by T. R. Hamby
Then Andreas felt rough hands grab him by the waist, and he was yanked up, and hurled into the snow. The earth was tough, and the wind was knocked out of him. Andreas moaned, his body stunned, and he watched as the Demon stood over him, his black teeth visible as he leered.
Then he screamed, his greedy expression turning into one of horror. He cowered, staggering away. Andreas felt a wave of cold wash over him, and he looked to find Mel making his way to them, looking positively livid. His eyes were black, and his hands were shaking as he grabbed the Demon by the throat and shoved him to the ground.
“Andreas--fire,” he hissed, and Andreas pushed himself up.
He produced a flame, and Mel seized it.
He looked at the Demon, and his black eyes glittered. “Let’s see what my fire does to you,” he breathed. “Look into my eyes, Raziel.”
Raziel shrieked, and Mel placed his flaming hands on his head.
Andreas didn’t bother to watch; he knew what would happen. He whirled around, looking for someone to help.
His heart stalled. Nora and Ceres were still rolling on the ground. Ceres shoved Nora hard into the earth, pressing her knee into Nora’s thigh. She plucked a knife from the ground.
Time slowed. Andreas watched in horror as Ceres brought the Blade down. Nora grasped her wrist with one hand while shielding herself with the other. The Blade pierced her hand, pushed down, and nearly caught her in the eye.
It was enough to incapacitate her, and Ceres withdrew the knife, jumped to her feet, and bolted for the house.
Andreas stood. He had never felt such anger before. It flooded his veins, white-hot and boiling. His whole body burned with it; his heart pounded in his chest, and his fingers tingled, thirsty for blood.
He raised a hand, and Ceres halted, skidding in the snow. She shrieked, struggling, as Andreas raised her into the air.
“No, no, no!” she cried, whipping her head. “NO!”
Andreas considered her, as she struggled in vain against his invisible hold. She continued to cry out, fearful and enraged, like a fly trapped in a jar.
Andreas’ heart raced, but his hand was steady.
“You are a monster,” he breathed.
He twitched his hand, and she burst into flames.
Roone
The Demon burned like a witch at the stake. She screamed an unholy scream. Fire licked the air, and Roone could smell her rotting body burn. Below her Andreas stood, holding his hand aloft, the fire dancing in his eyes. Power emanated off him, enough to make Roone shiver, to stumble.
Her scream eventually died, and she vanished.
Roone let out a breath. Everyone had stopped to stare.
He looked at Andreas again, and his heart stopped. Andreas had crumpled, catching himself on the ground.
Roone left the Angels he had been guarding and ran to him. He had been tackling the five living Angels, causing them horrific pain. He hadn’t escaped injury--he could only torture two at a time, and the others had swung at him as he worked. He had received several gashes, but was victorious. The five Angels lay on the ground, twitching.
He dropped to Andreas’ side. Andreas was pale, very pale, and looked like he was going to be sick. He gave a little groan, slumping, and Roone caught him.
“Too much at once,” he muttered, grimacing.
“What?”
“That’s what Them says. I did too much….without practice….my body isn’t used to it….fuck….”
Roone slung his arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get you inside.”
Just then the others arrived--including Nora, who was cradling her hand to her chest.
Michael looked at Mel. “Go kill the rest. We’ll take him inside.”
Mel went, and Michael took Andreas’ other arm. The two pulled him to his feet and helped him into the house.
Gabriel and Gilla had been looking out the window, and ran to them as they came in.
“What happened?” Gilla breathed, her blue eyes wide. “He was standing, and then….”
“Too much at once,” Roone said, repeating Andreas’ words. “Let’s take him to my room; it’s closer.”
They stumbled into Roone’s bedroom and helped Andreas lie down. He was gray now, and was shivering. There was ash all over his clothes.
Roone looked at Michael. “I’ll get him changed. You help Mel.”
“Mel’s fine,” Michael said, glancing out the window. “I’ll help Nora; she’s injured.”
Roone felt a surge of panic, remembering Nora’s hand. “Oh god.”
“She’ll be fine,” Michael said warningly. “Focus on Andreas.”
And he left.
Roone’s heart raced. If Nora died, he would too.
But he shook himself, and turned to Andreas, brushing soothingly at his hair. “How do you feel?”
Andreas swore in Swedish. “I didn’t mean to….I couldn’t stop myself….”
“It’s okay.”
“Will I die?”
Roone was about to answer, to placate him, before he realized that Andreas was talking to Them.
He nodded, listening to her speak. “I could’ve killed Barry. Shit….what if it destroys me?”
He listened again, and nodded.
“What is she saying?” Roone asked, beginning to pull off Andreas’ clothes.
Andreas took a deep breath, wincing as he shifted in the bed. “She says I was just overwhelmed. It won’t destroy me; I just need to learn how to use it. Get used to it. God, I feel like shit.”
“How long until you’re better?”
Andreas listened. “Not long. Maybe a week.”
Roone nodded, relieved. He would be okay. He just needed rest.
He helped Andreas into a shirt and sweats, and then got him under the covers.
“Do you want to sleep?” he asked, as Andreas blinked slowly.
