Chapter 23
Michael places his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Evander, they are now at peace,” he reassures. Before moving my hand over her chest, then resting his on top of mine and chanting something in Enochian as Frida’s body begins to glow slightly and vanishes.
A vast emptiness fills me as tears stream down my face. Standing up, Michael walks back toward the doors. “When you are ready, join me. I’m going to Division One to speak with Azrael,” he says just before taking flight.
Sitting there in the chamber for what feels like an eternity, I finally mutter, “Let’s go, Fenrir.”
“At least they are free now,” he replies with sadness in his voice. With a heavy heart we stand up and leave the room, tears still streaming down my face.
Once I arrive back at the training ground, I see Michael talking with Azrael and the rest of the Division. Wiping the tears from my face I join them and Michael notices me.
“Evander, you are going to rejoin Division One and with Azrael you will assist with training. I want you to train them the same way that I have trained you,” he says.
I’m a bit confused by this. “How can I accomplish that when we don’t have any more demons left in the pit?” I ask.
“There is no need, you are strong enough yourself to accomplish this. You will train them like we trained, I want both you and Azrael to push them almost to the point of death. And when everyone in the Division is at that point, you and Azrael will do the same to each other,” Michael commands.
Azrael and I look at each other like what the fuck is going on?
“I need everyone to become stronger than they ever thought possible and I believe that you are the only one who can help them accomplish this,” he says. Something catches his attention. “I must go, begin your training at once,” he commands once more, then takes flight.
Looking at the others and seeing the expressions on their faces as they mourn the loss of Frida, I’m filled with a new purpose.
I’m going to make them so strong that this will never happen again.
With that the sorrow is pushed aside by this driving force and the fire inside me returns.
“Azrael!” I accidentally shout with determination. He looks at me quickly. “I will not let what occurred to Frida happen to anyone else while I breathe,” I say as everyone looks at me and I see the same fire in them.
“Let’s get started then,” he says, looking at the guys.
After about a week of constantly almost killing everyone in the Division, like Michael demanded, I begin to notice small improvements. As I approach the training ground I see everyone is already there.
“Achilles, you’re first,” I shout as I shift, stepping into the ring.
As soon as he breaks the threshold to the ring, I rush him as fast as I can and punch him in the chest with my right hand, shattering his ribs before he has time to react or even fall to the ground.
I punch him in the head next, cracking his skull sending him across the arena, slamming into the ground.
“You’re stronger than this Achilles,” I shout as Perseus and Lucius rush me. Just as they reach me I move so fast it looks like I instantly disappeared and reappeared behind them, catching them by surprise.
“Lowering your guard will get you killed,” I remind, grabbing both of them by the back of the neck. I take flight, gripping them tight just before they pass out. I stop and hurl them to the ground once more. With a deafening thud they crater into the ground.
Looking down I see Achilles staggering to his feet, so I dive at him. He quickly shifts and almost dodges my attack, but I catch his arm with my claws, cutting deep into his upper right arm.
“You’re getting faster, but still not fast enough,” I shout as I lunge, slashing at him as he attempts to dodge my attacks. I catch him on the side of the face and then across his stomach and he falls to his knees.
“Damn it!” he yells, slamming a fist into the ground. “What do I need to do to get stronger?” he asks while shifting back. Seeing his frustration, I decide to take pity on him.
“I have an idea, Achilles,” I say. “This is either going to work or it’s going to kill you. Do you want to try?” I ask, warning him.
Looking up at me he sees the seriousness on my face. “Do it,” he says, standing to his feet.
“I’m going to ask you one last time, are you sure? This will more than likely kill you,” I double check.
“If I can’t even protect myself how can I protect my comrades or call myself a leader?” he replies.
We nod at each other and I lunge at him, driving my claws into his chest and forcing a small amount of my divinity into his heart. I quickly withdraw my claws and a look of dread crosses his face as his chest begins to glow and he screams out, crumbling to the ground. Everyone rushes over to us.
“What did you do,” Azrael shouts, seeing Achilles writhing around on the ground, screaming in agony.
“I gave him some of my divinity,” I reply, stepping back, waiting to see what happens.
“Are you fucking crazy, you just killed him,” Perseus snaps.
“NO… AUGH… No he didn’t,” Achilles says through deep breaths as the light in his chest begins to fade. Standing to his feet we all look at him in amazement as all of his wounds heal immediately upon the light disappearing. “Well that sucked,” he says with a smirk.
“Well you’re not dead so that’s a good sign, let’s call it a day, give everyone time to rest up and we will reconvene back here first thing tomorrow morning,” I command as I walk up to Achilles. “Are you really okay?” I ask, worried since everything else has died with this same power.
“I wouldn’t say I’m okay, it feels like there is fire in my veins, but it doesn’t hurt,” he says. I get him to his room and we part ways until the following day.
Walking to the training area I feel something different and it makes Fenrir and me hyper alert. As we round the corner I see Achilles standing there, in his wolf form and his brindle fur seems more vibrant than normal.
He quickly makes eye contact and lunges at me. He reaches me in a fraction of a second, and slashes at me. Already being alert I dodge his attack and strike back. He blocks my hit and I’m surprised by how much faster and stronger he is.
We continue for a while then stop when he jumps back a bit and we both begin to laugh.
At the same time we both shout, “It worked.”
He shifts back, grinning. “I can’t believe how quickly I’ve improved in just a few hours.”
Michael shows up and walks over. “That was an impressive display, Achilles,” he says. “Evander what you did was reckless, dangerous and…” he continues, but Achilles cuts him off.
