Celestial Wars Ch. 02

Slowly, wisps of black flame crawled up the blade. Then, within a minute, the flames surrounded the entire sword.

"Destroy," I said calmly.

"Yessssss," hissed the flames.

With their fetters removed, the black flames began to feast and glut themselves upon the blade. The silver metal darkened and cracked and splintered. Throughout the night, the flames of Destruction sounded like breaking bone and twisting metal.

On a hint of wind, I thought I could hear the angel in the blade screaming.

Then the blade was gone. Not a trace of it remained. There was no ash, no shards or fragments. It had been obliterated... utterly and completely.

The black fires died down at my command.

Now it was time to wait. There was more killing to be done this night.

Destruction cackled with glee at the thought.

***

-Alarial-

Ezrih's wings thudded heavily around us as we moved swiftly, high over the coast. We had passed over the channel and the tip of England in a matter of hours. Now we were traveling quickly up the shores of Ireland.

High cliffs and rocky beaches blurred by. It was bitterly cold up here in the sky, and I had to take slow, short breaths to keep dizziness at bay.

Jon was sitting up straight behind me. His hands were clasped loosely around my waist, holding me steady, keeping me warm. Daniel was behind Jon. I had glanced back at him once. He was hunched over with his eyes clenched shut.

"We're nearly there now," Jon whispered in my ear.

I nodded, shifting in anticipation.

***

"We have arrived," boomed Ezrih. His voice was loud and animalistic in this form, his words choppy from speaking through rows of razor teeth.

The great black wings all around us slanted to the right, and we began to circle in the air slowly. Below us, a mansion made up of stone and mortar and climbing ivy sat on a small hill. Around the building proper was a sprawling garden made up of large old oaks and twisting flower blooms.

The place looked wild. The place looked cared for.

I closed my eyes. In my mind I could see my Dark God carefully tending his garden... his soft red eyes looking down at his creations with intent and care. For a brief moment, I allowed myself to fantasize about living here with him... strolling by blood-red roses and gnarled trees under a starry sky.

When I opened my eyes again, we were nearly on the ground. The wind under Ezrih's wings batted leaves and dust away as his claws touched down on the ground. The demon's great black body settled, and his large muscles knotted and relaxed as he sat down on his haunches.

"Please get off my back," Ezrih growled. "If I hurry, I can attend to another task the Master has given me before the sun drives me to shelter."

Jon adeptly swung his leg up and over, dismounting with grace. He held his hand up to me, and I took it. He gently aided my dismount. It felt good to touch solid ground again.

Daniel slid to the ground, his knees buckling. His face was green, and his body shuddered. He dry-heaved once, but didn't puke.

Ezrih's monstrous body took on its transformative red glow. I listened as tendons and joints snapped and popped as the demon's body reworked itself. In a moment, Ezrih stood before us as he once looked... all angular and pale. His sharp white face had a tiny smile on it. He looked pleased with himself.

"Thank you, Ezrih," Jon said with a bow. "We owe you our lives."

Ezrih returned Jon's bow. "It was a good night, brother," Ezrih said. He looked at all of us with his unholy eyes, and bowed to me as well. "I have been instructed to tell you to wait within the manor house until the Master arrives." Ezrih paused. "You are not to leave for any reason."

Jon cocked his head, and I could swear he glanced over at Daniel. "Where are you going, Ezrih?"

The demon's black wings unfurled. "I have been given another task by the Master, and I must be away to meet Raak. If I hurry, I will make good time. Farewell."

Without our weight on his back, the demon moved with a speed difficult to comprehend. His dark wings hurled him into the air, and before I could blink, he was darting away through the sky.

Jon turned to Daniel, who was still looking faintly ill.

"Well, Monster Hunter," Jon said with a smile, "you've gone above and beyond the call of duty. I think you have earned your gold and more besides."

Daniel straightened himself as best he could and returned Jon's smile. "Thank you, Jon. We've come a long way, and I didn't expect to see an Afflicted or a Bra'rul on our little journey."

Jon gestured for us to follow him to the house. "Well, thank you for taking Ezrih in stride. I know your trade and your guild might have demanded that you attempt to slay him."

Daniel shrugged. "No one was paying me to slay the demon, and he was saving my life at the time. I truly never even thought about it."

