“Of course, he has. Who wouldn’t want to break out of prison, even one of their own making? Once he plunges the world into darkness, he’ll try to escape again with no care for the rest of us who will suffer and die.”
“How do we stop him?” Chase asked.
It was Anderson who spoke first. She turned to Chase. “Father Brown said, ‘The ritual of invocation is forbidden knowledge; the sacrifice is too great.’”
“Right, but what’s that got to do with anything?”
She said, “I’ve been thinking about how Father Brown and Father Norton expelled Shamsiel from my great-grandmother, and banished him back to the Abyss.”
Chase frowned. “You think we might be able to banish Abaddon to the Abyss?”
“How?” Yates asked. “You think the ritual they used to summon Abaddon is the same as the one to banish him?”
“No,” Anderson said. “But maybe we can use the ritual to summon someone who can.”
Yates had given me the Book of Enoch to read. In it, not even the great flood could stop the Grigori. In the end, it had taken something even more powerful to end the threat of the Grigori and cast the fallen angels into the Abyss.
She said, “We are in St. Michael’s Basilica.”
“You think we should try to summon the Archangel Michael?” I asked. “Can we do that?”
Anderson nodded. “I think Father Norton and Father Brown summoned the archangel all those decades ago; that’s how they ‘cured’ my great-grandmother.” She glanced at Yates. “Archangels are supposed to be much more powerful than any other angel.”
The hacker nodded. “We could try to use the same ritual Father Putnam used to summon Abaddon, only this time, we summon Michael. He can banish the angel of darkness.”
Anderson spoke in a harsh whisper. “And maybe get rid of the angels inside us, too.”
“I can’t believe that,” Chase said.
“Believe what?” Yates asked. “Of course the archangel would have that power.”
Chase shook his head. “Not that.” He took a breath. “About the summoning: Fallen angels are evil; Abaddon is evil. I get that they need a blood sacrifice to be brought forth. However, I can’t believe that an archangel would also require a blood sacrifice. Father Brown’s words were ‘the sacrifice is too great’. Did they have to sacrifice Father Norton?”
Yates blanched at the thought.
Anderson said, “According to what I learned in Arizona, no, Father Norton wasn’t killed; his death was ruled a heart attack.” She shook her head. “I don’t think a blood sacrifice is what Father Brown meant.”
I hefted my shoulders. “I guess there’s only one way to find out. Try to perform the ritual.”
One at a time, everyone began to look at one another, hoping someone would know what to do.
Finally, I said, “I don’t remember the Aramaic words, but I remember the English version. I guess I could recite them.”
Riley asked, “Don’t we need a priest for that?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. Something Father Putnam said when we were talking about binding the fallen angels came to me: that absolute faith was really the only thing that was needed. Watchers were evil, and couldn’t perform holy rituals themselves; they needed someone with conviction of spirit to do it for them.
“I say we give it a try,” I said, approaching the altar once more.
“Wait,” said Yates. “You mean to summon him into yourself?”
According to Tomko, I had the genetic trait, same as Anderson, Riley, Chase, and Rogers. I didn’t know if Yates was of the bloodline, but I didn’t think so. At this point, I was the only option.
I nodded. “I don’t see anyone else who’s eligible.” I reached out and placed my hand over the relic of St. Michael embedded in the stone … and hesitated.
I had no idea what—if anything—would happen. What if a sacrifice was needed? I didn’t think I could go through with that. If the ritual worked, what would it feel like to have an archangel possess me?
I couldn’t open my mouth to speak. I didn’t want to be taken over like Alders had been, and I didn’t want to have an entity riding around my subconscious as with the others. I struggled to think of any other way to stop Abaddon. Outside the basilica, the moon had been completely consumed by dark clouds. There wasn’t even a hint of illumination other than from Anderson’s flame.
Taking a breath to steady myself, I recited the words Father Putnam had used, altering only the subject of the prayer.
“Michael, archangel of justice, I bid thee come forth from Heaven, take this host whom we offer for your use. I entreat thee to cross over and become of the earth to slay our enemies.”
Nothing happened. Maybe a blood sacrifice was needed? I didn’t think I could do that.
I looked up and held Anderson’s eyes. Slowly, I shook my head—
Before I could complete the action, I felt a sharp pinching deep in my bowels, as if someone had stuck me with a pitchfork and was twisting it around.
The pain was fierce, but it was nothing compared to the overwhelming feeling that came over me next.
It was as if every molecule in my body separated at once. My entire being was unmade; my humanity crushed.
I was rebuilt a second later, and the pain vanished.
It was replaced by an unbearably wonderful euphoria unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.
I knew the exact moment when my essence was filled with another spirit. There was so much to it, I didn’t think it could fit; I felt like a balloon blown up to the very limit of its capacity.
The Archangel Michael was in me.
No … the archangel was me. I was the archangel.
Chapter Thirty-Two
And now as to the watchers who have sent thee to intercede for them, who had been aforetime in heaven, say to them: “You have been in heaven, but all the mysteries had not yet been revealed to you, and you knew worthless ones, and these in the hardness of your hearts you have made known to the women, and through these mysteries women and men work much evil on earth.”
