After her battle with the Ziz, she had managed to dry off. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs she was completely drenched again. Her hair stuck to her neck, her clothes clung to her skin and her feathers clung to her back and arms. Water ran in rivers down her neck. She stood with shoulders slumped as she stared at the swamp just beyond the rock shelf. Terrible smells of decay rose from the fetid swamp. Black and grey plants thrust out their skeletons above the black water. Bare patches of grey earth poked out of the water, and all manner of beasts wandered across the islands.
She really didn’t want to walk across the swampland in sandals. The thought of getting that mud between her toes was repulsive. If only she had brought boots with her. Then again she really hadn’t prepared at all for this journey. She had only really left with the gifts she had been given. Why hadn’t she taken more care?
Then it dawned on her she had magic.
She was a demigoddess-Angel, but she certainly wasn’t that bright. She shook her head at her own stupidity. She had battled the Ziz with magic then forgotten all about it. She smiled at herself as she magically dried herself off, surrounded herself in a bubble shield to hold off the rain and changed her sandals into boots. How Gabriel would laugh at her foolishness.
She ran her hands through her hair before she jumped across to the first island. She fell short, splashing into the fetid water, thankfully held back by her shield. As she struggled to sit up from her tangled wings, she smacked herself on the forehead. She was an Angel, she could fly. Was it just today or was she always this stupid? She really wasn’t off to the best start for the Gluttony Level.
She screamed when something stuck her shield. She struggled to spin around and screamed even louder when she saw the bloated body reach out for her. She hastily scrambled up onto the nearest island only to have one of the beasts pounce on her. She rolled awkwardly over her wings. It sailed past her and started attacking the body that had followed her out of the water. She scrambled upright watching the dog-thing tear into the body, ripping great chunks out of it before throwing it back into the water.
It turned to face her with bared teeth.
She screamed and threw up her arms, instinctively strengthening her shield as the creature bashed against it. It slid down the shield, to warily sit up and watch her. Its eyes glowed with white light when it pawed at the shield. She kept expecting it to do something else, but it just watched her.
She stood up. It stood up. She started walking and so did it. It followed her, right next to her shield, occasionally brushing against it. Testing to make sure it was still there.
There were other beasts around. There were bizarre cats, bears, walking bats, clawed orang-utans, savage armadillos and many other strange variations of mammals. Whatever they had once been had been clearly warped in the Hellscape. They pounced on anybody that tried to clamber out of the water, though that didn’t happen very often. She had the impression that it was only the new residents that tried to climb out of the water.
She continued to walk, but only the dog paid her any attention. The others whose path she crossed watched her before resuming their patrols. The only direction she had was the slight current flowing through the swamp and the fact the crater wall was behind her. Ahead she presumed would be access to the next level, not that she could see that far ahead in the gloom.
Nuriel felt her body lose all feeling as Gabriel turned her violet eyes towards her. A cold smile grew as those eyes bored into her. There was never any way to lie to Gabriel, no way to omit the truth, along with her phenomenal powers it was one of the reasons she had risen to be an Arch Angel.
On the throne next to her Michael was completely stoic. The news about Sariel had hit him hard. He looked tired and run down, he was still dealing with the mess Brigid had created on the subcontinent.
On the next tier down were the other thrones. Sariel’s sat empty in front of both of them. To Michael’s side sat Azrael’s empty throne, he rarely joined Council meetings, and Raphael, who was also watching her intently. To Gabriel’s side sat both Ariel and Uriel, watching her intently as well. Ariel was not going to like the news she bore.
She was part of a long line of Angels bearing bad news. Brigid could not be found, nor could Hera. Churches across Australia and New Zealand were being desecrated. Mosques in America were being burned down. India had become a Demon playground, the civil war in Pakistan was not progressing as fast as it should. There were also peculiar things happening in Mexico. Unfortunately, she held all the pieces and had put them together. She was the one they would hear the most from that they least wanted to.
“Ah, Nuriel it is good to see you have returned from your investigations. I trust you understand very well the problems plaguing us. I hope you bring some good news for us.” Was it just her or did it sound like Gabriel was threatening her?
“I bear only bad news my Arch Angels. No trace of either Hera or Brigid have been found, though Brigid’s left enough magic across the planet that we have tracking spells on her. However, she seems more than capable of slipping out of detection most of the time.
My investigations into the desecrations of churches across Australia and New Zealand have left no doubt that it is entirely Brigid. She is converting our places of worship to hers through the act of sex. It doesn’t matter who does it, Human, Demon, heterosexual or homosexual. They have all tainted hallowed ground with extreme variants of lust. I have also found that Brigid is granting magic to any who desecrates a church.”
A deadly silence filled the air, and she held her breath. “Are you certain of this?” Michael spoke for the first time in the whole session. His voice was a deadly hiss, he was the driving force behind eradicating Human mages. He had been the loudest protester to the birth of Jesus.
“The signatures are clear. And most troubling I have personally sensed the trace of one who will become a sorcerer.”
