“I’d like to speak with Mr.…” Suddenly Mark realized he didn’t know if Samael even had a last name. Maybe it was Stallion? The company had to have gotten its name from somewhere. He decided to play it safe. “Samael. I’d like to speak with Samael.”
“Mr. Samael is booked for the next few weeks. If you like I can take a message and he will squeeze you in if he can find the time?” the kind woman asked.
Mark couldn’t risk hurting all these innocent humans and it would be his fault if any of them died. Mark doubted God would forgive that.
“Yes, please tell him that Mark Albet was here to see him, concerning his daughter,” Mark replied.
“Yes, sir. Someone will call you tomorrow and let you know the date of your appointment. Would you like to leave a number you can be reached at?” the kind woman asked.
“No, I’ll stop by again tomorrow and find out then, thanks,” Mark replied, then before the woman could say anything else he was on his way out the door.
He wasn’t waiting until tomorrow. At night this place would be empty, at least empty of humans. The few humans that might be in the building he could knock out or something. It wasn’t a great plan but it was his only plan. Mark just needed somewhere close by to stay until it looked like all the humans had left. Mark found a park only a block from Stallion Entertainment and set up on one of the benches that had a good view of the lobby. As Mark sat there he went over his stupid plan. He would walk in and announce that anyone who wanted to could leave and hopefully several of them would take him up on it. This would leave less vampires to kill and hopefully he could reach Samael before long.
Mark also thought about Sarah, how he missed her. Would he ever get her back? This was all his fault. If he had just told her, not been so afraid of her reaction. This could have all been avoided if he hadn’t been so afraid of losing her. Before long Mark fell asleep. It had been a long trip with little time to rest. Mark only woke up when a man walked by and threw some money at him.
“It’s time for you to embrace your calling, quit hiding,” the man said as he passed by.
Mark turned and looked but the man was gone. Had the man actually been there? Was he dreaming? Mark wasn’t sure what was going on. Then he noticed the bright neon clock on the corner. It was after midnight! Mark shot up from the bench and jogged his way to the front of Stallion Entertainment. When he reached the door he found that it was locked. He hadn’t thought of that. How was he going to get in without setting off the alarms and having hundreds of vampires on him in seconds? Mark looked around, stared at the desk the nice young woman was at and he could see what looked like an alarm console. If he broke the lock and quickly shut off the alarm maybe no one would notice? He could be at the back steps and upstairs before the cops arrived. Maybe they would think the burglar took off? It was about as good as his first plan so Mark figured, why not?
Mark pushed against the door to test its strength. The metal bolt between the doors might snap with enough pressure, this wouldn’t make half as much noise as the glass breaking. Mark pushed on the doors again and the bolt snapped. Mark couldn’t hear any alarm but the light on the console was now flashing. Mark zipped to the desk and jumped over it with ease. Quickly he searched all the knobs and buttons trying to figure out which one would shut it off. It was no use, the alarm had a keypad to enter a code. Mark punched the box and the light went off. Hopefully that meant the alarm went off as well. Mark had no time, if the alarm was still on, it was still on. This was his one shot, if he messed this up they would move Sarah or kill her. Mark ran to the door that said ‘Stairs’ and pushed the door open. The stench was nearly unbearable, it almost knocked him off his feet. Then he saw two vampires running down the stairs to meet him.
“My name is Mark Albet, I don’t want to kill you! Just leave and I’ll let you live! I’m just here to get Sarah!” Mark yelled up the steps but the vampires kept running at him with swords in their hands.
Mark pulled the sword from his backpack, it wasn’t very long, he wasn’t even sure he could consider it a sword, but it was all he had. The vampires reached him and Mark parried their blades with his. One of the vampires hit Mark in the leg.
“You’re not even gonna make it up the steps, stupid Asuune. You can’t kill,” the vampire pulled his sword back and Mark spun his own. The vampires head fell off and hit the floor. The second vampire stood in front of Mark with terror in his eyes. He dropped his sword then ran by Mark and out the door.
