Dark Angel

by Amanda Jones

  “Enough!”

  Katia’s eyes whipped towards Satan at the sound, piercing him with a look of pure hatred that turned to abject despair as Luc felt a burning sensation at his neck. He felt a strange warmth as the remaining strength began to drain out of his human body. Rolling his eyes upwards he could see the ground not far below his head and the river of red that was beginning to pool beneath him. With a clink, a dagger fell to the ground beside his blood. It was kind of pretty, he thought, ruby red like a gemstone. Through the rushing sound of the blood in his head Luc heard Katia cry out, and saw her brother clutching at her as she made a move to run towards him.

  “Bind your soul to me and I will save him,” Satan said from Luc’s side.

  Katia dashed to the bottom step of the dais and reached her hand out to Luc, touching his face so lightly and lovingly it broke his heart. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want it to end like this, but I…I can’t. You know why. There’s just too much at stake. I’d rather die myself than leave you here like this. I love you.” The tears ran freely down her face as her hand shook with the force of her emotion.

  Luc tilted his head into her palm and replied, his words slurred with blood-loss and pain. “I know. I wanted an eternity with you but some time was better than none at all. You brought light back into my life, Katia. I will always love you.”

  Katia leaned forward and gently kissed Luc on the lips, the chastest kiss they’d shared, but somehow it was the most profound. Their lips clung softly, and Luc could taste her sadness in the tears that trailed down her face to salt the kiss. Not wanting to miss a moment of this goodbye, Luc almost didn’t hear Keir’s voice as he spoke softly from behind his sister.

  “You have so much more to live for. I can’t let this happen. You know what to do, my dearest sister. You’ve kept my hope alive all these years, it’s my turn to do that for you.”

  As Katia pulled away from him, Luc could see the realization dawning in her eyes. “No!” She shouted over her shoulder to her brother.

  “Flesh of my flesh, mind of my mind, soul of my soul, once split in twain join together forever as one in this woman.” Keir reached forward and grasped Katia’s hand in his own. A pulsing light travelled down his arm and up through their joined hands. As the light reached the place over Katia’s heart it flashed so brightly Luc momentarily squeezed his eyes shut. Katia spun to face her brother as he stood rooted to the spot in shock. His skin began to turn a sickly grey and his lips started to turn blue.

  “Keir,” Katia said with a catch in her voice. “I know why, but I just found you. I can’t lose you this fast.”

  Crystals of ice began to form over Keir’s skin as he replied in a whisper. “You have so much to live for. You have a life. You have a great love. I know who I am now, that’s enough. You know what to do.”

  Satan’s dark laugh resounded from the dais. “In absentia luci, tenebrae vincunt. In the absence of light, darkness prevails.” He cried out. A thick, dark fog began to move throughout the courtyard slowly blocking out the remaining light. The blackness slithered past Luc. It looked like smoke, but brushed against him cold and thick, briefly snaking around his neck as though it were planning on choking the life out of him. The darkness began to coalesce and solidify as Luc watched, his sight winking in and out as his lifeblood continued to stream down onto the flags. He felt like he was at the most twisted nightclub in the netherworld, hanging upside down with strobe-vision. The blackness became dense and solid in the shape of a man, and not just any man. Luc groaned. Thanatos — Death himself had been summoned to the party. His skeletal form with its thinly-stretched skin a horrifying sight even within the depths of Sheol.

  “Keir!” Katia cried out as the light faded from his eyes, crystals icing them over with a crackle.

  Quick as a flash, Thanatos grabbed Keir from behind, snaked an arm around him and slapped it down hard on his chest. Luc looked on as joy momentarily suffused Keir’s face as the strength returned to his failing body, only seconds later to be replaced by confusion and fear. “Katia, what’s happening to me?” Those mismatched eyes so like Katia’s suddenly flashed red, the ice cracking and dropping off of Keir’s body like a snake shedding its skin. A look of pure malevolence came over his face as Thanatos wrapped them both in a blanket of smoke that appeared to collapse in on itself sucking them both in. They disappeared leaving behind one hissed word uttered in a tone of pure evil that made Katia visibly shudder. “Ssssissster.”

