Free Fallen Souls by Linda Foster

blade
before, but she’d heard stories of it. It was the Creator’s own
weapon, and whoever possessed it was endowed with their lord’s
power, in order to execute His will. The sword’s powers were
limitless, and as far as Kali knew, He’d never entrusted anyone
with it before. He’d never needed to.
    Michael grasped the sword in his hand,
and every angel grew quiet in that instant. All eyes turned on him,
and the blade he now possessed. Even Adrian’s eyes focused on the
weapon, growing wide with disbelief and fear.
    Michael there, holding the Creator’s
sword, was a statement to everyone that he had been given orders,
directly from their father, and the power to enforce them. Not even
Adrian would be able to stand against him now. It was over.
Adrian’s plans were thwarted. He would never see his war, and no
one was going to have to die for his narcissistic scheme. He had
lost.
    “ Adrian!” Michael roared.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, but he refused to let go of Kali, who
dangled from his hand, thrashing. Breathing was getting more
difficult, now, and her eyes shot to Michael, pleading for help.
“Let her go!” Michael thundered. “This is over.”
    “ No,” Adrian hissed. He
waved his free arm toward the crowd and backed away from Michael,
his voice cracking with distress. “It hasn’t even
begun.”
    “ Wrong, Adrian,” Michael
said quietly, ignoring Kali’s pleas. “You could never have won. And
you will never again see the light of Heaven. The Creator sent me
here to banish you.” As he said the words, he pointed his sword at
Adrian and charged.
    Adrian was momentarily distracted, his
eyes growing wide, and for a second his grip let up on Kali’s
throat. She took the opportunity, grabbing his wrist and wrenching
herself free of his grasp just as Michael’s sword lit up, brighter
than the sun. She dropped to the ground and rushed to get away, to
put as much distance as possible between herself and
Adrian.
    Finally she came to a crouch, and
glanced up in time to see Michael raise his sword, and another bolt
of lightning streak across the sky. The rebel angels began
screaming, no doubt realizing that Michael was about to kill their
leader, and Michael’s angels did their best to keep them contained,
though they thrashed against them, struggling to get free. Adrian’s
mouth opened, his chest rising and falling rapidly, and his
eyebrows drawing together. Michael’s eyes looked sad, but Kali
could see his grip tighten on the sword. He and Adrian had been
allies once, but now his orders were clear, and he was going to
follow through on them.
    Her heart dropped in her chest as he
brought the sword down on Adrian, his face twisting in pain as the
blade sliced through angel flesh and plunged through Adrian’s
heart.
    In that instant, a white bolt of light
shot across the field like a comet, blowing Kali’s hair back from
her face and blinding her. She blinked when it receded and saw
Adrian on his knees, his eyes still wide with shock and fear. She
immediately looked to his chest, expecting a large hole. But there
was no wound, she realized in confusion. No blood.
    Instead, the light that had been in
the sword was now illuminating Adrian’s chest.
    “ You cannot banish me!” he
screamed. The light began to spread, though, up into his chest and
then through his body. That power enveloped him, until his wings
caught fire and singed, becoming dead and black. His flesh melted
away, leaving him scorched and disfigured. The scent of his burning
skin and wings wafted through the air, a black cloud of smoke
rising from his crumpled body, and Kali gagged. Was he …
dead?
    “ By the orders of the
Creator!” Michael roared once more. “I banish you from both Heaven
and Earth! You are to spend eternity in Hell with your followers,
for the sins you have committed upon Heaven.” Adrian’s wings had
charred off now, leaving almost no trace behind, and he writhed on
the ground, the pain plain on his face. Kali