LegionBorn

by F. F. John

  Seconds rattled past and my hand remained empty. One eye opened to find nothing but the saxum right in front of me. He rammed into me and I felt a crunch in my chest right before my feet left the floor. I was flying with my arms and legs spread out.

  Suddenly, I was suspended in the air. It took a while to realize I was floating above the ground. What the fuck?

  “Very well said, Vaughn.” Stern gave me a tight smile. “Or thought. What a shame you’re about to die. I like you.”

  I tilted my head upward to see Layla sprawled on the ground. So was Bode. My father scowled at his twin who held the orange-ish object I should have caught. He passed it from hand to hand, looking amused.

  “I haven’t seen any of these in a long time.” His voice was harder than it had been before.

  Straining to get a good look, I noticed the object had developed a warm glow from within. It was circular and looked to be made from a gemstone. It had cutouts to permit the wielder to comfortably wrap fingers around certain sections.

  “There was a time I would have sworn I’d had all of these destroyed. Of course, you would have a macula, brother of mine.”

  My brain whirred as I struggled to place the word. I heard it recently.

  I got it! Bode mentioned a macula to me in Nigeria. He’d said I’d need one to defend myself against higher beings and lesser ones too. So, Caleb had one all this time and didn’t give it to me? Even after I asked him?

  “Because of his hubris, Vaughn.” Stern answered before he zipped over to my father. The movement was so quick, it happened within the blink of an eye. “You should have gotten rid of it, brother because this toy of yours will be your demise. Remember, if it can kill me, it can kill you too.” With a tiny jerk of his head, he added, “Hold him down.”

  There weren’t that many demon spawn still standing, but the two closest to Caleb grabbed him by the shoulders and arms. He resisted but was forced to his knees.

  “And when I’m done killing you, your son will be next.” He laughed, the sound bouncing off the stable’s walls. “I will drain your boy of his life. I will use to do incredible things as I take full dominion over this planet and its beings!”

  Despite being held down, Caleb squared his shoulders and flew upward, taking his captors by surprise. They fell off him like tumbling dominoes. Each stumbled as he rushed Stern.

  But Stern was ready. He grabbed the macula and lodged it halfway into Caleb’s chest. My father howled in pain and the sound twisted my insides. He writhed as he slid down to the stone floor.

  “Caleb!” I called as pain crumbled his features.

  “Really, Acyel?” Stern blared and the stable lights flickered. “When have you ever been able to best me? When?” A wave of heat swept into the barn, rolling over me as it rushed past.

  The room shook as bits of the ceiling fell in, crashing to the floor.

  “You’ve always been so full of yourself. Thinking because Father proudly called you ‘my creation’ that you were meant for incredible things. You were always trying so hard to please, Acyel and look where it got you? A one-way ticket to this filthy place.” Jet black horns emerged from the skin at Stern’s temple as growing muscles ripped the fabric of his suit to shreds. His feet split his black leather oxfords as they became hooves. And when he stamped them, wisps of flames surged each time they touched the floor.

  Fuck me!

  At that thought, Lucifer glanced my way and scoffed. The sounds made everything in me shrivel up. His dark eyes glowed with embers of fire sparking within them. My heart stopped and my mouth hung open.

  I thought I had seen the real face of the devil at Cunningham, Trotter and Severn a few days ago. Little did I know he had looks to kill!

  --XXIII--

  WHEN HE LAUGHED AGAIN, I was reminded of horror movies where the bad guy chuckled evilly in that way that echoed. What the movie makers never realized was that with each deep peel from the devil, a deep-seated and animalistic fear consumed you.

  “What time is it?” Lucifer asked, speaking to nobody in particular. “Oh, let’s see,”—he tilted his head to the side— “Good, it’s almost 9:45 p.m. I don’t know if I can wait for the super moon to reach its apex. I probably should take this child of yours back to my lair for the sacrifice.” He scowled at Layla, who didn’t look to be breathing. “Let me wake this one up. She should be able to help with the ceremony.”

  Layla jerked up into a seated position, face slack.

