Asmodeus was also of a similar dark nature. He too had served Aphrodite for more than one contract, something very few Angels or Nymphs had ever done. She had gotten off subjecting and shaming her servants. It was no wonder her servants had ripped her apart in the War. He was also a very skilled warrior uncaring of honour, he would win at any costs, and he cared nothing for the lives of others, only himself and Agrat. They would match her needs perfectly.
“Sanctuary is granted” she stood up, two daggers appearing in her hands, she sliced both her wrists and offered them out. “Asmodeus, the Demon King, I am in need of a competent commander for my Army of Nightmares.”
“What are my constraints?” he was already fighting at the bit.
“If they do not surrender, there are none. Mortals will learn they cannot refuse me.”
His eyes lit up with sadistic pleasure as his mouth closed around her wrist. The drinking of another God’s blood was an unwritten contract to serve in their pantheon accepting them as the leader. One was free to leave but was not allowed to interfere with the pantheon’s empires.
“Agrat, the Fallen Angel of Darkness, the Mistress of Sorceresses. I have many tasks for you.”
Agrat looked up at her with hunger in her eyes, she was being recognised for her own powers, not Asmodeus’ “What do you want of me?”
“All the Lilin in my empire will fall under your command, as will the Sirens. Rule them in your own special way. Make me more sorcerers, we have great need of them. Assist Asmodeus and Persephone in their conquests. I also think you would be of great assistance to the Forsaken in their elimination of the Angels’ people in my borders. You know what to look for. You may deal with them in any way you wish.”
Sadistic pleasure shone clearly in her eyes as she drank deeply from Hera’s wrist.
Light flared through both of them as they swallowed her blood. She stepped back, the cuts already healed as they stood up. Hunger shone in their eyes. They had made the right choice fleeing to Hera, they knew they could never serve Brigid as she demanded.
“Come, let me show you my empire and your minions.” She flicked a glance at the other two “But first this is Ariadne, the Demigoddess Empress and Mistress of the Labyrinth, and Kyle the Arch-Sorcerer. They will be able to give you the run down on much of the Empire.” She held out her hands to the two Greater Demons, and the three of them disappeared to Mexico.
Chapter 9
Sariel appeared within the orange and green glowing caves and was instantly assaulted by the sounds of groaning. Tiamat had crawled out of her nursing pool to stand where the Lifestream flowed thickest as her labour intensified.
You should not be here, little one. But there was no thunder in her voice, she was distracted by her labours.
“My powers summoned me here. Your labour is not as it should be.”
She knew that. She had birthed hundreds of Gods and Monsters and never once had a difficult labour, she had thought it impossible for the Divine to have difficult or painful labours. She had known something had been wrong, she had tried sensing it with her powers, so had Bahamut, who was cautiously pacing. He didn’t know what to do, and Tiamat was not in the best of tempers.
Sariel walked unerringly forward until she stood under Tiamat, with green and brown glowing hands she reached up and her powers surged through Tiamat and into her uterus. The Lifestream roared up through Sariel and into Tiamat. She felt her pain disappear as her body pushed out the first Dragon. It slid out slick with fluids both organic and inorganic.
Amniotic fluid and magma gushed out onto the cave floor as the first Dragon in centuries was born. Sariel stared in surprise at it for it was nothing like the pictures or descriptions she had read. It was living rock fractured with magma lines. The rock flowed like muscle as the Dragon staggered about. It appeared to have no semblance of living tissue at all. Its eyes were glowing green, the green flowing out into the magma lines around its head and neck. Flashes of green flowed through the fracture lines. Its wings were composed not of rock but electricity and what appeared to be ice crystals coming off of ice spurs sticking out of its back. Covering it like skin was a thin layer of water.
It staggered upright as another slid out of its mother. It looked exactly the same. By the time it staggered to its feet another had been born. As each one staggered upright, another was born until fourteen young Dragons were mewling and cleaning themselves.
Tiamat gave a relieved sigh as her uterus emptied all its contents, fluids poured out all over the cave floor and her offspring. They mewled their displeasure as they scampered away far enough to clean themselves again.
“They don’t look like Dragons.”
They are what the very first Dragons were. Spirits housed in living elements. You have to remember that when the Dragons came about, life was still but bacteria, there were no such things as tissue and flesh, as such their bodies were crafted from the world around them to suit their duties in protecting life. Their offspring will be the Dragons that the world knows, but one cannot skip steps, it is as the Lifestream has ordained. She shook herself off, stepped away from her birthing area before settling down on her haunches again. She watched her offspring scampering about, amusement filled the air as they tried to clamber over Bahamut.
“They’re beautiful, Tiamat.”
That they are.
“To what do I owe the pleasure Hecate?” Hera was surprised that she had requested an audience.
Hecate smiled at Hera as she looked around the soaring marble chamber, Hera was creating a beautiful palace in Manhattan. She had always been talented at design and had always had a taste for the epically grand. “I have a gift for you.”
“A gift?” now she was surprised.
“A gift with no strings attached, but I thought they might be suitable for your Army of Nightmares.”
