casualty on the enemy before I went. I jumped to the side, angling so Gabriel couldn’t block my shots, and fired my pistols as quick as my barbecued fingers could hit the triggers. Gabriel snarled and Asmoday shrieked as they heard the guns go off. Asmoday, like a skittish rabbit looking for a hole, released Katon and dove for cover. I didn’t get to see whether my shots hit or not. The instant I fired, Gabriel’s shield slammed into me, exploding as it did. The concussive force blew me back into the wall. Shards of stone flew in all directions as the rock wall cracked and shattered against my back. I felt nothing as my head collided with the wall, a cold blackness threatening to overtake me. I slid to the ground in a rubbery pile, a heap of broken bones. Numb, I felt ready to pass out but a quiet voice nagged in my ear for me to remain conscious.
I told it to fuck off, but the damn thing wouldn’t be quiet.
After what seemed like an eternity, me and the voice going round and round, I gave in and opened my eyes. At my feet, a tiny blue gem glistened. I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw it, needle sharp pains lancing through my jaw as I did. I didn’t care. Gabriel came to stand in front of me, his face taught with suspicion, ready to kill. He glared down at me as Asmoday limped toward Glorius, my shots having apparently only struck him in the leg. Though his pain was evident, he had a smug look on his face as he passed knowing I’d failed to stop him. It just made me laugh harder.
“You’re a strange one, Triggaltheron. Moments from death and yet you laugh in its face. You have courage, I’ll give you that.”
I grinned as wide as my broken jaw would allow.
“That’s me, all balls no brains.” I winked at Gabriel.
“Have you met my friend?”
He leaned back wary, his eyes casting about. Seeing no one and probably thinking I was more nuts than he’d surmised, he asked, “What friend?”
I gestured with my eyes for him to come closer, my arms too weak to direct him. “My little blue friend on the floor there.”
His gaze followed mine, spying the gem for the Page 281 first time. He stared at it for a moment, recognition gleaming in his eyes.
“I think I’ll call him Duke Forcalor. Sound good to you?”
Gabriel stumbled back, his mouth gaping as the gem sparked to life like a magnesium flare, casting off rays of light that illuminated the dark cavern.
“Asmoday!” Gabriel shouted for his ally, his panicked voice echoing through the room. Asmoday turned just in time to see the explosion of light that burst from the gem, obliterating all the color in the room in a whitewash of energy. He fell to his knees, his hands covering his eyes. A moment later, the light faded, returning the room to its natural, dim shades. Wisps of black smoke wafted about, and in their midst, Duke Forcalor stood. The duke, no longer the epitome of comfort he’d been when I’d last seen him, was dressed in full battle regalia. He wore reddened plate armor covered in twisted, sharpened spikes. In a scabbard at his side, a dark sword hung, its pommel embedded with blood red stones that seemed to pulse. His long white hair hung loose, blowing gently back, though I could feel no wind. A satisfied grin held fast on his face as he pointed a metal gauntleted finger at Gabriel.
“Unprovoked, you have struck a blow against my servant. To do so is an act of war. I demand satisfaction.”
Gabriel trembled, the glow of his hands becoming dimmer. He said nothing, but his eyes went to Asmoday. They looked almost pleading. Asmoday hauled himself to his feet, but he looked no more courageous than Gabriel. He stayed where he stood, leaving Gabriel to face his fate alone. The glow around Gabriel’s hands extinguished as he turned away from his cowardly ally and met Forcalor’s gaze. He drew up his chin and straightened his shoulders. “If this is how it must be. So be it, traitor.”
I had to give him credit. Weakened by his efforts to control the supercharged Glorius for nearly a week, he had to have known he couldn’t win, yet he still stood his ground. There was a lot of brass still left in his sack. The lines drawn, he got to it. He leapt at the duke. Forcalor met him halfway. They clashed together like two wrecking balls colliding in midair. A resounding boom accompanied their battle, flashes of light and dark exploded intermittently. The chamber rumbled as the two went at it, paintings falling to the floor, Lucifer’s books and personal items falling from their perches. Gusts of wind were whipped up in their wake, their lashing tongues battering everything and everyone in the room.
I looked to Asmoday and saw he’d gathered his courage at last, using Gabriel’s fight as cover. Headed toward Glorius, he fought the gale-force winds that slowed his progress while the angel continued his struggle against the neutralizing manacles. From where I sat, he wouldn’t be free in time to escape Asmoday. That was a shame.
I sighed, though difficult to draw breath through the windstorm, and looked back to the battle content to watch at least one of the bastards die for what they’d done. Covered in yellowish-gold blood, Gabriel was being manhandled, his expended state no match for the duke who’d come to the fight fresh and prepared. It was clear Gabriel had little time left. That didn’t stop him from going all out. He held nothing back as he let loose blast after blast, only to have Forcalor bat each aside and return a dozen of his own, which crashed through the archangel’s defenses.
At last, Gabriel fell beneath the onslaught. As he crumpled to the floor, the hurricane winds died off and the room descended into silence. Much to Asmoday’s obvious relief, the duke ignored him and strode to Gabriel’s side. He lifted the limp archangel, cradling him in his arms, then turned to face me.
“Our deal is done, young Trigg. Make the best of it.” Without waiting for a reply, a shimmering shadow engulfed him. When it faded, both the duke and Gabriel were gone.
With nothing left to do but watch Asmoday bring about the start of Armageddon, I rolled my head his direction. He’d just reached Glorius, still casting furtive glances over his shoulder, the wind no longer Page 284 impeding his progress. The angel growled and hissed at him, the chains still just enough to hold him in place. Asmoday smiled wide in satisfaction of that fact as he turned back to smirk at me, confidence etched on his face.
“Your hand was well played, Triggaltheron, but as you can see, it wasn’t enough. You should have joined me. It would have saved you all this needless grief.” He gestured about the room, to Katon and Scarlett. “You could have been a king in the new world, but you chose to fight the inevitable. So now, there’s nothing left but for you to sit back and watch as it all comes to an end.”
Asmoday clenched his hands together as what power he had left gathered about them, his fists glowing with white hot light. His eyes sparkled with energy and malevolence.
Exhausted in body and spirit, I did as he suggested and leaned back as comfortably as I could. If the world was gonna end, at least I had a backstage pass. What more could I ask for?
Fait Accompli
“Never were there more ironic words spoken, old friend.”
Asmoday frantically spun about to see Baalth standing behind him. I’m not sure who was more shocked, him or me. I’m gonna have to go with Asmoday as he was the one facing down the deep barrels of my two stolen weapons.
Marcus and Poe stood at Baalth’s side, guns leveled at Asmoday. They didn’t wait for him to recover. Merciless, both guns roared to life, driving Asmoday back under a hail of deadly fire. The demon screeched, the bullets ripping into his flesh as he did his damndest to avoid them. After being pressed back about thirty feet, Poe and Marcus stopped firing just as Asmoday managed to conjure a shield. His face and chest were covered in boiling, black blood that poured from his wounds. He glared at Baalth and his cronies, unable to do more. If looks could kill, Asmoday wouldn’t have needed Glorius to destroy the world. Baalth only smiled in return, his cultured face looking as though this were just another day at the office. To him, I guess it was.
Too battered to do anything else, I watched as Page 286
Baalth strolled forward and stood over Glorius.
“It seems a pity to let all this time and effort go to waste.”
He tinkered with the manacles while Glorius stared up at him in wary rigidness. Asmoday looked much the
