by Amy Braun
Fallen or not, he was going to make it his mission to rip us apart.
“Heaven will have its justice. Make no mistake about that.”
It was a cold promise. I clutched my hatchet and my throwing knife and stood in front of my little sister, completely obscuring her from his view. His eyes lifted and bored into mine. I didn’t blink or turn away in fear. Instead, I gave him a promise of my own.
Go ahead. I’ll be waiting.
The archangel didn’t blink, so I don’t know if he saw me as a threat. He focused on Lucifer again. He tightened his grip on his broadsword.
“But not before you.”
Michael swept up his broadsword, a wide line of heavenfire sweeping up with it. The blast raced toward Lucifer with amazing speed. The King of Hell actually had to raise both his hands to keep it from cremating him. The angels shouted an echoing war cry then charged toward battle. Lucifer set his remaining demons and possessed humans on them, then twisted his hands and began opening portals.
The air ripped open like six knives in six different places. Fire burst out of the tears, more demons spilling out of them onto the hilltop. Reds. Shredders. Ghouls. Possessors. More Hellhounds and Wretches. A couple more Knights. Things I had never seen before. I lost count of how many there were, and they just kept coming.
The angels met them all without fear, using their weapons with ruthless efficiency. Weaker demons were cut down like weeds. Stronger demons tore the angels to pieces. They were skilled warriors, but they were human now.
But if they needed to look at someone to motivate them, all they had to do was look at Michael. He was completely fearless. Two Knights approached him and swung their scythes to cut him in half at the waist. Michael spiraled through the air, narrowly missing the hooked blades. He used his new height to cut off the head of one Knight and slashed open the chest of the second one. It staggered back even further when he pushed a wall of heavenfire at it. He finished the Knight by driving his sword straight through its chest and tearing it up and out of its shoulder.
All the demons backed away from him as fast as they could before he blasted them with heavenfire. None of them seemed to be a real challenge for the archangel. He was steadily making his way to Lucifer, probably wanting to get the portals closed. I didn’t think that would be easy to do. Lucifer was perfectly capable of multi-tasking. He could keep the portals open until all the angels were destroyed.
“We have to do something,” Dro and I said at the same time.
“But what?” Max asked weakly.
“Andromeda,” Sephiel said, clutching her shoulders. “You can close the portals.”
“I...” she whispered in a scared voice. She took a deep breath and crushed the fear. “How?”
“Con!” Max screamed.
I twisted, ducking low and kicking my foot out. I caught Mateo in the stomach, knocking him away before his machete could hit me in the back. I spun my hatchet in my hand.
“Get it done!” I shouted to the trio behind me.
Mateo charged me again, swinging his machete at my stomach. I stepped out of range then moved up and kicked for his ribs. He blocked me with his arm and tried to raise the machete again, but I kicked it out of his hand.
Before he could get another weapon, I rushed him.
I hacked and slashed wildly, constantly putting him on the defense. Mateo was faster than I remembered. His forearms clashed against mine, sending painful jolts to my hands and promising plenty of bruises later. The blades never cut him once. I stabbed for his neck with the knife. He let the blade sweep over his shoulder, then caught my arm and jabbed me in the face with his free hand. My head rocked back, filling with pain. I refocused when I heard him drawing a knife.
I flipped my hatchet into a reverse grip, brining it up and hooking his knife before it could go into my ribs. I wrenched it away, and was hit in the face again. Mateo kicked me in the chest to push me away, then spun a wide roundhouse kick. It crashed into my temple and sent me spinning onto the ground.
I nearly blacked out when I hit the grass. I thought I was rolling down a hill. I still had my hatchet. I had to get up. As I lifted my head, I could see the battle still going strong. It was an even match, demons turning to ash and angels falling in showers of blood. Someone with bright hair and a bow was running toward us.
