“We’ve got twenty-five…no, make that twenty-six angels tethered to two-foot diameter, titanium rods, using highly angel-proof lashes, wrapped around their arms and legs. There are at least two dozen guards, armed with blasters and light-swords. There is no sign of Dionysus; he is probably just speaking from the Command Center.”
Coincidentally, upon mention of Dionysus, the echoing voice returned. “We know you have the girl in your custody. Return her to us immediately, and none of these angels have to die. We will allow them to cross over into your mountain, to fight with you, and to die with you as they see fit.” The voice paused, and then said, “You have five minutes to choose.”
Gabriel evidently didn’t need five minutes. He said, “Sampson, Chris, Kiren—let’s take care of this now. Obviously, we are not going to give them Taylor, so there’s no decision to make. As Clifford said, we have to save them.” Sampson nodded firmly, clearly agreeing with Gabriel’s idea.
“No!” Taylor objected. “I will not watch my friends get slaughtered because of me. I will go willingly.”
Gabriel responded quickly and strongly: “Taylor, I know you mean it and that your heart is in the right place, but let us do this. We are trained for situations like this and have a good chance of getting out alive with some of the angel prisoners.”
“Some!?” she shouted. “I will not have my own life be the cause of anyone’s death. Not angel, demon, or human. Not even gargoyle. I will go.”
“Wait!” Chris and Kiren said simultaneously. They both looked at the wise, old leader of their race, who had remained silent thus far, preferring to listen to the discussion.
Chris asked, “Clifford, what should we do?”
Clifford sighed mightily. “It is a curse to live during such evil times, but I do not regret the burden I have been given, because it is also a blessing to have the opportunity to do so much good. Taylor, your courage is heartening and refreshing. I fear that most girls your age would sacrifice their own mother to spare themselves any semblance of pain, especially the risk of death, yet you willingly go, like a lamb to the slaughter. You are truly remarkable. I hope, and fear, that it will not be your last act of bravery before the War is won.
“However, you cannot give yourself to the angels, as that will all but ensure their victory—in their hands, the power within you is far too dangerous. You saw what happened the last time. We lost a lot of good men and women.” He paused to collect his thoughts. The clock was ticking: Three minutes had elapsed since Dionysus had issued the time-based ultimatum.
Taylor took the opportunity to make another suggestion. “Then I must die,” she said firmly. When Gabriel started to interject again, she silenced him with a hand and said, “Until I am either in the hands of the angels, or dead, your enemy will terrorize you. They will kill you and anyone that helps you. As you just pointed out, if I end up in their hands it will mean the end of life as we know it. Therefore, the only option is for me to go quietly into the night, to a better place. At least that is a contribution that I can make.”
Clifford was already shaking his head. “No, that is also not an option. The angels will just find another person, with another powerful aura, to take your place. For now, we must try to use the fact that they are focused on you to our advantage. But that is a topic for another time.” Four minutes had passed, only one remained before the executions. “Now we must act quickly and we don’t have time to assemble a task force, so we must rely on the angels and demons in this cave. I will stay with Taylor and Samantha, as my duty requires, but must request the assistance of the rest of you for this important mission.
“I certainly would never force any of you, as it will be highly dangerous, but ask you now for your support.”
Chris and Kiren immediately raised their fists in the air, using the demon sign of agreement. Gabriel and Sampson followed their example. To Taylor’s surprise, the five demon Elders followed with fists of their own; they were willing to risk their lives—unlike the members of the Archangel Council who rarely considered going into battle—even though they would be outnumbered.
Clifford watched Taylor closely as if she might, at any time, throw herself off of the cliff and onto the jagged rocks below. Taylor knew she was being watched and was half-considering doing just that. “Taylor, the decision has been made. Do we have your support?” Clifford said. Thirty seconds left.
Taylor looked at her friends as they stared back at her. She looked at Samantha. Their eyes locked and more understanding passed between them than could have been communicated in a thousand words. Perfectly synchronized, the two human girls raised their fists in the air.
“Good, now go!” Clifford shouted.
Gabriel barely had a chance to kiss Taylor on the cheek before he leapt from the cliff, plummeting towards the earth. Sampson followed with a swan dive. Just when it seemed certain that her angel boyfriend was having a wing-malfunction, his magnificent, ivory, feathery limbs burst outwards and he soared high in the air, much faster than a bird. Chris pecked Sam on the lips and then was gone, having teleported beyond sight. Following his lead, Kiren and the Elders began vanishing, until only Taylor and her best friend, along with Clifford, stood watching the valley below.
Chapter Eighteen
Clifford raised a radio to his lips and ordered, “Get everyone inside and assemble the army!” He looked at Taylor, who was watching him curiously. “Just in case,” he explained.
“Look!” Samantha exclaimed. Taylor saw that both flying angels now had passengers, most likely Chris and Kiren, who had teleported onto their backs, clutching at their feathers to keep from being thrown off by the force of their speedy flight, like cowboys riding bareback with only the horses’ manes to hold on to.
