At The Gates

Chapter Twenty-One

A ways from the gathered Nephilim, Rachelle set us down on one of the foothills of the mountains that ran to the south of Eden’s gate. An almost full moon and the height allowed us to see the grassy plain while being far enough away to avoid letting them know we were there. The men and women of DRAC rustled around, nervous energy making the whole group ripple-like waves as they waited to engage.

Rahim magicked a viewer into place so we could watch the Nephilim as if we were right there beside them.

Azrael had yet to attack apparently, the half-breeds still milled about. Though they didn’t look like an army, their people scattered all over the place without any obvious discipline, there was no mistaking their ability to do harm. Easily five thousand of them clustered on the plain beneath Eden, each with some kind of weapon. They were ready to fight. Just seeing them gave me chills.

“It looks like we’re early.” Just as I spoke, the Nephilim broke out in a panic. “Or not.”

Through the viewer, we saw the clusters of the Nephilim turning in on themselves, pockets of activity springing up all over. Flashes of gunfire boomed to life as they reacted to the invisible threat, the muted sounds hitting us seconds later. In their frenzy, a number of the half-breeds fell from friendly fire.

Unsure of what had riled them up, it was a few more seconds before we realized what was happening. From the ground, immaterial vampires drifted up in their midst. They solidified and attacked, then sunk back into the bloody earth below as the Nephilim mounted a frantic defense. Bodies crumpled in their wake.

“How come I’ve never seen you do that?” I asked Katon.

He shook his head. “Because I can’t.”

He looked a little jealous, so I let it go, my attention back on the battle.

Within just a minute, the vampire sneak attack had sown chaos. The Nephilim ranks began to spread out to better see the vampires as they materialized, the edges of their lines fraying. That only helped the vamps pick them off. Uncertainty spreading like wildfire, the half-breeds began to panic, jittery shots claiming more of their own lives than those of the enemy.

Near the center of the Nephilim a thick cluster of them pulled together and formed a tight circle of bodies. Unlike their brethren, they held their ground and fought smart, working together to minimize their losses. The Nephilim around them slowly drifted further away from the pack, isolating the group more every second.

From where they sat, it was a subtle thrust, but from up high it was very telling. Whoever was leading the attack, Azrael or Grawwl, knew what they were doing.

Katon said aloud what I was thinking. “The vampires are a scouting mission more than they are an attack.”

Scarlett and Michael looked at him with wide eyes neither a tactician. Poe just nodded, clearly seeing what we had.

“The Nephilim only worried about their skins are scattering under the assault. Those who have a greater purpose are closing ranks and fighting with passion and discipline,” Katon explained.

Rahim cut in. “They’re fighting to defend the key piece.”

Katon nodded, giving Scarlett a gentle smile as she too caught on.

“Azrael doesn’t have the numbers for a direct assault,” Poe noted. “That’s why he’s singling out the piece holder. He’ll bring in the lycanthropes once they’re isolated.”

A hopeful thought popped into my head. “He doesn’t think he can beat the Nephilim at full strength or he wouldn’t be separating them.”

“Who could?” Rahim asked.

The glimmer of hope I couldn’t see earlier suddenly winked to life at Rahim’s words. “Katon, find me Venai in that clusterfuck down there. She’ll probably be a part of the organized group.” He started scanning the viewer immediately. “Rahim, once we find her, I need you to port me down there.”

“You think popping in to that is a good idea?” He pointed to the manic swirl of ants in the distance.

“No, but if I can get Venai to crack the whip and get the rest of her people organized, it might be worth it.” I shrugged, trying not to think about what I was getting myself into. “If Azrael could wipe the Nephilim out himself, he would have done it without a second thought. He wouldn’t be hiding behind the vamps and shifters and he certainly wouldn’t be fighting a technical battle unless he felt he had to. He’s either holding back to save his energy for the battle in Heaven, or he doesn’t have it in him to beat five thousand half-breeds. Either scenario works in our favor.”

Katon called out that he’d spotted Venai. Rahim raised a furry eyebrow as if to ask if I was sure.

I borrowed a white shirt from one of the security force and scavenged a vial of Lucifer’s blood to take with me. Then I handed my bag to Katon and turned back to face Rahim. “Just keep an eye out. Azrael and the weres are bound to be in play soon. I’ll stall them when they show, but if the Nephilim can’t pull it together, we aren’t looking at much time.”

