by Jack Crosby
“Oz, a little help!”
Cas was surrounded by the two other Wrath demons and his bullets weren’t having much of an effect. Leaving Jacoby behind, I rushed over to lend a hand. Before I could intervene, the Pride demon stepped in and stopped me. “Going somewhere Son of Death?”
He was taller and dressed for battle. He had a mace resting on his shoulder, one that was stained red. “Well, you’ll do too.” I went right after him and tried to spear him with Asunder.
He twirled to avoid the directness of my attack and whacked my on the back with the wooden handle of his mace. “I’ve battled your father and your half-brother. Tell me you’re not the runt of the family.”
Hearing him call me a runt really pissed me off. Asunder tried to take control of the situation. “Listen to me, you can’t blindly charge in and hope for the best. Pride demons are the generals in the Hell army.”
The Pride demon used the business end of the mace this time and I scampered back to avoid the big blow. “I see this man, but I’ve got my style you know.”
“And your style is going to get you killed!” The spirit in the sword finally lost its cool with me. “It is time to take matters seriously!”
The Pride demon was twirling the mace around its head, lining up another attack. Maybe Asunder was right, maybe it was time to stop fooling around and get back to basics. As the mace moved fluidly in the air, I remembered back to what Raphael used to teach me in his backyard. The first rule of engaging a powerful enemy was to use their strength against them.
As his mace traveled towards me, I saw an opportunity. I didn’t back away too far, instead I put away Asunder and grabbed the mace as it brushed by me. The extra weight from me hopping aboard the weapon caused him to stumble forward and trip. His ugly mug ate dirt as she slammed hard on to the ground.
My natural instinct was to crack a joke, but I wasn’t my dad. Nope, I brought Asunder up and finished the job by running the red blade through the back of the Pride demon’s neck and out his mouth. One more motion and the blade exited the top of his skull with black, oily blood dripping on to the ground. The body didn’t stare there very long before it disintegrated into ashes and blew away.
The victory was short lived as I heard a howl of pain. One of the Wrath demons was holding up Cas and no one was around to help him. Running forward, I slid between the first one’s legs and popped up at the second one. I buried Asunder into its chest, saving my friend.
The second one tried to attach me with my back to him. Spinning on a dime, Asunder cut through his neck and his head bounced on the ground. Just like that, the demon threat was under control.
“Oz, what the fuck man? You’ve been holding out on me.”
With Cas safe, there was one last issue to take care of. Argus was dueling Jacoby and looked to be on the losing side. My brother was too fast for the immortal pirate. Still, Argus was far more skilled in dueling and his motions kept him alive. “Asunder, should we try to engage?”
“I have known Argus a very long time. To interfere would do a disservice to him. Allow him to finish the duel.”
I was getting ready to settle in and strike at a moment’s notice when from underneath us, a hole blew open. Imps began pouring out and on to the field of battle. “Cassandra, let them have it!”
Me and the Zanes started to thin the herd. It was obvious the imps were no more than a distraction considering how useless in a fight they tended to be. As I was cutting them down left and right, I worried about where Tyra was. The angel hadn’t been present so far during any of this.
“Help!” The scream came from Darina who was being hoisted into the air by four imps. I wasn’t the only one who brought their attention to her. Argus’s eyes left his opponent and drifted to his wife. Jacoby took the opportunity to strike, sending his sword through the gut of the old pirate.
Argus Slumped to the ground and Jacoby shouted his orders. “Take her into the church, immediately!”
A cloud of imps blocked me and my attacks became more frantic. I had to get to my friend and we needed to stop him from killing Darina. With a few more blows, sending dead imps to the ground, I saw an opening to get to Argus. I ducked my head and sprinted forward to my fallen friend.
His breathing was heavy. “Argus, you can’t die on me!”
He was clutching the wound. “You have to get in the church. Tyra’s in there praying for us. My wife and your friend need you!”
“Tyra…” Cas joined us. “Stay here with Argus, I’m going after my brother.”
