Evil - Chapter 48
I splashed into an inky black pool of tar. Gasping, I swam to the surface. As I did, two disembodied hands pulled me from the ooze and brought me to shore, where I dripped like a wet dog.
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
It's not easy being the Antichrist.
Anjelica’s mother never told her that she was a demon. Now, all she wants is her old life back, but that’s not possible for her. Not after what she’s seen.
Anjelica used to be a popular cheerleader with an awesome life, but that was before an evil cult of demons tried to use her blood to open a portal to Hell and start the Apocalypse.
She was rescued from that fate, barely, and because of the imminent threat to her life, her saviors ripped her from Los Angeles and brought her to a safe house in the middle of nowhere.
They said it was for her own good, but she would rather be dead than stuck in boring, old Bronard, Missouri. She was from the big city, so a sleepy, rural life wasn’t for her.
She longed for excitement.
So, when she met a young witch with a mysterious past who promised to show her everything she knew about opening portals and traveling between distant lands, they bonded immediately
I mean, what’s the worst that could happen, right?
It’s not like they would open an intergalactic gateway to another planet and get thrown into a brand, new world with no way to get back to Earth, right?
Join Anjelica in her own solo adventure and find out what happened to her immediately after the events in Magic.
I splashed into an inky black pool of tar. Gasping, I swam to the surface. As I did, two disembodied hands pulled me from the ooze and brought me to shore, where I dripped like a wet dog. I sucked in air, even though I knew I was not in need of it, not anymore.
I looked up to see Araphel seated on a bench, patting for me to sit next to him. “I’m dead, aren’t I?”
“Right now, you are in the between.” Araphel looked straight ahead. “I am concentrating on your aura, trying to buy your friends additional seconds to save you.”
“Did we win?”
“It would seem so. You saved Baron Samedi, who turned the battle in your favor. Of course, having a god on your side has a tendency to do that. It took them ninety seconds to find you after the carnage stopped.” He looked over at me. “If you didn’t have demon blood inside of you, there would have been nothing I could have done for you.”
“It seems to be all sorts of helpful, doesn’t it?”
“And you won your soul, too, in the end.” Araphel nodded at no one in particular. “Oh, good. It looks like you are going home after all.”
I looked down at my hands. They were fading out. “Is this a good thing?”
“Only if you like being alive.”
“I really do.” I faded from the darkness. “Corny as that might be.”
My eyes blinked open, and I was inside the throne room. I sat up gasping for air, for real this time. Baron Samedi knelt next to me while Margaret and Kimberly stood behind him.
“You are very lucky,” Baron Samedi said. “Lucky that I am a benevolent deity and that I was in a magnanimous mood.”
My chest burned, but when I looked for the bullet holes, they had healed. “What a load of crap. We saved you! It only makes sense that you would return the favor.”
He helped me to my feet. “That would be human rationality. The gods do not keep the same logic.”
“Then…thank you, I guess.”
“And thank you, little one. I did not think you would be able to deliver me this king of yours. He is even more terrible than you described.”
“What about the prince?” I said, looking around suddenly. He was dead on the floor. “Good riddance.”
“Looks like you were wrong,” Margaret said. “We didn’t probably definitely die.”
“Speak for yourself.” I coughed as if hot lead still filled my lungs.
***
It took several weeks for the dust to settle. The capital royals all sided with the king, but it didn’t take much convincing to bring in our own reinforcements once other countries learned that the king had been deposed. Within a month, the political situation had been attenuated to a seething unrest.
Director Frente decided that a constitutional monarchy in the way I’d described it was a good course of action, at least for the short-term stability of the realm. When it came to appointing a leader, there was nobody better qualified than Margaret, who agreed to be coronated and then oversee turning the monarchy into a republic.
“This is quite a way for your prophecy to come true,” I said with a smile.
“Oh yeah.” Margaret said as we stood in the throne room where just days ago, we had killed a king. “I forgot about that. I guess it did come true, didn’t it? Man, that’s weird.”
