by Darcy Town
***
Berith cradled Apple to his chest as the other Fallen watched the machine explode in the sky. Apple had not stirred or moved since Dahlia had fallen under the feathers. He sang quietly into her hair, willing his fiancée to wake, to show signs of life. She was cold and stiff beneath his hands.
Whitney could not stand. Her nose bled, her body was coated in the substance of the crater. She shook uncontrollably. Her black eyes flickered across the ice. She saw things that no one else saw. The crater beside them pulsed and throbbed and her heart pounded with it. She held her head and cried. “They won’t stop! Helion, make them stop!”
Helion wrapped his arms around her, bringing her to him. None of the Lilliam had been able to restore her. He did not know what he could do for her. She shuddered, closed her eyes, and vomited upon the ice. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out.
Paimon regained consciousness. He opened his eyelids, but he saw only darkness. He heard the whispered conversations of the others and reality sank in. His cracked lips opened and his voice came out hoarse, “Why am I still alive?”
Andy and Belial sat at his sides. They each held one of his hands. Belial rubbed his palm. “Dahlia saved you.”
Paimon closed his blinded eyes. “I did not ask to be saved.”
Andy brought Paimon’s hand to his chest. “We can’t have you leaving, buddy.”
Tears seeped out of Paimon’s eyes. “I want to.” He turned his head towards the side, pressing his cheek into the ice. “Leave me please. Just leave me here.”
Andy blinked back tears. Belial ran her fingers through Paimon’s silver hair. She pulled him into her lap. “Shhh.”
Paimon buried his head against her stomach. “He’s gone.”
Belial rocked him. “Yes.”
“Why?” Paimon ground his teeth together.
Belial’s lip trembled. “Shhh, Paimon.”
“Take me to him. Please.”
Andy rubbed Paimon’s back. “He fell into the crater.”
“Take me there.”
“There is no ‘there’ to take you to, Paimon. He sank. There is nothing.”
A low whine escaped his lips; it built into a cry and a wail. “No!”
Belial and Andy held him between them. Paimon scratched at them both. “No! I want to hold him! I want to touch him once more! Please once more! Furcas.” Paimon’s blind eyes opened seeking anything. “He would not want to be there! He would not want to be in the dark, in the murk. I have to get him.”
“You can’t.”
“He doesn’t like being dirty.” Paimon remembered the bloody hair and Barachiel’s words. He gagged. “Barachiel killed him for spite, killed him! My Furcas!”
Belial spoke into his hair, “We know, Paimon, we know.”
“He murdered my child!”
Andy shuddered. “And you destroyed Barachiel, Paimon. There was nothing left but his dust and bones. You made him pay, you made him suffer.”
Paimon’s breathing was ragged. “Good. Good!”
Belial massaged his scalp. “It was a painful death.”
“I want Furcas back!” Paimon wailed into Belial’s chest. “Make him come back!” He kicked his legs out blindly. “Furcas! You said we wouldn’t separate! You said! You promised me! You promised! How could you leave me alone? It hurts! It hurts, Furcas. Furcas…” His words cut off as sorrow flooded his lips with a moan. Paimon clutched at Belial.
Berith broke into sobs. The others looked up at him. Berith rocked Apple. “I do not think she lives.”
Andy left Paimon to Belial and padded over. He touched Apple. She was cold. “You do not know for sure?”
Berith shook his head. “Her pulse, I cannot feel it. But it could be too weak for me, couldn’t it?” He stared at Andy hopefully. “My hands are calloused and bruised. Maybe I cannot feel it?”
Andy nodded. “Of course! Of course that’s it!” He put his hands to Apple’s neck and searched. He felt nothing. He kept the frown from his face. “It is there, it is just weak, that’s all.”
Berith kissed Apple’s forehead. “We will get her healed, and she will be fine.”
Dahlia hit the ice. The blow knocked them off their feet. She shook herself out. The blood on her bare skin absorbed back into her body. Soft red feathers replaced her bladed wings. Her hard halos faded into red light, barely noticeable above her head.
