by Aubrey Law
"I know how this looks," said Luke. "But if you just hear me out I can help you understand."
I kept my eyes locked on him. "Move a muscle and I'll rupture your heart then burn you to ashes all over again."
Sonja gasped. "Annis no! He told me everything. Luke has a second chance to be an angel."
"Is that right?" I laughed. "That's interesting because the Creator never gives second chances to angels that rebel. Believe me I've known my share of fallen angels and there's no forgiveness from Heaven once you're banished."
"Please don't hurt him!" said Sonja. "He said he's sorry for pushing you off the roof and he's here to make peace. All he wants is that stupid dagger back. And guess what? Luke talked to Ashley in Heaven and she said she misses me.”
I cringed and glared at Sonja. "He's a liar! The Priesthood and the demons will say anything to get their hands on that silver blade. It's a powerful weapon and priceless artifact."
Luke nodded. "She's telling the truth Sonja. About the Judas Dagger anyway. Annis is right that they will say and do anything to acquire it but I’m not with any of them. I’m here as an official representative of Heaven. That's a really nice nightgown by the way." His crystal blue eyes stared at my naked body that was partially visible through the gown.
"Shut your mouth, demon!" I said and returned my focus to the impostor. "Who sent you? Who is your master?"
"My Master is the all-powerful Creator of Heaven and Earth. He's offered me another chance on the condition that I return the Judas Dagger that I stole from the Archives. He's even promised me a promotion to Archangel."
"See Annis?" said Sonja. "Give him a break."
I remembered how the exiled angel had callously pushed me off the rooftop and I was tempted to Heartburst and Immolate him to death all over again. "A break? Have you forgotten he tried to kill me?"
Luke sighed. "I knew you would survive. Everyone knows a Black Witch can't be killed from a fall. I wasn't even myself when I pushed you. You know what I was going through and as a pure angel I'd never try to harm you. The demon inside made me do it."
"Oh the devil made you do it?" I smiled. "That's an ancient excuse that doesn't work with me. You tried to end my life and that’s unforgivable. You're not getting the dagger back and I'm one step away from killing you right now."
"Jealousy looks terrible on you Annis," said Luke. "Yet you continue to wear it."
I scoffed. "Jealousy?"
"Obviously you didn't appreciate me kissing and touching Sonja. I can understand how you feel but she's very special to me and you should respect her choices." Luke winked at Sonja and she blushed.
I laughed. "Is this a fucking joke?"
"Not a joke," said Sonja. "If you kill Luke again then our friendship is over."
"Luke's full of shit that smells worse than that Hellhound."
"Do you really have no forgiveness in your heart at all? He deserves a second chance. I was able to forgive you for what happened to Ashley. Why can't you do the same for Luke?" Sonja sounded like she'd been Charmed by a Vampire or Brainwashed by a Mesmerizer. Somehow the impostor had seriously screwed with her mind.
I exhaled a deep breath. "What if I can prove to you that's not the real Luke?"
She considered my question and then shrugged. "I guess but how?"
"Really Annis?" said Luke. "You still think I'm an impostor? Pull on my face if you want. This is actual flesh and blood not fake cloneskin." He leaned forward in the chair and extended his handsome face toward us.
Sonja carefully reached in and pinched Luke's cheek. She stretched his face and his skin bounced back. "See he's telling the truth. That's his real skin! It didn't rip off like Super Mario's mask."
I was puzzled by the fact that Luke's face appeared authentic and not fabricated with the clever cloneskin I'd expected. "I'm still not convinced." My jaw tensed and I was tempted to just speak the words of Black Magic that would painfully Deform the impostor into a twisted knot of broken bones. I hesitated because I didn't want to risk that Sonja's threat to end our friendship was sincere. "There is one way to be sure. I need you to taste his blood."
"What? Taste his blood?" said Sonja. "Why?"
Luke scoffed and shook his head. "No one is drinking my damn blood." He sounded nervous at the idea which only confirmed I was right.
I smiled. "Either she samples your blood or I will boil your blood until your head explodes. I'm told the Bloodboil experience is excruciatingly painful and based on the reactions I've seen from my victims I am inclined to agree."
"For the record, fuck you Black Annis." Luke showed me his middle finger and reluctantly held out his wrist for Sonja to bite. "Once this is over I expect an apology."
"Well it is sort of romantic," said Sonja. "By drinking your blood I'll know you on a whole new level. It's like you'll be part of me now."
Luke rolled his eyes. "If you say so. Let's just get this over with. I'm expected to return with the Judas Dagger very soon."
"Keep dreaming demon," I said. "You can return to Hell with a hole in your head from that dagger. That's as close as you’ll ever come to it."
"Ouch!" Luke jumped in his seat when Sonja's teeth punctured his wrist.
"Sorry!" she said. "I tried not to go deep."
"If he's truly an angel his blood will be sweet like maple syrup. If it's salty or spicy then he's something else, possibly an animal Shifter of some kind. Sour blood means a Vampire. If the taste is toxic and makes you really sick then he's a demon. Make sure you spit out all of the blood and don’t swallow a drop of it."
"Oh I love maple syrup." Sonja smiled and then quickly frowned. "Oh shit that's right! I'm never supposed to eat a devil's blood. Luke, I better not die from this. Please don't be lying to us."
"Well?" I said. "How does it taste?"
She licked her mouth and smacked her lips together. "Hard to describe..."
I moaned in frustration. "Please try so I can kill him or let him live."
"Don't forget my apology," said Luke. "This is humiliating."
