The Demon Side Read online

  “What shall it be, Master?”

  “Hmm…well, I have a special job in mind for you. Complete it and you shall resume your position by my side as heir to my throne. I want you to deliver the girl to me. Fail to do so and I’ll send you to Purgatory with the souls you have sent there. I couldn’t imagine it being too pretty for the likes of you.”

  “Yes, Master.” I stood up and walked out of the throne room as I threw on my helmet and sheathed my sword.

  Chapter Sixteen

  It had all been a setup. Either I would hand Etta over to him or I would be taken out of the equation all together. I had to get to Etta before he sent anyone else after her. I wasn’t sure what I would do once I got there, but I would have to figure it out soon. I picked up the pace to the transport area outside the front gates, moving into a full-throttle run. It seemed I couldn’t get there fast enough. After finally reaching the portal, it didn’t take long to reach Etta’s house and to find myself back in the attic. I flashed to her room, but she wasn’t there. Just as I flashed to the living room, John barreled through the front door and ran up the stairs.

  “Etta! Etta!” John was red and out of breath.

  “John?” I called out when he raced down five stairs, then jumped the remaining ten stairs right into me. His hands wrapped around my neck as he shoved me into the door.

  “Where is she? What have you done to her, you son of a bitch?”

  “What do you mean?” I jerked John’s hands away from me and shoved him back.

  “I don’t care what you are! I’ll kill you if you touch one hair on her head!” John squared off, ready for a fight.

  “I don’t have her. Listen to me.” I grabbed John by his collar and slammed him against the wall, eye level with me. “Tell me what happened, John. Where is she?”

  “Screw you!” John spat in my face.

  “Calm down!” I released one hand from his collar and backhanded him. “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know. After seeing you, I wanted out of this house. We went to the base hotel. She got tired and wanted to take a shower. The shower turned off and a few minutes later, I heard her scream. I rushed in only to find no sign of her except her dirty clothes on the bathroom floor. I thought maybe she came back here looking for you or you had taken her.”

  “Alastor!” I was played from the word go. I promised Etta I would protect her but when it came down to it, I left her vulnerable and helpless just to save my own skin.

  “Stay here, John. I’ll be right back and Etta will need you when I return with her.” I stepped back from him and said the magic words. Nothing. I made another attempt, again nothing. I’d been blocked! Every curse word I could think of came to mind. I had no way of going to my world and retrieving Etta. I had to think quickly.

  As I paced around the room, the only thing I could concentrate on were the sounds of John gasping for air and wheezing. “Shut up!” I yelled as John knelt on the hardwood floor. Another gasp sent me over the edge. I began to storm toward him with the intention of knocking him out so his pathetic attempts to breathe would no longer distract my thinking when the worst idea I’d ever had hit me. Seeing John on his knees, I knew what I had to do.

  I knelt in front of him, snapping my claws in his face trying to take his attention away from his breathing and turn it to me. Slowly tilting his head up toward me, I could see he turned a dark shade of blue. I had put more effort into pinning him than I had thought. He was suffocating. As much as I’d hate to admit it, my idea of how to save Etta wouldn’t work without him. Etta needed him alive.

  Quickly I sucked in and placed my mouth as close to his without actually touching and blew my cold breath into his body. John let out another silent gasp. My first breath hadn’t worked. Sucking in harder, I grabbed the back of John’s head and pulled his mouth to mine, sealing them together and blew my cold air into his body. Concentrating on controlling the power behind my breath as to not cause his lungs to explode, I didn’t realize that John tried to push me away.

  “Okay…okay!” John pulled away breathing heavily. “I can breathe now!” We shared an awkward moment of silence.

  “John, tell me, are you a God-fearing man?” John tried to stand up, but I jerked him back onto his knees in front of me. “On your knees, fool! This is very important. Do you or do you not believe in God?”

  “Not since Etta’s mother died.”

  “You need to find your faith, and quickly, John. Your transgression overseas set this all into motion. You need to pray and pray harder than you’ve ever prayed before.”

  “I have nothing to pray for. What can God do? He let this happen!” a defeated John yelled back.

