by Lucia Ashta
The laceration was singeing on all sides of the wound, trying in vain to repair itself, but the injury was too great. The demon let out a mighty and horrifying roar that shook the ground. Then it stumbled toward them, but could advance no further. It crumbled from its towering height and crashed to the ground, sending the light warriors scrambling to get out of the way.
Before, while he was alive and towering to at least twice Asara’s height, the demon had been monstrous. Gnarled muscles bulged and wrapped a body that wasn’t covered in skin. Rather, the demon’s whole body seemed to consist of a solid, gelatinous substance, as if there were no organs within it at all. It had small stubs of horns at the line where hair and forehead meet in humans. When the demon roared, it showed rows of scaly teeth that gleamed a dirty white in contrast to its dark flesh.
Now that life had abandoned the fiendish beast, it was rapidly disintegrating, and those features that identified it earlier were barely recognizable. The demon was melting into the void of nothingness. Demons didn’t originate in light. They were created in an alternate dimension that was the birthplace of all demons. Not within heaven and not within earth, this was a place dedicated to the creation of darkness; Archangel Lucifer had supervised its functioning until he was recently recalled to the heavens.
Since the demon didn’t possess light as its essence, it didn’t return to the light. It melted away. Without a soul and with its purpose accomplished, it served no other function on earth. It simply ceased to exist.
Asara and her companions watched the flesh of the demon disintegrate, eventually vanishing completely. Not even a stain of its bodily fluids remained. Upturned cobblestones that had shifted in the tumult of the demon’s fall were the only indication that it had landed there at all. The group of light warriors stared at the spot where the demon had fallen, mesmerized by its disappearing act, until their attention was diverted.
Asara had never seen anything like the creatures that slid toward them. They were blobs of dark slime, only half the size of a human body, with dark, recessed eyes and no demarcated mouths. They didn’t have legs or arms, but moved by gliding, leaving a trail of slime in their wake. The angel slashed at several of them with a quick turn of her sword as they passed by her, but the rest slinked past toward the light warriors. It was time for the light warriors to engage.
Just as Baldub and Anak were about to move toward the creatures, the cousins, Meena and Osarus in the lead with Mohan just a step behind them, took them on. As the rest of the light warriors watched, the cousins shot out glowing balls of the same green gel-like substance that covered their bodies. They knelt down on one knee and held the palms of their hands together until a green ball the size of a human head formed. Then, they flung it at each of the creatures. The balls burst upon impact, coating the slimy creatures in green gel. As the gel slid down the creatures’ bodies, they began to disintegrate, just as the demon had.
The green substance that coated the cousins was a concentrated form of light and, when confronted with it, darkness melted into oblivion. The dark blob-like creatures continued to disintegrate until only the slime that trailed behind them remained. But as Asara stared on, even that evaporated and disappeared. It was as if the universe had just swallowed them up.
Nothing had happened to the cousins. Their strength hadn’t diminished. They remained fully encased in the mysterious green substance. The fluorescent green glowed as if it were a source of light itself.
After gawking at the decaying creatures, the light warriors stole a moment to look around. There were no other humans in the city. Everyone that could leave had fled long ago. The group reassessed themselves and their mission.
Asara and Anak first turned to their warm-hearted companion, Baldub. He was strong and loyal. Next, they looked at Carn. She was vibrant and empowered, ready to take on the world. They turned toward the cousins and looked at each one in turn. They’d already stepped up for the safety of the group. Then, the twins turned to Thom. He stood small, but as strong as a pillar. Lastly, Asara and Anak stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Within themselves and each of their companions, they found confidence. Even with their first glimpse of what faced them, they were ready and united.
It didn’t matter what they might have to confront. They were fully in the flow of their divine essence. They derived their power from trust in their Creator. They were there to fight for the light. There was nothing more important than light and the love that accompanied it in this world. Asara stared into the eyes of her twin once more and saw her thoughts and feelings reflected there. She smiled the biggest smile she remembered ever smiling, grabbed his hand, and stepped forward to embrace the purpose they’d come to serve in this life.
Chapter 36
Now heading toward the center of the city, Asara moved to the side to let horses pass. It was instinct. She heard the galloping click clacking of hooves on cobblestones and stopped automatically. She had enough experience with horses, both wild and tamed, to know to get out of their way. But once she stopped, she looked around and couldn’t see any horses.
She closed her eyes to listen more closely, to listen at all levels, in all dimensions, not just the one she stood in physically. As she listened in this way, she felt the hot breath of animal nostrils on her neck. But when she swiveled around, she didn’t see a horse, but a unicorn.
There were seven unicorns, one for each of the light warriors. Their coats were a white so bright that they were luminescent. This was the reflection of the unicorn’s powerful inner light. Asara had never seen a unicorn before, and now a group of them stood before her. They were otherworldly. Like their coats, the unicorns’ single horn glistened and glowed, illuminated from within.
Asara stared into her unicorn’s eyes; they were bottomless pools of ebony and water. To her, the unicorns represented the perfect balance of light and dark in the world. The unicorn was of the purest white, but her eyes were a deep and peace-filled black. The light and dark were in balance within this pure mystical creature.
