Shadows in the Silence

by Courtney Allison Moulton

  “It is natural to feel fear,” I continued, “but tonight I offer you courage. It is all that I can offer you. I cannot guarantee victory or even your lives, but take of me my courage and glory will be yours. I thank you for fighting with me through the eons and for fighting with me tonight for possibly the last time.”

  A great energy rolling through the hills made me lift my gaze. I took in the sight of yet another army—this one led by Cadan. He had come through, just as I knew he would. I smiled, because I was no longer afraid of the emotions I felt. Among the demonic reapers who had turned their backs on Hell was a force of at least one hundred heavily armed humans. They had to be Ethan Stone’s promised mercenaries, humans who had trained to combat the demonic reapers—yet tonight they submitted to the command of one.

  I heard hissing and spit curses, the shuffling of boots and clinking of metal blades coming from the angelic reapers, who clearly weren’t as accepting of the new arrivals as I was. The humans who had joined the demonic were battle scarred and seemed to be champing at the bit for action in the field. What they lacked in numbers and supernatural strength, they made up for in grit and passion.

  “Gabriel,” Cadan said when he stopped at Will’s side and his opalescent eyes met mine.

  My smile widened. “My friend.” I lifted my head to address our growing army. “Tonight we are all friends. The world is not so black and white as we have believed for a very long time. once our enemies, these reapers are now our friends, and we are united against a common enemy.”

  Ronan came forward, flanked by two demonic reapers, a male and a female. “This is Anders and Adara,” he announced. “They will join Cadan and me in leading the demonic infantry.”

  I offered them a warm smile and withdrew my heavy wings. “Come with me,” I said to my generals.

  They followed me a little ways higher up the hill covered with the ruins of an ancient city along a path meant for tourists and excavators. I beckoned them to a bit of open ground where I’d been devising our main tactic. They studied my formations etched into the dirt. I marked our location on the hill and down into the valley where Hell’s armies would come.

  “Where did you learn all of this, Ell?” Cadan asked, marveling, his eyes following the path of our formations.

  I frowned at him. “I am the archangel Gabriel, second only to Michael in Heaven. I led our armies to victory over Lucifer and then over the Nephilim. This is not my first battle.”

  His mouth twitched. “Oh, right.”

  “When the demonic armies come,” I said, “they will expect us to be defensive, stand our ground, and to defend the hill. I don’t care about this hill. It’s just rock and dirt. We will not wait here while they overwhelm us with their numbers. They will attempt to wrap around us, to charge our front and fold around us like wings on either side until we are crushed. We must do that to them first. We must take an offensive approach.”

  “We have to stay spread out,” Will said.

  “Yes,” I agreed with a nod. “It will spread us thin and weaken our ranks, but if we surprise Sammael’s armies, then we can even the odds, perhaps even gain the upper hand.”

  Madeleine studied the diagram in the sand. “But how? We are at the top of this hill and they can see everything.”

  “Not everything,” I said. “They won’t be able to see behind the hill and they won’t expect us to charge at them. This is an infantry battle, but that doesn’t mean we’re limited to the ground. our center—led by Will and Madeleine—will charge down the hill at the enemy center and catch them by surprise. They will certainly not expect that we have demonic reinforcements. Even I never expected so many. Thank you, Cadan. As our center charges, I want our wings—each led by Marcus and Ava—to fold around the enemy center, trapping them. I will need you to divide the human soldiers between our wings. our demonic forces will come from overhead. We will trap them in the front, on the left and right, and from above. We will give them nowhere to run and we will annihilate them.”

  “And their leaders?” Berengar asked. “Lilith and Sammael?”

  “Leave them to me,” I said. “Do not attack them, because you will not survive. Keep the formation, keep driving. Wait for my signals to close the wings and to swarm from above. Does everyone understand? Cadan, Anders, Adara, get your infantry behind the hill. Do not engage until I tell you to. Ava, Marcus, the rest of you, prepare your forces.”

  Cadan nodded and took his captains with him to move the demonic troops, while Ava and Marcus went to divide the angelic troops into the wide, thin front with flanks that would—if successful—close on the armies of Sammael and Lilith.

