Azazel (Demonology II)

XV

SETH 

T had summoned me back to Hell to prepare for war. The angels were in Jordan, closing in on Israel. Among them was Raven. I was not looking forward to fighting her, but I had no choice. I would not be able to control myself once Lucifer was commanding me. He would lead me to my death.

  "Before we send you out," T said. "There's something I need you to take care of. There's a pesky little angel by the blazing river that's been surviving and killing demons for the past eight months Make quick work of her." I considered asking him why he thought I could do the job, but I decided against it. You can't reason with demons. And as I thought it, I realized that it now applied to me.

  I nodded at T and headed for the river. The river served as a boundary. When one opened a portal into Hell, they landed on the river bank. They had to cross through the river of fire, which didn't actually burn, in order to reach the mainland of Hell.

  I reached the river. Across from me was the suspected angel. She was laying on the ground with tattered and torn clothing. What was strange, however, was the fact that there was an open portal next to her. And kneeling over her was a young man. I couldn't see his face through his shaggy hair, but I immediately recognized him. It was Finn.

  He didn't see me, and I wasn't sure if I wanted him to. I was faced with a huge dilemma. I had to kill the angel. That was clear. But it would be no easy task. I was almost positive that Finn would defend her. Then I would have to fight Finn. I sighed. I would follow my orders. I would have to subdue Finn, kill the angel, and then set him free. 

  I ran through the river towards them. Finn looked up at me and his eyes went wide. His lips began to part as if he were to speak before I said "I'm sorry" and punched him in the jaw. He reeled back and looked at me with shock in his eyes. I went in for another punch, but he ducked, grabbed my arm, and threw me to the ground.

  "What are you doing?!" He screamed at me. He was standing over me, with both feet on my arms. 

  "I'm following orders. I have no choice." I threw him off of me and got back to my feet. This time, Finn rushed me. His fire fully cloaked him. It was so radiant that I felt its effects before it even touched me. Finn was much, much more powerful than I ever expected.

  The flames didn't kill me, but they burnt me so bad that my entire body went numb.

  "You're worthless," He said. He wasn't speaking in his voice. What came out of his mouth was a low, growling sound. "You disgust me. You went off screwing another woman while Mom was locked away? And you didn't tell me that my little sister was down in the basement for eleven years?!" I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Finn didn't let me. "I absolutely hate you. It seems like the only people I can trust are dead. Everyone but Thalia over here. She and I are going to win this war, and when we do, there's going to be no place in my life for you or Mom." 

  "Wait, Finn." I said. He turned away from me and grabbed Thalia. "I did it for our safety. You have to understand." Finn still didn't respond. He jumped through the portal with Thalia in tow, leaving me motionless in Hell.

FINN

It was so easy. Jumping in and out of Hell to save Thalia. Yet another thing Eva had kept from me. I was beginning to wonder just how much more I could do when Thalia began to stir.

  I watched her with a nervous feeling in my gut. It had been months since our last encounter. Would she be happy to see me? Or would she be enraged? Would she even remember me? She had to. There was no way she would forget me. Not after all that we had been through together.

  When Thalia's eyes fluttered open, she jumped up and looked around. We were in a small abandoned hut in Jordan. The land around had been decimated by war, and there was not a single soul around. 

  "What? F-Finn?" She said. Her eyes welled with tears and she held her arms out to me. I embraced them, a feeling that I hadn't felt for so, so long. 

  "Yeah, it's me. I wanted to be here sooner, I really did. But there was so much going on." I placed my cheek on her head, and her hair tickled my nose. It was a bit longer than I last remembered, and was messily cut.

  "I heard a lot while I was down here." Thalia said in between sobs. "About the war, about Azazel, about Abaddon. I seriously thought you were dead." We held each other for a few silent moments before Thalia pulled away and dried her eyes.

  "So, what exactly have you been up to lately? Did you find your mom?" She asked with a lovely smile on her face. 

  "Yeah, but it didn't go exactly as planned." I explained everything that had happened since Eva and I escaped Hell, making sure to leave out all of our . . . intimate moments.

  "O-Oh," Thalia said, lowering her voice almost to a whisper. "I'm sorry to hear about that." About what? I thought. My psychopathic mother, promiscuous father, or murderous aunt? I didn't say it loud, for my sake and for her's.

  "It doesn't matter." I said. "It's not like I had any attachments to her. What I care about now is putting an end to this war as soon as possible."

  "And how do you plan on doing that?" Thalia asked. "We're facing Heaven's Army - which has two very powerful angels in Raven and Wynne - Hell's army - which has Azazel, the rightful commander of Hell's armies, and Abaddon, the king of demons.

  "Exactly. We'll use that to our advantage. The plan that I formulated with Eva was to let the superpowers of this war duke it out and then swoop in when they're weak. I'm sure that the two armies will match each other perfectly. Especially since Eva is in custody." The gears were turning in my head. I had a plan, alright. A plan to not only end the war, but to liberate the mortal world from all supernatural intervention. I wasn't just going to destroy the gateways and kill demons and angels. I wasn't just going to kill Lucifer. I was going to kill God.