by Tim Hawken
“I come here with an offer,” I said. “Hell will not wage war against you, if you will accept us as citizens in your realm. We don’t even want the city. We just want to be able to roam Heaven in peace. We can no longer bear false imprisonment and torture below. However, let those in the camp behind me, inside your walls. They deserve no less. They are not sinners. I make this offer now, once only. Ask yourselves, is it worth fighting over a paradise, which has no end? There is space for all, so why does Asmodeus block it off from some? Why does Peter stop good people from having the personal freedom of going where they please, even within your own city? I have seen the walls inside. Can everyone pass without complaint into the heart of the capital? What are they hiding from you?”
The glowing wall was full of people and angels now, but there was still no sign of my hated father, or Peter. The Archangels towered in height above the others, like giant guardians of the city. They stood still, not attacking us. How could they, when I had just offered a treaty? I hoped Asmodeus was listening and felt as I had when he had done a similar thing in Hell. Why hadn’t he acted yet? Phineus had seen a fight, so where had it come from? I had to bring them out now, or attack regardless. I looked back to my friends, who all held firm, looking upwards with the same determination in their eyes as I felt in my soul. I let my voice fall a notch, so it was still audible to all, but was softer and friendlier.
“If you accept my offer of peace, then toss Peter out and I will leave you. If God were truly an all-powerful being, he would be standing up there with you right now. Instead he hides with his gatekeeper and stays silent. Perhaps he isn’t even listening anymore. I know none of my prayers were ever answered before. Is it the same for you? Have you simply been giving out all this time, receiving nothing in return?”
A pulsing bright light sparked above and I heard a collective cry as the Archangels and people fell back to the side. On the wall, forming into a solid figure, was Asmodeus. He had come. To his right, an old man with a long beard stood, a hint of gold around his neck: Peter. Next to Peter was someone who made my blood boil, my stomach growl and grow hot with rage: Mary. Her red hair blazed against the light backdrop behind her. I barely even heard my father speak as my eyes locked on her face. I felt as if my body was being split apart from the hatred I felt.
“You are a lying demon from the bowels of Hell,” I heard Asmodeus begin, addressing me, but really talking to his subjects around him. “You spew forth disgust and lies with every sentence you speak.”
His words felt far away, like they didn’t matter, they were just a distraction. Something else inside me was gnawing to get out. I focused intently on Mary as she smirked down at me. My insides churned and my sight snapped to see the elements.
“And like all demons inhabiting somewhere they don’t belong, I will exorcise you from Heaven and cast you back to the depths of the dark pit,” Asmodeus was saying.
Yes, exorcism, my instinct from somewhere deep down seemed to say. Memories welled up and flooded into my mind as I took in the construction of elements inside Mary’s body. I began to understand. With understanding came cautious hope. There was a knot at the heart of her that I had seen once before. I had even seen it on Earth when she had ingested the first Jewel of Blood, but I had not recognized what it was then, because I didn’t want to.
Forgotten memories that I had pushed down and sealed off leapt into my consciousness. I remembered The Perceptionist helping me to form a kind of secret intellect hidden deep within myself that would plan without the rest of me knowing. I saw myself almost in a trance, whispering in Mary’s ear in The Crypt.
Betray me, like your brother betrayed Jesus. Help our cause. Hide the Jewels of Blood inside you and take them to Heaven. You will be my Trojan Horse.
Standing on the wall was our secret to destroying the barrier. Wrapped inside her was a knot of evil souls: The Pure Seven. They were keeping a package of bloody jewels safe, like they had once kept safe a set of keys. It was the same knot of sinful souls that had stopped Asmodeus from reading Mary’s thoughts when they had been in Hell together. He had no idea what was next to him as he spoke. Mary wasn’t smirking at me; she was smiling. She had placed herself perfectly. All of this I realized in the blink of an eye.
TEN
WITH A ROAR, I LET MY INSTINCTS TAKE CONTROL, striking lightning into the depths of Heaven. Sending a crack of elements shuddering into the wall, I rattled the barrier the capital’s citizens stood on. They cried out, holding on so as not to fall.
