Alazar released the last of his breath and waited for the agony of death to stop his heart. He chose his last thoughts. He would think of her, regardless if she were indeed there to kill him. A feeling of peace filled his heart and mind, knowing that he had freely chosen her.
Motion to his right side pulled him from his final thoughts. Something dark was moving quickly through the water. If it were Michael, he was content in knowing that he had made the right decision in the last moment of his life.
The cold was seeping into his soul and his vision darkened. His eyes fluttered and his heart stilled. He accepted the ensuing pain, having felt it thousands of times. The last image he saw was Anjali’s beautiful face smiling at him. He was grateful for the silence so that he could die without the sounds of the other prisoners encroaching upon his final moments.
∞
Derick got to his feet and shook off the pain in his head. He used his shirt to wipe off the blood trickling down the side of his scalp. He was grateful for the moonlight, though he still had trouble seeing. Looking down at his pathetic pile of wood, he knew that making a fire was the only way to survive the night.
Alazar was gone, and along with him, any hopes of finding Anjali. Oddly, he missed the angel. He didn’t know how he was going to explain to Anjali that Alazar was innocent. He knew she would be upset. It proved how deadly a miscommunication between two people could be. If he ever saw Anjali again, he would tell her how he felt. He would make sure that she always knew what he was thinking.
Kneeling next to the wood, he tried to create friction by rubbing a stick against some dry leaves and a rock as he’d seen on TV. He was grateful that it hadn’t started raining after he heard the weird thunderclap off in the mountains.
The leaves were being uncooperative, but he wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t let Anjali down. He had to get to her. He huddled inside his coat, grateful that Pete had been prepared for the cold weather.
Derick almost shouted when he finally created a spark by striking the metal button of his jeans with a rock. He quickly lit the leaves on fire and put them inside his sad little woodpile. Thanking God and the universe, he huddled close to the small flame. Maybe he was better at surviving than he thought.
“You are a bad little boy, Derick. I’m going to make sure that you don’t escape this time,” Maraquette purred from behind him.
The sound of a shotgun shell being chambered let him know that his treacherous friend was near. It occurred to him that Maraquette might be his only chance of finding Anjali. He slowly raised his hands above his head, surrendering, for the time being.
“I promise to go quietly, if you feed me. I’m going to starve to death before you find Anjali. I’m no use to you dead,” Derick said confidently as he rose to his feet.
Maraquette nodded her head, conceding to his demands.
“I’ll feed you, but in return, I want guarantees that you won’t run,” Maraquette shrugged passively.
“I swear, I won’t run,” Derick lied.
“Oh, I know you won’t,” Maraquette chuckled.
The butt of the shotgun slammed into his knee, shattering his kneecap. Derick howled in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his knee.
“Take him,” Maraquette flipped her long hair over her shoulder and disappeared.
Pete looped the shotgun strap around his shoulder and lifted Derick off the ground, intentionally putting pressure on his knee.
“I wouldn’t run again if I were you,” Pete murmured.
“Go fuck yourself, Pete,” Derick growled.
Chapter 18
Alazar took a deep breath, bracing himself for the impending onslaught of pain. He moved his hands to his chest, attempting to stem the blood flowing from his wounds. When he touched his chest, he was surprised to find that his shirt was gone and so were his wounds. It took a moment to realize that he was no longer in pain and that his hands were unbound.
The smell of cinder filled his nose, causing his stomach to roll. He was very aware of where he was. While he was grateful not to be in agony, he would rather have his flesh torn from his body than be lying in Hell. The question was, how did he get there? More to the point, which part of Hell was he in? Since he wasn’t in chains or suffering, it was doubtful that he was in the Halls of Mercy, Torment, or Shadows.
Alazar opened his eyes slowly and immediately recognized the ceiling. He was lying in his bed in his old room in the Annex. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or depressed.
