Chapter Four: Warning in the Smoke
A smile that’s both charming and cynical, a tailored black suit with a red dress shirt and black tie, polished leather shoes, and a receding hairline. The stout man appeared before them with his palms open as if to welcome them to the desolate city. But the aura around him was unwelcoming. A human, a witch, and an angel stared at him warily, certainly alarmed by his presence. The demon smiled to himself. I do make a memorable entrance.
“Caelum,” Azazel greeted the man before him. “How nice to see that you are well. Though, something about you seems different.” His eyes scanned Caelum from head to toe as if studying him. “Indeed, a change of attire can do so much for one’s image.”
“Sad to say, but I do agree,” Caelum said, though his face didn’t change; anger radiated from him.
Azazel smiled. His eyes moved to the two females standing behind Caelum, both with beautifully dangerous gazes. “Will you not introduce me to your lovely companions?”
“I don’t think an introduction is necessary. They are well aware of what you are,” Caelum told him.
“That they do,” Azazel agreed. “Let’s keep this short, then.”
“Yes, please,” Mikaela interrupted him, throwing a piece of stone on the ground and stomping on it with the heel of her boot.
Mist spread out from beneath her feet, thickening quickly, obscuring the demon’s view. He heard their frantic footsteps, the sound quieting as each second passed. With a flick of his wrist, Azazel cleared the mist enough to confirm that the three had escaped. He smiled. A game of cat and mouse, then?
Running between the buildings of the deserted city, Caelum, Mikaela, and Ariel didn’t stop until they were at a safe distance from the demon. Caelum took the lead, knowing the city better than the other two. He turned corner after corner, heading for the first place he thought they could hide long enough to transport themselves to another city.
“Great idea, Dad!” Mikaela shouted over. “Let’s go to the city where you lived, where you will surely visit, that won’t cross the minds of the enemy!”
“Can we not talk about this right now?” Caelum told her. His breathing was labored and his legs were weary. Frustrated at how easily his mortal body grew tired, Caelum bit his lip hard and pushed forward.
“Where are we going?” Ariel asked.
“There!” Caelum announced once they were in sight of the subway station. He rushed down the stairs, ushering the ladies inside.
Beneath the city stretched out the underground transit that thousands of commuters relied upon daily. But with the city streets void of its residents, it was a surprise to find the lights of the subway station on, though the trains remained dead on the tracks.
“This should be far enough,” Caelum said. “Make the spell.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Mikaela muttered, digging in her pocket, but before she could take the item out, a chill in her spine told her to dodge to the side. A blade meant for her shoulder narrowly missed.
“What-!” Caelum wheeled around to find a figure coming down the stairs. His shoes clicked on the steps, echoing against the concave walls.
“Please do not trouble us further,” said Baron who slowly descended to them. Between his fingers were three sharp, black blades sticking out like spikes. “We wish to keep this meeting short, as we are on a schedule.”
“So are we,” Caelum said, kicking a trash can hard towards Baron. Baron swung his leg against the can, sending it against the tracks as the three ran from him.
Blades flew across the station, speeding towards the three who rushed away from the demon. Mikaela ducked her head as one whizzed past her ear, slicing a piece of her skin. She pivoted her body and made a pushing motion with her hands. The benches of the station wiggled out of their bolts and flew towards the demon who merely swung his fist against them.
“Now who the hell is that?” Mikaela yelled, rushing to Caelum and Ariel, who had stopped.
“Remember that guy earlier?” Caelum said. “That’s his butler.”
“He certainly is dressed like one,” Mikaela commented.
“We cannot keep running from them,” Ariel suggested. She turned to Caelum and continued. “We will only deplete your energy.”
“So, you’re suggesting that we fight them?” Caelum said.
“We don’t have much choice,” Mikaela agreed. She spread her feet apart and focused her power on the demon in front of them.
