Daystar

by Darcy Town

  Raphael scratched her head. “So we need someone else.”

  “Yeah.”

  Raphael hummed. “How are Ra and Ifrit doing?”

  “Sufficient, but they cannot keep it up indefinitely, nor I suspect can Selaphiel once we jump.”

  “Quite.”

  Dahlia stomped on the moon. “Fuck! Fuck!” She bit her knuckles, her mind on the stars. “Gabriel, Gabriel.”

  “What about him?”

  “He and Paimon can do it together. A big enough bomb and you have a sun.”

  “Gabriel’s playing for the other team.”

  “Gabriel plays for himself.” Dahlia folded her arms. “He wants something, Raphy. We figure it out and he is ours.”

  Raphael frowned. “He has never wanted anything. He does not want, feel, or emote. He might as well be a rock or a tree.”

  “Well obviously something has caught his attention. Why else is he being like his brother?”

  “You think he is being sneaky?”

  “I think he is being himself finally.” Dahlia shaded her eyes as the sun flashed again. She pointed to her feet. “Go back to Hell, I need to think. The next time I call expect it to be for the portal.”

  “Roger roger!” Raphael disappeared.

  “Fuck!” Dahlia glared at the sun. “Lucifer, I need time to think. Give me time to think. Please hold on.”

  ***

  Lucifer was losing himself. His personality slipped as he hovered between waking and a dazed stupor. It would be all too easy to slide into the stream of fire and join with it instead of controlling it.

  He shook his head and bared his teeth. He had to hold on. He had sent messages to Dahlia, to the others, warning them that he was failing under the pressure. Dahlia had planned for this. He had to trust that she had planned for everything. She always planned for everything.

  The fire continued unrelenting, pouring energy and elements through the portal, straight into his body. The pain overwhelmed him. Lucifer passed out. His consciousness faded, blending into the whole. His form merged with the light around it.

  The sun pulsed and grew in mass.

  “Lucifer!”

  Lucifer’s eyes snapped open; he regained control, his body reformed. He shook his head, his vision blurred. He felt a tug on his hand and looked down. A blue-eyed boy looked up at him. “You must remain yourself.”

  Lucifer frowned. “Michael?” He shook his head. “Now I am hallucinating. I pray the sun is not exploding while I dream.” He turned his face back to the fire and blinked against the brightness.

  Michael leaned against Lucifer. His heart pounded.

  Lucifer spared him a glance. “What are you doing here even as a figment?”

  Michael steeled himself. “I am trying to understand you.”

  Lucifer managed a slight grin. “Ah, it is good to know that my phantasms do not trick me by being sensible.”

  Michael frowned. “I realize I am not being sensible. I do not know why I stay. I should go.”

  Lucifer grimaced against the pain. “I would rather you not go.”

  Michael gaped. “You want me to stay?”

  “I need the anchor. Real or not, you seem to be keeping me awake. Continue to speak.”

  Michael seized on his fortune. “May I ask you questions?”

  “Why would my own psyche feel the need to ask me questions?” Lucifer frowned. “Unless my mind has developed you as a way to keep me whole in the face of this. Interesting idea.” He nodded. “Ask away.”

  Michael could not believe this was happening. He bit his lip. “Why did you cast me aside in favor of her?”

  “Straight to the point.” Lucifer strained. “But cast you aside? You cast me aside first, little brother.”

  “No, I did not.”

  “Yes, you did. You would not stand by me as my second.”

  “You—you disobeyed!”

  “Regardless, that still answers your question. I am not going to respond to a statement. That requires too much on my part, I cannot afford that.”

  “Fair enough.” Michael frowned. “When you disobeyed, you did not give me a chance to think on my decision, and you tried to kill me. Why?”

  “To both you are correct. I should not have done that, but time was of the essence.” Lucifer managed to look thoughtful under the circumstances. “I wondered if he would have chosen my side if I had spoken more, but Uriel…” Lucifer grimaced. “Uriel’s actions had enraged me along with my own guilt. I could not think ahead. I never think ahead, I just do. That should have come as no surprise.”

