Falling Hard Ch. 18

I thought Chapter 18 would be the final one, but as I worked on it, I realized it was getting way too long. To make things easier on myself, I divided it into two. So expect one more chapter after this. I really mean it this time :) LOL. Thank you for your patience, for reading, and for your votes and comments.

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Virta watched, transfixed to the spot, as hordes of demons rushed out of a dimensional portal. Shouting wild, rumbling cries with weapons upraised, they ran to do battle with Banner's angels. Metal clashed against metal as the armies engaged. The angel holding onto Virta seemed as shocked as she was. Clearly, this ambush had taken them all by surprise.

But shock turned to fear as Virta saw a large demon coming directly at her. He looked so familiar - those chocolate brown eyes, dark mustache and trimmed beard. Where had she seen him before? Before she could blink, he was attacking the angel that held her prisoner, who then let go of Virta to fight back.

As she watched the fight unfolding before her eyes, she realized the demon was the same agent at the church just after her arrival on Earth. Apparently, he really had been there to make sure she was OK. And he was here now to do the same. Virta felt relief as she watched this silent protector. But something was terribly wrong.

A sword handle was stuck to his chest. No, she realized in horror - he was completely run through to the hilt with the angel's sword. Virta watched her savior clutching at the sword before he sank down to his knees. The end of the blade was sticking out of his back. Then his gentle eyes locked with hers for a second before he fell over onto his side, dead.

Her angel captor ripped the sword out of his dead enemy's chest and charged off, forgetting her. Virta didn't know what to do. She looked around, saw an opening, and started to run. Somehow she ended up face down on the ground.

She heard Athan's strong voice over the cries and the clash of metal, but her dazed mind didn't register the words. Virta's first instinct was to go where he was, to help him. Then she looked up and really saw him.

To watch him in action made her blood run cold. It was one thing to see it on a screen and know it happened a long time ago. But now, she was seeing it live in this high-definition dimension - in front of her very own eyes.

Everywhere that Athan's sword plunged or slashed, angels fell dead at his feet. When he whirled around to face three oncoming angels, she got a clear view of his face. He was smiling.

The creepiest thing was that Athan's eyes were completely blacked out. His irises were always like midnight, but now his entire eye sockets were a bottomless void. It scared the hell out of her. And it made him look more demonic than she'd ever seen him before.

He killed the three angels. And the ones that came after them. It looked to her as if he was having the best day of his life. More of his names from Demons Dot Com went through her mind: Destroyer... Man of War. This was the same guy who'd made sweet, ethereal love to her and lifted her to orgasms among the stars? Now she saw his other side - maybe his more natural side, she thought, as he massacred everyone around him.

Virta tore her eyes away, desperate to get her panic under control. She forced herself to focus on a perfect clump of grass inches away from her face. Each blade was long and straight and green, gently wavering in the breeze and the light from the sunless sky. Just as she was reaching forward to touch the grass, the phosphorescent red of angel blood splattered across it, marring the vibrant green hues. She started screaming.

The sound of fiery swords whizzing and clanking, armor crashing, the grunts and cries, the smells of blood and metal – it assaulted Virta from every side. She clung to the cool earth as if it was her lifeline. She pressed her cheek to it and watched as it soaked up the life force of both angels and demons. Everywhere around her was a melee - fighting and dismemberment, killing and dying. Her stomach seized up and she vomited all over the ground.

It could have been seconds or minutes later, since time was lost to her in this hellish nightmare, but she heard another familiar voice above the chaos. It wrested her attention from the grass, dirt, and blood, and she looked up to see General Banner in the midst of fighting his own battle. He was nearly overrun with demons. Several of his men were trying to form a shield around him.

Suddenly, Rose scurried by Virta's line of sight. It made Virta temporarily forget her fear. What was the little angel up to? Wasn't she scared? She watched Rose bend over a demon with a sword sticking out of its throat. Little Rose put one foot on his collar bone and gripped the sword handle with both hands, tugging and prying at it.

