Daystar (62 page)

Jegudiel stared at his gray palms.
 
“Fine, my penalty.
 
I will take it, I can survive like this.”
 
He spoke to the air, “I deserve better!”
 
Pain stabbed at the soles of his feet, his hands aged.
 
“She deserves worse!
 
She’s a whore.”
 
His mind was fuzzy.
 
“Bitch, infecting my mind with your dirt.”

Jegudiel took a step towards Eden as the sirens blared.
 

Paimon and Furcas soared for the shield, the pair held hands.
 
Jegudiel scoffed.
 
“What are they trying to prove?
 
It’s all fake, all of it, everywhere!
 
It doesn’t really exist!
 
Love is
fake!
”
 
Jegudiel’s strength left him.
 
He took another step and fell to the earth.
 

He stared at Eden.
 
Droves of people fled to get in the buildings within the city.
 
“What does it matter anyways, we either win or we lose, we’re right or we’re wrong.”
 
He thought of Bean and pain ripped through him.
 
“You already proved to me you are wrong for me.
 
You
are
wrong, you cannot do anything right.
 
You cannot change that.
 
I cannot change that.
 
No one can.
 
You are a ruined woman.”
 
He held his head as his nose bled.
 
“I love you.”
 
He twitched.
 
“Only me.”

***

Helion heard the sirens go off.
 
He got up from the side of the lake and frowned.
 
He wasn’t entirely sure what he was allowed to do.
 
He was forbidden from crossing the shield, but to stay and sit on the grass would drive him nuts.

Helion kicked into the air and soared until he could see Dahlia beyond the shield.
 
The eight Lilliam firstborn came to hover next to him.
 
Chronos reached out.
 
“What is your job?”

Helion shrugged.
 
“I do not know.
 
I cannot go out there, but I do not seem to have a purpose here.”

Leviathan smiled at him.
 
“Have you given thought to what I said?”

Helion nodded.
 
“Much.”

She grinned.
 
“Then be ready and watchful.”
 
The eight Lilliam children passed through the shield and soared towards Dahlia, leaving Helion to gaze after them.

He looked down at the city, then back to the air.
 
Indecision gnawed at him.
 
“This sucks.”

***

Berith threw himself into a fountain of attacking wailers.
 
They poured out of the sun, howling and screaming.
 
They filled the space with a cacophony that deafened and battered as it struck.
 
Berith could not hear Apple over the noise; he could not even hear the sound of his heart.
 
He snarled and slashed, stabbed and cleaved.
 
Angels fell to pieces, dissolving into light as he hacked with flame-imbued blades that cut with arcs of fire.
 
Each swing hacked through dozens at a time, burning their bodies as the metal tore them apart.

Breathers dive-bombed him with fire.
 
Apple curled her fingers.
 
The breathers vibrated and exploded.
 
She whipped her arms about and wrenched, pulling blood to her.
 
Angels burst like water balloons.
 
The space around her filled with spheres of blood.
 
Apple created blood blades, large sweeping scythes that tore through angels all around her.

Apple kept watch on Berith, working to guard his back.
 
She felt the second heartbeat inside her pick up as hers did.
 
She calmed her son, briefly touching her abdomen.
 

Apple heard the telltale screech of the wailers before she saw them.
 
She clawed at the air and the wailers vomited blood, choking their deafening cries, but still more came.
 
They seemed to grow out of the sun itself.
 
Apple smiled and wrenched at another batch, she swam through blood.

Berith took a swing at anything that came near him.
 
He was utterly focused.
 
His body trained to perfection, he could do this in his sleep.
 
Eruptions of light surrounded him as he ended angels by the point of his swords.
 
His armor deflected the blows of any that happened to pass his guard.
 
Fire and searing light touched his uncovered portions of skin, but the burns healed quickly and the pain was tolerable.
 
Berith picked his next target and lunged.

A face appeared in the throng, a face he recognized.
 
Berith dismissed it as a figment.
 
The face did not leave; it stared back at him confused, it smiled at him.
 
Berith frowned, that was not the same face.
 
It was not Uriel, but another.
 
The angel fell into the throng and disappeared, Berith gaped.
 
In his distraction, angels tore one of his swords from his grip and snapped it in half.

Berith pulled out a short sword; it looked like a dagger in his large hands.
 
He slashed at angels, ignoring their screams and wails.
 
He searched again for the face, but it was gone.
 
Berith spun, becoming a whirlwind of metal and fire.
 
An angel leapt onto his back.
 
Berith snarled and ripped at it, tossing it into the mass of angels.
 
He resumed his attack.

Azrael blurred through the angels in a flurry of wings and electricity.
 
He leapt onto Berith’s chest unheeding the blades and armor.
 
He wrapped Berith in his arms, legs, and wings.
 
Azrael smiled into Berith’s neck and buzzed.
 
“I found you!
 
I found you!”

Berith drove both blades down, but was stopped before striking the angel.
 
Green explosions erupted around him burning the other angels and leaving a gap around his body.

Azrael nuzzled Berith’s neck.
 
“Brother.”
 
