The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (48 page)

She doesn't
see it, Chris thought with faint hope. She doesn't see that the dawn
is almost here.

Her figure
warped and wavered, growing from the simple girl she had been into
something truly monstrous.

The
beautiful face was now heavy and brutal, eyes blazing red and mouth
filled with crooked, broken fangs like daggers. Twisted horns
sprouted from her forehead and her white hair fell to her waist,
wreathed in purple flames.

Instead of
the feathered wings of an angel, leathern bat-wings sprouted heavily
from her back, their black skin scarred and creased.

On her torso
was a breastplate of scarred metal, cracked and smoking, and below it
were the hairy brown legs of a goat, their cloven hooves digging
smoking holes in the ground.

Sariel may
have still been shocked and confused by what Angelica had told him,
but he raised his broken sword at Lilith's appearance and readied
himself for battle. The first rays of dawn caught the blade and it
blazed anew, causing the demon to step back squinting.

“
Your
puny weapon is no match for me, Sariel,” Lilith said in a voice
like metal scraping on metal. “I am your equal now.”

“
Are
you?” Sariel's voice had dropped almost to a whisper. “Fine
then. Come ahead and let us find out.”

Her shrill
shriek of laughter grated across the parking lot.

“
Have
you not felt the loss of your strength? My followers in Purgatory
fight your puny loyalists even now. And they will win. And while they
battle, you have only that broken piece of metal and the strength of
your oh so mortal body to fight with.” Her crooked grin gleamed
like yellow ivory as she mocked him. “You have already lost.”

Sariel
smiled in turn.

“
You
talk a good game, demon. But my followers, no matter how many remain,
will defeat those poor creatures who were seduced by your lies. They
are strong and blessed by God. How can your side even hope to
prevail?”

“
The
same way that I will beat you, guileless fool,” Lilith answered
and her smile widened.

Suddenly
Sariel felt a stab of pain so intense that he cried aloud in agony.
Chris groaned soundlessly at the agonizing jolt.

The
archangel stared at Lilith blankly. She was just standing there,
grinning like a jungle predator.

He slowly
looked down at his chest and saw a foot of bloody metal jutting out
of his split, gore-covered armor. A high-pitched titter sounded
almost in his ear.

“
You
see, unlike you pure-hearted angels, we cheat,” hissed the
voice of the demon who called itself Death.

And the
sword was ripped out of his body with a brutal twist.

Sariel
collapsed to his knees, still watching Lilith incomprehensibly. She
stepped forward until she towered over him. She was still grinning
with high amusement.

“
Fool,”
she said mockingly. “Did you really think that I would fight
one on one against you? Even in your feeble state, you are still one
of the first three, brother to my majestic master.”

She reached
down and put one taloned finger under his chin, tilting his head up.

“
I
always have an ace in the hole, Sariel. Always. And now, with you
beaten, your soul will be imprisoned by my friend here, and kept out
of the battle to come.”

The demon
behind them chuckled again.

“
Just
for a short time, archangel,” it said. “When we have
taken control of this world, marched through Purgatory and burned
down the gates of Heaven, I'm sure your brother will release you.
Perhaps he will chain you next to his throne when he sits in glory
over all of creation. Like a pet, perhaps?” It giggled.

“
No!”
Sariel gasped. He tried to rise but the piercing torture of his wound
filled his body and he toppled back to lie prone before the two
demons, his wings folded beneath him.

“
Poor
Sariel,” Lilith said in mock sympathy. “No glorious
battle against the evil demon, no final confrontation with the king
of Hell. You're going out with a whimper instead of a roar.”
And then her face changed and she snarled down at him. “As it
should be,” she hissed and spat on him.

Sariel! Sariel, get up! What are you
doing?

The pain, Chris. I've never felt
such pain. Even when my brother crippled me, it was nothing compared
to this agony.

Who cares? It's only pain! I've felt
pain and fear and horrors that would put this pinprick to shame.
Fight through it, damn it! Fight!

