Words were superfluous as the angel strode toward the gates. Swinging silently open on invisible hinges, the emerald doors divided to permit access. Within the space of a heartbeat, the angel wings were folded beneath his clothing again and he walked through the gates of Eden. Nigel's lifeless body was draped over strong arms, and the angel grieved, knowing he had failed.
Failure would not garner him a punishment per se, but throughout eternity he would dwell on the mistake he'd made.
There was no gatekeeper; none was needed. The angels came and went at will and without restriction of any kind. Imbued with quasi intelligence, the door stymied any and all humans from entering alone.
No living man or woman might pass through the gate, but a lifeless man could.
The garden was a center of activity as all life within prepared for the return of the sword.
Nigel's still form was gently laid on a bier covered with orchids, where the young Englishman was granted a reverent nod from ordered legions of angels who stood in concentric circles around him. His own guardian angel, the creature who had carried his human cargo into Eden, stood by his charge, tears glistening in his eyes.
In the middle of the angel host, an aisle formed, and a second guardian marched forward, depositing Sydney's corpse next to that of her assistant. Sydney's angelic protector clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We've been working together for a while now, Aaron. I realize you've only been around for a few centuries. You didn't fail, my friend. These two were meant to return the blade, and this was truly the only way it could be done. You know well that the word of the Almighty must be kept, without exception."
Aaron smiled sadly. "You're right, of course. It is too bad that these too had to be lost in the process, Daniel, and I don't see how they can ever hope to fight evil like this."
"They're not truly lost, you know. God works in mysterious ways, and He informed me that neither you nor I have been reassigned yet. He said we aren't going to be, either, not for several years." Daniel stopped, his expression hardening. "They have a job to do. The gates have been breached again, after all these eons. If anything, our enemy's arrogance has grown even more." The guardian angel turned to face Mike Van Loo, who was walking through the ranks. The angels backed away in disgust, opening an uneven path.
Van Loo's body was decaying before their eyes. "Hello, brother," sneered Van Loo to Daniel. "It's been too long, and that's just wrong."
Daniel lifted his chin. "You're too late, Beelzebub."
Van Loo's eyes glowed crimson, his putrid face contorting into a dark perversion of a smile. "I don't think so. I've claimed them both, Daniel. You can't save them when they're dead and I've got them."
Daniel arched an eyebrow and brushed a strand of Sydney's hair from her face. The glow from the angel exploded outward into a brilliant halo that enveloped the entire clearing, and in that instant, Sydney's eyes opened. The blisters and pustules on her flesh disappeared, discoloration fading, and her gasping, agonized breath slowly returned to normal.
Aaron's awe was genuine. "I understand," he said simply.
Daniel pulled the sword free of its ragged sheath and held out the hilt to the bewildered human woman. "It is your fight this time. It is your destiny."
Van Loo's face was deteriorating more by the moment. There was a glow about him now, too, but it was the lurid, dirty glow of a fire that had died to an ember. The scent of smoke and burned flesh clung to the apparition. "It's her fight? Really, Daniel, you have to be kidding. This is a human woman, not an angel."
Daniel shrugged, but his smile never faded. "This is no ordinary woman, and that's no ordinary sword."
Van Loo hissed, "Well, then, Sydney, here are the stakes. You win, I get kicked out of Eden again. You lose and I get to keep your friend Nigel here in torment with me."
The hilt of the sword was cool and heavy in her hand. At the edge of her consciousness, Sydney knew that merely holding the weapon was tantamount to suicide, but she also knew instinctively that it was the only way to defeat the opponent who circled her like a nervous cat. She was sorely tempted to launch an all-out assault on him, employing the blade and her own martial arts training.
In this case, it seemed unlikely that a karate kick would do the job, so she waited.
Van Loo growled, "You can't kill me, you know. I'm immortal. That's why they chose you to do their dirty work. You're a woman; this is Eden. They always blame the woman for failure. It's inevitable. Just ask Eve."
