Evenstar

by Darcy Town

  Tracy nodded numbly and made no move to get away.

  Tokala touched Belial’s legs and closed his eyes to aid in her healing process. A boom made him look back at the scene beneath the shield. Furcas floated above the ground, surrounded by light and halos, he held Michael’s spear at bay. Furcas stood between the Archangel and Dahlia. His face bore a grim determination. Furcas watched the Archangel’s every movement. Michael raised the spear and swung; the blade tore through Furcas like paper.

  Tokala cringed, looked away, and concentrated on Belial. An iron knife plunged into his upper back. Tokala spun around gasping. A lone human Solomon Soldier stood behind him, grinning even as he bled to death from other wounds.

  Jacob knocked the man to the ground. He punched him out of fear until the man stopped moving.

  Tokala’s limbs went numb and lost mobility. “Knife…out…get it out.”

  Jacob pulled the knife out of Tokala’s back and tossed it away.

  Tokala blinked as his vision blurred. Iron poisoned his blood. Slow cold ooze filled his body, pulling him into dreams. He coughed and slumped down next to Belial. Tokala looked up one last time as his world went dark.

  ***

  Helion saw Belial smash through the house. He felt Whitney’s pain from where Uriel had flung her like trash beneath the shield. He looked between the two, Belial his injured twin sister and Whitney his wounded lover. Helion did not know what to do. Everything was going wrong. He looked at Belial and guilt consumed him.

  Paimon shouted in the background, his howls drowning out the sound nearby. Helion covered his ears. Everything felt like the war again, confusing, bloody, pure anarchy. A low whine escaped his lips. He looked to Whitney and whispered, “I am sorry.” He ran for Belial.

  Andy tackled him. “Where are you going?”

  “Belial!”

  Andy saw Belial over Helion’s shoulder. His eyes took in her ruined legs and face, gouges running up and down her body. Andy wanted to scream, to run to her, but he could not. He tore his gaze away. “She will heal on her own. We need inside that net!”

  Helion reluctantly looked back at the dome. “How?”

  Andy pulled Helion to his feet. “You’re still an angel. You’re not one of the Fallen. You can get in. Just get me in there too!”

  “But how?”

  Andy jumped on the guardian angel’s back and wrapped his legs around Helion’s waist. “Fly! Get me as close to Dahlia as you can!”

  Helion spread his wings, trusting Andy. He leapt into the air. He gained altitude and held on to Andy’s legs. “Hang on please.” He folded his wings and dropped like a rock. The pair breached the net. Andy screamed as the shield pushed at him, but Helion kept his grip firm and got them through. The pair rammed into Michael.

  Helion latched on to Michael’s head. The Archangel screamed in frustration and anger, the angel in the way of him and his goal of finally killing Lucifer. Michael bucked.

  Helion’s vision shifted with each movement. Through the shaking, he saw Whitney upright and mobile. He managed a smile. Pain like fire ripped through his stomach as Michael tore at him with his hands.

  Helion drove his thumbs into Michael’s eyes. He opened his wings to confuse the Archangel. He pumped them, making Michael lose his footing.

  Andy took his chance to jump. He hit the ground and swept Dahlia into his arms in one motion. He could no longer resist the pull of the net; he was thrown out of it and beyond Helion’s sight.

  Lucifer watched Dahlia go. A smile briefly passed his lips as she escaped to safety. The smile turned to a grimace. He doubled over in agony. His spear wound burned and ate away at his flesh, though Dahlia’s healing had slowed the decay. Whitney grabbed his arm and pulled him across the grass in painful jerks. Lucifer fought the urge to howl.

  Helion tore at the pendant around Michael’s neck.

  Michael caught hold of Helion’s broken wing and flipped him to the ground. Helion felt the bones in his wing break, the pain barely registered. Michael put a foot to Helion’s back and pressed him to the earth.

  Helion shuddered; he knew what was to come.

  Lucifer covered Whitney’s ears and made her look away. He met Helion’s gaze. “You will survive it.”

  Michael twisted and tore, ripping Helion’s left wing from his back.

  Helion wailed.

