Daystar (64 page)

Gaea’s face split into a grin.
 
“I am going to make some for Appleadris first.
 
She is the farthest away.”

“Good choice.”

Gaea concentrated and the green energy around her pulsed and spread at her feet.
 
Dahlia watched without comment or interference.
 
Gaea’s heart pounded as the material responded to her will.
 
She looked back at Dahlia.
 
“Are you sure I can do this, aren’t they are yours to create?”

“Gaea, you are the first child of two Primangels.
 
You have just the same right as us to create life.”

Gaea sent her consciousness into the raw materials before her.
 
Beings took form.
 
Gaea breathed out and the shapes breathed in.
 
They opened their eyes, red as hers.
 
The women rose to their feet and examined their limbs, flashing sharp teeth and long nails.
 
Gaea inhaled sharply.
 
“I—they’re alive!”

Dahlia looked over the first batch.
 
“Welcome angels of Hell.
 
You report to Archangel Appleadris.
 
She could use you now.”

The first made bowed and cocked their heads to the sun.
 
The light hit them and their transparent skin glowed with shades of rich red wine and blood.
 
Their hair cascaded down their backs, black and straight.
 
They appeared much like the Archangel they followed.
 
They opened webbed wings, thirty women in all.
 
They spoke in unison, “Thank you, Primangel.
 
Thank you, Gaea.”
 
The thirty saluted and took to space.

Gaea gasped.
 
“Oh my.”

Dahlia smiled at her daughter.
 
“What you expected?”

“Better!
 
May I make more?”

“Of course, I need angels for all of my Archangels.
 
Belial next, then go in whichever order you choose.”
 
Dahlia stepped back, letting her daughter work alone.
 
Gaea bit her lip.
 
She pressed and formed.
 

Dahlia smiled at Gaea’s delight.
 
She shifted her gaze to the heavens, looking for the attack she knew would come shortly.

Beyond her, thirty women of ore and alloy breathed in and stretched wings of metal wire and steel slats.
 
They reflected the color of tarnished silver, copper, and gold, their hair was short and spiked.
 
Their eyes opened purple and bright.
 
They bowed to both women and left to seek out Belial.
 
Dahlia let Gaea work and moved to the other half of the moon.

Dahlia broke her part of the moon from Gaea’s half.
 
She pushed it away and looked back to her daughter.
 
“Once you have made the models for each, produce more; use up your half fully.”

Gaea nodded.
 
“What of your half?”

Dahlia patted the surface of the moon as it crumbled beneath her feet.
 
“Sunshade.
 
Just in case.”
 
Bending to her intentions, the material ruptured and spread across the sky forming a curved rectangle.
 
Dahlia stood on the surface.
 
She kept the platform stationary, waiting.
 
Gemmed archangels flew past her, soaring towards Furcas.
 
Gaea laughed and Dahlia smiled.

Dahlia held out her hands to Earth.
 
She flicked her wrists and Earth turned, putting Eden back into the sunlight.

***

Furcas and Paimon flew in lazy spirals towards Earth.
 
Furcas closed his eyes.
 
Paimon locked their diamond-studded bracelet around his wrist.
 
Furcas opened one eye and looked down.
 
“I was wondering where that was.”

“As if I would forget it now when there are going to be plenty of opportunities for you to try and kill yourself.”
 
Paimon grinned.
 
“I am giving you a ten foot leash, use it wisely.”

Furcas grinned.
 
“How very thoughtful of you.”

Paimon fingered the engagement ring in his pocket.
 
“I wish all of this could have waited another five minutes.”

“We can kill Jegudiel when we get back, he won’t be going anywhere.”

Paimon covered his surprise.
 
“Yeah, right, yeah I know, I, right.
 
Uh, yes.”

Furcas raised an eyebrow.
 
“Are you high?”

“No.”
 
Paimon looked away.
 
“Never mind.”
 
He grabbed Furcas from behind and hugged him so that Furcas could not see his frown.
 
Paimon bit his lip.
 
Everything had been perfect earlier.
 
The house had been empty of children.
 
Furcas had been in a happy post-orgasmic aura, yet another thing Paimon had made perfect.
 

Paimon screwed up his face.
 
He’d had flowers waiting, the flowers he’d been perfecting the growth of for decades.
 
The perfect bottle of wine, and the perfect dinner.
 
He’d had a whole speech planned out.
 
Now it was fucked to shit.
 
He sighed.

Furcas put his hands on Paimon’s arm.
 
“Bean will be
fine
.”

“I know.”

Furcas noticed his gemmed girls and gaped.
 
“Lovely!
 
Paimon, look!”
 
He broke their embrace and flew up to the first of his bejeweled angels, knowing them instantly as his own.
 
He hugged each one.
 
“Bean is going to die of happiness.
 
You girls are going to love our daughter; she needs female friends in a bad way.
 
Paimon, aren’t they wonderful?”

Paimon rolled his eyes.
 
“Yeah, real special.”

Furcas pointed and the first gemstone laden girl, an emerald angel, backhanded Paimon and flipped away giggling.
 

Paimon rubbed his jaw.
 
“Oh, you did
not
just start that.
 
