Chapter 3

The day was warm and sunny as usual, with the sun retaining its power and prestige even as rush hour was brought through its daily birth. On Wall Street, Occupy protestors were waving signs and shouting to end the greed that had bankrupted the country. Their cries doubled in volume and effort as the stockbrokers CEOs rolled by in the backs of their limousines, tired from a long day of treasure hunting.

No one paid any attention to the silent man shuffling into the crowd with a bottle in his hand. What people didn’t see was the rag sticking out of the nozzle. The man stepped up to the picket line set up by police, gazing at the cars passing by. The Gargoyle possessing the man’s soul growled as it saw the perfect target.

Holding up the bottle and a lighter, the Gargoyle set the rag ablaze. Instantly, the people around the possessed man saw the fire and began to panic, setting off a ripple in the crowd. Just as the realization of what was going on passed through the protestors, a CEO rolled past. Sitting in the back of his limo, the fat balding man was trying to light the cigar held between his teeth. He cursed as the empty nickel-plated Zippo refused to give off more than a few sparks.

Giving up on being able to light his cigar, he closed the Zippo, just as the Molotov Cocktail crashed against his window, throwing a blanket of liquid flames across the surface of the car. The window had held back the explosion, but the man’s death was not necessary. The street was already erupting into pure pandemonium as protestors screamed and fled and police began beating people at random.

A possessed wealthy businessman stepped out of a diner, straightening his tie with an erratic facial twitch as the Gargoyle inside tried to get accustomed to the human body. With his suitcase in hand, the man walked down the street with one of the waitresses pointing at him from inside and yelling while the cook tried to calm her down. Clutched tightly in her hand was the bill for his lunch. No tip had been left behind, only a note saying that servants should learn to bring food faster.

It was a small move, one that really cause any damage. But already, pictures of the note were being spread across the Internet and igniting massive infernos of anger and resentment. Similar notes were being left across the city as the hatred grew like thorny vines.

The damp night was filled with the sound of spray paint as possessed men and women scrawled huge messages on public surfaces in crimson. The shade of the red and the way it dripped down made it look like each one had been painted with a blood splatter. The messages were things like ‘GOD HATES FAGS’, ‘PRAISE ALLAH’, ‘THE BIBLE IS OUR CONSTITUTION’, ‘IT’S THE WHITE HOUSE, NOT THE NIGGER HOUSE’, and there were even more than a few swastikas.

Outrage boiled in the city with the rising sun as people would walk to their cars and find that their tires had been slashed and the sides had been scratched. Every car with a political bumper sticker had been the target of this vandalism, both democrats and republicans. As people struggled to get to work, the vast cascade of offensive messages that had been spread across New York were in the process of being washed away by desperate street cleaners, trying to erase them before the hatred spread.

Selene came to a stop in the hallway of her office, having caught the sound of a fearful conversation in the break room. With her hand on the doorframe, she leaned back slightly and peered into the room while two women talked in hushed voices by the fridge.

“It’s absolutely horrible, I throw up every time I imagine it,” one woman in her early fifties tearfully said, wiping her eyes with a tissue.

“And it just happened today?!” her friend exclaimed with her hand on her chest as if she couldn’t breathe.

“I just heard it now on the radio. Police were called over the sounds of screaming coming from the daycare center, and when they arrived, half of the children were dead and the other half were missing!”

Selene’s blood felt like cold mercury in her veins.

“Blood covered the walls and almost all of the children showed they had been raped before they were killed! The police are tearing the city apart to find the children that were taken! I can’t even imagine what they’ve been forced to endure, those poor kids!”

A candlelight vigil was held in every religious building throughout the city, as well as in front of City Hall, with people praying for the safety of the taken children and mourning their horrible deaths. And that was just the city, the situation was already getting international attention. Completely unaware of the forces at work, the people prayed while the Demons and Gargoyles worked.

Baltoh landed on the top of a dumpster with enough strength to crumple it like an empty beer can. Sword in hand, he growled in anger at the two Gargoyles feasting on some of the disemboweled corpses of the kidnapped children. Already a large puddle of blood was forming in the empty parking lot from the butchered bodies. The Gargoyles both turned to Baltoh and gave shrieks of terror, quickly opening their wings to try and escape.

