by Leo Romero
Colin hurtled toward the street and I finally caught up. I threw out my hands, my fingers splayed. I managed to clamp them around his left ankle and I fell down even faster. My heart skipped a beat and I strained, my teeth clenched, the muscles in my arms flexing to breaking point. I instinctively flared my wings as wide as they would go, hoping to gain a parachute-style buoyancy. Our descent slowed, giving me enough time to catch my breath and flap my wings with all my might. Colin’s momentum continued causing a jarring that threatened to rip my arms off. I flapped my wings with more ferocity and I held on, pain shooting up my arms. I gritted my teeth against it while I waited for it to subside.
Colin bobbed up and down on the air a few times before he became still. My wings worked overtime just to keep us both hovering. I glanced down; the sidewalk was about the height of a house away. Literally a second later and Colin would’ve been a fried egg.
“Can we go again?” Colin asked the air next to him.
Screw you, Colin. I continued to flap my wings at hummingbird rate. They burned and ached under the strain. They were working way too hard. Eventually they’d run out of juice. Even from here, if I dropped him, he’d be doomed. I closed my eyes and went to propel myself up when the weight below me suddenly halved. I almost staggered in surprise. My eyes flew open and Jarvis was now facing me. He had Colin’s other ankle in his grip.
“Nice work, Stone.”
I gave him a tired nod. “Thanks.”
Jarvis ascended and I joined him, the pressure on my limbs and wings subsiding. We flew back up the sides of the skyscrapers, Colin safely in our grip once more. We reached the battle again and Ricardo came over and took Colin off me.
“Do. Not. Drop. Colin,” I emphasized to them both. They nodded in response and set off once more on the hunt for gargoyles. They went straight over and let Colin take care of a few more in quick succession. By then, the airspace was thinning in terms of gargoyles, but that was only the front line. There’d be more at Dark Suits HQ.
I flew over to Pegasus, who was hovering on the air, Aurora on his back. I mounted him. “Did I miss anything?” I asked as I watched Colin take care of the final gargoyle of the first wave, relishing the sight of those chunks falling down through the air.
“Get us to the portal, Gabe!” Aurora shouted in my ear. I nodded. We’d taken care of the first line of attack, now we were clear to go to Dark Suits Tower.
I raised Excalibur in the air. “To the tower!” I shouted in a manner that would’ve made King Arthur proud.
I got Pegasus moving, leading the charge to Dark Suits HQ, the other angels following, Jarvis and Ricardo in tow with Colin. Pegasus galloped through the sky until it came into view. Dark Suits Tower.
Gargoyles dotted the air around the building, guarding it like sentries. When they spotted us coming, they zoomed in. “Get ready!” I shouted over my shoulder. Pegasus didn’t let up. We stormed toward that rooftop, gargoyles streaming toward us. I lifted up Excalibur and aimed Bam Bam. The first gargoyle attacked from the left. I swung Excalibur, hitting it in the chest. A flash of light detonated, accompanied by a hollow clang.
But my focus was on the one coming from the right. I aimed at his head and fired Bam Bam. The blast slug blew off his ear and he spun off into the night sky. We remained on course, Dark Suits Tower almost upon us. Another couple of gargoyles shot in straight for us, snarling. They were about to collide with us head-on when I leaped off Pegasus and pushed him downward; he went with a neigh. The gargoyles careered through the now empty airspace as I floated above them out of harm’s way. Before they even knew what had happened, they came face to face with their best friend Colin.
“Stoneses!” he uttered as he grabbed hold of them both and smashed them together like they were toys. They cracked into pieces and fell away.
I landed back down on Pegasus and we were back on track.
“Nice move,” Aurora gasped.
“Thanks.” We drew close to the tower and that pentagon-shaped portal came into view. It was glowing red and a gargoyle popped out of it. Did that mean an angel lost their life somewhere behind us? Man, I hoped not. I didn’t have time to dwell on regret right then. We had bigger problems. The roof was littered with gargoyles. They were standing there like sentinels, guarding the portal as the red glow vanished once more. There was no way we could get past them all to open the portal. We needed Colin down there asap. I looked behind me. Colin was busy ripping the arms off a gargoyle dumb enough to get too close to him.
