by T. R. Hamby
Michael was shaking, and he opened his eyes. How weak have you made yourself, Father? He asked dangerously. After all the people you’ve killed? Did you ever stop to think that ordering a person’s death still weakens your power?
Silence.
And you certainly lost power when you murdered your wife and brother, Michael continued. Tell me. How sure are you that you can defeat Them?
Father’s rage was so strong that Michael felt stung. He saw a flash of the balcony, of Calypso cowering in the corner, and knew he was seeing right inside Father’s head now.
How do you know, you filthy beast? How?
Michael smirked. You opened yourself too wide, all the times you tried to reach me. Your memories leaked out. And how fascinating they are….Benjamin.
The ice beneath him cracked, and Michael leapt back just in time. A hole, large enough to fit three men, opened up before him. The water was boiling, steaming, and melting the ice around it.
Michael decided not to stick around. He turned on his heel and returned to the bank, where the rest crowded him, checking him over for injuries.
“I told you he could hurt you,” a frantic Gilla said, throwing her arms around him.
Michael held her. His heart hummed in his chest.
Mel, Diana and Lilith were beside him.
“He has about a hundred so far,” he said quickly. “They’re getting ready. I think he’s planning on sending them down….I couldn’t see if there might be more….”
“He didn’t tell you that,” Mel said, frowning.
Michael shook his head. “I had a vision.”
Lilith looked thoughtful. “He’s just….so open. He must have been desperate to reach you. He forgot to protect himself.”
“He’s angry,” Michael replied. “Like you said, desperate. He’s losing it.”
“What else?” Diana asked.
“The one hundred….Calypso is training….he’s coming down,” he said, and they went pale. “I saw his armor. I don’t know when….he wants to rid Lilith of her defenses first. Kill the Valkyries.”
Diana looked around at Lilith. “We have to get you ready,” she said firmly. “Fitted for armor, training. All of it.”
“I’m not going to be fitted for armor,” Lilith said. “It’ll slow me down.”
“Them--”
“I know you’re worried. But I can do it. I don’t need the armor,” she continued, though she said it anxiously.
Diana looked pained, but moved on. “And Andreas?”
“His training is going well. I think he can do it.”
“We need better than ‘think,’” Gabriel said.
“I’m afraid that’s all I can give right now. He’s doing very well.”
“There’s--something else,” Barry said cautiously.
Everyone turned to him, and he jerked his head farther away from the creek. They followed, puzzled.
Barry snatched a stone from the ground and held it in his palm. He frowned, focusing, and the little stone slowly lifted itself into the air. It didn’t go far, and it shook, but it was definitely levitating.
After a moment Barry let it drop, and he shook out his hand as though burned.
There was a contemplative silence.
Then Nora said, “But I thought you lost it. When Andreas nearly killed you.”
Lilith sighed. “Let’s sit down.”
Diana called for a blanket, which was spread on the ground. They sat. Gilla leaned against Michael, and he slipped his arms around her waist.
“So Andreas’ power erased--or we thought erased--Barry’s,” Mel said slowly. “But now it’s back.”
“It was just temporary,” Gabriel said, wrapping his arms around Barry, “it needed to recover.”
“But where did it go?” Nora wondered.
There was a pause as everyone thought.
“Andreas,” Mel said. “Right? When he killed Silas he inherited his power. He must have….stolen Barry’s power when he nearly killed him. But Barry lived, and….I don’t know, absorbed the power back.”
“Almost like it’s an entity,” Michael said slowly. “It remains loyal to its master until he dies. Barry didn’t die, so his power returned to him.”
Lilith nodded, frowning. “Yes. It feels like that sometimes--it’s own entity. It’s me, and then it’s not. Even after all these years.”
Nora suddenly gasped. “But you know what this means,” she breathed, nearly bouncing with excitement.
“Do tell,” Mel said, slightly amused.
“It means God’s power can be taken,” she said. “Like Barry’s.”
