Color of Angels' Souls (41 page)

It was a red Angel. He was hideous. Colossal. And obviously very, very old with his pterodactyl wings. He must have been at least ten feet tall, had pointy teeth, and goat hooves instead of feet.

Just like in the fairy tales.

He didn't have horns, though, but did have a long, crimson tail. He was wearing a very stylish black suit, which looked absurdly out of place on him.

The heavy silence soon gave way to murmuring voices in the crowd. Jeremy caught a few snatches: “Mephisto!”

“It's Mephistopheles!”

“No one's seen him for years!”

“No way! I thought the old satyr had passed over a long time ago.”

“What's he doing here?”

The evil red Angel gave the assembly a wide grin, baring his gleaming fangs. He strutted about, conscious of his effect on the audience. Next to Jeremy, Allison leaned closer, fascinated by this new apparition, while Lili cringed in disgust. Suddenly, the Great Ancient activated his charisma and appeared to be enveloped in a blazing fire. All the Angels, except for the oldest among them, recoiled in fear, overawed by his almighty power. Jeremy swallowed down a lump in his throat. No one could stand up to such a … creature. He was quite simply monumental. And the violence that emanated from his person made Jeremy feel sick to his stomach. Like the hideous red Angel who had tortured Angela, but worse.

In an anonymous book published in 1587, the hero, Dr. Johann Faust, who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge, first spoke of Mephistopheles: the spirit who denies and destroys, who brings despair and bitter tears to weep. But Mephistopheles would only become famous when Christopher Marlowe wrote a play about him in 1588, and then two hundred years later, when Goethe wrote his work starring the infamous Devil. Jeremy couldn't help but shudder. The authors wrote that Faust had managed to escape from his clutches … but as he contemplated the living nightmare beating its leathery wings down below him, Jeremy wasn't so sure.

Mephistopheles greeted all the Angels ceremoniously, and in particular, four of them who were present.

“Archangels Michael! Gabriel! Uriel! Raphael!”

One after another, the four blue Angels he'd named inclined their heads.

“Archangels Asmodeus! Belial! Loki!”

Three red Angels, less imposing but just as impressive as Mephistopheles, gave him the same reticent greeting. It didn't look as if either side was particularly pleased with this new turn of events.

Allison whispered to Lili: “
Archangels
? What are they? What can they do that the other Angels can't?”

“They're much more powerful,” answered Lili, who looked particularly uneasy. “Pray that you never cross paths with any of them. They're very dangerous. They only act in their own interests. Even the Blues. Don't be fooled by their benevolent appearance.”

“I would like to make a request!” boomed Mephistopheles, and Lili quickly grew quiet. “A request that will satisfy the wishes of both the Blues and the Reds.”

A heavy silence fell over the gathering. The Angels were all ears.

Mephistopheles told them about Jeremy and Allison. Although he failed to mention how the young girl had become a Red in order to influence Ventousi, he did say that powerful blue Angels had tried to convince the researcher to quickly put his drug on the market, but had been unsuccessful in their attempt.

Tetisheri, the Egyptian queen, rose to speak: “And why are you meddling in their business, Mephistopheles? Curing cancer would mean less food for you Reds. All the pain and suffering of the sick would disappear, and be replaced by joy and happiness. Isn't that the exact opposite of what you want?”

The evil Angel gave her a cruel smile.

“But we must help the living to survive as long as possible, or am I wrong? And there has been an upsurge in the number of cancer cases … it's not good for you, nor for us. It's out of the question to have too many dead on the Earth! And the new drug can only cure certain forms of cancer. Believe me, very few Mists are as delicious as crushed hopes!” He licked his lips with his forked tongue.

Tetisheri didn't even try to hide her disgust, and Mephistopheles filled the hall with his sardonic laughter. Jeremy had to fight not to place his hands over his ears to block out the excruciating sound. It was like listening to two plates of rusty metal being slowly ripped to shreds by a giant.

“Well then!” yelled the giant. “Will you help me?”

