Plague of Angels (40 page)

I should be dead,
Persephone thought.
Stupid luck, I suppose.

She stood up and discovered that her arm and hand had grown back, and that her leg was almost whole again. She stumbled a bit as she walked, but she was grateful she was still able to do that. Her wings were still destroyed, and the pain of them healing made her wince with every step.

It was a long, slow walk out of the forest and into the clearing where the temple once stood. It was a ruin again, the walls bowed out, the ground littered with ichor, feathers, limbs and guts, and strewn with rubble. And from inside the temple, she could hear screams of pain from dozens of Angels, crushed beneath the rubble.

Lucifer must have dropped half the island on them,
Persephone thought.
Poor bastards.

She opened her mind for Nyx and Ishtar but couldn’t feel anything. She thought about opening up a portal to Hell, but realized she didn’t really want to go back. She stood, staring at the body-filled rubble of the temple and sighed.
Well, at least it’s something while I figure out what to do.

She drew her sword and re-shaped it to become a short, thick blade, perfect for driving through rock. She would dig the Angels out, and kill them all for what they had done to Nyx.

Nyx came back to consciousness in agony. Her skull was shifting, assuming its proper shape, and the pain was excruciating. She managed to open her eyes and saw the empty place beside her where Epiphaneia had lay. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her Angel was gone. Her Angel. Not God’s. She had created her, and now she had lost her. Nyx’s heart threatened to tear itself in two with the pain of that loss.
I had no idea. No idea at all. I thought I knew love. I knew nothing.

There was much less screaming, she realized. And even as she thought it another voice was silenced. The weight on her was also diminishing. She could inhale, after a fashion, well enough to scream, if she wanted.
Not that there’s any point in that,
she thought.
It’s only pain.

There was the sound of metal striking stone, then flesh, and another of the screamers was silenced.

What are they doing up there?

The sounds continued. Metal struck stone again and again and every time it did the load on top of Nyx grew lighter. Every now and then, the metal drove into someone’s flesh, and another screamer was silenced.

Then the rock above her head split open, and light poured down on her face.

Nyx blinked and tried to look up. A shadow blocked her view, and a moment later she heard Persephone’s startled voice saying, “Holy fuck! Nyx?”

It took another hour for Persephone to free Nyx, and then she only managed by cutting off both Nyx’s legs at the knees and dragging her out. Nyx gritted her teeth, refusing to make a sound as her body repaired itself. She was much stronger now, she realized, her limbs growing back so rapidly she could feel them shooting out of her body. It hurt more than the actual cutting off had, but she still made no sound as she healed. Persephone opened her mind to Nyx and let her see all that she knew. She also read Nyx’s thoughts and learned what had happened to Epiphaneia.

“We have to go after her,” said Nyx, her voice gravelly and weak. “He’s taking her to Hell.”

“He’s already taken her to Hell,” said Persephone. “I don’t know how long I was unconscious. And I’ve been bashing apart this rock for three days. She’s already down there.”

“She isn’t dead,” said Nyx. “I would know if she were dead.”

“You can’t walk yet,” said Persephone.

“Soon,” said Nyx, looking down at her legs. They were nearly back to their normal size. She watched as they finished growing, then tried standing. It took a few tries, but she got to her feet.

“He’s got all the legions in Hell on his side now,” said Persephone.

“No,” said Nyx. “He
thinks
he does. Once I’m there, I can probably rally most of them. Then they can fight each other while I spit the bastard and get Epiphaneia back.”

“If you say so,” said Persephone.

Nyx glared at her. “You don’t think it will work.”

Persephone shrugged. “Probably not, but I’m going with you anyway.”

“Good,” said Nyx. “What about Ishtar?”

“I haven’t seen a sign of her,” Persephone said. “I can’t feel her anywhere either. She’s either dead or in Hell.”

“Fuck.” Nyx flexed her healed wings, testing them. She was nearly at full strength. It had happened incredibly quickly even for her.
Tribunal’s strength,
she realized.
It’s still flowing in me.