Mary took her chance. In the brief moment of confusion, she tackled Peter, sending them both tumbling down towards us. I felt a rush of elements come from behind me, as Germaine reacted. He pushed liquid fire toward Asmodeus, who was already looking to attack. The blast was enough to make Asmodeus have to roll to the side, while his Archangels took flight.
As Mary and Peter fell, I sent a probing hand of spirit deep inside Mary’s body. Feeling the chord I was looking for, I yanked it free, spilling the souls of The Pure Seven out from within her and into the open sky. They shot upwards, wailing with hideous glee towards their twin opposites, who were flying downward, trying to grasp at Peter. The collision sent the seven Archangels smashing backwards into the wall. The Pure Seven disappeared inside them, possessing the white angelic bodies with their corrupting natures. The Archangels’ wings instantly turned grey as they wrestled the sin that was squeezing inside them.
Peter and Mary thudded into the ground, the Jewels of Blood raining onto them as well. As one, my five friends ran forward to retrieve what was now ours. I projected my energies up, sending waves of hatred and pestilence into the sky. I thudded earth and air into the parapets above, attacking the lesser angels and people who still stood gaping like sheep, watching the carnage. I aimed a thick chord of special odium toward Asmodeus. He had no choice but to fall back with his subjects to avoid it, down behind the walls that protected them. His warrior Archangels flapped helplessly in the air between the top of the wall and the ground. They were being attacked from within, reduced to nothing but frenzied beasts, scratching and beating at their own skin, trying to get the perfect demons out of their own perfect bodies.
I darted ahead to meet my friends, who were gathering up the red jewels from the ground. Germaine, of all people, had resisted and leapt straight at Peter, tearing the keys we needed from around his neck. Marlowe, right behind Germaine, decapitated the saint and kicked his head away so he couldn’t oppose us further.
Mary’s body was inert on the ground. Using the elements, instead of a proper exorcism, to pull out The Pure Seven’s souls, had almost ripped her in two. I could see her healing quickly, however. She must still have had the power of The Furies inside her to be recovering at all. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t be any immediate help in this fight.
“Swallow the jewels,” I yelled to the others. “Asmodeus will be on us soon. We have to fall back.”
Charlotte, who was closest to me, shoved the ruby-like stone in her hand straight into her mouth. As she did, Phineus let out a cry next to me. The sound brought my attention to the prophet.
“No,” he said urgently, rushing to Germaine, but still looking at me. “They will be wasted on the others. You must feed the rest to Germaine. I have seen the effects.”
I hesitated just a moment, but watched as he pressed the jewel he held directly into Germaine’s mouth. The alchemist swallowed in surprise. I could see the injection of power instantly snap into his eyes. Clytemnestra followed the action, having two jewels with her. She offered them up and Germaine gobbled them in a fever. Marlowe held his firm, not willing to do the same. I was about to order him to hand it over, when a guttural scream of hatred filled the air.
Asmodeus was back on the wall. Flapping above him was the red dragon, Moloch.
ELEVEN
THE SKY TURNED DARK BEHIND ASMODEUS as he stood on the wall, his gigantic pet circling above. It was as if Asmodeus was sucking all the illumination from around him into his body. He s
parked with a charge of electric energy as the force inside him grew. Raising his hands in the air, he drew the struggling Archangels upwards at his command, until they were hovering in front of him.
“Be gone from what isn’t yours to possess, demons!” he snarled, shooting a burst of light into the angels before him.
The impact jerked the souls of The Pure Seven out of the vessels they were clinging onto. Their colorful forms hung for just a moment, grasping to get back at their enemies. In a sudden rush, the ghouls were ripped away in the wind of the filter that was now starting to howl in my ears. Without bodies to anchor themselves to, it was impossible for them to resist the pull for long. Their spirits sailed away in a streak of light, over the camp behind us and back towards Hell.
The Archangels regrouped quickly around Asmodeus, no longer hampered by the sinful souls that had been burrowing into them. Our advantage was gone, but we still had what we needed.
“Go!” I yelled to Germaine, who had the golden keys gripped in his fist.