“Well, that didn’t go as well as I thought but I’m in,” Mark said to himself. Slowly and cautiously Mark made his way up the steps. Along the way he had to kill four more vampires, letting the two semi-intelligent ones leave unscathed.
When Mark eventually reached the top he opened the door slowly and soon saw Sarah. Two vampires where holding her arms and the man he assumed was Samael was sitting on a throne at the end of a very long red carpet.
“My name is Mark Albet, I’m only here for Sarah. Let me have her and I won’t kill you,” Mark said shakily. This was a real angel in front of him, not a vampire. He wasn’t sure what powers the angel had but he had to be strong. Sarah didn’t struggle, she just looked at Mark with sadness in her eyes.
Samael laughed. “I see you found the loophole.” Samael motioned to the blood on Mark’s clothes.
“Yes, I can defend myself, it’s not murder,” Mark spat back. His courage was growing.
“Father, please don’t hurt him. I’ll do whatever you want,” Sarah begged weakly.
“I’ve grown tired of your indifference to torture. I think I know a punishment that might get your attention,” Samael said as he stood up from his throne and took off his suit jacket.
It was then that Mark noticed the shape Sarah was in. Her clothes had been burned and cut along with her body. She had several wounds that were not healing very quickly. There was blood running down from her forehead and her feet looked blistered. He had caused this, he had done this to her. How could he ever make up for this? Sarah would surely hate him but it didn’t matter. At least he could stop it if he could just beat Samael. Forgiveness was not his objective, he just wanted to save Sarah.
“So…Mark…you think that because you can fight vampires that you can fight one of God’s first children?” Samael said as he rolled up the sleeves on his dress shirt and made his way toward Mark.
Samael back handed Mark and he flew across the room before crashing into the wall. It hurt, it hurt a lot. He was not going to win this but he had to try. Even if he died it would be better than letting Sarah down again. Mark got to his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth.
“You’ll have to kill me before I give up. I’ll fight until my last breath, now let her go!” Mark yelled. He was less sure of himself but he needed to show Samael that he was serious.
“She came here of her own free will. I didn’t kidnap her. She was not forced to endure this torture. She chose it.” Samael quickly crossed the room and picked Mark up by the throat. “You think you even have a chance? Leave while you can still walk out.” Samael threw Mark across the room again and he smashed into the wall on the other side.
Mark was sure he had broken something this time, a few ribs, collar bone, maybe even his arm. Again Mark stood up.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Mark asked as he swayed. He wasn’t going to win but he couldn’t give up. Samael might kill him, in fact, Mark was quite sure that Samael was going to kill him but it didn’t matter. He would not let Sarah down ever again.
“I see what Sarah sees in you. If only my own children had this kind of conviction. But you are still a pathetic human. You will all betray my father in the end.” Samael walked over to the throne casually and removed a sword from it. The blade of the three foot long sword caught fire immediately and lit up the room. “This is your lucky day, Sarah. After I kill this one I’ll give you the judgment you seek. Killing him will bring you more torture than I could ever hope to inflict. Take her to her cell. I’ll be there shortly
,” Samael ordered the guards.
The two guards struggled to contain Sarah but even in her weakened state they could barely force her out of the room. “No, Father, Please! I’ll do anything!” The door slammed shut and Sarah’s screams went silent.
“You see, boy, angels can only be killed with an angel’s blade.” Samael held the blade up and stared at the dancing flames. “No human can touch it. If any human were to try, their body would be consumed.”
Samael walked toward Mark with malice in his eyes. Mark stood his ground. If he was going to die, dying for Sarah was a very good reason. Samael lifted the sword and then swung at his neck. The blade stopped just inches from his throat and Mark could feel the holy fire singeing his hair.
