Fallen Angels

by Warren DeBary

  “Ugh!” I cried as one of them clipped my jaw and another got my shoulder.

  “Raphael is using you, enslaving you, the same way he has your predecessors. You think you are one of them? You weren’t meant to serve them like some slave.”

  “I am not a slave!” I yelled.

  “You are a god! Do you think these human scum understand what it is like to be a god?” He cast a bolt of energy that hit me like a freight train. “They were meant to be ruled, Matthew; ruled by us. Look at how pathetically weak they are! Look at how they squabble and fight over such meaningless things. I take away their freedom, they quaver for protection; I destroy their lives and they come begging for more.” Pazuzu cast another wave and I crumbled.

  “I control the feeble minds in their pitiful governments and change the world’s economies at my whim. I have taken over the Council. Now all of them do as I command. I will throw this planet into the pit, and those that come out, I will sell across the galaxy as the slaves they are.”

  “They are my people!” I screamed.

  “They are not your people. The Master has made you into so much more. Where do you think your power comes from? You think it comes from this herd?”

  “You’re lying!” But after everything I had been through, I was not so sure. What had my father kept from me? Why couldn’t he have told me the truth?

  “There is a new world coming, Matthew, a world rid of these humans. You could be such an asset. With your lineage, you could be a god!” Pazuzu called out over the din.

  While he was talking, I’d been silently leeching up all the energy I could, allowing the Earth to fill my reserves, and had built a wall of energy around me. I pulled myself to my feet again and stared. “If that meant being anything like you, then never!” But instead of directing the stored power at the would-be god, I channeled it into a tight circle of force and sent it at the stone outcrop of rock above Pazuzu, gutting the hillside and dumping a truckload of rock and gravel on his head. Tons of earth crushed down on him, allowing me to breathe again. My relief couldn’t last because there was a stirring of power beneath the wreckage.

  The pile exploded outward, stone ricocheting from the ravine walls like bullets. His power built around him and I knew it was intended for me.

  Reaching down, deep down, I felt the Earth below me. It was volatile, so much energy lying on the ragged edge. I pulled as much energy as I could and suddenly, more power than I’d ever dreamed filled me, the power of the cosmos, the energy of the Earth itself and I drank in it and let it flow.

  I lashed out and Pazuzu shrieked as the bolt of energy lanced across him, dropping him to his knees. But, slowly he got back to his feet and snarled.

  “Is that the best you can do? You are not the Mashiach!” Then, Pazuzu did something, something I didn’t understand and, I felt a snap and the power from the Earth disappeared. Everything shook with a release of energy so powerful it threw me to the ground. Pazuzu screamed as the very Earth broke.

  The sides of the ravines undulated with force like water on a wave, sending trees crashing all around us. Wave after wave of sheer force radiated around us, laying low the entire forest surrounding us, moving the ground like an undulating snake outward over the hills.

  Like an atomic bomb, the world shattered.

  Pazuzu stood. Searing white lightning danced around him like a star, building up like a hurricane, and I saw the rage in his one good eye.

  “Boy! You will not survive this day! The Master thinks that you are the next step in evolution. Thinks that he may coddle you as the Prodigal Son. Well, let him indulge himself on your burnt ashes once I am done!”

  He was filled with a hatred of a hundred millennia, and all that hatred was directed at me. At that second, I understood why our ancestors thought these beings were gods. I was nothing but an insect beneath his feet.

  He threw his hands forward and all of the heat, the power, the energy of a supernova blazed toward me.

  As I held up my arms, my pendant made a shield and some of the firestorm was forced over me, like a tidal wave over a dike during a monsoon. But it couldn’t hold all of it out, and what was left cut through me like a furnace. I used what I’d learned from Rene and pushed as much of the scorching air away, holding my breath to keep the fire from burning my lungs. Wave after wave of undeniable heat tore at my arms, searing my hands and face.

