Fallen Angels

by Warren DeBary

  “It’s just a clause of the Accords. That would give you her power as a member of the Council,” Rene said.

  “That just might work,” Aunt Emily said.

  “What might work?” I asked.

  “The Council has five members, five votes. If I take my seat back and Emily gains a seat and gives it to you, then with Dr. Enkadu on the council, we will control the damn thing.”

  “Will that change this decision?” I asked.

  Aunt Emily glanced in Rene’s direction and answered. “No, it won’t. But we have to do something.”

  “There is one other thing,” Rene said.

  “Yes?” Aunt Emily asked.

  “I’m sorry, Matthew. John Rising disappeared last night.”

  “My father is missing?”

  “I received word from Colonel Hearst this morning,” Rene said.

  “That asshole?”

  “Matthew Rising, just because you are not in the training circle, do not think I won’t punish you for language like that. Yes, he uses very extreme measures and tried to do more than coerce you into service. However, his information is rarely incorrect and he is an ally of sorts.”

  “Do we know where he is?” I asked.

  “No, but it’s a good bet Devon Pazuzu has him,” Rene replied.

  “So let’s go break him out of that place!” George was already reaching for his Kindjals.

  “What are you going to do with your weapons in the kitchen, Mr. Koa? It’s time for you both to focus on the goal,” Rene said quietly. “Matthew, I cannot save your father.”

  “What? You can’t or you won’t save my father?”

  Rene’s gaze was steady, his fingers held tightly to the tabletop, white knuckles against brown wood, a million words left unspoken in his clenched hands.

  “What’s the point of having a freaking Archangel if you can’t do anything?”

  “I understand, Mr. Rising, but understand me: If I try to save your father and am exposed, we run the risk of compromising everything we’ve worked for. You know enough to understand that we risk losing the entire planet.”

  “We can’t just let my father die!” The table shook as the Power of the Earth leached through the floorboards and into me. Energy rushed around the small nook, flinging the plates, smashing them against the walls.

  “Control it, boy! This is no time for theatrics!” Rene said as he dampened the turbulence I had caused with my outburst. The rushing energy settled and the power returned to the Earth. I slumped over, exhausted. “You’re using too much power, too quickly. It’ll burn you out if you don’t learn to control it, boy. It’ll kill you,” Rene said quietly.

  “But he’s my father.”

  “I know John Rising. He is an honorable man. He understands the risk and the realities.”

  “I don’t understand!” I ran out to the garden, burning with anger; the red fire grew around me. A plant burst into flame and a pile of leaves smoldered. I let that burn, too. The flames grew around me and I thought, Let it all burn.

  Then, a cold mist settled around me. The fires ebbed and died and a comforting sensation crept over my mind. My anger was still there, hot and terrible, but it felt like it was being blanketed by a coat of white snow, soothing and light. Aunt Emily was there.

  She regarded me in thoughtful silence. I waited just as I often did, still stewing, not ready to trust my voice. Let her say the first word; I wouldn’t. We stared at each other for a long time. I realized what side of the family I must have gotten that strategy from.

  Finally, I sighed. “I’m sorry about your plants,” I said wearily. I was absolutely drained.

  “Rene is right,” she said.

  “I don’t care. He’s my father,” I said softly. I wiped away the tears, not wanting to give into the fear that my father was dead.

  “You are so much like him,” she said.

  “You loved my father, didn’t you?” I asked. She remained silent.

  “I have to do something,” I told her.

  “You could be killed. He sacrificed so much so you could be here today. Don’t let that be for nothing.”

  “You don’t understand. He’s all that I have.”

  “Matthew, don’t make me send you out there.”

  “I am going, with or without anyone’s help. He’s my father.” She exhaled softly. She seemed older now, worn, but I couldn’t tell why.

  I would go to Devon Pazuzu’s mansion and if my father wasn’t there, I would wring the neck of anyone who could tell me where he was.

