The Fallen 3 (21 page)

“There’s still a chance,” she said. “Gather the others … get to Dusty before the Powers …”

“The Powers,” Aaron interrupted. He’d been hoping that Lucifer had been wrong. “Are you sure?”

Lorelei nodded. “I caught a glimpse of Dusty in the waking world before the instrument torched my brain, and I saw angels, beautiful-looking things but with murder in their eyes. There was no mistaking what they were.”

I
t was the harmonica burning the tender flesh of his lips that helped him break the instrument’s hold.

But for how long?
That was his worry.

The instrument was strong, constantly vying for control of him.

How did Tobias and the others do this?
Dusty wondered fitfully.
It is exhausting, like fighting against an ocean current
.

He stood there, instrument of the apocalypse still pressed to the bubbling flesh of his lips, and eyed the sights before him. It all seemed like some sort of bad dream, like something he might’ve dreamed while having a severe fever.

The angel leader stared with eyes like polished black stones, a twitch of anticipation dancing at the corners of his mouth.

How can something so beautiful be so terrifying?
he reflected,
his eyes darting to the five other angelic beings that were waiting for him to call the end of the world.

“Do it,” the leader of angels commanded, his voice filled with so much power and authority that Dusty almost felt compelled to do so,
almost
.

The instrument fought him, thrashing wildly against his psyche. He couldn’t blame it, really; the instrument just wanted to fulfill its purpose. But Dusty wasn’t ready to call down the apocalypse on an unsuspecting world. So he fought it, fought it with everything he had. He needed to show it who was boss; he had to take control of its divine power and use it to escape the situation he found himself in now: surrounded by bloodthirsty angels and zombies.

“Do what you were created for.… perform your purpose,” the angel leader commanded, voice booming.

Yeah, he needed to take the bull by the horns. Dusty had to use the instrument, not for what it was intended, but to save his own skin.

Dusty tried to remember what Tobias had done on that rainy night in the alley, hoping that he wasn’t about to accidentally do something he might regret.

“You want me to blow on this?” Dusty asked them, watching the angel’s expression turn from anticipation to surprise. Dusty was back in control.

The zombies just stood there, waiting for something to happen, but the angels spread their wings. Dusty wasn’t sure if
they were going to attack him or fly away, but he didn’t want to give them the chance to do anything.

Taking a deep breath in through his nose, he blew into the instrument, the air passing across multiple chambers, each of them containing two small metal reeds that vibrated to emit a hauntingly beautiful sound.

A sound that made all hell break loose.

Vilma walked faster to keep up with Aaron.

“We’ll need to find the others and let them know what’s happening,” he said, wearing that determined look she’d become so familiar with since he’d accepted his purpose as leader of the Nephilim, and all that it meant.

“I’m not sure how much time we have, but we’re going to need to leave right away if we’re going to get Dusty and the instrument away from the Powers and—”

Vilma stopped short, reaching out to grab hold of Aaron’s sleeve. It was all going so incredibly fast, and she had things to say to Aaron … things she
needed
to say.

Just in case.

“Wait,” she said, trying to slow things down for just a moment.

Aaron kept walking, the fabric of his shirt slipping through her fingers.

“Back in the library you asked me if I wanted to kiss him,” she said. “If I wanted to kiss Jeremy.”

Aaron stopped. “We don’t have to talk about this now,” he said, not looking at her. “There are more important—”

She spread her wings in a blink, leaping up into the air to drop down in front of him, blocking his way.

“No, there’s nothing more important right now, right this second,” she said to him, her eyes blazing. “We need to take a minute,” she said, “just a minute, to remember us. Not the mission, but
us
.”

Aaron looked as though he was going to argue, but she was on a roll now, desperate to get it all out.

“’Cause if we don’t remember us, what’s it all for, really?” she asked.

She moved closer to him and wrapped them both in her wings.

“Sometimes we need to be reminded of what we have,” she said, raising her hands to hold his face. “What we’re fighting for.”