  “Prepare this floor for a super moon sacrifice,” he ordered, and she bit into her own wrist and bent at the knees, using her blood to draw diagrams on the floor.

  No! Layla never wanted to be a part of any of this. She would certainly not want to be involved in a demonic ceremony. Not in the way Lucifer had planned.

  A memory tickled at the back of my head with some urgency, but I couldn’t focus on it as the defeat I felt overwhelmed me.

  I’ve failed.

  I had such high hopes for myself—I’d make partner by twenty-seven, I’d be the youngest black partner at my firm, and I’d become a regaled Washington D.C. attorney.

  In the span of about three weeks, my dreams came to screeching halt. I discovered I was LegionBorn. The devil was my uncle and wanted me dead because of a ridiculous prophecy. Then, Lucas died trying to help me. Still, I held onto hope that…

  The prophecy!

  “Are you sure the prophecy is real?” I asked but my voice came out as a weak croak. Clearing my throat, I lifted my voice as high as I could and repeated myself.

  Lucifer regarded me with those coals in his eye sockets. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re about to kill me because some supposed prophecy suggests Acyel’s child will be your undoing?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, how do you know this prophecy isn’t just a rumor? Are you sure killing me won’t cause more problems? Speed up your defeat by God?”

  “How dare you!” he roared. “That old man will never defeat me! When I kill you, I’ll be powerful enough to thwart—”

  “Sure, but that’s only if this prophecy, is”—I curved two fingers on both hands to serve as air-quotes— “real.” I repeated the words ‘false prophecy’.

  “False prophecy?”

  Angling away from him, I continued, “I haven’t been around for as long as you have, nor have I had a fraction of your experience, but what if you’re being played?” I recalled a word I learned while in Nigeria. “You’re the mugu in this situation. Someone’s messing with you and the question is why.”

  There was no change on Lucifer’s face to suggest my argument had gotten to him, but I was still floating and had nowhere to go, so I stayed still and waited.

  “No, the question is who,” he asked, walking into view. “Who would have the capability to create such a long, con game?”

  “God?” I offered.

  “Oh, not him. He wouldn’t have the time, or smarts, for such subterfuge.” Lucifer put his hands, which still resemble those of a human’s, on his blackened hips. “Father isn’t one to hold back on tea, as the young folks say nowadays. You need only read Revelations to know everything he’s planned.”

  “Fine. Who else despises you and has the capacity to do this?” False prophecy.

  He walked up to me, bringing scorching heat with him that made me wince. “There were several angels who hated my guts when I was in Father’s good graces. My banishment wouldn’t be enough to satisfy them.”

  “Like who?”

  “Hmm,” he rubbed his jaw, eyes closed. That lasts a mere five seconds before they sprang open. “How did you do that to me?”

  I blinked in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

  “How did you distract me for so long?”

  “I-I.” My gaze swung to Caleb as if he could help me. He was still on his knees and straining to remove the macula from his chest. “My…uh, my charming good looks?” I shrugged.

  Lucifer was upon me and the heat intensified. Looking d
own the length of my body, I saw my clothing begin to smolder as the fabric yielded to the temperature, producing scarred holes. My skin remained whole, fortunately. “How interesting. You have the power of compulsion and can make even a being as strong as I bend to your will.” He spun around with a wicked grin. “You should be very proud of your son, brother. It’s a shame, he still dies tonight.”

  Out of nowhere, Bode’s voice filled my head. “Vaughn, I’m alive but don’t rejoice or he’ll notice. Remember the words I said your father could use to call—”

  Legion. That’s the thought that had been dancing around in my head earlier.

  Closing my eyes, I said to myself, I hereby summon Legion’s protection.

  Nothing happened. When I opened my eyes, Layla was standing and Lucifer was whispering to her. She nodded and walked toward the door.

  I summon Legion’s protection!

  Still, there was nothing.

  I summon Legion’s protection!

  This time, I heard a thud and risked a look in that direction only to see my father slumped to the floor. Only the whites of his eyes were visible. I struggled against my invisible bonds to no avail. The macula must be making him weaker.