Jon pushed open the heavy dark oak doors that led into the manor house.

The smell of Master's magic hit me like a thunderclap.

Shivers dotted every inch of my skin. I could feel my sex throb and clutch and dampen in reaction to the pervasiveness of his presence. But... Ezrih had said that Master wasn't here. Why would he send someone for us, but not be here to receive us?

Jon and Daniel were still talking.

"Do you think I could stay the night here?" Daniel asked. "It has been a long journey, and I'd like to be rested before I take my leave."

"Of course," Jon said as he handed the monster hunter a handful of thick gold coins from the purse. "Here is your payment. The mansion has spare rooms in the servants' quarters, and I'm sure our Master will want to thank you personally when he returns."

"Would you mind if I went to bed? Daniel asked.

Jon smiled, and he gave Daniel instructions to the servants' wing.

Daniel turned, said goodnight to me, and disappeared down the corridor.

As soon as he was gone, I whirled around to face Jon. My voice came out breathy and low as I struggled to contain my excitement. "Which room is Master's room, Jon? I have to be ready for when he returns," I said all at once.

Jon raised his hands in bewilderment. My gaze flicked to his missing ring finger, and I felt a twinge of guilt. I hoped Master and his magic could fix his hand.

"Calm down, Maria," Jon said. "I believe the Master will be back to take refuge from the sun by daybreak. You have plenty of time to get his sheets toasty."

I could feel heat creeping into my cheeks. Every once in a while I realized how odd and desperate my sexual cravings for my Master must seem. Others might not understand how much I needed it. Even now my body felt pent up and eager. My sex felt unused, my felt neck unbitten. I had too much blood in my body...

"There's no need to be like that, Jon," I said softly. "I can't control the cravings."

Jon sighed and ran his noninjured hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to sound like a cad, but I've been on edge. I'll walk you to the Master's bedroom, but while we walk, I must tell you some things about Daniel in privacy."

About Daniel? I wondered.

***

Jon led me up a grand staircase just off the main hallway. The old boards under the plush carpet creaked as we ascended. The smell of Master's magic had become overwhelming. It was all I could do not to fall to the floor and whimper.

"Daniel is not our ally, Maria," Jon said suddenly as we made it to the landing at the top of the stairs. His words managed to pierce through the ever-growing haze that Master's magic had created about my mind.

"What do you mean? He saved me from that scary woman. He tried to protect me on the ship!" I exclaimed.

"It is not you he wants to hurt," Jon said slowly. "It's Devnik." Jon's words sounded far away as he elaborated.

Daniel is a Judicar. Daniel is a member of the Light. He bested Master in a duel for immortality five hundred years ago, on a battlefield outside of the Holy City. He seeks to kill our Master, so that he might find forgiveness for accepting unholy eternal life.

Red tinged the side of my vision. My hands were clenched tightly at my sides. It was all I could do to hold myself in one place. My feet itched to fly back down the stairs and rip Daniel limb from limb.

"Maria, calm down!" Jon said in a sort of hushed shout.

I blinked and looked down at myself. Blue sparks crackled violently at the ends of my fingertips. My entire body felt light and quick and deadly.

"Take a deep breath," Jon said. "Devnik will be back later tonight. It will be safer to let him handle our 'friend,'" Daniel said softly.

I did as Daniel asked, and I gradually felt my power fading. I was almost sad to see it go. The world looked dimmer without my magic crackling at the surface of my being. No wonder Master was so arrogant. Magic made you feel invincible.

"This is the Master's room," Jon said as we stopped in front of a large door at the end of the upstairs hallway.

One sniff of the air and I knew it was true. Master's magic crept out from under the door like a thick fog.

"Try and get some sleep," he said as he turned the handle. "I have a feeling that something is afoot beyond our trouble with Daniel."

The door swung open, and my mind stopped as I looked inside.

Bound up in chains of pitch black iron was Cariel.

Her red flowing hair was like a flame as it trailed down her pale, shivering body. The tips of her locks ended just at the slope of her breasts. Harsh and angry lashes colored her thighs and sex. Her collar glimmered with green runes around her slim throat.

No, I thought numbly. Master wouldn't. He loves me. ME, not HER!

My rage felt like a living thing as I took in the sight of the red-haired angel bound up in my Master's chains. The last time I had seen her she was cutting a line across my Master's chest. I wanted to strangle her. I wanted to weep.

