“You’re really starting to annoy me,” growled the red Archangel. “I thought my red minions would have to tear her from your arms, while she sobbed uncontrollably and you lashed out at my guards, quivering with rage and fighting on with every last ounce of strength in your body, until my superior forces finally overwhelmed you. With a bit of luck, the blue Angels might have flown to your rescue and we would have had a good old-fashioned brawl. So what is this? What’s happened to your burning passion? Your enraged indignation? Your steely resolution? I’m so disappointed!”
“With someone like you, it’s best to keep a cool head,” Jeremy replied. “So what is it you want?”
Cheated of his fun, Mephistopheles hissed angrily. But soon a big smile appeared on his face, revealing his fangs dripping with spittle.
“What do I want, annoying little Archangel? I want you to die, of course!”
20
The Taste of Love
The whole assembly held its collective breath, shocked by Mephistopheles’s reply.
“Of course … that’s just a manner of speech,” said the Devil. “It’s so difficult to actually die here. Let’s just say that I’d like you to … disappear!”
“You agree to let Allison go free, and in exchange, I agree to die, to disappear, is that it?”
“Exactly. My plan to bring you over to the Reds was foiled. But with Khan, we will now have an extra Archangel on our side, and that can make all the difference in the world. I would have preferred two extra Archangels, but as they say on Earth, half a loaf is better than no bread at all. Once you’re out of the picture, we will be five red Archangels versus only four Blues. It sounds like a fair deal; wouldn’t you agree?”
Michael was about to protest, but Mephistopheles raised his hand to quiet him.
“No! This is between me and Jeremy. No one else can interfere. If he wants to save the girl he loves, then he must decide: His life or hers; it’s up to him. Because once I have the girl in my power, I’ll make her endure fifty years of living hell. And when she comes back to him, she’ll want one thing, and one thing only: to disappear for all eternity.”
Jeremy knew full well that he’d been trapped. Give his life for Allison’s … yes, it seemed reasonable. Allison trusted Jeremy, and didn’t say a word. The only problem was that, this time, Jeremy couldn’t think of a plan. He had thought that Mephisto would ask him to come over to the dark side, not eliminate him. He was about to open his mouth to agree with the deal when …
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” thundered Michael. “We will never allow it! Assassinate an Archangel, when this is the first new one we’ve had in eons?! Come now, Mephisto, have you lost your mind or what? It’s out of the question.”
Mephistopheles gave him a sly look.
“Assassinate him? Never! Who ever said such a horrible word? My prey must be given the chance to defend his life and liberty! I’m afraid you misunderstood me. I propose a duel, of course!”
“A duel?” uttered Uriel, who had shed a tear himself when he’d watched Allison jubilantly accept Jeremy’s marriage proposal. “Between you and the young Archangel? That’s like asking a five-year-old to fight a bulldozer. Get real!”
“Really, now!” said Mephistopheles, pretending to be hurt. “I see that our esteemed blue colleagues see evil everywhere. No, not a duel against me.” He pushed a dark-red Angel out to the middle of the floor. “It will be a battle to the death between my protégé, the magnificent Khaaaaaaaan! Who will represent our side against the champion of the Blues, the one, the only: Jeeeerrrreeeemyyyy!”
The old fiend yelled out the names as if he were presenting two boxers in the ring. The assembled Blues and Reds all began to murmur excitedly. Jeremy could see they all liked the idea. Liked it a lot. And Khan suddenly looked even more massive, with his muscles bulging like steel cables beneath his crimson skin, staring down at Jeremy from all of his seven feet.
“In addition,” Mephistopheles added casually, “the red Archangels and I would like to make an offer to the Blues. If our champion wins, we will govern the world for ten more years. If he should lose, we will hand over control to the Blues.”
“It was our turn to take over anyway,” Michael snapped in rebuttal.
“Yes, but we will give you control not for just ten measly years, but for thirty years!”
The blue Archangels could only stare at first, astounded by his offer. Then they began to talk over the deal with the red Archangels. A heated debate began. While they were talking, Allison pulled Jeremy over to one side, as if she thought it might keep everyone from overhearing them.