Rahim nodded, sharpened teeth showing his disapproval. “Be safe, Frank.”

I was gone before I could respond, appearing a short distance from the clustered Nephilim, my head nodding imbecilely. Several of the half-breeds turned to look at me and I waved the shirt, my makeshift flag, before they got it in their head to shoot.

“I need to speak to your leaders and to Venai.” I kept the flag going as a number of them trudged toward me. There was some doubt in my mind that they understood the gesture, because they didn’t look happy.

“Back off!” Venai’s basso voice roared from behind them, my balls dropping a little at the sound. She looked at me, her expression no less fierce than those of the other Nephilim circling me like hungry animals. “I thought we had a deal, demon. Where is your piece?”

Thunder rumbled above us as if in response to her anger, small billows of white appearing to dot the night sky. We glanced up at the same time, our gazes returning to lock on one another’s after a solemn moment.

“Well, the Grim Reaper fucked all that up.” I pointed upward at the building storm, certain the battle so close to Eden was throwing the Tree into fits. The clock was ticking faster.

Her eyes narrowed as she moved closer. “What are you talking about?”

“The werewolves and vampires work for Azrael. He wants the key too. He’s using the vamps to isolate your piece holder.” I motioned toward the clustered Nephilim to make it obvious the plan had worked. “He’s holding back because he doesn’t think he can take all of you at once. You need to martial your troops and-”

“We’ll do no such thing, demon.” A bronzed behemoth strode toward us, a toothy snarl glistening feral behind his thick and wild beard. Cold gray eyes glared at me from under bushy eyebrows. While not quite as big as Longinus, or even McConnell for that matter, he packed a busload of muscle onto his six foot frame. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re working with the vampires. Kill him.” He waved his hands as if dusting me away.

“No!” Venai shouted and stepped in front of me to block her cohorts. They froze, uncertainty oozing from their expressions. “We don’t have time for this, Errik.” She drew his attention to the storm. “His people still have a key piece, regardless of why he’s here. If we kill him now, we’ll never get it in time to escape the storms.”

The clouds had already thickened, rolling in fast like a tsunami wave. There were still slivers of moonlight peeking through here and there, but not many. Another few minutes and there wouldn’t be a sky left. A little while after that and there wouldn’t be anything left.

Sense and logic clearly weren’t one of Errik’s strengths. A monkey with a math problem, all dragging knuckles and grunts, he clenched his fists and dug his heels in. “Don’t make me have to kill you too, Venai. This demon is a-”

I didn’t get to hear what he thought of me because his sentence ended when a wash of magical energy splashed over us like someone had just done a cannonball in the dimensional pool. We all turned to see a glistening red portal ripped open in the air just twenty feet above the gathered Nephilim. Through it dropped a wave of furry ninja lycanthropes, Grawwl in the lead.

They fell over the packed group who barely had time to look up, blood flying in gallons at impact. Guttural snarls were met by piercing screams, the weres wreaking havoc in the tight formation of startled Nephilim. Body parts were tossed into the air, pieces of shredded meat flung in all directions.

Unable to resist, I looked at Errik as he stood there with his mouth hanging open. “I told you.”

Venai gave me a dirty look and raced toward the attacking weres, shrieking for the scattered Nephilim to come back to the main group. Errik and his men stood there a moment longer, dumbfounded, before it finally sunk in. At last, they bolted off to join the fight.

The Nephilim around me oblivious to my presence, one mutt pretty much the same as any other, I looked to see if Azrael had arrived without me noticing. He was still nowhere to be found. That worried me, but it also confirmed my earlier suspicions. He was holding back for some reason. I just didn’t know what that reason was, and that worried me.

I watched for a moment longer as Grawwl and his buddies tore through the Nephilim ranks, the half-breed discipline and grace fading fast under the sharpened claws of the lycanthropes. Hesitant to give the okay to attack, Azrael likely lurking about for exactly that scenario, I knew we were running out of time.

The clouds had completely obscured the moon, their bright white a roiling blanket that covered the entire sky, casting an eerie white glow over the land. The wind picked up in gusts and the tangy stench of ashes stung my eyes and nose. The longer the battle went on, the deeper the shit we were gonna be in.

