The Complete Archangel Wars Series: A Shared Universe Series (The Archangel Wars)

by Jonathan Yanez

  Michael’s heartbeat quickened. He knew he needed Seraphim and her Death Angels on his side if he was to stand a chance against Gabriel. Still he was not willing to contradict his morals. Gabriel was to be captured and tried, not executed on the spot. “I understand your concern. What he did to you—”

  Seraphim stood from her seat, spreading her wings out on either side of her. Michael’s words trailed off into the quiet oblivion under the ferocity of her stare. Seraphim’s wings were black; rather her left wing was black while the right was a hybrid of supernatural appendage and modern necessity. During the last encounter with Gabriel, the Fallen Archangel not only scarred her face, he burned half her wing. It was only Alan’s creativity allowing Seraphim to fly again.

  Michael sat quiet as he studied the metal wing that latched onto Seraphim’s shoulder and torso. He could not imagine what she felt. The proud leader of the deadliest beings on heaven and earth reduced to wearing a metal wing to fly. Michael thought no less of her but he knew she would judge herself harshly.

  “I will make him suffer as he has made me suffer, Michael,” Seraphim’s eyes flashed with fire. She began removing the leather straps holding her metal wing in place as she spoke. “If you want my help or the help of those who follow my command then you will give me Gabriel’s head.” Seraphim unlocked the last clasp and the shaped wing designed to resemble feathers fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Seraphim beat what remained of her right wing in the air and angled it towards Michael so he could take a better look.

  The wing was a ghastly-scarred lump of burned flesh and molted feathers. Michael forced himself not to look away. Instead, he moved his eyes to look directly at Seraphim as she spoke. “I will not allow Gabriel to do this to anyone else.”

  Chapter Ninety-Four

  “I told you, I will not join you.”

  “That’s fine,” Alan said as he kept pace with Raphael. “I’ve accepted that.”

  Raphael furrowed his brow as he walked down a steep path leading towards the ocean. “Then why do you continue to follow?”

  “Because I don’t have anywhere else to go. I don’t have anything else to do. If you’re not going to help us, then the war is lost and we are all dead anyway. Gabriel now has the power to shift fate, how are we going to beat that?” Alan didn’t wait for a response, “I figure, we only have a few days left before whatever is going to happen, happens. Spending it with you seems as good of an option as anything else. I mean, it’s not like I can travel back to the human plane or anything.”

  Raphael shook his head and continued down the steep trail towards the beach’s rhythmic crashing of waves. They had been walking for hours: Alan and Raphael in the lead and Ardat trailing behind. “And the demon?” Raphael asked. “The demon shares your same thoughts?”

  Alan almost laughed out loud. Then he did. It felt good. Raphael gave him a sideways glance past his thick grey hair. “Sorry,” Alan said taking in a big breath of air. “It’s just that I have more control over what you do than I do over her. I’m supposed to lead and be getting us ready to stop Gabriel from evoking the apocalypse but no one will listen to me. So I guess we’re all just going to burn together.”

  The two men traveled side-by-side for the rest of the day. As the sun began to set, they finally crested a large hill and gained access to the sea. The ocean was magnificent. Adding to the never-ending plain of rolling water was the scent of sea salt in the air. A slight breeze played across Alan’s shoulders and sent his blonde hair stirring behind him.

  The stillness the view afforded was mesmerizing. Birds continued to flap in the air and squawked over discovered or captured meals but the quiet from the lack of human presence brought was calming. Alan felt his stomach groan in protest as they made their way to the beach. “I’m guessing we’re going back to your house? Do you have food there?”

  Raphael ignored him at first then thought better of his action and spoke. “I don’t know if I’ve made myself clear or not. I do not want your company.”

  Alan shrugged off the rude remark that he had been expecting over the course of their entire trip. “I forgot: you and Ardat are supernatural beings so you don’t need food or sleep, right? They’re just comforts rather than necessities. That’s fine, I’ll find something to eat myself once we get to your place.”

