The Angels' Pride

by Steven Lindsay

  He was tall and thin, needing adulthood to fill out his figure. His dyed black hair hung as a mop over his face, hiding his various piercings. His clothing while not his usual suited him and was neat and well-fitted. He had slid his phone back into his pocket, right next to his game console. He really did not like church.

  He walked towards her completely enchanted by her beauty more than anything else. He had never seen a woman so beautiful, even more stunning that those Photoshopped images of supermodels. She was slender yet curvaceous, tall, with long legs. She was elegant, her long brown hair floating around her striking face and complimenting her eyes. One emerald green, one warm brown. They watched her with unhidden hunger.

  She reached out to him with one of those elegant hands, her fingers tracing the scattered stubble on his chin. She adjusted her position, causing one of her shoulder straps to fall down her arm, exposing her pale shoulder and an ample amount of her perfect pale breast.

  He stood there awkwardly unsure what to do, his eyes fixated on the exposed amount of her breast. His breath was racing as fast as his pulse, he was harder than he had ever been and yet he hesitated before this perfect creature. She shifted her head as her hand travelled down from his chin, tantalisingly down his neck and round to his chest. On impulse, he couldn’t call such lunacy anything else, he reached out and pulled down the other shoulder strap.

  The dress slipped down, flowing off her into a silken puddle of green on the floor. She stood there naked and completely perfect on a pagan altar in a house of God. Her wings only added to her ethereal beauty.

  She smiled at him seductively, vanishing his sweaty shirt. He stood topless in a house of God! He ceased caring when she vanished the rest of his sweaty clothing. Her exploring hands were pleasantly cold in the sticky summer heat.

  This was the most surreal moment of his life, and this beautiful Angel was naked and suggestive before him. Her hands running over his skin and through his long hair. She pulled him close to her, kissing him deeply as her long legs wrapped around his thin frame. Her mouth was like fire, it was beyond any hook-up he had ever had before, he was kissing Heaven. This was pure and concentrated desire.

  For each of his fumbling and nervous movements, she countered with her own controlled and skilled movements. Time and conscious thought disappeared to him as she pulled him down on her, then rolled over. His last conscious thought before she sheathed him inside her was that he was losing his virginity, in church, in front of lots of people he knew. After that, his mind was in a haze of passion.

  He let out a satisfied moan and gasped, she arched her back smiling as she felt his brain lose all focus but her. His fumbling hands had taken on more skill, slowing and starting to tantalise. Some part of her was conscious of the people watching, but it was nothing new to her. Gods and most of the Divine were decidedly open about sex. The Angels had turned out to be the strange exception. These people were witnesses to her change.

  She let out a startled gasp as he found his rhythm and apparently his skill. Her control of her powers weakened as her mind lost its focus. They shot out in every direction, twisting and winding around her to form a protective cocoon. The whole cathedral became awash in her Mother Earth powers as her pleasure climbed. The building shook violently with each of her pleasured moans, she had never imagined that a virgin could be this good.

  The whole church shook as it restructured itself. The crucifix shape was lost, the insides taking on a more circular shape while the rectangular outside grew larger. The pews shifted about changing as they did so, becoming covered in cushions to ease the sore bottoms sitting on them. All the finery of the church changed into more earthy tones and images. Green was the dominant colour, but it was complimented by red, white, brown and black.

  Humans were much better lovers than they had been in the past. Two of them had managed to bring her to the brink of orgasm, his whole body focussed on bringing her pleasure even as his own raced him towards his own orgasm. He let out a strained moan, his back arching, his face scrunching as he ejaculated inside her. She felt a strange surge pass through her which pushed her over the edge and then she too was moaning as she orgasmed, her body shaking. They both collapsed against the altar exhausted. Seconds later she stood up, Divinity was such a gift, looking around the cathedral. It looked decidedly pagan.

  She was very satisfied. In more ways than one.

  She faced the congregation, still transfixed where they sat, also wrapped up in much of the flora. Her dress flowed upwards covering her nudity, but not their memories. “The time of the Angels and their lies is over. God does not exist, but I do. You have heard me before in your minds, you know my name. This land is mine, this country is mine, this boy is mine, and you are all mine. Forget the lies and the sanctions of the church, live life as it is meant to be lived. I see all of you, your wants and desires, your needs. Give in to them, celebrate life, celebrate me.

  She touched the chest of Josh, still gasping on the altar. Copper bloomed from her fingers, marking his chest with the coppery symbol of the Six-Winged Goddess.

  “This boy, nay sorcerer-priest has lain with a Goddess, a great honour. He is claimed in my name, may Hell ravage any who harm him. In my name, Brigid, it is done.”

  She ascended in a bright beam of light, fire exploding outwards though it burned nothing.

  He lay there on the altar watching her ascend as he heard her voice speak in his head. Great things lie ahead for you Josh Gray, desecrate and sanctify for me. Spread the word, bring down the lies, spread the passion and desire, my chosen one and you will be rewarded.

  “Who’s there?” he yelled through the empty temple. The open, airy halls filled with columns were beautiful in the day. The unique blend of Celtic and Hindu imagery was stunning, even though the temple was nowhere near complete. It was already setting itself up as one of the Jewels of the Ganges.