He turned his head and saw the most wonderful sight imaginable. Anjali was asleep in a wooden chair next to his bed. Her head was resting on her arm. The chair was positioned against the door, blocking anyone from entering or him from leaving. It surprised him to see her sleeping. She trusted him enough to leave herself vulnerable to him.
Alazar sat up and looked around his room. It was just as he remembered it, with one major exception. His Master was with him. It changed everything. The room seemed brighter and more inviting somehow.
Anjali murmured in her sleep and shifted in the chair. He watched her open her eyes and smile at him.
“Hi,” he wasn’t sure where they stood, but a cordial greeting seemed like a good place to start.
“Hi,” her smile was genuine and made him relax.
“Why did you bring me here?” Alazar asked tentatively. He hoped that her answer didn’t have anything to do with the room’s close proximity to the Realm of Fire.
“It’s the last place they would look for you. They know that you would never willingly come here,” Anjali stretched her back and shook out her hair. “Lucifer thinks I’m in the Mortal Realm, or at least that’s what his servant Radek told him. I’ve given Radek orders to leave Lucifer when he can and stand watch at the entrance to the Hall of Mirrors, in the event someone is brave enough to search the Annex. He can distract them. We don’t have a lot of time, but we are safe for now.”
Alazar nodded, grateful to be far away from Michael’s sword.
“What happened to Michael?” he asked as he watched her stand up and unknotted her muscles. He must have been unconscious for a long time.
“He learned what happens when the Sword of God gets hit by lightning,” she shrugged matter-of-factly.
“I assume he will survive?” he asked casually. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Michael dead or not, but the Council would be mad at Anjali if she killed Michael.
“He’ll be fine, once his wings heal. The jerk snapped my neck and tied me to a tree. I don’t feel too bad for him right now,” she said.
“I will kill him for hurting you,” Alazar snarled. He was out of the bed and in front of her before he knew what he was doing.
“Relax. It was an eye for an eye, or a neck for a wing, whatever. I did what I had to do to save you,” she replied.
“How did you control your power at the lake? I was either dreaming, or you dove in to save me,” he said, remembering how she had smiled at him just before he had blacked out. He desperately wanted to avoid the obvious question of why she had saved him.
“I’m not sure. I was enraged when I saw Michael holding the sword to your neck. I lost control. The storm ripped free from my body and all I could think about was killing Michael. When you fell into the lake, my thoughts changed. I only wanted to find you. A voice inside told me that I had to help you, but to do that, I had to stop the storm. My power rushed back inside and I jumped into the water,” she shrugged, unsure of how else to describe it.
“I’m glad that you were able to control your power,” he nodded absently. He thought about her risking herself to save him. Michael could have summoned his warriors and killed them both.
“Getting to you was more important than hurting Michael,” she shrugged.
Anjali’s face was emotionless and she was closed off. He couldn’t figure out what she was thinking. He had to ask the vital question. “Why did you save me?” his voice sounded small and unsure.
“I made a mistake in condemning you. I know that
you aren’t guilty of killing Wedge. I tried to summon the Council, but it was too late. Michael was already searching for you. He refused to listen to me when he saw me following him. I don’t think he will make that mistake again,” she smirked.
A shiver went through him when he remembered the force of her power during the storm. Michael would certainly think twice about challenging her.
“There’s so much that I need to say to you,” Alazar whispered,
She reached out and put her hand on his chest. He shuddered at the contact. Her hand was hotter than the Realm of Fire, but didn’t hurt. After being cold for so long, it felt amazing.
“Before you say anything, I need to speak. I know you’ve gone off the rails, but that doesn’t mean you’re the bad guy, it just means you are lost and need help. There was a story I read in my English class about a man who had crossed paths with Death. He spoke of a man who was not ugly and gaunt like the figures he’d heard tales of, but instead, he was beautiful and disarming. He recalled suddenly seeing the village of his youth and thought about all the good he had done with his life. When he looked into the sky blue eyes of Death, he wasn’t afraid. Instead, he felt content that he had lived a good life, but knew that he wasn’t ready to move on. He said that he parted ways with Death, knowing that he would someday see Heaven.
