“We can find another way,” I assure him, my voice high and frightened.
His grip becomes painfully tight. “There is no other way.”
“Xion!” Brion is after us.
Behind him, I see Zakiel and Cas, followed by what must be a hundred flying demons. They don’t keep space between them when they fly. Most of the demons are small, with tiny wings and sharp tails. But some have larger wings and look more human.
We clear the top of the waterfall, and I’m surprised to see a large plateau of white daisies. All of it would be beautiful, except it’s Hell. And I’m terrified that in a few moments, those white daisies will be turning red with the blood of three angels.
Xion lands on a huge boulder at the far end of the field, setting me down beside him. His brown-eyed gaze pierces mine. “My mother…she was the last One.”
“I know,” I tell him.
His jaw drops.
“I figured it out when your father said you were born in Hell.”
“Then you know that she saved us. She chose Hell, and her sacrifice raised the vibration and helped all of us stay closer to the light for the past thousand years.”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Why is this choice so hard? If I choose Heaven, the portals will close and thousands of souls in Hell will perish. But if I choose Hell, the angels will have to fight a lot more demons, and more humans will be in peril.
Why do I feel like whatever side I choose is the wrong one?
I just want to love Brion.
I don’t want to be The One! I don’t want to make the choice!
“Please, Gillian.” Xion brushes a lock of hair back from my face, and I feel myself getting lost. “Please consider me. I would be a good mate.”
“I—I want to help. But I’m in love with Brion.”
His eyes flash with pain. He shakes his head and his shoulders drop for a moment. “Then I have no choice.” He draws his dagger again. “We fight!”
My angel lands in the field before us. Zak and Cas land behind him, the demons staying behind them in the air.
I love him. I love his gentleness, his thoughtfulness. We need each other.
“No,” I beg, grabbing him. “Please, Xion. I don’t want you to die!”
“It isn’t me that will die, princess,” he growls and shakes me off. His eyes begin to glow red and his horns and wings grow larger. “I am the prince of this domain. The power of Hell flows through my veins. If I can’t win you by love, I will win you by might.”
He beats his wings and rises into the air with one powerful stroke. He seems to dwarf Brion, as if the power of Hell really does make him expand.
“Even if you kill him, I won’t choose you!” I shout up at Xion.
“Really?” he growls. “With the angel out of the way, you’re telling me you still won’t choose me to save all the souls of my people?”
“Never!”
He throws back his head and laughs—a deep, demonic rumble that sends shivers of fear down my spine. “It’s funny that I—the prince of lies—knows the truth when you don’t. You’re too pure of heart, Gillian. I know you won’t let all my people die. That’s why you’re The One.” He gestures at Brion with his dagger. “And when that angel is gone, you’ll be mine!”
My heart sinks. Xion will never let me go.
The worst part is that I understand. He’s fighting for his people. I would probably do the same in his place.
I finger the box in my pocket. Since my birthday isn’t till tomorrow, it’s my only chance to end this. But as much as I want to open it, I don’t think all hope is lost. Yet.
2
Brion
I can’t believe Michael left us. That son of a bitch is going to get what he deserves. Right after I kick Xion’s ass. Yeah. Right after that.
Xion and Gillian have set down on a large, flat boulder at the far end of a field full of daisies. Behind them, even higher mountains reach toward the sky.
I land on the ground in front of them and look up.
They speak in low voices to each other, and he almost seems to be… asking. I won’t go as far as pleading. But he does seem to be asking her to make a choice.
Her answer is obvious because his shoulders slump for a moment. But then he changes. He grows larger…more demonic. Anger and hate is permeating from his skin, almost creating a fog around us.
And I thought he was frightening before.
“Do you really want an unwilling bride?” I yell up him, using my Angelic voice for full power.
His red eyes burn with hatred as he turns to me. “Maybe she won’t be as unwilling as you think—once you’re gone.”
“You can’t force someone to love you.”
He sneers. “You and Gillian are so naive. You almost deserve each other.”
“Do we?” Gillian breaks in. “Why don’t you let us go then? We won’t bother you again.”
“Nice try. But I think not.”
I hear the thunder of a thousand beating wings and look to the left. A black cloud of demons is approaching, blotting out the sun behind them.
Gillian looks terrified, and finally her thoughts break through to me. Do you have a backup plan? Because I don’t think a war is the best solution, especially if there are only three of you!
Yes, Uriel is gathering the other angels. They should be here soon.
Soon?! She practically screams into my mind. You might not last until then. Let me talk to him. He might let us go.
The black cloud reaches us, and the sun goes dark. I can tell Gillian is almost out of her mind with fear.
My heart sinks into my stomach at their sheer number. “Why do all the demons in Hell have wings?” I shout up at Xion angrily. How in the hell are we going to fight them all when they can fly? We can barely take them on the ground. And why don’t they tell us upstairs?
“Only you assholes get to fly on Earth, but down here, we all have that pleasure.” Xion stretches his great wings and takes off, hovering above us. “Sure you won’t reconsider? It would be a shame to bloody up these daisies.”
