CounterPoint (31 page)
Authors: Daniel Rafferty
David nodded in agreement. His gaze then shifted inward in introspection, drowning everything else out. He had felt different since their trip. Something had connected with him in that city, as if he had walked through a door and locked it behind him. There was no going back, he knew this. The bubbling, burgeoning power that pervaded every inch of his being was there to stay. He was almost afraid to think any thought in case it accidently set off his new found abilities. They simply had no time to train him. He couldn’t help but feel his grandmother would have had some words of wisdom at this pivotal moment. An image of Thomas flashed through his mind; that grin on his face. Nauseous, he got up and walked out of the kitchen. Thinking of his grandmother again, he asked her to look after Thomas – wherever he was.
“What about Lana?”
“I doubt it Amber. She hasn’t been involved directly in our affairs for a very long time now. She has other responsibilities and with Earth essentially roller-coasting through the natural order they’re going to have enough to do up there.”
“This attack could start any moment now. Let’s get to work,” said Lilith finally. It had been something they had all been putting off actually saying. Now they had to actually get ready.
The room emptied as each went to secure the house in whatever way they possibly could. Pravuil, as majestic as ever strode down the front porch steps into the garden. Raising his hands to the night sky as if in an offering of peace to the Heavens, he began chanting loudly in ancient Enochian, which sounded like a slowed-down opera ballad. A bubble of pure energy began to engulf the mansion, forming at the apex of the house above and seeping down on top of the outer garden wall. At first a light blue, as the energy enveloped the house it changed to white before a hissing noise sealed it in and it vanished.
“I have protected the house and the grounds. It will stop angels from using their abilities to bombard the house and they will not be able to use their powers within this bubble until it fails,” announced Pravuil proudly to Ariel and David, still looking towards the cloudy night sky.
“How long shall this protection hold for, sir?”
“Not long my dear Ariel. They will bombard this barrier until it is crushed from the outside in. Not only from the sides, but with artillery bombardment from above. You will truly have the wrath of Heaven raining down upon you. But it will give you a fighting chance. It is an ancient protection and it allows you to attack the angels from behind its barrier – a definite tactical advantage.”
Pravuil now projected his hands towards a section of the mansion’s outer wall. The cement between the slabs of thick straight modern grey stonework lit up in an illumination that spread throughout the rest of the wall. The sound of stonework fortifying itself together rang out in the darkness. The cement work of the house also began the same process. Soon, every rim of every brick was illuminated with Pravuil’s strengthening power.
“I’ve reinforced the outer wall and the structure of the house. It will be able to withstand multiple attacks from angels and whatever else you happen to face tonight.”
“We are most gracious, sir.”
Pravuil walked up to Ariel and smiled. He placed his hand squarely on Ariel’s chest and it glowed white. Ariel let out a deep breath as Pravuil injected him with energy to top up his reserves.
“I know you have expended a lot of power tonight. You’re now back to full capacity. I’ve done all I can, and now must hurry with haste. The Holy Ghost is on this planet. I will find him. Ariel, David,” he looked at both of them, knowing he did not need to impose the seriousness of the cause, “you must hold this line until I come back. Hold it. They will breach the wall, but do not let them breach the house. To use a human expression, good luck.” Pravuil vanished, on his way to see a creature as mightily important and knowledgeable and himself.
“Now we wait,” said David. He had changed into a full three-piece suit for the evening. It was for a wedding he was due to attend in the coming weeks but since he probably wouldn’t be able to make it, he decided to wear it tonight. The style matched that of the angels and demons. Might as well fit in with the crowd, he mused to himself.
“Well. We can add some curiosity to our situation,” said Ariel, withdrawing his smaller angelic blade and pointing it upwards. Closing his eyes to concentrate, the entire shield bubble lit up very briefly before fading just as quick. “Now no one can see what’s happening inside this shield.”
“A definite tactical advantage, sir,” said Amber, walking out to join them. She had scouted out the best opportunities in the upper floors which provided her with a good aim.
“Agreed. Unfortunately Amber we are expendable. Our priority must only be the Bassett family no matter what else happens tonight, they must not be captured.”
“They won’t be sir. I feel we can hold the line. Sir, if what that creature told me was true,” she whispered. They hadn’t told the Bassett’s or Lilith yet.
“If it is true Amber, then this world will need to be broken apart before we can even attempt to mend it.”
“Sir, it is the greatest cover up in the history of creation.”
“What’s the status of Catherine and Claire?” he asked after a long pause.
“I have secured them in the basement and personally sealed every part of that room against attack. I was able to concentrate a lot of power down there. They shouldn’t hear more than slight rumblings from above.”
“Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for us dear Amber.”
“Unfortunately, sir.”
***
David, after watching the fight preparations, found himself sitting in the quiet living room of his Dublin home. All the lights had been switched off, with only the distant flashes of lightning illuminating his face briefly. Surrealism engulfed over him like an angry cold breeze he couldn’t run from. He found himself slipping into a slight daze, trying to assess everything that had now happened. His grandmother’s armchair sat across the room opposite from him. He could just imagine her sitting there, even now, directing operations. No doubt with tea and biscuits that always ‘kept her going’. Self-doubt had been David’s constant companion in life, but now it seemed to be deeply embedded in a profoundly disconcerting way. He didn’t know what the next few hours would bring, but the thought of not being able to help truly made him sick to his core.
