by Roy Bright
“Let the woman go, Lucifer. I mean, if you know you are going to win anyway then why not just let her have a few final moments as herself and not your puppet?”
“Oh, I don’t think I will do that, Iscariot. I mean, how will I be able to enjoy what is about to happen if I let her go?” He turns and raises his left hand and a portal opens up behind him. Abi lets go of Charlotte and an unseen force pulls the child through it.
Judas reacts, running at them both, his advance checked, as Lucifer forces out his right hand, causing the enormous desk to slide forwards, knocking him to the ground. He then places his left hand on Abi’s face and the woman screams.
She closes her eyes and then reopens them and they glow a deep, bright red.
Lucifer strokes her hair. “I have given her a few upgrades, Judas. I think she will enjoy this as her final moments more than if I was to release her back to the pathetic whore that she was.”
The demonic form of Abi smiles then runs her hands over her body in a provocative and sensual manner. “Do you want me, Judas? Do you want to fuck this body? Do you want me to suck your cock? I’ll let you do anything you want to me… whilst I cut you to pieces.” She laughs, and it is wicked indeed.
He raises both swords.
Without looking at him and still stroking Abi’s hair, Lucifer raises his left hand, summoning Judas’ left sword to fly out of his hand. He catches and, examining it says, “Remarkable, Iscariot, truly remarkable. You turned my little gift that I gave you all those many years ago into the perfect weapons against my kind.”
Judas stares at him, and Lucifer smiles again. “Oh, Judas, you didn’t think that was just any old ordinary demon at your pathetic attempt of a suicide, do you?” He laughs. “I gave you the spear for a reason, Betrayer. Everything that has happened for the last two thousand years has been of my design. True, a few times over the last few days I was worried. You have been quite the fly in my ointment on occasion my dear boy, but when Zenaku confirmed that you were making your way to that dog, Keel, well, I knew everything would be okay. It’s the main reason I felt, comfortable, shall we say, about showing the world my kind, first-hand.”
He laughs again and Judas despairs as he starts to understand. Out of all the many possibilities in which tonight’s events could have played out, going to Father Keel’s had been the one that Lucifer had been hoping for the most. They could have run anywhere, hidden anywhere, but Lucifer knew he would want answers and sanctuary out of a misguided sense of protection, and therefore would know where to strike.
“Judas, my boy; your choices have meant everything proceeded perfectly. To be honest, this is pretty much all your fault.” He points out of the window to his left, directing his attention to the devastation now gripping New York City and now indeed the rest of the world.
“Fuck you, Devil,” he retorts. “You ain’t gonna lay any of this at my feet or have me doubt myself. Regardless of any choices I made, you would still have opened this path, so fuck you. Now, this is your final warning. Give me Charlotte or die.”
Lucifer shakes his head and stares at him for a moment. He hands the sword to Abi and whispers into her right ear. He turns towards Judas again. “Have fun, Iscariot. See you very soon. You will love what I have planned for you… or maybe not.” He laughs a final time then steps through the portal.
Abi holds the sword in her right hand and spins it, slow across the front of her body. She stops and holds it up to her face then licks the blade and her tongue burns. A small tear tracks down her face as she feels the pain from the holy weapon. Although the pain is intense, she smiles nonetheless.
Judas sidesteps, tiptoeing to his right and pleads with her.
“Abi, if you can hear me, fight this, fight his control. I know you can do it. Come back to me, you don’t want to be like this. Regardless of the choices you have made, you are not one with Darkness. Fight him.”
It laughs. “Don’t waste your time, Iscariot. She is gone. The whore no longer lives in this form. She was always his, always ripe for the picking. She believed she had murdered her unborn child and that is all the invitation my Lord needed. Her guilt was so powerful inside that all it took was a single touch from him, and she came over. With her belief, she allowed her soul to become as black as night and as strong as she ever thought she was, her spirit wasn’t. Now, the clock’s ticking, Iscariot, are we gonna fight or fucking talk?”