“You need to leave.” Samael grabbed Mark by the shirt and threw him at the door. “My daughter needs to suffer and as bad as killing you would be. You abandoning her would be much worse.” Samael thrust his sword into the floor in front of his throne and then sat down. The flames of the sword went out as soon as Samael released it.
“I’ll never leave!” Mark spat back as he tried to get to his feet again. This time he knew for certain, his left arm was numb and it was broken. Mark used the sword with is right hand to lift himself up and stumbled his way across the red carpet. He wasn’t sure how he was still standing. The only bones that didn’t hurt were the ones in his right arm. Sarah was worth it, he could not give up.
“What are you going to do? I can sit here for eternity. You can’t even hurt me. Soon I’ll tire of your voice and have some of my vampires haul you down to the street. I want you to suffer as well. I want you to know that you could do nothing and Sarah will die knowing you left her.”
Mark’s anger rose, if Samael wasn’t going to kill him he would kill himself trying to fight. Mark reached for Samael’s blade and grabbed the handle. The pain Mark felt all over his body was unimaginable. He felt like every cell in his body was going to explode, then a calm washed over him and he lifted the blade from the floor. Flames shot out from the sword and Mark thrust it into Samael’s shoulder.
“How?!” Samael yelled.
“I am Mark Albet, son of Michael! God is on my side!” Mark announced.
“Michael would never disobey father! You can’t be his son!” Samael screamed.
“Exactly, he would never disobey God! Which means God told him to make a Nephilim!” Mark pulled the sword out of Samael’s shoulder and held it back, ready to strike again, this time aiming for his neck.
Samael backhanded Mark and hew flew across the room like a rag doll hitting yet another wall. Mark pulled himself off the floor with a great deal of effort and realized that he had let go of the sword. Samael bent down and picked up the sword then tossed it aside.
Mark’s mind suddenly put all the pieces together like a giant puzzle as Samael approached him for another assault.
“The Beast used you. He used your arrogance to hurt your father.” Mark said as he teetered on uneasy legs. Mark felt like he might pass out, that last collision with the wall had broken more bones. Mark didn’t know how much more he could take.
“I have never followed The Beast. How dare you?!” Samael’s said angrily.
Mark looked over at the wall, at the company logo.
“I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” Mark said in a preacher’s voice.
“Don’t assume to teach me my father’s words, boy,” Samael said. “I am the forth horseman. I did what I had to. I needed to prove that humans were worthless.”
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just ask for forgiveness? Your father is God.” Mark stood in front of Samael looking disappointed in the angel. He tried not to sway but his body wasn’t cooperating.
“I was full of vanity and hatred. The Beast used my failings to hurt my father.” Samael put his hand to his head. “I can never go home!”
“God saw this coming. He knew you would betray him. Yet, he still loved you. Ask for forgiveness.” Mark demanded.
“Father, please forgive me. My vanity and weakness have led me down this path. Please give me a chance to redeem myself.” Samael pleaded, then a strange peace came over his face.
“Before I return home I feel I owe you a debt. I repay my debts,” Samael said with respect. “I have never met a human quite like you before. If one human can see God’s light, maybe I was wrong.”
“What about your daughter?!” Mark was angry. If Samael could see it in him, why could he not see it in his own daughter? Sarah was one thousand times more devoted than he was.
“Sometimes hatred makes even an angel blind to the truth. Ceralin has paid more than most for her sins. She deserves happiness.” Samael walked closer to Mark. “Now for my debt. The story of Revelations was not only a prophecy. Father gave that human a vision of the past as well, only he did not understand it as such. The horseman have been on earth for as long as man, I was the first. My three brothers came after. Azazel the horseman of war, Asmodeus the horseman of conquest and Abaddon the horseman of famine and pestilence. They are also known as The Angel of Death in many cultures. One of them will attempt to take my place and finish The Beast’s work. I kept them at bay because I didn’t want the apocalypse, I merely wanted to show my father the true nature of human kind. I was wrong about humans, they do have the capacity to love my father. If I had opened my eyes to my daughter sooner I would not have suffered so long, but that is my failing, not hers. Make her happy, she deserves that at least.” Samael looked up to the sky and then vanished, Mark looked for the sword but it had also vanished.