  The next moment, Alan’s feet hit sand. Raphael chose to ignore him again. It burned Alan to remain so cheerful and optimistic when he felt like screaming at the Archangel. However, Alan kept reminding himself if he was to have any chance of redeeming Raphael, this was how it was going to be done. Not through force or a sense of duty but through time and understanding.

  The sky was a blaze of pinks and purples giving way to night when the trio finally reached Raphael’s house. Alan was surprised to see that what Raphael called a home was nothing more than pieces of driftwood erected on an outcropping of rocks spanning a dozen yards past the shoreline into the ocean.

  As they crossed the beach, crabs burrowed from their sandy caves and snapped their claws towards Raphael. Birds swooped down low and twirled in the air just overhead. If Alan didn’t know better, he would think they were welcoming the Archangel back home.

  As they reached the outcropping of dark-shaped rocks and made their way the last few yards to the shack, Raphael threw a brooding glance over his shoulder. Alan could tell it had something to do with Ardat. What exactly he didn’t know, but there was an internal struggle raging within his traveling companion.

  Finally, they reached Raphael’s home. What had appeared to be a pile of driftwood before was actually an eight-foot tall structure made of various shapes of wooden panels. A soft glow showed through two windows and promised a warm stay inside.

  Raphael reached a tentative hand towards the door, then stopped as though he was experiencing physical pain. He turned around to address Ardat. The entire trip she had not spoken a word remaining content to travel behind them by herself. “Demon, you are far from welcome into my house. However, I will not turn away someone who professes to aid in the wellbeing of a man I once called a friend.”

  Even through the growing darkness Alan could see Ardat roll her eyes. Her voice traveled towards them above the gentle wash of waves with a dismissive ring, “Save your words. Since you will not answer the call, there are matters I must attend to.” Ardat turned to leave but hesitated at the last moment and called over her shoulder, “Besides, I’d rather camp out in the middle of a storm than share a roof with a coward.”

  Ardat’s response was pretty much what Alan had expected; still he felt his stomach turn. For an instant he saw something other than remorse and pain in Raphael. Anger gripped the Archangel for a split second and released him just as fast. Instead of replying to Ardat, Raphael shook his head and turned to walk inside his home.

  On the outside the shack looked as though it could afford only a cramped single room. Inside, Raphael’s house was as spacious as any other. Alan did a double-take as he looked inside and was greeted by a large room opening up further with rooms to both his right and left.

  Alan’s mind struggled to make sense of the conundrum, “How is it so big on the inside?” he asked stepping into the house and closing the door behind him.

  Raphael shrugged as he moved deeper into his home. “You accept that angels and demons are in eternal conflict but you struggle with the idea that a structure could be larger on the inside than it appears on the outside?”

  Alan conceded the point. His eyes traveled around Raphael’s home. The place was any sea lover’s dream. Smooth pink and white shells mixed into the sand that acted as a floor. Nets and pictures of the sea lined the walls along with shelves holding large conches and sections of exotic coral.

  Alan wished he had more time to look around but his head was beginning to ache with the need for food. On one side of the massive open room, an unlit fireplace held a large, stone pot. “Hey, Raphael,” Alan said towards the right side of the house where he had seen the Archangel disappear
once they entered. “I’m going to sample whatever is in this pot, if that’s okay with you …”

  When there was no answer, Alan decided he had no choice. If Raphael became upset with him, then he would find a way to repay the Archangel. Alan practically ran to the pot hanging over the remains of a long dead fire. Taking off the stone lid brought the aroma of some kind of seafood stew to Alan’s nostrils. A ladle was placed inside and Alan wasted no time in attacking the food.

  Seconds, minutes, Alan wasn’t sure how much time passed as he ladled spoonful after spoonful of the goodness into his mouth. The soup was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of salt and spice. Alan only paused to breath when he heard movement behind him.