Demon Abi performs a series of showboating swordplay maneuvers in front of him. Slicing the air and spinning her body with the expertise of a sword-master.
Judas stands motionless and unimpressed.
The Demon continues her display, moving closer to him, dancing with the blade. It completes the show with a pirouette then drops down low, her left leg bent at the knee, her right leg outstretched with the sword parallel to it, her insane and maniacal ballet at an end. Her left hand thrusts forward and rises to him. With the index and middle fingers joined and the rest of the hand clenched, it beckons him then turns its hand around and drops the index finger, leaving just the middle raised.
Behind her, the portal begins to close.
She grins at him then shifts her posture and attacks with silent speed.
The Demon’s sword comes down towards his head, but Judas meets it with very little effort.
He stares into her eyes. “Demon, two minutes of sword knowledge passed to you from the King of Lies will never defeat two thousand years.”
Before she can respond, he is already on the other side of her. He looks back over his right shoulder.
Abi’s head slides off and falls to the ground. Her body follows, slumping to the floor and all turns to dust.
He wipes a solitary tear away from his right eye. “Abi, I’m sorry I failed you.” He reaches down, collects his other sword, walks to the portal and steps through just as it closes.
On the roof, Gary has his back against the door leading onto it. The door is under fierce siege from scores of Taken as they try to beat their way through it to him. He removes the magazine from his gun and looks at it; it’s empty. He re-inserts its then pulls back the top slide and peers inside. One bullet sits in the chamber. He throws his head back against the door and laughs, “At least there is one left for me.”
The outside of the Tonada building ripples as hundreds of Taken scale it, working their way towards the roof.
The End
Sunday 11 November 2012, 08:29
He steps out of the portal into the New Mexico desert. The sudden shift in temperature causes him to take a deep breath as the cool, early morning desert air chills him. Ahead, Lucifer kneels over Charlotte, his head bowed and facing towards him, arms raised, his upper body uncovered with a multitude of symbols on his torso glowing red. Beneath her a large symbol glows red, pulsing. She appears unconscious and he prays he is not too late as he can only sense the faintest amount of divinity within her.
Whatever ritual Lucifer is performing, it is draining the child and it has his undivided attention, as he hasn’t noticed him exit the portal.
Using the element of surprise to his advantage, he pulls back his right arm and launches a sword at Lucifer. The sword flies true and straight, entering the top of his head and down his neck.
Lucifer roars; planting his hands onto the ground, steadying himself as he rocks forward. With one hand, he grips the hilt of the sword and pulls it out. “You really are becoming more trouble than you are worth, Iscariot.”
Judas walks forward with intent. “Yeah, I get that a lot. It was foolish and arrogant of you, Devil, to think that one of your new puppets could take me down.”
“Oh, Judas, she wasn’t meant to defeat you, she was however, meant to keep you occupied for more than sixty fucking seconds, the useless whore. Oh well, I have time to spare before I need to complete the ceremony. I think I’ll just kill you now, myself and retrieve your soul later.” He stands and holds out the sword towards him in his left hand, flicking it upwards, motioning him forwards.
/> Judas grips his remaining sword with both hands and attacks.
Shifting his position to side on, Lucifer parries each attack with one hand. The swords clink together and flash in the early morning sun. Lucifer lashes out at Judas with his clawed right hand and the blow sends him crashing to the dirt, sliding a full ten feet.
The wound is deep; a huge gash on the left side of his face has opened up. He stumbles and struggles to his feet. The blow was devastating. He touches the wound and brings his hand in front of his face; blood. He touches the wound again; it is still bleeding. He looks surprised.
“What’s the matter, Iscariot? Your healing ability not working?” He roars with laughter, prowling in front of him from left to right. “I told you, boy, your power is nothing compared to mine. You will find that when I inflict damage upon you it will remain. You are going to die here, Iscariot, and no curse on earth will save you. That, I am afraid, is a certainty.”
Lucifer motion-blurs, moving with lightning speed and disappears.