“Are you sure? About staying here, I mean.” The coronation, though it was broadcast on national television, had been a small, quiet affair. We still had no idea who in the royal court we could trust.
“I am,” she replied. “I will need a counsel, you know? And the new country will need a prime minister. I think you would be great for either role.”
I laughed. “So, you want me to sit behind a desk all day? No thanks.”
“I didn’t think so,” Margaret said. “But can I ask you a favor, in my capacity as queen?”
“Of course, your majesty.” I bowed. “I still can’t believe I’m calling you that, but of course.”
“Our standing is low in the world, and as we’re rebuilding our reputation and giving the other countries back their lands, I would like for you to stay and help with that effort, at least until we are stable.”
“How long will that be?” I asked.
She smiled. “Not long. One or two lifetimes, max.”
I squeezed her hands. “This is not my home.”
“Home is where our heart is. There is nothing for you back on Earth. Here, you can have everything and be part of something important.”
I nodded. “This is a big choice. Can I think about it?”
“Yes, but not long. We need to get started immediately.”
***
I waited in my dreams for Araphel’s hands to pull me down into the darkness, but they didn’t come, not for weeks after the siege of King Ulthar’s castle. Then, one day, I felt a familiar tug on my leg, and I smiled as it dragged me away.
Araphel materialized at the kitchen table of my house and slid a pile of pancakes in front of me. He sat in a chair next to me, while the chair across from me, piled high with another stack of pancakes, rested empty.
“Where were you?” I asked. “I waited for you.”
“You had a big decision to make, and I didn’t want to come until you made it.”
“Then you know,” I said.
He nodded. “It was a difficult decision, I’m sure, but I think the best for all parties involved.”
“You will still take Kimberly back, won’t you?”
“Of course. She has much work to do on her planet, though not as much as you have on this one.”
I looked down at the pancakes. “Did I make the right choice?”
“For you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t mean just about staying here. I mean…did I make the right choice, helping to bring down the king?”
“That was the only choice. Despots and autocrats destroy the natural order. They yearn for power, and if left to their own devices, they can upset the balance of the universe. Only the gods were meant to wield such power, and we have had an eternity to learn how to wield it properly.”
“And you still get it wrong sometimes.”
“Yes, that too.” He sighed. “I have brought someone to say goodbye to you. Think of it as a parting gift for saving the world.”
He snapped his fingers, and my mother was there, smiling. The wrinkles on the edges of her eyes and creases in her cheeks had grown deeper since I’d last seen her, and her blonde hair was mostly white with age and worry.
“Hi, kiddo,” she said. “It’s good to see you’re safe.”
“Safe is an operative word.” I turned to Araphel. “Is this…real?”
He nodded. “Of course. It might be a dream, but it is also very real.”
I smiled my own broad smile. “Hi, Mom. I’m so sorry that I left.”
She clasped her hands in front of her chest. “It took time to understand, but Araphel helped me appreciate what it means for you to stay and how much danger you are in on Earth. God, I really mucked it up, kiddo. I should be the one apologizing to you.”
“Maybe we should just both say we’re sorry for the little hells we put each other through.”
She started to cry, and then I did too. We stood and wrapped our arms around each other and stayed there for a long while, listening to each other breathe, hearing our hearts beat against the other’s chest. We had never been closer, even a universe away.
It would be okay. Even if it all went belly up, it would be okay. I believed that deep down in the bowels of my soul. I had to. It was the only way to have any hope in this crazy universe.
***
You have just finished Evil, but there is so much Godsverse left to go. Keep reading after the author’s note to get a sneak preview of Time, starring Anjelica’s adopted sister Lizzie in a brand-new solo adventure.
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
Any adventure that ends with a (well-earned!) moment like this is a GOOD story.
Overlong mom hugs FTW!
Thank you, Russell.
It's a great story!