Divine Uprising

by Rachel Van Dyken

  I cursed aloud and continued rowing. Adonis would kill me if he heard me say that aloud. Atlas and Alexander would probably help him. It wasn’t as if I was his favorite person. Not that it was totally my fault. Thanatus had a lot to do with that, but I didn’t stop him when I should have.

  The paddle hit the opposite edge of the shore. I tied up the boat and hopped out. This was where I was supposed to morph into some sort of creature and look nonchalant as I waltzed into the prison and stole Athena.

  Right.

  I searched my mind for a disguise that would work. Quickly, I ran my hands over my cuts and burns, healing them and disguising myself at the same time.

  I decided to change into a forgettable Phantom. It would be typical to see a Phantom down here, and I could pretend to be infatuated with Athena, which would take next to no acting on my part.

  I walked quickly down the steps to the prison. Once I reached the opening of the cave, it spread into a tavern holding thousands upon thousands of prison cells lining the walls of the cave.

  “Who are you?” A Phantom stepped in front of me, gripping his black sword.

  “Nice sword.” I pointed. “That new?”

  “You lost?” The Phantom growled.

  “I’m found.” I laughed at my double meaning and pulled out my sword. I had made it black to match his. I quickly searched his mind, using my old power to find his weakness. It just so happened to be weaponry.

  “Thanatus just gave me this for helping him steal Athena.”

  The Phantom’s eyes narrowed, then he took in the sword. I had etched in the name of Thanatus as well as a few other fun inscriptions that looked to be in the angelic tongue, when really they were gibberish.

  “He rewarded you?”

  I nodded. “And he has decided to reward you as well.”

  The Phantom’s chest puffed out. “Is he to visit us? Here?”

  Time for nothing. I quickly morphed into what I remembered Thanatus looking like. “I already am.”

  “My lord.” The Phantom fell to his knees. “I’m not worthy.”

  “No,” I said coolly. “You are not. Yet I find myself impressed with your ability to guard the prisoners. Now, run along and give me a few minutes alone with the girl. We have business to attend to.”

  “My lord?” The Phantom looked skeptical, probably because Thanatus never visited the lower prisons. He found it beneath him, literally.

  “Are you questioning me?” I pulled him to his feet and threw him against the wall as hard as I could. His head cracked against the cold stone, which gained the attention of several prisoners.

  “No, no, my lord.” The Phantom skittered to his feet and practically ran out of the large room.

  I closed my eyes and waited.

  Athena’s smell. I would be able to smell her anywhere. She smelled like vanilla and sunshine, like the perfect mix of human and angel. Sweet but made of the earth.

  She was close.

  I followed the scent; her cell was near the entrance of the prison. I stopped in front of the cell and peered in. She was sitting quietly in the corner, her head on her knees, her hands folded around herself as if she was trying to protect something very valuable.

  “Athena,” I said quietly. I allowed my face to morph back into what she was used to.

  Her head jerked up.

  “Seth?”

  I nodded. “We don’t have much time. Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head, a solitary tear running down her cheek. My heart clenched in my chest as I watched her push up onto wobbly legs and walk toward me.

  “Have they starved you?”

  Her voice was hoarse when she answered, “No food and water, and they took…” Her lip quivered. “They drained some of my blood.”

  Rage engulfed me as I gripped the bars of the prison. They meant to weaken her so she couldn’t escape. With a roar I lifted the door to her cell straight from its hinges.

  “Come.” I held out my hand. Her dirty hand took it.

  “You must trust me,” I said quietly as we walked toward the entrance. Several prisoners eyed us skeptically, but nobody said anything. It also helped that I had transformed my face back to Thanatus. They would never challenge him or any other being that had put them there.

  As we came back to the river, the Phantom walked around the corner.

  “What are you doing?” He approached us, hand on sword. “Azazeel has given no orders to take the prisoner.”