One by one, each of the allies engaged a unicorn and spoke with it telepathically. The light warriors honored the magical creatures and expressed gratitude for their assistance in battle. With the unicorns’ express permission, the light warriors lifted themselves up and sat astride the creatures’ backs. Asara was the last to mount. The enchantment of the scene moved her. But finally, she raised herself onto her unicorn, and the seven companions rode off toward the heart of the city.
Chapter 37
With the addition of their legendary mounts, the warriors were transformed. They now looked every bit the part of mystical light warriors. Assembled, they trotted through the city’s streets. The unicorns were eager to engage in battle; it was what they’d come to do. They pawed at the gray cobblestone streets with their thick, strong hooves. They flared their nostrils and breathed out hot air. They waited for the decision to attack, and the light warriors indulged them.
The twins were at the front of the pack. In unison, Asara and Anak drew their swords and held them high above their heads. The telltale shliiiing of metal as they unsheathed their swords was immediately followed by the similar sounds of other weapons behind them. Without additional communication or plans, they charged.
Still in the lead, Asara and Anak rounded a corner and at once faced the disarray of intense battle. There was chaos, and demons were everywhere. Dark and shadowy creatures of different shapes and sizes, all the color of a moonless night, darted and lurked about. Asara and Anak almost crashed into a demon’s back, and the unicorns they rode upon reared up, stopping in mid-stride. The demon was making ghastly roaring noises, which obscured the sound of the twins’ approach. The other light warriors left Asara and Anak to take on this demon, and they fell away to confront others.
The demon, its back turned to them, was only a few steps away from the twins. It towered above them even though they sat atop unicorns, and it threw off a strong, acrid smell that made the unicorns flare their nostrils
. The stink of sulfur and decomposing waste rolled off its body.
Asara and Anak inched toward the demon while its back was still turned, but it sniffed the air and detected their approach. It turned around and let out a vicious roar. It met them head on, a burst of fire raging around its black eyeballs, as it lumbered toward them. The demon was awkward in its gait. Like a child learning to walk, it staggered to its destination but then found itself unable to stop properly, tottering precariously.
Regardless, the demon could easily provoke dread and terror in the human heart. Its eyes had no pupils, suggesting the torment and suffering that lay behind them. Asara, unable to resist the pull of the demon’s eyes, stared into their dark depths, defying the automatic reactions of paralyzing fear that threatened to boil up within her. Realizing the danger, Asara forced her innate curiosity to stand down. She could figure out how demons ticked at another time. She kept her focus, knowing the demon fed off fright and panic like a parasite. Dark feelings in a human heart gave the demon power over that person.
There was a brief standstill, the quiet before the fury of the storm, in which the demon appeared to be sizing up its opponents. Then it breathed out a ferocious, guttural grunt; the foul stench singed Asara’s nose hairs. The sound forewarned of imminent attack that would bring with it hate, darkness, and pain. Asara steeled herself, and pushed away her instinctive reaction of fear, which kept trying to rise within her. The demon’s eyes flared with fire.
Asara and Anak held firm to their courage. As the demon breathed filth and wickedness at them, they breathed in the breath of Creator. Their light held strong and intact. The demon inhaled deeply, rooted itself staunchly to the ground beneath it, and balled its fists. It pushed its chest out and belched a belt of fire from its mouth straight at the twins.
Instinctively, Asara and Anak magnified the intensity of the light that projected from them. The fire didn’t reach them. It first hit the bubble of protection that Area and Arien had placed around the twins. The fire didn’t penetrate the bubble, but did weaken it. Asara could see that the shield the bubble had formed was now thinner.
Asara gripped her sword, placing concentrated light within it through her intention. The unicorn was such an advanced creature that she synchronized herself with Asara’s thoughts. As soon as Asara decided to charge, her unicorn responded with flawless timing. Once more, the demon blasted out an inferno through its mouth, but Asara and Anak were no longer in its line of fire.
More swift and agile than the demon, Asara had circled to its left side while Anak had gone around to its right. With their emblazoned swords shining a bright golden light, they swung at the demon in quick succession. Asara swung first, arcing across the demon’s torso. Anak swung just seconds after, also slicing at the giant demon’s chest. When their swords met in the middle of the demon’s upper body, the demon let out a wild wail.
Meanwhile, the unicorns pierced the demon’s thighs with their horns. The flesh around the wounds began to peel away instantly from the intensity of the light the horns had injected into it. The beast let out another agonizing howl. Asara and Anak pulled out their swords and drew them back to strike again. But even as they raised their swords, they lowered them. The unicorns had dealt the final, lethal blows.
The demon was weakening rapidly, its animating force abandoning its body. Without premeditation but perfectly synchronized, Asara and Anak pointed their swords at the demon. But this time, they didn’t pierce its flesh. Instead, they sent a beam of light through the swords that burst forth from the sharp tips. With light coming at it from both sides, and already fatally wounded by four beings of light, the demon shrunk into a charred form that finally crumpled into ashes at the hooves of the unicorns.
With divine timing, a sudden gust of wind lifted the ashes in a tight swirl. The wind raised the ashes above the twins’ heads, and then carried them higher still, where they scattered and vanished from that reality.