Taylor felt powerless against what was to come. And she was. Whether she stood here and watched, ran back into the depths of the Lair, or even threw herself off of the mountain, it would all be too late to save them now. Maybe they won’t all die, she thought. Her mind didn’t permit her to be any more optimistic than that. Not at this moment.
In contrast, Sam said, “It will be alright, Tay.” She squeezed her hand in support.
Seconds later, barely within the five minute limit mandated by Dionysus, the two angels and their passengers arrived at the first line of would-be executioners. The angels with the blasters and light-swords were ready for them. But they weren’t ready for the demon Elders.
Appearing out of thin air, the five Elders already had their fire-swords extended and slashing towards their surprised enemies. One second elapsed—five dead angels. No more than twenty to go.
The remaining angel guards recovered quickly, firing pulses of light from their blasters, aiming at the pairs of flying angel-demon warriors. Gabriel banked sharply, narrowly avoiding the threat. Chris jumped from his back, landing on a female angel and thrusting his own sword deep into her chest. Gabriel grabbed another angel and slammed him to the ground, simultaneously stealing his blaster and pumping him with ten rounds of light. While the light rays wouldn’t kill an angel, they would stun him long enough for them to carry out their mission.
Against all odds, they were winning. What they didn’t know was that, for the angels, the fight hadn’t yet begun.
Chapter Nineteen
Clifford had given each of the girls a pair of powerful, black binoculars that he had brought for viewing the fireworks. Now, they watched in suspense, as the battle continued. With each enemy that was struck down, they reacted as if they were back at college watching the UT Beavers decimate their opponents, cheering and high-fiving. Clifford, using a third pair of binoculars, watched tensely beside them, unspeaking. The radio was in his hand, and he seemed prepared to send in reinforcements at the first sign of a problem.
As Taylor was watching the scene unfold before her, out of the corner of her eye she noticed something glint, just a tiny sparkle as something metallic reflected the beams of the angels’ bright spotlights. Then it was gone. She rotated her view t
o center on where she thought she saw the flash of light. There was a large, familiar-looking boulder, and then she saw it again, a brief twinkle of light; if she had blinked she would have missed it.
Using the zoom function on the binoculars to get an even closer look, she switched to 200-times magnification, aiming directly at the spot where she had seen the last flash. Sure enough, protruding from the large boulder was the metallic tip of something—a weapon most likely. “It’s a trap,” she whispered under her breath.
“What did you say, Tay?” Sam asked.
“It’s a trap!” she yelled, much louder this time.
Clifford looked up, baffled by her sudden outburst.
“I can see someone hiding. Look to the right of the gate. There is a large boulder, someone is behind it.”
Clifford and Sam tried to locate the exact spot she was referring to. They soon found it and saw the same glint that she had noticed.
Clifford said, “Maybe there is someone there, but that hiding spot couldn’t possibly provide capacity for more than a handful of angels.”
“Trust me on this, Cliff,” she said firmly, using the casual form of his name, much like Sam. “There is a secret path there. It isn’t huge, but the entire angel army could potentially march out of there, minus the gargoyles, which would need to use the main gate. Trust me,” she repeated. “Sound the alarm.”
Trusting her, he raised his radio to his lips and said one word: “Mobilize.”
Chapter Twenty
Via their combined efforts, they had made quick work of at least half of their enemies, and the remaining angels were looking frightened and unsure of themselves, circling together in an effort to mount a well-formed defense against the vicious attackers.
Wanting to finish the job, Sampson charged the circle with reckless abandon. Ten blasters instantly fired on him and, while he was able to deflect four or five light rays with his sword, his body absorbed the rest of the firepower. He crumpled to the ground. Immediately, Gabriel, Chris, Kiren, and the five Elders jumped in front of Sampson, protecting him from further damage.
Although they were obviously winning the fight, Gabriel was acutely aware that they had not yet freed any of the captive angel spies. Because they didn’t have time to formulate a strategy before the battle, they had all been fighting individually thus far. It was time to work together, Gabriel thought, as a simple plan formed in his mind.
“Demons,” he said, loud enough for Chris, Kiren and the Elders to hear, but low enough that the angels wouldn’t be able to make out his message, “distract the enemy and I will free the birds.”
The demon warriors nodded in agreement and then charged into battle. Not like a human would charge, by running towards the enemy, or even like an angel might charge, by flying, rather, the demons began teleporting wildly at the angel guardsmen, popping in and out of view rapidly and in all directions. The angels fired haphazardly around them, hoping to get lucky and hit one of the demons just as they appeared. They were used to this particularly attack strategy, as the demons frequently used it in battle. Nevertheless, it had the desired effect: the angels were momentarily distracted.
Gabriel took the opportunity to soar into the air and then land softly next to the first of the angels in the line of captives. While the gleaming ropes prevented an unarmed angel from breaking free, Gabriel’s light sword easily sliced through the knots that secured the angels’ arms and legs.
As soon as the glowing tethers fell away from her frame, the angel collapsed, unable to hold her body weight with her wobbly legs. Gabriel reached out, and with one arm, caught her before she hit the ground. Her eyes fluttered open and gazed at him.
“Gabriel?” she said questioningly.