You are not allowed to hit me by proxy.”

Furcas made kissy faces.
 
“What are you going to do about it?”

Paimon formed a bomb.
 
“Blow them to sparkly pieces and make jewelry out of them.
 
Angel Art by Paimon, I think it’s catchy, bestseller, I’ll be
rich
.”

Furcas snarled.
 
“You do and I will never sleep with you again!”

Paimon juggled his bombs.
 
“Are we talking sleep as in nap together?
 
Because I’m okay with that, you have cold ass feet.”

Furcas crossed his arms and looked away.
 
He gazed at his crystalline girls.
 
“We don’t really have anything to do right now, so go in teams of threes and circle the planet.
 
None of Heaven’s are allowed to make it to the surface of the planet.”
 
The angels nodded and dropped away in trios.

Paimon sidled up to Furcas.
 
“Are you mad?”

Furcas set his jaw.
 
“Don’t threaten my girls.”

Paimon got in his face.
 
“Then make sure you hit me yourself if you want to hit me.
 
No one else gets to, got it?
 
I don’t make other people hit
you
, I do it myself when it needs to be done.”

Furcas decked him.
 
“Better?”

Paimon rubbed his jaw.
 
“Perfect.”
 
He smiled and looked at the angels soar below.
 
“So.”

Furcas shrugged.
 
“So.”

Paimon stretched.
 
“Looks like we don’t have to fight since we have your sparkling damsels.”

“And?”

“And.”
 
Paimon grabbed Furcas and pressed a knee up against his groin.
 
“I was thinking you could take all this free time and please me.
 
What do you say?”

Furcas burst out laughing.
 
“You are incorrigible.
 
We have a job to do.”

Paimon pulled on Furcas’ belt.
 
“And now someone else is doing it.”

Furcas slapped his hand away.
 
“Do not.
 
Dahlia is going to hurt us, not to mention Lucifer if he finds out we were screwing on the job.”

Paimon shrugged.
 
“It’ll be my fault.
 
I’m such an appalling influence on the innocent youth.”
 
He kissed Furcas’ collarbone and ripped his belt off.
 
“I’ll take what they dole out.”

Furcas folded his arms.
 
“We just
had
sex.”

“And now we have time for more, isn’t it wonderful how life works out sometimes.”
 
Paimon kissed Furcas’ stomach and moved lower.

Furcas eyed him.
 
“Wait.”

Paimon stopped, his teeth scraped along Furcas’ abs.
 
“Shit.”

Furcas grabbed Paimon’s hair and wrenched his head back.
 
“Not that I wouldn’t appreciate it, because I really fucking would, but I know you far too fucking well.
 
What are you playing at?”

“Playing at?
 
Nothing of course.
 
Why would I be playing at anything?”
 
Paimon batted his lashes.
 
“Just trying to get you to make all those cute sounds you made earlier.
 
This time I have a tape recorder.”

Furcas laughed.
 
“Paimon, what do you want?”

“Isn’t that obvious, you’re impeding me.”

Furcas pulled Paimon up to eye-height.
 
“
Paimon
.”

Paimon grinned.
 
“Yes, dear.”

Furcas stared him down.
 
“Tell me.”

Paimon surprised him by blushing.
 
“Nothing to tell.”

Furcas frowned.
 
“Fucking consummate liar my ass, you are
awful
.
 
Now I know it’s
important
.
 
Tell me now.
 
What have you done?”

Paimon shrugged, his fingers fumbled with the engagement ring in his pocket.
 
“I, well, you see, I…”

Furcas closed his eyes.
 
“Just tell me, and stop giving me a headache.”

Paimon took a deep breath.
 
“Furcas, this isn’t how I wanted this to go down, but I want to know if you—”

Ariel appeared and slashed Furcas across the back.
 
Furcas gasped as blood and feathers splashed into the air.
 
Ariel laughed.
 
“Not so diamond hard now are you!”

Paimon grabbed Ariel by the hair.
 
“You ruinous fucking
cunt!
”
 
He threw her towards the moon.
 
He grabbed Furcas’ wrist.
 
“Did she get one of your wings?”

Furcas grimaced.
 
“It feels like it, but I can’t see.”

Paimon turned him around, six claw marks anointed Furcas’ back, but they closed as he watched.
 
“You’re good.”

Furcas made a face.
 
“I owe that girl at least one evisceration, now I may make it two.”

“May I join you?”

“Please do.”

***

Lucifer stopped in front of the sun; he reveled in the light and warmth.
 
He flicked his wrist and all angels in sight exploded into colored lights.
 
Lucifer stared at the star.
 
He was not sure how sending angels out of it was doing anything like making it explode.
 
So far, all they had accomplished was his vast amusement at how easily they died.
 

Gabriel rose above the surface, a green speck against the immense star.
 
The Archangel muttered to himself, looking troubled and confused.
 
He sank back into the blinding heat.
 
He was alone.
 
Very alone.

Lucifer grinned and dove to follow.
 
He folded his wings around his body and entered the heat.
 
His skin lit brilliantly blue and white, he soaked up the heat and light, growing stronger as it roiled around him.
 
He caught a glimpse of Gabriel in green and swam for him.