Lucifer had given up on holding the portals open now that Michael had caught up to him. They were about twenty feet apart, flinging their hands wildly as they hurled supernatural fire at each other. Michael sent a tornado of golden fire over Lucifer’s head. It bent in midair like a mouth trying to swallow him whole. Lucifer swept out his hands, creating a line of blindingly white hellfire. His flames absorbed the gold heavenfire until it was gone. Then he pushed the hellfire up and split it into a thousand, fiery darts. He flicked his wrists and sent them all at Michael. The archangel reacted quickly and raised his shield. He was protected from the darts, but the seven angels next to him weren’t so lucky. I cringed at the sound of their screams and looked away before I could see them burn.
Michael and Lucifer were too busy fighting each other to see Dro standing behind them, Max holding her up while Sephiel explained what to do. My sister held out her hands and focused. I watched the portals begin to shiver and close.
A hand fisted itself in my hair and jerked me to my feet. I growled and slashed back with the hatchet. Mateo caught my wrist with his free hand, driving his knee into my ribs. I gasped, feeling him tug on my hair to make me face him. He let go of my hair, grabbing my throat instead.
“I’m not done with you yet, babe,” he sneered.
“Yes you are.”
Mateo snapped his head to the right, giving Warrick the perfect chance to smash his fist into it. Mateo stumbled, letting me go. The demon slayer kicked him in the chin, knocking him onto the grass. He was ready to advance on him before he turned and saw Drake running for him.
The bounty hunter’s face was a mess of blood and anger. I brushed along Warrick’s back and grabbed the fourth and final knife from inside my jacket. I hurled it at Drake, catching him in the shoulder. I couldn’t tell if it was a killing blow, but the huge man dropped nonetheless.
A hand circled my arm. I jerked out of its grasp and raised my hatchet. Rorikel caught my wrist before my weapon could slam into his neck. His hard grey eyes stayed on mine.
“Peace, Constance. I do not mean you harm.”
Of all the people I expected to come to our rescue, he was last on the list. I was even more surprised that he didn’t look like the old Rorikel. He wasn’t looking at me with the sharp, blatant hatred that he speared me with all those months ago.
I didn’t trust him anymore now than I had back then.
I wrenched my hand free. “Prove it.”
“Gabriel sent me,” he answered. He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a small gold tube. “With this.”
It was another movens caeli, but smaller and thinner than the one Lucifer destroyed.
“It is less powerful than the one you previously possessed, but it shall take you away from this place. You must leave now.”
“No, we can’t,” Warrick protested. “Not when Drake, Mateo and Lucifer are still alive!”
Rorikel suddenly twisted, nocking the bow with an arrow from the quiver on his hip. He drew back the string and let the arrow fly directly into the open mouth of a charging hellhound. The monster exploded into black ash in mid leap. Rorikel turned around again.
“Now is not the time for petty revenge, slayer! The hybrid has nearly closed all the portals. When she has finished doing so, Lucifer will destroy you all. If you still wish to defeat him, stay alive and close the Hell Gate!”
He shoved the movens caeli against my chest and started firing arrows again. Warrick wanted to keep fighting, but his eyes turned to where Dro, Max, and Sephiel were standing. The portals were slivers of flame now. Our escape window was closing fast. He frowned, but knew where his priorities were. He ran for his friends. I
started following, then stopped and looked at Rorikel again.
“What about the angels?” I shouted over the roar of combat.
He drew the bowstring back, looking at me between it. He looked tired and deflated, completely unlike the Rorikel I used to know.
“Some of us just want to go home,” he called to me, though his voice was joyless. “We no longer care how.”
I wanted to say something, but Rorikel was already looking away and firing another white arrow. We might have despised each other, but I wished I could get his attention to thank him. I also wished that I had time to finish off Drake and Mateo. It was going to have to wait. If we were going to get out of here, we had to get out of here now.
I turned and ran toward my sister. Just as I got there, the portals disappeared from the air. The fires of Hell were gone, but the entire battlefield was burning. It was like looking at the scorched Heaven Gate all over again.
