Talon of God

by Wesley Snipes

  “The Savior of Chicago,” Akarra repeated. “The person who shall rise to stop that.” He pointed up, his glowing eyes locked on the nightmarish figure floating high above their heads.

  Lauryn swallowed. “And what is that, exactly?”

  “They call it Castle Delusion,” the angel replied, returning his arm to his side. “A stronghold of the enemy. Normally, it is bound within their realm, but tonight the demon wearing the face of the man who was once Christopher St. Luke has used the corruption of thousands of souls to drag it all the way to the edge of the mortal realm. Now it hovers on the threshold of death itself, and even that final barrier is weakening. If nothing is done, the building pressure will sunder the veil that protects the world of the living from the worlds beyond, and the army of the enemy will spill forth.”

  By the time he finished, Lauryn felt like she’d swallowed a brick. At least now she understood why St. Luke had been so confident. Even the near-zombie-like outbreak Z3X had caused was nothing compared to bringing that . . . that thing into Chicago. “How do we stop it?”

  “That is up to you,” Akarra said.

  “Me?” Lauryn said, wincing when she heard the panic in her voice. “Why me? I don’t know what to do! I’m a doctor, not a soldier. What am I supposed to do against something like that—diagnose it?”

  “That is up to you,” Akarra repeated firmly. “It is not our place to question the will of God. If you were chosen, it was for a reason. Trust in that.”

  With every calm word, Lauryn’s frustration grew. “That’s it?” she cried. “That’s your angelic advice? I get that this is all part of God’s plan, but I really don’t see how I’m going to stop a giant flying hell fortress.” She especially didn’t see why, out of everyone in Chicago, God had apparently picked her to do . . . whatever it was she was supposed to do. Or why he’d waited until now. That thing was practically on top of them, and then there was the part where she was already dead.

  “I know you have doubts,” Akarra said gently. “All mortals do. That is how God created you. It is your nature to doubt and question, but it is your faith that shall see you through.”

  That answer was so like her dad and Talon and every freaking holy man she’d ever met, Lauryn couldn’t help herself. “But that’s so unfair!” she cried. “Why would God do this to us? If he loves us as much as you say, why does he leave us in doubt? Why did he leave us alone? If people knew God was real, they wouldn’t get into half the trouble they do.”

  “I am a warrior,” Akarra replied stiffly. “Not a sage or a prophet. Still, it seems to me that you have just answered your own question. The true measure of a person isn’t how they conduct themselves when they are being watched, but how they act when they believe they are alone.” He looked up at the sky. “God knows the heart of every living thing. He knows our evils before we do them, and yet he withholds his judgment until the act is done, because until that moment, there is always the chance to turn back.”

  Angry as she was, Lauryn had to admit that made sense. “No punishment before the crime, is that what you mean?”

  The angel nodded. “God is just. But even after the sin has been committed, he does not turn his face away. His arms are always open to those who are truly sorry and truly repent. Fairness would dictate that those who commit crimes should be punished, and yet God is not fair. No matter how great the crime, he always chooses mercy, and for this we give him thanks.”

  “But why do I have to do it?” she asked again. “I didn’t even believe in this stuff before tonight, and that was only after I got more proof of the divine than any actual faithful person should need. I’m a terrible Christian! I don’t go to church, I—”

  “Do you think God grades on attendance?” Akarra asked, his deep voice surprisingly angry. “Foolish child. God’s favor is not bounded by your rules. He cares nothing for the strictures set down in holy books by old men. How you treat others less fortunate than yourself, the mercy and kindness in your soul, the courage of your deeds even when you do not think you will be rewarded—these are what God judges, and these are the things you have done that have made you worthy in his sight. He has read your heart, Lauryn Jefferson. He has seen your deeds, not your religion. It is what you have done that has made you worthy in his sight, and it is for that that he has chosen you to stand against the enemy’s tide.”

  “So just me?” Lauryn said, her eyes going back to the sky. “Against that?”