Good.

Nyx flew up into the air, pulling out her sword and whip as she did. Persephone followed her a moment later, her own weapons in her hands.

“Are you ready?” asked Nyx.

“Ready,” said Persephone.

Nyx’s whip cracked through the air, and below them a huge, jagged crack appeared in the Earth. It stayed that way for a moment, then the ground around it began shaking and the crack pushed itself wider and wider apart until it became a jagged-edged pit, sucking at the earth around it and pulling the Angels downward.

“At least we can’t die down there,” said Persephone.

“Which is good,” said Nyx, because I’m going to make Lucifer wish he had.”

They stepped off the edge and began the long descent into Hell.

Somewhere between Heaven and Earth, Arcana realized she was falling.

She blinked twice, her momentarily-lost concentration restored, and spread her wings, changing her descent from a tumbling, stone-like plummet to a screaming dive. She reveled in the speed of it. The rush of aether slipping past her became a rush of air, slipping in and around the white feathers of her wings, giving her buoyancy and pushing her from all sides, hissing through her armor. Arcana grinned, exulting in the sensation as the white cloudy spaces between Earth and Heaven gave way to the blue sky of Earth. She could see Jerusalem, could see the towns around it. She spread out her awareness, seeking Caelum and Orion.

They weren’t there.

Arcana frowned and spread her awareness wider. She and they were to be the only three Angels to walk the Earth, now that Jesus was back in Heaven. The other two had been sent on ahead, and should have been waiting.

So where are they?
she wondered.

At the edge of her awareness, somewhere in the Mediterranean sea, she sensed agony beyond all reason. Angels – no, Descended Angels – screaming in pain.

They’re not supposed to be here,
Arcana thought.
None of them are supposed to be here. What’s happening?

As she listened, the voices became less. It was as if their presence were a circle of candles, and as if each was being snuffed out, one at a time. She looked for Caelum and Orion again, but could not sense them anywhere. Frowning, she changed her trajectory and aimed for the island where the screams originated. She streaked across the sea, air curling off her wing-tips as she flew.

Somewhere on the island, a portal to Hell opened.

Arcana increased her speed and altitude, trying to see what was happening. Her senses picked out two Angels, and her eyes widened in surprise.
Nyx? What is Nyx doing here?

She stooped and dove, braking with her wings at the last minute and slamming into the Earth with enough force to shake the ground around her.

The portal to Hell closed , taking away Arcana’s sense of Nyx and her companion, leaving her on the island with only the cries of the injured Descended to keep her company.

Arcana straightened, then gripped her sword. She waked towards the pile of rubble where the Angels screamed.

One way or another,
Arcana thought,
I’m going to find out what’s going on here.

Chapter 12

In his bedroom,
in his castle on the mountain overlooking the Plains of Hell, Lucifer lay back on the bed and stared at the Angel nailed to his wall.

She stared back with unblinking blue eyes; eyes that made him uneasy. Nobody had looked at him that boldly since Nyx left.

She had to be in agony. He had driven Hell-stone spikes through her wrists, ankles, wings and belly, pinning her to the wall like an oversized insect. Even so, she showed no signs of pain. She just stared.

Lucifer had thought, when he nailed her up, that it would be amusing watching her. So far, he found her more disconcerting than anything else.

“Come on, Tribunal,” he said to the empty air. “Come tell me how to kill this one. I’m growing bored with her.”

Tribunal didn’t answer, and still Epipheneia stared at Lucifer, not blinking, not speaking, her mind closed to him.

He growled at her and went to find a soul to torture.

There was more than one way into Hell, and Nyx knew them all.

Not that it would necessarily help. An Angel could always sense other Angels, and there was no way that Lucifer would not be aware of her the moment she entered Hell. Knowing an Angel was in Hell and knowing where in Hell she was were two different things, though. If Lucifer wanted to find her, he would have to mobilize Hell’s legions to look for her, and that would take time. He would find her sooner or later, certainly, but the longer it took, the more likely it was that she could find and free her Angel, first. Then she would deal with Lucifer.

