A tale of angels, demons and dragons…
Aeva allowed herself to be herded, giving ground steadily and carefully until her opponent thought her defeated. Then, as a cruel grin stretched the draca’s lipless mouth, she dropped her pose of helplessness and moved towards her tormentor. Before the draca could compute what was happening, Aeva was behind her again and had taken a leap onto her shoulders.
With a wordless cry of rage, the draca began to stab and slash at the creature who stood on her shoulders, but it is extremely difficult to stab somebody who is all but on your head without also stabbing yourself. Draca had succeeded only in cutting her own shoulder when Aeva’s obsidian dagger sliced across her throat.
Aeva jumped to the ground and danced back out of reach as the draca dropped her weapons and her hands went unbidden to the pumping gash that was spraying her lifeblood onto the sand. She sank to her knees and then onto her side.
As the last light of life was fading from her eyes, Aeva saluted with her sword blade across her face.
“Rest peacefully. It wasn’t a bad fight.”
Something like a smile slipped over the draca’s face as she died.
Athena lifted her hands and was about to dismiss the magical barriers around the fight when there was the sound of an unmusical fanfare and a cloaked and hooded figure appeared beside the dead half-dragon. Unfortunately for the new arrival, magic knows no social status and it was immediately outlined in blue crackling light and the smell of charred wool filled the air.
Athena was quick enough to stop the person being wholly consumed by fire, but the cloak and boots were still smouldering when the visitor threw back her hood. The face beneath the wool was as white as bleached bone, with the only colour coming from a pair of lightless black eyes and a mouth like a slash of scarlet.
“Morgana,” Lucifer breathed and the pale beauty laughed.
She looked at Aeva with the kind of loathing that is as corrosive as acid. “We meet at last, abomination. I knew you would make a mistake one day,” she jeered. “And so you have.” She flexed her fingers admiring the pointed talons that decorated each digit. “Now it will be my pleasure to imprison you and kill your lover very slowly while you watch.”
Aeva stared at her from a face grown as white as that of the creature who faced her. “Who are you?”
Morgana laughed. “I am your worst nightmare demon spawn. Come with the weight of the law on my side.”
“How can this be?”
“You are an Invigilator, are you not?”
Aeva nodded.
“Then you are sworn to celibacy. A blood oath.” She hooked a finger as if expecting Aeva to come to her, but the small figure didn’t move. “Come and meet your fate, demon bastard. You may not defy me.”
Tears rolled down Aeva’s face but still she didn’t move.
Adamo spoke from the station he had taken up against Aeva’s back. “It would appear that you have miscalculated somewhat,” he said mildly enough, but his voice had quite the martial note of a hunting horn. “Can you think how that might be?”
Morgana sneered and hooked her finger again. This time at Adamo who remained as still as Aeva.
Before the situation had chance to get any uglier, there was the sound of another musical note but this was as if the harps of a thousand angels filled the sky. This time the figure that appeared was robed in cloudy grey. When she put back her hood the face that was revealed was as ordinary and as old as the dirt on which Aeva stood. She held up a wrinkled old hand and Morgana seemed to shrink into the folds of her black cloak.
“My daughter,” she said gently, “it behoves even the agent of Hades to check her facts before seeking to use the law to bludgeon the innocent.”
Morgana drew herself up to her full height. “What facts would those be?” she managed half a sneer. “The female is sworn to celibacy. Therefore she is my lawful prey.”
“Was Aeva Darkstar an oath breaker then she would, indeed, be yours to torment as your diseased soul sees fit. But she is not. She has sworn no oath. Her blood does not stain the stones of the High Altar. Now. Begone lest I lose patience with you.”
Morgana spat on the ground and the spittle boiled and foamed but did no more than that. “It seems that you speak truth, old mother. But my day will come. I will have the demon’s bastard in my dungeon yet.” And she disappeared.
The old one sighed. “She does love a bit of drama does that one.” She turned her seamed old face to Aeva and Adamo. “Be blessed children.” And she faded too.
Aeva felt herself sag and had seldom been as glad of anything as she was of Adamo’s strength.
Around them there was much to-ing and fro-ing as Lord Draco dealt with his children and the berserkers got back their errant prince. But to Aeva nothing had any substance except Adamo’s arms and she could do nothing except look into his face and wonder at the miracle of his love.
When she came back to herself the desert was all but empty, only the Guardians, Adamo’s Fighters, and two berserkers remained.
The older of the two was speaking. “You lot have to do something for Aeva Darkstar. Didn’t she just stop a mortals versus monsters war that would have felled your children like wheat?”
The second berserker, who Aeva realised was Gudrun, broke in urgently. “It isn’t right. It’s not enough that the draca and that nasty bastard Loki will be after her blood, now we know Morgana wants her too. You have to stop looking at your hands and do something.”
Thor groaned. “But what? Even if I took her to Valhalla…”
“She wouldn’t leave her lover.” Athena spoke flatly. “And that means we have nowhere.”
Unusually Gabriel and Lucifer had their heads together and it was Gabriel who spoke out.
“Come forward Adamo and Aeva.”
They walked forwards hand in hand and both looked up into the matchless purity of his features. Lucifer moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother and it came to Aeva that she was looking at two sides of the same coin.
Lucifer offered her a twisted smile. “Precisely. But now I have a question for you. Would you be satisfied to spend your eternity with this male?”
Aeva couldn’t speak round the lump of hope in her throat so she nodded.
Lucifer looked into Adamo’s dark face. “And you. Would you leave your fighters and live only with Aeva Darkstar.”
“I would, dread lord, with all of my being.”
Gabriel took up the theme. “There is,” he said, “a garden. It is a place outside of time and subject only to the law of The Creator. It can be your home if you so will.”
“We do so will.” Aeva and Adamo spoke as one.
As the words left their lips a portal opened and the smell of greenness filled the air.
Adamo and Aeva joined hands, and, naked as babies, walked into the Garden.
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