Dahlia turned to them and took in their condition. She dashed to Apple and tore her from Berith. She shook her. “Blood of my blood you wake now.” She dropped Apple. Apple hit the snow and her eyes snapped open. Berith engulfed her in a hug.
Dahlia grabbed Whitney from Helion. She gazed into Whitney’s black eyes, and then to Helion. “She went to my realm?”
Helion nodded.
Dahlia sighed. “Then I have no choice in this. Whitney, forgive me for taking yours.” She brought Whitney into a tight embrace. Helion stepped back.
Whitney spoke in a daze, “They won’t stop talking, Dahlia. I can’t listen to it all anymore. Tell them to stop fucking talking!”
“Shh.” Dahlia ripped off Whitney’s shirt and stabbed her fingers into Whitney’s back. Whitney wailed, but her banshee cry was weak, without power. Dahlia ripped and pulled.
Thick wings of obsidian, slate, and limestone erupted out of her back in two sets. Halos formed over her head made from glass and coral. Her corpse pale skin took on a light of its own. The substance from the crater that sat on her skin sank in. Whitney’s eyes snapped open, black; her hair was white as the snow, eclipsed only by her glowing body. She wobbled on her feet and fell into Helion.
Helion held her, felt the power from her skin. “She is Archangel.”
Dahlia nodded. “Now, yes. She would have died. I am sorry, Whitney. You have just been drawn into this.”
Whitney held her head. “Oh, uh.” She puked as the world spun around her. Her brain struggled to process the dump of information, but the voices had stopped. Whitney looked up at Helion and gaped. He shined bright and beautiful. “What am I?”
Dahlia smiled. “An Archon of Hell.”
Helion hugged her. “Congratulations, Whitney!”
Whitney looked up at Dahlia as she wiped her lips. “I feel like I should get a cake and a party hat for my promotion.” She turned and kissed Helion. “Does this mean I’m not undead anymore?”
Dahlia nodded. “Pretty much.”
Whitney frowned. “Just when I was starting to get into a groove with it.”
Apple twisted in Berith’s grip. “It itches! Shit! It won’t stop!”
Dahlia’s eyes flicked over. “You.” She hauled Apple to her feet and looked into her eyes. “You have a bit more of a choice.”
Apple stretched and scratched her nails down her back. “I don’t want to make a choice I want my back to stop itching.”
Dahlia turned her around. “Well you need to make one soon or it is going to be made for you.”
Apple scowled, the sensation making her irritable. “Well, spit it out!”
Dahlia ran her fingers down Apple’s spine. “Become my Archon, an Archangel of Hell or remain Lilliam, but undead.”
Apple stared at her hands. “I died?”
“Technically, yes. We are linked and so you went through the transition with me, but not being Archangel already, your body could not handle it.”
Apple looked back at Berith. He got to his feet. “I will love you whatever you choose.”
Apple eyed him then looked at Dahlia. “If I’m an Archon can I kick his ass, as an equal for once?”
“Yes.”
Apple grinned. “Wing me.”
Dahlia touched Apple’s itching back. Two sets of neon red wings erupted out of her dark skin. Apple’s eyes shifted to match and her black hair took on a reddish sheen. Twin halos of bone circled her limbs and head.
Apple smiled, reveling in her new power. She punched Berith in the jaw. He went flying. She slapped her hand over her mouth and followed her fia
ncé. “Whoa! Sorry!”
Berith rolled to his feet and pulled her into a hug. “I am not!” He gave her a once over. “You know I always had a fantasy about you winged, but you were always a Fury and we could never…”
Apple looked him up and down. “I am Fury no longer.”
Dahlia turned from them and dropped down to Belial’s side. She took Paimon from her and held him. “What do you need of me?”
“Death.”
Dahlia’s face grew rigid. “I cannot do that for you.”
Paimon touched her wings. “You can, but you will not.”
“This is true.”
Paimon looked away. “Then you can do nothing.”
Dahlia squeezed him. “I can take you to his body in time. I can promise you that.”
Paimon shuddered and nodded. “That will be enough.”