I...I cannot. Forgive me, my friend.
I think she is right. We are done.

At that
moment, the sun seemed to leap over the horizon. The parking lot was
bathed in the pure light of a new day and the shrouded demon gasped
in apparent fear.

“
Finish
him, Lilith. Now! Day is here and we are vulnerable.”

She ignored
him and dropped to her knees astride Sariel's body.

“
I
don't fear the light now, fool. We have won. Look at him. He has
already given up.”

Lilith
raised her arm and from out of nowhere a blade, red as flame and
dripping gobbets of thick blood, appeared in her hand.

And then her
head whipped around and she glared over her shoulder as a wave of
sound, a roar, ripped through the still, morning air.

Sariel
turned his head painfully, small stones digging into his scalp, and
looked dimly toward the unknown noise. His eyes widened and Chris
felt a sudden wave of hope, small but flaring brightly in his mind.

The door to
the castle had burst open, and streaming out of it were immense
figures shining with a pure, silver light. Angels.

The first
glorious figure was one that Chris had never seen before, but he knew
who it was because Sariel knew. It was Valagriel, Patrick's
alter-ego.

His wings
were spread out behind him like sheets of silver glass. They looked
like crystal and rang like bells. He was immense, almost as large as
Lilith herself, and his silver armor glowed in the dawn's first
light.

On his
heels, Chris recognized Gloriel, her metallic red wings flared, her
face, like Valagriel's, twisted in fury.

And behind
them, arms raised, weapons burning with holy fire, came the other
Angelics. Chris had never seen such a glorious sight.

Hang on, Sariel. Help is on the way.

I can't, Chris. I can feel myself
slipping away. Oh, to be this close and fail!

“
Finish
him, Lilith!” the Horseman screamed. Somehow he was mounted
again and his loathsome steed was backing away from the advancing
angels.

She sneered
at the Angelics. “They are too little, too late.” She
raised her twisted weapon. “See you in Hell, Sariel. I promise
to visit often.”

Then God damn it, if you can't save
yourself, I will. Get out of the way!

Somehow, and
Chris never was able to figure out exactly what he did then, he
managed to push Sariel's suffering consciousness aside and suddenly
Chris was in command of the archangel's body.

He was
swamped with pain but, as he had many times before when the streets
were his home, he simply ignored it. As Lilith's massive arm
descended, he reached up and grabbed her wrist and twisted it so hard
that it snapped like a dry twig.

The demon
screeched as her weapon fell to the ground with a clang and
disappeared in a bloody flash. She pulled back and Chris surged
upward, leaping to his feet as he felt the blood pour down inside his
armor in a sticky stream.

“
What?
How?” Lilith sputtered as she stared at him. “Sariel,
you...you are beaten. You cannot rise!”

“
Maybe
he can't, lady. But I'm driving now.”

“
Chris?”
Her eyes widened. “You cannot control Sariel's body. It's
impossible.”

“
Yeah?”
Chris pushed her away and Lilith staggered back, her right arm
hanging useless at her side. “Well then, surprise,” and
he smashed his fist as hard as he could into that horrible, misshapen
face.

She fell
back, black blood streaming from her nose and mouth and Chris whipped
around, scooping up his sword as he did so. He looked at the Horseman
with a burning hatred.

“
Your
turn,” he said through his teeth as he advanced on the mounted
figure.

“
I
think not, boy.” The Horseman seemed to look at the figure of
Lilith where she lay writhing on the ground. “I know a lost
cause when I see it.” It raised its hidden head and Chris felt
the cold, unseen eyes bore into his own.

“
We'll
meet again, I assure you. Only the next time, I will have my three
brothers with me, and all the angels on Earth will not be able to
stop us.”

The demon
and his mount wavered, flickered with distortion, and vanished.

Chris turned
back to Lilith to find her surrounded by the Angelics. Valagriel was
raising his crystalline sword, and Chris stepped forward quickly and
grabbed his wrist.

“
No,
Patrick. Valagriel. No. This is my fight.”