“Are you-”
There was no need for second guessing. No matter the cost, my friends’ lives were too important. I blasted through the imps and didn’t stop until I got into the church.
Chapter 25 – The Choices We Make
Jacoby and his imps were setting Darina down on the alter. There was no sign of Tyra, so I was hopeful she was hidden out of harm’s way. With nothing stopping me, “Brother, this ends tonight!”
“Have you not had enough beatings Oz?” His bark was still to me. “Do you think I enjoy striking out against my own blood?”
“You could’ve fooled me. I got the impression you rather enjoyed knocking me around.”
He left the imps holding the mermaid and slowly walked to the side, towards the first row of pews. “Things could’ve been different between us, but you chose to honor our father as some sort of hero. I know the truth Oz,” his crazy look met my calm one, “he’s nothing but a coward and a cheat!”
“He’s not the best dad in the world sure. However, we overcome that and be better. Look at what you’re doing man, committing murder for some nut job witch.”
His hand shot out and a finger pointed at me. “Never speak ill of Morgan Le Fey. She’s the one true person in this world that sees it for the plague it’s become.”
Nothing had changed. Jacoby went from lap dog from one crazy ass witch to another. “What about your thoughts? Do you really think everything’s broken?”
“Look around.” Like some sort of megalomaniac he spread his arms wide. “From the pirate outside to those weirdo twins you follow, they are all examples of how this plane needs a reset. One I plan to help give.”
It was five minutes to midnight. I didn’t have to beat my brother; I just needed to hold him off. He seemed to be in a chatty mood, so I continued. “For the Almighty’s sake, grow up dude.” The change unsettled him. “Enough of this woe is me bullshit. Pull yourself together and make a difference. Don’t be a freaking douche!”
“I don’t have time to play with you brother. I’m going to finish what I need to do – if you interfere, I will not hold back.” He reached beside him and pulled out a decent sized black dagger.
I couldn’t let him do this. “I don’t expect you to.”
With little care to myself, I went on the attack. The church was huge, yet there was little room for a full blown fight. Between the pews and the other objects scattered around the area, neither of us had much room to strike out. Honestly, I was a bit shocked he hadn’t gone all man-lion on me yet.
The tight space did work a little in my favor. Being the smaller of the two of us, I could move around easier which meant I was the one leading the attacks. Jacoby was defending well against me, but he wasn’t able to do much except deflect.
Then it happened. He broke away and sheathed his sword. “I have no time for this dance.” With the yellowing of his eyes and the bulk added to his frame, his inner Nyx began to reveal itself once again. I looked up thinking I’d at least killed enough time, but we’d only used up one minute. One lousy, no good, rotten minute. Ughhh…
My only choice was for my wings to come out. Not that they’d been much help before. Jacoby jumped over the two pews between us, knocking me to the side. My wings took most of the blow, leaving me unscathed. I just didn’t think I could take much more.
When the second attack didn’t come, I opened them to see he left me behind and was up at the alter with Darina. Ahh damnit! The im
ps were holding her down and he had the knife ready. I was too far away to make it in time, but that wouldn’t stop me. I dug deep and pushed my legs as fast as they’d go. His arm went into the air, the obsidian ready to sink deep into her heart to dig the pearl out. I tried to flap my wings to add some extra zip into my step.
I was five rows from the front when I jumped. My hand was stretched out to stop him but I fell way too short. As the knife was about to pierce her, another popped up from behind the alter and knocked Darina away. The blonde who’d been hiding just steps from me smiled as Jacoby’s dagger finished its journey and sunk into the side of her neck. “Nooooooooo!!!!”
The slow motion of the world returned to normal as Tyra slumped to the ground dead. Jacoby, realizing he killed the wrong girl, stepped back. “Who’s this?”
I got up, a cold anger filled my body, one like I’d never experienced. “Her name was Tyra. She was my friend.” Darina, free, ran out of the church, leaving me with my brother and the imps. “You killed my friend.”
