by David Estes
Gabriel was rattled. This was not his brother. Not the innocent boy he had climbed trees and played football with. Not the boy who had looked up to him, who wanted to be like him. This was a robot, a product of Dionysus’s darkest thoughts. He was not going to convince David today, not now. Maybe never. Focus. Focus. Focus.
Suddenly he was angry. Ravenously angry. Dangerously angry. Angry enough to kill. He leapt at Lucas, simultaneously drawing his sword. The swiftness of his attack was unexpected, and Lucas was unable to protect himself. With a flash of light, Gabriel’s searing white sword slashed across Lucas’s chest plate. The armor probably saved his life, because Gabriel’s strike was so precise, so powerful, that the steel tore in half as easily as if it were nothing more than paper.
Although he was still wearing arm and leg guards, Lucas’s chest was now exposed, significantly evening the fight. After being knocked back, Lucas had drawn his sword and leapt to his feet, recovering quickly.
Gabriel risked a glance at David. Cassie had pushed him behind her protectively, but Gabriel could see that his brother was watching the fight with wide eyes.
Lucas charged, his face seething with rage, but Gabriel managed to side step and avoid the attack while, at the same time, using his fist to fire two small light orbs at his opponent. Lucas took one in the chest and the other in the shoulder. Grunting with pain he went down hard, crashing to the ground in a heap.
Just to keep things fair, Cassie jumped into the fray, slashing viciously with two small daggers. Gabriel was able to deflect her first five strokes with his sword, but the sixth snuck through and glanced off of his left bicep, producing a foot-long gash. Taking a moment to inspect the wound—it was not too deep, merely a flesh wound, as they say—Gabriel was unaware of Lucas, who had regained his feet, circling in behind him.
A sixth-sense alerted him to the attack. It came from both sides, with Cassie whipping her short swords around like batons and Lucas stabbing at him from the back. Just before Lucas’s sword would have impaled him, Gabriel ducked sharply and thrust his sword upwards with both hands, simultaneously blocking a two-sword attack from Cassie. Metal clanged on metal.
Next, Gabriel rolled to the side out of harm’s way, and then fired ten rounds of light orbs at each of his attackers. While both Cassie and Lucas were ready for the counterattack and easily blocked the balls of light with their weapons, the distraction gave Gabriel the opportunity to rush to David. When he tried to pick his brother up to fly him away, David squirmed free and swiped at Gabriel’s leg.
At first Gabriel didn’t understand what had happened. Why would his brother punch him in the leg? Then he felt the pain. Looking down, the white blood was already pooling at his feet. A black knife had been thrust into his thigh—a demon’s knife. David must have been hiding it up his sleeve or beneath his robe, he thought. Reaching down, Gabriel tried to wrench the sharp metal from his flesh, but it wouldn’t budge. Already he could feel the demon magic working its way through his blood.
A demon knife was an incapacitator, not a killer. Eventually, the demon poison would arrest his heart and brain, sending him into a coma-like trance that would sideline him for at least a week. So this was Dionysus’s plan: use his own brother against him to capture him. He felt violated, cheated.
He had five minutes—maybe ten if he could generate enough adrenaline to dilute the poison—before he would be weakened beyond recovery. He needed to make the most of it. Fight or flight? With his family at stake, he would surely fight.
Chapter Sixty
“Why don’t we just go in now?” Taylor asked anxiously. She was watching Gabriel speak to Dionysus. She was perched on a nearby cliff, using binoculars to get a clear view of the action. Kiren and Sampson were doing the same and were waiting for Chris’s signal to teleport in.
Chris said, “Because we need to ensure we have a clear picture of the situation. It’s my guess that Dionysus will have a few more tricks up his sleeve that he has not yet revealed.” They had already discussed the situation with the demon being tethered to the Knights. To deal with it, Chris would have to perform a pinpoint teleport—landing practically on top of the demon—and then teleport them all away while trying to kill or incapacitate the demon. It sounded impossible.
