The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) (47 page)

Chris
saw Sariel's body as the archangel looked down at himself. He was
covered in blood and gore. Bites and gouges bled thickly on his arms
and legs. His burning armor sizzled as it cleansed itself of the
demon's remains.

Sariel
shook the sword once and it flared brightly as it burned away the
blood that had coated it.

Is that it? Is it over?

Oh no. It isn't over.
Like the others, this was simply a test. The last one will be the
worst.

You mean that thing,
whatever it is, is still out here somewhere?

It is. Can't you feel
it?

Chris
listened intently to the pre-dawn darkness. And he heard...nothing.
No birds waking up and greeting the day. No insects. No wind. A
silence had descended around them, as if nature itself was holding
its breath.

How close are we to
sunrise?

Very close now. Just a
few more minutes should do it. Remember, no matter what happens, we
have to hold it here until the dawn.

I know, Sariel. Yeah, I
know.

They
waited. It seemed like they waited for hours, but Chris knew that
time was crawling, not racing, for them. He tried to be as patient as
Sariel was, but he found himself imagining all sorts of horrors and
he became increasingly agitated.

Calm yourself, my
friend. It is almost upon us.

It is? Where?

Listen, the way that I
do, and you will hear it.

And
Chris listened, trying to hear what the archangel was hearing.

Yes.
There. Something coming. The sound of footsteps a long way off,
approaching slowly.

Chris
frowned inside himself. No, not footsteps. Hooves. It was the sound
of hooves ringing on pavement.

I hear it. But what is
it? A horse?

No, Chris. A Horseman.
It is finally clear to me now. Our foe is one of the Four.

Chris
suddenly, vividly, remembered the creature they faced on the plane.
Pestilence. He had been so strong, so inhuman. Could this be..?

It isn't the one from
the plane. That one is still recovering in the Pit. I know him now.
This is something else.

Sariel
turned in a slow circle, scanning the area. There was nothing to see.
No movement. Just those implacable ringing hoof-steps, drawing ever
closer.

But
Chris was encouraged as the archangel continued to turn slowly. The
eastern sky had become a delicate shade of pink. Flecks of yellow
light mingled with it; the promise of dawn on the horizon.

The
steps became louder, and louder, until they echoed around the empty
lot like an entire troop of cavalry on parade. But there was nothing
there.

And
then, there was.

Standing
before them, a few dozen yards away, was a mounted figure, glowing
with a sickly yellowish-white light.

The
mount might have once been a horse, Chris thought, but it wasn't
anymore.

Instead,
it was as if the skeleton of a horse had been covered with naked gray
skin, pulled tight, The head was a skull, and blood dripped from its
empty eye sockets.

Mounted
on this monstrosity was a figure dressed in ragged robes that flapped
in an unseen wind. A cowl covered its face and the robes cloaked its
entire body. But below them, hanging on either side of the dead
horse, were two bare feet. Fleshless, the feet of a corpse.

“And I looked, and behold a pale
horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with
him,” Sariel said softly.

A hideous cackle came from within the
cowl.

“You know your scripture,
archangel,” the figure said. Its voice was hollow, dry, as sere
as a hot desert wind.

“Who better?” Sariel
replied. He gripped his sword tightly as he watched the Horseman.

“Now I know how your Fallen were
able to trap the souls of angels,” he said. “The hand of
Death was upon them and would not let them pass.”

“That is correct. I am pleased to
face an opponent with some intelligence. Humans are so limited, don't
you think?”

“No, I do not.” Sariel
tilted his head slightly and watched the other through narrowed eyes.

“What do you hope to accomplish
here, demon? You may be a son of my brother, but you are not him. You
must know that you cannot stand against me and survive.”

That cackle again. “You can't
kill Death, son. Don't you know that? I am eternal.” There was
a pause. “You may be correct though. I cannot stand against
you, or at least I could not, if you were wielding your full power.
But you are not.”

From somewhere within its robes, the
Horseman pulled out a sword, milky white and glowing with a nimbus of
pale light. It pointed the sword at Sariel.

“Your weapon is not whole, and so
your powers are not either. I'd say that we are evenly matched.”

The cowl dipped forward and the
Horseman seemed to be looking at the remains of the three Fallen that
lay in charred heaps at Sariel's feet.

“Still, I see no reason to take
chances. Death is patient, you know, All things come to me in the
end.”

“Not all things, demon,”
Sariel said with a snarl. “So if you are not here to fight me,
why have you come?”

“Why?” The Horseman
tittered, a chilling sound. “Because I believe in fairness.
There is one who wishes to challenge you, archangel. So I have come
to ensure a, what is the phrase, a level playing field? Yes.”

Chris could feel Sariel's confusion.
Keep the demon talking, Chris thought frantically. Dawn is almost
here.

“I do not understand,”
Sariel said.

The figure sighed and its cowl rippled
in response.

“I may have given you more credit
for brains than I should have. Ah well.”

The Horseman shrugged and the hood
turned to one side.

“Come forth, my dear,” the
Horseman called loudly. “We are waiting for you.”

Sariel turned quickly at the sudden,
sharp sound of cracking stone. The pavement a few yards away was
buckling, splitting and bursting upward, as if something was forcing
its way up through the earth below.

The archangel stepped back, giving
himself room to move freely while keeping the figure of Death in
view.

The cracks in the asphalt opened wider
and from below, a deep, hellish red glow blazed and the stench of
sulfur, rotten eggs Chris thought with a mental gag, filled the air.
Distant screams, pleas for help and dismal howls of agony entwined
into a babble of heart-breaking sound. The sounds of the damned.

Oh God. What is that?

It is the sound of Hell. The sound
of my brother's kingdom. Fear for the world should he ever gain power
over it and its people.

