Rapture Falls (46 page)

             
Lucifer watched her love return, she saw the slow dawn of his realisation, his pain was overwhelming and total, she stood helpless as he sank to his knees beyond repair. She wanted to tell him that nothing was his fault, that Gabriel was the architect of all
of this pain, that his actions were blameless, but looking down at the ruined man she knew even with her limited and newly discovered emotions that words were meaningless now. The damage was done and could not be repaired, the human mind was a complex beast that could never be truly tamed, it could be tethered, it could be subdued but never conquered, the
barren but fertile landscape of
her heart
froze as winter fell.

             
Gabriel prowled his domain, he stood tall over all, the half breed lay broken at his feet, the Grigori and the 11
^th
Order were broken and their remnants scattered. McCullum lay a drooling mess with the once powerful Lucifer fretting over him clucking like a mother hen, nothing could stand before him now. He stooped down to Baine, smearing his hand in the
animal’s
blood;
he walked slowly and deliberately
to the ancient standing stones wiping the blood on every surface. The cube was here for the taking and his passage would be assured back into the kingdom, to sit again at God’s side, to serve at his masters will, to serve?, did that seem right?, should he serve or should he rule?, with the cube could he take the heavens?, yes, yes, he could reign supr
eme, the cube was all he needed, he turned back to Baine.

“Half-breed, hear me now, I will take the earth and the heavens will fall beneath my feet, all I require is a willing sacrifice in my name, you will have the honour of shedding your life for my glory”

             
Baine stirred sluggishly, his thoughts were heavy and blurred, the world span and twirled, Gabriel’s voice echoed through the haze, Baine knew what the archangel wanted, the cube was here and so was his understanding. The cube required
his blood, the blood of his family line that stemmed back to his father Meta
tron. This energy would open the portal to retrieve the cube from beneath the burial chamber, once the cube was visible to the human eye it required a willing sacrifice in the operators name in order to activate its vast power. Baine heaved himself to a sitting position with great difficulty, the world span before his eyes, his life was
meaningless, every turn of his free will had merely been a mirage. His destiny was set in stone, carved deep into the rock of his very foundation, he was always designed to fall here and for this purpose. The centre ground beneath the capstone fell inward, a spreading hole around four feet across appeared, a blackness swirled in a spinning wind funnel. A light began at the bottom of the pit, far down in the distance, approaching
slowly,
Baine felt the power screaming from the bowels of the earth
.
He rocked forward and dug his fists into the clay ground pushing himself upwards and
standing slowly, the world flashed around him at a dizzying rate, he was to lay his life before Gabriel here and now, to spill his blood for the cube
it was his fate
as it always had been, every semblance of free will merely a spiteful illusion
. Baine staggered forwards, slow and steady for fear of his legs betrayal, the vision of Gabriel
’
s laughing face through the darkness spinning and dancing, dancing, dancing like something or was it someone, her, his dancer, her ruined lifeless face,

“No” he whispered on the wind his voice dissipating barely beyond his mouth, “No” stronger, louder, “NO” screamed against the tide, his legs stopped moving forward, “NOOOOOO” he raged against destiny, against fate, against the world, “NO” he raged against the
beast
, “NO” he raged for her.

             
McCullum
lifted his weary body off of the ground, every limb weighed a thousand tonnes, gravity dragged him downwards sinking him deep into the earth’s core. His
mother’s
battered and bloody face ruined by his own hand haunted his vision regardless of whether his eyes were open or not, there was no escape. He felt
lost and broken, his crime was simply unforgivable and he was damned beyond reason, in the face of Gabriel’s power he was
impotent
. He looked to Lucy, her face was a reflection of his, pain was carved into her perfect features in a mask of tragedy. He felt her blood flow through his veins, he was bastard monster stitched together from offspring parts from other monsters, there was little that remained
from his original self only a husk of vapours and distant memories. He took Lucy’s outstretched hand, she deserved a little token he thought, despite everything her pain was real, the connection between them broadcast her emotions, he could see just what she had given up for him. She had sacrificed all that she had for him, regardless of what she thought she knew of love her version was real to her, he kissed her forehead lightly cupped her face with large rough hand and wiped a tear gently
with his thumb. Then he was up and running toward the conflict beneath the ancient stone structure, Gabriel stood astride his victory, he knew from Lucy’s
old link to her brothers just what Gabriel required, a willing sacrifice in his name to wield the power of the cube, he could think of only one way to find an end with meaning and so he ran.

