Gods From the Machine (9 page)

“
Now I’ll leave you back to your studies,” Gabriel said. “See you on the field in a few hours.”

After the
pep talk Nick waited anxiously until he was summoned for the written exam. It took place in the middle of the Grand Hall. About fifty other students would be there, all with the same purpose. Once every pencil was dispensed they were allowed to begin.

He finished first
and with plenty of time to spare. Like Gabriel promised, the written test was a piece of cake. However, he couldn’t say the same for some of the others. A few soldiers struggled, erasing harshly on the paper or having what appeared to be a mental breakdown. One person even banged their head on the table in frustration. Nick was pleased with himself. With a spring in his step he took a last look at his paper before he turned it into the elderly administrator. She had a scowl upon her face as he walked off, probably a bit insulted that he completed the first hurdle so quickly.

He was escorted outside to wait for the results. He sat alone on the bench until all the other test taker
s were finished. One by one they joined him. Still, he sat alone however, as they conversed amongst themselves, each exclaiming how well they had done. It wasn’t until the final test taker emerged did they finally begin to sweat. It only took ten minutes before the test results were finished. The elderly administrator walked out and pasted the scores on the wall, leaving quickly before she was run over by the sea of excited soldiers.

Nick waited as they came and left
either rejoicing in joy, or holding their heads low in disappointment. Once they were all done and gone, he approached the pinned up paper. It was a list of names in alphabetical order, and had either “pass” or “fail” written next to them. Nick took a deep breath and scanned for his name. Pass! He passed! He felt instant relief, despite knowing he could not fail the written portion. A note at the bottom of the page redirected those who had passed to the training grounds, where the next portion of the test would occur. Now the true test awaited.

Nick entered the training grounds
next to the track and field, a giant coliseum with spectator stands surrounding it. He knew he was late because it was filled by people cheering or booing a fight currently taking place. On the scoreboard was the list of people fighting for knighthood and their opponents. They were on fight number four by the time he arrived, with the first three challengers successfully passing. Lucky them, they didn’t have the anxiety to wait for what was about to come. Nick’s picture placed prominently next to the number nine, and there was a question mark over his opponent’s face. Just like Gabriel said, it would be a surprise.

Peter
and his archangels sat near the scoreboard next to the announcer who was fervently describing the match in complete detail through an overhead microphone. Peter and the archangels were talking among themselves and pointing fingers, most likely giving their opinions on matchups. Nick followed along the sidelines and into the waiting pits, taking the seat labeled nine. Time passed on as five more matches went by, the final one before his. It ended in disaster however, as a poor girl was mercilessly pummeled by a brawny, pig-faced boy. Her dreams of knighthood shattered, like her ribcage. Her opponent was an arrogant prick, a knight by the name of Cyrus Cavil and one of Paul Evans’ close friends.

It made no difference to Nick that the mat
chup ended in his favor, but for Cavil to flaunt his victory annoyed Nick to no ends. Paul, with his cronies sat in the stands laughing raucously. He clenched his hand into a fist. Disgusting. Bullying was something Nick never tolerated. Seeing it in action and especially when it was to a girl made his blood boil. Paul would get it one day, and he hoped he would be the one to dish it out.

“
Now. Number nine, Nick Emberson! Please take center circle!” the announcer said. Nick tossed his jacket on his chair and stepped into the field as directed. There was no applause except for a couple of whistles and a “whoo” from Matt. He was the only one moving in the stone-faced crowd, pumping his fists in the air for support. Nick stopped in the center circle and waited for the name of his opponent. “And here to do combat with him for the honor of knighthood is none other than resident knight, Henry Wales!”

Anot
her of Paul’s goons stood up. The crowd erupted into cheer. Nick was pleased with the choice. He’d have an easy time projecting his rage onto someone so similar to Paul. If he squinted hard enough, he could imagine Paul’s face on his body. But before the guy could leap from the stand and onto the battlefield, Peter tapped the announcer’s shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

“
It appears there’s been a change of plans,” the announcer said. “In a rare change as ordered by our Supreme Commander, Daniel Swift will replace Henry Wales in this fight! I repeat, Daniel Swift, the apprentice to Sir Lucius shall be taking on Nick Emberson! This will be a hand-to-hand fight, with the winner chosen by knockout!”

The crowd went wild. They haven
’t seen a straight, serious blow-to-blow fight all day and they were craving bloodshed. This was an unorthodox decision by Peter to be sure—to have an archangel’s apprentice enlisted in a bout. Fighting another soldier facing the trials was one thing, but an apprentice? It had never been done before. Did Peter have that much faith in him to do battle with someone who was regarded as superior than a knight? Something was strange about this arrangement, but Nick was never one to back down from a challenge. The crowd was already excited and he himself was curious about what would ensue. He felt it inside himself, the bloodlust and desire to fight. Was this how Matt or Peter felt when they were fighting? It was entirely new to him, this kind of thirst. But one thing was for sure, the energy from the crowd and the promise of a challenge brought out a different side to him.

Nick waited as Daniel approached the center ri
ng. He towered over the kid. Daniel’s chipper smile made it hard to believe this matchup would be worthwhile to see. Any way he saw it, it was one-sided, and would end with Daniel lying face down in a puddle of his own teeth. However, he remembered what Gabriel had told him. Underestimating his opponent could spell out disaster. To pass this trial, he couldn’t afford give up any type of advantage.

“
It’s a real honor to have a match with the legendary Agrian,” Daniel said happily. “I hope I can deliver a good fight!”

Nick couldn
’t hold his laughter anymore. He regretted it instantly once he saw the look on his opponent’s face.

