Requiem: Death Shall Have No Dominion
by Darth Stitch
DISCLAIMER: Same as previous chapter
Two – Though They Go Mad They Shall Be Sane
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion
-- Dylan Thomas
The fairy tales have it that the accursed sleep of death can be broken by true love's kiss.
Abel Nightroad was awakened with blood.
Esther learns this only much, much later, that her miracle has been granted in the form of Cardinal Caterina, Father Tres and Saint Lilith herself, making one last gift from beyond the grave. At that time, she only understood that she was freed to go back to Abel's side one last time, after her first appearance to her subjects. She was there to witness Father Tres pouring this strange, dark liquid into Abel's coffin, working his strange alchemy with a prosaic "Mission: Accomplished" instead of chanting a magic spell.
It is only later that Esther will learn the full details, that the liquid is Lilith's blood, filled with her own Crusnik nanomachines, a last desperate effort to call Abel back from Death's keeping.
At that moment, she was only conscious of that wild, unreasoning hope clutching her heart, aware that something was to be expected of Father Tres' strange actions.
And then, Cain Knightlord arrived, unwelcome and uninvited.
Father Tres Iquus is one of the most formidable agents of AX, a nonpareil with those guns of his and Esther is aware that Abel has more than once depended on Tres to rein him in should, God forbid, he lose control of himself in his Crusnik form. But Cain, as he had done to the seasoned soldiers of Albion, had calmly stopped Tres' bullets and threw the Killing Doll aside as if he were, again, just another annoying insect in his way.
Esther too was also just another insignificant speck in his path.
Cain Knightlord is as beautiful as his brother, the bright sun to his moon. Easy to see how he can command the Rosen Kruez Orden, how he can bring the formidable Methuselah to their knees and make them call him "Lord." And yet, Esther is abruptly reminded of Scripture, that the Devil too was beautiful and bright, beloved of the Lord, before the Great Fall. Not for nothing did the Devil bear the name Lucifer, Son of the Morning.
Esther has no weapons to hand, not that there was any weapon on this earth that could stand against Cain Knightlord. All she had were her words which she hurled at him like bullets, hoping to buy time, understanding that she needed those precious seconds and minutes somehow.
Who are you?
What are you?
What else do you intend to do to Father Nightroad?
Foolish questions, really, when she could clearly see the first flickering of desire in those empty blue eyes, unholy and unnatural and that she could understand, without further explanation, Cain's true intentions.
I am a Crusnik. A being who needs nothing and therefore one who needs everything.
Once again, Cain gave her that mocking parody of Abel's sweet smile, deigning to speak to her further…perhaps because he saw her weep for his brother, a meaningless kindness to a creature who should be beneath his ken. Or perhaps he directs his explanation to his brother, who can no longer answer him.
Abel and I will now become one.
After all, we were originally two in one. And so, he can enjoy eternal rest within me. I will have a new body and he won't have to worry all the time.
The mental image is crystal clear and horrifying and Esther braced herself for the inevitable pain when Abel's coffin burst open in a blaze of darkness and rose petals.
It is the first time that she has seen Cain look uncertain of himself but her eyes are now drawn back to Abel, her Abel, awake… alive.
Alive.
Abel is wholly unrecognizable, demonic, his skin dark and covered with bluish-black markings, his eyes ablaze, stark and direct contrast to his twin, who now assumes his own Crusnik form, unfurling white wings, his own eyes red and feral. The Demon and the Angel and yet, Esther knew full well which of them truly deserved his place in heaven and which one was pleased to rule in hell.
Witnesses will speak of the battle between the Angels of Death and Destruction, see the sky set alight with red and blue lightning, hear the clash of their weapons and their voices raised in wrath. It has been a battle long overdue and Esther understands this clearly now, that Abel will be locked in this war against his brother for as long as they both lived.
You will never stop fighting, will you?
