Warring Angel

by Samantha L. Strong

  “Oh,” she said as she gazed down at Chana’s outstretched body. “Is she… ?”

  “She’ll be fine,” said Serinh. “She simply needs rest. Help me move her to the couch for now.”

  She and I lifted Chana and settled her gently on a sofa. I sat next to her, near her head. Harbinger went to her side and smoothed her curly hair back.

  “My poor girl.” She looked up at us almost sheepishly. “I can’t help but think of her as my daughter still. This bond is stronger than any I’ve ever experienced in only one life. I love her as though I’ve known her a hundred lifetimes.”

  “It’s all right,” I murmured. “That’s beautiful.”

  And it was. An oasis of human affection in a desert of destruction and hatred.

  “How do you fare?” asked Serinh. “All of you?”

  “I feel all right,” said Harbinger. “I’ve been doing this much longer than Chana. That was not an easy thing to live through,” she shuddered, “but I could tell it wasn’t in my Incarnation Plan. I could feel you there, watching over me.” She looked up at Zaponsla. “I knew that I could handle this, whatever this was. If I couldn’t, you would remove me. I didn’t know it then, not in those words, but I knew everything was all right. That demon had me, but I was going to be all right.”

  Zaponsla sat on the chair across from the humans. “Thank the Source. I was so confused.”

  Serinh joined her. “And you?”

  Zaponsla scrubbed a hand over her face. “I was trapped in a corner of my mind. I don’t know if it’s something Osubatz did or because of the camp.”

  “I think it was partly your bond with Bernadette,” I said. “I didn’t have that problem with Chana, but she wasn’t being tortured.”

  Harbinger shuddered again. “I can’t remember it all. I feel like he did something— But that’s all right. We can worry about it later.”

  “Are you sure?” I leaned forward.

  “Yes.” She waved a hand. “We need to win this war. I’ll review my Book of Life later.”

  “And you, Enael?” Serinh’s golden eyes glittered. “How do you fare?”

  “Me?” I sat up tall. “I’ve never been better.”

  The three looked at me, Serinh’s face quizzical, Harbinger’s thoughtful, Zaponsla’s worried.

  “I realized something in that room. I am the Cornerstone.”

  “Yes, but you’ve known that,” said Zaponsla.

  “But I haven’t known that.” I turned toward Harbinger. “Before you died in Voctic’s brothel, you said something to me. You said I needed to start trusting myself. And that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to stop Asorat and the Aleph.”

  I was done whining about the unknown and the should-haves. I was going to be the Cornerstone the Source had made me. I was going to stop this war.

  “But how?”

  “Resilience. Cunning. Determination.” In actuality, I had no idea how I was going to do it. But I was tired of moping in the Nexus and begging the Source for answers to no avail. I wasn’t going to let a slimy Fearling-turned-demon bully me or my Wards any more. And I certainly wasn’t going to let Asorat win this war or allow the Aleph take over Heaven.

  “First,” I stood, “I’m going to go mete out punishment to a certain someone who needs to understand that human beings aren’t his playthings. Bring me paper and a quill, and call in an Attendant.” My limbs were bubbling with an excitement I hadn’t felt in— How long had it been?

  “What are you going to do?” Serinh touched the jewel hanging on her forehead.

  “I’m going to make good on my promise to Osubatz.”

  Heaven could wait a short while longer. I had two lives to avenge.

  CHAPTER 31

  A back room of Serinh’s penthouse contained a desk stacked neatly with leather-bound books and a line of quills, sleek chairs whose edges sparkled gold, and a floor-length, gilded mirror. The mirror reflected the angel I’d been for centuries, though before, white wings—and briefly, brown—had flared around me instead of cobalt. Behind me, Serinh, Harbinger, and Zaponsla watched as I inspected myself. Chana lay on the sofa in the living room, still unconscious.

  I fluffed out my hair, then smoothed and curled it into long, blond tresses. I rouged my cheeks, enlarged my eyes, and added dark blue eyeshadow to the lids. “What kind of clothing would he like?” I murmured.

