A Serpent's Kiss

Chapter Fourteen

Her progress was a lot slower than she thought; Arloh had underestimated her strength and the woman was becoming a dead weight. It was hard to manoeuvre over fallen trees. Her euphoria quickly deteriorated, replaced with frustration and anger. Everything had gone smoothly up till this minute.

Ahead of her, a shimmer caught her eye and to her relief she saw the welcoming outline of the gateway. Trying to increase her speed, she moved closer. She had to reach it or she would have failed.

Out of nowhere, a shattering force knocked into her side and she was thrown against a low wall. It crumbled around her, bricks landing painfully on top of her body. Her breath was pummelled out of her and unable to move, she blearily watched as her prey was surrounded by an orb of light. When she blinked, the woman had vanished. On the wind she smelt a sickly sweet scent, one that lodged in her throat and nostrils. Something about the revolting smell was familiar.

A pair of booted feet came to stand before her but they seemed to burn with a blinding luminescence. Cowering, she hissed, revealing her brutal fangs. The figure didn’t move, undaunted. She began to uncurl herself to her full length, hoping this would intimidate the figure but again nothing.

Her shoulder suddenly exploded with pain and for a moment, she lost all control of her body as the white heat consumed her senses. Writhing, flipping, she tried to end it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a silver glint and knew that the person before her had driven a knife into her muscle. Furious, she launched herself at him, forcing him to the ground. He was pinned for two seconds, before he lashed out, raking the side of her face with yet another knife. Whining, she slid off him, desperate for a mirror to see the extent of the damage.

Whilst she regained her breath, she looked at the figure that was drawing out the longest knife yet, no doubt intended for her heart, if she had one. His hair shone a brilliant blonde as if it was reflecting the sun, even though there was no sign of it in the raging skies. Brilliant eyes remained trained on her. A jolt of recognition seared through her, more painful than her wounds that were dripping blood. It couldn’t be. Arloh realised that she had been telling herself she loathed him, that she couldn’t wait to kill him but now, staring at him, her determination evaporated.

“Alaura?” the angel whispered in a trembling voice. Stunned that he could see through her serpent form, she took a step forward, realising as she did so that she was back to her human form. She must have lost concentration. He too moved towards her and the smell became overwhelming. “I’ve been searching for you for six months, trying to find a way into the underworld. What have they done?” His eyes glistened with tears.

“Arloh?! I should rip out your eyes and tongue. Get here!” the tones stopped both of them dead. Glancing down the street, Arloh saw Apophis striding towards them, accompanied by Rakna. Both looked apoplectic with fury and to her surprise, Arloh noted that Apophis’ hands were shaking slightly.

“Go,” she urged Gabriel. “Don’t come back. I’m a demon now and I am obliged to hate you. I can’t help it, you disgust me. If you stay here, they will kill you. To be honest, I don’t know how long I can go without wanting to tear you apart.” It was true. She hadn’t initially felt like murdering him but now, as the shock and fear receded, the demon in her was straining to rip him limb by limb.

He remained a frozen statue. Grimacing, Arloh gave him a forceful shove that sent him staggering. “Move!” she yelled, tension and anger billowing around her. Why was he being so stubborn?

A shape came flying from nowhere and caught Gabriel on the back. The two shapes tumbled to the earth, writhing. After the shock had cleared from her system, Arloh saw a serpent wrapped around the body of Gabriel who was making no effort to fight. Screaming in frustration, she launched forward, hoping to detangle one from the other, but mid- flight something wrapped around her waist and hauled her backwards.

“Leave Apophis to kill him,” Rakna breathed in her ear, making her shiver. The intimacy was disturbing and the barrier he formed was strong. Arloh gnashed furiously, shape shifting from one form to the other in an attempt to slip through his grasp. It was to no avail. Rakna was an impenetrable fortress. Arloh realised she would have to plead with Apophis, something she knew would belittle her. Another glance at Gabriel forced her into action.

“Apophis. Leave him, he’s not worth it. He’s strong; don’t waste your energies on him,” she tried to sound as callous and cold as she could, not wanting to look at Gabriel as she said the words. The powerful serpent ceased movement and slowly looked over its shoulder. Arloh saw a brief glimpse of Gabriel’s face. It was bleeding profusely and his eyes were half closed. “Leave him,” she croaked, fighting back tears. Apophis surveyed the fallen angel slowly and backed away.

“I’ll leave you to die,” he hissed to Gabriel before turning and facing the gateway. “Rakna, bring her,” he snapped, vanishing through the whirlpool. Obeying Rakna lugged Arloh forward. As they stepped past Gabriel, Arloh diverted her gaze. She didn’t want to look at him, scared of the intense guilt she knew she would feel. A small part of her though hoped that this would have taught him to give up on her. Alaura was gone. Arloh was born. No longer did she have any connection to the real world. Demon was in her blood.

Apophis was waiting the other side of the gate. He shoved Rakna off Arloh and hauled her by the front of her dress until their noses were inches apart. “What the hell were you thinking? You could have been killed or, worse, taken by that angel. Do you know what, I can always count on you to do something stupid!”

“Don’t you dare rage at me,” Arloh countered, forcing the words through a throat thick with fury. “I was trying to prove myself. Did you not see the woman I nearly had. Victory was so close.”