  I flagged under the heat that was about to destroy me. I felt my life being taken away, bit by bit and I was afraid. Not afraid of dying, but afraid that Pazuzu would go free. I was about to be killed by my father’s murderer. It couldn’t end like this.

  Then I remembered, when everything is falling down around us, we have the choice. When the world seems like it will end, we make the decision of whether or not to continue, to fight and live on. That choice can never be taken from us. We make the choice not to fight. We decide to give in, to concede. My father taught me that no matter the odds, no matter how hard things get we either quit or we go on.

  Right then, right there, I knew what my choice was going to be. I knew that I would never give up. I stepped into the onslaught of pain and took a step forward. A small step, and Pazuzu’s power magnified tenfold, but I would not give up. I would not give in.

  Keep going, I told myself. Don’t quit.

  I took another step into his awful power, then another. The heat was so intense, the skin of my forearms blistered and popped. I screamed as I felt my right hand burst into flame. The side of my face seared and bubbled; my hair shriveled away to nothing.

  C’mon Rising. Just another step, I told myself. Just another step. The pain doesn’t matter. Your life doesn’t matter. Just a little bit more and you will end this.

  “What are you doing?” I heard Pazuzu’s voice from some faraway place and I stepped closer.

  “Stop!” I heard him shriek and I opened my eyes. He was right in front of me, his hands stretched out before him, his face a mask of fear. His power wavered as he looked into my eyes.

  I rushed forward and the pain returned, but now I was used to it. It made what I had to do that much easier. I grabbed Pazuzu by his hair and pulled back hard, forcing his head back, exposing his throat. His skin was cold under my clenched, still-burning right fist and I could feel the rage built within me.

  “Nooooo!” Pazuzu screamed but nothing would protect him now and in that instant, something within me stirred.

  This was not right.

  This was not who I was.

  In that instant, my anger faltered. The pain, the hatred broke down like a furnace with the air pulled away. The incredible heat was still there, violent, ready to light anew but incapable of growing, becoming anything more than smoking embers. I wanted to kill Pazuzu, but I knew that it was wrong.

  Pazuzu was wild with fear, the feral fear of an animal in the jaws of the death. I let him go and he crumpled to the ground, whimpering at my feet. I realized that in all of the millennia he had lived, in all the people he had destroyed, with all of his power he’d never been so helpless. He was broken.

  And suddenly, I heard a distant sound, a growing clamor, louder than trumpets and the blasts of rocket ships. Vaguely, I saw three figures of golden-silver light with wings of plasma descending, landing lightly before me.

  Rene was there, his haggard face now youthful in the golden glow. The other two were very much like Rene: the silent power, the authority. Like they could destroy galaxies with a wave of their hand.

  “Young pup,” I heard Rene say. “Young pup.” Blackness fell over me. I realized a moment later my cheek was pressed against the cold, hard ground. This must be what it felt like to be dying. Good, because I sure as hell didn’t want to feel the pain anymore.

  Then the world fell away.

  Chapter 31 – And then…

  I woke up.

  The entire ceiling was made up of shimmering, clear crystal and the bed railings glowed amber and warm.

  Is this what Heaven looks like, I wondered but re
alized that I ached. If this was Heaven, I could have done without the aching part.

  Even opening my eyes ached, and my body felt no better. I shifted and felt something in my arm. Tubes extended to bags suspended over me. I moved and my body screamed, telling me that was so not a good idea.

  I lifted my right hand, the hand I had watched being burnt to a crisp, and found it whole and healthy. In fact, any scars I had were gone. I didn’t want to know what to make of it, but I felt my face and the skin was intact. I reached up and found stubble on my head and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I guess I’m alive,” I said out loud and winced as my skin protested the movement.

  “Yes, Matthew Rising. You are alive.” I tried to turn again but my body refused. Rene appeared above me, wearing that old maroon coat. His golden eyes were a little more haunted; the corners had a few more wrinkles than before. I sighed. Was all of that just a dream?