“
What’s so funny?” Daniel asked. “Was it something I said?”

“
Sorry, it’s just I don’t know whether to be insulted or not. No offense, but you’re the smallest knight I’ve ever seen.”

Daniel
’s eyes narrowed. Just like that, his cheery disposition vanished and he was a completely different person. “If I were you, I’d worry less about my size and wonder more about how I became an apprentice.”

“
Hey look, I—”

Nick
’s apology was cut off by the sound of the bell.

Almost immediately it seemed as if Daniel had teleported
from right in front of his eyes. He made his appearance by delivering a clean punch to Nick’s face, causing him to stagger backwards out of the circle.

“
Watch out!” Matt called, but his warning came too late.

Nick took a swing at his chest, amazed a
t his own speed in his new body. Daniel barely evaded it, dancing around the blow and moving to the side. The kid was fast, faster than even Matt. Another blow to back of the head by the small warrior, and Nick nearly fell on his knees. He turned, but Daniel had disappeared again.

Nick was getting frustrated.
His insides heated up with anger. How could this little runt be giving him so much trouble?

“
Nick! Fight back!” Matt yelled from the sidelines. “He’s just pummeling the crap out of you!”

Nick swung again, only to catch air in his fists once more. His failed strike went punished with a kick to the ribs. As Nick used one f
ree arm to shield his side, another punch met his face and knocked him on the ground.

He hated being put on the defensive and he was getting even madder, but how could he stop the assault? He got back up but was immediately forced into a defensive position. He was trying his best to bide t
ime. Daniel was faster, but weaker compared to other soldiers in his previous fights. Even still, Nick knew he wouldn’t last much longer if he didn’t have a chance to retaliate. Eventually, the small hits would accumulate and he’d be left as a bloody stain on the floor.

He swung at Daniel but missed again,
leaving himself open to another clean shot to his face. His left eye was swelling. The small apprentice was the most agile person he’d faced yet.

Nick was running out of options, and he was losing, but for some reason, as the fight dragged on
, he no longer seemed to care. Instead he felt wonderful. Being in the position he was in, and getting knocked around gave him a strange sense of pleasure. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt like a masochist, or someone who got sick thrills from getting beaten. The entire time his heart was pounding against his chest and he was excited, physically exhilarated. A voice spoke softly inside his head, telling him to push on through, assuring him that victory was within his grasp. He had to win. That was the bottom line; there was no other option. No matter what he had to do, he had to win.

As these thoughts poured
into his head, Daniel kept the pace, steadily whittling down Nick’s defenses. The pressure was piling on, and Nick was getting tired, but he wouldn’t give up. He would never give up.

“
Had enough?” Daniel taunted, continuing the assault.

“
Stop the fight!” Matt shouted in the midst of the loud audience. “He can barely defend himself!”

However, no one
intervened. Nick looked from the corner of his eye and saw Peter and the archangels watching intently, not saying a word. They were studying him, waiting for something to happen. Then he realized that they knew something. He had the power to win all along. Now was it time to use it. Agrian, the Lord of Rage was at his doorstep, waiting to be unleashed. He didn’t want to admit it, but a part of him knew that this was why Daniel was chosen. They needed someone with enough skill to free the beast within him. They needed to challenge Agrian in a way that would spurn his desire to prove himself. They got their wish.

At
the same time, the voice inside his head grew louder and deeper. It was Agrian saying telling him that the time had come. The Lord of Rage could no longer be ignored.

Something
surged in his body: his heart palpitated violently against his chest, until he felt like it would explode. He screamed at the top of his lungs and as he did, his arms burst with flames, the power of his transformation pushed Daniel a few feet back.

Nick
’s arms became a dark crimson color—spikey, scaly appendages protruded from them like demonic gauntlets. They seemed to be a cross between his human hands and reptilian claws. Fire burned at a constant and controlled rate around his arms, glowing brightly with his desire. Strangely, it didn’t hurt him at all. His heart returned to normal, the pain in his chest disappeared. He only felt relief, like the built up pressure valve was finally released. Not only that, but he felt stronger as well. His senses were seemingly enhanced and all the damage Daniel inflicted was nothing. This was the power of the legendary demon. This was the power of the Inferno Bearer.

In the
stands behind him he heard Peter say to his disciples, “His eyes…look at his eyes…” Nick turned his head, and saw the shock on their faces at the drastic change in appearance. Everyone was silent now.

“
They’re red!” Somebody gasped. “His eyes are red! Crimson red!”

“
He’s not human!” a girl cried.

“
He’s a demon!”

“
A monster!”

The audience became a mix of emotions
. They were afraid. They were angry. They were anything but pleased with this turn of events.

“
There’s nothing to fear! Everyone remain in their seats, this is an exercise!” Lucius shouted, trying to assure everyone in the stands. But even his silver tongue was impossible to quell their horror now. Soon everyone fled in panic at what they had witnessed.

Pe
ter retained a calm disposition. “Nick, try to control Agrian. Remember who you are despite all the anger you feel.”

“
He loses more control as the fight drags on, until he will stop at nothing to destroy Daniel,” Gabriel said. He too was monitoring Nick’s behavior very carefully. “It is in his nature.”

The nature of all demons was destruction. Fitting, considering all
he wanted to do now was to scorch the earth and send everything around him to fiery ashes.

Meanwhile, Daniel, who was caught off guard by a punch, refocused himself and attempted to attack Nick once more, but he was stopped abruptly by Nick
’s vice grip. His reflexes were astounding, his speed now surpassing the archangel’s apprentice.