I look between Xion, the army of flying demons, Gillian, Zak, and Cas.
The three of us will never win. We’re going to die.
I look at Gillian. So good. So beautiful. If we don’t fight for her, she could be trapped down here forever. But if we do fight, all three of us will die and she will still be trapped. My angel.
I know she realizes our predicament, because tears spill down onto her cheeks. “Brion. Just go. Please. He’s never going to let me go.”
Xion smiles. “She’s right. Why don’t you listen to her?”
But I can’t. I can’t leave her here. Not just because I love her, but because doing so would damn Earth and all the humans.
We need help.
I scream at Uriel inside my mind, praying someone will hear me.
Uriel, where are you? This is our last stand. Heaven don’t fail me now.
But just then, like a blinding light from the heavens, a portal opens over the demon palace.
Uriel. Thank Heaven he came through.
He comes through first, and angel warriors stream through behind him. Most of them are twice as big as the demons, muscular and fit. They’re shirtless, wearing jeans, heavy boots, and sheaths around their waists. They’ve come armed with swords and some of them have Galadrian daggers.
The angels are high enough that their titanium and gold-tipped wings flash in the sun. I feel a surge of relief, and pride at their glory. But when the portal closes, I realize how outnumbered we really are. There must be thousands of demons and, at most, five hundred angels.
They form a great white cloud opposite the demons, about fifty feet from the demon horde. While the cloud of angels is calm and ready, the cloud of demons is almost a frenzy of excitement and fear. Low-level demons chatter and gnash their teeth, and whip their tails. The higher level demons are strangely silent, like the angels, except for the beating of their wings.
&n
bsp; For an endless moment, angels and demons hover in the air across from each other.
All eyes are on me and Xion.
I’ve seen the horrors of war. Felt the pain of losing those I love. I just want to take Gillian and get out of here.
Why has it come to this? I don’t want to lose any of my fellow warrior angels. The idea of their immortal souls perishing in Hell is almost more than I can bear.
The air filled with the sound of enormous, beating wings, and I can tell neither Xion nor I want to give the go-ahead.
There’s too much at stake not to. If we do nothing, the portals will get bigger, more demons will go to Earth, and all of humanity will be lost.
“Are we going to do this?” Xion asks in a thundering growl.
“Please, Xion, please don’t do this,” Gillian begs. “Even if you win this, you won’t win me.”
His gaze locks on to mine. “When he’s gone, you’ll change your mind.”
I look at Gillian one last time. I love you.
I hate the fact that he gives her a similar look.
I raise my dagger and flap my wings to rise up in front of my fellow warriors. I address them in Angelic, a language worthy of their sacrifice. “Fellow warriors, Uriel, I am not worthy to ask this of you. But today, we all must make a sacrifice. To rescue The One, so she can choose Heaven and restore the balance. The human race will not survive another thousand years if the decision favors Hell.” I look at all of them, taking in their courage and honor one last time.
I raise my dagger and cry, “We’ve trained for this! We were born for this! This is our destiny! For Heaven and Earth!”
The battle cry resounds around me as the angels repeat it.
Their cries give me strength and purpose, and I turn and attack-dive Xion as fast as I can. I can hear the two great waves of white and black wings crash together behind me in a fury of beating wings and pointy, gnashing teeth.
Xion meets me head-on, dagger in hand. We grapple for a moment, then spring back. He swoops down and tries to kick me, but I fly backward just in time. Then he comes at me again, slashing downward toward my face.
“You know she won’t choose you just because I’m dead.” I point out as I block the forceful blow.
He flips his grip on the dagger and slashes upward this time. “I don’t need you to die. I just need a few more hours.”
My eyes turn to Gillian, and I wonder if he’s right. The dark side can be very seductive.
When I try to thrust my dagger into him, he grabs my arm and pulls me to him. His furious eyes burn through mine. “Do you even know what you’re fighting for? Or fighting against?”
“We’re fighting for good, against evil. It seems pretty clear to me.”
He thrusts me away and I stagger backward. “And what happens when she chooses you and the portals shrink? To the souls in the seventh level that will disappear forever? Or those who are misplaced whose vibrations will sink faster than ever?”
“They’re here for a reason,” I counter, blocking another downward thrust.
His teeth grind together, his face a mask of pure fury. “You think a few decades should determine the rest of eternity? That no one should be given a second chance?”
“I know they had free will. And they used it unwisely.”
“You know nothing, angel,” he spits with derision. He gestures at the sky and I see Uriel leading a second charge. “Both of our peoples are dying up there. Were you so fucking perfect?” He kicks me hard in the chest and I fly backward.
“No!” I cough, trying to get my breath back. “But what about all the angels that die fighting them? We die forever just as much as your demons do.”
“Each of your warriors can kill hundreds of demons. Just look at them!” He kicks me again and we both look up at the battle. Angels are taking out dozens of demons, it’s true. But they are also falling. We have a lot fewer than we started with.
Xion raises his fist and yells at the sky, inciting the demons into further frenzy. I glance over and see Cas and Zak, back to back, fighting a horde, trying to prevent demons from getting through to me.