  Michael nodded. “Why did you disobey Him for her? If you had never faltered, we would remain together still.”

  “She is my other half; I do not mean that in the sense of senseless poets.” Lucifer smiled. “She is my opposite and I felt this to be true in our joining at creation. I cannot help but seek to be with her. Once I realized that, that this truth was greater than He was, I was free of His restrictions and rule. I became my own. She freed me.”

  Michael frowned. “I always felt that with you. Not in the same sense, but this is why it hurt so badly when you tossed me aside. How could you not feel the same for me when I felt that for you? When you left me, it was a gaping loss, a hole I filled with anger, a hole I still have now, wishing to replace you by being Primangel in your stead.”

  Lucifer took a deep breath. “I did not feel a loss for you.”

  Michael cringed. “Oh.”

  Lucifer looked down at the boy. “Not until you were gone. My agony for her was so immense. I could not feel it when you left me.” He reached down and touched a blonde curl. “We were whole until you chose to side with Him and when you chose you simply added another stream of pain into what was a torrent. By then my suffering was fueling anger and you were yet one more thing that hurt me. But your hurt was different, for you were not locked away from me, prevented, you were with me, turned against me. You stabbed me, took my wings.”

  Lucifer set his jaw and looked away from Michael. “You kept me from saving her, and in that moment, on your spear, I vowed to kill you. Not because you were nothing to me, but because you were my brother, my closest friend and yet you turned against me in the worst possible way, and for what? So you could gain another set of wings and be all the more His servant? You traded love and friendship for power.”

  Lucifer scowled. “But, I hate you not for your goals of power. We all have ambition. No, I have hated you all this time because you have kept me apart from the creature I love and desire above all else. You have seen me sundered and beaten down. You cast your lot with Him and even now seek to destroy everything I have made and loved, because you are jealous and you had no reason to be.

  “I would have shared everything with you. I wanted you to love my world as much as I did. I wanted you to know love and I am sure you would have in time found someone.” He looked down. “How could you not know that Dahlia did not replace you, Michael? You are my brother and you are unable to be replaced. I had no idea you felt as you did. If I had known I would have set you straight, but that time is long past.”

  Michael closed his eyes. “I—”

  “You say I chose her over you, but you chose Him over me first.”

  Michael’s eyes snapped open. “I—I did.” He touched his head. “I did.”

  “This is of no worth, but may I ask you a question, figment?”

  Michael nodded. “I will answer as honestly as you have.”

  “Did you ever regret your decision to choose Him over me?”

  Michael blinked in surprise. His voice came out ragged, “I have not thought on that in some time. I did second-guess my choice as I flew back to Him. Then I saw the spear forged and my course was set. There was no turning back.”

  Lucifer shook his head. “Of course you would say that, it is what I would want to hear.”

  Michael sighed. “Why? What would be the point? So you could hear it and then end me knowing I regretted after my decision? So tha
t you would know that I know you might have been right and I was wrong?”

  “End you?” Lucifer shook his head. “No I—”

  Fire blasted with extra intensity and Lucifer’s thoughts fled him. He pressed back against the fire; his wings bent backwards in agony.

  Michael pushed against Lucifer and pressed his hands into his glowing flesh. “Be strong and stay here! I want my answer, Lucifer!”

  ***

  “Where is that fucking bitch?” Furcas’ eyes swept across the sunlit side of the moon turned sunshade. “She’s gone to the dark side, Paimon!”

  Paimon squinted. “I think she teleported again. How come she can do that?”

  “To be fucking annoying.” Furcas threw up his hands. “Dahlia, we lost her!”

  Dahlia waved them away, her eyes focused on the sun. “I do not have time to worry over one angel you guys. Deal with it please!” Dahlia turned to Gaea. “Gaea, status?”

  “Lilliam are still fine. Ra and Ifrit are tiring and are pulsing the light and heat instead of maintaining it full force. Titan and Ouroboros are concentrating the heat on Eden only. The rest of the planet has dropped into a sudden winter. Ambient temperature is survivable, but there will be a die-off of plant and animal life.”