I wanted my Master. I needed to know why.

Cariel stirred in her chains. Her eyelids fluttered and her silver eyes opened. She took one look at me and her face crumpled. Her eyes filled with a thin film of tears. She lowered her head, and her hair fell like a curtain over her face.

"Don't look at me, sister," she said hoarsely, in a voice filled with more shame than I had thought possible.

"Please don't look at me."

Chapter 11

Rain and Flame

~Humans live two lives. First, they live out their mortal years, and those determine if they shall fall unto Hell, or ascend unto Heaven. Second, they live as a soul of either Light or Dark. When the soul dies... it vanishes unto Nothing. ~The Third Lesson of the Magician's Guild.

-Devnik-

Clouds rolled in across the night sky... quick and low and determined.

My tongue flicked out to taste the air. It was heavy and filled with the promise of rain. I turned my head up, and watched the stairs and moon disappear behind the clouds.

It was better than staring straight ahead. It was better than staring at the spot where the sword with an angel inside it had been consumed. Half an hour had passed since then. The Light was responding slightly slower than I had estimated.

Then I caught their scent out of the air. I hadn't noticed it at first, the smell of humidity and damp earth had masked their magic.

I turned my eyes northward. There were eight of them. An ordinary detachment of Legionnaires numbered at seven, no more, no less. Seven is the number of the Light.

An extra angel was accompanying their sortie.

They were about thirty miles away. I would have about one minute before they were upon me. I uncrossed my legs and slowly got up from the ground. Stray pieces of grass clung to my trousers, and I brushed them off.

Their white wings were now visible on the horizon.

I rolled my head back, and my neck popped gently.

They come to play... they come to burn... they come to die, cackled Destruction in the back of my head.

I clasped my hands behind my back. My cloak billowed dramatically in the wind, and the ruby at my neck glittered malevolently. I'm sure I cut quite the figure.

The angels landed heavily. They had to brace themselves with a hand and drop to one knee. Seven of the angels wore brilliant gold armor that swirled with ornate decorations. Blue wards glistened as they moved along the surface of the metalwork. Each angel wore a matching helm with tiny stylized angel wings clinging to the sides. Their visors were down, which obscured their faces. These were the Legionnaires, the golden foot soldiers of the Light.

I eyed the swords they kept in their sheathes. They were not swords of power. An angel that could materialize a sword of power was given greater rank.

The other angel was Viriel. He was dressed in the ornate white robe and blue cape of an Ophanim rather than the furs and sapphire of a Legionnaire commander.

That was odd.

"Good night to you, Viriel," I said as all the angels straightened to their full height. The Legionnaires all grasped the pommels of their swords. I ignored that.

"It would seem that you've been promoted," I continued as I flashed him a wide smile.

The blond hair that Viriel usually kept tied back hung loose around his angelic face. For a brief moment, I could see Maria standing next to him... as his Aethling wife. They would have both been bright and blond and utterly sinless together... had it not been for me.

"Demon," Viriel said, "I am here under orders tonight not to settle our personal debt. However, I suspect that both my orders and the call of my feelings might be in alignment."

"Does being an Ophanim instead of a lowly Legionnaire make you happy, Viriel?" I said mockingly. "What sort of rewards do your heavenly task masters dole out, I wonder?"

"QUIET!" Viriel roared, his voice echoing across the tree tops, his hands clenched and shaking.

"I am here under the authority of High Lord Michael the Valiant to investigate an extreme spike in Dark magic that resulted in the death of the angel Hariel, Guardian of the Fifth Sphere," he spat. "What do you know of this, cretin?"

Viriel was the only angel I had ever met who was both astronomically inferior to—and rude—to me. Only the highest-ranking angels, like Arch-Angels or Seraphims, could even dream of going toe-to-toe with me... and the Seraphims would be wise to bring at least four or five friends. If Viriel had any sense, he would be shivering in his boots.

The dew on the ground froze and clung to blades of grass as I drew my powers close. A lurid red tinged the sky. The Legionnaires all drew their golden swords. They held them up and at the ready as they shifted into a low combat stance.

"I've never really understood why angels volunteer to be sealed inside a sword," I said whimsically. "It's hard to fight back encased in metal. It's hard to call for help. I recently discovered that it's hard to even scream."

