A Sacred Pact

by Michael Todd

  Korbin chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “Thanks, pal.”

  Timothy shook his head as Korbin jumped back on the gun turret. “When I had a demon, I was in a control room for every battle. Now that I’m just little ol’ me, I’m right in the middle of the shit. If the demons don’t kill me, the irony will.”

  Sasha growled as she pulled herself to her feet. She wiped the blood from her nose and spat on the ground. Snarling, she scurried around the side of the church. A small demon ran past her, not paying any attention to his proximity to the Leviathan. She snatched him and held him close, and the demon howled as she sucked the energy from him. As she exhaled, she dropped his shell to the ground. Her head went back for a moment and her eyes closed. She moaned happily.

  The sound of boots hitting the ground snapped Sasha back to attention. Katie was charging toward her. As Katie ran she opened her wings wide, lifting off the ground. She hovered for a moment.

  Pandora growled, Look at that fat fuck.

  She’s strong, and getting stronger.

  She’s feisty, sure. We’ll just have to ground and pound this bitch until all the feisty has been beaten out of her.

  Katie flipped herself upside-down and rocketed toward the ground. She pushed her shield out in front of her, aiming right at Sasha. The Leviathan raised three of her arms to block the blow as Katie plowed into her. Light exploded from the point of impact, and the force drove Sasha’s body a foot into the ground. Katie got to her feet and stumbled away. She shook her head, her ears ringing and her teeth clenched.

  As she stepped away, a hand reached out of the ground and grabbed Katie’s leg. Katie tried to pull away, but Sasha yanked her closer. Four of her legs reached over the edge of the hole and she moved her bulk out of it, bringing Katie closer all the while. Katie tried to grab the sword from her back, but Sasha was faster. Her many hands closed around Katie’s wrists and hips and tugged her close. Sasha took a deep breath of Pandora’s energy and her eyes blazed yellow with satisfaction.

  Pandora screamed as she felt the intrusion. You fucking energy-guzzling pile of dog shit. Fucking let go right now, or I’ll show you what it feels like to be assaulted.

  Katie was still holding onto her shield. She wrestled her arm away from Sasha, and with a great heave, she slammed the shield into the Leviathan’s chest. Sasha snarled and fell back into the hole. Katie backwinged, landing hard on the ground a few yards away. She wiped the webbing from her forehead.

  Pandora was panting, and Katie was worried she had been hurt. Pandora, are you okay?

  Fuck, that bitch is a real fucking asshole. We have to change this up, dude.

  It’s too dangerous. She’ll go right for you.

  And I’ll tear her tits off. You need to let me come out and fight.

  Katie shook her head. She was about to tell her no when something moved in the corner of her eye, and she whipped her head up to see Sasha jump at her. She slammed into Katie and tackled her to the ground. They rolled across the lawn, legs and arms flailing. Katie kicked hard and managed to roll over on top of Sasha, but the spiderwoman lashed out, slamming one of her legs into Katie’s head. For a moment Katie’s vision blurred, but Pandora quickly corrected it. This is what I’m saying!

  Katie groaned, pulling her shield up. Not. The time. To argue.

  Katie attempted to duck behind the shield, but Sasha grabbed her by the cheeks and shoulders. She sucked hard, dragging even more energy out of her.

  Pandora groaned. I’m going to shove those legs so far up your ass you will be walking on your face, you twatwaffle.

  Katie twisted her head away and pulled her shield in front of her face. She struggled with the creature, locking several of Sasha’s legs down with her own thighs. Katie banged Sasha’s face with her shield, but Sasha just laughed. “You stupid angel. You think you can beat me? I am all-powerful, bitch. Just give in and let me suck you dry.”

  Pandora cringed. That’s fucking disgusting. Seriously, she needs a new pickup line. Come on, let me out so I can have a go.

  Katie punched Sasha in the face and shook her head. No. I’m getting the hell beaten out of me, and I need you in there to heal me. If you don’t stay where you are, I might not walk away from this.

  Sasha bucked Katie up and flipped her on her back, then loomed over her. Thinking quickly, Katie pulled her knees to her chest. She thrust her feet into Sasha’s chest and sent her flying backward into the side of the church. Immediately Katie was on her feet, unfolding her wings. She flew high enough that Sasha couldn’t get to her, then put her hands on her waist and breathed heavily.

