by J D Franx
Reappearing inside the prison, he remained crouched as he took in his surroundings. The cells in around him were empty and he cursed. It was the location where they had been keeping Jasala the last time he had tried to free her. His esoteric senses told him that she was not in the cathedral prison any more.
“She’s at the coliseum,” a low voice said behind him. He turned to see an old man huddled under a blanket in Jasala’s old cell. Without moving, Kael reached out with his magic and ripped the door from its frame.
“You were left here to tell me that,” he stated and walked into the cell.
The old man nodded. “Yes. I am to tell you that Arreal will be waiting in the arena below us.”
“Coward angels,” Kael spat.
The old man flinched at the heresy. “She said you’d come,” he offered.
“Did she?” he asked.
“She never doubted it,” the old man added.
“Of course, she didn’t,” Kael snapped. His long reaper blade appeared out of nowhere and he spun as he swung the scythe. The blade cut through the old man with ease. Kael slowly slipped into a crouch and watched as the years melted off the man’s aged face. Wings unfurled on his back. “But she would never tell another soul that.”
What a waste. Akai moaned. If you know it’s an angel, take its damn power!
“We have more than we need,” Kael snapped back. “Every soul we take, the harder it is to fight the effects of Reetha’s Ichor.”
Angels are different! Swallow your old religious beliefs and take the power as it’s available. Killing demons is not enough. We will need every bit of power we can gather to get out of here.
“Yeah,” Kael answered and mentally pushed the spirit away. The being inside his weapon had been growing more aggressive the more he used Akai to absorb demon energy. Akai thrived on souls, and both of their power grew exponentially with each one they took. It was frightening at first, but Kael guessed he was approaching two hundred years or more in the afterlife, and it was almost more frightening that he cared less and less with each soul they took as each year passed.
Knowing Arreal would be ready for him, he triggered his magic, jumping to the outer edge of the angels’ coliseum with both his reaper scythes ready. The massive arena was nothing more than a cavern with sparse seating cut into the stone walls. Lighting from torches circled the arena floor and cast a surreal yellow glow.
Arreal stood in the center, a giant battle axe resting in his hands. “You do not look surprised,” the angel said.
“You honestly thought I wouldn’t know the old man was an angel?” Kael asked.
Arreal shrugged. “I had hoped. But you are here. That is what matters.”
“Good point,” Kael muttered. “What now, angel?”
“We fight. You win, you get a token. You lose, and Heaven can begin fighting for the souls that are rightfully ours instead of losing them to Hell. Your power under our control will insure it.”
Kael scoffed. “More likely, I’ll just kill you, and then Paradise will be weaker than it is now. I doubt Seraphi would agree to this.”
“Seraphina has been gone for centuries. Every day we grow weaker as the demons steal more and more souls marked by the gods for Heaven while she is off doing who knows what.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you’re dead.”
Arreal laughed. “The good thing about being in Paradise, Kael, is that our rules are the only ones that matter.” He laughed harder as two additional angels dropped from the shadows above and landed beside the angel lord.
Though had never met either, Kael sensed that the new arrivals, Sarakel and Ramiel, were like Arreal—angel lords. High angels who each controlled a tier of Paradise. He could feel Akai salivate at the prospect.
They will get us home. Even one high angel will give us more power than we will need to crack the barrier between life and death.
“Taking the soul of an angel is gonna make karma drop a boulder on my head when I do get back,” he muttered.
You and your stupid Earth superstitions. You were born in Talohna, Kael. Earth’s karma does not apply to you.
“Talking to yourself already?” Arreal asked. “I heard the demon queen had you. A soul in the afterlife suffers hard once infected by her poison. You might as well give up. Even you cannot fight all three of us.”
“I disagree,” Kael said, snorting. “I have no qualms killing all three of you, but unless you’re buddy, buddy with the Tanz’I, you won’t come back.” He paused to let the words sink in. Arreal growled, and Sarakel hissed at the mere mention of the demon clan. “You can’t kill me because my power you need so badly will die with me,” Kael added. “Sure you wouldn’t rather strike a deal?”