Dahlia handed him to Andy. “Paimon, do not try and kill yourself again.” Paimon closed his eyes and turned away, unable to promise anything.
Dahlia turned to Belial. “You.”
Belial looked at her nervously. “You.”
Dahlia swept her into a hug. “I owe you my greatest apologies.”
Belial blinked. “Why? You have never wronged me.”
Dahlia nodded. “I did, though you may not see it that way. When I switched you over to female I left you defenseless and for that I am sorry.” She moved her hands to Belial’s wing scars. She traced them with her fingers. “I should have done this then.”
Dahlia concentrated. She coaxed the parts beneath Belial’s skin, the bone and muscle that used to connect to wings. Dahlia reopened the scars and stepped back.
Belial held her head and stumbled, one hand clutched at her heart. Copper and steel wings grew from the place her four blue wings used to reside. Zinc and gold halos adorned her like jewelry. Belial took a deep breath. The sensation was not foreign to her; it was home. Belial spread her new wings and a smile lit up her features. She exuded sweetness and innocence. She launched into the air.
Apple and Whitney saw her go. The pair jumped into the air to follow, using their wings for the first time. Belial turned and soared back down. She landed in front of Dahlia and dropped to one knee. “I am without words, beyond honored.”
Dahlia helped her up. “Stop that. It was only cute the first time.”
Whitney and Apple did the same. Dahlia glared at her Archangels. “None of this nonsense.”
“You are our Primangel now.”
Dahlia looked at the two sets of wings on her back. “Not yet.”
Andy frowned. “Why were you not able to get all three?”
Dahlia touched her wings. “Only God or a Primangel can restore me to that, an Archangel can only bring to their level if they have the seed feathers. Fortunately, I have no need of those. Speaking of which.” She looked to Berith, Andy, and Paimon. “Come here.”
Helion hung back. Dahlia snapped for him. “You too, come on, get over here.”
Her wings vibrated into a blur. She concentrated and touched each one of the Fallen. Flames and electricity swirled around Berith’s head. Andy vibrated with sonic power. Paimon lit up with green light and radiation. Helion twitched and grew dizzy. Four wings of captured light returned to them in shades of blue, green, and white. Their lamin sigils burned bright on their foreheads and fizzled, fading to nothing. They were fallen angels no longer.
Helion looked over his shoulder to see he had four white wings. “But I was not Archangel before.”
Dahlia folded her arms. “Well you are now; one of Lucifer’s to replace Belial.”
Helion smiled and took Whitney’s hand. Whitney looked him over. “You’ve still got the crazy eye, black and blonde hair.” She shook her head. “Still a magpie.”
Andrealphus flapped his sky-blue wings, reveling in the sensation of power. “We are his Archangels again.”
Berith nodded. “No longer Fallen.”
Paimon leaned against Andy; he was still blind. “What is our purpose now? What is the point?”
Sunlight glowed on the horizon. The morning star glittered, heralding the coming of the sun. Dahlia let the light wash over her. “Getting Lucifer, but first, there are a few things we need to set in order. Come, let us go below.”
***
Michael and Uriel hovered directly above the new shield. Samuel flew behind them; he swooped down to brush the surface.
Gabriel hung back. “I would not if I were you.”
Samuel ignored him and touched it anyways. The light and substance stabbed at his hand, jolting him with enough force to send him careening backwards. Michael and Uriel watched him go. The pair backed away from the shield in unison.
Uriel ordered one of his underlings to don a pendant and fly through the shield. The angel did so without qualms. The angel hit the shield and vaporized. Uriel frowned. “Unfortunate.”
Michael looked back at Gabriel. “Explain this. Explain again how you lost your machine.”
Gabriel scratched his head. “Dahlia has her—”
“Ladriam, her name is Ladriam. We do not call that thing Dahlia.”
Gabriel nodded. “She was four-winged and very angry.”
“And you let her destroy the machine.”
Gabriel raised his eyes to stare into Michael’s. “When have you gone alone against a Primangel in power?”
