Chapter Seventeen - The Healer
Josephine was huffing as she dispatched Jociam’s last underling. The poor guy had only basic training for perhaps a few weeks. Not even intermediate combat. So he didn’t even block when she sidestepped him and stabbed him through his side.
At least the poor guy had guts. He grunted instead of screaming as she slid off Excalibur. Then he died.
She took a quick look from the corner of eyes to see Elijah still had his little rock barrier still over him. Good. She was afraid the witch boy would try to help her. She could already tell he was pooped out. Plus, he would be dead weight.
And Jociam? She was somewhat surprised the old man had some grace abilities. She looked over where she had last seen him, waving his ax at the sky like some crazy homeless person and shouting some old Latin poo poo magic spell. She had no idea what he did except there were some flashes of light that lit up the whole area and it used up his Ascension. Was that a sacrifice? Jociam was now back to regular old fart ordained.
Which was good because she never liked the Ascension, the full unleashed power of an ordained if they lived long enough to train to do it. The Ascension did some freaky shit along with the ridiculous power boost. One of those freakinesses was a form change where one became white and efflorescence like a ghost.
Also, taking a peek over at the gashed earth, Zea and Leora on the other side seem to have disappeared. That worried her a bit. A few moments ago she could’ve sworn she heard a boom and then Zea screamed “no,” from the other side followed by the sound of thunder.
“Hey! You gonna fight me, Jociam? Or are you still doing your weird Harry Potter shit,” she called out.
Jociam turned around. He surveyed the field and shook his head. “To strike down your fellow hunters,” he said, disappointed. “Why? Why are you fighting this? Us?”
He started to move to Josephine.
“Because I want to bang hot vampires,” said Josephine simply. She started to move towards Jociam.
“You cannot be doing all of this for such a shallow reason? Even if you were, I am never wrong with my intuition,” said Jociam. He readied his ax. “I know you will make the right choice.”
Josephine moved Excalibur to a low position. “Eh, I wouldn’t put all your hopes and dreams into me,” she said.
They reached out and traded blows, each striking and blocking. They returned to ready positions and started to circle each other.
“Layla would have liked you,” said Jociam.
Josephine swung Excalibur into an overhead arch. She brought it down as Jociam moved his ax up. He held Excalibur. “She would’ve wanted to adopt you,” he chuckled.
Jociam, feeling Josephine no longer putting force down her sword, pushed her away with his ax. He took a step back. “Granted you were what when you came into the Order?” he said.
“Nineteen,” said Josephine. She waited, and when no vision came, she decided this was a good time to have that talk. “I wouldn’t think she would want to adopt me.”
“Why is that?” asked Jociam.
“Because I killed her,” answered Josephine.
One of Jociam’s eyes twitched.
“And your tuition says I am not lying,” said Josephine.
“You never met her,” he started.
“I did,” she said. She took a deep breath. Then she called out to Elijah, whom she was sure was listening. “Prepare for soap opera part two!”
“That’s not possible. You would’ve been fourteen and living with your aunt,” said Jociam.
“A lie among many the Order has told. That vampire didn’t kill those kids. It was some other jerkface vampire. He was trying to stop the jerkface,” said Josephine.
Jociam shook his head. “I know what you are doing—trying to distract me.”
“That night, the vampire that your wife was hunting was trying to stop jerkface from poisoning Frankfurt’s municipal water supply,” continued Josephine. She watched Jociam’s arms starting to shake. “The vampire stopped jerkface, but before he could kill him, your wife showed up.”
“Henrik Lagerfield was on a seven year-long sabbatical,” said Jociam with a hint of desperation. He swung his ax at Josephine but it had no power so she easily parried it away.
“He wasn’t. And that night he was at Frankfurt,” said Josephine. “Who do you think that vampire was? Why did he know all the Order’s tricks? Never had it dawned upon you why that vampire always slipped away?”
“He would never become a vampire,” snarled Jociam.
“He didn’t have a choice,” said Josephine sadly. “Layla was going to stake him from behind, but I couldn’t let that happen. Even if my father was a vampire, I couldn’t let him die.”
