by Savoy, Skye
I saw everything perfectly from my position in between overgrown Hala’s talons. I got caught up watching the angel battle action and missed an angry demon charging my way. I felt like Fay Wray, screaming from the palm of the Hala-monster. Censorship regulations prevented Fay from screaming the cuss words I let loose.
The walls rumbled and buzzed as the two locked blades. My breathing stopped courtesy of Hala gripping my chest tighter as we watched Sam send Suriyel flying with an energy ball. My warrior shook it off, then returned the favor. Sam didn’t have time to right himself before Suriyel sunk his blade into the same leg he’d weakened earlier.
Hala cursed and loosened her grasp enough for me to yell, “So there! You mother—”
My derisive term was cut short by my own mother as she charged into the melee on her personal motorized steed. The barrier she burst through sprang back in a myriad of colors like a drop of water into a puddle.
Big Mama scrutinized the scene from over the top of her chained glasses. She clucked her tongue at the sight of Suriyel and Sam trying to throttle each other. “Now boys, that ain’t no way to act!”
Mama, acting has nothing to do with it. They’re fighting for their lives.
The noise I made clearing my throat drew her attention to where I dangled from the she-demon’s hand.
“What have you gotten yourself into now?”
Gee, let’s see. I got captured by the demon who killed you, me and Stacy in some kind of Demon “Survivor” TV show. Turns out, we lost the elimination round. She’s onto the final round for the prize of immortality in human form from Luci or the devil as we non-demons know him.
“You don’t have to be a smart butt about it.” Big Mama shook her head so hard, her bright red dangling ball earrings clinked together.
“Where’s the backup I asked for?”
“Back up? Oh, so that’s what you meant. It was loud at the Saturday night tent revival and covered dish dinner. I thought you meant back up for real. I was glad I did because I missed some of Harlan’s fried chicken.”
I was in the evil grip of the Creature from the Black Lagoon’s mother so I didn’t smack my head with the palm of my hand.
“How did you get here? Get out!” Hala growled the last words and used the hand I was in to point at my mother. This angle provided me with the full effect of the rank air that billowed from her mouth.
“I’ve got GPS—Guardian angel Perception Skills and I ain’t afraid to use them.” I contorted my body in time to see Big Mama shake her finger at the demon.
White light radiated behind her as her wings announced their presence. The glow radiated throughout her body and transformed it into that of the strong, twenty-something year old woman I saw only in scrapbooks. She was heavenly beautiful and hellaciously mad as she floated to face Hala.
“Look you spawn of the d-d-devil, you better let my girl go!”
Hala slowly cocked her head my way and then toward Big Mama. All three rows of teeth spread into a nasty smile. “All right.”
She opened her hand. I plummeted toward the floor with alarming speed. I take back all those times I got tipsy and told Jimbo I wanted to sky dive on my seventieth birthday. I steadied my flailing arms and legs and willed my descent to slow. I landed with a bang hard enough to jar my teeth.
My eyes stopped rolling around in my head in time for me to watch Big Mama and Hala square off against each other.
“Old woman, I took you out before and I can do it again!”
“Ha! I wasn’t nearly as divine then,” Big Mama quipped and knocked Hala on her tail with a ball of light.
Hala dissolved into a thin line of black smoke. She channeled herself into Big Mama’s beloved scooter. The engine started with a sputter. It peeled out, leaving tire prints on the pristine white floor on its way to my mother.
Big Mama disappeared right when the cart sailed through. I was startled to find her standing by my side with a puzzled look on her face. “Well, I’ll be. I knew I wasn’t that bad of a driver to have driven myself into a blow up pool.”
The demonic ride screeched to a stop, made a sharp right turn and came at her again.
“I can get you a red matador cape,” I offered.
With one last forlorn look at the shiny gold vehicle burning rubber as it came at her, she said, “It’s just a crying shame to have to do this.”
A bolt of white light shot from her finger tips straight to the gilded machine. The thing erupted in flames from the extra cushy seat to its gold plated basket. Seconds later, it exploded. Big Mama caught the personalized, gilded license tag as it went sailing into nothingness.
