Fall From Grace, page 23
part #9 of the Preternatural Chronicles Series
“I fail to see how that matters at the moment, child.”
I wanted to explode at him for not accepting responsibility for what the Ether had just manifested, but now wasn’t the time.
Ymir finished forming, complete with a head that nearly touched the clouds.
“At least he’s smaller than when I first met him,” I said mostly to myself as I remembered the beast being over a hundred miles tall in the custom realm built just for him within Hell.
“A lot of good that will do us right now,” Ulric grunted.
“Do you see?” Magni asked in a voice that was his, but with a tone that was alien and cold, devoid of all life and love. “The creatures you forced on us will be your executioners.”
Ymir roared in challenge, making the entire world tree vibrate and my ears bleed with its sheer, violent power.
“Neat,” I think I said with healing eardrums before adding, “I think someone just peed in my pants.”
37
“Of course it would be him the Ether summons to face me,” Ulric mused, looking with narrowed eyes up toward the Norse giant’s face.
“Problems at home?” I quipped at Ulric, but my tone fell flat as I stared at Ymir. With a sigh, I added, “At least he’s not as big as he was in Hell.”
“There’s that, I suppose,” Ulric agreed.
My mind wanted to focus on how disgustingly weird it was to be fighting alongside the bastard known as Ulric, but the notion was crushed under the weight of the behemoth standing before us, his head touching the stony clouds. Compounding on this idea was the fact that Ulric himself was also treating the situation with the professionalism of a hired mercenary. That let me know that all parties involved considered the Ether to be a threat to everyone’s best interests.
The surreal feeling of fighting alongside Ulric brought with it a surge of ancient memories I longed to keep buried, making one corner of my mouth curl into the beginnings of a snarl.
Ulric had been my mentor for two centuries—two…centuries—and I didn’t enjoy the feeling of familiarity my body experienced standing by his side instead of face-to-face.
“Die,” the Ether coldly declared through Magni’s mouth.
Ymir roared again, prompting the three of us to jump into action.
“Go for his legs!” I shouted to Ulric as we sprouted contrasting wings simultaneously. My golden feathers shimmered in the low light while Ulric’s batlike wings pulsed with black veins.
“I’ll take the head!” I cried out to both of my, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, allies. “You go for the body, Locke!”
“Got it!” Locke shouted as I burst into the air alongside Ulric.
Crossing the edge of the castle and no longer subject to its reality-bending magic, the grounds of Faerie became as deep as the Grand Canyon. Ulric dove down, his sword morphing into the staff I was accustomed to seeing him with. The long weapon tipped with the Spear of Destiny formed in his grip as he descended toward Ymir’s legs. I wanted to point out that my heavenflame had done little, but then I told myself it didn’t matter which of his weapons he used, as both were from the same celestial class. At least the staff amplified his warlock abilities, or so I assumed.
As my maker with the demon wings flew downward, I, with my angelic wings, ascended toward the sky, forming a poetic contrast that felt forced. It was almost as if we were pawns in a game that we couldn’t see and were being played without the pretense of subterfuge from the opponents; instead, it was an outright play with zero regard for tact or care for what the pieces on the board wanted. I suppose I couldn’t be mad at seeing the game for what it was instead of basking in the obliviousness of ignorance.
Still, I had a part to play, and the stakes were much too high to revolt against whoever was manipulating my hand into action. That, and I had specifically demanded to be part of the adults’ table, just like a pouty child during the holidays. I couldn’t bitch and moan now that I had gotten my way and was allowed direct information rather than the usual vagaries that everyone around me seemed to operate in.
Locke let out a battle cry as the air all around started to pull in and condense toward the castle, making my ears pop.
Sensing the wizardly attack, I changed angles and shot straight up just as a frozen tornado burst from Locke’s wand and toward Ymir, growing exponentially as it tore through the distance between them. As the powerful blast of voracious air smashed into Ymir, frost began growing over his exposed skin while shards of ice pierced deep.
