“Sammy, let her go. You've suffered enough. You're killing both of you. Sammy. She can't be saved, but you can.”
“Mom?” Samantha let the net of soul energy dissipate, the blade in her hand crumbling to dust as her will to destroy this abomination evaporated with the spark of a new idea. Take Stektes into herself, battle it on her terms. Free Nina. Myself for her.
Stektes paused in its' violent attack on Nina's mind, as if hearing Eva's words, considering them as an alternative. “Mine,” it roared, reaching for her with countless tentacles. The already massive bulk of the monster swelled and grew, becoming an enormity that dwarfed the plateau. Nina was lost in the labyrinth of twisting arms.
“No.” Samantha held up a hand, freezing the creature on the spot. “Your hold on her is too strong. I'll save her yet.”
“You are welcome to try,” Stektes rumbled, lashing out with a tentacle, smashing the plateau asunder. The ground fell beneath Samantha's feet and she dropped into nothingness. The pure black of a starless universe engulfed her and she willed herself away.
She opened her eyes. Nina still faced her. They were only a pace apart. Her sister's eyes had changed to a dark green, the colour of Stektes' hideous skin. Her face, or the face of the monster within her, was terrified. The tribes surrounded them in a wide circle, their hands linked, light pulsing for another attack.
“No. Enough.” Sammy raised a hand to the tribe. “We can't beat Stektes that way. Its hooks are too deeply embedded. If we destroy it, we kill Nina and I won't lose my sister. Mom, she's still in there, fighting. She's always defied the beast, which is why it doesn't have total control over her.”
With the comprehension it was to be spared, a smug smile spread across Nina's face. “You touch me, she dies.”
“A hollow threat. You still need her. But we can't have you running around causing chaos.” Samantha put her hands to either side of Nina's head. A pulse of energy knocked her unconscious and Nina dropped to the ground.
“What have you done?” Clare asked, kneeling down to check Nina's pulse.
“Stektes has had my sister locked up inside her own head since she was taken to Hell. One might make it difficult to imagine there is any kind of symbiosis. My sister is the same as me, whatever that is, but Stektes is more of a parasite now. If it breaks free of her there will be chaos.”
“What did it look like?” Eva asked, her arm bound in a sling. She leaned on Jim for support.
“Big, scaly. If whatever's waiting on the other side is like that we're in for trouble.”
“It is,” Eva replied. “It's bigger, and worse than you could imagine. And it's angry at us. We took away its chance of claiming Hell. There's a very good reason these Gods no longer walk among us. Hell would seem like a pleasant weekend break compared to what they would bring. We need to get Io home. His brethren need to know how close to disaster we all are.
“One problem there,” Io said. “If the portal was one final trap to feed fallen angels into the Fearvent, then what hope do I have of returning home?”
“Can't you just fly?” Eva asked.
Io shook his head as he said, “My own garrison would be on me in an instant were I to reappear. I would have to follow the path of souls, where all these brave ones should have gone in the first place.” He indicated the closest of the Tribe, surrounding them in a tight circle. Their faces were expectant, as if they knew something momentous was about to occur.
Then in her head the plan just clicked. Samantha smiled. “I think I know a way.”
Chapter Forty
The group of six people, an angel and the small matter of one hundred and forty four thousand shining souls moved across the top of the hill to a flat area away from the trap. The sky was clearing, the clouds dispersing in all directions. A heavy mist enveloped them, moisture kissing Samantha's skin rejuvenated her, preparing her for the task ahead.
“Io, can you clear the ground, please? Make it nice and flat, about five meters across.”
Io waved his hand and the requested ground cleared. “You could do that, you know.”
“True. But I need to concentrate. I don't need another lesson.”
“Another lesson in what?” Eva asked. “Sammy, what are you? What is she, Io?”
Samantha crouched and began to carve into the ground with the Well of Souls, directing a little energy through it as she created. “You know what most little girls want to be when they grow up: a princess when they're small—until they reach the age where they attain a skill—a gymnast, a horse rider, a musician. Their ambitions become more realistic as they grow up. All I wanted to be was the equal of my sister. To be seen through your eyes, Mom, the same way she was. I never understood until recently that you always saw me that way. I never realised until I found Io that we both had something special driving us. Io won't say, and I think nothing on earth is going to make him. He said the word 'Nephilim', the offspring of an angel, or in Pop's case an archangel. I don't think that cuts it.”
“He wasn't Satan when we had either of you.”
“It doesn't seem to have mattered, Mom. The spark was there and somebody important was watching. I think Madden was always headed in that direction. Now we are whatever we are. Not entirely human. I think we have a spark too.”
“I have to be sure,” Io protested.
Samantha stood, holding her clenched hand to her chest. “Deep in here there's something. A latent power. It's been awakened by Io. I've learned more in the past day than I could have ever imagined thanks to him. I have a purpose.”
“But Nina has that power too. Stektes draws from it. She's never had the chance to be free, to learn.”
Eva nodded, and squeezed her daughter's shoulder.
“Is that what this pattern is?” Clare asked.