“At least I still have this.” Smiling, Big Mama made it disappear. I assumed it went to Heaven to await the recreation of what was sure to be an even glitzier ride.
“Next time I get run over by one of these things in the grocery store, I’m going to chalk it up to the demon in the machine—not the one on it.”
Hala survived the blast. She was eager for battle. Big Mama formed a protective bubble over our bodies in time to deflect all but a couple of fast balls that found my shins. The unrelenting demon launched an onslaught of locusts. My stubborn mother retaliated by infusing her bubble with electricity. We became encased inside a huge bug zapper—purple light, smell and all.
A keening wail ripped from the beast when she saw that her babies were crispier than the crumbs leftover in a Fry Daddy. I held my hands over my ears, and turned in time to see Sam fly backwards into an invisible wall. He rolled, grabbed Suriyel’s ankle, and pulled him down. Suriyel planted his fist into Sam’s cheek. The evil angel turned in time to avoid taking the punch to his pretty nose.
Sam dove on top of Suriyel and rammed a knee into his gut. Suriyel barely had time to catch his breath before Sam called his sword to him from across the room. My angel wisely flashed himself to the opposite side of the vast empty space. It happened to be where Hala assaulted Big Mama and me with hurricane force wind.
Suriyel called his sword into his hand and tried hard to hold onto it in the gale. I brazenly admired the way his black robe blew back to outline every inch of his muscular body.
“Are you gonna stand there like a dummy or are you gonna get rid of this pain in my backside,” Big Mama hollered through hands cupped over her mouth.
“You are the only true angel among us. You could banish it yourself.”
“I’m a guardian. I’m standing guard.” A clump of the hair blew out of her bun and into her mouth. She spat it out. “It ain’t my job to banish, but if someone was looking to redeem himself”
“You can’t banish a demon to hell when you’re already there. This is Hala’s lair.” Sam taunted and swung his fist like a club.
Suriyel dropped, swept his leg out and into Sam’s ankle. He was down and back up like a Weeble-Wobble with a sword he tried to ram through Suriyel’s chest. Suriyel leapt out of the way, then crunched a kick into Sam’s spine. Hala’s banishment was forgotten in the heat of their personal battle.
I don’t know why I believed Sam when he said we were on the astral plane in the first place. I was tired of all this foolishness. Right now, nothing was more appealing than going home with my angel. I glanced over at my mother who sent me a stern look. Maybe she was just annoyed by the sand storm that threatened to submerge her shield and take us down.
It was past time for me to defend myself. The amulet shocked the demon once. I bet I can use it to do my own variation of Big Mama’s bug zapper.
I routed all the light I could control into the center of my forehead. It burst through the amulet in a single beam. It wasn’t completely pure. It was more than light. My essence, hummed vibrantly through my body and pierced Big Mama’s shield. It roped the demon’s neck.
“I sure hope you know what you’re doing.” Big Mama blew her lips in a good “Mr. Ed” impression.
Me. Too. Failure meant Hala would be empowered by my spirit. My soul without the amulet entrenched in Stacy’s body wouldn’t help her
. Thanks to Kitty and Robert’s family planning, no other ancestors in our branch of the family would be terrorized by the evilness clawing at her neck in front of me. She stared with sheer hatred in eyes that threatened to pop right out of her head from the pressure I applied to her throat.
“Burn, baby, burn,” I cried, militantly as I got yanked forward through Big Mama’s protective barrier with stunning force. Damn! The demon outmaneuvered me and sucked my essence into her mouth like a spaghetti noodle.
“Uh-uh! You ain’t going nowhere!” Big Mama grabbed my foot and called to Suriyel.
“Hey, angel boy, you might want to get over here, and help us out about now.”
There wasn’t much Suriyel could do. The energy transfusion I gave him evaporated as my essence disappeared inside Hala,. He turned away from exchanging blows with Sam to lock eyes with me.
“Do it.”
“Do what?” I didn’t know how to kill a demon. We never got to that lesson.