  Dahlia looked to Furcas and Paimon. “Like I said, I do not have time.”

  Furcas nodded. “Got it, we’ll handle her.”

  Paimon turned towards Earth. “She’s by the shield again. She’s trying to pull us back from Dahlia.”

  Furcas turned. “Damn it.”

  Furcas’ angels dove for Ariel, but she disappeared only to reappear some ways away, circling, and taunting. She flipped Furcas and Paimon off. Paimon ground his teeth together. “She had to have been made to be this arrogant.”

  A rush of noise accompanied a burst of angels in the space surrounding them; they stared vacant-eyed like copies of the late Metatron. They surrounded Paimon and Furcas.

  The pair went back to back as the angels circled, looking for an opportunity to attack. Paimon retracted their chain almost entirely; he grabbed Furcas’ hand. “I fucking hate wailers.”

  Furcas grinned. “It’s a good thing we didn’t start fucking.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Paimon held out his hand and formed three glowing orbs. He threw them into the wailers and closed his eyes. Explosions made light that rivaled Ra’s false sun; the angels were blinded and burnt for miles. Paimon grinned.

  Furcas formed a reflective shield that curved around the pair, over their heads and under their feet. An angel dove and bellowed, but the blast did nothing but push their shell and them with it. Furcas turned, wrapped his arms around Paimon, and pushed against him as the shield lurched. “Our back is covered.”

  “Are you getting frisky back there?”

  Furcas smirked. “Maybe.”

  Ariel slammed into the back of Furcas’ clear shield. Furcas looked at her scrabble across the outside. “Diamond hard, you cannot get in.”

  Ariel hissed and punched the shield, but it would not give. She breathed fire on to the surface, but it brushed across it to no effect. She snarled in frustration and teleported away.

  Paimon looked back at Furcas. “Why do you think she has it so hard on for us?”

  Furcas shook his head. “Who knows?” He concentrated and formed gemstones around the outside of their shield. Wailers unhinged their jaws to scream. Furcas gestured with his hand and the gems burst into dust. Furcas waved and the clouds sandblasted the bodies and open mouths of the angels. Blind and choking they fell back as another wave came forward to take their place.

  “Nice.” Paimon launched another round of bombs. The explosion left rings of light and matter in the sky. He sent more of the orbs out. The resulting explosions reacted with the accumulated radiation and sent off more light and heat.

  Furcas’ eyes darted among the angels. He braced his feet on the diamond plate and jerked them to the left. “She’s there!”

  Paimon launched a bomb at her. She teleported away and came back into space on their other side. Furcas wrenched Paimon. “Fire!”

  “Got it!” Paimon blanketed the open space with explosions that colored the sky. Furcas did not see her among the dead and dying. He let go of Paimon and turned around. Paimon grabbed his hand. “She’s going for Dahlia again!” He shot fire to clear a path. The Archangels abandoned their crystalline shield and raced through tumbling wailers and shockers, chasing after Ariel.

  Dahlia and Gaea were motionless, concentrating on their tasks. Ariel saw Paimon and Furcas following and dove early, grabbing at Gaea instead of Dahlia.

  Gaea’s eyes shot open. She blasted Ariel in the face with green fire, sending her back.

  Furcas shot at the angels that dove with Ariel.

  Paimon caught Ariel’s foot and hauled her away from Gaea. “Finally!”

  Ariel slashed at his face. “Die!”

  “No how about you die, you fucking bitch!” Paimon head butted her, breaking her nose. “You interrupted my special moment with my boyfriend!” Ariel screeched and teleported leaving him empty-handed. Paimon stared at his hands. “Fuck!” He whirled around to see where she had gone.

  Furcas caught him and covered them with his wings as the wailers let loose an assault of sound. He watched Paimon from within their diamond shell. “What was that you said to her?” He smiled. “Something about interrupting your moment. Oh that’s right you were about to tell me something very important earlier weren’t you.” He threw his wings back and launched sharpened feathers at everything around them. He eyed Paimon. “So what was it?”