  Katia whirled to face the dais. “What have you done to him?” she screamed at Satan as he laughed with obvious glee.

  “Now I get you both, you see. I’ve had Thanatos bring me one of my souls from the abyss for Keir, and you’ll be bound to me. You’re two of a kind, but I knew only one of you could ultimately survive, but I found a way around that. Kind of my specialty, I’m afraid.” Satan’s twisted smile transforming his youthful face into a mask of evil, stripping away the feigned innocence to show the reality of what he was.

  “No.” Luc heard Katia whisper as his vision finally went black. The sounds around him grew muted and distant as death finally reached its cold hand towards him for the last time. His last thought before darkness enfolded him was a fervent hope that Thanatos would be back to take his soul instead of his old friend Sam. And then…nothing.

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  Katia

  You know what to do. Keir’s last words to her before he gave up the part of their shared soul floated through Katia’s numbed mind. Shoving her heartbreak over her brother’s death aside, she tried to force herself into action. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Death. The Keir whom she’d met was truly dead now that he was animated by a dark soul. He was gone, but Luc wasn’t, not yet and not ever if she had anything to do with it. You know what to do. Yes, she damned well did. Katia raced up the steps of the dais to Satan’s side as he clapped his hands gleefully looking like a kid who’d just gotten a new Xbox for his birthday.

  “Fine, you win. I’ll do the binding,” Katia cried out. The words of the binding spell seemed to pour out of her, like they’d been sitting there in the depths of her soul just waiting to be uttered. “Darkness and light, servant of neither, I bind my soul of my free will, irrevocable as the passage of time, my soul belongs to you.” She reached out her hand and touched Luc’s bloodied and beaten one that was nailed to the arm of the cross beside her. Katia felt triumphant as a look of confusion and anger spread across Satan’s youthful face. That amazing warmth and power that she’d felt before upon joining hands with her brother surged through her again, slamming down her arm and into Luc where their hands were connected. His whole body jerked upon the cross. Luc’s eyes flew open as the cuts, burns, and broken bones evident all over his body began to knit back together at lightning speed. As strength poured into his body, Katia could actually feel him. His love for her, his desire for her, his concern for her, they all washed over her consciousness through this new soul-deep connection. A split second later, B was at Katia’s side wrenching the nails out of Luc’s body and taking him down off the cross. The courtyard was in confusion as demons looked towards their master for orders. Satan stood there, a mixture of anger, awe, and incredulity playing on his face. Checkmate, Katia thought as she and B staggered down off the dais with Luc propped up between them. Hearing her thoughts, Luc turned his head towards her and chuckled softly. “Smartass,” he whispered.

  “That’s why you love me,” she whispered back with a smile as they struggled towards a nearby wall.

  Luc squeezed her arm. “One of the many reasons.”

  “Okay, lovebirds, I hate to break up your little moment, but we really need to get the fuck out of here before señor psychopath comes up with another way to make our lives interesting,” B interjected, eyes darting all over the courtyard. “Any bright ideas?”

  As the words left his lips, a ripple began to appear in the fabric of the air about ten feet away from where they were standing.

  Katia breathe
d out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Amir!”

  The doorway ripped open and there stood Amir with what looked like a small army to his sides.

  “And he brought back up!” Luc said with a smile. “I knew I liked him for a reason.”

  The trio raced towards the doorway that would take them to freedom. As they approached, B shouted out to Amir. “You, my friend, are my new all-time favorite person.” Twisting his head he stuck two fingers between his lips and whistled as loudly as he could. “Anyone wanting to take the Jinn train out of Shit Station, all aboard!”

  Amir stepped forward to grab Katia’s arm as Luc pushed her into the rift and the spirit world beyond. Looking back, Katia watched as B helped Luc into the rift as another Jinn stepped forward and grasped his arm. Angels and fallen raced forwards towards the doorway as Satan let out a bellow of rage. His anger pulsing through the air as explosions began to go off all over the courtyard. Jumping into the rift on the arm of yet another of Amir’s Jinn companions, B smiled playfully. “I may have planted a few little exploding presents around the place just for shits and giggles.”

