Alan looked away as sweat trickled Danielle’s face and her wince turned to a grimace under the weight of her actions.
Then it was over. Danielle staggered back from her vigil over Tracy then started to fall as her heel struck a rock. Alan caught her before she could hit the ground. “I got you,” he said.
“I knew you would.” Danielle smiled faintly. “Now go; you have Horsemen to lead.”
Alan scooped her up in his arms and took her to his waiting dogs. He placed her on the back of the grey-looking beast and whispered in the animal’s ear. “I don’t know if you can understand me, but if you are tied to me as your master in some kind of way, then I need you to take her to the Temple. Don’t let anything happen to her.”
The animal that looked like a cross between a wolf and a dog whined.
“You two go with him as well,” Alan instructed his two other dogs.
They answered by flanking Danielle.
“Be safe,” Danielle said from her spot on the large dog’s back.
“I’ll see you soon,” Alan said.
---
“What do you mean they have a dragon?” Alan heard Kyle ask as he rejoined his three counterparts.
Tracy was already standing when Alan returned to the group.
“I mean,” Tracy said, “they have a huge black dragon.”
“You mentioned the minotaurs?” Alan asked, thinking of his friend Cratos.
“Yes,” Tracy said, “they tried to help us, but we couldn’t even get close to injuring Sodom. He was untouchable.”
“We’ll see about that,” Kassidy said under her breath.
As they spoke the sky began to darken. Unnatural, ominous clouds rolled in from every direction, blocking out the sun.
“We need to get to the front lines and find out for ourselves what’s happening,” Alan said. “Kyle, Kassidy, you two take the air and find out what you can from that vantage point. Tracy and I will meet you there on the ground.”
Kassidy and Kyle both nodded their agreement. Kassidy hopped on her gryphon, which had bowed low for her to mount, then gracefully took to the air. Kyle’s experience, on the other hand, was far from pretty. “How do I—are you going to bend down for me?” he asked the phoenix, who stared at him with amusement.
Alan hid a smile as he turned to Tracy, who was already mounting her unicorn. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Surprisingly well,” she answered, rolling her neck and stretching her shoulders. “Your friend, Danielle, is a life saver.”
“She is,” Alan agreed. There had been no time for Alan and Kyle to return to the Temple for armor or weapons. Much like Kyle had done before, Alan searched the ravaged battlefield for something he could use.
All around him, the moans of the dead and dying rose to the air. The few angelic healers the forces of Light still had ran to assist their own and also heal and bind their enemies.
Alan’s eye caught a large sword with a shining steel blade and a dark handle sticking in the ground. His hands wrapped around the pommel and he lifted the sword, testing its balance. It would have to do.
“Ready?” Alan asked Tracy as he walked to stand beside her.
“Yep, you want a ride?” Tracy asked, extending a hand to lift Alan onto the back of her warhorse.
Alan lifted both knees to his chest one at a time, stretching in anticipation of the sprint. “I’ll be okay, thanks. I actually would rather run. It’s been too long since I was able to use my speed.”
Tracy nodded and spurred her horse forward. Alan followed beside his fellow Horseman. As the wind caught his hair and the familiar feeling of running faster than any human ever could returned. Alan felt happy for the first time in a long time.
His happiness was short lived. Much faster than he anticipated, the pair reached the front line of the battle. To Alan’s left was the smoking coliseum that had almost marked his final resting place. Someone had started a fire that was now ravaging the structure. Alan couldn’t say he was sad to see it go.
“Burn that mother down,” Rana’s familiar voice said to his left.
Alan skidded to a stop, Tracy following in turn. Rana and Bobby were both exiting the crumbling coliseum, torches lit in each of their hands. They were both spattered with blood and gore across their mismatched armor.
“You two staying out of trouble?” Alan asked.
“Always,” Rana grinned, throwing her torch behind her without a second look.