“My English teacher, Mr. Timmons, made a big deal about the story. He said that Death sometimes had a bad reputation, but that Death wasn’t evil. He said that Death didn’t kill people; he offered the choice between taking the easy way out of a crappy life, or working as hard as they could to get through the difficult times. He showed them the Gates of Heaven to inspire them to change their ways and showed them the Gates of Hell to scare them. He said that when people are Hell bound, they tend to blame everyone, including Death, for their deeds rather than take responsibility for their descent into evil. I know you lost your way when you were no longer able to fight against the sins of men that battered your senses, but I don’t think it’s too late for you,” Anjali moved her hand to Alazar’s shoulder and looked into his despondent face.
“Your teacher’s an ass. Everyone hates death,” Alazar pushed her hand away and walked over to the window.
“Well, it turns out that my teacher was this man,” Anjali pulled a scroll out of the sleeve of her dress and handed it to him.
Alazar turned and took the scroll. He unrolled it and stared into the eyes of his worst enemy.
“Sacha? Sacha told you that story?” Alazar was dumbfounded. How had Sacha been able to get close enough to speak to her?
“He was Mr. Timmons, my high school teacher for four years, but yes, Sacha, the Angel of Deception. I had no idea who he was until I found that scroll on your bookshelf. He had a thing for stories about Hell, temptation, and death, but then again, so do most English teachers. I have no idea why he didn’t tell me who he was, or why he didn’t lash out at me like you did, but it seems that he understands you better than you do,” Anjali hoped that Alazar was able to see his life through Sacha’s eyes.
“I find that hard to believe. He didn’t know me then and he certainly doesn’t know me now,” Alazar hung his head. Sacha would slit his throat if he knew of his deal with Maraquette. On second thought, he would have given him a gold star. They were more alike than he wanted to admit. He’d been lying to Anjali since meeting her.
“This is your chance to prove him right, and prove that you aren’t evil. Back in the castle, I didn’t give you a chance to answer my ultimatum. Instead, I attacked you when you didn’t deny the allegations. I need to know what your answer was. Are you going to join with me and become my Angel of Death?” Anjali walked up behind him and put her hand on his back.
He looked out over the realms from his least favorite vantage point. He’d spent thousands of years staring down at the bleak view. If he accepted her now, he would have to look out over the realms for the rest of eternity.
“I didn’t deny killing the boy because I was mad that you didn’t trust me. I know I haven’t given you any reason to do so, but it still hurt. For the record, my answer was yes. Of course, that’s before I drove the wooden stake through your back. For the record, I do regret that,” Alazar closed his eyes and wished he could go back to that moment and fix everything.
“I threw the first punch. I acted badly because I was mad that a friend had died. I should have asked you what had happened instead of assuming,” she sighed. “You were going to say yes. Have I completely destroyed things between us? Are we now enemies?” Anjali fought back tears as she thought about losing her angel, for a second time.
Alazar knew the answer. He wanted to join with her; unfortunately, he had one last hurdle overcome. She needed to know about his involvement with Maraquette.
He looked at the stained glass image of the sun rising over the clouds. Michael had afforded him a final request. He wondered if Anjali would do the same. If he were lucky, she would strike him down on the spot; otherwise, he would end up in the Realm of Shadows for eternity. It was doubtful that she would let him see one more sunrise. Suddenly an eternal view of the Realm of Fire didn’t sound so bad.
“I am responsible for Aganon’s attack on you, though I didn’t know the exact details at the time. Maraquette made a deal with me. She offered to kill you and in return, I would kill Michael for her. She’s gone rogue, though Heaven doesn’t know yet. Michael had been closing in on a Rogue causing all kinds of problems, but he never got close enough to find out who was responsible. He didn’t exactly believe me when I told him just before he took me into custody. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you about my deal with her and that I had slept with her. I was too afraid of what you would do to me. I know it was wrong to make that deal and I’m ready to receive my punishment,” he couldn’t look at her. He knew his fate was in her hands, and he deserved whatever punishment she had to dole out. He had sworn to Father and Heaven to become Death and join with the Destroyer, but instead had done everything he could to defy her. It was time to face the consequences of his actions.
