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Authors: M.R. Forbes
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I
said, holding up my hands. "I don't want to fight you."
She
had taken an aggressive posture, with her sword cocked and ready for the battle
that I refused to start.
"I
just want to talk," I said.
Seeing
that I wasn't going to fight her, she let the sword dissipate back to wherever
it had come from.
" Speak ,"
she said, her voice powerful in my mind. She was showing me her strength,
sending me a warning.
"The
balance is tipping," I said. "The end of days are coming if it isn't restored. We should be fighting together, not fighting each
other. You know, allies?"
Her
golden eyes narrowed. "Allies? Seraphim Law states that I should strike
you down where you stand."
This
wasn't going well. "What benefit would that be to you? You're losing
Josette. I think you need all the help you can get."
I
started inching away, closer to the sword. We both knew it wouldn't harm her,
but at least I could make some kind of feeble attempt to defend myself if she
decided to follow her laws. She stood motionless, undecided.
"I
can help you defeat Reyzl," I said, trying to convince her of my value,
even though I knew I had none. "If he's grown beyond your control, it's
only a matter of time before he comes for you."
Our
souls were still connected, and I felt her demeanor shift again. It seemed even
angels had a sense of self-preservation.
"Very
well," she said. Her eyes were cautious. "There can be no alliance,
our Laws forbid it, but I will not destroy you today. In return, you will seek
out Reyzl and either destroy him or weaken him so that I can finish your work.
I do not care if you live or die completing this task, but know that I will
seek you out again one week hence to see you to your end if you do not hold up
this bargain. I will not come alone."
I
didn't need to ask what the other option was. I had only bought myself a week,
but a week was better than nothing.
"We
have a deal," I said.
The
feeling of heaviness in my gut was immediate. It was if a chain had been
clamped down onto my soul, an awareness of the power of the contract I had just
verbally signed. Josette hung up the connection, and the sudden sense of loss
nearly overwhelmed me. I had been tapped into some of her power through the
bond, and had drunk from it like an alcoholic. I could feel a small piece of it
within me.
“What
is that?” I asked.
"So
I can find you again," she said. "Do not think to double-cross me,
Landon. You will speed us closer to these end of days if you do." She had
said my real name. What else did she know? Why didn't Dante put 'never touch an
angel' into his short list of rules?
"I'll
see you in a week then," I said, trying to sound a lot more confident than
I felt.
With
the connection broken, Josette nodded, then turned back in the direction of the
Apple store, most likely to return to her friend. I was bending down to grab my
iPad when a massive wave of heat crashed into my senses. My mind didn't have
time to process it, but my body reacted.
I
dove to the left and rolled to my feet, somehow managing to escape the path of
a black, jagged edged blade that buried itself deep in the trunk of the tree we
had been sitting under. There was a growl of frustration, then the sound of
pounding feet running toward me. I looked up just in time to see the demon make
his leap at me, his long sinewy frame carrying him an impossible distance at an
impossible speed. I moved faster than I could think, shifting my weight and
dropping to the ground just underneath its outstretched limbs, escaping being
raked by eight-inch claws.
The
beast landed and turned, small black eyes looking right at me, a snout full of
razor teeth bared. It had a humanoid frame with grotesquely long limbs that
ended in those sharp claws, leathery skin, and bones which protruded at awkward angles from various points on its body.
"Reyzl
sends his greetings, newcomer." Its voice was gravel, and its words dripped
with disgust.
I got
to my feet and reached over to where the
said, holding up my hands. "I don't want to fight you."
She
had taken an aggressive posture, with her sword cocked and ready for the battle
that I refused to start.
"I
just want to talk," I said.
Seeing
that I wasn't going to fight her, she let the sword dissipate back to wherever
it had come from.
" Speak ,"
she said, her voice powerful in my mind. She was showing me her strength,
sending me a warning.
"The
balance is tipping," I said. "The end of days are coming if it isn't restored. We should be fighting together, not fighting each
other. You know, allies?"
Her
golden eyes narrowed. "Allies? Seraphim Law states that I should strike
you down where you stand."
This
wasn't going well. "What benefit would that be to you? You're losing
Josette. I think you need all the help you can get."
I
started inching away, closer to the sword. We both knew it wouldn't harm her,
but at least I could make some kind of feeble attempt to defend myself if she
decided to follow her laws. She stood motionless, undecided.
"I
can help you defeat Reyzl," I said, trying to convince her of my value,
even though I knew I had none. "If he's grown beyond your control, it's
only a matter of time before he comes for you."
Our
souls were still connected, and I felt her demeanor shift again. It seemed even
angels had a sense of self-preservation.
"Very
well," she said. Her eyes were cautious. "There can be no alliance,
our Laws forbid it, but I will not destroy you today. In return, you will seek
out Reyzl and either destroy him or weaken him so that I can finish your work.
I do not care if you live or die completing this task, but know that I will
seek you out again one week hence to see you to your end if you do not hold up
this bargain. I will not come alone."
I
didn't need to ask what the other option was. I had only bought myself a week,
but a week was better than nothing.
"We
have a deal," I said.
The
feeling of heaviness in my gut was immediate. It was if a chain had been
clamped down onto my soul, an awareness of the power of the contract I had just
verbally signed. Josette hung up the connection, and the sudden sense of loss
nearly overwhelmed me. I had been tapped into some of her power through the
bond, and had drunk from it like an alcoholic. I could feel a small piece of it
within me.
“What
is that?” I asked.
"So
I can find you again," she said. "Do not think to double-cross me,
Landon. You will speed us closer to these end of days if you do." She had
said my real name. What else did she know? Why didn't Dante put 'never touch an
angel' into his short list of rules?
"I'll
see you in a week then," I said, trying to sound a lot more confident than
I felt.
With
the connection broken, Josette nodded, then turned back in the direction of the
Apple store, most likely to return to her friend. I was bending down to grab my
iPad when a massive wave of heat crashed into my senses. My mind didn't have
time to process it, but my body reacted.
I
dove to the left and rolled to my feet, somehow managing to escape the path of
a black, jagged edged blade that buried itself deep in the trunk of the tree we
had been sitting under. There was a growl of frustration, then the sound of
pounding feet running toward me. I looked up just in time to see the demon make
his leap at me, his long sinewy frame carrying him an impossible distance at an
impossible speed. I moved faster than I could think, shifting my weight and
dropping to the ground just underneath its outstretched limbs, escaping being
raked by eight-inch claws.
The
beast landed and turned, small black eyes looking right at me, a snout full of
razor teeth bared. It had a humanoid frame with grotesquely long limbs that
ended in those sharp claws, leathery skin, and bones which protruded at awkward angles from various points on its body.
"Reyzl
sends his greetings, newcomer." Its voice was gravel, and its words dripped
with disgust.
I got
to my feet and reached over to where the
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