"His blood tastes sort of smoky like bacon and greasy like pizza."
"See Annis?" Luke nodded. "That's exactly what I ate for dinner last night."
"Oh my God bacon pizza sounds really good," said Sonja.
"Do you feel sick?" I asked. "No sharp stomach pain? No burning fever?"
Sonja held up her index finger and signaled me to wait one moment. Her eyes widened and she spit out the blood. "It's fucking poison!"
Luke howled in agony and began to violently shake in his chair as if he were having a deadly seizure. His bright blue eyes enlarged and changed into the glowing orange color common to a demon. His attractive appearance immediately altered from a gorgeous blonde-haired man into a grotesque bald-headed devil. "Give me that goddamned dagger!" He hissed and stretched open his mouth full of jagged sharp teeth.
"Luke you bastard!" said Sonja. "I just told you I could die from drinking demon blood!" She was on her knees and clutched her stomach while still spitting out the blood she'd tasted.
"Sonja stay down! And can you stop fucking calling him Luke?" I focused my thoughts and searched my mind for the perfect spell to dispose of our unwelcome guest.
"You deserve to die!" said the demon. "Jezebeth sent me to kill you both and bring her the Judas Dagger. Which is exactly what I intend to do!" He prepared to rip out Sonja's throat with his long black talons but I could never allow that to happen.
"Exoskeleton!" I cursed him and fatally relocated all of his bones to the outside of his body. Now the filthy devil could experience a few moments of life as an authentic cockroach. The lesser demon dropped to the floor and died within seconds. How he'd appeared as a wingless Luke without wearing a cloneskin was a troubling mystery. If he truly served Jezebeth then it's possible she'd created the false image with one of her spells. This was alarming to me because I'd never known of a Mesmerizer with the ability to cast lifelike illusions so convincing except on themselves. If Jezebeth was capa
ble of perfectly altering the appearance of others without using cloneskin then her powers were increasing and she was becoming even more dangerous.
"I'm gonna throw up," groaned Sonja.
"Did you swallow some poison?"
"No! But I just kissed a demon in the mouth! Our tongues touched!" She hunched over and spewed out fluid all over the floor.
The thought of exchanging unholy saliva with a demon and tasting the inside of a devil's polluted mouth had never crossed my mind. As I morbidly imagined Sonja's experience I found myself joining her in nausea and we were both kneeling on the floor surrounded by our own vomit. We foolishly stared at each other like two drunken barmaids full of ale and whiskey. "This is disgusting," I said. "But at least you're not alone."
Sonja wiped her mouth and smiled. "Thanks for the company I guess."
"In the future can you warn me before you let another demon inside?"
"I'm sorry," she said. "I saw Luke and I just couldn't resist opening the door. I thought maybe he could join our team again."
I shook my head. "You can't believe everything you see. These devils are capable of powerful illusions. They can even appear as angels of light."
She sighed. "Yeah I know that now. At least we still have the dagger."
"We aren't safe here. The Priesthood and Archdemons know where you live. They will not stop until they have the Judas Dagger and we are certainly both marked for death by now." I knew we were out of time and if we didn't relocate soon more demons or maybe even an Archangel would arrive to challenge us. I didn't fear any of them and I always enjoyed killing my enemies but we needed a safe place to eat and rest. After brushing and rinsing the vomit from our mouths we packed several suitcases with clothes and other supplies. Sonja suggested a nearby high-rise hotel in Los Angeles where we could hide and discuss the future. I ended the Shadowbeast spell and the panther-like Shadow Cat vanished from our sight. The Judas Dagger remained securely in our possession and I was curious if we’d be able to unlock any of its ancient secrets. Luke had the ability to control the silver blade with his mind which he demonstrated by cutting the throats of all those soldiers. With both Archdemons and Archangels searching for the dagger the more I learned of its power the better. Before we exited the apartment I dissolved the final remains of the dead demon.
Sonja was a rare breed among all the women I'd known and Ashley's remnant ghost frequently reminded me of every pleasure I was missing by keeping my distance from her. The red-haired ample-breasted Blood-eater was beautiful inside and out and I understood why Ashley had fallen for her. What she'd felt for Sonja was real love and far beyond simply lust of the flesh. I cherished Sonja's companionship however I was not ready to experience emotional or physical intimacy with anyone on that level. Maybe my heart could change over time but at the present moment I chose to reject Sonja as a lover and elected to embrace her as my sister.
Why was my soul so troubled? Why was my mind attacked with anxiety over Ashley’s empathy? My identity was threatened but I assured myself that the erratic remnant emotions of a twenty-five year old female could never overpower the darkness or emptiness of my ancient black heart. For over a thousand years I spread terror and death across the land from the dreadful graveyards of the Witch Queen's castle to the enchanted woods of the Werewolf King's mountain. Men, women, and children all feared the mention of my name. The immortal Vampires, who I despised nearly as much as demons, forbid themselves from ever whispering the words Black Annis. 'Silence!’ they would say. ‘To speak of her is to summon her!' My eternal enemies would warn their families in an amusing and worthless attempt to keep their loved ones safe.
There was no God on our side. No family. No friends. Just the two of us alone in the concrete city full of bloodthirsty demons and dangerous men that all wanted us dead. Even the mighty Archangels of Heaven would soon be hunting us because of the stolen Judas Dagger. Sonja and I shared a strange bond that I couldn't fully explain and there were still many mysteries about her that I didn't understand. What I did know for certain without any doubts was that I would kill anyone who tried to harm her and if necessary I would sacrifice my own life to protect her.
TO BE CONTINUED