The Antithesis- The Complete Pentalogy

by Terra Whiteman

  Michael recoiled, surprised by the feral reaction his question received. I was probably a sight to behold; covered in my own blood, gasping and retching, halfway a corpse.

  The helmet became nothing but metal slivers, slipping from my clamped palm like glittering threads of sand. By now my lungs were patched and I was getting to my feet, grasping for more armor off another body.

  Michael froze as I walked by him, finishing off the remaining soldiers near the door. My team gathered around me, save a few who’d fallen along the way. Sweat had begun to wash away the coua on their skin, leaving their necks and faces patched with white.

  “M-Mission accomplished,” I mumbled, still weak. Michael rejoined us, glaring at me with terrified reverence, or at least something resembling that. “Get to the command station and seize General Soran.”

  “What about the mines?” asked Michael.

  “Don’t worry,” I said, heading for the lift. “Those’ll be handled in a few minutes.”

  *

  The moment Samnaea heard us banging on the door, she mass-executed all the staff in the room. The look on my face when we walked in must have been priceless because she gave me a fleeting half smile before glancing at the cameras. They were disarmed, thank god.

  We surrounded her, weapons drawn. She couldn’t tap me, but my men were fair game. There was no certainty that she wouldn’t try anything between now and Argentia custody.

  “Step back,” I ordered my men. “To the south wall, now.”

  Samnaea’s relaxed demeanor fell and she glared at me in alarm. “What are you doing?”

  I didn’t answer her, waiting for everyone to back up. When they did, I dropped my rifle and let my hands fall slack at their sides.

  “We had a deal,” Samnaea said, shrinking back against central command. “I-I’m surrendering. You can’t kill me.”

  “I’m a man of my word, Samnaea Soran. Yahweh wouldn’t be too happy with me if I killed you, but I’m going to have to take steps to ensure you don’t harm anyone while we drag your ass to angel prison.”

  Samnaea said nothing, realizing what this really was. Instead of a rebuttal, she cast her eyes to the ground.

  And that was when something hit the ship, making all of us lose our footing. The lights went out, glass shattered.

  Fuck.

  XV

  INTERIM I

  Avarice Delvori—;

  EVEN WITH THE FANCY SHIP AND ALL THOSE toys, Lier and Tryess had managed to blunder everything.

  I bet Commander Raith was thanking his stars that he let me straggle along now that his precious Samnaea was compromised. The last signal we’d received from Abraxes was an alert of a judge aboard the ship disguised as a demon, having already slaughtered Mastema Tryess. Only one judge was capable of blending in so seamlessly with us.

  Lucifer’s words of caution echoed in the back of my mind as I gripped my pulse rifle, licking my lips with excitement. I wondered, if I died again would he bring me back twice? Probably not. I’d disappointed him enough already.

  But Qaira wasn’t as tough as Leid. I wouldn’t lose to him.

  I’d take down a judge and show that it could be done. No one would fear those godkilling scum nearly as much after that.

  Our assault ship rammed Abraxes’s bridge, scattering bodies that were strewn across the deck. It was a massacre; impossible for a single man—Vel’Haru or not—to exact. There were more than Qaira on this ship. Belial’s or Neberius’s goons?

  No, angels.

  Angels with dirt-smeared faces.

  I snarled in disgust at the stupidity of the fleet. They’d let a group of angels and their leader, a judge, aboard their ship. Not only that, but they must have boarded behind enemy lines.

  They appeared out of the command station, walking in double file toward the bridge. I told my soldiers to halt as we stood on the deck of our ship, just in front of the dock. The lines broke apart and Qaira appeared front and center, dragging Samnaea by her hair. He was covered in blood and his armor was nearly torn to shreds.

  “You look like you’ve gone through a meat grinder,” I called, and he stopped, stunned by my voice.

  He watched me remove my visor, and his eyes widened.

  “You’re dead,” Qaira snarled. His anger made me stir with delight. “I saw your body with my own eyes.”

