41
The water boiled. The tail of the Dragon whipped through the surface, hitting the side of the building with a force that cracked the foundation and sent puffs of mortar dust rising into the air. Amanda held her head, dreading the imminent collapse. Several seconds of violent wobbling followed, but the building remained standing, and the splashes below eventually subsided.
Out of the sea of blood, rose the Archangel of Retribution. His white wings were ruffled and smeared, his golden hair slick and dripping, but his eyes shone with righteousness and glory. All six of the Dragon’s heads lay severed at his feet, and the massive serpentine body no longer writhed and coiled.
“This should’ve been finished a long time ago.” Michael kicked at the only head still attached to the Dragon’s body – the limp one with the old wound. “But justice always finds the unjust.”
The angel turned his face toward the sky, his tense muscles visibly relaxing. He took a deep breath, basking in the victory. And then something unexpected happened. His lips curled into a rare smile. In the cracks of Michael’s unyielding mask of steel, Amanda now saw compassion and mercy. All this time, she had viewed him as nothing but a tyrant and a bully, but somehow there was also good in him – he just kept it hidden from the world.
“And now for the grand finale!” Lucifer said and produced a golden harp and an arrow. “I borrowed this from your late boyfriend, Amanda – what a kind, kind soul!” She placed the arrow on one of the strings and pulled it back. “Now, they say that archangels can’t die, but I’ve always had this theory…” With one eye closed and the tip of her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth, she took aim. “With the right timing… the right artifacts… and the right… method.”
With a cry, Amanda threw herself in front of Lucifer just the angel released. The arrow struck her in the back, piercing her skin and muscles, lodging itself in her shoulder. A strange dizziness overcame her, and she fell to her knees, the tip of the arrow protruding just above her collarbone.
In Amanda’s periphery, Michael spread his wings and shot into the sky, disappearing in the clouds.
Lucifer sighed and rolled her eyes. “And why exactly did you do that?”
Amanda shook her head, trying to clear the haze. The moment of understanding was gone. Michael probably hated her, and she didn’t like him either. So why had she done it? Compassion? Sympathy? Some kind of twisted obligation? Strange thoughts floated above her like balloons. Perhaps she knew deep down that Michael was good and didn’t deserve such a fate. Maybe she didn’t want to relive the execution of Boromir from the Lord of the Rings – that scene had messed her up for a long time. Or she just wanted it all to be over – that could possibly be it.
“Very well, I guess Evan will have to find another girlfriend,” Lucifer said and shrugged. “I mean, I’m not going to pair him with a broken and suicidal one like you – he’s had enough of such women in his life. Luckily, you humans are all cast in the same mold.”
Lucifer took the bearded man by the hand and turned away, ready to leave. But then she stopped herself and looked over her shoulder at Amanda.
“Actually, you’ve been such a good sport in all of this. I’ll give you this kindness.” Lucifer handed the harp over to Evan. “Aim at her heart, dear. She’s suffered enough.”
Evan nodded slowly and pulled the string back. An arrow appeared between his fingers. Amanda noticed it was made out of pure darkness, as opposed to the wooden one sticking out of her shoulder. A sheen of sweat coated Evan’s forehead, and violent red dots soiled his turquoise eyes. The number of the beast flared on his arm.
“Death…” he whispered. “Death…”
Amanda closed her eyes and turned her face toward the sky, praying that she’d meet Marc soon. “Please.”
The building shook, and Evan lost his balance. The arrow whistled past Amanda’s head. A lion’s roar echoed out over the city.
Fangs bared and mane flaring, Valefor landed on the roof. The impact cracked the concrete, and the already abused side of the building fell away, taking Evan with it. Lucifer cried out and moved to save him, but Valefor was already all over her.
They tumbled – claws and wings and limbs in a tangled mess. Dazed, Amanda glanced between the struggling angels, her leaking shoulder, and Evan dangling over the turbulent water, desperately grasping a set of rusty reinforcement bars sticking out of the broken concrete.
Far below, the nostrils of the Dragon’s limp head flared. Lazily, the membranes of its eyelids slid back, revealing a set of milky eyeballs. The seventh head was blind and lame, but apparently not quite dead, and Leviathan opened his mouth. Rotten and yellow, the teeth filled his maw, which started to salivate in anticipation.
Once again, Amanda’s eyes followed the pattern, unable to make sense of the situation or force her body to move.
Angels. Arrow. Evan.
Valefor growled, and Lucifer screeched. The arrow grew in familiarity. Evan’s fingers trembled with effort.
Angels. Arrow. Evan.