She kissed him then, softly, gently, nervous that he wouldn’t kiss her back. But he did. And that made everything that was going on in her head and in the crazy world bearable.

“We really need to find the others,” Aaron said, breaking their kiss.

Vilma debated telling him about the weird attraction she felt with Jeremy, but decided that it wasn’t the right time. She needed to think about it more, to understand what had gone on between her and Jeremy Fox.

“I love you, Aaron Corbet,” she said, kissing him again. “Now and forever.”

“Now and forever,” he repeated, returning her kiss.

They were quiet for a moment, basking in the love they shared. There would be time for confessions later, when Vilma could think things through, but not now.

“That’s it,” she said, releasing him from her winged embrace. “We now return to our regularly scheduled craziness.”

He laughed softly, taking her hand as they continued toward the building where the others were likely to be, but they didn’t get far. As they turned the corner on the brick path, they came face-to-face with the others, Jeremy Fox in the lead.

“The world’s suddenly gone mad,” the Brit said, moving his finger around at his temple. “Just saw on the telly that the planet’s being overrun with all manner of beastie, and we were wondering what we intend to do about it.”

Vilma squeezed Aaron’s hand, letting him know that she was there for him, always, forever by his side.

“Nothing,” Aaron said calmly.

Jeremy looked as though he’d been slapped, and the others exchanged worried glances.

“For right now, anyway,” Aaron clarified. “There’s another situation that we have to deal with first.”

“What? Something more important than saving people from monsters?” Jeremy asked in disbelief.

“If the world comes to an end first, there won’t be any reason to save them.”

Vilma had to hand it to her boyfriend; he certainly did have a way of making a point.

Geburah should have been dead. His flesh was blackened and moist, most of it burned away to reveal the soft angelic muscle beneath.

Rising up from the rubble, the angel fluttered his mighty wings, stretching them as he shook away rock, dust, and dirt. He looked about and saw that nothing of the structure remained standing. The home had been leveled in the destructive release of divine energies when the carrier had used the instrument.

Pieces of bodies that had once been animated by the Corpse Riders littered the grounds. Broken limbs stuck up from beneath the shattered walls and roof, but he had no care for them or the foul creatures that had made them move after death. Geburah wanted to know the fate of his brothers. Fearing that he may have been the only survivor, he walked through the remains of the home searching for a sign.

Suria emerged, throwing aside a still-burning piece of furniture. Tandal and Huzia pushed up from beneath the wreckage like flowers seeking out the rays of the sun.

He found the remains of Anfial and Shebniel, the pair having met the full brunt of the instrument’s release. They were entwined in each other’s arms, as if comforting one another in death.

Feeling the eyes of his living brethren upon him, Geburah turned to them.

“As long as one of us survives, we will continue with our mission,” he said, experiencing discomfort as his divine flesh healed. He used the pain to focus himself, to plot their next move.

There was a chance that the carrier would again use the instrument’s power against them, but that was a risk they would have to take. Geburah spread his charred wings and leaped into the sky. The act itself was one of sheer agony, but he needed to see where their quarry had gone. The angel dropped back to earth, exhausted, still not healed enough to pursue his prey, but in the distance he had seen something that gave him an idea.

Kneeling upon the shattered remains of the dwelling, Geburah bent down close to the debris and listened. He could hear things slithering in the patches of shadow cast by the rubble. The surviving Corpse Riders were attempting to hide from the rise of daylight.

“Can you hear me, foul beasts?” Geburah asked, the sounds of many appendages skittering beneath the rock growing louder in intensity with the question. “Now is the time to prove your worth. Not far from this spot there is a burial place that will provide you with the conveyances you require. Traverse the shadows in pursuit of the holy relic. Stop the carrier before he is lost to us again.”

T
hough normally he did not notice changes in temperatures, the Morningstar was suddenly very aware of the cold.

“I’m actually going to miss all this when it’s over,” the child said over his shoulder, as Lucifer followed the little boy deeper underground.