Judas panics, looking left and right. Where the hell is he? His heart pounds and his wound pulses with pain. He reacts out of pure instinct and raises his sword into the air as Lucifer re-materializes, powering down from above.
Both swords meet and spark with blue violence, the force causing Judas to buckle onto one knee as Lucifer bears down further upon him, driving his sword towards his face.
He grins at Judas, insane and demonic, baring every one of his razor- sharp teeth. As he applies more pressure, his face changes to its full creature form; his skin browning and small spiky horns appearing all over its surface. His eyes burn yellow, boring into Judas, burning into his soul.
He feels as though his entire body is on fire and knows he must break this lock. He closes his eyes, calls upon all of his strength and pushes upwards. He darts forward and whilst doing so, slices at Lucifer’s midsection. He feels the sword cut deep into his body. He forward rolls then turns to face his powerful adversary.
Lucifer is laughing. “Well, aren’t we the tricky little trickster?” He says, turning to face him.
Judas glances over his shoulder at Charlotte and intense worry begins to flood over him. He is losing this one and running out of time. He needs to do something and he needs to do it now. He steps towards Lucifer and once again, the King of Demons motion-blurs.
Judas pauses for a second then lashes out the sword behind him whilst turning.
Lucifer reappears and blocks the attack.
Judas kicks out with his right foot knocking him back and then flurries at him.
The sound of metal against rock rings out as Lucifer shifts his skin into an armor-plated surface and he launches a powerful right fist at Judas’ stomach.
The force of the punch is so devastating that it causes him to spit blood into his attacker’s face and rocket backwards into the air, landing twenty feet away.
Lucifer smiles and licks his face with his serpent-like tongue. “You taste divine, Iscariot. I will enjoy devouring you.”
He attempts to crawl further away from Lucifer but the intense pain in his abdomen is crippling. His body is always well into repairing itself by now but the removal of that ability has him in serious trouble. He cannot breathe. He panics, this cannot be the end, can it? It cannot end like this. I need more time. Something deep inside him roars for him to get up, to get up now for Charlotte’s sake. He screams in agony as he pushes his sword into the ground, using it as an aid to pull himself back to his feet. Tears stream down his face and his mind swims with pain.
Lucifer looks at him, astonished. He ambles over to him. “I have to give it to you, Iscariot; you truly are one of His greatest warriors, brave and fearless to the last. Even in the face of utter defeat, you still fight. I may have to change my plans for you. I think I will convert you. Yes. That is what I will do. I will send one of God’s greatest weapons against Him, oh how amusing that will be.”
Judas lashes out at him and meets with nothing as the Devil motion- blurs once again. Another powerful right hand crashes against the side of his head and blinding white light explodes in front of his eyes and he crashes to the ground. As sound and vision return to him, muffled and blurry, he breathes out hard. Raising his head to the sky, he calls out, “Please, God, do not let this happen. I forfeit it all; my entry into paradise, my soul, everything. Send me to Hell if you will, but do not let him kill this child. Please. Help me.”
Lucifer roars with laughter. The pathetic pleas of Judas have amused him a great deal and he is reveling in the dying man’s torment. He mimics him as he walks away, towards Charlotte, “Please, God, please, God, don’t let her die.” He laughs once more, no longer concerned with the battered and broken form of his adversary. “Forget what I just said, Iscariot, you are pathetic. I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire, which incidentally, you soon will be, for eternity.”
He feels a swell of divinity wash over him and he screams in defiance, bringing himself to his feet. He raises his sword, preparing to move forwards towards Lucifer. He begins to say something but then gurgles and coughs blood into the Devil’s face once more.
The King of Hell holds the back of Judas’ head, a sword buried deep into his stomach up to its hilt. He has crossed fifteen feet in a heartbeat and delivered a final blow.
Judas blinks a few times then lets out a slow, shallow breath.
He begins to fall to the ground and Lucifer eases him down, the sword still inserted; he then kneels and looks past him.