I led everyone up and above the tower. “Tell Jarvis and Ricardo to get Colin down on that roof!” I ordered Aurora. She must have ESP’d them both because within a few seconds, they were flying down there, Colin taking care of any gargoyles in their way. They dropped Colin off on the roof and got out of Dodge. Colin landed on his front with an ugh!
All the gargoyles loitering on the roof turned his way. I watched on in anticipation. The gargoyles came and gathered around Colin, wondering what the hell he was. Colin lifted up his head, his flat eyes glazed. When he saw all the pretty stoneses surrounding him, his eyes sparked up. “Stoneses!” he bellowed in excitement like a zombie shouting ‘brains!’ He scrambled up to his feet, almost tripping over himself in his eagerness.
The gargoyles didn’t know what hit them. Colin went to work, chasing them around the rooftop like a cat chasing birds, his tongue lolling from his mouth. He grabbed hold of the nearest gargoyle and gave him a giant hug like he was his long-lost brother. The gargoyle had time to squeal and widen his eyes before his torso ruptured with a loud crack and crumbled into dust. What remained of the gargoyle went limp and collapsed in Colin’s arms. Colin grabbed hold of his head and crushed it in his palms like a grape. He went straight for the next one, lumbering over to him, shouting “Stoneses,” in an enthusiastic tone. The other gargoyles went after Colin, fly-kicking him and smashing their fists into him, all to no avail. Their blows bounced off him like basketballs. But they didn’t give up the ghost. They jumped in, four of them on him at once. They clung onto his back, his shoulders, trying to claw away at him.
“Aw, pretty stoneses want to give hugseys!” Colin said as a gargoyle clawed at his face. A couple more jumped in and they had him pinned down. My eyes widened in concern. The gargoyles had him purely by outnumbering him.
I was about to fly in with Bam Bam and get to work when Colin released a massive roar. He shot upright, his fists shooting toward the sky. The gargoyles were sent flying as if they’d been on top of a detonated mine. As they went, bits of them broke off mid-air—arms, legs, wings, even a head. The pieces scattered across the roof for Colin to chase after, picking them up and breaking them down into even smaller pieces while singing for joy.
I let out a relieved breath.
“He’s having a good time,” Aurora said.
I nodded in agreement, watching Colin go. He pounded a broken gargoyle to dust with his feet while grabbing hold of another’s wings and pulling them off like he was ripping blinds from a window. The gargoyle roared in pain, while Colin let out a dumb laugh. He was the devil incarnate to these things and he was having a whale of a time on that rooftop. Any gargoyles hovering around the building zoomed in like they were on a suicide mission. Colin plucked one out of the air and crushed his leg like he was scrunching up a piece of paper. Meanwhile, another one landed on Colin’s back. Colin’s response was to let out a playful laugh before jumping up and falling back, using his weight to crush the gargoyle into the roof.
I winced. “Man, that’s gottta hurt!”
Colin raced up to another gargoyle with his arm outstretched and clotheslined him, relieving him of his head. The next one got the message and tried to escape. Colin wasn’t having any of it. He chased him down, shouting, “Stoneses not go!” He managed to grab hold of the gargoyle, got him into a pile-driver and slammed him into the roof. Colin’s fat ass obliterated the gargoyle into tiny chunks. In no time, the roof was littered with gargoyle pieces and dust.
I l
ooked around. The sky was clear. Not a gargoyle in sight. Only angels. Down on the roof, Colin was leaping two-footed into the sole survivor. He crashed both feet into the gargoyle’s chest and he was annihilated in a haze of dust. And that was the last of them. Cheers shot into the sky. I nodded my head in appreciation. Our army had been victorious. We’d won the first round, now it was time to finish this.
I said a small prayer for all the souls now winging their way to Purgatory. Down on the roof, Colin was busy mopping up pieces of gargoyle, crushing them into powder, saliva dribbling down his chin. I flew Pegasus down and landed. The whole roof looked like an earthquake had hit it. In a way, it had.
