Scorn of Angels (35 page)

I want to see
God.

I want to see
God.

I want to see
God.

Nyx started moving upward again. Floating up, then flying up, then speeding up as fast as her wings could carry her. She left behind all thoughts of Earth, of Tribunal, of Epiphenia and Persephone. She thought only of God, and how desperate she was to see him again.

And as she flew up, she began to feel God’s presence.

It took her breath away.

Nyx had spent thousands of years ruthlessly suppressing her memory of what it felt like to be near God. The pain of knowing what she had lost had been so great that she had hidden the sense of it deep inside herself, in a place where she didn’t have to think about it or feel it at all. In a place where, for an Angel that never forgot, it was as close to being gone as it could be.

The presence grew stronger and stronger until it vibrated through every fiber of Nyx’s being. Nyx no longer needed to think about being in God’s presence. She could feel that presence and desired it more than anything else in the universe.

It was joy and longing all at once. It filled her up and made her far more Nyx than she had been in thousands of years.
Yes, this is who I am. I had forgotten. Yes.

She broke through the clouds and saw Michael standing at the inner Gates of Heaven, welcoming souls. Michael’s jaw dropped, and it was funny enough to bring a smile to Nyx’s lips as she flew up the last little bit and landed on the ledge that stood outside the Gates of Heaven.
I’m
here!

Nyx began running for the Gate, knowing that as soon as she stepped over it, she would bring down the full wrath of God upon herself.
And I will be unmade.
I only hope it’s enough. That he hears me
first.

Then Tribunal’s voice ripped through Heaven,
“THE SELF-STYLED QUEEN OF HELL DARES TO APPROACH THE GATES OF HEAVEN!”
Tribunal sent.
“MICHAEL, STOP
HER!”

Nyx’s heart fell as Michael stepped through the Gates of Heaven and drew his flaming sword.

Chapter 17

T
ribunal was blown
back two hundred miles from the force of Epiphenia’s strike.

He was spirit only, but even so, the energy that Epiphenia had unleashed on him was enough to hurt a great deal.
I’m immortal,
Tribunal thought.
I am God. I cannot be
destroyed.

“You are not God,”
Epiphenia said.
“You are an aspect of God. And aspects of God vanish all the
time.”

“I AM
GOD!”

“No, you’re
not.”

“I
AM!”

There were less than a hundred thousand of them, now, and nearly a million of Lucifer’s army around them. Persephone had pulled every trick she knew. She’d used rotating battlefronts, used the clouds for cover, used wave attacks. They’d dropped thousands of their enemies into Hell. Some of her army managed to drag Lucifer’s Descended with them as they fell, defeated. Everything had worked, and everything had slowed their defeat, but defeat was still inevitable.

Lucifer had pulled his troops back, letting his Angels heal. They were spread out wide across the sky to contain the others.

Tribunal said they had to kill us all first,
Persephone thought.
That’s why they haven’t gone after the humans. That’s why they’re still fighting
us.

“Break out!” Persephone screamed. “Head for the ends of the Earth! They can’t destroy the humans until they destroy us all, and they can’t kill what they can’t catch! GO!”

The Angels took off in every direction possible. Thousands were intercepted in the first moments, tens of thousands in the moments after. Persephone wasn’t one of them. She hacked, spun, clawed, bit, and kicked her way out of the surrounding Descended and into the clouds above. Ten other Angels pursued her, but she wasn’t worried about them. They weren’t even close enough to be a problem, and there wasn’t one of them she couldn’t beat.

And there was only one Descended Persephone was interested in.
And I’ll be damned if I’ll let her outlive
me.

“Michael,” said Nyx. “I need to talk to God.”

“I know,” said Michael. “God isn’t talking to anyone anymore.”

“If I step on the soil of Heaven, he will come to me,” said Nyx. “If he has the slightest awareness of what’s going on, he’ll feel that and he’ll come.”

“I know,” said Michael. “I’m sorry, Nyx.”

Michael’s voice was calm, but his face was a mask of straining muscles.

“You don’t look so good, Michael.”

“I’ve been better,” said Michael. He pulled the sword the rest of the way out of the scabbard. She could see his body trembling as he fought every movement.

“Tribunal’s going to destroy it all, Michael,” said Nyx. “Everything.”

“I know,” said Michael. “And he’s just told me to stop you.”

Nyx looked behind Michael and saw row after row of Angels coming to the Gates. They poured out of the buildings and flew down from the sky. None had their armor on. None was armed. They all seemed curious as much as anything else.

Probably haven’t seen a show like this in eons.
“I just have to step on the soil of Heaven,” Nyx called to Michael. “That’s all. I’ll just put a foot on it. Then God will come and crush me and everything will be done. What’s the harm?”