“Angel Art: Ultimate Penitence!”

Upon being spoken, the spell materialized two large wooden crosses on the Gargoyle’s backs, each more than twice as large as the Gargoyle’s body. The Hell-spawn beasts were instantly slammed into the ground with enough force to shatter the pavement, and even though the giant crosses were only laying on them like fallen trees, they could not lift so much as a finger, as the gravity acting on their bodies had been multiplied to the point where their unholy bones were about to snap.

“Fight against it all you want, but you cannot overcome the weight of your sins,” Baltoh said coldly as he raised his sword.

The mayor of New York sat at his desk with bloodshot eyes. It was almost midnight and he was trying to figure out what was going on in his city. Everything seemed to be falling apart and he didn’t know why. It had all started with that black geyser that shot up into the sky. Still not a single picture or video of it could be found, which was as mysterious as the geyser itself.

A knock on the door drew his attention and one of his aides stepped in, trying to help sort the mess out. “Mr. Mayor, you’re going to want to come see this.”

The mayor followed the young man outside, where several employees of the City Hall that were working through the night, as well as anyone out on the streets and even a few police officers, were standing around a van-sized pile of sheets of fabric, sitting in the street right in front of the building.

“What is it?” the mayor asked, stepping outside.

Once of the police officers picked one of the sheets and held it to the light of a nearby lamppost, trying to get a good look at it. “It’s an American flag...”

“My god, they’re all American flags,” another officer said, shining his flashlight on the pile.

Standing on the steps of City Hall, completely undetectable by the humans, Abaddon gave a deep laugh as he held out his hand. With a snap of his fingers, the entire pile was consumed by fire, forcing everyone to jump back out of fear, watching as the flags burned.

One by one, the pillars of human civility were being knocked over, slowly causing the entire foundation of society to collapse.

Selene was lying in bed, enjoying the feeling of the late-morning sunlight on her half-naked body and the chance to sleep in. Her cat was curled up next to her, but without warning, it bolted up and jumped onto her back, refusing to lay or sit down.

“Ugh ... Jake...” she groaned as the cat’s tiny paws pressed down on her like jabbing fingers.

A shadow shifted across her face, causing her to open her eyes and gasp. Baltoh was crouching in her window with his wings extended outside and his tail curling and swishing behind him. “Good morning,” he said with no expression.

“Baltoh,” she said softly as she sat up, prompting her cat to dash to the foot of the bed with wide eyes, neither hissing nor purring.

“I wanted to check in on you. I haven’t been so preoccupied with my hunt that I haven’t noticed that this city is being turned upside down, and I wanted to make sure you weren’t in danger or anything.”

Even without any emotion in his voice, Selene blushed at his worry. “You’re right, it’s like the people of this city instantly turned into rabid animals,” she said as she stood up out of bed.

Selene was wearing nothing but a black thong and a matching bra that was struggling to hold in her full breasts. Even after seeing and even holding her naked body, Baltoh could feel a very strong sense of arousal as he gazed at her slender yet voluptuous figure. As usual, the strength of these feelings of attraction welling up within him was rivaled only by the strength of his curiosity of why he was even feeling this way. Sensing his arousal, Selene blushed again as she walked over to her dresser. Deciding to tease him, she bent down at a near 90º angle to pull a pair of jeans out of the lower drawer, granting the Demon-Archangel hybrid a jaw-dropping view of her perfectly sculpted rear.

Baltoh’s breathing became shallow as he stared at her smooth-as-glass thighs and her full yet well-taut ass, which would put a Brazilian stripper to shame and could bounce a quarter across the room. Her black lace thong was nestled between the two cheeks like a length of wire and was clinging to her almost as if desperate. Feeling the hybrid’s eyes travel across every inch of her chocolate-shade skin, Selene smiled and bit her lip as she slipped her feet into a pair of slim-fit jeans. She slowly pulled up the jeans with the waistband being dragged tightly against the back of her legs, the way a clay sculptor would drag a string across her creation in progress to make it perfectly smooth and shaped. She stood up straight, pulling her jeans tightly against the back of her thighs with her ass resting on the waistband, almost being lifted by it. Baltoh struggled not to lick his lips and keep his composure as his rushing blood began to enlarge his cock.

