A Little Piece Of Heaven

Patollo stared, Raven stared right back, letting the power fill her mind and trying to ignore the jumble of confusing images that filled her head. This new life was falling back and see the old, the past of her existence wrapping itself with this reality and Jimmy, her life now. She was confused, in pain but determined to put things right.
“You think this ? this bit of broken angel will stop me ?”
Patollo threw his head back and roared with laughter, Lilith wincing at the sound but feeling the energy singing from Raven. It was good to see Claire, the telepathic bond between them restored and they shared a smile as Syn pulled her up and Matt pulled Dani into his arms. They arranged themselves together against the god, Johnny and Stefanie staying further back as she still assessed his injuries.
“Stop this now. This is not your realm or your time. You had it and now this world has moved on.”
“Then I will put it back. You will not stop me.”
Raven didn’t drop her gaze despite the relief flooding her system that Jimmy was now beside her, his love and energy adding to the belief that she could do this. She raised her hand, a violet wave flowing around and behind the god to envelope the zombies. There was a roar and a flash, the creatures withering and dying as it hit them. Patollo roared, the ground shaking again and sending the reapers to the floor. Jimmy reached up, pulling Raven down as the god produced a hammer from thin air and swung it literally missing her by inches.
“The legs, now !”
Syn and Matt reacted on instinct at Jimmy’s words, both of them throwing themselves at the huge knees. Claire, Dani and Lilith linked hands, putting all the power of the three into a protection spell over the men and over Raven. Stefanie threw Zack’y gun to Jimmy and the two open fire as Zacky joined his lover and their best friend in attempting to take the god off his feet. Still it roared as Raven closed her eyes and concentrated on bringing the elements of fire and ice to the fore. It had been so long, many lifetimes since she had been in human form and now it felt strange and alien. Summoning up the warmth she tossed it straight into Patollo’s face.
“Jesus fucking Christ !!”
Syn skidded to a halt back half over the abyss, Matt landing on top of him as the huge man was picked up off his feet at the ballof flames exploding. Only Zacky managed to hand grimly on, bringing a cry of warning from Claire that turned into a scream as Patollo leant down and pulled him up by the scruff of the neck.
“Zacky !”
“Hang on Zack, I’m coming.”
Syn hurtled himself forward as Zacky wielded his blade, slicing a rent into the face of the god who then screamed and flung him off. For a moment Zacky seemed to hang in the air as he was catapulted up and outward towards the top of the winch and beyond that the great crevasse that had hidden the tomb. Claire and Syn were frozen, watching in horror as he landed precariously on the platform. The force of the landing broke the wooden plank and left Zacky hanging over the edge by one arm. How he was still conscious was anyone’s guess but immediately Claire abandoned the circle and headed for the ramp. Syn was behind her both of them climbing nimbly up the wobbling structure to try and reach Zack.
“Dani, aim for the face.”
“The Helsinore Curse ?”
Lilith grinned and nodded in approval, the two witches linking hands. Dani had never had cause to use this particular curse, it would kill any human and most demons without any trouble and there had never been cause but both women had been dying to see what it would do. They concentrated, fast latin flowing from their lips as a huge cloud of dark roiling fire built between them. Jimmy and Matt again went for the giant’s legs with Zacky’s gun and Stefanie’s as the only firepower. Johnny had crawled over to the winch, an idea forming in his head as Stefanie rapidly assembled the other weapon they had brought with them. She helped him stand, his hands pulling her close to them as they shared a long kiss among the chaos.
“You finished it ?”
“I had to, I love you Johnny. Let’s just hope this doesn’t blow up in our faces.”
He kissed her smile again, the pain from his injuries fading into the background. She had never looked more beautiful to him, the fire glinting off her hair and he pulled her close again, both of them struggling to stand as the fire the two witches flung at the god exploded with the loudest bang that any of them had heard.
“Fucking take that you ugly whore !”
Syn chuckled, leaning forward to grab Zacky’s hand and shouting down to Matt who was scrambling out of reach and trying to pull Jimmy with him. It was an amazing view despite the thing feeling like it was going to fall at any second. Claire tried not to look down and grabbed at Zacky’s other hand.
“And I thought my woman had a bad mouth.”