  I smiled. “You’re not the only one that can heal, I guess. Makes you feel a bit ordinary, doesn’t it?”

  He kicked Samnaea’s legs out from underneath her and she fell hard on her knees. General Soran cried out as Qaira grew a scythe and pressed the gooey, serrated edge against her neck. “Fuck off, you cunt. Take your ship and fly away or I’ll execute your General on live holocam.” I eyed the bots overhead, likely there to monitor the ship. “Wouldn’t you love the media to get ahold of this?”

  I felt my smile fade, and I looked at Samnaea.

  She was pretending to be brave but her face was stained with tears and liner; she shuddered, knowing any moment might be her last. She and I had never been friendly, and the last time I’d seen her she’d showered me with insults. But now here she was, at my mercy.

  “I can’t let you leave, Qaira Eltruan.”

  He smirked, and then Samnaea grimaced, twisting her neck and holding her head. She sank forward, trembling. My eyes drifted to the angel soldiers, standing a suspiciously far distance from their leader.

  Then, I understood.

  “Better start moving,” he said, smirk unfaltering, “or it’s about to get messy.”

  Samnaea started screaming. The soldiers on either side of me flinched. No, I couldn’t make them watch this.

  Just as I was about to make a decision that would in turn make me appear weak, a groan rippled across the sky, followed by a clap of thunder so loud it left our ears ringing. Air pressure shifted and I let my stare slide toward the horizon. “What was that?”

  Qaira, too, looked at the sky. “That was Azazel Lier setting off his own trap. Ezekiel will be here shortly. Are you sure you want to keep this game up? You’re two Archdemons down already.”

  Samnaea collapsed at Qaira’s feet. She seized a moment more, then lay still.

  I shook my rifle at him, snarling. “Did you just fucking kill her?!”

  “Relax, she’s taking a nap. But her brain is one notch away from mush. Last chance.”

  …

  Our fight would have to take place at a later time. I nudged the soldier on my right. “Take the flight chair. We’re falling back.”

  “That’s very wise of you, Praetor Delvori,” goaded Qaira. “Send Raith my regards.”

  Fucking bastard. His blood was going to look so beautiful on my blade.

  I bit my tongue and turned around, retreating into our ship. Lucifer was going to love the news, if he didn’t know already.

  While Plan A had been tactful, well-strategized and above all else optimal, Plan B was flawless. It was also devastating, catastrophic and genocidal.

  Not that I had any issue with that; I was more angered over the idea that Qaira may die by Plan B and not my blade.

  Hopefully he’d survive the night.

  XVI

  INTERIM II

  Yahweh Telei—;

  “SIR, THERE ARE REPORTS OF A CRAFT FLYING toward the basin,” said Seyestin, puzzled. “Front line says it’s Obsidian in design and sigil.”

  Adrial and I looked at each other.

  “Try to communicate,” I said. “It might be Qaira.”

  “We are, so far no one is responding.”

  “Well this is just lovely,” muttered Adrial, crossing his arms.

  Seyestin looked back at us, concerned. “What exactly happens when an EMP bomb goes off?”

  “Depends on whether it’s nuclear or not,” I said.

  “… And what if it’s nuclear?”

  “It destroys everything within an x amount of space.”

  Seyestin swore under his breath. “We need to back everyone up.”

 
“Pull back several miles from the basin. That should put us at enough distance.”

  “We won’t make it several miles, judging by the craft’s speed,” said Seyestin.

  “Then go as far as we can,” I ordered, starting for the bridge. “I’ll be on deck if anyone needs me.”

  “The deck isn’t safe!” cried Seyestin.

  “I’ll watch him,” said Adrial, patting my general on the shoulder.

  He didn’t seem relieved.

  *

  There were a group of spectators amassing near the bow, trying to catch a fading glimpse of the coasting enemy ship as Ezekiel and her army fled the basin. Adrial and I watched the sky, waiting for signs that the trap had been triggered. Nothing yet, though the fog had thickened two-fold, my skin already damp from the moisture-laden air.

  Qaira, I called, hopeful.

