked at her with concern. “What’s wrong?”

  She looked uncomfortable and confused.

  “I just…” she said, looking at me and tilting her head. She grabbed her stomach and then her chest.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I don’t feel so good.” She looked up at me, her eyes scared. “Dean?”

  Abigail went flying backward at unearthly speeds. Her arms and legs flying in front of her as if she was being pulled by the waist from behind. Nothing was there—she was flying through the air.

  “Abigail!” I screamed, running after her.

  She was moving so fast that I began to lose sight. Faster and faster, she was pulled through the air. Pure adrenaline pumped through my veins. My legs moved faster and faster, so fast they could not be seen like the blades of a fan. My arms pumping faster than a hummingbird’s wings, I could feel them sliding into a remarkable upward cadence. I ran after her, losing all sense of thought, all sense of self, of law, of rules.