874 BC, Samaria
It was just past midnight, the moon was absent, not even a crescent sliced the dark sky. The streets of Samaria were as silent as a crypt, but a fevered whisper broke through.
Kallath medem.
Olivine’s small bare feet tapped lightly on the cool ground as she drew closer to the sound. By heavens, did he stink. The acrid smell hung thick in the spiritual air like a heavy blanket, this demon wasn’t particularly worried about getting discovered.
Kallath medem elleth Baal.
Pausing in front of a cart, Olivine inclined her head towards the elusive whisper. It was a portal incantation. Snatching the hood of her cloak, she pulled it over her head, hiding her face and blood red hair with the sharp movement.
She quickened her steps.
The demon was near.
Her fingers tingled.
Rounding the corner, Olivine came to an enclosure and wasn’t surprised at the sight of a hunched figure. He sought the darkness quite well. The alley was dark but the presence of the dark angel made it blacker. Her sight remained clear.
“You can’t stop what’s coming,” the demon hissed then straightened. The demon picked a tall host. Shaggy brown hair, soulful eyes and a lanky build. The host had a farmer’s body.
“The horde…oh, you should see it. So beautiful.” He stepped closer, the darkness seeping off him like soot. “Little lights like you would be consumed.”
Now he stood over her, dousing her in the choking smell that was his essence. Yes, she appeared little. Her stature resembled that of a seven year old and her face matched the same. But the demon standing before her did not know she was Olivine. Her hood hid the fact. If he knew her identity, he wouldn’t be standing so close, so confident.
“I know your name is Signa, and I also know you would not be finishing whatever ritual I just interrupted.” Olivine’s voice rang smooth and clear.
Signa’s eyes glowed amber for a moment, twin light flashing in the darkness before disappearing. “Try to stop me, dwarf.” He taunted.
The moment he attempted to turn from Olivine, her hood fell back. A ring of white hot light appeared over her head, dousing the alley in it’s blinding light. As expected, Signa covered his eyes with a hand, hissing as he did so.
Olivine snatched her halo in a smooth move only practice could achieve and flung it in his direction. His capture was instant. The ring encircled the host’s neck, burning the skin and the demon at the same time. A howl of pain pierced the air, a warning to the rest of his kind out there.
“Now, be good for once in your life and come out of him.”
Olivine made a fist. The halo burned with greater intensity. He howled again.
“… and don’t even think of killing him on your way out.”
Signa struggled. Olivine waited. She knew who would lose. He fell to his knees. Sweat poured down the poor human’s brow and his skin sizzled as Signa continued his fight to dislodge the halo. The man’s eyes glowed like blazing fire, exposing Signa’s presence even more.
“Get out, Signa.” Olivine was growing tired. She could end it all with one sweep of the hand, but she needed the human to live.
At last the demon conceded. Blacker than black smoke poured through the man’s nostrils then he collapsed, hitting the ground with a grunt.
Raising a hand, the halo zapped to its spot above Olivine’s head. She let it continue to give off its light. Let Signa see that she was more than ready to strike again if he gave her the slightest reason to.
“Enjoy this small victory.” His voice came as a wheeze. The black smoke collected, forming an outline of the demon’s true form. His skin was a dull grey shade, and tattered batty wings jutted off his shoulder blades like raggedy flags on rods.
“We are coming in a number so great, you wouldn’t believe it. This land is ours—” He looked around, smiling as he exposed black fangs “—this land and the air above it will become my prince’s throne.”
“Tell Baal we’ll be waiting. Now, shoo.” Olivine waved a dismissive hand as her gaze dropped to the exhausted human on the ground. He was on the verge of death.
“Do not speak to me like an imp!” Signa growled and took a threatening step in her direction.
The halo zapped forward, stopping short in Signa’s face, another inch and it’d be slicing through his head. “LEAVE!” Her voice rose powerfully at the command.
The demon withered at the force of her word, eyes shutting at the bright glare of the halo. He disappeared in a puff of black, taking with him the oppressive darkness his presence brought.
Sinking to a knee, Olivine placed a gentle hand on the man’s neck, healing the burn her halo caused. Maybe she should have done away with the foul being before he disappeared. He left the man in so much hurt.
“He didn’t kill him.”
Olivine turned, taking in the towering figure of Agate and Garnet. Their expression was grim, eyes fixed on a certain bloody drawing on the wall. She had come just in time to end the ritual.
“I didn’t let him,” Olivine replied Garnet.
The human had cut his arm under the influence of Signa, and proceeded to mark the wall with his blood. She turned to the drawing on the wall. An Image of a bull’s skull with horizontal horns and tiny inscriptions circling it marred the surface in dripping bloody lines. The portal would have been completed if not for a few missing letterings. This was the only one they had interrupted in the last few weeks. Sadly, about a dozen had been successfully made, and in its wake were the dead. Blood for passage.
Olivine’s gaze dropped to the man when he groaned. He shifted to his back, blinking heavy lids in a daze. His dark hair stuck to his forehead and his pale skin was slowly beginning to gain its colour. He was young. “What is happening?”
“You gave your body to be used by a demon.” Garnet answered without preamble. “You are indeed a very foolish human, very slow in the head.”
The man only frowned. He would forget the entire encounter in the morning…well, forget what they choose to make him forget.
Olivine shook her head at Garnet harsh words. He did not know how to suffer fools gladly. Using her small hands to pat the man’s hair, Olivine reduced her voice to a low calming tone. “When you wake up tomorrow, think deeply about your choices. May wisdom guide your thoughts.”
The man stared at her in awe, smiling even. Olivine smiled back. She felt exceedingly sorry for him. He was manipulated. She was certain the Lord of heaven armies wouldn’t want her to leave him to his pain and tortured mental state. But there was little she could do. “Try to resist when he comes back.”
“Who?” He asked, still looking at her as though she were a dream.
Garnet chuffed in the background but she ignored him. Still patting his cool forehead, she left her smile in place. “Signa would be back for your body, and he would come with more–more terrible vile beings. Try and resist. Can you promise you would do that?”
His smile was weak, but it appeared none the less. “Yes…I would resist.”
Olivine’s smile increased to a playful grin then she withdrew her hand. “That is a good decision, Jireh. Now sleep.”
The human’s body sagged immediately, resting in a dreamless slumber.
“You know they will win his mind, Right?” Agate spoke for the first time.
Shrugging, Olivine stood to her feet and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. The movement extinguished the light from the halo. “Who knows, his spirit maybe be unbendable after all.”
“Bah! How did they get in in the first place if his spirit is unbendable?” Garnet countered as he hunkered down and lifted the man, slinging him over his broad shoulder like he weighed nothing more than a twig.
“Have a little faith.” Olivine chuckled when Garnet merely grunted in reply.
Agate remained silent, eyes still fixed on the diabolic drawing on the wall.
“Come on, let’s go.” She tugged at his hand, looking up at him as she did so. Agate nodded then waved a hand over the inscriptions. A line of white light cut accross the image before the bloody mess disappeared.
As all three angels made their way out of the alley, there was an unspoken knowledge amongst them. A battle was coming.
That was just an exerpt from my ongoing work on wattpad. Here’s a link.
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