Empyreal

by Helsel, Spencer

  Alecto yanked her armor from her body, the metal reduced to smoldering slag by Dani’s power. Dani summoned Aer to pull her sword to her, but Alecto leaped and closed the distance between them with a single flap of her wings. She landed and kicked, the blow breaking something inside Dani’s ribcage and spinning her up off the floor. Pointyend flung uselessly away. Dani flew through the air and struck the wall, falling back to earth hard and painfully.

  She whimpered, barely able to get up. She watched through blurred, painful tears as Alecto retrieved her stygian blade and dropped the Horn, stalking towards her. Dani got to her feet, barely able to stand.

  “Why do you bother?” the beast demanded.

  Alecto lashed the whip, this time to wound. Embers cut across her arms and legs, carving her to her knees. The pain was unbearable.

  Dani had to do something. She was not going to let this thing kill her without a fight. But with nothing left, with no weapon and agonizing pain, she felt darkness roll up around her. Alecto would kill her. Fight or not, she was going to die.

  “I will take you quick.” Alecto promised, leaping onto the loading ramp.

  And as her death stalked towards her, Dani heard Mastema’s words:

  Let no man, woman or creature take your life from you. Let no other stay your blade but you. Give no quarter unless earned. Give no mercy unless needed. Let your heart and your mind guide you and keep you. Let the light shine upon you.

  She got to her feet again, huddling against the wall for support. Live selflessly so others may live by your example. Die so others might take up your cause. Welcome death and in death, conquer it.

  Ethan watched on as Alecto came for her. He strained against the shackles. He wouldn’t be able to help her.

  And should you die, and they find your body in the streets come morning, may the blood of your enemies be upon the palm of your hand, And your last words be:

  I am Numen

  I am Earthborn

  “I am the light in the darkness.”

  She summoned her power again and as Alecto came at her, she struck. The powerful blast of energy exploded towards the Fury. Pain radiated up her arms with the intense, blinding light. Dani screamed as she poured herself into it.

  Alecto, seeing the attack at the last second, dodged and it shot past her. She rolled, wings flapping once and flipping her back onto her feet. She spun as the light dissipated and Dani’s last stand failed.

  With a single bound, Alecto landed in front of her and seized her by the braids with one clawed hand, yanking Dani’s head back. She pressed the tip of stygian sword against her throat.

  “You failed. You failed yourself, you failed your boyfriend and you failed your kind. And all because you chose the wrong side.”

  She glared back up at her without fear. “Screw…you…!”

  “Defiant to the last. What did you hope to accomplish?” The Fury demanded. “You think I would not see your desperate, final attack?”

  “No. I figured you’d see it.” Dani grinned bloodily. “I also figured you’d think it was aimed at you, you self-righteous freak!”

  The blade of Ethan’s Montante sword burst through Alecto’s exposed chest. Her voice cut off in a wet choke. Behind her, Ethan stood, sword in hand. Dani’s blast of light did its job: heal him. Dani didn’t use anger. She didn’t use fear. She used her hope. The frostbite was gone. The weakness was gone. Her light melted the chains like Alecto’s armor, allowing him to break free.

  He twisted and yanked the blade out. Alecto stumbled, tar-like blood spilling freely from the wound. She dropped Dani from her grasp.

  Dani rose, grabbing her by the front of her tunic.

  The Fury laughed, thick black blood spittling from her twisted teeth. “You,” she coughed, “chose wrong.”

  “I didn’t choose anything.” She said, her hands beginning to glow. It hurt, but Dani enjoyed the pain. It meant she was still alive. “You did this. You killed my friend. You killed a little girl. But you wanted revenge, so you murdered them. You expect me to be like you? Fine. I’ll happily send you back to Hell where you belong. Enjoy your revenge there.”

  “Kill me then.” She grinned, her skin and tunic burning as it made contact with Dani’s hands. “It matters not. I told you: change is coming. Terrible change. The fires of Hell burn brighter than ever before. Demonkind’s progenitors have returned. And you are a part of it.”

