by Ciara Graves
Mech knocked on the doorframe since there was only a dark blue sheet for a door. “Remiel?”
“Outside,” Remiel called to us. “Is Lela with you?”
“Right here.”
We walked through the tiny studio-style apartment, up to the short set of stairs to the roof door, then outside. Remiel was kneeling, drawing something on the asphalt surface. He scooted to the right, and I frowned at the faintly glowing symbols he’d made with white chalk.
“What are you doing?”
“Making a phone call.” Remiel sat up, motioning to the symbols already drawn around him. “It’s time the other generals got involved, don’t you think?”
“You can contact them?”
Remiel sat back on his heels. “I can.”
“Why haven’t you done it then?” I shouted. “You’re kidding, right? Here we are about to be obliterated, and you just happen to have a way to call in reinforcements.”
“Lela,” Mech said sternly.
“What?”
He nodded toward Remiel, and I bit back the rest of what I wanted to fling at the older angel. He bore fresh scars from the fight at Blood Falls, just as Mech did. He too had his wings torn out by Hadariel. He was lucky enough to escape before all his holy light could be drained. Remiel was not without his own wounds or guilt.
“Remiel, I’m sorry,” I said as I knelt with him.
“No, I am. We should’ve acted sooner. If we had, perhaps the world wouldn’t be this dark and our situation so desperate.”
“Do you think it’ll work?” I ran my fingers over the symbols closest to me. There wasn’t much power there. “Do you need me to bring more angels up here to help boost your holy light?” A sharp pang started where my wings once were, and I rolled my shoulders to chase it away.
“Actually, I was hoping Mech would be able to help.”
“You want me to use hellfire?”
Remiel nodded. “Why not? It’s time to see just what we can do with holy light and hellfire combined. The only issue with me reaching out like this is Hadariel will potentially intercept the message. It could draw him to us, or it won’t reach the other generals.”
“Do you know if we can even trust them?” I asked with a bitter laugh. “Not like they’ve been much help so far.”
“Where do you think Hadariel was when he wasn’t trying to kill us? We’re not the only ones dealing with the consequences of inaction.” Remiel touched up several symbols then handed the chalk to me. “Lela, if you’d step out of the circle and Mech if you could take her place. Standing is fine.”
I backed out of the way to let Mech join Remiel. The circle wasn’t very large, and the two of them took up all the available space. With Mech inside the symbols, they took on a different glow, giving off an orangish-blue hue instead. Remiel held up his right hand and told Mech to mirror him.
“The symbols need to be infused with power in order to work,” Remiel explained. “I can only do so much with the holy light left in me, but you can bolster it. Do exactly as I do, but don’t hold back the fire.”
Remiel raised his right hand the same time he brought his left slowly across his body. Mech did exactly as he did, and the symbols pulsed against the dark asphalt roof. As the two continued to move their hands in intricate patterns, twisting and turning as they went, fire seeped from Mech’s hands. The way he glanced at it curiously, he hadn’t even called on his hellfire yet. It came out, all the same, answering the summons of the symbols. Remiel’s palms glowed, but it was pale in comparison to Mech’s power.
The pattern started over again, and the fire trailed down Mech’s body to the floor. Remiel’s light did the same. The flames crashed against each other like waves against a rocky shore. I held my breath, waiting for them to repulse each other. They swirled and then came together in a brilliant burst of fire and light. With their powers combined, the fire infused with light swarmed the circle and flowed into the symbols. One by one, they began to smoke and burn so bright I had to look away. A loud pop caused my heart to stutter. The circle was burned into the roof, but the symbols that had been in it were gone.
“Did it work?” I asked as Mech and Remiel lowered their hands.
“Yes. Now, all we can do is wait and pray.”
Small flames remained in Mech’s palms. He let them flow over his skin. This was the first time I’d seen holy light and hellfire combine. It was on a small scale, but the sight was burned into my mind. The possibilities were endless if we could make this work for everyone. If Mech could do it with Remiel, then he could certainly do it with an angel that had a full charge. With any luck, the boost to hellfire might trigger something within the sources themselves. If all demons could regain access to hellfire, we’d up the odds drastically.
But these were a lot of ifs.
Mech doused the flames by curling his fingers around them. It might be night, but I was ready to go find some angels and keep experimenting. We had nothing but time until the army decided to pick up and move, or the rest of the angel generals answered our call.
Chapter 5
Mech
The holy light met my hellfire for the fourth time and immediately went out. “Damn it.”
“You’re overthinking it,” Lela said sternly. “You have to relax. If you can do it with Remiel, you should be able to make it work with anyone.”
I gritted my teeth and swallowed a growl. It was hard, trying to combine my hellfire with holy light. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it was for her to watch me making these attempts with another angel instead of her. I hadn’t let her try to control my hellfire, not yet. Part of me worried she’d get her hands on it and it’d burn her alive.
