“What's so funny?” Jazen demanded.
Between deep breaths and laughing, Claire managed a reply. “Sorry, Jazen, it’s just you sounded like someone out of an old sci-fi movie with that line. It was hilarious,”
“Well…uh…I didn’t know it was so...” Before Jazen could say any more, Claire put a finger on his lip and kissed him on the cheek. Jazen blushed bright red.
“It’s finally over.” Michael breathed.
“Not yet,” a voice boomed from below.
***
Garamond shot up through the Planes like a comet. All his carefully laid plans had been undone by the love of two pathetic little beings. He had laid it out all so carefully. He'd pictured how it was all supposed to turn out, Michael, his willing slave, leading him straight into the gates of Heaven with an army of newly corrupted souls at his back.
It was all going to be so glorious.
And now he had failed, not once but twice, to corrupt the mortal. Michael's Guardian had been redeemed somehow and, to compound matters, they had all actually escaped from Hell right under his nose. Jasmine had even used the powers she'd gained from her demonic transformation to facilitate it. Lucifer must have been watching from his throne of bronze, seeing his failure in its entirety.
“Love!” Garamond spat the word out.
“Well, we will see how long love lasts when they are corpses and slaves."
If he couldn’t corrupt the mortal, he would enslave him, destroy everything Michael held dear and then bring his soul back in chains to be a personal plaything, until he finally broke and agreed to help him. Garamond reached Earth hot on the heels of the escapee’s and heard Michael speak as he burst from the ground.
“It’s finally over...” Garamond heard with his superior senses.
“Not yet!” Garamond bellowed.
***
Michael saw Garamond burst from the ground in a huge pillar of fire through Claire's patio window.. The garden around him was instantly charred and blackened and, in his rage, he cast the flames all around him, burning plants, animals and anything else that got in the way.
He wore his full obsidian armour and grasped his demonic hammer Requiem in his both hands, flexing his grip in anticipation of the slaughter he was about to reap.
Michael ran to the door to see what had happened, closely followed by the others. They stood shocked, gazing out of the patio doors at Garamond in his full glory. Claire began to hyperventilate, while Michael gripped Jasmine’s hand tightly, even as Jazen struggled to re-manifest his armour, despite his spiritual injuries.
“Didn’t think you could get away from me so easily, now, did you?” Garamond sneered.
Jasmine looked over at Jazen “Can you fight?”
“I think so." Jazen's silver armour was reforming, and a brightly glowing spear formed in his hands. "The dark energy is fading, now I can hear the symphony again, and my strength is returning.”
Jasmine nodded and turned to Michael. “This isn’t something you can help with Michael. Although I know you're not going to listen anyway, so just stay behind me ok?”
“You read my mind,” Michael replied. He could felt symphony again; his experiences down in Hell had attuned him to it. His wounds were healing quickly.
Jasmine and Jazen passed straight through Claire’s patio doors as if they weren’t there. Claire had to go and find the key to open them, while Michael waited impatiently. He wanted to dive through the glass but thought better of it.
Jasmine and Jazen circled Garamond, flanking him. Garamond stood his ground, leering at them both and waiting. He looked like he was in no rush to finish the exchange. "Probably wants to make us suffer." Michael thought.
Michael and Claire ran outside. Michael desperately tried to manifest armour and wings, but in the mortal world he couldn’t, feeling frustrated as he strained to bring them into being. Through his efforts, he un-intentionally tapped into the symphony and healed himself. But beyond that he wasn't sure how he could help in this battle. Desperation flooded Michael's mind and he did the only thing he could think of to help. He closed his eyes, raised his head, and uttered a silent song to the symphony.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
I shall fear no evil. For hope walks with me.
Wherever I may be.
For you are always with me.
Forever my Guardian, unto my final breath.
He didn’t know where the words came from, and they seemed a mix of different prayers, songs and poems he had heard that came to his mind unbidden. Realising that he had successfully tapped into the Symphony, a faint beam of light rising through the Heavens to contact someone on High.
Jazen glanced at Claire and nodded. He Ran forward, his spear held in front of him. Jasmine swept in from the opposite side, to exploit an opening as Garamond defended himself against Jazen. Jazen’s spear struck Garamond directly on the chest, while Jasmine’s flame-wreathed gladius hit in above the thigh. Both weapons glanced off Garamond’s armour harmlessly, leaving no more than small scratches.