  “It is a terrifying task, and a difficult one,” the angel agreed. “But he would not have given it to you if you could not do it.”

  Looking at that fortress, Lauryn wasn’t so sure. “But how?” she asked again, trying to make the question sound pragmatic and not like she was freaking out. “I mean, leaving aside the obvious impossibilities of one me versus thousands of them, I’m still, you know, dead.”

  Akarra looked at her like she was stupid. “Has not God already proven time and time again that death is no barrier to him?”

  “Okay, fair point,” she admitted. “But if I’m supposed to do this, why are you here? Are you going to help me shoot that hell castle out of the sky or something?” Because that would be awesome.

  The angel considered the question for a moment, and then he shook his head. “I don’t believe I could. God is limitless, but I am not God. I am an angel, and as such I am bound by my nature just as mortals are bound by theirs. This place—” he gestured around at the silent winter night “—is your creation, the threshold of your death. It is a stillness where you can take time to decide, but the fact that Castle Delusion is visible even here is a sign of just how close the enemy is to breaking through.”

  Just saying those words made the angel shudder, and his face was more serious than ever when he looked at Lauryn again. “The veil must not be ripped. That barrier is all that divides your world from all the worlds beyond. Without it, there will be nothing to stop devils from walking as freely in your world as they do in their own.”

  “Wait,” she said. “Just devils? Can you guys not come in and help us?”

  “We would be able to walk among you,” Akarra said cautiously. “But unlike the serpent’s forces, we are bound by rules. A fight where one side plays fair and one doesn’t is always doomed to be lopsided. But this is not to say we are powerless.” Akarra pulled himself straight. “We are the soldiers of heaven, and we will fight as such when the time comes. But while we can kill demons and slow the forces of hell down, we cannot save humanity from itself. Only a human can do that, and you are the one chosen tonight. I am merely here to be your guide along whatever path you choose.”

  “Wait, I’ve got a choice?”

  “There is always a choice,” the angel said, giving her a quelling look. “Haven’t you listened to anything you’ve been told?”

  Talon had made a pretty big deal about choice. But even so. “If the choice is up to me, what are my options?”

  “Whatever you are willing to work for,” Akarra replied solemnly. “Your kindness in this life plus your sacrifice to stop St. Luke have already earned you a place of honor in your Father’s house. If you wish, I can take you there now.”

  “You mean heaven?” Lauryn said, her eyes going huge. “Like, heaven heaven?”

  The angel nodded. “But it is a choice you can only make once. If you go with me to that farthest shore, you will never be able to return to this one, and your place in these events will come to an end.”

  “But I thought my saving Chicago was part of God’s plan?” she said. “If that’s true, how can you offer to take me away?”

  “God does not plan your choices,” Akarra said as a smile ghosted over his lips. “He is all knowing, though, which pays to bear in mind. But obedience without choice is not obedience at all.”

  That was the same thing Talon had been trying to tell her this afternoon in the car, and Lauryn shook her head with a sigh. “Guess I should have listened,” she said, looking up again at the terrifying fortress in the sky. “So
what happens if I choose to stay?”

  “If you decide to stay, you will be returned.” His burning eyes flashed. “And you will fight.”

  Lauryn shuffled her feet in the snow. Honestly, quitting while she was ahead sounded pretty tempting. Despite Akarra’s assurance that God wouldn’t give her a task she couldn’t handle, she still had no idea what good she was going to do against something like the fortress floating in the sky above her. But at the same time, running away, even to heaven, just felt wrong.

  And I still have a sword to return to its rightful owner . . .

  That was the realization that pushed her over the edge, and she turned back to the angel with a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it. I’ll go back. Don’t know what I’ll do when I get there, but I’ll figure it out.”

  “You will,” the angel said with absolute surety.

  Lauryn nodded, trying to match his confidence, though she didn’t quite think she managed. “So . . . how do I get back?”

  “I can take you,” Akarra said. “But first, you will need a weapon. That one belongs to another.”