“In part. Call it geometry, call it art. It's a bit of both. When I called my father, the pattern mixed with blood was the key. That won't work where you're going, Io. The grave of a demon would just send you to back to your prison. We need to fire up this gateway a bit brighter than that.” She finished carving the pattern. Stars sat inside diamonds inside circles and more stars, all connected.
“Elaborate,” Io approved.
“I'm glad you like it. Now I need you to think of a place to be sent. I doubt you want to go near the Fearvent. But wherever you decide, fix it in your mind and hold onto that image.”
“I have it,” Io replied. “Where I was patrolling when I was knocked out of Heaven. It's on the most distant edge. Nobody should be there, now.” He turned to the small group of people with them. “I am thankful to have met you all. You helped me when you had no reason to trust me. You have shown me there is hope here yet. I'll convey that message.”
“Will they listen?” Eva asked.
Samantha looked up as Io raised his head. His jaw was set.
“I shall make them listen, he said slowly nodding his head. “You, we are not alone. Humanity will remember this in the days ahead.”
“Please step to the centre of the pattern,” Samantha indicated with one hand.
“You sure this will work?” he asked.
“No idea whatsoever,” she replied. “I just need that.” Samantha reached up and plucked the Phaethon Stone from Io's chest before he could react. In an instant her hand was ablaze, the fire warming her but doing no damage at all.
Everybody around her threw their hands up at the light. Even the Hebrew ghosts appeared to wince.
“Amazing,” Samantha said, squeezing the stone tight. “I can feel it all. This stone is alive. The energy from an entire nuclear reactor, bound up amidst Metatron's essence. I can feel him. I can see his memories.” Samantha gasped. “Mom I can see the first time he let you see him. A barn with a demon speaking German? The portal opening. Tentacles.” She frowned. “It was Stektes. Every time a portal opened near you, it was Stektes. He knew you, right from the start. They both did.”
“It was Crustallos,” Eva protested.
“No Mom, it
wasn't. I've seen Stektes. One eye glowing, the other dark. You stabbed an eye out did you not? Do you imagine you could do that to a god and live? I fear Crustallos is an entity we have not yet encountered. We don't want the Godmissile let loose on the world.”
Samantha stepped to the centre of the pattern. The glyphs glowed as she crossed them, circling her slowly, the outer rings clockwise, the inner counter-clockwise.
Io followed her to the centre of the pattern. “The Phaethon Stone won't be enough.”
Samantha smiled. “I know. You'll be fine.” She checked the rotation of the glyphs and nodded, satisfied. “You'll be needing this back.” She pressed the stone into his armor where it clicked into place. “Guys you might want to step back for this.”
Io's wings unfurled, reaching up above him as they shimmered. The light of the portal erupted, tapering to a point like the previous gateway did. He looked up.
Samantha watched him, all muscle and straining sinew as he waited for her. Io was ready to return home. She took his hands in her own. “It's been quite a journey since Dubrovnik.”
Io tilted his head forward. Anticipation shone from his face. “I fear my journey's only just begun, Sammy.” He leaned forward, brushing her lips with a kiss. “I won't forget you.”
“Look in on me from time to time.” She threw her arms around him, not wanting to let him go. Still, she did, stepping back.
“When I find out more about you, expect your prayers to be answered, Samantha Scott. I'll make Heaven believe in humanity again. I'm ready to make my exit.” He spread his hands wide, arms parallel with his wings. In his silver scaled armour he was a regal paragon of purity. Her champion.
“This isn't an exit, Ioviel,” she whispered. It's an exodus.
She sent out only one thought, and the twelve tribes of ancient Hebrews shone like the sun and launched toward the portal. Samantha had no searching for a clue, no quest for a familiar sensation. The spirits knew her invitation would send them to paradise. As one hundred and forty-four thousand glowing orbs bolstered the power of the Phaethon Stone, energy crackled around the base of the portal. As one Io and Samantha screamed, a release of pure unbridled joy. Light shone from within Io's body, and in an eruption of gold-tinged white the angel finally burst forth. Io surged heavenward, a streak of golden energy searing the sky with radiance. The spirits continued to swirl around inside the vortex, accelerating up in His wake. Beams of light shot forth in all directions at the pinnacle of the portal, piercing through the clouds, reaching for miles. Just for a moment Samantha felt something more—a connection with a higher plane of existence.
“Heaven,” she breathed. “God's speed, my friend.”
With a hollow boom the light disappeared, the portal fading to nothing. Io was home.
Samantha lowered her arms. Her eyes were still dazzled from the light. She blinked to try and clear them. Colours were blurry images which sharpened as she rubbed the tears away. She hadn't realised she was crying. At her feet rested a body. Black skin, heavy beard, dressed as she had last seen him in a worn top and trousers.
“He's still here?” Her mother asked.
Samantha kneeled beside the body, touching his throat. “No pulse. The vessel sacrificed everything to send the angel home.”
“But that's him.”
Samantha stood. “No Mom, that's just the body he used. Io is a being of light. What occurred here today … we may never see again.”
