Lord of Legions

by T. R. Hamby

  “I’m having some Valkyries search for the wounded,” Diana replied. “It’s lucky Lilith convinced us to bring supplies. I was….certain that none of us could be killed.”

  They were quiet for a moment. Diana looked at Lilith. One of the Valkyries sniffled.

  Mel said, “What now?”

  Diana sighed. “We wait. We collect the dead, tend to the wounded. And….we hope that Lilith comes back to us soon.”

  And she looked over at Lilith again.

  No one nodded.

  Mel looked at Michael. “Come walk with me.”

  For a long moment Michael appeared he hadn’t heard. But then he got up. He stooped to kiss Gilla’s cheek, and then followed Mel outside.

  Mel led him north, to his tent. They went inside, and without a word Mel began to work the armor off Michael’s body. Michael was still, silent. Once he was stripped of his armor, revealing a T-shirt and pants underneath, he did the same to Mel.

  Mel looked at his brother. The left side of his face was a bloody mess, with three large gashes oozing the red liquid. The rest of his face, his neck and his hair were dotted and smeared with it. And he looked….defeated.

  Michael looked at him. “Nora?”

  “She’s okay--she’s--injured.”

  Michael looked away, his jaw working. “I need to see her.”

  “Yeah.”

  Mel hesitated, then said, “Serene is out there.”

  Michael took a shaky breath. “I don’t--I don’t know if I can--”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “No,” he said firmly, brushing at his eyes, “I do. I--she’s my baby.”

  Mel’s breath hitched. They looked at each other, and for a moment Mel was taken back to the last war, when he had come back to life. How angry he had been, so very angry. And Michael had looked so relieved to see him alive, had reached out to help him rise.

  How sure Mel had been then that their bond had been broken forever.

  “How are you?” Michael asked.

  Mel brushed at his eyes. “Alive.”

  Michael nodded. He moved at the same time as Mel did, and they embraced roughly, holding each other tight, tight enough to hurt.

  “Michael,” Mel said hoarsely.

  “I know,” Michael said. “I know.”

  Gabriel

  One Week Later

  The weather over the town hadn’t changed at all. Dark, heavy clouds hung overhead, intermittently brightened by blue bolts of lightning. There wasn’t much thunder, oddly enough.

  The bodies of the fallen lay in the yellowed grass, surrounded by spring flowers. Roses, tulips, daffodils. They were pretty, but they only masked the look of death on the bodies’ faces.

  They didn’t decay, though. They didn’t rot. One small comfort.

  Gabriel threw himself into tending to the wounded. It was all he could do, and there were quite a few of them. He applied bandages, changed dressings, helped wash and clothe. Some were in bad shape, barely hanging on, and Gabriel wondered bitterly--what was Lilith doing?

  They looked everywhere for Father’s body, but like Gabriel had said, it was gone. A pile of armor was found, along with his sword. The Valkyries melted it all down and dumped it in the creek. Some of the Angels refused to go near the water after that, afraid it was cursed, but Gabriel and the others didn’t care. They preferred to be clean.

  The mood was low, very low. Gabriel couldn’t sleep. When he did he dreamed of Barry, dreamed of Serene. He woke weeping, fevered. He had never felt such pain before.

  The war had happened on a Saturday. Well, it was Saturday again. Gabriel had worked overnight, watching over the sleeping wounded. Now it was morning, and he longed to see Barry.

  When he got to the line of bodies outside the Big Tent, he was surprised to find a small figure in the dimness. He drew closer, and found that it was Nora, wrapped in a blanket, sitting at Barry’s feet.

  “What are you doing here?” Gabriel whispered, sitting beside her. “You should be resting.”

  She shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

  She had been feeble since her injury. She was in a lot of pain--more pain than she let on, Gabriel suspected. She couldn’t walk right, and she slept most of the day. Except for now, apparently.

  She studied Barry’s body, tears rolling down her face. “It’s always the good ones, isn’t it?” she whispered.

  Gabriel felt a horrible ache. He would have cried if he’d had any tears left to shed.

