A Daughter of Nyx

by Alexie Aaron

  The men turned tail and ran away. No amount of money was going to induce them to stay.

  ~

  Beverly moved uneasily among the Cynosura elite. A day earlier, she was flabbergasted when her cell opened, and she was escorted out of the prison where she had been magically contained while waiting for her trial. Gerald stood outside by a sedan with the door open.

  “How is this possible?” Bev had asked, running into his arms. “I thought you had no more favors left.” She climbed in the back.

  “Compliments of Piers,” Gerald said, sitting down next to her. “He decided to reward you for involving your brother.”

  “He’s not my brother,” Bev protested. “I just mentioned that Amanda could still be influenced, and that Charles is putty in her hands.”

  “They see it as, you not only sacrificed your niece but your brother and sister in-law too for the Cynosura.”

  “I don’t care as long as Ted gets the credit for opening the door,” Bev said. “This will fix Mia’s wagon for telling Ryan how to get into your inner sanctum.”

  “I bear Mia no grudge,” Gerald said. “She was just making sure that Brian doesn’t end up in Quazar’s hands.”

  “If it weren’t for that brat, we’d be free and clear of this lot of crazies,” Bev said.

  “Shush, you never know who is listening.”

  They had been taken to the private airport and spirited away on the luxury jet. It landed in St. Barts. Bev barely had time to purchase clothing before they were whisked away on a cigarette boat headed for the Cynosura’s private island. There, they found the remaining top echelon with their heritage demons and favorite concubines in a posh media room getting ready to view the opening of the door in Chicago via their private satellite.

  The Cynosura chose to enjoy the destruction of the world from the luxury of the tropical paradise. It would take awhile for the frost giants to reach the island. The heat alone would tire the beasts. There they would choose a more comfortable way of ending their lives and ascend into the light to travel to their chosen galaxy and live there like gods.

  “Attention, we have confirmation that the door has been opened,” Piers announced.

  Bev watched with the others as they replayed the concussive wave of ice and wind that had blown Mia into Lake Michigan before she could stop her mother. When Mia rebounded, Bev looked sideways at Gerald. His face remained still, but his wringing hands gave him away.

  “You didn’t want her to die,” hissed Bev.

  Gerald turned to her and said, “She always believed in me. My only regret is that she knew it was I who hurt her in the end.”

  “I do believe you love the little whore. Tell me, did she wrap her legs around you too?”

  Gerald’s eyes narrowed. “No, Beverly, Mia gave her love too easily and to those who never deserved it. This was her undoing.”

  “Look at her, she actually thinks she stands a chance.”

  “The target has been injured,” Piers said.

  ~

  “What happened?” Bernard asked breathlessly when he arrived.

  “Amanda opened the door,” Mia said.

  “I didn’t know she could. How could we have missed this?” Bernard scolded himself.

  “They were so very deep into her head,” Mia said sadly. “I should have been there to pull her out instead of playing soldier with demons.” Mia tossed Bernard her phone.

  He played back her video and shook his head. “You didn’t ruin her life. That’s what the Cynosura fed her. Mia, you went through this with Ted.”

  “Bernard, let’s not kid ourselves. Amanda was never going to be mother of the year, but it didn’t stop me from loving her. She felt imprisoned by societal demands. Instead of hating society, she hated me. And as her very last breath exited her body, I know my mother believed this was all my fault. This selfish woman who stole my father’s love felt justified in laying the end of the world on my doorstep. I can’t let this happen… I won’t let this happen,” Mia said, feeling a surge of courage stilling her shaking hands.

  “Mia, I’m coming,” Nicholai called through their birdman connection. “Sticks has Moonlight. Hold on.”

  “The door is open. Amanda is dead, and I’ve got an ice spear sticking in my chest. Thank God for Sariel’s armor.”

  Mia saw a crisscrossing of lasers. Ted and Baxter had made it in time.

  “Bernard, you go to Angelo’s. You can see everything from his penthouse. If this goes upside down, keep moving south. The creatures won’t like it in Florida. Less in Mexico.”