“You aren’t very modest, are you?” he finally asked as she brought up her jeans all the way and buttoned him.

Selene was momentarily flooded with embarrassment, but quickly brushed it aside. With a tank top in hand, she turned back to him. “Well you’ve already seen me naked, so there is no reason to be discrete,” she defended while raising her arms to slip on the top.

Baltoh instantly felt his cock stir as her breasts seemed to expand with the parallel elevation of her arms. “So has your doctor, but I doubt you get dressed with him watching.”

The white tank top came down over her breasts, restoring his self-control. Selene swung her head from side to side, straightening out her long hair. “Happy?” she asked with a wry smile. Baltoh did not reply. With a small giggle, she turned and walked to the doorway. “Come on in before someone calls the police about a man with a tail and four wings watching people from their fire escape.”

While it wasn’t a smile, Baltoh’s expression lightened and he stepped into the room, first retracting his wings back into his body and wrapping his long tail around his waist. As he stepped through the doorway of her bedroom, Selene watched him, specifically his halo.

“What?” he asked, noticing her gaze.

“I’m just making sure that your halo doesn’t burn down my apartment.”

“Don’t worry, the halo is mostly just a symbolic illusion of my Archangel status. If I want it to, I can make it interact with the world around me, but otherwise, it’s basically made solely of light, see?”

He raised his hand and moved it back and forth through the ring of fire, not disturbing the flames in the slightest.

“So tell me, do you have any memories of the people that you once were? You seem to understand cultural references just fine,” she asked while setting up the coffee maker.

Baltoh lazily wandered around her apartment and looked at everything on the walls and shelves. “I do, but not as many as you think. By the time souls in Hell crumble to dust, they’ve already undergone so much torture that they’ve been driven insane and don’t even know who they are. Most of the memories I get are of people’s patterns in their daily lives, like their understandings and views of their culture. While I don’t remember ever meeting a doctor or driving a car, I understand what both of them are and what they are for. However, much of my understanding of this world comes from first-hand experience. I’ve come to Earth tens of thousands of times to escape from Hell when I am overpowered and death is almost guaranteed. Contrary to what you might believe, I am far from being the top of the food chain.”

“Well what personal memories do you have?” she asked, taking two mugs out of one of her kitchen cabinets while the coffee pot slowly began to fill.

“I remember fighting the Greeks that sought to raze the city of Troy and enslave its people, I remember serving as an executioner in 16th century France and beheading criminals, and I remember serving as a sheriff in the old west, among other things.”

“That’s incredible!”

Baltoh just shrugged and sat down at the island table.

“So wait, how old are you? If one of the people that you were created from was a Nazi-hunter, that means you can’t be more than a few decades old.” She inquired.

“Time in Hell moves at a much faster pace than in the human world, a single day here is an entire year there. It’s hard to tell just how old I am as Hell has no seasons or yearly changes, but due to the date here, I would say that I’m over 40,000 Hell-years old.”

“Say, what is Hell like? I get a vague idea, but I’m curious. Coffee?” she asked, holding up the pot.

“No thanks, I don’t eat or drink. Demons and Gargoyles can eat human flesh in order to regain their strength, but Angels and Archangels do not require sustenance. In fact, we never have to “relieve ourselves” because nothing ever passes through our systems.

Hell is actually rather small. The universe of it is just as large as this one but the name ‘Hell’ denotes both the entire realm and the one region that is actually occupied by human and demonic spirits is a single planet in empty space. 95% of the planet Hell covered by a sea of fire that burns for all eternity, but there is a place known as the Isle of the Damned. It’s the only landmass in all of Hell so it’s the only place with only residents, and it serves as the entrance the planet, where most of the stuff goes on.