  “Wait,” she said and pulled out a ring with a solitary diamond.

  She focused on the diamond; her brow furrowed in concentration, and stayed that way for several minutes, her pupils darting under her eyelids. She grimaced, swaying back and forth, fighting a battle I couldn’t see.

  “You can’t have him,” she gasped as if she was being physically whipped. Her body fell from the chair and onto the ground.

  “Aunt Emily!” I jumped to her side and helped her back onto the chair. Her dress was soaked with perspiration.

  “They have your father,” she said wearily. “They are trying to break him.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We have to go tell the others.”

  Rene and George were waiting for us. Kayla and Maya must have come to the house while we were outside because they were sitting at the table. I helped Aunt Emily to a seat beside them.

  “I felt John’s presence,” Aunt Emily told Rene. “They’re trying to subjugate him.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “They mean to possess him,” Rene said simply.

  “You mean like The Exorcist?” George asked.

  “Yes. Just as we can travel without our bodies and come back into them. If a body is open, they can take it over. But to completely take over a body, the mind of the person would have to be completely gone,” Rene said sadly.

  I thought of Tuli and that strange alien creature looking through his eyes and shuddered. They were planning to do that to my father?

  “Were you able to get any information about their plan?” Rene asked.

  “I felt John’s mind; images of a bomb. It was powerful, very powerful.”

  “Nuclear?” Rene asked.

  “Dr. Enkadu mentioned nuclear war,” George told Rene.

  “Where is he?”

  “He’s being held in the Presidio in the city,” Aunt Emily said.

  “Maybe they plan on blowing up a nuclear warhead and taking San Francisco with it, and then blame it on your dad and start World War III?”

  “How would that start a war if an American Air Force officer blows up an American city?” Kayla asked.

  “They don’t plan on starting a war amongst humans,” Rene said.

  “Wait, didn’t the ship we met Dr. Enkadu on have a delegation from the Galactic Council? There are Sentient delegates from all over the galaxy on that ship,” I said. “The ship couldn’t have been very far off from the Presidio. It was just outside the Golden Gate.”

  “A nuclear bomb would have enough force to destroy that ship and everyone onboard,” Rene said.

  “But if Matty’s dad is going to be framed, they’re not only using a human, but also a former Section 9 agent who now works at the highest levels of the US military, to set off that bomb. Nobody would believe he wasn’t linked up with the government. It wouldn’t be an act of terrorism. It would be an act of war.”

  “Which would be the same thing as eradicating the human species and every other species from this planet,” George continued. “They would raze the planet from deep space. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  We sat in silence. The pieces added up. A feeling of dread went through my stomach.

  My planet. My people. My home.

  “So what do we do?” George asked.

  “We stop them,” I answered.

  “You’re not ready,” Rene said solemnly.

  “It doesn’t matter. This is my duty. H
e’s my father.”

  Rene fell silent. If there was one thing he understood, it was duty.

  “We need to call Section 9. They can take care of this. It doesn’t have to be you,” Aunt Emily said.

  “They may be in time to stop the bomb, but not soon enough to save my father,” I answered. Truthfully, the thought had crossed my mind.

  “Do what you must. I will contact the Council to substantiate this, and Section 9 needs to be informed.” Rene walked off.

  I looked across the table at George, Kayla, and Maya. “I can’t ask you for anything, but I have to go.”

  “You know I’m in, butt wipe! Can’t let you have all the fun,” George said.

  “I’m in!” Kayla said. “As always, you need someone to keep you out of trouble.”

  “Of course I’m in! But someone’s gonna owe me a pair of shoes or something once we get back. Saving the world deserves at least a pair of shoes,” Maya said.

  “Thank you.”

  “Yeah, okay. Don’t be getting soft on us. What’s the plan?” George asked.

  “First things first.” I turned to Aunt Emily. “Can you give me as much detail as you can about where he is?”