“We were fighting alongside your friends until we reached the coliseum,” Bobby said, also dropping his torch, “and, well, we couldn’t pass the opportunity.”
Alan nodded in understanding as the three shared a silent moment remembering the many deaths that had taken place in the arena.
“So,” Tracy said, cocking her head to the side, “I don’t want to be rude or anything, but you don’t look like angels. Are you guys …”
“Yep,” Rana said with her signature grin. “As if this whole event isn’t confusing enough with centaurs and minotaurs, we’re demons that left Sodom’s ranks and are fighting with the angels. Trust me, this is the last place I thought I’d be.”
“How much further away is the front?” Alan asked. “I thought we were getting close, but I can’t hear it anymore.”
Alan was right. The sounds of battle that were growing louder by the second only moments before were now eerily silent.
“Let’s go find out,” Bobby said, slinging his war mace over his shoulder.
Alan and Tracy slowed their pace so Rana and Bobby could keep up. The four reached the Angelic Army unprepared for what they saw.
Hundreds of angels and dozens of centaurs were wounded in a makeshift area set up with tents. There were so many injured Alan wondered who was left to fight the war. They wound their way through the doctors and angels gifted with the powers of healing, much like Danielle.
Alan wanted to stop and help, but he knew he was best suited to find Raphael and aid in leading the attack. The sooner this was all over, the sooner more lives could be spared. He didn’t have to search long. Just as they exited the triage section, a small group of centaurs and angels were formed in a short line. Raphael and Gabriel were exchanging heated words in front of the men.
“It’s over,” Gabriel was saying with a smirk. He was still wearing his collar and his dark robes were tattered and ripped. “Even a relic of war like you must see that, Poseidon.”
Raphael’s state of dress wasn’t much better than Gabriel’s. His armor was dented, he had lost his helm, and his lip was leaking a steady stream of blood.
Instead of entering the conversation, Alan passed the front line of soldiers and stared out into the mass of Sodom’s army. Although the forces of the Light had been fighting for the better part of the morning, the enemy camp still vastly outnumbered them.
Alan searched the crowd for a familiar face as Gabriel and Raphael continued to argue. Soon Alan’s eyes landed on Gideon, who was waving to him frantically. Alan smiled and joined the eccentric inventor.
“Alan,” Gideon said, awkwardly embracing him, “I’m so glad you made it. I dare say we need your help and that of the other Horsemen as well.”
“Why has the fighting stopped?” Alan asked.
“Sodom sent a messenger,” Gideon said as his eyes transitioned from joy at seeing Alan to sadness at his coming words. “They’ve defeated the minotaurs and captured those they have not killed. Sodom is threatening to execute them all if we don’t turn back.”
Alan’s heart dropped at the news. Cratos had come with his people at his request. The minotaurs, who had refused to enter the fight between demons and angels for centuries, were now on the cusp of death and it was all his fault.
A cold wind gathered above, adding trepidation to the already dark clouds.
“We will not abandon those who came to our aid to battle the Darkness,” Raphael was saying when Alan checked back into the conversation.
“Then you are a fool,” Gabriel said. “
You will see us all to our deaths. It’s over. I’ve fulfilled my agreement. I’ve fought for you, but I didn’t say I’d die for you.”
Somewhere behind them thunder boomed and lightning struck. A flying figure drifted toward them from the enemy camp. Wrapped in black energy that seemed to coil and swirl through him, Sodom approached.
He seemed taller, even larger, if at all possible. Where his pupils once were, now only blank, white orbs showed. It was hard to say what he was dressed in, as the dark matter continued to wrap around and through him. “There is no hope for you here,” he said in a booming voice. “It is over. I am the Four Horsemen in one. I am so far beyond any of you. My power is unparalleled. The Apocalypse begins as soon as I kill you all or you surrender. Those are the only two choices you have and they end in the same resolution.”
