Free Angelus by Sabrina Benulis Page A

sealed to a tightly knit line.
    â€œNow,” Python said softly, “I wonder how that happened? Did He grow weary at last? Is He perhaps dead—”
    â€œI’ll do it,” Sophia said. Her eyes shone with indignation.
    Python stepped back, his arms folded. Kim watched her, waiting with the demon. He wanted to fall on his knees and beg her to sing if that was what Python needed. Yet Sophia’s face had taken on a frightful superiority. For a second, it would be the height of idiocy to take one step closer to her.
    Sophia took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Kim let out a soft sigh of relief. Then, a hot fear arose in him again. Patterns began to flicker on Sophia’s skin. They were words, written in the hieroglyphic angel writing Merkebah. Faintly, he heard her singing, and sounds that seemed at first unintelligible formed into beautiful words kissing his ears. He pressed a hand against the altar to steady himself.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Were you there in the Garden of Shadows?
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Were you near when the Father took wing?
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Did you sigh when the starlight outpoured us?
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  When the silver bright water could sing . . .
    â€œThen, if you’re decided . . .” Python said. He suddenly stood next to Kim, offering the decanter as Sophia’s pure voice rose and fell. “The final step is for you to drink this. I’ll take care of the rest.”
    â€œWhat is it?” Kim said, taking the bottle and instinctively sniffing the contents.
    Python sighed. “Does it really matter?”
    No, it didn’t. Kim looked at Angela. She moaned in hersleep, her face pale with suffering. Kim pressed the bottle to his lips and, tipping his head back, began to drink. The liquid tasted sour and went down thick. When he was done, he wiped his lips and rubbed more hair away from his sweaty forehead. Already, he felt a bit out of sorts. His vision blurred slightly, but he kept his attention on Angela. She looked like a beautiful black-and-red mirage.
    â€œStand here,” Python said curtly, dragging Kim to a spot in front of the altar.
    Python began to whisper in Theban, the language of the demons. Kim noted the words when he could as they mixed with and complemented Sophia’s song, but he was riveted on the dull glow that began to surround Angela. The glow steadily increased in brightness. Soon, it became bright as a sun. Kim’s eyes pulsed with pain, and then the song reached its end, and before he thought his brain might ignite from the fire and brilliance at last, the light faded.
    Now the room was as silent and dark as before. His skin felt hot to the touch.
    The presence in the room, the source of the terrible hissing noise, was suddenly gone. Perhaps the light had been too much for whatever had been observing them.
    Sophia opened her eyes as if breaking from a trance. The words faded from her skin, and she ran to Kim’s side, supporting him as he swayed next to the altar.
    He turned to her, suddenly so very tired. “Is that song . . . is that the power hidden inside of you?” he whispered. “Inside the Book of Raziel?”
    â€œYes,” Sophia said. “And no. The last stanzas have been sealed away. I don’t remember them. Only Raziel knew, and he locked them away so that the Archon alone can obtain them or wield them.”
    â€œWhat are you really?” Kim said, staring at her.
    They remained like that for a moment longer. Sophia’s features masked over with pain.
    BOOM. Python slammed the hourglass down on the altar next to them. Its insides were now filled with crimson sand pulsing with dull light. The demon then flipped the hourglass. A few grains sprinkled to its