Daystar

by Darcy Town

  Whitney leaned over him and saw part of his brain through his broken skull. “Gross.” She fanned the air with her hands. “I haven’t taken first aid since high-school! I’m sorry! I don’t know what to do!”

  Michael opened one blue eye. “Kill me.”

  “Kill you?”

  The fire watched. I DO NOT NEED AN ARCHANGEL THAT DOES NOT OBEY. FEEL FREE TO KILL THIS ONE IF IT AMUSES YOU.

  Whitney wrinkled her nose and turned to the fire. “I wouldn’t have anyways, but you saying that really seals the deal. If you want him dead, kill him yourself, lazy prick.” She turned from the fire and leaned over Michael; she bit her lip and reached out trying to decide if she could help him.

  Michael stared at the floor blankly. His hair hung in limp bloody curls. Whitney brought her hand near his face. He snapped at her. “Leave me alone or put me out of my misery.” He was paralyzed by pain.

  Whitney sat down and stared at him. She looked at her hands and a coral needle formed between her fingers. Whitney pulled at her hair and yanked out a few of the gossamer white strands. She twisted them together, licked the ends, and threaded the needle.

  Whitney touched Michael. She pulled one of his cuts together and began to sew. He lashed out at her, but the same force that blocked the others, repelled his attack. She ignored him and closed the first of his wounds. With each strand of hair that touched him, some of the pain leeched out of his skin.

  Michael stopped struggling after a time and watched her work. “If you heal me I will attempt to harm you in order to return to His favor.”

  Whitney shrugged. “You can try.”

  “You are aiding your enemy. Why?”

  “You are not an enemy when you are too injured to fight me.”

  Michael frowned. “Why are you showing me kindness when I showed you none before?”

  “You are a dick, while I am not.” Whitney kept sewing. “Besides what else am I supposed to do here? I will go mad if I have to listen to the angels singing. Your music sucks balls.”

  Michael frowned. “I suspect that was an insult of some kind.”

  “It is.” Whitney flicked her hand in the air and two stones appeared. The rocks beat together, interrupting the heavenly song. The guardian angels faltered, stopped singing, and gazed in confusion at the noise.

  Whitney grinned and worked on Michael, leaving the stones to beat randomly, breaking up any attempt to use them as a beat.

  ***

  Jegudiel hummed and made himself cocoa. He loved cocoa and chocolate in general. He stood in the kitchen, barefoot with corduroy pants on, his hair still damp from his shower. He had managed to use all the hot water in the house, it had taken him awhile, but he had done it. Jegudiel smiled. He’d left his towels lying on the floor too. See how they liked that one.

  The front door opened and closed.

  Jegudiel quietly set down his mug. He peeked outside the kitchen. Paimon and Furcas glared at one another. Bean stood between them and looked up at the two, trying to smile. She wore a pale pink dress and heels, her painted fingers dug into the purse Furcas had acquired for her. Her hands shook, though she tried to hide it.

  She spoke to her fathers and her voice was soft and light. Jegudiel’s stomach twisted in knots. Fear, anger, and affection all rolled up inside him. He stared at his feet, trying to expel any feelings of fondness. Child or not, she did not deserve any charity for her actions as repellant as they were. His eyes rose up, catching on her figure. He looked away, disgusted with himself.

  Furcas saw Jegudiel first; he nodded in his direction. Bean turned and met his eyes once before blushing and running for the stairs. Furcas sighed and followed her up, pausing on the staircase to look to Jegudiel. “Don’t go anywhere, please.” He dashed upstairs to follow Bean into her room.

  Jegudiel’s eyes flicked over to Paimon. Paimon glared at Jegudiel as if he had killed Furcas and desecrated his corpse. Jegudiel jumped back into the kitchen. Paimon stalked in and kept walking until he had Jegudiel up against the wall. Paimon pointed at his face. “You are going to listen and do as I say. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Paimon’s entire body shook as his jaw worked to spit out his words, “Bean, she loves you, treat her nice.” He fought with himself. “Tell me how you feel about her right now.”

