by J. J. Egosi
“Nonsense.”
“What?” A glimmer of hope flickered in Isabella’s eyes.
“I’ll admit you guys don’t treat me as well as you could,” said Michael.
“But-”
“But I don’t think you being demons has anything to do with it.”
“Michael…”
“So what if I’m an angel? Demon or angel, it’s how you treat people that matters to me. Maybe I’m just desperate for some real affection, and you two are the only ones who stuck around. I don’t mind that you’re demons, and I hope you won’t mind if I turn out to be the archangel.”
“I don’t know what to say. I would never.” Tears ran down Isabella’s face; her heart ached for him.
“I still don’t think I’m this archangel, but even if I were, it wouldn’t matter. I’d still be happy to keep both of you around,” Michael gave Isabella a warm smile.
Michael… she thought. I’m falling so in love with you. Of course, I’ll do my best to make up for everything I did to you and earn the right to stand by your side.
“Enough of that heavy stuff,” said Michael. “Let’s cheer Julianna on. She needs our support.”
Isabella was awestruck, her heart filled with the warmth from his kind and forgiving words. At that moment, she felt she may finally have a chance to rectify the things she’d done to him before.
“Yes…let’s.”
In the valley, Julianna’s fight with Hecate pushed forward. Although the elementals had taken many blows from her defensive maneuvers, Julianna was now covered in far more gashes.
“Just give up already,” said Hecate.
“Never. Not when you stole from me.”
“Are the cores really worth dying for?”
“Who said anything about dying?” Julianna said, gritting her teeth against the pain.
“You must be joking. Look at you. You’re covered in wounds already. Just how do you plan on getting out of this alive?”
“Simple. Because I believe.” Julianna approached Hecate as she dragged her swords through the dirt.
“Believe in what?” Hecate asked. She was obviously entertained by the thought of Julianna having any deeper motives than merely taking back the orbs.
“I believe in Michael. And I believe he is who you say he is. I saw it in my dream.”
Michael and Isabella looked at one another.
“I think that confirms it,” he said, wide-eyed. “If both you and Julianna saw it, then I think what Hecate said is true. It has to be.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure either. Now I think I’m sold!” said Isabella.
That person I saw… That person was really me. I can’t let my self-loathing deny it any longer.
I am the archangel.
Hecate smirked at Julianna’s words. “So despite all the insults you hurled my way, you believed me?” Hecate asked in surprise.
“Don’t get me wrong. Your talk about dimensions and titans is questionable. However, my belief is that Michael is the archangel. I saw it for myself.”
“Consider me impressed. All this time, I had you pinned for nothing more than a primitive fool!”
“Watch it!” Julianna dragged her swords on the ground. She could not lift them any higher; she was far too exhausted. Still, she moved as fast as her body would allow before the slow trudging elementals could reach her.
“Or what? You can barely walk, let alone raise your swords to me,” said Hecate.
Julianna trailed around Hecate. “I don’t need to raise my swords to defeat you.”
“Excuse me?” Hecate noticed the circle around her that Julianna had carved into the ground with her swords. “You drew a circle around me? For what purpose? I told you that you could forfeit. You don’t have to embarrass yourself like this. Just what do you think you can do with a sandbox drawing?”
Julianna grinned and hunched over her sword. “I guess you’ve never heard of a hex before.”
“Hex?” Michael asked.
“It’s demon magic,” Isabella replied.
Demon magic? Even Michael was intrigued.
“A form of magic known for its potent ability to cancel out spells. It’s been banned from practice in most cities. It was deemed too blasphemous,” Isabella explained.
She glared as if remembering something from her past. A memory that was filled with screaming.
“What makes it so blasphemous?” Michael inquired.
“It’s because the magic can be used to reverse injuries,” Isabella replied.
“Wait, you mean like healing magic?” Michael’s eyes widened. The wounds across Julianna’s body slowly dissipated with a dark glow that washed them away.
“That’s right. You could say hexes are a favorite of mine because they can heal just as easily as they can bring harm.” Isabella grinned slightly. She was seeing the memory differently now. This time, it filled her with laughter.
Julianna grinned as well at Hecate’s now disgruntled expression.
“Altar of shockwaves,” Julianna muttered under her breath.
Suddenly, the elementals weakened. Their movements slowed even further as they reached their hands out towards her. They stopped in place, like monolithic statues. They started to quake. Their bodies cracked, bubbled, and boiled. They slowly began to crumble where they stood.
Hecate gazed around in outrage. “My elementals… Why are they falling?”
Julianna brushed herself off as if none of her injuries had even phased her. “Surely, a demon as ancient as yourself is familiar with hexes.”
“I am…” Hecate gritted her teeth. “Though I wasn’t expecting something so cheap and amateurish.”
“True, hexes don’t have the same flash as summoning spells, but I find they’re quite effective, especially when an altar is used to perform them.” Julianna indicated the circle carved into the ground.
“That’s correct,” Isabella said, her eyes widened in disbelief. “An altar can amplify the potential of any spell. They’re especially effective with hexes.”