Time itself seemed to push against Amanda from all sides at once. The three things aligned themselves in a hierarchy of urgency. At the bottom, she found Lucifer, whose fate was in Valefor’s hands now. In the middle, she saw the arrow that meant something, but her mind, jacked up on adrenaline and endorphins, struggled desperately with a fatal case of Presque vu. At the very top, a dilemma presented itself as a moral disease – help Evan or let him fall to his death?
Amanda had seen him murder all those people in the park, but under Lucifer’s influence, she had done the very same thing to Sarah, and much more brutally. Did he deserve a second chance? Did she? Lucifer wasn’t messing with her head now, so if she let Evan fall that would be on her conscience. And maybe he did deserve to die, but was she really the right person to decide that? Was it Evan that had pointed the arrow at her heart, or was it Sorath?
Evan’s fingers slipped another inch. The paralyzation finally released its grip on Amanda. She gasped and held out her hand to Evan. The pain shot through her body, but she managed to give him a steadier grip on the bar. Pulling with all her might, the sweat burning in her eyes, she finally helped Evan put his arm on the ledge. Inch by inch, he crawled up onto the roof again.
Panting heavily, Amanda rolled to her side. A blurry figure with white wings and onyx hair stood victorious over the copper lion. Amanda rubbed her eyes. Lucifer clutched Valefor’s still beating heart. With a laugh, she crushed it in her hand like a wet sponge. There was a strange undertone in the echoes of her cackle – a high-pitched titter that crept into the air and up on the roof, along with the slithering shadows.
Lucifer sighed in annoyance and turned toward the edge of the building, where Lix Tetrax drifted into view, her wispy hair waving like the tentacles of a nightmarish sea anemone.
“Have you come here to die too?” Lucifer said.
Evan knelt beside Amanda. His lips moved, uttering a mere whisper. “Death…”
Amanda’s eyes focused on the arrow again. The tip – that’s what she’d seen before. It was the very same thorn that had banished Uriel. Bracing herself against the pain, she broke it off and plunged it right into Evan’s forehead.
Blanching, he stopped mid-leap. Sweat flowed down his face and arms. Suddenly, his head snapped back, and he started convulsing. The red dots that had contaminated his eyes washed away, leaving only the pure turquoise. One by one, the numbers on his arm healed, and his tense shoulders relaxed.
“Amanda,” he said, and, for a moment, the thorn in his forehead flickered and grew into a complete crown before disappearing again. “Thank you.”
Evan turned toward the battling angels and held up his hand, spreading his fingers. “Enough.”
Lucifer froze. Her limbs pulled tight as if fettered by the strings of a puppeteer. Her eyes wandered sideways, and when she saw Evan, her mouth opened in a silent scream. Slowly, Lix Tetrax wrapped her hair around Lucifer, constricting her in wreathing shadows.
A beam of light, centered on Evan, cut through the darkness. His skin glowed, and his face radiated a golden shimmer. Amanda felt an incredible urge to bow her head, but Evan lifted her chin and helped her up. Even in the presence of the angels, she’d never felt such adoration.
“W-what are you?” Amanda whispered.
Evan smiled the warmest smile Amanda had ever seen. “I am forgiveness.”
Dizziness and pain came over her again. Her knees buckled, but Evan kept her steady.
“What?”
“My death was once used to abolish all of humanity’s sins, but you never learned to forgive yourselves or each other. After what Evan did, nobody would have saved him. And nobody would’ve taken an arrow for Michael. Nobody but you.”
“I don’t understand...”
“Have you heard the story of Job?” Evan said, his voice as mellow as a dove’s flight. “Just like Job, everything you cared about was stolen from you. Your life, your friends, your health, and most importantly your heart’s keeper.” He placed his hand on her chest. “When others would have lain down and given up, you kept pushing forward. You thought that you did it out of hatred and for revenge, but the truth is that those emotions aren’t strong enough to give someone that kind of resolve. Only love can do that. Even when the world was crumbling around you and everything appeared lost, you still helped someone who only moments earlier had wished to take your life. You have shown me that there is still good left in the world – your actions brought me here.”
“Because… you are forgiveness?”
“Yes.” Evan nodded, looking out over the ruined city. “Before I go, promise me one thing. When you rule the infernal plains, stay true to yourself. Hell doesn’t need another devil.”
Amanda stared at the bearded man, who turned away and took a step toward the light. “Wait! Can I come with you? There’s nothing left for me here.”
“That choice is always in your hands.” Sorrow crept into the lines on Evan’s face. “You can choose to give up or to keep fighting. Nothing of value comes without suffering and effort. Life and love are without price, and that is why they hurt so much. But it is a voluntary suffering – a choice – and free will is what makes you human.”