I pulled out the ace of clubs and aimed it at Colin, who was still busy singing and crushing gargoyle remains. “Okay, buddy, playtime’s over for now,” I told him. I conducted the binding spell and Colin was sent to the Void.
I stared at the outline of the giant pentagon ahead of me. The portal was closed, but we needed to open it.
Some of the angels came and landed on the roof. One of them was Jerome, who marched over to me. “Let’s get that open and get in there.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m going alone. Aurora and I need to finish this. I want the rest of you to wait here.”
He frowned. “What happened to us being an army, Gabriel? Either we all go in or no one does.”
“No, I can’t. We don’t know what’s waiting for us in there. We don’t even know if we’ll make it out.”
I met Aurora’s stare and she looked down.
“Aurora has to go in to finish this,” I said. “I’m not letting her go in alone. If we don’t come out, I want everyone else to carry on without us.”
Ramirez and Belinda landed on the roof and stepped over. “We can’t let you go alone, Gabe,” said Belinda.
“You’ve got no choice, Belinda. The Guild can’t afford to lose everyone. The demons will run amok up here. Aurora has to go and she’s my responsibility, which means I have to go. I need you guys alive to keep things going at the Guild.”
“You sure?” Ramirez asked.
“No. But there’s no other choice.”
Jerome gave me a resigned nod. “Be careful in there, Gabriel.”
I nodded. “Like always.”
“Come back, Gabe,” Belinda said and I gave her a nod.
“I promise.”
Jerome ushered everyone back, away from the portal.
I looked at Aurora. “You ready?”
She nodded and pulled out the small blade she brought with her and pressed it up against her thumb. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and ran the blade along her skin. “Ow!” She scowled at me.
I gave her a shrug. What, did you think it wasn’t gonna hurt?
Her blood seeped out of the wound. She held her thumb over the portal. A few drops fell down on the roof and sizzled. I grimaced. A few seconds later, the portal blazed alight, that red glow emanating from it and shining up into the sky like a light show. The portal was open.
“All right, kid,” I said. “Let’s get going.” We jumped back on Pegasus, who took to the sky, turned and dived head first toward the center of that glow. Everything turned red. I took a steely breath as we shot through the portal and into Tartarus.
Chapter 21
Pegasus’ hooves landed on a rocky, barren ground.
Intense heat radiated out that was smothering like it was a living thing. Sweat broke out all over my skin, plastering it. A strong aroma of brimstone filled my tender nostrils. Somewhere in the near distance, an oppressive rumble was ongoing. We were in a huge cavern, the ceiling lined with small stalactites. Everything was a dark, earthy brown, almost black. To our right, a glowing waterfall of magma offered a profound amount of light, while opposite, huge prison bars acted as the cavern wall. When or who put them there and why was a mystery. I thought of ancient Greek gods creating this place in a fit of rage to condemn those who stood against them to burn for millennia. Looked like that was a typical ‘god’ thing to do.
I gazed at Excalibur. The blade had been numbed of its light, just a faint glow emanating from him. My light magic was no doubt weak in this plane so far underground, but my angel form gave me a glimmer. Hopefully it would be enough. Shivers raced up and down my spine like thousands of tiny insects. This wasn’t a good place. Not at all.
“Look at that!” Aurora gasped and I raised my eyes. Yeah, the massive chamber was full of ’em. Gargoyles. Pegasus trotted along past them all, his footfalls echoing around us while Aurora and I gazed about in bewilderment. There were thousands of them. Rows upon rows of gargoyles, standing to attention, their faces caught in snarls. They stretched into the near distance in perfect lines, making my head dizzy. It was like a warehouse, a factory line of them. In a way, it was. We vanished amongst them, that same face and posture repeating over and over. Gargoyles. Gargoyles. Gargoyles. Waiting to be awakened, to be infused with a soul and then go off to war. It was surreal. Nauseous.
Aurora looked around her, dumbstruck. “Imagine if all of these gargoyles were unleashed on the world.”
I nodded in agreement. It would be chaos.