The planet is composed of zones, which each zone corresponding to a different kind of prisoner and different kind of punishment. The zones are divided up not only by the Seven Deadly Sins, but by other factors and geographical factors. Humans that are sent there generally lose the ability to be killed. They will suffer mind-numbing tortures and excruciating deaths, but until they finally crumble into ash, there is nothing that can free them of their pain. I consider myself lucky that my enemies don’t have that trait. Even in Hell, beings with Angel or Demon energy are mortal, meaning that I’m not just killing the same opponent over and over again.”

“So I imagine it’s full of criminals?”

“Generally, but there are also the victims of circumstance and those who meant to do good. Suicide victims, heroes that have committed murder to bring justice, and even people who committed crimes completely by accident. Unfortunately, the majority of the people in Hell are there only because of small infractions that never hurt anyone and caused any harm, but were still considered sins.”

“You know, there is something that people have been wondering for a long time in this country; do you go to Hell if you get an abortion? They say its murder.”

Baltoh scowled. “Of course not! What dumbass told you abortion was murder?”

Selene gave a lighthearted giggle. “Thank you for coming to check up on me. I was wondering when I would see you again.”

A small smile briefly appeared on Baltoh’s face before disappearing. “I had to, with how dangerous this city is becoming and the fact that you are aware of me, I knew you were at risk.”

Selene lost her smile. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“I do know that my enemies are causing it. I’ve been investigating the scenes of these disturbances and I always find the faint scent of evil. Abaddon and his henchmen are taking over humans and using them to raise tensions and cause chaos, though it has already gained momentum and no longer requires their involvement.

You’ll probably see this on the news, but a woman just threw a flaming bottle of gasoline into a mosque while it was full of people. I got there moments after it was thrown and caught her. She wasn’t possessed; she was just a hate-filled killer. I hold no remorse in taking her life. It’s being seen everywhere: religious fanatics are on the streets, cursing everything and everyone that doesn’t follow their strict and prejudiced views (I’ll probably kill them later), new protest groups are starting and they are patrolling the city with political signs, and I’ve already found three dead bodies.”

Selene stirred uncomfortably at the mention of murder. “Are you really willing to kill that easily?”

Sensing her unease, Baltoh looked at her in the corner of his eye and stood up. “I’m not a serial murderer that takes the lives of innocent people. My name means “righteousness” in the language of Heaven and I was born from the hatred of evil of millions of heroes. I was born of hatred, just like my victims, but unlike them, my hatred is of their hatred. They use their hatred to cause harm and make others suffer, I use my hatred to end the torment they inflict and bring the justice that must rule. Hatred is like fire, in that it can destroy all in its path, but my hatred is like Hellfire, in that it incinerates the unjust.”

Selene regained her smile and her eyes were filled with admiration, sparkling like gems so beautifully that Baltoh could not look away from them.

“To be honest, I have no clue what the Demons are up to. I don’t know if they’re causing this pandemonium because it is their nature, or if they are just using it to hide their movements while they bring some plan to fruition. I can’t track them when they possess humans, so unless they actually use their powers with enough energy for me to sense or their human hosts are caught within the rites of an exorcism, I can’t find them.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I have to wait, wait for one of them to reveal themselves or wait until I can identify a possible pattern and predict where they will strike so that I can capture them.”

He then walked back over to the island table and leaned over it, looking in Selene’s eyes. “Listen, I have a feeling that things are going to continue to escalate. These acts of violence and vandalism are now occurring without the Demons’ influence, and this fire is just going to keep growing unless I can stop them. If I can’t find them soon and things go from bad to worse, I want you to leave New York until I can get the situation under control.”

Selene smiled. “There is no way I’m leaving you or this city. I’ve always wanted to be somewhere of interest, somewhere where there is something amazing and complicated that I can get involved in. I moved here because of how interesting New York is. Right now, you are the most interesting thing in the world, so I’m not leaving unless you leave.”

Baltoh gained a rare smile at her stubbornness. “Have you always been so defiant?”

“Always. Like most kids, I disobeyed my parents constantly, but not because I was a little brat. I was always trying to push myself to my limits and do what I shouldn’t. They were always saying to me “don’t climb that tree, you’ll fall”, “I don’t care if your brother did it, don’t eat that bug”, “don’t run so fast or you’ll trip”. I was a well-behaved child, I just didn’t like not being challenged. I even loved schoolwork because it was one giant mind challenge.”