  “I really don’t think you should do this, Enael.” Serinh frowned. “Heppaliam and Parsiel will deal with Osubatz.”

  I selected a dress, something the modern aristocracy was wearing in England, the perfect shade of pastel blue to off-set my cobalt eyes and wings. After adding elbow-length gloves and a long string of pearls, I attempted a coquettish look.

  “That’s a good expression if you’re trying to scare him, but…” Zaponsla shrugged.

  I practiced again and again until, finally, I could make an expression both alluring and mysterious.

  An Attendant appeared at the doorway.

  “You wanted paper?” Still frowning, Serinh tore a piece from a notebook and plucked a quill from her desk. Taking them, I wrote, in large, looping letters:

  Solid walls on Hell’s dark plane

  Never see the light again

  Trap the demon, trap him well

  Trap him with this binding spell

  “Zaponsla, I want you to take this to Vycanus. Ask them to chant it over and over. They have my true name from centuries ago, when Rehniah and I went, so ask them to pray for my success.”

  “I’m really not sure this is the best way to resolve this,” insisted Serinh.

  “Are you going to stop me?”

  She pursed her golden lips.

  “I should come with you,” said Zaponsla. “What if he attacks you?”

  “Then I will chop him into little pieces and throw him into the Source,” I said.

  Harbinger put a hand to her mouth.

  “I doubt that will be effective, though,” I continued, “so this is the next best thing. I told him that if he didn’t leave my humans alone, he’d be punished. Are the Seraphim going to deal with him in a timely and satisfactory fashion?”

  Serinh’s lips stayed pursed.

  “Then it falls to me.”

  I leaned forward, inspecting my eyes again. I looked so young. Despite the advantage youth gave to beauty, I no longer felt like the angel looking back at me in the mirror. Brushing my fingers over my temples, I added laugh lines to the corners of my eyes.

  “There,” I said. “Perfect.”

  Osubatz was more interested in Harbinger than Chana. Although part of his fascination was his connection from years ago, I was certain he was also attracted to age. Perhaps humans were like wine—the more aged, the richer the taste.

  I almost gagged thinking about it.

  My costume would definitely catch his attention. Surveying my handiwork, I was pleased to discover that after all my experiences, I looked more like—me.

  “Any final protests?” I turned my attention to the gathering behind me.

  Zaponsla clutched the paper, Harbinger brushed a hand over her large skirt, and Serinh shook her head. “None of the other Seraphim know you’ve arrived here, but they’ll figure it out soon. Killing our Cornerstone was a bold move. The Engineers insisted for months they could get Chana free, but the Council was losing faith in them. They’ll be furious, but perhaps not as furious as all that. Return quickly because they’ll be waiting. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”

  “Thank you.” My mind was on Osubatz and how I was going to get my revenge. I would deal with the Seraphim once my mission was complete.

  I never wanted to go back to that concentration camp, never again wanted to see the haze hanging over it or the stupefied looks on the Guardians and humans piled into buildings like animals. But I was there for a reason, so I alighted on the ground from where I’d flown in, lifted my head, kept my eyes forward, and marched through the camp.

  Demons following Gestapo mad
e lewd comments, whistled, and jeered. One Guardian, haggard and worn, stepped into my path. “What are you doing, Nephil?”

  I folded my gloved hands together. “Taking revenge for all of you.” It was partially true: once Osubatz was gone from this place, mostly human depravity would remain. I had no hope for the Jews here under the Nazi regime, but at least the demonic influence would be lessened. And soon, very soon, we would win the war.

  I hope.

  I searched the camp and found Franz in a building halfway across the compound from where he’d kept Chana. He was sitting at a desk alone, completing paperwork. That he paid me no notice indicated Osubatz was not in current possession of his body. Likely the demon had better things to do than fill out reports. I sat across from him, crossed my ankles primly, and waited.

  Osubatz would come, I was sure. He loved his “playground” and wouldn’t stay away long.