The angel
stared at him, his immense blue eyes wide.

“
But
she tricked you. Her wiles are legendary. Surely...” he
hesitated and looked down at the figure who watched them with
slitted, blazing eyes. “Surely you do not mean to show her
mercy?”

Chris looked
around at the other Angelics. He thought briefly that he'd never seen
so much beauty in one place in his life. Even in their fury, the
angels were perfection personified. He smiled at them all and slowly
their faces became calm and they smiled in return.

Except for
Gloriel.

“
You
cannot release her, Christopher,” the angel said harshly. “And
you cannot imprison her again. We heard what was said out here.”

“
Really?”
Chris asked, startled. “How?”

She glanced
over his shoulder and he turned to see a camera mounted on the light
standard in the middle of the parking lot.

“
She
has corrupted Purgatory, as she corrupts everything she touches. She
cannot be allowed to leave here alive.” Gloriel looked down at
her one time friend and gasped. Chris followed her gaze and saw that
now, instead of a monster lying there, Angelica lay in her place.

She watched
them closely. Her face was smeared with blood and she cradled her
arm, but it didn't really mar her beauty, or her facade of innocence.

As they
watched, Angelica struggled to stand. All of them backed away as if
from some poisonous reptile, as she finally staggered to her feet and
stood there defiantly.

“
Don't
play the fool again, Natalie,” she said with a low laugh.
“Sariel could not destroy me before and he will not do it now.
As for Chris,” she looked at him thoughtfully, “he's made
of tougher stuff than I ever imagined. But I doubt if he will destroy
me either. Will you?”

Chris stared
at her and felt his body begin to change. He began to diminish,
slowly shrinking down to where he was looking at Angelica eye to eye.
The blood was still dripping down his chest and he was becoming
light-headed, but he refused to let her see his weakness. Sariel
remained silent inside of him.

Finally
Chris shook his head.

“
No,
I can't kill her, Gloriel,” he said as he looked up at that
scowling countenance. “Even now, I can't.”

Angelica
laughed lightly but it was cut off as Chris continued.

“
But
you can.”

Gloriel's
eyes widened.

Angelica
stared at Chris in disbelief for a moment and then shrugged.

“
Fine.
Go ahead,” she said defiantly and looked up at her former best
friend. “You don't have the power to destroy me. So go ahead
and kill me. When I return from Hell, I will repay you a thousand
fold.”

Gloriel
ignored her and looked at Chris.

“
She's
right. I can send her back to her master, but her destruction is
beyond my powers.”

Chris
nodded. “I know that. But not beyond mine.” And he handed
her his broken sword.

In her huge
hand, the sword grew, elongated and burst into new light. Gloriel
looked at it with awe and her hand shook as she tried to contain its
power.

“
No,
you can't do this!” Angelica screeched, sudden terror in her
voice. “Natalie, come on! I'm your best friend. You could never
hurt me.”

She tried to
back away from Gloriel but was stopped by the ring of Angelics who
watched her impassively.

“
You're
right, Angelica,” Gloriel said coldly as she moved forward.
“Natalie would never hurt you. But I'm afraid that she's not
here right now.”

And with a
sudden sweep of her arm, the angel brought the broken blade down and
across in one swift stroke.

Angelica
stared at her in disbelief for a brief moment and opened her lips, as
if for one final protest. And then her body collapsed in a heap as
her head rolled away to one side. There was no blood. The sword had
cauterized the wound.

Around the
circle there was a collective sigh, and then Chris watched as the
angels faded away and his friends became themselves once again.

Natalie
stood looking down at her one-time friend, tears standing in her
eyes. She said nothing, but held out the sword toward Chris who took
it from her carefully.

Then he
found himself slowly folding up, his legs suddenly too weak to
support his weight.

“
Chris!”
Patrick shouted and he managed to catch his friend before he hit the
ground. He lowered him slowly until Chris was sitting with his legs
outstretched and then held on to him to keep him from toppling over.