“I said, 'I never agreed to that',” he answered.
Daniel paused and looked around slowly. There was nobody else to see, and even if there were, nobody could lay hands on him if he didn't want them to. He was literally untouchable.
And yet, he had learned to be wary of this odd little man.
“Oi! Bell end!”
Daniel spun around to face the direction the voice had come from. From Simon’s perspective, a pair of bat wings appeared either side of his erstwhile attacker’s head. He fleetingly remembered his earlier desire to be rescued by Batman.
This was even cooler.
“What in Heaven?” Daniel sputtered as Harriet rose above him on what was clearly a pair of demon wings. Her eyes burned with red fire.
This was not in the plan.
----
“OK,” Faunt said. “Go, now, for Amelia...”
Cherry blinked out.
----
Simon took Daniel's distraction as an opportunity to back away from the angel. That was as much space as Harriet needed.
She swooped down towards him, ramming him hard in the chest and scooping him up into the air with her. He was momentarily shocked into inaction, but quickly recovered. He pushed her back, hard. She flew away from him, staying in mid-air.
Regaining her composure, Harriet caught herself and hovered, about fifty feet away from him and a hundred feet above the cliff below.
“All right, posh bollocks,” she grinned, “you’ve been asking for this.”
Harriet flew at him again. Daniel's eyes burned bright. He barrelled towards her. The two battered into each other at speed and an explosion of purple flame sent them both careering back in the directions they had come. Harriet went out over the sea and disappeared below the cliff edge. Daniel flew back inland, dropping to earth out of Simon's sight.
He heard a sucking noise and turned to see that Amelia was gone. OK, part two complete – she was safely away with Cherry.
Now for the hard part.
----
Priest hugged his daughter, confirming that she was mobile again. She was confused, but mostly glad to be alive.
“You'll only get one chance at this,” Faunt warned. “If he realises what we're trying to do, you won't catch him out again.”
“Don't worry,” Priest growled, “he's mine.”
----
Simon rushed to the cliff edge. He couldn't see Harriet, but Faunt had assured him that while Cassandra was channelling Lily's powers into her, she couldn't really be hurt. Still, he'd be happier if he could see her.
A hand grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him off the ground. A long way off the ground. He struggled to free himself, but he couldn't even touch the fingers gripping his throat.
And he couldn't breathe.
“Mr Debovar, I am very tired of you,” Daniel sneered. “And while I had decided it would be enjoyable to beat you to death, I think perhaps now I will just go for the simple option.”
Simon felt the wind picking up around them, but most of his attention was on the fact that he couldn't breathe. Shit. Where was Harriet?
Simon lurched as the arm holding him was jerked backwards. Then, suddenly, it let him go.
He fell.
----
Harriet had thought she could take the angel out by sneaking up behind him. Unfortunately, she'd been more successful than she’d planned and he'd lost his grip on her nephew. She released his head from the sleeper hold she had grabbed him in and dived towards Simon's plummeting body. He was going to miss the edge of the cliff, so she had a little more time to get to him than she might have done.
But as she prepared to pass the edge herself, the angel slammed into her from behind, carrying them both screaming past Simon's plummeting form and splashing into the ocean.
----
“No!” Faunt howled.
“What?” asked Cherry.
“The cliff!” he shouted, “Simon! Go!”
----
Simon was close to blacking out. He thought he'd seen Harriet coming towards him, but then she disappeared. The wind rushed up past his ears – he knew what was coming.
The rocks at the bottom of the cliff.
The last week flashed through his mind as he prepared himself for the end.It was still hard to breathe as the air whipped past him. But even through the roaring, he could swear he heard a faint popping noise.
----
Harriet burst up out of the water. It had only taken her a moment to free herself from Daniel after they went under, but it might have been a moment too long. She looked around to get her bearings, to see where Simon had been. There was no sign of him – either in the air or on the rocks below.
He better not be dead, or she'd kill this bloody angel if she had to face God himself for doing it.
Daniel burst back out of the water toward her. Turning, she swung a punch which connected perfectly with his chin and sent him further upwards. She flew after him, fists glowing red.
The two met again in the air and immediately rained blows upon each other – sparks of red and blue flame flying off them as they rolled across the sky, locked together.
----
“What was that?” Amelia asked. An almighty crash had resounded around Faunt's house.
“Cherry's bed,” the deer answered. “She can't remove kinetic energy by teleporting, only take it to a new location. She landed them on her bed. They're both OK. It was designed to collapse and spread an impact like this – just in case.”
Amelia stared. That was one hell of a just in case. Gesturing to Bob, she raced up the stairs toward Cherry's room. He followed.
By the time they got there and swung the door open, Cherry was already gone again, leaving her passenger confused and disorientated on what was left of the bed.
“What happened?” Simon asked.
