Daystar (3 page)

Lilliam medics trailed the pair.
 
Their team consisted of banshee and wraiths.
 
They collected the wounded and the dead.
 
Banshee dove into clouds and were invisible to angel and Lilliam alike, they waited as their partners, the wraiths, dove to grab the wounded.
 
As angels neared, the banshee let loose a melody of death.
 
Blinded and in pain, the disoriented angels threw weapons and fire into the clouds as they fled.
 

Helion and Whitney joined their medics and grabbed for the wounded.
 
They carried their injured comrades and turned towards the rent in the earth.
 
Persephone waited inside the tunnel, healing those that the medics brought to her.
 
Her husband Aita and his father Thanatos converted to the undeath those Lilliam that could not be healed to full life.

Helion flew past Apple and panted.
 
“There are so many.
 
We are losing Lilliam.”
 
He watched soldiers fall around him.
 

Apple shot a stream of bolts into the sky.
 
“And they are losing angels!”

Whitney held on to Helion.
 
She did not speak, reserving her strength for the soul-wounding screams needed for their safe retreat.

***

Buried deep in the earth, the Lilliam City was quiet.
 
Dahlia and Lucifer’s eight children waited on the Grand Promenade.
 
Light poured off each and shot upwards.
 
They strained against the heavenly forces, intent as they stared into the rock ceiling that separated them from the surface.
 
Their concentration and power were the only things that kept Gabriel’s weapon from striking the surface of the earth.

Chronos, Titan, Ouroboros, Leviathan, Nix, Ra, and Ifrit watched their sister, worried and tense.
 
Gaea was life itself, the energy through which all plants and animals thrived.
 
As she tired, all grew tired.
 
Her daughter Ceres and grandson Morgan stood by her side, maintaining her strength by giving her their own.
 
Gaea grimaced as she felt the death of each person above.

Gabriel’s weapon notched up its intensity.
 
The eight staggered.
 

The City shook and cracks appeared in the Grand Promenade.
 
Lilliam rushed forward, they lent their strength to the eight.
 
Millions of Lilliam banded together, forcing the weapon back by their collective will alone.

***

“How is it even possible?”
 
Furcas touched his stomach as he flew.
 
“I mean, it’s not right?
 
I don’t have a…
baby
in me.”

Paimon snorted and blasted a squad of angels with his squirt gun, coating them in ice.
 
“Stop thinking so literal.”

“That’s rich coming from
you
.”
 
Furcas soared past a jet of fire.
 

“I mean it.”
 
Paimon shot at the breathers.
 
“You’re pregnant with the possibility or some esoteric shit like that.”

“That is not what that word means.”
 
Furcas created a whirlwind to knock angels out of their way as they raced for space.
 
“What did Dahlia say exactly?”

“It wasn’t so much the words…”
 
Paimon reloaded his shotgun.
 
He caught Furcas’ glare.
 
“Look, I don’t know how it works!
 
But her intimation was pretty clear.”

“Her
intimation?
”
 
Furcas threw a lightning bolt at Paimon’s head.

Paimon ducked.
 
“Maybe creation takes longer since we’re Archangels, like a delayed reaction.”
 
He nodded.
 
“Yeah, that sounds right.
 
The kid’ll pop out of your thoughts like Athena.”

“That is
ridiculous
.”
 
Furcas touched his hair.

Paimon caught up with him and held his hand.
 
“It’s not
that
ridiculous.
 
We’re not Hell’s angels; we’re the stuff of immaterial light and sound.
 
For all we know, we
can
create a kid out of our combined thoughts.”

Furcas glanced at him.
 
“You are so full of shit, but I think you’re right.”

“See.”
 
Paimon grinned.
 
“I’ll talk to Dahl-Dahl when this is done.
 
We probably just need a little material persuasion from her to finish the job.”

Furcas sighed and touched his abdomen.
 
“I wish we’d taken care of this before the battle.”

Paimon tapped Furcas on the head.
 
“No way, babe’s totally safer in your brain than anywhere else.”

A swarm of beamers switched to metal blades and raced for the pair.
 
Archangel Jegudiel joined them.
 
He was armed with a pike.
 
He called out to the duo, “Stop!”

Paimon saw him coming.
 
He veered to stay between Furcas and the Archangel.
 
“Hello there.”

Jegudiel ignored him.
 
He swerved around Paimon and took aim at Furcas.

“Well fuck you too.”
 
Paimon leveled his squirt guns at Jegudiel and opened fire at his back.
 
Mist filled the air, forming ice.
 
The ice leeched the residual heat from the sky, and blocked out the light of the stars and moon, pulling strength away from the Archangel and angels.
 
The drain slowed the angels’ movements and gave Paimon enough time to switch to his shotgun.
 
He fired in Jegudiel’s face.

Jegudiel shook off the ice and thrust his pike at Paimon.
 
“Give up!”

Paimon snorted.
 
“To you?
 
Yeah right, pansy ass.”
 
He threw a flak grenade in his face.
 

Jegudiel batted the bomb out of the way as an annoyance and climbed in the sky.
 
He threw his pike towards Paimon’s back.

Furcas flew around Paimon’s side and caught the weapon.
 
He snapped it in half and blasted Jegudiel back with a wall of wind.
 