  Nothing.

  “I don’t think he’s on that ship,” said Adrial. “That’s a suicide mission, even for Vel’Haru.”

  “Then who is?”

  Adrial shrugged. “Maybe no one.”

  The cataract mouth had long faded by now, but we still managed to hear the groan and feel the pressure in our ears. Lightning streaked across the sky, creating an illusion of fiery-blue orbs in the mist. Everyone was silent; watching, waiting.

  “Sir,” Seyestin’s voice bled through my headset, making me jump. “Qaira’s patched through Abraxes’s command line. He wants to talk to you.”

  I frowned. “Connect him through. As soon as the coast is clear, Ezekiel and her fleet will press on. It looks like the bombs have been dealt with.”

  Qaira had chosen to ignore our private line, which meant he’d done something naughty and was trying to shield himself from my wrath by way of public conversation.

  “Hi,” said Qaira not a second later, sounding a bit winded.

  “Status, General Eltruan?”

  I could almost feel him cringe at that title. “Abraxes is under Argentia command. Samnaea Soran has been taken into our custody.”

  “And Archdemons Tryess and Lier?”

  There was a lengthy pause.

  “Dead.”

  “Both of them?”

  “Yeah, couldn’t be helped.”

  I felt my blood start to boil. “Who was on the demon fleet you sent to trip the bombs?”

  “Why does it matter? I did as you asked. I took the ship and handled the EMP, all by myself.”

  “Who was on that ship?”

  “Azazel Lier.”

  I clenched my teeth, while Adrial only offered a quiet scoff. “Everyone off the line except for myself and General Eltruan.”

  “Sir,” said Seyestin, sounding far too pleased with this situation.

  “Really?” Qaira exclaimed, once we were alone. “You want to do this right now? I’m chin deep in dead demons and had to scare away a backline attack led by Praetor Delvori.”

  My voice caught. “Avarice Delvori?”

  “Yeah. I thought she was dead, didn’t you? Looks like Lucifer’s been playing Frankenstein with my blood.”

  “Frankenstein?”

  “Nothing. I keep forgetting what world I’m in.”

  “Qaira, my orders were to seize the ship and take the Archdemons alive.”

  “And deactivate the bombs. All at the same time.”

  “Why did you have to put Officer Lier on the craft? You could have coasted it without him.”

  “He was already in there! You try thinking properly while being shot in the head for twenty minutes straight.”

  I sighed.

  “Look, kid, nothing went right,” he said after a moment, and although the term kid pricked at my patience, it also let me know that Qaira was trying to be sentimental. “We had to make do with our circumstances. We have Abraxes, we have Samnaea. We’ve won, without exhausting any troops.”

  “All of that would be dandy, except Belial just advertised we weren’t killing Archdemons.”

  “Maybe he should have specified we weren’t killing Archdemons who surrendered. Again, not my fault.”

  “Yes, that absolves you from everything you’ve done. See you when you get here, Argent General.” I cut the line, looking skyward once more.

  Sloppy yet effective, Qaira created as many messes as he scored victories. Messes were easier to clean up than bodies, however.

  I felt a crooked grin form at the right corner of my lips. I caught myself and internalized the smile, searching for the reason I’d find any satisfaction in something like this.

  And then I realized I wasn’t angry at Qaira for killing the Archdemons; I was angry at his intentional deviation from my orders. Empathy had no home here, not right now. This was a first, and I couldn’t say I wasn’t frightened.

  Adrial murmured something congratulatory before whisking off to smoke malay with Belial and Naberius. I tilted my head in acknowledgement, but said nothing. Alone, yet surrounded by soldiers and officers, I looked over my shoulder and up toward the bridge connecting communication towers—;

  There was the silhouette of Oraniquitis Loren, her features cloaked by shadow, her form covered in a crimson glow.

  Without a doubt she was watching me because my skin tingled whenever she did. I shivered and forced myself to look away, walking quickly toward the command station as what little light in Orias began to die.

  Here, night seized the mid-afternoon.

