The Angel Side Page 9

  “We? I’m not going anywhere with the likes of you. We can go get her without your help!” I exclaimed

  “I didn’t plan on going. I have business to tend to. However, you will be traveling with two of my best Demons to help you retrieve Etta’s ‘it’ from Purgatory. I will hold my portion to ensure the safe return of my Demons. Once you have mended the two other portions, I will give you my portion.”

  Lucifer’s word dance had been as transparent as Etta’s water form. He’d use us to do the heavy lifting and once we were done, he’d try to take the reward. There had been only one problem.

  It wouldn’t be as easy as simply flashing into Purgatory, grab a spirit, and walk out. Flashing abilities only worked if granted by their master, on Earth, and the domain one called home. A Demon didn’t have the power to flash in Heaven without Father’s permission, and an Angel would be unable to flash within Purgatory without Lilith’s approval.

  With more souls than Heaven and Hell combined, Purgatory’s borders were heavily guarded and booby trapped to prevent any soul from rescuing a loved one from their ill-fate. If one had been lucky enough to make it past the borders, the mountainous landscape made any sneak attack impossible. Any attempt on the fortress would be suicide.

  On top of the high risk sacking Purgatory carried, I would have to deal with Lucifer’s good old boys on my own. I wouldn’t risk another soul getting caught in the crossfire again, leaving me vulnerable on all sides. Thinking of all the obstacles, trials, and tribulations Etta and I had survived, I wondered how long our luck would hold out. Chances were I wouldn’t be returning home from this mission. There had to be another way.

  “Father, you know as well as I do getting anywhere near Purgatory’s gates… it’s near impossible. And say I do make it past the guards, how will I find Etta and make it out?”

  “I hate to say this, but I don’t know. This is an unprecedented situation. But I can say, you, Rahovart my son, are the only one I know who can retrieve the other portions of her essence.”

  Taking note of the desperation on Father’s face, I processed the situation. It must have taken extreme courage on Father’s part to admit he didn’t know how to fix Etta’s predicament, but the gravity of what he was asking me to do weighed heavily on me. “Where your soul rests, so shall mine.” the vows Etta and I had spoken played in my mind.

  I made a promise to Etta, and I intended to keep it even if it meant my life. She went to Purgatory because of me, now it was my turn to go for her. I had my doubts I would be successful as long as Lucifer had any part of Etta.

  “So, you’re going to give her up to us to make her whole again? Just like that, Lucifer?” I snapped my fingers.

  “She is my twin sister. Despite what you believe, I do love her. Besides, what good is she to me if she doesn’t exist? After all, she and I are connected beyond bloodlines. Since she is no longer human, any injury she sustains, so shall I. Or do you not remember coming close to killing us both during the ‘Great Divide’?” Lucifer bit out.

  During the battle of the Great Divide, Abihail stood with the Arches, taking Lucifer and his army on. As if she had been a seasoned warrior, Abihail slew traitor after traitor until she stood face to face with her brother. Ready to kill him for his transgressions at the price of her humiliation, she raised her sword at him. Deflecting her blows, he tried coaxing his sister into joining him in ruling the Heavens and Earth.

  Infuriated with the denial of his offers, Lucifer struck back at her. Fearing for my wife’s safety, I stepped in with my shield, blocking a blow aimed at her head. As I did so, Abihail came under my arm, slicing Lucifer. As the blade grazed his skin, a wound not only opened on his chest but on hers as well. Assuming he struck her, I went berserk. I flailed my sword in a blind rage, but my strikes barely grazed him as he danced around each swing.

  Tired of playing games, Michael had snuck up behind him and pierced his back. Abihail’s blood-curdling scream echoed over the clash of metal on metal. Spinning on my heels, I turned expecting to find her in the clutches of a traitor. Instead, I found her alone on the ground, wounded, and crying out in pain. I flashed to her side, pulling her into my lap to inspect her injuries, when again she cried out in agony. Terrified, I looked to Michael, and it dawned on me. Every strike Lucifer received manifested on his twin sister, Abihail. To kill him would mean killing her.