  Light balled around her fists as Dani yanked her closer. “I’m not part of anything.” Fire erupted around them. Alecto’s body began to burn. “Tell me what the demons are planning and I’ll make it quick. How did you get into the city?”

  Alecto’s bloody laugh nearly drowned her. She kept laughing, even as she caught fire. “We are inside Empyrean. We are coming for you.” Alecto’s teeth bared in a wide, ugly grin. “We are legion, Daniella del Lucio, for we are many. For we are everywhere. For we are death.”

  Then she leaned in. As light and fire consumed her, she whispered one last word into Dani’s ear.

  “Vespertide.”

  The light twisted around her, violently breaking apart her body. Dani’s hands burned but she pushed that pain, and anger, and grief into the creature. The Fury screamed and flailed as she incinerated. Dani let her go and she fell to her knees, the light writhing around Alecto.

  She transformed, morphing from the demonic figure back into the lady Dani met. Her eyes were wide, glowing from the inside. Her screams crescendoed and her body seized. The light flared. Dani shielded her eyes.

  Alecto vanished with a scream.

  Dani didn’t remember dropping. She didn’t remember falling into Ethan’s arms as he caught her. She didn’t remember a thing until she stared up into his eyes.

  “Dani!” his voice was far off; distant. “Dani! No! Dani, wake up!”

  She could see him over her. He uncapped a vial of panacea, putting it to her lips. She wouldn’t drink.

  “Dani! Come on! Don’t do this to me! Wake up!”

  It all seemed so distant; like she floated over her body. She could see herself, collapsed in the arms of a boy with cherub curls and honey eyes, with a good heart and a kind face. She watched him try to save her. But she was dying. And she was okay with it.

  Dani felt her life slide away. And slowly, she drifted blissfully into oblivion.

  Chapter Forty-Nine She hated passing out. It happened so many times it was a running joke by now; in the Vale, in her first sparring session with Mastema, in her fight with Gabriel, in her last Trial. Now in her battle with Alecto. She was a regular fainting fair-lady.

  Except this time, she died. That was less of a joke.

  Her heart stopped. Ethan used CPR, something very modern for the very un-modern Numen. The panacea could heal her, but only if her blood was pumping. He wouldn’t let her die, at least no longer than the whole two and half minutes she wasn’t breathing before reviving her.

  They told her all of this when she awoke in the Ward under armed guard. This would make her second stay and this time, it wasn’t a voluntary stay. Her “escape stunt” caused “considerable ire” amongst the Elder Council. They didn’t know how Dani subdued the Gatekeepers on the bridge, all of whom had no recollection of what happened. And they were equally unsure how a Novice could overpower an Elder like Jeduthun.

  Jeduthun told her all of this when he came to see her.

  “You didn’t tell them?” Dani asked when the healers released her to the Elder.

  “Of course not. I am not a fool.” He gave her a playful smile.

  “So what’s going to happen? Is the Council angry with me?”

  “Of course they are. Would you honestly expect anything less?”

  “Not really.”

  “But they cannot harm you, at least not for the time being.” He promised. “After Guardian Ethan’s rescue, he corroborated your story about Alecto; though I have questions about how her body could be destroyed to the point that not even ash was left.”

  He looked p
ointedly at Dani. She gave away nothing.

  “And your victory was a victory for Empyrean.” He continued. They left the Keep, descended the steps and walked into the Citadel. “You are renowned amongst Numen and supernatural alike. To kill you, or let anyone else kill you, would be an embarrassment. Your fame protects you.”

  “What about Kleos and Mastema? Are they in trouble?”

  He shook his head. “No. As with Ethan, they have been cleared of any wrongdoing, though it was begrudgingly. My fellow Elders would have questioned Guardian Ethan’s account if not for the artifact he brought back with you.”

  They approached the Fane. Dani felt the familiar resonance. The white Horn of Gabriel, now under guard of Gatekeepers, lay on a pedestal in the middle of the rebuilt shrine.

