The Angel Side (15 page)

“Your mission, should you choose to accept, will be to retrieve part of my spirit from Purgatory. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.” Etta
joked,
imitating the voice from her favorite spy movie.

“Let’s go.” I ordered
,
shaking my head at her ability to crack jokes at such an
intense
time.

Taking point, I led the group out of the gates, when John jogged up next to me.

“We have another piece.” John whispered.

“Another piece?”
I asked
,
pulling John off to the side, motioning for the others to continue on.

“Yes. A cyclone appeared at Amy’s house, tearing it down to the ground. Once we got it to slow down, we realized what it
is
. It’s Etta
;
a very dark, emotional Etta. Father told me to keep her safe
,
so Gabriel, Amy
,
and a few Templars are holding it at my house in the attic.”

“We’ll be meeting up with two demons, Astaroth and Nicor. This is not to be mentioned in any way within earshot of those two. Understood?”
I ordered
.

“Understood.
But
what
should we tell aqua Etta?” John asked.

“No
thing
.
I don’t want her letting it slip.
Let’s keep everyone focused on one task at a time
then we’ll worry about what to do with the other Ettas.
”

John and I caught up to the group,
and
this time I let John take point so I’d be able to walk beside Etta. As she had so humorously stated earlier, our quest had begun but half a day in I had been ready to duct tape Etta to a boulder and continue on without her.

Her constant twirling of the war hammer, bashing of the shield toward imaginary foes
,
mixed with her karate sound effects and unbridled energy had been grating every last nerve in my being.
Other than annoying, I feared her excitement would give our position away and attract unwanted attention from what may have been lurking around the Wastelands.
I
brought the group to a halt
in
order
to ask her to calm down, when I found myself bending over backwards
barely
dodging the war hammer.
A few centimeters closer and I wouldn’t have needed to walk to
Purgatory,
I wou
ld have gotten a free trip
.
I had enough stress on my plate
.
I didn’t need Etta trying to kill me added to it.

“Is this a joke to you?” I scolded.

“Back off!” John stepped between Etta and
me
.

“I’m sorry. It slipped.”
Etta
dropped the scutum, slapping her hands over her mouth as she gave a muffled apology.

“I didn’t mean to—
”
Etta sheepishly
continued
as she tried to pry the war hammer from the grey boulder behind me.

The sounds of her sniffles between grunts, as she tried freeing the war hammer, pained me.
Pushing John out of the way, I attempted to grab Etta by her shoulders
,
but my hands only moved through her
. Frustrated my hands had passed through, I stepped to her side.

“Look at me.”
I said
.

“No. You’re being
mean
.” Etta sniffled
, turning away from me
.

“I’m being
mean
? This isn’t a game
,
Etta. This isn’t the same as fighting Demons in your living room.
Lilith
and her Guardians don’t have
the
rules or guidelines
we do
. Their job is to keep souls in
,
not let them out
,
no matter the cost. Etta, they will not hesitate to damn us all. Do you not understand the chances of any of us surviving are slim to none?
I’m sorry I yelled at you
,
but there is more at stake here than just your soul
,
and I don’t think it’s too much to ask
for
you
to
calm down and try not to kill me.
” I yelled in her face as I sent a sideways punch to the megalith. The rock cracked and fissured, releasing the war hammer.

“I said I was sorry. It was
an
accident. You don’t have to yell at me
as if
I’m a little kid.”

“Then quit acting as one!” I yelled, throwing my hands in the air as I marched away
.
Nicor and Astaroth appeared with weapons drawn. Instincts kicking in, the Templars flashed
as
we
ran
to Etta, encircling her with our wings flared and weapons at the ready.

“Where’s the threat?” Astaroth growled.

“No threat present.” John replied.

“Not how it sounded to us. Why are you all walking out here?” Astaroth inquired.

“If you must know
,
we can’t flash with her.” I said
,
relaxing my stance. Etta came around and stood next me
as
I took notice of Nicor glancing between t
he
war hammer
and shield then back to Astaroth.

“Don’t.” I warned
.

Sensing a possible fight,
the Templars took position in
front of Etta and
me
. At a standstill, tension between Demons and Angels filled the Wastelands. I watched as Nicor and Astaroth passed nervous glares back and forth between each other and us. If either Demon made a wrong move, thirty two Angel
s would descend upon them
,
and no one would come to their aid.

“He wouldn’t dream of it
,
however
,
Nicor is a little concerned your precious cargo may not know how to properly
wield a weapon with such impressive power. One simple misstep and she’ll kill us all.” Astaroth said, lowering his broadsword.