“Hexes and altars and all these types of magic.” Michael was flustered. “I just wanted to learn how to swing a sword.”
“As Isabella mentioned, a hex can nullify any spell you cast during battle. Including the one that summoned those elementals!” said Julianna.
“It does what?” Hecate uttered in disbelief.
“Once those elementals fall, it’s over. All I had to do was draw an altar around the demon who summoned them. Next time, maybe you should try to cast something a bit more potent. That is, assuming you have a next time,” Julianna said.
Hecate studied the altar’s design. It was far more intricate than she had first thought. A complex star surrounded by many ancient symbols. “Unbelievable. You tricked me!”
Julianna grinned. “And you stole my elemental cores, so now we’re even. As soon as you return them, that is.”
“You bitch! I’ll murder you!” Hecate shouted.
Julianna straightened up. “There’s more where that came from.”
“Excuse me?” Hecate demanded. Her eyes blazed with anger.
Michael and Isabella looked at each other and smiled.
“Care to guess what happens once the elementals fall?” Julianna replied.
Hecate grunted in frustration. “I’m afraid the growl of a wounded bear cub is not the answer we were looking for. What actually happens is that energy from that spell you cast gets forced back to you. It’s quite unpleasant, I imagine.” A grin curled on Julianna’s face as she spoke.
Hecate trembled. “It can’t be.”
“It can, and it is.” Julianna’s swords began to glow.
“What’s happening to them?” Hecate asked, hypnotized by their sudden illumination.
“I’ll explain. My legendary blades can harness the life-force of any spell or creature I slay and offer it up to me to use as I see fit.”
“In other words…” Things were piecing together for Hecate. Julianna ha
d sealed the elementals in her swords and could unleash their devastation at will. Michael saw only a glimpse of this potential when she’d absorbed the elementals into her blades and used them to fight one another.
With the hex formed, Hecate’s fate was sealed.
“You can deflect the power of my elementals right back at me.”
Hecate finally seemed to accept defeat. She recalled a time when she would spend her days with the elementals, and the day it all ended in tragedy.
“Children catch up so quickly. I know kids grow impatient, so you’ll be happy to know these elementals won’t keep you waiting for much longer.”
Fear and disbelief filled Hecate as she watched the final parts of the elementals fall to pieces. Wood and stone turned to ash. The water and lava evaporated. Soon, they’d completely withered away.
“No!” she screamed in desperate rage.
Julianna cackled.
Michael and Isabella watched as Hecate’s body was shocked with all the energy harnessed from her own spell. She screamed in agony. Her body contorted like a million magical needles were digging into her skin.
“I can’t think of a better way of winning back my cores than by using them to kill the person that stole them. Oh, how I just adore poetic justice,” said Julianna.
“Remind me never to take anything from her,” Michael said, gulping.
She’ll prove to be a stronger foe than I thought, Isabella mused. But I still can’t let her beat me.
Drained to her last few ounces of energy, Hecate fell to the ground, unable to move. Michael and Isabella were stunned.
“She did it,” said Isabella. “You were right. She won.”
“I knew she would,” Michael said with a smile on his face.
“Well, I guess if you have nothing left to tell me, I’ll be taking my cores back. Have fun being worm food,” said Julianna.
As Julianna was about to grab her trophies, Michael noticed Hecate’s body moving. Squinting, he watched a smile form on the witch’s face.
“Stop! It’s a trap!” he screamed, hoping to get her attention. Julianna was too focused on collecting her rewards to pay any notice.
“Don’t worry, Michael. A good assassin always makes sure her victim is dead before looting them.” She knelt beside Hecate, listening for a heartbeat. Upon hearing only dead silence, she turned to Michael and Isabella with the cores in hand. “You see? Nothing to worry about.”
Isabella noticed a hand move. “Look out!”
“Look out for what?” Julianna stopped in her tracks. Her gaze fluttered down as blood poured from her mouth.
Her body had been cut clean in half at the waist.
Hecate watched as her opponent’s organs spilled across the ground.
“I guess you’re not the only one who can play tricks,” Hecate laughed maniacally.
Isabella was on the verge of being sick. Michael shook in disbelief.
“You killed her,” he breathed, clenching his fists.
Isabella, almost feeling his trembling in rage, looked over at him. “Hey, take a deep breath. I know you’re devastated,” she said, wiping her tears. “But fighting Hecate isn’t the answer. If you die, Julianna’s death will have been for nothing.”
Michael’s fingers tingled. His hand reached his sword. He wasn’t fast enough to stop his opposition before. Nor did he have the courage. This time, there was no chance he’d let them get away with what she did.
“Devastating? I’ll show that runt devastation, in a way only the archangel can!” Michael shouted.
He released his wings and beat them against the storm of contempt.
Isabella and Hecate looked at him in awe.