Pity I can’t actually kill him,
Nyx thought.
It would make things so much easier.

But nothing dies in Hell, and so even after he was castrated, disembowelled, quartered and beheaded – which was just the start of what Nyx had planned – Lucifer would still be alive.

On the bright side, I’ll get to do it over and over and over again.

The descent to Hell was long and slow. Many Angels stooped at this point, folding their wings and diving down, racing past the souls falling to the Lake of Fire. Nyx kept her wings wide and her speed slow. She had ripped open the portal in anger, but even as she fell from Earth to this place between worlds, she was already planning.

I know nothing of what has gone on, here,
Nyx thought.
For all I know, he has blocked all the entrances save the Lake of Fire.

It wasn’t likely, though. Nyx had spent thousands of years exploring Hell before the first human souls fell into it. She had learned every nook, cranny and crevice. She knew where the demons made their lairs, and where there lived creatures even the demons would not face. She knew the depths of the Pit, a gaping chasm in the lowest part of Hell that had no bottom. In the early days several Angels, despairing at their separation from God, had thrown themselves into the Pit. Those who came back spoke of darkness so deep even eyes used to Hell could not penetrate it. One Angel had let himself fall for a hundred years before winging his way back up. He had found nothing.

Nyx, on the other hand, had found an entrance to Hell hidden within the walls of the Pit.

If I can get in through that entrance, I can start rallying my troops. With luck, I’ll get enough to keep Lucifer busy while I rescue my Angel,
Nyx thought.
Then, he’s mine.

“So,” said Persephone, flying beside her. “Do we have a plan?”

“Sort of,” said Nyx.

“Is it ‘charge in and kill the bastard?’ because that was the one I was going with.”

Nyx smiled in spite of herself. “A little more than that. The bastard probably has the 666
th
surrounding him and my Angel. And if he doesn’t when we arrive, he will before we can figure out where she is and reach him.”

“True,” said Persephone. She hesitated. “About your Angel, Nyx…”

“What about her?” asked Nyx, her tone dangerous.

“Since we’re not killing her, does that mean we’re not getting Paradise?”

Nyx didn’t answer for a long time. At last she said, “I don’t know.”

“All right,” said Persephone. “I was just wondering.” They flew on in silence for a while longer, then Persephone said, “Maybe things will go back to like they were before. And the Angels can walk the Earth again.”

“Maybe,” said Nyx. “I don’t know what happens now. This isn’t what Tribunal planned, so…”

The mention of His name filled her with sorrow. She had betrayed her beloved. All she had to do was kill her Angel and they would all have been free. They would all have had Paradise. Instead, they were worse off than they were before, and Tribunal would be furious. He was not the forgiving sort. She had loved that about Him, once.

I can’t kill her,
Nyx thought.
I just can’t. And I won’t. Not even for Paradise. Not even for Him.

“It will work out,” said Persephone. “At the very least, we’re going to kick Lucifer’s ass and you’ll be Queen of Hell again.”

“There is that,” said Nyx. She looked down, into the great darkness below. Far, far below where they were, so far that no mortal eye would have the slightest chance of seeing it, there was a pinprick of light. She folded her wings and dove, Persephone flying right beside her.
At the very least, there is still that.

Leannis still hated Lucifer. She hated him with every fibre of her being, and it was that, more than anything, that made her his favorite target.

He had found her in the midst of torturing one of the souls and pressed himself on her. She resisted, of course. Not much resistance, just a stiffening of her body as he pawed at her, but enough for him to claim she was disobedient and punish her.

Now she was bent backwards over one of the sharp-edged horses, her arms and legs spread wide and hands and feet chained to the ground. Her spine was bent at an agonizing angle, and he could see the pain in her face.