Yet another moment passed and I dug deep, but I just couldn’t find it in myself to give the order that could condemn my friends. In the back of my mind, my mother applauded the gesture, but now really wasn’t the time for her sentimentality.

A deep breath of decision burning my lungs, I sent a telepathic message through to Rahim, telling them to stay put for a little longer.

I’m such a mama’s boy.

My gun out, I sidled around the abattoir of moaning Nephilim and took aim at Grawwl. I might as well have been chopping my dick off for all the pain I was opening myself up to, but sometimes the smart move isn’t always the right one. Before I could think about it further, I pulled the trigger.

The first shot hit him in his neck, his head snapping sideways in irritation. The second and third thumped into his massive shoulder as though it was made of steel. He didn’t even wince as his red-orange gaze swung about and honed in on me. When our eyes met, he loosed a savage roar and dropped down on all fours, barreling through were and Nephilim alike to get to me.

“They told me you were out of the fight, mutt. Obviously I’m going to have to do the job myself.”

Puckered up so tight I could shit diamonds, I looked around to make sure no one was sneaking up on me, and got ready to face down Grumpy.

“There’s nothing but air and opportunity between us, furball. Come get some.” I’d probably regret antagonizing him, but it wasn’t like he was gonna kill me any deader than he already planned to.

He came at me fast, but his retinue stayed busy at the dog pile. Sometimes you get lucky.

More room to move this time and having a better estimate of his speed, I waited until he dove at me before I leapt out of the way. I slipped past his flashing claws and tucked into a ball, rolling to my feet a few yards away untouched.

“ Ole!” I waved the white shirt at him and smiled.

Momentum and size working against him, Grawwl spun and fell into a tumble as he tried to adjust. The two bullets I put in his ass probably didn’t help his balance any.

After a moment, he got to his feet and came at me again, his breath huffing like an overloaded freight train. He muttered something but all I caught was the word dead. Me thinks he was a little ticked off.

Once more I waited until he was close, then feinted right, waving the shirt in his face before diving left. Again, his claws whistled past without hitting me and he struggled to slow down and turn around.

I emptied the clip in his back and slapped another one into place as he spun around. A solid hunk of muscle, my bullets weren’t doing anything to stop him, barely penetrating his hide, but at least he wasn’t near the key piece.

He stood his ground for a second, as if wondering how to handle me, then apparently decided he wasn’t quite finished with the charging approach. He tucked his head and sped toward me again. The look in his eyes told me he thought he had it figured out.

A quick glance at the Nephilim told me they were starting to bite back. Their numbers, slowly being rallied by Venai’s call, began to sway the tide against the leaderless lycanthropes. Surprised and a bit annoyed that Azrael had yet to show his face, I couldn’t imagine we were gonna get a better opportunity than now to make a play for the key piece, trap or not.

Concentrating to keep from saying it aloud, I sent a message to Rahim to go when he thought best just as the skies rumbled overhead and the wind started to sputter, the gusts petering out. Lightning flashed above and cast a purple shadow over the ground. It was an ominous warning of the fall to come.

My attention jumped back to Grawwl before he tore me a new one. He came at me and swung both of his claws out to his side, expecting me to leap away. Instead, I threw the shirt at him and ducked and rolled between his legs-doing my damndest not to look up-and popped out behind him. He earned a couple more bullets for his effort.

Just as he got himself turned around, I suddenly felt the oozing presence of Azrael. It rolled over me like fresh tar, a moist and sickening creep of energy that enveloped me as though I had slid into a pool of quicksand. A flutter at my neck told me he had appeared right behind me.

Then the pain came.

Struck in the upper back, the blow slammed me into the ground face first. A crash test dummy, I bounced a couple of times before coming to rest in the grass, my ears ringing. Through the whistling, I heard Grawwl’s gravelly roar of triumph, the sound growing closer.

“Enough!” The power of Azrael’s voice rattled my skull. “You fool.”

Not sure who he was talking to, I rolled over to see sparks of fury flying from Azrael’s eyes. He was looking past me, his bony finger crooked toward the battle.

“The demon’s friends are going after Lilith’s rib.”

Grawwl and I both turned our heads to see Katon and Rahim tearing into the weres with abandon. Aided by his magic, the wizard was a force to be reckoned with. Were-bits were exploding all around him and his blackened body was soaked with blood, wet red trailers following in the wake of his claws. He had a vicious grin on his face, pieces of fur and flesh caught up in his teeth.

