Page 39 of Camael
Camael and his men hit Heaven's administrative district with a vengeance. Their blades sliced through flesh as they engaged former brothers and sisters who'd given themselves to darkness. Each strike felt like betrayal. It hurt Camael’sheart to see so many taking Lucifer’s side once again. But he didn't hesitate. Not when the very foundations of Heaven were at risk.
"The corruption's strongest near the Archives," Rami called out as they fought their way through another wave. His blade took a corrupted angel's head while Camael's follow-through turned its partner into ash.
Camael’s breath caught. "The First Records. If someone got their hands on those..."
"They could rewrite the basic laws of existence," a familiar voice finished for him. The words dripped with enough smug satisfaction to make Camael see red. He spun to find Jeremiel emerging from the Archives' entrance. The archangel's white wings were shot through with darkness. His eyes swirled with malevolence, making Camael's stomach turn.
"You," he growled as his brother’s betrayal hit him like a wrecking ball. "You've been feeding intel and weapons to Lucifer this whole time."
Jeremiel's laugh could have frozen hellfire. "Someone had to help him level the playing field. The old order is dying, brother. It's time for something new. Something pure."
"Pure?" Rami's blade sang through the air as he engaged a corrupted guard. "You call this abomination pure?"
"This is just the opening act, brother." Jeremiel spread those corrupted wings, and holy hell, wasn't that a sight? Darkness dripped from feathers that used to shine brighter than Heaven's spires. His smile was pure nightmare fuel as he added, "When those barriers crash? That's when the real party starts. No more playing by the rules. No more good versus evil bullshit holding us back. Just pure. Raw. Freedom."
The fight that followed redefined Camael's whole concept of celestial warfare. And considering he'd been doing thisshit since before time learned to crawl? That was saying something. Jeremiel came at him like demonic possession in angel form. The male had always been a skilled warrior. You didn't make archangel by collecting celestial participation trophies. But this? This was some next-level combat that belonged in Hell's highlight reel.
Their blades met with enough force to make Heaven's foundations do the cha-cha. Divine steel screamed against corrupted metal while power exploded outward in waves. Camael blocked a strike that would've taken his head off, then countered with a move they'd practiced together for millennia.
"Brother, stop this!" He tried reaching the warrior he'd known since Creation as they took the fight vertical. "This isn't you. Lucifer is twisting everything you were meant to be."
Jeremiel was beyond words. His blade never stopped as they twisted through ancient spires. Each clash of their weapons sent out pulses of energy that turned pristine marble into gravel. Their wings carried them higher and faster. They were locked in a deadly dance of steel and grace that rewrote the rules of angelic combat.
Camael realized something seriously wrong was happening every time their blades connected. The corruption flowing through Jeremiel's essence? That shit was contagious. It reached for Camael through each point of contact. The evil was trying to download itself into his grace. It whispered promises that made his warrior's soul want to hurl. It was trying to turn his divine light into the same twisted horror show that had eaten his brother's spirit.
Fighting your own flesh and blood was hard enough without evil trying to give you a spiritual STD through blade-to-blade contact. Camael had no way to fight this. This was about fundamental forces. Light and shadow. Creationand destruction. They needed someone who could work with both energies. They needed Amelia.
"Hold the line!" he barked at Rami as he launched himself toward Earth. His wings cut through reality faster than thought as he raced to collect his witch.
He found her exactly where he'd left her, at the mansion with the Dark Warriors. She spun toward him the instant he materialized. "I need you," he said without preamble. "Heaven's burning, and you're the only one who can stop it."
To her credit, she didn't hesitate. "Then let's go save paradise."
The return trip would have killed a lesser being. His witch held onto him with steel in her spine and fire in her eyes. They emerged into a Heaven that was barely recognizable. The corruption had spread further. The pristine architecture was turning black. Rami and his mate were helping hold the line at the Archives. Their blades left trails of divine fire as he fought alongside Michael himself.
"Focus on those Archives!" Camael barked as he set his female down. His Sword of Light was already singing through the air, taking out a corrupted angel trying to flank them. "The infection's anchored in there. You shut that shit down, and we've got a shot at saving this place."
Watching Amelia work her mojo was better than premium angel porn. The Key at her throat lit up brighter than a supernova as she hit those Archive steps at full speed. Her power crackled around her like she was mainlining pure adrenaline. Her hands moved through the air with lethal grace while she worked magic that was beyond Camael’s understanding.
He kept the ugly stuff off her six. His blade carved through anything stupid enough to try interrupting her workflow. Two angels who'd clearly drunk Lucifer's Kool-Aid tried rushing her left flank. His sword separated theirheads from their shoulders faster than you could say ‘divine retribution’. Their bodies hadn't even hit Heaven's marble before three more took their place.
"Keep going, witch!" he called out as he engaged the new threats.
Pride swamped Camael. His witch was something else. While he was playing celestial bouncer, his female was making Heaven's most sacred texts her bitch. The power pouring off her would've made lesser beings spontaneously combust. Literally. She worked it like she'd been born to rewrite Lucifer's vile operating system.
Nobody got within twenty feet of her without going through him first. And considering his kill count was already high enough to give Heaven's accountants a coronary? That was saying something. Her power spread through Heaven's streets like a cleansing wave. The darkness writhed and fought. But it couldn't stand against her power.
Jeremiel's scream of pure rage cut through the celestial throwdown like a demon at a prayer meeting. His wings spread wide. Corruption dripped from them like toxic rain as he watched his carefully crafted plan circle the cosmic drain.
"What have you done, you pathetic witch?" The words came out in a snarl that would've made Hell's finest flinch. Instead of attacking like the suicidal idiot Camael expected, his brother's expression shifted to something way more dangerous. Calculation.
His eyes narrowed as he took in the scene. The smart bastard was doing the math and realizing his odds had just gone from bad to ‘holy shit, we're screwed’. "This isn't over, brother." Jeremiel's laugh could've stripped paint as he backed away, his wings mantling for flight. "You think your little witch can fix what's already been broken? The darknesshas spread further than you know. Further than even Heaven can reach."
"Running away?" Camael taunted. His Sword of Light was ready for whatever play his brother might make. "That's not very archangel of you."
"Oh, I'm not running." That smile promised more trouble than a demon with daddy issues. "I'm just choosing a better battlefield. When we meet again? Your witch won't be able to save you." Jeremiel disappeared in a burst of power that left traces of evil in the air like a bad perfume.
"Amelia!" Camael barked out as he carved through another wave of ugly. "Force these angels toward the central courtyard. We need them contained, not destroyed."
