Chapter 12
Ipass through the black fiery gate of Hell and step onto the desolate wasteland that is known as Purgatory with Abaddon, Lilith and four lesser Knights of Hell.
“We need to kill the sentries first, so they don’t raise the alarm,” I whisper as we sneak closer to Heaven’s gate.
Counting five standing guards, I motion to Lilith, who nods and vanishes in a black cloud before looking over at Abaddon and signaling to her. She nods and dashes to the two closest angels.
Reaching them she decapitates the first one with her sword and quickly turns and cuts the other in half from crotch to head with a single slash.
As the first angel falls the other three are alerted, but Lilith appears in the middle of them and with her dagger cuts the throat of one, stabs the second in the chest, before driving it under the chin and into the skull of the third angel, killing them all with unmatched swiftness.
As the last sentry hits the ground, Lilith says, “Well that was amusing,” licking the blood from her blade before sheathing it.
“Enough, we have work to do, remember each of you are to grab every angel you can for interrogation, once you have your catch meet back at the portal. There is something that I have to do,” I command.
“How exactly do you plan on getting us through the Heaven gate? A demon has never crossed the threshold into Heaven and lived,” Abaddon asks.
“You are correct, the portal just beyond the gate senses the demonic power and closes the gate killing whatever tried to cross it. But I am different. I can hold the gate open while you pass through it like this,” I explain approaching the gate and extending my left hand.
Just as it touched the gate I could feel it open. “Now move while it is open, hurry.” As each one of them passes through the gate it tries to close due to their demonic essence, but is forced back open when it senses my presence.
“How are you able to do that?” Lilith asks.
“You have to remember that I still have the power of a wolf and regardless of where I reside now the gate can sense that and will open for me. As long as part of me is in contact with the gate it will stay open,” I snap, irritated at the question, forcing her through the gate.
As I step through the portal, a sensation washes over me that I haven’t felt in centuries. A radiant feeling of divinity which enrages and sickens me to my very core.
Joining the others without a word I command them to go in different directions as I head off in search of my prize. Covertly, I work my way through the halls keeping out of sight until I reach the dorm hall.
I reach for the door handle and as I approach my target, a voice quietly echoes through the hall behind me.
I know that voice and that’s exactly who I’m after.
I wait, biding my time and watch as Frida rounds the corner.
I can’t help the sly grin that crosses my face when she looks up and terror washes over hers.
Her expression screams, ‘How the hell is he here right now? And fuck, I’m screwed’. Before she can make a sound, I lunge at her, striking her head and knocking her out.
Throwing her over my shoulder, I quickly make my way back to the portal just as trumpets ring out.
Fuck they know we’re here.
Rounding the corner to the hall that leads back to the portal, I notice the Knights are pinned down and between us there are about fifty angels. We make eye contact as I throw Frida over the angels to them.
Shifting while their focus is still on the Knights, I thrust my claws into the back of the closest angel, crushing his heart in my hand.
Feeling the blood run down my arm invigorates and excites me.
Ripping my claws from him, I slash, dismember and gnaw my way through five more before their gurgling screams alert the rest to my presence.
“Who’s next?” I growl at the remaining angels, licking the blood from my maw, savoring it.
They rush me and I do the same, wildly slashing at the first few and decapitating them.
I bite down on the throat of some others, ripping them out and swallowing them whole, reveling in their terror and fear that I’m causing.
“Are you done having fun? We need to get back before the Archangels show up,” Abaddon shouts, waiting for me, as I’m ripping an angel in half above my head, so his blood and innards cover my matted fur.
I snap out of my lustful bliss. She’s right, we don’t have much time.
Dashing through the remaining angels, I kill as many as I can before reaching the helpless Knights at the gate.
I reach my hand out into the portal, opening it.
“I see you brought us a new plaything, hopefully it lasts longer than the last one did,” Lilith says with a bit of excitement in her voice, as she passes through the portal.
The Knights throw their captured angels through, following behind her.
Grabbing Frida off the blood-soaked floor, I sprint through the portal and we are met in Purgatory by reinforcements from Hell.
Passing through Heaven’s gates and into the valley, we look over hundreds of thousands of demons and creatures.
The Knights of Hell are already hauling the prisoners off as I approach.
“What the hell do you have that for?” Beelzebub asks, referring to Frida.
“Unfinished business, I didnt ask for your fucking help, so get the fuck out of my way before I fucking destroy you,” I snap, walking past that worthless piece of shit.
Behind me I can hear the clashing of swords, claws and teeth filling me full of excitement again, but I know that I need to get back.
“You're lucky that Lucifer has plans for you, otherwise I would relish in your screams as I enjoy ripping the flesh from your bones,” Beelzebub snapped back.
Forcing our way through the swarm of demons heading to Hell’s gate, I hear a voice I don’t recognize, shouting something, and like a bullet it pierces through the overwhelming noise generated by the legions of Hell.
“Frida!!!!!!” it roars. Looking back I lock eyes with this Evander and can’t help the grin that crosses my face as I step through the gates of Hell, taking his woman with me.
EVANDER
“You have come a long way in only a month of training with me, but you still have a lot to learn,” Michael says approvingly.
Leaping toward him, off in the distance trumpets sound. Not knowing what that is I continue my attack and notice that when Michael hears them he immediately turns and his stoic demeanor changes.
He becomes visibly concerned. I stop because the trumpets slightly remind me of being deployed and the siren going off for an incoming attack.