  He drew close and wrapped an arm around her. Nora laid her head on his shoulder, and together they watched Barry’s lifeless body.

  “Why aren’t they gone?” Nora whispered. “The Angels and the Valkyries? The bodies are still here.”

  “Maybe Lilith,” Gabriel replied softly. “No idea why.”

  Nora shook her head.

  They were there for a long time, long enough that the dimness faded. Nora’s head began to nod, so Gabriel gingerly scooped her into his arms. She clung to his neck, grimacing, and Gabriel felt a pang. He brought her to her tent. His uncle was asleep on one side of the cot, completely knocked out. Gabriel laid her gently beside him, and she drew into him, her eyes closed.

  Gabriel tucked the blanket around them, then retreated, back to Barry.

  He sat beside him and brushed at his hair. He felt cold, as cold as Barry’s chilled skin. There wasn’t an ounce of happiness in his body, not a shred of cheer or hope. He might as well have been dead.

  He heard a rustling and looked around. Nothing. The sun had risen behind the blanket of storm clouds above them. It was only bright enough to see. No sunshine here.

  He heard another rustling, and sighed. He had had to chase squirrels away a couple times.

  He was about to get up when he saw something that made his heart stop. Someone was sitting up. A body was sitting up.

  He jumped to his feet and rushed over.

  “Serene!” he shouted, falling to his knees beside her.

  She was alive. She was holding herself, her dark eyes wide. Her skin was pink and clearly warm; she was breathing. Flowers still clung to her hair, and she looked around wildly.

  “Serene, Serene, Serene,” Gabriel moaned, and she turned to him and threw her arms around his neck.

  “Gabriel.”

  And they sobbed.

  “She found me,” Serene moaned. “I was sleeping, and she woke me up. And she brought me here. I love you, Gabriel….”

  “I love you too, Seri. Christ….christ….”

  “Where’s Mica?”

  Gabriel straightened. “MICHAEL!”

  And Serene laughed. “God, Gabriel; you don’t have to wake up the whole camp,” she said, and Gabriel grinned, so happy to hear her voice, to hear her speak.

  Valkyries and Angels began to emerge from their tents, rubbing their eyes and looking bewildered. Gabriel Called Michael again, still clutching Serene in his arms.

  She gently pushed away. “Let me breathe.”

  He heard what was unmistakably Michael’s footsteps thundering towards them, and he laughed.

  “You’re not going to get a chance to do that for a long time,” he said as Michael slid onto his knees and yanked Serene into a bone-crushing hug.

  Serene broke into fresh tears. “Mica, Mica,” she moaned, clinging to him.

  “Oh god, Seri,” Michael breathed.

  Then he grabbed Gabriel and pulled him into his arms too. Gabriel buried his head into Serene’s shoulder, feeling safe and so relieved. He could smell the flowers in his sister’s hair, could hear his father’s racing heart. He suddenly remembered being a child again, following Serene wherever she went. Being held by Michael, and listening to all his wonderful stories.

  There were some noises, and the three broke apart. The other bodies were beginning to stir.

  Gabriel scrambled over to Theresa and Roone, who were opening their eyes. Theresa’s burns were gone. Roone’s once scarred and cloudy eye was now renewed.

  They slowly
sat up, and Gabriel laughed.

  “Gabriel,” Theresa breathed, a smile lighting up her face. “Oh, am I glad to see you.”

  “You’re glad to see me? Look beside you,” Gabriel said, and she looked.

  Roone looked too, and they laughed, throwing their arms around each other.

  “I knew she’d bring me back to you,” Roone moaned.

  “YES!” a voice shouted, and Andreas arrived, nearly bowling Gabriel over as he slid to the ground and wrapped his arms around the two of them.

  Theresa and Roone laughed again, clinging to him.

  “Kira!” Serene’s voice cried, and Gabriel looked.

  Mel was there, falling to his knees and embracing his niece. Nora was there too, and Gabriel could instantly tell that she was healed. She was twisting this way and that, smoothing her hands down her body, looking energized and strong. Michael got up and hugged her.