Baron walked slowly forward, his long legs enough to narrow the distance between them despite his lack of speed. He felt a nudge at his shoulder, and then another, pushing him back a few inches away from them. He looked to his feet, then to the witch whose gaze pierced at him. “Hmm… How strange,” he said to himself, procuring a couple of blades from his suit. He swung his arm, releasing the blade towards the witch. Mikaela stretched out her hand and caught it in mid-air. She turned her torso, wheeled around, and threw the blade back at him.
The demon jumped up and turned in mid-air. The blades went past his arched back, and he landed on the ground on his feet. Fast steps came from his side, and he turned just in time to avoid the kick from Ariel. She spun around, her leg extended to meet his face. Baron lifted his arm to shield his face, grabbed Ariel’s leg with his free hand, and tossed her upward. Ariel extended her arms over her head, somersaulting to land back on her feet.
A screech sounded from the train track, and Mikaela, who used her magic to push a train, rushed towards the demon with the train speeding beside her. She swung her torso forward, and with arms thrown out, forced the train at the demon. The windows exploded as it moved past Baron, showering him with sharp glass. Baron covered his head against the rain of shrapnel until the train came to a halt.
Caelum came from the train, gripping one of the poles near the opened door. He held a heavy fire extinguisher with his other hand. When Baron removed his arms from over his head, Caelum threw the fire extinguisher at him. Baron swerved to avoid the object, but as it clinked on the ground, it exploded in his face, filling his vision with cold white smoke.
“Come on!” Mikaela screamed, rushing to the train where Caelum reached for her hand to pull her in. Ariel ran towards them and past the demon. Mikaela had already used her power to push the train forward for their getaway. Ariel was merely a few steps away when suddenly, her body froze.
“Ariel!” Caelum called for her, but she couldn’t utter a reply. Mikaela stopped the train, waiting for the angel.
Another set of footsteps came from the stairs, heading down. “This could have been over by now, yet we haven’t even begun to discuss the matter.” Azazel walked down with his amused expression. Baron emerged from the smoke created by the fire extinguisher and stood by his employer’s side.
“My apologies,” Baron said. “They are reluctant to listen.”
“No worries. A little excitement never hurt,” Azazel said, looking at the angel. “Oh, Caelum, my dear boy. Would you mind stepping out of that dysfunctional vehicle? I promise I will not hurt your lady friend here.”
Caelum gritted his teeth. He looked to Mikaela who waited for his next course of action before doing anything. If he were still a demon, he’d have a fighting chance. But he was human now and exposing himself to Azazel would be suicidal. His eyes found Ariel’s who urged him to escape despite being unable to speak a word. The angel was caught in the hands of the demons again, and he did not wish to abandon her.
I won’t let that happen again, Caelum concluded. He hopped off the train and walked towards Ariel with careful steps. When he reached her, he turned his back on her, placing himself between her and the two demons.
“Here’s my pretty face,” Caelum said to Azazel. “What is it that you want?”
“Ah, there you are,” Azazel greeted him. “No trouble, old friend. I just want to have a little chat.” He took the last few steps to meet Caelum face to face. He was nearly a foot shorter than Caelum, but the confidence in his posture did not waver as
he looked up to him.
Azazel cocked his head to the side and smiled. “Oh, my dear. Sorry about that,” he told Ariel over Caelum’s shoulders. With a snap of his fingers, Ariel gasped, stumbling forward until Caelum caught her.
“Are you alright?” Caelum asked her. Ariel looked up to his eyes then to Azazel, daggers in her eyes.
“I am.”
“If you could give us a moment of privacy, please,” Azazel asked Ariel.
“Just tell me what you want, Azazel,” Caelum spat at him, clearly unhappy to be discussing anything.
“Well, I was hoping to have this conversation in private, but lately, I haven’t been getting what I want,” Azazel said, pocketing his hands. Mikaela emerged from the train but kept her distance as she listened. Azazel looked at each of them, their determination clear, then sighed. “Very well.”
