The Warrior

Hospital

The hospital smelled of chemicals and sickness.  I was not used to it.  The front lobby was full of people waiting in chairs.  I wandered down the halls and past rooms where people laid on beds with tubes in their arms.  People wearing masks over their mouths walked and ran past me into the rooms.  A woman in white approached me.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked.

"I am here to see someone," I countered.  "Her name is Shawnee and they took her out of the house fire."

"Oh, Miss Nolan.  She's on the eighth floor in the burn unit.  Last time I checked she was awake, but just check with the nurse there."

"How do I get to the eighth floor?"

She gave me a puzzled look.  "Well, you can take the elevator or the stairs, which are both right over there."

I went to where she directed me and found a door to the stairs and a set of metal doors that I could not open.  I went up eight flights of stairs and found my way to Shawnee's room in this burn unit, but she was not burned.  She was sleeping peacefully on the bed, clear tubes running up her arms and machines around her, beeping and making other noises.  I went over to her window and looked out to the city.

I could see the bell tower, and the faint outline of Cepheus circling it.  Tonight was going to be like no other night.  If it really was Gemini's brother doing the Devil's bidding for a mere act of revenge, we had some retribution of our own.  I could also see the building that Blitzen had died on, and my thoughts went to her.  From what I could piece together, she had changed us into humans because she knew it would make us stronger.  Donner was right; she did not have an evil bone in her body.

"Orion?"  I turned back, and Shawnee was awake.  "What are you doing here?"

"The time has come," I said.  "We are going to the church to end this madness once and for all."

"The fire wasn't accidental, was it?"

"I tried to save you, I really did.  I was pulled out before I could do anything."

"Well, I'm doing fine, except for a little smoke inhalation.  They wanted to keep me here overnight just to make sure everything is fine.  It's a miracle that I escaped without a burn or nerve damage."

"That is because you are not who you think you are."

"What?"

"The church has a stone angel in front of it, referred to as the Iron Angel.  It is home to the spirit that acts as the barrier between good and evil.  But bad things are about to happen.  You look exactly like her."

She got out of her bed and pulled out all the tubes.  "I'm going to go change into some of my clothes."  

She went into the bathroom.  I heard voices coming from the hall.

"You can't go in the burn unit, ma'am," a woman said.  "You don't have proper consent to see Miss Nolan."

"I will see who I want to see."  It was Incendie.  I knew her fiery voice.  "Miss Nolan and I are great friends and I would like to see if she is doing okay."

I knocked on the bathroom door.  "Shawnee, we have to get out of here."

"What going on?" she asked.

It was too late.  Incendie was standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips.  Her fiery red hair blew in the wind coming from the now open window.  Her eyes were simply black spheres that had a slight sparkle and blended in with the darkened room.  She was wearing red boots, tight red pants and a stiff red jacket.

"With water gone, fire can rule over all," she said.

"I fear none of your magic," I said to her.  "I have done away with ice and water, so fire will be no challenge."

She held out her hand with her palm turned upwards.  A small fire lit above it, glowing in the darkness.  "The humans saved you last time, but now they won't even stand a chance against my new powers.  You see, when you killed Blitzen, I didn't have to share any more magic with her."

"But I did not kill Seerose, only her inner demons."

"Yes, that is why I did not gain as much from her as I did Blitzen.  It is time I do away with the one creature who threatens our plan."

"Is your master really Gemini's brother?"

"Yes.  He tells me every day of the night his brother let him fall from the bell tower and how another cursed him to die.  But he cursed you all, and your curse will finally come to pass, young gargoyle."

She threw her arms back and sent flames throughout the whole room.  The same beeping noise that I heard during the fire at Sprague's house came back.  Incendie walked over to me and put her hands on my chest, her fingertips burning my skin.  Shawnee was still in the bathroom, trying to open the door.

"Don't be afraid of your imminent death, Orion," Incendie said to me.  "It doesn't hurt as much as you think."

I was sent back in a fury that came in the form of flames.  I was pushed back to the window and fell out into the open air.  I held my hand out for anything I could hold onto and got a grip of the windowsill.  Incendie struck the rest of the glass from the window and stepped out onto the windowsill.  She brought Shawnee out with her and looked down eight stories above the city.

"Say goodbye to your precious Iron Angel!" she cackled.

She pushed Shawnee off the windowsill, and out of instinct, I let go.  But my blood started to sting in my veins.  I transformed into the demon as I fell form and dove down to Shawnee, getting a hold of her in my arms and flying off towards the church before she could hit the city street below.  She held onto me, tears streaming down her face.

"You still have the necklace," she said, looking at the cross pendant around my neck.  "I told you it brings good luck."

"Good luck is only brought by misfortune," I said.  "Now, prepare for the most terrible thing you can think of, because it is going to get worse before it gets better."

"And if we don't make it out alive?"

"We will make it out alive, by the name of the night and day I promise you.  Only the cowards do not live through the apocalypse."