Age of Angels, page 16
“Fucking, stupid exposed penis when fighting!” Rilith shouted, then spun and cast a spell that left a flash of smoke while she retreated down the hall.
As Rilith vanished, Luke ran to Cadence’s side and lifted her. He didn’t think about the fact that they were both nude at that moment, or that this was the first time he was touching her flesh. All he could think about was her wellbeing.
“Cadence,” he said, holding her close. “Wake up. Wake up!”
“If you don’t mind.” Naomi leaned in next to him and bowed her head, gold light flowing from the halo to the witch.
Cadence’s eyes flashed open and she pulled away, cringing. “It stings, it stings!” But then the gold light was gone, and she was healed.
“Apparently, that healing touch has other effects on those of us… less pure of heart?” Luke laughed. “Sorry, sorry… It’s good to see you’re alive.”
“Thanks.” Cadence wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
“See, told you being nude was a good idea,” Ariel said. “Without the distraction, she might have killed us all.”
“Where…” Cadence closed her eyes for a moment, then shook her head, eyes flashing open. “She’s going after Rachel. Go!”
It was a race against the witch. She had the lead and was the only one who knew where to find the missing guardian angel.
22
They ran after Rilith, Cadence cursing herself for not having known enough about the magic to realize that the fairy had been Rilith in disguise.
“None of us are experienced in this,” Naomi said. “You couldn’t have known.”
“That bitch has been leading us for so long, by now I should’ve been used to her tricks.” Cadence lifted her wand and blocked a spell that came their way from the darkness ahead. Next, she flashed the wand so that light illuminated the passageway, showing slimy jagged rocks and strange creatures.
Luke’s eyes darted around, taking in the forms of his companions, amused by the fact that it was all starting to feel commonplace. They had stopped casting curious glances at his cock, at least for now. He never would’ve thought that running along with a group of beautiful, nude women would seem normal. He couldn’t deny that it was amazing.
The creatures on the walls were like spiders, but also somewhat like crabs. It was a hellish form that resembled both, with multiple scurrying legs that clacked as their hard carapace armor hit the ground. More than one set of sharp pincers sprouted from their sides. They seemed to be racing the group to catch up with Rilith, but darkness soon formed ahead.
Only, he saw to his horror that it wasn’t darkness, not exactly. It was more scurrying spiders forming a wall in their path. In an instant, he had his sword out and ready. The ladies cast spells and the angels also used sword and scepter, but it wasn’t enough. He tore through the spiders, and they were all over him. As he turned, shrieking and trying to throw them off, a group of them formed into the figure of a man with his hand outstretched toward them. Webbing shot out, and the thought flashed across Luke’s mind that back on Earth he would’ve found this fascinating. It was like a strange, hellish version of Spider-Man. Now, he wanted nothing more than to be gone from here.
“Do something!” he shouted.
“Focus on the sensation you felt before, with me,” Ariel said. “Embrace the ice.”
Luke was too busy freaking out to really comprehend what she said, but when he glanced over and saw that Layla had become ice again, the spiders sliding off her freezing body and falling to the ground to explode or shatter, he processed what she was saying. As best he could while squirming, he remembered the way she had touched him, the feel of her lips against his, and the way his hard cock had become ice… The rest of him, too. And then it was done, and he was an ice demon again. The spiders slid off him as well. He was quite pleased to find that as he ran, his body turned back into its normal ice-free form.
“We need to step up our game,” Cadence said. “I don’t know enough about this magic to do anything like that.”
“That spell was her?” Ariel asked.
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Cadence replied. “I’ve heard of some crazy things that can be accomplished with magic, now. The question is figuring out how to do it.”
“Didn’t she say we were almost there?” Luke asked. He glanced around, feeling the sensation of the witch’s presence. “I think she’s stopped running. I think she’s nearby.”
As he said it, the walls shook, and they were only saved by Naomi and Layla instantly joining hands and chanting. A protective gold shield formed around them, shaking since it didn’t quite fit in this strange place. Then the walls around them exploded. Stones and barrages of flame, and dark wispy ghost-like forms encircled them. The chaos formed a bubble around them, and then Rilith was there. She was casting spells left and right with her wand, and when they attempted their counter-spells, she flew into the air where the flames danced around her. She transformed back into a fairy and laughed.
“Do you prefer me like this?” she cackled. “Would you follow me to the depths of hell?”
“Definitely,” Luke said, and began swatting the air with his sword, hoping to hit her. She was all laughs until a barrage of ice shot in on her from all directions, causing her to tumble to the floor. Before she hit, though, the fairy form vanished and Rilith was back with her spells, homing in on Cadence. The witch clearly thought she could repeat the events of last time, but now Cadence was relying on the team, stepping back behind Naomi’s shields and Ariel’s ice spells.
Angered at this, Rilith lunged and put herself out there—too exposed.
Luke struck at the same time that Ariel froze her. While at first the icy version of the witch shattered, magic slashed out and pulled her back together. Layla was there, though, connecting with her scepter in a way that made light shoot out in all directions. Stepping away and shielding his eyes, Luke took a moment before looking back.
A portal, and black light traveling through it—Rilith was defeated, but somehow escaping.