Matt grinned back, his eyes catching Dani’s and time froze. No matter what happened here he had been allowed to love his woman for longer than a mortal man and she still looked as hauntingly beautiful now as when he had met her in Hyde Park all those years before. He allowed himself to hope, the giant creature was staggering and lashing out wildly, not able to see where the men were and he passed Jimmy more ammunition as they reloaded.
“Talk to me Zack, you ok ?”
“I’ve….had better days.”
Zacky fingered the cut under his hair and let Claire pull him up the last inch until they were on the less rickety part of the winch. The battle still raged below them, Raven still in the centre, energy and ice radiating from her as the angry god continued to roar. Dani and Lilith were brewing up another batch of the black fire, Matt and Jimmy working on the legs and as they scrambled down the scaffolding, Johnny let loose with the cannon like device that Stefanie had finished assembly. The cannon fired soundwaves, knocking Zacky, Claire and Syn the last few metres off the poles and wood and onto the ground.
“What the hell is that short shit ?”
Johnny grinned, his hands gripping the handles of the cannon tightly as Stefanie reloaded it.
“Pulse cannon, should disorientate him and help Raven.”
Syn grinned and planted a huge kiss on his cheek, running forward towards Lilith as Zacky and Claire embraced. He wanted nothing more than to run, his face aching and sore and he wanted them both gone from here despite knowing that there would be nowhere left to go. Claire’s voice in his head soothed him, her face against his as they looked back at Patollo and realised that it was laughing, batting away their efforts again rather than suffering from them.
“Whatever happens, I love you.”
His face was wet with tears as he caught her lips in a long kiss and murmured softly into her hair.
“I love you too, always have and always will.”
Claire kissed him again, waving her hand and causing the very air to suck back into itself. A figure appeared in this vortex, confused and wounded. For a minute Claire felt some pity as Mikey fell on his knees searching the scene for his brother and seeing nothing but the huge god and the reapers frantically trying to beat it back. Claire looked down.
“It killed him Michael, it killed your brother and now it’s free.”
Patollo saw him too and Mikey felt it fill his head, the burning pain growing and growing as he tried to stagger forward and join it. Their time had come, the bitch must be lying about Gerard, there was no way that his Lord would fail him…
The god swept forward, Matt and Jimmy diving back to avoid being hit by the massive rocks coming down from the sides of the cavern. The whole place could come down on their heads t any minute and there would be nothing any of them could do to stop Patollo from devastating everything within a three mile radius.
Mikey stood still, his face a mask of triumph and pain that turned to horror as he was cleanly picked up in one massive hand. The god roared and laughed, turning and simply hurling Mikey out over the abyss. Lilith heard the screaming for a long time after he disappeared, a grim smile on her face until a massive bolt of power lifted Raven from her feet and all the light in the cave disappeared. Flashes of light hit around them all and she heard Dani screaming in the darkness, panic gripping her as a huge voice boomed out.
“Enough of this, your tricks mean NOTHING.”
Jimmy felt more panic grip him than at any time in his life, frantically heading towards where he had last seen her and feeling around for the others at the same time. He could seem to find no-one, his hands finding only rocks and rubble until he realised the light was growing again and he had found her. Raven was lying on the floor, coughing but alive. Carefully Jimmy helped her sit up and watched the god pace as his friends gathered with him. Syn and Lilith were both transfixed by the god, it seemed to have grown rather than been injured. She reached out, grasping Zacky’s hand as he and Claire huddled with them. Matt had pulled Johnny up yet again and he held onto the smaller man with one hand, the other wrapped around Dani as Stefanie supported Johnny on the other side. The reapers and the god stared at each other.
“Give me the angel and you all won’t burn….”
Lilith rolled her eyes.
“Your track record on that ain’t good given what happened to Gee and Mikey.”
Syn clapped his hand over her mouth and Jimmy stood back up.
“That’s even less likely than us helping you.”
“Then you all must burn for the rest of eternity.”
Jimmy felt his brothers stand shoulder to shoulder with him, knowing that he would change nothing and regret even less. Raven leant against him, soul sick and exhausted but listening now to whispering in her head, a long forgotten secret that would mean the end for her but might by the man she loved his existence. She kept her head low, maintaining the illusion of being near death as the girls linked hands again. Dani and Stefanie shared a glance, they had always been close since meeting the men that had brought them into this and now they would all go out together.
“Do what you have to. There are other angels and deities, your reign here won’t be long.”