Katon flittered around Rahim, his sword lashing out at anything that moved. Silver sweeps left dead or rigid werewolves falling left and right. Playing wingman, anything that even dared go for Rahim met its end at the furious tip of Katon’s sword.

“Get them!” Azrael screamed to Grawwl, who stood there indecisive.

Finally, Grumpy saddled up and stormed off to join the fight. Azrael growled and turned his attention back to me.

“I had hoped you would be repentant when I returned, but I see stubborn has won out as the dominant trait.” He floated toward me, the flames in his eyes throwing up black smoke.

Not looking to antagonize him, I stayed down, inching back along the ground slowly. Through my peripheral vision, I saw Grawwl entering the fray, his bellows rallying handfuls of weres and vamps to his side. Rahim and Katon met him head on.

“Just like my father, right?”

He laughed, the fire easing back. “So, now you wish to speak of your sire here as you prepare to die?” The whirling obsidian cloud beneath him melted away, black tendrils fading out of sight, and he stood before me with a skeletal grin. “I’ll entertain your sudden curiosity, not because your ploy to delay me worked, but because it suits me.” He glanced over at the fight, and seeming satisfied for some strange reason, he looked back to me. “Your father was a murderer and a rapist, and quite masterful at both. In fact, that was how you came to be.”

My face warmed as his implication hit me. I’d engaged him to allow DRAC time to operate, but I was beginning to regret it.

Azrael’s grin grew wider, obviously feeding off my discomfort. “Does it bother you to think of your mother being raped, grunting into the sod like a common whore being rowed?”

Without even realizing I’d done it, I fired on him, the gun barking fury in my white-knuckled grip.

Azrael batted my bullets away as though they were nothing, closing the distance in an instant. My gun flew from my hand and he struck me in the chest, the blow reverberating all the way through to my back.

Lightning bolts of white pain exploded in my torso and radiated out, searing a path along my extremities, ending at my fingers and toes. A tingling numbness followed in the aftershock. My body twitched and flopped as my nerves reacted, then relaxed, dropping me flat. My eyes whirled and my vision tunneled for a moment, before widening and returning to focus.

Azrael stood over me, his toothy smile splitting his face wide, a macabre Jack-o’-lantern.

“The best part of it was she liked every moment of it; the moist dirt of the field pressed cool against her face, the smell of her sex as it mingled with the morning air. Her scent was an aphrodisiac, Triggaltheron, sweet and tempting like a ripened fruit plucked straight from the tree.”

Numb, I did my best to ignore his words and get to my feet. Azrael laughed and pinned me down by holding my arms, his cadaverous face moving in closer. “I know all this because I was there, demon. I watched as your mother squirmed beneath your father’s strident ministrations, her hands clawing at the dirt. She screamed and thrashed about like a banshee, yet ever pushed back to meet his every thrust like the wanton little cunt she truly was.”

Napalm tore through my veins and I fought against his hold. His bony fingers cut into my arms as I struggled to rise. My clutching hands sought his heart, falling just short.

“She cried when he released his seed, but they were tears of joy, Triggaltheron. They were tears for you, little demon. She knew right then she was special, that she’d been honored by the rutting she’d received; that she would soon be with child.”

“I’ll fucking kill you,” I screamed, frothy spittle flying. Everything was hazy, my fury screaming inside me, shrieking to be released.

“Will you? Is that what you’d like to do to me? Carve me up over the course of days and feed my remains to the fire?”

I screamed again, feeling something pop in my back as I strained against his grip. Thrashing about, I flailed and struck at him, but Azrael just laughed as my pitiful blows.

“Let me tell you another secret, Triggaltheron.” He leaned in close and pressed his clammy lips against my ear, his grip tightening. “Long have you lived a lie, an illusion fed to you to keep you docile, to keep you in your place. Lies perpetuated to steer you from your rightful rewards.” His words wormed inside my head, slithering cold and harsh. “Your friends lie to you because they fear you. They use you to go against your own, to defy the wishes of your father.”

“My father is dead.” Thunder rumbled overhead as if in sympathy.

A cold, bitter laugh tickled my ear. “Of all the lies you’ve swallowed like the lonely whore desperate to find love in a mouthful of bitter seed, that’s the greatest of them.”