  “Gabriel.”

  He froze. God, he knew that voice.

  He whirled around, and there was Barry standing over him. His cheeks were pink, his blue eyes bright and alive. He was covered in flowers, and he wore a quizzical frown on his face.

  “Why are there flowers on me?” he asked, holding out his arms. “I look like Snow White.”

  Gabriel jumped to his feet and threw his arms around him. “You shithead,” he moaned. “You’ve been dead for a week and that’s the first fucking thing you say to me?”

  Barry gave a cross between a laugh and a sob. “I’m sorry,” he moaned, laying his head on Gabriel’s shoulder. “I tried not to go.”

  “It’s okay,” Gabriel said, brushing at his flowered hair. “Where did you go?”

  “I don’t know. Somewhere In Between, I guess. I was sleeping, and she Called me. I followed her voice….I knew where I was going….”

  “God, Barry,” Gabriel moaned.

  He pulled away enough to kiss him, and Barry growled, cupping his face in his hands. It was perfect--new. Barry was alive. Barry was alive.

  The kiss couldn’t be any sweeter.

  Mel

  They weren’t just all alive. Nora’s injury healed, as did Michael’s face. The little infirmary tent they had pitched was suddenly empty as its patients wandered out, without a single scratch on their skin. Roone’s eye was restored. The scar on Barry’s face vanished.

  The air was loud with talking and laughter. The clouds dissipated, and the land was bathed in sunlight. It was still warm, with a cool breeze. Mel couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction the town was bound to have over the crazy weather.

  He looked around, and saw Lilith standing at the entrance of the Big Tent. Beside her was Diana. They were both watching the crowd.

  Mel looked at Nora, who had seen them too. She caught his eye and nodded.

  He kissed her, and then walked over to the tent. As he did, Lilith and Diana went in, and he followed.

  They stood at the table. Lilith looked radiant. Her dark eyes sparkled, and she still had a couple flowers in her hair.

  But it was more than that. Mel could sense her power--an immense power, the most he had ever sensed. He imagined that it would have overwhelmed him if she hadn’t been holding back.

  She looked at the two of them calmly.

  Finally Diana said, “Where were you?”

  Lilith looked at her. “I had to find the dead,” she said. “I wasn’t going to let anyone go to Heaven or Hell, or get trapped In Between. So I went out to look for them. And I found everyone. Every Angel, every Valkyrie. Every human. They’re alive.”

  “But that’s not all you’ve done,” Mel breathed, grinning. “You healed everyone too. The injured--Nora--Roone’s eye, Barry’s face.”

  She flushed and looked down at her hands. “I couldn’t let them stay hurt.”

  “So your power--you have--you have his now?” Diana breathed.

  Lilith nodded gravely. “I have my own power, grown over thousands of years. I have Calypso’s, a vast amount given by Father. And now I have Father’s--the Creator’s.”

  Mel stared at her. He realized, with a great shock, that he was looking at the most powerful Being in all the dimensions. Lilith.

  “And he’s gone?” Diana pressed. “He won’t be coming back?”

  Lilith shook her head. “I can’t feel him anymore.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “Where his family went, I think,” she replied. “Nowhere.”

  “We’ll never know anything about them,” Mel said. “Where they came from. What their powers were.”

  Lilith shook her head. “No.”

  They were quiet for a moment.

  Mel finally said what was on all their minds. “What now?”

  Lilith thought for a moment. Then she said, “I couldn’t do it before….I wasn’t as powerful as I am now. But now I can--I want to open up my Realm. Valkyrie and Angel alike can come and go. The souls of mortals can come to me. To a new life.”

  Mel smiled and nodded. “That’s perfect.”

  But she faltered. “People will expect me to rule,” she said.

  She looked at Diana. “I don’t want to do that.”

  Diana nodded. She thought for a long moment, looking down at her hands.

  “We could have a….council,” she said slowly, as if testing the word on her tongue. “Angels, Valkyries and humans. Decisions can be made by consensus. It’s political, but….it’s something to try.”