“I am here to speak about the recent predicament of our home, Hell,” Azazel began. “You see, in the centuries that I have served Hell as the – you may say, mayor of the residents, I have never been required to set foot on foreign land. I have my efficient assistant for that.” He nodded to Baron. “So, one may wonder why I stand here before you today, in a deserted city of cowardly humans.”
“I assume you’re more than willing to share your little story,” Mikaela said.
Azazel smiled at the witch. “You see, I am a leader without an office. Long story short, I was kicked off my own throne.”
“Kicked off?” Caelum stifled a laugh.
Baron shot him a look, but Azazel waved a hand at his assistant. “Yes, yes. You heard it correctly,” Azazel admitted. “After so many years, after I created the empire of Hell and made it what it was, that bitch who proclaims herself as the queen ran me out of my position so she can watch it all crumble.”
“Queen?” Ariel was the one who spoke. “Do you mean Lilith?”
“Lilith is alive?” Caelum’s brows pulled together.
“Unfortunately,” Azazel confirmed. “She and her friends upstairs are up to something. As far as I can tell, you’re trying to figure out what that something is, which puts us on the same side, just with different goals.”
“What are you saying?” Caelum asked, his curiosity piqued.
“I am offering you a deal,” Azazel answered him. “Remove Lilith from my seat in Hell, and you can have her for a little interrogation. Of course, by making this deal, I will be granting you your old powers back. Maybe even more.”
Mikaela and Ariel looked at Caelum who seemed to be weighing his options. In his mind, he had been troubled by the fact that he could do little since being reborn as a human. But to enter into a deal with Azazel was risky.
“Come on, old sport,” Azazel urged him. “It’s a far better deal than the one you made with me all those years ago. Remember that?” His eyes flickered to Ariel. “At least this one has your benefit threefold. You want more power, you want information, and I’m certain you’d like to get your revenge on that demon who toyed with you for so long.”
“You don’t have to accept it.” Mikaela walked closer to Caelum, whispering in his ear. “We can find another way.”
“And where exactly do you believe you will find that?” Azazel asked her, raising an eyebrow.
“Enough,” Caelum said in a harsh tone. He looked to Azazel then back to Mikaela and Ariel. He disliked being useless, being powerless. He was being offered power, the ability to protect those he treasured, and the ability to put a stop to the grand plan of their enemy. In that moment, they had few alternatives. However, would it be worth it to take the risk?
“Caelum.” He looked into Ariel’s eyes for the answer. She nodded to him encouragingly and said, “We will find another way. Remember how you did when I was taken? You freed me, despite the odds.”
“By falling right into our trap,” Azazel added. “Time is ticking away, my boy. For every second we speak of this, more souls are escaping from Hell, and those winged bastards are taking another step closer to their goal.”
“No,” Caelum said flatly.
Azazel looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. “What?”
Caelum lifted his chin, smiling insipidly. “I said, you can stick that deal of yours right up your posterior. I have a wonderful team behind me, my family. Therefore, I will not be requiring help from you. But I appreciate the offer.”
Azazel flared his nostrils, his lips pursed tight into a straight line. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “My offer stands. Just say the word, and I will grant you your powers.” He turned his back on them and took a step away. Baron turned his shoulder, waiting for his employer to lead the way.
“Although,” Azazel stopped and looked over his shoulder at them. “May I interest you in some advice?”
“Please,” Caelum said, though his tone was sarcastic.
“You might want to reconsider leaving your mortal friends unprotected,” Azazel said. “After all, there are far worse enemies lurking around. You’d best be on your toes when they come. Otherwise, someone might set all your hard work on fire.” With the warning in his parting words, the two demons disappeared in a patch of shadows.
The three looked at each other in horror. “We should go back,” Mikaela said, her thoughts clouded with the implications of the demon’s words.
No matter how much he wanted to concentrate, David couldn’t focus on the book he held about the history of Hell. He stared at a drawing of the Beast of Babylon that slept beneath the kingdom of fire, but the words were only a blur to him. He couldn’t stop worrying about everything: his parents, the world, and Mikaela and her companions.