The Blues immediately began talking amongst themselves, as did the Reds, to Jeremy and Allison's great surprise. It hardly looked as if the Reds were convinced that curing cancer was such a good idea. After a few interminable minutes, Tetisheri rose. She must have been the official speaker for the Blues. Without batting an eyelid, she asked the monster in a cold voice: “So what's your plan, Mephisto?”

“To take action directly in the world of the living. We will give Peter, Ventousi's little boy, cancer!”

Allison could feel the ice in her veins. Jeremy couldn't believe his ears. Lili slumped over in her seat, suddenly exhausted by what she'd heard. She didn't like it one little bit! She'd have to find a way out! But not yet, no, not with the scrumptious Jeremy nearly in her grasp … once she got rid of the stupid girl, anyway.

Tetisheri frowned.

“Mephisto, this is an enormous transgression that you're requesting. And an effort that will leave all of us exhausted. Do the Reds agree with such a plan?”

Jeremy was aghast. He had seen firsthand how easy it was for Angels to influence the living. But he didn't know they were also capable of crossing the invisible barrier that separated the two worlds to make the living fall ill!

“Our exchange program has worked well for us: We performed twenty-five remissions and cures this year.”

“Including twelve on sadistic, bloodthirsty psychopaths who have been feeding hordes of you Reds!” snapped back Tetisheri.

“And thirteen on future blue Angels,” replied Mephisto. “Which means you still owe us a favor. And we'll use that favor to make the little boy sick. Very sick. But first, we have to convince the inspectors to lock up Ventousi, so that the only way he'll be able to cure his son is by revealing his secret formula.”

Tetisheri gave him a skeptical look.

“And what if he doesn't? What if he's so greedy that he'll even sacrifice his own son?”

Mephisto shrugged his enormous red shoulders, and then suddenly began transforming himself, catching everyone by surprise. He quickly shrank into a likeness of little Peter, the ten year-old little boy. He looked deathly ill and clutched his stomach, while blood trickled from his mouth: “Then I'll die,” he whispered in a trembling voice. “And I'll wake up here. After all, death is only the beginning!”

He collapsed melodramatically on the floor, as if he'd just breathed his last gasp. Then his body quickly began to expand, until a few seconds later Mephistopheles stood before them once again, laughing loudly as the stunned crowd looked on.

Everyone in the assembly had been taken aback by his cruel display of cynicism, and Jeremy seemed even more deeply affected than the others. Suddenly, everything was clear to him. He quickly got to his feet and left the chamber without a word. He couldn't remain in the same room as that monster for another instant. Allison followed after him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh my God,” she stammered. “What have I done?!”

Before she had time to react, Jeremy took her gently into his arms. She tensed up for a moment, but then broke down, and the two of them held each other like lost, frightened children. Jeremy led her to a small public park near the Capitol. It was empty at such a late hour and all the gates were closed. They walked across the large lawn, finally alone. Jeremy kept her in his arms all the while, and finally helped Allison sit down on a bench.

“I … I don't want to be … I don't want to be like him! Like that … like that monster,” Allison said in a choked voice. “Oh, Jeremy, I was such an idiot!”

“You're not an idiot, Allison,” Jeremy replied firmly. “You were manipulated. Very subtly, I admit, but how could you have known? They're both such sly old foxes.”

Allison raised her big blue eyes, misty with tears, to look at him. He gently wiped her crimson cheeks.

“Ma … manipulated? But … but how?”

“The first time that you flew with Flint, you were afraid and light-headed. He said that he'd clouded your mind a bit to keep you calm. When we first saw Ventousi, Lili touched you again, and you suddenly changed. Same as at the arena. You were disgusted by the duel, but then Flint touched you and you flip-flopped again. Each time, they influenced you to make you become one of them.”

Allison was stunned.

“You think that Flint and Lili are Reds? But they're both blue!”

“No. The emotions they transferred to you were always negative, Allison. Vengeance and hate. They're both very old Angels, do you really think it's difficult for them to change colors?”

The young girl's face suddenly grew dark with anger.