Apophis’ voice lowered a notch. “Until you failed to finish off that angel.”

Arloh clenched her fists, her nails digging half- moons into her skin. Carefully, she thought about the answer, finally deciding on something she knew he would want to hear.

“I thought I was strong enough,” she began slowly, watching his face for tell- tale signs of his current emotion. “But clearly I am not. That’s why we need to perform the ceremony soon, whether it disobeys the law or not. Go on Apophis. We both want it.” Her pace had increased as she had sensed his resolve weakening.

There was a moment of intense silence until Apophis broke the stare between them.

“Everything in my life has been turned around since you,” he said with gritted teeth. “Sealing the bond between us now would risk my position. It is a risk I am not going to take.” He leaned towards her again. “You will have to wait.”

“I am not going to sit under Rakna’s captivity, twiddling my thumbs!” she thundered. Her head was throbbing from the combined pain of the attack earlier and the pressure and tension this argument was stirring within her. “For demon’s sake, give me something to do!” Cursing, she realised that she had just shown her weakness.

“Fine. You can fight, that much is clear, just not very well. No doubt we will need all the strength we can get to fight the angels. There may just be a use for you yet.” He seized her arm and began marching, a destination clearly established. All Arloh could do was stumble along, berating herself .

They arrived back at the court, storming down the corridor and back into the receiving room. As they crashed through the doors , a dreadful smell set Arloh retching. Lowering her head, she coughed. When she raised her gaze, she was suddenly aware the room was full of bodies. Slowly, she turned her head. Lining the sides and balancing on the pillars, was a crowd of demons. Many were misshapen, being in their natural form, with twisted, charred limbs. Some bared their teeth- great razor like blades – whilst others raked the air with claws like knives. Arloh cringed. This was the first true exposure she had had.

The chatters and wails died down as Apophis came to stand directly in front of the shadowy overlord. Bowing, he unleashed a torrent of words. “My lord. The reports are true. The angel force is large, although at the moment, we still outnumber them. But, they are strong, resilient and fighting for a cause.” He shot a look at Arloh who avoided his gaze. “We need to act now. As yet, I do not know their strategy or where they will strike. An army needs to be assembled.”

Shamesh had not moved throughout the whole of Apophis’ speech and a minute elapsed before he stirred, shifting his weight. “I believe you. An army will be formed within the next few hours. Every demon must muster in the palace grounds. You,” Arloh was suddenly aware he was addressing her. Terrified, she met his gaze. “Will fight with us. Your place will be in the front line. Get moving.”

In amongst the frenzied activity as demons scrambled to exit the hall, Arloh stood motionless, buffeted by wings and tails. A cold fear gripped her stomach. She would die. She didn’t have the power or experience the other demons had.

“We will train you.” Apophis had taken hold of her hand and had seemingly read her mind. For a moment, Arloh considered shouting that it wasn’t possible but a new sensation buzzed within her. With training, she could do it. The demon in her was strong enough to react to the angels. If she really tried, she could be a relentless killer, feared and effective. After all, the demons around her were the only family she had. The flashbacks meant nothing, proved nothing.

“Let’s go,” she turned to Apophis, a cruel smile sliced her face. “I am desperate to kill some angels.”

“That’s my lady,” he slurred in return.

By the time they trudged to the space, there was already a dense pack of demons, swaying, jumping, and chatting in obvious excitement. None of them were familiar and as Arloh watched, the space became even more congested with bodies. So this was the body of war.

A hand guided Arloh to the front and put pressure on her shoulders, forcing her to sit. Settling himself beside her, Apophis grinned at her, blood lust shining in his eyes. “Now we wait,” he explained, leaning back on his elbows. Arloh groaned and rested her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. It was going to be a long wait.

A hush seemed to descended on the field. Startled, Arloh turned her head and saw demons rising as if to meet someone. Not wanting to miss out on the action, she too scrambled to her feet, soon seeing the cause for standing. Shamesh was moving towards them, his body moving in coils and strands as he moved. Cruel eyes scanned the crowds before him. Without hurrying he stepped up on a crudely constructed stand, made out of fallen bricks, waiting for complete and undivided attention. When he spoke, it seemed to send a ripple over the closed ranks of demons.

“We all know why we are gathered here today, demons. One small girl has unleashed a war, something which the demons and angels have not fought for a very long time. We need to win. If we don’t, then beauty and pureness will be everything the humans know. Evil is needed to keep the world in balance, to teach humans to develop. It is not I who makes these rules, it is the world and the nature of life that do. So, evil needs to prevail for without it, what substance is there?”

There were nods all around Arloh. Turning, she saw Apophis raised chin and bright eyes and knew he was entranced with the eloquent speech of Shameesh. He had a point. It made sense. He certainly was showing how vital it was to win. Focused now, she turned back to Shamesh.

“We cannot put an exact date on when the angels will strike but we can estimate that it will be within the next week. They are far stronger than we thought. So battle training will commence for you useless layabouts the moment I finish speaking. Divisions will be formed. One under the leadership of Apophis the basilisk and one under Baren, the dark duke. Make sure you listen, your existence will depend on it.”

With those words of warning, he turned away, seeming to disappear into the surrounding atmosphere.

War was upon them.