  “Of course,” Lauryn said, handing over Talon’s sword. The angel took it with as much reverence as St. Luke had grabbed it in greed, making her wonder yet again just what was so special about the plain-looking blade. Given what Akarra had just said about getting her own weapon, Lauryn supposed she was about to find out.

  “How do we do this?” she asked nervously. “Do I kneel or . . .”

  Akarra shook his head. “Just take my hand.”

  Lauryn gave his extended—and empty—palm a skeptical look. But she was in too deep to back out now, and so, with a deep breath and a final look at the monstrosity above, she did as she was told, grabbing the angel’s hand in her own like she was grabbing on to a lifeline.

  The result was immediate. The moment she touched the angel’s skin, golden fire raced up her arm. But though it consumed her in seconds, there was no pain. Only warmth and a feeling of absolute certainty that this was the right choice. It was like the moment when she’d first known she wanted to be a doctor, only infinitely more. Standing there with her burning hand wrapped around the angel’s, Lauryn had never been more sure of anything in her life. For the first time ever, she had no questions, and she didn’t even flinch when the peaceful bubble of death’s threshold burst to leave her standing alone in what was left of St. Luke’s horrible laboratory.

  And in her hand, there was a sword.

  It was beautiful. A mirror-bright, razor-sharp blade on a hilt as golden as the angel’s fire. She was still staring at it in wonder when Akarra’s voice boomed in her head.

  Go, he said. I must return a blade to another.

  “Already ahead of you,” Lauryn said firmly, clutching her new sword as she bolted out of the bloody lab and back toward the elevator leading to the surface at a dead run.

  “Had enough?”

  Talon kept his head down, ignoring Lincoln Black’s mocking voice to focus on the breaths that just might be his last. He had no idea how long this night had gone on, but his body was definitely nearing its limit. There was no piece of his skin that was not bruised or cut, no movement he could make, no breath he could breathe without setting off a shot of crippling agony. Even holding perfectly still was painful. A fact his jailer clearly relished.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it?” Black whispered in his ear. “Welcome to my world, old man. But you should thank me. Pain means you’re alive. Really alive, not that ascetic monk crap. But as much as I’d love to let you sit and wallow, I can’t let you miss this. Open your eyes.” When Talon didn’t obey fast enough, Black struck him on the cheek. “Open them!”

  Talon was tempted to keep them closed just to spite his enemy, but the pain was already too great, and he was still only human. Slowly, tiredly, he cracked his eyes open to see the agent of his enemy standing over him like a mountain, a crooked smile on his taunting face. “Here,” he said. “I’ve got something for you to see.”

  He grabbed what was left of Talon’s jacket and started to drag him, bumping his body across the rough metal-grated floor. Every jolt kicked off a new pain, leaving Talon on the verge of passing out by the time Black lifted him up, propping his body against the warehouse’s brick wall so he could see out the window.

  “Take a look,” he said, delighted. “I heard tell that Chicago was your old stomping ground before you threw it all away for Jesus, but I bet you’ve never seen it like this.”

  Talon had never wished something was a lie so hard in his life, but for once, Black was telling the truth. Through the window of the warehouse’s second story, he could see the city lit up in the night, but not in the usual way. He’d seen that same orange light reaching to the clouds once before, long ago. Then, they’d called it the Great Chicago Fire. Through the pain, he wondered if there’d be anyone left alive to name this one.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Black cackled, pressing Talon’s face into the cold glass. “The whole city’s burning like a campfire, and the firemen can’t even get in to fight it because they’re all busy getting in touch with their true natures thanks to St. Luke’s little drug.” He leaned down to press his ear against the window, and his face lit up. “You can even hear the screams!” He laughed delightedly. “And look down in the streets! There are packs of the infected bastards roaming down there like wild dogs. It’s absolute and utter anarchy. And here I thought I’d lost all faith in humankind!”

  He finished with a joyful shout that made Talon feel physically ill. “You’re sick, Black,” he whispered, glaring up at the younger man. “You need help.”