There was an uproar from the Council, though the Arch Angels remained impassive. Many were calling her a liar or deluded.
“Nuriel is never wrong about these things. She is methodical and vigilant. Her reports are truth without embellishment. If she says it is so, then it is.” She wanted to throw her arms around Michael and hug him. Not that she would, that would be highly inappropriate.
He turned his attention to her “Please continue.”
“This was in Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, it has undergone a full conversion, though I have returned it back to its order. Other than the sorcerer and Demon, Brigid and an Angel were also present.”
“We have a traitor in our midst?” Gabriel almost lunged out of her throne.
“No he was killed, but I am still working on the identity, but it was an Ascended Angel.”
Stunned silence met her words. They had not lost a single Angel since the Fall.
“I have yet to ascertain the identity, but he was killed by Brigid. He was also sent to Hell.”
“When did Brigid become such a fighter?” someone asked.
“Probably two millennia of captivity” someone retorted.
Arial snapped back “Her believers changed her image before Europe fell to Christianity. She is likely feeding off those archaic beliefs of her. The events in the Ganges, Indus, and Murray have only increased interest in her. Something should have been done to stop her before she gained such strength.”
It was the wrong thing to say, Michael turned on her “And who abandoned their post of guarding Australia, therefore, allowing her to come back and start making sorcerers?” His voice went from angry to scathing “Do share with us your brilliant plan Ariel, which somehow has not dawned on the other five of us on how to suddenly stop Brigid.”
She wisely didn’t say a word.
He shook his head in disgust before gesturing for Nuriel to continue.
“While I was in Australia I also made another discovery in one of the churches. It is something that concerns you, Lady Ariel.”
Ariel raised her glaring violet eye
s from her glower.
“One of your Inquisitors was killed by Brigid.”
There was a horrified silence. One of the Arch Angel’s personal guards had been killed.
Her eyes had widened in horror “Who?”
“I’m sorry I do not know, but I have passed on all I know to your Captain.”
She nodded her thanks, her face taking a slightly vacant look as she communicated with her Captain.
“Have you found anything about Hera?” Gabriel questioned.
“She is still somewhere on the eastern coast of the United States. Her magical signature crops up from time to time. The most recent being yesterday when she burned down Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.”
“These assaults on our churches need to be stopped. We need to make a statement.” She turned to Raphael “Can you return the cathedral to its former state, you oversaw its construction if I recall?”
He nodded before asking “Does the recent anti-Islamic sentiment have any connection to Hera?”
“I don’t believe so. The destroyed mosques and the victims have no trace of magic on them. This seems to just be a case of racism boiling over again in America. I will continue to monitor the issue but at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any magical influence.” She paused for a moment “There has been however some strange incidences across Texas.”
“Strange incidences?”
“There have been several instances were morbidly obese people have had their brains and bodies controlled. They seem like experiments but what the goal is I cannot guess. All of them have died in violent accidents. I would hazard it might be the petty cruelty of the Gods, but why when it leaves such distinctive signatures? There are other instances where her hand is obvious, but nothing can be traced back to her.”
“Thank you Nuriel, is there anything else?”
“No, my Arch Angels but if I find anything else, I will naturally report the findings.”
Gabriel nodded her head “Continue investigating these strange occurrences, we may be able to flush Hera out. Raphael can assist you while he is in America. Raphael see if you can strengthen the faith in the region. It needs a good injection. Uriel, continue watching Europe, I have a feeling Brigid still has her eyes set on Britain. Michael, push Pakistan into all-out war, we need to wipe this region clean. I will go to Australia while the Pope is there and see what I can do to counteract Brigid’s influence there. Ariel, you will spearhead the hunt for Brigid. You yearn for her blood now. Hunt her by any means necessary and bring me her blood or her in chains.”
She cast her cold, calculating eyes over the Council “For now it might be advisable that our strength is preserved. If Brigid is killing Angels, then war has been declared. All Elder outside of Heaven must be in groups of at least four, preferably more. If you encounter her, summon help, she is equal to any Arch Angel.”
She stood up, Michael following suit and together they descended the dais and walked out of the chambers. It was the signal to allow the others to leave. Raphael stepped down, taking Nuriel by the arm as they left in conversation. Uriel disappeared in a blaze of white light, but Ariel remained where she was long after all the Elder had left. She had been granted the honour and the duty to track down Brigid. She would not fail. She could not fail.
She left heading for the cells. She would need strength, and she would need to recognise Brigid’s scent.
Sariel and her chaperone stopped when a fierce howling filled the air. Her chaperone echoed the sound as did all the other creatures. The waters started to stir, bubbling and emitting dense red vapour. Six red lights appeared on the horizon, rapidly getting closer as a large dark shape separated from the gloom. Two of its heads flung back howling, their red eyes disappearing while two remained focused on her.
Cerberus had found her.
She simply waited for him to get closer, she could not run away from him so she used the time to study him as he approached. He was far larger and more fearsome than when she had first encountered him outside of Hades. He seemed somehow darker too. But it was his Demon-possessed eyes, so akin to Ziz’s or Charon’s that told her the most. He was Cursed. And she was going to strip it from him.