“So I imagine you did a lot of sports?” Baltoh asked, sitting back down.

Selene laughed. “My parents still keep my old bedroom full of my trophies, not to mention awards from other school groups. They always worried about me, worried that I was pushing myself too hard, trying to balance homework, sports, school clubs, and a social life. It never got to me, because the more I was pushed and the harder I worked, the stronger and better I became. I was like a knife; no matter how much you grind me against a whetstone, I just get sharper.”

“I imagine you considered dating as just another weight to add to the dumbbells of your life?” Baltoh asked, becoming more and more comfortable and lighthearted.

Selene’s smile grew smaller, but did not disappear. “I could never find a guy who challenged me enough, someone interesting enough. I’ve had couple boyfriends in my life, but as you can see, they didn’t last. I was always looking for something more in them, something that set them apart from everyone else, something that I could spend my life trying to climb like a cliff face or translate like a book written in Latin.”

She then leaned over the table with her chin resting on her hands. “I wish I could return these questions. You’ve spent your whole life fighting in the pits of Hell, which means you haven’t lived like a regular person, and I don’t want to ask about the lives that make you up, because then I don’t feel like I’m really asking about you, and who you really are. You’re so strange,” she huffed, while maintaining her small smile.

Baltoh rested his chin on his hands the same way, looking into her eyes. “What I was or what made she who I am should not matter, only who I am now should matter. You don’t need a past to have a future, you only need a present from which that future can grow.”

“What lies in your future?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Maybe instead of fighting, there is a person in your future.”

“Unlikely.”

Selene gave a soft giggle. “You’re half-Archangel, right? Well then have some faith.”

After the words passed her lips, the human and the hybrid both became silent, staring into each other’s eyes. Slowly, they began to move forward, in increments of measurement so small that they were barely visible. As their faces approached, their lips parted, and on cue, the cat Jake leapt up onto the table, landing between them.

Selene and Baltoh jerked back and immediately felt the squeeze of awkwardness around their chests.

“I should go, I have to find those Demons before things get out of hand,” Baltoh nervously said, turning around and extending his wings.

As he turned around, about to become intangible and pass through the wall, Selene spoke. “Baltoh, take your time. You’ve piqued my interest, so don’t think you’re leaving any time soon.”

Baltoh mirrored the smile on his own lips.

“Maybe I will, after all, you humans are turning out to be interesting as well,” he said before departing.

As Baltoh passed through the walls and levels of the building and took to the sky, flying invisibly, Abaddon materialized on the fire escape of the building across the street. His arms were crossed and he had a dark grin.

“Well now, isn’t this a curious twist?” he said to himself before disappearing once again.

Selene and Molly were sitting on a bench in the park, enjoying the late-spring sunlight. Deep in the background, the sounds of chanting protestors and honking cars could be heard in the city, but the park itself was almost completely tranquil. The island in the pavement sea was bustling with people, all trying to enjoy the nice weather before it rose into the unbearable summer temperatures.

“I had the kinkiest dream last night...” Molly hummed as both women leaned back in the bench with their eyes closed, trying to soak up as much sun as possible like a pair of dozing cats.

“Ok, I’m interested,” Selene chuckled.

“It was about that office Christmas party two years ago,” Molly said coyly, raising one eyelid and glancing at Selene. Without opening her eyes, Selene scowled.

“Molly, we agreed never to talk about that night, remember?” she hissed.

“Hey, you seemed more than willing and happy at the time.”

“Yeah, because we were both drunk. Remember what happened afterwards? How we couldn’t speak to each other for three months and I almost quit my job because it was just too awkward to be in the same building.”

“Oh come on, I know you enjoyed it, and if you didn’t, then why is it that you were so interested in my sex dream just a minute ago? The idea that I’m doing something kinky turns you on, doesn’t it?”

“Listen, I don’t want to talk about it. It took me months to get over what we did and I’m still ashamed of myself,” Selene angrily replied, about to get up and leave.

“Then why are you blushing?”

