by L F Seitz
My chest heaved as I worked to stand.
“You’re the double-blooded girl,” the woman said in surprise.
I shoved away the dizziness and swallowed the nausea as I pounded my fist against my chest, forcing myself to focus on the danger around us. “It’s Lamia, but nice try, though.” I helped her up and picked her blade up off the floor, handing it to her before taking off running. Regardless of the downward slope of my energy, or the throbbing ache in my side, I refused to stop until I saw someone I recognized.
I could see the first level of seating we’d made it to before the fighting broke out and dodged through the bloodshed to get closer. I reached the steps as two red figures emerged from behind the pillars. I pulled two throwing knives from my vest and whipped them in their direction, hitting one in the temple and the other in the throat. Red and blue glowing beings attacked each other on the stairs, creatures eating the insides of dead ones scattered through the hall. The scene was pure fiction as I tried not to focus on the blood. I started jumping the seats row by row, making my way down the field. If I got to the field, then I could get to the dugout.
Something captured my ankle and yanked me between the seats, hitting my head against the plastic armrest on the way. The demon was cut in half, its upper body clawing at my legs as I screamed. I flipped my blade at the demon, landing it in the demon’s cheek. Its dead eyes stared back at me as I pulled the steel knife from its cheek and heaved myself from between the seats and over the two remaining rows. Bodies were everywhere, and I tried avoiding the faces looking up at me.
I made it to the dugout’s railing as I saw a man a foot away, a blue glow covered in red as he struggled with a huge demon on top of him, snapping at his face. I threw a dagger, landing it in the creature’s neck. I acted quickly, shoving the beast off the Nephilim before it could crush him completely.
“Thanks,” he grunted as I held out my hand to help him up. I turned to look out onto the field and couldn’t help but freeze in awe. So many bodies. The battle raged on as hundreds of dead bodies lay scattered while people fought on top of them. A sea of fire and ice glowed as blood covered everything in its path.
Something snagged my hair and slammed me to the ground. I stabbed it in the leg as I tried to get free. The Cambion screamed as it let go, then came across my vest with its razor-sharp nails. I tasted blood as I caught its arm and twisted, forcing it to the ground so I could stab it in the throat. Its eyes lit up like red fire as the creature seized and dropped to the ground. I managed to get up again, gasping to regain air quickly and scanned the field, searching the faces of the dead.
Panic bubbled up into my throat. “Micah!” I screamed from the railing, hoping one bloody face would look up at me. I caught a few Cambions’ attention as they made their way toward me across the bodies. “Micah,” I cried out again with everything I had as I ran and leapt onto the top of the dugout. I slipped on blood I fell to my knees, the pain radiated through my bones as I clamored to regain balance again. Micah didn’t answer, but that didn’t mean he was dead. He can’t be dead. I turned to help the two Nephilim that had been on top of the dugout when I jumped, but they weren’t standing anymore. Rather, they were lying down, their lifeless bodies being spit on by a demon dog and a Cambion.
“Bastards,” I yelled. The Cambion growled as I flipped my sword, ready to fight.
The demon dog was the first one to leap for me. I ducked to the side and stabbed it in the skull. My nerves vibrated and my skin tingled as I pivoted, not even having to look to know where the Cambion was going to be. I caught him in the belly as his knife came at me. I blocked it with my blade as he seized before falling to the ground. Standing still only give my wounds a change to seized me, my knees threatened to buckle with the constant burning throb of my torn skin. I panted as the world spun a little, my side the worst of it. The blood was seeping down my pant leg now. “Damn it,” I whispered.
Three more Cambions climbed on top of the dugout caught my eye. Two came at me without hesitation. I swung my leg out and knocked them to the ground. One fell on its back, and I took the chance, sticking him in the gut. The other was on his knees as he launched himself at me, so I threw a knife and got his eye. My blood sang with the combat in spite of the pain, and I was drained but more alive than I ever had.
My skin tingled as I turned around. The third Cambion came at me with a knife. I blocked him with my forearm a little too close to the blade as it cut me like butter. I grunted something vulgar as I caught his wrist and pushed back. Another surprised me from behind, putting me into a chokehold. I held my breath as I pushed the Cambion’s knife back, our arms shaking as we matched each other's strength. The Cambion choking me from behind screamed, and then she was gone. The release gave me the extra momentum to push the Cambion just enough to shove my blade in between his ribs.