Hecate smiled. “So there’s the man who killed all three of my precious servants at once. You seek revenge for your pathetic friend? What good was she to you? She was weak-minded and weak-willed. She only fought for money. You can’t succeed with that. No. You need power and respect. You need someone who can change your life for the better, someone like my master. That wretch you call an ally had none of that,” Hecate said, stepping forward through Julianna’s organs.
Before anyone could see him move, Michael was behind Hecate. Like a white phantom through mist, he appeared. He wore a furious scowl on his face, with his sword wrapped tightly in his hand.
Its blade glistened with blood.
Hecate’s eyes rolled back as her head left her body. Blood poured out from her neck like a geyser.
Michael met her deceased stare with a glare that would have sent shivers down her spine if she’d still had one.
“She fought for love!” he screamed. “She fought for a day where she’d never have to worry about dealing with her grief. You took that away from her!” He pulled her head as far behind his back as he could before hurling it towards the ground.
Michael ferociously tore away at what was left of Hecate. He hacked each limb apart until her body could no longer be recognized as a body at all. It became a shapeless mass of flesh.
All the while, during his vicious assault, a fragment of dark light emanated from Julianna’s severed corpse.
Michael then turned his attention to Hecate’s head with unbridled rage.
Isabella trembled in terror.
“You took what was most precious to me, one of the first people I could ever open my heart to. My friend!”
With all the contempt he could muster, he stomped on her skull and smashed it to pieces.
He then merely fell to his knees, dug his sword into the ground, and mourned the loss of his friend.
Michael gazed up at the now blackened sky. Rain began to pour.
He embraced the pain of his loss.
Michael reclaimed his memories of what happened in the Light Realm when he killed the elementals in his angelic form. He couldn’t fight it anymore, nor could his spirit. He was broken. He now willingly accepted the truth of the witch who’d given him as much as she had taken away.
“With the death of my friend comes the return of my true name. There’s no denying it. I am Michael, the archangel. My purpose is to protect this world from evil. I will carry this weight on my shoulders, no matter the burden. I see that as clear as night. Yet, I have failed you.”
He stared down at the remains of his friend. Michael felt like he couldn’t cry anymore; it was like his heart had lost all reason to keep beating. “I am sorry, Julianna. Know that your murder did not go unpunished.”
Isabella slowly walked over to him. “You really are the archangel, aren’t you?” She looked into his sorrow-filled eyes.
He nodded, looking up at the rain. “I am.”
Isabella’s eyes watered. His white wings were now stained crimson.
“It all makes sense now. My hair and endless desire to find meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. It wasn’t because of my desire to become something, but because I already was. I only wish I could have protected Julianna before it was too late.”
He looked down at her cold body as the rain beat down upon it.
“Michael...” As he kneeled silently with the rain beating mercilessly across his back, Isabella approached him. “I think it’s time I told you why I treated you the way I did all those years.”
Michael looked up at her; his eyes pleaded for hope. “You believe it will wash away my anguish?”
“You need answers, Michael. I can see it. If I can offer you any closure at all, I will.”
Michael nodded. “Very well. What is it? What was your reason?”
Isabella took a deep breath. She was nervous to tell him the truth; tears rolled down her face.
Michael stood and wiped them away. “You don’t have to tell me anymore. I can trust you now,” he said, staring deep into her eyes.
Isabella’s eyes widened.
“Are you saying?”
“Yes, Isabella. I forgive you.”
He smiled just before he collapsed under the pouring rain beside his sword.
Chapter 10
Dr
inking from the Chalice of Ether
I
sabella buried her face in Michael’s chest, crying in agony and self-hatred under the ceaseless downpour.
“My Michael, my poor Michael. There were so many things I wanted to say. So many secrets I’ve kept from you for so long, and now, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to tell you any of them.”
Suddenly, a strange sound drew her attention; it was like the rifling of flesh and bone. She looked up only to be absolutely mortified as Hecate’s body reformed itself.
Slowly.
She materialized like a festering mass.
Piece by bloody piece.
Isabella saw that now familiar vicious grin. Finally, Hecate stood there. She scornfully looked down at the mourning form of Isabella.
“It seems like the archangel is out of commission for now. How fortunate.”
“How are you still alive? How did you do that?” she asked in terror.
“Simple regeneration magic, my little demon friend. It works even when I’m torn to shreds.” Hecate walked beside Michael’s unconscious body. “What a feisty boyfriend you have there, by the way. I can see why my master takes such an interest in him.”
“Leave Michael alone! You’ve caused enough damage as it is. Leave the elemental cores behind too. Those things are nothing but trouble. They don’t deserve to be in the hands of someone so callous.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ll be doing anything of the sort. In fact, I think I’ll just take Michael and my elemental cores and be on my way,” said Hecate.
Isabella looked on hopelessly as Hecate threw Michael over her shoulders and readied to leave their world forever.
Hecate smirked down at her. “Pathetic.”
Hecate turned her back, but she was stopped by a tug on her ankle.
“Wait…” Isabella whispered with what little power she could muster.
“What do you want? Don’t you see you’ve lost? It’s over. I win.”
“I…don’t think so.” Isabella slowly rose, wiping the tears from her face.