Esther will not forget the scent of roses and blood and ozone lingering in the air. She will not forget her silent, desperate prayers, that this time, Abel would emerge the victor, that this time, he would finally return home to her.
And then, she saw both Cain and Abel fall from the sky.
Three – It's All Coming Back To Me Now
There were nights when the wind was so cold,
But my body froze in bed if I listened to it right outside the window.
There were days when the sun was so cruel,
And all my tears turned to dust,
And I just knew my eyes were drying up forever.
I finished crying in the instant that you left.
I can't remember where, or when, or how.....
But I banished every memory you and I had ever made...
But when you touch me like this,
And when you hold me like that
I just have to admit,
That it's all coming back to me....
- "It's All Coming Back To Me Now," lyrics by Jim Steinman
Esther is the first to find him.
The rest of AX, even Brother Petros and Sister Paula, had all been dispatched to look for the twins, though they all knew it was highly unlikely they would find Cain, much less have the ability to subdue him, despite all of Brother Petros' blustering. Father Tres Iquus alone was not part of the search party, as he was still undergoing repairs.
"More trouble than he's worth and he's got more lives than a freakin' cat," Father Leon had muttered but a red flush crept over the back of his neck when he spied Esther looking at him. "Anything for you, Sister Red, you know that, right?"
The Professor had simply rolled his eyes at Father Leon. "Hopeless, absolutely hopeless…"
They had all mourned Abel's loss in their own way. The loss of a comrade is not an uncommon occurrence in AX, but it doesn't make the hurt any less.
This was to be one of the last few things Esther will do as a simple AX agent and Vatican nun. The Count of Manchester, bless him, deliberately stayed his official announcement of Esther's true identity, giving her anonymity for just a while longer.
Esther found Abel in a clearing, not too far from the church where he had been first brought to for his wake…and she tried not to think of the whole worlds of irony contained in that single word.
He was laying on the ground, still in his Crusnik form, dark wings partially obscuring the fact that he was without a stitch of clothing. There wasn't time to blush over that nor was there anything in her that could feel fear at the strange, magnificent creature her husband had transformed into. She could only stand there for those first few moments, drinking in the sight of him.
Alive. Whole.
At her first tentative step towards him, he was suddenly on his feet, scythe in his hands, eyes blazing with battle rage. And then, slowly, he lowered his weapon, those sharpened features settling into a puzzled frown.
"Human."
Esther's heart stopped, for just a moment. Her lips formed to shape his name in the barest of whispers.
"You should fear me, human and yet… you know my name. How….why…?"
It didn't matter, Esther told herself sternly. It didn't matter that he seemed to have no memory of her, it didn't matter if this was the price she had to pay, the penance for her own grievous sin. As long as he was alive, moving and breathing in front of her. Tears streaked down her cheeks, blurring her vision but she drew a deep, shuddering breath so that she could finally speak to him, somehow get him to trust her enough so she could get him out of this place.
And then, suddenly, he was there, in front of her, a slender taloned finger delicately brushing away her tears.
"Don't cry," he whispered. "I can't bear to see your tears... I know you, don't I?"
"You do," she said tremulously. "You do know me."
"Bright star…" He murmured, drawing her closer, framing her face with his hands. "My Esther."
His eyes were now caught somewhere between crimson and blue and memory was there and so was tenderness and desire and love. He'd begun by gently kissing away her tears and she could hear the rustling of his wings as he folded her close to him. And when finally, he'd brushed his lips against hers, she wanted to weep anew at the sweetness of it.
Alive. Whole. Abel was back again. It was more than enough, this miracle – she could not, would not dare ask for more.
"I remember now," he whispers again, close to her ear, brushing another kiss at that point where her pulse beat in time with his own. "Always yours. Always on your side."
"Always," she answers in turn, her hands unerringly threading through his long silver hair.
Alive. Whole. The rest of the world could wait.
The rest of the world could wait forever.
-tbc-