             
Gabriel watched as Baine had finally succumbed to the inevitable, he had watched as his will had seemed to dissipate into the ether, everything was aligned as it should be, the cube would soon be his to hold and his to wield. He was caught in his pride when he realised that the half-breed was no longer moving, a flicker of defiance passed through Baine’s eyes,
his insolent feet had stopped walking towards the swirling opening. The man’s lips were moving
but his sound was drowned by the raging torrents around them, Gabriel felt a glimmer of uncertainty, he suddenly felt the centuries weighing heavily upon his slumping shoulders. The tornado wall that he had created to protect the ritual dimmed in its intensity, a flash of movement caught his eye as the detective exploded into the circle, Gabriel tensed himself for the pathetic assault only to watch McCullum d
eviate towards the cubes portal. T
he man’s eyes met Baines for the briefest of seconds then he was past,
Gabriel dived to intercept the human but his fingers could only brush fabric as the detective moved with lightening speed, Gabriel was only quick enough to realise that he’d lost but not quick enough to prevent it, McCullum
plunged into the portal his lips moved but
with
one word, “redemption”.

             
The world
exploded
into light, a
radius of brilliance mushroomed outwards painting the world, the fields were bathed as the roaming creatures detonating into nothingness, the warm winds took away every essence of existence. Gabriel collapsed to his knees as the heavenly beam blasted through him sapping his will and strength,
the pain was immense and crippling,
as he fell he did the only thing that he could and turned to face his retribution. The holy light melted the flesh from his bones, large dripping pink globules slid from
his felt, the bubbling skin burst from huge blisters, his body rattled and spasmed breaking his spine violently in multiple places. Gabriel faced the heavens and at last begged for forgiveness, if he was to face his father again then he would have to pay for his crimes, his foolishness finally dawned, had he really thought that his father was without knowledge in the ways of his treachery. He tried to pay his penance as his lips fell from his liquefied face, when the flesh was boiled away his bones crumbled to dust, as he the last vestiges of himself diluted on the wind he knew that he was going home to face a wrath
of pain beyond measure.

             
Baine stood arms outstretched eyes closed against the warmth that
stroked
his heart, e
very thought was peace and every emotion was love,
he looked over
in time to see Gabriel suffering but in this place of harmony he found that he could take no pleasure from the agony, he felt only pity. He turned to Lucifer and watched as she twisted her face upwards against the wind and into the whiteness, her tears drying against her cheeks, her face one of bliss. The grass around the ancient ground grew
lush and green, flowers bloomed and blossomed, the sky cleared crystal and blue, the sun beat down with golden caresses, the air was filled with the calls of healthy birds and rustling wildlife. Baine felt the power of bestowed knowledge, he knew of everything and everyone, the world was open to him now, the secrets of the heavens were his to know, the very power of creation was at his fingertips. He could reshape the whole earth in his own image if he so desired, the information whirled around his head spinning his mind out of control, he had to use every ounce of concentration just to see straight. He felt the connection to his father and to his whole bloodline
, he felt their pride and their love, he felt their anticipation for the future, his power was limitless.

Lucifer stood slowly, her head span with all the implications of everything that she had witnessed, Gabriel was gone, her love was gone and Baine now stood before her with the powers of God. She knelt before him and bowed her head low in submission,

“I offer my fealty
” she spoke in a hushed whisper.

His hand placed softly upon her head, she looked up, his face burned with a radiance that struggled to be contained within his human form, his eyes were bright white with no pupils, his face serene and tender. She looked down and saw that his feet were hovering about three inches from the ground,

“I can help you my lord” she offered, “I can show you the way, I can lead your armies and sweep all before your name, we can remake the world in our image”

             
Bai
ne
glided across the lush green grass, his whole body thrummed with undiluted power, he looked at his hands and turned them over, his skin glowed, he now wore an aura of luminance, seagulls flew overhead with arching grace, he could have snapped them from existence with the briefest of thoughts. He looked down the slopping fields and knew that he could raise the very earth into limitless shapes and creations, he could alter the weather with a glance, change day into night, he could travel to any spot on earth with a thought. He
listened to the archangel as she spoke in softly seductive tones, yes, he thought, to rule the world, to have an army at his command that could wash the planet clean of all that would oppose his will, to create a paradise world that would serve beneath him. He could smite his enemies and raise the dead, the dead…, her…, his dancer…, he could bring her back to him to sit at his side, a queen to his king, and yet
, it did not seem right, after all he had seen since this whole bloody mess had begun. He closed his eyes
and found himself buried deep within the power, the cube gave him power over everything,
everything,
he visualised the cube into a
sentient object. He opened his eyes to find he was holding a pristine white perfect cube in the palm of his hand, he heard Lucifer gasp from behind him, he closed his eyes again and concentrated hard blocking out all other distractions, he found the very centre of the cube and gripped hard. Slowly he began to pull with his mind’s power, the cube shook and vibrated viciously in his hand seeming to realise just what he was attempting, he gripped with all that he had and yanked turning the cube inside out, using the very strength of the cube collapsing the power within itself. This time there were no explosions, no radiance, no light only a winking out, the sky dimmed a little and Baine was standing on the ground again
, all power was gone, he was just a man, no longer a half-breed, no longer strong, no longer fast, he had a small scratch on his head he noticed, a beautiful scratch that had not healed
.