We’d been at it all through the night and now into the afternoon. The scouts weren’t back yet, and no messages came from any angels. Nathaniel was awake and promised to tell Lela all the details of the fight against Lavina when he was allowed to have visitors. If I thought Bailey was a pain to deal with, Harriet was worse. Not letting anyone in the infirmary that didn’t have to be there.
“Ready to try again?” Zacharias asked as his palms glowed blue with light.
I shook mine out and nodded. “Yeah, you?” It wasn’t just me that dealt with the backlash of the failed connection. He was looking far paler than when we’d started.
“Might be the last time for a while,” he admitted.
“Then let’s make it count.”
We weren’t the only pair at Town Hall attempting to make this connection work. Kexan was paired with another angel, as were Melinda and a multitude of volunteers Lela had rounded up at first light. Working with Remiel had been easy, but his light was so weak, mine was able to take control and guide his. With a fully charged angel, our powers warred for control. Even if I tried to give a little, it wasn’t enough. The same occurred if Zacharias backed down a bit.
If this was to work effectively, we had to be able to pull on the power of the other and use it with our own. The most Zacharias and I had been able to do was throw each other on our asses.
And that was exactly where we ended up again. I stared up at the ceiling until Lela’s head appeared in my view. She was grimacing. “You gonna live?”
I buried my hand in her hair and pulled her down so I could kiss her. She laughed as she pulled back and I sat up. Zacharias was getting up, rubbing the back of his head.
“Sorry, man,” I said.
“Nah, it’s fine. Think I could use a break, though.”
“And sadly, I think I need a charge.” I snapped my fingers to create a flame. It sputtered then went out after a few seconds. “Used more than I thought.”
“Then I guess you should get your butt to Hell so you can hurry back.”
She sounded too damned eager, and I dragged her right back down so I could hold her in my arms. “You better not be getting any ideas when I’m gone,” I warned.
“Me? What would I be planning?”
“Lela.”
“The only thing I’m
going to do is keep working on the shields with the angels and demons who are here and willing. That’s it. I promise,” she said as she placed a hand over her heart. “But you need to stay fully charged. Go. I’ll be right here in one piece when you get back.”
“Better be.”
It’d be my luck to leave Dakota and have that army decide to attack. There were a decent number of demons and angels here to back up the human forces. I’d feel better if I sent more, though, just to be on the safe side. Lela didn’t have to know why they were here. They would just show up. Hell, she might not even notice them.
An hour later, I was ready to go. About twenty demons, including Ilran, were returning with me. Lela kissed me one more time then gave me a helpful shove to the portal behind me.
“Hurry back, Lord Tonamech.”
“Whatever you say, Commander Lela.” I winked, hesitated a few seconds longer, then finally returned to the realms of Hell.
With my boots on black soil, a rush of heat ran up my back. I stretched my arms over my head and sucked in a breath.
Ilran did the same and let it out with a smile. “Nice to see you two are getting along,” she said.
“For the most part. Can’t help thinking she’s still plotting to go after Zeraxin alone.”
“And you’re not doing the same?”
I grunted, but there was no denying it. “You returning to your realm to rest?”
“I should. My troops have been preparing to make a journey to the surface. If they’re ready, I’m going to send them ahead of me. Thought you might like having the extra muscle in Dakota while you’re gone.”
“You read my mind.”
The courtyard was busy as always. Travis and my three other bodyguards hustled forward and bowed. “My lord,” Travis said, ignoring my narrowed eyed glare. “Are you staying long?”
“Just long enough to gain a charge. I need you to do me a favor.”
I ordered him to round up half our available units and prepare them for a trip to the surface in a few hours. He said he’d see to it and left. The three others remained at my side. I’d been hoping they’d all go with Travis.
“Not used to it yet?” Ilran asked with a knowing smile.
“Hasn’t been that long.”
“I finally convinced my guards to stay out of sight. Nice to at least feel like you’re alone.”
“How’d you manage that?”
She laughed. “How do you think, Mech? I scared them shitless. Now they know I won’t actually remove limbs, but back then, you should’ve seen their faces. Those were the days.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’ll work for me.”
“Could always have Lela do it.” She nudged me then waved over her shoulder. “I’ll send you a message when I’m heading back to the surface.”
I’d probably beat her back. Being away from Lela left me with a hollowness in my chest. That, and I kept imagining Zeraxin appearing in Dakota, sneaking in as someone else. He’d appeared as Hadariel once. What was to say he couldn’t shift and take on the face of someone she knew. Like Ilran? Shit, what if he could look like me?
“Stop,” I scolded myself quietly. “He’s not going to go after her. She’ll be fine for a few hours. Just a few hours.”
“What was that my lord?” one of my guards asked.
“Nothing. Let’s get inside, and you can update me on what’s been happening in Olem.”
Several hours later, I sat at Koreth’s old desk, holding a mug of ale in one hand and rubbing my forehead with the other. The guards were outside the door. It was as far as I could get them to retreat, but not seeing them did help. Olem was in good shape. Thanks to Koreth, it ran like a well-oiled machine. Orders were carried out, and the entire fighting force of Olem was prepared for a final battle against the enemy, wherever that might be. I’d spent some time digging through the old archives and tomes in Koreth’s study, but there was nothing in there about the sources of our power or where it might reside.