  “John, listen to me! I can’t help you anymore. I’ve done everything in my power to save Etta, except for one thing. I must sacrifice my own soul by telling you how to save her yourself. You can save Etta. All you have to do is humbly ask God for forgiveness and his help. It’s the only way!”

  “Forgiveness? You can’t mean this is really my fault?”

  It would normally excite me to tell a man he put his daughter in danger, but I wasn’t interested in my own gratification. I needed John to pray and pray hard. Being a Demon, I lacked the ability to pray to God or I would have gladly dropped to my knees to beg for Etta’s safety. But all of my pleading would fall on deaf ears and be sent to an irate Master. Even by telling John to pray for her, I was further deemed expendable to my Master and doomed my soul to an eternity in Purgatory.

  “I’ll put it to you bluntly, yes. You fell away from God when your wife died, leaving you open to being corrupted. Your wrongdoings released a great evil. Your guilt allowed that evil to attach itself to you. You brought it into your home, allowing it to consume your family; it is now feeding on Etta’s soul. Only your repentance can save her.”

  John sat quietly. I could see him replaying the past several years in his head. His bottom lip trembled and his eyes filled with tears.

  “Oh God, what have I done? What have I done?” John banged his fists on the hardwood floor and cried uncontrollably. All the guilt he had buried so deep inside came boiling to the surface.

  Gripping his cheeks between my hands, I stared intently into his eyes. “Pray, John…pray hard.”

  Clasping his hands together, John began to pray. His whispered prayer was difficult to understand between his sobs. I could only hope he said what he needed to say. Watching him struggle with the words, I became compelled to help him. He wasn’t alone in his pain and grief. We were more alike than we were different. I too had felt what he was feeling. My pride and anger blinded me from what was important and caused the pain of so many.

  Grabbing onto his wrist, I lowered my head to his and began mouthing his desperate prayer. Before the final word, we locked eyes again. With a small nod, giving John the go-ahead, we whispered in unison: “Amen.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The ceiling shook violently and began to collapse around us. John tried to run out of the house when I jumped on top of him to shield him from the whole second floor of the home falling on top of him. Pieces of wood and sheetrock pounded me harder into him. I extended my arms, pushing up over him, so I wouldn’t crush him as the weight of the ceiling crashed on my back and the last board fell.

  “What the…?” John’s eyes were fixed above us. I waited until I became confident it was safe before rolling off of him to see what had caught his attention. The whole top of the house had collapsed, leaving only the outer walls standing. There in the night sky, a golden streak hurtled toward us at an incredible speed. With a deafening crash, the golden streak landed in the center of the room, sending shockwaves throughout the rest of the house. I pushed John toward the yellow glowing ball in the center of the room as the remaining walls fell inward.

  I was able to get him out of harm’s way, but not myself. The old brick wall fell right on top of my waist, pinning my legs. I tried pushing it off, but I was too weak. I had used almost my complete reserve helping J
ohn. I looked to John for help, but I couldn’t catch his gaze. Awestruck, he stood with his jaw on the floor staring at the golden ball glowing in the room. Separating the dust in the air as he walked toward John was an all-too-familiar being: Ramiel, the Arch. God had heard John’s prayer.

  “John Morgan Divad, God has chosen to forgive you of all of your transgressions against him and has heard your plea for help.” Ramiel placed his hand on John’s head, dropping him to his knees. Ramiel leaned over, whispering something into his ears. John’s body went limp and he went to sleep.

  Adrenaline rushed through me as Ramiel made his way toward me. Crouching above me, Ramiel extended his hand. I grabbed on to it. He ripped me from under the brick wall and in one fell swoop, bound me in a set of golden shackles on my wrists and ankles. With an arrogant smile, Ramiel looked at me and said, “You’re late for your Tribunal.”