“Michael what is that, it sounds like a…”
“Get to the portal now,” Michael commands everyone.
Looking around I see Achilles, Lucius and Perseus are here, but where is Frida? We all take off toward the portal to see what’s going on.
“Lucius, please tell me those trumpets don’t mean we are getting attacked?” I ask as we run through the halls toward the portal.
“That’s exactly what that means,” he responds with bated breath. On the way we pass the dorms. I stop, throwing Frida’s door open.
“Frida… Frida you here?” I shout with concern in my voice. I wait, watching the trees to see if she will appear.
When she doesn’t respond, or show, a sinking feeling begins to set in. Dashing out of the room, I round the corner to the portal and the pure level of gore and carnage sprawled out before me is soul shattering.
Dozens of angels have been torn to pieces. There’s gore and blood spattered down the entire hall, with almost a river of blood at my feet as I try to make my way to Michael. Walking through, something grabs my leg.
Looking down in horror, one of the angels that’s torn in half is holding onto my ankle, trying to ask for help, but all that comes out is a bloody gurgle as he dies still gripping me. Shaking off his hand I move toward the portal, stepping over and slipping on chunks of angel flesh.
“How did this happen? Where are the Sentries?!” Michael shouts at another angel.
“Sir, it seems that Rathor, with a few Knights, killed the posted guards, which allowed them to get past the gate and access the portal. He was then able to open the portal and keep it ajar as the Knights snuck in and kidnapped fifteen angels and one Lycan. We sent as many angels as we could through the portal to catch them and recover our comrades,” the angel reports back.
Hearing this my fear is realized and immediately I know that they took Frida. Running forward toward the portal I’m stopped dead in my tracks when Uriel plummets from the sky and slams to the ground just in front of me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he snaps with an irritated tone.
“I’m going to do what you’re too afraid to do. I’m going to get Frida back,” I snap as I push past him. I feel a crushing pain in my shoulder as Uriel grabs me and throws me back down the corridor, and I slam into the wall.
“You’re not going anywhere unless I allow it,” he shouts.
“Uriel!” Michael yells, “Do what you have been commanded to do. Get them back… NOW!!!” he snaps. Grumbling Uriel complies and passes through the portal. “Evander, go with him and report back to me,” he shouts at me as I collect myself.
As I run past him for the portal we make eye contact and I nod at him silently, saying thank you. Emerging from the vortex I’m back at Purgatory and what I bear witness to is a slaughter.
Hundreds of thousands of demons litter the valley rushing toward Uriel and me. Every angel that was sent ahead of us walked right into a massacre. Screams ring out as hundreds of them are being ripped apart and eaten alive.
Looking past the horde I catch a glimpse of Frida’s long fiery hair as she’s carried away by a seven-foot-tall beastly man, wearing a black leather and fur spiked vest, accompanied by a sinister pale, petite woman with bat-like wings and a pair of twisted horns protruding through her smoke colored hair.
Then I spot it, his right arm is black embedded with dark red shards.
“Frida!” I scream with everything in my being and it turns into a roar that shakes all of Purgatory as I shift. The burly man turns and I notice the long jagged scar across his chest as a grin crosses his face, and they disappear into the fiery portal.
Uriel commands the retreat for the remaining angels. As he passes me I yell.
“You fucking coward.” Before being swept back into the portal by the angels clamoring to return to safety and not fall victim to the onslaught.
Falling to the ground, landing back in the blood and gore in Heaven, Michael reaches down and helps me to my feet.
“What happened, why are you back so soon?” he asks.
“Ugh, it was an ambush, the angels and Frida have been taken to Hell,” I reply, shifting back.
Michael looks up at the remaining angels coming through and is baffled by how few there are. “Follow me,” he replies just as Uriel appears. “You as well. Go to the counsel room.”
I rush down the corridors, past the infirmary, crossing the training ground and down the hall to the conference room. I’m greeted by all the Archangels waiting for me.
“What happened?” Gabriel shouts at me as I enter.
Taking my seat, I explain. “When I crossed into Purgatory there was a massive horde of demons tearing the angels to pieces.”
“How big was this so-called horde?” Gabriel asks.
“We were looking at probably three-hundred-thousand demons with Beelzebub commanding them,” Uriel replies with defeat in his voice.
“Beelzebub, that’s impossible. I thought we killed him a millennia ago,” Gabriel snaps, jumping to his feet.
“He is very much alive and not only that, I confirmed that it was Rathor and Lilith that caused the carnage here in Heaven and that they kidnapped the angels and Frida. They plan on torturing them for information,” Uriel continued.
“We need to rally our forces and get them back now!” I shout. I am over this.
“Evander, calm down, I know you want to get Frida back, but you need to look at it from a strategic point of view. How many lives would it cost for us to even get to them?” Michael retorts.
“I don’t fucking care. You never fucking leave a comrad behind. No matter the cost. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation if it was my platoon on Earth and this was the Army,” I shout in anger.
“This isn’t Earth, and this is the entirety of Hell you are talking about facing down. You don’t just blindly rush in, we need to plan out a proper rescue mission,” Michael replies, coolly.
“While we’re just sitting here talking about what we should or shouldn’t do, they are being tortured and killed. All of you are nothing but cowards that don’t give a shit about anything except yourselves,” I snap, slamming my fist on the table, cracking it.
Then I turn and throw the chair across the room before storming out.