The sky was
lightening, a steady, stealthy glow, and Chris found himself hoping
that the demon remained focused on the archangel until it was too
late.

And now
smoke, choking black clouds of brimstone and ash, escaped from the
widening rift in the ground. Something moved within it, but Chris
couldn't see any details. Neither, he suspected, could Sariel, who
fell back a few more steps.

The mounted
wraith had begun to giggle and slobber, sounds that increased Chris'
terror. The demon was enjoying itself.

“
I
always delight in reuniting old friends,” it said with hearty
amusement. “Especially friends who may have quarreled in the
past. Now you have a chance to kiss and make up; a happy reunion for
both of you, I have no doubt.”

“
What
are you talking about, you abomination?” Sariel asked as he
watched the now gaping hole with a scowl.

The demon's
laughter was cut off.

“
There
is no need to be rude, archangel,” it replied and Chris
realized that the Horseman hadn't once called Sariel by name. I
wonder why, was his fleeting thought.

“
I
am simply the facilitator of this happy circumstance. Your dear
friend was the one who requested it, not I.”

“
I
have no friends in Hell, demon,” Sariel said with loathing.

“
Oh?”
A new voice spoke from within the now dissipating cloud of darkness.
“You have forgotten me so soon, Sariel? You certainly know how
to hurt a girl's feelings.”

From out of
the split and twisted earth stepped a small, lithe figure. White
blond hair cascaded down over her shoulders and innocent blue eyes
peered up at the archangel. The girl's face was perfection, with its
smooth, white skin and small, beautiful features.

And when
Chris saw it, he was filled with loathing.

Angelica, he
thought in disbelief.

Sariel was
staring at her in complete confusion and Chris knew that he could not
believe his eyes.

“
What?
Nothing to say, oh great one?” she asked mockingly as she stood
there wearing a wide grin. Her simple white blouse and pale green
skirt only enhanced her beauty, but neither Sariel or Chris was
fooled.

“
Not
even a hello? After all, I've traveled such a long way to see you
again. All the way from Purgatory in fact.” The smile remained
pasted on her face but her voice became cold. “As you well
know.”

“
Lilith!”
Sariel finally said. “But how..?”

“
How
did I escape from that icy prison you shoved me into?” Now she
smiled in real amusement. Chris found her expression sickening.

“
Well,
let me just say that things have changed in Purgatory since you've
been gone. Time flows so much more slowly there, doesn't it? Slowly
enough that your people had time to watch me while you were away.
Watch me trapped in that frozen ocean up to my neck, screaming in
agony.” Her smile never wavered. “I'm quite a good
actress, if I do say so myself. All of that heart-wrenching pleading,
begging for mercy, had its effect. Your angels are so soft. They
finally had a change of heart. Enough of them agreed to release me
and house me in a more, let us call it humane, prison cell.”
She suddenly laughed in obvious glee.

“
And
then I really went to work.”

Angelica
began to advance slowly toward Sariel, who stepped back to keep some
space between them.

“
Oh,
what's wrong, Sariel?” she asked. “You certainly aren't
afraid of a small, fragile human female like me, are you?”

“
It
is wise to keep your distance from rabid animals,” he replied
with contempt. Her smile faltered and then reappeared.

“
Yes.
Too bad your followers weren't as clever as their great leader. They
built a cell for me and then came to gawk at the legendary Lilith.
Naturally I spoke to them, told them stories.” She sighed
languidly with obvious delight, still walking forward slowly.

Sariel
continued to back away and began to turn, until they were circling
each other like wolves who were each waiting for the other to attack.

“
I
seduced them, Sariel. I'm quite good at that.”

“
Whores
usually are,” the archangel said in a mocking tone. Angelica's
face twisted at the insult.

“
Now,
now,” the Horseman chided from behind them. “There is no
need for bad manners, is there?”

“
I
took my time, proceeded slowly, and finally I bent them to my will.”
Angelica said, ignoring the mounted demon.

“
Tell
me, dear Sariel. Where does your power flow from?”

The
archangel watched her the way a man in a desert might watch a snake
that he'd suddenly come upon, waiting to see if it would strike.
Chris did the same, powerless to respond and feeling a deep well of
panic rising up inside of him.

What is she
waiting for, he wondered frantically. Why doesn't she attack?

“
My
power flows from my Father, witch, as you well know.”

She sighed
dramatically. “Yes, I suppose it does. But while you are here,
now, in mortal form, your powers are channeled. Not from God, but
from Purgatory.” She stopped and held her arms wide, in an
gesture almost of rapture. “And Purgatory is mine now.”

Sariel
stopped and his sword arm dropped to his side. He stared at her in
disbelief.

“
What
are you saying?”

“
I'm
saying that those who listened to me, who heard of the rewards my
master would bestow upon them if they came over to his side, have
taken control of your former home. Even now they battle with the sad
remnants of your once mighty army. Soon they will control all of your
realm, and the gateway to Heaven shall be ours.”

She burst
out laughing at Sariel's expression.

“
Poor,
poor Sariel. You never had a clue, did you? You were manipulated from
the beginning, my dear. I knew if I fell at your hands that you would
not be able to destroy me.” Her tone was mocking. “You
are too noble, too pure; even banishing yourself to Purgatory after
attacking your own brother. I wanted you to imprison me, don't you
know that? My master had it planned all along. And you went along
with that plan perfectly.”

Her smile
faded and she watched Sariel with an expression that was almost one
of pity.

“
You
are a fool,” she said simply. “And now, cut off from both
Heaven and Purgatory, your powers are no match for mine.”

Angelica
raised her arms skyward, toward the brightening darkness above them.
And she began to Change.