----
Harriet was still swinging and still connecting with every punch. But so was Daniel. They were evenly matched, but the angel had spent his entire existence with these abilities – Harriet had spent less than an hour learning how to use them.
She was tiring.
As she tried to re-orientate herself to deliver a big hit to her opponent, he caught her by the leg, swung her around over his head, and slammed her down into the earth below them. Before she could adjust, he rammed his feet into her back, forcing her, face first, into the soil.
Flying up and down at speed he repeatedly rammed into her back, forcing her down, down, down into the earth. She couldn't breathe – but frantically reminded herself she didn't need to - she was immortal as long as Cass kept up that spell.
Theoretically.
Eventually, the pounding stopped. Harriet slowly pushed up on her aching limbs and turned over to see Daniel's silhouette standing triumphantly above her impromptu grave, the sun burning bright behind him.
“You thought you could beat me? Me?” he asked, glowing blue from head to toe. “I'm an angel.”
Harriet gave a low, guttural laugh. “You're an idiot.”
“What?” he reared up again, ready to strike another blow.
“I wasn't trying to beat you, moron. I just needed to distract you long enough for this to happen,” she said.
“For what to happen?” the angel demanded.
“This,” Priest's deep voice answered from behind him.
Before Daniel could turn to see the new arrivals, Priest had grabbed his arm and the two of them, plus Cherry, blinked out.
Harriet slowly lifted herself to her feet and stretched.
That was fun.
----
Simon followed Amelia down the stairs, supported by Bob.
“How's it going?” he asked as they entered the library.
“They've got him,” Faunt answered. “It's in Priest's hands now.”
“How's Harriet?” Simon asked.
“On her way back,” he answered. “She's fine. And she rather enjoyed herself.”
Faunt hande
d a sleek, silver smartphone to Simon.
“Hit redial and you can let George and the others know,” he said, smiling.
----
“Where are we?” Daniel demanded, looking around at the lush, green grass that surrounded him. “How did we get here?”
“This young lady brought us,” Priest answered, indicating Cherry, who had collapsed to her knees on the grass. She'd done a lot of teleporting in a hurry, and she'd finished with a major one.
“Is that right?” the angel asked. “Let's deal with that.
“Die,” he commanded the girl.
Cherry looked up, smiled and flipped him a finger.
Daniel was confused. Why wasn't she dead? He wanted her dead.
“Bad news, angel,” said Priest. “You've been lied to.”
“By whom?” Daniel demanded imperiously, still trying to get his bearings.
“Your father.”
The angel’s eyes widened. Not because of what Priest had said, but because he'd finally realised where he was.
He wasn't supposed to be here.
Ever.
“Why are we here?” he asked, an unprecedented hint of fear in his voice.
“You probably think I banned you from my island because I didn't want you in my home,” Priest continued. “That's not true.”
“All right. Why did you?” Daniel asked.
Priest smiled. “I didn't. They did.”
The Exception suddenly strode towards him. The angel put a hand up in defence, but Priest swatted it aside, grabbing his lapels and lifting him off the ground.
Daniel instinctively tried to spread his wings … but they weren’t there. The angel began to panic. What was happening? Had Father forsaken him?
“They didn't want you coming here because your powers don't work here, Daniel.”
Daniel stared wide-eyed. He’d had no idea Priest’s deal was so extensive. What could he do?
The man mountain pulled the angel down towards him, head-butting him hard in the face. There was a sickening crunch as Daniel's nose collapsed.
Priest dropped him to the ground. Daniel held his hand up to his broken face, confused and in pain.
Priest calmly circled behind his captive. “What do you know about me?” he asked.
Daniel shook his head, trying to think clearly through the panic. “They chose you,” he answered. “You were their champion. That's why they rewarded you.”
“They chose me,” Priest repeated the words, but there was something about the way he said them, as if the idea was almost amusing.
Priest crouched down in front of him.
“I had a family, Daniel. A home. I was a farmer.
“They didn’t choose me. They took me. They took me, and made me a murderer.”
Daniel looked at him wide-eyed.
“They tortured me. Took everything I had. Everything I was. They broke me; remade me as their weapon. To punish the disloyal.”
Daniel knew his Father could be unforgiving. His temper had softened with time, but in the beginning, his wrath had been … legendary.
“What happened?” Cherry asked, quietly.
Priest stood and turned away from them both.
“I loved it,” he answered. “I didn’t stop with the faithless. I killed everyone. Everyone I could find. Humans, angels, demons ... everyone.
“I was called ‘Plague’. ‘The First Evil’.”
Daniel didn't speak to fill the silence. Cherry was trembling.
“They wanted me to stop. I think they may even have felt … regret. So they ‘fixed’ me.”
“That doesn't make sense...” Daniel began.