  “The fallen, bring me the fallen!” Satan screamed as Halja burned around him, ashes falling from the sky like snow. Wooden beams and stonework off the façade of the castle crashed down like flaming missiles dropping from the sky. The gargoyles let out an unholy screech.

  Katia breathed a sigh of relief as Bellerophon hopped into the doorway. She could see Michael, Yetarel, Sam, Azazel, and Baliel already in the misty hallway. As the demons rushed forward, Michael stepped forward to scan the occupants of the courtyard. His face was a mask of panic.

  “Where’s Leila? Did anyone see her?” he shouted.

  A chorus of murmured “No’s.” were whispered as everyone strained to see through the opening in the fabric of space between the worlds, desperately seeking a glimpse of the beautiful golden-haired angel. As everyone continued to scan the crowds, the demons began to rush forward in a manic attempt to catch hold of Asmodeus, the only remaining fallen who hadn’t crossed over into the spirit realm. He raced forward, arms outstretched towards Amir who had stepped forward once again to provide an anchor into the Jinn world. Just as their fingers connected a demon’s sword swung forward, singing as it arced through the air towards the fallen. There was a horrible moment where time seemed to stand still and Asmodeus’ eyes were locked upon Amir’s. Katia held her breath as though it would stop the inevitable from coming to pass. The moment was broken when Asmodeus’ hand dropped back down to his side, the light left his eyes as his head dropped away from his body.

  “No!” Luc cried out from his place beside Katia. She gripped his hand tightly as tears rose to fill her eyes. Shaking, Amir stepped back and let the curtain between the worlds drop. As the rift closed, their final view of Halja was Asmodeus’ body falling to the ground. As he struck the flagstones, his entire form was consumed by blue light that sparked brightly then disappeared, leaving nothing behind where he had stood.

  Silence reigned in the ghostly corridor as angels and fallen alike stood rooted to the spot in shock. Asmodeus was gone…really gone. Katia gripped Luc’s arm with her free hand, keeping a firm hold on the Jinn at her side like all the others. Asmodeus had been there in Luc’s apartment when she’d woken from her drug-induced stupor. Asmodeus had helped hide her and Luc from Satan’s minions. Asmodeus had risked his life when Luc had come to Halja after her. And now he was dead. Guilt washed over her. If only she hadn’t tried to rescue her brother; if only she’d stayed at Amir’s apartment with Luc. If only… Her mind began to spiral downwards as she hammered herself with second guesses. Amidst the silence and her swirling thoughts, Katia suddenly felt a whisper soft kiss at her temple, pulling her back into the moment. She lifted her misty eyes to meet Luc’s direct gaze. His eyes were free of pain, only sadness remained. No anger marred the clear gray gaze staring back at her. He must have heard the direction of her thoughts, because Luc shook his head as he spoke. “No, love, don’t do that. It’s not your fault. He would have stopped at nothing to get his hands on you. Now he’s got no reason to keep coming after you, you’re bound to me.”

  Katia reached out through their connection. Her heart clenched when she realized that Luc was telling the truth. She could feel his heartbreak at the death of his friend of centuries, but all that radiated towards her was love and compassion for her loss. Katia let her breath out slowly and leaned her head onto Luc’s shoulder, relaxing for the first time since she’d left their bed at Amir’s. The other fallen murmured their support for her, reiterating Luc’s sentiments. B reached forward a friendly hand to pat her back. For the first time since she’d met him, B seemed to be in a serious mood.

  “He knew what could happen coming down here; we all did. This is something that I think we all had to do. Maybe we’re trying to balance the scales a bit…we’ve done a lot of evil…you gave us a chance to do something good for a change.”

  Katia looked up at B with a sad smile. “You’re a good man, Bataryal. Thank you.”

  Looking uncomfortable with the praise, B cleared his throat and looked down at his feet. “Um, yeah, anytime.”