  “My dad?”

  “I’m sorry, Matthew.” The heartache rushed to the surface, but I put it aside. I didn’t want to think about it right now, when I couldn’t grieve properly. When the time came, I would feel the loss of my father. Not now. My father wasn’t perfect but he had been carrying a burden I had never understood, and now he was gone. If I had been in his shoes, would I have done any better? I didn’t think so.

  “Did we save the city and the delegates?” I thought I saw a gleam of approval in his eyes.

  “Yes. We got it all worked out.”

  “Pazuzu?”

  Rene’s eyes glanced nervously about the room. He leaned in close to me before he said anything. “Matthew, I understand why you did what you did. But now the Galactic Council is in an uproar. An Accords Council Member attacked by an un-recognized race. They will not stand for it. There are those that want this planet destroyed already, and they have the power to make that happen.”

  My heart fluttered as the repercussions of what Rene said raced through my mind. There were so many things I wanted to say, so many things I wanted to ask, but a stern glance from him silenced me.

  He leaned further and adjusted the lines plugged into my arms. When he was very close to my ear, he whispered. “You will have allies. Just be honest, but tread carefully. Everyone will be watching.” He fixed my thin blanket and touched a point on the wall. “Get some rest.” Before the fear could overcome me, the darkness dropped down again and the world went away.

  

  I woke for the second time. The ache was gone but the memory of Rene’s words returned. I thought I was just trying to stop a lunatic from destroying the world. Now I realized I was fighting against powers that were so much greater than anything I could have ever imagined. The images of that dream came back to me, the ships of crystal destroying the world, Aunt Emily fighting alongside Rene, George dead.

  Is that what will happen? Was everything I did for nothing?

  The antiseptic smell of the room clawed at me; perspiration beaded on my forehead. I had stopped that lunatic at the cost of losing my father? Wasn’t that enough? What else did this Universe demand?

  I heard something move beside my bed. George’s gangly form was draped over a translucent chair, Maya next to him.

  “Hey.” I turned to see Kayla’s electric blue eyes. Did she realize just what kind of danger our world was in? But then I remembered she was not from this planet. She has a home somewhere far away. At least she’ll be safe. She patted my forehead with a towel. From the look of it, she’d been here for a long time.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Three days. Now, you’re back from the dead.”

  “Don’t even say that.”

  “Sorry.” Her eyes twinkled as the half-light shone in her raven black hair.

  I heard a rustle of cloth and George’s grinning face appeared. “It’s about time the hero awakens,” he said, “because this damn chair was about killing my back.”

  “Wuss.”

  “Says the guy who couldn’t even take out a god without crashing out, like forever.”

  I laughed and I really shouldn’t have. My body felt like I was lying on a bed of razors.

  “Matthew, take it easy. Your skin isn’t completely healed yet. You were a wreck when we found you,” Kayla said.

  “Yeah, Matty-Boy,” George said. “Your little battle with Pazuzu caused an Earthquake that almost destroyed San Francisco! Sure did postpone the World Series.”

  “What happened?” I asked. I remembered the power of the Earth and the waves of force emanating out but I didn’t realize that would affect anyone else.

  “Yes, buildings and bridges collapsed. It was really bad,” Kayla said.

  “Did anyone die?” I asked.

  “We are not sure. It has been chaotic, but no one is blaming you, Matthew,” Kayla replied.

  I thought about that, about the destruction I’d been a part of. Nothing was ever easy, but now I had more deaths on my hands. First, the kids at St. Peter’s and now this, when was it going to end?

  “What happened to Pazuzu?” I asked.

  “The Galactic Council took him into custody. They also arrested members of the Council of Accords. It was bad. The extent of the Council’s corruption was exposed and it hit the Galactic news feeds. Riots broke out across the other systems. They’re all whispering your name as the Mashiach.”

  “Yeah, Matty-Boy. You have billions of Sentients waiting for you. They’re calling you the boy who destroyed a god,” George said.