Everyone looked to Raphael for an answer. The Archangel lifted from the ground with billowing white wings on either side of him. His trident was held high and he pointed the weapon at Sodom with menace. “You do not dictate the future. We are all free to choose our paths. Mine is to stand against you and that will not change.”
A shout of agreement echoed Raphael’s words as the few angels and centaurs that remained supported their leader.
Sodom shook his head, ignoring Raphael’s words, and turned to Gabriel. “And you, you do not belong with these cretins. Join me where you belong, not as a servant, but as an equal and you will have a place at the Usurper’s table when he rises to power. I will make it easier for you.”
With a snap of his fingers, Sodom motioned toward Gabriel’s collar. The only thing keeping the Fallen Archangel in check fell from his neck. The red light extinguished.
Alan could hear Gideon gasp as he punched buttons on the control arm brace he wore. Nothing happened.
All eyes turned to Gabriel. Everyone in his immediate vicinity took a step back. Gabriel smiled, looking from Sodom to Raphael. Fire erupted from his hands as he floated up into the night air next to Sodom and Raphael.
If it was at all possible, Alan’s heart sank even lower. With Gabriel and Sodom united, their odds of survival were slim at best.
Chapter 19
“We really need to figure out a way to transition between planes with our clothes,” Ardat said as she draped the blanket over her shoulders offered by Artemis.
“I’m working on it,” the Shaman said with averted eyes.
“Artemis,” Michael said, wrapping his own covering over his lower body, “my armor. Do you know what our situation is on the battlefield?”
Artemis had a small hand covering her eyes as she stared down at the ground just in case she was able to see anything by accident. “Your armor is in the Temple hall. It’s been converted into a staging area. I haven’t been outside of the Temple, but Danielle showed up not too long ago on Alan’s dogs. She’s weak but she can tell you what she knows.”
“Thank you,” Michael said in a rush of words and ran inside the Temple.
“You probably want some clothes too, right Ardat?” Artemis asked, still covering her eyes with her head tilted down.
“Yes, and you can open your eyes now. I’m covered,” Ardat said.
Artemis blinked slowly and looked up as if she was still too shy to look at Ardat. “Okay, wait here; I’ll be right back.” The young girl ran inside the Temple, leaving Ardat and the Shaman alone again.
“I’m surprised you are still here,” Ardat said with a hint of spite in her voice. “Usually you pop in and out. When things get tough you’re nowhere to be found.”
The Shaman smiled at her, despite her words. “I fear that in my haste to keep the balance, I have acted too much in the favor of the Darkness. I should have never given Gabriel the spell he requested. My actions have led us on this path. This is my mess to clean up just as much as anyone else’s. I will stand beside you.”
Ardat took a step back, shocked. The Shaman was no doubt powerful, but how the old man would be able to handle himself in a fight with the likes of Sodom and the demons he commanded was a mystery to her.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” the Shaman, said straightening his stooped back.
“Here you go,” Artemis said breathlessly as she returned with clothes.
“White, huh?” Ardat took the offered cloaks and boots.
“Yes.” Artemis winked at the Shaman as if they were sharing some kind of inside joke. “I think they are more befitting in light of your current alliance.”
Ardat rolled her eyes and took to the air to change. The sky was dark and the wind cold. Ardat surrendered the covering to the breeze that pulled on the loose fabric. She changed into her new clothes far above the Temple, where no one could see.
Her robes where so stark white they almost hurt her eyes. The boots Artemis had brought were also white, laced with gold and brown.
Ardat descended back to the stone steps below where Michael stood in his signature golden armor conversing with Artemis and the Shaman. The look in his eyes when he turned around was worth everything Ardat had endured, even wearing the silly white clothes.
“Ardat,” Michael said, lost for words. His mouth moved as if he had more to say, but no sound followed.
Ardat wished that moment could last forever. It wasn’t only the way he looked at her; it was the way his eyes shone. If there was any anxiety about whether Michael could forgive her or not, it was gone now.
“I hate to break up the moment,” Artemis said with an awkward cough.