  As Franz put a stamp on the final paper and placed it neatly into a basket marked Out, Osubatz appeared at his shoulder.

  “Good day, my little demon friend.” I gave him the smile I’d practiced in the mirror and fluttered my eyes.

  He took a step back, but an eyebrow raised. “Aren’t you a pretty one today.”

  I stood, smoothed a hand over my dress, fluffed my hair. “Yes, well, I’ve come to discuss something.” I lowered my head and looked at him through my eyelashes. I’d seen many a Ward—both mine and others—try this flirtatious posture.

  “You’ve come to discuss something?” He leaned forward.

  Franz was sitting still, staring at the desk, as blank-eyed as his partner had been.

  “Do you need to take care of your pet, or do you have time to talk?” Feeling ridiculous, I even made my voice breathy.

  He licked his lips. “He’ll be fine. You were saying?”

  “Well,” I twined my fingers in my necklace, twisting them around my knuckles, “I took my human back to Heaven. And when the Seraphim discovered I’d killed the Cornerstone, they punished me.”

  He gasped an odd sucking sound.

  “I’m so angry. I can’t believe they would treat me like this!” I summoned my best indignant voice, channeling all the real wrongs done to me over the centuries. “And then I realized, you know what? Osubatz was right. Everyone deserves love, yes? And you were so… intense… doing your experiments. It was…” I sighed in lieu of a word—I couldn’t come up with one I could stomach.

  He leaned forward. “Go on.”

  “I stole her for you.”

  “Who?”

  “Harbinger. I took her soul and I brought it to Hell. It’s waiting somewhere they’ll never find, for you to do whatever you please. I thought we could enjoy her—together.”

  He jumped from his chair, chittering. “Oh, Enael, this is wonderful! Take me there right away.”

  “Are you sure he’ll be all right?” I nodded at Franz. I couldn’t care less what happened to that horrible excuse for a man, but feigning concern for his “pet” seemed a good way to keep up the deception.

  “He’ll wait here. He can take care of himself.” Osubatz sidled around the desk.

  It took all of my willpower not to stiffen when he brushed a hand over my shoulder and then took my hand. Even through my gloves, his fingers were cold and possessive as he stroked a thumb across mine.

  We faded into the cave I’d shared with Kaspen in Hell. My skin hummed, telling me that Zaponsla had done as I’d asked and rushed to Vycanus to rouse the Matron and Patron immediately. Serinh’s assertion that this wasn’t the best way to resolve this surfaced, but I pushed away my doubt.

  A creature like Osubatz, interested only in chaos, destruction, and his own sick goals, couldn’t be allowed to continue what he was doing.

  This close to him, I could see his body morphing slightly. Arm hairs became wiry, insect-like; his fingers merged into claws; his eyes moved too fluidly in his head. Also at my request, Harbinger had been here to light candles, which cast the entire place in a sultry glow that did not match my purpose or our surroundings.

  I pulled away from Osubatz but his grip tightened. “Where are you going, pretty one?” he purred.

  I extricated myself with a graceful twirl. “Oh, but don’t you want to see the soul first?” To give reason for staying back from him, I took my gloves off one by one, tugging each finger in turn. I needed to stall, to allow the spell to take hold.

  The once-gray clouds outside were now a pitch black, barely visible against the dark sky. A puff of wind blew into the cave, smelling of sulfur with a hint of death. Asorat’s fortress hulked on the horizon. We’d discovered that no matter where we went in Hell, it was always visible—a reminder of who ruled here now.

  Osubatz looked me over. When he got to my bosom, his eyes became unhinged in a decidedly inhuman manner, wiggling slightly before coming to rest in his head.

  The walls glowed blue now, faint but visible to my eyes. Can he see it? I only had to wait a few moments longer, and he would be trapped. Angels would be able to pass through the barrier, but creatures like him—severed from the Source—wouldn’t. None of his demonic friends would be able to mount a rescue.

  He licked his lips again. “I want to see love. Show me love.”

  I stopped myself from shuddering. “All in good time, my lovely.” I toyed with my now-removed gloves.