Phineus and Marlowe held his arms, using him for support against the drag of the filter. Germaine didn’t react to my command. He just looked up at me through a haze of madness. I could see the blood surging around his body. Had we done the wrong thing?
Clytemnestra took one of her axes and dug it into the ground for support, while looking up to the wall. She used her spare arm to reach out to Germaine, working to haul him backwards. He wouldn’t budge. The other two saw what she was trying to do and started to pull as well. With the wind at their backs, they would be able to make a fast retreat back through the opening into Purgatory. Still, Germaine stood, unmovable. Charlotte was next to me, the only one who had taken the blood. She didn’t know how to use the elements properly, but at least she had the extra strength that would help her resist the filter. I wanted to tell her to take the others back to the cloud-like rocks which marked the central power source, but I didn’t have time. Our enemies were upon us. In a rush, Asmodeus and his followers attacked.
Diving off the wall, with his warriors at his side, my father speared down. Moloch tore in behind them. Asmodeus shot towards Germaine, propelling himself forward. In an act of desperation, I launched up to meet him, using every ounce of speed I had to hit them head on. As I flew upward, I pushed a charge of emotion to the outside of my skin. I was a human missile that would detonate on impact. Striking Asmodeus from the side, I crashed into his torso. He only saw me at the last moment, so intent was his focus on Germaine and the keys. He reached out and wrapped me in his arms, trying to absorb the impact. The emotion I had laced into my body struck like shards of shrapnel, sizzling into the Archangels and Moloch who were also mid-dive around us. They screamed as it hit them, twisting away from the blast. The brunt of the blow thundered into Asmodeus, but he held me tight. We fell sideways, grappling with each other, each trying to gain the upper hand even as we plummeted to the ground. With a crunch we struck the dirt, me on top. I used the momentum to bury him downward, striking in a flurry of fists and fire. I struck again and again, pummeling attack after attack beneath me. I lashed out with a speed I had never known, hammering relentless atoms of death into him to make sure I made the most of the advantage I had won. I was beating a god. He was limp beneath me, but I kept on, trying to tear at flesh that was impossibly strong against my attack. Only a few flecks of blood sprung from the wounded deity beneath me. Without pause I pulled him upward, lifting him over my head. His eyes snapped open at the movement and he started to struggle, but my instinct had a hold of my actions. Heaving with all my strength, I sent Asmodeus back into the air, slicing an atomic explosion of light after him. The effort sent him sailing over the wall, back into the city. It would buy us the extra moments we needed.
I looked up to see what was happening to the others. My hopes that they were getting away were dashed. The Archangels had them surrounded. Marlowe, Clytemnestra and Phineus were all clinging to Germaine, who seemed rooted in the ground, fighting a battle within himself. One of the angels advanced and Marlowe struck out with his sword, slicing through its wing. It howled in pain, falling back. Another struck out, clipping Phineus, who lost his grip on Germaine from the blow. It was as if the prophet’s world had been turned sideways, while the rest of us were upright. He tumbled along the ground and away, sucked back down toward the abyss we had come from. I could feel the pull grow even stronger, but dug in my grip of the elements. I watched as Mary’s limp body also started to skip along the ground, crashing into an Archangel as it went, before it lifted into the air, taken down to the abyss. Asmodeus’ power to keep her in Heaven had been shattered.
I had to get Germaine loose, but first I searched frantically for Charlotte. She had moved away from the group; Moloch was stalking around her, snarling smoke and spittle. She was holding firm against the filter, but the dragon would consume her if I didn’t do something. Leaping to my friends’ aid, I whipped a cyclone of heated air against the wings of their attackers. The hurricane sent the Archangels scuttling backwards, right against the diamond wall of the city. They were pressed hard against the solid bricks, but Moloch roared, resisting the wind. I cut the intensity of the storm off, in case I harmed the others. Losing its interest in Charlotte, the dragon turned now to me. Digging clawed talons into the ground, Moloch started forward. Before I could do anything more, however, the terrible lizard burst apart in a shower of light and blood. I shielded my eyes as the glow increased in intensity and then abruptly fell. I ran forward, expecting Germaine to be at the centre of the attack, but as the shimmer of power settled I could see Charlotte staring at her hands in wonder. She looked up at me with her mouth open. I felt the same astonishment. Lotte had somehow used the elements to destroy the beast as though it had been nothing.