Selene glared at her with invisible daggers shooting from her eyes, but no matter how hard she fought, talking about that night was bringing up a very erotic montage of memories in her mind, and those memories were beginning to make her aroused. Already she could feel her pussy moistening and her body temperature rising. It didn’t take long for her resolve to finally break and a flashback to flood her mind...

December 24th, 2009, 10:00 pm:

Selene wandered through the cubicle maze with a half-full plastic cup and a prominent stagger. This was the last time they would allow liquor, and for good reason. The office party had quickly fallen apart as the blood-alcohol level rose with the lateness of the evening and Selene had probably the highest. Bored and more than drunk enough to decide to start photocopying her ass, Selene was looking for Molly, as there certainly wasn’t anyone interesting to talk to. She had already wandered around most of the building, but there was one place she had not checked.

Selene pressed her ear against Mr. Reed’s office door, hoping she wouldn’t hear her friend getting a mustache ride from their ugly boss. She did not hear the moans or flesh clapping of two people having sex, but she heard an undulating buzzing sound and the shrill but soft whines of Molly. Curious, Selene opened the door and peered inside. Molly was sitting in her boss’ chair, her blouse open with her arms across her bare breasts, her thong and skirt on the floor, and a vibrator being worked between her legs.

“Molly, what are you doing?” Selene asked in lazy interest. The busty blond nearly jumped out of the chair.

“Selene, close the door!”

Selene stepped inside and locked the door behind her. “Ok, I’m going to need an explanation...”

Molly turned in the chair and pulled out the pink dildo, holding it like a cigarette without even turning it off. “I was bored as Hell, my vibrator was in my purse, and this is the most comfortable chair. Reed is already gone, and I figured doing this might get me sober enough to drive. I hit the sauce pretty hard.”

Selene was completely unaffected by the sight of her friend’s lily-white D-cup breasts, landing strip-flat belly, smooth thighs, and wet shaved pussy, and Molly seemed literally open to showing her everything. Without alcohol in the equation, this conversation wouldn’t even be happening, but with them practically burping ethanol, neither were exactly “thinking clearly”.

“Normally it takes a while to get me off when I’m buzzed, but this is ridiculous. I’ve been fucking myself with this thing for half an hour and I’ve almost drained the batteries, not to mention my arms are exhausted.”

Selene was silent, letting her eyes wander around the office before inevitably coming back to her empty cup.

“Hey, could you help me out?” Molly finally asked.

“Why? What are you doing?” Selene asked, having completely forgotten what they were talking about.

“Just sit on the floor.”

“Okey-dokey,” her friend replied with a girlish giggle.

Crossing her legs, Selene sat down on the floor like a kindergartener at story time. Molly spread her legs and only now did Selene seem a smidgen skittish at the sight of her pussy, sopping wet and pink as gum.

“I’m really not sure I like this.”

Molly handed her the vibrator. “I just need you to work this in me, just like a fuck machine. You don’t need to do anything else. It’s just a simple favor, like helping me paint my kitchen. Just help me get off, it’s not like I’ll tell anybody about this. Come on, you would help me paint my kitchen, wouldn’t you?”

Squeamish but willing, Selene held the end of the wet vibrator with her index finger and thumb. She looked back and forth at the toy and the spread lips of her friend’s pussy, hungry for pleasure. A part of her was saying that this was going a little too far, but the rest was saying ‘eh, go ahead. Deciding that this was just a favor for a friend, she slowly inserted the buzzing vibrator into Molly. The blonde drunk instinctively moaned as it entered her, shaking the silky flesh of her moist interior. The sound of the sexual call made Selene excited and anxious, but she proceeded to move the toy back and forth in her friend.

As she moved it like a piston in Molly, the sweet juices of her snatch ran down the dildo and soaked Selene’s fingers. While she was immediately touched with the desire to wash her hands, she could feel herself beginning to enjoy the act as well. The contorted expression of pleasure on Molly’s beautiful face, the shifting and jiggling of her breasts as her body trembled and she pinched her nipples, her flat stomach rippling as if she were belly dancing, and her legs openly spread, carelessly putting her oiled vagina on display.