In answer, the giant sucked in a long breath that made me tumble in midair as the air rushed past me, to the point where my wings threatened to snap. Even while desperately trying to correct my tailspin and hold onto my precious beanie, I was aware that Locke’s own attack was being countered with a simple inhale of the giant.
The air stopped rushing, and I quickly corrected to see what was coming.
With hateful eyes, Ymir aimed toward Locke and let loose his own incredible blast of air from insanely large lungs.
“Shit…” I mouthed as a wall of air—every bit as solid as a truckload of bricks—smashed into me.
The world around me shook and spun to the point where my brain suggested this might be what it was like to be in an avalanche, if the snow was replaced by a sea of rocks.
As quickly as it had begun, the attack stopped, and I bounced off the castle wall with an “Oof” before grabbing one of the disfigured, asymmetric turrets that jutted from the structure like a rogue weed.
Looking toward Ymir, I was perplexed to see the rest of the air in his lungs hiss out as his eyes bulged wide.
Something caught my eye, and I looked down Yggdrasil to bear witness to something no guy wanted to see.
Thank Lilith Ymir was much smaller while in the confined space of Faerie, because Ulric had somehow manifested an entire pillar of obsidian rock that started at the ground and ended under a loincloth.
Instantly, my little guys started to retreat from the front lines, seeking refuge inside my pelvic cavity.
“Stop, you bastards!” I barked as my free hand tugged at my pants. “He didn’t hit you!”
Ymir recovered and swiped at the impressive pillar of black stone, smashing it to bits like it was a precarious game of Jenga.
To my surprise, I first heard, and then saw, Ulric cry out in pain as his manifestation was destroyed. He began to fall to the ground as his muscles seized and agony ripped through him.
My first instinct was to cringe because I knew he was in exquisite pain that could never be fully understood by anyone other than the three remaining vampires. But then I remembered, fuck Ulric, and let one corner of my lip curl in a smile.
“John!” Locke cried out, breaking me from my brief moment of enjoyment at seeing Ulric get what I’ve always wanted to give him—absolute and incredible pain.
Double-checking all my systems were in order and nothing was broken, I let go of the castle turret and dropped toward the ground.
Midair, I held my hands out in front of me to catch the air and did a slow backflip until my head was pointing toward the disfigured courtyard. I took a moment to wonder if Tim Burton would sue the Ether for clearly ripping off his style.
Expanding my golden wings, I mentally reinforced my armor while changing its configuration from one of blunt force protection to a more aerodynamic form. In my mind’s eye, I looked like I was wearing a suit of armor made by the designer of the stealth bomber.
Ymir was bent at the waist and was rearing back an enormous fist aimed directly at where Ulric had just smashed on the ground well below the castle.
On instinct, I willed Mjolnir into my grip and let power into my voice, making it boom enough to be heard by all.
“Locke! Hit him again!”
I couldn’t hear if my wizard friend confirmed or not, but the air around me began to drastically drop in temperature.
I hoped Locke trusted that I knew what I was doing as I placed myself between where I thought he might be standing at the edge of the castle and where Ymir’s exposed head and upper back were.
Seeing that the giant had only given his upper torso and head as a target, I pulled back Mjolnir right as a furious tornado swallowed everything that I could see.
I had to fight with all my might to prevent from being turned into a wet shoe thrown into a dryer, while focusing on my next move at the same time.
Then an idea came to me.
Letting go of my control, I pulled my wings in and began to twirl in place like an ice skater holding a jet engine out to the side to increase their spin. My stomach suggested this probably wasn’t the best idea, but I could worry about that later.
As I did my best to recreate the scene outside the Waffle House with the boys, I took a moment to be impressed that my vomit made the darkness of the vortex appear like a clear night sky with countless galaxies on display—only, it was the contents of my stomach that made up the specks of starlight.
