A Serpent's Kiss

Chapter Fifteen

“Split down the middle. Half with me!” a thunderous voice rose above the chaos. By squinting, Arloh could make out a shape moving through the throng with incredible speed. Only when it neared did she realise it was a normal looking man, apart from he had two gaping socket for eyes and half the skin on his face was simply not there.

The demons seemed to obey instantly to this commanding figure, peeling apart fluidly. Arloh turned to Apophis who stood with arm crossed, one eyebrow raised.

“How’s relations between you two?” she chided, sensing open hostility.

“Not the best of buddies,” he muttered, his eyes never leaving the thing that seemed to be drawing demons to it like flies.

“And why is that?”

“Long story,” he mumbled into his chest, looking down. Jerking upright he bawled into the crowd, “Oy the rest of you with me! Move it!” Arloh smirked as heads swivelled to him. She couldn’t help but notice the look of disappoint that seemed to ripple over the faces. Maybe she was imagining it.

The pandemonium finally settled down after much shouting, shuffling and grunts. At long last, two divisions stood on opposite halves of the field. Arloh stood by Apophis’ side, reading expressions of lust for violence, excitement. Apophis barked an order for them to begin marching and the many bodies surged into one march. Arloh had to sprint to stay by Apophis’ side, nearly tripping on the hem of her trailing gown. She realised the impracticality of it now.

Curiosity kept her silent as they marched through the hilly landscape, now lit from above by an ethereal blue wash. Gazing around, Arloh saw the patches above the wards were bigger than before. Shivering at the thought of the winged bodies pressing for entry, she glanced away.

Apophis led them to lone tower that soared out of sight. No blue electricity flowed from its pointed top, instead the energy was diverted into forming a humming fence.

“Stand back,” Apophis barked, gesturing with a hand. Staying with the rest of the company, Arloh watched as he stood inches away from the wire and began to raise his hands. No doubt he was speaking some form of ancient tongue. Arloh was sure she would learn it one day, once this whole conflict was over.

Whatever Apophis did, it worked as the gates thinned into nothingness. Without a word, Arloh vanished inside. An air of anticipation hung over the crowd and Arloh could sense their restlessness. She began to hope Apophis wouldn’t be too long. She didn’t relish the idea of being left behind with this motley crew for too long in case they grew bored.

Just as she was beginning to lose her temper at Apophis’ tardiness, he remerged, carrying a high pile of boxes. Rushing forward to share his load, Arloh saw that a series of glinting red pendants lay piled inside each other like dormant snakes. A dazzling red mist shone inside, tiny shimmers of light buried within it. Arloh froze. She had seen something like this before. When? It snapped back to her. Gabriel, the road, the archangel…

“Arloh? Arloh?” the voice echoed in her ear for a moment or two before she surfaced from the rushing tide. Opening her eyes, she saw she was kneeling on the floor, her hands clutching her head. Apophis was looking down at her, puzzled.

“Oh urm, tension,” she lied. They both knew the truth.

Apophis extended a hand to help her up and she seized it gratefully, using the momentum to propel herself to her feet. “Help me hand these out,” barked Apophis shoving a box into her hand. He turned to the demons before them. “Make two lines and take a pendant. You all know what they do.”

Arloh began to hand them out as the demons came to claim them, finding entertainment in seeing the diverse range. There was a crocodile, some smaller snakes whose pendants she had to loop around their necks, spiders, huge birds with cruel talons, wild dogs. Creatures from myth and legend also began to appear; a minotaur, a massive bull, harpies. It was terrifying but incredible for Arloh.

When the boxes lay at their feet, Arloh and Apophis turned to face the demons, Apophis immediately bellowing. Now Arloh was beginning to see why Shamesh had picked him as a leader. “These pendants are designed to maximise the most powerful aspect of your strength.” He raised a hand to point at a towering giant in the front row. Arloh studied him closer. His skin was tinged a sickly grey, reminding her of death and decay. In one hand he held a huge hammer that seemed to crackle with a force and two lethal tusks sprouted from his face. “Charun, your hammer can knock down buildings in one blow. But wear the pendant and you can cause the earth to split within a twelve mile radius. Lamia,” a beautiful fair haired woman stepped forward, smiling seductively. “Your beauty is uncontested but with the pendant, men will be drawn to you like a magnet.” She grinned, revealing sharp, wicked teeth, tiny but evil. “Your job is to find your strength and train it. Split off and practice.”

As the rabble began to disperse and huddle in small pockets, Arloh scooped up a spare pendant, dropping it around her neck, and changed her form. Beside her Apophis did the same.

Tell me, what is my strength? she asked, still uneducated about her form.

Work it out like the others. He slid away to check on the group and Arloh poked out her forked tongue at him. Thinking hard, she coiled her body into a spiral so she could gaze down at it. Was it strength? A pile of rubble lay just to her left, a stone structure rising for a short distance upwards. With a mighty swish of her tail, she sent it shuddering. There was a cloud of dust and a slight clatter as some of it broke off. When the dust cleared, she could say the structure remained very much intact. So it wasn’t strength, although she was strong. All this time, she realised, she had been convincing herself that she was powerful but clearly, she had been wrong.