“You can’t fight that killer, Jeremy! He’ll chop you to bits, and I’ll be like Isis, that Egyptian goddess who roamed the Earth looking for the fourteen pieces of her husband Osiris’s body that were hidden by Seth! Why don’t we just run away together, Jeremy? We’ll tell him that you never wanted to be an Archangel anyway, and we’ll promise not to tip the balance in favor of the Blues. Because all you and I want is to live happily together!”
Jeremy only looked at her, his eyes filled with love.
“I know,” she sniffed. “I’m babbling, right?”
“Just a little.”
“I can’t live without you, Jeremy!”
Her cry of pure anguish sent a shudder through the Angels around them, who had been hanging on their every word.
“I’ve been training,” said Jeremy, who looked much more calm than he actually was. “I’m not afraid of Khan.”
“Well I’m afraid for the both of us,” Allison retorted. “Listen, Jeremy: We love each other. If getting me away from Flint means watching you die, I’d rather just tell him right now that I’m all his.”
Jeremy smiled tenderly, sharing with Allison all the love that she felt for him.
“But Mephistopheles is right, Allison,” he said softly. “This is between him and me. Even if you offered yourself to him naked on a platter, he wouldn’t even look at you. Everything he has done up until now has been with one goal in mind: to lure me over to his side, even though I still don’t understand why it’s so important to him. Or to make me disappear. He wants to throw the whole world out of balance, Allison. This is about much more than just you and me; we’re just two little cogs in his well-oiled machine. It’s all part of his sick plan. But even the little cogs have their own free will. And I’m going to do everything in my power to stop him from winning—do you hear me, Allison?” He pulled her into his arms, and she could no longer hold back her tears. He too was moved when he felt her warm body against his. He could never live without her!
“I’m going to win. For you. For us. For this world. And the world of the living. Michael is right—we have to reestablish the equilibrium. And ten years is nothing. In fact, even thirty years might only just be enough!”
He kissed her soft, pink lips, tasting the salt from her tears, then turned away to face Mephistopheles.
“Very well. I accept the duel. Michael?”
“The blue Archangels accept as well,” he said reluctantly. “The winning side will control both worlds for ten years if you win, and for thirty years if we prevail.”
“When do we start?” Jeremy asked Mephistopheles, as he was hoping to spend a little more time with Allison.
“I wouldn’t want your little cronies to play any more dirty tricks on me,” snarled Mephistopheles, as he glowered at the blue Archangels. “So let’s begin immediately! I’ll meet you at Nationals Park!”
Jeremy knew the place, a well-known baseball stadium in town that could seat at least forty thousand. That should be plenty to hold all the active Angels in the city.
The deafening noise of thousands of pairs of rustling wings filled the chamber as the Angels all quickly poured out of the Capitol building. In a matter of minutes, the news had spread throughout the entire city. A duel. Even better, between two Archangels. And the outcome would decide whether or not the Angels’ world would tip in the favor of the Blues or the Reds. Plus there was a g
reat love story thrown in to boot. Who could ask for anything more? The city quickly reached a fever pitch. Even the most disinterested Angels shook off their stupor to find out what all the noise was about …
Michael carried Jeremy to the stadium so he wouldn’t have to waste any of his power flying (and because Jeremy still wasn’t too sure of his celestial airworthiness). Uriel flew along with them carrying Allison. They landed on one side of the enormous field of grass inside the stadium, and Mephistopheles and Khan landed on the far side. The stands at Nationals Park were packed in a matter of minutes. There were Angels everywhere. The only things missing were the popcorn and hotdog vendors. Einstein, who had just heard what was going on and could hardly believe his ears, hurried over to Jeremy and Allison.
“I came as soon as I heard, ach ach, Junge, I just knew there was something special about you! But how did you ever manage to get yourself into such Scheiße?”
“I’m not really sure myself.” Jeremy gave him a weak smile. “But you were right about one thing: getting mixed up with the old Angels wasn’t such a good idea.”