  Lilith beamed. “How diplomatic of you.”

  “But what will you do, Lilith?” Mel asked.

  She frowned, thinking. Finally she said, “I want to go home. With my family. With Theresa and Andreas. I want to….be at peace. I have to learn to control all this power. Quietly.”

  Mel nodded. He felt a deep ache. “Can we….visit?” he asked hopefully.

  She smiled at him. “Yes. Of course you can.”

  “You’ll have to,” Diana said wryly, “if we want any excitement.”

  Mel grinned.

  Diana left to let the others know, and Mel turned to Lilith.

  “I have something for you,” he said, and she looked intrigued.

  He fished around in his pocket, and pulled out the sapphire necklace he had worn on his neck for so many millennia. He had found it in the ruins of the house, buried under a pile of ash, still hot to the touch.

  Lilith stared at it. Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she hastily brushed them away. Mel saw pain in her eyes, and he knew she was thinking of what could have been.

  His heart ached, and he wrapped his arms around her, kissed her brow. She buried her head in his chest. She was so small.

  After a long moment she pulled away, wiping at her eyes. “I’m all right.”

  And she took the necklace from him. She admired it for a moment.

  She looked at him. “We were so young.”

  Mel nodded. “We were.”

  “It’s strange,” she continued, “I’m much older now, but I still have no idea what to do about anything.”

  Mel smiled. “I don’t either.”

  He took a step forward and helped her slip the necklace over her head. Once it was around her neck he looked her in the eye.

  “You are a good woman. And, as much as you don’t want to, you are going to have to rule. At least a little. You can’t avoid it with all that power. So,” he said, taking her hand, “know how good you are.”

  Lilith looked up at him. There was fear in her eyes. But there was also courage.

  She squeezed his hand. “You make me good,” she breathed. “All of you.”

  Mel smiled. It was strange….almost full-circle, in a way. They were together again, as friends. And the world was so much safer than it had ever been before.

  And in that moment he knew everything would, finally, be all right.

  Nora

  One Year Later

  She was running late.

  It was a good thing traffic was low. Nora sped her shiny red Ferrari through the streets, switching lanes with ease
. She had gotten a lot better at driving ever since Mel had gifted her the car for her thirtieth birthday.

  She arrived at their house in Monti, parked, and raced up the front steps.

  “Late,” Mel called as she entered.

  “Oh hush,” she shot back, grinning.

  She followed his voice to the kitchen, where a lovely smell hung in the air.

  Mel was at the counter chopping vegetables, and he looked so good, wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His dark hair was tousled, and there was a mischievous smile on his face.

  “It’s okay,” he said, as Nora slipped her arms around his neck, “no one’s here yet anyway.”

  “Rehearsal ran over,” Nora said. “The producers are being picky.”

  “Damn them,” Mel joked, wrapping his arms around her waist. “You’re wearing that dress I like.”

  “I am, aren’t I?”

  “Yes. You are bellissima.”

  Nora smiled and kissed him. After everything that had happened, each kiss was just as meaningful as the last.

  “How was work?” she asked, throwing on an apron and checking the chicken in the oven.

  “Fine. Nothing interesting to report,” Mel replied, continuing to chop the vegetables. “But I might open a galleria in Venice. What do you think?”

  “Only if we get to visit,” Nora said with a smile.

  Just then there was the sound of footsteps shuffling in the foyer.

  “Here we go,” Mel joked as Michael and Gilla walked in.

  “Heard that,” Michael said, setting a bottle of wine on the counter. “Chianti.”

  “How was rehearsal?” Gilla asked, squeezing Nora’s hand.

  “Oh, good. The producers are fussy, though.”

  “I heard they would be.”

  “How’s the remodeling?”

  Gilla, instead of resuming her opera career, had started a remodeling business with Michael. There were plenty of old buildings in Rome just waiting to be redone. Business was going very well.

  “You should’ve brought whiskey,” Mel said as Michael uncorked the wine.

  “I’m not bringing whiskey every time we eat.”