Her eyes narrowed in anticipation “And what have you brought for me, Hecate?”
Shadows flared around and within them appeared emaciated humanoids. They were taller than Humans, standing at almost eight feet tall. Yet they were a horrific parody of what might have once been Humans. Their skin was grey and coated in a film of snow and ice that they shed off. The smell of decay started to fill the air as Hera walked closer to them. They were fascinating.
One gnashed its large teeth at her, she backhanded it with enough force to break its jaw. It cowered on the ground before her, whimpering with a most grating keening. She grabbed its jaw and healed it, ignoring its attempts to get away from her.
“What are they?”
“Wendigos. I found them frozen in the bitter snows. They are cannibalistic, always hungering for more flesh and have some power over the forces of winter. I thought they might be of use to you.”
“My dear, you know me very well.” She smiled at Hecate “Thank you, they will be a great asset. Why share them with me, though?”
“We may not be in the same pantheon anymore, but we have centuries of friendship behind us, what is a gift between friends? I thought they might be of use to you, whereas they are of no use to me.”
Friends? What a strange word for the Gods to say. It wasn’t something she would have thought to say. It wasn’t a term she would have used to describe anyone. “Thank you, Hecate, it means a lot.”
Hecate knew she meant more than just the gift. Hera, for all her power, was a lonely Goddess, all her children had been killed, and her husband had not been worthy of her. She didn’t have a family like she did. She was quite alone.
“Hecate, this is a surprise.”
She smiled at her one time Protégé “I have a gift for you, one that will help make the conquest of Africa easier for you.”
“Oh?”
Shadows swirled about on his floating platform, they were far from the prying eyes of others. Another set of Wendigos appeared.
Samael stared at the gaunt, emaciated creatures with their ice-slicked grey skin and gnashing teeth. They were horrific Monsters. He could sense the desperate bruta
lity within them. They would be a destructive force if set free.
“We cannot use them in the army.”
“No, but you can seed them in areas to destroy resistance before the army sweeps in.”
“You would make a very good general, my dear.”
“I know, which is why I’ll be assisting you. Canada has reached its maximum extent, my forces and I are at loose ends. Australia and Asia are under James, Zelaris and Cathair’s control, so I’ve come to assist your expansions.”
He smiled, “it is going to be like old times.”
“Except this time we have armies at our command.”
“And we are mostly free to do as we please.”
“Except now we have a moral compass.”
“Where is Sariel by the way?”
“She went to Hades but Nyx angered her since then she has disappeared, but if my guess is right, she went to assist Tiamat when she gave birth.”
“The world has Dragons again?”
“Indeed, it does, it is the Age of Rebirth.”
“It’s the Age of All-out War, is what it is, and Heaven is not going to win this time.”
“They got away from us. Our Angel Weaves could not hold them.”
“What?” Gabriel and Ariel jerked up in their thrones. Jophiel wasn’t quite up to date on everything so she wasn’t as concerned.
“We found Agrat and Asmodeus in a sick sex dungeon in Paris, we laid our spells carefully however Agrat is a Fallen Angel she knows our spells and she was prepared to flee. Their Demon powers evaded our constraints, and they escaped with ease.”
“What of their minions?”
“They were destroyed.”
“Then all was not a loss then, a lair was cleansed. Nuriel will no doubt track them down again for us, and we shall try again. She has tracked down a few other leads. She has located Lilith and Samael.”
Michael’s face turned stony at the mention of his parents “What did she have to share?”
“Lilith has been using Amsterdam as a base but has been absent of late. Samael has joined forces with Brigid and commands her forces in South Africa. He is an unpopular governor who has killed many to get them subservient.”
“Then it would be a great place to sow discord. However, he would recognise Angel magic being used in his borders.”
“Yes, he would, that is a matter we will dwell on.” She paused “there was other news.”
“Oh?”
“Simurgh has been located, and she is alone.”
“Then one of the Greater Demons can be destroyed easily.”
“That was my thinking. Azrael is who knows where but I thought it would be a good time to show the world the new Arch Angel.”
Then men turned to Jophiel “welcome, Jophiel” they nodded towards her, and she returned their nods with a smile. Finally, the Seven were complete again.
“Let us celebrate tonight, then tomorrow we go hunting Simurgh.” Gabriel clapped and streamers started appearing. Heaven knew how to throw a party, and a new Arch Angel was a rare celebration.
Josephine and Xiang glanced at each other, they did not understand why they had been brought to the large command tent. From the looks of it, nothing connected them. She was an Irish woman of pale skin and auburn hair, he was a Singaporean lad with tan skin and jet black hair. They were both however dressed in the imperial red given to mages.
“Come in” a voice called out, and they were escorted in by two copper-skinned Atlanteans.
Their eyes fell on the young man hunched over a table of maps. His eyes glanced at them then at a clipboard that sat beside him.
“Josephine O’Malley and Xiang Xu I presume?”
