by Aubrey Law
"I suppose we should leave this alley," said Luke. "I really have no desire to explain what happened to those men." The angel was correct. Either the local police or the Priesthood would eventually arrive to investigate the horrific deaths of four armed mercenaries and their abandoned van. We needed to keep moving to avoid another confrontation.
"Sonja, where is your apartment located?" I asked.
She studied the city skyline and pointed to the north. "About thirty minutes away from here."
"As far as your little demon-hunting club, count me in I guess," said Luke. "I might as well take out as many of them as I can before I become a demon myself." I couldn't argue with his logic.
"Awesome," said Sonja. "I don't bite, unless you want me to." She smiled at Luke and he winked at her.
The angel reached inside his robe and pulled out his sharpened silver dagger. "If you do decide to bite me, Blood-eater, my flesh will be the last thing you ever sink your teeth into. Don’t even think about it."
Sonja frowned. "I was just kidding!"
The burnt orange sun was setting on the horizon and the darkness of dusk would soon give us an advantage. If we journeyed under the cover of nightfall then our feather-shedding fallen angel friend should attract less attention. We exited the alleyway and began to walk the city streets of Los Angeles. A Black Witch, Blood-eater, and exiled angel all traveled together on a dangerous quest to survive and slay our common enemies.
CHAPTER SIX
"Annis I have a small favor to ask of you. When the time comes," said Luke. "When you see my angelic eyes fill with blood and I become one of those of devils...please put me out of my misery."
I stared at Luke and nodded. "I promise to make it quick and painless."
Sonja sighed. "How much time do you have before you turn into a demon?"
Luke shrugged and ruffled his wings. Hundreds of tiny white feathers swirled in the air and scattered into the wind like the fluffy seed pods of a dandelion. "I don't know for certain. But as long as I have my wings then I'm still an angel."
"That's so sad," said Sonja. "You're so beautiful and I can't imagine you as one of those monsters. Is there no way stop it from happening?"
Luke shook his head. "Unfortunately no. Once an angel is exiled there's no going back."
We casually strolled down the side of the street named Sunset Boulevard and watched the countless motorized vehicles pass us by. Many puzzled eyes wildly stared at our group, especially at Luke with his glowing white robe and feathered angel wings, but Sonja assured us not to worry because bizarre appearances were common in Los Angeles. My hooded black robe and Sonja's tight-fitting pink t-shirt with jeans she'd scavenged from the dungeon didn't seem to draw much attention. Part of me strangely missed seeing her topless but I knew a second showing of Sonja's immaculate breasts could be arranged once we were behind closed doors.
We approached an abandoned building and Sonja stopped walking. "You asked me earlier about more Hellgates?" she said. "There's supposedly one of them inside here."
"Shall we?" I asked Luke.
He smiled. "We shall."
Now was as good a time as any to start destroying the gates of Hell. We needed to at least disable the demonic doorways and prevent the passage of any new satanic beasts into the human world. Given the apparent alliance of the Priesthood and demons, I believed there was a good chance we’d encounter both priest and devil near any Hellgates. I hoped with all of my black heart that I was right. Ashley's remnant ghost didn't protest my thoughts of punishing the priests or laying waste to any demons. Her hatred of them and her fondness for Sonja were traits we'd share as long as I continued living in her former body.
We cautiously entered the forsaken building through the missing front doors. Dire warnings about demons were sprayed in large letters with neon paint in various colors along the withering walls. The rotting interior was pitch black and I knew Sonja and Luke wouldn't be able to see in the darkness as I could. "Lantern," I whispered and summoned a floating orb of bright light. The hovering lantern illuminated our path and guided us deeper inside the crumbling corridors as we searched for the Hellgate.
"Thanks for the light," said Luke. "I've always envied how you Witches can see in the dark." He kept close to Sonja with his silver dagger in hand and I was curious to know how much her physical strength had increased. I doubted she'd ever survive hand to hand combat with a demon but Sonja should be able to handle any humans we encountered. Blood-eaters were also extremely resilient creatures and I'd witnessed them recover from injuries that should have been fatal. The Undead usually required a traumatic blow to the brain in order to kill them and once dead it was impossible to resurrect a Blood-eater a second time.