“Finished? Now it’s my turn.” He brought Requiem round in a wide arc, and knocked both angels back into the brick wall. Jasmine staggered to her feet, helping Jazen up next to her. Their armour crumpled and broken, but weapons still in hand.
“Do you see how futile it all is?" Garamond walked towards them. "All that effort, all that...love...for nothing. It isn’t going to stop me crushing your spirits.”
Michael, stood his ground, unflinching. Garamond seemed unstoppable and, if it was going to end, he knew all four of them shared the same view: they would go out together, standing tall with hope in their hearts. Garamond sneered at the small display of bravado and swung his huge hammer around in practice arcs.
“Well, looks like I couldn't save you, after all." Michael said.
“You did," Jasmine replied. "You’ve saved me more times than you know.”
“Isn't this the moment we are supposed to hear inspirational music and somehow beat him, like in the movies?” Claire said from behind Jazen.
“Sadly, this isn’t the movies, hun,” Jazen replied.
“Hun?" Claire gave a wry smile. "I don’t consider myself a hun kinda girl, thank you. You should learn that about me if you want to be with me.” Claire replied with a wry smile as Jazen stood dumbfounded.
Michael in reality was terrified. He knew everyone else felt the same, they were just all trying to hide it through light-heartedness. Still, he had done the impossible: he had brought Jasmine back. That was enough for him.
“If your quite finished with this inane chatter," snarled Garamond, "it's time for you to die."
Garamond stepped forward, raising his hammer to strike Jazen. Before he could strike at him, a deafening horn note sounded from the sky. A bright pillar of light erupted, parting the clouds, and two figures came careering down from inside it, huge white wings curved behind them in a dive.
At the last moment, they flapped their wings once to land softly on the ground. One Michael recognised as Metatron, the angel he had spoken to in Claire's living room, the other he guessed at from descriptions in books and artwork. From the sheer strength pulsing from the being, it had to be Gabriel, Heaven's messenger.
“Seems we are all rule-breakers now. Those two are starting a bad trend,” Gabriel remarked, his tone serious.
“I can't see any rule breaking here," Metatron retorted "Garamond crossed the line; we were simply paying a visit to give guidance when we heard a prayer and found a demon in full battle armour on the mortal plane about to slay innocents.”
Gabriel grunted in reply and managed a small smile. “It’s been a while since we have had the chance to fight like this together.”
“I know, it should be fun. Although I think our opponent is getting impatient.” Metatron replied, ducking as Garamond swung at him.
“Requiem.” He bellowed, as he launched another attack in an overhead strike designed to crush Gabriel.
Gabriel flung up his own weapon, a flaming sword, in a two-handed grip above his head. The blades met with a thunderclap, and Gabriel’s feet were driven into the ground from the sheer force of the impact. Metatron took guard in front of Michael and his companions, his two-pronged spear wreathed in blue flame, ready to defend them.
As Garamond withdrew his hammer for a second strike, Gabriel moved so fast he blurred, swinging his sword across Garamond's midriff. The blade cut through the armour and scored a line across his stomach. Garamond staggered back, bellowing in pain.
The ground shook and Gabriel, focused on the fighting almost lost his footing.
“Get back! Gabriel, quickly!” Metatron shouted.
Gabriel leapt back, beating his wings to help propel him, and landed next to Metatron.
“Coward!” Garamond yelled.
“What's going on?” Michael asked, struggling to keep his footing..
“Someone is a little displeased at how Garamond has conducted himself." Metatron explained. "Hell doesn’t like failures."
The ground shook more violently and split underneath Garamond. Flames erupted from the rent as it widened, and a huge, bronze claw thrust upward. It grabbed Garamond and held him fast in its powerful grip. He struggled but, unable to escape, bellowed in impotent rage.
“Enough, Garamond," a booming voice echoed out. "Your continued incompetence is beginning to wear on me. It’s time for you to be…re-educated in your duties."