  Pandora gave her a burst of energy. It seems that she can use any energy, but demon energy is what really gets her going.

  Yeah. She sucked energy out of Juntto, but it didn’t do nearly what demon energy does. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we need to fight together.

  Pandora let out a deep breath. Yes. We can fight her as angels. In the meantime, she won’t keep growing like a fucking tarantula if we can keep the demons away from her.

  Katie’s eyes flashed blue. What we need to do is end this bitch now. She has done enough damage to our bodies and our lives. Get out here. We are going to kick this Leviathan’s ass.

  Pandora cheered and pulled herself out of Katie’s body. As soon as she was out, she called her angelic armor and hovered next to Katie. Katie could tell Pandora was just as exhausted as she was, but they had to continue. They were the only ones in the world who had any chance of killing the bitch.

  Katie nodded at Pandora. “You okay?”

  “Besides needing to sleep for the next ten years? Yeah, I’ll pull through.”

  Katie laughed bitterly

  Pandora pulled her sword. Her shield shone in the sun. Her armor was silver and black, and her blue eyes were stunning. “Let’s finish this twat.”

  24

  Katie hovered on one side of Sasha, with Pandora on the other side. Sasha smirked as her arms and legs moved a mile a minute, fending off their attacks. Katie lashed out with her sword, swiping at Sasha’s tangle of legs. With every swipe she knocked off another chunk, but by the time she moved on to the next leg, the first limb was already growing back. Sasha’s healing powers were off the charts.

  Pandora put her sword away and held her shield up. She dodged the spiderwoman’s flailing limbs, but she had to time it perfectly. Every time she saw a hole, she would slam the shield into the Leviathan’s body. A small groan came from Sasha each time, but she didn’t budge. Pandora dodged to the right and swiped the edge of her shield across Sasha’s face, slicing through the skin of her forehead. Blood trickled down her face.

  Pandora laughed. “Look who’s not so beautiful now, bitch.”

  Sasha growled and Pandora hit her hard in the face with her shield, bloodying her lips. Sasha screamed loudly and scurried backward. Webbing shot into the ruins of the church, and Sasha zipped out of sight. Katie put her hands on her knees and looked at Pandora. “This is going well, right?”

  Pandora chuckled through her gasps. “Oh, yeah. Sure. At this rate, it will be approximately seven years before we wear this bitch down. Where the fuck did she go? I didn’t know we could call breaks.”

  Sasha suddenly dropped in front of them and snarled as she held Brock’s sword up. “A little parting gift from my favorite energy source.”

  Katie narrowed her eyes. She recognized the carvings on the flat of the sword. “You fucking bitch, that’s Brock’s sword!”

  Katie was livid. She charged forward, pulled her sword from her back, and swung it wildly at Sasha. The Leviathan kept a smirk on her face as she met Katie’s sword with Brock’s. Pandora pulled her own sword from the sheath on her back. She swung hard, trying to catch Sasha off guard, but the spiderwoman was fast. She blocked Pandora’s blow before parrying Katie’s. Somehow, she was managing to fight them both at the same time.

  Pandora screamed, pushing back against the sword. “You think you are such hot shit, but the truth is you’re a s
hriveled-up hag and you’ll never be beautiful again once I’m done with you.”

  Sasha laughed loudly. “I think you have it backward. When I suck the demon energy out of that body, you’ll be the shriveled-up hag.”

  Katie lunged forward and slashed the tip of her sword across Sasha’s cheek. Blood ran down and Sasha gasped, putting a hand to the wound. Seeing her chance, Pandora cut off one of her hands and kicked her hard in the stomach. Sasha stumbled back and kept retreating. She scooted across the ground until she had her back pressed against a large pile of rubble, then looked around wildly, realizing that she had managed to back herself into a corner.

  She tried to climb, but Pandora flew overhead and punched her with her shield. “You aren’t going anywhere, bitch. Sit still while we give you a little lesson on keeping your fucking hands to yourself.”