"Slay him, men!" screeched Viriel as he waved his hand in an intricate motion. A short sword with a silver handle and a blue blade appeared in his hand.

The golden soldiers all rushed at me, weapons raised. Metal clanked and rattled as they ran in their armor. To my eyes, with my powers drawn close, they looked as if they were moving with comedic sluggishness.

I clapped my hands together, and the ground shook slightly. Between my palms, a bright orb of red magic thrummed into existence. The ball of energy pulsed like a heartbeat as it grew large and brilliant. I watched as the eyes of the Legionnaires grew wide and fearful. But it was too late for them.

I pulled my hands apart, and the orb burst with a deafening boom. A shockwave of crimson magic ripped through the Legionnaires. They were knocked skyward like paper dolls. Their bodies tumbled through the air like spinning leaves for a quarter-minute before landing hard and awkward on the ground.

All seven of them lay unmoving. Their once golden armor was blackened and bent. From the joinings between their breastplates and pauldrons, I could see blue blood leaking slow and thick onto the field.

Viriel was flat on his back, wrapped up tight in his white angel wings. His feathers were charred and flaking, but they had spared him the brunt of my spell.

He got shakily to his feet. He sheathed his wings on his back, and they disappeared. His cape was in tatters, but he looked unscathed otherwise... apart from the look of bone deep dread in his eyes.

"All those years..." Viriel said softly, almost as if he were talking to himself.

I held a hand up to my ear. "Speak up, angel. Muttering ill becomes you," I said cruelly.

Viriel took a deep breath and set his shoulders.

"For all the years that you and I have fought, you have never used that much power," he said. He spoke loudly, but none of the previous arrogance even touched the edges of his voice. "Why did you toy with me for centuries, demon?" Viriel asked. "And why would you reveal your true strength now?"

I glanced up at the sky. It was still covered with clouds, and not a single star was visible.

"I toyed with you because it amused me," I said truthfully. "When you are as powerful as I, any fight becomes rare and entertaining. So, I let you think we were evenly matched so that you might stand and face me again someday, rather than run and cower."

Viriel's silver eyes flickered as he spoke. "When others told me of your power, I thought they overestimated you." He paused. I could tell how much he hated being played for a fool. "What changed?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Tonight, I am under orders as well. I do not have time to dally with you, or your shiny friends," I said, gesturing to the fallen Legionnaires.

There was a pause, and we both looked at the bodies. One of them stirred.

"Devnikolus," Viriel said, "please, let me gather my wounded men. We will depart to lick our wounds. You have won the day." He took a deep breath. "I cannot promise you that Heaven will not dispatch agents to make you atone for the angel you killed tonight, but I promise that I will tell Michael of the mercy you showed my legion." His voice was pitched low. It sounded like pleading, which was only one small step away from begging.

Something tugged at my emotions. I felt a tightening in my chest. Viriel's words reminded me of why I hated fighting Lucifer's war. But, I had no choice. I feared the Devil more than my own underused conscience.

"I'm sorry, Viriel," I said. "But I can't. My actions aren't my own tonight." His eyes widened, and for a moment, I think he heard the utter sincerity in my voice.

Then I snapped my fingers, and all seven of the wounded Legionnaires were engulfed in shadow black flames.

"NO!" Viriel screamed as he ran to his men.

The Legionnaires on the ground howled in pain as Destruction ate at their very beings. Viriel stopped just short of touching them. He hopped up and down and cursed and cried at his helplessness.

He turned to face me, his sculpted face awash with glimmering tears.

"Please," he sobbed, "don't do this."

I could feel tears of my own gathering in my eyes. I touched my cheek, and my fingertips came back wetted with black demon tears.

Then, the sounds of agony died down, and the flames dissipated. The Legionnaires were unmade.

"I have to tell him... have to tell him..." Viriel chanted through his grief. He staggered away from me, and his injured wings erupted from his back. The feathers that were burnt fell off as he flapped his wings during takeoff.

I didn't move as I watched him fly away. His movements were erratic due to his injuries, but soon enough, Viriel slipped over the horizon.

Just then, a thunderclap rumbled through the sky and cold rain began to fall.

I kept my eyes on the spot where Viriel had disappeared. When I was sure that he was gone, I teleported away from my killing field, and back to the manor.