Sarakel hissed a second time as she pulled a gold and white lance from her back. “Deals are for demons, soul.”
Kael chuckled. “Soul? Not even worthy of my name, am I?” He pointed his smaller scythe at her as the smile disappeared. “You’ll die last, and your soul will power my path back to the living.”
“Blasphemy,” Ramiel barked. He pulled two hooked swords from his waist and set his feet for battle.
“Where’s Jasala?” Kael barked.
“In the arena’s living quarters behind me. For now, her magic powers our soldiers at the Void’s gateway as they fight the hordes Garz’x has sent to steal souls,” Arreal told him. “If you manage to beat all three of us, you can have her. It will no longer matter.”
“Fair enough,” Kael said softly and attacked. Black lightning shot from his small scythe as he faded from view. The distraction failed. He materialized in front of Sarakel and swung, crossing his weapons. The angel’s lance slammed into the ground at her feet, and Kael’s blades clanged while they bounced off the metal handle. Not hesitating, he vanished in a puff of black as Arreal’s axe passed through his immaterial body. Knowing the angels were much stronger than any demon he had ever fought, Kael held his magic constantly and materialized for only a second at a time. He re-entered the physical world long enough to feel his blade bite deep into Ramiel’s thigh before he vanished again. Popping back in front of the angel, Kael sliced the other thigh. The angel fell to the arena floor swinging his sword wildly, but Kael was already gone.
He appeared twenty feet away and cast a dozen spiral spears of ice. The shards hammered Arreal and Sarakel as each shard connected, catching the female angel from foot to chest and pinning her to the ground as Arreal dropped to a knee in agony. Again, Kael vanished. Switching targets, he stepped from the shadows out in front of Ramiel. An explosion of dark air blasted from his weapons and pummeled the angel, tossing him over thirty feet into the arena wall. Kael was on the angel before he hit the ground. He walked from a swirl of black. His long blade vanished, and his hand filled with black and purple magic.
“Sai Kull Vai,” he growled. Pulling his hand up triggered the magic as black and purple swirls of smoke lifted the angel from the ground. The angel’s life energy blazed in his face. The light was bright enough to make him wince as it poured into the short scythe. The angel screamed, racked with agony, and Kael closed his fist. The magic crushed the angel. Gold blood splattered the arena wall as the scythe absorbed the last of the angel’s essence, and he let it fall dead to the arena floor as he turned, his long scythe re-materializing. He leapt to the middle of the arena and drove both blades toward Sarakel’s head.
“Enough!” Arreal yelled as Kael stopped his blades an inch short of her throat. The urge to kill the angel nearly overwhelmed him, especially as Akai’s voice roared through his head.
Kill it! Now!
He pushed the spirit away and his anger cooled the slightest bit. “The three tokens, Arreal. Now.” Kael hooked the long scythe around the back of the angel’s neck and pressed the short blade to the tender skin of her throat. A split second was all he needed to decapitate the angel if Arreal still wanted to fight.
“You are more powerful than last time. Here,” Arreal said, and held out
two rings and a bracelet. “Let her live. You have what you want.”
Kael reached out with his magic and snatched the tokens. Pulling them back to his hand, he used one finger to grab them, refusing to let up on Sarakel.
“Get Jasala,” he barked. “And I’ll let your angel go.”
The angel struggled with the order, and Kael pushed the blade of his pick until it drew blood. “All right,” Arreal finally answered, and launched into the air, crossing the arena with one beat of his wings. He returned moments later with Jasala but stopped short.
“Let her go,” the angel demanded.
“You first,” Kael barked, losing his patience. “Unlike you cursed angels, I keep my word. Let Jasala go, and I’ll let Sarakel live.”
“You had better.” Arreal growled and pushed Jasala his way. She stumbled, and he could sense how weak she was, but she made it to his side safely before collapsing.
“Kael,” she whispered. “I can’t jump us out of here. Why did you come back?”