Sam didn’t give him a chance to answer. He landed a blow that sliced into Suriyel’s beautiful chest. I forgot to struggle against Hala, and watched in horror. Suriyel stood in disbelief for a second before he pitched forward. Blood flowed from him in an ever widening pool.
“Don’t kill him! We need the incantation!” Hala’s mouth was full of my soul. The words came out garbled like the school teacher from the “Charlie Brown” TV specials.
Numb shock was swiftly exchanged for hot rage. Sam and his bitch were not going to win. The beast pulled me closer despite Big Mama’s efforts to pull me back.
I sent Big Mama a mental image of an exploding demon to stop her from flashing us away to safety. She nodded.
“Didn’t your mama ever teach you that it’s rude to talk with your mouth full?”
The demon growled at the same time I grabbed the line of my essence with both hands in a good vs. evil tug of war. The monster heaved in a Herculean effort. Big Mama let go. I flew out of Stacy’s body and into Hala. She stumbled onto her haunches.
Beads of sweat trickled down Big Mama’s face as she stood between Hala and Stacy’s prone shell. She served as the conduit for the thin, white thread of energy that linked me to my niece’s body.
I stood upright on the inside of the demon and took a few moments to feel for Stacy’s soul. I hoped she hadn’t been absorbed yet, if that’s what demons did with the souls they ate. I was probably a few seconds away from finding out for myself.
No niece greeted me. Twisted evil remained where Hala’s heart used to be. She once loved Sam and her son enough to risk eternal damnation until she embraced the malice that kept her imprisoned for centuries.
No time for candy-ass sympathy now. I shoved my hands through her gloppy, corrosive demon blood through the cartilage until I reached her brain.
Hala screamed and writhed in agony. She leapt up and fell down again in an attempt to pound me out of her body.
“No. Stop,” Sam cried. I thought his voice could have used a little more passion.
The locusts Hala ingested earlier tried unsuccessfully to bite me. I burrowed through Hala’s cold, gooey brain. Fatigue set in. My hands faltered. I grew too tired to dig until I felt a surge of power through the amulet. I knew it was from Suriyel and prayed he was still alive. I blasted through the top of her skull.
Light exploded upward like a blue flare. Hala split into two pieces. There I stood like a diva on a stage. I did a mental “yay me” dance and promptly fell on my face. The strand linking me to Stacy’s body reeled me in.
“Uh-oh.” Big Mama stepped back to allow room for me to pass by, dragging the shell of Hala with me as I went.
A sizzle zipped through me. Pop! I went into Stacy’s body and felt for Hala. There was nothing left of her. Dread sent an icy shiver down my spine. Stacy’s body wasn’t nearly as roomy as my “Aunt Ava” form. There wasn’t room for me and a demon.
I ran on weak legs to Suriyel’s bloodied, partially clothed body. Sam’s held his sword over my angel’s neck. My blood and my momentum froze.
“Please, don’t,” I pleaded. “Hasn’t he suffered enough?”
“Now that’s a stupid question. Of course he hasn’t.” He lifted the sword higher. “Why should I spare him when you didn’t extend the same courtesy to Hala?”
“Aw, she did you a favor and you know it!” Leave it to my mama to tell it like it was.
“I do owe you my eternal gratitude.” Sam stopped and seemed to ponder the idea. It turned out to be a dramatic tease. “But it’s the principle of it all…”
“What would you know about principles, Samael?” A rich voice resonated over my left shoulder.
Michael appeared in all his beautiful, pulsating light at the entry to a cavernous hole in one of the layers of hell.
“You sure took your time getting here!” said Big Mama without any shame whatsoever.
“Mama!” I didn’t know whether to grovel at the Archangel’s feet or make a run for it.
Michael awarded Big Mama with a thousand watt smile. “We almost lost your signal. Good thing you pray really loud.”
All those years at the First Baptist Church paid off for her.
“You’re too late.” Sam pointed out, smugly.
The sword came down in agonizingly slow motion. The blade reached Suriyel’s neck when the black cord from a whip coiled around it. The weapon ripped out of Sam’s hands into Michael’s.
“It’s never too late to kick your haughty butt.”