  “Waiting for what?”

  “For you to lead them,” George said.

  Kayla interrupted, “The Galactic Council is scared. The rules have changed and the old, established systems are fighting it. Our parents said this is all going to lead to war. Malakhim have been all-out fighting against the Shed’im. They are calling it Armageddon.”

  “Yeah. Now our parents are demanding we go back home. But we told them to shove it,” Maya said.

  George smiled. “That’s my girl.”

  “But what does any of this mean?” I asked.

  “It means you can no longer hide in the shadows, young pup,” Rene said from the open doorway.

  Two other gentlemen followed him into my room. They were as tall as Rene, towering over the bed like sullen statues. Their clothing was similar as well, old, tattered, and not in any particular fashion, like they’d grabbed the first thing they’d seen at a rummage sale and put it on. It wasn’t that they were dirty as much as they didn’t seem to care what they looked like. But that’s where the similarity ended. One of the two was blonde, with piercing blue eyes and a chin that could break granite; the other was Polynesian, with a broad nose and dark brown eyes. They were both powerful and lithe of limb. I remembered the three figures of glowing light descending through the bay doors.

  “If you would allow us a bit of privacy,” Rene asked my friends.

  George slowly stretched as Kayla and Maya disappeared through the door. “Just yell if you need me, Matt.”

  “Need you for what, young Malakhim? To get into even more trouble?” Rene asked.

  George sniffed and headed out the door. “I’ll be right out here,” he said.

  “Matthew, allow me to introduce Michael and Gabriel of the Galactic Council.” Rene nodded to the blonde and Polynesian respectively.

  I coughed, and the cough turned into a choke as I realized these two were real live Angels of the Bible. But the formality of Rene’s introduction and the way the other two wouldn’t meet my stare was a warning. There are others watching, others who were not in the room.

  Michael, the blonde, spoke first. “Matthew Rising. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. After the events of the last few days, there are many questions that need to be asked.” Michael’s ramrod straight posture and bearing reminded me of an officer. He commanded someone. That much was for certain. “Pazuzu’s actions are very concerning.”

  “Alleged… alleged actions, Michael. There has been no investigation,” Gabriel, the Polynesian one,
said.

  “Yes, yes, alleged. The protocols will be followed.” Michael glanced toward the foot of my bed at a blurry spot, like a warped point on a mirror, although there was no mirror there. Was that a Sentient camera? I didn’t know, but I would be watching what I said from now on.

  “Shall we get on with this?” Rene asked.

  “Raphael, your time among the humans has soured your manners,” Gabriel said. “Uriel? If you wouldn’t mind?”

  A man of Asian descent entered the room. He was as tall as the other three but dressed in flowing material that shimmered as he moved. Behind him was another so similar to the other four that they could be related. But when his gaze turned on me, a hiss of breath caused me to cough red speckles on my white sheets. Rene was at my side in that instant, holding a cloth to my lips, allowing me to compose myself.

  The fifth man was the man from the dreams I’d been having of the molten room. His languid gaze was very different from the images I’d seen.

  Rene placed a hand on my wrist. “Matthew, this is Abbaddon. He is representing the defendant.”

  “A pleasure.” Abbaddon’s voice was like silk rasping over worn leather. His voice echoed in my mind, the same voice in the throne room of molten lava.

  “The recording,” Uriel said. A visual of the ravine we crashed landed in filled the room so lifelike; it was as if I’d been moved from my bedside out into the noisy forest. Uriel circled his fingers and the images moved forward: the suicidal crash and Pazuzu emerging from the wreckage.

  “Stop, please,” Gabriel said and the image froze in place. “Matthew Rising, we need to ask you a very important question. Why did you chase after Pazuzu?”

  “Because he killed my father.”

  Gabriel glanced at Rene.

  “Was it for vengeance?” Rene asked and the way he wouldn’t make eye contact told me this was crucial. But he told me to be honest.