Virta thought it would have been funny to watch Rose try to lift the sword under other circumstances. She recalled Rose saying that she'd been very powerful in Heaven. She must forget she's not a big, strong angel anymore, Virta thought. The sword was obviously heavy and almost as tall as Rose, not to mention it was stuck fast in the meaty throat of a dead demon.

But Rose managed to tug the sword free after a little work at it. She awkwardly held the weapon up for a moment, watching the blood run down the blade toward her hands. Then she turned and hurried off to the General, dragging the sword behind her.

Is she crazy? Virta thought. Rose obviously didn't have a frightened bone in her body, at least when it came to being with the man she loved. But Virta couldn't believe what she saw next.

Banner grabbed Rose and pulled her in front of him just in time to take the blade of an oncoming sword. Then he dropped her and turned to resume the fight. It was over for Rose just like that.

Virta froze at what she'd just witnessed. After a moment of shock, she found herself scrambling to her feet. Her instinct was to go help Rose. But a hand snatched her from behind and yanked her back down again.

"Forget it, she's dead," came Mick's voice in her ear.

Startled, she turned to look at her friend. She'd been so focused on the scene before her, she hadn't seen or heard him hit the ground next to her. He had one hand on her back, holding her in place, as though he was afraid she'd scramble away into the skirmish.

"We have to get to the trees," he said.

She nodded, looking to where Mick was pointing to the edge of the forest. But the way was soon blocked by more fighters. They stayed plastered to the ground, waiting for a break in the chaos around them when they could make a break for it.

The ground was still the safest place at the moment. She hoped she would continue to be ignored down there, but a glance to her right told her she wouldn't have that luxury much longer.

Another demon, one of Athan's men, was working his way toward them, chopping and hacking angels down on his way. She knew he was coming to kill her. She could see the murderous intent in his eyes, which were fixed only on her. His sword raised high above his head and he advanced.

But Mick lunged with a sword of his own. She couldn't believe she was watching her best friend actually kill someone. The flames in the blade licked at the demon's blood as it ran down the sword and onto Mick's hands. Unsatisfied that he was causing death, Mick twisted and thrust upward under the demon's ribs. He repeated the motion over and over until Virta finally jumped up and grabbed his arm, pulling on it.

"OK, I think he's dead now. Come on!"

The demon's body fell when Mick pulled his sword out of it. Mick grabbed up its shield, thrusting it into Virta's hands. Then he took her by the arm, guiding her low across the battlefield toward the trees. They had to stop and fall flat on the ground again when arrows began zinging all around them.

"This is a lot different than the video game," Mick panted from his position beside her on the grass. "Next time I play Universe at War, I'll have a whole new level of respect."

Virta knew what he was trying to do for her, but it wasn't working. She was panicked beyond belief.

"Why did Athan's man try to kill me?" she cried, looking around in fear that more of them might be turning on her.

"Probably the traitor in the bunch," Mick shouted back. "Stay down on the ground Virta. We'll break for the trees soon."

Once again, her eyes found Athan in the distance. She didn't want to watch him kill, but she couldn't look away. He was so fast and precise, seemingly on auto-pilot. Surely, bloodshed is a drug to him, she thought. She was afraid, watching his menacing form getting larger and larger. That's when she realized he was carving a bloody swath right toward her.

Suddenly his dark eyes flickered to hers, locked on, and she saw something flash behind them. The blackness curled back and revealed the eyes she was familiar with - dark only in the irises.

He appeared to have awakened from his blood-tinged coma. She knew he saw the fear in in her eyes looking back at him, could tell by the way his face changed. Or was it something else he saw?

Virta gasped, momentarily distracted from Athan as Mick's body was jerked away from hers. She looked down toward her feet to see an angel hauling Mick up on his feet, then holding him in a headlock.

A voice from above made her hair stand on end. It was the General, standing right over her and not looking the least bit troubled by demons.

"Get up, Virta," he commanded.

She rose to her feet. There was still fighting going on around them, but it was as though that little area off to the side was suddenly filled with another kind of vibe, as though time was working differently there.

Banner shoved a flaming sword into her hand and her fingers closed around it.

"Try it out," came the General's encouraging, commanding voice behind her. She heard the huge smile behind the words.