“Thanks,” I gasped as I turned, knowing someone came to my rescue.
Micah stood a few feet away, shoulders taught and chest heaving. Blood smeared his beautiful white hair. Our gazes locked on one another. His eyes washed over me in awe, like he was seeing a ghost. I stood there stunned. He’d survived. I didn’t realize how hopeless I’d felt until I was looking at him again. I ran and jumped, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as humanly possible. I had to. I had to know he was real. Micah’s arms were around me instantly, pressing me hard against him, as if he felt the same thing.
“I thought you were dead,” he said breathlessly into my shoulder. The tears brimmed as I pressed my lips against his temple. I thought I’d never see him again. He set me on my feet, and I rested my forehead to his, our noses touching as we took a moment to catch our breath.
“I thought I lost you,” I said, opening my eyes to his, those blue irises as clear as the day I met him.
Micah said nothing as I saw his eyes flick for a moment to my lips. He leaned in and out of my focus as I saw something coming from behind him. I stepped to the side and twisted around his shoulder to his back, kicking the creature off the dugout’s roof. He screeched as he fell, and another Nephilim was there to finish him off.
I turned back, but Micah was gone. Panic hit as something struck my foot. I look down to see him on the field just inside the dugout, smacking my shoe to get my attention. I jumped into Micah’s arms as he pulled me inside. There were about twenty other people fighting from the dugout, some of them I didn’t recognize, but everyone from Charlie 12 was there.
“You all right, Lamia?” Hamon yelled out as he wrestled his blade from a demon’s skull.
“Yeah,” I yelled back. Everyone looked fairly well except for a few claw marks here and there. A few were against the wall taking a breather while the rest fought to keep the creatures at bay. It was like a wall of Nephilim painted on the edge of the dugout as they attacked one creature after another.
“Where did you come from? Where did ...” Micah trailed off, still breathless. He assessed my wounds. I made sure to stand so he couldn’t see the rather large one on my right side. I felt woozy, but it wasn’t throbbing as much anymore.
“I’m OK, Micah,” I said, resting my hand on his arm. “I was dragged down to the basement, but I got out. I’ve been fighting up top helping others in the stands, but it’s nothing compared to here.”
“They just kept coming,” Micah huffed. “We’re outnumbered. We never imagined it would be this many.”
“Micah!” Hamon yelled as he struggled with a big demon.
As the demon seized Hamon, Micah was on top of it, struggling to pin it as Hamon freed himself. The demon they fought forced them to leave a gap in their defenses, and I could sense another one coming. It swung in above their heads, and I used the bench against the wall to jump and launch myself at it. I collided with it mid-air, flying out of the dugout and taking it with me. We fell to the field as its arms wrapped around my legs in an attempt to pin me. It crawled up my body like a spider as I tried to wiggle free. I reached up to grab my sword, ignorantly exposing
my right side. The gangly creature screeched as its long claws pierced my jacket, imbedding its claws in my festered wound.
“You piece of shit,” I screamed as I swung the blade at its head and chopped it from its shoulders. My hand pressed against my side as I felt the shredded skin, squishing through my fingers like spaghetti. Nausea and a sudden wave of heat overcame me as I worked to breathe through the urge to pass out. Something caught my legs and yanked me forward. I yelled, holding up my blade but stopped as I saw white hair.
“Lamia, it’s Micah,” he urged. I blinked furiously through the tears. Micah and Leo were standing over me as they pulled me into the dugout and lifted my shirt to look at my wound.
“Can you heal some of this, Lamia?” Leo asked, as he pressed gauze to it. I cried out at the pressure and told him I couldn’t. “No one has the strength to heal her right now,” Leo said as he looked into his bag. Micah put his hand on me while Leo wasn’t looking, but I grabbed his wrist and yanked it away before he could use what was left of his strength on me. “I can put a clotting agent on now to stop the bleeding, but this might require a surgeon,” he explained as he put a powder on my wound and began wrapping me up.
