Death's Mantle 3

by Harmon Cooper

  He equipped his carbine, firing it with one hand, Grimzilla quickly dismantling the colossal demon bug.

  The enormous parasite fell into the side of a building, bringing more debris down to the asphalt, taking trees, a food stand, part of a fountain, and a pedestrian bridge with it.

  “I need to get one of those,” Danira said, now directly behind Lucian.

  “It comes in handy,” he told her as he fired more shots at a grouping of parasites descending upon them. Eventually, they found themselves back to back, Lucian grinning as he asked, “So, how’s this for a date?”

  “I’ve had worse,” Danira said followed by a grunt as she cut through a stinger twisting in her direction.

  “In which lifetime?”

  “I can’t remember,” she said.

  “Injuresouls will be here soon,” he said grimly, wondering why they hadn’t already arrived.

  “Is this your way of telling me you want to get out of here?” she asked. One of her golden crows passed over her shoulder, and dipped down into the featureless face of one of the humanoid parasites, passing through its body and splitting it in half.

  “Those things are sharp,” Lucian said, conjuring a blue fire dagger that cut through a seven-foot-long muscled arm heading in his direction. “And anyway, I’m ready when you are.”

  “I’m pretty sure we have some video games that we need to play.”

  Lucian turned to Danira at that moment and placed a hand on her waist.

  Ignoring the tendrils coming toward them, the stingers tipped in poison, the terrible shrieks of the parasites, Lucian simply locked eyes with Danira, momentarily oblivious to the world happening around them.

  And with that, the two vanished in a flash, reappearing in front of his workshop, Lucian still just inches away from the angel as his armor melted away.

  It felt almost as if a tractor beam was pulling him closer to her, Danira’s lips parting, Lucian slowly extending his neck toward her.

  They kissed, and as they did, he felt something that he hadn’t felt in a long time, years even.

  He felt a sensation inside his stomach, a fluttering, the remnants of his nervous system sparking, his world brightening.

  Everything was suddenly in its right place. All of this made sense, and what he planned to do next mattered even more.

  They finished kissing and Lucian slowly moved away, the urge to come in again moving over him.

  But he didn’t.

  There was no hesitation in her eyes, however, nothing like there had been before, when she was uncertain of their relationship. Even so, it was quite clear that their relationship was going to be on her terms, and they had plenty of time; this was only the start.

  That was, if his plan worked.

  Chapter Twenty-Four: In Motion

  Lucian felt weaker without his armor. Realizing more and more that this would be a side effect of juicing himself up all the time, Lucian turned his attention to Danira, who was eyeing his workshop.

  “Pizza and videogames?” he asked her.

  “I feel like I’m alive again when you ask me ridiculous questions like that,” she said.

  He gave her a funny look. “And is that a bad thing? Isn’t it great to be alive?”

  “It’s just a weird thing to say. Since I’m staying here, and will be for the foreseeable future, I believe it’s time we make some upgrades.”

  “Oh?”

  “While I enjoy the bed that I made, sleeping in your workshop is not going to cut it. Not any longer, anyway. Do you mind?”

  Lucian looked to Hugin, who hovered in the air next to him. Munin had already moved toward the water, Danira’s two cherub crows following after it.

  “Perhaps you should see what she can do,” said Hugin.

  Danira looked to the crow. “Why did you only allow one of them to speak?” she asked Lucian.

  “Because I thought two would be annoying after a while.”

  “Did you ever look up their names?”

  “Yeah, something about Norse mythology. You told me to.”

  “The one you call Hugin was said to fly around the world bringing information to Odin, Munin helping him. Hugin means thought, and Munin means memory. With thought and memory, Odin was able to understand and interpret things happening across the globe. He was one-eyed, you know. He traded his eye for a chance to drink from a well that would give him cosmic energy, or so the story goes.”

  “But you wouldn’t believe in something like that, would you?”

  “You would be surprised by what I believe.”

  “Would I?”

  “There was a time that I thought that any religious interpretation was basically a reimagining of our Lord. And then I thought otherwise, and now I’m beginning to think that way again. So I guess I fluctuate in my beliefs, as much as I hate to admit that. Perhaps it is my biggest flaw.”

  “So all gods are simply the same God just interpreted differently by people. Sound about right?”

  “I… I’d rather not discuss it too deeply at the moment. Now, back to your workshop,” Danira said, turning away from him. “I would like to make it a surprise. Why don’t you go down there by the water and watch the crows while I do this?”

  “Okay, but…” He tried to think of some quip, something that would be funny, but he couldn’t find anything. Lucian really was starting to feel tired, mentally exhausted as well, regardless of the fact that his SP were topped off.

  So rather than say anything, he took a seat just before the water of the lake, lowering the sun until the sky darkened.

  He looked up at the stars, remembering that he’d read somewhere that he could follow a shooting star in Zero Enigma to uncover a hidden treasure.

  He never tried before, but maybe next time he got a horse, it would be something he would test out.

  Hugin floated over to him, his spherical creation’s retractable claw coming out of its head and adjusting Lucian’s shirt.