Virta gave a few swings of the blade. Powerful. She was much bigger and stronger than Rose, and she didn't have nearly the amount of trouble holding the sword. She sliced the air with it again.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Athan. He was coming closer, slowly, carefully. She couldn't meet his eyes.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" the General said from behind her.

She wondered if she was fast enough to whirl around and take his head off. Now THAT would feel good. But she was powerless to do it. She turned to glance back over her shoulder at Banner. He was standing with a grin on his face and his arms crossed at his chest. She saw the blood on his tan uniform.

"You're a natural," he said. "I think that's enough practice."

Everything seemed to slow down then. His hand went to her back, and he gave her a big shove toward Athan.

She heard the deep command from the General's lips. "Kill him."

Her? Kill Athan? The General wanted her dead, of course. But he wanted to watch her own lover slay her.

Athan, standing several yards away, immediately lowered his own sword to his side, glaring over her head. "Banner, you son of a bitch," he said.

Virta approached Athan with her sword outstretched, shaking, trembling. She was trying to resist the General's commands, or at least hold back, but it wasn't working.

This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be turned into a killer just at his say-so. But it was happening. Tears squeezed from her half-closed eyes. She wasn't worried that she would actually hurt Athan. No, she was completely assured by now that he could more than take care of himself.

Athan was as still as a statue, both arms resting at his sides, the tip of his sword nearly touching the ground. He wasn't even looking at her; he was still locked in that menacing glare at the General. No time for her to think. She closed her eyes, gripped her sword with both hands, and swung it as hard as she could at the man she loved.

There was a sharp sound and a jarring sensation that rippled through her hands and arms. Her eyes popped open - her sword was gone, but she was still in one piece. She shrank back, but Athan was already storming past her in the direction of the General. She shook her head a few times to clear it. Suddenly, her mind was free again.

In her peripheral vision, there was a band of hulking angels rushing at Athan from all sides. She watched them pounce on him all at once.

"No!" she cried when the General reached in and threw a relic on Athan's chest. He was being hauled away again and all she could do was watch.

Hell, no, I can do more. Don't be a coward, she thought. Get the relic off him.

She saw her sword on the ground where Athan had knocked it out of her hands with his own. She grabbed it up and turned back around to him. Two angels had their arms locked under his; he faced backwards toward her. Their eyes met for a moment, but she couldn't see anything there; they were fast draining of all power.

She ran forward. It was suicide, but her mind wasn't in control, it was her heart. And wonder of wonders, nobody was trying to stop her... she was going to make it. Just a few more steps.

She was almost to him when something knocked her forcefully to the ground. That's when the blackness closed in around her. The sounds on the battlefield faded away, as if she was being swallowed up into a different dimension. And with a pounding heart and dry mouth, she realized that was exactly what was happening.

Frightened, she looked up at Athan. His grayed eyes were the last thing she saw before everything closed up around her. She knew that her worst nightmare was coming true: She was going to Hell.

* * *

Virta was tired of walking for once in her life. But she was even more tired of listening to Andy - the criminal demon who'd been tagging along beside her on their journey down that dark, cold tunnel.

Andy had these intense blue eyes that seemed to see right through her and he talked too much. The things he said made Virta even more worried than she already was. Not to mention how annoying it was that he kept staring at her breasts.

She was finally separated from the other prisoners and pushed down a very narrow hallway. Virta felt some panic rise as she moved down the dark confines. At the end of the hall was a metal doorway. One of the guards used an iris scan and she heard locks turning inside the massive doors.

Here we go, Virta thought, gritting her teeth, eyes closed. My worst nightmare. How did I fall so far in such a short time? I can't believe I'm really here. Well... maybe it's a fitting end. The door swung open and Virta was shoved through it.

She expected to be greeted by a fiery blast of heat. To say it was not what she expected was an understatement. Where were the flames and screams of anguish? She gazed all around, eyes blinking in the bright light, unsure what to make of it.

She was on a hill in an old part of a city. In the distance, she could see the taller, modern buildings of downtown. Looking up, there was a beautiful blue, cloudless sky. The only thing that filled her expectation was the heat. It was hot, but not unbearable. In fact, it felt good after her time in the chilly tunnels.