  “Do I look like I care?” I answered with a laugh. “I only mean to have a little fun with her. I swear I’ll bring her back once I’m finished.”

  “Fun?” The Phantom asked, clearly confused. Idiot.

  “Yes.” I purred close to Athena’s ear. “Fun.” I kissed her neck and pulled her against me, meeting her lips and hating that it wasn’t real. Hating that I actually liked it. Both revulsion and fascination surged through me. I hadn’t known as a Fallen I could still feel this connection to someone, someone such as she.

  With a moan I pulled back and grinned at the Phantom. “See what I mean?”

  “Are you sharing?” The Phantom leaned toward Athena. I could see violet flash through her eyes. She was ready to kill him.

  “No.” I pulled her closer to me. “She only has eyes for me, don’t you, my love?”

  She nodded her head and pulled my face down to hers, meeting my lips with such aggression I forgot all about the reason behind our little charade.

  “Fine.” The Phantom walked off, leaving us near the boat.

  When I knew it was safe, I changed back to my normal appearance. “Get in.”

  Athena jumped into the boat and grabbed the other oar. Her face looked flushed; her eyes still a brilliant violet. I couldn’t figure out if she was mad at the Phantom or mad at me for what I’d done.

  “It was necessary,” I said, staring into her eyes, trying to gauge her reaction.

  “I know,” she answered quickly, her eyes blazing violet once more.

  “We have to walk through fire to get back to the others.”

  She nodded, her head weak from exhaustion.

  I stopped the boat on the other side and gathered her into my arms to take her to where the fire waited for us, back up to the cave’s entrance.

  Athena fell against my side, her head heavy against me. She wouldn’t make it. There was no way she would make it through the fire without dying. When humans were stripped of blood they became weak. Add that in with angels and their need for angelic blood in order for them to protect their human body, and you had one giant problem.

  I held her against the wall and searched my mind for an answer.

  If we didn’t get out of there immediately, they would come for us and kill us. If I took her through the fire, she would die.

  Either way, we died.

  Unless I figured something out, I would fail.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Adonis

  “Perfect,” I mumbled as the sky darkened. Thousands of flickers of orange light rained down on the perfect landscape.

  “I’ve been waiting to kill some Phantoms.” Atlas grinned next to me. I couldn’t help but grin back. The Twelve had joined us a few hours ago and were now assembling in front of the Seekers. They were in less danger of getting pulled to the side of the Phantoms because they were a lot like me, a different race, not a mix.

  I waited as the first few Phantoms landed in front of us.

  This is what I hated about fighting them. They never looked like they should. Several of them had heads of beasts but bodies of men and women, and then just as they picked up a sword, they would turn into beautiful children, and you’d wonder why you were holding a child at the point of your sword.

  I lunged into the first Phantom before he could change. Atlas roared behind me as he took out three more. They were coming in fast, too fast. I raised my sword above my head and sliced through two more Phantoms, cutting them in half.

  They squealed in terror as their bodies bled
dry and disappeared into the ground. From dust to dust.

  Another thousand landed next to us. I could hear Ares’s war cry, and then an arrow flew dangerously close to my ear, hitting a Phantom between the eyes.

  “Thanks,” I yelled back.

  Ares plunged another arrow into someone near me. “No problem.”

  With a cry, I lunged for five more. Each of them had enough time to transform. Their faces morphed into young women. I closed my eyes as I killed them.

  They kept landing, and we kept killing and fighting. I heard Atlas yell, so I ran in the direction I’d last seen him.

  Several Phantoms circled him, all in the form of little boys. I knew why he couldn’t kill them. They had his face. He was killing himself, and I knew his insecurities were pouring forth.

  “Atlas,” I said steadying my voice. “It isn’t real.”

  “Don’t kill us!” they screamed. “We’re innocent! Take us with you, please!”

  “Atlas,” I warned again through clenched teeth. “You must kill them, now.”