Again the thing laughed and pulled itself up to full height. Claire closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable, feeling nothing but despair until she realised that Lilith was no longer holding her hand and instead dived for Zacky, pulling his blade from his hand.
“Guess what BITCH, I built a little failsafe into that resurrection spell.”
Lilith spun the blade in her hand and caught Syn’s eyes, his widening as he shook his head and realised what she was about to do. Taking a deep breath she plunged the knife into her chest and allowed the part of the god that Gerard had put in her feel the weight of the curse on the blade. She went down, a huge white chasm opening up in the giant’s chest as she screamed at Raven.
“Do it now, it’s weakened.”
Raven lifted her head and gave a final push, the full power of a deity leaving her body in one great spark of light and heat. Everyone was knocked backwards, Jimmy holding onto her tight as the bolt hit Patollo full in the chest. For a split second nothing happened, a wreath of light and energy forming around the huge figure until it joined with the gap Lilith had created and slowly spread. Patollo started to shout and scream, writhing in the scarlet smoke and growing whine of pure light. Again the cavern seemed to shake, this time truly beginning to disintegrate. Raven clung onto Jimmy, being dragged towards the ladder. Zacky had grabbed Syn and pushed him forward as his friend continued to yell at Lilith. Zacky scooped her up and gazed at Claire, his eyes sad as all of them sprinted to the one way of getting out.
“What the fuck was that ?”
Syn was incredulous and panicked, not liking the way Lilith had gone so pale and now seemed to be fighting not to pass out. She gave him a wink and gasped a little as she was passed up the ladder. Quite frankly she hadn’t expected it to hurt quite this bad.
“I killed the part of him that was in me, gave Raven the weakness she needed. Yay me !”
“Not yay you. Fucking stupid you as bloody usual.”
Matt took one last glance down into the pit as he helped Dani up and out, reaching for Stefanie and Johnny. The earth continued to splinter and crack, the screaming god turning into a tiny speck as everything caved in on top. He pushed his friends forward, only letting them rest once they were far enough away to watch the row of houses which the pit had been hidden by collapse into the ground. They all stared back.
“We did it ?”
“Raven did it. Is it over ?”
Raven nodded, the anomaly caused by Patollo was closing and the magic containing it was held but she knew there had been a price paid and didn’t know quite how to tell Jimmy. She glanced around to where Lilith was cradled in Syn’s arms, Claire trying to stem the bleeding and the others gathered around. Lilith no longer moved or protested and all of them were starting to panic.
“I had help.”
Jimmy felt his heart stop at the look on her face and grabbed her shoulders.
“Oh hell no, don’t tell me…”
“I’m sorry Jimmy, there’s nothing I can do and when she…”
Jimmy shook his head, hearing Syn telling Lilith to get up, his voice growing more and more desperate until Jimmy reached him and pulled him into a tight hug. Claire looked back, her eyes already begging Raven for a solution and solace and finding neither. Johnny stood up, his body shaking as he walked back.
“Bring her back. You’re an angel, bring her back to us. She’s probably stuck in some bloody hell dimension and they are a shit to get out of.”
Raven put her arm around him and walked back, seeing the tears now falling from Jimmy’s eyes and looking directly at Syn who still held Lilith close to him. There was anger in his eyes and a disbelief that broke her heart as she put an arm around Claire and Dani.
“I can’t. She truly died this time and there is no coming back. Lilith is gone.”
“You fucking liar ! You give her back to me.”
Syn looked ready to throw himself at Raven and Zacky garnered the last of his energy to hold him back, knowing somehow that Raven spoke the truth. A silence fell as they all took it in and Matt ruefully thought that it was somehow ironic that it was the most irresponsible of them that had ended up sacrificing herself to keep them all alive. He watched Syn crumple, rocking his girl in his arms and looked at Jimmy.
“We have to try.”
Jimmy rubbed his face and turned away.
“Try what ? We saved the fucking planet at least.”
Syn struggled to his feet, the look on his face one of savage pain that made all of them fall silent. Nothing seemed to move, not the clouds or air or even the spiralling smoke that still poured from the ragged hole in the ground.
“And I hate all of you for it.”
He turned, walking away into the smoke with Lilith in his arms and they let him go. There was nothing any of them could do or say and so they remained huddled together in the dark as the sun struggled to appear over the horizon and a new future dawned.

Notes