“We need to get out,” I said to Micah, “or there won’t be a later.”
“We can’t. Communications are offline. Command is blind right now. We have no way to call for rescue,” Leo explained, scanning the ocean of bodies as they continued to fight a losing battle. I watched Hamon fighting off one demon after another. I was helpless as I lay there.
“If only we could send these things back to hell all at once,” Zachriel yelled, stabbing one in the throat.
That demon book. As an act of defiance, Lucifer twisted a human being’s soul to create the first demon, Lilith. If Lucifer can control a creature’s life force, why can’t I? I did it to Asmodeus didn't I, when I killed him? In the basement, Lucifer said I have all of his abilities, with a price. Each time I used my power, it used a part of my soul. Once I use it all up, Lucifer said, darkness would rush in, and I would reunite with him. Was saving all these Nephilim from obvious death worth it? Was it worth another deteriorating blow to my soul?
“Micah, I know how to fix this,” I grunted as I sat up, forcing myself to stand.
“What are you talking about?” His face scrunched together as he helped me get my balance.
“I can exorcise all the demons at once,” I grimaced as I pulled my shirt over the gauze.
“It’s impossible.”
I needed a vantage point, somewhere I could see everything. I looked up to see the night sky through the stadium’s retractable roof. Bingo. “Get me up there, and I can do it,” I said pointing up. Micah shook his head.
“Lamia, no one can do that. No one has that ability.”
“No one is like me,” I yelled at him, grabbing a fist of his shirt. “Listen to me. I know something you don’t, abilities I was too afraid of until now. I can save what is left of us. Help me save the Nephilim, Micah.”
He gaped at me in disbelief. “Tell me what you plan to do –”
“Either you help me now, or I go alone, and if I die, that’s on your conscience.” I was done with this conversation as I pulled my machete from its sheath and stepped to the edge of the dugout. “I am willing to sacrifice myself to end this. The question is, are you?”
Micah’s expression was grim as his blood-smeared face studied me. “Lamia has a plan to finish this, but she needs me to take her to the roof,” he yelled to Hamon, whose eyes grew wide as he shook his head.
“Negative, you need to stay here. We need –”
“Hamon please, it’s either you let me do this, or you stick it out and watch everyone you love die around you,” I said. It was harsh, but we were running out of time. “I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t sure, Hamon. Please trust me, or we’ll all die.”
“Go.” Hamon turned away from me and helped Leo stab a demon.
We ran out of the dugout and fought our way through to the stands, battling one after another as we covered each other’s backs, slashing through creatures and Cambions, we made it up to where we originated. It felt like hours, but we slowly made progress. After a while, Micah took the lead as I began to lose stamina. My wound was getting worse. I followed Micah as he ploughed through creatures left and right, one set of stairs to the next. Cambions came at us from every direction. He fought with double blades, and moved them gracefully as he plundered through flesh and bone.
The higher we got, the fewer there were to fight – and the harder it was for me to breathe. We were at the end of the stadium seating, over 200 feet up. From here, it was all employee back hallways, ladders, and catwalks. Micah walked over to the railing when we had a moment. “This high enough?” he asked. I didn’t answer as I headed for the next set of steps. I was struggling to keep going. Micah’s arm was around me when he could spare it. We rose higher with not much in our way as we climbed. I glanced back and could see the guilt in Micah’s face as we continued. He felt like he was doing nothing while everyone else suffered below.
Once we got through the restricted area, we found the metal ladder that lead to a hatch. Warning symbols were displayed everywhere as I turned to Micah and smiled. “I got it from here,” I said breathlessly. “Go help your people.” It was freezing, and it would only get worse when I opened the hatch. My fingers were blue and numb as I reached for the rungs, but Micah’s hand was on mine before I could move.
“Our people. And I’m not going to let you go alone,” he said.
“Yes, Micah, you are.”
“This is no time to act –”
“I’m not acting; this is something you won’t be able to handle,” I yelled at him. He looked stunned at my sudden anger. “I didn’t tell you for a reason, Micah. This is beyond anyone’s comprehension, even mine. But lives are at stake. They’re worth sacrificing for.”
I turned and began to climb the later.