  “I…” Jegudiel stared at his feet. He had been going over that this entire time. “I don’t know.”

  “Not good enough.” Paimon leaned in until their noses almost touched. “She’s confused about things enough as it is! Figure out how you feel real damn quick and make it apparent to her. If you don’t feel for her then let her know. I don’t want you dragging this on if you are just going to hurt her.”

  “She tried to—”

  Paimon grabbed him by his neck and lifted him off his feet. “I said she was confused. We talked some sense into her. You will forgive her and she won’t try and assault you again.”

  Jegudiel nodded. “Thank you.”

  “We didn’t do it for your sake!”

  “Okay!”

  “I want this to be clear, real fucking clear, so listen good.” Paimon dropped his voice to a hiss. “If you two date.” He shuddered. “You do not touch her, you do not think about touching her, not even in a daydream or when you’re alone in your bed. You see, I have ways of making deaths look like accidents. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  Paimon looked away. “I am not a fool, however, so if you two do touch one another, make sure I never know about it. Ever, I mean it. If she ever has a child of her own, as far as I am concerned, it will be a fucking virgin birth. Understand me?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  Paimon glared at him. “But if I find out that you have touched her I will be forced to retaliate. I don’t care if it was mutual between you two or if she assaults you again. Your death will be violent and drawn out, no one will save you.” Paimon dropped him. “You will not tell her we had this talk. I don’t need that kind of stress heaped on me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Paimon gave him a once over. “I’ll be watching you. Don’t doubt that for a moment. There’s no place in the universe that you can hide from me. I’ll hunt you down. So keep your dick in your pants and your hands to yourself or I’ll chop both off.”

  Furcas jumped down the stairs and sauntered into the kitchen. He looked between the two and lost his smile. “Paimon!”

  Paimon grinned showing Jegudiel his sharp teeth. “What?”

  “You fucking threatened him. What did I say?”

  “Did not, did I, Yoshi?”

  Jegudiel shook his head. “No, not at all. We were just talking about…cocoa.”

  Furcas backhanded Paimon. “I am not an idiot.”

  Paimon grinned and walked past him. He turned behind Furcas and made a slash across the throat sign to Jegudiel. He strolled out of the room with a giant smile on his face.

  Jegudiel felt faint. He held on to the fridge and looked up at Furcas. “Why is he assuming that Bean and I—”

  “Oh, Jegudiel.” Furcas poured himself a glass of wine and lit a cigarette. “May I be frank with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “She’s got Paimon’s brains, my sex appeal, and she wants you. You don’t stand a chance. Not saying it’s going to happen anytime soon, but it will eventually.” He took a drag off his cigarette. “That being said, she’s still in possession of an innocent heart. Do not stomp on it or I will do whatever Paimon threatened to do. I’m sure it was colorful and fun.”

  “So he’s threatening me if I do, and you’re threatening me if I don’t?” Jegudiel held his head. “Why are you all doing this to me?”

  Furcas smirked. “Paimon will lighten up and come around. If he doesn’t on his own, I will make him. That’s a promise. She’s besotted with you and he has to get over that.”

  Jegudiel frowned. “How do you make someone do something?”

  Furcas grinned. “That is something you’ll need to learn
with her all on your own. Now I suggest you just relax, maybe have a glass of wine, and calm down. You look like you’re going to pass out.” Furcas handed him his glass of wine.

  Jegudiel eyed it. “Why aren’t you drinking it?”

  “It’s not drugged if that is what you are asking.” Furcas smiled. “I have to go make nice with Paimon. He seems to think I have betrayed him parentally.”

  Jegudiel frowned. “I am getting the hell out of the house then.”

  “Take Bean with you.”

  “No. I don’t want to.”

  Furcas pointed. “She wants to apologize. So please take her out and just give her a chance, Jegudiel. She feels terrible about what she did.”

  Jegudiel frowned. “If she tries anything—”

  “She won’t.” Furcas waved towards the front door. “Go for a walk through the city. Shoo.”