“Where are we?” Lucifer asked, amazed by the vastness of the subterranean chamber, and disturbed that something with the propensity for so much evil could be hidden there … waiting for so long.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” the child asked, gesturing with his tiny hand at the immensity of it all. “We’re beneath an Antarctic lake, which is in turn located twelve thousand feet beneath the polar ice cap.”

The child turned.

“I’ve actually heard a rumor that some Russian scientists are very close to piercing Antarctica’s frozen crust in order to reach the lake.” He smiled, a nasty twinkle dancing in his eyes. “Can you imagine what they’ll think if they ever find my family?”

He giggled, the sound strangely ominous as it echoed about the icy chamber.

“But we need not worry about that, am I right?” the child said. “My brothers and sisters should be up and around long before the scientists can find them.”

Lucifer felt his pulse quicken. Just the thought of those things he’d seen imprisoned in the ice walking the earth was enough to send him into panic.

But he had to remain calm. He needed the evil child to trust him with his secrets. He thought briefly of Aaron and the others, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. They would deal with Wormwood while he handled this monster. He only hoped he had the strength to see this through.

Lucifer found himself suddenly alone. He raised the Light Giver, its crackling glow illuminating yet another trapped monstrosity. But this one was different.

He felt drawn to this one, pulled by twin yellow eyes that glowed eerily bright, even from beneath feet of solid translucent ice. He was the Morningstar, once the Lord God’s most powerful angel, and what he saw froze him as still as the petrified figure he now looked upon.

It was huge, its flesh the color of blood. Two enormous horns sprang from its head. Its eyes glowed like two searchlights, and its muscular, fur-covered legs revealed not feet but black cloven hooves. A thick muscular tail snaked out from behind the creature, and, seen on closer examination, leathery wings, like those of a bat, were folded at rest upon its back.

Devil
.

The word sprang to the forefront of Lucifer’s mind, for there was no other way to describe it.

This was how the world believed the ultimate evil should look, how earth’s old legends and myths had portrayed
him
.

Lucifer was both fascinated and repelled by what he saw.

The child was suddenly beside him, staring up at the frozen Devil with rapt attention.

“What is this thing?” Lucifer demanded.

“It’s me,” the child said. “Or, what will be me as soon as everything is in place.”

Lucifer stared at the frozen nightmare and then at the child.

“I made this,” the child explained, pointing to the frozen Devil. “This will be the form I wear when I emerge to rule.”

“You … made this?” Lucifer asked, eyes locked on the monster’s yellow gaze.

“I gave up my corporeal form millennia ago, choosing instead to exist in spirit,” the child explained. “But now that
the time grows near for my plans to reach fruition, I shall need a body again.”

All Lucifer could do was stare at the monstrous horned shape within the ice.

“I wanted to give them a shape that was familiar,” the child continued. “Something that would put fear in their hearts.”

He looked at Lucifer again and smiled.

“I will give them the Devil they know.”

Kraus could not communicate with him like the Nephilim could, but Gabriel knew that the human healer understood how important it was that he accompany him.

He’d even brought along his bag of medicines.

Kraus hurried to keep up with him, walking beside the dog as he led him to Lorelei.

There was a distant rumble of thunder, and Gabriel could not help but pause. Milton moved nervously from the top of his head down his neck, then back to his head again. The mouse was frightened, and Gabriel wished he could have reassured the small animal, but even he wasn’t too sure anymore.

The Labrador lifted his snout to the air, sniffing, and he did not like the scents he found there. Without really knowing why, he began to growl, a low rumbling sound that ended in a kind of anxious whine.

“What is it, boy?” Kraus asked, still standing beside him.

Gabriel knew that the healer was only human, but he wondered
if Kraus could feel what he did, sensing that there was something bad in the air.

Gabriel started off again, and Kraus obediently followed. At the front door to the science building, Gabriel barked impatiently.

“All right, I’ve got it,” Kraus said as he reached for the handle and pulled the door open so they could enter.