As I spun fast enough that I must have resembled the Flash, I let loose the power I had been building into Mjolnir, and threw out a wave of angry electricity that perfectly melded with Locke’s elemental attack.
It was hard to tell, even with a brain able to process things about as fast as any computer on Earth, but a blue glow filled all that I could see, letting me know my idea had worked.
Just as with my gladius and the nine-inch nail, I was able to imbue Mjolnir’s unparalleled control of lightning into Locke’s spell.
I started to pass out when I smashed into the ground; only it didn’t feel like grass and dirt.
Instantly, my brain decreed that the only thing we could have hit with how long we had been descending was Ymir’s massive back or head.
Sending a massive amount of energy to repair my brain after being thrown in the spin cycle, I willed my gladius to life and thrust it into whatever exposed flesh I happened to have landed on.
Ymir roared, but not from my sword, which probably didn’t even register as anything more than a mosquito bite. Instead, a massive impact sent a shock wave from somewhere that felt like a mile away.
As the Silly Putty inside my head finished putting itself back together, I looked around to see Locke’s attack had frozen most of Ymir’s upper body, as well as transferred my immense current of power into his eager flesh.
Arcs of lightning danced over his body as the wind around me died down, leaving behind a landscape of frozen giant with electricity that frolicked over it like woodland creatures in any Disney animated movie.
With my sword still piercing Ymir’s skin, I lifted Mjolnir to the sky as I pushed more of my power into it, ready to strike at the hilt of my sword like a hammer to a nail.
The world around me shifted from horizontal to vertical, and the wind rushed loud enough that I wouldn’t have been able to hear a gunshot at point-blank.
Surprise made my grip on the sword and hammer double as I understood Ymir was quickly shifting from a bent-over position to a standing one.
Sensing my opportunity for leverage slipping, I screamed at the top of my lungs as I slammed Mjolnir into the base of my sword.
Incredible power transferred from the Norse hammer into my angelic sword at the same time that I focused all my emotion into the blade, sending a torrent of heavenfire into Ymir’s flesh with the added bonus of elemental electricity.
I screamed.
I screamed as I pictured Lily trapped in Hell.
I screamed as I hated myself for choosing to be here instead of helping the woman I loved.
I screamed at having to fight alongside Ulric, who had taken so much from me.
And I screamed at having broken my promise to Ludvig. Hayley had lost the baby. And I knew, with the unborn child’s loss of life, so too had Hayley’s will to live died.
Hate, rage, and regret was the dirt that I buried Ymir with…all in a grave that had been meant for me.
Fault lines began forming over Ymir’s frozen skin like a sledgehammer to a car’s windshield. Hellfire erupted from the quickly spreading cracks, electricity scattering alongside it. The giant began to roar, but this time, it was different than any time before. It was pained.
Ymir began falling backward toward the ground, putting me in a precarious position, but I couldn’t let my attack drop.
With fear added to the toxic cocktail of emotions that powered my gladius, I sucked in a sharp breath and bellowed again, this time sounding like a maniacal inmate escaped from an asylum.
The cracks down Ymir’s skin broke apart as the ice melted with help from the hellfire. A part of me was impressed that Ulric had gotten the same idea and had been able to work alongside my attack.
But another part of my brain knew better.
The hellfire was mine, proven by the current of power provided by Mjolnir that was interlaced with the flames.
Frozen flesh began to rip apart around me like enormous chunks of ice breaking from an iceberg.
Sensing I was winning the battle, I pushed onward.
More and more of my power was injected into Ymir, burning him from the inside out as the electricity disrupted the Ether he was comprised of. If not for Mjolnir, I didn’t think my angelic gladius could have harmed the monster enough.
I stopped screaming as Ymir continued to fall, giving me only seconds to act.
Shifting my mental focus, I poured my remaining energy into Mjolnir, which was still touching the hilt of my sword.
There was a crack as a bolt of insanely violent electricity rocketed through the giant’s body, draining me to the point where the world I could see was shrunk to a pinprick and my everything went numb.