  “You retrieved a very powerful artifact.” Jeduthun acknowledged. “Very few can question your explanation of events. Alecto was corrupt. She betrayed her oath and turned to a traitorous pact with demons. The Council accepts that, so you and your companions are free.”

  Dani hesitated to say anything. They gave her a free pass. But she also knew she couldn’t not say anything. “Elder Jeduthun, that’s not true.”

  “How so?”

  “Alecto didn’t get in bed with demons because she was corrupt. She was angry.” She faced him nervously. “The Hellions are her people. She blamed the Numen for their deaths because we won’t help them. I’m sorry, but I agree with her.”

  “You do? Really?”

  “I’m not ungrateful for being rescued and I certainly am not siding with Alecto, but if they’re dying en masse and we stand by and do nothing, then how much good are we? It’s not just humanity in danger. So are they.” She glanced at Gabriel’s Horn. “You told me once that the Horn reveals the truth. What if it did? What if it’s not a coincidence that the Horn popped up in Alecto’s hands?”

  “Are you suggesting the Horn willed itself to be stolen? Why?”

  “To show us what we were doing was wrong and the consequences if we keep doing it. Alecto’s rebellion came from our mistake. If the Horn is some powerful symbol of truth, then maybe this shows us what will happen if we turn our backs on the Hellions. We’ll face more than demons if it comes to that.”

  Jeduthun frowned, but considered it thoughtfully. He stared long and hard at Gabriel’s Horn. “Are you claiming there may be a divine plan?”

  “I don’t know about divine.” She said. “I’m still not sold on that, but if the Horn is magical, then it certainly could have a mind of its own. There’s a lot we don’t know about it.”

  “Like its owner?” The question caught her off guard. Clearly, he wasn’t asking. He knew. “You leave Empyrean, go off into the Dalles and three days later you return with a purpose; a mission. I know angelic intervention when I see it. I can assume which angel came to you during your journey. Most of the Council is aware that angelic presences still exist in our world.”

  “Then why haven’t you said anything?”

  “There are secrets the Council guards; secrets about the angelic that Numen do not know. I suspect some of them you know now.” His expression turned very serious. “And I suspect you know what would happen if the rest of our kind discovers what our angelic founders really were. The Earthborn fight with the belief we are on a mission by our forefathers. If they discovered the scope of destruction and untold mass of lives lost during their war, then our very existence would be brought into question.”

  Dani said what she suspected for some time. “You haven’t had problems translating the Song of Sacrifice, have you? You’ve known this whole time why the angels left.”

  “Some. Certain prophecies are not as clear as they should be.”

  “Prophecies?”

  Jeduthun just shrugged. “For another time, perhaps.”

  “And Gabriel’s Horn? Did you know about that, too?”

  “No, but we suspected there was another reason for the Fane.”

  “So other than not causing mass panic, what’s my motivation for not telling everyone?” She folded her arms. “Because from where I stand, the Council sold everyone a bag of goods and you put us in the line of fire that got a friend of mine killed.”

  Jeduthun put a finger to his lip, frowning behind it. “The Council may not know what secrets you figured out, but should they, it would endanger your life.”

  “Are you threatening me to keep quiet?”

  “I simply suggest that this stay between us.”

  “You seriously expect me to keep that kind of a secret?”

  “Yes. For your sake and ours.” The Elder looked once more at the artifact of Gabriel, now in its place of honor in the shrine, and said, “Do you remember our first conversation, Dani? Why it was that I put my confidence in you and I allowed you into Empyrean?”

  She nodded, quoting, “‘I believe most of all that everyone should be vigilant and watchful.’ You said you thought I was good at heart, but even the good at heart cause bad things to happen.”

  “That has not changed.” Jeduthun told her. “You have done a great many things your short time here, and may do more in the future, but I still have concerns to allay about you. You are at the center of very worrying omens and I do not know what those omens mean yet.”

  Every time she thought Jeduthun was on her side, the rug pulled out from under her. “I don’t get you. You helped me save Ethan.”

  “And I did so to learn what could not be learned another way. Alecto took special interest in you and I have yet to figure out why. Your existence is an enigma.”