  Lucifer was giving orders to some of his demon spawn and they jogged out of the stable. I gulped back my fear that he’d notice my thoughts, but I knew I couldn’t just wait. My life, my father’s life and that of everyone else on the planet depended on me. I had to do something.

  I called on Legion again and got no answer. Was I saying it wrong? No, I remembered exactly what Bode had said. Thinking about the words, an idea came to mind. Maybe the summoning words were specific to Legionnaires only? Was it not working because I wasn’t a Legionnaire?

  Well, I might not have been a Legionnaire, but my father was Legion himself. That had to count for something. Taking a deep breath, I let my lids close and cleared my mind of any other thoughts. I, Vaughn Prentiss, son of Acyel, hereby call up Legion to protect my father and all of mankind against Lucifer.

  Again, there was no response and my shoulders deflated.

  “Come here,” Lucifer said, looking at me. My invisible floating bubble moved me toward him, placing me on my knees. “You, stand!” My father rose, his face straining. “Rather than just kill you, I think the ultimate punishment for you, dear brother, is to have you kill your son. I’ll still be able to take his soul once all I need arrives.”

  The muscles in Caleb’s face contorted. “No!” Despite the strain on his face, he walked over to me, his hands outstretched. In no time, cold fingers closed around my throat and squeezed.

  “Please, Father.”

  Tears fell in fat drops from his lashes, but his grip intensified.

  “All my life, you’ve made it your mission to keep me safe,” I forced out. “Don’t let him make you do this!” My plea didn’t have an effect, and I began to feel lightheaded.

  My eyes closed, and I remembered the prayer to Saint Joseph I’d tried to recite just days ago. As I lost consciousness, I held onto one line with a measure of clarity—Have mercy on us and on those who are dying.

  My mind was straying, but I managed to think, Acyel, stop.

  His hands loosened, and I immediately gulped back some air and looked at him. “This is just like the spell he used to make you steal your father’s fruit when you were both younger. Fight against him and you will succeed,” I croaked, and his eyes blinked with understanding.

  “What are you doing?” Lucifer thundered.

  With no explanation, I suddenly knew I was free of whatever control Lucifer had over me. I gently removed my father’s hands from my neck and returned them to his sides. The appreciation I saw in his eyes was reason enough to keep me going. I wouldn’t let Lucifer win. Not without giving him a good fight. Feeling a surge of courage, I gripped the only part of the macula that hadn’t submerged into his chest and pulled.

  “Ha, that macula will kill you! It cannot be held by anyone but a higher being…” Lucifer’s words ended in a shocked squeak as the weapon slid from my father’s chest. Once free, I gripped it tightly and felt a surge of power.

  I stared at it. Suddenly, I knew everything about the weapon as information flooded my head. Even how to wield it. This specific macula had been forged from a substance—called straion—that formed at the spot my father landed when he was cast out of heaven… No! These weapons—there were two of them, fused together to form one weapon—were created from the straion that formed where Acyel and Lucifer landed.

  My left hand curled around another nook in the weapon’s edge and I pulled. Now, there were two. One glowed with a golden tinge, the other silver.

  “How is that possible?” Lucifer asked, bewildered.

  “Father collected from your straion.” I laughed, realizing how smart my father was. There was no way Lucifer could have ever killed me. Not with the weapon and I knew this because of the knowledge he’d forged into it. Knowledge about him, the maculae, Celestial beings, Legion, the Lucites, demon spawn and so much more. My mind was bursting at the seams with the information but I knew I could contain it and smiled. Information is power. And in my case, it was power my uncle didn’t have and never would. Only I could ever understand what they contained. I focused on Lucifer and added, “In your case, you didn’t learn to protect your straion and Father got his hands on it.”

  Lucifer roared in anger and his entire body was shrouded in red and orange flames. “I’m going to squeeze the life out of both of you myself!” He charged my way and I should have been afraid. I swung the weapon in anticipation. They sang a tiny song; the straion they contained vibrating as they passed through the air. Each weapon fed my hands and entire body with a pulsating strength that I was just getting used to when a blinding light filled the stable.