  It was Raphael. Before Alan could guess how his behavior would be received or if he owed the Archangel an apology, Raphael extended a hand. A loaf of bread the size of a football was clenched in his grip. “Eat,” Raphael said with no hint of ill will in his voice. “There is plenty and you need it more than I do.”

  Alan continued to devour the food until only a few spoonfuls remained. His stomach felt as though it might pop the button on his jeans. With a sigh, Alan put the pot down and turned to his host. Raphael sat quietly in a large, wooden chair stationed in one of the corners of the room. Head lowered, he was consumed in repairing a net that looked as though it could be as old as the Archangel. His deft fingers traveled in and out of the worn mesh like a skilled professional. Alan thought it would be a good time to question his reluctant host further. The last thing he wanted to do was push Raphael away but still, he needed to start somewhere. “You’ve lived in this place on the supernatural plane all these years? Hidden away from human eyes and left to yourself by both angels and demons?”

  Raphael’s fingers continued to weave back and forth over the net but his grey eyes rose from his work, “That’s right.”

  Alan licked his lips strategizing on the fly, “After you came down with Michael to quell the demons who were setting themselves as gods among the Greeks, you decided to leave your responsibilities behind?”

  Raphael pursed his lips, which Alan could hardly see among the man’s beard. His response came in the form of motion instead of words. Raphael’s right hand began to tremble ever so slightly. With a sigh he placed the net on his lap and stretched the fingers on his shaking hand. “I can see now why you decided to follow me when I left the Statue.”

  Alan’s eyebrows rose in mock surprise, “Hey, I’m not trying to convince you to join us. You made your decision clear. I’m just trying to get a better idea of what happened.”

  Raphael studied Alan wearing a mask of indifference. “Alright, Horseman. Although, do not think me ignorant. I know you have not given up hope.” Raphael cleared his throat and clenched his trembling hand into a fist. “After the war in heaven, I was never the same again. How could I be? I spent centuries trying to forget what I had done but it would have been easier to forget my own name. When the demons on earth began calling themselves gods, Michael and I, along with a handful of our greatest warriors, came down to stop them. I know now that the demon calling himself Hades was actually Gabriel. At the time, Hades was only a whisper, while we dealt with the other demons who confronted us directly.”

  “You never actually met Hades during that time?” Alan mused connecting the dots as to how the Fallen Archangel could have hidden his identity on earth so long.

  “That’s correct,” Raphael answered. “When we quelled the rebellion the demon known as Hades disappeared. We searched for him but to know avail. It was after that encounter that I decided it was time to step away from the bloodshed and death. I relinquished my power and have led a quiet life ever since.”

  Something Raphael said sparked a thought deep inside Alan. “What do you mean when you said you ‘relinquished’ your power?”

  Raphael took a deep breath in through his noise and released it slowly through his mouth. His chest rose and fell in time with the action. If it was possible, the Archangel looked even wearier than earlier that same day. “It is not within my ability to remove my immortality or I would have long ago. However, I can choose to abandon my powers. I did so and I have not regretted the action since.”

  In a second, the dots connected and Alan placed each piece of the puzzle together at once. “You abandoned your powers at the Statue of Zeus, didn’t you? You were there today because you knew the Statue had been resurrected.” Alan couldn’t believe the thoughts running through his mind. Raphael had been lying to him this entire time. “You were at the Statue because you were checking whether or not you could get your powers back!”

  Raphael shrugged, “What does it matter now? The power I abandoned there long ago is gone.”

  “And that is why Gabriel is so powerful now,” Alan said in a whisper as he spoke aloud his current train of thought. “He found the power you left and took it as his own.”

  “Like I said, it doesn’t matter now. I returned to the Statue to see if it was already taken. When I learned Gabriel was still alive, I knew he would try to consume the power I left. But it seems I was much too late. Gabriel took the power when the Statue was first destroyed in the fire centuries ago. A fire we can now assume he started. After seizing the power, he has been content to wait and hide. It was foolish to hope I could stop him from getting what he wanted.”