Michael leveled his spear at Gabriel. “Learn when not to speak, what not to say. How is it that the shield changed?”
Gabriel kept his eyes on the spear. “She recollected the human energy and put it to use in the shield. It is stronger now.”
Samuel rejoined the group. He pointed at Raphael and Selaphiel. “Why are they not punished?”
Uriel sneered. “Yes, why is that, Michael?”
Michael looked annoyed. “He does not wish it, there is a plan and Raphael can do naught else but heal that which is wounded. I am sure she was an appealing triage patient.” He glared at Raphael. “Tell me, does she have two or three sets now?”
“Two,” Raphael spoke quietly. “The third set can only be given by another Primangel at full-strength or one that is higher.”
Uriel smiled. “That at least is something. She is as strong as we are, but not more so. We have more than—”
“No.” Raphael shook his head. “With two wings she will have the ability to restore the others to Archangel.”
Michael went pale. “What?! I thought she needed their seed feathers!”
Selaphiel stepped in front of Raphael, silent. Raphael spoke from around his shoulder, “Primangels can heal the others without needing seed feathers. Did you not know?”
Michael snapped his teeth at Raphael. “No! Why did you not share this pertinent information?”
Raphael looked confused. Selaphiel spoke in his place, “We knew that she could do this before, in the past when Furcas was damaged. She restored him and granted him his second set of wings. Perhaps you should have anticipated this?”
Michael grabbed Selaphiel by his throat. “Do not speak to me like this!”
Selaphiel glared at him coldly and smiled. “You were never one to think ahead or to consider consequences, just like your brother.”
Michael growled. “You are far too pleased by this development.”
Selaphiel shrugged. “I am pleased when prayer and plans are seen through, that is all.”
“What do you mean?”
Selaphiel looked away. “Some things are fated and it is not my place, nor yours, to stand in the way of that.”
Uriel flew in closer. “You know what will happen?”
Selaphiel looked him over. “I can see the patterns.”
Jegudiel flashed into space. He gaped at the scene. “We are summoned back to the throne.”
***
Banners of black and blue hung from the towers in the City, the lights overhead burned red. The new and restored Archangels stood on the Grand Promenade. Around them wounded Lilliam waited on healers. Medics rushed between groups. Others
focused on repairs to the City. The mood was morose.
Dahlia rubbed her temples. “I am leaving.”
Helion frowned. “But we just got back.”
“Yes, so you can rest. I need to go.”
Berith stabbed a finger her direction. “You are not storming Heaven alone.”
Dahlia shook her head. “Of course I am not. I have things to set in order.”
Belial eyed her. “Someone should go with you then if that is all you have to do.”
“Why?”
Andy stood next to Belial. “So you don’t storm Heaven on your own.”
“I just said—”
“We know what you said,” Apple spoke from Berith’s side. “But Lucifer lied in the past, I’m sure you can too.”
Dahlia folded her arms. “Fine. Whitney and Helion.”
Belial shook her head. “No way—”
“Why not?”
“My brother is a pushover and no offense, Whitney, but you’re new to this, not exactly in full possession of your strengths.” Belial grimaced as pain grew in her chest. “None of your Archons are ready, Dahlia. This type of power is new, even to me.”
Dahlia nodded. “So spend some time here getting used to it. If you do not think Helion and Whitney are enough then Berith, you and Apple come with me too.”
Belial nodded, mollified. “That is better.”
Dahlia looked to Apple and Berith. “That is, if you desire to.”
Apple opened her wings. “Let’s go!”
Berith smiled at his fiancée. “Your mother will kill you if you do not say hello before leaving. After all of this.”
Apple waved to the air. “She’ll be fine—”
Daphne materialized behind her daughter and wrapped her in a hug. “No I won’t be fine. You become an Archangel and suddenly family doesn’t matter anymore?”
Apple blushed. “Of course it matters! But I have power now; I can really do things to help!”
Helion rubbed Whitney’s shoulders as she rested against him. “What are we going to do?”
Dahlia looked towards the ceiling. “I have some promises to keep. We still have threats on the surface.”