  Across the valley, a wall of space began to shimmer like heat rising from the pavement. Shadows moved through the darkness, headed directly for Har Megiddo. Their shapes crawled across the earth like the flames of an inferno licking across the ceiling of a burning room, only these flames were pitch-black in the night. The armies of Sammael began to pour through the Grim—five thousand demonic reapers, maybe ten.

  “Madeleine,” I called to her, catching her attention instantly. “Scout the edges of their forces. Find Lilith and Sammael and return to me with their locations.”

  She gave a curt nod, spread her wings, and lifted into the air. It was now time for me to summon Azrael and claim the hallowed glaive.

  “Stay close to me,” I said to Will and took his hand. “I need your strength now more than ever.”

  He shut his eyes and put his forehead to mine. “You have it.”

  When he stepped back, I clenched my right fist and spoke to the sky. “I am the Messenger, Gabriel, she who is set over all the powers. I evoke thee, Azrael, the Destroyer, lord of the shepherds of the dead.”

  I waited for that brilliant flash of light announcing the arrival of an angel, but there was none. My mouth opened in surprise and fear and I gaped at the ring on my finger. It grew warm when I used its power, but Azrael did not appear. Nothing happened.

  “No, no,” I moaned. “Why won’t it work? I don’t understand!”

  “What’s the matter?” Will asked, eyes bright with worry.

  “The ring,” I said. “It won’t work. I did exactly what I did when I called Azrael last time. I don’t understand why it fails now.”

  Will looked on toward the dark horizon. “Sammael’s army is coming. What should we do?”

  I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. “I will fight without Azrael’s glaive.”

  Madeleine returned then, touching down from the sky and folding her wings back.

  “Is Sammael down there?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Lilith leads them.”

  My jaw set and I searched the incoming army of Hellspawn. “Where is Sammael? He’s the one I want.”

  “You can’t defeat him without the hallowed glaive,” Madeleine warned.

  I gave her a sharp look. “Whether I have Azrael’s glaive or not, I must fight. I have returned to Armageddon and now I must meet my brother in combat.”

  “Ellie,” Will pleaded. “Sammael’s armies are here. We can fight them first, then figure out why Azrael won’t be summoned.”

  “No,” I said firmly. “We must kill their leader and the demonic will scatter, confused and without orders. We must cut the head off the serpent and then deal with the rest. This is our best chance. Madeleine, take control of the front. When the demonic reach the edge of the hill, charge.”

  She left and I climbed to the crest of the stone wall once more. “God give me strength,” I whispered to the stars.

  The armies of Hell flooded into the valley to clash with the angelic and demonic reapers who fought for Heaven. Soon my ears would fill with battle cries, dying screams, and the clash of metal.

  “I am the Messenger, Gabriel, she who is set over all the powers,” I called out. “I evoke thee, Sammael, the Lord of Souls and Fallen angel of death. I am the Will of God and you shall come forth, incubus, the serpent with the lion’s face, the venom of God—”
>
  “That is enough name calling,” came a voice that sent snakes through my belly. “I heard you the first time, little sister.”

  The sky flashed with blackness, impossibly darkening the night for an instant, and lightning cracked across the clouds. The blade of the scythe ripped through the sky first, encrusted with the eyes of the humans whose souls he’d devoured as if the dead eyes were jewels. Trophies dangled from the staff of the scythe—human and animal hair, bones, and teeth—and I stared into the face of the grinning skull mounted atop the enormous blade. Sammael, boasting his true Fallen form, emerged from the shadows, his charred, skeletal wings spread to a pitiful width, the joints cracking and burned tendons tearing. His armor gleamed like oil slicks in the moonlight, and the horns on his head cut through the failing light like spires twisting toward the heavens.

  He touched the ground, settling light as a feather. Flanking him was his pair of pet leonine reapers that had come through the void when he was released from the sarcophagus. Their dark slate coats rippled over sleek, sinewy bodies, and when their eyes—as golden as Sammael’s and mine—found my face, they snapped their powerful jaws and the bone spikes in their manes prickled. Will stepped close to me, shielding me as they circled us both.