  Michael and Bellerophon stepped forward and broke up the tense moment. “We need to go back,” Michael said, urgency in his voice. “Leila didn’t make it through with the rest of us. We can’t leave her behind there, she’ll be trapped forever.”

  “She’s my student. I feel responsible for her.” Bellerophon added in a choked voice.

  Amir reached out and touched Bellerophon lightly on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. The balance has re-asserted itself. I could feel the shift in the air as the doorway closed. You couldn’t get back into Halja, even if you wanted to, and she couldn’t come out.”

  Bellerophon hung his head and nodded slowly in acknowledgement. Michael shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the emotion of the moment, but unable to remain still, a sheen of tears appearing in his eyes. He wiped at them surreptitiously with the heel of his palm.

  “I can’t believe Mo’s really gone,” Luc said with a shake of his head. “I mean, we all know that even immortals aren’t really immortal, but we’ve all been together so long I guess it didn’t hit home until now.” The fallen around him nodded solemnly in agreement.

  “We need to go on living, and we need to do better. It’s what he would have wanted,” Baliel added quietly.

  Slowly they turned and began the slow walk down the corridor, hands reaching out to touch their Jinn guides, wisps of smoky tendrils twisting and turning around them like a visible manifestation of their collective grief. Katia reached out and grasped Luc’s hand in hers and leaned against him. His immortal strength may have been gone, but he was still a pillar of love and strength in her world, a world that had been tilted upon its axis yet again. As the group moved slowly along, everyone lost in their own thoughts, nobody noticed the well-dressed blonde who brought up the rear, flecks of red breaking through the baby blue of her eyes as she smiled darkly to herself and clutched the shoulder of the Jinn at her side.

  Chapter Thirty Eight

  Lucifer

  Luc sat at the table in The Advocate, one hand rubbing his tired eyes, the other wrapped protectively around Katia’s shoulders. If he had his way, he wouldn’t let go of this woman for the rest of his life. She had saved him; she’d given him something to live for beyond simple survival and obeisance. Amidst the pain of losing Mo, the shock of Keir’s transformation, and the overwhelming love he felt for Katia, Luc had one nagging, sobering thought that ran through his mind. He was human now and mortal. He was going to live and die; he would be gone in the blink of an eye. Katia was immortal. In all of his long existence, Luc had never felt the enormity of what a limited lifespan would mean, nor the importance of every moment. Deep in his heart, he knew that he would spend every second of whatever time remained making Katia happy. He was free of Satan’s pull now; he could feel it in every cell of his human form. When he’d bargained away his
immortality, the tie between them had been broken. He could be the man he should have been from the outset. He would never be able to erase the wrongs he’d done, but he would do his best to balance the scales in any way possible. Leaning down, he whispered into Katia’s ear.

  “You know I’m human now.”

  Katia didn’t reply, she just looked up at him with love and sadness mingling in her eyes and nodded, stretching her head up to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

  Luc swallowed hard and continued, knowing that the trepidation he felt was evident in his eyes. “Knowing everything I’ve been and done, and knowing I’ll only be around for a human lifetime, do you still want me?”

  Katia held his gaze for what seemed like an eternity, and Luc could feel his heart slipping when she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and breathed her reply into his ear. They were the sweetest words he had heard in all of his long life. “Of course I do. I love you! You’re quite literally my soul mate, and you’re stuck with me now.”

  Luc felt the tears of joy stinging at his eyes, threatening to overflow. There was only one thing left to make his life complete, whether it was eternal or only a few short decades. With his arms banded around her, he buried his face in her hair and whispered right back to her, “Katia, will you marry me?”

  He felt her nod as she hiccupped and sobbed at the same time. Through their connection he could feel her joy battling over her sadness. A thought whispered through his mind. Duh, of course I will, you silly man.

  Luc burst out laughing, causing the others that had arrived from the spirit walk to turn and look at him like he’d lost his ever-loving mind. They gave him questioning looks and shook their heads in confusion as he continued laughing. Luc knew in that exact moment that his darkness was gone and all that was left in his life was light, the light that Katia had brought back to him.