  Katie flew over and sneered at the purple Leviathan, then looked at Pandora and nodded. Together they slashed through her gaggle of legs. The two angels cut through limb after limb, but again and again as they regrew. Though Sasha was weak by that point, the assault still wasn’t doing enough damage.

  Sasha bared her teeth at Pandora and inhaled, trying to drain her demonic energy. Pandora flew to Katie’s side. “This isn’t enough!”

  “What else can we do?”

  Pandora went silent for a moment. She thrust out her hand. “Grab it.”

  Katie glanced down. “What? I really don’t think this is the time for a show of friendship!”

  Pandora rolled her eyes. “Take my hand. Trust me.”

  Katie looked at her like she had lost her mind, but she did as Pandora asked—and her head flew back and she gasped. Their individual angelic energies converged. It was warm and overwhelming, and all Katie could do was hold on as tightly as possible. Bright spears of blue light began to shoot out from their hands. Sasha screamed as they sliced through her, pulling at her every fiber. Katie gripped harder as the light increased, growing so bright that it blinded them.

  Pandora’s voice cut through it all. “We’ve been fighting her, which means we’ve been fighting all the demons she’s absorbed. We need to exorcise them.”

  Katie yelled, feeling the intensity of the energy swirling around them. Pandora groaned and vibrated the spears of light, pulling the energy back out of Sasha. “It’s working. Keep holding on.”

  Katie took a deep breath and held tighter, exorcising all the demons. Familiar energy surged around her—Brock’s demon. Sasha screamed, her body shrinking to half its previous size. Her many legs curled to her chest and she leaned her head back, her mouth falling open. A beam of light shot from her throat and slammed into Katie and Pandora.

  Pandora held tighter to Katie. “Look, she’s shrinking. Our energy is pulling hers out. Keep going! We’re almost there!”

  Katie opened one eye and blinked through the light, seeing Sasha’s arms curling into her chest as well as her legs. Several of her limbs fell off and turned to dust beneath her. She was still shrinking when Pandora finally released Katie’s hand. Pandora spread her fingers, sending the excess energy into the ground. Katie pulled her sword and slashed at Sasha. “Her arms aren’t growing back!”

  She sliced off another and another until the Leviathan was only left with two arms and two legs. Katie smirked. “Now we are on a level playing field.”

  Sasha’s head hung low, and her breathing was short and labored. Her body shook wildly as she searched for any remaining energy. She couldn’t even lift the sword.

  Katie advanced on Sasha. “It’s time to finish this.”

  As Katie stepped forward, Pandora yelled. “Not yet!”

  Katie furrowed her brow and turned to Pandora. “Why?”

  Her body jolted. Pandora watched as the confused expression melted from Katie’s face. Her eyes flickered between blue and red, and a soft gasp came from her throat. Katie looked down at her side. Brock’s sword was jutting from a seam in her armor. Sasha yanked the sword out of her flesh, and Katie grabbed the woun. Blood poured out, and she fell to one knee and put a palm on the ground.

  Pandora reached for her. “No!”

  Sasha reached up and grabbed her by the wing, then flung her to the ground. She was like an injured dog pushed into a corner. She might not have been strong any longer, but she had the survival instinct of a wild animal. Pandora fought to get up, but Sasha laughed loudly and held her down. “I’m going to make you watch your human die before I suck the life right out of you.”

  Pandora looked at Sasha with bright red eyes and growled. She swiped her hands at the Leviathan’s face, but she was held back by unimaginable will. Her eyes moved past Sasha and saw a huge blue monster standing behind her.

  Juntto.

  He winked at Pandora and lifted his giant war-spear. Pandora began to laugh uncontrollably. She didn’t stop laughing when Juntto plunged his spear through Sasha’s heart. She dropped Pandora and grabbed the end of the spear jutting through her chest.

  Katie struggled to her feet and retrieved her sword from the ground. Steadying herself, she raised the sword over her head and held it there for a moment.

  She muttered, “Suck this.” The sword fell, slicing through Sasha’s neck.

  The spiderwoman’s head fell to the ground and rolled across the courtyard, rolling ear over nose until it came to a stop in the middle of town.