  “Gabriel, Gabriel,” Sammael crooned. “Look at you, all grown up and come to Armageddon to sound your horn. I warned you what would happen if you stood against me.”

  I summoned my Khopesh swords and angelfire swallowed them, the white light devouring the darkness. My wings burst free and I launched myself off the ground at him with a fierce cry. I lifted a sword—and then teeth clamped around my ankle and yanked me back to the earth. I fell onto my hands and knees, grinding rock into my skin, and before I could turn to see what had hold of me, it dragged me backward across stone. I whipped around, beating my wings to break free. one of the leonine reapers stepped in front of me and I turned my head to see the other had been the thing to chomp down on my ankle. I swore as the leonine in front of me moved in for the kill. A figure blurred above it and it looked up, hissing like a crocodile, as Will swung his sword through its neck. The leonine’s head went spiraling through the air, its quilled mane scattering spikes across the ground.

  With that threat gone, I shoved my free boot into the dirt and kicked off. I spun in the air, sweeping an angelfire-drenched sword toward the remaining leonine reaper’s face. It was smarter than its brother; it dropped me and opened its jaws to roar as it backed off. My boots found the earth again and I stomped toward the reaper, wings wide and swords swinging. It sank onto its haunches, skeletal tail swaying left and right, talons kneading the rock, carving gouges into the surface. Then it sprang, claws questing for me, but exposing its unprotected chest. I stepped aside and slashed a sword, cutting deep into the leonine reaper’s chest. It loosed a scream that was almost humanlike and it hit the ground, shredding earth with its claws as it slid to a stop. It whirled and came at me again. This time I stood firm and didn’t give in as I slashed my sword again. My blade cut through the hard cage of bone and tore the tender organs within. The reaper’s body burst into angelfire and ash, vaporizing around me.

  I didn’t wait for the flames to disperse before I burst through, looking for Sammael once more. But instead of him, I saw his army of demonic crawling toward the bottom of the hill.

  “Madeleine!” I screamed, praying she would hear me. “Engage!”

  Almost immediately, our army rushed forward. The demonic front line, confused as I’d hoped, halted their march. They lifted their swords, turning their offensive strike to defensive, as the angelic forces cascaded down the hill and collided with the demonic. There was a tremendous sound, almost unidentifiable. voices grunting and bodies thudding and sword strikes and dying…There was so much of everything that it was like a relentless white noise. The overwhelming numbers of demonic reapers began to pour around the edges of our center and I glimpsed a few attempting to climb the hill.

  I pointed at them and called to Will, “Take care of them! Don’t let them find Cadan’s forces!”

  Will nodded and took off like a shot, cutting through the overflowing demonic reapers. As the enemy force began to weaken and thin its front, I looked for Ava and Marcus, who waited with their troops, watching the battle intently.

  I hopped onto a rock ledge so that I could be seen and heard by my army. “Left and right flanks, engage!”

  The answering battle cries were deafening; boots thudded the earth as the remainder of my front line swept both sides of the demonic forces and closed in. Amidst the metallic shrieks of clashing swords, the guns belong to Ethan Stone’s mercenaries flashed and popped like hundreds of small fireworks. Bodies were cut down as the angelic reapers pushed and carved into the demonic troops, squeezing them tighter into one another.

  With a manic grin, I turned around to signal for our sky infantry. “Cadan!” I called, letting the wind carry my cry. “Engage!”

  My voice echoed into oblivion. There was no response of battle cries and rushing of soldiers. There was nothing. He didn’t come.

  Oh, God. Oh my God. Where was he? Where was Cadan?

  My heart pounded faster and heavier, like a train rocketing toward me. I didn’t want to believe that he’d abandoned me, betrayed me. Cadan, my friend. He told me that he loved me. I’d even…I’d even what? Had feelings for him? Loved him, maybe?

  “Cadan!” I screamed. “Cadan!”

  The demonic reapers I believed came to fight for me, believed could help us win this battle….

  They were gone.