But I’ve got enough to deal with fighting just Xion. His fighting is furious, he’s agile, and it’s all I can do to block the thrusts of his dagger. He’s a lot better than I am, to tell the truth. He must have been training his whole life to be this good.
I pray that something happens to turn the tide of this war, because I’m not going to last much longer against him.
3
Gillian
The battle is brutal and bloody, and I want to shield my eyes from the horrors happening before them. But I can’t. The air is filled with the horrible sound of beating wings and the chattering and screaming of demons, thick with the tang and stench of blood and sulfur.
Demons turn to ash and angels turn to golden dust faster than I can comprehend. Immortal souls. Lost.
For some reason, I feel this battle is all my fault. As if, being The One, I could have done something to prevent it. That’s crazy, Gillian. These things were put in motion millennia before you were born.
I should have the right to choose—this is happening a day too early.
It should be my choice. Not just to take whoever is left once the war is over.
How do I make it my choice?
My hand goes to the ring box in my pocket again.
Most of the angels and demons don’t have Galadrian daggers, so the fighting is brutal, hand-to-hand combat with regular daggers, knives, and swords.
From the ground, it appears that the demons and angels are wrestling in the air. The demons grab at the angels with their clawed feet and stab downward at them with their daggers. Several angels and demons entered into deadly spirals, swirling at each other and locking on, each trying to land on top of the other so they can strangle or stab the one on the bottom.
To my right, several demons grab the arms and wings of an angel and hold him between them, while a third stabs him repeatedly until he turns to golden dust.
And to my left, Brion and Xion are locked in deadly combat.
I watch them battle. Each man trying to protect his people. Brion fighting for humans, and Xion defending lost souls. No matter who wins at this point, everyone has lost.
We’re too evenly matched. They’re going to keep going until every last one of them is gone.
Such a waste.
A travesty.
Spatters of blood coat the daisies at my feet.
Enough.
If I don’t stop this killing, no one will.
I slowly bring the ring box from my pocket. It isn’t my birthday, but I don’t care. I have to do something.
Is all hope really lost?
My mind is filled with fear—and hope.
Am I going to be the first one, in all these millennia, who opens it?
Peter says no one knows what it does.
As much as I fear it, another look around the battlefield convinces me that it’s the only sane thing left to do. The only bit of hope we have left.
And this is the way to make it my choice.
I take one last look at Brion. Xion has him pinned on the ground, his arm raised upward for the killing downward blow.
I love you, my angel.
I love all of you.
Angels.
Demons.
Brion.
Xion.
Let there be peace.
I open the box.
4
Gillian
Suddenly, the ground beneath me begins to shake. Both angels and demons scream and flee, and a giant crack begins to open just in front of me, between myself and the battle. It grows quickly, becoming a chasm. I try to scramble backward, but the ground is shaking too much.
Brion and Xion stop their battle to see what’s happening. When they notice the widening canyon in front of me, they jostle each other as they both try to reach me.
But it’s too late.
I scream as I fall over the si
de—it’s almost as if I’m sucked into the canyon at a horrific pace. I see the horror on their faces as they watch me go, Brion screaming in my mind and I in his.
I’m pulled downward at such a speed that I believe I’m stretching, becoming longer. Almost how I had imagined traveling at the speed of light. I seem to pass other worlds, other levels, shooting through space, and maybe even time.
Until suddenly, I collapse in on myself.
All is silent.
Then I’m rocketing upward, outward, faster than I’d gotten here. But not just moving —growing larger. Expanding until I’m larger than the greatest planet imaginable.
And I see it.
I see it all.
Heaven.
Earth.
Hell.
All spread out before me in a panorama that exists outside of space and time.
Heaven is spread before me on my right, the spectrum of angels as wide and varied as people on the planet Earth. The angels in Heaven are resplendent, ranging from those so overconfident in their righteousness that it borders on arrogance, to those still unsure of why they’re in Heaven. Many serve as guardians to protect humans, genuinely concerned for their welfare. Others serve in the army, fighting demons because they enjoy it. Still others are keepers of knowledge, bearers of inspiration, or messengers of hope.
But Heaven is shrinking. When the last One chose Hell, she widened the portals for more demons to come through. And those demons influenced more humans to lower their vibrations. Which made more demons and fewer angels when they died. The wider the portals, and the fewer angels to protect the humans, the smaller Heaven would get. Until it disappeared entirely.
Hell is on my left, all seven levels visible at once, yet I can focus on each individually. The seventh level is just as I saw, but each descending level becomes worse. Sorrow, despair, torture, the horrors at the bottom almost unimaginable. The demons become less like humans, and more like shriveled creatures who have lost all hope of redemption.
Suddenly, I could see the future of Hell. If chosen only a few more times, there would be enough demons going through portals for every man, woman, and child on Earth. Hell would grow exponentially, and Heaven would shrink. And the vibration of Earth would lower so much from the negative vibrations that soon it too would become just another level of Hell.
Angel Warrior: The Complete Series Page 14