Chapter 38
Asara and Anak had no time to take in what had just happened. Right away, several demons identical to the one they’d just defeated attacked. The vanquished demon’s cries had rallied others. Five demons charged the twins at full speed, lumbering awkwardly from all different directions. The earth shook with their thundering footfalls.
Still positioned near Anak, Asara felt him prepare his light field for the attack. She sensed him raise his sword in anticipation of the imminent assault that would be upon them in moments. His actions were identical to hers. Asara’s unicorn bowed her head, pointing her single, gleaming white horn toward their attackers.
In the split seconds before the demons reached them, Asara’s intuition commanded her attention. It unnerved her as she was already poised to repel the oncoming attack. For one second, she tried to push her screaming guidance away. The next second, she’d given into it and scrambled to ready herself for what it was telling her to do. In life, Asara had learned it was imperative to listen to her intuition above anything else. Now, under the threat of death, and above all reason, she ignored the imminent danger and listened to her guidance.
With the sudden onset of inner knowing, Asara closed her eyes to the storming demons that plodded menacingly toward them, and pulled her focus inward. She felt the warmth and safety that came from full connection to Creator. Asara lowered her sword, calmly sheathing it.
Still with her eyes closed, she found complete calm and sat, straight and tall, atop her unicorn friend. In that space of inner stillness, she could no longer hear the demons’ roars as they hurtled toward them. She could no longer feel the tremors that shook the ground beneath them as the demons stepped. She could no longer smell the sulfurous stench. All Asara could feel was the essence of Creator.
Asara’s eyes were still closed when she heard the first shriek of agony and defeat. Even so, she stayed in the space of light and beauty. Soon, the cries lessened in intensity. Asara only opened her eyes when the cries diminished to fading whimpers. When she did, she saw a great wave of white light radiating out from her. It fully encircled her, Anak, and their unicorn companions, pulsing out in succeeding waves and ripples.
Asara’s unicorn bowed her head, contributing to the light wave that radiated out before them. The wave of light was suspended in time, one pulse after another. The essence of light reached out and touched the essence of eternity.
Asara looked down to see the once-towering demons in charred heaps on the ground, rapidly disintegrating into ashes. The waves of light had stopped them in their tracks. The dark had been defenseless before Creator’s brilliant light. And, once again, it proved true: light would always vanquish darkness. Light was the point of creation.
From where Asara and Anak sat, high upon the unicorns’ backs, they watched the same wind that had come earlier return to carry away all that was left of the demons, effortlessly and gracefully. Creator could transform everything. It was possible to transmute darkness into positive energy and use it for good and beauty in the world.
The last of the ashes swirled away on the wind, giving a moment of grace to what had been creatures of intense darkness, with the fire of torment burning in their eyes. Anak rode up to Asara. He guided his unicorn parallel to hers and leaned over to embrace her. Anak spoke, “I’m honored to be one with you, fellow light warrior, my beloved.” Tears of emotion welled in Asara’s eyes, but she was still able to see their unicorns tilt their heads toward each other and entwine their single horns in love.
Chapter 39
With the immediate threat resolved, Asara looked around, taking in her surroundings for the first time since they galloped into the heart of the city. She looked up and down the winding stone streets, but couldn’t see angels anywhere. Asara lifted her gaze upward. Angels and demons swooped everywhere in the skies. Angels with their wide wings unfurled overtook the gargantuan creatures of darkness. With stunted wings and absence of grace, the demons didn’t wield their colossal frames well. The angels were winning.
Bursts of fire and
light punctuated the sky. Layer upon layer of angels and demons reached up toward the heavens, fading into the clouds past where Asara could see. Knowing that light would prevail, she returned her attention to the streets. A short distance from where she and Anak stood, Carn and Baldub were fighting several demons.
Baldub had grown to immense size; he was as tall as the monsters he met head on. The twins watched as Baldub roared a mighty roar. The demon Baldub faced stepped back. In an attempt to hold its ground, the demon drew in breath, clenched its fists, and stood rooted to the ground. Then, with great fury, it belched out fire. It was a caustic, bitter breath that carried both foul odor and flame.
But, as the demon let loose its breath of fire, Baldub stretched up taller still. He blew out the demon’s flame as if he were lazily blowing out a candle at bedtime. The scene would have inspired humor had it not been a matter of life and death.
The demon was startled; it didn’t know what to do. Baldub capitalized on its hesitation and, with his club that had extended in size proportionately to his own growth, hammered the demon over its head. The demon shrunk a little.
Baldub hit the demon several more times, until it had shrunken in size so much that he could pick it up in his hand and squeeze it. Baldub crushed the demon with his massive hand until it reduced to a pile of ashes. Then, with that same powerful, yet incongruously lazy breath, Baldub blew the ashes away. His magical breath carried what little was left of the demon away.
Carn, who fought valiantly next to Baldub, was also captivating to watch. She spun with her bow held in an outstretched hand. The bow glowed faintly as she picked up speed. Soon she was spinning so quickly that she created shock waves around her. The demons were unable to advance before the force field she was projecting.