Josephine had no idea who this man was, he seemed far too young to be in a position of authority. Xiang, on the other hand, had looked into those brown eyes before on a parade ground not too long ago. Now as then, he found the First Sorcerer highly attractive.
They nodded their assents not sure what to say.
“I have heard good things about you both. Enough to bring you to my attention.”
“And who might you be? Josephine challenged. She might have willingly walked into her mage rank, but she was damned if she let this boy keep her in the dark.
“I am the First Sorcerer of the British Empire and Sorcerer-General of the Royal Province of Australia. I am the one in charge of the annexation of Indonesia into said province.”
This boy was the First Sorcerer? He couldn’t be. She had heard many stories about his powers, but they didn’t make sense looking at the youth before her. Had he even left his teenage years behind?
James looked over his reports again. “Your reports are highly favourable, and your superiors have raised you to my attention.”
“Why?” she challenged.
Xiang was glad that this woman was willing to ask all the questions he was not willing to.
“The reports I have seen indicate that both of you are no regular mages. There is a high chance that both of you are sorcerers, something the Empire is in dire need of.”
“What does that mean for us?”
“You are now my apprentices and will accompany me into the field. I will now personally oversee your training.”
“What if we refuse?”
Xiang couldn’t believe her. Why on earth would she refuse? He felt like a fantasy was coming true.
“You saw what happened to your countrymen when they refused their service after they had been bound by Blood Oath.”
“This is not covered by that oath.” An oath all Irish hated and resented with every fibre of their being.
“No, it is not, but I can do the same.” He let the words hang in the air between them. “I can grant you the one thing you desire.”
“How could you possibly know what I desire?”
“Seamus O’Shea”
She felt her anger rise “that relationship is dead.”
“But he is not, though he could be. You have a great deal of power, Josephine, your powers of destruction are a great boon to the Empire. A special training bout could be arranged for you.”
She studied him aghast and yet thrilled.
“You can dwell on your decision on what to do with him. However, both of your apprenticeships begin now, and we march to battle.”
Something was wrong. She could sense it, the cold breath of prophecy was breathing down her neck. She glanced around at the clear skies and saw nothing. But the sense of unease did not go away. She was remarkably out in the open, yet what dangers were there? The Angels still had not reappeared, and the Gods had no concern for her. The most she had encountered were the mortals coming to her lake and the rivers now feeding into it. She could hear their prayers and gained their faith. It was just like before the War.
She had already scored the lands around her lair, and lush vegetation was growing out of it. She was returning life to the barren desert wastelands. Unfortunately, fights had already broken out over her gardening. What was it about mortals that they had to destroy what they were fighting over? They had learned the hard way not to damage her plants. Their bodies were an excellent fertiliser. Their machines and contained fire she had less use for, she had used magic to break them down into more useful material.
It amused her that the mortals thought their fire and projectiles could harm her. They learned the hard way not to interfere with her or her plants.
She felt a ripple of power. Something was nearby, something Divine. She summoned up her shields, calling upon the Lifestream itself to protect her. She was taking no chances.
There was another ripple, and another and another. Soon she was surrounded by small ripples, then the larger ripples started. She was very worried, there were far too many ripples to be Gods. It could only be the Angels.
Six columns of light flared into existence around her, as behind them appeared the Legions of Heaven. Cold fear coursed through her entire body as she saw the seemingly endless numbers of Angels surrounding her. If she had be
en mortal, she felt sure her heart would have stopped right then at the terror raging through her. This was the end.
Hundreds of blows smashed against her shields, and the outermost ones started faltering. The sky was ablaze with light, fire and lightning as the Angels let loose their magical weapons. Surge after surge of sky magic smashed against her shields, and they continued to crumple against the onslaught. She had nothing at her disposal. She couldn’t lash out for all her powers were wrapped up in her shields, and they were breaking far too quickly. She had nothing to fight the Legions of Heaven or the Arch Angels.
Her shields were smashed open to the world, and the Lifestream shuddered to a stop. She was defenceless as the powers of Heaven ripped through her body. Coppery blood and rainbow feathers rained down on the Caspian Sea. Her wings were ripped and burned off as she screamed in pain. She started to fall even as more powers ripped and tore through her. She felt the magical hooks tearing into her, they were trying to kill her, to syphon off her Lifeforce.
It couldn’t end like this!
How dare they try to kill her, to steal her magic. She had survived Hell, she had survived Gabriel’s experiments, it could not end like this it just couldn’t. Her flesh would not feed their followers.
Bitter, savage fury burned through her as she fell.
The Angels watched Simurgh fall down amid a cataclysm of fire and lightning. Their victory had been quick and decisive.
A furious shriek rent the air as darkness surged up and shattered against the sky. Within an instant, the sky turned as dark as night with thick heavy clouds. Hellfire blossomed through the heavy clouds as blood started to rain down.
You will not have me! An angry voice tore through the Angels’ minds as the air itself rippled. Violent winds roared into life as red lightning started to strike the Angels’ shields. Angelic screams filled the air as the electricity tore through their bodies. Lights flickered as Lesser Angels died, their blue-white spirits were sucked up into the storm.
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