  He no longer wore the robes he had on earlier, now going for a black shirt and jeans, no shoes either. He wasn’t cold, he wasn’t overly warm, the temperature was perfect.

  Everything in Old Death’s world was perfect.

  He heard sounds behind him, stone scraping against stone, the ground shaking a little as Danira went about arranging their new digs.

  The thought brought a smile to his face.

  She now planned to live with him here, and even if they hadn’t spoken about it yet, she was a fallen angel, she had been banished—she really had nowhere else to go.

  So as long as he didn’t fuck things up by questioning her beliefs, it was probably okay.

  What was the point of speaking about beliefs anyway? The two of them were pretty much outcasts by this point, stuck in the spiritual plane and shunned by their peers.

  There was a time and a place for everything, and they had more pressing concerns.

  Lucian yawned and licked his lips.

  Feeling thirsty, he spawned a cup of coffee and sipped from it, mentally lowering the temperature just a bit by forcing a cold wind into it with his hand.

  Even with the coffee, he started to drift off, only to be awoken once Danira approached him.

  “Sleepy?”

  “I think that the potion, elixir, whatever you want to call it, works, but it also makes me tired if it’s not running through my system. Heh. I suppose it is like a drug in that way. I’ve got to get my fix,” he said, wishing the words had never left his lips.

  There was a time when he would have joked about something like that, mostly referring to video games, or pizza, or anything else that he enjoyed.

  But now those words had different meanings.

  Now he had seen what happened to someone when they didn’t get their fix, and what getting said fix could do to a person’s life.

  “Let me have a sip of that,” she said, dropping her hand on her shoulder.

  Rather than spawning her personalized cup, Lucian lifted his coffee and Danira took it
from him.

  “Your coffee is amazing,” she said.

  “I try.”

  “Well? Do you want to see it?”

  “I was waiting for you to ask.”

  He was just about to turn and look at what she had created when she told him to close his eyes, Lucian doing just that as he stood. She took his hand and turned him around, instructing him to open his eyes.

  His workshop was still there, but now something that resembled a Byzantine castle was erected above and around it. Made of brick and covered in flowering vines, the structure rose three stories into the air and featured rooftop seating, Danira naturally starting to float up alongside him so they both could get a better look at the place.

  “For us,” she said, placing her hand into his.

  Danira had merged a classic, almost medieval, structure with thick planes of glass that provided beautiful views of the lake and the surrounding trees.

  “One thing, however.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Can we move that?” she asked, referring to Grimzilla, his largest creation. “We’ll be able to see it from the bedroom, and I’d rather not have it obstructing this view.”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  The jets on the heels of Grimzilla fired up, the giant robot rising into the air, its purple eyes trained on the distance. Grimzilla turned toward the forest where all Lucian’s mechas currently resided and slowly made its way to it.

  Somewhere not too far away, Lucian made sure there was a glade that it could land in, Grimzilla no longer visible from their new home.

  “How’s that?”

  “Thanks,” she said as they lowered the rooftop. There were already two chairs set out for them, and a table as well. Vines overtook the parapet, and perfectly trimmed potted plants anchored the corners of the rooftop. “Could I bother you for a pizza?”

  “Definitely,” Lucian said as he conjured two pizzas, which he floated to the table.

  “Before we eat this, you don’t have another confession for me, do you?”

  Lucian suppressed a laugh. “I know you’re just teasing me, but…”

  “You were right to tell me; I overreacted.”

  “No, you reacted the way I figured you would react. I should have given us a little more time together before I said anything. For a minute there, I thought that you were really going to ignore me for good.”

  “And who told you otherwise?”

  “My predecessor,” Lucian said as he took his first slice, Danira doing the same.

  “We really need to conjure up some alcohol.”

  “I’m surprised you would say that…”

  “What? You never want a drink?”

  “I keep meaning to tackle that,” he told her as he ate the pizza.

  “Personally, after all this is done, I wouldn’t mind a good glass of wine.”

  “Or a margarita.”

  “You are so stuck in your time,” she said playfully.

  “And you aren’t? Look at this monstrosity you’ve built us,” Lucian said, gesturing his pizza slice toward the tiled rooftop.

  “I haven’t even given you a tour of the inside yet. Everything in there is modern.”

  “I’m sure it is.”

  They ate and teased each other, and once they finished, the two took a spiral staircase down into their bedroom, which was expansive yet minimal, a single king-sized bed in the center of the room, a seating area with white accent chairs, one of which Ezra was already sleeping on, a view to die for.

  Lucian had seen some pretty decent views in this time as the Grim Reaper, but this one was stunning, the sparkling lake before them, the desert in the distance. It would look perfect during a sunset or sunrise, or simply in the middle of the day, a living art piece.

  Everything in its right place.

  Lucian’s clothes faded away and he lowered onto the bed, Danira doing the same, now in her white pajamas. And rather than say anything, she simply came into his arms, kissing him passionately.

  It went on like this, the two of them discovering things about one another into the early hours of the morning, Lucian confirming that his predecessor had been right about celestial libidos.