"So if beautiful Sonja here is a newborn Blood-eater," said Luke. "Then that means the two of you recently crossed paths with a Necromancer."
I nodded. "Indeed we did."
"He still alive?" asked Luke.
"Unfortunately yes," I sighed. "For now."
"Screwing around with Dark Magic to raise the dead does have some nasty side effects. But I'm still happy to know you Sonja." Luke smiled at her with perfect teeth.
"Well I wasn't ready to die," said Sonja. "I'm only twenty-five! This Blood-eater thing doesn't seem so bad. I feel like I'm gonna live forever now."
"Live forever?" Luke raised an eyebrow at me. "You haven't told her?"
I grimaced. "Not now." I was momentarily tempted to explode the heart of the loud-mouthed angel but I managed to calm my simmering blood. I didn't appreciate Luke speaking about Sonja's shortened life span and I wanted to tell her myself at the appropriate time.
"Told me what?" said Sonja. “Told me what!”
“Quiet!” I sniffed the air and inhaled the gut-wrenching aroma of an Archdemon's presence. "The Hellgate is near."
Hellgate Thirteen
I poked my head around the corner in attempt to locate the exact position of the Hellgate and lay eyes on the Archdemon, preferably before he or she saw any of us.
"Shit." I snapped my outstretched neck back behind the corridor corner. "She's scanning our minds," I whispered.
"She?" said Luke.
"Jezebeth."
Luke chuckled. "Oh that's just great. Now we're fucked. My mind can resist her control but you and Sonja are in danger."
"Confronting any Archdemon is dangerous," I said. "Did you expect any less?"
The angel shrugged. "It's your funeral, Annis. I'm already dead and so is Sonja for that matter. You're the only one of us that really has anything to lose."
"Please shut your mouth about Sonja." If Luke slipped out another word about her life span I was going to kill the angel myself.
"Loan me your precious mind, little girl," said Jezebeth, still out of our view. She'd detected Sonja with her mental scans. Luke was immune to demonic Mesmerizers and the Archdemon must have determined that Sonja's young mind was the easiest to control.
"Should we incapacitate her?" said Luke. "Otherwise Sonja's about to try and kill us."
"Do it." I didn't have the physical strength to suddenly strike a Blood-eater into unconsciousness but fortunately the angel did. Luke swiftly hit Sonja in the face with his fist before she could protest our plan. Sonja fell to the ground and Jezebeth's mind-lock was broken. I would have just whispered a simple Sleep or Paralyze spell on her but we couldn’t risk the chance of Sonja absorbing the magic. The Undead were capable of a higher resistance to Witchcraft than any humans or beasts.
Luke sighed. "Sorry about that Sonja. Right when I think she's really starting to like me I have to knock her lights out."
Jezebeth hissed. "An exiled angel? A Black Witch? Such erotic trophies your naked dead bodies shall be!" The Archdemoness rounded the corner where we'd hid ourselves from her sight.
"Is she a forgiving person?" asked Luke.
"Jezebeth?" I grimaced. "No! She's going to kill us all without mercy."
Luke shook his head. "Not the demon! I mean Sonja. Is sh
e going to hold that punch to the face against me?"
I ignored the angel's foolish questions and prepared to confront the sinister Mesmerizer who could sizzle and melt brains with her powerful mind. Jezebeth's only weakness was her physical body that was unconditioned compared to her mental powers. I needed Luke to stay focused because more than likely slaying the Archdemoness was completely in his hands. A cursed silver blade thrust into Jezebeth's corrupted heart would end her life quickly. I could sense the demon's mind probing into my own, mining for information about my true identity.
"Black Annis!" said Jezebeth. "Daughter of the Witch Queen! You escaped the Lake of Fire but you shall not escape me!"
