Chapter 8
As we pass through Heaven’s gate I look back over the bloodied battlefield and watch the remaining demons disappear through Hell’s gate. Letting out a sigh of relief, I transform back, looking over my shoulder to see that my wings are gone as well.
“Evander we need to get to the others,” Lucius shouts.
Stepping through the portal we are dropped right outside the armory. We quickly rush to the infirmary to check up on Frida and Perseus. Just as we walk in, Uriel stops us.
“I wouldn’t go in right now, they are in worse shape than we initially thought, but they are alive,” he says then looks at me. “If you ever threaten me like that again it will be the last thing that you do,” Uriel says in a stern and commanding tone.
“Well, if it comes to that then we will have to see if you can deliver on that threat,” I snap back as I push past him to see Frida. As I make my way through the facility there are angels rushing all around me. Grabbing one of them, I demand, “Where is Frida?”
He points down the hall to a separate part of the hospital.
“Frida and Perseus are in there being treated for their wounds,” he replies.
Running down the hall, I reach the door leading into their room.
As I push the door open I’m greeted with the sight of two angels finishing the bandages on Frida’s abdomen and three angles removing the black ooze from Perseus’s body while treating the horrendous burns that he has from it.
Walking over to Frida’s bed I see her head tilt up just a bit.
“Evander, is that you?” she asks with an extremely weak voice, as she reaches for me.
“Yes, Frida, I’m right here,” I reply, grasping her hand and stepping closer to her. “How are you feeling? I thought I almost lost you,” I whisper as I take a seat on the side of her bed.
She groans as she tries to adjust her position but is too weak to do so.
Looking at the head angel in the room I ask, “Why are they not healing at the normal speed that they should be?”
“When a Lycan such as yourself is injured by anything less than a demonic general or certain Hell beasts you will heal almost instantly. But if you are injured by a general or beast, then not only can it kill you, but it greatly slows down your healing ability,” she replies.
“I’m surprised that both of them are still alive. If you hadn’t intervened when you did they would most certainly have died,” she adds. “What and who were you fighting that caused such extensive and life threatening wounds?” she asks.
“It was a demon called Mammon and he had a Cerberus with him,” I reply, glancing over at Perseus.
Immediately she rushes over to the angels treating him and informs them what they are dealing with. Then she comes back to us.
“It’s a good thing that you told me that a Cerberus was involved.
That black stuff that Perseus is covered in is actually an extremely corrosive venom that the cerberi have.
It will not only burn you on contact, but once it gets into your bloodstream it will do the same as it travels through your body, until it either reaches your heart or brain, which will then kill you.
“It is so toxic that your healing abilities can’t heal fast enough to counteract it. But don’t worry, we have ways to treat it and we were able to catch it in time thanks to you.”
“Evander, I need you to come with me now,” Achilles says, short of breath after storming through the door.
“Don’t worry about Frida, she will be fine, I’ll wait here until you return,” Lucius says reassuring me.
“I’ll be back soon, this won’t take long,” I reply, then turn to Achilles, “Let’s get this over with,” I mutter in an agitated tone before walking out of the Infirmary.
Catching up to me as I storm down the hallway, Achilles grabs my shoulder.
“Calm down, Evander, the Archangels and the leaders of the divisions want to talk about what transpired on the battlefield today.”
“What do you mean? Like a debriefing?” I ask, trying to compare something from all that’s happened to at least what I know.
“Yes, exactly like a debriefing. What you transformed into I’ve only seen one other Lycan do and that was Rathor, but what you were able to do when you changed I have only ever seen Archangels do and frankly they are unsure of how to proceed,” Achilles informs me as we walk past the training grounds.
Rathor, why does that sound familiar?
“Isn’t he the Lycan that was turned by Lilith?” I inquire.
“Yes, that’s him and because of those events they are extremely cautious about it happening again,” he replies. “Here we are, remember all they want to know is what happened from your perspective.”
He continues as we reach a building that has Archangel Command written in huge golden words across the arch above the doors. He pushes open the towering black marble and gold lined doors.
We enter into what appears to be a headquarters of some kind with an enormous table in the middle surrounded by Archangels.