“They said she got ambushed. Stabbed through the chest and then burned,” said Jociam weakly. He started to cry. “I hated him so much! He didn’t have to desecrate her like that.”
“I hit over the head with a pipe. She fell into the treatment tank and drowned. My father tried to revive her,” said Josephine. “I’m sorry.”
Jociam dropped his ax. This was Josephine’s final blow, though she much preferred it was done physically than with just words.
She watched the old hunter pull his hair, cry and scream out his wife’s name in agony before dropping onto his knees like a lifeless sack of potatoes. He sucked in the air.
“It’s over Jociam. Just go back to the Order or whatever. Retire,” she said.
He looked up at her from his distraught eyes.
“Unless you want to take your revenge on me now that you know,” said Josephine.
“You were but a child. There is no vengeance to take,” he shook his head.
Jociam was oddly calm.
Josephine froze. A vision had come, but she could not understand what she saw. All she saw was a bright light. She had no idea how that was supposed to kill her.
“What are you going to do?” she said, alarmed. She started stepping away from him. “Elijah, get ready!”
“You don’t have to tell me,” said Elijah who appeared next to Josephine. “And you weren’t kidding about soap opera part two. Also, it explains your obsession with Leora.”
Josephine was too occupied in trying to figure out her death vision to respond to Elijah.
“Okay, weird, you didn’t say anything. I take it shit is about to hit the fan. Run?” asked Elijah.
“I dunno. Just be ready for anything,” said Josephine. Her eyes were scanning for something, anything to make sense of her vision. Did Jociam hide a bomb somewhere?
Above, squawking a long note, was Jociam’s hawk. It dropped something—a piece of paper.
Josephine watched the paper flutter down in a seesawing fashion and landed in front of the old hunter. The old hunter picked it up. “Still,” he said emotionless. “All vampires must die.”
It was then that Josephine realized that the paper in Jociam’s hand was the scroll unfurled. Ancient writings that ran across the delicate paper started to glow. Then the writings lifted off from the scroll and into the air.
The words swirled around and became a whirlwind. The surrounding air whipped up into a frenzy. Josephine had to plunge Excalibur into the ground to keep herself from being blown away like a rag doll. Jociam did the same with his ax. Elijah managed to keep himself stable by having the ground encase itself around his legs, another trick he picked up from Marcus.
Then the ground moved as if the earth was mending itself. The gashed that had been ripped through the estate disappeared. What was more, where it had mended, green grass and flowers sprouted.
The whirlwind then disappeared. The air went still. Everything became an endless white save for Josephine, Elijah, Jociam and a being floated before them.
Josephine could not tell if the being was a man or a woman. Hell, she wasn’t even sure what she was looking at was even human, even if they seemed to look human with exaggerated limbs and jaw. They had an eerie white iris on white pupils, hair white, skin white, white robes, white sword that was on fire with white flames and even white wings. Seven motherfucking white wings.
Jociam, realizing before anyone what this being was, threw himself before the angel. “Merciful Archangel Raphael,” he cried out.
“What the fuck,” said Elijah under his breath. He turned to Josephine. “Should I be, um, kneeling?”
If you wish. Raphael looked at the witch boy with an unreadable expression.
Elijah blinked several times. “Am I the only one who heard that? Um, in my freaking mind!”
“No,” said Josephine. She took a deep breath. “I don’t suppose a kill all vampire spell doesn’t exist cuz you popped out...from the scroll.”
“There must be!” spat Jociam who had lifted his head up. “My intuition is never wrong.” He looked up at Raphael, who was looking down at him with curiosity. “Please, O Great Archangel!”
The existence of vampires depends on their god. Raphael stared out somewhere into the endless white. And humanity.
“B-but this scroll was supposed to wipe out all vampires?” said Jociam as he got up.
Raphael looked somewhat annoyed. It can still be done.
“Please do so,” begged Jociam. “For the betterment of the world!”
For the betterment of the world? Raphael smiled bitterly. I have watched eons of this world.
The endless whiteness turned into images of ancient civilizations. Ancient Greece. Egypt in the time of the pharaohs. There were a lot of them Josephine and Elijah could not recognize.