  As much as I wanted him dead for what he had done, I wouldn’t risk Abihail’s life for the notch on my belt. Flashing to Michael, I stopped his blade from further penetrating Lucifer’s back as I called out for a stand down. My order to retreat may have saved my wife, but it allowed Lucifer and a third of our ranks to flee.

  “Love her? If it weren’t for you sending Lilith after her, we wouldn’t be here having this conversation!” I snapped back.

  “I had nothing to do with it. A deal is a deal, and I honor my deals to the fullest extent. Lilith has her own agenda. She’s been trying to take over our worlds with her feminist band of rats since she rose above taking orders from punks like you. And believe me I have every available Demon searching for her as we speak. She will pay for this transgression. I’ll have Lilith praying to Father for mercy.”

  Lucifer’s fraudulent protest of innocence hadn’t fooled me. If he truly had nothing to do with the turn of events, it would only be fitting for him to put his life on the line to save his sister.

  “If you feel so strongly then why don’t you come with me? Oh, that’s right. You’d rather send someone else on a suicide mission!” I yelled, digging my finger into Lucifer’s chest.

  “Enough! You must leave at once, my son. We don’t have much time.” Father boomed.

  “Saved by the big man again,” Lucifer hissed under his breath as I turned to Father.

  “Fine. But I won’t leave without saying goodbye to her first.”

  “No need to say goodbye. You’re not leaving without me.” Etta’s voice chimed behind us.

  “Etta! How long have you been standing there?” I asked, rushing to her.

  “Long enough to know I’m not going to let you go to Purgatory alone.”

  “You need to stay here, my child. It’s not safe for you to leave these gates.” Father said.

  “All due respect, Father, but it’s my soul. If I’m going to die again, I’m going to die fighting for it. Besides, do you know how to navigate through Purgatory’s labyrinths of the tortured, valleys of despair, chambers of doom, or halls of madness? I’m the only one here who can get us out. I’m going.”

  Etta’s knowledge of Purgatory’s layout would be helpful, but I had serious reservations about her escorting us along with the challenges I had already been facing. I readied myself to protest, but the look in her eyes told me I’d be in for one heck of a fight.

  “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?” I asked.

  “Nope.” Etta raised her chin in defiance.

  “Astaroth. Nicor. Make sure these two come back to us alive.” Lucifer barked, then faded away.

  Etta snapped her attention to the two Demons standing to her far right, waiting for the next part of their plan. A shiver ran up my spine as Nicor and Etta shared a brief warm smile.

  “I need to make some preparations. I’ll meet you two at the entrance in a day.” I said, dismissing a swell of jealousy.

  Unable to flash behind Heaven’s gates, they exited through the war room’s back door. Once I had been sure they were gone, I started making my way to the front door with Etta in tow.

  “Rahovart!” Father called. I pivoted in time to catch my sword.

  “You’ll need it.” Father continued. With a knowing nod, I said goodbye to him and crossed the threshold of the war room for possibly the last time.

  Chapter Seven Ra

  My anxiety level skyrocketed as I thought about walking into an unknown territory with my wife and two Demons. Saying I hadn’t been happy about working with Nicor and Astaroth would be the understatement of the century, especiall
y after witnessing the flirtatious smile between Nicor and Etta. I didn’t want either of the Demons near any part of Etta.

  Not to mention I had been considered a traitor once I found my way back home to Heaven. Having caught my share of those who had betrayed Lucifer, I assumed there must have been a price on my head. Both Astaroth and Nicor had reasons to want me dead, and neither was above killing me.

  Astaroth served under me as a Duke with forty legions beneath him. Unhappy with his rank, he’d constantly contradict any order I gave. If I said one thing, he’d say another. On more than one occasion he openly spoke against my competence. He had been nothing more than a hot head whose mouth had been unable to cash the checks it wrote. But no matter the punishment I’d inflict, he’d be right back at it the next day taking his aggravation out on one of the brothel succubae.

  Mutilation and torture had been a couple of ways he’d shown one of the girls a good time. I beseeched Lucifer to let me kill Astaroth after he mutilated one of my favorite girls to the point of her death, but he refused. It had been a personal slap in the face. Though the beady eyed, goat horned, badger talked a big game, he had his purposes on a battle field. With a simple wave of his hands, Astaroth summoned the dirt beneath us into large boulders, hurling them incredible distances. Other times he’d create walls and mazes making any advance on him and his legions near impossible.