Then she wouldn’t be alone.
There was an almighty roar that shook the whole Level, many of the islands jumped up into the air. Water splashed up above her head sweeping many of the creatures into the water. What was most surprising were the creatures, they were all cowering in fear. Even massive Cerberus whined and cowered close to the ground, his tail between his legs.
Only a Greater Demon could cause such fear.
She jumped when she felt a head push into her hand. Her shields had retracted to her skin, and now the creature was sitting on her foot, his head pushing into her hand for comfort. She knelt down next to it, patting it. It started to lick her face.
As she continued to pat it, it let out a low keening noise. To her horror, all the nearby creatures started running towards her. Even Cerberus started running towards her. All of them ran as close to the ground as they possibly could.
She soon found herself surrounded by beasts, all trying to get closer to her for comfort. And to think they had tried to attack her before. Cerberus was meant to be the most feared thing in this circle, what could terrify a Demon-possessed God-Monster so much?
As if to answer her question there was another roar that shook the whole Level even more violently. The mists shifted, and she saw a mountain looming in the distance. She didn’t remember being told about mountains in Hell. She supposed it was possible that the others hadn’t known, it just seemed strange for a mountain to be in a crater. Unless it was the central peak. No, it wasn’t thin enough.
She was puzzled but turned her attention back to Cerberus as he nuzzled up to her. The Demonic fire in his eyes was nearly dead and what was left was blatant fear. A fear so strong that in combination with this Greater Demon’s power had almost eclipsed Gabriel’s Curse.
She laid her hand on him, channelling in her magic to soothe him. She found almost no resistance, this was going to be so much easier than freeing Simurgh. The mortal consciousness of Cerberus was still strong, and his Demonic form was only an alteration of his natural form. There was not the level of corruption that had created the Ziz. With a sudden flare of light and hardly much magic, she stripped him of the Curse. He let out a painful howl as the last of it was ripped out of him. Light flared then was smothered by shadows as his natural powers once again reasserted their dominance.
The island was swallowed by darkness, their bloodlines reacting to each other’s presence and emphasizing the night magic they had both inherited from Nyx. This was one of the reasons why fights amongst the Gods were so catastrophic if they shared bloodlines their powers reacted in unpredictable ways. Shadows speared through the Gluttony Level, lines of darkness sucking out what little light there was in the twilight gloom. In answer, there was another roar that shook the level. The shadows wavered in response to some unknown magic.
“What is that? I thought you were meant to be the most powerful thing in this Level.”
Cerberus turned his sad eyes to her. For a long time, Hell was not organised, the current structure is the result of Dante. Gabriel sent him into Hell with the expectation he would organise it with his imagination. He would then document what he saw solidifying the change and giving it power as his books were spread. It was only then that I was dragged into Hell, along with Charon, Minos, and the Furies simply because he knew of our legends. He was protected by Gabriel’s powers when he walked through here. He gave Hell its first structuring, since then it has evolved with Human belief.
“So I can expect all manner of surprises in Hell, and the structure might be different from the nine Levels I’m expecting.”
No. The Nine Levels have been set, Christianity is after all the most populous religion. It lends the greatest strength to shaping Hell. Plus the Arch Angels are pleased with its structure. No, it is the inhabitants you must be wary
of, with each Level Hell becomes more dangerous. The stronger the Demon, the deeper it was sealed. Except the Guardians. They are powerful Greater Demons to which a Level is tied to.
“Like Ziz for the Lust Level”
I presume so, but I have never been. Each Guardian is bound to their level. I was Gluttony’s Guardian, but some of the Greater Demons are free to roam whatever level they choose. In doing so, they can replace the old Guardian and become trapped.
“What Guardian is that? What scares even you?”
The Guardian of Eden.
She gasped in surprise. Eden was the first city of the Angels. They had taken over the forgotten garden, abandoned since Eden had returned to the Lifestream. They had hidden it from the Gods, and it was there that they had bred the first strains of Humanity loyal to them. Beyond that, she knew little else. It annoyed her how little she knew about her own kind.
Behemoth, the greatest creature to ever walk the Earth.
She turned back to where the sound had come from, but the shadows lay thick around them. There was another roar, strong enough to rip apart their connection and twilight returned to the level. It was then she saw that the mountain was far closer than it had been. She could see it coming towards them. Fast.
He is the result of Gabriel, Ariel and their mothers experimenting on Monsters of the past. Gabriel was once highly sought after by the Gods to create Monsters for them. She is responsible for a whole manner of Chimeric beings.
For the Guardian of Eden, they had to make something truly terrifying. They scoured the world obtaining the blood and genetics of elephants, rhinos, dinosaurs and Dragons before combining it with the blood of the dead Primordial Goddess Tiamat. Then they captured the Primordial beings Bahamut and Kujuta. Forcefully combined them with the blood and spells they had created. There are no words to describe the agony they endured. The roars of agony were heard the world over, such was their suffering and the size of their lungs.
The Angels' Pride Page 39