  His face flickered. “Fine. Then where is the soul?”

  “Let me fetch it for you.”

  The bed was unmade still, the sheet thrown back. The candles flickered in the alcove, and a jar of angel water sat on one of the shallow indentations. I moved toward it, hoping to distract him for a precious few more seconds.

  Osubatz put a hand on the wall, but not in an enticing gesture. “This is odd. Why is it turning blue?”

  “Before I reveal her soul,” I hastily opened the jar, nearly dropping it, and held it out. “you must keep up your strength. Here, come drink.”

  But he was staring at the wall. “What have you done? Why have you brought me here?”

  “You know why,” I purred.

  “No. I don’t.” His back was rigid, his eyes now solidly staring at me. “Tell me.”

  I swallowed. I was not good at directly lying, even if it was to a creature who’d tortured my humans. “I want to show you what love is.” My voice rose at the end as I realized it was true. I would show him what love was, by punishing him for hurting those I loved.

  He hurried to the door, where a blue sheen was overtaking the entrance. “What’s this? Why is this happening?”

  He lifted a hand and I went still. Has it been long enough for the Vycanums’ prayers to take hold? Will the walls stop him?

  His fingers pressed forward and caught on the blue barrier. He pushed, then lifted his other arm and pushed again. He strained and struggled, then slammed a fist into the now solid barrier.

  “What have you done?”

  I’d shouted the same words at him before, and I was pleased at his fury.

  He leapt across the room and I flapped to avoid him. One of his hands turned into a razor-sharp claw, which caught the edge of my wing. I cried out as feathers flew and blue blood splattered the wall, but I kicked and sent him flying.

  He levered off the cave wall and jumped to the ceiling, chittering and clacking. “Let me out! You can’t keep me here! You have no right!”

  I called a trident to hand and stabbed at him. “I have every right. And now you know what love is. It’s protecting the ones you care about. It’s stopping those who are hurting them.”

  Osubatz fell down at me, but now that he was trapped, I had no reason to stay. I ducked, rolled under him, and scurried out the cave door. Safely on the other side, I turned to glare at him.

  Through the blue haze of the spell the Vycanums had created, his eyes were black and glossy. “You’d better let me go!”

  “No. I warned you to leave them alone. And this is your punishment.”

  “Please, Nephil! Let me go!”

&nbs
p; “No. I told you that if you didn’t leave our Cornerstone alone, you’d be thrown into Hell and locked in a cage for all eternity. Now you know I was telling the truth.”

  His eyes were rattling in his head again. “You can’t do this to me! The Seraphim will never sanction it!”

  “The Seraphim have nothing to do with this. This is between you and me.”

  With that, I turned my back on him and faded into Heaven.

  CHAPTER 32

  I faded into Serinh’s living room without preamble. She and Harbinger were sitting on the couch, heads bowed together, deep in discussion. If Harbinger suspects she’s the Aleph, she wouldn’t confide in her, would she?

  “… all we can do is wait— Enael!” Harbinger leapt up. “You’re safe.”

  “Of course I’m safe.” I exaggerated my swagger and created and twirled a trident. “I’m the Cornerstone.”

  “Oh, now, Mother.” Harbinger clasped my hand in hers.

  “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?” But I squeezed her fingers and grinned.

  “I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece.” Serinh rose. “The Council has summoned you.”

  Chana was still unconscious on the sofa, features relaxed, her chest rising and falling. I wasn’t sure if that was worrying or not since she didn’t need to breathe in Heaven. Making my trident disappear, I knelt next to her and brushed hair out of her eyes. “Do we know what’s causing this? Or how to bring her out of it?”

  “No,” said Harbinger. “She woke once when you were gone and called out your name, but she lapsed back into her coma shortly after.”

  “Where’s Zaponsla?”

  “Updating Umiet on what happened with Chana and me. She also wanted to stop by the Sanctuary because of her fugues while we were embodied. She said not to worry. It’s only a precaution. She’ll come find you once the Tenders look at her.”