Priest continued as if he had never spoken. “Do you know what still pisses me off?”
“No,” Daniel answered, carefully.
“When they play games with people's lives,” Priest answered, suddenly grabbing the angel by the throat and lifting him off his feet, again. “And I can't think of a better way to repay that, than with a dead angel. Can you?”
Daniel's eyes bulged as the huge hand tightened around his neck.
“Nobody touches my family,” Priest growled.
Cherry recoiled as the crack of the angel’s neck echoed off the mountain.
Priest dropped the lifeless body to the ground and stood over it in silence. The wind gently whispered through the palm trees and the ocean lapped against the beach. Butterflies fluttered around them – in paradise.
Cherry stood and walked cautiously to him. Now she understood why everyone was so afraid.
“You’re him?” she asked, gingerly. “The real one?”
Priest smiled sadly at her.
“Not anymore.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Simon looked up at his living room ceiling. It was nice to have it back again. Lily had kindly agreed to ‘repair’ it. Which was nice.
“What now?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You get on with your life. I guess it might be a little different now, huh?”
Simon smiled and nodded. Yes, it probably would be different - in lots of ways.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked, after a moment.
“Sure.”
“Not that I don’t appreciate it or anything, but I was just wondering why ... well ... you took this all a lot better than Daniel did.”
The demon smiled.
“I did, didn’t I?”
“Quite a bit.”
“We have very different perspectives. His boss is ... let’s say ‘uptight’. Mine is more chilled out. Plus, I actually quite like it down here. It’s fun. My Mother is big on fun – it’s important. And, to be totally honest, Faunt was right. Chances are, if we had taken the Rug and decided the bet...”
“Oh.”
Somehow, it was scarier to have their worst fears confirmed – even now that they’d avoided them.
Lily walked to the door.
“Plus, as much as I like you, life as your slave is not as appealing as you might imagine, so thanks for turning that down.” She laughed and he joined her. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I probably have some questions to answer. And you have a dinner appointment.”
“Of course,” said Simon, before adding, “Thanks. Really.”
Lily beamed back at him.
“Simon, for a hermit, you have an uncanny knack of attracting friends. I’d never have believed it. You’re like a child; all indignant and uncompromising, but scared and vulnerable.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I think.”
Stepping out, she turned and faced him. He was reminded of their first meeting. Had it really been just a week?
“Two things,” she said, “before I go.”
“Yes?”
She stretched up and kissed him on the nose.
“You deserve it,” she said, smiling.
“What?” Simon asked.
He breathed in. He could smell the grass, the fresh, crisp air, a hint of vanilla and not a lot else. The stale, sweaty, lingering human odours were gone. His head felt clearer than it ever had. It was as if a light had come on. It was actually easier to think.
“Thank you,” he said, tears welling in his eyes again. “My God. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “And secondly: Lucas and Gabrielle had to make you an offer, right? For the Rug? What was it? I’m curious.”
Simon smiled, opened his palms wide and shrugged.
“Free pizza for life.”
----
“Slainte mhah and up yer bum!”
Harriet raised her champagne glass high. Everyone else around Faunt’s dining table joined her and knocked back their drinks.
Simon looked around. Cherry sat to his right. She was not back to full strength, but she looked amazing. She’d even put on a dress for the occasion – though with her own style, of course. The ripped bottom of it revealed her striped tights and trainers.
Harriet sat next to her. The two had spent most of the evening chatting and it seemed lik
e they had known each other for years. Harriet was educating her in the ways of good single malt, and why bourbon isn’t real whisky. Next to her, Sean and Bob were deep in conversation about something.
Amelia was next to Bob, holding his hand on her lap, while she spoke to her step-mother at the end of the massive oak table.
On the other side, Gabby and Luke sat together, seeming happier every time Simon looked at them. They had asked Faunt to keep the Holy Rug of Djoser here for them, to protect it, and he had happily agreed. He had also advised them that they might want to start thinking about creating a new generation, in order to have someone to inherit the Rug and look after it in future. Gabby had made a very cute squeak and hugged Luke.
Next to them was Priest. There was no small amount of tension between Cassandra and him, but Faunt had asked them to put aside their differences for the evening in order that everyone who had played a part could be there to celebrate. Interestingly, he and Prisoner, or Prosper, as Simon was going to have to get used to calling him, had become quite friendly once the former had confessed his error over the ownership of the island, and they were currently swapping chilli recipes. In fact, Prosper had spent the day preparing the Cajun feast they had just finished. Faunt had, of course, been right about his culinary abilities.
Next to them was an empty place and then, deliberately placed opposite Simon, was George. He looked about as uncomfortable as Simon assumed he probably had when he first came here, but he was joining in as manfully as he could. Simon was making an effort to keep him involved, while revelling in not being the most socially awkward person in the room for a change.
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