Glancing at each other once more, Katia and Keir nodded in unison and turned toward the door leading to the outer courtyard and their uncertain future beyond.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Katia burst through the doorway into the open courtyard and felt the breath sucked from her lungs at the sight before her. Blood streamed down the cracks in the stonework, the walls of the inner courtyard were painted red and black with the blood of angels and demons alike. The sounds of battle raged around her as swords clashed and angelic whips of fire cracked through the air. Screams rose above the sounds of weapons as combatants from both sides fell bloody to the ground. She swallowed bile as she looked at the carnage around her; her brother retched at her side. Battle tactics began to click through her mind as she palmed her gun. With any luck, the charmed rounds would allow them to cut a path to the center of the melee so Uriel could fly them out of Halja to the portal. A sudden cry at her side wrenched Katia’s attention away from her escape plan. Whipping her head to the side, she saw the agonized expression on her brother’s face. Keir lifted a shaking hand and pointed toward the far side of the keep. Katia’s eyes followed and her heart dropped — Luc. The world tilted as her legs buckled beneath her. She cried out when her knees connected painfully with the stones below. He’d come after her, and here he was, crucified in the depths of Halja on an inverted cross. Katia felt that strange coldness start to creep through her body as sadness and despair began to take over. The world before her distorted as ice formed over her eyes. Right before the world in front of her was about to wink out, strong arms circled her from behind and lifted her to her feet. The feel of warm fingers closing over her own began to melt the light layer of frost.
Her father’s voice whispered close to her ear. “You must stay strong. Your brother needs you to stay focused or you will both be frozen in place.”
Turning her head Katia saw that her brother’s skin had taken on a sheen similar to her own, the distress in his eyes partially hidden under a sparkling layer of ice. Nodding jerkily, she reached for him. As their hands connected the coldness melted away almost instantly. Keir blinked in confusion and squeezed her hand.
“What happened?” he asked. “I felt darkness closing in on me when you fell, and then nothingness.”
Katia shook her head as she replied, “I’m sorry, that seems to happen when I get upset.” Glancing back at Luc’s form on the cross she continued, “We have to get him off there. He’s here because of me and I can’t leave him here to die like this. I love him.” The words came out in a choked gasp.
Before Keir had time to respond, a figure emerged from behind the cross. Katia looked at the newcomer in total confusion. What was a teenager doing in a place like this? And why did he look so unconcerned with the bloodshed in front of him? Even at this distance she could see the smile playing across his face, a dimple on his cheek. Keir inhaled sharply beside her.
“What?” she asked
Anger, fear, and frustration warred in his eyes as he responded, “The master. He’s the one who kept me here.”
Katia’s brows shot up to her hairline. “That’s the master? Satan is a teenage shithead?”
Keir moaned and it sounded of pure pain. “Now I understand. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry, Katia. This is all my fault.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“My drawings. I’ve drawn pictures of you all my life. I saw you in my dreams and sketched. He saw them and asked me to keep drawing, I didn’t realize…I’m so sorry,” he sobbed.
The reality of the situation hit Katia with a bang of clarity. “He used you to get me here. He knew you could see me and used you to track me. He figured out we had begun to communicate. Son of a bitch!” She shouted and stamped her foot angrily.
“He took away all of my sketches before you arrived. I’m so sorry. I brought all of this upon you.”
Katia took her brother’s face in the palms of her hands and looked him dead in the eye. “This is not your fault. You have no reason to be sorry.”
“I wish I could believe you,” Keir whispered sadly.
“You can, I promise. Now let’s get Luc and get out of here. Who would have ever guessed that hell really is a teenager?” Katia whirled around to face her father only to realize that he was no longer there. Spinning back around, she scanned the battle raging in front of her and saw Uriel in all of his angelic glory. His wings were spread wide, a flaming whip in his hand as he brought it slicing through the air to tear through the body of an attacker. He truly was a magnificent creature. As though sensing her gaze, Uriel turned his head and shouted over to them.
“Go! Good luck, my children. I love you both. Never forget that.”
A deep voice boomed from across the courtyard totally at odds with the teenager from which it had emerged.
“In nomine diaboli congelo.”
The fighting around them suddenly froze. Arms were raised with weapons ready to strike killing blows, blood droplets that should have rained down floated like raindrops in space. Satan’s smile grew wider as he stepped down off the dais and walked through what looked like a museum of grotesque statues. The frozen bodies slid away from him as he moved, creating a path that led directly to Katia and Keir. Stopping in front of