The words sunk into my mind like hammered railroad spikes. My anger bled away through the holes and I went still to hear what he had to say.

Azrael kept his grip tight, but his smile warmed at my sullen compliance. “Aah, you’re listening with our mind at last. Well then, listen close. The man you killed with such passion, with such glorious brutality, for which you paid Baalth so dearly for the pleasure, was not your father. He wasn’t even the man who murdered your mother.”

My stomach clenched into a solid knot and I stared into his flickering eyes, into his soul, desperate to see the lie there, to know his words were false. The truth stared back at me. It wasn’t what I wanted to see.

Bile roiled inside me, flicking serpent-like at the back of my throat. Azrael nodded as the sickening reality sunk in. The man I’d killed for murdering my mother was not who I had been led to believe. I’d been deceived.

My heart sank and I went limp, the truth draining everything from me. I’d traded my innocence for the power to kill the man I thought was my father, the man who murdered my mother. It was all a lie. My soul mortgaged to Baalth for years, the cost of my freedom something that still haunts my dreams, had been for nothing. Though I knew the man I’d killed was no innocent, he was of the crime I’d so horribly torn him to pieces over. The image of his dying face came to life in my mind’s eye, his horror so clear.

Guilt boiled over with my vomit. Azrael released his hold and stepped back as I rolled to my side, retching.

“You should have run to Hell and waited this out, Triggaltheron. It would have spared your heart such brutal revelation. Now you must live without knowing your father’s true face or that of your mother’s killer.”

I puked again, sick with myself and all I’d done. Questions swirled inside my head like my vomit did in the grass, running into itself and going nowhere. There was no exorcising guilt.

“I thank you for bringing Eve to me. I’ll reward your servitude by slaying your friends quickly; both those who challenge my minions and those who still hide upon the hill.” He held up Eve and winked. The bone in his hand was sickening proof of his boast.

My heart slowed. Spittle dripped warm down my chin as I lifted my head to look toward the fight. Rahim and Katon had done well it seemed, bodies were piled thick at their feet, but the tide had turned against them. Grawwl still stood, an army of vampires shielding him as he closed on Rahim and Katon.

To make things worse, the Nephilim had pulled together, their numbers apparently the confidence they needed to engage the weres, as well as DRAC. They were lashing out indiscriminately, anyone not one of them was an enemy. Surrounded, Rahim and Katon looked battered, defending attacks from all quarters. It wouldn’t be long until they fell, Azrael’s addition guaranteeing it.

I concentrated as best I could, and reached out for help, for Michael. There was only silence.

Thunder rumbled, shaking the ground as if in triumph as I rolled over to look up at Azrael. He stood a few feet away, his black lips peeled back in a fearsome grin.

“Enjoy what’s left of your immortality, Triggaltheron, for its moments are numbered. Perhaps if you are appropriately humble, I might one day tell you who your father is.” He stood over me and laughed, gesturing toward the battle where Rahim and Katon were desperately fighting to stay alive. “Now, I must put an end to this nonsense.”

Everything crumbling down around me, I dug deep for one last sliver of hope and reached out for Poe.

A whispered voice answered back. “How nice of you to call, Mister Trigg.”

Despite the sarcasm, my heart leapt at hearing Poe’s crisp monotone. “Glad you guys are okay.”

“That’s not the word I’d use, but Mister McConnell and I managed to win a few of us free from Azrael’s vampires.”

My sliver faded. “Is Rachelle with you?”

There was only silence from the other end, its agonizing nothingness driving defeat into my heart, one pounding beat after another.

“I’m here, Frank,” Rachelle’s voice echoed inside my head like the voice of an angel.

Still on the ground, Azrael having only walked a few paces, I called out to him. “Tell me something, Azrael.”

He looked back to me, his arrogance framing his face with smug confidence. “Be quick, little demon, I’ve a world to conquer.”

I got to my feet and met his fiery gaze. “You’re a fan of rape, right?”

He looked at me, his eyes narrowing. “What are going on about?”

“That’s what you said, isn’t it? You got off watching my mother being raped, right?” I couldn’t keep the venom out of my voice, his words careening through my head, Abraham’s dead eyes staring at me.

Azrael grinned. “Don’t make this your last stand, boy. Either quiet down or die, the choice a simple one.”