“No….we need to talk….all of us….I want to see Nora….”
Roone’s heart raced again, and he nodded.
He went out to the kitchen and found the remaining six waiting anxiously. All were disheveled except for Gabriel and Gilla. Mel was bandaging Nora’s hand. Barry was in Gabriel’s arms, and Gilla was in Michael’s. Mel was missing a shirt, and he too had ash stuck in his hair.
“He’s okay,” Roone said, and the group relaxed. “He wants to talk. Make sure….”
And he looked at Nora, breathless with relief. She was okay, even radiant, despite her injury. He thought he saw her look admiring, and his heart leapt.
Michael made a noise, giving Roone a warning look.
Roone deflated. Right.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah….so….”
And he trailed off awkwardly.
They went into the room and gathered around the bed, where Andreas sat looking exhausted.
“Oh, Andreas,” Nora moaned, but he smiled.
“You’re all right?” he asked, and she went to him, sitting beside him on the edge of the bed.
He examined her bandaged hand. “Shit.”
“I’ll be fine. Might not work the same way though….at least it’s my left hand.”
He nodded.
“How do you feel?” Gilla asked worriedly.
Andreas chuckled. “I’ve been better. But Them says I’ll be all right.”
“I heard her talking,” Barry said. “She says you’ll be better in a week.”
Andreas nodded.
Then he looked around at them. “What happened?”
They looked at each other.
Nora said, “Ceres and I were at each other the whole time--until she stabbed me.”
“I was on Ariel,” Mel said, and he looked between Nora and Michael. “Remember him? I was too angry for his Talent to work on me this time….got rid of him pretty quick.”
“I had Damien, our old friend too,” Michael said, nodding. “Got him down, and you killed him for me.”
“Andreas killed my Demon,” Barry said, and Andreas looked pained.
�
�I nearly killed you. I’m sorry.”
“S’all right. She would have killed me first.”
Then they looked at Roone, who felt himself flush.
He shrugged, shuffling his feet. His lacerations stung. “It was easy for me.”
“You incapacitated half of them,” Mel said, “and could have been killed in the process.”
There was a silence.
Roone stared at Mel, feeling a mixture of shock and confusion. Was Mel commending him?
“Yeah,” Barry said quietly, and Roone looked at him. “I saw you a couple times; you nearly had your head chopped off. How did you do it?”
There was a silence. Roone hesitated, embarrassed as everyone turned to look at him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Andreas said firmly.
But Roone shrugged. They all already knew his history, knew all about his wicked power.
“When I was a child,” he said, not looking at any of them, “the others would….gang up on me. Hit me, beat me. Try to get me to use my Talent on them. I got good at ducking.”
He knew they were horrified. He shrugged again, shoved his hands into his pockets. He still vividly remembered those days, when he could hardly walk alone on the street without being cornered. The adults had done nothing, too repulsed by him to really care.
“Roone,” Gilla sighed, and he looked at her warily.
She looked pained. “I’m so sorry.”
He felt a pang. Everyone was looking at him, a mixture of horror and pain on their faces.
They weren’t angry with him….they weren’t disgusted. None of them looked ready to punch him.
It nearly broke him, and his eyes stung with tears. He looked at Nora, who was sitting on the bed. She stared back calmly.
“So am I,” he said. “I’m….so very sorry.”
Nora had a gentle look on her face--a kind, almost maternal look. She gave a tiny nod, and the pain he had suffered for the past several weeks suddenly began to fade. Just a little.
There was a silence.
Then Michael said, “We should leave. When you’re healed. Father knows where we are now.”
There was a collective groan.
“No, we should stay,” Gabriel said firmly. “Running away isn’t going to do us any good. So what if Father knows we’re here. He’d find us eventually anyway.”
Everyone considered this.
“The bigger question,” Mel said with a sigh, “is what he’s going to do next.”
“Send more, maybe,” Nora said dryly. “An army of them. A Legion.”
“He knows about your power,” Roone said, looking at Andreas. “He’ll know now….unless Them’s shield covered the whole battle….”
“No--too scattered,” Andreas replied.
He paused, cocking his head, and nodded. “Yes, she says. Too much going on at once.”
“So now he has a fledgling god to deal with as well,” Michael murmured quietly. “Is he afraid?”
Barry and Andreas looked at each other and shivered.
“Very,” Barry said, repeating Them’s words. “Afraid….and angry.”
“So what do we do?” Nora asked.
“Stay,” Andreas replied. “I need to train, and the clearing is a good place to do that.”
“We all need to continue training,” Mel said.
Andreas nodded. “And we’ll wait.”
“God, I don’t like waiting,” Gilla sighed, and Michael took her hand.
“You’re unkillable, and multi-Talented,” Nora said firmly. “Mel is the same. The rest of us are either highly trained, highly Talented or both. We have a goddess on our side. And now….”
And she looked at Andreas. “….we have your power too.”
She looked around at them. “Whatever he throws at us….it’ll be an even match.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Mel said gently.
“We’re certainly formidable, though,” Michael said.
He looked at Gabriel. “I don’t think we have to worry about hiding you anymore. Father will want all our blood now.”
“Good,” Gabriel replied. “I couldn’t stand hiding.”