They all stop what they are doing and watch us approach the table, most of them with their hands resting on their weapons, worrying me a great deal. The man at the head of the table stands, a nine-foot-tall battle scarred angel.
When he stood up all the others turned their gaze toward him and sat down. He looked at me and in a deep powerful resonating voice said, “Evander, my name is Michael. You are here so that we can find out how you were able to kill Mammon. And determine if you pose a threat to us.”
Approaching the table, I address him. “To be honest it happened so quickly I don’t remember most of what occurred.
I remember hearing Frida scream in pain and when I looked up, Mammon had his ax embedded in her and I lost all control.
But instead of rage taking over, it felt more like, I don’t know, the same feeling when God connected my soul to Fenrir’s.
“The sensation I felt radiating from him was like divinity and when I embedded my claws into him, I felt that divinity… this is weird to say, but funnel through my arm into Mammon… You all saw what happened after that. It wasn’t until everything calmed that I noticed I had wings. How is that even possible?” I ask.
As soon as I stopped talking, all the Archangels started to mutter to each other. Then Michael quietens them down.
“What you just described is a power that is reserved for Archangels given to us by our Father. If you truly have this ability, then you are the only Lycan to ever possess it.”
“I thought Rathor had this ability?” I can’t stop from butting in.
“Rathor is different. When he was healed through the demonic magic of Lilith using one of the demon generals’ arms and its weapon he developed the power to absorb souls like Mammon had.
When he does this he becomes stronger, which is why he is so hard to kill.
You need to understand that when a demon falls in battle, whether it’s a lesser demon or even a general, unless they are killed by one of us they can be resurrected. ”
“This is why we need to teach you how to harness this ability and use it to its fullest potential. But be warned that if you let your rage take over while you are harnessing this power you will become a threat to all since unlike before this power has the ability to kill not only demonic generals, but Archangels,” Michael says with a little concern in his tone.
Uriel abruptly stands up. “We can not have another Rathor, we lost so many companions when he was turned. We need to put an end to this now,” he shouts, grasping the hilt of his sword.
“Uriel, sit down,” Michael demands with a piercing gaze, then looks back at me.
“Evander, you will train with myself, Gabriel and Raphael to further your understanding and control of this divinity you speak of. And a word of caution, if you lose control during training we will kill you without hesitation,” Michael warns in a cold tone.
Looking around the table all eyes shift from Michael to me.
“I will accept your proposal with two stipulations; I will remain with Division One and Uriel will no longer be in charge of us. A different Archangel will be placed over us,” I reply, matching his stern, cold tone.
“Done, Azrael you are now in charge of Division One and Uriel you are moved to Division Three,” Michael replies without hesitation.
Slamming his fists on the table and kicking the chair behind him, Uriel stands up.
“Michael, are you seriously going to take orders from this fucking human,” he shouts, standing up aggressively, flaring his wings out.
Micheal slowly rises from the table and in the most impressive display of both power and dominance, he flares his wings, but his feathers look like they are burning. Standing there this is the most intimidating thing I’ve seen and the room fills with anticipation and fear.
“Watch your tone with me and remember who you’re talking to Uriel,” Michael snaps, “I’m not taking orders from him.
Evander made a reasonable request to stay with his comrades, that he not only fought beside, but saved.
And with your history with him it’s not a bad idea to separate you two to prevent further issues,” Michael says, relaxing both his wings and posture with the light fading away.
Pissed off, Uriel storms out of the meeting and slams the door behind him.
“Well Evander, I see that I’m going to need to keep my eye on you,” Azrael comments with a snicker.
“Well it’s settled then, Evander you start your training tomorrow. Everyone back to your Divisions and make sure they are prepared for the upcoming fight,” Michael commands as the meeting ends. “And Evander you might be the very person that finally turns the tide of this war.”
Standing up, Achilles and I head for the door and he looks at me.
“That was not smart, pissing off Uriel like that,” he remarks with a hint of concern in his voice. “But what’s done is done, let’s go back and see how Frida and Perseus are doing,” Achilles continues as we leave the building.