  “What about the kids?”

  “Ed will take them into the past. Tell Ralph that I love him more than life,” Mia said, allowing her voice to break.

  “We love and believe in you, Mia. You have always been a daughter to us.”

  “I put the bubblegum in Ralph’s blue suede shoes,” Mia said.

  “He knows, Mia, he knows.”

  Ted arrived and looked at the fierce shell his wife had put on. “Where’s your help?” he asked.

  “Coming. This is why the books say I die in the first three minutes,” Mia said, breaking the ice spear from her chest. “But unbeknownst to them, I’m armored. Mia one, prophesy zero.”

  Ted wanted to hold her and take her away but knew better than to distract her. “We have the grid up. Baxter has a few surprises up his sleeve.”

  “Be safe, Ted, I love you. Hurry, I can feel something large moving this way.”

  “I love and believe in you, Mia,” he said.

  Mia rose up and extended the talons from her feet.

  The first frost giant stood at the door. He looked at the strange bird in front of him. He stood twenty feet tall. Long, matted white fur hung in dreadlocks on his body. He carried a club.

  Mia spoke a phrase Odin had taught her just hours earlier. Translated, she said, “Go back, this world is not for you.”

  Ted ran and jumped into the abandoned security vehicle. He drove to the Cold War bunker where he and Baxter were going to run their security measures from. The entire place was full of cameras. He regretted not setting up a com link with Mia. She warned him that she would be in and out of the water. She doubted anything that God didn’t give her would stay attached with all that abuse. He knew that she would be fighting the battle of her life without him encouraging her, and Mia would consider this a handicap.

  Murphy ran onto the museum campus and over to where Mia was facing off against a monster.

  “Go back, this world is not for you,” she repeated.

  “I’m here, Mia.”

  “Nice to see you. Careful where you step. The men ran away and left my mother’s body.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “She got to say her peace before she died.”

  “I take it, it wasn’t good.”

  “More of the same. She thinks she killed my father. I worry that when he finds out she’s dead, he will die.”

  “Not much we can do about that. How long has this guy been standing here?”

  “About as long as I’ve been dripping blood. I caught an ice shard when the door blew open. Sariel’s armor stopped it from killing me. When Victor’s squadron gets here, I’ll get a patch from his medic.”

  “Altair went to tell Abigor.”

  “Good. Hey, I’m still alive, and it’s five minutes. Mike loses ten bucks.”

  “I didn’t know there was a pool?”

  “It’s called the gruesome pool. Jake’s been keeping me updated on my odds.”

  “Mia, move back,” Burt called from somewhere in the darkness.

  She did.

  “Good. You were in the club-swing radius.”

  “Burt, where are you?”

  “On top of the Taco Hut, filming.”

  “Gee, I hope you’re getting my good side.”

  “Mia, you’re bleeding.”

  “It’s a slow leak,” Mia said. “Nyx’s armor takes away the pain.”

  “Mike’s going to get you an e
arcom as soon as Cid gets here. We’re surprised Ted forgot.”

  “Not a problem, Hicks. We’re all under a lot of stress. I must concentrate. I’m trying to read his mind but so far not successful. Go back, this world is not for you.”

  “Jake just texted me. He said the sunrise is going to be at your back,” Burt relayed.

  “I’m getting cold. Murph, are you stealing the heat out of the air?” Mia asked.

  “No.”

  “Shit. It’s why he’s waiting. Burt, you’d better get a coat on. I’m starting to see my breath. Niflheim is cooling off our world. I think the giant is waiting until it’s colder. What a day not to wear a bra.”

  Nicholai flew in, followed by Sticks on Moonlight. Nicholai gently moved Mia onto the horse’s back. Sticks dropped down and pulled out his swords and stood next to Murphy.

  Nicholai opened Mia’s armor and applied a patch to her skin. He was worried about the bruising, but the armor had kept her heart from being pierced. He closed her armor and looked her in the eyes. “You kept your channel open. Continue to keep it open. I have to know what’s going on with you. Is that your mother down there?”