“Well, we weren't alone,” said Clare, pointing down the hill. A stream of people walked toward the woods that separated them from the tiny village beyond. As far as they could see, cars packed the roads beyond.
Charlotte reached for a radio, no doubt to call for whatever ARC security there was.
Samantha stepped out of the portal and lowered her hand. “Let them come. The entire hill is covered in burn marks, I'd say well over a hundred and forty thousand. Anybody for miles around will have seen the light show.”
“And you don't consider containment necessary?” Charlotte was clearly sceptical.
Samantha recognised the dry scepticism in Charlotte's voice. “No.” She felt at peace with the world. The direction her life was going to take now clear to her. “They're the first here. They need to know what happened.”
“Why?” Charlotte thrust her hand in their direction. “Because it will justify our actions?”
“Because Heaven needs mankind to start believing again, and it all begins here. Aeon Fall took advantage of global disillusionment. People don't need to believe at first, but there are some things the eyes cannot doubt. One angel died, another ascended on this hill. Thornfalcon is a holy place. Perhaps the holiest since His son rose.” She knelt down beside Nina's unconscious body, smoothing her hair. “I'll find you and free you. I promise.”
Eva joined Samantha by her sister. Nina's face was calm as she slept. “What do we do with her, Sammy?”
“Keep her sedated. Heavily. That monster inside her needs the power we both have. If the body remains unconscious I doubt Stektes can do any damage. It's sealed in there. Bury her deep within an ARC facility, Mom. I will find a way to get that thing out of her. I'll get my sister back. We'll have a family again.
Jim and Charlotte moved the unconscious Nina away from the portal. Not long after, people began to filter through the trees, making their way to the peak of the hill.
“How close were we to failing?” Clare asked, as the three of them watched the strangers looking around the hill in bafflement and wonder.
“Close,” Samantha replied. “I don't know what today's events mean. I just have a feeling Io will need my help again before this is all over. Stektes sought my power, but also feared it. The tribes surprised our enemy. We have to keep ahead of the curve. Mom, Aunt Clare, whoever is making the Helltech, you might want them to ramp up production. There's a war coming.”
“Angels would destroy us?” Clare asked.
“No. This is bigger than that. An older God wants to reclaim the throne and He's but one step away. Humanity may just get caught in the middle.”
“Excuse me?” A tall man, the foremost of the people beginning to swarm over the hill, called out. He held the hand of a redhead, three children in tow.
“I know you,” Samantha said, stepping forward. “The guy from the airport with the lost daughter.”
He smiled at being remembered. “Well I never. Samantha, isn't it? What happened here?”
Samantha shrugged. “An angel rose to Heaven. My friend went home.”
“Well I never,” he said again. “Sammy, how about that? Exactly what you said. It's all real.”
His curly-haired daughter rolled her eyes at him and turned to Samantha. “He never believes me.”
He smiled at his daughter and turned back. “What does that mean for us?”
“It means finally, Heaven will start to listen again. You'd better start praying. I think in the days to come, we'll need it.” Samantha turned to Eva. “I miss him, Mom. He's only been gone moments.”
Eva opened her mouth to reply when the hill began to vibrate, becoming a tremor. The people in front of them stared skyward. Samantha turned.
A shaft of light pierced through the cloud, touching down atop the hill. A sizzling bolt of lightning ripped down the shaft, hitting the hill with a jolt.
Wings folding behind him, Io stepped from the light. His armor was gold now, dented and broken. His sword, chipped and worn, hung from his side.
The light in his face faded and it became the face of the man lying atop the portal. He smiled for a moment, then became grim.
“What is it? You only just left.”
“All Hell's broken loose. The forty-two have Him trapped in the Angelforge and Zerachiel's commanding an army. One of many. I need you. We all do.” He held his hand out.
Samantha turned to Eva, who nodded. “Go, love. Save us all.”
Three more impacts hit the hill, shaking it yet more.
“Ioviel, we can't hold the gateway mu
ch longer,” said a woman's voice from within the light. “Hurry.”
The people on the hill stared in amazement. Several dropped to their knees.
Samantha took Io's hand. “Look after them, Mom. Look after them all.” To Io she added, “I trust you know what you're doing?”
“Giving us hope,” he replied. “Hold on tight.”
The light grew bright about them, a pearlescent glow. Samantha felt herself rise, rushing through the air at incredible speed. Rainbow colours around her merged to white and one word above all fixed in her mind. Destiny.
The End
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Matthew W. Harrill and the Creativia Team
About The Author
Matthew Harrill has lived all of his life in the South West of England. In 1997 he graduated from the University of Southampton with an honours degree in geology. This year he finally married his partner of eight years, Tricia. They have one son and another child on the way.
Books by the Author
The Tome of Law
The Focus Stone, Book 1
The Path of Dreams, Book 2
The Arc Chronicles
Hellbounce, Book 1
Hellborne, Book 2
Hellbeast, Book 3
The Eyes Have No Soul
Thornfalcon
Thornfalcon (The ARC Legacy Book 1) Page 34