“Sacrifice? Lamia, wait,” he demanded. He followed behind me as I opened the hatch. We were on the edge of the retracting roof of the stadium now, the farthest I could possibly get. I shuddered at the ice-cold metal that was exposed to the elements and pulled myself up. The roof of the stadium opened like a ladybug’s wings, the shell pieces spread from the center, exposing the abdomen underneath. Right now, I was on the far edge of one of those wings and needed to make it to where the abdomen was exposed, where the carnage sat below. I figured out which way to go and started shuffling. I heard a clang as I turned to see Micah following me.
“At least stay here,” I said turning away from him, but he grasped my arm.
“Why? What are you doing?” he asked.
“Please, Micah,” I pleaded. “Just trust me, and for once in your life do as I say.”
His eyes revealed his fear. He didn’t understand, and he didn’t know what I was going to do. I touched his cheek and rubbed off what blood was there.
“Lamia.” His voice was barely audible as the wind whipped around us. I pulled his hand from my arm and kissed his bloodied knuckles. I don’t know what will happen, but it’s a risk I need to take.
“Stay here,” I whispered as I turned toward the opening were the center of the stadium sat below, and made my way to the edge. Once I was about a foot away, I leaned forward and looked down.
“Lamia, stop,” Micah yelled, and I held my hand up, the wind whipping my hair about as I smiled at him.
“I’m OK.” I looked beneath us at the fight. From up here, it looked so miniscule, sparkles of red and blue dancing about, but I knew better. I looked up to the sky and closed my eyes as I let the wind whip my hair around.
“Please, if you’re listening, let me save them,” I prayed. I took a deep breath and began reciting the angel incantation.“In nomine Lucifer enim ostendis tu qui ad eum. Ut nepos, adversus se superiorem. Et ignis ardebit quasi infernus animam piam contaminant iterum ad vos mittere. Qui dedit nobis confirmasti tibi finis erit secundum operationem Satanae.”
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br /> My skin flared blue as I took another deep breath, my body growing stronger with the glow. I could do this – I saved Micah with my light. I could do anything with the purple light.
“Et reducam te in caligine Demon nunc urbs est patris tui. Ostende mihi faciem tuam, et non est misericordia, quae est a carne daemonum interficiam corpus, perit in aeternum misericordia ignis. Et incarnatus est de Angelo, anima tanted ostende.”
The vibration struck me as I said the last words. Like lightning to a tree, the universe coursed through me. My body quaked with resonance, like I was one with every atom in my being as well as those that stood far beneath me. The lucidity, oh, how I missed it. I cannot be touched. I cannot be contained. My blood was liquid stars, and my insides contained the entirety of the universe within it. I looked below at all the creatures and Cambions attacking the Nephilim, ripping and tearing flesh. Revolting. I could feel their life forces, their pounding veins, and their tired lungs. I closed my eyes and let my violet essence slip out, diving deep as it seeped inside of them, crushing the hearts of the soulless ones and gripping the souls of the twisted ones. I inhaled deeply as I curled my fingers into them and pulled.
“Cambions, pater creavit te, et abominationibus suis, et non est qui nunc operatur animabus vestris, et nunc mitte te creator tuus ego proiiciam te in tenebris, nunc.5”
My guttural voice rang out, the Latin flowing like water, as I pulled with my whole being. It felt like lifting a house with bare strength. My body shook as I struggled, but I pulled harder. My mind was being pushed past its limits. Blood began to drip from my nose as my body begged me to stop, but I refused. I can save these people. I screamed as I pulled with everything I had, raising my hands above my head and forcing their dark souls free of their bodies. Red light flared into the air, breaking the windows out with an explosion as souls finally peeled from their vessels.
“Recedemus,” I yelled as I let go.
They fluttered into the air for a moment, then fell to the ground and leached into the dirt. Down to the depths of Lucifer’s deepest ring of hell. It was quiet, for what felt like eternity, as I stood not even feeling the cold anymore. I couldn’t feel anything as I opened my eyes, the sensation like sandpaper against skin. Everything looked grainy in my vision, a symptom I had never experienced before when it came to using this power. I reached up with shaky fingers to touch the blood coming from my nose. It was bright red against my white fingertips.