  Jegudiel knocked back the entire glass of wine and stomped up the stairs. He was excited. He faltered and grimaced, resentment set in. Something else was being forced upon him; he had no illusions that he had a choice in speaking with her. Jegudiel gripped the banister and stared upwards. He would take this walk and he would set things straight with her. He was not going to be pushed around anymore.

  Jegudiel passed Paimon on the stairs. Paimon smiled and made knifing motions at him. Jegudiel set his jaw and knocked on Bean’s door.

  Paimon leapt for him. Furcas hauled him back into their bedroom and shut the door.

  Bean opened her door a crack. “Yeah? Oh hi.” She smiled, blushed, and stared at her feet.

  Jegudiel stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Your parents are about to get intimate downstairs. I was going to go for a walk; you can come if you want to.”

  “Yes!” Bean threw the door open. She had changed into jean shorts, a tank top, and tennis shoes; she pulled back her hair into a ponytail. Her wings fluttered in excitement. “Thanks for the invitation that was thoughtful of you.”

  Jegudiel eyed her. “You look rather prepared.”

  Bean smiled. “I know my parents.” She closed her door and ran past him. “Let’s go! They don’t wait around for anyone or anything.” Jegudiel ran after her and they dashed out the front door. Jegudiel slammed it shut behind him and stalked after her.

  Paimon and Furcas leaned out of their bedroom. Furcas smiled, Paimon sulked. Furcas flicked him in the head. “I think it’s cute.”

  Paimon sighed. “You would.” He grabbed Furcas’ wrist and kissed it. “I just wish she’d stayed young a bit longer.”

  Furcas nibbled on his ear. “She’s always going to be our baby, Paimon.”

  Paimon eyed him. “Get in the bedroom and strip.”

  ***

  Selaphiel stared up at the giant light bulb that hung in the center of Hell. He frowned and tapped it. The light reacted to his power and glowed blue in the dark murk of Hell. Wires connected to the bulb and his power flowed out along those lines. Slowly chains of paper stars began to glow and his frown increased. “I find this entire endeavor odd, Raphael.”

  Raphael jumped on his back. She shined neon pink in the darkness. Her feathered wings had shifted to webbed oil and water wings. “They’ll like it!”

  “It looks like one of those collages you did at the house, pretty but strange.”

  She grinned. “It’s supposed to look that way!” She stuck a few more paper stars to the sky. “They’ll be calmed for the duration.”

  Selaphiel kissed her hand. “We are not housing children, Raphael. We are housing adults.”

  Raphael shrugged. “They’ll be charmed then. She didn’t say it had to look real, she didn’t even say it had to look like the sky, but don’t you think that when people look up they’ll want to see stars?”

  “The sun is a giant light bulb, Raphael. They will not be under any illusions that it is the sky.”

  She smiled at it. “Glows real bright too, thanks to you.”

  He sighed. “It is not a comfort to know that my only job during this will be to keep the light going.”

  Raphael gazed into his eyes. “They’ll need it. No one wants to be in the dark when they do not know what is going on in it. Light is hope and maybe someone will even laugh and that’ll make people feel better. Besides, you’ll be safe inside it.” She kicked off his shoulders and flew into their artificial sky to stick a paper moon on to the carved out surface of Hell. She poked the moon and it glowed along with the light bulb, albeit less so.

  Raphael gazed at the space and moved to the black throne. The structure hovered in the murk, unoccupied. She stared at it critically. “We never used this before. I hope it works.”

  Selaphiel flew to her side. “It looks as Heaven’s did.”

  “Of course.” Raphael smiled. “It’s supposed to.” She reached out to touch it, but held her hand back. “Home base.” She looked at the darkness beyond the throne. “She’ll make the incision back past the bulb, but she’ll need to work from here.”

  Selaphiel wrapped his arms around her. “What will you do while she is working and I am lighting up this small refuge?”

  Raphael looked away. “I’ll do what I need to as it arises. I can’t foresee everything, big man.”

  Selaphiel smiled. “Now I know that is a lie.”

  Raphael smirked. “But a comforting one, just like this place, a welcoming lie.”

