Page 58 of Metatron
“Stay away,” Satan threatened as she began to advance on him.
“Lucifer, you deceitful demon. There’s no point in running. I told you what would happen. Do you remember?”
“Enjoy this minor bout of freedom. It won’t last long.” A boast that Metatron wasn’t sure Lucifer could follow through on. Not with the way he kept retreating.
She spoke as if he hadn’t replied. “I promised that when I removed your curse, you’d die. And I always keep my promises.” Said matter-of-factly in a dulcet tone that belied the glee in her eyes and steps. The rags she’d worn shimmered into something new, opaque swatches of fabric that shimmered as if reflecting the stars.
“You might be free, but you’re weak. I’m the one with the power still from all the other HALOS.” Lucifer ceased moving backwards to stand tall.
“Is it more than what I can take from this monstrosity you call home?” Gaaya spread her arms and tilted her head back. “So much potential here that you’ve left untapped.”
“You can’t access their energy. They don’t worship you.” Lucifer sounded more desperate than convinced.
“They don’t have to offer it willingly. I can just take. After all, I am the goddess of origin.” She took a step, and it shook the very floor. “The mother, the original harbinger of life.” Another step and a crack zigzagged from the impact. “If I demand tribute, they will give.”
As she stated that, guards finally spilled into the room, six cyclops, brandishing weapons as they charged. She turned to face them, unafraid, the loose fabric of her dress undulating, her hair lifting as well. Her wings flared wide, and what he’d taken for white feathers turned out to be pearlescent scales that reflected and refracted.
Metatron could have stood by her side to help fight, but instead, he ran for the cage and Francesca. His knees hit hard as he knelt beside her slumped body. The blood appeared to be coming from the arm she held tight. Good, she’d applied pressure. He put a hand over hers and dropped his shield to push some of the holy spirit inside into healing her, at least enough that she wouldn’t bleed out.
“What happened?” he murmured as he sought to stop the flow, and quickly. The trembling underfoot didn’t bode well. Time to leave Hell.
“Gaaya needed the token from Zilla to remove the HALO.”
“And so she bit you to get at it.” It made sense, even if he didn’t care for the bloody outcome. But Francesca would survive. Would Gaaya, though?
She stood in the path of the charging cyclops, a hint of a smile on her lips. Her wings flared out. As she held out her hand, silver limned her shape and beauty danced in her words as she sang, “I am the mother, the hag you call the one-breasted whore. From me came all cyclops. For your betrayal and aiding my captor, your punishment is life.” The singsong statement ended, and the creatures collapsed, one by one, clouds of silver rising from their bodies and spiraling for Gaaya. She held her head back, mouth open, arms wide, basking in the silver cloud before absorbing it. By the time she opened her eyes, they’d achieved a slight glow.
Gaaya turned a sweet smile on Lucifer. “I’ll be but a moment. Just getting charged up. Lover.” The purred statement had Lucifer retreating, one step only before his brash bully side emerged.
“I think it’s time for you to go back in your cage.” He charged, his hands glowing in a way Metatron had seen during the HALO ceremony. He was planning to collar Gaaya again.
And Gaaya didn’t appear to do anything to stop it. She stood, barely braced, half his size. Lucifer slammed into Gaaya, only to grunt when she didn’t move. His hands went to slap her flesh, but she grabbed him by the wrists.
She clucked her tongue before saying loud enough for all to hear. “I hear the humans have an expression. Fool me once, shame on me. And now that I’m free, you’re dead.” She then lifted Lucifer and threw, effortlessly it seemed, but Metatron noted the slight slump in her shoulders. Those cyclops wouldn’t have had much suul, and she’d been starving a long time.
It probably explained why she licked her lips when more of the devil’s minions poured into his throne room.
She held out her arms and sang, “My children. Give unto me.” One dropped then another, but the minions had sheer numbers on their side. At Lucifer’s yelled, “Kill her,” they went stampeding, which didn’t help the floor-cracking situation.
A chunk of it sheared off into a lava pit, taking a soldier with it, the magma burping as he got sucked out of sight. It didn’t stop the others from coming. Gaaya remained as calm as before, and with her arms outstretched and a smile on her lips, she welcomed them. A few almost managing to touch before they fell, their silver dust of life feeding her and without her ever laying a hand on their flesh.
By his side, Francesca murmured, “The mother of life is also the devourer of it.”
As if she’d heard, the devourer suddenly turned her gaze on them. Metatron tried to not cower before it. Would they now die too? After all, he’d been aiding the devil this entire time. Meanwhile, the true queen, the one real goddess, had been a prisoner.
Her lips never moved, but he heard her voice. “Leave. Now. This place will soon cease to exist.”
What of you? A thought more than a reply.
“I am going to make things right again.” With that, she turned from him and kept turning in search, seeking the devil who had fled.
The angel of death, one more powerful than Metatron could have imagined, stalked after him, going right through solid rock.
Let her exact her revenge. He would do as she suggested. Leave this Hell.
“You feel well enough to walk?” he asked, preferring to keep his hands free to fight if possible.
“Yes. It hurts a lot less. Thanks.” She rose and stuck close as they strode for the exit, the ground underfoot rumbling and pitching dangerously. More than a few sirens sounded now, and while more guards peeked inside the room, none entered at the sight of the magma creeping and slopping from its pits. The treacherous path led to him snaring Francesca around the waist and taking to the air, just in time, as the floor suddenly sank into the lava.