He was still in half lion and half man mode. “She shouldn’t have interfered. Her life was forfeit the moment she got involved.”
Somewhere in my heart, the small part of me that cared for my brother died. As I looked at Tyra’s lifeless body slumped there on the floor, I snapped. My wings shot out again, this time the chains that were interweaved in them took on a ghostly grey glow. The glow surrounded my body, fueling the rage inside.
The Nyx didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t seen fear in him in a long time and it felt good. I stepped right up to him and lashed out, my first connecting with his chest. The force of the punch drove him away. The imps flew at me, but they met swift deaths from the new additions to my wings. Spikes grew out of the ends of them and skewered the four imps midair. It was my turn to be the monster.
Jacoby was trying to pick himself up off the ground. I lent a hand and brought him to his feet. “You could’ve been better!” Punch to the face. “You could’ve been a good person!” Uppercut to the jaw. “No, you had to be the asshole you always claimed our dad to be!” One last strike on the top of the head; it drove him back to the floor where he slunk, a beaten and broken man.
“Finish me Oz, you know you want to.”
I found Asunder. The sword tried to talk to me but I blocked our connection. My brother was right; it was time to bring back an eye for an eye punishment. On my command, the sword came to life and I went to impale him on it. Once again, my moment was stolen away as blackness wrapped around Jacoby and he got away from me again.
**Caspian**
The last of the imps dropped dead to the ground. At the same time, the church doors flew open again and Darina rushed out to meet me. She was sobbing, made only worse when she saw Argus lying face first on the ground. She pushed past me and made it to her husband.
I looked back at the doors and they closed even though no one was near them. My sister floated down and pulled on them. “They won’t open.”
Oz was inside with his deranged brother and the situation wasn’t much better out here. Cassandra went over to help Darina while I tried to get the doors to open. Nothing happened.
A loud sob echoed for miles. Then the soft voice of my sister confirmed everything I needed to know. “I’m so sorry Darina. He’s gone.”
I banged on the door again. I had to get inside. We’d already lost one friend tonight and the thought of Oz’s brother killing him made me sick to my stomach. “Open up! Please open up…”
Like someone was listening to me, the doors split open. I stood back, unsure of who was the one coming. Then I watched in horror as Oz walked out, holding someone in his hands. The horror manifested itself even greater when it dawned on me that he was holding Tyra and that she was gone. “No…”
**Oz**
I placed Tyra’s lifeless body beside the fallen captain. There had been too much death tonight. “Darina, I’m so sorry.”
“No young one. You saved my life –”
“I didn’t, Tyra did.” The Twins joined me, quietly bowing their heads at our loss. “Argus and Tyra were the real heroes tonight. From this moment forward, as long as Jacoby walks this Earth, their memories are put to shame.”
The mermaid sat beside her husband and wrapped her hand around his. “My love, with you gone I have no reason to say.” She looked up at me. “Tomorrow, we lay them to rest. Once that happens, the mermaid kingdom will disappear from the realm of humans.”
I didn’t blame her. At that moment, I wanted to disappear too.
Chapter 26 – The Funeral
The sun was setting on the horizon and it gave the water an orange-red glow. Sitting in front of us was The Black Cat, Meleena and a few other mermaids had brought it back to Key West. I did a quick count and saw seven mermaids in the water around the ship. That didn’t include Darina who was standing beside me.
On the ship were the bodies of Tyra and Argus. Earlier, Darina had told me about a proper pirate’s burial at sea and I wanted Tyra’s body to be included. She’d been a hero and deserved to be put to rest as such. As I stood there, I admonished myself for being too slow. If I’d been stronger or faster, who knows, maybe both of them would still be alive.
From behind me, “The humans won’t see this sis, will they?”
“No Cas. I’ve put up a barrier spell that will keep them at bay until we’re finished.”
Of course she did. Almighty bless Cassandra, the witch was always on top of things. Even in situations like this, I knew I could count on her. Darina gave a small smile and addressed her. “Thank you young one. My sisters and I appreciate your help in keeping this discreet.”
