“Agreed,” said Aimi quickly.
“Very well then.” Satan snapped his fingers.
Sam felt something happening around his injury, a knitting together, a resetting. Incredibly, he suddenly felt much restored. With Aimi clinging to him, he stood, shakily at first and then with gathering strength.
“Well, that’s settled then,” said Satan, all slick charm.
“I think not!” said a voice over Sam’s shoulder.
Satan’s insidious spell was suddenly broken and Sam felt his mind clearing. The promises and whispered lies evaporated. What had he been thinking? Join Satan?
Leave Aimi in Hell? Sheer idiocy!
“You!” hissed Satan. “You can’t interfere here.”
Sam turned. Behind him stood the Watcher, Samyaza. With him was Gabriel.
“I can and I will,” said Gabriel. “Thanks to the assistance of this Grigori, I am here. You are out of order, Morning Star, and you know it.” She met Satan’s stare of pure hatred without flinching. “You broke the rules when you took this child. She was destined to dwell in Heaven and that’s where she belongs.”
Satan turned his glare onto the Watcher. “I warned you not to interfere.” He waved a hand casually and Samyaza’s beautiful body was suddenly engulfed in flame. The Watcher screamed, writhing in agony. There was a massive clap of thunder, momentarily stunning Sam. When he looked up again, the Watcher was gone.
“That is how I deal with those who cross me,” said Satan grimly, looking directly at Gabriel. “Do you really want to suffer the same fate?”
“Your threats don’t scare me,” she said, matching his stare. “I am under His protection, even here.”
“There are limits, even for Him.” He looked down at Sam. “What about him?” demanded Satan. “He agreed to join my side. He belongs to me now.”
“He did no such thing. The girl may have agreed with your terms but he never did. I believe he declined your generous offer. So, on that note, we have no further business here.”
Satan glared at Sam with a hatred so pure it made him flinch. “This isn’t over, my son. It’s barely just begun. My time is now. You have changed nothing. Nothing. Enjoy your pathetic little victory for now.”
With another clap of thunder, he disappeared, taking the body of Semiazas with him.
A flood of weariness washed over Sam. He staggered and would’ve fallen but for the small figure that was suddenly in his arms, holding him up. Aimi.
“Let’s leave this place, shall we?” said Gabriel. “I can’t enter this place under my own power, but I can certainly get us out of here.”
Suddenly, they were in Hell no longer. Sam looked around in wonder, his eyes wide. They were back in the Cathedral. Rubble littered the floor. Most of the great ceiling had fallen down, crushing the pews. Shell impacts had left gaping holes in the walls. Small fires burnt here and there but the battle, it seemed, had gone Gabriel’s way. Between the brigade of angels and Colonel Sumner’s men, the horde of demons and other followers of the Antichrist were routed. Even as he watched, demons were disappearing through their gateways in disarray. Small, isolated battles were still being fought but the demonic army had been defeated. For now.
Then the magnitude of what had happened hit him. The full realisation of who he held in his arms finally dawned on him. Aimi. His love. He turned towards her, basking in the adoration he saw in her face.
Aimi stroked his cheek the way she had many times in the past and he would have wept if he could. She brought his face down to hers and they kissed. Time seemed to stop as he lost himself in her embrace. His arms tightened around her. He’d thought she was lost to him forever and now that he had her back, he would never let her go again.
“Samael,”said a gentle voice nearby. Gabriel. “Samael, you have to release her.”
He wrenched his face away from Aimi’s with an effort and looked up at Gabriel who was now standing at his side.
“What?” he said, confused.
“She doesn’t belong here. She has to come with me.”
He looked at her with disbelief. “What do you mean?”
“She was meant to have been taken in the Rapture. She belongs in Heaven.”
“No,” he cried. “You can’t have her.”
He felt Aimi’s hand caress his cheek again. “Sam? Sam, look at me.” He did and he could see tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s Ok,” she said. “Gabriel’s right. I have to go with her.”
“No,” he cried again, sudden wrath threatening to overtake him. “It’s not fair!”
“I know,” said Aimi sadly, tears streaming down her cheeks. “But I have to.”
Sam hung his head. He knew that what Gabriel and Aimi were telling him was the truth. He was being selfish again. Who was he to deny Aimi the right to ascend to Heaven? Would he really condemn her to a further seven years of Hell on earth? He wanted to, despite this, but in his heart, he knew it was the wrong thing to do.
He felt Aimi’s tiny hand in his. She placed something in his hand.
“We will be together one day,” she said, smiling at him. “I know we will. Stay strong and remember me. I will love you forever.”
Gabriel gently removed Aimi from his grasp. The Archangel gathered Aimi into her arms and together, they took flight. He watched them soar up into the nave and through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Suddenly, they were gone.
He sank down onto his knees in an abyss of misery so deep that a cry of pain slipped through his lips. His heart felt like it was breaking. Just when he had her back, she was taken from him again.
He looked down at his closed fist. Slowly, he opened it. The cross and chain that had once belonged to his mother and that he had given Aimi many years earlier, lay cold against his palm. A small part of his mind registered that it did not burn him as it once did.
“I love you, too,” he told the empty air.
EPILOGUE
3 MONTHS SINCE THE RAPTURE
“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”
The figure trudged along the road, sending tiny drifts of ash fluttering in his wake. He was dressed in jeans and sturdy hiking boots. The hood of his sweatshirt was pulled up, obscuring his features from the early morning light. He wore a backpack with a long sword strapped to it. Another sword was tucked into the belt at his waist.
The road seemed to stretch on for ever, angling towards the east. The figure looked neither to the left or the right as he marched on under the grey sky, his pace unwavering. Time passed. He came to a crossroads. On a large flat rock under a sign post sat a winged female.
“Hello, Gabriel,” said Sam. “Long time no see.”
Gabriel smiled and stood. “Good to see you too, Samael. How are you?”
Sam shrugged. “As well as can be expected,” he sighed.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. Where the road takes me, I expect.”
“You know this isn’t over, don’t you?”
“Of course,” he replied, nodding his head.
“Satan has sustained a slight set-back, that’s all. The Antichrist will return, and I suspect that when he does, things will get much, much worse.”
Sam expected nothing else. There was still well over six years left before the Tribulation ended. The defeat of the Antichrist had done little to diminish the number of demons who appeared at night. Even L.A, where the demonic forces had suffered their greatest defeat, was still plagued by them.
“I know,” said Sam.
Gabriel tilted her head and looked at him sideways. “Why didn’t you stay?”
“You mean with Colonel Sumner?”he asked. “Because he didn’t need me. Looked like he had things well under control. Besides, I like to work alone.”