More than anything, Rahim was a man of conviction. He had vowed to save the world and he intended to keep his promise. It didn’t matter to him whether Scarlett lived or died, or any of us really, all that mattered was the cause. He would kill Scarlett himself if it advanced DRAC’s agenda. That was the depth of his conviction. His tentativeness meant he understood her death would tip the balance against us. He wasn’t willing to risk that when he thought there was still some chance, however slim, we could pull off the win.
“While her death might provide you with enough energy to fend us off, it would also weaken you at the worst possible moment,” Rahim countered. He might not have wanted to start a fight, but he wasn’t cowed. Asmoday’s eyes narrowed, the blade staying put. He said nothing, but his eyes implored Rahim to go on.
“Do you truly believe your lackeys can hold us off long enough to complete the transfer? Ten seconds is an eternity to place your life in the hands of renegade angels and thick-skulled Dread Fiends.” Rahim exuded confidence, taking a half step forward, seizing on Asmoday’s hesitation. “Are you willing to wager your life just to find out how resourceful we truly are?”
Asmoday raised his upper lip into a snarl. Rahim had gotten into his head, but the demon hadn’t come this far to fail. “What do you propose?”
“A trade.” Rahim pointed at McConnell. “The wizard for the angel and you walk away.” I wasn’t sure what angle Rahim was playing, but I figured he knew what he was doing so I kept my mouth shut. McConnell, however, didn’t seem to care what Rahim was doing, he just knew it wasn’t gonna end well for him. His eyes sprung wide as he spewed muffled complaints into the gag, thrashing against the restraints. Asmoday looked him over with cold eyes, as if weighing his value.
Rahim continued his pitch. “Though it’s true Scarlett’s strength is considerable and her death would provide you with the means to fight us off for a short while, that course of action comes at great risk. Fail and you and all your grand plans end here in an inauspicious grave.” He gestured to the ramshackle barn. “What I offer is a way for you to avoid that risk as well as provide you with the opportunity to address the failure of your would-be assassin.”
While Asmoday didn’t appear to understand Rahim’s motivations any more than the rest of us did, he had to know the wizard had some kind of trick up his sleeve. He didn’t seem to care though. He must have had one hell of a hand himself.
“I believe I’ll accept your offer, wizard. We exchange the angel for my incompetent servant, followed by my departure and nothing more.” He didn’t bother to wait for Rahim’s acknowledgment. He motioned to his minions. He passed Scarlett over to one of them and it led her past the line. The creature stopped a few feet from us, still holding the leash. Another of Asmoday’s fiends stepped forward and grabbed a hold of McConnell, watching us the whole time. The Gray’s eyes screamed to us as he was dragged back to his master. He found no sympathy. Once he’d crossed the line of Asmoday’s minions, the fiend which held Scarlett released the chain and backed away, its arms raised to show it posed no threat. I jumped and pulled her behind us, fumbling at her binds. It was all too easy.
Asmoday latched onto McConnell, smiling all the while. “Thank you. I needed the wizard far more than I did your angel, at this point.” His grin grew even wider. “Now, as per our arrangement, I shall depart. But let me leave you with this…”
I knew it. Never trust a demon.
“The end is but a dawn away. I go now to prepare Glorius for his final moment.” He backed away slowly, pulling the reluctant McConnell along. “His sacrifice shall usher in a new age where the followers of light shall be scoured from existence, the firmament lashed to scarlet shreds. From my sanctum of peace, I will watch as humanity breathes its last and the heavens are burned to blackened ash.” He pointed at us as he reached the shadows. “Do what you must to prepare for you have precious few moments left. Farewell.”
Darkness welled up beneath them, blurring the forms of Asmoday and McConnell. They were washed away by an obsidian wave, a column of blackness that streaked upward to disappear from sight. The angels and fiends left behind, smiled in malevolent unison and advanced. I redoubled my effort to free Scarlett as they spread out to encircle us. Katon and Rahim moved to defend while I fidgeted with the chains.
Though I’d thought of Scarlett tied up more times than I should probably admit, I never pictured a scene quite like this. I cast a quick glance at the approaching minions as my adrenaline-charged hands shook and fumbled with her binds, working way too slow. I sighed and tried to focus.
In even the most wild of my fantasies, I’d never imagined a gang-bang this perverse.
A Tragic Hour
Like fireworks on the fourth of July, sparks of magical energy flashed all around me while I struggled to free Scarlett. I flinched as an explosion erupted right behind me, blocked by Rahim who’d thrown up a hastily crafted shield at the very last possible moment. The heat of the blast filtered through and raised goose bumps along my skin, singeing the hairs on my neck. Determined, now more than ever, to get Scarlett loose and join the fray, I blocked out everything else and focused on the manacles. I traced the silver symbols on the cuffs, hoping my memory worked and I could keep my hands steady enough to get the right order. I got lucky.
As the symbols lighted up in my finger’s wake, a shimmering red glow tracing their outlines, I heard a metallic clank and the cuffs popped open. Scarlett’s power flooded back to her, the mystical restraints no longer neutralizing it. Her eyes shined with renewed energy. She howled, though it came out sounding like a strangled cat through the gag, and flexed against the rest of the chains. The links snapped as though they were made of glass. Metal shrapnel hurtled in all directions as the bulk of the chains dropped to the floor at her feet. She tore the gag away and gave me a grateful smile, wicked intentions swirling in her fierce eyes. Her manner feral, she spun and zeroed in on the closest of the angels, her former brethren. “Traitorous whores!”
Before the words had even cleared her mouth, Scarlett launched herself at Rafal, the closest to her. With her sword missing, presumably still in the hands of Asmoday, she led with her fists. To the accompaniment of thunder, Scarlett crashed into her foe. A flash of blinding light exploded when they collided, the two locked in a streaking comet of whirling limbs. The impact carried them across the room and through the wall of the barn where a cloud of dust and wooden splinters obscured their passage.
Certain Scarlett could take care of herself, I turned back to survey the battle field. Rahim, though weakened by his earlier fight with McConnell, seemed to be holding his own. Like a mythical Gandalf, he had fashioned a sword and shield out of pure energy and stood fast on the front line. Each sweep of his mystical sword carved a deep swath through the ranks of Asmoday’s minions. Though it seemed to do little damage, the angels defending against it with their own magic, it seemed to keep them at bay. It had claimed at least one victim, however. A fiend lay face down on the dusty floor, its stomach gaping wide like the mouth of a carnival fun ride. Its moist intestines bubbled out from underneath it, a never-ending serpent of black and deep red. Wafts of steam and putrid scents drifted from the wound, a gentle serenade of hissing accompanying it. Katon, skulking behind the wizard, darted out between Rahim’s strokes and struck at the minions with his crimson blade. I watched as his enchanted weapon split the ribs of a Dread Fiend, its point piercing the creature’s heart. Its eyes rolled back in its head as the vampire pulled his sword free. It shuddered and dropped cold the instant the blade was removed, Katon dancing back to the safety of Rahim’s defenses. Wanting a piece of the action myself, I drew my guns and aimed them at the angels. I figured a couple more souls would look good on my spiritual resume. But before I could fire, I saw a flash of movement at the edge of my vision. My head did the math. Malis and Urtel stood before Rahim and Katon, three fiends with them. A fourth fiend lay dead and Rafal was having his head pounded in by Scarlett outside. That left a fiend unaccounted for.