The horizon glows as the first morning rays work their way over it creating a velveteen canvass across the desert and Lucifer reverts to his human form, whispering into Judas’ right ear, smiling, “This is perfect. I told you, Iscariot, I am a power beyond your comprehension. I will now kill the child, absorb her and with that, this world will be mine. It is just the way it is. There was no way in creation that you could ever possess the means to stop me.”
He laughs, his teeth crimson, stained with his own blood, his eyes glistening with tears.
Lucifer pulls his head away from his ear and stares into his eyes. “What’s so funny, Iscariot?”
He coughs, then smiles and replies, “For all your power you are still as dumb as a box of rocks. You are right, I know I could never beat you.”
Lucifer’s face contorts with anger, “Then what has been the point of all this, throwing your existence away, sacrificing yourself?”
He smiles again, his voice croaky. “Because, I know I could never beat you… but she can.” He looks past Lucifer.
The Devil slowly turns his head. Behind him stands Charlotte, glowing brilliant white, more than she has ever done so before. The force of divinity that radiates from her is crushing to him and her body shimmers in a dazzling haze of power.
He snarls and attempts to attack, but for all his speed, she is quicker.
Before he can even stand, she is upon him, both of her hands on the side of his head.
He screams with such force that it causes Judas to throw his hands up to his ears.
The ground shakes and splits and the sky thunders as Charlotte subjects the Devil to the might of God. She floods him with devastating divinity, overwhelming his evil with love and purity. His human form starts to wither, collapsing in on itself and she pushes her head close to his screaming and tortured face, speaking with the wisdom of an old woman. “You will never claim this world, Devil. I am with God, my father, and as long as I walk this earth, He will walk with me. It is time for you to leave.” Her eyes reach a pure white peak of intensity and the piercing scream of Lucifer ends all at once. His form crumbles to dust. She pats her hands together, removing the dust from them.
From inside the remnants of the corpse, a dark shadow rises and screams as its human body had seconds before. It flits across the ground towards the symbol in which Lucifer had laid Charlotte upon, ascends, and then dives into it. It is gone and with it, the screaming.
The sun rises, painting the landscape in gold and the desert we
lcomes its warmth.
Charlotte’s light starts to diminish, and then is gone altogether. She stands in front of Judas, a seven-year-old child, no longer the weapon of God. She opens her eyes and drops to her knees, throwing herself around him, embracing him, holding him tight.
He winces from the pain and she moves back fast. She sees how hurt he is and tears well up in her eyes.
“Aww, it’s okay, kiddo, honestly, it’s okay. Don’t cry, my little girl, we won, you did it. I knew you could.” He smiles and coughs.
She places her hands on his chest and starts to cry. “Don’t move, Judas. I’ll heal you, I’m sure I can heal you. I must have it in me to do so, I must.”
She looks behind her, as Gabriel’s calm voice states, “You cannot heal him, child, I’m sorry but you cannot. That is an ability you will not master for many years to come and even then, will be only able to use it in certain situations. I am sorry, but these are his final moments.”
She cries, inconsolable, “No! That’s not fair, he can’t die. Why are you letting him die? I need him. I can’t do this without him. Please, Gabriel, help him.”
Judas lifts his hands to her face and strokes it. “It’s okay, sweetie, this is how it has to be. You will be fine. You have saved this world and you will bring it back from the darkness inflicted upon it. It’s okay. I’ll be forever with you.”
She throws herself into him.
This time he doesn’t react to the pain, he just puts his arms around her and holds her close. He looks up at Gabriel and smiles. “All this time I have been praying for death, praying to move on, and now, I don’t want to go. Irony is not one of His greatest inventions.”
Gabriel smiles and nods at him. “Your sacrifice was the catalyst for The Light to be finally lit in all its glory. Your willingness to fight Lucifer, a powerful entity that you knew in your heart of hearts to be beyond your skill and keep him occupied, was the key to this world’s survival, and the fact that you were prepared to condemn yourself to hell to save her, well, that showed your true character. The big guy upstairs is very impressed, so pass peacefully, Judas, my old friend, you did a fantastic job, I knew that you would.”