When Heaven meets Hell

Chapter Fifty Nine

He did not know exactly what had occurred, but the sight of Joan's blood spurred on the instinct for him to yell her name, a guttural roar filled with horror and anguish.

Forgetting entirely about the demons banging against the door, Avander lunged, vaguely aware of the sinister shadow form solidifying where it stood. Joan teetered in slow motion before Satan, her eyes wide and unseeing .  Around her sparks lit up droplets of blood. Every instinct in his body screamed for him to reach her, but when he was only a meter or so away, something powerful barreled into him, knocking the wind out of his lungs and hurling him back.

Dazed, Avander forced himself to sit up, aware of the tide of demons now pouring into the inner ward. But Avander's eyes were fixed on Joan's fallen form, wrenched promptly into the air by Satan. Like a puppet on strings, Joan's body swayed a bit . Satan dangled her by the hair, his laughter never ceasing.

Mad with rage , Avander leapt back to his feet and snarled. Just as his legs tensed to spring forward, a blinding white light filled the room. Demons cowered under it's radiance. Avander forced himself forward, shielding his eyes from the glare. He lost sight of Satan and Joan, catching only a brief glimpse of what could only be Heidi's shimmering form,  wings spread until they seem to cover more than half the width of the room. Everything disappeared after that.

Avander woke to the sound of gentle breathing, faint and soft like the whisper of the wind. His back pressed against the smooth stone of the floor. Above, the familiar glowing stalactites dripped water onto his nose. He realized he was still in the Sanctuary, only in a different part of it.
He sat up at once, the events from before jostling for place amongst his thoughts. Looking around wildly, Avander spotted Heidi near a stone fountain. Joan lay next to her.

"Joan!" He breathed, able to speak now that he was no longer in his demon form. He rushed forward and sank beside Heidi, gazing down at Joan. She lay peacefully as if asleep, white hair fanning out below her and lips parted slightly. The only thing wrong with the picture were Joan's missing forearms.

Blood still caked the skin, a bit of bone peeking from between the flesh. The bleeding had stopped and it was obvious Heidi was working away on her injuries.

"Will she be alright?" He asked, turning to her with a plea in his tone. Heidi bit her lip and placed her hand on Avander's, a sudden flash of guilt lighting up her eyes.
"She cannot fulfill her mission." Heidi informed him quickly, not looking at the way his eyes widened. "It's over, Satan has won."

"No!" Avander said suddenly, loudly. "Heidi, it can't be over. We've come too far. Why can't she go on?"

"Joan has lost almost all her energy." Heidi murmured gravelly as she rested the other girl's head in her lap.

"During the sealing, she was to concentrate every last reserve she had into one place, in this case her hands. She would have then released it at the right moment and used it to seal me away. But when Satan cut off her arms he not only rendered her incapable of doing so, but he released all that pent up energy at the wrong moment. It was lost into the surroundings, all of it wasted. As a result, she's now nearly drained. She barely has enough to keep herself alive, much less perform a sealing. "

Avander could only gape. Gently, Heidi handed Joan's limp form to Avander and he held her close, leaning over and laying his forehead against hers. For a few minutes he sat there stroking her face, looking both dejected and lost. Heidi went about healing and regenerating her forearms.