The Morningstar Brigade

Chapter 73

XXXXXXXIII

DAKEN

Solstice

Fallen Chapel, Earth

Surging with sparks of Bloodmoon, Daken charged over to Faust and grabbed his arm. He whipped the deranged Nephilim around and hurled him out through the hole in the church Uriel had made. He sprinted over to Uriel and rolled Eli over on his back, blinking away tears. "Uriel! Uriel, listen to me. Can you summon any Dawn?" he demanded, shaking the boy violently.

Uriel looked down at his hands. As anger began to fill him once again, silver sparks began to run along his arms. "Yes, but I can't figh-"

"I don't need you to fight," Daken said quickly, checking Eli for a pulse. "You've used Dawn to heal your wounds before, right?"

"I have, but I don't think I can-"

"I don't care!" Daken yelled. "I don't care what you think you can do. Eli is dying. Save him, Uriel." He shook the shellshocked boy again. "Save him!"

Shaking and fighting back tears, Uriel pressed his hands to Eli's chest and began letting silver flames lick the edges of the wound.

Daken's veins pulsed blood red, bulging against his skin. Red sparks raged along his skin. "I'm going to finish this," he said, leaping out of the church and landing in front of his brother.

An already-recovered Faust looked up at Daken and offered a weary scowl as he rose to his feet. "You're what they send now?"

"I'm more than enough," Daken replied.

Faust studied the red sparks running along Daken's body and chuckled. "You think that scares me? Please." He shook his head with disappointment. "With the state you're in, you'll die from the sheer strain that's putting on your body before we've even fought for five minutes."

Daken bit his lip and winced as the red sparks began to race faster. He managed a pained laugh and took a step towards Faust. "Good. I'm only going to need four."

"Even the angels fall at my feet! You're nothing but a human. A mongrel!" Faust growled. "Do you honestly think you can stand against me?"

Thicker bolts of red energy began to run along Daken's form until his body was a scarlet thunderstorm. He cracked his neck. "You're wrong," he said, tightening his fists and throwing his head back to look up at the polluted sky. "I am an angel."

Faust scowled darkly. "Have you gone absolutely insane? You're nothing. Just weak, beaten, broken flesh and blood."

Daken's head snapped back down to meet Faust's glare with a grin. "My name is Daken. I am an Apostle, pending tribunal review, of the Morningstar Brigade. I am the master of Bloodmoon." He grinned as the currents of red energy gathered on his back and formed into two wings composed of burning crimson. "And I am the Angel of Death."

Faust's raised an eyebrow. "You look ridicul-"

"Sinslayer," Daken said, cutting Faust off and disappearing in a red blur of speed.

"What the hell is a Sinsla-"

Faust was interrupted yet again as Daken reappeared behind the Nephilim and rammed his elbow into him with earth-shattering force. "When I was a kid, someone once told me to only name an attack if I know it's going to hit," Daken said, grabbing hold of Faust and throwing him up into the air. "I knew I was going to hit."