While Allison and Jeremy told an astounded Einstein about everything they’d been through, the Archangels were doing something absolutely incredible: They filled the stadium with Mist, until the entire field was covered with a thick layer of densely compacted blue and red vapors, about ten feet thick. They had thought of everything, even building a stairway on each side of the platform for the two adversaries.
“What are they doing now?” asked Allison, wringing her hands in anguish. “And where did all the Mist come from?”
Tetisheri, who had remained with them while the Archangels were preparing the stadium, explained it to them: “Archangels don’t need to be above, or even anywhere near, the living to use their Mist. They can make it come right to them. What you see there is the Mist of Washington —a small portion of it anyway. And now they’re preparing the field so that each of the fighters can use the Mist to try and trap his adversary. The strongest, or quickest, can transform the Mist to make a pit full of blades appear beneath his opponent’s feet, or a steel trap, or whatever he can think of to immobilize his enemy.”
“So that he can eat him, is that it?” Allison asked in a trembling voice. “Mephistopheles wants Khan to eat Jeremy?”
“I won’t lie to you. I know that you saw the duel between the Chimeras, and you know that Caligula was one too. Yes, that’s what he’s hoping Khan will do.”
Allison was desperate, didn’t know what to do, where to turn. Jeremy took her in his arms one last time, kissed her passionately, whispered in her ear that he would love her for all eternity, and then, proud and courageous, he walked tall over to the platform, which now looked like a Roman arena.
Both fighters had stripped off their clothes, and each wore only a small loincloth. That way, the slightest wound would be instantly visible. Allison, who thought she might faint, shuddered when she saw how small Jeremy looked compared with the hulking figure of Khan.
In the stands, the Blues looked just as excited as the Reds. The Angels on each side yelled out encouragement to their challenger. Jeremy tested the Mist on the arena floor tentatively with his foot. The Archangels had done good work: The surface was solid, and he wouldn’t have to worry about it tripping him up or making him fall.
Khan appeared on the far side of the stadium. He tested his footing as well, and then smiled. Neither fighter had any weapons, and would have to use their Archangel powers to quickly create them. But before Jeremy had time to react, Khan had already darted across the arena straight at him, pouncing on him like a furious, red falcon. Jeremy waited until the killer had nearly reached him before rolling quickly to one side, and Khan slammed down hard into the Mist floor, his brutal impact leaving a hole. Jeremy backed away defensively while Khan gave him a toothsome grin. Jeremy shuddered when he saw the sharp fangs that the red Archangel had made for himself. He lunged at Jeremy again, trying to engage him in hand-to-hand combat, but Jeremy had no intention of letting the red giant get anywhere near him. He was sure that his adversary was a martial arts expert, and his own three months of training with Connor wouldn’t save him now. He used his Archangel powers to avoid Khan with blinding speed, filling the killer with rage. Khan scowled angrily at Jeremy, then grabbed a large piece of Mist and began shaping it. Three razor-sharp knives appeared in his hands. Jeremy quickly snatched up some of his own Mist and created a shield. Thud! Thud! Two of the knives almost passed right through his shield, stopping only inches from his face. Then Jeremy cried out in pain as the third knife cut into his side.
“First blood for Khan!” roared Mephistopheles, as the Reds in the stands howled with excitement.
Furious to have been tricked, Jeremy launched his own attack, ignoring the pain. He transformed his shield into a net and threw it over his surprised adversary, who could only partially avoid it. Jeremy fell on Khan and turned his own knife against him, stabbing him in the side. The killer managed to disengage, and leaped back before Jeremy could plant the knife in his chest.
“Second blood for Jeremy!” bellowed Michael, and now the crowd of Blues roared their encouragement.
Jeremy remained concentrated, blocking out the applause. His enemy opened wide his maw, showing his sharp fangs. Jeremy quickly grabbed a handful of Mist and attacked Khan once again, not wanting to give him even a second to regain his concentration and create a new weapon. But as he was moving in on Khan, Jeremy remembered something that Tetisheri had said—that Archangels didn’t need to touch the Mist in order to use it. He began to concentrate on the Mist.