“No, Michael, what he did was give us a chance to avenge our friend’s death and I asked for this. He told me about the risks and I made the choice!” He growls and takes everyone by surprise. Taken back a bit by this he smirks.
“Calm down now, Achilles,” Azrael commands, then looks back my way. “What you did has never been done before, since there was only one other to ever have your power. There was no way to tell what would have happened, you could have erased him from existence,” he continues.
“After you stepped in and saved me with those flames it crossed my mind. If your flames healed us and killed all those demons then maybe my power was kinda the same,” I replied, looking at Michael.
“Well since it’s already done we need to see what you’re now capable of, Achilles,” he replies, turning his attention to the crowd.
“All of you wait here. Achilles, follow me,” he commands.
Then they walk over to the spot at the wall that leads to the pit, and the portal opens before they disappear.
After about ten minutes they reappear.
“Well, not only is he stronger, but the power that you gave him strengthened his bond with his wolf. And after talking to him the only way that it will work is if the person that receives the divinity is willing to accept it. I fear that if he or his wolf would have rejected it then they would have died,” he continues, looking at Perseus and Lucius.
“It is up to you if you want this power and Evander’s choice if he is willing to give it to you. ”
“With what I’ve seen, I’m in,” Lucius says without hesitation, and they turn to Perseus.
“I don’t know why you’re all looking at me, you already know I’m in if it’s going to make me stronger,” he says.
With that Micheal nods to me and I shift, walking over to them.
“Are you sure about this? You need to be one-hundred-percent positive and fully accepting of it?” I ask again.
They both nod and I nod back, then I drive my claws into both of their chests and dig them into their hearts, letting the same amount of divinity flow into them.
Quickly pulling my bloody claws free, I step back as the same glow begins in their chest and they both fall to the ground, writhing about and screaming.
We watch until I see the light begin to fade just like it did with Achilles.
Their screams calm to groans and they become still. Then Lucius sits up. “That fucking sucked,” he groans, looking at his chest as the gaping wound heals quickly. He nudges Perseus. “You okay?” he asks.
“Fuck, no I’m not,” he coughs, panting, still laying on the ground.
“Tomorrow we will all meet back here and I will take you two with me to see what you’re now capable of, while Evander trains with Achilles,” Michael says in a stern voice, looking at Lucius and Perseus.
The next day we all met up. Michael takes them off to the pit and Achilles joins me in the ring.
We both shift and as I begin attacking I quickly notice he is considerably faster, now he is able to dodge the majority of my attacks with ease.
Then he begins his own hits and lands a blow.
It hurts a bit as he is stronger now too.
“That’s good, Achilles, now I’m not going to hold back,” I shout as I unleash my full power and press him hard, until I break through his defense and land a few powerful strikes, breaking some ribs and his shoulder.
Unlike before he lets out a roar and heals faster. I grin as he lunges at me.
We go back and forth like this until Michael, Perseus and Lucius return.
We finished that day off with all three of them fighting me in the arena. We go on like this for what seems like weeks. I look over to Azrael.
“Now let’s see what you’re capable of,” I say. He grins and walks into the ring. “Draw your sword,” I demand.
He looked at me concerned. “If I do that I’ll kill you,” he replied.
“If you don’t, I’ll kill you,” I confidently reply back.
“Azrael, do what he says and don’t hold back,” Michael remarks.
The look on his face changes and Azrael draws his sword. As the ring echoes out, a deep purple flame swirls around the blade. “You asked for this, Evander,” he remarks. A smirk crosses my face and I close my eyes.
Both Fenrir and I give ourselves to the divinity and that calmness washes over us. Without opening my eyes I raise my left arm catching his blade mid swing.
Slowly opening my eyes I see the look of shock on his face as he tries to withdraw his weapon, but struggles against my grip. Balling up my fist I deliver a devastating gut punch, shattering his breast plate and he lets out a bloody cough.
Rotating my claws up I open them and forcefully dig them in, grabbing the bottom of his ribs. As my claws dig through his flesh and through the opening of his lower ribs he screams out.
I feel his blade lose the strength behind it, so I quickly let go, drawing back and driving my fist into his face, sending him flying back across the arena. With a snap his lower ribs crack and are left in my hand, as he hits the dirt.
Discarding the bones I look at Michael. He raises his hand, gesturing to me to pause. “I told you to go all out,” he shouts at Azrael.
He staggers to his feet, using his sword for stability, with blood pouring from his mouth and a gaping hole in his chest. “I see now how you were able to kill Uriel,” he manages through blood filled coughs and wheezes.
Then he does something intriguing, his posture becomes rigged, his wings flare and he raises his sword, holding it perfectly centered with his chest. The purple flames explode out, burning wildly and they surround him in a ball of fire.
Then suddenly they vanish. His wounds are healed and his eyes burn with the same purple flame.
“That’s better, now you’re taking him seriously,” Michael shouts.
This time I attack and he is noticeable faster as he blocks my claws and matches my strength. He then lets out a flurry of slashes, which I block and dodge all of them. We are moving so fast that only Michael is able to follow our movements.
He continues slashing, then something different happens. As his blade cuts through the air the flames fly off of it in an arch that hurls toward me. Jumping out of the way just in time it hits a wall and as it does it detonates like a bomb. Impressed that I was able to dodge it, Michael steps in.
“That’s enough for now, we don’t want to accidentally kill the others who are training,” he says as we remember where we are and calm down.
“I’m surprised that you were able to avoid that, Evander. It’s been a long time since I’ve used that technique,” Azrael shouts with a hint of pride in his voice.
I turn to reply when we hear it, the sound of trumpets fill the air. Without hesitation we all rush to the portal and nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to walk into.