“Right,” Michael said, tearing his eyes from Ardat and shaking his head as if to clear a fog. “We need to get to the battle and see where we are needed the most.”
Michael lifted into the air, his pearl-white wings unfolding from his back and lifting him skyward with soft steady beats. Ardat almost tried to call on her own wings. Like phantom limbs, they asked to be extended.
Ardat ignored the memories of her past and the removal of her wings. As a member of the Fallen, once the Usurper and all who followed him were defeated, they had been stripped of the heavenly appendages. Instead of dwelling on these things, Ardat channeled her power over gravity and lifted herself into the air to float next to Michael.
Both the Archangel and Ardat looked to see if the Shaman would follow. Ardat wasn’t surprised to see the elderly man in a serious conversation with Artemis. She couldn’t let the opportunity pass her by. “So, staying behind again?”
“I will be there when I am most needed,” the Shaman said with the patience of a saint. There was no malice in his voice; to the contrary, he actually smiled.
“When you’re needed even more than now?” Ardat asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Come on,” Michael urged. “We need to go. He’ll come later or he won’t. That doesn’t change what we have to do.”
Ardat gave the Shaman one last disapproving glance before she followed Michael toward the battle.
Michael chose the most direct path toward the battlefield, leading them over the place the conflict first started. The wreckage of the fight was horrendous—even for Ardat, who had seen her fair share of fighting and killing. Thousands of dead bodies lay below. To their credit, Raphael had pushed forward deep into the enemy camp. Most of the bodies below were clad in armor indicative to Sodom’s army.
Along with the dead and wounded were far too few angelic healers who were running around, doing their best to help, both their own and the enemy.
Ardat shook her head. Helping the enemy’s wounded. This is why the Light has always struggled so strenuously. They should be killing off Sodom’s wounded soldiers, not assisting them and holding them as prisoners.
As Ardat was still critiquing the battle strategy of Raphael’s army, she caught sight of dark smoke rising in the air just ahead of them.
“What do you think it is?” Michael asked over the rush of the wind.
“I’m not sure,” Ardat answered. “It looks like a large fighting pit. Maybe a prison or coliseum of some kind.”
The strange b
uilding roaring in flames was soon lost to the pair as they flew forward. When they finally reached the new front lines of battle after passing a shoddy triage camp, it seemed they had arrived just in time.
Ardat was shocked to see Sodom, Raphael, and Gabriel all conversing. Ardat pulled up just outside of the debate, while Michael flew forward without pause.
All eyes were on the two of them as the din of conversation fell silent. It was clear no one was expecting to see Michael anytime soon.
“Michael,” Raphael shouted with a grin so large on his bearded face Ardat thought his face might split in half.
“Michael,” dozens of voices echoed all around.
“He’s back,” someone said louder.
“Michael’s back!” Yells soon flowed from the remaining warriors of the Light.
“His entrance to the conflict is meaningless,” Sodom said with a wave of his hand. He was looking at Gabriel, disregarding anything else. “Never before has history witnessed one incarnation of The Four. I am unparalleled in every way. Join me and reap the rewards of victory when we crush the Light.”
Ardat quickly gathered what was transpiring. Gabriel floated in between the two factions, with Sodom to his left and now Raphael and Michael to his right.
Gabriel looked from one side to the other and back again. For the first time Ardat could remember, the Fallen Archangel looked unsure of his next move.
“Gabriel,” Michael said, shattering the stillness, “I forgive you. Come back to us. Whatever your wrongs or what wrongs you feel have been done to you can be healed. We all make mistakes; that’s inevitable. Whether we choose to accept and struggle with those mistakes is what sets us apart.”
Sodom gave out a booming laugh that vibrated inside Ardat’s chest. “Please, spare us your pleading, Michael. You have disregarded Gabriel’s friendship from the beginning. You have always been on opposite sides. Do not pretend that is any different now. He will join me and together—”
Alan Price and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse Page 15