Taylor continued watching nervously. It was hard for her to stand by and watch while Gabriel stood alone against at least twenty angels. But she would try to trust Chris.
Soon enough, they found out his guess was right.
They watched as first Lucas and then Cassie and David made their appearance. “Damn, that’s Gabriel’s brother, David. I met him once. Why is he with that witch, Cassie?” Taylor wondered aloud. “What are they saying, Sampson?”
Sampson tilted his highly-sensitive ear towards the action and listened for a few minutes. “You don’t want to know, Taylor.”
“Tell me anyway.”
Grudgingly, Sampson said, “David is now Lucas’s apprentice. He believes Gabriel is a traitor and needs to be taken by the angels to be helped.”
“But that’s crazy, David adores Gabriel!”
“Not anymore. He’s been brainwashed.”
“Wait a minute, the fight’s starting!” Chris yelled.
“Teleport me,” Taylor insisted.
“Not yet, let’s wait and see what happens first. We only have one chance at using the element of surprise to our advantage. Let’s not waste it.”
Taylor pumped her fist a few times as Gabriel began winning the fight. When Cassie doubled up on him, she said again, “Chris, can we please go now?”
“Not yet,” he replied flatly.
They saw Gabriel perform a brilliant move to avoid a duel-attack and then watched in astonishment as he raced for David. “He’s going to rescue him!” Taylor yelled. And then: “What the—? What happened?”
Sampson, whose normal eyesight was even better than those who were using binoculars, said glumly, “David stabbed him. It was a demon knife.”
“Oh no,” Chris said.
“Dammit, Chris! Can we go NOW!” Taylor demanded.
“Yes, now is the time,” Chris confirmed. “Change of plans, guys. I will teleport Taylor and then leave her. She will distract everyone—I think we can be sure of that. Kiren—two minutes after I leave Taylor, you guys teleport into the midst of the Council and hit anyone you can. I will follow you and grab Gabriel’s family.”
“What about an escape plan?” Sampson asked urgently.
“We’ll probably have to play it by ear, but I will be gone already, so Kiren will have to be responsible for getting Gabriel and Taylor out, unless I can get back fast enough. Sampson, if you’re able to teleport out with them, do it, but if not, you’ll just have to fly back to the Lair like a bat out of hell. Let’s go!” Taylor was still processing everything he had said when Chris grabbed her hand. Faster than she could blink, they were gone.
Chapter Sixty-One
Gabriel lay on the ground, pretending to writhe in pain. Sure, it hurt, but not so much that he couldn’t stand up. In his peripheral vision he could see Lucas approaching—there was a cockiness in his stride. He probably thought that Gabriel would be in a coma soon, the battle already over.
But not to Gabriel. As he lay on the ground, he was desperately charging up his body for his final stand.
When Lucas got within a yard of him, Gabriel suddenly pointed both hands at him and fired off a single, massive light orb. Lucas raised his sword to try to block the attack, but the force was too powerful. His sword shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, spraying him with metal shrapnel. The orb crashed into his chest, launching him backwards fifty yards.
Using a karate-style leap to regain his feet, Gabriel turned his attention to Cassie, who was now crouched, her teeth bared. She hissed at him like an animal. He sprang at her, swinging his sword with reckless abandon, as if it were as light as a toothpick. After a dozen lightning-quick strokes, Gabriel had disarmed her and had the point of his sword pointed at her neck. “I wi
n,” he growled. “Give me my family.”
“Bravo! Bravo, Gabriel!” Dionysus said, clapping slowly as he passed through his line of guards. “I really didn’t think you had it in you. Unfortunately, I can’t satisfy your request. You see, the duel was just for my own amusement and you know as well as I do that I was never going to let your family go.”
Gabriel’s legs suddenly froze up and he nearly toppled over. Using his sword as a cane he was barely able to maintain his balance. Seizing the opportunity, Cassie rolled away and retrieved her weapons. Rapidly, she stuck one to his exposed neck. Gabriel could see the fury in her eyes—her animal instincts were likely urging her to finish him off.
“Stop!” a female voice yelled.