Many times it ended and was reborn.
An image of a great city in the sky falling into the ground. Another image of a city surrounded by water before a tsunami cracks through their barrier. People were celebrating a great achievement or running away from some sort of apocalyptic disaster.
Each time supposedly better than the previous. But it is always the same. Humanity only knows to consume and destroy.
Images of a dying rainforest, dusty air, raging fire, polluted ocean waters and toxic waste.
It is befitting that you would ask me, the Arch of Healing, to destroy. After all, you are human.
The endless white returned. Raphael narrowed their eyes as they floated down. When their feet touched the ground, the world returned. They were now back at the terrace. A swirling portal stood behind the archangel.
“They look pissed,” said Josephine as she plucked her sword out of the ground.
Elijah nodded in agreement.
“I-I don’t understand,” said Jociam. He started to back away, picking up his ax.
If all humanity is gone, then there won’t be vampires. The world can then finally heal. And that’s the only thing I can do. I will fulfill your wish. Every creature that was and is human shall be no more.
“But you will kill us all,” said Jociam, shaking his head at the horrible realization. “I can’t let that happen!”
That is your wish—destroy all vampires. Raphael was emotionless.
“Jociam!” shouted Josephine.
But the old hunter charged at the archangel.
Typical. The archangel swiped into the air and before Jociam could take another step, his body turned into white smoke. Only his clothes and ax were left behind.
“Oh fuck!” said Elijah. He pulled up a barrier over himself and Josephine.
Elijah’s barrier crumbled away by white fire. Josephine grabbed him and started to run. “Shit we have to keep your distance,” she said through gritted teeth. Excalibur changed back into a gun and she shot at the angel a few times.
Raphael deflected the bullets with ease as they advanced on the two.
“Goddamn, that fucker!” said Josephine. “We gotta try to take them down!”
Elijah nodded. He readied his athame, green energy pulsating at the tip, even though his hands were shaking. “Plan?”
“You hit right side, and I hit left. Give them everything you got,” she said. “Get ready.”
Raphael raised their flaming sword.
“Now!” barked Josephine.
Josephine and Elijah split. They looped back down and flanked the angel on both sides. Elijah shot out his most powerful strike, and Josephine hit them with a barrage of bullets.
Rapheal used their wings to block and twirl away. They struck the earth with their flaming sword and sent a shock wave that Elijah could not dodge. He was knocked away, slamming him against the ground.
Disregarding her own words earlier and going off on a crazy plan she had put together on the spot, she took advantage of the angel’s distraction with Elijah. Josephine threw her gun up into the air and launched herself at Raphael. She was able to grab two wings of the angel and rode them like she was riding a raging bull.
“Nice of ya to not disintegrate him and here I thought you were gonna kill everyone,” Josephine managed to say.
He has his god’s ward.
Raphael threw themselves backwards, smashing Josephine into the ground.
“Omph, crap,” said Josephine, nearly knocked unconscious. “Ya gonna turn me into white smoke now? Flashy light by any chance?” she asked breathlessly.
The archangel looked down at her, confused. No ‘flashy light,’ but I’ve tried. I can’t with you.
“Huh, good to know,” smiled Josephine, lifting her head up a little.
Josephine watched Excailbur, now a sword, plunged down from the sky right over the archangel’s head. This was her plan. However, Raphael, rolling their eyes, caught the sword with their hands by reaching up. This is a holy relic of my brethren. You cannot hurt me with this. They tossed it away.
“Damn, I figured,” she said before letting her head rest on the ground. “You can hold it but can’t use Excalibur, huh?”
Yes, it is not mine and I am not its chosen one. Raphael raised their sword to strike a blow and finish off the hunter.
Josephine wondered if that flash she saw in her death vision was a mistake?
Raphael plunged their sword down.
Josephine called to Excailbur. It flew into her hands just in time for her to block. The tip of Raphael’s sword clashed into the side of her Excailbur. The meeting of blades made a spectacular explosion.
A bright light was all Josephine could see and then nothing else.
Chapter 18 - The Chosen One