Luke’s screen flashed up. He blinked at it, amazed that he had leveled up twice! He had been involved in conquering the witch, for sure, but hadn’t expected to get the XP after she escaped. Having gone right past level four, his screen read:
Level: 5
Class: Orc
Attack: 38
Defense: 36
Speed: 31
Mana: 29
Team Bonus
Orc Skill: Berserker Bash
Orc Skill: Bloodlust
Orc Skill: Rage Combo
Orc Skill: Stun Attack
Spells
Red: Amplify Damage
Team Bonus
White: Heavenly Shield Bonus +32
Yellow: Heavenly Bonus to Attack +32
Blue: Fire Resistance +20
His first spell! But the crazy part was that leveling up was making his cock grow—uncomfortably so. That, and he now had tusks that made speaking strange, and had grown horns that made his head heavy.
Most of all, he wondered what going home would be like with this new look. Would it stick? Not that it mattered, if he never made it home. While he considered this, the ladies checked their surroundings and put up a tracking spell to search for leftover evidence of Rilith’s magic. If they were lucky, it would alert them when it found her, and then they would be able to travel to her. A complicated spell, to be sure.
From their location, only one room was visible. The group sprinted in and found debris from the explosion, along with three forms on the ground. All three seemed to be goblins or orcs in battle armor. They were starting to recover, and as one sat up, Luke gasped. This was the woman from the vision, Rachel. But the version here was orc-Rachel with the green skin and tusks, horns on her head and all. Not guardian angel-Rachel, and yet, his team seemed to think she could return to her previous form.
“Rachel, it’s us.” Naomi stepped forward with her hands outstretched. “You don’t have to do this. Return as part of the team, and we can make it right.”
Rachel shook her head, hand at her temple. “You don’t belong here.”
“They took your powers, drained your energy,” Layla said. “We’re going to have justice. To set this straight, we need you with us.”
“She’s one of us, now,” one of the orcs at her side growled. “Now shut your mouth and get out of here.”
“She’s with us,” Naomi protested. “Always has been, always will be.”
“Don’t you see?” Rachel stared at them for a moment, then laughed. “The moment the shift occurred, none of this mattered anymore. Life as we know it, or the afterlife as we know it, will never be the same. Evil no longer has the same meaning it once did. What is evil, in a world where angels have free will and demons are no longer enslaved to do hell’s bidding? None of it has any meaning anymore.”
“Evil is as evil does.” Luke stood firm with his sword ready, eyes darting between the other two orcs.
Everyone turned to look at him, then one of the orcs laughed. “What kind of shit is that?”
“Yeah… What?” Ariel asked.
“Sorry, just… Felt right.” Luke replied. He shrugged. “Point is, none of that has anything to do with what is evil and what isn’t. You hurt someone, that’s evil. You wrong someone, steal from them, all this stuff… Evil.”
“Oh, it’s so evil… Is it? So easy…” Rachel stepped closer, eyes narrowed. “What about sodomy? Doesn’t the Bible essentially say that me wrapping my lips around your cock is evil? What about that? Touching yourself, eyeing someone’s wife… Even simply having sexual thoughts? Where do you draw the line?”
“And then there’s cultural stuff…” Ariel offered, and then cocked her head to one side. “Sorry, but as the resident demon in the group, I get her point.”
“Fine,” Luke nodded, “there are some things that are subjective, I’m sure, but my understanding is that there’s an angel out there proclaiming himself to be a god. He’s forming an army of angels and demons and whatnot, and means to do wrong. Means to make other people essentially his slaves. Honestly, I don’t want that. Forget about being good or evil, let’s focus on whether we want that… or not? Do you want to be his slave?”
“I’m nobody’s slave,” Rachel replied. “I’m not about to be yours, simply because you have a… What? Mandate? Destiny?”
“How about, simply because he has friends who are your friends,” Naomi said. “Let that be enough.”
“Have you seen me?” Rachel held her hand up to her face and ran a finger along her tusks. “I’m a monster.”
“Damn right,” one of the orcs at her side growled.
“None of you need to be,” Layla said. “I think you’re beautiful. What? You’ve changed your appearance… That makes you a monster? No. What makes someone a monster is the actions, the choices they make.”
“I agree,” Luke said. “Both about the actions part, and you being sexy as hell.”
“She didn’t exactly say sexy as hell,” Naomi corrected him.
He shrugged. “Sexy as hell, beautiful… It all applies.”
“You really want to fight this new god?” Rachel asked.
“We’re not sure if that’s what my destiny is,” Luke replied. “But I don’t like what’s happening, and I think we should at least look into it. If we’re able to stop them, then yes.”
Rachel nodded while eyeing her former companions, Naomi and Layla.
“We need you,” Naomi said.
“Very well,” Rachel replied. “I’m in.”
The two orcs at her side looked at her with confusion, then nodded.
“If she’s going, then so are we,” the taller of them said. “Name’s Galdar.”
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Ariel asked.
“Fallen angels,” the other one said. “My name is Trearch. We’re angels who wouldn’t go along with this god’s plan and were given over to have our essence drained. If there’s a way to fight back, to regain our power… I’m all for it.”