  ***

  On the grass, Belial’s eyes shot open. “No! No!” She crawled across the grass, her legs still down to the bone. Her eyes fixed on her twin brother. She reached out to the blurry figure beyond, his cries driving thoughts of her own pain aside. “Helion, you’ll be okay! Helion, it will be all right. I’ll help you.” She coughed up blood. “Helion!” Weakness overcame her and she fell unconscious.

  ***

  Michael threw Helion’s wing in front of the angel’s face so that he could see the bloody and broken feathers. Helion could not think or breathe. There was only pain. He heard Belial and fell to his side crying, reaching for the wing and sister he had lost.

  Michael stomped on Helion’s hand, breaking his fingers. “She will be next, believe me.”

  Helion cried in frustration.

  Michael leaned down and grabbed Helion’s hair. He put his lips to his ear. “Uriel has many things planned for your sister, just like last time.”

  Red light erupted at the side of the shield. Uriel was thrown onto the grass. Paimon pounced on him and pounded on his face with glowing red fists.

  Michael stepped away from Helion. “How did he get in? What is going on?”

  Paimon ignored Michael’s questions and smashed Uriel’s nose into pulp. “Motherfucker! I notice you’re not smiling anymore, Uriel!” Uriel’s face looked concave beneath the blows. A blood spattered Paimon hefted Uriel’s deadweight over his head. He smiled and threw Uriel into Michael, knocking both Archangels to the ground.

  Lucifer took his chance. He crawled to Helion, ignoring the pain in his chest. He covered Helion’s mouth and whispered in his ear, “Whitney needs you, you are her guardian angel. Do your duty despite your pain. Retreat and follow Andrealphus.”

  Helion’s pupils were pinpoints. With Lucifer’s help, he managed to stand. His remaining wing flapped feebly, blood from the stump of the other painted his back red.

  Whitney ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Helion picked her up and dashed out of the net. He sprinted in the direction that Andy had taken off from. His steps were uneven, half flight half jumps. Pain blinded him. He knew nothing but agony. He babbled. Tears ran down his face, and he was unaware of what he said, “Retreat, find Andy. Find Andy and Dahlia. Find. Retreat.”

  Whitney clung to his neck, unable to stop his pain or offer any solace.

  ***

  Michael threw Uriel off him and roared.

  Paimon screamed in response and leapt onto both of them. Michael could not see through the blood red glow that engulfed Paimon, and his blows were easily dodged. Paimon’s were not.

  Paimon grabbed Michael by his hair and lifted him off his feet. He shook him like a rag doll and slammed him back into the ground. Paimon broke Michael’s arms and sat on his chest. He unwrapped Dahlia’s pendant from around his fist and held it in front of Michael’s face. He looked Michael in the eye. “Tell my brother hello.”

  Paimon stuffed Dahlia’s pendant in his mouth and bit down. The unspent energy inside was released in a split second burst. Pillars of red light and fire erupted from the spot. Ladriam’s energy overpowered that of Heaven and tore the net asunder. The force launched Paimon into the air. The pendants the Archangels possessed dissolved, rendering them vulnerable. Uriel and Michael flickered into the physical realm. Their bodies took on flesh. They stumbled and crawled away from the fire.

  Above them Paimon laughed and called down, “No longer very strong without your trinkets are you?!”

  Uriel unfurled his wings and took off. Michael grabbed the spear and followed after him. The Archangels flew for space. They raced against the growing
ache in their bodies as they passed into mortal flesh. Their pores bled, throbbing waves of pain and nausea overwhelmed their senses.

  Paimon watched them go and launched red fireballs after them, conflagrations that burnt their skin and wings. The Archangels crossed into space, past Ladriam’s shield, and disappeared back into the ethers of Heaven.

  Paimon’s light went out and he plummeted towards the earth. Berith caught him and set him on his feet. Paimon shook himself off. He spit out the remaining pieces of Dahlia’s pendant. “See you in the City.” He pushed away from Berith and ran to Furcas.

  Berith and Apple picked Lucifer up from where he lay on the ground. Lucifer kept in a scream, the wound in his abdomen excruciating. His vision blurred. Lucifer gasped. “Follow Andy, now.”