  “No, you need help,” Black snapped, jerking him away from the window. “Too bad there’s no one to give it to you. I’ll be honest, I’ve been waiting to see what nonsense you’ll pull out of your holy ass this time around, but it’s nearly dawn and so far?” He shrugged. “Nothing. What’s wrong, SEE warrior? No miracles left in the tap for you?”

  Talon turned away, but Black grabbed his chin, forcing him to look through the window again. “You’re missing the best part,” he whispered, forcing Talon’s chin up until he was staring at the sky. “Look at the smoke and you’ll see it.”

  Talon didn’t want to see, but he couldn’t look away, because Black was right. High overhead, the smoke from the fires was swirling with the dark clouds and the flocks of carrion birds to make a shape in the sky. Looking at it was like trying to spot the shadow of a fish under the water, but Talon had spent his whole life looking for such signs, and he saw this one clearly. Something was coming. Something big.

  “What is that?” he whispered.

  “The future,” Black whispered back. “My future, and you don’t have a part.” He shook his head. “Poor Talon. You made a good run of it, but we’ve won. While you holy rollers were off thumping your Bibles and condemning the people who needed you most, we were here ripping the world apart to remake in our image. Gotta be an improvement, right? I mean, can’t possibly be worse than this hypocritical hellhole your God made. He slapped the whole thing together in seven days, with vacation. That’s some shoddy construction. Clearly, it’s time for an upgrade.”

  “That is not an upgrade,” Talon said savagely, turning on Black. “I don’t know what they promised you, but you’ve let the wolves in by the front gate, and they’re not going to spare you when they start to rampage.”

  For a moment, he almost thought that threat got through, but Lincoln just bared his teeth. “Good,” he snarled. “This meek little flock needs a shake-up, and unlike you, I ain’t no sheep.”

  He turned away after that, leaving Talon leaning on the wall staring at the burning city. It was the longest he’d left him unobserved, and Talon knew he should be using that, but he couldn’t seem to move. He was just so tired, and the enemy was so far ahead. He wanted to believe that Lauryn was out there, but he didn’t even know if she was still alive, or how she could fight this if she was. He’d never questioned God’s choice, because the Almi
ghty did not make mistakes, but as he watched the smoke curl up to add definition to the thing in the sky, Talon couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just this once, he’d been wrong to blindly trust his instincts. He didn’t regret saving Lauryn’s and Will’s lives, but he was bitter about having to make the choice in the first place. How many people could he have saved if he’d been down there on the streets with her? How many innocents had fallen tonight because he’d been stuck here satisfying Lincoln Black’s sadism?

  How many had he failed?

  Talon closed his eyes. Always. Always, that question returned to haunt him. No matter how hard he fought or how much he improved, it was never enough. When the chips were down, he always failed someone who deserved better. Decades ago, it had been Hope, his first apprentice. Now, it was Lauryn, left out there alone, and who knew? The night wasn’t over. Maybe by the time the sun rose, he’d realize he’d failed all of Chicago. Even if Black set him free right now, he was too hurt to fight. He didn’t even have his sword. All he could do was sit here and pray for God to forgive his weakness and comfort the city he’d failed so utterly, and he was closing his eyes to do just that when he felt a warm hand land on his shoulder.

  He jerked instinctively, already looking for Black. But for once, it wasn’t the assassin. It was no one. The space behind him was empty, and yet Talon could feel the hand gripping his shoulder harder than ever, the fingers warm as sunlight, filling his body with strength and his mind with a memory of another time, long ago, in another life.

  Finally.

  Talon gasped, his pain forgotten as the memory flooded through him—the wings of fire, the promise of a greater purpose.

  You are not forgotten, the angel’s voice said. Loyal Soldier of El Elyon, God Most High, you have endured through great hardship, and you have held fast. You have turned the other cheek, sacrificed pride, and striven to return a lost sheep to the flock. Such work has favor in the eyes of the Lord. Your prayers have been heard, and your pupil is anxious to have you back at her side. The fiery touch moved to Talon’s right hand. Will you fight once more?