“There you go,” Rachel said. “It’s not a large army, but you have soldiers. Let’s get to it.” She eyed the group, then her eyes finally lowered to Luke’s crotch. “You are aware that your penis is hanging out… Right? I’m not complaining, only checking.”
Laughter came from his team, and he grinned, blushing. “Not the norm, I assure you.”
“Hey, to each their own.”
The other orcs eyed the team, grinning. Luke thought about saying something but shrugged it off. Each of them wore rags and leather armor, carrying swords and axes.
“What is this place?” he asked. “I mean, aside from it being hell?”
“A staging ground for a fight,” Galdar said, grunting toward a tunnel on the far side, now partially blocked by fallen stones. “Others were preparing a raid on one of the fortresses on the plains, but Rachel had other ideas.”
“Oh?” He turned to face her.
“As I said before, I’m nobody’s slave,” Rachel explained. “I showed up here after the cult above got hold of me, and suddenly, some asshole is telling me what to do? Telling me I must fight in his army? Fuck that.” She spat on the ground. “So… I started working to see who I could get on my side, to split off. Only these two came.”
“Meaning, we might have some army out there looking to teach you a lesson,” Ariel said with a grunt. “Great.”
“From what I understand, we have bigger problems than that,” Rachel countered. “This angel-god you speak of, I’ve heard of him. Everything I hear? Not great. He started off being not so bad, but… power corrupts, as they say.”
“And you…” Naomi stepped closer to her, one hand raised slightly as if unsure if she could touch her old friend. “You seem to have changed a little.”
“My angelic essence was drained,” Rachel replied, sorrow heavy in her eyes. “What would you expect?”
Going for it, Naomi took the orc’s hand and then put it to her lips. A subtle chant, and then gold flowed from Naomi to the other.
Rachel pulled back as if stung. “What’re you doing?”
“Giving you some of my essence.”
“You… shouldn’t. I don’t deserve it.” Rachel turned to her companions, both eyeing her with surprise. When she turned back to Luke, he saw why. While she had looked almost full orc when they entered, now she had sparkling gold eyes and a halo of light intertwined with the horns on her head.
Strong, scary beauty mixed with the mystical.
“No use hanging out here,” she said, giving Naomi a nod that might have been one of thanks.
“I have an old hideout we can use,” Ariel noted. “A place I used to hide out before…” She eyed Rachel, pursing her lips. “Well, before.”
“For the record, there’s more to this whole situation than may seem evident.” Rachel gestured toward the tunnel. “Lead the way, I’ll explain as we go.”
23
As they journeyed deeper into the pits of hell, Rachel explained what had happened.
“My mind has been… hazy, since this started,” she began. “When I summoned you,” she nodded to Ariel, “it wasn’t to attack him. It was the only way I could figure out to contact them. Only, as soon as it happened, I realized that I had no control—and then the effects of this place started working their magic on me. The longer I was without my essence, the more corrupt my thoughts became.”
“And now, this is all coming back to you?” Cadence asked.
Rachel shook her head. “No. The essence.”
“Ah…” Luke eyed Naomi. “You knew it would bring her back, somewhat?”
“I knew that without it, she would be a little out of it.”
“Thank you,” Rachel said, then froze, staring out at the opening of the passage ahead.
Luke had been walking behind her, which he found more comfortable than walking in front of them in his nude form. For some reason, he felt much less insecure with the occasional curious glances his way from the front than not knowing if they were watching his ass from behind.
He stepped up now, nearly bumping into her—which was more awkward when nude, he had to admit. Nobody noticed though, because all but Ariel were staring out at the view. She was eyeing them with a grin, watching their expressions as they took in the sight of her hideout.
Dark walls gave way to a stunning ice cave, complete with what looked like ice blocks at first, but upon closer inspection appeared to be massive crystals. Walls of blue and black, patches of white that all matched Ariel’s skin, with patches of thin walls where the red glow from distant flames reflected on the ice.
“It’s… stunning,” Luke said.
Cadence nodded enthusiastically. “A piece of heaven in hell.”
“You haven’t felt how cold it is yet,” Ariel noted. “As long as you’re with me, though, I can keep you sheltered and protected. Turn on me, you’d freeze to death in less than a minute in this place.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Luke glanced around the place, noting the ledges and little rooms the ice formed in spots. “Any chance of getting clothes in a place like this?”
The orcs laughed at that. Rachel cast him an amused smile.
“We won’t stay long,” Naomi said. “We need to get to the hunt. And while we’re down here… I’d say we won’t need clothes.”
He gulped, noting the seductive look in her eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. We need to bond. If I’m correct, intimacy with Ariel helps with the icy cold, and can pass on some of her magic in a sense. Likewise, I believe the same can be said of us. Amplified angelic essence, without me having to lose any. The passion fuels it.”
The two male orcs shared looks of confusion, then grinned.
“You all gonna fuck?” Galdar asked.
Naomi frowned at his crudeness, but then said, “Yes. At least, some of us are.” Turning back to the group, she said, “Luke and I will certainly be making love, and I assume that Ariel would like to join us.” She looked expectantly to Layla. “And you?”