He sighed and hugged Berith, muscles relaxed, completely unaware of the battle around him or the blades that hovered mere inches from his neck.
 
He squeezed Berith.
 
“I love you.”

Berith gaped.
 
His eyes flicked up to see what had stopped his blades.

Gabriel held both of Berith’s wrists.
 
“Brothers do not fight one another, it is not right.
 
Azrael is your ward now.
 
He does not seek to do you or anyone else harm.”
 
Gabriel dropped Berith’s wrists and dove towards the sun, sinking into the flame.

Berith gaped at the boy that held on to him.
 
He frowned.
 
Angels surged towards him.
 
They exploded in a red mist.

Apple dropped to his side and gave him a once over.
 
“Who is
that?
”

Berith shook his head.
 
“My brother apparently.”

Azrael looked up.
 
“I am Azrael!”

Apple grinned.
 
“He looks like a baby you except for the hair.”

Berith gazed into Azrael’s wild eyes.
 
Azrael kissed him on the cheek.
 
Berith grimaced and wrapped one arm around the child.
 
“One brother heartless, but smart.
 
The other brainless, but overflowing with love.
 
Both from
my
mold.
 
This says something about
me
, Apple.
 
You may want to rethink my proposal.”

Apple swept her arms out, throwing angels away.
 
“Whatever.
 
Hello, little one.”

Azrael beamed.
 
“I am
Azrael!
”

Berith grimaced.
 
“Gabriel has loaded me down with him.
 
A tactic to keep me from fighting no doubt.”

“Then cast him off.”

“I cannot, he is my brother.”
 
Berith gazed down at Azrael.
 
“What is your intention, small one?”

Azrael leaned his head on Berith’s chest.
 
“I want to play what
you
are playing.”

Berith pointed towards the angels that waited outside of Apple’s radius of bloodletting.
 
“We play by killing them.
 
You fight on our side now?”

“Fight?”
 
A group of breathers launched a fireball at them.
 
The fire brushed past Apple.
 
Berith dispersed it.
 
Azrael looked at the angels.
 
“They are trying to hurt you?”

Berith nodded.
 
“Yes.”

“No!”
 
Azrael turned towards the angels.
 
A wall of electricity struck the angels, throwing them into twitching fits.
 
“Do not hurt my brother!
 
That is not nice!”

Apple and Berith’s eyes met.
 
Apple shrugged.
 
“He’s yours to decide over.
 
I think he is simple, but good-hearted.”

Berith sheathed his swords.
 
“You will…play with me, Azrael?”

Azrael nodded.
 
“Okay!”

Berith smiled.
 
“My name is Berith.”

“Hi, Berith!
 
What should I do now?”
 
Azrael bounced in his arms, giddy at being allowed to join the game.

“You point and shoot that electricity at everything but me and Apple.”

Azrael swung around and the air filled up with white light.
 
Apple and Berith gaped as thousands of angels spasmed, stunned.
 
Azrael looked back at Berith.
 
“Did I do okay?”

Berith grinned.
 
“Real okay, great work!
 
You are going to make my job too easy.”

Apple snapped and a hundred wailers went rigid and wheeled around on her command.
 
She laughed.
 
“Destroy mine enemies, mindless blood sacks!”

Azrael stunned them into submission and grinned at her.
 
Apple frowned.
 
Berith patted Azrael on the head.
 
“Apple, mark your controlled ones.
 
He isn’t intelligent enough to tell them apart.”

Apple waved her hands and her controlled angels turned red.
 
“There.”

Berith pointed to the red angels.
 
“Don’t stun the red ones, those are on our team.”

Azrael nodded.
 
“Okay!”

Berith strapped Azrael into a small shield and some of his armor.
 
“I chop chop, Azrael.
 
You stun and hide behind the shield.”
 
Berith raised his arm to show Azrael what he meant and made sure he got it.
 
He unsheathed two new blades.
 
He flew towards the stunned angels.

Azrael followed on Berith’s heels doing as his brother did, gazing at him with open admiration and adoration.
 
“Chop chop!
 
Chop chop!”

***

Andy and Belial stopped exactly halfway between Earth and the sun.
 
He gripped her shoulders.
 
“You will stay behind me and you will flee if things get too bad.
 
Understand?”

“I do not want to leave you!”

Andy hugged her.
 
“I need you to promise me that you will.
 
I know you don’t want to, Belial, but if I am overwhelmed you need to leave and tell Dahlia.”

Belial nodded.
 
“All right, Andrealphus.
 
I will, I promise.”

Andy nodded.
 
“Good.”
 
He turned to the sun and spread his wings.
 
They vibrated as he listened.
 
He focused on the small shifts and changes, picking out transmissions and voices.
 
“Berith and Apple are under attack, but they continue to fight strong.”
 
He smiled grimly.
 
“We have angels coming in our direction, lots of angels.”

“I cannot see those angels, Andrealphus.”
 
Belial squinted.
 
“Where are they?”

“They are flying with the sun at their backs, but I can feel them coming.”
 
He looked at Belial.
 
She shook.
 
He smiled at her kindly.
 
“Are you afraid?”