Page 24 of Light

He turned, gazing past Chamuel to the group of seraphim gathered in the hall. They stood in various poses, all looking expectant. Chamuel had gathered quite a horde.

“To what purpose?”

“The conflict in Syria escalates. The demon populous is lost to their lust. They have begun inhabiting the humans. We must quell them.”

Gabriel stood shaking off the emptiness in his chest. Vanquishing demons was just the distraction he needed to take his mind off her.

He had a fleeting thought that he ought to tell Dina he would be gone for an unforeseen amount of time but thought better of further interference in the girl’s life. He strode for the door, following Chamuel and the others out.

He could do this for her. For her, he would leave and give her the chance to ascend and be with the humans she loved for a peaceful eternity, and when the end came and the humans were made whole, she would take her place among them.

He landed first, faster than his brothers and sisters, and drew Dina’s sword, running a hand down steel. Around him, humans cried out, blades singing as they swung against one another. Blood flew, coating the earth.

Between them, dark, insubstantial forms glutted themselves on the death and despair permeating the land. Lost to their own insatiable desires, they joined in the fray, inhabiting bodies and killing with abandon.

Gabriel charged into the battle.

A human, wild-eyed and disjointed, ran for him, and he knew at once it was possessed. He dropped his sword, pressing both hands on either side of the man’s head and pushed the demon out, calling his soul back.

The man slumped to the ground as a dark form slid from his nostrils and began to solidify before Gabriel. He’d been too late for this man. His soul had already departed the Earthly plane.

Tugging his sword out of the ground, he stabbed the demon before it had fully formed. It blinked out of existence as another demon coalesced behind it. The man had been inhabited by two of the foul beasts.

Gabriel killed it quickly and dived to the ground as two demons inhabiting humans lunged for him. They hovered half-in and half-out of the human bodies. Their poison-tipped barbs wouldn’t have killed him, but the pain it caused was enough to have him ducking.

They turned, circling back for another attack. He sucked in a breath, blowing hard as they approached.

Caught in his gust of air, they flew back several feet. Both redoubled their efforts, diving again the moment he stopped blowing. He reached for them, but they dodged out of the way.

A sharp pain in his back had him whirling around, growling as he took off the head of a smaller demon. The human it had inhabited slumped to the ground, and he wrenched the demon’s talon from his back only to be speared in the shoulder. Spinning, he swung his sword wide, catching one of his attackers through the middle and sending it back to Primoria. The second dived for him again, and he swung, slicing through its chest. It disappeared, and he stuck his sword in the ground, leaning into it.

The poison in his back was deep, and it spread quickly, numbing the area. He swiveled his gaze, searching for a brother or sister to heal him. With the amount of venom pumping through him, healing himself would be difficult.

Another demon charged toward him, and he lifted his sword with his left hand, swiping for it. It danced back, easily avoiding his strike. The numbness was spreading, making it difficult to wield the sword. Seeing his weakened state, the demon charged him once more, and he feinted left, swinging for its middle.

An iron grip caught his wrist, stopping the fatal blow.

“Brother. That one is not inhabiting a human.” Gabriel blinked at Remiel and back to the demon floating on a phantom wind. The creature leered at him before dissolving into nothing.

Gabriel clapped Remiel on the back. “Thank you, brother. That was too close.”

He cast another look over the dust-caked bloody crowd, wincing at the poison creeping through his veins.

“Come,” Remiel said, leading the way off the battlefield.

When they reached a bare patch of ground, Remiel turned, pressing both hands into Gabriel’s back. Gabriel sighed as the numbness receded, followed by stinging pain. It was doing nothing to stifle the stab of agony in his chest, but magic would not heal that ache.

Gabriel spread his wings, lifting off the ground and soared over the mass of writhing, bloodied bodies. It stretched on in every direction, reaching all the way to the treeline. Though not the most significant battle he’d ever witnessed, it was of large enough scale that casualties would be great no matter the outcome.

At night, while the humans butchered one another with their failed medical practices, sawing limbs and digging into flesh to pull out bits of metal, the real attack would begin.

He would need to be here—they all would—to stop the worst of it.

For one moment, he let himself consider what Adalaide might be facing tonight, then, spying Chamuel disappear beneath a pile of dark creatures, he dived, letting thoughts of her drift to the periphery of his mind as he landed and began swinging.

Chapter 20

Adalaide

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