I wasn’t aware of the feeling of falling anymore, as all of my senses had crashed with the last of my power, but I was acutely aware that all the air had rushed out of me.
A calm part of my brain suggested we had probably hit the ground, but not to worry.
When I asked why I shouldn’t worry, it simply responded with the same message: don’t worry.
Then the pinprick of light I saw faded from existence, and I let the little death take me.
38
“Knocked out twice in the same fight,” I murmured to myself as I manifested a folded lawn chair out of thin air, thrust it open with one hand, plopped it down in the darkness, and dropped into the seat. A leg hung over one of the arm rests, and I pantomimed opening a cold beer and taking a sip. “Let’s have it, then. What dreams may come and all that jazz.”
“John…” Lily’s ethereal voice whispered from somewhere I couldn’t pinpoint.
I shot to my feet, letting the lawn chair blip from existence in my dreamworld.
“Lily?” I asked with a tone laced with fear. My breaths came in shallow gasps as I peered into the absolute darkness of my subconscious. I didn’t know what to expect with my dreams and was content to just let anything that wanted to show itself appear. But I wasn’t expecting her.
“Lily? Are-are-are you there? Please…”
“John…I forgive you…”
“For-forgive me?” My mouth and throat were dryer than the surface of Mercury baking in the close proximity of our sun.
The scene around me shimmered, giving depth to a previously intangible world.
Above, Faerie was evident with the castle of the Seelie Court nestled in the middle of the world tree, Yggdrasil.
Below, Hell spewed lava and fire with the familiar colors of red, orange, and green.
I was standing on a ledge, looking at them both, and I knew what the significance was.
Choice.
I could only save one of the people I cared for.
Magni.
Lily.
Only one…and I had already made my choice.
My guts gnarled into lumps of unease as my chest tightened, squeezing my throat until I could only hiss air where words should have been.
Maybe it wasn’t too late?
The dangerous thought made my dry mouth begin to water as I shifted on unsure feet while a hand tugged at my beard.
Maybe I could shift down to Hell, grab Lily while giving the Devil the finger, and zip back! Yeah! That could totally work!
“Rip out your tongue,” Lily said in a memory that took place inside my old home under the cemetery. I had no choice but to comply, doing exactly as instructed.
I let the memory vanish.
The scene around me shimmered again, and a new one emerged.
Samael was standing in the shadows, with only his golden eyes giving away his presence.
Lily stood under a single spotlight, and she looked at me with a pained expression marring her beautiful face.
“Tell him to kneel,” Samael rumbled with his deep, demonic voice as golden eyes flooded with the red of fresh blood.
“Kn…kneel,” Lily said between sobs that were beginning to slip from her control. Tears streamed down her face as her bottom lip quivered.
My knees buckled with a force I had never felt. I knew it was from her command, but normally, I could resist…at least for a little bit. This…this was something else.
Red eyes narrowed at me from the shadows as a gleaming, demonic smile formed, reflecting light from an unseen source.
All I could do was scowl at Satan as he injected his will through Lily’s life-debt command.
Lily sobbed, seeing the helplessness in my eyes.
“I love you,” she cried out while lunging forward to embrace me, her trembling arms wrapping tight around my upper torso as she sobbed into my neck.
I wanted to return the affection and wrap my arms around her, but my eyes were fixed on the most powerful—and evil—creature in the universe, who continued to grin at me.
For some reason, I felt that if I were to give in and embrace Lily in front of him, that would be akin to acknowledging his victory over me.
From the shadows, I could see the outlines of Mephistopheles’s demon form.
With a flare for the dramatic, Samael walked forward into the spotlight that Lily had abandoned. As he crossed the threshold between darkness and light, his tall, demonic outline was replaced by his beautiful angelic form, all clad in white. Golden eyes peered down at me, watching as Lily continued to sob while clutching me tight.