“No, lord, please! I can still win, I can bring you Heaven’s ruin, please, just let me…” Garamond's protest was cut off, as the huge claw dragged him down into the flames and back to Hell. The rent in the ground closed, leaving only the scorch marks of the flames to show it had ever been there. A long silence fell over the assembled beings, before Michael broke it with a sigh of relief.
***
Michael felt the angels' choir was taking forever. After the battle, Gabriel had demanded that both Jasmine and Jazen return to Heaven with him. Michael had tried to protest, but Gabriel made it clear the decision was not open to debate. Metatron hadn't been much help either, commenting cryptically, "Have faith," before they left. Now Michael sat in Claire's living room, perched on the edge of her sofa, with little to do but wait.
Police, fire crews, and an ambulance had arrived soon after Garamond's demise, and remained for most of the day, putting out the fires and taking statements. According to the firemen, someone had reported a lightning strike, others a gas explosion; Thankfully, no one had actually seen what actually happened.
"What do you think will happen to them?" Claire asked, sitting on the sofa next to him.
"I really don't know." Michael was wondering the same. "Gabriel didn't look too happy when he took them."
"Heaven can't blame Jasmine and Jazen for what happened can they?" Claire sounded desperate. She was clearly missing Jazen, and the toll of recent events was showing.
"I hope not," Michael replied, trying to think positively. "I'm sure it'll all be Okay. We did nothing wrong, and they're our Guardians. They can't exactly take that away from us."
Michael lapsed into silence. What more could he say? He fidgeted nervously, shifting position constantly on the sofa; How would Heaven handle Jasmine becoming a demon? . What if they decided to banish her to hell? Or, worse imprison her for her transgressions? Did they even imprison angels?
A loud clap of thunder made him jump, shocking him out of his thoughts. Was it Garamond? Surely he couldn't have returned. There was no portal, no bright light: just a loud noise, and Jazen lay on the floor, with Jasmine standing over him. Michael immediately noticed something about the Guardians was different. His eyes widened as he noticed what it was. Where were the angels' wings?
Claire had leapt from the sofa, but she regained her composure quickly. She knelt down on the floor next to Jazen, while Jasmine helped him stand.
"Jazen!" Claire looked him up and down, clearly noticing his missing wings. "What happened?"
"Are you ok?" Michael asked Jasmine, and she gave him a quick nod. Jazen brushed himself down, looking sheepish. He glanced behind him, where his wings used to be. "I'm fine." He paused. "Can I sit down? I feel a little dizzy. Jasmine can explain things."
"Of course!" Claire stood again, looking a little confused, but helped Jasmine taken Jazen over to the sofa.
Michael couldn't help himself. Before Jasmine could take a seat he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. He kissed her cheek before letting her go, eager to hear what had happened.
"We were brought before a full choir of angels to answer for our actions," Jasmine explained. "Metatron spoke in our defence and all charges, but one were dropped. We were found guilty of breaking a cardinal rule" Jasmine paused, taking a deep breath. "No angel shall ever enter Hell. And for it we were made mortal."
"Made mortal?" Michael felt a shock run down his spine. "As in human?"
"Yes," Jazen said. "It was Metatron who suggested the punishment."
"Considering all that happened, we got off very lightly," Jasmine added. "We could have been banished, or worse."
"Does that mean we can stay together?" Michael's voice trembled. What would have done had Jasmine been banished?
"Yes." Jasmine smiled. "I think Metatron planned it this way. It was the only way to appease Gabriel, yet still allow us to remain with you. I may have lost my powers, but I think," Jasmine looked over to where Jazen sat, "Jazen will agree, we have both gained something far more precious."
Michael knew what Jasmine had meant, but he wanted to hear her say it, to make it feel more real. "What have you gained?" he asked softly.
"Love, of course, silly." Jasmine embraced her former charge, now her lover.
***
Garamond sat at the feet of the great bronze throne; every moment agony in the fires of the raging inferno. The pain steeled his spirit and fuelled his rage. He still had a few cards left to play on Earth. The Lilith sisters still ran amuck on the mortal plane, having escaped the great one's notice and his mortal agents still remained.
"I will return to Earth." Garamond whispered to himself. "I will have my vengeance, and I will have the head of the mortal who defied me mounted on a stick outside Hell's gates."
Guardian Angel by David Trebus
Guardian Angel Page 21