Of Kings and Demons (6 page)

Lord Barbatos sauntered down
the long halls of Castle Valmar, each step clicking with arrogance and mastery.
Behind him, Eberhard, one foot taller, followed with the submissive humility of
a tamed beast.

“Master, the rise of our stronghold
is complete.”

Lord Barbatos looked at the
stone walls, high ceilings and the ambience of power and might. After centuries
of absence, he had brought the citadel of darkness back to Earth.

“We have returned,” he murmured
as he surveyed the elaborate architecture of his prized stronghold. The ancient
pillars holding up the high roofs were adorned by carvings of demons of all
sorts—goblins, familiar spirits, trolls, serpents, and demon lords.

It was an audacious enterprise,
an initiative meant to hurt the Angels and their human allies. It would be a
matter of time before they responded. He was not afraid of their reaction for
their
response
was the key objective of his entire scheme. They must come
for him.

“It is time for our next step.”

“I am ready, Master.”

Barbatos nodded. He had reached
the end of the corridor and turned into the landing that gave a complete view
of the extensive hall. The atmosphere was saturated with the din of the demonic
forms. They were waiting.

The haughty general of the
demons leaned over ledge to study the rows of demons, all armoured and ready.
From one end of the hall to another, there were thousands of familiar spirits
and goblins awaiting orders. At the front of the formation stood a weary Count
Raum, who had returned from his latest mission.

“Ivan?” Barbatos asked, his
lips barely moving.

“Lord Barbatos,” Count Raum bowed.
“The siblings are estranged in the woods. My legions are ready.”

Barbatos was indifferent but it
belied the urgency in him. The siblings, kinglings whose existence will be an
obstacle to his schemes must be captured.

“Your legions looked impressive.”

Count Raum bowed in thanks.

Barbatos leaned forward. “However
check your complacency, Count.”

Raum cranked his neck in
surprise.

Barbatos nodded and asked, “The
Guardian Angels have been alerted by the spate of violence.”

“I am ready for them, my lord.”

Barbatos smiled in approval “I
need a victory. A victory over them will boost the spirits of our legions.”

“My lord, I will not fail you.”

“Live up to your promise.”

Count Raum obeyed and raised a
battle horn, and blew in earnest. A deep and rousing drone pervaded through the
hall. Instantly, the hordes of demons responded with in a chorus of gruesome
grunts and snorts, and stomped the ground in a cacophony of war cries.

The main doors, which rose to
the height of the ceiling, creaked wide.Within minutes, an unruly army of
demons of all denomination had filed out of the hall into the darkness of the
woods. After the last demon soldier had exited, Eberhard asked, “My lord?”

“Patience
,
my friend. I sensed the
thirst for blood in you
.”

“Do not leave me idle, my Lord.”

“You will not be, I assure you.
An important task awaits you.”

Eberhard dropped to his knees again,
like a canine, cursed with the insatiable hunger for blood, begging for the
chance to hunt.

“Master.”

“You remember the siblings I
told you about.”

Eberhard nodded.

The Duke of Demons neared and whispered.
Once he was done, Barbatos waved a dismissive gesture. “Eberhard, I want them
alive.”

Maganus sucked deeply on his
smoking pipe and looked at Gwyneth. “What is next?”

“I wish I knew.”

Maganus nodded. “You are always
more sensitive.” He exhaled and blew circles of smoke into the air. “We were
caught unprepared, Gwyneth. There were
no
signs that they were coming.
They are going to leave us
backpedaling
again.”

She looked at her feet where
the heels are hived up, to show their predisposition to be on the defensive in
their tussle with the Demons. The Angels would never act first to preempt, be
it to engage or destroy the Demons. They were only trained to respond, after
the Demons had already acted. The Angels were built that way. Aggression to
preempt evil was an act of evil in itself.

“The Demons never change.”
Gwyneth murmured. “Stealth their hallmark and discretion our badge.”

Maganus stroked his beard as an
ugly frown crumpled his forehead.

 “Can you feel it?” he asked.

Before Gwyneth could reply,
Marz was its feet; ears raised, and began to howl. The wind had picked and the
trees began to sway.

“I feel it now,” Maganus said
and looked at his Golden Cross, which glowed with warmth.

“Benign,” they both said together.

At that moment, the space to
the left of them, in the midst of the woods, opened like a portal. A path of
light appeared and they heard a thundering gallop. Then a huge stallion leapt
out of the portal and landed with a suave turn, right behind Maganus.

The winds died away and the
stallion’s rider wheeled his steed over to Maganus. He wore robes of white and
black and an outstanding chest plate that depicted a roaring lion.

Jin looked like an impeccable Roman
statue that has come alive. Lightly bearded around his squarish jaws, the man
had tied his long hair into a pony tail. His Asiatic features were represented
by darting black eyes that shone like sparkling jewels. His handsome face was
framed in balance and composure.

Like the owner, the stallion was
a magnificent creature with shiny black hide and bore eyes that glittered like
gems. Despite the commanding presence, the stallion has a gentle disposition. Named
Dilu, the stallion was raised from a rare pedigree in the Asian central plains.

“My friend, Jin the Silent!”
Maganus clapped in merry at the sight of the timely arrival. Jin dismounted and
held Maganus and Gwyneth in a tight embrace befitting of old friends.

Maganus spoke first. He had
detected the tension in Jin, his face etched in strain.

“Fellow angels, glad to see you
both.”

 “Father Paul has been here,
Jin.” Maganus informed as Jin wings folded seamlessly behind him. “The
Libri
has given me insight.” Jin was grim.