Figured it’d be too easy to come down here and find the answers we needed. I rested my hand, palm-up, on the desk. Hellfire came easily. A few more hours and I’d be in good enough condition to return to the surface. It was too damned long, but now was not the time to let myself be at half capacity. I should go to the barracks and gather a few more things anyway. I was running short on clothes that weren’t torn or bloodstained.
The heavy, solid wood door swung inward. Travis entered. He bowed, but his gaze was unfocused. “The men have been dispatched to the surface, my lord.”
“Good. Any complications?”
“No, my lord.”
“Travis? Something on your mind. You look worried.”
He scratched at his chin as he shrugged. “I haven’t heard word from any of the other demon lords is all. Or from the other commanders.”
“For how long?”
“A few hours now. I sent men to check-in, but no one’s come back yet.”
“Anything on the map?”
“Nothing, but something doesn’t feel right, my lord.”
I was on my feet and with him at the door barely a second later. “I want you to send one demon to each realm, and they are not to leave until we have word from the other lords, understand? If something’s going on, I want to know.” I tilted my head. “Is that whistling?”
Travis stepped away from me and down the corridor. My other three guards were already on their feet, gripping their swords in white-knuckled hands. The air grew thin. I struggled to breathe. There wasn’t enough oxygen to allow the flames in my hand to grow larger than my palm. I gave up and reached for the sword Travis offered.
“Anything out there?” I gasped as the whistling cut off sharply.
“No, but there has to be something—”
The roof of the fortress burst apart. The walls trembled. A fireball crashed through the corridor we stood in and took out the southern end. A second one struck a few feet away from where I stood. Travis shoved me toward the other end toward the stairs, shouting for me to run. Shouts of battle reached us. When we skidded past a window, I saw the courtyard swarming with abominations and the undead. The stairs cracked and buckled under my boots, throwing me off balance.
I braced myself against the wall. Travis did the same. The stairs behind us fell away as another fireball struck the fortress and ripped a hole right through the center. Another must’ve hit the foundations. The stairs began to break apart.
I yelled for Travis to get going, then threw him ahead of me, ignoring his protests. Each step disappeared the second I stepped on it.
We were falling. The entire stairwell was gone. I hit a hard pile of stones with a grunt and rolled through the debris of timbers and glass shards.
Travis somersaulted further away and landed out of sight.
The sword clattered from my hand as I laid there, staring at the sky in Hell.
More streaks of fire blocked out the grey clouds overhead. The fortress continued to groan and crack.
I scrambled to roll over and crawled on my stomach to try and get away.
More stones tumbled down, crushing my right leg. I bellowed, then bit back the shout and worked to get free. As I did, the rest of the fortress walls began giving way. Stone and wood fell headed directly for me, and there was nowhere for me to run.
I covered my head with my arms and was buried alive.
Chapter 6
Lela
Xavier stood perfectly still as an angel and a demon moved to either side. A couple of hours after Mech left, I found as many volunteers as I could and went back to attempting to create shields. Remiel was with me. Between us and Kexan, as well as several older demons, we set to work finding those few pairs who could combine their holy light and hellfire. Unlike Mech and Zacharias, we ended up with three sets of compatible pairs.
If we had more time to really test the boundaries of what their combined abilities meant, Xavier would not be standing there looking like he regretted volunteering.
&
nbsp; “If there’s any backlash, it’ll hit them,” I told Xavier. “Right?”
Remiel and Kexan gave me a sideways glance. “Yes,” the angel said with a confident smile. “You won’t feel a thing.”
“Never knew you could lie so well,” I whispered.
“When the time calls for it, we angels can do many things, Lela. Remember that.”
“Says the angel who still has holy light.”
“Barely,” he added quietly. “You are still an angel at your core. Hadariel can’t take that away from you. Nor can he steal away who you’re meant to be.”
He sounded quite prophetic, and it set off a string of questions in my head.
Remiel walked around Xavier, not giving me a chance to ask them.
Kexan sidled closer and gave me a questioning look.
“Tell you later,” I mumbled.
“Something wrong?”
“I don’t think so, but I’ve been wrong before.”
Xavier braced as the angel and demon called on their powers. Orange flames and a soft, blue glow extended from their palms. They aimed for the ground around Xavier’s feet. We decided to take this experiment outside, just in case. No need to put a hole in the roof of Town Hall just yet. The hellfire and light came together then swirled around, joining together. I held my breath and watched as a shield formed higher and higher around Xavier. It had just covered his head and looked ready to make itself whole when the fire sputtered, and the holy light settled into the void. It overpowered the connection, and the shield flickered then went out.
“Damn.”
Kexan shook his head. “I’m not sure why it’s not working. You’d think with the extra power, it would stick.”
“Maybe it was a bad idea, to begin with.”
“No, it’s not that. We’re just not getting the balance right. It takes time, which is something we just don’t have right now.” He looked like he was going to say more but stopped.