Meleena called out from the water. “The time is now. Darina, return to your kingdom once again.”
The redhead mermaid jumped into the water and as she disappeared below the surface, her legs merged into a single tail. When she returned, her look was much more distinct – she was back to her true form. She gave me a single nod and joined her sister mermaids beside the boat, four to each side. With the sun almost below the horizon, they began to swim it out to sea, for one final voyage.
When the sun left us for good, Cassandra conjured a ball of red flame in her hand. She shot it towards the ship where it caught on fire immediately. The mermaids continued to swim it away from the land and the fire grew brighter.
We stayed on the dock until the ship could no longer be seen. When the last of the fiery mast sank out of view, we knew it was time to move on. The problem was none of us were ready to. Even Cassandra, who had a distinct dislike for Tyra, was stuck to the ground. Cas tried to guide her away, but she stood firm. “That could’ve been any one of us tonight.”
“I know sis, but we’re still here. We need to go home and let Merlin know we did the job.”
The beacon Mephisto gave me was in my pocket. All we had to do was speak his name into it and he would appear to send us home. Seemed really easy, but I didn’t want to leave yet either. If I did, I felt like I’d been abandoning Tyra. Still, my hand took it out.
Cassandra looked resigned when she saw it. “We’ve sacrificed so much to make sure Morgan didn’t get what she needed.” I wondered if she was talking about our friends or the fact Mephisto’s countdown started the moment we arrived back in our time. “Did we really win? Or did we just delay the inevitable?”
“When did you become the pessimist of the group?”
This must’ve been the first time she really dealt with death, or losing someone in battle. “I can’t help but wonder about our encounter with Mephisto. Here we are doing the bidding of someone who’s tucked away safe. Wasn’t that the same with the Knights?”
There was only one way to find out. “We need to get back and confront Merlin. I don’t know about you two, but I’m not going to keep traipsing around on these half-assed schemes of his without a very detailed explanation.”
The twins seemed very much okay with that. Taking the beacon in my hand, “Mephisto, we’re ready to go home.”
>
The tall demon floated down from above in a very surreal scene. There was no smiling or gloating this time, he looked just as somber as we did. “Oz, Twins, you have my condolences. The loss of a celestial and an immortal sends shockwaves through the community.”
“What will happen to them?” It was odd hearing that much concern from Cas. ‘Where do they go once they die?”
Mephisto knew the answer, you could tell from his expression. I just didn’t think he’d be able to say. “Son of Death, has your father ever explained to you what happens to a celestial once they die?”
He had vaguely, just saying they moved on. “He said the soul leaves the body and returns to where it came.”
“Precisely. Argus, being human by nature will have gone to Heaven or Hell depending on his actions. As for the angel, she was returned to the Almighty, her soul rejoining the celestial body.”
He lost me on the second part and, from the looks of it, Cas too. Still, my friend accepted the answer. “Thanks. At least we know they’ll be happier far from here.”
Mephisto pulled out a very old looking pocket watch. “It seems we have about five minutes to chat before we return to your place in history. Let’s make the most of these minutes shall we?”
“Where’s Morgan and my brother? You know where everyone is, so tell me.”
His own words came back to bite him in the ass. “You’re asking me once again to interfere with something that shouldn’t be interfered with.”
I knew I couldn’t hold a candle to him in a fight, but that didn’t stop me from igniting my sword on him. “I don’t care what your role is in the world, I don’t care what lines need to be crossed. I want my brother and the witch he serves and you’re going to help me.”
The tip of Asunder was only inches from his chest. Mephisto didn’t look angry or upset, he just stared at the sword as if it was the most interesting thing around. “I truly understand the emotions you’re experiencing. Because of that, I will tell you.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a weird looking tooth. “This is the fang from a twilight dragon, a creature not seen in many millennia. With this tooth, you get a one way ticket to the Falls of Sorrow, a shadow realm very few celestials wish to enter.”