All eyes shifted to see who the newcomer was who would dare to interrupt them. Taylor approached boldly, her eyes forward, her chin held high. Her confidence was not an act. Her anger had emboldened her. Chris was already gone.
Dionysus’s lips curled into a smile. “Ahh, my dear. Welcome. I’d like to say it is a pleasure to see you, but considering you killed a hundred of my people the last time I saw you…Well, I guess that’s in the past, water under the bridge as they say. What brings you to our little gathering?”
“I have an offer to make you.”
“I’m listening.”
“Me…for Gabriel and his family.”
“Taylor, no!” Gabriel groaned. He was lying on the ground now, his body slowly succumbing to the poison that was working its way relentlessly through his bloodstream.
Ignoring the fallen angel, Dionysus gazed curiously at Taylor, as if he didn’t know what to make of her. “Hmm,” he mused, “an interesting proposition. But what’s to stop me from just grabbing you now and taking all of you?”
“Trust me, that won’t work. How do you think I got here? I can get out just as easily and quickly.” She maintained a safe enough distance that he had no choice but to believe her.
“I accept your offer,” Dionysus confirmed. “How will this work?”
“No, Taylor, don’t do this,” Gabriel croaked. His voice was becoming weaker.
“For starters, you can get the damn sword off of his neck,” Taylor said through clenched teeth. Ignoring the request, Cassie hissed at Taylor, like an animal protecting her kill.
“Now, now, Cassie. Do as she says.” Cassie looked up, surprised, but then obeyed her master. She backed away from Gabriel.
Taylor had been silently counting in her head ever since Chris had dropped her off. 110 seconds had elapsed; phase two would begin any second.
Trying to buy a little more time, she said firmly, “Okay, here’s how it’s gonna work. First, you cut that demon away from the Knights. Then, you bring them over here with Gabriel and back away from them. I will come over and hold your hand.” She motioned to Dionysus. “I’ve got a guy who will come in and retrieve the Knights and then you will have your prize.”
They couldn’t have possibly timed it any better. The moment that Taylor said prize, there was a scream of agony from Felix, one of the younger Archangels.
All eyes shifted to Felix, who fell to his knees, his face contorted in pain. The black tip of a fiery blade protruded slightly from his chest. When he dropped to the ground the attacker was revealed—it was Kiren. Deftly, she pulled the sword from her prey and swung it sharply at the next Archangel, Johanna.
Eyes blazing with anger, Johanna had already drawn her sword and easily deflected the blow. Just as the other Archangels, including Dionysus, moved to surround the lone demon warrior, the next surprise appeared. Sampson swooped in from directly above Dionysus, where he had been in a free fall. Just before teleporting behind Felix, Kiren had evidently teleported Sampson high in the air over the plateau. While she began the fight he was able to use gravity as an escort, while remaining undetected by those on the ground.
Immediately before impact, he spread his wings and careened into Dionysus, knocking him hard to the ground. Dionysus groaned, as the collision took its toll. Only surprised for a few moments, the Archangels quickly recovered and launched themselves into a full counterattack on the angel-demon pair. Only Dionysus was careful to keep an eye on Gabriel, who was pinned to the ground, and Taylor, who was speaking to him softly. No one except the lone demon guard was watching the Knights.
Chris appeared next to the demon guard with his sword already out, but he didn’t use it. Instead, he grabbed the surprised demon’s arm and teleported him, along with the Knights—who were tied to him—back to the Elders room, where a surprised group of demon Elders were conducting a meeting.
A gasp arose as the unexpected and strange group of visitors appeared. “What is the meaning of this?” Clifford barked.
Ignoring him, Chris aimed his sword in the direction of the demon’s arm and swung hard. Just in time, the demon used his other hand to grab Chris’s wrist and force the sword away from its intended mark. At the same time, the demon guard teleported them back to the Warrior’s Plateau.
Taylor was about to yell to Sampson and Kiren to tell them that Chris had escaped with the Knights, when she saw Gabriel’s family reappear in the exact same spot where they had been originally. This is not good, she thought, as she watched the battle continue. Sampson and Kiren were hopelessly outnumbered and the element of surprise was quickly fading.