“It’ll be all right,” he answered, but his eyes never left Arreal. The angel held his axe in a death-grip, and Kael knew his time was nearly up.
“Let her go!” the angel yelled.
“Very well.” Kael released his hold on his short scythe and grabbed Jasala, pulling her close as he stabbed Sarakel and vanished in a cloud of black.
Arreal growled as he leapt for Kael, but his axe caught nothing but air. He turned his attention to Sarakel as she lay curled up holding her side.
“Let me see it, Sara,” he said, his voice softening. She rolled over and bit her lip to suppress a scream as he gently moved her arm away.
“It’s clean through your side. Shallow.” He sighed. “Not fatal. Why would he do that?”
“He said to slow us down.” Sarakel gasped.
“Why?” he asked as a snap echoed behind him.
“Because he’s going for the Tree of Life,” Seraphi said, stepping from the bright light.
“Arkangel?” Arreal whispered as he lowered himself to one knee. She gestured for him to stand. “He doesn’t have all the tokens.”
Seraphi scoffed. “What do think he was doing for the hundred or more years before he returned for Jasala? He hunted down and killed Toloc and Eligos. I told you not to fight him!”
Arreal stood and lifted his axe. “We are losing the eternal battle,” he told her. Anger brushed each word. “If we don’t do something, the barriers will fall, and Garz’x will rule all of the afterlife. He will become as powerful as our lord, Dathac.”
The Arkangel stared at him for several seconds. “It is not your responsibility to alter that. The whole of the afterlife under Hell’s command will be better than what the Archdemon had planned for all of existence. I gave you clear instructions to treat them as if they were honored guests until I returned. Now, because you didn’t, Kael is on his way out of the afterlife with everything the Archdemon needs to return to Hell.”
“Why would he do such a thing?” Sarakel asked softly as she sat up. Her side had already begun to mend.
“Because, the only way out of Reetha’s domain with Jasala was to make a soul deal. If he doesn’t do as the demon queen has asked of him, Jasala’s soul will go back to her immediately and Kael’s will go to her the next time he dies. I have been chasing him since the demon queen let him go. That is why I was gone. Garz’x is now aware that Kael will not honor their deal, so he has launched an attack against the barrier on his side of the Forest.”
“My apologies, mistress,” Arreal offered, dropping to a knee, again. Wincing in pain, Sarakel followed suit. “What can I do?” he asked, looking to her.
“I will weaken our barrier. It should let you enter the forest before Garz’x. Gather the Heretic army and engage Garz’x the moment he breaches his side. I will send Tydariel and our army to help you. You have to keep him busy long enough for me to talk to Kael.”
“Yes, mistress,” he said. He spun, and his wings uncurled from his back as he leapt into the air, disappearing into the dark of the coliseum’s ceiling.
“Hopefully, it will be enough,” Seraphi murmured and followed.
THE AFTERLIFE. YEAR 207
UNKNOWN REALM
Seconds before Kael stepped out of his jump to the Forest of Lost Souls, an unseen force ripped him and Jasala out of his magic. He crashed to a plush green meadow, and Jasala landed on top him with a grunt.
“What the hell now?” he snapped.
Jasala groaned and rolled off him as he got to one knee. “Someone tore us from your rift.”
“Yeah,” he replied as he stared cross-eyed at the golden lance touching his nose and the angel holding it. “I can see that.”
“I am Tydariel,” the female angel stated.
Kael snorted. “I know who you are. We met when I first arrived.”
“We did not,” the angel replied, scoffing as if he should know better. “You met who the demon queen wanted you to. You have one chance to listen to me.”
Kael snorted. “I’d rather just kill you and be on my way.”
The pressure of the lance increased, and the sharp blade cut the skin at the side of his nose. “If you do,” she said, “you will die shortly after.”
“Kael,” Jasala whispered. Her voice held an edge of warning, but he laughed her off.
“Your three strongest generals couldn’t stop me, so what chance do you have?”