It immediately responded to his thoughts, and a wall suddenly appeared behind Khan. When he tried to jump away to avoid the next attack by Jeremy, who had almost finished shaping his own sword, he smashed against the wall. Jeremy rushed straight into him, hitting him with all his might over and over to try to take out the giant.
But Jeremy quickly realized that he’d made a big mistake. Khan was more than a head taller than him and physically much too strong, and each blow was ringing Jeremy’s bell. He had no choice but to pull away, and jumped backward in an incredible leap.
Both fighters were in rough shape. The Archangels were no longer keeping track of who had landed the most blows, as both of them were covered in blood. Khan was furious, and hardly looked tired, even if he did spit out a tooth at Jeremy’s feet. The blue Angel carefully hid something in the palm of his hands, taunted Khan with a smile, and beckoned at him to approach. Khan raised high the coarse sword that he had made, and was just about to bring it crashing down on Jeremy when the young man pulled out a sling and sent a Mist rock flying through the air straight at Khan, striking him right between the eyes. The giant was groggy for a moment, and his legs buckled. He brought a hand to his forehead and looked stunned when he saw all the blood flowing. Jeremy was pleased with his blow, but also disappointed as he’d hoped to knock out Khan for good.
“What’s wrong, big guy, haven’t you ever heard of David and Goliath? Guess who won?”
Khan roared and lunged at Jeremy again, but whereas the killer was nothing but brute force and rage, Jeremy was all grace and agility. It looked as if all those judo lessons were paying off. He stepped to the side, jumped out of the way, and managed to keep Khan at a safe distance—for the most part, anyway, because Khan proved to be agile as well with his deadly sword, and managed to cut Jeremy several times, sending searing pain through his body.
Suddenly Khan stood still and held out his hand toward Jeremy, who was completely taken by surprise when the ground began to move beneath his feet. Before he knew what was happening, sharp stakes sprang up from the ground beneath him. He was only saved by desperately rolling out of the way at the last second, but one of the stakes sliced through his thigh. The crowd, which was already at a fever pitch, roared even louder. Jeremy was limping and losing a lot of blood. Khan sniggered. Then pointed again, forcing Jeremy, who was exhausted and white as a sheet, to jump in all different directions
to avoid the stakes sprouting up from the ground, slicing at him again and again and draining his already depleted strength. Drawing on his declining powers, he suddenly turned toward Khan and held out his hand. The Mist floor immediately disappeared beneath the giant’s feet. Jeremy had created a gaping hole that swallowed up Khan. He then quickly created a grate that crashed down on top of the hole. Jeremy staggered tiredly over to the trap, the blood streaming down his body. He had managed to imprison his enemy. OK. Now what?
He didn’t have much time to dwell on the question because, with an earsplitting roar, Khan shattered the Mist barrier and leaped from the hole. Jeremy saw that one of Khan’s legs had been badly hurt, but then the killer was on him, and got Jeremy in a stranglehold. Angels didn’t have to breathe, and Jeremy realized that Khan wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. He had given in to his killer instincts. Back on Earth of course, Jeremy would have been a goner. He struggled to break the red Angel’s grip, and then Khan bared his fangs and bit Jeremy on the neck.
Jeremy howled in pain.
Almost immediately, he could feel his strength leaving him. It was as if Khan had injected a venom into Jeremy, weakening him all over. But then, above the pounding sounds of his heart and Khan’s horrible sucking and swallowing noises, he suddenly heard Allison talking to him. It was as if her voice were right inside his head.
“It’s not a physical combat, Jeremy; it’s not physical!”
In a flash, Jeremy understood what she was saying. Despite his bloody appearance and the atrocious pain, his body was only made of Mist. Not his real body, the one he’d been forced to abandon when he died. This new body had been created by his soul and, like the Angels with their wings, he could do whatever he wanted with it.
He closed his eyes to concentrate, and transformed himself …
… into water.
He immediately slipped out of Khan’s bloody grip, and flowed down into the hole he had created. The killer looked down in surprise, then roared furiously and jumped down into the hole after him. Still overcome by his obsession with devouring Jeremy, he began greedily lapping up the water.
Color of Angels' Souls Page 35