  Aunt Emily explained what she saw. The Presidio was a large area, but once we got near the buildings, Kayla should be able to pick up the Sentients and my father—or at least she thought she could. We were ready to go out to Kayla’s BMW when Aunt Emily stopped us.

  “Matthew, follow me.” She walked through the kitchen and down a short hallway with a door at the end of it. All four of us followed her as she pushed a button, opening a closet full of leather jackets that looked more like combat gear. She distributed them to the four of us and it made me wonder once again about the life these people led. A life I was only learning about now.

  “These should help to protect you,” she said.

  “What is it?” I asked, feeling the surprisingly lightweight of the thick leather.

  “Off-world gear, a gift for you. Hand held blades should not be able to pierce the material and small arms fire won’t be able to penetrate. It’s the best I can do.”

  Before I could thank her, she opened a door and a bank of recessed lights clicked on, revealing a very large garage. There were vehicles off all types, a black Jaguar XJS, a green Bentley Continental GT, and a Silver Mercedes 420SEL. She passed all of these and stood in front of a gun-metal gray Range Rover that had silver titanium tint and metal brandished rims.

  “If you’re going to go rushing off into who-knows-what sorts of trouble, you are going to have to be safe getting there.” She handed a set of keys over to me. “Matthew, bring your father home and you come back safely, you hear me.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” George said as he and the girls jumped in.

  Chapter 28 – Revelations

  Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

  Revelation 19:11

  “So what’s the plan, dude?” George asked. He grabbed my headrest with both hands and bounced up and down in the backseat.

  “Dad is being held in a bunker on the Northwest side of the Presidio. We get him out, then take out the bomb.”

  “Matthew, even if we get to the bomb, how will we stop it from exploding?” Kayla asked.

  “Don’t know; we’re just going to have to improvise,” I told them

  I drove the Range Rover flew down the freeway and, after a little navigation; headed west, and then south. The Golden Gate Bridge would be coming up soon, and hopefully by then I would have some idea of what to do. But the time passed too quickly.

  “Hey look!” George said as we crossed the Golden Gate. The cliffs of the Presidio were lit up with that strange eerie shimmering every time Aunt Emily or Rene was using power. By the size of the dome, they must have quite a production going on.

  “Seem like Pazuzu is hiding some major action there now; doesn’t it?” Maya asked.

  “Doesn’t matter; that’ll just make it easier for us to find them. This is what we’ll do. Kayla and Maya, we’re stopping at the end of the bridge. George and I will get out and make our way up,” I said, pointing toward a ridge leading to the crest. “Take the truck and go up to the parking lot. We’ll distract them and you go in and get my father out.”

  “They’ll kill you if you try to stop them,” Kayla said.

  “When I have a chance to save my father, there is no choice,” I said grimly. I stopped the Range Rover on a very narrow shoulder. Horns blared behind us, but they weren’t going to be there for long. Kayla jumped into the driver’s seat. George got out of the back.

  “How will we know you’re there?” she asked.

  “Between George and me, you’ll know.”

  “Matthew, wait!” Kayla grabbed my jacket, pulled me down and kissed me for the first time.

  “Be careful, okay?”

  “Just get my dad out.” The Range Rover headed off down the road. We ran uphill until we came up to a white wall with barbed wire at its top.

  “Matty-Boy’s got a girlfriend,” George laughed.

  I ignored him but if it were a better time, I’d savor the moment. Right now, I had other things on my mind.

  “You understand the plan?” I asked the Malakhim.

  “Yup! Distract bad guys, stop bomb from exploding, save the world,” he said. “Dude, you’ve got like the worst timing. We find girls that knows about the whole Malakhim thing and now we gotta rush the guns of Navaronne. After this is all done, I’m gonna take a break!”

  “Better try not to get you killed then, huh?” I said. I could feel him summon his power and he jumped over the top of the wall, clearing it easily. I looked warily up at the vicious-looking barbed wire.