  The boom of our departure flattened what remained of John’s house around his sleeping body. Skyrocketing upward, the force crushed my chest. Just when I thought I would be completely smothered, we came to a sudden stop. Ramiel led me into a spacious, white, round room. At the far side of the room sat a large white desk with eight chairs, but only six Arches. A seat on the left end and the seat directly in the middle were empty. Ramiel shoved me down to the floor on my knees and golden chains ascended from the floor and locked themselves on to my shackles. Ramiel took his seat in the empty chair at the end of the table and threw my sword and shield on the desk in front of him. If this went badly, I had no way to defend myself against seven Arches.

  “Rahovart the Arch, also known as Rahovart the Heir, you have been called before this Tribunal for your crimes against not only our Heavenly Father, but for crimes against humanity. What do you have to say for yourself?” Saraqael’s eyes were emotionless as he awaited my reply.

  When I had come up with the idea to sacrifice myself for Etta, I really didn’t expect to be thrown before the Tribunal. I expected to disintegrate and be sent straight to Purgatory. So I wasn’t exactly ready to answer for my actions.

  “What do you have to say for yourself?” Michael rose from his chair and hit the desk with his fist. I’d subconsciously hated Michael for so long for what happened to my Abihail, but now I felt indifferent. Witnessing a man like John on his knees praying for forgiveness and repenting for his sins gave me strength and the humility to do what I always knew I must. The time had come for me to repent and ask for forgiveness, knowing full well I deserved neither. It wouldn’t change the outcome of my Tribunal, and I knew by the end of it, I would be sentenced to Purgatory.

  “I am guilty for all that I have done. I allowed emotions to control me instead of the love I had for our Heavenly Father and the love he had for me. I allowed anger and rage into my heart. I blamed you for it all, Michael, but it was not your sin. It was mine. For this I am sorry. But, before you all damn me to Purgatory, where I justly belong, I plead with you that you may save the life of an innocent.”

  “Lies!” Michael shouted. “All of a sudden we are to believe the same Demon that spent so many years not only slaughtering our kind, but his own eternal mate, has a change of heart, wanting our forgiveness, and to save an innocent?”

  I wouldn’t argue with Michael. I didn’t care what happened to me, but I had to help Etta before she was damned to a life as an incubator for evil. It was a life no innocent soul deserved.

  “Please! You must help her. You have no idea what they have in store for her. If Lucifer succeeds, it will not only bring Earth crumbling down, but your world as well.”

  “Just send him to Purgatory so we can be done with this traitor!” Michael shooed his hand at me and looked away. I had failed. I had failed Etta, John, and myself. I proved myself a fool for thinking I could help. I lowered my head and for the first time in three thousand years, a tear fell from my eyes.

  “I am here before you all on my knees begging you to spare the life of an innocent soul from a fate worse than Purgatory. You think I wish to save myself? You are wrong! Send me to Purgatory, I don’t care. But you cannot ignore a girl who desperately needs your help. You can’t possibly imagine what they will do to her! Please! I implore you!”

  “See. Look at him…pathetic. Let’s be done with this.” Michael tried to further drive his point.

  As Uriel the Arch stood to pass my judgment as a thunderous boom crashed overhead. God himself was joining in, in a voice no human ear could understand, though we heard his words plainly.

  “Michael, you are not judge and juror. You too have sinned against me.” A blinding light hit Michael, and he found himself next to me shackled to the floor.

  “Once loving brothers, you both have allowed anger, hatred, and fear into your hearts. You lost sight of your purpose and let your personal wants consume you, costing the lives of thousands and ripping your families apart. What I had given you was a gift and you both threw it away.”

  “Father?” Michael asked. He never did know when to shut up.

  “Silence!” Thunder rolled as he spoke, leaving a ringing in my ears. “You eight are one family, one force. You are powered by the Arch next to you and he is powered by you. Together, you are all more powerful than you can imagine. Divided, you are nothing. What drove you apart will now be the only thing that can save you. Michael, you will help Rahovart with his quest to save the girl, as you all will. If he fails, you all fail, and Michael, you will serve next to Rahovart in Purgatory. Work together with your brothers and you will not only succeed in saving the girl, but what you seek most will be found.” His angelic form materialized. The Heavenly Father stood before me and in his hands were the wings I cut off five thousand years earlier.