Chris seemed to be locked in a wrestling match with the demon traitor, and she watched in awe as they disappeared again, only to reappear seconds later, still fighting. This happened several more times as each side tried to gain an advantage. They popped in and out of view like the light from a dying light bulb.
Chris had expected his opponent to try to teleport them back to the fight, but he had hoped to prevent it by cutting him free from the Knights. The demon’s quick reflexes were able to stop Chris’s first attempt, but with only one free hand—the other was tied to Helena Knight—Chris was slowly gaining an advantage. Each time one of them teleported the group of prisoners, Chris was able to slowly force the demon’s right hand down towards his side.
By about the fifth teleport, Chris was able to use just his left arm to subdue his opponent’s only free arm, freeing up his own right arm to go on the attack. When the demon attempted a last-ditch teleport to bring them back to the plateau one more time, Chris’s right arm flashed across his body and downwards, slashing his sword through the demon’s arm, severing it at the wrist.
The demon’s face exploded in agony, as torturing pain must have shot through the stump of an arm that remained. He fell to the ground, away from the Knights. Without hesitation, Chris grabbed Helena Knight and teleported her and her family back to the Lair for the last time.
When Taylor saw Chris separate the demon from the Knights and teleport them away, she yelled, “They’re out!” Her intention was to signal to Kiren and Sampson that it was time to make their escape, but Dionysus, who had been watching her carefully, was also alerted and looked back, finding that his bait had mysteriously disappeared. He sprang into action, rushing towards the helpless Gabriel.
Kiren and Sampson turned in the direction of Taylor’s voice, but it was too late. Dionysus had the tip of his sword under Gabriel’s chin. All semblance of his typical snide and sarcastic demeanor was gone and in its place was an expression of pure anger and hatred. His piercing eyes glared at Kiren and Sampson. “Your fun is over,” he declared. “One move and he’s dead. I am taking them both.”
While he spoke, the Archangels and their guards surrounded Kiren and Sampson, and moved to disarm them.
Seeing Dionysus one stroke away from killing Gabriel launched a flood of emotions through Taylor’s body. Fear of losing him, anger at the evil that stood before her, determination that she would not fail Gabriel: each emotion intermingled with the others until they became one emotion, one she had never felt before. The new emotion created new blood, which now flowed through her veins in a rush of warmth, like she had been hooked up to an IV that filled her with hot, rather than cold, liquid. The new blood
bred new cells in her skin and new marrow in her bones.
Dionysus watched as her body began to glow. The light became brighter and brighter until it was as bright as any angel. Even as the evening light was darkening into night, the plateau became as bright as if the sun remained high in the sky.
Taylor lifted off of the ground, seemingly defying gravity and her own human boundaries. She hovered for a few seconds, and then with a sharp tearing sound, two magnificent, white wings burst forth from her back and began to glow in unison with the rest of her body. Much like he had many years earlier, Taylor had evolved into something nonhuman; something that could only be described as an angel.
But something was different about her. While angels have an inner light that helps fuel their extraordinary powers, they rely on the power of external light to charge their inner light. Taylor seemed to radiate power from within her, without any assistance from the outside world. In essence, she was her own power source.
Dionysus recognized something in her face, in her glowing frame. Sensing danger, he cowered behind Gabriel’s slumped body.
Initially, Taylor was concerned when she felt her body heating up again, but soon she was overcome by the beautiful tingling sensation. It felt right. Instinct told her that she was about to find her true place in the world. She smiled. Even when wings sprouted from her back, she smiled. She knew what she had to do.
“Get out of here!” she yelled. Before the angels knew what was happening, Kiren, who was in the midst of a circle of angels, teleported to Sampson, and then, quicker than the blink of an eye, teleported them both away. With Chris and the Knights also gone, only Taylor and Gabriel remained. Just a couple of roses amongst the thorns, Taylor thought. She was still smiling.