The angel knelt in front of him, and he studied her emotionless eyes, searching for any hint of malice.
“You defeated three of heaven’s generals, yes. But do not fool yourself for a minute that they were the best the heavens have to offer, Kael. They were merely the Heretics strongest fighters, lords of their tier and what not. Heaven’s true army is led by Seraphi and me.”
“I don’t have to fight you anymore. I have what I need. If you or any others try to stop me from getting to the tree of life, Paradise will weep gold blood.”
The lance fell away, and she stood. “I am not here to stop you. Only to help. One of your tokens is false. If you use it, your soul will be destroyed, and you will cease to exist.”
Kael rubbed his head and immediately knew who double-crossed him. “Arreal,” he said.
“Yes,” Tydariel said, nodding. “He has much to gain. The Heretics would rather see you dead than risk any chance that you will someday fall into the hands of Perdition.”
“I beat him,” Kael snapped. “Do you know how bloody pathetic it is when you can trust a demon’s word over that of an angel? It’s goddamn ridiculous. How the hell am I supposed to finish what I started without that token?”
Tydariel shook her head and held out a lock of golden hair wrapped in glowing gold wire. “Arreal cannot give you the real token because it was not his to give. As the lord of Heaven’s third tier, it is my right. Take it.”
“How can I ever trust you?” he asked, taking the offered lock of hair. “I sensed the power of a realm lord on Arreal.”
“Heaven’s third tier lord died in battle many centuries ago. Arreal took her place, but he has become a heretic. The Arkangel stripped him of his post, but the power you sensed remains and cannot be reversed,” she answered.
“Omitting the truth, does not stop a lie from being a lie,” Kael muttered. “Your kind are worse than demons.”
“Perhaps, at times,” Tydariel said. “But you must decide whose word is the truth. I want nothing more from you, so perhaps therein lies your answer. Choose wrong and you will die. Now go, you must hurry. Garz’x has discovered the details of your soul deal with the demon queen. You cannot keep her deal and his. He will attack this forest to get to you, and I cannot enter the neutral zone to help you without my Arkangel’s consent,” she said, standing aside.
Kael stared at the angel. His mind whirled with uncertainty about the tokens and worry ate his stomach.
“Kael,” Jasala prompted. “We should go.”
He nodded and slipped the token into his pocket. Lifting his arms, he to
uched his magic and opened a rift once more. Hopefully, this time they would step out in the forest where the tree of life was waiting to get him home.
TAZMMOR MOUNTAINS
ARKUM ZUL
Corleya woke with a start. The only light came from the flickering torches, casting an unsteady glow from outside the cells.
“It's dark,” Alia whispered.
Lycori's voice drifted into their cell. “All the guards have been pulled way back. Even the docks and forges are clear.”
“Feeling better, I see,” Corleya said, smiling. She stood up and reached her arm out of the barred window, opening the cell door using the smuggled key.
“Much,” Lycori answered as Corleya unlocked her cell and swung the door open.
The Princess smiled wider. Human blood had done wonders for the vampyr. “You look more like yourself,” she said, glad to see the vampyr had regained her youth and strength.
“Let's go,” Lycori muttered and led the way into the cave system. It took less than thirty minutes to find the hidden tunnels marked on the map.
“I guess this mean us?” Corleya pointed to a message written on the wall above a torch sconce in the tunnel as they entered.
Snuff message and torches as u go.
“It's recent,” Lycori whispered. She examined the marks and rubbed the charcoal residue between her fingers.
Multiple torches lit the way in the tunnel. Pulling the torch from the sconce, Corleya smothered it in the dirt before smearing the wall to make the message disappear.
“Let's go,” she whispered and led the way into the tunnels.
They walked steadily for over an hour before coming to a branch in the tunnels.
“These tunnels... are they man-made or magic?” Corleya asked, glancing over her shoulder. Alia merely shrugged.
“Nature would be my guess,” Lycori stated while running her fingers over the passage walls. “The walls are too smooth to be made by hand or magic.”