  Nicor had been the exact opposite. Serving under Alastor, I had very few dealings with him. I did have enough to know he rarely spoke a word. He preferred to connive in silence. You never knew what he was thinking until he put it into action, making him a sneaky, formidable opponent.

  Even if Lucifer’s Demons were on the up and up and had no intention of doing me harm, I still had other concerns. With only one wing, I would not be able to flash to Purgatory’s borders. If it weren’t for Etta insisting on tagging along, I might have been able to catch a ride with another Angel. I contemplated asking for a ride despite Etta being with me but didn’t know for sure if Etta’s liquid state would handle flashing. We would have to make the full day’s trip on foot through the Wastelands. The whole situation put me on edge.

  “Where are we going?” Etta asked as she tried keeping up with my determined, long strides.

  “Since I have a wife who doesn’t want to sit back and let me do what I do best, we need to go to the armory and get you a weapon and shield so you don’t get yourself killed again!” I snapped at her then turned around and continued marching toward the armory.

  “Ra, wait up.” A cheerful Etta shouted as if we were going on nothing more than a leisurely stroll through the park, infuriating me further.

  “Do you not get it? This isn’t a trip to a picnic.” I chided, towering over her.

  “Relax. We’ve got this.” Smiling, Etta ignored my verbal attack.

  “Etta, I love you, but sometimes all you do is get in my way. I need to concentrate, and I can’t do that if I have to worry about a target on my back!”

  I was unable to tell if Etta had been crying, but her facial expression said she would be if not in a liquid state.

  “I! I! I! That’s all I ever hear from you. You think I enjoy this? Oh, yeah, let’s have Lilith, the woman who tortured me for centuries, kill me so I can be torn apart. I’ve been to Heaven, Hell, Earth, and Purgatory, Ra, and believe me I never had any intention of walking back into the place I fear the most. So get the stick out of your butt, and shut up.” Etta exclaimed, flipping me the bird as she stormed off ahead of me.

  My downright stupidity for letting my tongue slip and causing another fight between Etta and me had been overwhelming. With the mission at hand, I had no idea how much time we had left together, and I didn’t want to spend it fighting as we had done during her last day on Earth.

  When I reached the armory, Etta had already gone through some of the racks of swords, axes, and various other weapons of skull destruction.

  “None of these will work. I can’t hold onto them.”

  “I’m sorry, but this is all we have.” Uriel explained.

  “I can’t go unarmed.” Etta pouted.

  “Then maybe you should stay home.” I suggested.

  Etta rolled her eyes at me then turned back to the rack of morning stars.

  “Maybe if I concentrate really hard.” Etta spoke to herself, leaving me no room to convince her to stay. If she insisted on going with Nicor and Astaroth accompanying us on our mission, I’d have to arm her. And then I remembered something.

  During the Great Divide, Father stripped the fallen’s issued weapons. Fearful they would be able to take over the Heavens should they ever retrieve their weapons, Father ordered they be stored in a vault hidden in the armory.

  Nicor, Angel of the Seas, sided with Lucifer, resulting in the loss of his war hammer and scutum shield. If anyone had the ability to use his weaponry, it had to be Etta. That in itself posed a great risk. If Nicor got a hold of the Heavenly weaponry and shields, the resulting damage he could inflict on my world would be endless. Yet I was unable to allow Etta to travel with us through the Wastelands defenseless.

  “Open the vault.” I said.

  “No.” Uriel snapped around, giving me a warning glare.

  “Open the vault, Uriel.” I ordered.

  “I know what you’re thinking, Rahovart. I don’t think it is very wise to—”

  “I didn’t ask your opinion, Brother. Now open the vault.”

  “Fine. But if Nicor gets a hold of his war hammer, it falls on your head.”

  Uriel went to a large tapestry depicting the Great Divide which hung on the back wall of the armory. Only the Arches knew Father hung it not to remind us of why we were fighting but to cover the entrance to the vault. Uriel motioned for Etta to follow him then disappeared behind the tapestry.