“Yes,” he replied. He recognized her, but didn’t know her name. “What happened to you?” he asked gently.
She opened her mouth slowly; her lips were chapped and cracking. Her eyes closed again. She needed water. “We were beaten and then bound.” Her eyes snapped open, as if the horrors she had endured were being replayed in her mind. “They clipped our wings, Gabriel.”
Dread filled him but he forced his voice to remain steady, confident. “Don’t worry about that now. First we are going to get you all out of here. Stay here,” he commanded, although he could tell that she wouldn’t be able to get far on her own anyway. He was about to move onto the next prisoner, when a loud horn sounded from somewhere in front of him. It came from the mountain.
Chapter Twenty-One
Soon after Clifford gave the order for his troops to mobilize, Taylor heard the angels’ horn sound. The trap had been unleashed.
Taylor had been watching Gabriel rescue the first of the prisoners, while keeping an eye on the secret path behind the boulder. When the horn sounded, angels frantically spilled out of the hiding space, some flying, other running at super-speed. They were all heavily armed.
At the same time, the main gate to the Lair was lifted and the demon army poured out, in no particular formation as was their trademark. There was no possibility that, on foot, the demons would be able to reach the front lines of the battle before the angel attackers. Thankfully, they had the ability to teleport.
Clifford raised the radio again, and started to say, “Teleport—” and then stopped abruptly. Something had caught the corner of his eye. With a loud war cry, hundreds of angels flew from the top of the demons’ mountain, high above them. Many of them landed on top of the demon warriors, slashing with swords and blasting with guns. A melee ensued, as the chain of command was disrupted and it became every demon for his or herself.
Taylor watched in terror, as the demon army was forced to fight for their lives while, at the other end of the valley, the angel attackers were closing in on Gabriel and the other would-be rescuers.
Chapter Twenty-Two
When he heard the horn, Gabriel knew they were in trouble. He had only freed one captive thus far and, given the condition of the prisoners—clipped wings, unable to even stand on their own—they would need to fly, or teleport, all twenty-six of them to safety, along with Sampson, who was incapacitated and in need of medical attention.
Then he heard a roar from behind him and turned hopefully, expecting to see the full power of the demon army teleporting in to help them. Instead, he saw a sky full of angel hunters, zeroing in on their prey. They were all alone, he thought.
Not one to dwell on bad luck, Gabriel sprang into action, running at full angel speed along the line of prisoners, slicing twice as he passed each of them, freeing their arms and legs. Having no other choice, he let each of them slump to the ground, some of them wincing in pain from the impact. The added aches and pains from each fall would be minimal compared to what would happen to them if he didn’t get them out of there soon.
When he had unfettered the final angel, he saw the first of the angel sneak-attackers honing in on him. He pretended not to see him coming, and then at the last second he ducked under the killing strike that was aimed for his head, and deftly slashed his own blade at the attempted murderer. The angel fell to the ground with a thud, but another had already taken his place, slashing violently at Gabriel.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Taylor watched the trap closing in on her friends. Samantha said, “We have to do something.” Her usually calm and collected eyes blazed with fear. The situation seemed hopeless.
Clifford was pacing across the cave; he seemed unsure of what to do. Taylor had never seen him like this and it scared her. What could they do? They were just human girls, she thought. Then, like a lightning strike, Clifford’s words from earlier pierced her mind: The power within you is far too dangerous. She was not just any human girl. She was the one. The one who was destined to end the War. It seemed that both the angels and demons had assumed that she could only help the angels to win—because only angels were able to harness her power—but no one had considered the possibility that a rebelling angel could instead use her against the angel army. Even she had not considere
d that possibility, but now it seemed so obvious that she nearly screamed it at the top of her lungs.
“Use me!” she shouted.
Clifford stopped his pacing to stare at her. Taylor’s words didn’t seem to register, so she said more firmly, but less loudly, “Use me, Clifford. The power within me, I mean. Use me.”
Clifford appeared to understand what she meant and raised his eyebrows, surprised that he had not considered the notion. “But who?” he asked, searching her eyes for something he couldn’t quite grab ahold of.
“Gabriel,” Taylor said simply. “He’s done it before, we practiced back at school. It’s our only hope.”
Clifford’s head jerked up, as if his sudden understanding gave him a shock of electricity. “Okay, here’s the plan. Sam, you stay here. Taylor, I will teleport you as close to Gabriel as possible, but then I will teleport out just as quickly. You have to get to him and convince him to use you as a weapon. I suspect this will be quite difficult, given you will be in the midst of a battle and he will be reluctant to put you in any danger, especially after what happened the last time. His first instinct will be to fly you out of danger, but you cannot let him do that, as it will mean sure death for everyone else. Is that understood?”
Taylor nodded, her brown eyes never leaving Clifford’s—they were intense and penetrating.
“Okay, hold my hand.”
Taylor reached out and clutched Clifford’s hand, squeezing much harder than was necessary. She heard Sam say, “You can do this, Tay,” just before she closed her eyes and evaporated into thin air. After feeling the whoosh and the twisting-turning feeling that she still hadn’t gotten used to, Taylor opened her eyes and waited to return to real life.