Children of the Archangels

CHAPTER 35: LIGHTNING WHIP

Luke knew their mission was doomed. They had failed the one thing they were supposed to do—the one important piece in this big mission—protect Nil. Luke couldn't see much from behind the cat's body, but it was probably for the best. He couldn't bear to see the five-year-old rendered into chow mix.

But as the cat moved aside, he spotted Nil unhurt, and the cat confused. The cat swung again, and like a fish on a line, Nil was dragged towards the side, just barely missing the Phantom Cat's attack by the length of an eyelash.

Luke looked to Sirius who gave him a thumbs up. But something was wrong. Sirius looked just as confused as the cat who was trying to catch what should've been a very simple meal.

Whatever was keeping Nil safe, Luke needed to take advantage of the opportunity to finish this creature once and for all. His whip laid on the other side of the room. There was no way he could reach it without being trampled by the cat.

It was time to put his two months worth of personal training to the test.

He closed his eyes and waited for his hands to tingle, then he tried his best to wrestle his mind and his hand to control and shape the lightning into something simple—a curved line.

Eventually he saw a rope of lightning gather along the floor like the flimsy tail of a rat—a whip made entirely of electricity. He reared back and unleashed the whip which snapped like thunder across the cave, drawing the attention of the Phantom Cat, but it was too late even for it to react.

The whip crackled as it wrapped itself twice around the tail of the cat, sending voltage after voltage of electricity coursing through the creature. The creature growled and shook. Luke reduced the length of the whip, slowly pulling the creature towards him, but he only managed a couple of inches before the creature fought back in the tug of war.

Victor got to his senses and started summoning rocks from the Earth and fired it at the creature. The creature couldn't dodge any rock since it was pinned down by the electric whip. Meanwhile, Nil stood in awe as always, but his line of sight was more at the Phantom Cat being fried. He looked at it with as much excitement as a child watching fireworks.

Sirius meanwhile placed his hand over his left arm and healed himself from the wound he sustained earlier. He took out Absorber again and struck the creature through its thick gray hide. The Phantom Cat roared in pain and collapsed to the ground. The color drained from its yellow and black tail, and the creature's eyes went white as a rainbow ran from the cat to the sword, absorbing the cat's essence. Then its body started to turn to ash and disappear into the ground.

Sirius's sword dissipated and Luke stood up and walked over to Nil, where the others had regrouped.

"Did you guys see that?" Luke asked as he retrieved his whip from across the room.

"You mean our little useless kid all of sudden forcing himself to stay alive," Victor said. He shook the kid violently. "What is possessing you?"

"Nothing is possessing him," Sirius said.

"How do you know?" Victor grilled Sirius. "Did you see how fast he moved out of the way from those attacks as if something were pulling him away from them?"

"I'd know if it was a demon," Sirius said and dropped the matter as he took Nil's hand. "Come on, we don't have all day, do we?"

Sirius lead Nil through the cave and left Luke with Victor. They walked after them when Victor finally said something that seemed to be bugging him. "Why'd you save me?"

"We're a team, right?" Luke asked as if he wasn't too sure. "And I wasn't just saving you, I was saving Sirius too."

"Thanks for that by the way," Sirius shouted from up ahead.

"No problem."

"So you were actually saving Sirius and then got me as a bonus," Victor seemed to nod as if this made more sense to him.

"Had you'd been alone, I would've done the same." Or at least, Luke would like to think he could've. Even after Victor tried to kill him during combat training, out here in the wilderness of this mission, they needed to stick together as a unit—and that meant not allowing one another to get picked off by the dangers that lay in front of them.

Victor said nothing, as if this revelation made the mission more complicated. Does this mean he actually needs to look out for Luke's life too in return?

Luke hoped so. He hoped by saving his life it put their past behind them.

"I can see light," Sirius said as they felt a breeze of cold air sweep into the cave. Eventually they emerged into a snowy landscape that made the Rocky's look like a tropical summer resort. Harsh wind blew from all angles. Snow slammed against Luke's face and made it numb. The layers he wore did almost nothing to keep him warm. He was tempted to summon a flame, but he wasn't sure how long he could make it last in this weather and they were only at the edge of the cave's exit.

Luke looked down at his watch, his normal watch—not the one that the Dean gave him for the garden. He learned that the Dean wasn't lying. Time didn't just accelerate in the cave, it went at the speed of light. They had left on a Wednesday afternoon and now it was Monday night of the following week. They had less than a day and some change to find the entrance to the Garden of Eden.

Then Luke felt it, a wave of weariness overtook him as if the jet lag of not sleeping for nearly five days overcame him. By the looks of the others, they felt the same.

"Let's camp here for the night near the exit and locate the entrance first thing in the morning," Victor said taking off his pack. He studied the old map of Antarctica that the Dean had given him. He mumbled a name and looked pleased. "We're only half a day's trek away from the entrance."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief. They still had some time. It was cutting it close, but they could rest.

After setting up the tents, Luke struck up a fire that was used to prepare warm bowls of chicken noodle soup from a can that Luke gulped down in seconds. They played rock-paper-scissors for who would have to sleep with Nil, and Luke lost so he had to share his small tent with him.

Or at least he thought it was small until he went inside. From the outside the tent looked no bigger than a bus stop stand, but from the inside, it was the size of a small shack. It had two sleeping bags resting on white fur rugs. A small battery-powered space heater was cranking and keeping the tent perfectly warm. An orange light illuminated the tent and some of the furniture that it came with, from a couple of beanbag chairs to even a mini toilet that was exposed and looked more like an outhouse, but it was better than doing one's business in the cold weather outside. Talk about shrinkage.

Luke helped Nil into his sleeping bag and for the first time saw Nil's eyes close. He couldn't help wondering what Nil was dreaming about—or if he was always dreaming. He looked so peaceful as he slept with a smile on his face. Could Luke really be responsible for taking him away from this by feeding him fruit from the Garden of Eden?

The thought dragged him to sleep, where he saw the archangel Uriel once more.