“Welcome to Tartarus,” a voice echoed through the colossal chamber. My head twitched up to where the voice came from. At the head of the chamber, standing on a giant plinth, haughty like a power-drunk king was Tarron Skalanis. I nodded in recognition. Just as we’d suspected, he’d been the one to instigate all of this. His pointy teeth were clamped together in a nasty grin. His black eyes glimmered with wild intent and twisted intelligence in equal measure. He had his hands out to the sides in a welcoming gesture. “I hope you’ll enjoy your stay.”
I puffed up my chest. “It’s over, Tarron. We’ve taken care of your gargoyles on Earth.”
Tarron’s grin drooped.
I got off Pegasus and held up the ace of clubs.
“You wish to play cards?” Tarron asked.
I shook my head. “No. Just this one.” I threw down the card and huffed. With a sheepish shrug, I reluctantly uttered, “Colin.” Man, the first part sounded so badass and then I ended it with ‘Colin’ to ruin it all. Oh well, at least Colin will make mincemeat of these gargoyles.
Tarron stared on with a confused, yet conceited expression, his pointy chin still raised in the air while his gaze was fixed on the card. “Colin?” he echoed in bemusement.
I nodded and crossed my arms over my pumped-up chest. “Yeah!” I said, trying to sound tough. I quickly melted; my chest deflated and my arms fell away. “All right, the guy who’s going to put an end to your dastardly plan is called Colin, okay?”
The door to the Void opened up and in stepped the troll of the hour. The big dumbo gazed about him, drool falling down his chin in strings. His big, dopey eyes lit with joy. “Uh,” he gasped, almost giving himself a heart attack. “Pretty stoneses! Lots and lots of pretty stoneses!”
“Have fun, buddy!” I said. I barely got the words out when Colin went into a spasm of delight, clapping his hands and hopping from foot to foot. He didn’t know where to start. He threw out his arms and dived into a spin. His fists struck the first of the gargoyles and they smashed into pieces. Colin didn’t let up. He went into a tornado twist that would’ve made the Tasmanian Devil dizzy.
“Round and round the fawnberry bush!” he sang merrily as he swung around, those giant fists bashing into gargoyles. “The fawnberry bush, the fawnberry bush!”
He mashed into a line of gargoyles, knocking them down like dominoes. And on he went, colliding with gargoyles on his twisting rampage through the chamber. I stood there, watching him go in total awe. He was making fast work of that army, crushing it down like it was nothing, an army that had stood for centuries, reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds. High above us all on his plinth, Tarron watched on, his jaw hanging like an anchor. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting that. I stood there, shooting him a smug grin, my arms crossed over my chest while Colin sang and crushed.
“Early in the morning!” Co
lin sang with joy as he went to work. He twirled back the way he came, running through a fresh line of gargoyles. He was a troll in a gargoyle shop. I glanced at Aurora and gave her a grin. She returned the gesture. But it melted like wax.
Her eyes flashed with concern. “Look out!”
I spun around to be met with a stonecrusher juggernaut heading right for us. I immediately snatched up Aurora and flapped my wings, lifting us both up in the nick of time. Colin went whirling past, striking more gargoyles like a bowling ball smacking pins. We watched him from up high, which was even more awesome. Gargoyles were left in his wake as he gyrated through the chamber in concentric circles, his appetite for destruction seemingly endless.
“I don’t think he could ever get bored of breaking stones,” said Aurora.
“Everyone needs a hobby.”
In what must have been record time in terms of gargoyle army destruction, Colin had dispatched every single gargoyle. I made a mental note of the last one he pummeled as I watched it break into pieces. Aurora would have to get some of her blood on that one like Nigella said.
When done, Colin finally came to a stop. Even though his chest was heaving, there was a stupid grin on his face, and his eyes gleamed with the euphoria of an endorphin rush. “That was fun,” he uttered with a contented sigh. All around him was devastation. Annihilation. “I want to do it again.”
I floated down to the ground and let go of Aurora. “Some other time, buddy.” I aimed the ace of clubs at him and conducted the binding spell. The Void swallowed him up for safe keeping. Hmm, Colin the stonecrusher might come in handy again someday.