An angel’s road to hell

32. Of rituals, zombies and a little kiss

Cassandra Pendragon

Ahri and me stood side by side close to the wall. Greta was a little in front of us, her eyes closed, swirling swaths of energy coursed through the air around her. Specks of green, golden and red light illuminated the night and my fur stood on edge as the air became saturated with power. With a commanding gesture Greta threw her hand out and the light coalesced into a steady stream which she hurled against the wall. There was no sound, only a magnificent display of colours when her spell crushed into the enchantments. For a moment the night turned into day as every sigil on the wall lit up and crumbled away under the onslaught of Greta’s magic.

As quickly as it had begun it came to an end, the glyphs still glowed, but not because of their own power. They had been utterly destroyed, the stone had been melted and lava glimmered in the night. Greta breathed heavily and turned to us: “go, may all the ancestors guide you!”

We sprinted forwards and as soon as we reached the shadow beneath the wall we jumped up and climbed the last few meters. It was the first time I was truly grateful for Greta’s arduous training. Quiet like a whisper we scaled the top and dropped down on the other side, immediately heading for the cover of a huge tree close to the perimeter.

We had arrived in the garden surrounding the palace, I had never been here before. Exotic plants and beautiful flowers sprawled along neatly laid out paths. Several fountains added the music of running water to the scene and the starlight from above made everything shine in a silvery hue. The sweet fragrances and soothing sounds almost covered the stench of blood and the low moans still coming from within the tower.

We pressed our backs to a tree, dropped into a crouch and waited. Surely someone would be along to investigate what had happened to the defences. I used the minute of quiet to study the wall behind us more closely. From inside I could now see the ugly soul runes beneath the burned sigils. They shimmered in a sickening yellow colour and even from a distance I felt nauseated, but that could also be the result of my knowledge that sentient sacrifices had been used to power up the runes. I thought I could hear the screams of the bound souls but that surely had to be my imagination. With a shudder I turned away and focused on the palace, expecting to see a wave of shadows pouring out into the night at any moment. But nothing happened. Except for the eerie sounds from within and the running of water everything remained quiet.

“Where are they? Shouldn’t someone have come running by now?” Ahri whispered.

“I don’t know. Maybe they are all engaged in whatever is happening over there. Let’s wait another minute and continue on.” I didn’t really believe in my own words, shadows were nearly mindless, only filled with the will of their creator. They couldn’t assist in whatever ritual the emperor was conducting, so why hadn’t they moved? The only explanation that came to mind was that they had been destroyed, their essence captured and repurposed to channel energy into another dark ceremony. Unfortunately I had no clue what it could be, but if I was right, the effects would be devastating, judging from the amount of sacrifices and time that had gone into it. I reached for Ahri’s hand and squeezed it tightly. I was really glad she was with me, her presence staved off my fear and allowed me to think clearly.

After a minute had passed and nothing had changed, we carefully snuck through the garden towards the tower. The nearer we got the more prominent the smell of blood became and the clearer I could discern different voices crying out in pain. I was sure by now that the sounds issued form the top floor, the rest of the tower remained silent like a grave. When we were less than 10 meters away from the foundations, I grabbed Ahri’s hand again and whispered into her ear:

“We could either try to get in on the ground floor and make our way towards the top or we could climb the outside and peek in directly. The others will assault the stairs any moment now, that should provide us with a handy diversion, we have to use it.” Her breath tickled my cheek when she replied:

“I don’t like this at all, Cassy. It feels like a trap. No guards, no attacking shadows, everything in our way has been a nuisance at the most. I think we are supposed to enter the tower and only the great fox knows what will happen once we cross the threshold. Is there a chance for you to wait outside while I risk a peek?”

“None at all. If it’s a trap we’ll face it together. I think we should…” I didn’t get to finish my sentence because the low moans and stifled cries suddenly stopped, replaced by a heart wrenching wail that pierced the silence and made us freeze for a moment. Red and purple light flowed through the windows on the top floor and illuminated the night. I was blinded for a second and when my vision returned our surroundings had changed.

Red and purple sparks danced over every living thing, us included. In the hellish light I could see Ahri sinking to her knees, her face drawn into an ugly snarl while the sparks sank slowly through her skin. The plants withered away but didn’t die, instead they turned into grotesque aberrations of their original form, grey and sick but with long appendages and poisonous thorns all over. From where I stood I could see the largest swarm of sparks cling to Boseiju, attacking the trunk and swarming down towards the roots. The branch we stood on trembled and I thought I could hear the great tree cry out in pain. The sparks around my body flared brightly for a second and winked out of existence without a trace.

I didn’t hesitate, Ahri was my first priority. I unfurled my wings and covered her in a mesh of glowing energy, burning off the remaining sparks. I couldn’t do much about the ones that had already entered her body but I hoped she would be able to cope on her own, I had been fast enough to get most of the malicious energy. When I retracted my wings and looked around I couldn’t suppress a curse.

Ahri had crumbled to the ground and laid there twitching, but she still looked like herself, maybe a little pale. The plants all around swayed without any form of wind and slowly inched towards us, their tentacles groping in the dark. The branch below shuddered more violently and with a resounding boom the main gate to the palace in front of me flew open. In neat rows the kidnapped royals, their guards and servants as well as the remaining members of the second palace marched towards me. They looked like their old selves except for their eyes. They shone in the same light which had attacked us a moment prior and a complex array of runes and glyphs sprawled over their faces. Fuck, I had to make a decision. I could either grab Ahri and get out of here as fast as my wings would carry me with my tails between my legs or I could try to fly up to the top floor and maybe find a way to put an end to our troubles. I wouldn’t abandon my friend, whatever the cost, so all I could do was flee.