There were frowns.
“No,” Diana said, shaking her head. “That can’t be. Father is all-powerful. He doesn’t possess a weak power like Barry does. It surely can’t just be taken.”
“God isn’t all-powerful, and he’s weak now,” Nora reminded her firmly. “Who knows how weak. It’s something worth keeping in mind.”
“But if it’s possible,” Michael said slowly, “then….all we needed was a strong enough blow from Lilith, something that would take away his power. And then we could kill him with a Blade. He’s vulnerable without his power. Like us.”
“If it’s even possible,” Diana said.
“It’s something we have to plan,” Lilith said. “Something we can try….as a last resort, maybe.”
“I have something,” Gabriel said.
They waited.
He heaved a sigh. “We need more reinforcements. And it’s unlikely we’ll get them from any more Valkyries,” he said. “I’m going to go Home and look for people. Angels who will take our side.”
Michael’s heart dropped. “No,” he said instantly. “No--it’s too dangerous.”
“Someone has to do it,” Gabriel replied stubbornly.
“Then I will.”
“Someone would tell Father. You’re Michael; you’re difficult to miss.”
“I’ll go,” Roone said.
But Gabriel shook his head. “You don’t have the right connections. I do.”
“Jesus, Gabriel,” Mel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“He’s right,” Diana said, nodding. “Someone has to do it.”
Michael shot her a look--even though he knew she was right.
Barry was also not on board. “He’ll see you.”
“Have to take the risk,” Gabriel said gently. “I have to do it.”
Michael closed his eyes.
Why. Why did his family have to be involved? Why couldn’t he bear the brunt of it all, find back-up, talk to Father, do the fighting? Why did everyone he loved in the world have to risk their lives too?
“You should go right away,” Diana said, unmoved as usual.
They stood. Michael’s hands were shaking.
Gabriel looked soothing, squeezing Barry’s hand. “I’ll go to my house first. Get some….Angel clothes. And I’ll ask around. Nothing to it.”
Barry whispered in his ear, and he murmured to him, squeezing his arm. He kissed him, and they embraced. Barry looked nearly devastated as they pulled away, and Michael’s heart ached.
He went to his son, who embraced him.
“I’ll be all right, Mica,” he said soothingly. “I’ll be back to annoy you soon.”
“You don’t annoy me,” Michael said, and Gabriel laughed.
“You’re shit at lying.”
Michael sighed. “I love you, Gabe.”
“I know.”
He exchanged hugs with everyone else, and, without anything further, tipped backward and vanished.
Barry
It was closer to eighty that came down to attack them. Barry spotted them while flying. It was getting dark, but still light enough for him to see them setting up camp, about two miles south of the clearing, on the Piersons’ estate. He couldn’t see Calypso, and wondered if God was saving her for something special now.
He returned to their camp, landed on Michael’s shoulder, shook himself out, and fl
apped to the ground. He transformed back into his human self, and brushed the feathers off his clothes.
“About eighty,” he said breathlessly, jerking his head southward. “They’re setting up tents. I didn’t see any scouts yet.”
“They’re camping?” Mel exclaimed, amazed.
“A surprise attack is more Father’s style,” Michael said, frowning.
“Well, if an ambush didn’t work, maybe he thinks hunkering down for a few nights will,” Nora said slowly.
She looked at Barry. “How far out are they?”
“A couple miles.”
“Barry,” Nora exclaimed, “that’s outside Lilith’s shield.”
“You could have been killed,” Michael growled. “He could have seen you.”
Barry felt a flash of impatience. “‘This is war,’ Diana says,” he replied firmly. “If it means risking my life, then….yeah.”
Nora sighed, looking pained.
“You have to be careful, though,” Gilla said soothingly. “We can’t risk them knowing that we found out about them.”
“I’m getting Diana,” Mel said, and he strode off.
