The Angel of Frost

VIII.

The ice blue irises of Glaucus' eyes slowly spread out as Lissandra chanted. When she had finished, the angel's eyes looked like orbs of pure frost.

"Siberius, come, and be at my side."

And to Hasuma's shock, the angel obeyed. His movements were no longer fluid, no longer like the cold north gale he had always reminded her of that was steadfast, cool, and unwavering. Now, impossibly, the wind in Glaucus had been reined in, like a tamed horse.

"Would you please get rid of these intruders?" Lissandra asked, her sweet voice in stark contrast with her defiled body.

Glaucus nodded, then smiled a smile that froze Hasuma's bones. "Gladly."

And before Hasuma could scream out, or Levi brace himself for the blast was sure to come, a wave of chilling energy shaped like a snowflake emanated from Glaucus' outspread palm, sending them flying.

*

For some reason, Levi wanted to save his brother.

He was tired, bloody, battered, and bruised, and patches of frostbitten skin had begun to make themselves known to him through prickling his nerves.

And as he lay there on the sand of a beach, warmed by the morning sun, his demonic instincts kicked in.

A demon was never supposed to repay evil with good. A demon was never supposed to side with an angel, let alone try to save them. And most importantly, a demon was never supposed to feel compassion.

But he was feeling it. Or at least that was what he thought.

He glanced over at Hasuma, who was sleeping lightly beside him, completely relaxed. He envied her.

Then he saw it. Blocking the horizon. A massive wave, towering over him as it raced towards the beach. Oh, great. He's back. Who else would hit us with a wave like that?

He closed his eyes and a smug smile appeared on his face. He didn't even bother to remove it as he was swept away by the wave.

*

Levi sat up, and every fiber of his body seemed to scream in protest. He felt like he'd been flash frozen then thawed out immediately.

He looked around, seeing that he was in the throne room of a palace made out of turquoise. Fish swam in and out of the windows, treating the room with no more attention than a stray bubble. A chandelier glowed, its sapphire glow unusually bright.

Hasuma, to his surprise, was still asleep. The nymph could probably sleep through almost everything; she'd literally slept through Hell without getting so much as a sunburn.

A figure Levi hadn't noticed before melted into sight on the throne. The man had quite the belly, though he looked more like a jolly Saint Nick than an obese drunkard. He guffawed, and his entire body trembled with the laugh.

"Levi, my old friend, is it really you?"

"Since when do you see another demon around here escaping your power with a bubble?"

They laughed. Levi swam over, and both of them clapped each other on the back like old friends, which was what they were. "I apologize for that. I wasn't...myself."

"So I've seen. Never thought age would make you cranky, Hasuantar."

The deity chuckled. "Unfortunately, it has."

Hasuantar put an arm around his shoulder, and for once Levi didn't protest. "I did doubt for a second it was actually you, you know." He ruffled the demon's hair. "But I had to take precautions."

Levi laughed. "Yes, precautions. Like stealth. Tell me, when did you learn that trick? Melting into sight?"

"We'll talk about that later, old friend." They had arrived at where Hasuma was still lying on the ground and softly snoring. "But we have more pressing matters to attend to."

*

The second she saw Hasuantar, Hasuma was gripped with fear. She startled herself awake amidst the grogginess that clouded her mind and quickly acted.

She bowed down on the ground, trying to appease the onslaught that was sure to come. The deity did not take kindly to treachery, even if there was no evidence if she had betrayed him or not. A plan began to form in her mind, and she hoped it would work. If Hasuantar attacked, she would immediately sidestep in that direction, and then--

"Rise, blessed nymph," Hasuantar said. "'Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies?'"

Hasuma didn't know from where Hasuantar had gotten those words, but she knew what they meant. She stood.

Still, she felt wary, even though she caught a glimpse of Levi standing beside the deity as she lowered her head in respect. "My lord, what have I done to deserve such praise? I am only but a humble nymph, caught in this maelstrom of confusion and doubt. Please, I beg you, forgive me, for I have doubted your sovereignty."

She watched in disbelief as Hasuantar shook his head. A deity, denying his power? His responsibility?

It was true, she had doubted, more times than she would like to admit. After seeing the angel Gabriel and traveling with Glaucus into the depths of Hell and meeting Levi, she knew there was something wrong about Namanta's religion. Because for the first time, she saw unimaginable things, things beyond Hasuantar's control.

"Dear nymph, I am not a god, I am not a deity, nor am I a king. I am only a humble force of nature, created to serve and praise the Father."

"Yeah, 'serve and praise' my foot. You're just conveniently ignoring your failure to protect the river from an invasion. You failed us, Hasuantar."

The truth hit like a ton of bricks as the deity seemed to crumble under the verbal assault.

"Yeah, I know, you feel guilty and remorseful and all that. But what you're feeling right now is nothing compared to how I feel after seeing my city obliterated in less than a second."

By now Hasuantar was staring at the ground, along with Levi, who had taken part in the necessary destruction of the city. If they were to look up, they would have seen the nymph's eyes lit up with blue fire.

"If this Father exists, I sure do hope he's disappointed at you, you fat, self-righteous, useless little 'god'!"

And with that, the nymph stomped off, choosing to show her anger even though she could've left quicker if she swam.

Levi just shook his head and volunteered to go after the nymph. "I'll be able to convince her to come back here."

Hasuantar nodded his assent, and the demon rocketed through the water towards the exit where small indentations shaped like feet lined the floor.

For someone who was unused to the action, the nymph had stomped pretty well. Hasuantar wouldn't be happy about the footprints pressing into the turquoise.

As he waded in the forest of kelp in the courtyard outside the throne room, the hairs on Levi's nape stood up like stiff soldiers. Something was here, and it was unwelcome.

He didn't like feeling them: the chills. Yet his body felt like it was being coated in ice. Nervously, he looked around him, then he made the mistake of looking up.

Spreading across the water's surface above him was ice inked with a deep black.

*

Will the river die under the unholy ice spreading across its surface? Read on to find out!

But before that, a comment would be nice. ;^)