  Pandora stood shakily and took off, flying toward the portal. She extended her hands and closed her eyes, groaning as she used every ounce of her strength to slam the portal shut. When Pandora floated back to the ground, Katie was holding onto Juntto with one arm. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and she winced as she moved. The cut in her side was deep, but that hadn’t stopped Katie from removing the Leviathan’s head.

  Katie and Pandora exchanged smiles as they locked eyes. Pandora grinned. “Oh, come here, you badass bitch.”

  “I don’t know if you want to do that. It was a special metal sword.”

  Pandora rolled her eyes. “Fuck me. How much do I love you?”

  She dove into Katie.

  The news reporter looked somber standing next to a video of the Romanian Leviathan slaying. “This footage was taken by soldiers near the fight. You can see Katie was deeply wounded by the beast, but that didn’t stop her. She persevered and sliced the creature’s head off her shoulders.”

  Beelzebub and Baal winced as Sasha’s head came to a stop right in front of the camera. Beelzebub shook his head. “What a waste. She was a badass Leviathan. Dangerous, but badass.”

  Baal clicked the television off and stood up. He growled at Beelzebub. “I knew it. I knew you were up to something. I mean, fucking seriously? You were sending demons to occupy a Romanian village? You really thought that you would be able to make hell on Earth? That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. There is a reason that the planet cannot sustain our environment. To think you actually thought Katie would let you get away with it. It’s laughable, really.” He thought for a moment. “Wait. Teyollucuani. Did you dig her up or what?”

  “No fucking way. I wanted to make hell on Earth. I just picked a shitty spot. All the demonic energy must have knocked her out of her slumber. What a shitshow.” Beelzebub put up his finger. “Hey, it almost worked. If that Leviathan hadn’t sucked the energy out of every single one of my demons, it would have had a really good chance of working.”

  Baal scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Please, almost doesn’t count, ever. Repeat this sentence: I almost kept my balls when Lucifer found out I was a complete fuck-up.”

  Beelzebub winced. “Okay, good point. He’s not the type to give you points for effort. I don’t think this will warrant another trip to his office, though. In reality, I didn’t do any harm this time around. That was all Teyollucuani.”

  Baal poured himself a drink and shook his head. “You think Lucifer will give a fuck whose fault it was? No. The truth is, I have come up with something much more interesting. This plan is better than hell on Earth, better than all of Mol
och’s ploys. I’ve actually been planning this for a long time, but I didn’t know if I would have the chance to use it.”

  Beelzebub narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing?”

  Baal chuckled. “I’m doing something way more evil. I am playing a long game. Basically, I’m playing with politics.”

  Beelzebub groaned and rubbed his face. “Politics is bullshit. All I have to say is, you better know what you’re doing. Your plan could turn around and bite you right in the dick if you aren’t careful.”

  Baal didn’t seem worried. He waved his hands at Beelzebub. “It will be fine, I swear. I have been watching the idiots all this time, taking notes, and figuring out the exact right moves. This won’t be a repeat of Moloch’s fuck-ups, or even yours.”

  Beelzebub snarled and grabbed the glass out of Baal’s hand. “Then I guess this is to you. May you not crash and burn on your epic journey to take over Earth.”

  He threw back the whiskey and put the glass back in Baal’s hand. Baal growled and shook his head. “I haven’t failed.”

  “Yet.”

  Pandora quickly began healing the wound in Katie’s side. Juntto scooped her up in his arms and climbed back up the hill to where Korbin and the others were waiting for them. Juntto laid Katie down in the grass, and Korbin and Timothy rushed to her side. “How bad is it?”

  Timothy got really nervous. “Oh, God. I cannot be standing here with no demon watching one of my best friends die.”

  Katie opened one eye. “If I die, I’m totally haunting you, and I am going to wear cotton sweat pants and a sweatshirt with no hood.”

  Timothy let out a deep breath. “God. You are okay. And don’t you ever threaten me with such an atrocious act ever again.”

  Katie lifted her shirt to show off the hole in the fabric and a whole lot of blood, but there was no longer a wound. Beneath the surface, Pandora was working overtime. She winced, feeling the aftereffects of being stabbed with a special metal sword. It was minor but still painful. Katie’s body had absorbed the brunt of the blow, but it was a really good thing Pandora hadn’t been inside. She wasn’t sure if she could have survived something like that.