  I was wild with fear, spinning, looking in every direction, staring up at the sky, hoping to see them diving down to engulf the enemy and finish them off.

  My eyes returned to the battlefield. I could no longer see Marcus. I watched Berengar fall, crumbling to stone. Madeleine was taken down by an ursid reaper and then I lost her position. And Ava. oh, Ava. A demonic reaper opened her throat and slashed again, taking her head with the second strike. I felt my human soul wither and tears came through my eyes, running into the blood on my cheeks. I looked for Will, but I couldn’t see him. There were too many bodies struggling above more bodies on the ground.

  I turned, unable to bear the sight of the carnage, and I turned right into Lilith. I took in a sharp, painful gasp.

  “Oh, did someone leave you high and dry?” she asked as if speaking to a child with a skinned knee. Then she punched me right in the face, making my head snap back. “That can’t possibly help your abandonment issues, can it?”

  I snarled and sliced my fiery swords toward her. She flicked a wrist and my body went soaring through the air. My back slammed into a stone wall between a row of crumbling ruins. With another wave of her hand, I zipped through space again and the front of my body hit the wall opposite the narrow path. I moaned in pain as her power smashed my body into the rock and mortar. She flung me across the road again and this time through a wall. I landed in a heap of crumbling stone, dirt, and earth crushing my body. Lilith lifted me, every part of me shrieking in agony, through the mountain of debris covering me and I didn’t realize my swords were missing until I was high in the air and frozen by her power coiling around my limbs. I thrashed as much as I could, but she held me too tightly. Then she hurled me over a rock ledge and into a pit. My body slammed into the enormous sacrificial altar so powerfully that the stone foundation erupted, leaving me in a crater of my own making and my broken wings sprawled out beneath me. It was all too much for me to even stop and notice the irony of my situation.

  I was unarmed, beaten to a pulp, and abandoned by Azrael and Cadan. As I stared up into the black, starless sky, catching Lilith’s silhouette at the top of the ledge she’d thrown me from, a tear slid down my cheek.

  No. I couldn’t feel defeated already. I’d come so far, through thousands of years of torment and war to get here. I couldn’t give up, but I needed help.

  “Azrael,” I whispered as I slowly pushed myself off the ground, closing my fist around a h
andful of pebbles. Blood ran down my arm and dirt clung to my hair and clothing. “Azrael, please. I need you, Brother.”

  Lightning cracked across the sky, over and over, crisscrossing each strike and never fading. The atmosphere grew heavy and low, pulsing, hammering with thunder. I stared, perplexed, as the clouds parted as if a knife were being drawn through them, carving a gash a million miles long.

  And then the angels poured in through the hole in the sky.

  33

  THEY WERE SO BEAUTIFUL, THE ANGELS, AS THEY dropped from the sky like pearls swinging off a broken necklace, bright and gleaming and tumbling through the air. The angels descended on the demonic reapers as Cadan’s forces had been meant to do. one of them came straight toward me, shooting like a fireball. He slowed and I recognized him. His silvery wings reflected light off his armor and his dark skin was luminescent, russet eyes streaked with gold. I had to blink. He seemed a little human in his corporeal form.

  “I apologize for my poor punctuality, Sister,” Azrael said, smiling ear to ear, “but I brought some friends.”

  He offered me a hand and as soon as I took it, heat rocketed through my body to the tips of my wings, healing me instantly. “You came,” I breathed, having to force the words out past my utter shock.

  “We were at last given the orders to descend to Earth,” he said happily. “Michael leads the legion. We will devastate the demonic Hellspawn. It’s up to you to defeat Sammael.”

  “But not alone,” came another voice. Antares settled to the ground beside Azrael, her gleaming auburn hair settling around shoulders and wings. She had returned to her former glory and was even more achingly beautiful than before. “I don’t believe our bargain was entirely even,” she said. “I’d like to amend that tonight, if you’ll accept my assistance.”

  I held out a hand for her to shake. “Thank you.”

  Antares watched my hand curiously, and then I realized how human the gesture was. But she surprised me when she took my hand in both of hers and held it tight. “I’m honored to fight with you,” she said.