Dro slumped, Sephiel catching her. I dropped to my knees beside her. She was awake, blinking rapidly. We all huddled close together. I put the movens caeli into Sephiel’s hands, then looked over his shoulder.
Lucifer threw a blast of hellfire at Michael. It collided with his chest and sent him flying back about twenty feet. The King of Hell whirled on his feet, seeing what was happening. His pitch black eyes met mine. He looked at beautiful and as furious as ever.
Dro suddenly shouted words that I couldn’t make out. Golden light and a massive rumbling noise surrounded us, but not before I made out the four words Lucifer mouthed to me.
I will destroy you.
The light blurred out the battle, and then we were gone…
I drove Emilio’s car into the warehouse. I didn’t know what time it was, or if I was being followed. My shoulder was on fire and everything was a blur. I managed to spot a small figure with white hair sitting in a corner. She stood up as soon as the car approached. I turned off the headlights so she could see me. I raised my good hand, waved weakly, then passed out.
I woke up when I felt someone sitting me back in driver’s seat. I blinked my eyes open. Dro had crawled into the passenger side of Emilio’s car and was pressing her pale hand against the bullet hole in my shoulder. I winced at the tingling sensation. My sister was sniffling. I looked at her, forcing myself not to look like I was in agony.
“There’s so much damage inside you,” Dro sobbed. “Connie, what happened?”
I hesitated. Did I really want to tell my little sister that my boyfriend had beaten the shit out of me, that his father had electrocuted me, that I’d been beaten up again, killed the most powerful drug lord in Mexico, and been shot as a result?
No. That seemed like too much information right now.
“I’ll tell you later,” I slurred out. “We have to get out of here. They’re going to be looking for us.”
Dro nodded, not meeting my eyes. Once I was healed, we got out of Emilio’s Lexus and headed for the Mercedes Dro had driven. She’d hidden it in the warehouse and out of sight, like the smart girl she was. I hopped in the driver’s seat, my shoulder feeling a little stiff, but at least I could use it.
I buckled up, started the car, and drove out of the warehouse. I didn’t tell Dro anything as we took the back roads toward the border, and she didn’t ask. The sun was high in the cloudless sky as we got into the desert. I made a stop to get some gas and make sure no Blood Thorns were on our tail, but my plan hadn’t gone any further than that.
Mostly because I didn’t know what to do. Emilio tortured me and I killed him. Mateo betrayed me, abused me, pulverized my heart, and shot me. He was in control of the Blood Thorns now, and he wouldn’t waste any time sending them after me. He wouldn’t stop until I suffered and died the way his father had.
I couldn’t fight them all. Dro and I would never be safe.
My chest was caving in, like someone was reaching into it and pushing it toward my spine. My eyes started to water. I pulled the car to a stop on the road and shut it off. There was no one on this lonely stretch of desert highway. Nobody but me and an uncertain little sister watching my face.
“I’m sorry,” I sobbed, unable to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry, little sister. I never should have said yes.”
Dro unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face me. “It’s not your fault, Connie.”
“Yes it is,” I whimpered. “I thought it would keep us safe, and all I did was make it worse. I can’t... I can’t fix this. I don’t know what the fuck to do.”
The ache in my chest was unbearable. There was so much weight and pressure that I had to unbuckle and grab the steering wheel to support myself. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt tears splash onto my jeans.
Delicate little arms wrapped around my chest. A small head with soft hair pressed itself into my shoulder. My sobs were becoming painful now, clenching in my chest like a fist and choking their way out of my throat. My eyes were tightened together so hard that it hurt. My face was soaked.
“I’m not mad at you, Constance,” Dro whispered in my ear. “I never was. I can’t make you feel better about the things you had to do, but I never blamed you for them. You’re my big sister, and you were keeping me safe. You helped us survive.”
That should have made me feel better. Instead, I started to feel worse.
“They’re going to hunt us, Andromeda,” I cried. “I don’t know where we can go to hide from them.”
Dro hugged me tighter. I’d put us in more danger than ever before. The Blood Thorns had networks everywhere. There was nowhere for us to run.