My head seared with white hot pain as Jezebeth attempted to remotely boil my brain using only her thoughts. I needed to make eye contact to cast my Black Magic but the demon wisely kept herself hidden behind the wall.
"Luke now!" I instructed him to turn the corner and attack her. The angel moved with incredible speed and pierced Jezebeth's chest with the Judas Dagger. The Archdemoness released her mind-lock on me and she died instantly.
"Back to Hell demon!" said Luke and pulled his blade out of her heart.
"Fallen angel! Black Witch! Blood-eater! Murderers of Jezebeth!" shouted a grotesque miniature bald creature as it opened the Hellgate and fled into the flames through the portal. The gate was quickly sealed shut and locked from the inside.
"Holy naked mole-rat!" said Sonja. "What the fuck was that little thing?"
Luke smiled and pretended not to notice Sonja's swollen eye. "Welcome back gorgeous. Did you enjoy your nap? Don't worry, I killed the demon that knocked you unconscious."
She rubbed her eye and grinned. "Thanks Luke. You're a real sweetheart."
I raised an eyebrow at the angel's attempt to deceive Sonja. "That small ugly beast was a Dark Cherub and he's entered the Hellgate to go and run his big mouth about all he's seen." I knew their twisted history well and the Cherub was more cowardly than any of the creatures that ever lived in Heaven. Small in size and timid in nature, the Cherub's usefulness was extremely limited. Known for their inclination to gossip and spreading rumors, the tiny angels were tolerated at best and despised at worst. Some redeemed souls and angels did appreciate a Cherub's talent for song but their reputation as pests always overshadowed any due praise. ‘Never let a Cherub know a secret,’ because it would not remain a secret for long. Little bodies and big mouths meant that these babbling angels were truly an annoyance. Some said that the Creator only allowed them to live because the Cherub was one of the first creations. Designed originally for the sole purpose of glorifying their Creator, the Cherub devolved over time into the bothersome 'parrots' of Paradise. Once a Cherub was banished from Heaven they were converted into a demon pet with wings of flesh instead of feathers. Countless rows of sharpened fangs replaced former flat and smooth teeth. Crimson skin of the deepest shade completely coated their original owlish appearance of brown quills. Gentle eyes of blue became bloodied windows of hate for all their enemies. One thing was for certain, the Dark Cherub that witnessed us kill Jezebeth would alert every devil he possibly could to our presence and location outside of the Hellgate. We needed to exit the building or face an imminent army of Archdemons.
"We have about thirty seconds before that Hellgate opens up and this room floods with the worst kinds of demons." The oval shaped obsidian door covered in fiery red demonic symbols was crafted with a mysterious black metal and difficult to destroy. Fortunately my level of experience in death-dealing Witchcraft enabled me to deform objects as well as life forms. "Dissolve!" I shouted at the pulsating Hellgate and melted the strange metal enough to disable the door from opening. A powerful demon Sorcerer could possibly reverse my spell and undo the damage I'd caused so the gate could be opened again. But for now the doorway to Hell was inoperable and we had time to safely escape the abandoned building before it was swarmed by a horde of monsters. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any members of the Priesthood around the Hellgate so our revenge upon them was delayed for now.
"At least we killed one of them," said Luke. He examined Jezebeth's lifeless corpse. “She was one ugly bitch." The Archdemoness was bald like most others of her kind and her skin was a deep red like the color of blood. Jezebeth's horrid face remained wrenched in pain after feeling the angel's silver blade pierce her empty heart.
"Yeah good riddance to her evil ass," said Sonja. "My eye is still throbbing." She frowned and massaged her face.
Luke studied Sonja's eye. "We should put some ice on that."
"Let's go!" There was no time for small talk and I hurried the beautiful Blood-eater and mouthy angel out of the deserted building. We continued our journey to Sonja's residence with the satisfaction of shutting down one of the Hellgates and slaying Jezebeth the Mesmerizer.
"We need to make a stop on our way to Sonja's apartment," said Luke.