Did her strength lie behind her jaw and the potency of her poison? From the dregs of her memory, she recalled biting an angel and watching as it scattered as gold dust. Then there was that woman who had collapsed almost as soon as Alaura had bitten her. Yes, that had to be it. Scanning the landscape around her, she searched for something to test her theory. Everything was barren.

Apophis she called, hoping that he would hear her. She hadn’t called him before when she couldn’t see him. Judging by the connection between them though, she was pretty sure it was worth a try.

You called he was at her side in a minute. Secretly, Arloh glowed with pride. She was learning.

Yes, I’ve found my strength but I need to test it on something. A sudden idea occurred to her . If I bite a demon, I cannot kill it can I?

No. The same blood, venom, poison, runs through all of us. It may disable a demon for a few moments or scatter their fragments but they will soon join together. The only thing that can kill us is an angel.

Then you won’t mind..

Be my guest.

Arloh grinned. This was low, attacking another demon but she was starting to feel a tingling thrill. It could hardly count as evil but it was a step forward from the timid girl she dimly remembered once being. Scouring the little crowds, she saw a tiny thing hopping about manically. Its strength was obvious – speed. What a challenge. Hissing, Arloh slithered forward, her eyes never leaving the prey. Its features became clearer as she advanced. It seemed to be a rat but its tail was spiked like a dragon and it had talons like birds. It seemed to sense her advance and zinged sideways. Chuckling in her head, Arloh launched after it, catching it mid-air as it attempted to fly in an arc over her head. Her teeth sank straight through the fur, muscle and bone, her fangs meeting. The demon went limp and then unfurled in blue smoke.

Your poisonous bite should be feared. Although you should try something bigger. They tend to be tougher. Arloh readily accepted the challenge Apophis was presenting her with. She would do that in a minute. First, she had to witness the return of Skippy the rat. Her eyes scanned all around, constantly changing direction.

A sudden constriction around her chest sent her head spinning to try and see over her shoulder. At first, it seemed like a rope was securely fastened around her middle, a rope with spikes. Arloh tried to figure out what it was and as she was doing so, a small wizened face appeared before her, a furious expression burning in purple eyes. So the rat had survived and was coming back with a vengeance. With a jerk of her tail, the rope uncoiled. The demon sat on her nose for a second before vanishing in a blur of motion.

“That’s the first exercise done. Now, next one is slightly more confrontational, something which you all will enjoy. Find a partner, preferably one you hate, and when I say, start fighting. Imagine each one of you is an angel – that should add fuel to the fire.”

Arloh didn’t waste any time. She sped towards the huge giant that Apophis had pointed out earlier, and stopped short as she saw the hammer casually dangling from his hand. She had underestimated the size of that thing. Thinking rationally, she told herself she wouldn’t be able to choose in the upcoming fight. Above her, Charun grinned, a small, lopsided thing that looked more like a leer.

“Go!” Apophis yelled, seemingly out of the blue. Immediately, Charun swung the hammer into her Arloh’s side. She flew high into the air, the breath knocked completely out of her. She only had a moment to register she was airborne before she landed heavily on the ground, her body twisted and knotted. Hissing at her easy defeat, Alaura untangled herself, keeping an eye on the figure now sprinting towards her growling. Just as he went to swing, she launched upward, wrapping her whole body around his thick neck and his face. Blinded and having lost aim of his victim, Charun staggered about, waving the hammer in circles and trying to yank Arloh off him with a beefy hand. She made quick stabbing movements each time she saw skin but Charun was quick. Blinded or not, he had good reactions.

Slow down and think. Apophis’ voice in her mind momentarily distracted her and once again, a wind was whistling past her ears as Charun swiped her off. Her blood boiling, she fought against impulse. “Slow down and think,” she spoke aloud, trying to tell herself what to do. Closing her eyes, she began to picture Charun’s moves. He was big, quick but really, it was his hammer that was doing all the work. Without it, he wasn’t much. Disabling that would mean….

A shadow fell across her and she forced her eyes open. Charun was once more above her, wielding his hammer like a warrior. In a blur of motion intended to surprise the giant, she wrapped her tail around the handle of the hammer and fell with it to the ground. Momentarily stunned, Charun stumbled in small circles, searching. Arloh waited for a second until Charun’s exposed calves were in front of her, and then dug in. The giant roared but quickly became nothing more than a stream of ash, the hammer vanishing too.

“Nice work.” Apophis was standing over her, very much human and very much alive. Arloh allowed herself to shrink back to a human form so she could inspect the damage. By the throbbing in her side and the painful spike when she drew breath, it wasn’t good. Despite her battle wounds, she managed a grin.

“It was immensely satisfactory. I think I’m beginning to enjoy biting things and killing, well you know.”

“It’s a sign of you changing. You want to belong and the small changes you are making reflects that.”

“I am with you now.”