  But in the empty dark nights, it was decidedly creepy. Especially with the strange fog pouring off the Ganges. He shouldn’t be on edge, but he was, with the targeted murders of his people he had the feeling it was only a matter of time before they came for him.

  Being alone in an empty temple building site was more than foolish, it was downright stupid.

  “Such dedication Ryan.”

  He whipped around to see Brigid sitting cross-legged on the incomplete altar. So far it was but a round block of white marble. She was dressed in a red dress, pooling about her and yet not hiding one of her long white legs or her bosom and shoulders. Her brown hair hung as a straight curtain over one of her shoulders

  “Brigid!” he gasped in surprise.

  She smiled at him, beckoning him forward. He ran to her, embracing her, kissing her, exclaiming with a rush of questions. She silenced him with her lips, and began a routine he knew well. As usual, his attention became solely focussed on her.

  He was awoken in the morning by one of the priestesses. She was staring at his chest quizzically. Looking down he noticed that much of his chest was taken up with the coppery image of the Six-Winged Goddess. Touching it, he realised his skin was now that colour. He also noticed a slight flaring of light when his fingers touched it. He would examine it later.

  Brigid was long gone, but her mark was clear, not just on him. The temple was complete, all his grand designs were now real. The blending of her Celtic background and new Hindu claims were unique and stunning. Lotus crowned columns of white marble held aloft arched pastel ceilings depicting both Brigid and the Ganges. The columns were decorated with serpents and Naga, their twining and twisting figures wrapped around and carved with such skill they almost looked alive. The white marble floor was decorated with gold, copper, amber and other fiery semi-precious stones that it looked as though they were walking on fire. The altar he was sitting on, half covered by his robe was now stunning. A white marble carving of Brigid stood behind it, each of the wings gilded in copper. Smaller than her were each of the mortal races still in existence, their unique beauty plain to the w
orld.

  With an added twist there were small carvings on the floor throughout the temple complex that was fed by the Ganges itself, before returning to it. The severely damaged steps that had once been the iconic image of Varanasi were now repaired.

  He was no longer confused or without direction. He knew what he had to do now. India would stand strong, it would be united completely under Brigid, and it would once again be one of the crown jewels of the British Empire.

  The Goddess had grand designs. But she had made his come to light so he would help hers come to light. She was making a better tomorrow.

  Rachel walked happily along with her full bucket of water. She could finally water her sunflowers, and hopefully, they would pull through and flower. They had been looking rather dead of late with the strange drought affecting the region. Rainfall might be low, but they had always had the river. Such as it had been in recent years.

  She had just finished watering her sunflowers when her mother stepped out of the house. “Rachel, what did I tell you about wasting water?”

  “But mum this isn’t from the tap. It’s from the river.”

  Matilda knelt down next to her daughter “Rachel for reasons unknown the river will not give even a single drop of water. I cannot explain it, no one can, but we simply cannot access the water we once could.”

  “I know. Brigid said it was because we didn’t ask her for the gift of water.”

  “Brigid? Who is Brigid?”

  “The Goddess of the River. What is a Goddess mum? She showed me how to ask for the water. I asked and was given the gift of water, the lower irrigation canals are filling up. I took the water from there to water my flowers.”

  “Rachel sweetie Goddesses don’t exist. And what have I told you about talking to strangers?”

  “But she was real, she had wings and everything. She even glowed.”

  “Rachel don’t lie to me.”

  Rachel pouted angrily at her mother. It was one thing to be caught telling a fib, but she was telling the truth. “Come look with me,” she reached for her mother’s pale hands with her own brown ones. Matilda lifted her up, rolling her eyes but as she did so, she caught sight of Rachel’s sunflowers. They didn’t look wilted anymore, two of them were budding, one of which was already poking through green-yellow petals.

  She walked along with her beautiful little girl, her heart starting to believe even though the sensible part of her mind told her she would find only the dead and dying trees. To her surprise not only were the irrigation channels flowing but grass was already sending up shoots from the parched ground and many of the dead trees, they had been dead, were now budding over with leaves and even flowers.

  “How is this possible?” she whispered to herself trying to fathom the impossibility of it all.

  “Because I asked the Goddess. See let me show you.”

  Dumbstruck she watched her daughter run over to the next set of empty irrigation channels, their open sluice-gate showing the river rushing past. A stark reminder of how bizarre their lives had all become.

  “See the river goes not give if we do not ask.” She turned to face the river and said clearly and politely “We ask of Brigid the gift of water please.” Suddenly water was flowing through the sluice-gate, once again adhering to the laws of gravity. The water rushed along the channels feeding the complex system and feeding into the pipes that watered the grounds. But what was even more surprising was that at the water’s edge, where once there had been barren channels was now starting to burst forth with greenery.

  “See mum she even gave me this” she held out her golden necklace. On it was a pendant of the Six-Winged Goddess.

  “What did you say her name was?” she asked in a whisper, barely daring to breathe. This wasn’t real, it couldn’t be.

  “Brigid and she is the answer to our prayers.”