“Well, I liked it,” Barry grumbled, and everyone managed a chuckle.
“There’s something else,” Gilla said, and everyone turned to her.
She looked worried, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. “What is this leading to? Are we….are we really going to have to kill God?”
There was a pause. A shiver went through the group, and Roone closed his eyes.
When he had first laid eyes on Nora Rossi, he had never, in an eternity, would have thought that she would lead him here. For years all that had mattered in the world was her. Now he was here, and his Father was murderous. Evil. Would they have to kill him?
“How do you even kill a god?” Barry asked quietly.
He was looking upwards, and Roone knew he was asking Them.
He sighed. “She doesn’t know. She’ll have to think.”
“Let’s save it for later,” Mel said, looking at Andreas. “You need to rest--we all need to rest. Them will watch over us.”
So--almost reluctantly--they left for their bedrooms.
Roone stayed behind. He was tired, despite having done the least amount of fighting. Using his Talent like that had taken a lot of strength.
He took a shower, got dressed, and slipped into bed. Andreas was fast asleep, and Roone felt a surge of relief. He was okay. His friend--his best friend--was okay.
He lay staring at the ceiling and thought. Everything that had happened today was a giant blur. Father was Benjamin, Andreas had inherited godlike powers, the Demons were dead. It was so much to take in.
Andreas stirred then, gasping a little. “Fuck.”
Roone sat up worriedly. “What’s wrong?”
Andreas squeezed his eyes shut, passed a hand over his face. “Nothing….just a dream….my family again….”
And he eased onto his side, facing away from Roone. Roone’s heart ached, and he drew close to him, wrapping an arm around him.
They were quiet for a moment. Roone had been sure Andreas had drifted back to sleep when he asked, “You’re okay?”
Roone frowned and squeezed him. “I should be asking you that.”
Andreas managed a chuckle. “Oh, I’m peachy.”
But his voice broke a little, and Roone winced.
“Why did I say yes?” Andreas suddenly breathed, and Roone heard horrible grief in his voice. “What have I become? What would my family think?”
Roone shushed him. “You’re tired.”
“Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t. Just go to sleep,” he whispered soothingly.
Andreas nodded vaguely, and was soon asleep again. Roone held him, and his heart ached. What kind of toll would this new power have on Andreas? Why hadn’t they considered that before?
But there had been no time. No choice.
Andreas woke a couple hours later, early in the afternoon. Roone had woken just half an hour earlier, and was playing on his phone.
“What time is it?” Andreas asked, carefully sitting himself up.
“One,” Roone replied, adjusting his pillow as he sat. “It’s snowing again.”
“How surprising,” Andreas said dryly.
He ran his hands through his hair, heaving a sigh.
“How do you feel?” Roone asked cautiously.
Andreas thought for a moment. “I can still feel it,” he said slowly. “This power. Inside me….almost like….a snake coiled in a shoe. Powerful, but still trying to fit. I don’t know if that makes sense.”
Roone could understand. The power Andreas gave off had been nearly staggering at first. Roone was slowly getting used to it.
Andreas still seemed a little down, frowning at the blanket. Roone took his hand and squeezed, and he managed a small smile.
“I’m sorry, Roone,” Andreas murmured, and Roone frowned. “For what you said earlier. About your childhood.
I didn’t know. I mean, I knew a little….”
Roone looked away. The memories were still painful, would always be painful.
He finally shrugged. “It’s over now.”
It was a lie. He didn’t know if it would ever be over for him. Not just his past--but his present. Nora had forgiven him, clearly, but that didn’t change how lost he was without her.
Andreas seemed to be reading his mind. “It’ll get better. You’re going in the right direction.”
“You do realize you’re talking to the man who kidnapped and imprisoned an innocent woman,” Roone muttered dully.
Andreas wasn’t impressed. “I know, Roone,” he replied, gently. “I know what you did. It doesn’t mean you can’t be rehabilitated.”
Roone shrugged, although he was intrigued. Maybe Andreas was right; maybe he could be cured. Or, at least….kept in check.
He heaved a sigh. He didn’t want to discuss it anymore, but there was a horrible thought that had been sitting in the back of his mind since that morning--since his and Andreas’ little spat.
He looked at him. “What do I do when you leave?”
Andreas winced, looking guilt-ridden. “Shit. I’m sorry, Roone. I truly thought you knew. I thought everyone knew.”
Roone looked away, picked at the blanket. His heart raced, panicked at the thought of losing his friend--the only person in the universe who cared about him.
Andreas murmured something in Swedish, heaving a sigh, before wrapping his arms around Roone. Roone felt a little soothed, and leaned into him.
They were quiet a moment.
Then Andreas murmured again, and said, slowly, “Maybe I won’t have to go. Maybe I can visit.”
Roone looked at him, frowning.
Then it clicked. “Your power,” he said, nodding. “Yes….maybe….”
“I imagine there are many things I can do now,” Andreas said, with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
“You can protect us,” Roone replied firmly. “You can help us….use your power for good. You won’t be like Father. I promise.”
“What if it poisons my mind?” Andreas breathed. “Turns me against you? Makes me evil?”