Mark fell to the floor. His determination and the adrenaline were the only things keeping him standing. Without these his body began to fail. He got up and tried to take a few steps toward the door Sarah had been taken through but he was too weak. He saw the room sway and soon everything went black.
Chapter 16
Mark woke in his own bed back in the small town he called home. He wasn’t sure how he had gotten there but it must have been Agnus. He slowly lifted himself from his bed. His wounds still hurt. The bones had mended but the pain was still there. He walked carefully down the steps, found some shoes, put them on and walked out the door toward the library. Agnus must be in the library. It looked like it was after noon and her house looked empty.
When Mark opened the door to the library he was greeted with the sight of Agnus and Charles speaking quietly to each other. His head pounded and he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. When they noticed him they quit speaking and helped him to a chair.
“Where’s Sarah?” Mark asked.
Angus looked at Charles and Charles spoke.
“When we got there you were unconscious on the floor of Samael’s office and Samael was gone…” Charles paused, not wanting to tell Mark the rest.
No, it couldn’t be, was Sarah dead? The pause from Charles sent shivers up Mark’s spine. He would never get to tell her the truth, that he did love her.
Angus took over, realizing that her teddy bear of a husband wasn’t cut out to give people bad news.
“When we went to the cells, Sarah was gone.” Agnus looked down. “I’m sorry, Mark, we couldn’t find her.”
At least she wasn’t dead. Maybe she escaped? She might be on her way here right now. Then another thought came to mind.
“Aren’t I supposed to be some chosen savior of humanity? I couldn’t beat Samael. I had to out think him. I used his own guilt to make him repent in the end.” Mark didn’t understand, he thought he was supposed to be like a super warrior for God or something.
“I think you are misunderstanding your role in this,” Agnus said as she walked over to one of the shelves containing hundreds of books. She searched through a few until she found the one she was looking for.
“And the offspring of Michael shall teach
God’s chosen warrior.” Agnus read. “This word right here has many meanings, it can mean teach, assist, train, make. In this context it means teach.” Angus pointed at the ancient word. Mark didn’t recognize the word but he did know the process of contextualizing the ancient languages. Agnus had shown him this so there would be no confusion.
“So I’m a teacher?” Mark was at a loss. He thought he would be ‘God’s chosen warrior’. He couldn’t save Sarah and he couldn’t save the Asuune. He was little more than a mentor to the real chosen warrior.
Agnus looked down at Mark. She felt sorry for him.
“Don’t worry we’ll find Sarah. You are important. You are just not a warrior.” Agnus said, putting her hand on his shoulder. Mark winced from the pain. He sure wasn’t a holy warrior, he hurt all over.
Mark spent the next five years searching for Sarah. She seemed to have disappeared. He moved himself out of the settlement after a month. He couldn’t take the looks of pity and disappointment any longer. He had failed to save Sarah and everyone knew it. Eventually he found a small parish that needed a preacher. He found comfort in teaching others about God, that’s what he was made to do, be a teacher. During his off hours he searched for Sarah, trying to piece together any clues that might lead him to her.
Chapter 17
“That’s my story,” Mark said, looking into Katie’s eyes. “I hope you’re not upset about Sarah. I still love your mother. It’s just…”
“Now why would I be mad about Aunt Sarah? I’ve known there was something between you since I was twelve. Mom and I used to joke about it even. You could have left out the sex parts though. That was a little weird,” Katie interrupted.
“Your mother knew?! And there were no sex parts, well not really. I just wanted you to know how much I care for Sarah, just like I did your mother. I guess I did get a little too descriptive. I just get carried away sometimes.” Mark was embarrassed and guilt-ridden.
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