  Berith shook his head. “You need to get to the City, you need a healer.”

  Lucifer ignored the obvious. “She does not have an escort. They will not make it.”

  Berith grunted. “Andy will find a way. You need a healer now. You will die from the spear wound. We must stick to the plan.”

  Lucifer grabbed Berith’s shirt. “I do not care about the plan any longer! Follow Andy now!”

  “No. We go west.”

  “No!” Lucifer struggled. Apple wrapped cloth around his face to muzzle him. Berith repositioned Lucifer in his arms.

  Lucifer threw punches.

  Berith smacked Lucifer in the head until he passed out. Apple drew an arrow and took point, wary. The pair took off towards the west, heading into the woods and leaving the grounds behind.

  ***

  The grass was full of moaning and dying men and women, but in one spot, there was silence. Paimon dropped to his knees near Furcas’ body. He touched Furcas’ torn and bleeding cheek and looked away. Paimon left him on the ground and hunted for his body parts, stuffing them in his coat pockets as he went.

  Paimon concentrated on the task, unwilling and unable to think rationally about the state Furcas was in. He reached Furcas’ dismembered forearm and broke into disabling sobs. He crawled back to Furcas and held him to his chest.

  ***

  Belial and Tokala’s bodies were hidden behind the remains of lawn furniture and human corpses. The three humans with them rocked in terror, not understanding what had just happened. They blindly followed their last order to stay with Belial. They waited in a silent vigil.

  ***

  Tuesday

  Andy collapsed hundreds of miles north of the Canadian border. The pair hit the ground and rolled, coming to a stop some feet apart. Dahlia gasped and held her side, a rib bruised. Andy crawled across the ground to her. “Sorry about the fall.”

  She nodded, in too much shock to do anything else. She let him hold her. She stared at the grass and trees around them; they were in the middle of nowhere as far as she could tell. No sounds of cars reached her ears. No power lines stretched overhead; it was pure wilderness. Minutes passed in the silence and dark before she felt the wind again, regained her senses, and experienced the pain of wear and tear in her limbs.

  She shifted to look at Andy. “Are you okay?

  “I will be.” He moved and winced. “My muscles didn’t have time to heal from the fire before we went off on this mad dash, so I’m a bit out of it right now.”

  Dahlia hugged him and pressed her face into his overlarge shirt. “Andrealphus?”

  “You can still call me Andy.”

  “Andy, do you…will you know if they’re okay?”

  He shook his head and squeezed her. “No, but we’re a resilient bunch. They will be fine. We’re always fine in the end you know.”

  She sniffled. “No, I don’t know. You guys never explained anything about yourselves.”

  He managed a smile. “Well, this will give us a nice chance to talk because I won’t be able to move for an hour and five minutes.”

  “You have it down to that exact?”

  “When you’ve had millennia to be injured and heal, you know exactly how long it takes.” He adjusted his position on the ground. “Fallen heal much faster than humans, but I think we feel the pain of injuries more too, we tend to feel everything more than humans and Lilliam do.”

  “So all of you can heal?”

  “Yep.”

  Dread crept upon her. “Then why aren’t the others here?”

  Andy stroked her hair. “We had a plan to split up if the shit hits the fan, like it did.”

  “Why?”

  “So the Archangels have to divide their attention. They cannot track all of us.”

  “But the others can run and get away too? They’re miles away from there by now right?”

  “Yes, but going as fast as we did is my thing.”

  Dahlia rubbed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “After the war, we came here. We got different talents.”

  “What kind of talents?”

  “Berith can manipulate stone and metal. Furcas is the same when it comes to electronics. Paimon and Furcas can change shape at will, the rest of us can’t do that. It’s kind of complicated.”

  Dahlia managed a smile. “Patience and Faith.”

  “Don’t forget your uncle.”

  “Paimon’s my uncle too?” Dahlia took in his expression. “Uncle Pai.” She made a face. “Oh, Paimon, Pai, yeah I get it. I swear to G—I swear to someone that they’re going to get beat on. Who else were they?”