Barry deflated, suddenly exhausted. He hadn’t been sleeping; it had been a week and Gabriel still hadn’t returned from the Immortal World. He kept his mind busy with training and flying, hardly taking breaks. It seemed--as much as he hated to admit it--that he wasn’t coping well.
Nora squeezed his arm, and he looked at her.
“He’ll come back,” she said gently.
“You don’t know that,” he said, and his breath hitched.
When he was sleeping he had terrible dreams about Gabriel, being tortured in a prison somewhere, moaning and bleeding and alone.
“Gabriel is one of the best fighters Up There,” Nora reminded him. “He’s safe. He’ll come back.”
“We should’ve told him to come back after a couple days,” he said, almost desperately.
Nora didn’t have time to soothe him any further. Diana and Mel arrived, along with Lilith.
“We have to get ahead of them,” Diana said firmly. “You’re sure it was eighty?”
“Roughly,” Barry replied, eager to get his mind off of Gabriel. “I passed over a few times. Never saw Calypso--unless she was hiding in a tent.”
“He must think he has enough troops not to need her,” Michael said. “He was so sure he would have enough Angels this time.”
“When their scouts come, they’ll know how many we have,” Nora said.
“Which is why we have to get ahead,” Diana said, nodding.
She looked firm. “We attack tonight. Ambush. We’ll take three regiments. Mel and Gilla, you’ll take the front. Michael, your regiment will split, take the east and west sides of the camp. Nora, you and your unit will stay at the house--”
“But--”
“--you’ll stay at your post. Lilith will take up the rear. Roone--where is he, training?--and Barry, you’ll follow your units on the east and south sides of the camp. Once you’re in position, Barry, you’ll transform, call, and we’ll attack together. Yes?”
Everyone nodded, although Nora looked mutinous.
Diana nodded too. “One hour.”
Barry felt his heart race. Finally, battle. Something useful to do, besides fly around all day.
Lilith took his hand, and he looked at her.
Her dark eyes were soft. You have to be focused for this.
“I will be.”
She raised an eyebrow. Don’t let your fear for Gabriel make you reckless, Barry. Putting yourself in danger isn’t going to bring him back.
He deflated again. She squeezed his hand, and after a moment he asked, What happens if I die?
She looked worried. You may get trapped somewhere. In Heaven or Hell….In Between….I don’t know.
Barry felt a chill. That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. What about the Valkyries down here?
She looked heartened. I don’t think a Blade can touch them….I don’t know about fire. But they’re my Creations; they’re different from Father’s creatures. They should be safe.
Well, that was a good thing at least. Roone would be relieved. He and Theresa had been openly together for the past week, and they looked happy.
But he frowned. What if fire can kill them?
Lilith looked worried. I don’t know, she replied. I don’t know where they would go.
This wasn’t encouraging. But there was no time to brood; both Barry and Lilith had to get ready.
They were wearing a lot more armor than they had during those training days in Westminster, a million years ago now. The armor was a sort of wicker mesh, dark and thin, and flexible enough to allow plenty of movement. He had plates on his shoulders and part of his chest. He had fingerless gloves and thick boots, and his chest and back plates were smeared with blue paint to set him apart from the enemy. It was an impressive look, but Barry didn’t care. Not much amused him right now.
He had been practicing shielding and levitating for the past week, and was doing fairly well. It was enough to protect him, and maybe one other, at the least.
He fell into formation with his unit, until Michael arrived and took him aside.
“Here to lecture?” he couldn’t help but ask, as Michael checked to make sure his armor was properly fitted.
Michael raised an eyebrow. “Look. Don’t be a hero.”
“Isn’t that the point of fighting a war?” Barry shot back, though he shuffled his feet sheepishly.
“Let me rephrase. Don’t do anything stupid,” Michael replied firmly. “Gabriel won’t thank you for it, and neither will anyone else. You put everyone in danger that way.”
Barry sighed. He knew his dark attitude wasn’t helping their situation. But it was difficult to overcome. What if Gabriel was dead?