I grinned back. “I’ve got another idea.” In my head, I passed on a message to Rachelle making damn sure I didn’t say it aloud.

The words sent at the speed of thought, a shimmering blue portal the size of a house appeared just inches from where Azrael stood. His eyes flew open wide as he looked into it and stumbled back.

“Sic him, boys.” A horde of dread fiends burst from the portal, crashing into Azrael with fearless tenacity. “Welcome to our own private gang-rape, Azrael.”

The archangel shrieked as he was dragged under a pile of snapping jaws and sharpened claws. Eve fell beside him, being kicked about as Azrael fought back against the fiends.

“One of you, bring me that bone.” I pointed at Eve, then turned to face the still flowing line that spilled from the portal. “The rest of you, kill the Nephilim and only the Nephilim.” Over a hundred fiends laying into Azrael, the remaining couple thousand stormed from the gateway toward the wide-eyed half-breeds who scattered before them. Poe still on the line, I had him convey a message to our guys not to worry about the fiends; they were the cavalry, as unlikely as it seemed.

Still unsure of my control over the dread fiends, I didn’t want them confusing a certain friendly werebear and vampire for the rest of the rabble, so I kept the commands simple. At least with the Nephilim out of the way, Rahim and Katon could handle the rest. I sent another quick message to Poe to have Rachelle close by and to get McConnell ready to join us once the gates were open. Scarlett apparently out of the picture, details unknown, I was gonna have to improvise.

A dread fiend panted up to me, holding Eve in a bloody claw. Giving it a pat on the head as thanks, I snatched the bone and sent the fiend back after Azrael. It did so with morbid glee, its dripping tongue lolling out of his mouth.

You gotta love the enthusiasm.

The last key piece in hand, I made a mad dash toward the remnants of the fight. Rahim and Katon had turned their opponents toward the fiends, and though the dreads weren’t attacking the weres, they were distracting them. There’s nothing like a couple thousand sub-demons storming past to get the heart rate up to a nice, brisk pace.

The Nephilim who had been swarming them were now scattered across the field, many of them in fleshy chunks and bloody pieces. The tight organization had crumbled under the wave of dread fiends, and the few who still stood nearby were falling fast.

Grawwl had organized his men and was flinging them at Rahim as though they were chess pieces. He hung back as the werewolves threw their lives away, trying to give him a clear shot at the wizard.

The tactic sound, it was a good idea not to take on Rahim head-to-head, but he’d forgotten about me. His back exposed, I stashed Eve and raced toward the oblivious werebear. Knowing full well Grawwl could shrug off my shots as though they were bee stings, it didn’t make any sense just to start firing away. Since I was too exhausted to draw upon my magic, it was time to be creative.

Staying behind him, I ran at him full tilt. As soon as I got close, I leapt onto his back and sunk my left hand into his fur and latched on tight. He roared in surprise and defiance as I jammed the barrel of my pistol against his open eye that turned to glare at me.

“Sweet dreams, Grumpy.”

As fast as I could, I pulled the trigger, keeping the gun as steady as possible as he bucked against me. Black blood and milky fluid exploded from the socket like a geyser, my hand and gun soaked with it. His razor-throated growl ceased in mid-course and he went rigid. The paw that had reached up to swat me stopped cold and hung in the air for a second before swinging lifeless to his side.

Grawwl twitched, a waterfall of thick blood spilling through his daggered teeth, and then collapsed beneath me. I rode him down with a whoop.

“You’re gonna make one Hell of a rug.” I slid off his rigid back.

Rahim tore through another werewolf and ran over to me. “We lost the Nephilim piece holder,” he shouted over the battle sounds. “We need to find him.”

My emotions a roller coaster, I plunged cursing the whole way down. My eyes flitting to find him, Katon saved me the trouble.

“I don’t think it matters anymore.” He drew our attention upward.

Amidst the gathered white clouds of the storm, illuminated by the purple flashes exploding around it, a brilliant white portal was tearing open the sky. Bright light filtered down as the gates to Eden eased into existence.

“Look,” Rahim cried out, pointing to a pile of broken Nephilim not quite ten feet from us.

A glow similar to that of the gate glimmered in the pile of bodies, its source hidden under ravaged flesh, its rays piercing the ruin that lay over it.