  Paimon spun and created bombs in a wide sphere around them; they hung in the air, set to ignite if anything touched them. He grabbed Furcas’ hands. “I want to know—”

  Angels slammed into the bombs. Explosions deafened and blinded them.

  Paimon shook his head to clear it. “I want to know if you will—”

  More of his bombs went off.

  Paimon scowled. “Motherfuckers! Leave us alone for two fucking minutes!” He threw out more bombs. “This isn’t how I wanted this to go down.” He grabbed Furcas’ shoulders. “Furcas, I love you.”

  Furcas smiled. “I love you too, Paimon.”

  Paimon’s heart raced. “I want you to know that I will never run again. I am never going to leave or be a cowardly bastard, not when it comes to you.” He gulped. “I know I said things like this before, like the last time I did this, but I did not think I could run then. I was proven wrong when my guilt became too much.”

  “Last time you did this? What are you—”

  “You’ve always been way more fucking mature than I was, despite your being younger.” Paimon stuffed his right hand into his pocket. “But I want you to know that I have grown up, I’ve learned my lessons.”

  “Paimon, we already went over this, we are squared away.” Furcas kissed his cheek. “I forgave you.”

  “I know, but I hadn’t forgiven myself and I need you to know that.” Paimon shook his head. “Damn it! I had this speech and now it’s all fucked to shit!”

  Furcas squeezed his hand. “Just tell me what feels right, Paimon.”

  Paimon nodded and looked into Furcas’ eyes. “Don’t laugh at me.”

  “I won’t.”

  Paimon took a deep breath. “When I thought you had died, I realized that without you I really don’t have a damn thing of worth or anything that makes any fucking sense. Without you, the world doesn’t mean anything and I don’t mean anything. I gaped into eternity, I got a glimpse of what it would be like living without you, and I never want to experience that again. I wanted to die right then and there. I looked back on our lives and I realized it’s not just your stupid bravery that endangers us. I endanger us both with the way I am and I don’t want my bullshit behavior to jeopardize what we have anymore. So I am going to stop being an accomplished shit in life. I’m through with being an immature bastard when it comes to you and I.”

  He caught Furcas’ gaze. �
��You are my partner, my equal, my lover, and my best friend. You are all of the best things about me and I hope that I am at least some of these things to you as well.”

  Furcas blinked back tears. “Of course you are, all of them.”

  Paimon pulled Furcas into an embrace. He slipped the ring out of his pocket, but kept it in his fist. “I have been a terrible ass, carousing and acting like I don’t care what you think, but I do, very much, more than you will probably ever know.” Paimon bit his lip. “You should know that I’m not doing this because you’re fucking hot and you don’t kick my randy ass out of bed when you should, but because if I don’t do this then I don’t deserve you. I deserve to be alone.”

  “Paimon?”

  Paimon took Furcas’ left hand and opened his right palm to show him the ring. Furcas gaped. Paimon’s voice cracked, “I want everyone to know what you are worth to me. I also want everyone to be real fucking clear that you are not anyone else’s, and that I am not anyone else’s. We belong to each other. I don’t want anyone else, I never have, and I never will. You are it, the love of my life.” Paimon held the ring between two fingers. “Marry me, Furcas.”

  Furcas jumped on Paimon. The bomb sphere around them went off in a chain as shockers dove on them in the hundreds. Furcas wrapped them both in his wings as they were blasted back towards Earth. He kissed Paimon. “Yes, yes, and yes!”

  Paimon slipped the ring on Furcas’ finger. “You know I had a whole speech written down and a plot of flowers and dinner and—”

  Furcas cut him off with another kiss. He put his forehead to Paimon’s. “That was perfect.” He looked at the ring for the first time. He recognized the engagement band and his eyes widened. “Our ring!”

  Paimon shrugged. “I know it’s not so special now that you are a jewel ridden Adonis.”

  “Paimon, this is our original ring! Where did you find it?” Furcas covered his mouth. “I—I thought it was gone after they cut my fingers off.”