“Share your insights please,”
Maganus urged.

Jin said. “A revelation was delivered. I was possessed by the book and a
string of revelations witnessed. I realized I must come personally.”

They exchanged looks. “The
Demons,” the trio said in unison.

Gwyneth explained the Leo
Kenyon incident to Jin.

“Then their attack has already begun,”
Jin replied in a somber tone. “Such audacity.”

“What actually did you see?”
Gwyneth asked.

“Images of the Demon Lords, demons,
familiar spirits, and one sightings of young children.”

“Kinglings they must be,”
Maganus added, referring to the young Kings of Men who were under the guidance
and mentorship of the Guardian Angels; the future leaders of humanity.

“There were two visions of a
pair, hand in hand.”

“Siblings,” Gwyneth murmured.

“There were scenes of chaos and
combat. Kings in peril and …” Jin said, then paused. “The images are hazy, but
I saw a young man and a small girl, and darkness was growing over them.”

“Darkness rising?” Maganus
asked. “The
Libri
’s reaction is worrying.’

“Pandemonium. Worrying still, vision
of the American Flag in flag and cities were on fire. These images were reason
for my presence in the human arena.” Jin shook his head. “Then I saw the
coordinates and asked them to be interpreted.”

“My brother angels,” Gwyneth
said. “Speculation will not help us. Action will.”

“I had already sent out the
signum
,
the name of the common signal that Angels deployed to inform their comrades and
allies in the event of a crisis. The distress call was raised by an Angels’
prayer in front of the Golden Cross at Aachen.

“They have all been alerted?
Alastair, Eugene and Catherine ...?” Gwyneth asked, referring to her fellow
angels—leader Alastair the Strong, Eugene the Healer, and Catherine the Grace.

“The Defenders have dispatched
units to Asia, Africa, and Middle East. Another unit is on their way here. I
understand Eugene discovered traces of gargoyles in the cities of the Eastern
Seaboard.”

 “Gwyneth, are those children
your kinglings?” Maganus asked.

“They are in grave danger. I
had glimpses of them.” Gwyneth explained.

“Our efforts to locate them have
been in vain. The Celestial Compass is erratic. The arrow was madly in oscillation.”
Maganus explained.

“That can mean only one thing—the
presence of the demons is strong and it’s obstructing the device.” Jin added.

“Let’s move to the southwest.
We should take a closer look.”

“That is the Delaware Reserve,”
Gwyneth observed.

“Thick woods and potential
hideouts for forces of darkness,” Jin added.

“You’ve forgotten that I am Maganus,
Friend of the Woods. From the squirrels to the bears, they are all my fans.”
Maganus winked.

Gwyneth was about to tease her
old comrade when she noticed the Golden Cross glowing whitish. It was a
friendly.

From the skies, a web of lightning
stretched out and a path of light fell. Soon after, a winged creature landed
with a ripple of energy. He was lithe and muscular and in his right hand, was
his trademark warhammer, and in his left a sword. Once he had landed, he
greeted with the others with a full smile. Maganus, however, was sarcastic.

“Aren’t you tired carrying
weapons in your hands all the time, Eugene?”

The new arrival smiled sheepishly
at the tease as his wings folded. He looked hale and combat ready.

“Stop teasing him, Maganus,”
Jin said. “Eugene had earned quite a reputation as one of our best warriors.
Demons vanished when they heard him coming.”

“Lord Maganus, Lady Gwyneth.” Eugene
bowed in humility before speaking. “I came after I received confirmation on a
demonic resurgence from Aachen.”

Jin smiled. “I am glad to see
you.”

“A war it is then?” Eugene
asked, his white eyebrows arching upward.

Maganus took a puff on his pipe
and grumbled. “We must move out to defend the Kings.”

“We do this even before
instructions from Lord Michael?” Gwyneth asked. “We act?”

Jin and Maganus nodded in
unison.

“That is a proposition and I
second it.” Eugene asserted.

“I take this silence to be a
consensus?” Jin said after a long moment of silence.

Everybody nodded.

“Then it is decided. We move to
defend the kinglings, Kings of Men. We will enter the realm of Earth and act as
we deem fit until there are directives from the Archangels.” Jin pronounced.

“The humans will see us,”
Maganus was succinct.

“That is the only way we can
engage the demons,” Jin said. “We have no choice. “In the arena of Earth, we will
be prone to injuries and our powers are finite.” Eugene added.

“Heaven help us. Reinforcements
will arrive,” Gwyneth said, her tone firm. “May the Lord be with us.”

“Aye,” they all said in unison.
Then they each plucked a feather from their wings and broke it, a symbolic act
to represent their temporary change of their celestial status to enter into a
different realm.

Jin turned to Eugene. “My
friend, I have a task for you, though.”

“What is it?”

“Hunt the demons and then
report your progress at the soonest.”

“I must leave then.” Eugene
quickly added.

“We will part company then,”
Maganus said with a pat on Eugene.

“Lead the way old friend,”
Gwyneth said.

Maganus turned to Jin. “Are you
coming?”

Jin shook his head.

“Another destination waits for
you?” Maganus asked.

Gwyneth added. “We need to stay
together.”

Jin shook his head. “I saw
something else and I need to act on it.” He returned to his horse and mounted,
then explained, “Once I have completed my task, we shall meet again. By
tomorrow nightfall, at the latest, I shall look for you. Till then,
Angelus
Triumphus
.”

“Angelus Triumphus!”
the other Guardian Angels echoed.