  “Yes. Can you find someone to move her?”

  “You didn’t kill her, did you?” Nicholai asked as he put his hands on her wings and encouraged the missing mourning feathers to replace themselves.

  “No. An ice block crushed her when she opened the door. It blew me back in the water, but I rebounded out like Victor taught me. I was too late to save her.”

  “My god, he’s a monster. He’s looking back in. I bet you there’s a few more joining him,” Nicholai said.

  Burt pulled the camera off Nicholai and Mia and trained it back on the door. He hoped that Ted was picking this up.

  Mia moved over. “Sit. We may as well take a load off. He’s waiting until the beach cools off.”

  “Mia, Jake says that Odin is approaching the Michigan/Indiana border,” Burt called.

  “Thanks.”

  “Victor is coming,” Nicholai said. “See the solid black line?”

  “Whoa. You put together a large group.”

  “It’s a talent.”

  “Abigor’s approaching,” Sticks called out.

  Out of the dark western sky Abigor flew. Underneath him, the water bubbled as Hell’s demons walked out of the bottom of the lake. They moved up and around Northerly Island. Abigor flew up next to Mia. He reached out and handed her a necklace. “Put this on. I’ll be able to hear you, and you’ll be able to hear me.”

  “Yes, General,” Mia said.

  “Nicholai, here’s one for your squadron leader.”

  “Odin is a few hours out,” Mia said. “Depending on traffic.”

  Burt couldn’t help laughing. He saw a flash of white and Altair appeared. He moved over to where Mia was holding court.

  “Did I miss anything?” Altair asked.

  “My mother opened the door. That’s her down there under my feathers. I caught an ice shard in the chest. Nicholai patched me up. Abigor is here - thank you for fetching him - and over there is Victor.”

  Altair saw the hundreds of birdman warriors approaching. “Now that’s impressive,” Altair said. “There’s someone waving from Angelo’s penthouse.”

  “Probably Ralph. He’s most likely sending a sweater over,” Mia said.

  Nicholai rubbed Mia’s arms. “Victor is going to land at the end of the island. He’s setting up triage on top of Angelo’s building.”

  “Warn him to come in high. Ted and Baxter have their laser grid up.”

  Mike helped Cid back the PEEPs truck in, and together, they connected the cables. Jake was now integrated in with Baxter’s defense system. Cid grabbed the headset of power and ran into the bunker.

  “Here. I’m going to get an earcom to Mia,” Cid said.

  “Our earcoms won’t work if she hits the water,” Ted said. “I should have been working on that.”

  Cid opened his hand. Inside was an altered earcom. It was deeper and had not only a seal but a locking earpiece. Once inserted, it wasn’t going anywhere fast.

  “Have you tested it?” Ted asked.

  “Lazar said he could hear me when I held his head under the bathwater.”

  Baxter grinned. He bet there was a bigger story there.

  “Get it to Mia. Thanks for having my back.”

  “Superman always had Batman’s back,” Cid said.

  Ted watched his wife in Burt’s video feed. He could tell that she was in pain.

  “She just lost her mother and probably her father too. And now she’s facing down a beast with a hole in her chest.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Baxter said. “She survived Lucifer. This will be a piece of cake.”

  “Hello! Mia, I’ve got an earcom for you,” Cid said nervously, watching the front line of demons. They were a disgusting, horrible assemblage of every nightmare ever had. All were armed, and all were oozing something disgusting. A few wore the markings of cannibals. These were battle demons. They would fight until they disappeared, only to be reborn in the cesspits of Hell.

  Mia dropped down. Cid put it in her ear. “Let it settle. It’s going to…”

  “Superman’s underpants!” Mia cursed. “That hurts!”

  “That’s what Lazar told me. He and you now have twin piercings. That com’s not moving.”

  “Mia, Ted here, check in.”