  --XXIV--

  THE WORLD WENT WHITE AND the absence of color, shapes, sounds, and smells was disorienting. All of a sudden, I felt like I was floating again and couldn’t tell which way was up or down.

  Shutting my eyes didn’t dull the intensity of the inexplicable glare. I could see the light, regardless. My mouth opened to call for my father. Although I screamed both his names at the top of my lungs, I couldn’t hear my own voice. I even swung the maculae, hoping for that vibration again. Any sensation would do. I got nothing and after a while, I gave in.

  Just as I got comfortable, however, a roaring sound reached my ears. It took a beat for me to realize I was hearing all the stable’s occupants shouting at the same time. And there were a lot more of us now than there had been before the blinding light.

  Scanning the area revealed soldiers in all manner of dress. Some with full body armor reminding me of warriors from some English court. A few wore chain mail. Japanese warriors in full regalia, including headdresses, masks and swords sheathed at their waists. They looked almost like the characters from some anime Antonio would have made me watch. Male and female Maori appeared with swirling tattoos on their faces and bodies, animal hides over their chests, spears in hand.

  And more people solidified out of thin air. An entire contingent led by a fierce looking woman materialized. She studied the scene before her and then her eyes narrowed when they landed on me. Her skin was dark with red undertones and on her face, a white line of paint began between her eyes ending on her chin.

  Her uniform consisted of peacock plumes with glittering diamonds in them, arranged in her long ebony dreadlocks. She wore a blood-red leather cat-suit with pronounced shoulders that featured gleaming animal horns sticking out of them. She held a battle ax in her right hand, a shining dagger in her left, and her waist was burdened with an assortment of weapons. The men and women behind her were similarly attired except they had no plumage of their own. Instead, they each wore metallic crowns resembling crescent moons.

  What all these men and women had in common was a silver glow. Another scan of the new arrivals revealed angel wings on many of them. They flapped slowly under the dull yellow lighting. I craned to see past them
and even outside the stable were soldiers, all ready for battle.

  Armed with new information, I filled in the blanks. These men and women, fallen angels and humans, were Legionnaires. The LegionBorn among them were easy to identify. They looked like ordinary humans and had no wings. They weren’t surrounded by the same silver light as the fallen angels. Instead, they had auras of dizzying colors. They were dressed in t-shirts, jeans, sweatpants, and sneakers. A few women must have been at fancy events because they were in ball gowns, tight dresses, and stilettos, their makeup and hair flawless. Yet, they looked capable of handling their own from their stance alone.

  We could have had all this help if I’d just called earlier? I pushed aside the bitter criticism that was forming in my head as I remembered why Acyel didn’t want their support. He had planned on giving me the maculae, after all. I bit the inside of my cheek. Maybe I shouldn’t have called for all this back up. If there was anything to the excuse Father had given—he didn’t want immortals dying on his behalf—then I’d made the wrong choice.

  My attention whipped to the warrior with the glittering feathers. Bazau. Her name came to mind as if it had always been there. I also knew she was a legendary warrior from a now-dead clan that once conquered parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.

  She was still frowning, just not at me, “Lucifer!” Her battle ax rose as she charged. That snapped the rest of the Legionnaires to action and they moved as one in his direction.

  “Oh no, you don’t!” Lucifer snapped his fingers and demons appeared just as suddenly as the Legionnaires did.

  No sooner did the Lucites form than their weapons clashed with the Legionnaires closest to them. These fallen angels were illuminated in a golden sheen. The demon spawn lacked the golden hue but had black clouds hanging over them. Their numbers increased and soon there were twice as many of them as Legionnaires.

  Both Lucifer and Caleb were fighting with swords. Lucifer was covered in fire while my father had a silver glow all around him. I could see wings on both angels. Lucifer’s were black, decayed, shot through with ragged holes. Caleb no longer looked like a mere mortal, he’d now taken his true form. His wings were snow-white and fluttered gently with each movement. Not far from where their feet danced to the rhythm of their swordplay, Bode was lying defenseless on the floor. Dodging the smashing weapons and swinging arms, I bobbed and weaved past bodies, eventually having to crawl—which wasn’t easy with maculae in hand—until I reached his body.