  One of the Phantoms grew back to normal size, his face contorting into that of Cronus; he dropped his sword. “If you surrender, I will free your father.”

  “You don’t have the power,” Atlas spat.

  “Oh, but Lucifer does. It will be like nothing.” The Phantom snapped his finger. “A life for a life. What do you say?” The Phantom’s head snapped back; his eyes glazed over, and suddenly it was as if Cronus was talking, not the Phantom. “Son, I love you. Save me, son, save me.”

  “Atlas, no,” I shouted above the battle cry.

  Atlas locked eyes with mine and then closed them as he plunged his sword into the Phantom’s heart.

  I made quick work of decapitating the rest that surrounding him.

  “Are you okay?” I asked once I reached him.

  Sweat poured from his brow as he leaned over and nodded.

  “Are you going to be sick?” I smashed the head of another Phantom as he approached us.

  “Most likely.” Atlas heaved and then grabbed his sword. “All better. Let’s go.”

  Three hours later, and none of the Seekers or Twelve had fallen. Michael fought with his brothers at the forefront; we moved our forces forward. Thousands of Phantoms had already died.

  Apollo and Narcissus, both young and naïve, charged forward without Michael’s command and found themselves surrounded by a swarm of Phantoms that looked a lot like supermodels.

  Great. That was just what we needed.

  Atlas and I fought through the Phantoms to get to Apollo and Narcissus. Apollo was fighting with all he had in him, sweat pouring from his face as he continued killing the Phantoms as if he didn’t even know they were attractive females.

  But Narcissus was frozen, his sword by his side. I yelled for him to fight, but he did nothing. He was staring at the water, a Phantom near him whispering in his ear.

  “Don’t listen,” I yelled above the roar of the fighting. “Narcissus, don’t!”

  His head jerked up. With a wicked grin he reached out and touched the water and then looked back at the Phantom. The woman touched his lips and giggled, putting her arm around his body.

  “Atlas,” I ground out. “We have to get to him. Now!”

  It was too late. The minute my gaze returned to Narcissus, he was in the sky with a thousand Phantoms flying back to where they came from.

  It made the battle easier, and in that moment I realized what Michael had truly meant. They weren’t here to destroy from the outside. They wanted to destroy from within. A half-breed on their side, one that had fought as a Seeker for as long as Narcissus had, would be like a thousand Phantoms.

  I cringed, thinking of the power they’d just gained over us.

  I continued fighting as I watched the Phantoms’ numbers dwindle. Aphrodite made her way through the Phantoms, her hair in a tangled mess as it ran down her back. “Help me, Adonis. I need help.”

  I grabbed her arm and noticed blood, staining my hand. “Where are you hurt?”

  Her eyes flickered down to her stomach. I gasped. She was in no condition to be fighting. I couldn’t heal her. Seth could. But he wasn’t here.

  The fighting continued as my eyes searched for Raphael. He could heal her. At the moment, he was fighting about a hundred Phantoms. I needed to get his attention without getting him killed.

  “Aphrodite, stay here.” I hid her beneath a tree and prayed she would still be alive when I got back.

  It took me minutes to reach Raphael, and when I did, he did not seem amused I was interrupting.

  “What?” he snapped as his sword went into another Phantom.

  “It’s Aphrodite. She’ll die without you.” I plunged my sword into a Phantom behind me and waited.

  Raphael nodded. “Where is she?”

  I turned. “Over—”

  In an instant Raphael was running ahead of me, pushing through the crowds of Phantoms in order to reach Aphrodite.

  A young Phantom was leaning over her, whispering something. She laughed. She always was vain. But she wasn’t a Seeker. She was one of my kind. For her to be on the other side meant I would be fighting my family. It also meant if she was ever with a Phantom, used in the wrong way, they could produce a very powerful race.

  I would kill her myself before that happened.

  Charging through the crowds proved difficult, with every Phantom wanting to stab me in the heart. I finally broke through the last group of Phantoms, only to have every last one of them screech and disappear back into the sky.