  “And now that’s it?” Alan said not believing the level of defeat in Raphael’s words. “Gabriel is twice as strong as any angel because he found the power you left and you’re not going to do anything about it?”

  Raphael rose from his chair and walked across the room as if he was in a daze. He left Alan in the echo of his own unanswered question.

  ---

  Alan was reeling in the aftermath of what he just learned. He couldn’t help himself from pacing across the large room, his feet leaving scattered tracks back and forth on the sand floor. Not only did Raphael practically give his power to Gabriel, but also he was unwilling to do anything about it. Alan wasn’t ready to give up on the Archangel yet but he needed to reach Michael and tell him how Gabriel had become so strong. Perhaps there was a way to alter the effect.

  Alan glanced out one of the windows to see a dark sky covered in shimmering stars. He knew he needed to get word to Michael but where Michael was now could be anyone’s guess. Tracking Triana and Kyle to Gabriel’s doorstep could have taken Michael and Seraphim anywhere.

  Seraphim. Images of the Death Angel brought a feeling inside Alan he wasn’t ready to even try to understand. Instead of being honest with himself, he shoved the thought of the Death Angel back down. This wasn’t the time to daydream; he had a critical problem. The best plan he could formulate was to return to the Temple of Artemis in the morning. He hated the idea of leaving Raphael but he would be back. Alan was far from willing to give up on him now.

  Mentally preparing himself to depart from Raphael’s hut in the morning, Alan found a comfortable nest in a pile of nets near the front entrance. Little did he know, his plans would never come to fruition, not with the dream waiting to ambush him while he slept.

  ---

  Alan was back in front of the temple housing the Statue of Zeus. Right away he knew he was dreaming. He was looking down on the area as though flying. The sun only just beginning to bring light into the world bathing the landscape in grey shadows of the departing darkness.

  A woman, perhaps in her late teen years or early twenties, was running down the path towards the temple. She gasped for air as beads of sweat fell down her forehead and back. The sheer terror in her eyes made Alan want to reach out and save her from the evil causing her to run with such fervor.

  Shouts from someone chasing her focused Alan’s attention to the figure of a scarred man howling with glee as he chased his prey. The man’s eyes were completely black. Two ebony orbs were placed above a crooked nose and a tongue that flicked in and out of his lips like a viper. “Come back,” the man hissed. “I just want to torment you for a bit.”

 
Alan tried to wake himself from the nightmare but the claws of sleep drew him in deeper. The events unfolding below Alan were so real; he wondered whether this was a dream at all or some kind of vision into events currently unfolding.

  What Alan assumed was a demon continued to chase the girl. All while yelling promises of torture. The girl ran on, her hair flying wildly behind her like a flag flapping in a strong storm. Alan felt his heart drop to his stomach as he realized where she was running.

  The temple was only a mile away but just inside its pillars another figure waited, hunched in the shadows. A woman with dark eyes watched the unsuspecting young girl run towards her. At once Alan realized this wasn’t a simple chase; it was a trap. The girl below him had no hope of escaping her captors.

  Alan tried to scream a warning however nothing happened. He cried to her to stop. To change directions, that she was running right where they wanted her, nothing came out of his mouth. Alan could think and see as if he were awake but moving or speaking were beyond his ability.

  Alan’s eyes snapped open as he caught the backend of his warning, “Stop!”

  Raphael hunched over him, for one of the few times something other than remorse in his eyes. “Alan, are you all right? You were screaming in your sleep.”

  Alan took a moment to reorient himself. The nightmare had seemed so real. Alan swallowed hard as he looked out the window. The same hint of sun whispering back the night, the very same shade of the sky that was in his dream greeted his eyes. Alan knew his dream couldn’t have been real, although if there was even the slightest possibility…

  Alan jumped to his feet and headed for the door. “Where are you going?” Raphael asked.

  Alan called on his wings that shot out from either side of his back in a brilliant blue hum of pent up energy. “I’m going to the Statue. I think someone there needs me.”