"Something tells me you're lying," she countered. "I think it's poetic justice. You got a woman kicked out of Eden. It's only right that a woman kicks you out a few millennia later. Just call me fashionably late."
He snarled and extended a hand. From his fingertip, a dirty nail telescoped outward and grew into a crooked, grime- and gore-encrusted rapier. He swung wildly and just missed as Sydney lunged to one side, tucking and rolling and rising smoothly to her feet in a single movement. Van Loo shouted in frustration and his sword screamed. It was the first moment that Sydney realized that human bones formed his grisly foil. She recoiled automatically and he lunged again.
She barely evaded his attack while launching a counter-strike of her own. The gold Angel Sword sliced through air, though, as Van Loo leapt nimbly over her assault.
Having a better assessment of her opponent now, she feinted left, then thrust straight. Van Loo parried instantly but the tip of her blade connected, slicing through his shoulder. He roared in pain as vile, maggot-infested blood bubbled from the wound.
"Not as omnipotent as you thought, are you?" she taunted. "I think it's you who can't win."
He snarled and rushed at her, his arm barely a shadow in the rapidity of its motion. It didn't take long for her to become exhausted under the onslaught.
Her breath came in labored gasps and sweat rolled from her skin as she continued to evade, slice, parry and thrust, fencing against an invincible enemy. He was right about one thing, she suspected. He might not be omnipotent, but he probably couldn't be killed. You couldn't kill something that wasn't alive.
"You don't have to do this, Sydney," Van Loo challenged, his voice shifting to become smooth and persuasive. "They expect you to fail. They'll just throw you out again even if you win, you know. Join me, help me win, and you can rule over Eden. I can give you paradise."
Sydney rolled her eyes, muttering, "Didn't I date you once? I know I've heard that before. I didn't believe it then and I don't believe it now." She was too focused on the fight to care what he was saying, which worked in her favor. His hypnotic words effectively fell on deaf ears.
"Let's pool our resources, then," Van Loo snapped, waving his hand.
The ground sank beneath her and she was trapped in a pool of blood. It sucked her downward like quicksand, trapping her, leaving her unable to escape or even move.
Van Loo stood over her, laughing, as she was swallowed up.
Aaron fidgeted, determined to stand apart from the battle, but the guardian in him cried out at the injustice he was witnessing. Daniel inclined his head to his fellow angel. "We can't help her," the older angel said simply, yet there was an implication of something more in his voice.
Nigel's guardian glanced at the manifestation of his failure. The young Briton was still stretched in final repose on a bed of flowers, the peace on Nigel's discolored features no reflection of the state of his soul. Van Loo's claim of torment was no idle boast.
Sydney couldn't see the anticipation in the angels' eyes. They each knew that this human woman was their champion, chosen by the Almighty to dispatch the enemy. Even her apparent loss didn't dim their enthusiasm overall. The heavenly host was cheering wildly even while their would-be protector was being overwhelmed and defeated.
All but Aaron.
Striding forward, he was dismayed when Daniel's hand clapped over his shoulder, effectively halting him in his tracks. "No!" The senior guardian commanded.
Unable to dismiss the incontestable order, Aaron stepped back, staring miserably at Nigel's mutilated flesh. Nigel - his assignment... How understated a way to describe a human soul given over to his charge! Frustration overtook the angel and he unfurled his wings, spiraling up above the ongoing fight. Every fiber of his being demanded that he help, yet to do so would be to defy the ruler of the universe!
Aaron stomped through the clouds and they discharged electricity, lightning that crackled through the heavens and scorched the earth. Eden's perfection healed itself quickly, the grass and the skies returning to their placid norm.
Finally, as Sydney stepped into the mire that would spell the end to the battle, Aaron settled back to the earth. Only his eyes no longer burned with frustration. Instead, they broadcast sudden determination and the light of a new direction.