  Mia let a tear of relief fall. “I thought I was going solo. Thanks for the earcom.”

  “Thank Cid, it’s his invention.”

  “Just as soon as I remove his testicles.”

  “Mia, the boy has to procreate.”

  “Thanks, Cid. Help Burt off the Taco Hut. He can leave the camera, but he’s too vulnerable there.”

  Cid left.

  Mia walked over to Murphy and Sticks. “I think we need to get both of you off the ground.”

  “I’m not flying,” Murphy said, crossing his arms.

  “K. Sticks?”

  “I’ll keep Moonlight close,” he said.

  “Excuse me for a moment,” Mia said, and she flew Sticks up to Moonlight.

  She floated back down. “Murph, will you at least back up?”

  “I want to get behind them and take out their tendons.”

  “Sounds good as long as they can’t see you. I don’t want to lose you first off. You’re my rock.”

  “Yes, Mia.”

  Mia walked down her legion line. “Ted, it’s getting cold out here. What’s the weather for today?”

  “Seasonal. Fifties rising to mid-sixties.”

  “Thank you. Niflheim is pouring out subzero weather. If you could calculate what we’re going to be dealing with in an hour, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Surtr is coming, and I don’t want to hit frozen water when I fall out of the sky.”

  “The water’s too warm and deep to freeze, but the edges of the beach may get a little crusty.”

  “Thanks, I’ll further that information down the line.”

  Mia walked the aisle between divisions and shouted encouragement to the legions. She spoke about the bravery and honor of the demon class, that she felt proud to know that she could count on them to have her back. “Thick hide, big heart, strong arms to tear them apart!” she chanted in demon. They answered her back with roars and the pounding of their spears.

  After she visited the farthest unit, she started back. The demons knelt in reverence as she passed.

  “Do you see that?” Altair asked Nicholai and Abigor.

  “Lucifer fucked himself. He could have had a warrior queen,” Abigor said.

  “It’s a win-win for the birdmen,” Nicholai said. “She’s broken with Michael and Lucifer. She’s all ours now.”

  “If we survive,” Abigor said.

  “Oh, we’ll survive. Mia’s not going to have it any other way,” Nicholai said proudly.

  Chapter Thirty

  Abigor restaged his legions. He p
aired them with birdmen. The assault on the giants would be twofold. The birdmen would slice the tendons and disarm the beasts, hopefully bringing them to the ground where the demons could do what they do best, stab, hack, and chop. The thought was to reserve half the army and squadron for relief. There would always be fresh fighters available. Abigor wanted the corpses of the giants to fall in front of the door. He didn’t want to make it any easier for the newly arriving creatures to get outside.

  The first giant ventured out. His timing was poor. The rising sun blinded him. Mia and Nicholai took him down in seconds.

  Angelo watched from his perch. He was frustrated that he wasn’t battling, but Soren had been clear. Angelo and his squadron were needed to evacuate the innocents if the giants broke through the line. He had to conserve his energy and that of the protection squadron.

  Birdman injuries were already coming in. Idra and her Gray Ladies were patching them up and sending them off as fast as they could. The demons battled until they extinguished their existence. They would be reborn in Hell, but it wouldn’t be for some time.

  The giants’ souls reincarnated quickly. They learned with each killing and passed the information off to the next to be formed. Smartly, they piled the bodies of their fallen to either side of the door so that the birdmen couldn’t pick them off as they exited. They had moved outward onto the beach. Angelo counted ten giants presently battling the birdmen and demons.

  Mia flew in injured. She had a spike from a frost giant club imbedded in her right hip. The armor had slowed its progression, but she had lost the use of her right leg.

  Angelo rushed over. He deactivated Nyx’s armor, leaving Mia quite exposed.

  Mia, who was suffering, looked over at him and winced. “Thanks a lot, big fella,” Mia said.

  He held her still while Idra herself operated on Mia. “You shouldn’t be out there,” growled Idra as she sewed Mia back together. She gave Mia a quick exam, looking for any internal injuries.