Gazing down at his Smartphone, which had survived everything they had all been through the last few hours, he watched as the next text message was sent to Thomas’s phone. It followed the other hundred or so he had sent whenever he had the chance. Thomas wasn’t answering his phone but it was turned on. He knew some would call him a heartless bastard for sitting in his living room while his partner was probably facing death, but David knew what was happening to him, and he would argue it would happen to anyone in the same situation. It simply wasn’t practical to launch a rescue operation to find Thomas. They were barely managing to survive as it was. He had his mother and sister to think about. They had already lost Mary.
He was compartmentalising things as best he could in his mind. Everything over the last few hours had been leading to this major confrontation tonight. He needed to be on his game, ready for anything. While they weren’t saying it, he knew the angels and his family had high expectations for him tonight after what had happened in Jerusalem.
“I only wish I shared their expectations,” he whispered to the empty room.
Chapter 39
“David, it’s time” said Ariel, standing in the hallway of the Dublin mansion. David had not moved from the armchair, his phone signal had been cut off as had the electricity. Ariel had placed his hand on the kitchen wall and infused it once more with electricity which sparked the house back to life. With his mum and sister barricaded in the basement, David thought he would feel alone but he didn’t. He felt an unusual burning sensation, an anticipation to get this started as soon as possible. With his mum and sister downstairs, and Thomas missing, he had a lot to fight for. A lot of pent up rage was waiting to be unleashed, he hoped he could accurately project and control it for the purpose of this event. Finally registering Ariel’s commanding tone, David gazed up at him and nodded his head in agreement.
“Indeed it is, Ariel. Let’s go,” replied David, slowly rising and striding out into the hallway. “I just want you to know, whatever happens out here my family and I deeply appreciate how you have stood by us. My only hope is you do not perish in your quest to save us.”
“A quest in which the person may perish is a quest worth perishing for,” replied Ariel with the same supreme confidence he possessed from their first meeting in the bathroom of the very same house. Now, of course, everything had changed and they now stood behind the front door, ready to walk out onto what would become a battlefield any moment now.
He nodded to Ariel, and clasped the door handle pushing it down. David instantly felt the cold breeze invade the house as they stepped outside. They stood on the porch looking down the path leading to the main gates. A roar of thunder tore the ground beneath them followed by a flash of lightning which engulfed the sky. David could see faceless shadows standing in every window of the houses around them. He stopped himself from thinking about the neighbours; they were no doubt beyond help now.
“Here we go!” shouted Ariel stepping forward onto the first step down to the pathway, shooting a pulse of bright white energy into the night sky. It was the signal to their attackers that they stood ready. Amber positioned herself on the top floor of the house, behind a strengthened window from which she could blast attackers out of the sky. Michael’s expression of unabashed anger towards Earth and its inhabitants was portrayed by the Heavens with this ferocious storm which seemed to have renewed vigour. The shield around the house would not win them the battle, only serve to drain some energy from the attackers until Pravuil returns. While he hadn’t explained what would be that powerful to stop this war, he had insisted they hold the line. That’s exactly what Ariel was determined to do. He may not have understood Pravuil’s reasoning, but there simply wasn’t any other avenue to take. They were cornered and he was their last, and only, hope.
Across the street from the lonely Bassett house stood the Archangel Raphael. In the top front room of the two-storey town house, the room was dark and only the faces of those present could be made out. All the furniture, and humans, had been removed before Raphael arrived. Clad in complete black battle robes he stood surrounded by his assistants, special ops agents and bodyguards. Lisa, his adviser, stood beside him - the only one to do so. With unnatural perfectly straight long blonde hair which never moved, in the usual business attire, she was here to help Raphael root out the Bassetts.
“There is a layer of protection around the house, sir,” said Lisa, reading the document she had been given from one of the defence specialists.
“What kind of protection?” murmured Raphael, barely interested. He had a large battalion of Heaven’s finest warriors with him and was going to purge this disease once and for all. As for the Bassetts, it had been agreed that while capturing all would be satisfactory, obtaining at least one would do.
“Of ancient origin, sir. We have no further details at the moment. We will need to pierce the shield before we commence activities. If one of our troops comes into contact with the shield they will be destroyed.”
“Noted,” replied Raphael in the same tone. He looked round to Lisa and simply nodded.
“All forces, prepare for long range bombardment of the structure. Aim directly ahead and fire continually until instructed otherwise. There is a protective barrier shielding the target and we must destroy it first. Aerial units, prepare to bombard the structure from above. Concentrate your first on one particular area to increase effectiveness and conserve power!” ordered Lisa briskly to no one in particular. She knew however the hundred other angels in each house beside them and surrounding the target could hear her clearly. A special link had been created, allowing the command to communicate with its troops.
Raphael stood motionless for a long time. His stare deeply focused at the house in front of him through the balcony doors of this empty human bedroom. The simple white drapes at each side fluttered quietly but did not distract him. The two figures standing on the front porch were small but with his angelic vision he knew it was Ariel and David. Raphael was deeply concerned about the forthcoming battle. Although he had a mission and it would be completed it was clear Ariel had help from some older creatures of Heaven to create such a shield. He worried what else they had helped him with. Creatures of old had been around long before archangels and angels. It was never fully understood what abilities they possessed but it was always respected they came from an elder class of creation.
“Sir,” pressed Lisa quietly, handing him a piece of parchment just delivered to her.
Ariel scanned it quickly. Kali, a powerful God, had just send Michael a declaration of war. The entire situation was beginning to heat up exponentially and this Bassett annoyance needed to be sorted now. He nodded to Lisa, and then stared forward again.
“Orders, sir,” she finally asked loudly.
“Fire!” was Raphael’s immediate, heavy reply. Whatever lay ahead of them, they would find out soon enough.
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