  Aphrodite was gone with them.

  Raphael was on his knees by the tree, his head in his hands.

  Nobody understood how bad this really was. Nobody but the archangels and me.

  I sank to my knees and covered my face with my hands.

  My family was lost, forever.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Seth

  Athena was fading fast. I could only heal her outside wounds. It would be impossible to give her blood.

  “Wait,” I said aloud, suddenly remembering a flicker of memory from my past. Blood. It had to do with blood. My blood.

  I was fallen, but I still had angelic blood in my veins. I just didn’t know how to get it from me to her. I wracked my brain. The only thing I could think of meant acting like a total lunatic and truly giving into a side I’d much rather forget about. If I cut open her skin, I risked killing her, but if it worked, it might just save her life.

  “Athena, I need you to listen.” I steadied her against the wall. “I’m going to do something dangerous.”

  Her head fell toward me; she didn’t have the strength to lift it anymore.

  I cursed and used my dagger to slice open my hand. I held it to her lips and squeezed. I was seriously grasping at straws here. I had no idea how the human body worked. Would it digest the blood? Would it use the blood to heal her from the inside out? That was what I hoped would happen.

  She clung to my hand, her mouth hovering near the opening. Color returned to her skin; it seemed to be working, but it wasn’t working fast enough. I cut my other hand and used my dagger to cut her arm and began squeezing my blood across her cuts. As they healed they sucked in my blood and closed.

  “Can you make it now?” I asked, feeling slightly weak.

  “Yes.” She nodded her head. “Thank you, Seth.” Athena leaned in and kissed me. Slightly weird, but who I am I to complain?

  I nodded my head and led her across the fires.

  I would have taken it for her. In fact, I would have died for her. The screams coming out of her mouth were something out of my worst nightmares. I clenched my teeth and pulled her forward.

  After an eternity, we reached the end. I scooped her up into my arms just as she passed out and ran as fast as I could toward the crossroads.

  Once we were outside the cave, we were hit with a warm wind. Something had happened, but I didn’t have time to think about it. Strength gone, all I knew was that Athena needed Ra
phael, and she needed him fast.

  I ran through the trees, not even feeling my feet as they cut against the forest floor. Soon we were at the clearing. Raphael was on his knees by a tree, and Adonis was next to him. Everyone looked sad, but I had no time to ask why.

  “Raphael, she’s injured. You must heal her!” I collapsed in front of him and dropped her to the ground, my hands shaking as blood trickled down my arms. I had officially lost the power to heal myself and given it all to her. I just hoped it was enough.

  Clearly my body was going into shock. I couldn’t stop shaking.

  Raphael reached for me. “No,” I yelled. “Her. Help her first.”

  Trembling, I ripped off my shirt and tried to stop the bleeding in my hand and arm, but the blood just kept flowing out of me. Great, now I was going to bleed to death.

  Raphael blew above Athena’s lips and slowly her cuts healed; she inhaled deeply and opened her eyes. It was the last thing I saw, as my eyes grew heavy, and I fell into nothingness.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Adonis

  “Athena? Love? Can you hear me?” I touched her face. Since the battle, it had changed dramatically. Her skin seemed to glow even lighter. Raphael said it was because of Seth’s blood. The guy had practically killed himself in the process.

  “Athena?”

  “Hmm?” Her eyes flickered open, and then she jerked awake. “What happened? Where are we?”

  I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, only releasing her because we were in Headquarters. “We’re back at Headquarters.”

  “Oh.” She lifted her hand to her head and groaned. “I want to die.”

  “No, you don’t.” I chuckled. “Don’t ever say that. I almost lost you.”

  “But you didn’t.” She smiled and let out a sigh.

  “No.”

  “Because of Seth.” She said it slowly as if she was just understanding who’d saved her. Her gaze flickered around the room.