The guards unchained her, but each put a big hand on her shoulders and started walking her down the street. Virta had no desire to run from them, so she went willingly.

She took in everything they passed, surprised at the abundance of flowers, fruit trees, and charming old structures. Flowers in hell? she thought. Maybe when you touch them, they snap at your fingers. Virta shook her head. None of this was making any sense to her.

They walked several more blocks. It looked like the citizens were preparing for a festival of some kind. There were concession stands in place, and a street was being roped off. Virta mused that these weren't streets of gold but at least the streets were very clean. The sounds weren't bad either. Somewhere a band was playing reggae. Seriously, what the hell?

Virta avoided eye contact with any of the citizens as she was led by. She got lots of stares; she could feel them boring into her.

She was pulled up the steps and through the doors of an imposing stone building. The sounds of the city abruptly cut off. It was cooler in here, quiet and formal.

Virta was escorted passed security checkpoints, the guards showing their badges, and then it became just one guard. He moved her on through a hallway lined with humans and demons, and some angels in human form like herself, all waiting with numbers in their hands. Beyond them, Virta was taken on through doors marked "Processing" and plunked down in front of a desk.

A demon woman with kind eyes looked up from her computer monitor with a smile. "You're right on time, Virta," she said in a melodious voice that made Virta sit up. "Let me be the first to welcome you to Hell. My name is Pam."

Virta saw that Pam was quite beautiful with pale blonde hair piled up on her head. Her features were soft, but her eyes were vibrant blue and intense. Her eyes and her silky, sensual voice were the only things about her that betrayed her other-worldliness.

"I hope you weren't treated too badly." Pam cast a disproving look at the guard who turned and left. "Athan wanted you to be safe, away from that battle. And I don't blame him. As bad as it was, it got plenty worse just after you left."

Virta's head was spinning. It was hard to focus on one thing, there was just so much running through her mind. "Um, I think there's been a mistake, ma'am," she mumbled. "Is there another Hell, by chance? Like, one with fire and brimstone? Cause I think I was supposed to go, um, you know, to the bad Hell." She looked around the office nervously, then her eyes settled back on the woman. "Not the good Hell... though I didn't know there was a good Hell."

Pam's eyes twinkled and her sweet laughter filled the room. It was a pleasant tinkling sound. "Oh, Virta," she said with a sigh. "I get that all the time. No, this is the real Hell. We have our flaws, but everybody's welcome here."

Virta just looked at her and nodded her head, unsure if she believed what she was hearing. "Thank you," she mumbled.

Pam picked up a large document and held it out to Virta. "Athan wanted this ready for when you arrived."

"What's this?" Virta took the paper in shaky hands and squinted at it. There was a lot of fancy writing in a language she didn't know. Scanning to the bottom, she saw Athan's signature in his dark, regal script.

"It's the Official Document of Falling. Sign at the bottom, please."

Seeing Virta's hesitation, Pam smiled. "Have a look yourself, Virta dear. You'll see it's the right thing this time. We had quite a laugh when your other paperwork made its way down here."

Virta felt her face grow hot. She looked up at Pam over the document. "You have that here?"

"It's filed next door in Legal."

"May I see it?"

"No, I'm sorry, Virta. Athan is the only one who can get to it. And even though we're quite sure he didn't mean for you to be a prisoner here, the document IS binding, and we must abide by it. But of course, we'll try to make your stay as pleasant as possible within the confines of the contract."

Pam's smile was comforting, but the tears still threatened, pooling in Virta's eyes.

"What if he doesn't come back?" she said, wiping at the moisture around her lashes. "The last thing I saw up there, he was being taken away. They may have killed him by now. Oh, God. And it's all my fault." Virta lost the battle with the tears and they started pouring down.

Pam swiped a tissue box from beneath her desk and held it out to Virta. "Athan is fine, dear. I've been watching the whole battle on the monitor here."

Virta sniffled into a tissue. "What do you mean? He's free again?"

"Would you like to see for yourself?" Pam put a hand on the screen as if to flip it around.