  The six remaining Arches rose from their seats and then knelt on one knee around God’s feet. With the laying of his hands upon our heads, we received His blessing. Michael and I were freed from our shackles and each took to one knee. Going around the circle, each Arch placed his right hand on the shoulder of the Arch next to him. I placed my hand on Uriel’s shoulder and waited patiently until Michael reluctantly placed his hand onto mine, completing the Great Circle of Arches. We lowered our heads and prayed. Our Heavenly Father reached over me and plunged my wings into my back.

  “Welcome home, my son. Remember that you’re all in this together.” God spoke as the pain began to course through my body.

  Similar to a falling row of dominoes, a golden light radiated from my hand into Uriel and continued on through the hand of each Arch, until passing back to me and starting the cycle again. In a few short moments, my brothers and I were crippled with the pain of attaching my wings, which normally took three days. The eight of us screaming in unison rattled the Heavens.

  From my claw tips, I began to change. The scales of my serpent form lifted off me and smoldered on the floor. My claws receded and took the shapes of hands. My red eyes burned as they changed to green. My brothers held steady and fearless as my tail dropped from my body and began whipping around striking at them. The golden beam coursing in us flickered and then disappeared.

  “My work here is done. The rest is up to the eight of you.” God’s voice broke off as his angelic form dissipated. Breathless, we all stared at one another for a moment before rising to our feet.

  Raphael flung himself on me, embracing me in a hug. “I knew you’d return, Rahovart!” Soon the others followed in welcoming me back. We were as unruly as a group of teenage boys. Everyone appeared happy, except Michael, who stood back watching. When all the noogies and chuckles ceased, my brothers parted like the Red Sea. Michael and I walked slowly toward each other in the middle of our parted brothers.

  I didn’t know what to expect. All harsh feelings I had toward him were gone, but that didn’t mean it was the same for him. Michael extended his hand toward me. I grabbed his forearm, when he pulled my ear tightly to his mouth.

  “I don’t care what they all think and say. You are no brother of mine. If this is a setup or you do anything to screw this up, then I will t
ake you out on the spot. Knowing my blade sentenced you, I will gladly spend eternity in Purgatory watching the souls you’ve wrecked get their vengeance upon you,” Michael whispered in my ear.

  “Just remember, brother, you too have sent many souls there as well. If we fail, we’ll have plenty of time in Purgatory together to sort out who will get his vengeance.” I pulled from his hostile embrace. Our eyes locked intently on each other. Even God himself couldn’t change how Michael felt. I just hoped his anger toward me wouldn’t affect his fighting abilities. We were going to go get Etta, and I needed him at full power if we were going to get her, much less ourselves, out alive.

  “The gang’s back together! Let’s go save us a girl!” Gabriel always excited easily like a child on Christmas morning before a fight. I grabbed his head and tousled his hair.

  “All right, Gabriel. Get them ready.” Gabriel jumped and up down in his excitement as he went to ready our troops. The words seemed so strange to me and yet so natural. I once again bore the wings of an Arch. Raguel handed me a golden shield and sword, which held two curved blades representing a bull’s horns. A large winged bull forged in the center of my shield. On the underside of the shield, tied to the handle, dangled Abihail’s sky blue handkerchief. She had given it to me as token of her love during our courtship. They had kept my sword and shield in pristine condition for all of these centuries. And now I prepared to use them in the depths of Hell to fight for good once again.

  The seven Arches walked outside together. I hesitantly followed, stopping at the doorway. On the golden streets, tens of thousands of Angels assembled in their battle best. As I remembered from my time here before, everyone seemed to be in good spirits and joyous. It was such a contrast from preparing for battle on the Demon side. I could see Gabriel address the Warriors briefly, then he turned to me, waving me out. As I stepped out from the doorway, I was met with familiar faces. Warriors I had once led and warriors I had once fought stared at me as I made my way to Gabriel. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but suddenly I became overwhelmed by an onslaught of smiling faces, hugs, kisses, and even a few cheek pinches. Ending the commotion of my return, Gabriel called the troops to ready. Families and friends gathered around to send us off to battle with well-wishes. After our farewells, we were instantly thrown down into the opening of Hell.