“Then maybe we should go home,” my sister said quietly.
Home. There was nothing I wanted more. But Dro knew as well as I did that going home didn’t mean we would be safe...
Chapter 18
I thought Dro would take us somewhere safe. Granted, we never had many safe places as kids. But I expected it to be anywhere but here.
At first, I didn’t recognize the warehouse. The walls were still rusted from where the blood had been splattered on them. Wooden crates filled with bullet holes sat uselessly near the walls. I looked at the far end of the warehouse, staring at the support beams where the traitor had been mutilated and killed.
The smell of death was long gone, but I was having difficulty breathing. I slowly turned and found Dro. Her icy blue eyes held mine, though I could tell she was fighting the urge to look away.
“Why did you bring us here?” I asked. My voice was shaking.
Dro tried to speak a couple times, but faltered through each one. Warrick, Max, and Sephiel glanced between us, but didn’t interject. They must have been completely confused about their surroundings, having never been here before, but at the moment, I didn’t care.
Dro finally found the words she’d been searching for.
“We needed to escape, Con,” she reasoned. “You told me years ago that you hated this place, and that the Blood Thorns wouldn’t look for me here. I was safe until you came back, and I figure it will be safe again.”
“No,” I snapped. My body began to tremble with my voice. “No, we can’t stay here. This is Blood Thorn ground. Mateo will have it guarded.” I started shaking my head, as if it would wake me up and bring me back to reality.
The joke was that I was already there.
“This is the safest place we can be right now,” coaxed Dro. “Mateo will think we’ve gone somewhere else. This gives us time to think and plan our next move.”
I knew she was right. Dro wouldn’t have made the decision to come back to Júarez lightly. But I swore I’d never return here, no matter what the circumstances.
Fate. What a raging bitch.
***
It was a long walk back to the city. As much as I dreaded seeing it again, it wasn’t far and I still knew the best places to hide. Fate might have been screwing me over, but at least I knew how to adapt.
I kept to myself for the entire walk. Dro and Warrick tried to make conversation, though I never said more
than two words. Max and Sephiel didn’t even try.
Two hours later, we saw the edges of Júarez. Thick towers of smoke chugged into the night sky. A dull orange glow shone over the horizon. Seeing the fires burning downtown was the only reason I stopped.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
The group came to a halt beside me. Dro and Max stared at the city intensely.
“There are demons in the city,” informed Max. “But it’s not them who are lighting the fires.” He narrowed his eyes, then looked at me uncomfortably. “It’s everyone else.”
I didn’t say anything or look anywhere but the fires. Warrick asked my question instead.
“You’re saying that the people who live in the city are the ones burning it down?”
“Yeah,” Max answered. “It’s messed up, but that’s what I’m seeing.”
“Lucifer’s influence has stretched far," Sephiel said. “His presence over their minds must be strong. We have to be cautious.”
Good luck with that, I nearly blurted. “We better take a look, then.”
I started dragging myself toward the city.
“Uh, whoa,” Max started. “Isn’t there a place out here where we can hide? The city is on fire.”
I whirled on him. “I can fucking see that. But chaos is great cover, so this is as good as we can ask for. Take my word or don’t, Max, but don’t waste my time.”
I turned and started walking away before anyone could see the guilt on my face. I would apologize to Max later. Right now I just wanted to find somewhere to sleep. No one called after me, and I was both grateful and disappointed with that.
***
I thought the fires burning in Júarez would be the worst part of the city, Max’s warning aside.
I should have thought harder about what he was trying to tell me.
The suburbs and housing developments of the city seemed to be inhabited by ghosts. Everywhere I looked, there had only been broken glass, knocked over trash bins, and blood smears on the pavement. Our legs were killing us from walking so far, but I didn’t want to stay in the houses. For all I knew, people were hiding out in them, and somehow I doubted they would welcome us into their shelter with open arms. Even when the city wasn’t caught in some kind of riot, the people living here knew better than to help strangers.