Glancing at Etta twirling the war hammer as if it were a baton and air bashing the scutum, I understood Astaroth’s concern. Etta’s childish approach might have posed a great risk to all parties. I would have to rein her in and hope I didn’t make a mistake by giving her Nicor’s weapon and scutum.

“Stand down. We have more things to worry about. Guardians have been known to recon these areas. Keep your eyes and ears open.” I ordered the troops, stepping beyond them. The Templars lowered their staves
as they took position behind me
.

“So this is the girl Lilith finds so threatening? I seriously doubt she’d be able to keep from tripping over her own feet much less sit on the throne
,
and all they’re worried about is Guardians.” Astaroth said to Nicor.

“Something else we should be worried about?” I
asked with a hint of suspicion
.

“
Hu
m
ph
. The Guardians aren’t the threat out here.” Astaroth replied. With an inquisitive glare I urged Astaroth to continue his thought.

“You don’t know
,
do you?
Story time
, Nicor?” Astaroth
’s
mouth widened with a wry grin
.

“Don’t know what?” John chimed in.

“You all might want to gather around and listen
,
so you’ll know what it is we are facing.” Astaroth nudged Nicor.

The Templars gathered around John and
me
,
waiting to hear whatever Astaroth and Nicor had to tell us. Peering over my shoulder, Etta continued dancing about, distracted from her surroundings with her new toys. I thought of charging over to her and commanding she stop and attempt to pay attention
,
but a warmth in my chest told me if these should be our last days, let me do what I do and
allow
her
to
enjoy them as if nothing were wrong.

“Well, get on with it.” I said
,
turning back to Nicor and Astaroth.

“After your banishment
,
Rahovart, not only did Master lose his right hand Demon but his heir as well. With you out of the way, Lilith took the opportunity t
o
work her way into Master’s close circle
, and
then to his bed. It didn’t take long for her to push for marriage. As his wife, the throne would automatically go to her should Master fall. She thought she had been a
shoo
-
in when Master called the generals in for an announcement. She believed Lucifer would be announcing their engagement and her succession. Instead, Master
simply skirted the matter, making no changes to the line of succession.
All of Lilith’s talk about marriage and children backfired right in her face.

She wants
to
remove males f
ro
m
any and all
position of power, starting with Lucifer
,
followed by
the B
ig
M
an. But
it
wouldn’t
happen if she didn’t have control of a soul with a rightful claim to the throne.
With promises of a new world order, a seat on the throne, Lilith worked her charmed on Alastor, drawing him into working for her.
But he failed.

After
the Alastor
mess, she planned on
Ra’s
temper killing Etta
again
, sending her back to Purgatory. It goes without saying
that
failed as well
. S
o Lilith
has taken
matters into her own hands.
Story has
it she knew
Etta would meet the same
f
ate as her if she met a violent death on Earth.
But, now
that
she’s made a move out in the open, revealing herself, Lilith has no other option than to try and ensure Etta does not regain her spirit. She’ll be watching our every move and may attack at any time.” Nicor explained in a solemn tone.

The weight of his words hung heavily on me. But m
ostly I had been made a sucker. I had been tired of the games, under
h
anded dealings
,
and constant lineup changes
.
As if
it
hadn’t been
reason enough to snap, knowing we were walking into Lilith’s trap sent me over the edge. Stress combined with frazzled nerves
:
the urge to vomit took over
.

Shoving everyone out of my way, I braced myself against the massive stone, expelling the contents of my stomach. Between heaves of vomit, the thought drilled deeper into my subconscious. Gritting my teeth, I tried to hold back the bile and anger. With my reality
of our impending deaths
sinking in, I had been unable to hold back any longer. Releasing a guttural scream,
my fists pounded my head before finding their way to grip
p
ing my hair as I dropped to my knees.

“Ra!
What’s wrong?”
A frantic Etta took to my side.

S
haking with rage, clenching my jaw,
and
seething, I glared up at her aquamarine eyes. I should have found peace in her gaze but what had been a jovial Etta seconds before my outburst had been replaced with a
terrified and confused girl.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Etta cautiously asked. Biting my bottom lip I scanned the bunch
closing in
around me.

“Answer me
,
Ra! You’re scaring me!” Etta glided a few paces away from me. John took position next to Etta, ready to strike should I make
a
threatening move. A flock of Templars and the two Demons flashed in front of Etta as I gripped my shield and sword and staggered to my feet.

“Ra.
Please tell me what’s wrong?” Etta sobbed
.

Turning my back to them, numbness swept over me as I surveyed the northern horizon. Beyond the peaks, our fate awaited. But fate wouldn’t get Etta. I would get her soul intact without loss of life…even if it killed me.

“You.
Let’s go.” I pointed to a Templar in the crowd.