“Over there too,” Katon added, gesturing to another similar glow obviously emanating from Adam’s skull.

I yanked Eve out and saw that she too was glowing and everything clicked. The mystery of how the pieces went together was answered; they didn’t. They just needed to be close enough to each other, their presence enough to trigger the gate. “Get those other bones and bring them closer to keep the gate open.” Rahim and Katon responded immediately and ran off after them. In my head, I called out for Poe.

“McConnell is already on his way, but he isn’t the only one,” the mentalist’s even voice reported.

My eyes snapped to the sky. Like a flock of birds shooed from the bushes, the air was full of darting shadows that raced toward the opening gate. Vampires led the way but the Nephilim who could fly-and there were a whole bunch of them-were close behind, and gaining.

In the race to reach Heaven, the two groups stopped fighting, concentrating only on being the first to cross the finish line. The clouds surrounding the gate roiled, flashes of lightning blurring the sky in defiance of their presence.

Without Scarlett to race ahead to Uriel, we were gonna have to do it ourselves. “Change of plans,” I shouted to Rahim and Katon as they returned. “You guys try to hold the gate. I’m gonna go for Forcalor.” Our odds still slim to none, I thought it best to seek out my old mentor rather than risk Uriel killing me in the heat of battle. That would suck.

“No one is going anywhere!”

An explosion of force followed the words and the world around me whipped into frenzy. Like a nuclear blast, a wall of kinetic energy trampled over us, leveling everything in its path. I slammed into the ground hard as if I’d been hit by a giant flyswatter. My skull felt as though it was gonna leak out my eyes, my body tingling with pinpricks of shock. I couldn’t get my arms or legs to respond. They lay there trembling as though not connected.

Through the haze of my wobbled mind, I saw Azrael as he came to stand before us. The fiends had done him no favors.

Claw marks ravaged the left side of his narrow face, flesh hanging from his cheek and forehead. His skull was visible beneath the wounds, soft white amidst the oozing black seep. His body was no better off. His robes were shredded, their tattered remnants wet with growing stains of blood. He held a crippled hand out before him, the last two fingers little more than dripping stumps, teeth marks visible in the remaining flesh of his palm.

“You are dead, demon.” He spoke through clenched teeth. The swelling at his jaw pretty much confirming it was broken.

I cast a quick glance to where Katon and Rahim lay and neither seemed to be able to get up either. They floundered about trying desperately to stand, their legs in rebellion.

Azrael stepped over me and glared down, infernos in his eyes. His uninjured hand shimmered with obsidian energy that threw sparks in every direction, and he raised it to strike.

“Not so fast, Azrael,” a thready voice warned from behind the archangel.

Old Grim spun about and glared. Akrasiel-Raguel- stood there bold in his golden armor, his intricate sword pointed toward Azrael.

Azrael just laughed, the sound muted by his injured jaw. “You’re too late to balance the scales, Raguel.” He gestured to the dark forms that flew toward the gate to Eden. “The Tree is in its final throes and will soon die along with your pitiful dream of Heaven.”

“It’s not dead yet,” Akrasiel countered while casting a sideways glance at me.

“You think the little demon prodigy has it in him to save the Kingdom?” Azrael shook his head. “You’re as big a fool as Lucifer for believing this runt could be the Anti-Christ. Worse yet, Raguel, you’re an incorporeal fool whose time has passed.” He waved his hand at the archangel. A tendril of energy snapped out and passed harmlessly through Raguel as though he weren’t there. “Without God and Satan in the world, you’re nothing but a ghost.” His laugh whistled between his teeth.

“I might not have the power to stop you, but sometimes all it takes is a distraction to turn the tide.” He winked, a satisfied smile springing to life on his lips.

Azrael looked to me then up toward the gate. Silent explosions, like cascading fireworks, were highlighted against the cloudy backdrop. Vampires and Nephilim alike fell burning from the sky. A fetid rain of flesh and blood followed. I didn’t need to see him to know it was McConnell, the gray tracers a sure sign.

While it thrilled my heart to see the cowboy doing a good deed, I knew he couldn’t hold out for long. Surprise working in his favor for the moment, it wouldn’t be long before he succumbed to his wounds, his magic tearing them open wide. If that didn’t kill him, the surging wall of vampires and half-breeds who slipped past his defenses would.