Anjali was numb. Her angel had plotted with a Rogue to kill her. It didn’t really surprise her that he had become desperate enough to turn to an enemy of Heaven for help, but she was surprised that it had been Maraquette. The bitch seemed to be everywhere she turned, yet she had never had a conversation with her.
“Why does Maraquette want me dead? Aganon said that she was still in love with Lucifer, yet if she were a Rogue, he would never take her back. Even if I die, he’s too loyal to God to accept a Rogue in his life. I don’t understand her grudge against me. I had nothing to do with Lucifer’s obsession with me. Why take it out on me?” she was going to beat Maraquette senseless, if she ever came face to face with her.
“She’s jealous of you. She always has been. This was the first opportunity she had to strike out at you. Before you arrived in Hell, she couldn’t find you. Now you’re a sitting duck in Hell. All she had to do was order Aganon to do her bidding,” Alazar held on to the image of her beautiful face smiling at him when she first woke up, knowing he would never see her smile at him again. When he turned to look at her, he saw the disappointment on her face. “Now that you know what I have done, what will my fate be, my lady?”
Anjali saw the resignation in his eyes. He truly thought she would kill him for working with Maraquette. If Maraquette were crazy enough to want her dead, then she would have commanded Aganon regardless. She would still be Lucifer’s blood servant, even if Alazar hadn’t been involved. Maraquette needed someone to kill Michael, which is why she had recruited Alazar to help her.
She knew why Alazar wanted her dead. He would have jumped at the offer for someone else to kill her.
“Alazar, she used you. She needed Michael off her trail and she did what she had to do to stay alive. Poor Aganon suffered greatly at Lucifer’s hands because of what she did. If you think that I will do the same to you, you’re wrong. I understand why you hated me and wanted me dead. I can forgive all of t
hat. I will deal with Maraquette personally. What I want to know is, do you still want me dead?” Anjali held her breath, bracing herself for the answer that would change her entire world.
Alazar grabbed her shoulders, and looked her in the eye. “I would rather die than harm you. I was stupid to let Maraquette get inside my head. She said that you would never trust me, and yet, you were sleeping next to my bed while I was unrestrained. I could have killed you in your sleep, yet you trusted me enough to lower your defenses. You went against Michael and the Council to save my life. No matter how many times I have failed you, you keep offering me redemption. I was afraid of the feelings that you opened up inside of me, but when you gave me a choice, I spent the entire time thinking about you. It will be nearly impossible to come back to Hell and kneel before Lucifer again, but I know I can do it with you by my side. Tempting mortals again, the right way, seems unfeasible, but after feeling your power, I know that I can do it. You give me hope, something I thought I could never feel again. I know that I can do what is needed of me, as long as you are with me,” Alazar was desperate for her to believe him.
Anjali hefted out a breath. She believed him. “I can’t promise that things will ever be easy. My life is beyond complicated, but I know it will be better with you by my side. I swear I will do everything I can to protect you from the Council. I have spoken to Gabriel and he is trying to convince them that I made a mistake. I don’t know what will happen, but I won’t let them take you from me. I will find a way to make the Council reverse their decision,” she smiled at him, happy to know that she hadn’t lost him for good.
Alazar couldn’t breathe. “You’re forgiving me, just like that?” The room was spinning. His Master had forgiven his sins and was allowing him to live.
“Yes, on one condition, actually two,” she smirked.
“Anything,” he said without thinking.
“First, there will be no more fighting me. It’s one thing to argue or disagree, but no more battles, no more pulling away. I don’t think I can handle split-personality Alazar anymore. You’re making me insane. You have to make a firm decision once and for all,” she said firmly.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 49