“
Go
, Paimon!
 
I will hold him here!”

“Fuck no!”
 
Paimon grabbed Furcas’ wrist.
 
“We are
not
splitting up!
 
We go together!”

Furcas kicked him.
 
“
You
have to get to the machine!
 
I do not.”

Paimon shook his head.
 
“So you can be a hero and get hurt?
 
I don’t think so!”
 
He tossed Furcas into the air above him.
 
Paimon threw vials at the angels that followed.
 
The glass bottles burst and let loose random gases and acids, clouding the air and obscuring their escape.

Furcas punched Paimon.
 
“Will you stop and let me do what I need to!”

Paimon grinned and pulled out a bomb.
 
“Why?
 
I don’t have a track record of getting cut up when I act heroic.”

Furcas created a tornado of air around them, casting aside attacking angels.
 
“That’s because your track record of being a hero is non-existent.”

Paimon shrugged.
 
“I’m still the one with both of my eyes and arms.”

Furcas ducked as arrows flew their way.
 
One stuck in his eye-patch.
 
“Fuck!”

Paimon wrenched the arrow out for him.
 
“You just attract this shit don’t you?”
 

“Oh shut up.”

Paimon looked past Furcas and swerved.
 
He fired as Jegudiel dove at them.

Furcas called down hailstones to pelt Jegudiel with ice.
 
He grabbed Paimon with his mechanical arm and sent a torrent of wind to follow up the hail.

The Archangel dodged.
 
He came around and clawed at the pair.
 
Jegudiel gasped and fell back, his pendant torn from his neck.
 
Jacob materialized briefly and nodded to Paimon.
 
He turned invisible and joined with his force of sylphs.
 
Jegudiel faltered in the sky.

Paimon and Furcas reoriented and flew off.
 
They had no desire to stay and fight.

Selaphiel dropped past the pair.
 
He spared them a glance, grimaced, and continued his dive towards his weakened brother.
 
Paimon and Furcas frowned, shrugged, and continued going up.

***

Uriel plowed through ice elementals, tearing through them as if they did not exist.
 
Belial darted between vulnerable angels, her katanas lopping wings and limbs easily.
 
She did not notice his approach.
 
Uriel grinned and leapt.
 

Celeste smashed into his face.
 

Uriel snarled, caught the berserker by the leg, and flung her away from him.
 
Celeste slammed into the ice and shook it off, unable to feel pain.
 
She ran back at Uriel.

Prince Tokala grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her back, unwilling to let his girlfriend go solo against an Archangel.
 
Celeste struggled against him.
 
Princes Varen, Soren, and Regis grabbed her other arm and the brothers dragged her away.

Uriel ignored them; he only had eyes for Belial.
 
Her back was to him.
 
She was so close he could smell her.
 
He grinned and reached for her, savoring the moment.

Belial whirled around and slashed at his face.

Uriel grabbed one of her blades and wrenched it out of her grasp.
 
He tossed it away and smiled.
 
“Darling, it is so good to see you again.”

Belial spit at him.
 
She opened her mouth to let loose a scream.

He swung a meaty fist towards her face.
 
Uriel saw nothing but a blur and shadow before he went flying.

Andy left Belial’s side and followed him.
 
He moved at speeds impossible to track; he hit too fast for Uriel to counter and the Archangel tumbled away from the battle.
 
Each blow sent him farther out into the darkness and ice.

Uriel rolled; he came to a rest on the ice.
 
He smiled and got to his feet unharmed.

Andy skidded to a stop; they were miles from where they had met seconds before.
 
He stood between Uriel and the far distant battle.
 
His eyes were black.
 
“You will
never
touch her again!”

Uriel looked him over.
 
“I see you still love her.”

Andrealphus raised the morning star, but made no move to attack.
 
His voice was level, “I have and always will.”

Uriel grinned.
 
“You can never have her.”

Andrealphus took a step towards Uriel.
 
“She loves
me
.
 
I have her heart.”

Uriel laughed.
 
“No, Andrealphus.”
 
He lost his smile.
 
“I do.”

Dread settled in Andy’s chest.
 
His expression gave nothing away.
 
“What do you mean?”

“Did she never tell you?”

Andy gripped the morning star.
 
“Tell me what?”

Uriel closed his eyes and smiled.
 
“I took her to pieces, Andy, and what I liked I
devoured
and kept.”
 
He licked his finger and traced it along his neck and down to his chest.
 
“You see I have her even now.
 
Her heart was the first thing I ripped from her and it beats ever so sweetly inside me.”
 
He smiled and beckoned Andy.
 
“Do you want to see her heart?”

Andy slammed the morning star into Uriel’s face.
 
He did not let the Archangel speak.
 
Andy punched and kicked Uriel, throwing him closer to the shoreline and the ocean.

***

Lucifer raced around the crater, jumping, smashing, whirling.
 
His skin burned, his feet melted the snow.
 
His bat had taken its first dent.
 
Lucifer swung and knocked two angels away at once.
 
“Two-forty-five, two-forty-six.”
 
He spared a glance for Dahlia; she remained as focused as he.
 
Lucifer spotted another angel diving and leapt over Dahlia’s head to meet it in the air.