Where could they have gone? David wondered, having no clue where else they would find the information they needed. He slammed the book in his hands, frustrated that his family held the largest collection of information about the hidden world, yet he couldn’t find how an archangel like Lucifer intended to overcome God anywhere in the large library.
His little sister looked at him from over the book she held. She frowned as she watched him attempt to shake away his worries. Jenny sighed. “They’ll be okay. Stop fidgeting already.”
“I’m not fidgeting,” David muttered, reaching for another book that he was certain he’d already read but couldn’t remember the contents of.
“The world is ending, our parents are unreachable, and you’re worried about a girl you like.” Jenny rolled her eyes. “You were always good at setting your priorities, Dave.”
“Shut up.” David frowned. “I don’t like Mikaela that way…”
“I never said I meant Mikaela, but whatever.” Jenny snickered. David stuck his tongue out at his sister, but she ignored him, turning her attention back to the book in her hands. David looked to the cover of the book and saw that it was a record of humans who claimed to have come across angels. He remembered Caelum and Ariel’s story and wondered if their first meeting was in there.
“What’s this?” Jenny moved over to David, carrying the book in her hands.
“What now?” David said, taking a peek at the page she held out for him. He read the passage written on the page and his eyes widened in disbelief. “Huh?”
“Ah!” Jenny’s hand suddenly flinched, releasing the book, which fell to the table, still open to the page. She gripped her left wrist and winced in pain. “What the—”
“Hey, are you alright?” David dropped the book on the table and neared his sister.
“My bracelet, it’s heating up,” Jenny said, looking at the beaded bracelet around her wrist. Each bead had a different symbol engraved on them, and each of them symbolized a certain supernatural creature; a family heirloom passed down to Jenny.
“Jenny,” David’s voice was serious. “Which bead is heating up?”
Jenny looked at her brother, fear in her eyes as she remembered what the bracelet was for. The heat on her wrist was a warning of a coming enemy.
The moment they arrived in the area, heat welcomed them, then a bright red light blinded them, an
d smoke filled their lungs. Mikaela, Caelum, and Ariel arrived in front of the Tenney house to find it ablaze. Fire roared, engulfing the structure and crawling its way to the forest that surrounded it.
"No..." Mikaela was devastated by the sight she beheld. She rushed towards the house, ignoring the protests of the angel and her father. She stopped in front of the entrance where smoke seeped out between the gaps of the closed door.
"David! Jenny!" she screamed their names but no response came.
"Are they still inside?" Caelum came beside her.
"I don't know..." Mikaela whispered. She watched the fire take over the house, tears staining her cheeks. She listened to the roars, hoping for a sign, any sign that the siblings were alive. But neither of their voices reached her ears.
"It is holy fire," Ariel told them. "I can still sense a presence of another angel nearby."
"We have to go then," Caelum said. He put his hand on Mikaela's arm, "before they find us."
Anger bubbled up inside Mikaela. Her cheeks were flushed and her tears fell. She shook away his hand and stepped closer to the fire. She extended her arms to her sides, as if embracing the flames, and spoke a spell.
"Mikaela!" Caelum shouted. "What are you doing?"
Before he could get near her, the fire shot up to the sky. The flames coalesced to a tornado-like formation, whirling around on itself. Soon, all the fire had gathered in the fiery tornado and bent down, speeding to the ground. Caelum and Ariel watched in amazement as the fire shot down towards Mikaela who welcomed the flames inside her. The fire entered her body, making her crouch forward against its force. Mikaela's face showed her pain, wincing at the burning of her insides, but she held on.
When all the flames had disappeared into her body, Mikaela stumbled backward. Caelum rushed to her aid, holding her by the shoulders. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," Mikaela said. She struggled to get back on her feet and staggered towards the house. "David..."
"Mikaela!" Caelum caught up to her. "Take a rest. We will find them."
The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set) Page 46