Michael studied him, looking pained. “He’s my son. This is hard for me too.”
Barry felt a surge of guilt. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“Just keep your head clear, all right?”
He nodded, and Michael nodded too. He clapped Barry on the shoulder before returning to his regiment.
It was time. Barry’s unit, along with one other, trekked carefully through the trees eastward, hiking the two miles to the camp and circling around south. He knew Michael, Gilla, Mel, and Roone’s regiments were taking their places too--north, east and west. And Nora and her unit were left behind to patrol around the house. The remaining five regiments covered the estate.
Barry’s heart was racing. He could see the faint light of the fire in the Angels’ camp. Trees surrounded them, and the snow crunched beneath their feet.
It was now or never. Hopefully the sleeping Angels wouldn’t notice their Presences.
He took a running start, leaping into the air--a little difficult with all the armor--and transformed. He beat his wings, gaining height, looking down upon the large camp of eighty souls. There were some guards, but they stayed by the fire.
Stupid.
He gave a piercing cry, and the guards looked up, startled. Then they jumped as the Valkyries flooded the camp from all sides, roaring and swinging their Blades. Some had brought torches, and they used these to light the Angels’ tents on fire.
Barry dove, headed for an Angel who was battling Theresa. Theresa didn’t need the help, but he came to the rescue anyway, scratching out the Angel’s eyes with his talons. The Angel howled, and Barry landed, whirling around and sprouting back into a human, armor and all.
He unsheathed his sword, and the battle was on. An Angel charged him, and they fought furiously, swords clanging. The air was smoky, and the forest was lit up with the light from the fires. Screams and cries filled the air--along with--maybe--Mel’s voice, shouting in what must have been Angel language.
Barry cut down his opponent and looked around. It was clear it was a winning battle, but still he searched for something to do, for someone in distress. Bodies lay in the snow, coloring it red before vanishing.
Suddenl
y there was a shift, and Barry felt a powerful Presence.
Calypso.
He whirled around, and there she was, armorless and leering.
“Handsome boy,” she hissed, looking right at him.
“Shit,” Barry breathed.
She drew a sword, and he parried her blow just in time. Her force was intense, causing him to stumble backward.
Lilith! She’s here! He thought, and he sensed Lilith’s fear.
Run. I’m coming.
But running wasn’t an option. She continued to duel him, grinning. Barry knew she was merely toying with him, playing with her food before she swallowed it whole.
Suddenly she whipped a hand in the air, and Barry was shoved hard into the snow. She whipped her hand again, slashing the air, and Barry’s leg broke.
It was his femur. Blinding pain seared through his leg, and he clutched it and writhed. He could hear Calypso laughing, reveling in his agony.
“No!” a voice shrieked, and his eyes snapped open.
It was Theresa, throwing herself in front of him and parrying Calypso’s blow. She stumbled, and her sword flew out of her hands. Calypso gave a cry, and brought her sword down.
It made contact, but instead of burying itself into Theresa’s flesh, it shattered into pieces. The pieces hovered for a moment, twirling and shimmering, before falling to the ground.
Calypso screamed, incensed. She raised a hand, but then cowered as if stung.
Lilith.
She strode forward, her hands whipping, and Calypso screeched, stumbling back and jumping as Lilith’s hands slashed the smoky air.
“Kill her!” Theresa shouted, but it was too late: Once again, Calypso vanished.
The excitement died somewhat, and Barry’s leg seared again. He moaned, gritting his teeth, and Lilith ran to him.
“Move your hands,” she commanded.
He shakily withdrew his hands, breathing heavily. He had never felt pain like this before.
Lilith placed gentle hands on his thigh, and he shouted as the bone knitted back together. The pain faded, and Barry lay back in the snow, trying to get his breath back.
Lilith brushed at his hair. “How does that feel?”
He simply nodded, too breathless to reply. He felt dizzy, and closed his eyes.