  XVII

  FALL FROM GRACE

  Avarice Delvori—;

  I KEPT MY HEAD DOWN AS WE vacated the assault craft and headed out of the hangar, yet could still feel the sting of serrated glares from our surrounding troops. This walk of shame continued on deck, all the way to Judas’s command station.

  I wanted to turn my blade on them. All of them.

  Lucifer sat at the central panel, watching the altercation I’d had with Qaira over the holosphere. He seemed a lot calmer than I was expecting and my steeled demeanor cracked, if only for a second.

  “Qaira’s forcing my hand,” he said.

  “It seems that way, sir. Argentia has Samnaea.”

  “Yes, I can see that, thank you.”

  Silence.

  He kept his back to me, staring into the luminous gold cloud of the idle holosphere.

  “Do you need a moment, Commander Raith?” I asked, unsettled.

  “I want you to hear me,” he murmured. “I know it’ll mean absolutely nothing to you, but that’s precisely the reason why it has to be you.”

  I tilted my head, feeling something stir inside of me. Nothing heartfelt, more curious in nature. “You speak as if I were a robot. A thing.”

  “You are a thing. We are all things.”

  “Sir, I don’t really understand what you’re—”

  “When the war is all said and done, whatever happens after, I want you to know that I didn’t want this. Tell anyone who will listen, because our people know that you’re unbiased. You’re as brutal and honest as they come.”

  It was a backhanded compliment, but I’d take it. “You shouldn’t feel guilt for this. You’re doing what anyone would.”

  “Regardless of that fact, the moment I make the order, everything will change. Everything I’ve stood for will come crashing down. No one will ever look at me the same, including you.”

  “You’ve walked the line long enough, Lucifer,” I said, dropping formalities. “Stop trying to preserve the cultures of a dead empire. The angels aren’t honorable anymore. Look at who’s leading their charge.”

  He turned, fixing his cool, blue eyes on me. “Don’t confuse the meaning of this conversation. I’m not innocent; far from it. I’ve never claimed to be such. But I’ve always been honorable. I don’t care who or what the angels are these days; that doesn’t change who I am.” He dropped his gaze. “Who I was. After this, no longer.”

  “For what it’s worth,” I began, softer now, “you’re less a monster than anyone else I’ve ever known.”

  “Yes,” he said, near-whisper, “but still a mon
ster all the same.”

  Before I could respond Lucifer looked away, sending for Dr. Jonarr through the halo-comm. When I saw his face again, his expression was stone. Our moment was gone.

  Time for the carnage to begin.

  *

  The Judas pulled forward across the Junah-Tehlor border, no longer bound by caution. After tonight, we’d have all but won.

  The carnifexes were en route to the cataract basin with an assault team of two thousand jets. Draw their armies out, execute them all in one fell swoop. With two-thirds of Ezekiel’s forces downed Yahweh Telei would have no choice but to surrender.

  In case he was stubborn, we had plenty more where that came from.

  From the deck I watched clouds streak by, barely smears of black against an even blacker sky. The red glow of Judas’s halo warmed my skin. I wanted to smile, but refrained.

  Movement stirred in my peripherals. Caelis had joined me. Which was odd, considering he barely spoke to anyone except for Lucifer and other colleagues. I assumed this wasn’t a social call.

  “I think Commander Raith is losing it,” he said, boldly. His flame-orange eyes were fixed on the attendants priming jets on a dock below us. Caelis seemed like he was trying to work through something. Probably his honor, considering what he’d just said could be twisted into something well worthy of treason.

  “He’s shedding his morality,” I replied, “while gaining an edge. Lucifer’s not losing anything.”

  Caelis shot me a sidelong glance.

  I grinned. “I’m excited to see what the net result will be.”

  “Do you remember when you were an angel?”

  I hesitated, sizing up that question. “Yes, and I wish I could forget.”

  He nodded, saying nothing else for a moment. Then, “You were probably too young to have indulged in any philosophy.”

  “Look who’s talking. Aren’t you younger than me?”