  “It looks like a meat tenderizer and ice pick had a baby made of glass. Are you sure this will work?” Etta asked, pushing past the tapestry.

  “Believe me. I’ve seen it in action. One hit with the face can shatter bone into dust, and one swing of the pick can pierce through any armor. Should you have more than one enemy, use the sides of the shield; they are just as sharp as any sword. Now promise you will be careful and bring them back.” Uriel replied.

  “I promise. Thank you.” Etta kissed Uriel on the cheek then exited the armory.

  “Thank you, Brother.” I said.

  “Remember, Rahovart, should Nicor get a hold of those, it will be devastating to all of us.”

  “Not to worry.” I said with a nod and raced to catch up to Etta.

  “Let the quest begin.” Etta said in a baritone pitch as we walked through Heaven’s gates.

  With a raised eyebrow, I gave her a curious glance at which Etta giggled. Nearing the gates, I spotted a large group of Angels gathering around brandishing weapons only the High Templars carried; staves. Centered in the group I spotted John’s marred wings.

  “John? What are you doing here?” I asked.

  Following protocol, the Templars swiftly about-faced, knelt, and bowed their heads. Protocol called for each Templar to introduce themselves after which I would be expected to spew some old world phonetics, allowing each one to rise to their feet and “look upon me”. After spending so much time in the company of humans, I understood why they had given up on formalities. They stalled what needed to be said and were a complete waste of time.

  “You all may stand and speak.” I blandly said, waving off the trivial tradition.

  John rose first, “Arch Angel Rahovart, we, the High Knights Templar Choir, are here to accompany and assist you in your quest.” In unison the platoon gave a deep “Aho!” and pounded once on their shields. This is what I didn’t have time for. On any other occasion I would argue I could handle it myself and their help wouldn’t be required, but Etta’s essence had been at stake, and I didn’t want to be stuck with two Demons and no back-up. If they were willingly to put their souls on the line without coercion I would gladly accept all the help I was able t
o get.

  “Drop the pomp and circumstance. We’re on a bit of a crunch.” I said, glancing at an excited Etta, smiling, as she watched the display with childlike wonderment. Even in the direst of situations she found something to smile about. In that moment, I envied her.

  “Your mission, should you choose to accept, will be to retrieve part of my spirit from Purgatory. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.” Etta joked, imitating the voice from her favorite spy movie.

  “Let’s go.” I ordered, shaking my head at her ability to crack jokes at such an intense time.

  Taking point, I led the group out of the gates, when John jogged up next to me.

  “We have another piece.” John whispered.

  “Another piece?” I asked, pulling John off to the side, motioning for the others to continue on.

  “Yes. A cyclone appeared at Amy’s house, tearing it down to the ground. Once we got it to slow down, we realized what it is. It’s Etta; a very dark, emotional Etta. Father told me to keep her safe, so Gabriel, Amy, and a few Templars are holding it at my house in the attic.”

  “We’ll be meeting up with two demons, Astaroth and Nicor. This is not to be mentioned in any way within earshot of those two. Understood?” I ordered.

  “Understood. But what should we tell aqua Etta?” John asked.

  “Nothing. I don’t want her letting it slip. Let’s keep everyone focused on one task at a time then we’ll worry about what to do with the other Ettas.”

  John and I caught up to the group, and this time I let John take point so I’d be able to walk beside Etta. As she had so humorously stated earlier, our quest had begun but half a day in I had been ready to duct tape Etta to a boulder and continue on without her.

  Her constant twirling of the war hammer, bashing of the shield toward imaginary foes, mixed with her karate sound effects and unbridled energy had been grating every last nerve in my being. Other than annoying, I feared her excitement would give our position away and attract unwanted attention from what may have been lurking around the Wastelands. I brought the group to a halt in order to ask her to calm down, when I found myself bending over backwards barely dodging the war hammer. A few centimeters closer and I wouldn’t have needed to walk to Purgatory, I would have gotten a free trip. I had enough stress on my plate. I didn’t need Etta trying to kill me added to it.