“No! Allison, don't let their emotions influence you anymore. If you try to stop them, they'll crush you like a fly.” He took her by the hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “Allison, do you trust me?”

Allison tried to fight down the anger and fear that were coursing through her veins.

“Yes,” she finally said.

Jeremy smiled at her, but still looked worried.

“OK, if you trust me, then you're going to have to do something very, very difficult for me.”

Allison's pretty eyes opened wide.

“What?”

“Transfer all the power of Caligula to me!”

For a few moments, Allison couldn't speak. All around them they could hear the hustle and bustle of city life, but the park seemed strangely calm.

She pulled back her hands.

“And why is that?”

“Because his power is corrupting you. Did you see Mephistopheles? That force, that power you feel inside has terrible side effects. You just experienced a shock. When you imagined the horrible agony Peter would go through, you came back to our side. Back to the Blues. If you don't use this moment of lucidity to rid yourself of this monstrous power, it's going to eat you up inside, and you'll end up being exactly like
him
. You'll turn into a monster.”

Allison shuddered.

“But … what about you? If you take my power, you'll be transformed too! Do you think I'm the kind of girl who would sacrifice her friends?”

He took her into his arms again, reveling in her warm scent. Allison collapsed in his embrace.

“My love,” Jeremy whispered, with infinite tenderness in his voice. “I know how brave and determined you are. I can't tell you why just yet, but I'm asking you again: Please, trust me! Receiving all that terrifying power won't have any affect on me. I'm begging you, Allison. Do it for me. Not for you. For me, because I love you and it's the only way I can keep from losing you!”

Curled up in his arms, Allison could feel her defenses melting away under the effects of his soft, caressing voice. He was right. The shock she'd first felt when she'd witnessed the cruelty and haughty indifference of Mephistopheles was fading away. She could feel the rage and power starting to color her feelings again. No. She didn't want it anymore!

“All right,” she whispered, so softly that Jeremy wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly.

“What did you say, my love?”

“I said, all right. But I'm warning you, Jeremy, you'd better not turn red or I'll never speak to you again for as long as I live … or die!”

Jeremy laughed with joy. He got to his feet and lifted Allison into the air, spinning her around in circles.

“Ahhh! Jeremy, stop it!” she cried out in fear.

Jeremy didn't give her any more time to protest. He set her back down and kissed her with so much passion, so much profound and heartfelt love, that it took her breath away. He was gentle and tender, but at the same time incredibly earnest, and Allison knew that if he didn't stop, her knees would give out. Finally he pulled himself away, both moved and happy.

“Go ahead, my love, let's get rid of this burden once and for all.”

Allison steadied her trembling legs and hit him with the first burst of power.

She could hardly believe it: Jeremy didn't even flinch. She was so surprised she wondered if she had misfired. It had taken three months for Caligula to transfer his power to her without destroying her, or making her “disappear.” And here was Jeremy, standing tall, although a bit pale. He hardly looked fazed.

“Did you … did you feel anything?” Allison asked hesitantly.

“Yuk,” he said. “I sure did. Go on, Allison, there's no reason for you to be afraid; trust me. I'll be fine!”

Reassured by his words but a bit worried nonetheless, Allison gave him a stronger burst. He did wince a bit this time, but showed no signs of pain.

“At this point,” she remarked, slightly miffed, “I was puking my guts out. How do you do it?”

“All that training on the stock market,” Jeremy panted. “I'm used to pressure. Come on, give me everything you've got!”

She gave him an enigmatic smile, and couldn't help but be annoyed. She was unleashing huge waves of almost unlimited power, and it didn't bother him in the least! It wasn't fair. She blasted him with as much power as Caligula had given her in a whole month, leaving her weak and trembling.

Ah. This time he'd felt it. Sweat began pouring down his face, as if hot coals were burning him up inside.

“Ouch!” he said. “OK, I felt that one.”

“
Ouch?
My God, Jeremy, what's happened to you? All you say is
ouch
, when I almost died? You know what: You're really starting to annoy me!”

He gave her a weak smile.