Unanswered questions poured into me as I made it to my friends. There was no time to stop and ask. The Archangels had paused in shock, but we had zero time to spare. The pull of the filter was becoming too great against us and Asmodeus could come back at any moment. Clytemnestra lost her grip and was ripped away. There was nothing I could do. I had to get to Germaine. Marlowe was clinging to the alchemist, straining when I got there. Charlotte had also moved forward and was anchoring herself on Germaine as well. The Archangels, who weren’t affected by the filter like us, started to regroup.
“Germaine!” I yelled in his ear. His eyes flickered with some recognition. His body was pouring with sweat. “Germaine, you have to let go. We need the keys.”
The precious items were gripped tightly in his right hand. Only the chain that had held them on Saint Peter’s neck could be seen coming out of his fist. He turned his head to face me and said in a rasp of multiple voices.
“I need another jewel. I need more power, so I can make your void. You will need it to kill Asmodeus.”
I looked to Marlowe, who was still clutching the stone. The African held fear in his eyes at the prospect. He shook his head, as if he would rather let go of his grip on Germaine than on the Jewel of Blood. Seeing my indecision, Germaine reached out and touched me, sending visions and thoughts spiking into my head. The explosion of images explained to me instantly what words would take hours to do. Germaine understood the prophecy Phineus had shown me even more clearly than I. If I truly wanted to stop Asmodeus, I would first have to use anti-matter to destroy his body. For that I needed a void, one where I could use my darkest weapon without fear of unhinging the rest of Creation. Germaine could make that void for me, but he would need every ounce of power we could give him to do it. He would harness the destruction of the barrier of Hell to create something new in its place. It would keep the realms separate, but allow people to pass through. It would also destroy him at the same time. It was suicide. His single, clear voice finally entered my mind.
I could do anything with the power I hold inside me, he said, but I choose to do the right thing. Maybe that makes me truly crazy. Please let me do this. It is my destiny.
“Marlowe,” I croaked, emerging from my mind, knowin
g only a split second had gone by. “Give it to him. Now!”
Still clinging to Germaine, Marlowe reached up on my command and did what I asked. He shoved the jewel into Germaine’s mouth. A reddish purple rush of light streaked right over his body as the blood passed his lips.
“Now run!” he whispered with absolute clarity in his eyes. “I will hold them off, before I do what I must. Trust me.”
I chose to believe him.
TWELVE
LOOKING AT GERMAINE ONE FINAL TIME, I let go. The raging vacuum of the filter pulled me away. Marlowe and Charlotte followed. We tore backwards, now in the grip of the force of God. Keeping my wits, I summoned the elements at my call to pull my friends close, keeping us together.
I looked back, as Germaine held his arms to the sky. Thunder peeled a cacophony of doom. The air crackled with a hideous white heat. He became a power of his own, sucking every particle around him into his being. Even our own momentum slowed, as the pull of the filter slackened back toward his gravity. High above, on the wall, the dark form of Asmodeus had reappeared once more, crouching low and looking down. I heard his desperate cry as he called his Archangels below to advance. He knew that if Germaine escaped with the keys, Heaven as he knew it would be lost. The Archangels started forward, but in a mighty stroke, like bringing a hammer down on an anvil, Germaine swept his fists to the ground. A splintering noise cracked the air as he struck. In a series of staccato explosions, dirt sprayed upwards, erupting into the sky in a widening geyser of blue lava, which raced towards the city walls. The devastation mowed right through one of the angels. The others were skittled away like autumn leaves in the wind. Striking with ruinous impact, the inferno hit the city wall. The gilded structure disintegrated like a magnesium strip thrown into flame. What we had thought was an impenetrable gate was gone in a flash of light. The backlash of energy sweltered back out towards us, rippling in an atomic gale. I kept my eyes forward, wanting to witness as much as I could. In the anarchy that had been created I saw Asmodeus falling to the ground and Germaine being consumed by a cloud of ash and dust. Then the wave hit us.