Eventually he would fuck her with all of Hell watching, but for now, he was making an example out of her, and that meant whipping the skin from her body in long, thin strips.

So far, she had managed not to scream, but then he hadn’t started on the sensitive bits, yet. Nor had he allowed the demons to begin feasting on the torn flesh that hung from her body. Those things would come with time.

He was about to lash the skin from one of her breasts when he one of his messenger birds flew up, calling, “Tribunal comes! Tribunal comes! Make ready!”

“Where?” demanded Lucifer.

“Nyx’s palace!” The bird called. “Come quickly!”

Lucifer whip lashed out once and the bird exploded in a burst of feathers and blood. “I am not a dog, to come when I am called!”

He lashed Leannis three times, ripping one of her breasts from her body. She screamed. Lucifer holstered the whip and turned to the demon Gore. “Take a turn on her, then make sure everyone else does as well. I want her broken by the time I’m ready for her.”

He stomped his way to Nyx’s palace, crushing a dozen souls beneath his cloven boots, and reveling in their screams. A pair of demons tried to follow him and he cut off their heads without slowing down.

The line-up of souls at Nyx’s palace was as long as ever. Hundreds of Angels and demons were abusing the waiting souls, torturing, raping, cutting off limbs to see how fast they would grow back. Three demons were devouring one soul as they waited, tearing huge chunks from his flesh as he screamed in anguish. Lucifer ignored them all and stomped into Nyx’s throne room. He kicked the demons and souls waiting there out and shut the doors behind him.

“I’m here,” he said into the emptiness. “Where are you?”

He arrived in a blaze of light, a beacon that outshone everything else. The light that flowed from him was so strong that Lucifer had to hide his eyes behind his hand to avoid going blind. The very presence of him knocked out all sense of anything else in Hell. For now, there was only Lucifer and Tribunal. All other souls, Angels and demons disappeared from Lucifer’s consciousness.

For the first time, Lucifer realized just how much power Tribunal had; that Tribunal was, in fact, God’s true son. Lucifer felt an urge to sink to his knees and fought it. Instead, he said, “I have the Angel. Nyx couldn’t kill it, as you said.”

“As I knew,” said Tribunal, and His voice rang through the room and through Lucifer’s skull. It brought back memories of the days long, long past, when God would speak to His Angels, and tell them His plans for the universe He had created. His words would reverberate through all of Heaven, and the sound of it would bring joy to all who heard. This, though, was the opposite. Tribunal’s word brought an overwhelming awareness of power, brought fear, bought the sense that something momentous was imminent—but there was no love behind the words. Lucifer hadn’t been aware that he missed this love and did not appreciate finding out.

“Tell me how the sacrifice must be prepared,” asked Lucifer, doing his best to hide his fear. “Show me Your will.”

“So eager, Lucifer?” said Tribunal.

“You have promised me Hell and a place in your Paradise,” said Lucifer. “Who would not be eager for that?”

“Nyx, apparently,” said Tribunal, laughter in his voice. “She thinks that her little Angel is worth more than Paradise itself.”

“Not to me, she isn’t.”

“Then listen closely,” said Tribunal. “Open your ears and your mind and heed what I say, for I will not say it twice.”

Lucifer nodded, and listened as Tribunal told him how to kill an Angel in Hell.

Persephone and Nyx flew through the wall of the great Pit and into the depths of Hell.

As soon as they arrived, Nyx knew that Tribunal was there. He shone like the sun, driving the sense of everything else out of her mind. She quailed under the power of His presence, nearly plummeting into the pit. Persephone reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her flight until she regained control of herself.

“He’s here,” said Nyx. “Tribunal is here.”

“Is that what it is?” said Persephone. “It feels like God, but wrong.”

“It is God,” said Nyx. “Tribunal is God. Or part of Him, at any rate.”

“Does He know we’re here?”

“I don’t know,” said Nyx, flapping her wings and heading for the top of the Pit. “But as long as He’s here, no one is going to notice us.”