  Andy smiled. “They mentioned something about being your prom date and Driver’s Ed instructor too.”

  Dahlia sighed. “If I find out that every person I was ever close to was those two in disguise, I am going to have a mental breakdown. Are they always jerks?”

  He laughed and regretted it. “Pretty much, that’s them.” He rolled to his back and let her use his shoulder like a pillow. Andy rubbed her arm. “They’ll be okay.”

  Dahlia sniffled. “Sure.”

  Andy smiled and squeezed her gently. “My birthday present would have been perfect for right now.”

  “Oh yeah? Why?”

  “It was camping stuff. Self-serving really since I love camping. It was top of the line equipment too.”

  She laughed. “Well, it’s the thought that counts.”

  They stared at the sky together. Andy lowered his voice, “You made all of that and this.” He touched the ground.

  Dahlia snorted. “Bullshit.”

  “No way, totally true, scouts honor. I watched it happen.”

  “If I created the universe how could you have watched it? Where were you?”

  He smiled. “In Heaven, though we didn’t know it as Heaven then.”

  She looked at him funny. “How could you not know what it was called? I thought you said you were an angel once?”

  “No, I was an Archangel.” He smiled. “It wasn’t until we learned of Hell that any division between Heaven and Hell was created. We thought we were whole and alone until you came.”

  Dahlia frowned. “But Lucifer said Hell didn’t exist.”

  Andy shrugged. “True, the Hell that you’re thinking of does not exist. The real Hell, well, think of it as Shangri-La, the Promised Land, give it what name you will, it’s a faith thing.” Andy laughed and winced. “Heaven and Hell are…” he struggled for the words. “Their own realms I suppose you could call them. States of being different from one another and complete on their own, yet not complete in light of the other.”

  Dahlia rolled up on one arm. “Andy, what the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Venn diagram time!” He moved to his stomach slowly and drew two circles that mostly overlapped. “Heaven and Hell on the outside.” He pointed towards the large overlapping spot. “That’s us right now in the middle ground; it’s the universe as you know it.

  “The two circles used to be completely separate, in theory anyways. Like I said we didn’t even know about the other realm. And really none of us has proof that Hell even exists; it’s just guesswork on our part. You should ask Paimon to try and explain i
t sometime, but only if you want a headache.” He smiled. “The only one who knows for sure is Lucifer, and he never talks about it, ever, so he could know something that we don’t, but maybe not. You see there are some blank spots in our memories and—”

  Dahlia put her hand on his mouth. “You’re confusing me big time. Give me an explanation in a sentence.”

  “Lucifer and you created the universe by making your respective realms, Heaven and Hell, overlap.”

  “I have a realm?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sure.” She stared at the sky and thought about it. “Why did Michael call me Ladriam?”

  “That was your name…it’s really complicated.” He took in her expression. “Look, you’re not going to get it until you get your memories back. So no more talk of that hard stuff, ask me something practical or silly or something.”

  Dahlia was too tired to disagree. She thought of a question. “Do you have to eat or do you just like to eat?”

  Andy smiled. “Just like to.”

  “So, you guys don’t age?”

  “Nope.”

  “What’s the biggest difference between you and the not fallen angels?”

  He stared at the sky. “We’re nice and they’re evil douche bags.” He laughed and winced. “In all seriousness there are two differences. One, we’re no longer tethered to Him, the almighty. Our minds and our bodies are our own. We can disobey or agree at our will, not His will, that’s the biggest piece.”

  “You disobey therefore you’re Fallen?”

  “Eh, sort of. Our bodies changed a bit too. Losing our wings was like going through puberty, it affected each of us differently, some of us got sick for a while, and others were fine. Visibly though the only difference is the wings.” He patted his shoulder. “They aren’t there just to be pretty. The more wings you have, the more power you can access. So when we lost our wings we lost access to the ethereal realm and all of the powers we had there.”

  “You seem to be fine though.”

  “We are, thanks to you.” He poked her. “With only one realm, we would have been fucked, probably dead and gone after the Fall. But when we were thrown out of Heaven, we had someplace to escape to that wasn’t entirely ethereal.”