  “Matty, stop thinking and c’mon. You’re Malakhim, or soon will be!” I drew power and leapt over the wall. Shortly, we were running up the side of the mountain.

  We made the top of the ridge and what we saw was beyond anything I could have imagined. A corona of light surrounded three heavily fortified, semi-circular bunkers. Strangely misshapen, lizard-like creatures stood guard, some walking upright, others lumbering about on all fours like beasts. If I didn’t know any better, I would think these things were those demons you see in those bad sci-fi movies.

  Above the bunkers, silent shapes soared above as human guards stared nervously upward. These were the same we’d seen in Pazuzu’s cave.

  I pointed to two human guards with jagged spears in their hands. They were patrolling the left of the bunkers.

  “They’re using Sentient weapons,” George whispered softly. “That’s not good.”

  “Why?”

  “It means Pazuzu doesn’t care what happens with the Earthbounds. This is his end game.”

  The coronal glow I’d noticed earlier sparked like a bad electrical transformer during a rainstorm.

  “What’s up with the light?” I asked.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it before, but I don’t think it’s there for our benefit,” he answered.

  In the middle bunker were several figures. One of them had slicked-back hair and was wearing a black suit. Pazuzu. As we watched, Ricco and a group of human guards arrived in a number of what could only be described as flying sleds.

  At the very center of the semi-circular bunker was a device the size of a minivan. My father was strapped to it, his face battered.

  They would pay for that, I promised myself. The players were here; now it was time to get the game started. I pointed them out to George and singled out my dad. He nodded. Without giving George any warning, I took off down the ridgeline.

  “Where are you going?” He hissed but I wasn’t listening and continued running. He took off after me. “Matty! What are you doing?”

  “Making a distraction!” I yelled back. It didn’t matter if they heard me or even if they saw me. In fact, that was the point. So, I ran with all the speed I had, st
raight through the barrier without stopping. I just hoped the girls would be ready to save my dad.

  When I hit the edge of the corona, I realized just how bad of an idea it was. Every nerve screamed like they’d been set on fire, then put out with apple cider vinegar, and then thrown into lava. I snarled past the pain. I wasn’t going to stop. I couldn’t stop. My father’s life was on the line, and I was now committed.

  The pain got worse. Each step brought more and more agony, but I continued to run until the light dimmed then went out. I must have gotten through because the pain stopped. Checking to see if I had all of my appendages, I continued my suicide sprint to the bunkers below.

  Figures started shooting at me: bolts of fire sizzled as they passed. My pendant sprang to life, but even with its protection, a bolt smacked into my right shoulder and hit me like a fastball, spinning me to the ground. As I fell, George leapt over me, his Kindjals slicing through the lizard thing before it could take a bite out of me. He must have followed me through the barrier.

  “Thanks,” I yelled as I got up and ran toward the right bunker, away from my father and the bomb. George sent a wave of energy outward, illuminating a dozen or more of those lizard beasts. I didn’t know he could do that.

  “Where’s Devon and Ricco?” I yelled.

  “Don’t know, but we’ve got more company,” he said as three more lizards jumped out. His Kindjals were a blur as he dispatched the scaly attackers.

  I sent a wave of energy through another group of lizards loping toward us. It knocked them off their feet, sending two of them sliding off the ridge and down to the rocks below. Something grabbed my shoulder, pulling me up into the air. I twisted in its grip. One of those Drake things glared at me, its wings pulling me skyward. The thick leather of the jacket was the only thing protecting me from having my shoulder torn to shreds. I struggled in its grasp but couldn’t break free.

  Something whipped past my face and I heard a heavy thud. The drake screeched, letting me go. I was a good twenty feet in the air and had a firsthand experience with the phrase It’s not the fall that gets you, it’s the sudden stop at the end. I landed with a thump on the dirt but had enough presence of mind to roll away from the drake, which fell almost directly on top of me.