“You’ll be destroyed.”

“But not until God knows what’s going on.”

“I know,” said Michael. “That’s why Tribunal is
making
me stop you.”

Nyx’s teeth ground together in frustration. “We don’t have time, Michael! Creation doesn’t have time!”

“I know, Nyx,” said Michael and more sorrow than Heaven had ever seen was in his voice. “And I still don’t have a choice.”

Nyx sighed and opened her hand for her sword. It didn’t appear.
Of course. I broke it on Tribunal.
She brought out her whip and with a thought, changed it into a two-handed blade.

“Don’t do this,”
Arcana sent to her.
“There has to be another
way.”

Nyx glanced down in surprise at the head hanging from her belt. “Fuck, I’d forgotten about you.”

“Don’t swear. This is
Heaven.”

“No, that is Heaven,” said Nyx, thrusting her chin past Michael. “This is the doorstep and Michael’s going to kill us here.” She reached down with her sword blade and cut the hair holding Arcana to her belt. She looked at Michael. “Is it all right if Arcana comes home?”

“Of course,” said Michael. “How did you get her head?”

“Took it from Tribunal.”

“Good. Thank you. ”

Nyx lofted Arcana’s head in an easy throw through the Gates of Heaven.

Raphael caught it. “Welcome home,” he said. “Tell us your story.”

Arcana opened her mind to Raphael, and to all the other Angels in Heaven.

Maybe that will help,
thought Nyx as she hefted her blade. She managed a smile. “So, Michael, ready for a rematch?”

On Jupiter, Epiphenia could feel her strength waning. Tribunal kept hammering at her defenses, searching for weaknesses and finding them a half-hundred times every second. Epiphenia blocked them as soon as he found them, but the attacks were coming faster and more furious now. Tribunal was starting to pour his true strength into the fight, and Epiphenia knew there was only so much strength she could throw back without destroying half the universe.

And that would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?
More importantly though, she knew it would not stop him. She could mock him as much as she liked—and she was keeping up a steady stream of belittling insults in every language known to humanity as she fought him—but the truth was, he was far more powerful than she, and capable of destroying her with a thought. The only reason that he hadn’t was that most of his power was being used to keep God from seeing what he was doing.
And the longer he takes fighting me, the longer Nyx has to get
through.

“Is that what this is about?”
sent Tribunal.
“I
wondered.
”

“It’s about us destroying a petty little tyrant,”
said Epiphenia.
“And you will not stop
us.”

“Wrong,”
sent Tribunal.
“As of now, this fight is
over.”

This time, the blast of power he used was enough to break through almost all of Epiphenia’s defenses. She went flying backward and sank into the rough liquid. Tribunal’s power poured down on her, stronger than before. Epiphenia abandoned all hope of offense and wrapped her own power like a shell around herself, putting all her strength and will into staying alive a little bit longer, so that Nyx could step through the Gates of Heaven and confront God.

With Michael, combat moved beyond violence and into the realm of art.

Nyx was very, very good. She’d fought Michael to a standstill for a hundred years in the war for Heaven. She’d spent thousands of years since fighting for power, for control, and just for the fun of it. She was one of the greatest warriors in the universe.

And he was Archangel Michael, warrior of God, general of God’s army, leader of the Holy Host, and nothing in Creation could surpass him.

Their blades flickered and danced with one another, the sounds of them meeting and breaking apart so fast as to be an almost continuous ring, and so loud as to reach back through the ranks of the Angels watching.

The expressions on the Angels’ faces had changed since Arcana had shared her story. Where there had been curiosity, there was now fear. Where there had once been concern, there was now the horrified realization that, though they all felt they should go to God, or stop Tribunal, they were totally incapable of doing so because of the command that Tribunal had put on all of them. Instead, all they could do was watch and suffer their helplessness.

Raphael looked at Arcana’s head and frowned. Then he cradled it close to his body and willed all of his power into her. A moment later, a hundred other Angels reached out and added their power, too. Arcana’s body began to grow once more, far faster than normal.

“Dammit, Michael!” yelled Nyx, as his blade grazed her face and opened up her cheek. “Fight Tribunal’s power, will you?”

“Oh, I am fighting it,” said Michael through gritted teeth. “Why do you think you’re still standing?”

“Because I’m as good as you are!” snapped Nyx as she evaded a swing and charged in again. “Last time we took a hundred years!”

“Last time,” said Michael, dodging and blocking a dozen attacks without any apparent effort, “I was trying to give you time to come to your senses.”

“Bullshit,” said Nyx.

“Don’t swear, we’re in Heaven.”

“Like I care!”

“Find an opening, Nyx,” ground out Michael, as he deflected her blade a dozen more times. “Please. Before it’s too late.”