–Book of Enoch 16:2-3
Yates stared at me.
“Did it work?” he asked.
It was Rogers who answered the question. Her eyes were wide, a mix of fear and awe in them. “Yes. The archangel is in him. Or—” she started to say, squinting. “There’s something different about this. It’s not like what’s happened to any of us.”
“Frank,” Anderson asked. “Is it you, or is it … Michael?”
“Yes,” I answered. “It’s both of us. We’re the archangel.”
“That’s great,” Riley said. “Now what?”
I blinked at him. The truth was, I had no idea what I could do now that I was imbued with the spirit of the Archangel Michael.
Yates said, “Well, whatever you have to do, you’d better do it quickly.” He had his cell phone out and was tapping on the screen. “There are reports of blackouts all over south Brooklyn. It has to be Abaddon. He’s shutting down the power grids one at a time. Backup generators in the affected areas aren’t working. If he shuts down electricity to a hospital or something…”
“Come on,” Darcy said. “We have to track him down.”
She held her arm up, and fire sprouted from it.
The lights in the basilica had not come back on their own. Whatever Abaddon had done, it seemed permanent.
When we got outside, I looked up and realized that it wasn’t clouds blocking out the moon. It was something else.
“What is that?” Chase asked.
A film of darkness was growing larger in the sky. A hint of moonlight shone around the edges of the void like a halo.
Yates shook his head. “It’s got to be Abaddon. It’s like I thought; he’s recreating the Abyss here on Earth.”
“And he just escaped from the Abyss.” Rogers said, curling her lips. “That’s some powerful kind of stupid right there.”
Shrugging, Yates said, “He probabl
y can’t help it. That’s what he does.”
Chase said, “It’s growing; it looks like it could encompass the entire world. If that blocks out the sun…”
He didn’t need to say what the result would be. Humanity would not survive long without the sun.
“Heads up,” Rogers said, her voice sharp.
Before Anderson could ask, “What is it?” a bolt of electricity hit her from the side.
I spun around. The two Watchers—William and Eric—were at the other end of the property. I don’t think they’d been waiting to ambush us—probably, they couldn’t find their way in the dark. The moment Eric got off his shot, the two of them ran in the opposite direction.
An instant later, they disappeared from sight, not because they were that fast, but because Anderson’s fire went out. The darkness fell on us like a blanket on a cage.
“Darcy, are you all right?” Riley asked. I could hear his voice, but I couldn’t tell exactly where he, or any of the others, were.
Anderson replied with a grunt, and I heard some rustling.
A moment later, Chase said, “I got her.”
“I think I bit my lip,” Anderson said shortly. Flame shot up from her hand as she got to her feet with Chase’s help. “So that’s what it feels like to be struck by lightning. Don’t much care for it.”
Chase looked around. “Where’s Serena?”
I spotted a silhouette moving in the direction of the two Watchers, and pointed. “There! She’s going after them.”
Immediately, we all broke into a run, following her.
We didn’t have far to go, which was good, because I felt like I was running through molasses. I knew I was out of shape, and I’d been putting my body through a lot the past two days, but by the time we caught up with Rogers, it took everything in me not to collapse on the ground.
Just on the other side of a line of trees, Rogers had the two Watchers effectively captured in a bubble of water. Nearby, a fire hydrant was knocked over, the water spraying everywhere.
Eric couldn’t fire a bolt of electricity without frying his partner—or, if he wasn’t immune to his own power, himself.
While Anderson and the others neared Rogers, I instinctively kept walking toward the Watchers. I could feel the sweat pouring down my face, but that didn’t stop me.
I raised both my hands up in front of me. I had no idea what words were needed, but in a commanding voice, I spoke the first words that came to me.
“By the grace of Heaven, I renounce you, evil spirits! I command you to return to the Abyss!”
Both Eric and William stared at me as if I were a lunatic.
I stopped walking when I reached the edge of the watery prison. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, but I knew something was missing. Or, rather, there was too much in the way.
Slowly, I looked over at Rogers. “I think you need to release them.”
“What?” Rogers asked.
“The water—your power—is interfering. I think I need to confront them directly.”
Anderson said in warning, “Drop the trap and they’ll run.”
“Then we’ll have to make sure they can’t,” Riley said, and flew overtop the Watchers. Chase and Anderson spread out so that they were surrounded on all sides. Yates hung back just at the edge of the light that was cast from Anderson’s fire.
Rogers said, “If you two try anything … well, trust me, you won’t like it.”
“Surrender,” Anderson said, “and we won’t harm you. You don’t have any other choice.”
Eric and William glanced at each other, both looking nervous and uncertain. Finally, Eric put his hands up and got on his knees. Williams followed suit a moment later.
Rogers drew the water away from them, sending it splashing across the field.
Without anything standing between me and the Watchers, I held my hands out and recited the same words as before.
“By the grace of Heaven, I renounce you, evil spirits! I command you to return to the Abyss!”
This time, I placed a hand on each of the Watchers’ foreheads. The power of the Archangel Michael flowed through me.