  ***

  Helion sat where hours earlier he and Whitney had made love in her orchard. The grass was still disturbed. There were apple cores and stems scattered on the ground. Helion held his hand up. An apple came soaring out of mid-air. He caught it and bit where Whitney had left off. Apple juice dripped onto his hands and mixed with the tears already there.

  Helion threw the apple and it disappeared. He stared at the sky overhead. Red and blue streaks of light cut the air as Lucifer and Dahlia patrolled above the shield. He sighed and stared at the trees around him. He picked the nearest and imagined it Ariel. “You are dead.”

  The tree withered, died, snapped in half, and fell over.

  Helion scrambled to his feet and backed away. He stared at the tree. “I didn’t mean it!”

  The tree stayed dead.

  Helion frowned. “You’re not really dead. You’re just faking it.”

  The tree shuddered and reformed, coming back into life, though it still looked sickly. Helion pointed at it. “Die again.”

  The tree stayed the same. Helion popped his lips. “You are actually dead.”

  The tree died. Helion stared at his hands and pointed at another tree. “Die!” The tree remained alive. He smiled a little. “You are dying.” The tree began to whither. Helion looked at another. “I think you are very healthy!” The tree burst into life and dropped fruit like rain.

  Helion snapped up an apple. “This is the best apple in the world.” He took a bite, and it was the best.

  He pointed to himself. “I am blue.” His skin remained the same. He frowned. “I have eight legs.” Helion still only had two.

  He pointed at a bug. “You have thirty wings!” The bug broke out in wings and dropped to the ground unable to do anything. Helion picked it up. “I mean you are a regular thing.” The bug returned to normal and flew away.

  Helion chewed on his lower lip. “Not me. Only statements.” He pointed his finger at the sun, and then lowered it. He stared at his hands. “What would Belial do?”

  Helion knew instantly. Belial would have gone on a destructive rampage, using the abilities to cause mayhem. Helion stifled that impulse. Dahlia had ordered him not to go to Heaven. He would obey, not because he had to, he was sure he could get around that, but because Lucifer and Dahlia were right.

  Helion gazed at his hands. What he could do to others was dangerous and he had a good idea of what He would want with that ability. Helion did not want to hurt anyone, on purpose or inadvertently, but Whitney was gone, taken from him. He ground his teeth. He repressed the feeling. He was not a violent person.

  Helion walked towards the lake. �
�I cannot just do nothing.” He frowned. “What do I do?” Helion looked in the water and spotted a fish. “What do I do?”

  The fish swam away.

  Helion scratched his hair. “Someone will come to give me advice now.”

  Leviathan appeared over the water. “What the fuck?” She hit the water and splashed around. She looked up. “Oh hi, Helion! I heard what happened to Whitney. I’m sorry.”

  Helion nodded. “She will be fine.”

  Leviathan eyed him. “I also heard you can make things happen and un-happen so to speak.”

  “Yes.” Helion sighed. “But I do not know what to do.”

  “How can I help?”

  “Tell me what I should do please.”

  Leviathan shifted to a serpent and rolled in the water. “Be ready and get Whitney when the opportunity makes itself apparent. When others are there to help you. Do not go in by yourself.”

  Helion nodded. “That is good advice, but I feel useless right now. Horrid things could be happening to her and I can do nothing.” He shook his head. “No, I can do something, but it is smarter not to. The right thing for everyone else is for me to do nothing.”

  Leviathan coiled herself up in the shallow water. “Helion, I think you’re being remarkably responsible by not charging off and putting everyone in jeopardy. Dad would have done that if Mom had been taken again.”

  “It does not feel responsible. Doing nothing feels cowardly.”

  “Are you going to go into battle when it comes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you are not a coward, you are prudent. If I were you, I would put my mind on what to do to get Whitney back when the time arises. Prepare yourself now and be ready, keep your mind busy. Thinking over an issue is not doing nothing.”

  Helion nodded. “Thank you, Leviathan.”

  She changed back to a young woman and grinned. “You’re welcome!”

  Helion smiled a little. “Aren’t you nervous?”

  Leviathan shook her head. “Mom and Dad have got this covered.”