  Michael crouched by the Indus River, invisible to the Humans milling about the edge. Already they held the taint of Brigid. Who would have thought she would have been so successful in a land that had never been hers. But then they had never thought that any of the Gods would ever escape their prisons. And now there were two powerful Goddesses loose, and Brigid at least was empowering herself disturbingly quickly.

  They really should have taken more efforts to hunt them down initially, but they had foolishly thought that they would be weak and merely hide from them until they traced them. Which had initially been true, especially for Hera, they had found nothing but passing traces of her but there was no knowing her powers. Hera was one of the most powerful Goddesses who have ever lived.

  As for Brigid they had severely underestimated her abilities. They had planned on her actions mirroring the past. She had been a quiet Mother Earth Goddess from Ireland and Britain before they ever became important. Even during her long imprisonment her worship had continued to spread, she commanded such loyalty. And the worship had changed from her being just a Mother Earth Goddess to picking up other aspects of power. Which had only increased her power. At the height of her power, thankfully during imprisonment, her strength and skills would have rivalled Athena. Indeed, they would have been peas in a pod. Having someone like Athena on the loose was deeply troubling. She had been near impossible to weaken, and it had taken the concentrated efforts of nearly all the Angels to imprison her.

  He would visit her later to drain off any powers she was gaining from the revival of Paganism.

  But the time of Brigid’s free reign had to come to an end. She was no longer an inconvenience or minor threat. She was now the greatest threat to the Angels since Lucifer and the rebellion. Surprising that they had all feared Hera more. She had to be recaptured and drained of her powers, such powers could help them finally remove the traces of other religions and stamp theirs across the world. But first, they had to destroy her power base, remove the extra power she was gaining. And he knew just the man to do it.

  Azad Ali ground his teeth to stop himself striking out at the other men. He still needed them, as frustrating as they were. He was now the President of Pakistan, but the power was not all his, it was still shared with the other generals, and they were baulking.

  Why could they not see that this was the command of Allah? This was not a personal decision but one given from the Heavens. Pakistan was infested with infidels, undermining their righteous society. There were increasing reports of public nudity while bathing in the Ganges and most disturbingly were reports that it was starting in the Indus. They were starting to build their temples of sin and who knew what went on within them. They were a cancer that had to be removed before it spread. They were a threat to Islam and Pakistan.

  He had said the same things to them over and over, but they were not real men, their testicles had shrivelled up. It was why they had mostly daughters. They lived in fear instead of willing to risk life and limb for their country and their God.

  “There is nothing that will make us agree to your demands, Azad Ali. We will not condone genocide, do you want to call down the UN on us. It is clear the power had gone to your head, and it is our increasing belief that you should be stripped of your rank.”

  Then you are all fools.

  Azad breathed a sigh of relief when the Arch Angel Michael exploded into the room in a burst of fire and sunlight. The other generals were slammed to the floor while he thankfully remained standing. With the proper care, he bowed to the Angel. He was different from last time, there was more fire to his form. His wings seemed to dominate the room, and his eyes were pure light that he used to pin them all.

  Michael hated dealing with such foolish mortals. They were so set in their ways and so blinded in their own decisions. They refused to see the truth because they constructed their own. He cast through their minds seeing how selfish and cowardly they were. Ah but luck was with him, one of them was a Demon.

  With a swift and deadly movement, he grabbed the Demon by his throat. See how Demons hide in your ranks. Even your own power is corrupted from within, blind to th
e taint and the truth. It is pathetic.

  The Incubus hissed his fury as his Human semblance was burned off of him, leaving only the spirit essence of him within the clutches of Michael’s power. The men stared appalled at the black spirit complete with an erect penis, luscious lips, pleasing form and red burning eyes.

  “You think to stop us, Arch Angel, you have already lost. May the Goddesses reign supreme!”

  Damn you to Hell Demon spawn. Your Goddesses will be joining you soon. Michael roared, sunlight blazing from his palms rendering the spirit into mere dust motes as he was banished to Hell.

  He turned his burning gaze on the generals as swords of light appeared floating above him. They all shot towards the generals, each sword stabbing a general in the right shoulder before burning up. Each of the generals cried out in pain as they clutched the burn.

  We are in a crisis, and Azad Ali has been selected by Heaven to lead this nation back to purity. You are on the front lines, and yet you would falter. He will lead you back to the path of righteousness. His decisions are final, his requests are the demands of Heaven. Drive out and slaughter these infidels and Demons before they pollute your nation beyond saving. Do you wish to bring the Day of Judgment early?

  Woe to any who dare question my authority or the Mandate of Heaven.

  Then as suddenly as he appeared he was gone, making the room seem dark without his blinding light. It was hard to believe that one of their own had been a Demon, but there was no denying what they had seen.

  Azad sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Arch Angel before he turned to face the generals. They were all prostrate on the floor before him. This was going to be easier than imagined.

  Should you choose, you can kill any of your generals with a thought if they get in the way. The brands mark their allegiance to you. If they break it, they will suffer.

  He thanked Michael. Yes, this was going to be so much easier. Pakistan would be cleansed of this taint.