Azrael shrieked and looked back at me as if weighing his options. I must not have made the cut as far as his priorities went. He turned and loosed a burst of energy at Raquel, the sparking bolt of blackness scouring the archangel’s presence away, its power dispersing the angel’s ethereal image.

Without another word, Azrael leapt into the air and streaked toward McConnell, an obsidian trail of shadows swirling in his wake.

Azrael gone, I crawled my way to my feet, finally able to function somewhat. Rahim and Katon did the same. We staggered toward one another, all of us stumbling as though we were drunk. I could only wish.

Despite the head start of everyone else, I was confident we could still get to the gate first, with Rachelle’s help. I just wasn’t sure what we could do when we got there. Looking into Rahim’s eyes, I saw he was running on empty, Katon only slightly less weary. I knew where I stood and it wasn’t good.

“You ready for this?”

Both nodded without hesitation despite knowing we had no chance. Talk about balls.

As I sent a message to Poe, I glanced up and saw Azrael plowing his way toward the gate, bowling over vampire and Nephilim alike in his rush. McConnell’s energy had begun to slip, the wall of explosions I’d first seen now little more than the flicker of candles. He was running out of power, his body defying him.

The storm around the gate had grown worse, the first signs of its deadly fall beginning to manifest. Lightning flickered through the clouds with such tenacity that the entire sky seemed purple. Azrael was right, the Tree was on its deathbed, thunder its death rattle.

Rachelle’s voice sang inside my head and I started to give her our locations when a thought sparked to life, cutting through the murky gloom of my defeatism. I told her to wait a second and looked to Rahim and Katon.

“I’ve an idea.”

Rahim shook his head. “We don’t have time to get laid, Frank.” He glared at me impatient.

“Though that’s a great idea, it wasn’t what I had in mind.”

McConnell’s explosions now gone from the sky, the first in the wedge of Nephilim and vampires reaching the gate, there was no time to explain. I gave Rachelle coordinates and hoped dearly I hadn’t just helped to screw the pooch.

As a shimmering blue portal appeared before me, way too small for any of us to fit through, Rahim snarled, his eyes flickering red as he realized I’d gone ahead with my plan. Katon just stared as I dug in my pocket and yanked out the vial of my uncle’s blood.

I popped the stopper and stared at the shifting blood inside for just a second. A frustrated sigh slipped out and I growled, then made up my mind to hurl the open vial through the portal. It spun and zipped through the passage, a scarlet arc whipping about behind it as it flew out the other side of the portal and careened into Heaven.

“What are you thinking, Frank?” Rahim asked with a graveled stutter, his ursine face just inches from mine. Katon stood behind him, his sword wavering in my direction, fury and confusion engraved upon his dark face with equal measure. He’d always thought I’d betray them one day, believing I still owed a debt to Baalth. He might be right about the betrayal, but in my defense, I’d never do it on purpose.

By accident or incompetence was an entirely different matter.

Watching as Azrael and thousands of violent intruders disappeared into Eden’s gate, I felt my chest tighten as the stress of the last few days caught up to me all at once. My legs going limp beneath me, I fell to my knees staring up at the ashen flakes that drifted down toward us. Thunder rumbled so loud it shook the ground, but the gates stayed open, enemies pouring into its gaping maw.

“I’m thinking I just fucked us all,” I answered in all honesty. “How was it?”

Though the original plan never really had any realistic chance of a happy ending-at least not for us-had I stuck to it we could have gone out with some semblance of honor, dying in battle, however futile. Instead, I went with a stray thought that popped into my head after days of sleep deprivation, drunkenness, and plain old fashioned physical abuse. It wasn’t one of my most rational moves.

After a moment of screaming at me, Katon and Rahim stumbled off and I barely noticed. My eyes were frozen on Eden. Not only had I condemned us all, but I’d pushed Uriel and Forcalor under the bus while I was at it. I’m nothing if not generous.

My stomach a boiling pit of guilt and acid, I heard a high pitched whine scream to life. It sliced through my skull. Above us, flickers of light, like a million matches being lit at once, appeared before the gate.

I looked to Rahim as he readied his magic to take him and Katon up to Eden, apparently oblivious to the sound. “Wait!” I screamed at them as the whine grew inside my head. Pointing to Heaven, they glanced up to see the flickers.

Right then, the world exploded.