  It was a good night, an amazing night, a night unlike any he’d had in a very long time.

  But it ended just like all nights must, and then he slept.

  Upon waking, Lucian quietly got out of bed and walked to the window, taking in the view while Danira still slept.

  Gaspard’s sentencing was one day away, and several pieces needed to fall into place for his plan to work.

  First, he would speak to Mastima, whom he assumed would be joining him sooner rather than later.

  Then he would pay a visit to his predecessor.

  The endgame had begun.

  After a long spell of staring out the window, Lucian eventually went to the rooftop, Ezra following him up.

  He walked to the edge and looked out over the parapet, his two crows with him now.

  “How do you feel about the place?” Lucian asked Hugin, motioning toward their new home.

  “It’s nice. Have you been downstairs yet? There’s a kitchen and a study.”

  “Actually, I haven’t,” Lucian said. “I was, um, a little busy last night.”

  “Ah, yes, I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

  Lucian nodded.

  What he would do the following day would be an incredible risk to his life, in more ways than one. What had happened last night, and what he would do until tomorrow came, would perhaps be the last good memories Lucian ever had.

  And he planned to take full advantage of them, ignoring any voice at the back of his head chastising him as being selfish.

  He was just finishing up his coffee when a portal opened up on the ground below, Lucian rising up and lowering toward it, black robes moving down his body, his cape appearing over his shoulders, Lucian going with everything but his armor.

  “Mastima,” he greeted the dark-eyed female Death, who looked up at his newest structure with curiosity.

  “You decorate like an angel,” were the first words out of her mouth.

  “That’s not my decorating style, it’s hers,” Lucian said, nodding to the upstairs bedroom. Danira now stood at the window in her white sleep clothes, staring out at them.

  “What have you done?” Mastima asked him with a gasp.

  “What do you mean?”

  “There was an attack at the South Wind. It was you, wasn’t it?”

  Lucian shrugged. “They had taken her prisoner; I had to do something.”

  “We are on the brink of war and now…”

  Lucian waved his hand, stopping her from finishing her sentence. “I’m sorry I haven’t run any of this by you yet, but I have an idea how this is going to play out, and I wanted to put the pieces in place to make it happen.”

  “How what is going to play out?” she asked, her voice straining.

  “I think it’s time we burn this place to the ground, and by ‘this place’ I mean both Progenies.”

  “That’s not your decision to make…” Mastima said.

  “Just hear me out. First of all, I wasn’t going to let them take her. And, just so you know, I’m not going to let them, the Congress of Death, kill Gaspard. So let me start this out by saying that. I’ve been thinking, especially after I was randomly attacked by some angels, about a way to bring all these people together.”

  Mastima tilted her head as she took Lucian in. He waited for her to say something, and when she didn’t, he continued.

  “So I planted some seeds. I let the angels know, the ones who had come after me and the same ones who told me that they had imprisoned Danira, that all the Deaths were meeting tomorrow, finalizing war plans. I also dropped this hint at the South Wind. Now, I’m going to need a little bit more to push it over the top, and I’m hoping either Danira or Leliel maybe have a backchannel into the Progeny of Light that they can use to make sure they show up tomorrow.”

 
; “You want the Progeny of Light to come to the Congress of Death?”

  “That’s right, and I want us to use the distraction to free Gaspard. We can fight whomever we need to fight to topple the leadership; that’s your call. You know more about the structures than I do anyway. At the same time, I’m hoping that a commotion will cause something else to happen…”

  Lucian detailed the rest of his plan to her, Mastima not saying anything until he finished.

  “You are orchestrating a war, to instigate a coup, with the end goal of delivering something that both sides want, while the battle is still waging?” She gulped. “You are insane, Lucian.”

  “Is it really that crazy of an idea?”

  The silence that permeated between them was interrupted by Danira, who lowered to the ground, her wings quickly shrinking in size.

  “I’m guessing by the look on your face that he has told you of his plan,” she told the other woman.

  Mastima nodded.

  “It is bold, but it might be the only way to put an end to the war that could last a century.”

  Lucian felt elated. It was clear to him now that Danira would give him her full support in what he planned to do, even if putting the pieces together would be complicated and the outcome uncertain.

  “Have you run this by Cuthbert?” Mastima finally asked, still with an uncertain look on her face.

  Lucian shook his head. “I was planning to do that today. Are you interested in joining us while we pay him a visit? I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure he’ll agree to it.”

  “Then let’s go there now. I would like to hear another perspective on your plan, not one perhaps tainted by emotion,” she said, fixing her gaze on Danira.

  “Do you have a better idea of how we can put an end to the war and rescue your comrade at the same time?” Danira asked. “Because if you do, we are all ears. And that’s not to mention—”

  “Let’s just see what Cuthbert has to say,” Mastima told the angel, cutting her off.

  “In that case, let’s make this fast. I’ve got a long day of relaxing ahead of me,” Lucian said.

  The two joined him, and he pressed his thumb and pinky finger together.

  They appeared somewhere over the desert of his predecessor’s world, lowering as a group, the wind rippling the sand around them.