The moment I touched the men, the fallen angels within them let out a psychic shriek as my power banished them from the world, casting them back into the Abyss.
Eric and William collapsed.
Chase raced over and checked them. “Just passed out,” he said. “They’re breathing.”
Rogers said, “And they’re fully human once more. There’s no sign of the fallen angels in them. I’d have to do a scrying to be sure, but I do believe they are no longer in the world.”
Riley descended beside me and was about to clap me on the shoulder, but stopped before touching me. Instead, he said, “Good job.”
Anderson said, “It won’t be this easy confronting Abaddon.”
I remembered how easily the angel of darkness had been able to destroy the hosts of Sariel and Tomko.
Yates said, “If you can get close enough to touch Abaddon, he’ll be close enough to kill you.”
Rogers pursed her lips. “Then we’ll just have to knock him out first or something.”
“Don’t forget,” Yates said, “he’s immune to the powers of fallen angels.”
Riley folded his arms over his chest. “Maybe, but is he immune from the side-effects of our powers?” He looked at each one of us. “We might have a chance … if we’re careful.”
* * *
Lying in the growing pond of water created by the broken fire hydrant, Rogers fell into a trance that lasted a little over half a minute. When she got back up—her clothes somehow miraculously dry—she announced that Abaddon was heading southwest, toward Coney Island. He was only a mile away.
The six of us hurried back to the parking lot and got in the rented vehicle. Though I was crammed in the back with Rogers and Anderson, I was thankful to be able to sit down and take a break. It felt like I’d just done a full day of manual labor.
Chase, in the driver’s seat, turned the key in the ignition. The car started, but the headlights wouldn’t come on. The illumination from Anderson’s flame in the vehicle did not extend beyond the windows. Unless she got out of the car and sat on the hood, we’d be driving blind.
“Must be Abaddon,” Yates guessed. He showed us his cell phone. “I lost signal a few minutes ago, and now the backlight won’t even come on. The longer the angel of darkness is in this world, the greater his influence.”
“We walk,” Chase said, and I stifled a groan at the thought.
Once we were back out of the vehicle, Anderson enlarged the size of her fire, and the area of illumination increased to a few hundred feet. No other cars were running, as far as I could see.
I was sure the others could have made the journey faster without me. I tried to jog when we first started out, but that only lasted a minute before my lungs began to scream and my heart felt like it was going to burst from of my chest.
We settled into a more sensible pace, and I kept my complaints to myself.
As it turned out, we didn’t have to rush. When we got to Luna Park, I knew Abaddon was there.
All the rides were dark. There were people milling about, some of them huddled together in fear.
When they saw the light from Anderson’s fire, a few people came closer to us, but then, seeing that she didn’t carry a torch—that she was the torch—they cried out and retreated from her.
The park gate was open, and we entered.
For the first time, I felt that electric tingle as we came within range of Abaddon.
Of course, Abaddon became aware of us at the same time, not just because of the fact that all of us except Yates hosted angels, but because the illumination from Anderson’s flame had caught his notice.
At the edge of the light, Abaddon turned in our direction. In Alders’ voice, the angel of darkness screamed in outrage. Before any of us could react, a dark blur, like a giant torpedo, shot toward us—I realized at the last moment that the
target was Anderson, and her light.
Riley yelled even as he launched himself off the ground, tackling Anderson in mid-air and knocking her out of the way as the missile of darkness flew past them.
Anderson put out her fire, and we were all cast into pitch dark. I experienced a moment of panic.
Yates and Rogers called out, and I heard people screams in the distance.
There was no way to tell if Abaddon was going to shoot at us again. I figured he wouldn’t have any problems locating us in the dark—it was his domain.
Chase’s voice broke through the chatter. “Darcy, Richard, I have an idea.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Say to them therefore: “You have no peace.”
–Book of Enoch 16:4
It only took me a moment to catch on to what Chase’s idea was. Abaddon hated the light. It enraged him. If Anderson could distract him long enough for me to sneak up behind him…
In the dark, we worked out the plan with a few quick words.
“Ready?” Chase asked everyone.
We were.
My newfound ability to detect angels, that tingling sensation in the back of my mind, told me that Abaddon had continued on his way down the road, heading for the boardwalk. Something had attracted him; perhaps the lighthouse across the water.
“Now,” Chase said.
The light that sprung from Anderson’s outstretched arms was blinding. That didn’t stop Riley from wrapping his arms around her and launching the two of them into the air. He flew directly at Abaddon.
Chase and Rogers broke into a jog, following, while Yates and I hurried after as best we could.
Snarling, Abaddon turned and shot another bolt of darkness at Anderson, but Riley pitched to one side, dodging the attack. He continued to fly past Abaddon, past the beach, and then out over the lower bay before banking east, then coming around for another pass.
All the while, Abaddon gathered his power and shot bolts of darkness at them. He followed them to the beach, and only stopped a few feet shy of the water.
By the time I got to the boardwalk, Chase and Rogers were halfway down the beach. With a two-handed gesture, Rogers caused the water to rise into a narrow tidal wave and crash down on Abaddon.
The Complete Book Of Fallen Angels Page 101