  “You’re a complicated man, Elder Jeduthun.”

  “And you are a complicated woman, Novice Dani.”

  She smiled tightly. “Please, call me Daniella.”

  “I thought you preferred Dani?”

  “I prefer my friends to call me Dani. I have the not-so-sneaky suspicion we’re not friends.”

  Elder Jeduthun smiled, then walked off. And just like first day, she knew whole-heartedly that any hope of him as an ally, friend or someone to trust was completely gone.

  He was as dangerous now as he had ever been.

  ______________________

  Funerals were the following day. With hoods raised and masks on, Dani and the other Numen bore the bodies of the fallen to their resting places within the Hypogeum. Gifted were in attendance as well. The Numen allowed the fallen gifted to buried as well; a good sign. The skies darkened and rain drizzled, as if Empyrean itself mourned their loss. Dani was one of Dink’s pallbearers. She gladly carried the person who saved her to the tomb beneath the city, reveling the rain as if it were Korë’s gentle hand on her cheek.

  After the funeral, life proceeded on as normal. Sanctuary Hill’s market reopened and gifted returned to their life. For Dani, the Trials were over, but training was not. She was back at it, but now more accepted by her fellow Numen. Word of what she did spread. She was semi-famous as opposed to semi-infamous.

  Of course, not everyone was as accepting. Andreas, Michael, and Lester still antagonized her. And they had friends who felt the same way. Some things didn’t change.

  Mastema, now free and cleared, returned to Dani’s tutelage. Even though she defeated a number of demons, helped save the city and killed a Fury, he found ways to critique her. She suspected he would always be a hardass, but at least now she was okay with it.

  But a return to lessons meant a return to Studies. The Anthenaeum had many books on demons and she had a few things she wanted to check. She stayed in the library after Studies ended that first week.

  Ethan found her as she was looking over some tomes. “What are you up to?” She smiled warmly. “ Nothing much.” They hadn’t spoken since Alecto and now, more than ever, a tense awkwardness passed between them. “How are you feeling since, well, everything?”

  “Good.” He took a seat across from her. “I feel amazing, actually. The healers told me I had no ill effects or lasting wounds. Even a few old scars disappeared.” He looked a little conce
rned by that. “What are you looking up?”

  Dani turned the tome towards him. Each of the books in front of her had one subject. Drawn in dark black ink and described in detail, was the image of something she wished she could unsee.

  “Belial.” She said. “It was the name Alecto used. He’s an ancient demon, referred to as the Wicked One, the King of Demons but more importantly,” she pointed to the text, “he is said to be the very first demon ever created. He’s the first of them all, Ethan. The oldest monster in existence. Alecto released him using the Horn and that idol.” She felt cold inside. “If what she said is true about the Horn’s power, then he’s out there now. All these books describe him differently and none can agree on how powerful he is or what he can do. All they do agree on is that his rising his very, very bad.” She shook her head. “I’m scared.”

  “I am too.” He reached out and took her hands. “But being scared is part of being us. Dani, you took down Alecto. If you can fight someone as powerful as her, you can fight anyone.”

  “You’re the one who actually stopped her.”

  “You gave me the power to do it.”

  She squeezed his hands and sighed. “Yeah, well, that’s the other

  thing I’ve been looking for, but there aren’t any books on it.”

  “Books on what?”

  “‘Lightbringing.’ That’s what Alecto called this power I have but,”

  she held up her hands, “I can’t find anything in here about it. Some mention power over sunlight, but not one that destroys the demonic or heals people. There is nothing about it in these books.” She looked up into his eyes. Something in them made her pause. “What?”

  “I need to show you something.” He said. “Can you come with me?” Holding her hand, he led Dani out of the Anthenaeum. They slipped past soldiers and Novices in training and walked to the Hypogeum. He was taking her to the Song of Sacrifice.

  “Ethan, what’s going on?” she asked as they descended the stairs. “Dani, you can’t talk to anyone about what you can do.” “What? Why? This power can help me fight demons. I could save