At his command, four angels appeared to surround Sam. Their black clothes, warrior-strong bodies, and of course, black wings exuded fallen angel. If I read them right, they were unhappy enough with Sam to slice him up for a little fallen angel fricassee.
Sam laughed in their faces and tried to flash out. Michael roared, then caught him around the neck with the whip. The others took him down to the ground and bound him with some well-used chains.
Big Mama clapped. “There’s no way he’s gonna get outta them. They’re forged from some powerfully blessed iron.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. I didn’t want to ask if she took an Eternal Education class on blacksmithing.
Two angels shoved a beaten, bloodied Sam through the portal. I went to Suriyel’s side where the other two angels gently lifted him to his feet.
I wrapped my arms around his neck. Tears of joy spilled from my eyes. “Oh baby, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I stole a glance at Michael. Now that they have Sam, will Suriyel still have to pay the price for what he did for me?
Suriyel was still too weak to respond. I settled for the love that radiated from his liquid copper eyes.
Michael held his hand out to assist Big Mama into the portal. She actually batted her eyelashes at him as she took his arm. I followed the angels who carried Suriyel’s gaunt body into the tunnel.
The swirling tube of light gobbled us up and dumped us out onto the front lawn of the Garden Society’s mansion for all of Europe to see. Actually, the only one they saw was me, not the four menacing men dressed in black leather, two battered bodies, one blindingly beautiful male angel and one Big Mama. I waved my hands and yelled at thin air, which was, in my reality, an unyielding Archangel Michael.
“You can’t throw him back in that hole. It was me who refused to have my soul collected. I wanted to find my killer. It’s a good thing I did, seeing as how I got rid of a demon for you.”
Time ticked by while Michael regarded me with his arms behind his back clasped in a perfect “V”. He might as well have worn a “closed” sign over his neck.
“Michael, don’t you have something you wanna tell her,” Big Mama asked in the voice she used countless times to reduce me to a quivering mass of shame.
It still worked on me. I assumed, from Michael’s reaction, she had the same effect on the big guy’s biggest, bad-est warrior.
“Aw now, Ms. Lita, I really don’t think everyone needs to know.”
Was that a plea in his voice?
Big M
ama waited him out, mimicking his arms crossed position. I almost felt sorry for him. The woman had incredible skills.
Michael barked orders to his men to take Sam away. Suriyel leaned on my arm for support. The entire left side of my body and certain parts in the center tingled where he touched.
“It seems I was hasty in dealing with Suriyel’s uh…” Michael kicked a boot into the Garden Society’s Zoysia. “…iniquities. Our Commanding Officer—God has forgiven him, and extended his service as a fallen angel.”
I felt a jolt of power lift Suriyel off my body into the air. The cloak dropped to expose his fully restored, mouthwatering chest. Two glorious black wings replaced the ones Michael ripped away. Black leather pants and a utility belt full of weapons completed the warrior’s ensemble.
I was surprised no one could hear the bang, bang, bang of my heart hammering against my chest in joy. The silky wings brushed me as he landed. Another part of my anatomy started pulsing.
“The plan for Ava to receive the stolen amulet was divine. I just didn’t receive the intel until…afterwards.” Michael’s voice fell into a grumble.
“Good thing I got Ben to research the Lotus Amulet or we’d a never known about it being one of h-e-double stick’s treasures that went missing.”
“It will be war when Anazarel finds out she has it.” Michael pegged Suriyel with an ominous glare.
“Had I known…”
Michael’s hand in the air silenced Suriyel. “Like I said, this was in the plan. It’s how the beginning of the end times starts.”
The Archangel seemed thrilled at the prospect of war. I, on the other hand, didn’t like the sound of my odds. Kris mentioned the demon’s name twice. He sounded like the type with legions of demons instead of Hala’s pitiful locusts and lightning bolts.
“Who exactly is this Anazarel?”
“Lucifer’s Chief Financial Officer. He pays his spirits to steal subterranean treasure. It’s all right for them to steal. They go ballistic if something is stolen from them, sort of a demon double standard,” Michael explained and faced Big Mama.