"For what purpose?" I asked.
The angel smiled. "Tobacco and hard liquor. I like to reward myself after performing a good deed."
“I hope you have some money on you,” said Sonja. “Because I don’t. My purse was probably stolen off the street when I was kidnapped.”
Luke stared at me. “Who needs money when we have a Witch?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re expecting me to Deceive the storekeeper?”
“It’s the least you can do,” said the angel. “I did just save your life back at that Hellgate.”
"Whatever," I said. "I could have handled Jezebeth by myself."
"If you say so." Luke chuckled. "Just bring me some damn cigarettes and a big bottle of vodka."
CHAPTER SEVEN
I reluctantly used my magic to ignite the smiling angel's cigarette while Sonja served him a glass full of vodka inside her apartment. I considered engulfing his entire body in flames but his combat skills and Judas Dagger had proved to be useful. An angel of Heaven was generally a Kill on Sight encounter for me but Luke was an exception since he'd severed all ties with his Creator and joined our quest to eliminate demons. However he was treading dangerous ground whenever he spoke of Sonja's limited life span and I hoped for his sake he wouldn't mention it again. Speaking of Sonja now was a good opportunity to discuss her new existence as one of the Undead.
"How's the eye?" I asked her.
Sonja sighed and pressed a pack of ice to her face. "Still hurts a little."
"You'll heal quickly. Is there a private place we can talk?" I wanted to be alone with her without the angel's interference.
Sonja nodded. "Yeah sure, we can go to the rooftop. Nobody else is ever up there."
The angel stood up to join us. "Sounds like a plan. I always loved a scenic view of the city especially at night."
I held up my hand to stop him. "This needs to be a private conversation. Do you mind staying here?"
Luke shrugged while puffing on his cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "As you wish."
I followed Sonja outside to her apartment balcony and then we climbed up a rusted metal fire escape to the rooftop. The cooler night air was refreshing and the heightened view of Los Angeles was intriguing just as the angel had said. A bright full moon decorated the star-filled sky and I stood with Sonja to admire the atmosphere.
"So what did you want to talk about?" said Sonja. She'd left her ice pack behind but her injured face was already healed.
I kissed her. I wanted to rediscover the joy I'd experienced earlier in the dungeon when I first tasted her lips. "See, I said you'd heal quickly." I caressed the area of soft skin around her emerald eye.
She smiled. "Wow another kiss?"
I joined her in amusement and shrugged. "Why not? We only live once."
"That's not entirely true, is it Black Annis?" said Luke. He suddenly appeared on the rooftop behind us. "Sonja and I are both soon to be dead. But you on the other hand can potentially live forever. Assuming that you continue snatching and stealing bodies away from beautiful young women." He'd removed his robe from the
waist up and his flawlessly formed upper body glistened in the moonlight.
I exhaled a deep breath. The bastard angel was one step away from death. I'd already warned him more than once about his mouth. "Sonja has seven more years....you have what? Seven weeks? She still has time to live some kind of life."
"More like seven hours," said Luke. "If I'm lucky. I can already feel myself becoming a demon."
I narrowed my furious eyes at him. "You're drunk Luke. I strongly suggest you back off." That was the last warning he’d ever receive from me.
Sonja stepped away from me and let go of my hand. "What the hell are you talking about? Seven years to live?"
"Go back to your apartment and wait for me," I said to her. "Please."
She glared at me and honored my request. "I'm gonna need some answers."
I nodded. "The answers are coming. Just wait for me inside. I need to straighten something out with Luke." The intoxicated angel crossed the line for the final time and he was about to pay with his life.
Sonja expressed an angry but also worried look at me as she climbed back down the fire escape. "You two be careful up here. It's a long way down," she said and disappeared from our sight.
I returned my attention to the angel. "Luke, this little arrangement of ours isn't going to work. I think we need to part ways."
He scoffed. "So soon? Things are just getting good. I was about to join in with your kiss. Ever experience a threesome with an angel? You have no idea what you’re missing."