I dropped on one knee and slung my arms around her lithe body. Her furry ears tickled my nose as I straightened and pushed off the ground with everything I had. Slowly, much too slowly I rose into the air. Her weight pulled me down while the horde of zombies, I didn’t actually know what they were but zombie seemed appropriate, got closer by the second. I wouldn’t make it. With a defiant cry I overexerted all my muscles and managed to gain another meter. It wasn’t enough. When they had seen me take flight, the first row of zombies had broken into a run and the fastest one, a tall and muscular kitsune with three tails I didn’t recognise, jumped straight into the air. His fingers closed around my ankle like a bear trap and the additional weight proved too much for my slim frame. I couldn’t keep us afloat and we tumbled back to the ground, our blind passenger buried beneath Ahri and me.

The horde rushed forwards and the last thing I saw before bodies started to pile on top of us was Ahri’s face, her eyes wide open and shimmering in an all too familiar shade of azure.

Ahri Arete

When the sparks had hit me, pain had exploded in my mind. I could feel a foreign will invading my own, grasping for control. It felt like my brain was scrubbed with a steel brush, each nerve was on fire and I couldn’t move my body. Fortunately the invading force soon diminished massively but that first attack had already stripped me bare of any defences I might have tried to put up. I could feel the slow change within me, how I was corralled into a small corner of my mind and how my consciousness slowly dispersed into nothingness. I would have been terrified if I still had had the capacity to feel fear. Apathy crept through my being and, shameful as it was, I couldn’t struggle any longer.

But it wasn’t the end. Like a wildfire, a rush of fiery energy swept through me, drove away the apathy and reduced the invading will to ash. I could feel it burning through my body but it didn’t hurt, it felt revitalising, like a warm summer rain. The strain had been too much, though, and I drifted slowly into unconsciousness, the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me was Aurora’s voice: “when you wake up, whatever you do, don’t use your magic until we have had a chance to talk.”

Cassandra Pendragon

They didn’t want to kill me, no weapons had been drawn and even the slight punches that rained down on me were aimed far away from any vital organs. But I couldn’t move beneath the mountain of walking corpses and the lack of air made me dizzy. I didn’t see a way out, claustrophobia and the suffocating feeling ignited my panic. I struggled and squirmed, I lashed out with my wings and tried to burn the hellish runes. And even though I could feel one or two of the zombies crumble to dust under the torrents of energy, the mass on top of me didn’t become any less crushing. I was trapped and I could already feel my body shutting down. I pressed Ahri closer to my middle, trying to shield her with my body. “I’m sorry” I whispered. I didn’t only address her, even though I hadn’t been able to protect her, but also all of the others who had relied on me and were fighting just now. I hadn’t been able to do a single useful thing and now I wouldn’t have the chance to stand by their side ever again. I could feel Ahri shudder, probably from a well place punch and I made a decision. If I was going to be captured or killed, I would go down on my own terms. They said it was better to burn out than fade away anyways so I stretched my wings out as far as I could and prepared to pour as much energy into them as my core contained, the backlash on my body and soul be damned. At least Ahri would survive and the horde of zombies would be gone. I closed my eyes but before I had a chance to do anything, Ahri’s arms circled around me and I heard her voice in my ear, but somehow it sounded different, silky, more familiar: “don’t open your eyes, my love.” What the… I couldn’t finish my thought because a wave of heat and energy poured out of the girl who cradled me in her arms. I could hear the crackling sound of burning flesh and the nauseating smell of cooked meat entered my nostrils. The pressure disappeared and I could feel flakes of ash slowly drifting down and covering my body.

When I felt something warm and soft brush against my lips I opened my eyes again. Ahri’s face covered most of my view, her eyes closed and her arms still around me. I might have started to wonder what she was doing or what had happened if it wasn’t for the tips of four fiery wings I could glimpse behind her head. Holy mother! It clicked, I wasn’t the only angel on this planet. Seriously, what were the odds? Two angels and two demons on one planet… but that could wait. My first impulse was to draw back but it quickly was carried away by a flood of emotions I hadn’t expected. I felt warmth rush through my body, every ache disappeared and a tingling sensation rose in my stomach. I felt safe, angry, happy, relieved and worried, all at the same time and I did the only sensible thing: I froze completely.

Ahri…Aurora? must have felt me going rigid because she pulled back and opened her eyes. They were still green but this close I could see an azure shimmer in their depths and a red sparkle in her fur. She smiled.

“Surprise.” I was dumbfounded and then I had to laugh. I laughed at the absurdity of it all and because I simply didn’t know what else I could possibly do. It had just been too much. I could see her smile disappear as a frown formed on her face but before she could say anything I leaned forward and our lips met again. She had stolen my first kiss, I at least wanted a memory where I wasn’t acting like a dead tree.

A breathless minute later I couldn’t ignore our precarious situation any longer, even though I had  given it my best effort, and slowly drew back. But my wings remained intertwined with hers.

“There is so much I want to ask but I guess my questions have to wait. Except for one: can you help?” When I glanced around I added: “Well, more than you already did?”

Around us a perfect circle had been burned into the ground, the earth had crystallised into glass. Of the zombies nothing remained but vicious ash, a good part of it clung to our hair and tails. The plants and trees within the garden had been burned away their remains still smouldering on the ground. The tower in front of us had survived, but the walls had been blackened and the windows had shattered. Flames licked around the openings and I could see runes carved into the walls, now reduced to so much as molten slag.

Ahri drew in a shaky breath and answered: “Unfortunately I used up all the energy I had saved and I can’t yet draw in more from my core, it would kill me. I can’t even use magic anymore, my core is active and you would know the repercussions if I tried.” Damn it all to the demons and back!